As I was researching for my final project I was reading an article and the word rigor came up. I have to say in some ways, I cringe when I read that word. Every time I hear that word I want to crawl into a hole and scream! My principal started on this kick a few years ago about rigor. Rigorous questions, tests, work, instruction, etc, etc. I know it came from this initiative at my district, a book everyone started to read; Rigor is Not a Four Letter Word by Barbara Blackburn. I just have to laugh, some words are new and then some how they get over done, killed, can we bury this word please? What do you guys think!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
I feel the same most of the time. Like many terms, people don't have clear ideas of what rigor means. Most people seem to think of means harder or something similar. And that does drive me nuts. On the other hand, I use rigor as the boron of being thorough and critical as a feature of mind… not as some process that is imposed.
I agree that it is not a clearly defined word and that people use it because it is a buzz word in education right now. If there is no clear definition of rigor and you ask 10 people if they use rigor in their classroom, I bet they would all say yes. They may all use their definition, but is that what is to be used in the classroom?
A lot of people think rigor means more work, it doesn't, it means higher level learning. For example, you can have a student complete several assignments with a ton of homework, yet having them write one paper & conduct their own research would be a better example of increasing rigor. We spoon feed information with worksheets, etc. in my opinion increasing the rigor means having students learn by their own discovery process. Rigorous teaching should focus on students being critical thinkers, they should learn to analyze information and make sense of it on their own. Students should develop their own questions after reading, they shouldn't be given a worksheet with questions on it. Simply memorizing info. and passing tests isn't rigor, yet that is what the focus has been with standardized tests. In terms of assessment a clear picture of what has been mastered can be seen by reading their writing samples. Writing is a great way to assess, so are portfolios, yet bubbles and multiple choice tests are common forms of assessment.
I understand what the word means and I agree, most would say they use rigor, however I dont think use is the right way to put it. I look at it in a similar sense as Sandra explained. The questions always is, was that activity rigorous enough. I get it, higher level, more hands on student approach, getting students to own their learning and that can be facilitated by the teacher. However, in general I just feel the word is misused and over used. Jeff, thanks for your thoughts. It makes me think of your list that I read at the beginning of the class!