TLAP Book Study: Week 4

Week 4- Pages 107-141

All the World is a Stage, Stand & Deliver, 
Advanced Tactics, Around the Edges 

All the World is a Stage

“Anything I can do to manipulate and control the environment is fair game . This is a tough business; I’m more than willing to take advantage of and influence everything around me to increase my students’ chances of success.” (Burgess p. 107)

In this chapter we learn about the following hooks:

• The interior design hook (transforming your room through lighting, decorations, furniture, etc.)
• The board message hook (writing a message on the board or projecting an image onto the screen that sparks curiosity, engaging them before the lesson even begins)
• The costume hook (accessorizing to enhance the presentation or teaching in character) 
• The props hook (what physical item can be added to the lesson?)
• The involved audience hook (involving students and making students feel like they are part of the lesson, not just bystanders) 
• The mystery bag hook (incorporating a visibly concealed item related to the lesson to build suspense and encourage questioning) 

Stand & Deliver

“All teachers are full time public speakers. In fact, I would venture to guess many teachers do more public speaking in their classroom than the vast majority of speakers do on the circuit...be intentional about honing your skills of engagement.” (Burgess p.117)

In this chapter, we learn the following six hooks that will help us develop our public speaking skills:

• The storytelling hook (using a captivating, high interest story to draw the students into the lesson) 
• The swimming with the sharks hook (using movement and proximity to break down the barrier between speaker and class) 
• The taboo hook (eliciting curiosity and interest by positioning a topic as if it is a secret or forbidden, even though it is not) 
• The mime hook (using the power of silence to deliver a message) 
• The teaser hook (sparking interest by promoting a lesson ahead of time)
• The backwards hook (presenting material out of sequence to encourage students to construct knowledge) 

Advanced Tactics

This chapter discusses the following three “advanced” hooks:

• The mission impossible hook (creating lesson where students are trying to decode clues to solve a mystery). I have recently been facilitating professional learning in this area, using the game-based learning platform of BreakoutEdu. If you haven't heard of it, take a moment to check them out! 
• The reality TV hook (again, using game based learning to create a ‘Survivor’ or ‘Amazing Race’ style lesson) 
• The techno whiz hook (leveraging the power of technology to empower students to take their learning beyond the school day, bridge gaps between school and the real world and gain global perspective). When creating lessons using technology, I like use the SAMR model as a framework to guide my practice.



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/The_SAMR_Model.jpg 

“When used correctly, technology can enhance the effectiveness of your lesson, increase engagement and even strengthen relationships between the humans that comprise your class”. (Burgess p.128)

Around the Edges

“Students will do amazing things if you can design a class and environment that is positive and empowering. Rising up to and overcoming challenges, building lifetime relationships and foraging positive connections to school won’t directly result in better test scores. It will result in better people. Isn’t that what we’re really trying to accomplish” (Burgess p.138)

The last few hooks presented in this chapter can help put the “finishing touches” on a lesson:

• The contest hook (including a contest or challenge to build motivation) 
• The magic and the amazing hook (teaching an amazing skill that students can go home and share with others) 
• The chef hook (adding food or drinks to enhance a lesson, or just to create a positive atmosphere) 
• The mnemonic hook (pointing out patterns, ties to previous knowledge, or developing other memory retention aids to help students remember key material) 
• The extra-credit challenge hook (incorporating an intriguing way for students to extend their learning) 

“Education shouldn’t be about raising statistics. It should be about raising and fulfilling human potential.” (Burgess p. 141) 

I certainly agree with Burgess’ sentiment that striving for better scores should not be our only goal, but I would also add, that with a goal of helping our students to meet their potential in all areas, the outcome of increased scores inevitably often happens along the way.

Question #1- Which of the hooks discussed in this week’s reading have you successfully used?
Question #2- What is your next step? Which of the hooks discussed in this week’s reading do you want to try?

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