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Linda Darling Hammond’s video on Global Competiveness stated that the assumptions about learning and teaching in the majority of the United States is opposite of the assumptions in high achieving countries. In the U.S. we tend to trivialize the curriculum through defensive simplificatation. We have a ritual of seeming to deal with topics without actually teaching them. Our students learn the rules and memorize facts but don’t get around to learning how to apply this knowledge in a real world context.
In higher achieving countries, the assumption is that learning and understanding are reached through authentic curriculum. Teachers have time to prepare higher order, critical thinking lessons through project based learning. The curriculum is not “teacher proofed”, but instead the teachers are given ample time to learn, plan and develop lessons and projects that require the students to not only learn the information, but to use it to complete projects and then analyze the effectiveness and success of the projects through written expression. In the U.S., the assumption is that teachers are not professionals and have no expertise. Teaching and curriculum are context dependent. Teaching and learning are standardized and linear so teachers are provided minimal prep time and the system is bureaucratic rather than professional.
Teachers’ rights to make instructional and curricular decisions have been replaced by mandated programs instituted to cover the huge number of standards at each grade level. The U.S. is teaching to perform on state test instead of teaching to produce contributing members of society. Higher achieving countries have a narrower set of standards that are very clear, but not overly prescriptive. The students have time to learn a concept well and develop a solid understanding of how to use that concept. The concept rarely has to be revisited during another school year. In the U.S., students are taught concepts superficially. Teachers spend just enough time on them so that students will be able to master the minimal amount expected for the testing. Then the teacher must move on even if the students are interested in exploring the concept more. The U.S. teacher has many more topics to cover before the testing.
I felt this was an excellent video. So many of the things Hammond said brought me back to my beliefs of what education should be. I feel like over my teaching career, education has taken a swing toward teaching concepts superficially to achieve on testing instead of teaching concepts so that they will be useful in a student’s life. Getting back to teaching higher order and critical thinking skills is tough in today’s classrooms. Teachers are being told what to teach for how long and when during the school year. A small step we can take as teachers is to ask our students to write and analyze their answer to questions and problems instead of using all of the multiple choice testing provided for us. This is a tough decision because we will have to spend a lot more time grading and responding, but it is what is right for our kids.
What assumptions and orientations, etc. do you see underlying the approaches to schooling in other countries?
It was interesting to hear that international schools also use assessments as a tool to gauge learning. However, the assessment process seems to be more than just testing. Their curriculum is based on a teaching at a higher level of learning and fostering critical thinking. The students are given the opportunity to learn in environments that leads to the analysis of data, working within groups to answer questions. Where American schools seemed to be more concerned with whether students know the “where and the when” of things, schools in other countries are focused on the “what and the why.” I think that this would be the answer to a lot of the issues in our schools. We don’t give the students the tools to think for themselves – to think outside the box. The schools that Darling-Hammond referred to are doing just that.
Linda Darling-Hammond discussed American schools and how time is wasted re-teaching the same concepts over and over because the subject is not thoroughly taught in the first place. Her example of teaching fractions for a quarter would be nice but unfortunately, impractical with the way our system is set up. Many schools overseas are year round, as well as 9 hours a day, thus affording them the luxury of spending more time on any given concept.
What can be done in your own teaching contexts to make changes in the approaches to teaching and learning?
I am at an advantage over when it comes to my teaching. As a preschool teacher, I don’t have to answer to a school district. I am able to teach in a developmentally appropriate manner that fosters interest in learning. My weekly curriculum can center on one topic and through that topic, I will cover all the domains. If the topic continues to interest the children, I will carry it over for another week. The environment is set up for individual, small and large group – they decide how they want to learn. There is a social aspect to learning in my center. The children are in a multi-age group which adds a peer component to learning. I have always believed that it doesn’t matter how smart you are, if you cannot get along with other people, there is no way you will be a success in life. (I’ll get off my podium now ;))
It sure is nice that you can take the time you need to cover the subject matter you are teaching. I think that is one thing I miss most.
I love teaching pre-school. Preschool seems to be the child's last chance to be creative! It is all about academics after that. I can remember back when I went to school (long time ago) and I just do not remember being allowed to be creative, all learning was out of the textbooks. I am a kinesthetic learner so this was really difficult for me.