Social and Cultural Contexts of Assessments

“When test scores go up, we should worry, because of how poor a measure they are of what matters, and what you typically sacrifice in a desperate effort to raise scores.”

Alfie Kohn

Alfie Kohn- "The Case Against Tougher Standards"


Although this was a short reading, I had to read it a few times to retain Kohn's points and arguments because he had many.  I appreciate how Kohn, like Kliewer, called out so-called professionals at the beginning of the reading in relation to just who are the experts in education.  It seems like these "experts" use terms and catch phrases to vocalize what school reform should be such as "accountability" and do whatever is in their power to further change policies to ensure their vision be implemented in the classroom.  If most educators are reluctant and unhappy in teaching this way, it provides such a negative climate in schools.  I have witnessed seasoned teachers become very frustrated with having to "teach to the test".  I have heard a few say out loud that these tests have taken the imagination and creativity out of teaching.

 It is difficult to tell Democrats and Republicans apart because, professionally speaking, they fall into a role of politician above anything.  Unless this Democrat or Republican taught,  he/she does not have the proper, first-hand  knowledge to say what works for students and what doesn't.  Even I as a teacher often struggles with what works in the classroom and what doesn't.  There is constant reflection happening as to what changes can be made to help students learn. These tests insinuate a one-size fits all approach to teaching and learning.  It just isn't realistic. Clearly some students will have an advantage in these standardized tests while others are disadvantaged but as a whole, these tests are ineffective in assessing student knowledge that is meaningful and useful for the students.  

The Five Fatal Flaws piece was useful because it put the arguments of why standardized testing doesn't work into organized sections.  As I was reading them, I thought that they were all equally valid and individual pieces to the larger puzzle of what makes these tests such a bad idea.  I think most educators realize it gets motivation wrong and that the pedagogy consists of certain skills and as a result is often very dull and non-creative.  It was refreshing to see the words in print.  Even though I was at private schools for five years we still had standardized testing.  It didn't seem to be as important to a student's educational snap shot but nonetheless was still present.  The people at the top of the pyramid want high scores from tests that reflect a lot of meaningless information but fail to see how limited these tests truly are.


Below is a link to a very interesting video by Kohn in relation to rigorous, test oriented schooling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aviOJ9DVcyo&feature=watch-vrec

Politics of Inclusion- Facilitation

Facilitation based on Christopher Kliewer's Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome 



Agenda:

4:15-4:30: Check-In

4:30-4:45: Final Project Discussion

4:45-5:15: PowerPoint (terms, cases, groups, and suggestions from resources)

5:15-6:15: Discussion on Reading

6:15-6:30: Break

6:30-7:15:Beyond F.A.T. City (Parts 1 & 2)

*These times changed within actual facilitation- Thank you all for being flexible and for the wonderful conversations


Websites used to prepare for facilitation:

http://techinclusion.tripod.com/page3.html

http://www.specialednews.com/educating-children-with-special-needs.htm

"Language and Power"

Richard Rodriguez- "Aria"
Virginia Collier- "Teaching Multilingual Children"

I really don't like stating the obvious but today I will and say that these two readings were very different.  I felt frustrated for Rodriguez after reading this portion of "Aria" because one of the most important aspects to his life, his family, changed over the power struggle of language.  There are solutions for the issues Rodriguez dealt with in Collier's "Teaching  Multilingual Children".  Rodriguez had a way of bringing me into the reading with his vivid descriptions.  I felt as if I was in his family home watching first hand as the dynamics of his family changed.  I can only describe it as a once lively, fun family atmosphere changed to a much more quiet dwelling.  There was this imaginary scale and as his family experiences were dwindling, it was gained on the school side.  It is frustrating that there had to be a loss/gain scenario.  It only seems right that the two institutions would better the other and work together as opposed to against each other.  If only the teachers and administrators in Rodriguez's school had some of the knowledge found in Collier's article.  I love when Collier writes, "One must teach in two languages, affirm the cultural values of both home and school, teach standardized forms of the two languages but respect and affirm the multiple varieties and dialects represented among students in class, be a creative and flexible teacher, serve as a catalyst for discovery as students learn to operate effectively in their multiple worlds, be able to mediate and resolve intercultural conflicts, keep students on task."  This sounds like a teaching setting rich in respect, understanding, and learning.  The teachers in Rodriguez's environment were focused too much on the teacher's needs.  Collier's quote echoes with an environment focused on the learners.


Quote: By Richard Rodriguez discussing the transition to speaking English
"No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of Our public separateness. Neither my older brother nor sister rushed home after school anymore."

I believe Rodriguez is going along with his belief that for him English is a public language and Spanish is a private language.  I think he means private in the sense that it was something that kept his family unique to others that do not speak Spanish.  They were able to tell inside jokes in the language they knew so well that much of the population would not be in on.  It is a shame that so much was lost.  The last line claiming his brother and sister did not rush home anymore is powerful because it shows how some transitions can have very negative and real effects.

Where Rodriguez's teachers lacked an ability to appreciate the value of his culture and language, Collier's article shows just the opposite.  She writes, "the key is the true appreciation of the different linguistic and cultural values that students bring to the classroom".  I don't know why a teacher would go into this profession with any other view.  If we as educators truly care about the best interests of our students then we must include their opinions, cultural values, ideas, and individual experiences into their learning environments. There has to be a shift as to what we value in education.  It is like saying the only point of education is to gain skills that may or may not be used in the real world.  If we are to have a true Democratic classroom, changes must be made.  It reminds me of Shapiro in the sense that those in power of curriculum, resources, and agendas have the power to "widen the focus of the educations lens" for these students but instead, they do not.

I was surprised how little I could find on the web about multilingual classrooms that had any real value.  All the other topics we have discussed had thousands of web pages dedicated to them.  The best site I could find is below:

http://www.pippinpub.com/s0887510957_Sampler.pdf

EdCamp 2012

My experience at EdCamp 2012 was a very good one.  I was greeted by a friendly team of coordinators who I later found out were principals and teachers.  They told me to go get a coffee and bagel after handing me a bag of free swag that included a t-shirt and water bottle.  I love free stuff! I sat down and within a few minutes a teacher from the Lincoln School sat with me and we chatted for a while on our own experiences.  It was great hearing her experiences and relating them to my own.  It was then time for the day to begin.  The speaker was fairly brief and explained that we get to choose which workshops we would like to attend.  I chose Tools for a Flipped Classroom and Preparing Students for a Global World.  

Tools for a Flipped Classroom was an informative workshop that provided many resources for teachers that are interested in flipping their classrooms.  The resources discussed are websites with technology that teachers can access to "flip their classrooms".  During the workshop, it also became apparent that these resources can not only be used on a teacher to student model but also an administration to teacher model.  One principal said he uses some of these websites for professional development.  This workshop didn't focus much on specific content/ lessons that can be used with the technology but did give a few websites that offer lessons.  The list below includes websites discussed:

www.camtasia.com

www.screencastomatic.com

www.screenr.com

www.mathtrain.tv

www.tuxpaint.org

www.learnzillion.com

The second workshop, Preparing Students for a Global World, was very interesting.  The leader of the workshop, Sara,  is a Fifth Grade Social  Studies Teacher who has such a passion for teaching.  She travels the world and has created the very impressive website http://innovationonearth.com/    She claims that teachers can teach globally in four steps which are explained in detail on her website.  She has blogs set up on her website that detail her many fellowships in the Ukraine, Turkey and China.  Sara also has iMovies that her students have created based on concepts taught in the classroom.  She taught the workshop how to make an iMovie.  Sara also explained other resources including E-Pal's, Geo, Ed Modo and Quad Blogging.  While I don't think I will use all of these, Quad Blogging and iMovies are ones that I plan to.  I had the pleasure of sitting with her at lunch and plan on future communication with her.  

All in all, this was a great day and I can't wait to go next year!

  

Check-In

Hi All-

I hope all of you made it through Hurricane Sandy with no damage.  Since I am a devout lover of food I was disappointed I couldn't bring the tacos in but will make it up to all of you.  Other than that it has been a relatively calm week.  I have just been cleaning and starting to pack for my move.  Hope you are all doing well.  :)  

Rachel