Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
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John Krueger
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9 thoughts on “John Krueger”
If you have the freedom to, I would just go full-on Invisibles with all of your classes. If some reject it and break the classroom rules you go back to the textbook with them until they beg you to go back to CI.
You may think that they are attached to their previous teacher, BUT they have not seen the Invisibles yet. With the exception of some very troubled students I’ve had (I teach the track in our school that has the at-risk kids) that have problems at home and are always getting in-school suspensions, the students LOVE the Invisibles.
Dr. Karen Lichtman at NTPRS said that with regard to explicit teaching one one end of the spectrum we have grammar teaching and on the other end of the spectrum we have NTCI (no explicit teaching at all). She said TPRS is somewhere in between.
It’s my position though that the Ben Slavic style TPRS as described in the TPRS in a Year! Book and The Big CI Book was actually NTCI without Ben knowing it. The Matava Scripts were also a precursor to the Invisibles because they are stories with an ending, not stories that go on for up to 3 class periods (this kind of think still is promoted at NTPRS).
Also Ben (as far as I can remember) never advocated the current TPRS practice of “triangling” that Blaine is promoting. (Requiring student actors to respond to questions in complete sentences and looking for “breakdown” with regard to correct verb forms.)
Funny that I was at IFLT 2016 but for some reason did not go to any of Ben’s sessions, if I did I probably would have found out about the Invisibles a bit earlier.
Greg everything you say above is true. Thank you for being one of the few TPRS leaders and trainers who gets all that.
Explicit Teaching———————————————-TPRS———————–NTCI
(no explicit teaching)
(She did this with her hands in the air)
I really like this idea Greg. It is better than mine, which is simply to not allow second and upper level kids in on the game. That’s what I told Diane. But what you wrote here is best:
…if you have the freedom to, I would just go full-on Invisibles with all of your classes. If some reject it and break the classroom rules you go back to the textbook with them until they beg you to go back to CI. You may think that they are attached to their previous teacher, BUT they have not seen the Invisibles yet. With the exception of some very troubled students I’ve had (I teach the track in our school that has the at-risk kids) that have problems at home and are always getting in-school suspensions, the students LOVE the Invisibles….
Today was the first day of school! I really appreciate these ideas, Greg and Ben. I’ve decided to see how it goes with the Invisibles in Level II for a week – focusing on training – and make a decision then. I’ll let you know what happens! -John
John I invited you to join the Invisibles FB group. I have videos on the first 40 pp. of the book over there.
I totally agree with Greg, here, John. Try Card Talk with your upper levels at the beginning of the year. As limiting as Card Talk is, in comparison to OWI and other strategies, it moves the students into another realm of learning. From the left to the right side of the brain. From analytical thought to creative. If after a week of Card Talk and maybe another week dabbling into a mini-story, you feel the need to go to the textbook, you can always have those first couple of weeks with the students to remember what it was like. Something to aspire to recreate and build upon.
Perhaps you don’t have to say to the students that your way of teaching is in conflict with the previous teacher’s way. Perhaps you can avoid having any kind of conversation comparing you to the previous teacher. Believe me, I know how painful it can be to hear from kids things like, “I just loved [previous teacher’s name here]. She was great! This stuff is bogus.” I’ve changed schools enough to get those statements. Usually, though, students say that just to try to test your breaking point. To see if they can get you angry. Don’t fall into that trap. They will appreciate you even if they don’t show it.
Thanks for the encouragement, Sean! Yes, I have decided to continue on this upcoming week with more Card Talk and trying to train students to get in the right place for CI. I will have to apply more strictness in my behavior expectations and let them see that there are consequences when they do not comply. Over half the class are seniors and it is hard to get them to refrain from the socializing that they may be used to from the previous year.
John you are not alone. The general zeitgeist of inattention in schools, esp. w seniors, shows how far afield we have come from doing the right thing, since they are children and need firm guidance. Even if they are in big bodies, they are still children.
We need more adults in classrooms and what is happening is that we are getting more and more young kids in the classroom only acting like teachers, while the few adults left keep retiring, or just leaving the field.
That leaves you and the few other adults remaining who must insist on proper decorum from their students.
My suggestion is to not teach seniors, who have become swine, using the Invisibles. That really is throwing pearls before swine.
P.S. Please also share this on the FB page, which provides more direct discussion on the Invisibles.