Scripted Teaching - Scripted Teaching - Misconceptions

Misconceptions

A common misconception about scripted teaching is that any person can come into a classroom and teach a lesson if they follow the script (Commeyras 2007). With that logic, can any person go on to a movie set with the actor’s lines and act out his role in the movie? Just like an actor who brings life to his script, a teacher must use his own personality to breathe life into the teaching script (Commeyras 2007). Scripted teaching programs are meant to be used as a support for teachers to help them develop their own teaching style and confidence in their teaching ability (Reeves 2010). Teachers who are first introduced to scripted teaching tend to feel that they are being held back from utilizing their own knowledge when they are required to instruct using an external script (Reeves 2010). This also leads to teachers feeling that they cannot respond when a student answers with an unusual answer (Parks & Bridges-Rhoads 2012), however; teachers who are experienced in scripted teaching find a way to build on the unusual answers and find their way back to the script. Teachers who have learned that reading written language involves accuracy, fluency, self-monitoring, and comprehension are more successful at scripted teaching (Commeyras 2007). A final misconception is that scripted teaching de-professionalizes teachers, stifling their creative potential (Reeves 2010).