The consistent finding of classroom observation research is that
instruction is driven by published reading curricula, most often
presenting children with one introduction to a reading skill
followed by three decontextualized practices on a worksheet.
Children also spend the majority of their time in this activity
as opposed to the actually reading of text. During this kind of
instruction, children are usually not allowed to talk to other
children, making participation in instruction a socially isolated
activity. Stone would do well to read Goodman's report on basal
reading instruction, along with the classroom observation
studies.
Stone offers Doug Ellson's work as an ignored example of
appropriate instruction. Stone may not know that Ellson devoted
a great deal of his time assisting basal publishers in
redesigning their manuals so that his version of "programmed
reading instruction" could be used.
Stone should also be excited about the review and retention
process for teachers, along with professional development
programs. My experience has been that moste state departments of
public instruction, and teacher preparation units, base their
programs on the wholesale application of effective teaching
research. At this time, we have probably institutionalized some
very questionable teaching practices. More often than not,
effective teaching practices have been derived from research
where a few teaching behaviors were observed on a limited number
of teachers. Rarely have effective teachers and their behaviors
been observed. The current notion of an effective teacher could
be described as the arem of one teacher, the leg of another, the
head of another, and so forth. There is little evidence in the
reserach literature that a single teacher exhibited a mojority of
the expected effective teaching behaviors and routines.
Jones seems to be an evangelist for a technological orientation
to teaching/learning. This orientation is concerned with
allocating children more time on task and keeping them engaged.
Little attention is given to putting children on appropriate
tasks. Likewise, time as a value-free metric is usually not
addressed. The quality of activity within time should be a
variable of critical importance.
I will stop here. The sun, a rare object, has arrived in Boone, NC.
I am sure than Ken Goodman can add more.
Bill Blanton