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| Valuing the power of imagination |
Education
Readings
By Allan Alach
We welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email
it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
Hattie’s
Research is False
Here’s a three part series from Kelvin Smythe, addressed to New
Zealand University Vice-Chancellors, that comprehensively deconstructs John
Hattie’s so-called ‘research’. As Hattie and his acolytes have done, and are
still doing, great damage to holistic education, all teachers need to be aware
of the falsehoods in his findings. Other educationists have also found similar
issues.
‘My
concern is that none of the variables in his research are validly isolated or
under control, resulting in an academic shambles that, in being left unexposed,
has had devastating consequences for teachers and children around the world,
and especially New Zealand.’
Times tables – the phony, proxy war
between traditionalists and progressives
‘These
are tablets from Mesopotamia. They show a multiplication table and a practice
tablet by a schoolchild. A practice that has been going on for millennia.And
sure enough, the ‘times-tables’
wars have erupted again. This time, however, it has become a proxy, even phony,
war between traditionalists and progressives, which in turn shows that both
sides are often wrong-headed. It's a litmus test for the whole debate.’
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| There is no silver bullet |
How to spot education research myths and read research
properly
“I think it is useful for teachers to analyse and read articles, but more to get a sense of the enormous complexity and variables at play rather than trying to find a silver bullet that says ‘look, this works’ because science is incremental; we keep on building, one study will never be enough, there will never be a single study that shows this finally worked.”
“I think it is useful for teachers to analyse and read articles, but more to get a sense of the enormous complexity and variables at play rather than trying to find a silver bullet that says ‘look, this works’ because science is incremental; we keep on building, one study will never be enough, there will never be a single study that shows this finally worked.”
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| Pernile Ripp |
‘But
when I see what my kids do in school for “reading,” it doesn’t really look like
reading. I ask them what books they are reading in school, and a lot of times
they give me a blank stare. What they do in reading, they tell me, is mostly
worksheets about reading. Or computer programs that ask them to read passages,
not books, and answer multiple-choice questions.’
The
Future of Education: How To Get Ready
‘I
am not sure what education or the world for that matter will look like in 20
years, but I know that as educators we have the opportunity to shape what the
future will be and the power to make it what we want it to be, which is,
hopefully, a better place for our kids. I implore you to join me in
dreaming, in speculating, in being different, not only because it is so
exciting, but because our kids deserve it.’
Contributed
by Bruce
Hammonds:
A playful approach to learning means more imagination and exploration
‘Play in education is controversial. Although it is widely
accepted that very young children need to play, as they progress through the
school system, the focus moves quickly to measuring learning. And despite the
fact that play is beneficial throughout life, supporting creativity and
happiness, it is still seen by many in education as a frivolous waste of time,
and not really relevant to proper learning.'
Here’s What Happens When Every Student Gets a Personalized
Learning Plan
'All students can learn; however, not all students learn
in the same way or at the same pace. Acknowledging this fact has driven the
recent shift toward personalization in education.'
Imogen Stubbs laments 'awful treadmill' of UK education
system
How Small Steps Can Create Outdoors Experiences In Schools
‘It started with a school garden at Maplewood Richmond
Heights Middle School. The garden did so well that students built another
garden. Then they added native plants, where seventh-grade students learned
lessons in data collection as they counted pollinators. The students wanted
more pollinators, so they added a beehive. The bees made honey, and the kids
used their sweet surplus to learn about the economics of commodities…’
Curriculum wars: coming to Aotearoa?
‘To grossly simplify, it’s the argument between ‘knowledge
vs skills’. To personalise it, it’s E.D Hirsch vs 21st Century Skills. Or in
the New Zealand context, it’s Elizabeth Rata and Briar Lipson vs Jane Gilbert
and Frances Valintine. And I think it’s mostly a good thing that we’re starting
to talk about this. Sure, polarising
rhetoric can be unhelpful, but it’s a disservice to our students not to think
seriously about curriculum, and part of that means expressing and teasing out
differences.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie
oldies’ file:
The killing of creativity by the technocrats.
Bruce Hammonds has also found fault with John Hattie:
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| John Hattie |
‘Somehow, just because Hattie has amalgamated every piece
of 'school effectiveness' research available ( mainly it seems from the USA)
his findings, it seems, ought to be taken for read. The opposite ought to be
the case - we need to be very wary of such so called 'meta research.'. More
worrying however is that the approaches he is peddling is pushing into the
background the home grown innovative creative learning centred philosophy that
was once an important element in many classrooms. Overseas experts always seem
to know best - or those that return with their carpet bag full of snake oil.’
The forgotten genesis of progressive early education
An example of the pedagogical knowledge that is totally
foreign to the Hatties of this world.
‘Since 'Tomorrows Schools' ( 1986) teachers would be
excused if they thought all ideas about teaching and learning came from those
distant from the classroom - and more recently imposed by technocrats and
politicians. This was not always the case. Progressive ideas that helped New
Zealand lead the world in education, particularly in reading, were developed by
creative early education teachers who were well aware of the modern educational
ideas of the time.’
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