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
How Intrinsic Motivation in Education is Undermined by Extrinsic Motivation
‘I have heard many people talk about intrinsic motivation and how we
need to get more of it – especially in schools. But what exactly is intrinsic
motivation and why should we nurture it? This is a 2-part blog post. In
part 1 (this one) I explore what intrinsic motivation is and why it matters. In
part two (follow the blog to get informed when it’s online) I will
explore how intrinsic motivation can be implemented in the classroom.’
Teacher research and why it is more important than ever for our
schools
‘For some time now we have seen suspicion of any form of educational
research not fitting into the ‘gold standard’ of randomized controlled trials.
Qualitative and context-sensitive research has been excluded from the evidence
base and teachers have been compelled to implement ‘evidence-based’ practices.
It has seemed in some quarters that there is no longer any need for teachers to
ask questions; they are all being answered by science. Indeed, teachers’ questions
are seen as obstacles to their faithfully following pedagogic scripts.
Currently, however, education systems are starting to see the limits of
top-down reform and particularly of attempting to impose single solutions on
teachers. It turns out that ‘what works’ does not always work for all students
in all classrooms.’
The Reading Rules We Would Never Follow as Adult Readers
Food for thought.
‘The number one thing all the students I have polled through the
years want the most when it comes to reading. No matter how I phrase the
question, this answer in all of its versions is always at the top. Sometimes
pleading, sometimes demanding, sometimes just stated as a matter of fact;
please let us choose the books we want to read. Yet, how often is this a
reality for the students we teach? How often, in our eagerness to be
great teachers, do we remove or disallow the very things students yearn for to
have meaningful literacy experiences? How many of the things we do to
students would we never put up with ourselves? In our quest to create
lifelong readers, we seem to be missing some very basic truths about what makes
a reader. So what are the rules we would probably not always follow
ourselves?’
'The devastating decline of the arts in schools will hit the poorest
children the hardest’
A sad and almost inevitable outcome of the
standards based education agenda:
‘I would like to see vice-chancellors of universities, employers and
educators speaking up for the value of creativity in schools, for all learners.
It is not a fanciful exaggeration to reflect that otherwise we may head back to
class-based culture wars where arts are for certain classes only, and the
others can make do. In other words, social immobility for all.’
Why Teaching to the Test is Educational Malpractice
‘… as a teacher, you can be singled out, written up or even fired
for refusing to engage in malpractice. You are bullied, cajoled and threatened
into going along with practices that have been debunked by decades of research
and innumerable case studies. Take the all-too-common practice of teaching to
the test. Not only do students and teachers hate it, but the practice has been
shown to actually harm student learning. Yet it is the number one prescription
handed down from administrators and policymakers to bring up failing scores on
high stakes standardized tests.’
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
Multiple Creativity Studies Suggest: Creating Our Reality Requires
Detaching From It
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| Sir Ken - the creativity guru! |
‘I pore over studies on creativity, and recently I noticed a
consistency across these many creativity studies that took me years to notice,
let alone articulate. A consistency that most authors of these studies allude
to in some way, and in different ways. I’d like to share a unified way of
thinking about creativity, supported directly by these many studies, that
helped me to better understand this important skill, but, more importantly,
could help us all be more creative in business, marketing, and in life.’
To improve quality in education, reconsider true definition of 'good
teacher’
‘It is assumed, therefore, that teachers and the actions they take
in the classroom fundamentally impact students and what they learn. Often we,
as a community of education stakeholders, take this assumed relationship so far
as to assert that educational systems are only as good as the quality of their
teachers.However, this nearly universal valuation of both teaching and teachers
glosses over the sober realization that individual teachers have differential
effects on student learning.’
5 things we should teach in school but don’t
‘Let’s be honest: our education system is screwed.I mean, almost all
of the important history I learned between grades 5 and 12 I could probably
find on Wikipedia and understand within a few weeks now.And pretty much any
scientific knowledge you could ever want to learn is explained with pretty
videos on YouTube.’
The Future of Learning
What is the purpose of school & the role of
EdTech?
‘There’s a constant tension within the education system. This is a
tension that isn’t a new one. It’s been going on hundreds of years in fact.
John Dewey in 1902 wrote a book called The Child and The Curriculum that had
the same tension, the same argument about whether education about subject
knowledge and content knowledge or is it about self-realisation of the child,
learning for the fun of learning and opposed to learning because you had to get
through some tests? That’s been a constant tension, as it is today, and more so
in a way because we’re beginning to use technology in a way that reinforces the
format, the idea that education is about mastery of content, of subject
knowledge, and then regurgitating it at an examination.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
The NZC
curriculum nautilus
The nautilus – a metaphor for the New Zealand
Curriculum
‘The shell of the nautilus is a symbol, or metaphor, for beauty and
proportional perfection. First used on a New Zealand Curriculum in 1993 it has
become a familiar symbol for New Zealand teachers. Or has it? The ‘new’ New
Zealand Curriculum introduced to schools in 2007 comes with a redesigned
nautilus shell.To introduce the ideas of the curriculum to students (and
teachers) it might be worth giving thought to the reason for the selection of
the image. If it were possible to show students a nautilus shell (or a series
of pictures) this might inspire some insightful thinking. We all seem to have a
fascination for sea shells, most homes have a shell or two on display, and
capitalizing on this fascination would result in an equally fascinating study
at any level of learning.’
What should a parent expect from a teacher in the 21stC?
‘Apart from the surge in technology use, and
the new skills teachers need to adopt, implement and harness new digital media
and tools (a subject for another blogpost), I would argue that little has
changed in our expectations of good educators.’
School Reform: more political than educational
‘I would think that if we had focused on recognising, and sharing,
the ideas of creative teachers and innovative schools in the first place, and
if the various governments had seen their role as creating the conditions and
providing resources, we would be in a far better position than we are in now.
And, as well, we would have teachers who have faith in their ability to develop
new approaches to teaching and learning without distorting and disabling the
total system. The politicians have had their day – time to put the trust back
to those who have the practical experience to develop new ideas school by
school, community by community.’
