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Any tips to study for GK writing, taking in March. Topic related,
Hello,
I teach in Alberta, a province where there has been a massive push away from traditional educational philosophies such as Perennialism and Essentialism and towards the contemporary educational philosophies of Progressivism and Reconstructionism. With that push there has been a plethora of resources and strategies thrown at us that c...See MoreHello,
I teach in Alberta, a province where there has been a massive push away from traditional educational philosophies such as Perennialism and Essentialism and towards the contemporary educational philosophies of Progressivism and Reconstructionism. With that push there has been a plethora of resources and strategies thrown at us that centre on conceptions of curriculum that vilify academic rationalism or cognitive process based conceptions and, instead, highlight the merits and benefits of conceptions of curriculum such as humanistic curriculum, self-actualization, and social reconstructionism.
Recently, I have acquired new knowledge, through my last M.Ed course, about the structure and elements of curriculum planning, instruction, and assessment; and, specifically, about how important it is to effective teaching and learning that those elements align in philosophy, conception, and design. After taking my latest course, I have realized that the movement occurring over the last 8 years in my province is rooted in a shift in educational philosophy at the district and school level, from Essentialism and Perennialism to Progressivism and Reconstructionsim. This shift in philosophy means a move away from the conception of curriculum of academic rationalism, curriculums rooted in disciplines and the transmission of knowledge, and towards curriculums centred around more humanistic and social reconstructionist ideologies. These conceptions focus on the passions of the teachers and students to bring the curriculum to life and on the promotion of social reform through learner led experiences, respectively. However, this shift in curricular practices at the district level has not happened at the provincial level; required provincial standardized testing is still rooted in the conception of academic rationalism and, therefore, Essentialism. Thus, the planning and instruction of teachers at the district level does not align with the expectations at the provincial level. Whereas, teachers are encouraged and at times mandated to move away from subject-centred curricular design to learner-centred or problem-centred designs the provinces still requires them to teach to a subject-based assessment. For example, teachers have been encouraged to approach lessons with experiential learning in mind and to offer alternative assessments for summative assessments centred on problem or learner based designs; however, the province still requires a standardized subject-centred assessment at the end of the year in which to assess students. Consequently, teachers often feel torn on how to integrate planning and instruction, in their principles of design, to align with provincial assessment. This misalignment of philosophy and practice between schools and province has caused confusion, frustration, and anger among the front line workers of education: teachers.
As a result, I was interested in reaching out to get thoughts and ideas about the role standardized tests play in humanistic and social reconstructionist approaches to teaching, specifically how can standardized test be aligned with learner-centred and problem-centred curricular designs. Unfortunately, it seems to me that the district push towards learner and problem-based curricular designs misaligns with the provincial testing, which are subject-centred in design. Each year all grade 12 students must write a standardized test in each course that makes up 30% of their grade; the grade they must submit to universities. This means that eachers teach using learner or problem-based instructional approaches for 70% of assessment and then students are expected to perform on subject-centred exams for the last 30%. For example, I will spend the semester in my high school classroom offering alternative and differentiated activities and assessments to meet the needs of the diverse learners in my class; but, then those same students are expected to write a multiple choice exam based on a subject-centred design. My students spend weeks in differentiated activities that cater to their learning style such as TQE's, gallery walks and discussion forums, only to be handed a standardized test at the end. Would students not be more successful if planning, instruction, and assessment were all aligned? As it stands now; students are moved through the curriculum on one curricular design for 70% of their assessments and then assessed on another curricular design for 30% on a standardized test. This misalignment has highlighted a discrepancy between the class mark and the test mark at the end of the year. Consequently, teachers ask "would I not serve my students better by teaching a more subject-centred design until the standardized tests are altered or eliminated? Or, do we continue to approach curriculum with learner and problem based designs because the data shows it is how students best learn?
Ultimately, teachers are stuck in the middle of a tug of war of planning, instruction, and assessment. How does one plan and instruct learner or problem based designs but assess using high stakes and standards based assessments. The process is incongruent to the result. This is further complicated by the fact that more authentic, dynamic, and alternative assessments are now being pushed as best assessment practice in the classroom. Thus, my question is this: where do standardized tests fit in with learner-based and problem-based curricular designs. How do I align my philosophy of practice with the expectations of the province when they are different? Are there any resources or strategies you can share that would help with this incongruency to enhance student learning?
Thank you,
Mona
Dear colleagues,
I would like to share with you a tip that will help you prepare your school lessons even more effectively. With the free ChatGPT Tokenizer, you can analyze and convert complex texts, create worksheets, questionnaires, quizzes, and discussions, evaluate texts, generate plans for practice sessions, and much more - all with j...See MoreDear colleagues,
I would like to share with you a tip that will help you prepare your school lessons even more effectively. With the free ChatGPT Tokenizer, you can analyze and convert complex texts, create worksheets, questionnaires, quizzes, and discussions, evaluate texts, generate plans for practice sessions, and much more - all with just a few clicks!
So, if you want to reduce your preparation time and optimize your school lessons, you should definitely try out the Tokenizer. Simply copy a text to your clipboard, then click on the following link, choose a template, click on the results box, and finally paste it into ChatGPT.
https://chatgpt-tokenizer.com/en/#!/Education/Teachers
I am confident that you will be thrilled with this tool and I look forward to hearing about your experiences with it!
What are some of the most useful tools and techniques presented in the Media Flight Plan 7th Edition for effective media planning and buying?
During the pandemic I made a few of these mini units + computer games based on (but not requiring) PLTW courses, and my students had a ton of fun with them. Over the next year, I started to really clean them up for sharing with other teachers. This one, based on Flight and Space, is the only one I'd really deem ready, but I have a second one coming...See MoreDuring the pandemic I made a few of these mini units + computer games based on (but not requiring) PLTW courses, and my students had a ton of fun with them. Over the next year, I started to really clean them up for sharing with other teachers. This one, based on Flight and Space, is the only one I'd really deem ready, but I have a second one coming up based on PLTW's Medical Detectives class. If you're like me, teaching these courses over a semester, despite them being designed to be a quarter-long class, they can be pretty helpful...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1225061240/mars-colonization-game-works-on-any
Does anyone have a old copy or something that was very similar to the test? Florida subject area test 5-9 science? Any tips? thanks.. Asking for a little help
What are some common misconceptions or challenges that students may face when studying the fundamentals of nursing, and how can textbook solutions and other resources be used to address these issues?
What are some of the key concepts covered in Mathematics with Applications 11th Edition, and how do these concepts apply in real-world scenarios?
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