By Allan Alach
I welcome suggested articles, so if you come
across a gem, email it to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.
This week’s homework!
Children need to be taught.
“You
often hear the phrase that small children are sponges, that they constantly
learn. This sentiment is sometimes expressed in a way that makes it sound like
the particulars don’t matter that much; as
long as there is a lot to be learned in the environment, the child will learn
it. A new study shows that for one core type of learning, it’s more complicated. Kids don’t learn important information that’s right in front of them, unless an adult is actively teaching them.”
Guest opinion: Learning doesn’t have a distinct look
“I’m not proud of the direction of education and of evaluators who
demand rigor at any random moment of any random classroom. For this reason and
other experiences leading up to it, I am leaving the profession after 17 years
of teaching. I don’t believe what is
expected to go on in classrooms is best for students or teachers.”
The irony in new study that bashes popular teacher evaluation method
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| Value added testing a waste of time!! |
Valerie Strauss from the Washington Post,
looking at more evidence about the ineffectiveness of value added measurement
of teachers and which rebounds on Bill Gates.
“While there are economists who argue that
VAM can measure teacher effectiveness adequately, testing experts, academics,
and other economists say that more than abundant evidence shows that it doesn’t, and that reformers
should stop trying to evaluate teachers and principals with unreliable and
invalid measurement tools. “
Our Brains and Art
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| The arts change our minds |
“Many in the field
now suggest that both hemispheres of the brain are involved in art making and
are necessary for artistic expression. There is clinical research on drawing as
well. A study by Rebecca Chamberlain and colleagues in the journal NeuroImage
(2014) debunks right-brain and left-brain thinking to argue that those with
visual artistic talent or who identify as visual artists have increased amounts
of grey and white matter on both sides of the brain.”
The future of knowledge in the coming era of intelligent machines
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| We listen then seem to ignore! |
“We
need to unlearn the habit of acting like machines and relearn how to act like
humans. Quite likely this means – as Sir Ken
Robinson has been pointing out in his amazing TED talks – going
back to what did as children: playfulness, experimentation, listening,
imagining, dreaming and failing fast, failing cheap and trying again. “
What Motivates Teachers? Education Reformers Have No Idea
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| Now showing in NZ |
Sacrificing Our Children
“… the
fact of the matter is that the corporate education reform movement functions in
way that the educational quality experienced by poor children is harmed when
school privatization occurs, and corporate profit is greatly increased.”
What Teacher Trainees Should Know...15 Things You Don't Always Hear
“This
is not a definitive list of things. We would
be here for a long time if I was to highlight
everything, but this is a list of
some of the big important things that our new teachers are not always told but
should know. There are miles of lists out there that outline what new teachers
need to do or know in the classroom - this list focuses on some of the obvious
but not always talked about things.”
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| Look after yourself!!! |
The Absurdity of Teacher Evaluation Systems
Read all about teacher evaluation in USA. Want a
version in your location?
“The
twin methods that are put together to form a teacher evaluation system are
absurd, muddled, and unreasonable. Even
more, the assumptions which are used evaluate teachers are rooted in false claims about what is effective
teaching, and how one knows when effective teaching happens. At its stupidest level, bureaucrats who sit in front of their
computer screens, and who’ve consulted with
agronomists, believe they have the algorithms that will actually measure in
some quantifiable way, just how much a teacher adds to student academic
achievement.”
When PISA meets politics – a lesson from
New Zealand
An article by Professor Martin Thrupp, one of
the signatories on the recent letter to the OECD about PISA.
“Some of the points
Schleicher has been making might be useful if the arguments were employed
carefully. Unfortunately, in the national politics of New Zealand – and probably in many
other countries – any such subtleties are quickly lost.
Instead the OECD/Schleicher arguments become fertile ground for the politics of
blaming teachers for the underperformance of students from poor backgrounds.”
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| We don't need Schleicher in NZ |
This week’s contributions from Bruce Hammonds:
End of Year Burnout: How to Finish the Marathon in Stride
One for northern hemisphere teachers…. some good fun things to do with your class
“You
are at mile 23 and your lungs are bursting, your legs are cramping, your mind
is in a jumble,
and you just want say, "Beam me up, Scotty."
 |
| How to win the marathon |
Yet, just as the marathoners make it to the finish line, so can you.
Here are five ideas that work.”
Tech Tools That Inspire PBL in High School
Bruce comments: An interesting article ( with an informative small video) based on investigating a local issue – by a statistics teacher in a high school.
A concept of learning applicable from junior classes to year 13 – one
many NZ teachers have been making use of for decades!
‘"When
will I ever use this?" This cringeworthy comment slipping from a
teenager's lips can swipe away the sense of accomplishment felt by a teacher
who has spent a week crafting a lesson that she thought would have staying
power. If you cringe too, it may be time to lock onto the practice of PBL,
which is variously referred to as project-, problem- or inquiry-based learning.
Where blended learning gives students some flexibility as to where and when
they do their work, PBL offers them a choice of what they do.’
Crazy Snail 3: Great video!
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| Imaginative snail |
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| Real observation |
Contributed by Phil Cullen and Mary MacKay
ALEC and Charter Schools are the New Dog and Pony Show
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| Charter schools?????? |
You see, reformers don’t need facts. They’ve got money. And
money can make illusions appear real. With enough money you can host and
populate your event under some thin veil of legitimacy, and pass it off as “official” and
sell it out into the public narrative as “fact.” They make star studded Hollywood tear jerkers like Won’t Back Down and Waiting for Superman
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