Fidelity to What?

I was talking with a colleague about the concept of fidelity. I walked away wondering about what teachers were being asked to act with fidelity for. Is it fidelity (which means faithfulness to a belief or cause, demonstrated by continued loyalty) to a concept? a research agenda? a procedure? a program? or a script?

If I am "fidel" does that mean I am being asked to stop questioning things? to blindly accept what others have deemed is good for my students? to accept what others have said is effective?

At one extreme, this notion seems to go against every democratic ideal we have. At the other extreme, it seems to imply teachers should just shut up and do what they are told. How do the program creators know what works for all kids, so well, that it should just be followed and not questioned?

The question for me seems, "At what level are we being asked to follow with fidelity?" I can see asking teachers to work within the parameters of my framework for the Reading Workshop, namely the essentials for a reading workshop - to include a literate environment, reading aloud, interactive discussions, lessons in comprehension, reading assessment, and independent reading. If teachers are doing these things, does that mean they are doing the Reading Workshop with fidelity? How my control must be exercise over all teachers to say they are applying a program with fidelity? We need to begin asking what we are being asked to do.

Comments

  1. CarrieNovember 25, 2012 at 7:21 PM

    I completely agree. I took your class as a staff development at the school where I taught several years ago. I loved what you had to say! At the same time I was frustrated because what we already knew as professionals along with what we were learning from you completely contradicted what and how administration was mandating us to teach. Actually, I went to the principal at one point to share my feelings. The next week, you shared almost the exact same concern during our class. She called me into her office and accused me of emailing you to have you back me up! Administrators who can't spot good teaching would rather have a program that has page numbers so they can look at the page and make sure the teacher is teaching what they are supposed to. If you don't know good teaching, how can you have true accountability without a program? Unfortunately, when micromanagers with no understanding of how children gain true knowledge become administrators, they vote in boxed programs instead of becoming educated. Just my experience.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Building Capacity for Effective Instruction

             Let me begin this post with an assertion: the quality of the classroom teacher, not the instructional program, is the primary variable in determining the effectiveness of a comprehensive reading program. This assertion is often hidden beneath the glitz and packaging of many commercial programs. It is not the quality of the wand, but the magic of the teacher that makes reading and writing come alive in today’s classrooms.             In addition to this primary assertion, I would assert that no significant changes in instructional practices will occur until corresponding changes take place in one’s theoretical understandings. In other words, unless we rethink why we do what we do in the name of literacy education and instruction, most changes will be cosmetic and superficial. The resources teachers select may change, or the daily schedule may be rearranged to accommodate new program components, but the core of one’s instructional practices remains intact.             What d
Read more

Some Advice for Graduating Teachers

Here are some excerpts from the Commencement Address I delivered at Willammette University in Salem, OR a few years ago: My experience over the past 25 years as an educator has helped shape my outlook on life and helped form my vision for the world I want to live in. But as the gray hair becomes more prominent, my years of experience have also caused me to forget what it is like to be 20 something and starting a new career in education. Over the next few weeks, and probably at some party this evening, someone that is as old as I am is going to lean over and offer you some advice for your future. So listen to us, and nod your head respectfully, and consider what we have to say, but be sure the decisions ahead are all yours: There are very few black and white decisions, and No one can live your life for you. You need to get out in the world and find your own path, create your own vision of what you want the world to be. Life is simply what you make of it. So get outside, travel as much a
Read more

In the Name of Reading Education

Image
This is my last post in 2014. I promise I will be better about posting book reviews more regularly in the new year. So for now, here is one last rant to close out 2014. Happy Holidays! As I have been writing my new book, which will be out in Spring 2015, I have been wandering the internet for resources and have uncovered an unfortunate trend: teachers still do crap in the name of teaching children to read that life-long readers would never tolerate. I have seen so many "alternative" to book reports postings, using digital resources to make kids do the same waste-of-time assignments I tried to rally against when I write my first book on the Reading Workshop in 2001. Why does anyone think having children post images on Pinterest from their iPads is any more worthwhile than writing book reports on paper plates? Why waste their time? The next thing you know someone will be suggesting that we use auto-cad architectural programs to build digital dioramas. So what should we ask youn
Read more