Harrisburg Academy

January 2012
The “Deep Work” of Teaching

Dear Upper School Parents,

In her book "Where Great Teaching Begins," Anne Reeves describes what she calls the "deep work" of teaching — defined as the efforts of a teacher to create student- and learning-centered lesson planning from a classroom-centered, activity-oriented design. I view the "deep work" of teaching as being more than just a teacher’s diligent efforts to plan activities in the classroom. Rather, it is a teacher’s efforts in designing what his or her students will be learning as a result of the teacher’s personal knowledge of and work with the students.

Last week, Jim Newman’s All-School letter spoke about Harrisburg Academy’s Science Summit and how it was the first of many organized discussions by our science and information technology faculty with the goal of determining next steps for science education at the Academy. Examining the event in the larger context of Reeves’ “deep work of teaching” philosophy, the Science Summit was a start at determining how the Academy will take a very strong chemistry, physics, biology, and environmental science program and make it more student- and learning-centered.

So you may wonder, what is the difference between the two aforementioned instructional design methods — “teacher- and classroom-centered” design versus the more current practice of “student- and learning-centered design?” Reeves provides a good explanation contrasting the extremes of the two methods in table form (reproduced below).

Contrasting Views of Instructional Design

Teacher-and Classroom-Centered Instructional Design	Student- and Learning-Centered Instructional Design
Focus on activities	Focus on what kinds of thinking students do
Focus on teacher performance	Focus on intellectual skills students develop
Focus on classroom events and experiences	Focus on what student take away from the classroom events and experiences
Burning Questions: “What will we be doing today?”	Burning Question: “What will students be learning today?”
Planning addresses only the teacher’s time with the students	Planning addresses long-term outcomes

Through the employment of "deep work" teachers and administrators, our school continues to develop a student experience that is meaningful and most beneficial for post-secondary study. Our carefully-constructed efforts ensure that our students benefit from gaining knowledge of the “basics” while having the ability to design, create, appraise, argue, defend, and support their new ideas.

As the Academy moves forward with its quest to provide students with the best possible instruction in science and beyond, we must stay current with the latest educational research. It is imperative that we participate in program planning that focuses on long-term student outcomes achieved through student- and learning-centered lesson design.

Sincerely,

Tom Banks
Assistant Head of School / Head of Upper School / IB Program Coordinator