IRP - Friend or Foe?

Can the IRP's help you as a teacher?  Or are they merely a hindrance?


I have never looked at IRP's before starting this program, and to be honest - they were pretty daunting at first.  The IRP's have a tremendous amount of information in them and at first glace seemed pretty overwhelming to me.  I believe they provide a great outline for teachers to follow, but there is more than one side to every story.  As mentioned in the title of this blog, they can be both friend and foe to the teacher...

Flexibility (Friend) - The IRP's provide a great amount of flexibility for the teacher.  The expectations are well laid out, and the sections detailing the PLO's for each grade are clear for the teacher to follow.  Although there are a lot of PLO's for each grade level, and they are 'mandated', I believe an experienced teacher would be able to make good use of the IRP's in order to create his or her own version of the curriculum that works for them.  This type of flexibility would allow the teacher to use current texts that have some relevancy to the children.  I believe a good teacher can change things constantly as they have a new group of students, and the IRP's allow for this type of flexibility.


Flexibility (Foe) - For the beginning teacher, I feel that flexibility can also be a disadvantage.  The IRP's do not lay out every day of instruction, and the thought of designing an entire curriculum based on some Prescribed Learning Outcomes seems very daunting to me, as a beginning teacher.  What are good appropriate texts, and what are some good writing activities?  Although there are some ideas in the PLO's later, the task of creating a years worth of curriculum may be quite daunting to the new teacher.  If we are supposed to "go outside the box" when teaching, how do we really know what the "box is?"  Some teachers may want to have more structure laid out for them.  I'm not certain about having the curriculum completely prescribed (Week 1, Class 1 -teach...., Week 1, Class 2 teach...) but an outline may help beginning teachers.


Previous Instruction (Friend) - Since the IRP's are very well laid out in terms of what is taught in teach grade, it is easy to see what the students were taught last year.  This gives the teacher somewhere to start as well as an end goal for this year and next year.


Previous Instruction (Foe) - Since the curriculum is not "laid out" for teachers to follow a written flowchart of what to teach each day, some teachers may not end up teaching to the IRP and therefore the students may not have the understanding they need to go to the next grade level.


What do our students look like in ELA and how do they learn?

Principles of Learning

Learning requires the active participation of the student.

People learn in a variety of different ways and at different rates.

Learning is both an individual and a group process.

ELA today has changed since I took it in school.  From all that we are learning in all classes, students need to be engaged by learning material that is relevant for them.  That concept is prevalent throughout Nancie Atwell's book, In the Middle.  In this book she talks about working with students in helping them create from their own experiences, and write things that mean something to them.  Students learn more when they enjoy what they are doing, so it is the job of the teacher to ensure constant student engagement through meaningful activities. (Atwell, 1998)  Early in Atwell's book she writes about how she came to the realization that ELA is more than a teacher dictating what needs to be done.

"I liked being creative, setting topic and pace and mode and orchestrating THE process, taking charge...If responsibility for their writing shifted to my students, what would I do?"

When I went to school, I remember being dictated too constantly, especially in ELA.  I remember being told to read this particular book, and write a report on it.  Next we read this particular play by William Shakespeare, and then act it out in class.  Then, we would do reading comprehension.  Then debates.  I don't remember much creativity by the students, in fact I don't remember much of it at all, but I do remember my music classes vividly, where we had the creative outlet to pick our own music and perform some of our own concerts, etc...I think in many ways it is easier to be the dictator, and have curriculum established long before the students even arrive in class, but is this good teaching?  I think good teaching needs to be dynamic and flexible - changing according to the needs of your students you have at that moment.

If we follow the Principles of Learning as laid out in the IRP's, then today's students really need to be involved and engaged in their own learning.  They need to be an active part of the learning process, and simply assigning a book to read and have the students write an book report on it will very likely not keep them engaged.  They need to have the opportunity to choose books and write on things that matter to them, not simply what they last class did the previous year.  I think all students have 'something to say' and I at this stage it is our job as teachers to help them creatively express themselves, whether that is through speaking, writing, or reading.

Students all learn very differently and ELA students will have varying abilities in terms of writing, reading, representing, speaking, viewing and listening.  We all learn a lot when we are able to teach others, and students are no exception.  Spending time using students as coaches for other students will help all the students become more versed in ELA.  Introducing group activities as well as individual ones will help students learn more as well.

Our students in middle school will be incredibly diverse.  They will have developed their ability to use language at different times.  They will have different relationships with their parents, teachers and peers.  They will all be at varying stages of emotional, physical, and cognitive development and will be going through a constant process of change.  They may be from different races.  They may learn information differently.  They might have learning challenges, or they may be a gifted learner.  This list could do on for pages, and pages...Simply put, all of our ELA students look different, and they all learn differently.  The wonder and power of diversity in the classroom.

Education can function either to create passive, risk-free citizens or to create a politicized citizenry..At issue here is whether schools of education are to serve and reproduce the existing society or adopt the more critical role of challenging the social order so as to develop ad advance its democratic imperatives. (Henry Giroux and Peter McLaren)

Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle : new understandings about writing, reading, and learning. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

English Language Arts K to 7: Integrated Resource Package. (2006). British Columbia, Canada: Ministry of Education.  http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/english_language_arts/2006ela_k7.pdf

Woolfolk, A. & Winne, P. & Perry, N. (2012) Educational Psychology (5th Ed.) Toronto, Canada: Pearson  

Diversity photo from Creative Commons.  Development Works Photos. 

Books photo from Creative Commons.  By Jenn Calder