Here is a message from one of the many teachers whove advised me along the way. Our voices are the checks and balances for the system: Curriculum redesign is getting mixed reviews from educators. More negative than positive, but an inability to publicly speak our minds forces teachers to remain silent. Young, inexperienced teachers and those hoping for permanent contracts, career advancement, or recognition are jumping onboard. Experienced and well-read teachers know these trends come and go - the pendulum swings - and it is just a matter of waiting them out after all the money has been spent. There is nothing new in this curriculum design per se. Please check out Discovery Learning en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_learning What is new is the single-mindedness and absoluteness regarding what is best for our students and their futures. I love and embrace change in the classroom when it benefits the learning of my students. I know how to focus on the important need-to-know outcomes of the curriculum to ensure that my students have a broad base of background knowledge in order to apply what they know to think critically and creatively. However, this new curriculum encompasses all-or-nothing thinking with statements like direct instruction is ineffective. Then how would you explain the success of Khan Academy or Ted Talks? It also goes against basic neuroscience (as proven in your math challenge): if facts and information are not easily recalled from long-term memory, ones working memory will not be freed up to expend its energy on critical thinking or problem solving. Personally, my biggest fear is that the freedom given to teachers and students to design and select classroom curriculum is dangerous. Personal biases, favourite topics or activities, pop culture, and a lack of insight on the part of many teachers are going to weaken academic rigour and leave huge learning gaps in student acquisition of skills. Students choosing their own content? Get ready for an abundance of projects on Minecraft or The Hunger Games. There is just too much that is unproven and left to chance with the future of our students at stake. In my other piece, I have mentioned that inquiry based learning can be an excellent and effective teaching strategy for some content. But it should not become the basis of an entire curriculum.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 03:46:18 +0000
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