Feedback on blog about PISA results

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Our blog post on the PISA scores generated a lot of feedback. Here are some of the comments we have received:

  • We can add the lack of time for collaborative planning in schools and the lack of professional development opportunities that are job-embedded are factors that must be considered.
  • Is it just my idea or is PISA  becoming a ruler for our educational systems? Even telling the way we need to teach? PISA results make even Finnish feel nervous because they dropped some points 🙂
  • I have not read anything by anyone else that remotely comes close to what Clive has said. I will share this with my teacher candidates.
  • The gap between the rich and poor in my country is great. This affects education in all ways.
  • When people use words like “failure”, “crisis’, and “floundering” they are being silly.
  • Clive’s piece has motivated me to write an op-ed for our newspaper.
  • The news about PISA scores have been a new in Peru too… beyond our low position in the ranking compared with the other countries, one salient topic is the huge inequality gaps.

PISA Results December 2013

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The recently released PISA results have many Asian countries scoring substantially higher than the US, UK, and Canada on math, reading, and science. Some people are saying this shows that the latter countries need to place more emphasis on “the basics” (such as times tables, formulas, spelling, etc.) rather than problem solving and relevance. My response is threefold:

 ·      Part of the disparity in scores is due to typical features of Asian schooling that I don’t think are desirable: high-stakes national exams, cram schools, and enormous pressure on students to learn the basics at any cost. I rarely meet people from Asia who are glad they experienced this kind of schooling.

·      Part of it is because we’ve asked teachers to teach for meaning and relevance without showing them how. In math, for example, we give them an 36 hour math methods course in teacher education and send them out to reverse a lifetime of experience and cultural initiation.

·      Clearly, teachers need to do BOTH – teach the basics AND meaning, relevance, etc. And I believe this is entirely possible. But we need to figure out how to do it and systematically teach and model it in pre-service and in-service (in the context of the various subjects), rather than just making general pronouncements about constructivism, discovery learning, and teaching for understanding.  

                                                                                                                                       Clive Beck

 

Frustration with Fitness

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As many of my friends know, I love fitness. I did an aerobics class that left me talking to myself. The instructor is extremely fit and loves fitness but …. The class was so chaotic that I felt like I had been on the spin cycle of a washing machine – running this and that way, twirling every which way. What is so frustrating is that the instructor has been given so much feedback on her class — stop all of dashing about because no one can follow you. But she has not heeded any of the advice. This experience with the aerobics class is so much like teaching. Even if you know your subject well, you have to set up the class so that the students can follow your direction and then actually apply what they are learning.  Being attentive to learners to ensure that they thrive should be uppermost in the teacher’s approach. Whether it is a fitness class or a grade one reading class or a high school physics class or a literacy methods course in teacher education, students should not leave the session frustrated. Aerobics is hard. Learning is hard. Teachers need to focus on the students whatever the context. And my aerobics instructor should be mindful of the participants. We got up early on a weekend to do a workout (and in Toronto it was mighty cold this morning) so we were all keen to do a workout. What more could a teacher want? This might be something for policy-makers to consider. Engaging the learner should be the first priority! Teacher knowledge of content is important but there is so much more to teaching. Clare

Research Team Celebration

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Our research team had a holiday celebration last night.  OurIMG_1923 team for the study of literacy/English teacher educators works so well. Building a research team is much more than organizing meetings; a research team has to be more like a community of practice where the personal and the professional overlap. Our team meetings include:  updates on personal issues (e.g., health of an ill parent), an agenda of work to be done in the given time, space to talk about professional issues (e.g., should I submit a proposal for a specific conference), and snack. Each meeting is punctuated with laughter (as we battle with NVivo) but we always accomplish “something.” I doubt that anyone ever leaves a meeting thinking that we did not get anything done or that their time was wasted. It takes time for a team to develop a rhythm and to develop a set of group norms. No one told me about how to develop a research team when I was a new professor.  Discussing how to build a research team should be part induction programs for new faculty. Clare

Chris Hayes on Education

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As the PISA results are released there is the usual flurry of commentary and criticism of teachers. Chris Hayes’ show, All In (on MSNBC) had an excellent panel discussion on education. Although most journalists do not seem to “get” education, the panel was excellent because all members are deeply connected to schooling. They understand the importance of teacher morale, impact of poverty on children, the effect of inequity in school funding, and limitations of test scores. Here is the link for the segment:

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/are-american-schools-really-failing-79675459718

Clare

Relational Teaching

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In our study of Literacy Teacher Educators (LTEs) from four countries, I was intrigued at how some of the LTEs adapted their role as 21st century educators by aligning themselves with key elements of from a pedgogy of multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996; Rowsell, Kosnik & Beck, 2008).  The most dynamic of these key elements for me was the LTE’s commitment to relational teaching.  Cope & Kalantzis (2009), original members of the New London Group stressed the “need for students to bring their own, culturally diverse life interests and knowledge to a learning situation”(p.185).  The LTEs in our study clearly supported this sociocultural notion of multiliteracies education in their classrooms as they made time to understand their student teachers’ lifeworlds through discussion and autobiographical assignments.  However, our LTEs took this concept one step further and consciously attempted to develop meaningful relationships with their students. Our LTEs suggested that developing “one-on-one relationships with the students” and “being closely attentive to what my student teachers are doing and saying is hugely important”.  These priorities indicated, for me, the significance of relational teaching to be a successful LTE in the 21st century.  Cathy

cupcakes saying happy anniversary

Book Clubs as a Model

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This is the 20th anniversary of my book club. Yes we have been together for 20 years. We had an anniversary party and had cupcakes! (Much more on my book club in future posts.) I think there have been two essential ingredients for the success of the book club: our sense of community and our engagement with books. I am coding transcripts of our literacy/English teacher educators and a number note that their student teachers do not like to read. I have found in my research on student teachers that many stated that they had loved  reading in elementary (primary) school but by the time they got to secondary school, there was so much prescribed reading (usually textbooks) that they had no time to read for pleasure and in turn,  lost their love of reading. This pattern continued throughout their university years. In my literacy courses in the preservice program I talk a lot about engagement with text and the importance of pleasure og reading. Perhaps, we need to take some lessons from book clubs to ensure that our students do not lose their love of reading — community of readers and joy. I think that it is very hard to be a literacy/English teacher if you do not like to read and do not find reading as engaging.

One change to education?

curriculum; teachers, ,

In the Globe and Mail today (Canadian newspaper) there is an interesting article on the Canadians selected to be Rhodes Scholars. One of the questions they asked each of the 11 new scholars was: One change to education? Their responses were interesting because most focused on engagement, relevance, and access (not on improving test scores). It would be interesting to ask teachers and teacher educators what one change they would like to make to education. I would dearly like to see  greater teacher autonomy so they can plan for their students rather than feel pressure to charge through the curriculum (that may or not meet the needs of their students or be of interest to them). Clare

Upcoming Conference in Toronto

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For those in Ontario you might be interested in the upcoming conference sponsored by the Ontario Deans of Education/Ontario Teaching Federation. This is a low-key conference which addresses issues facing Ontario teacher educators and teachers. I have found it to be interesting because there is lots of opportunities for discussion with fellow faculty. Here is the website for the conference: https://event-wizard.com/2014TeacherEdConf/0/welcome/

Conference will be held at York University. It begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 21, 2014, and runs from 8:30 am to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, 2014.

Proposals are due December 10th. They also produce an e-book of papers from the conference.

Clare

Study of Literacy Teacher Educators

Literacy teacher educators, teacher educators, ,

We are well into phase two of the study on literacy teacher educators in four countries having interviewed 27 of our 28 participants. In this phase we have been looking at goals for their preservice literacy courses, teaching style, and pedagogies. One of the most interesting series of questions has to do with assignments. I have found that asking professors about their assignments tells a great deal about their goals. We have classified assignments into a few categories: digital-related assignment (e.g., digital essay), literacy autobiography, reading logs, lesson plans, curriculum units, portfolios, case study of a child, and assessment-related. There has been remarkable consistency in the types of assignments. Interestingly, almost all feel that the workload is demanding. A question we as a research team and as experienced literacy instructors are asking ourselves, Is the workload too heavy? Clare