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| Creativity not compliance and conformity |
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
Against “Personalized Learning”
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| Annie Murphy Paul |
Interesting article by Annie Murphy Paul:
“…is that it runs
afoul of our current understanding of cognition. Put simply, knowledge is
cumulative. What a child is capable of learning depends upon what she already
knows. When a child encounters new information, if she lacks the preexisting
knowledge to put the information in context, she will quickly become
frustrated. She won’t learn. So to the extent personalization seeks to devolve
a greater degree of the responsibility of acquiring new knowledge to students,
it relies on the mistaken assumption that many or most students are properly
equipped to make sense of new information.”
Why “21st Century Learning” is No More Than Status Quo
‘So here’s something to consider. 21st century reformers are NOT
new. They are NOT cutting-edge. They are nothing they propose to be. In a world
dominated by digital services and programs, and in a time in which Silicon
Valley is home to the new robber barons, how can selling our education system out
to their corporate interests really be “cutting edge”? It’s what
we have always done.’
5 Reasons Why Origami Improves Students' Skills
‘While some of the oldest pieces of origami have been found in
ancient China and its deepest roots are in ancient Japan, origami can make an
impact in today's education too. This art form engages students and sneakily
enhances their skills -- including improved spatial perception and logical and
sequential thinking.’
The idea that strong teacher unions impede education quality is
ludicrous
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| We need strong unions |
‘Throughout history teacher organisations have been the main driver
of improving education quality and educational opportunities. Is it a
coincidence that the 23 best performing nations on the Programme for
International Student Assessment scale have strong education unions? Of
course not. Many successful education reforms in the industrial economies were
initiated by teacher unions, while the most effective professional development
programmes are organised by teacher unions.’
Rigor spagis
An article from the Cambridge Primary Review
Trust in the UK that discusses the deadening effects of national tests on
children’s writing.
‘Only one of the eight relates to the point of putting pen to paper
in the first place. Aside from ‘the pupil can create atmosphere, and integrate
dialogue to convey character and advance the action’, the writing criteria
spring entirely from the Government’s obsession with grammar, punctuation and
spelling. I fear it is only too easy to meet the ‘expected standard’ with
writing that is as lifeless, uninspiring and rigorous as the criteria
themselves.’
The power of reading aloud: not just for babies and little children
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| Not just for little people |
‘There is something special about reading books together at school.
A clever teacher can turn the reading experience into an almost theatrical
event, and transform ‘the class’ into a keen and interactive audience. A shared
story is communal; it is protective to those who are most struggling, who are
learning about words, how they sound and what they do; they are helped by
hearing others say them. It helps to bring about a shared class-consciousness,
a shared memory that enriches and motivates. Reading a shared story every day
is one of the most rewarding teaching experiences and one with highly
productive outcomes.’
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
One to Grow On / Beyond Grades and “Gotchas"
‘My perspectives on looking at student
work have been honed over many years of teaching. I don't pretend to have it
all right yet, but I think I'm wiser about that aspect of teaching than I was
in my early years. Over time, I've arrived at four conclusions. Although a part
of me wishes someone had told me these things as a beginning teacher, I know
there's a difference between being handed a list of do's and don'ts and
developing an understanding of how learning works. As Linus once told Charlie
Brown, "There's a difference between a philosophy and a bumper sticker."
Here are four elements of my evolving philosophy about looking at student
work.’
How A Strengths-Based Approach to Math
Redefines Who Is ‘Smart’
‘The three main tenets of Complex
Instruction are that learning should have multi-ability access points, norms
and roles that support interdependency between students, and attention to
status and accountability for learning. In most Complex Instruction classrooms
the majority of class time is spent with students working in groups of four on
a rich task that has multiple entry points and ways it could be solved. If one
student can solve the problem in his or her head, it’s not a rich task.’ |
| Reie Routman |
10 Surefire Ideas to Remove Writing
Roadblocks
An excellent article by Regie Routman
‘So you want to teach writing well. It’s
not as hard as you think. Yes, it’s a challenge, but it can be exhilarating.I
believe writing – more than anything we teach – has the power to change
students’ lives, for them to see themselves, sometimes for the first time, as
smart thinkers and writers across the curriculum.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
Tapping into the student's world
‘Every student brings with them memories and ideas gained from the
experiences they have had. All too often this personal form of motivation is
overlooked by teachers who seem to think they have better ideas to use - their
own. It is as if students come to school as blank slates ( tabula rosa) when
instead they come with a wealth of ideas to share but to do their ideas need to
be valued.’
Importance of School Values
‘A vision gives an organization a sense of direction, a purpose, but
only if it is ‘owned’ and translated into action by all involved but vision is
not enough in itself. The values that any organization has are just as
important or even more so because they determine the behaviours that people
agree to live within. Alignment of people behind values is vital but too often
both vision and values are just words hidden in folders are rarely referred to.
What you do must reflect what you believe if there is to be integrity. And any
alignment needs to include students and parents as well.’
'Superkids'; the hurried generation!
‘The latest metaphor for education , and one with unhealthy
consequences, is that of the ‘super kid’. This has resulted in what Elkind
calls the ‘hurried child’. Arising out of an ideology of individualism and
competition, this metaphor puts pressure on parents to hurry their children
through childhood to give them an advantage in the future. It is an outcome of
the ‘dog eat dog’, ‘me decades’, or the ‘yuppie me first’ culture!.’
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