The Sage on a Stage
“Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.” – Indiana Jones
Students asking questions is a crucial part of developing knowledge. 1994 study found that the average student in the United States only asked a question to their teacher once every ten hours. This is largely thanks to the centuries old Western educational model that exalts the teacher as the keeper of wisdom, the all-knowing professor; the sage on a stage.
Wiktionary defines sage-on-a-stage as "an educator, especially at the post-secondary level, who imparts knowledge by lecturing to an audience". There are reasons why this method has been in vogue since the first European universities emerged in the Middle Ages. There are also reasons why the educational pendulum has been swinging away from this approach for a while now.
Specifically in the world of social sciences, sage-on-a-stage has worked for centuries because people like stories. It's the reason we follow things and people on social media. It's why movies will never go out of style. It's what drives us to binge-watch on Netflix. It explains Indiana Jones and his day job as a professor of archeology. Teachers of History are in a unique position since History is about stories, and children (even adults) are hard-wired for stories. But sages-on-stages can be found across content areas and grade levels, as well.
In recent years, educational leaders have frowned upon the sage-on-a-stage, noting that the teacher often does the lion’s share of the critical thinking, leaving student-engagement and questions largely optional. The saying, "it's my job to teach and your job to learn" can no longer apply to K-12 classrooms. The saying should now be, "it's my job to teach and it's my job that you learn". In the words of Doug Lemov, “You haven’t taught it unless they’ve learned it.” You may speak like Teddy Roosevelt, about whom it was said, “afterward you have to wring the personality out of your clothes”. But merely lecturing, however good you may be, don’t guarantee that they learn. Merely lecturing, however good you may be, don’t guarantee that your students learn. The pendulum has swung away from teacher-led learning and toward student-led learning as students are expected to read, write and talk about content with deeper complexity in the classroom.
However, it is possible for the teacher to capitalize on students' love of stories without being the sage-on-a-stage doing all the critical thinking for the class. Students might get the story in a variety of ways, including watching clips, listening to direct instruction, or reading primary sources. There are lesson designs that blend beautifully the love of stories with a student-focused environment, including high rigor and high engagement. By all means, use stories to your advantage, just design your lessons to focus on learning, too.
Specifically in the world of social sciences, sage-on-a-stage has worked for centuries because people like stories. It's the reason we follow things and people on social media. It's why movies will never go out of style. It's what drives us to binge-watch on Netflix. It explains Indiana Jones and his day job as a professor of archeology. Teachers of History are in a unique position since History is about stories, and children (even adults) are hard-wired for stories. But sages-on-stages can be found across content areas and grade levels, as well.
In recent years, educational leaders have frowned upon the sage-on-a-stage, noting that the teacher often does the lion’s share of the critical thinking, leaving student-engagement and questions largely optional. The saying, "it's my job to teach and your job to learn" can no longer apply to K-12 classrooms. The saying should now be, "it's my job to teach and it's my job that you learn". In the words of Doug Lemov, “You haven’t taught it unless they’ve learned it.” You may speak like Teddy Roosevelt, about whom it was said, “afterward you have to wring the personality out of your clothes”. But merely lecturing, however good you may be, don’t guarantee that they learn. Merely lecturing, however good you may be, don’t guarantee that your students learn. The pendulum has swung away from teacher-led learning and toward student-led learning as students are expected to read, write and talk about content with deeper complexity in the classroom.
However, it is possible for the teacher to capitalize on students' love of stories without being the sage-on-a-stage doing all the critical thinking for the class. Students might get the story in a variety of ways, including watching clips, listening to direct instruction, or reading primary sources. There are lesson designs that blend beautifully the love of stories with a student-focused environment, including high rigor and high engagement. By all means, use stories to your advantage, just design your lessons to focus on learning, too.
* Storyboards or comic strip activities to allow students to summarize or retell historical events
* Graphic organizers such as 4x4s (4 causes, 4 figures, 4 details, 4 effects) to hang information
* text-dependent questions that require students to dig deeper into primary sources
* Evaluating, discussing or debating images of historical art, artifacts or photographs
* Guiding students through map activities to bring context to a lesson
Looking for something more specific? Consider one of these resources...
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Indian-Removal-Act-Trail-of-Tears-MAP-activity-engaging-step-by-step-lesson
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Russian-Revolution-4-causes-4-figures-4-events-4-effects-23-slide-PPT
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/War-of-1812-Highly-Visual-PPT-and-Comic-Strip-Activity
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Declaration-of-Independence-Fun-and-easy-to-read-845367
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Egypt-Guess-the-artifact-game-engaging-PPT-with-pictures-clues-answers-1648524
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