Amazing Things Happen as You Go
I HATE clichés. Love puns, but I hate clichés.
So believe me when I tell you that it pains me when I can only describe “Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons From an Urban Classroom” as a story whose overarching message is that “its not the destination, but the journey that matters.”
In addition to the book, I looked at the class’ website (www.projectcitizen405.com) a video documentary posted online made by the students as part of the project, and a very interesting review of the book online at Arizona State University’s “Educational Review.” (Appelbaum, http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev712.htm)
Though it is sad that a new school was not built, I always hope for better educational circumstances for all children, in a perverse way, that was the book’s strongest point to me. As an instructor affiliated with a national teachers corps, the case of the “white hero riding in on his/her high horse to rescue the poor minorities” is a cliché (and a misconception) that embodies why I hate clichés.
That said this was not one of those stories. There was no miracle, there was no hero, the teacher had no magic bullet, and he was not one himself. In fact, the story was not even about a teacher who “challenged the curriculum” as the book’s rear cover describes, but rather it is the story of a teacher who did his job in taking the curriculum and making it work to enrich the education and lives of his students.
This book was also particularly inspirational for me as a new teacher, who is (as described by veteran teachers) “transitioned into the ‘disillusionment phase” of my teaching career. To see what a second year teacher can accomplish is no small motivating factor for me.
Schultz shows us that even through our failures, we can achieve so much. As I go to post this, I look at the quote above the computers in my classroom
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!” –Les Brown
About Me
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Annotated Bibliography
Jones, M. Gail, Brett D. Jones, and Tracy Y. Hargrove. The Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Testing. (Lanham, MD) Rowman & Littlefield, 2003
http://www.amazon.com/Unintended-Consequences-High-Stakes-Testing/dp/0742526275/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225990646&sr=8-1
• Book focusing on the “unintended consequences of high-stakes testing as expressed by students, parents, educators and researchers. The authors take a “school based” approach to the research. Rather than looking at the history of testing and making assumptions based on the context of the environment in which they are examining the subject, they enter the classroom and ask the people affected by the issue to tell their stories. The authors are very upfront with their educational philosophy and there seems to be no hidden agenda. What I like about this book is its apparent transparency. They acknowledge that they can’t completely separate intended from unintended consequences. I also like the focus on the impact on curriculum and the effect on how teachers are changing their teaching. I also like how they have a section on the effect of teachers preparing students for tests (this has a personal ring to me as I will be forced to deviate from the curriculum to do a unit on NJASK-prep this year). While I am not sure if there is enough focus on urban centers and Newark at all, I believe that this book touches on many, if not all of the facets of the issue I wish to address in my paper and in this way will be a valued, if not my primary source. The down side is that it is a secondary source with some primary quotes, but more primary source material will be necessary. Again, the authors make it a point to say that they are not attempting to make a judgment call about high-stakes testing, but rather pointing out the unintended consequences. I think this is the strong point of the book (as a source) since it agrees with my POV on HS testing.
Madaus, George F. “The Distortion of Teaching and Testing: High-Stakes Testing and Instruction.” Peabody Journal of Education. 65.3 (1988) pp. 29-46
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1492818
• Article from the late 80’s in which the author analyzes the relationship between HS-Testing and “…how teachers teach and students learn.” He makes the argument that the presence of the test itself is an influencing factor on the above quoted aspects of education. Additionally he argues that this affect negates the value of the test itself as an accurate tool. The article also provides a brief history of the emergence of HST from the 60’s to the 80’s. On the down side, the author has obviously made conclusions, and based on that the evidence might be twisted to fit those conclusions. Also the article is dated; though this might also be its most attractive selling point for a valid source. Pre-NCLB and “W” it avoids the political motives that might be associated with a modern article on educational policy.
McCaffrey, Daniel F., Laura S. Hamilton, Brian M. Steecher, Stephen P. Klein, Delia Bugliari, Abby Robyn. “Interactions among Instructional Practices: Curriculum and Student Achievement: The Case of Standards-Based High School Mathematics.” Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 32.5 (2001) pp. 493-517
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/749803
• Paper researching the “effects of curriculum on the relationship between instructional practices and student outcomes.” This paper turned out not to be exactly what I was looking for. It mainly focuses on the relationship between how we teach and how that affects student achievement. They used surveys to get data on what instructional practices were being used and they used a standardized test to gauge student achievement. Also it focused on the subject of mathematics, and the professional development reforms being recommended within the field. While the article doesn’t speak directly to my question, it does have the potential to provide a strong supporting argument on one of the links in the chain. If HS-Testing affects instructional practices and curriculum, and this article shows a correlation between those and student achievement, than one can make the argument that there is a correlation between testing and achievement.
Shepard, Lorrie A.; Katherine Cutts Dougherty. Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Instruction. Chicago: Speech/Paper Given at “Annual Meetings of the American Educational Research Association” 1991. ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED337468
Accessible via Eric @ http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED337468
or the Author’s web page @
http://www.colorado.edu/education/faculty/lorrieshepard/PDF/Effects%20of%20High-Stakes%20Testing.pdf
• Paper presented regarding the influence of HS-Testing on instruction. The study was a highly detailed study. Conclusions were data-driven and the author admirably admits to her own preconceptions pre-study and her change in perspective. The value of this source is that it is as close to a scientific (or statistically appropriate) study. Though I don’t know how much I will use it, I find the author verbose and confusing, I do see the value in having a statistical component to my paper.
Wideen, Marvin F., Thomas O’Shea, Ivy Pye, and George Ivany. “High-Stakes Testing and the Teaching of Science.” Canadian Journal of Education/ Revue canadienne de l’éducation. 22.4 (1997) pp. 428-444
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1585793
• Report on a pilot case study in two school districts as well as interviews with students, teachers, and administrators. Found “decrease in the variety of instructional approaches from grade 8 to grade 12” (page 428) Reached two conclusions, both negative effects. Teachers pushed away from utilizing strategies that encouraged “active student learning” (p. 428) and a negative, minimizing, effect on the language (“discourse”[p. 428]) in the classroom. They start out putting the study in context, almost justifying the results. It has merit (focuses on science). Plus- diversity of perspectives looked at. Major drawback- it is a study of the Canadian educational system. There are limitations as to the extrapolations I can make. I can still make the argument that the fundamental concepts are still there. However, the study did look at a large metropolitan area school district, so there are implications of possible alignment with urban education.
http://www.amazon.com/Unintended-Consequences-High-Stakes-Testing/dp/0742526275/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225990646&sr=8-1
• Book focusing on the “unintended consequences of high-stakes testing as expressed by students, parents, educators and researchers. The authors take a “school based” approach to the research. Rather than looking at the history of testing and making assumptions based on the context of the environment in which they are examining the subject, they enter the classroom and ask the people affected by the issue to tell their stories. The authors are very upfront with their educational philosophy and there seems to be no hidden agenda. What I like about this book is its apparent transparency. They acknowledge that they can’t completely separate intended from unintended consequences. I also like the focus on the impact on curriculum and the effect on how teachers are changing their teaching. I also like how they have a section on the effect of teachers preparing students for tests (this has a personal ring to me as I will be forced to deviate from the curriculum to do a unit on NJASK-prep this year). While I am not sure if there is enough focus on urban centers and Newark at all, I believe that this book touches on many, if not all of the facets of the issue I wish to address in my paper and in this way will be a valued, if not my primary source. The down side is that it is a secondary source with some primary quotes, but more primary source material will be necessary. Again, the authors make it a point to say that they are not attempting to make a judgment call about high-stakes testing, but rather pointing out the unintended consequences. I think this is the strong point of the book (as a source) since it agrees with my POV on HS testing.
Madaus, George F. “The Distortion of Teaching and Testing: High-Stakes Testing and Instruction.” Peabody Journal of Education. 65.3 (1988) pp. 29-46
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1492818
• Article from the late 80’s in which the author analyzes the relationship between HS-Testing and “…how teachers teach and students learn.” He makes the argument that the presence of the test itself is an influencing factor on the above quoted aspects of education. Additionally he argues that this affect negates the value of the test itself as an accurate tool. The article also provides a brief history of the emergence of HST from the 60’s to the 80’s. On the down side, the author has obviously made conclusions, and based on that the evidence might be twisted to fit those conclusions. Also the article is dated; though this might also be its most attractive selling point for a valid source. Pre-NCLB and “W” it avoids the political motives that might be associated with a modern article on educational policy.
McCaffrey, Daniel F., Laura S. Hamilton, Brian M. Steecher, Stephen P. Klein, Delia Bugliari, Abby Robyn. “Interactions among Instructional Practices: Curriculum and Student Achievement: The Case of Standards-Based High School Mathematics.” Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 32.5 (2001) pp. 493-517
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/749803
• Paper researching the “effects of curriculum on the relationship between instructional practices and student outcomes.” This paper turned out not to be exactly what I was looking for. It mainly focuses on the relationship between how we teach and how that affects student achievement. They used surveys to get data on what instructional practices were being used and they used a standardized test to gauge student achievement. Also it focused on the subject of mathematics, and the professional development reforms being recommended within the field. While the article doesn’t speak directly to my question, it does have the potential to provide a strong supporting argument on one of the links in the chain. If HS-Testing affects instructional practices and curriculum, and this article shows a correlation between those and student achievement, than one can make the argument that there is a correlation between testing and achievement.
Shepard, Lorrie A.; Katherine Cutts Dougherty. Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Instruction. Chicago: Speech/Paper Given at “Annual Meetings of the American Educational Research Association” 1991. ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED337468
Accessible via Eric @ http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED337468
or the Author’s web page @
http://www.colorado.edu/education/faculty/lorrieshepard/PDF/Effects%20of%20High-Stakes%20Testing.pdf
• Paper presented regarding the influence of HS-Testing on instruction. The study was a highly detailed study. Conclusions were data-driven and the author admirably admits to her own preconceptions pre-study and her change in perspective. The value of this source is that it is as close to a scientific (or statistically appropriate) study. Though I don’t know how much I will use it, I find the author verbose and confusing, I do see the value in having a statistical component to my paper.
Wideen, Marvin F., Thomas O’Shea, Ivy Pye, and George Ivany. “High-Stakes Testing and the Teaching of Science.” Canadian Journal of Education/ Revue canadienne de l’éducation. 22.4 (1997) pp. 428-444
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1585793
• Report on a pilot case study in two school districts as well as interviews with students, teachers, and administrators. Found “decrease in the variety of instructional approaches from grade 8 to grade 12” (page 428) Reached two conclusions, both negative effects. Teachers pushed away from utilizing strategies that encouraged “active student learning” (p. 428) and a negative, minimizing, effect on the language (“discourse”[p. 428]) in the classroom. They start out putting the study in context, almost justifying the results. It has merit (focuses on science). Plus- diversity of perspectives looked at. Major drawback- it is a study of the Canadian educational system. There are limitations as to the extrapolations I can make. I can still make the argument that the fundamental concepts are still there. However, the study did look at a large metropolitan area school district, so there are implications of possible alignment with urban education.
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