From the Desk of Lauretta Buchanan
Welcome to the S.M.A.R.T.S. Learning System™. S.M.A.R.T.S. is a variety of teaching strategies addressing motivational, academic and behavioral objectives. The program combines direct instruction, cooperative learning, individual responsibility, independent learning and fun. The program works because all students are pulled into the learning process to become active learners. They do so because they want to, not because they have to.
This all started approximately twenty plus years ago when my students would say to me, "Mrs. B., when I finish my work, may I go play on the computer?" It dawned on me that work that was difficult or impossible when students were working at their desks was easily completed on the computer. Students who never followed directions or were disruptive, apathetic or noncompliant during lessons worked beautifully at the computers. Eventually, I figured out the reasons for the students' success on computers. With computers, there was: no anxiety, lots of fun, no fear of failure, interest in the task, a sense of competitiveness, the knowledge of having a "second chance," the opportunity to correct mistakes without a big "to-do," and feelings of success. Apparently, what I needed were lesson strategies and presentations that would make my students react as though they were at the computers. If I could do this, students would want to participate in classroom activities instead of rushing through work (just to get it done), so they could "play" on the computers.
Gradually, painstakingly, I began to create the S.M.A.R.T.S. Learning System™ - a group of teaching strategies my students viewed as games. Amazingly, the tactics turned them into active learners by allowing them to learn and have fun as they learned. They became successful, proud, independent learners. Day after day, no matter the content or the diverse abilities within my classroom, my kids learned, improved their test scores, remembered what they had previously learned, and were willing participants in the learning process. My students became better listeners, started following directions, and completed their assignments. Soon other teachers in the school wanted to try the strategies. Happily, the strategies worked for them as well.
Even though the strategies are quite strict and highly structured, students participate willingly. Maybe it works because it's natural for kids to compete and want to do well in the eyes of their peers. Maybe it's because kids are surprised when they can do well in school and are excited when they realize they really are learning, or maybe it's because, as a student once said to me, "When we play S.M.A.RT.S., it makes me feel like I really am somebody."
Now, more than ever before, we have to pull students into our lessons and make learning relevant, fast-paced, interactive and participatory. If kids are involved in the learning process, behavior improves. S.M.A.R.T.S. strategies focus on listening, following directions, interactive communication, writing and critical thinking...helping students make sense of information so that they not only understand it but are also able to explain it. It can't be "learn it todayforget it tomorrow or when the test is over."
Today, most schools have teachers "teaching to the test." If we teach, instead, for learning, students will be successful. If our strategies include using the same power verbs, words and terms students see on tests, incorporating testing examples with our content, teaching students to strictly follow directions and focus on what is being asked and including critical thinking opportunities, students will master content as well as any standardized test. S.M.A.R.T.S. strategies are designed to let teachers do these things. The strategies match Marzano's criteria according to his book, What Works In Schools, and they've been tested and proven throughout the country and abroad.
Education should be a win-win situation for teachers and students alike. Classrooms and the learning process should be gratifying. No arguing, pleading, threatening...just students and teachers enjoying what they're doing together. I sincerely hope you will try the S.M.A.R.T.S. strategies, and I sincerely hope they will be as beneficial to you and your students as they have been for me, my kids and the hundreds of teachers I've been fortunate to work with. Give S.M.A.R.T.S. a chance to work in your classroom.
Lauretta