You never know…You never know when someoneMay catch a dream from you.

You never know when a little wordOr something you may doMay open up the windows

Of a mind that seeks the light - The way you live may not matter at all,

But you never know - it might.

And just in case it could beThat another's life, through you,

Might possibly change for the betterWith a brighter and broader view.It seems it might be worth a try

At pointing the way to the right -

Of course it may not matter at all,But then again - it might.

Helen Louise Marshall

Exploring Exploring

New HorizonsNew Horizons

In Academics

Eclectic Learning Environment Multi-Age K-8th Inclusive--Multi-Cultural, Multi-Ability, Multi-Economic Inquiry Based Learning School-wide Enrichment Model (Taylor Talents) Intrinsically Motivated Students A Community Of Life-Long Learners Child Centered w/ Parent and Community Involvement Literacy Centered Environment Research Based Experiential Based / Student Initiated Projects ACOS - Objective Based Curriculum Authentic Assessment

Authentic AssessmentAuthentic Assessment Portfolio Samples (Electronic Portfolio) Portfolio Samples (Electronic Portfolio) Student Work Samples Showing ProgressStudent Work Samples Showing Progress Anecdotal RecordsAnecdotal Records Student Self-AssessmentsStudent Self-Assessments Parental AssessmentsParental Assessments Weekly Contract/Journal of ActivitiesWeekly Contract/Journal of Activities Teacher and Student Made Assessments (Rubrics/Tests)Teacher and Student Made Assessments (Rubrics/Tests) Checklists of Math CompetenciesChecklists of Math Competencies Regularly Monitored Reading AssessmentsRegularly Monitored Reading Assessments

DibelsDibels QRIQRI Miscues / Running RecordsMiscues / Running Records

As Available:As Available: Outside Assessments – perhaps through the University Testing CenterOutside Assessments – perhaps through the University Testing Center Ongoing Cooperative Instruction and Assessment from University Practicum Ongoing Cooperative Instruction and Assessment from University Practicum

StudentsStudents Community Assessment ( Contests, PTA Reflections, Etc.)Community Assessment ( Contests, PTA Reflections, Etc.)

Checklist of Student Competencies Correlated to the Curriculum (ACOS).Checklist of Student Competencies Correlated to the Curriculum (ACOS).

Progress ReportingProgress Reporting

Individualized Learning Plans (ILP)Individualized Learning Plans (ILP) Developed according to the student’s Strengths, Developed according to the student’s Strengths,

Weaknesses and Goals set by Teacher, Weaknesses and Goals set by Teacher,

Student and ParentsStudent and Parents

Comprehensive Narrative ReportComprehensive Narrative Report Based on the ILP, this report relays student progress, Based on the ILP, this report relays student progress,

including areas of study the student has completed including areas of study the student has completed

during the semester, successes and during the semester, successes and

recommendations for further investigation, recommendations for further investigation,

enrichment and development.enrichment and development.

Technology

Computer and Other Computer and Other Technology … Technology …

ResearchResearch WritingWriting PresentationsPresentations Web SitesWeb Sites MusicMusic Video DisplayVideo Display Learning GamesLearning Games Video ProductionVideo Production Digital Camera workDigital Camera work Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Publisher)Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Publisher) KeyboardingKeyboarding Electronic PortfoliosElectronic Portfolios

The ArtsThe Arts

There’s more to art than There’s more to art than just coloring…just coloring…

Drama through local theaterDrama through local theater Reader’s TheaterReader’s Theater MusicMusic Artists in ResidenceArtists in Residence Drawing / Painting / CraftsDrawing / Painting / Crafts Elements of Design Elements of Design Artist StudiesArtist Studies Creative ProjectsCreative Projects

Community Community ServiceService

Commitment to…Commitment to…

Character EducationCharacter Education Altruistic ProjectsAltruistic Projects Community InvolvementCommunity Involvement Cooperative Learning/TeachingCooperative Learning/Teaching

Providing DiversityCultural Diversity

Economic DiversitySocial Diversity

Academic Diversity

We cannot begin know ourselves until we observe, experience and respect the

differences in others.

Kids Who Are Differentby Digby Wolfe

Here's to the kids who are different,

The kids who don't always get A's,

The kids who have ears twice the size of their peers,

And noses that go on for days...

Here's to the kids who are different,

The kids they call crazy or dumb,

The kids who don't fit, with the guts and the grit,

Who dance to a different drum...

Here's to the kids who are different,

The kids with the mischievous streak,

For when they have grown, as history's shown,

It's their difference that makes them unique.

As

teach

ers

, w

e m

ust

alw

ays

pu

t ou

rselv

es

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itu

ati

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s w

here

we

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crease

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an

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nd

ers

tan

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ivers

e

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ety

. W

e w

ill

stri

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od

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stic

s list

ed

here

an

d t

ry

to i

nst

ill

these

valu

es

in o

ur

stu

den

ts.

Acceptance

Belonging

Community

Diversity

Equality

Fairness

Golden Rule

Harmony

Interests

Justice

Kindness

L ove

Model

Nurturing

Open mindedness

Patience

Quality

Respect

Success

Tolerance

Understanding

Validation

Worthy

eXceptional

Yearning

Zeal

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Marian Wright EdelmanWe pray for children

who sneak popsicles before supper,

who erase holes in math workbooks,

who can never find their shoes

And we pray for those

who stare at photographers

from behind barbed wire,

who can’t bound down the street

in a new pair of sneakers,

who never “counted potatoes,”

who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,

who never go to the circus,

who live in an X rated world.

We pray for children

who bring us sticky kisses

and fistfuls of dandelions,

who hug us in a hurry

and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those

who never get desert,

who have no safe blanket

to drag behind them,

who watch their parents watch them die,

who can’t find any bread to steal,

who don’t have any rooms to clean up,

whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,

whose monsters are real.

We pray for children

who spend all their allowance

before Tuesday,

who throw tantrums in the grocery store

and pick at their food,

who like ghost stories,

who shove dirty clothes under the bed,

and never rinse out the tub,

who get visits from the tooth fairy,

who don’t like to be kissed

in front of the carpool,

who squirm in church or temple

and scream in the phone,

whose tears we sometimes laugh at and

whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those

whose nightmares come in the daytime,

who will eat anything,

who have never seen a dentist,

who aren’t spoiled by anybody,

who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,

who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried,

and for those who must,

for those we never give up on and for those

who don’t get a second chance.

For those we smother… and those who will grab

the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.

Please offer your hands to them so that no child

is left behind because we did not act.

Question:

If we know all of this is “Best

Practice”, then why aren’t

our educational institutions

set up to accommodate

student needs?

Answer:

Because it takes much more time, money, hard work, commitment to professional development, commitment from students, parents and community, than there are resources available.

In the effort to provide In the effort to provide

equity for all…equity for all…Schools have Schools have

lost sight of lost sight of the individual the individual needs of the needs of the students.students.

An Exemplary SchoolAn Exemplary SchoolFor the past eight years, Tuscaloosa City For the past eight years, Tuscaloosa City

Schools Board of Education supported Central Schools Board of Education supported Central Elementary’s unique approach to learning. Elementary’s unique approach to learning. With smaller class sizes and a special focus on With smaller class sizes and a special focus on Literacy, Technology, Foreign Language and Literacy, Technology, Foreign Language and Arts in Education, Central’s magnet status Arts in Education, Central’s magnet status drew students from primarily “high achieving drew students from primarily “high achieving schools” to one in a “high poverty, low schools” to one in a “high poverty, low achieving” district. The school maintained a achieving” district. The school maintained a core faculty dedicated to extensive staff core faculty dedicated to extensive staff development and meeting individual needs of development and meeting individual needs of children, through building a community of life-children, through building a community of life-long learners in a child centered environment. long learners in a child centered environment.

Change is InevitableChange is InevitableWith a major influx of students from With a major influx of students from

a highly traditional school that a highly traditional school that closed, who did not understand closed, who did not understand nor embrace Central’s concept, nor embrace Central’s concept, combined with dwindling resources combined with dwindling resources exacerbated by Proration budget exacerbated by Proration budget cuts, the Central Elementary cuts, the Central Elementary School of Arts In Education School of Arts In Education program will no longer be program will no longer be supplemented by the City Board.supplemented by the City Board.

Keeping It GoingKeeping It GoingA group of concerned parents has begun a grass A group of concerned parents has begun a grass

roots effort to begin a private school based on roots effort to begin a private school based on

the same principals as the fated Central the same principals as the fated Central

program. Banding together to “home school” program. Banding together to “home school”

their children the first year, their goal is to their children the first year, their goal is to

develop interest in the community, University, develop interest in the community, University,

local churches and parents to rebuild a highly local churches and parents to rebuild a highly

effective and soundly research-based, non-effective and soundly research-based, non-

traditional, multi-age, multicultural program traditional, multi-age, multicultural program

that sets high standards for all students using that sets high standards for all students using

the basic elements previously employed at the basic elements previously employed at

Central.Central.

Did You Know…?Did You Know…?You may know students, teachers, parents You may know students, teachers, parents

and supporters of the Central Elementary and supporters of the Central Elementary School of Arts in Education. You may have School of Arts in Education. You may have heard about the annual large scale school heard about the annual large scale school plays and the Traveling Troupe of players plays and the Traveling Troupe of players that perform around our city (and state) and that perform around our city (and state) and on television. You may know that Central on television. You may know that Central was one of the first Literacy Demonstration was one of the first Literacy Demonstration sites in Tuscaloosa and that a third of its sites in Tuscaloosa and that a third of its faculty served as presenters for the faculty served as presenters for the Alabama Reading Initiative. Alabama Reading Initiative.

You may have heard…You may have heard…

You may want this for You may want this for yourself.yourself.

You may want You may want

this for your this for your

own child or own child or

grandchild, grandchild,

a friend,a friend,

or your or your

community.community.

The Research

Strategies That Work

Teachers have a choice. We can choose to cover the curriculum or we can choose to teach students to

inquire. If we choose to cover the curriculum, our students will fail. If we teach our students to inquire,

we will have a well of information from which to teach and our students will have a purpose for living.

Strategies That Work, p.93 Harvey and Goudvis

Lev Vygotsky1896-1934 , Russian psychologist Language and Thinking

• Emphasized Cultural, Historical, and Social factors in learning

• ZPD- window of opportunity for learning - with support (scaffolding) between what one can do on their own and what is beyond their capacity to learn

• Tools and Symbols – Language is the most important Tool in society

• Learning Through Play – Encourages imagination and connection prior knowledge to novel situations

• Social Learning Theory – "Every function in the child's cultural development

appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." (Vygotsky 1978, p.57)

Lev Vygotsky

• Cultural, Historical, and Social factors in learning – Diversity is imperative for a broad, well-rounded education

• ZPD- Children should be continually assessed and provided with adequate instructional support (scaffolding) to maximize learning

• Tools and Symbols – Language (oral and written) is the key to learning

• Learning Through Play – Play allows children to imagine themselves in different worlds, making real connections to learning

• Social Learning Theory Children learn through social interaction with others

Classroom Implications

Vygotsky’s Writings Consciousness as a problem in the psychology of behavior, 1925The Psychology of Art, 1925

The Historical Meaning of the Crisis in Psychology, 1927

The Problem of the Cultural Development of the Child, 1929

Play and its Role in the Mental Development of the Child, 1933

Thinking & Speech, 1934

Tool and Symbol in Child Developmen1994

Interaction Between Learning and Development, ZPD

Thought and Language, 1962.

Mind in Society,1978

Mikhail Bakhtin

• Voice – the power (of the speaker) associated with language

• Utterances a sound, word or words that is spoken and all the utterances that came before and in response (dialogicality) and the “addressivity” of the intended audience that give it meaning.

• Speech Genres – The contexts that lend meaning to utterances

• Dialogicality - The dialogic nature of consciousness, the dialogic nature of human life itself. The single adequate form for verbally expressing authentic human life is the open-ended dialogue. Life by its very nature is dialogic. To live means to participate in dialogue: to ask questions, to heed, to respond, to agree, and so forth. In this dialogue a person participates wholly and throughout his whole life: with his eyes, lips, hands, soul, spirit, with his whole body and deeds. He invests his entire self in discourse, and this discourse enters into the dialogic fabric of human life, into the world symposium. (Bakhtin, 1984b, p. 293) 

Language Theorist(Russia,1895-1975)

Mikhail Bakhtin

• Voice If children are not given “voice” they will no longer

have reason to speak and may become silenced.

• Utterances, Dialogicality & Speech Genres

Understanding the exchange of utterances spans all that has been uttered before and what will come as a response and encompasses the context of the utterance and perception of the speaker and that of whom he addresses.

It is imperative that adequate attention is given to language to ensure understanding. (Mere decoding is insufficient.)

Classroom Implications

BOOKS BY BAKHTIN   Art and Answerability: Early Philosophical Essays

Translated by Vadim Liapunov. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990.   The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays

Translated by Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981. Translation of Voprosy literatury i estetiki.

  The Formal Method in Literary Scholarship: A Critical Introduction to Sociological Poetics

Translated by Albert Wehrle. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973 (co-authored with Pavel Medvedev). Translation of Formal'nyi metod v literaturovedenii.

  Freudism: A Marxist Critique

New York: Academic Press, 1970. Translation of Freidizm: kriticheskii ocherk. The authorship of this work is disputed. I. Titunik attributes the work to V. Voloshinov. Katerina Clark and Michael Holquist attribute the work to Bakhtin.

  Marxism and the Philosophy of Language

Translated by Ladislav Matejka and I. Titunik. New York: Seminar Press, 1973. Translation of Marksizm i filosofiia iazyka. First published as the work of V. Voloshinov; the authorship of this work is disputed.

  Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics

Translated by R. Rotsel. Ann Arbor, MI: Ardis 1973. Translation of Problemy poetiki Dostoevskogo.   Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics

Translated by Caryl Emerson. Minneapolis University of Minnesota Press, 1984. Translation of Problemy poetiki Dostoevskogo.

  Rabelais and His World

Translated by Helene Iswolsky. Cambridge, MA: M.l.T. Press, 1968. Translation of Tvorchesto Fransua Rable i narodnaia kul'tura srednevekov'ia i Renessansa.

  Speech Genres and Other Late Essays

Translated by Vern McGee. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1986. Translation of Estetika slovesnogo tvorchestva.

  Toward a Philosopy of the Act

Translated by Vadim Liapunov. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992. Translation of "K filosofi postupka."

Dorothy Holland

• Identity -- Understanding of Self

• Agency -- Power (or social standing) as perceived by self and by society.

• Figured Worlds – The way we “see” (perception) the world based on nature and nurture.

Soci-Cultural Anthropologist

Dorothy Holland

• Identity and Agency – Perception of self and power (social status)

are determined by a complex combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, nature and nurture. Teachers must be sensitive to a students’ total being in order to understand , and thereby better serve their needs.

• Figured Worlds – We must be able to see ourselves in a better

(figured) world in order to make it a reality.

Classroom Implications

Selected Recent Publications:

Holland, D., and J. Lave (2001), eds. History in Person: Enduring Struggles, Contentious Practice, Intimate Identities (The School of American Research Press)

Guldbrandsen, Thad and Dorothy C. Holland (2001) Encounters with the Supercitizen: Neoliberalism, Environmental Activism, and the American Heritage Rivers Initiative The Anthropological Quarterly. Special issue, Krista Harper, ed. 74(3): 124-134.

Holland, D., W. Lachicotte, D. Skinner and C. Cain (1998) Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds (Harvard University Press)

Skinner, Debra, Alfred Pach III, and Dorothy Holland. (eds.) (1998). Selves in Time and Place: Identities, Experience, and History in Nepal. (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.)

Levinson, B., D. Foley and D. Holland, eds. (1996). The Cultural Production of the Educated Person: Critical Ethnographies of Schooling and Local Practice. (State University of New York Press)

Holland, D. and M. Eisenhart. (1990) Educated in Romance: Women, Achievement, and College Culture. (The University of Chicago Press)

Lisa Delpit 

Benjamin E. Mays Professor of Urban Educational Leadership, Georgia State University; Founder and Director, Center for Urban Educational Excellence; Senior Research Associate, Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University.

Author, Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom (1995);

Co-Editor, The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African American Children (1998)

The Skin That I Speak: Language, Culture, and Identity (in press).

Ed.D., Harvard University

Ten Factors Essential to Success in Urban Classrooms Do not teach less content to poor, urban children, but

understand their brilliance and teach more. Whatever methodology or instructional program is used,

demand critical thinking. Assure that all children gain access to "basic skills," the

conventions and strategies that are essential to success in American education.

Challenge racist societal views of the competence and worthiness of the children and their families, and help them to do the same.

Recognize and build on strengths. Use familiar metaphors and experiences from the children's

world to connect what they already know to school knowledge. Create a sense of family and caring in the service of

academic achievement. Monitor and assess needs and then address them with a

wealth of diverse strategies. Honor and respect the children’s home and ancestral

culture(s). Foster a sense of children's connection to community - to

something greater than themselves.

Lisa Delpit 

No matter what race, religion, color or creed, children must be taught as individuals, taking special care to understand and accommodate their social and cultural backgrounds, accepting, incorporating and celebrating their diversity within the learning environment.

Classroom Implications

Selected Writings by Lisa DelpitOther People's Children : Cultural Conflict in the Classroomby Lisa D. Delpit New Press; February 1996

"A letter to my daughter on the occasion of considering racism in the United States," Racism Explained to My Daughter, Tahar Ben Jelloun; The New Press, 1999

"A letter to my daughter on the occasion of considering racism in the United States," Harvard Education Bulletin, Sp., 2000

"Act Your Age Not Your Color," Growing Up African American in Catholic Schools, (eds. Jacqueline Jordan Irvine and Michelle Foster). New York: Teacher=s College Press, 1996 (pp. 116-125).

"The Village Tok Ples School Scheme of Papua New Guinea." In I. McPhail and M.R. Hoover (eds.), Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Literacy in the Black Community, Newark, DE: International Reading Association. (in press)

With Kemelfield, G. "Language Policy in Education: A Case Study of the Village Tok Ples Schools in the North Solomons, Papua New Guinea." In J. Cobarrubias and J. Fishman (eds.), International Education and Language Planning, The Netherlands: Mouton. (in process)

" The Politics of Teaching Literate Discourse." In J. Fraser and T. Perry (Eds.) Freedom's Plow: Teaching in the Multicultural Classroom, New York: Routledge (in press).

"Culture Offers Clues to Literacy: An Interview with Lisa Delpit," Harvard Education Letter, Vol. VIII, No. 6, 1992.

"Education in a Multicultural Society: Our Future's Greatest Challenge," Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 61, No. 3, 1992.

"An Interview with African-American Educator Lisa Delpit: Teachers, Culture and Power,"Rethinking Schools, Vol. 6, No. 3, 1992.

"Acquisition of Literate Discourse: Bowing Before the Master?," Theory Into Practice, Vol. XXXI, No. 4, Autumn, 1992.

The Skin That You Speak: Language, Culture, & Identity with Joanne Dowdy, The New Press Research examining racism and its impact on creating superlative teachers in urban classrooms with Joan Wynne

John Dewey My Pedagogic Creed, 1897

• "I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. All reforms which rest simply upon the law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile.... But through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with definiteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move.... Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art conceivable in human experience."

John Dewey

•To effect positive social change we must effectively (not necessarily efficiently) educate our children (our

world).

Classroom Implications

Jean Piaget

• Genetic Epistemlogy – The study of the development of knowledge

• Stages of Development – Stages of Development– Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 years old)– Preoperational stage (ages 2-7)– Concrete operations (ages 7-11)– Formal operations (beginning at ages 11-

15)

• Assimilation and Accommodation of Schema• Equilibrium and Disequilibrium

Swiss biologist and psychologist (1896-1980)

Jean Piaget

• We must plan developmentally appropriate curriculum that meets the developmental needs of the learner.

• Children construct knowledge through experiences.

• Children build schema (knowledge) by making connections to things they already know and expanding their knowledge base.

• Equilibrium is a state of balance. When a child approaches something unknown, the disequilibrium creates the need to learn.

Classroom Implications

Piaget’s Major Works 1918, Recherche. Lausanne: La Concorde. 1924, Judgment and reasoning in the child, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1928. 1936, Origins of intelligence in the child, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1953. 1957, Construction of reality in the child, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1954. 1941, Child's conception of number (with Alina Szeminska), London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1952. 1945, Play, dreams and imitation in childhood, London: Heinemann, 1951. 1949, Traité de logique. Paris: Colin. 1950, Introduction à l'épistémologie génétique 3 Vols. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. 1954, Intelligence and affectivity, Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews, 1981. 1955, Growth of logical thinking (with Bärbel Inhelder), London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1958. 1962, Commentary on Vygotsky's criticisms. New Ideas in Psychology, 13, 325-40, 1995 1967, Logique et connaissance scientifique. Paris: Gallimard. 1967, Biology and knowledge, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1971. 1970, Piaget's theory. In P. Mussen (ed) Handbook of child psychology, Vol.1. New York: Wiley, 1983. 1970, Main trends in psychology, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973. 1975, Equilibration of cognitive structures, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. 1977, Sociological studies, London: Routledge, 1995 1977, Studies in reflecting abstraction. Hove: Psychology Press, 2000 1977, Essay on necessity. Human Development, 29, 301-14, 1986. 1981, Possibility and necessity, 2 Vols, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987. 1983, Psychogenesis and the history of science (with Rolando Garcia), New York: Columbia University

Press, 1989. 1987, Towards a logic of meanings (with Rolando Garcia), Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 1991. 1990, Morphisms and categories (with Gil Henriques, Edgar Ascher), Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates,

1992.

Connie Kamii

• “Teachers need as much scientific knowledge about how children learn mathematics as physicians have about the causes of illness.” (Kamii, 2000)

• Dr. Kamii has replicated and furthered the research of Jean Piaget to show that “all children construct, or create, logic and number concepts from within rather than learn them by internalization from the environment (Piaget 1971; Kamii 2000).

Professor Early Childhood Education – UABStudied under Piaget for over a decade

Connie Kamii

• Young children are taught mathematical procedures that are developmentally inappropriate for them, leaving them confused and frustrated.

• Teachers must understand what teaching practices are developmentally appropriate for children to be successful learners.

• Teachers must listen to children to understand what they know. (A single “answer” does not tell the whole story.)

• Children must reflect and discuss their mathematical thinking.

• Mathematics must be made real by making connections to real life events.

Classroom Implications

Writings by Constance Kamii

Howard GardnerDevelopmental Psychologist

Multiple Intelligences•words (linguistic intelligence)

•numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence)•pictures (spatial intelligence)•music (musical intelligence)•self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence)•physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence)•social experience (interpersonal intelligence•experience in the natural world. (naturalist intelligence)

Howard Gardner

How smart are you?

How are you smart?

Because children learn in many ways and have differing needs and interests, a rich variety of educational opportunities should be presented to allow ample occasions to reinforce learning, making connections to individual learners.

Classroom Implications

Howard Gardner on: The Educational Reform Movement

Q: Education reform and restructuring activities have been the subject of a lot of conversation from the White House to the state house to the school house. What is your evaluation of the school reform efforts of the past and of the present?

Gardner: What is surprising to me is that the discussion about school reform has continued as long as it has. I think that a number of people, including me, felt that there would be the usual hubbub after ”A Nation at Risk" was published, but then we'd go back to “business as usual," and that clearly hasn't happened. There are more people who are involved in education reform or who are concerned about it than there were in 1983, and I think that's very positive. I think the second thing that has become clear to most of us who work in the area is how difficult it is to bring about really substantive change in schools. There are certain kinds of cosmetic changes you can bring about very quickly, but if you ask, “Is teaching occurring in different kinds of ways?" “Are children learning more?" “Are they able to do things they couldn't do before?" or “Are schools organized in different kinds of ways?" I think the answer is that while there have been some promising beginnings, we all realize now that it's much much harder than anybody ever thought.

http://www.ed.psu.edu/insys/ESD/gardner/Reform.html

Gardner’s Books

The Arts and Human Development (1973) Art, Mind, and Brain: A Cognitive Approach

to Creativity (1982) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple

Intelligence (1983) The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think

and How Schools Should Teach (1991) Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in

Practice (1993) Changing the World: A Framework for the

Study of Creativity(1994) Who Owns Intelligence? (1999)

Alfie KohnExpert on on human behavior, education, and social theory.

"perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores." His criticisms of competition and rewards have helped to shape the thinking of educators -- as well as parents and managers -- across the country and abroad.”

Time magazine

Alfie Kohn

Teacher, parents and administrators and

community should think critically about :•Standardized testing : Does it test fairly? Equitably?

What has been taught?•What do standardized tests measure? (“The size of

the houses in the neighborhood.”)•Motivation to learn (intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards)•How are “standards” related to your school

curriculum? (Once a teacher asked me what I expect and incoming 4th grader

to know. I thought that it really doesn’t matter what I expect, I

must take them from where they are and move them ahead as

far as they can go in the time I have them.)

Classroom Implications

Books by Alfie Kohn BEYOND DISCIPLINE:

From Compliance to Community (Assn. for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 1996)

THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF HUMAN NATURE:Altruism and Empathy in Everyday Life (Basic Books, 1990)

THE CASE AGAINST STANDARDIZED TESTING:Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools THE CASE AGAINST STANDARDIZED TESTING: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools (Heinemann, 2000)

EDUCATION, INC.:Turning Learning into a Business (Revised edition: Heinemann, 2002)

NO CONTEST:The Case Against Competition (Houghton Mifflin, 1986/1992)

PUNISHED BY REWARDS:The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes (Houghton Mifflin, 1993/1999)

THE SCHOOLS OUR CHILDREN DESERVE:Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and "Tougher Standards" (Houghton Mifflin, 1999)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A CLASSROOM . . . and Other Essays (Jossey-Bass, 1998)

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY. . .:The Truth About Popular Beliefs (HarperCollins, 1990)

Wilson, Minear (2003)

Open / Closed Dialogic Inquiry• In student research and their

culminating classroom presentations, children explore and inquire more deeply when given freedom to pursue choice and interest rather than when given strict guidelines.

Action Research

• We must continually observe, reflect and adjust to the needs of the learners in a classroom. Working in a “lab type” situations, in cooperation with local College and University professors and teacher interns provides opportunities to reciprocate new ideas and techniques.

Classroom Implications

What did YOU

learn in school?

Think briefly about the things you learned in school…

What memories do you have?Good? Bad?Massive Quantities? Very Little?What do you remember?

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

»Albert Einstein

HOWHOW Should we Should we

TeachTeach??

LEARN AND RETAIN(J. Scott, 1990)

From the work of Joyce and Showers and other, we know that people learn and retain at the following rates:

10% of what we HEAR

15% of what we

SEE

20% of what we

SEE and HEAR

40% of what we DISCUSS

80% of what weEXPERIENCE DIRECTLY or PRACTICE

90% of what we ATTEMPT TO TEACH OTHERS

WhatWhat Should Be Should Be

TaughtTaught??

· · things previously, but no longer, generally taught in public schoolsthings previously, but no longer, generally taught in public schools:: Bible; Bible;

computing cube roots; Grimm's fairy tales; Aesop's fables; solid geometry; Rudyard computing cube roots; Grimm's fairy tales; Aesop's fables; solid geometry; Rudyard

Kipling's poems; Longfellow's poetry; the Iliad; the Odyssey; use of the slide rule; Robert's Kipling's poems; Longfellow's poetry; the Iliad; the Odyssey; use of the slide rule; Robert's

Rules of order; Latin; Greek; Greek mythology; rhetoric; geography; logic; logarithmic Rules of order; Latin; Greek; Greek mythology; rhetoric; geography; logic; logarithmic

extrapolation. extrapolation.

· · things not previously taught but now taught in public schools:things not previously taught but now taught in public schools: The laws of The laws of

association, commutation and distribution; computer literacy; space science; plate association, commutation and distribution; computer literacy; space science; plate

tectonics; elementary functions, "pre-calculus"; World Cultures; substance abuse tectonics; elementary functions, "pre-calculus"; World Cultures; substance abuse

education; human sexuality; AIDS prevention. education; human sexuality; AIDS prevention.

· · things still taught but rarely used outside of school:things still taught but rarely used outside of school: long division; computing square long division; computing square

roots; synthetic division; formal grammar. roots; synthetic division; formal grammar.

· · things generally useful but not taught in "status", e.g. college preparatory, things generally useful but not taught in "status", e.g. college preparatory,

curricula:curricula: auto maintenance; child care; cooking; woodwork; stenography and typing; auto maintenance; child care; cooking; woodwork; stenography and typing;

filing; bookkeeping. filing; bookkeeping.

· · things not generally taught in the public schools, but very useful:things not generally taught in the public schools, but very useful: basic law; home basic law; home

maintenance; stock market analysis; basic organizational skills; political activism; income maintenance; stock market analysis; basic organizational skills; political activism; income

tax preparation; gardening and library science. tax preparation; gardening and library science.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM     THE FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM     ©1999 Gary K. Clabaugh & Edward G. Rozycki ©1999 Gary K. Clabaugh & Edward G. Rozycki

Educational GoalsEducational Goals

· · social, civic and cultural goalssocial, civic and cultural goals: e.g. : e.g. interpersonal understandings and citizenship interpersonal understandings and citizenship participation; participation;

· · intellectual goalsintellectual goals: academic knowledge : academic knowledge and intellectual skills; and intellectual skills;

· · personal goalspersonal goals: emotional and physical : emotional and physical well-being, creativity and aesthetic expression well-being, creativity and aesthetic expression and self-realization; and and self-realization; and

· · vocational goalsvocational goals: being prepared for an : being prepared for an occupation. occupation.

Jon Goodlad, Jon Goodlad, A Place Called SchoolA Place Called School

What Structures?What Structures?Logical Structure - "basic skills" Logical Structure - "basic skills" ...teaching will be more effective if it incorporates the ways the elements of knowledge are ...teaching will be more effective if it incorporates the ways the elements of knowledge are

related logically. -----B.O.Smith "Introduction" to Education and the Structure of Knowledge related logically. -----B.O.Smith "Introduction" to Education and the Structure of Knowledge Fifth Annual Phi Delta Kappa Symposium on Educational Research. (Chicago: Rand Fifth Annual Phi Delta Kappa Symposium on Educational Research. (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1964) McNally, 1964)

Pedagogical Structure Pedagogical Structure ...what is learned will be retained longer if it is tied into a meaningful cognitive structure. ...what is learned will be retained longer if it is tied into a meaningful cognitive structure.

Pedagogical structure is that organization imposed on curriculum according to some beliefs Pedagogical structure is that organization imposed on curriculum according to some beliefs about how people learn. about how people learn.

Disciplinary Structure Disciplinary Structure Curriculum can be structured along disciplinary lines. Academic disciplines are social Curriculum can be structured along disciplinary lines. Academic disciplines are social

organizations. They consist of people who have been taught in a certain tradition and who organizations. They consist of people who have been taught in a certain tradition and who recognize certain items of knowledge and approaches to them as "belonging to their recognize certain items of knowledge and approaches to them as "belonging to their discipline." Disciplines put limits on inquiry. Facts discovered in a one discipline may be discipline." Disciplines put limits on inquiry. Facts discovered in a one discipline may be ignored in pursuing investigation in another. ignored in pursuing investigation in another.

Institutional Structure Institutional Structure They way we organize schools often acts to determine curriculum. Institutional structure is They way we organize schools often acts to determine curriculum. Institutional structure is

revealed in the organization of knowledge as curricula, grade-levels, courses, units of revealed in the organization of knowledge as curricula, grade-levels, courses, units of study, texts, chapters and the like. One way of understanding curriculum is that it is an study, texts, chapters and the like. One way of understanding curriculum is that it is an institutional construct. No experienced teacher, for his or her own purposes, needs a formal institutional construct. No experienced teacher, for his or her own purposes, needs a formal curriculum. But in the context of schooling, where coordination and control become curriculum. But in the context of schooling, where coordination and control become concerns, curriculum documents are used to give the appearance of order. concerns, curriculum documents are used to give the appearance of order.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM     THE FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM     ©1999 Gary K. Clabaugh & Edward G. Rozycki©1999 Gary K. Clabaugh & Edward G. Rozycki

The Dream

Our School

“One Room Schoolhouse” Concept With Multi-Age Classes (K-8+)

Inquiry Based Learning Student Commitment, Responsibility and Ownership In The

Program High Standards Set According To Individual Needs With

Parent/Student/Teacher Input High Level of Parent Interaction, Participation and Support. Highly Qualified Staff Community Facilities Incorporated into Study (Public Library,

Museum, Parks, etc.) Community Relationships / Service Adopt-A-School Partners

What shall we name our school? The New Horizons School - We are exploring new Horizons

The New School ~ The Old School The Village School – It takes a village to educate a child

Mrs. Minear’s School for the Irreverent - Margo

The School for Kids Who Don’t Read Good – Zoolander (matt’s contribution)

P.S. 911-We Are An Emergency! (my birthday ) (Jen’s contribution)

A Place Called School – Goodlad

The Learning Place The Discovery School The Experiment ~ The Experience

We are going places!

We Need Your Help!We will have many needs as we start up in the next few

years. You can help!

Do you have… A building or rooms that are available during the week? Computers or other technology that you plan to replace in

the near future that you might wish to donate? Office equipment –file cabinets, desks, tables? Special talents that you wish to share? Friends who wish to volunteer in this worthwhile

endeavor? A desire to learn more about our ideas?

Get on board Get on board before time before time

passes us by!passes us by!

References• Kamii, Constance. Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic. 2nd ed. New

York: Teachers College Press, 2000.

• Piaget, Jean. Biology and Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971.

• Holland, D., W. Lachicotte, D. Skinner and C. Cain (1998) Identity

and Agency in Cultural Worlds (Harvard University Press) • Holland, D., W. Lachicotte, D. Skinner and C. Cain (1998) Identity

and Agency in Cultural Worlds (Harvard University Press)