Laura Nardozzi- Literary Luminator and Essence Extractor
Passage 1: “In the most restricted sense, learning can be thought of as the mastery of a series of skills leading to good grades and high scores…When learning is defined primarily through test scores, learning is restricted by narrowing the curriculum and pedagogy and reducing teacher motivation.”- pg. 33
This passage struck me as particularly powerful because I feel as though this captures the error we may get sucked into as educators. It is so difficult to look beyond the standardized tests are students are expected to pass for a series of reason: one being that this is what we will be “judged” upon as teachers. How well our students do on a state mandated test somehow tells the state how capable we are of teaching the youth of New York State. Also, as teacher’s it is difficult to get excited about learning ourselves when there is a lack of freedom in what and how our students learn.
Passage 2: "Learning is an active process in which meaning is developed on the basis of experience...at its crudest level learning is thought of as the reproduction of socially sanctioned knowledge."- pg. 35
I thought it was very interesting to see the viewpoint that learning is constructed by the meaning we take from the world around us. In other words an individual is not learning if they are not able to apply what they have learned to their environment.
Passage 3: “However, culture is never fixed or passive, nor is it manifested in the same way in each person. What is needed is a different way to appreciate how culture may influence learning.”- pg. 41
Often when we learn about multiculturalism in our classroom we make generalizations about culture in an effort to be diverse. However, we need to remember that while culture can play an important role in how our students learn, it does not negate their individual learning needs as well.
Essence: Learning is complex and is determined by multiple constructs within society.
Passage 3 is an important passage. Within the classroom setting, we as educators are going to come into contact with students from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds. It is important to look at the student and the culture that they come from in order to understand and get to know the student.
ReplyDeleteShawne Murphy
Yes and by getting to know the student a framework of how to present a lesson is established. This is definitely an ongoing process, as the bond grows and strengthens between the teacher and student. Standardized testing is frustrating, especially knowing a student does not test well but understands the concept. By developing different ways to asses the students and by creating strategies the student can use to achieve higher scores throughout testing could be a start.
ReplyDeleteChristina Trovato
Re: Passage 1: Educators that "live by the rules" of standardized testing and "skill and drill" try train their students to memorize information in order to prepare for tests and “earn good grades” are doing a great disservice to learners. "Learning" in this sense is passive, and in most cases, with many students, short lived. Not to mention, students only master the "surface" level of concepts, and they tend not to grasp the "so what" or significance, especially with regards to history, using these approaches. Have you ever heard of "authentic" practices that allow students to actively learn content and prepare for tests simultaneously? One of my UG professors created a "living" Trail of Tears for her fourth graders in order to teach empathy for the Cherokees as well as the historical facts of the issue. - Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteYes, in 7th grade while I was living in Germany we actually studied the renaissance and constructed a renaissance fair where we studied the daily lives and customs during that time and constructed an entire fair based on what we had learned.We were even fortunate enough to take a class trip to Florence, Italy for a week to study first hand. I'm a huge fan of authentic practices!- Laura
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