Archive for the 'Teaching' Category

On Teaching: Where Jigsaw Misses the Picture

Published by Diana Senechal on June 27, 2008 in Education Practice and Teaching. 2 Comments

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
–Aristotle, Metaphysics, severely misquoted

Imagine yourself at a PD for ESL and ELA teachers. The desks have been arranged in groups of four. You may sit in any group you like, at the outset; but be aware that your grouping will change over the course of the morning.

The workshop leader informs the teachers that they will be participating in a “jigsaw” activity. In this activity, they will be reading abridged versions of four stories by Nikolai Gogol: “The Nose,” “The Overcoat,” “Nevsky Prospect,” and “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich.” In just a few minutes, they will move to their new groups: A, B, C, or D. Each group will read a specific story and discuss questions of plot, character, central conflict, and comic device. Having arrived at complete consensus, each group member will enter the answers (using identical wording) on his or her copy of a graphic organizer (chart). Having completed the chart and become “experts” on the story, the teachers will return to their original groups and report their “findings.” Supposedly, everyone will benefit by learning about four Gogol stories over the course of 1-2 hours. They will then feel inspired to use this strategy with their own students, so that everyone may learn the art of rapid misreading.

Why would I bother to complain about the jigsaw method, of all things? Don’t we have greater problems at hand: school violence, neglect of gifted children, teacher attrition, poorly written standardized tests, high dropout rates? I agree: jigsaw in itself is no cause for alarm and may have good uses. I object not to the jigsaw itself, but to its misapplication, characterized by (a) superficial consensus, (b) false expertise, (c) disregard for the whole of a given work or topic, and (d) use of groupwork for groupwork’s sake, as an alternative to so-called “passive learning.” These conditions suggest a deep distrust of subject matter and an apotheosis of social activity in the classroom.

Continue reading ‘On Teaching: Where Jigsaw Misses the Picture’

On the Other Hand: Blogs Give Teachers a Voice in Ed Policy

Published by John Thompson on June 26, 2008 in Educational Policy and Teaching. 2 Comments

I very much appreciate this guest blogger opportunity. The first time I posted a comment, it was on Gerald Bracey’s blog, EDDRA.  I drafted and redrafted my statement before finishing with LBJ’s lament, “where can I find a one-handed economist?” I was so proud when a reply from a famed economist arrived in my mailbox. My wisdom was not mentioned, but it was Truman’s quote, not LBJ’s, I was told.

The motto of public education today should be “Inequality. It’s our greatest product.”

Despite this ignominious introduction, I’ve come to see the blogs as a modern day Village Green.  Having come to teaching at the age of forty, I had plenty of experience in academic and political battles. On the other hand, when I joined the fray in the role of a teacher, an asterisk seemed to be attached identifying me as just a teacher.  I wish that teachers had more opportunity to express their practical experience in the administration and the governmental offices across the nation, but at least in the edusphere we are welcome. 

The wonderful discussion in the edusphere about policy and politics needs to be balanced by the practical experience of teachers. On the other hand, education is too important to be left to the educators. 

We face a paradox. If our poor children are to have a future in the global economy, we need more than incremental change. High school, as we know it, is obsolete. Inner city middle schools may be the most dysfunctional institution in America. Richard Elmore is correct. The motto of public education today should be “Inequality. It’s our greatest product.”

Continue reading ‘On the Other Hand: Blogs Give Teachers a Voice in Ed Policy’

Class Culture, Not Size, Matters

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 20, 2008 in Education Practice and Teaching. 3 Comments

Class culture matters more than class size writes Pamela Felcher, a high school English department chair in Los Angeles. She makes some smart points about the classroom experience:

“I do not mean racial or ethnic or socioeconomic culture, I mean the culture of a particular group of students in a particular room in a particular institution. I have two 10th-grade classes of about 30 students each. One of them is an “honors” class; the other, “regular.” In my honors class, the 30 students are engaged and demanding. They probe texts, cultivate questions, encourage discourse and write analytically. My regular class, on the other hand, is allergic to homework; students belch aloud and feel no shame because this is “just school”; they bully and curse at one another; they cannot sit still; they cannot listen; and their distraction is heightened by the gadgets they carry.”

In both of her classes, writes Felcher in the L.A. Times, her expectations exceed her students, however the best students in the regular class, she notes “often collapse under the weight of the apathetic, the rude, the defiant, the indolent mass that defines that class’ culture.”

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Truth About Consequences

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 18, 2008 in Teaching. 0 Comments

“Can you say “No?” And if you do, do you really mean it?” asks NYC Educator. “Because if you can’t, you might not want to go into teaching.” He might also have added “Will you be allowed to say it?”

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“Not Your Problem” Kids

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 18, 2008 in Research and Reports and Teaching. 3 Comments

A Fordham Foundation study finds that high-achieving students are the most likely to suffer from the effects of No Child Left Behind.

These are the students I refer to as “Not Your Problem” kids.  As a teacher, when I raised concerns that my brighter student were bored and neglected, and expressed frustration at my inability to sufficiently differentiate instruction to challenge them, I was dismissed by an assistant principal who pointedly said “those kids are not your problem.”  She meant I was to focus on getting my low-achieving students to proficiency; the high achievers were already there and could be left to their own devices.

I’m positively giddy to see this issue getting attention.  It was my No. 1 concern as a classroom teacher.

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Five Great Teachers

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 16, 2008 in Research and Reports and Teaching. 0 Comments

Give a struggling student five great teachers in a row, and they’ll close the achievement gap all by themselves, right? The conventional wisdom says yes. A new study says maybe not. Eduwonkette has the goods.

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Boys Will Be Boys

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 16, 2008 in Students and Teaching. 1 Comment

Washington PostBy next fall, approximately 500 public schools nationwide will offer single-sex classes, reports the Washington Post.

The approach is based on the much-debated yet increasingly popular notion that girls and boys are hard-wired to learn differently and that they will be more successful if classes are designed for their particular needs.

I know lots of teachers who favor single-sex ed, but not one for this reason. It’s all about classroom management. I have no idea if elementary school boys learn differently (I doubt it). But they act differently, and suffer by comparison to the girls in the room in terms of behavior, attention, and energy level. That’s reason enough to make single-sex classrooms a more widespread option.

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Teachers vs. Policymakers

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 10, 2008 in Educational Policy and Teaching. 0 Comments

An eloquent and important post on Bridging Differences this morning from Diane Ravitch:

No matter how frequently or how beautifully you describe the joys of childhood, those who are making education policy will not be deterred or persuaded. Their agenda is competitiveness. They are in the throes of data-driven decision-making, which has become a sort of mantra that takes the place of actual thinking. How can you measure the joys of childhood? How can you measure wonder and awe? Go where the numbers tell you to go, they say; but what if the numbers are measuring trivial things? Do what the numbers tell you to do, they say; but people—not numbers—devise policy alternatives.

A humane approach to educating children, says Ravitch, “has a huge constituency among teachers, but none among policymakers. What I am suggesting is that we should talk not about a past that has been lost, perhaps irretrievably, but how to change and mitigate the policies that are now destroying joy, wonder, and any hope of a better education.”

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A Hippocratic Oath for Teachers?

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 9, 2008 in Education Practice and Teaching. 10 Comments

Do we need a Hippocratic Oath for teachers?

A spate of recent examples of bad classroom behavior suggests a promise at least to do no harm might be in order. A Georgia biology teacher was arrested last week for telling an unruly student he would “rip your eyeballs out” during a tirade. That followed a pair of nationally publicized incidents where kindergarten teachers humiliated students. Megan McArdle, blogging about adoption policies at The Atlantic, recently wrote

“Virtually every profession that involves an element of coercion needs a version of the Hippocratic Oath.”

So how about it? What should a Hippocratic Oath for teachers say? What general principles ought to guide ethical classroom practice? Eduwonk set a precedent by offering a book as a prize for his “If I had $5 billion dollars” contest, and I know a good idea when I steal one:

The best teacher’s Hippocratic oath wins a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card. You choose your own book. I’m all about choice.

Update:  If this article posted by Joanne Jacobs is to be believed, teachers in Australia get in hot water for simply raising their voices.

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Weakest Teachers for Most Vulnerable Students?

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 5, 2008 in Teacher Training and Teaching. 0 Comments

Education Week9th grade students in Philadelphia high schools are more likely than their upper-grade peers to be taught by inexperienced, uncertified teachers according to a new study highlighted by Education Week.

While it’s hard to say what impact such teacher-assignment patterns have on students’ academic growth, the researchers found that, in Philadelphia at least, having a less-qualified teacher may have a detrimental effect on students’ attendance. All things being equal, the study showed, students taking at least two classes taught by novice, uncredentialed teachers miss an average of two more school days a year than peers with more-qualified teachers.

I’m late pointing out this story, but given the recent discussion here and elsewhere about the importance (or lack thereof) of veteran teachers for at-risk students, this study is germane.

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