Education Readings
By Allan Alach
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come
across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
 |
| Author Steven Lewis (Aust) |
Fast policy: when educational research morphs
into quick fixes and ‘silver bullets’
‘These new ‘actors’ in the field produce and promote usually short,
easy-to-read and easy-to-implement glossy reports, which offer simplified
evidence and give definitive solutions involving ‘best practice’, and where
research knowledge is orchestrated to best influence government policy.
Evidence is tailored to the needs of policymakers but also fits within the
report generator’s own interests and agendas.
We call this type of report ‘fast policy’; that is, policy shortcuts
via readymade examples of ‘what works’, which are often borrowed from other
countries (or systems) and cherry picked to meet political needs.’
We are in “Deep” Doo Doo: Latest Buzz Word of Caution
Beware ….when will this arrive in your location?
 |
| Read all about it - deep learning |
‘Here it is: DEEP LEARNING
It’s something we can all start following/investigating.
It’s a word… like GRIT, PERSONALIZED LEARNING, CHOICE, and 21st c
LEARNING…words that are code for corporate colonization… meet “deep learning.”’
The Curse Of The Bell Curve
 |
| The curse of the bell curve |
‘On a crisp July winter’s morning, I had the pleasure of spending 45
minutes listening to the fabulous Yong Zhao (YZ). For all 2700 seconds, I sat
on the edge of my chair enthralled by what he said, the synapses in my brain
tingling with passion and purpose. A few weeks later, my mind is left buzzing;
his words still ringing in my ears. Which is why this blog post exists; my way
of re-gifting these key messages (and calls to action) from such an
inspirational gentleman.
So, sitting from the comfort of my chair, in the warmth of my wee
house, it feels fitting to tell the ‘Sherlock-Holmes’-style tale of, “The curse of the
bell curve”. Cue: the typical murder mystery introductory style music….’
The Child Predator We Invite into Our Schools
‘There is a good chance a predator is in the classroom with your
child right now. He is reading her homework assignments, quizzes and emails. He
is timing how long it takes her to answer questions, noting her right and wrong
answers. He’s even watching her body language to determine if she’s engaged in
the lesson. He has given her a full battery of psychological assessments, and
she doesn’t even notice. He knows her academic strengths and weaknesses, when
she’ll give up, when she’ll preserver, how she thinks. And he’s not a teacher,
counselor or even another student. In fact, your child can’t even see him – he’s
on her computer or hand-held device. It’s called data mining, and it’s
one of the major revenue sources of ed-tech companies.’
The rearview mirror
Unfortunately what I continue to see is a vicious cycle where
teachers don’t trust the administration when improvement is advocated,
where governments want students to be creative and innovative but
continue to support high stakes testing and where parents want more engaging
learning experiences without schools daring to be innovative in teacher
practice and school design. All these come together in the perfect storm
alongside publication of international test rankings and federal and
state elections.
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
What About the Rules? A Lesson Plan for Building Trust First
 |
| Ideal teacher |
‘Before I start my second reading of the poem, I ask students to
think about a teacher who has been one of their "hands-down
favorites." When the poem concludes, students turn their notebooks to page
two to find their first task:
Your first homework assignment is connected to the poem I read to
you today: "Dear Mrs. McKinney of the Sixth Grade." For me to
understand the type of teacher who motivates you to do your best work, I want
you to write about a "good" teacher from your K–8 school life.
Include specific examples from his or her class. Remember, first homework =
first impression. Spend time writing your story. I am looking for the details
in the story, not punctuation and spelling (at least not this time).’
How Creativity Works
‘What differentiates humans from other species is their ability to
think, imagine, create and shape the nature. It is the creative fire that every
human being carries within itself. Creativity is the ability to create the new,
which does not already exist in our physical world. . Every human being is born
creative, while children we live immersed in creativity, and along our growth,
we are led to abandon it and follow patterns.’
Why Learning Should Be Messy
‘Can creativity be taught? Absolutely. The real question is: “How do we teach
it?” In school, instead of crossing subjects and classes, we teach them in a
very rigid manner. Very rarely do you witness math and science teachers or
English and history teachers collaborating with each other. Sticking in your
silo, shell, and expertise is comfortable. Well, it’s time to crack that
shell.’
Messy Works: How to Apply Self-Organized Learning in the Classroom
‘SOLEs are short forays into the kind of self-organized learning
that Sugata Mitra found to be so powerful.
In a classroom SOLE, Bechtel asks her students a “messy question,” something
that doesn’t have just one right answer, then sets them loose to research the
question in small groups. Students choose who they work with, find their own
information, draw their own conclusions and present their findings to the whole
class. It can be a bit chaotic, but Bechtel says that’s often good.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
Tapping into the student's world
Schools to develop the talents of all students.
‘The stance taken about how children learn is vital. Those who think
they know more than the child work out prescribed curriculums and, as part of
this, develop elaborate systems to see thing as
are being learnt - including
National testing. This is the 'jug and mug' theory of learning where the
teacher is the full jug and the teachers job is to pour knowledge from the full
jug to the empty mug.For others the aim is to do everything to keep alive the
innate desire to learn - or to 'recover' it if it has been subverted by prior
experiences.’
 |
| Tapping into the students' world |
Developing talent in young people?
‘Benjamin Bloom is well known to teachers for his taxonomy of
questioning. In the late 80s Bloom
wrote a book called 'Developing Talent in
Young People'. Bloom was interested in what contributed to the greatness of
talented individuals and what role did schools play in their success.’
 |
| Dr Bloom |
A new creative agenda for education required
In 2013 New Zealand teachers stood out against
the Government’s agenda, and recently they did so again.
‘Teachers, it seems, have woken up to the true agenda of the
government which began with the introduction of ‘Tomorrows Schools in 1986.The
agenda is summed up in the acronym GERM (Global Education Reform Movement) - an
agenda that will, when in place, will lead to the privatisation of education – the
beginnings of which are to be seen in the push for Charter Schools. The
corporate thinkers behind the GERM agenda see education as a fertile ground for
private enterprise. As part of this agenda we have National Standards which
will lead to National Testing and League tables all to allow for school
comparison performance pay and parent choice. Choice, it seems, for only for
those who can afford it. The trouble is that the standards will have the effect
of narrowing the curriculum and eventually teaching to the tests.’
No comments:
Post a Comment