After finishing the readings for this week I was completely exhausted! I had no idea how much I was going to have to THINK! lol
Nothing particularly stood out to me in the Bruner selection or the Forward in Pedagogy of Freedom, however the Introduction left me with several ponderances.
The Theories article was a whole different ball game. It was honestly one of the best articles I've read in a long time. I ended up sending it to several of my colleagues and am suggesting that one of my schools read it and analyze within their PLC's in a few select grade levels. Given that it is almost 10 years old, I found myself pondering how I would have perceived it 10 years ago vs now, particularly with regards to the current teacher crisis in our state (and across much of the country).
Here are a few things that stuck out to me this week. Feel free to respond to any of them or share what stuck with you.
1- In the Introduction of "Pedagogy of Freedom", Aronowitz states that "These are dark times for educational innovation and its protagonists. In schools and universities "reactionaries" have all but overwhelmed the "progressives." He later provides the example of recess being eliminated in some elementary schools by the "reactionaries".
I can think of several additional examples of "reactionary" changes being put in place in schools, districts, and states that I have worked in. I would like to know if you have experienced these types of changes, and if so, did they have the desired effect? Were they well received by the school/system stakeholders? What sort of implications and/or ramifications came along with these changes?
2- In "Theories of Teaching & Learning", Wilson and Peterson state that "any and all theories are based on little information; they are conjectures and assertions based on empirical research, and all scientists, including learning scientists- are constantly interrogating their theories."
On Tuesday we wrote a definition and created a graphic representation of "theory." I'm wondering what changes or revisions you would make after reading this article?
3- In "Theories of Teaching & Learning", Wilson and Peterson discuss at great length the responsibilities of the teacher within the learning environment. Some of them that I highlighted include:
- focus not only on individual students but also on the development of "communities of learners"
- assume that students start in sensible places and build bridges between prior experiences and new understandings
- learn, understand, and adapt their instruction based on relevant differences among their students
- mediate resources
- think hard about what they want their students to learn and contemplate things such as
- what is interesting about this for my students?
- what ideas and concepts are particularly difficult and why?
- what means can I use to help my students grapple with these ideas?
- what do my students already know that might help?
- how can I use my students' diverse backgrounds to enhance the curriculum?
- how can I create a community of learners who can support the individual and social construction of knowledge?
- develop foundational knowledge and skills
- provide opportunities for practice
- facilitate classroom discourse
- systematically consider the learning goals and their students
- thoughtfully select varied pedagogical strategies that will enable student learning
- refine teaching practice over time
- engage in the inquiry process as a professional
Looking at that list I realize that after 15 years in the classroom I still struggle to do these things consistently and effectively, regardless of my education and experience. These expectations are really, really difficult to reach for any teacher, and yet they are absolutely necessary to actively plan for and strive to attain on a daily basis.
Now imagine being responsible for these things and having absolutely no education or teacher training, no classroom experience, and (most likely) very little support. The majority of these teachers do not even have the common language we use within education. This is the reality for over 600 classroom teachers in the state of Oklahoma this year alone. If we were to pretend that all 600 taught at the Elementary level, had an ideal class size of 20 students, and only saw that group of students each day, that would result in a minimum of 12,000 students being taught this year by a teacher that likely has very little, if any, training, resources, and support in trying to accomplish the above responsibilities.
I'm just wondering how that resonates with you and what you feel we, as educators and potential instructional leaders, can do to address this? Do you think that we will see a change in curriculum design as a result? Thoughts?
Glad you are feeling a little better Stacey! I completely agree with everything you stated above. I think that every teacher (who wants to be a better teacher) strives for these same aspirations. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to create a community of learners in a secondary classroom, where the students change every hour, and you see multiple groups a day, especially if a block schedule prevents you from seeing all of your students each day. I think us Primary folks have a hard enough time creating that culture, so I can only imagine the challenges you would face.
ReplyDeleteYour challenge in finding relevant material is not insignificant! I absolutely agree that it is incredibly difficult, and yet so necessary. I do believe that this is one of the reasons that many teachers opt out of this approach to teaching and stick to the curriculum as if it was a recipe book. Deviating from it requires time. And effort. And money. And knowledge. And time... And while many (most) teachers likely have the knowledge required to locate said materials and create an appropriate, engaging, standards-based lesson or unit, many (MOST) don't have that kind of time or money. This is where I think that collaboration and integration (particularly of the arts) can be extremely beneficial to both teacher and students.
Mackinley, when I read through your initial ideas and reflections on the issues discussed in the Theories of Learning and Teaching, I felt that same feeling of a great overwhelmedness that follows after reading a great article. For me I felt that this article helped me to not only see the benefits of reframing some of the arguments of todays educational theories, but how critical it is for this knowledge to be handed out to anyone, or anyone who has an idea and wants to relay that information to someone else in hopes of helping that person grow in an area of their life.
ReplyDeleteAnd then with the addition to Stacey's reflections on the difficulties of managing all of these issues while balancing the challenges that students face when learning in a culturally diverse setting.
From this I most enjoyed some of the lines of questions that were developed throughout the reading. Lines of questioning that influenced a retrospective /honest look at what was accomplished. What were the moments that as an educator, you feel that little tug on your confidence, reminding you that you have either missed something, or that you CLEARLY didn't take something into consideration, when your training has prepared you better.
Having never like the dismissal of one theory over another, I appreciate this articles reaffirmation of the need for melding of ideas and theories. And not only that, but hopefully you have someone watching you throughout this process to help you stay in the uncomfortable spots of education, the spots where your asked to not rely on the skills that you naturally tend towards, but to the types of teaching strategies that push you to different levels of participation within the learning environment you find yourself in.
Adam I absolutely agree with your statement that recognizes a need to meld theories and ideas. That was something that has resonated with me as I have simmered on the article the past 2 days. One thing that frightens me is that many educators aren't aware of any education, learning, and/or teaching theory. I am not sure about the programs at OU, but I know that my program did not have any theory classes, so if a individual instructor did not bring it up or tie it in, we didn't get it. Honestly, I'm not sure how much of it I would have been prepared for back then anyway. I definitely had no clue what teaching was really going to be like until I was completely on my own in the classroom, with no one to ask or turn to at a moment of floundering. (Remind me to tell you tomorrow night about the conversation I had today with one of my brand new teachers {just graduated in December} after school. Poor kid. She is ready to quit and it's only been 2 weeks.)
DeleteAnyways, I also appreciate your notion of accountability. I wish that administrators had the opportunity/time/energy/ desire to focus on this sort of information and reflection in PLC's, Faculty Meetings, and PD. I think we would see an entirely different feel to our schools and education.
Adam, I like how you phrased “Lines of questioning that influenced a retrospective /honest look at what was accomplished. What were the moments that as an educator, you feel that little tug on your confidence, reminding you that you have either missed something, or that you CLEARLY didn't take something into consideration, you’re your training has prepared you better”
ReplyDeleteIt is so important, as an educator, to constantly evaluating our own effectiveness, not only in meeting standards but also in building rapport and connections with students. Of course, we have evaluation systems, but what I’m talking about is different. It’s something deeper.
This connects to what I read in Freire’s Pedagogy of Freedom. Teaching in an inner city urban school made a lot of what I’ve read so far personal to me. The introduction states that “this book is a beacon for those with whom he is affiliated: ‘the wretched of the earth, the excluded’” (7). I feel like my students are often seen as part of this category. People hear I teach in OKC and their responses show what they feel about those students. Yes, there are challenges I face every day, but I love those kids, and I want to glean every thing I can from this semester and this program to help me better educate those students.
Another proponent of the introduction that I enjoyed was Friere’s opinion on the teacher’s role. “He argues for the teacher as an intellectual who, like the student, is engaged preeminently in producing knowledge. But to create new knowledge, the teacher and the student come to the learning situation as possessors of past knowledge, albeit of different sorts. The student arrives with his life experience and his previous schooling in hand… The teacher brings to the relationship several different ‘contents”” (9).
Teaching an EOI tested course, I am often guilty of not allowing students to bring in their knowledge. I really want to focus on incorporating students’ knowledge and interest more.
I, as teacher, can learn so much from my students. Likewise, they can learn from my experiences. I want a classroom that focuses on humanity. I am really looking forward to delving in to this book. I feel like it is going to be extremely heavy, but heavy in a way that changed me for the better.
I too, have experienced the reaction of people who find out I teach in OKCPS. The typical response I hear is "Why, there are so many other districts out there?" And even though it is hard and it is exhausting, I have chosen to stay for the same reason you do. If I leave, like everyone else does/has, who will be around to love these kiddos?
DeleteI was kind of surprised, and maybe Adam will agree, that this article and discussion has really tied in nicely with one of the articles we had to read in our Multicultural class this week on implicit bias.
Students who come out of OKCPS face a bias for sure. People have preconceived notions about students from inner city schools. Yes, there are definitely obstacles that I face in OKCPS that I probably wouldn't face in say Norman or Moore, but I truly believe that my students have just as much potential as any students from any district...
DeleteWith that being said, there is an interesting cycle taking place in OKCPS. I think the overall rigor or expectations of students maybe has decline. A friend of mine teaches 12th grade, and he attended the awards assembly for seniors today. He had a student receive honor roll and get a medal for having all A's and B's. Despite his "high" achievements in school, he only got a 12 on his ACT. How do we balance challenging students while acknowledging their special circumstances?
Yikes! A 12? No bueno. It's an interesting conversation on the elementary end too. We've said time and time again that a student who can't perform above the 40% should not have an A in Reading on their report card. 40%! That's what is now considered to be on grade level or at benchmark. I find this appalling! I keep telling my teachers that just because someone scores a "green" does not mean they have all the skills they need, but there is so much energy put into the "red's" (bottom 10%), that any student in the green gets the bare bones whole group instruction and virtually no small group or differentiated instruction. I think this is going to have pretty significant consequences in the long run... although maybe your experience is already evidence of that!
DeleteHaha, well to be honest my mind wandered to the grading system that Keystone Light Beer uses. We caught on to this while in college, that they would mark cans with one of three colors; green, yellow, and red. Green cans tasted best (compared to Keystone standards) and the reds, were terrible. But within any grading system, shitty beer is still shitty beer. Feel free to use that quote in class Dr. Beach.
ReplyDeleteGrade inflation is such a unique phenomenon and really reminds me of the system that Keystone promotes. With grading inflation being such a multi layered outcome of the emphasis that systems place on achievement, it is hard to find the starting place for change. Focus sure is placed on the masses. I've had a just a handful of students make A's and B's in my Biology class and not pass the EOI Biology Exam. Those were the game changers too. Blame the system of EOI's having a set of low achieving very confusing questions. Questions that even I would have to pause over every once and a while. I guess sometimes we have to drink the beer we are served and tough through it, until we can start making our own.