Archive for the 'Policy' Category

One best way?

Published
by
JohnL
on 31 July 2008
in Administration, Musings, News, Policy, Research and Teacher education
. 0 Comments

The current Bogus Bowl (it’s number 5) raised questions about the professorate, with one alternative mentioning the belief that there is no one best way to teach. The answer to the question, “Is there one best way to teach?,” is surely, “No.” There are actually something like, oh, a few million ways to teach. But some of them are better than others.

Better? Yes, better. That is, some ways of teaching lead to students who score higher on trustworthy measures of declarative and procedural knowledge than the students taught using some other ways of teaching. [Some people will complain that (a) declarative and procedural knowledge are not appropriate foci for education or (b) that trustworthy measurement is impossible; those are arguments for another discussion.] Of course, Teach Effectively is about identifying and employing, and preparing others to employ those methods that meet this standard.

Fortunately, TE is not alone in the quest for use of evidence-based education. Here’s a resource that some readers will find useful. It’s from the IllinoisLoop, a source that’s been over there in the blog roll for much of the tenure of TE.

Is There ONE Best Way to Run a School?

Is there only one way to run a school?

Does rhetoric about “best practices” point to a single “best” way to teach children?

Of course not.

But ed school theorists insist that there is one “best” method. Not only that, they claim that they know exactly what it is!

Consequently, most American schools have moved to that “constructivist” approach and continue to expand its usage further in their classrooms. But mounting evidence calls the whole constructivist framework into question.

The page goes on to integrate a couple of score or a few dozen sources related to the idea in the lead that I’ve reproduced here. There’s plenty of links to good sources. The page would serve admirably as a syllabus for a course on cutting through gobbledygook and identifying clearly reasoned arguments for teaching effectively. Here’s the link. Study hard. There will be quizzes.

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Laura Bush’s comments on RF

Published
by
JohnL
on 29 July 2008
in Administration, Assessment, News, Policy and Reading
. 0 Comments

First Lady Laura Bush spoke to the Reading First conference attendees 29 July in Nashville (TN, US). Following introductory comments by Raymond Simon, US Deputy Secretary of Education, who called for “More Reading First, not less,” Mrs. Bush addressed about 5500 people for about 10 minutes.

After restating the importance of reading in contemporary society, the rationale for evidence-based reading instruction, and the importance of data-based education, Mrs. Bush cited examples of successes in Reading First schools (interrupted by cheers and applause from the representatives of those schools and educators affiliated with them who were in the audience). She ended her comments with a call for restoration of funding of the Reading First program:
Continue reading ‘Laura Bush’s comments on RF’

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Bogus Bowl V: Professors’ rationales

Published
by
JohnL
on 29 July 2008
in Policy, Research and Teacher education
. 0 Comments

Professors of education are, arguably, among the most powerful arbiters of the views of education of the US teaching corps; their influence on beginning teachers is eclipsed only by the teaching corps itself, if by any other force, and their influence on prospective teachers must be unparalleled. Because few practicing teachers contribute to the professional literature and many professors do publish, their effect on the canon (such as and whatever it is) is overwhelming. So, it’s about time for a Bogus Bowl examining professors’ views on evidence-based education.

In Bogus Bowl V, I ask you to choose among several different reasons that professors might give for failing to teach their students, our schools’ prospective teachers, those teaching practices that have been documented as having the greatest effects on pre-kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade students’ outcomes in important academic and social areas.

Which of the following do you consider to be the most bogus reason for professors failing to teach prospective teachers how to employ teaching procedures that have been documented to be effective?

View Results

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As usual, I want to advise readers that these are not scientific polls. Please do not interpret the results of this or other similar polls on Teach Effectively as representative of the views of people, educators, or even visitors to TE. The results of these polls only represent the views of those who entered a vote under the constrained conditions of the questions, alternative answers, response requirements, and etc. of this poll.

Thanks to Liz Ditz and Ken De Rosa for consulting with me about the poll during its gestation period.

For those who would like to read an academic paper related to this topic, please see Doug Carnine’s “Why Education Experts Resist Effective Practices (And What It Would Take to Make Education More Like Medicine).” Here’s a link to an HTML version of the paper where one can also download a PDF of it.

Oh, yes, years ago I could hardly spell ‘professser,’ but now I are one.

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RF pin map

Published
by
JohnL
on 28 July 2008
in Administration, News, Policy and Reading
. 0 Comments
The pin map
The map of pins

As promised, here’s an image of the US map showing pins placed to show the locations of people attending the conference. The two unidentified pinners waited patiently for their turn to insert their pins. Just out of view to the right, there were several more attendees waiting their turns. A larger copy of the image will open if you click on this thumbnail.

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Reading First national conference

Published
by
JohnL
on 28 July 2008
in Administration, News, Policy, Reading, Research and The press
. 0 Comments

Despite the distressing recent news about funding for the US Reading First program, the annual conference is in full swing and there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for the program here at the site in Nashville (TN, US). As I understand, there are >5000 educators from all around the US who have registered for the conference (there’s a map with pins for sites that I plan to photograph and publish here), and the teachers and administrators (coaches, principals, reading specialists) with whom I’ve spoken seem committed to making sure they know what to do to ensure that students learn to read.

Registration for the conference is free, and that price of admission permits one to attend sessions delivered by people such as Anita Archer, Frances Bessellieu, Nell Duke, Stu Greenberg, Annemieke Golly, Jan Hasbrouck, Roxanne Hudson, Mike McKenna, Maddie McKeown, Stan Paine, Tin Shanahan, Sharon Walpole, dozens of others. Who wouldn’t be willing to give up a few days of summer vacation to attend this conference?

Mrs. Laura Bush is slated to speak in a few minutes, so the local TV stations are here in force. There are several vans with antennae parked right outside my hotel room.

Obligatory reminder: I’m a member of the Reading First Advisory Committee, but my statements here are my own. They do not reflect the views of the committee or of other members of the committee.

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Moscovitch on RF

Published
by
JohnL
on 9 July 2008
in News, Policy, Reading, Research and The press
. 0 Comments

In an editorial opposite the editorial page of the Boston (MA, US) Herald, Edward Moscovitch advocated continuation of the Reading First program. Under the 8 July 2008 headline “No time to close book: Though threatened, reading program is working,” Mr. Moscovitch addresses many of the concerns discussed about Reading First. Here’s his lead:

Reading First, a major part of the No Child Left Behind law, encourages schools in low-income districts to use frequent assessments and research-based instruction to improve student reading. Report after report shows student gains.

And yet today the program is headed for the congressional chopping block - a victim of misunderstood studies and even more specious charges of insider dealings. If that happens, the nation’s children will be the real losers.

Continue reading ‘Moscovitch on RF’

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Self-esteem gets lowered

Published
by
JohnL
on 19 June 2008
in Musings, News, Policy, Social behavior and The press
. 2 Comments

In an editorial published by the Houston (TX, US) Chronicle, Ashley Herzog takes direct aim at schools’ oft-expressed interest in promoting self-esteem. The opinion piece is entitled, “No Way to Succeed: The flaws of the self-esteem fad: Research doesn’t justify obsession in U.S. schools.” Here’s her lead:

“Self-esteem,” it seems, is the 1990s fad that just won’t die. A few weeks ago, a newspaper based in Athens, Ohio (where my school, Ohio University, is located) ran a story about a new feel-good program at nearby Amesville Elementary School. Fittingly dubbed Amesville Rocks, the program is designed “to make the kids feel important,” in the words of one school employee. In accordance with the theme of self-adulation, the article described how the whole school applauded themselves “as if it were the Academy Awards.”

Continue reading ‘Self-esteem gets lowered’

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Some factors affecting effectiveness

Published
by
JohnL
on 18 June 2008
in Administration, Arithmetic and mathematics, News, Policy, Reading and Teacher education
. 0 Comments

According to an analysis by Gregory J. Palardy and Russell W. Rumberger, differences in teacher effectiveness have larger effects on young children’s outcomes in reading and math than do differences in teachers’ backgrounds factors such as level of education and types of certifications held. The teacher quality effects were also substantially greater than the effects for children’s families’ SES in their study and than the effects for class-size reduction (25 25 versus 15 students per classroom) reported in another study.

Professors Palardy and Rumberger arrived at this conclusion by analyzing data from a large data set that is representative of students in the US. They used a sophisticated analytic approach that permitted them to assess the effects of inputs, processes, and outputs at the school, classroom, and individual student levels.

This study uses Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data to investigate the importance of three general aspects of teacher effects—teacher background qualifications, attitudes, and instructional practices—to reading and math achievement gains in first grade. The results indicate that compared with instructional practices, background qualifications have less robust associations with achievement gains. These findings suggest that the No Child Left Behind Act’s “highly qualified teacher” provision, which screens teachers on the basis of their background qualifications, is insufficient for ensuring that classrooms are led by teachers who are effective in raising student achievement. To meet that objective, educational policy needs to be directed toward improving aspects of teaching, such as instructional practices and teacher attitudes.

Palardy, G. J., & Rumberger, R. W. (2008). Teacher effectiveness in first grade: The importance of background qualifications, attitudes, and instructional practices for student learning. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30, 111-140.

Link to the abstract.

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