Here is my blog for chapters three and four of Tony Wagner's The Global Achievement Gap.
Chapter 3:
Compare Wagner's discussion of testing with your experiences. Do you agree or disagree?
Wagner believes that many of the tests we are giving our students -- state exams as well as regular ones in our classroom -- basically do not accurately assess our students' achievement of real world skills. Often, he argues, they assess students' rote memorization of facts. I agree with him, and especially so in his characterization of the AP exams. Those tests, especially, value breadth of knowledge over depth of knowledge. With depth of knowledge comes the skills Wagner values (analysis, application, etc). I never took the CAHSEE exam, so I can't really speak to its assessment standards (nor can I remember the state exam I took twelve years ago). However, my impressions from talking to other teachers are basically that it falls in line with the other state exams. While the CAHSEE does require some writing, I've been told that many of the essays are graded by computers that look only for specific phrases, and not content, cohesiveness, or development of the actual essay. This is, of course, a terrible way of grading and assessing students' writing abilities or critical thinking. Elsewhere in my personal experiences, I have witnessed the over-reliance on tests that don't measure skills. Specifically, I mean multiple choice tests. Working with cooperating teachers limits the freedom I have to create assessments, so I am often executing their plans and methods for teaching/assessing. The teachers I have worked with like multiple choice tests for a few reasons. First, they're easy to grade. Second, they give everyone a chance to get a good score. And third, students (their thinking goes) aren't capable of responding to essays, doing document-based questions, and rationally making an argument. It's sad to me that the teachers have such a lack of faith in their students abilities, and also that rather than teach them the skills they need to do the more difficult, open-ended questions, they'd rather skip them altogether. I also really appreciated Wagner's take on the higher level math assessments. I've made the argument to colleagues that I think the higher level math classes are a waste of time for most people because the skills they pretend to teach aren't applicable to the real world. My colleagues, responding to my assertions, typically give the same response that Wagner mentions. "It trains the brain to ________." Does it though? As Wagner points out, there isnt much if any evidence for this. Yet it seems to be a given. I've always thought that the probability and statistics classes Ive taken were the most beneficial to me. Given how many math classes I've taken, it's striking that the usefulness of that single class is the exception, rather than the rule for math classes.
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Chapter 4:
Compare Wagner's discussion of teacher education with your own. How would you design the program if you were King of the World?
Sadly, I generally agree with what Wagner has to say about teacher ed. My thoughts on the program reflect what a lot of what his survey respondents said. Many things I've learned seem theoretical and not realistic. The curriculum approach that many educators love to hate, "teaching to the test," is exactly how the program is run throughout California. It's not the fault of the programs, themselves, of course. Rather, it's the state that mandates these assessments that force schools to teach to them. Are teachers better off because of the TPAs in California? Are students learning more because of the added assessment that credential candidates now must pass? I don't know these answers, and I doubt the state of California does either. Wagner's bit about teaching teachers skills and not just preparing us to take the TPAs is dead on. Granted, I've learned a lot from actual experience in clinical practice, but I don't feel as though my classes have given me the skills I need for classroom management among other things. My favorite class has always been my methods class. Until now, I had not realized why this might be the case. I assumed it was the teacher (he's great), but now I see that the reason is more likely because he is teaching skills, not content. The methods teacher isn't trying to prepare us for the TPAs, and therefore is free to teach what he thinks we need to be successful history teachers. I think all of our professors are great, and I would love to see them teach unbound by the pressures of the TPA. If I were King of the world, I would get rid of TPAs. I might keep some sort of assessment, but there would only be one. And it would measure skills, not something like, "does the candidate know what the right thing to do is?" That's all TPAs look for. Does the teacher know how to use assessments? Do they know how to differentiate for ELLs and special needs students? Of course, the operative word here is KNOW. Knowledge, is of course, the lowest level of thinking. If I were King, my assessment would measure skills. I would change the curriculum to be less geared toward the assessment and more collaborative generally. I always learn a lot discussing instructional strategies and classroom management techniques with my colleagues. I would ensure that through teaching skills, emphasizing collaboration and sharing ideas, that candidates were confident when they went into their classroom by themselves for the first time.
Chapter 3:
Compare Wagner's discussion of testing with your experiences. Do you agree or disagree?
Wagner believes that many of the tests we are giving our students -- state exams as well as regular ones in our classroom -- basically do not accurately assess our students' achievement of real world skills. Often, he argues, they assess students' rote memorization of facts. I agree with him, and especially so in his characterization of the AP exams. Those tests, especially, value breadth of knowledge over depth of knowledge. With depth of knowledge comes the skills Wagner values (analysis, application, etc). I never took the CAHSEE exam, so I can't really speak to its assessment standards (nor can I remember the state exam I took twelve years ago). However, my impressions from talking to other teachers are basically that it falls in line with the other state exams. While the CAHSEE does require some writing, I've been told that many of the essays are graded by computers that look only for specific phrases, and not content, cohesiveness, or development of the actual essay. This is, of course, a terrible way of grading and assessing students' writing abilities or critical thinking. Elsewhere in my personal experiences, I have witnessed the over-reliance on tests that don't measure skills. Specifically, I mean multiple choice tests. Working with cooperating teachers limits the freedom I have to create assessments, so I am often executing their plans and methods for teaching/assessing. The teachers I have worked with like multiple choice tests for a few reasons. First, they're easy to grade. Second, they give everyone a chance to get a good score. And third, students (their thinking goes) aren't capable of responding to essays, doing document-based questions, and rationally making an argument. It's sad to me that the teachers have such a lack of faith in their students abilities, and also that rather than teach them the skills they need to do the more difficult, open-ended questions, they'd rather skip them altogether. I also really appreciated Wagner's take on the higher level math assessments. I've made the argument to colleagues that I think the higher level math classes are a waste of time for most people because the skills they pretend to teach aren't applicable to the real world. My colleagues, responding to my assertions, typically give the same response that Wagner mentions. "It trains the brain to ________." Does it though? As Wagner points out, there isnt much if any evidence for this. Yet it seems to be a given. I've always thought that the probability and statistics classes Ive taken were the most beneficial to me. Given how many math classes I've taken, it's striking that the usefulness of that single class is the exception, rather than the rule for math classes.
>
Chapter 4:
Compare Wagner's discussion of teacher education with your own. How would you design the program if you were King of the World?
Sadly, I generally agree with what Wagner has to say about teacher ed. My thoughts on the program reflect what a lot of what his survey respondents said. Many things I've learned seem theoretical and not realistic. The curriculum approach that many educators love to hate, "teaching to the test," is exactly how the program is run throughout California. It's not the fault of the programs, themselves, of course. Rather, it's the state that mandates these assessments that force schools to teach to them. Are teachers better off because of the TPAs in California? Are students learning more because of the added assessment that credential candidates now must pass? I don't know these answers, and I doubt the state of California does either. Wagner's bit about teaching teachers skills and not just preparing us to take the TPAs is dead on. Granted, I've learned a lot from actual experience in clinical practice, but I don't feel as though my classes have given me the skills I need for classroom management among other things. My favorite class has always been my methods class. Until now, I had not realized why this might be the case. I assumed it was the teacher (he's great), but now I see that the reason is more likely because he is teaching skills, not content. The methods teacher isn't trying to prepare us for the TPAs, and therefore is free to teach what he thinks we need to be successful history teachers. I think all of our professors are great, and I would love to see them teach unbound by the pressures of the TPA. If I were King of the world, I would get rid of TPAs. I might keep some sort of assessment, but there would only be one. And it would measure skills, not something like, "does the candidate know what the right thing to do is?" That's all TPAs look for. Does the teacher know how to use assessments? Do they know how to differentiate for ELLs and special needs students? Of course, the operative word here is KNOW. Knowledge, is of course, the lowest level of thinking. If I were King, my assessment would measure skills. I would change the curriculum to be less geared toward the assessment and more collaborative generally. I always learn a lot discussing instructional strategies and classroom management techniques with my colleagues. I would ensure that through teaching skills, emphasizing collaboration and sharing ideas, that candidates were confident when they went into their classroom by themselves for the first time.