LOVED this week's readings! The article that stood out the most for me was Covington's (Goal Theory, Motivation, and School Achievement: An Integrative Review). This article hit home for me because I saw so many similarities between this and Jewish education. This idea that students learn "for the sake of curiosity, exploration, and self-improvement" (p. 173) is one that is ingrained in Jewish kids from the time they begin in Hebrew school (Hebrew school is all-emcompassing elementary school, not just the language) and it continues into adulthood. It becomes all we know because everyone we go through school with is the same way. We are taught to question everything, even authority, to argue our point if we truly believe it to be valid, and that everything can be turned into a lesson. Inquiry is life. (There's a joke that Jews will beat something to death, then resurrect it just so we can beat it to death again!). Covington states that these conditions were thought to be almost "trait-like" and for the Jews, that is certainly the point of instilling it in us while we are young. It is a trait but not one that we are born with (at least most of us I would gather), rather one that has been drilled into us repeatedly throughout our youngest years, soon becoming part of our everyday lives as if it were borne to us. This need for knowledge causes us to learn about things in a way that requires us to examine everything. We are aso taught that just because a teacher says it is so, does not mean it is true so it is our responsibility to investigate it from other angles. The whole point to learnng is not to one-up your fellow man but instead, as Covington suggests, to increase "one's competency, understanding, and appreciation for what is being learned" (p. 174). It's about your personal best and when you fail, you have failed yourself, not as a comparison to others. A lot of this teaching comes from our parents and Rabbi but most of it comes directly from our teachers. I have seen it undone though once kids get to public school. Not that I am against public school (well, let's just say I am not for it) but with standardized testing and traking, it is difficult to allow students to be self-directed in their learning. Granted, if teachers are willing, and able, to allow students to take charge of their learning by allowing them to lead a class or work in groups and learn from each other, most often times, the students flourish. Comraderie in the classroom is key I think. Covington mentions this key concept as well: "the willingness of students to form a consensus around the goals of doing well and helping peers academically depends on their perceptions that teachers care about them bot as persons and students" (p. 180). So if teachers treat students with respect and show them that their opinions count for something, again, students can flourish. I guess the big question is: how is this balance of teacher/student learning/teaching/comraderie achieved when there are 30 kids in a class period for 40 minutes, all working at different levels?
Covington also discusses Self-Worth Theory and states that there are "individuals who tie their sense of worth to grades and as a result are dominated by performance goals" (p. 181). Hw can they not tie their sense of worth to their grades? That is the American school sytem in a nutshell! It is all about the grades for us. That is the society we live in here. Good grades means being tracked in better classes, means getting into better colleges, means getting the better jobs, means being more successful than the next guy. Am I a little cynical? Yep. I know there are dedicated teachers out there. I believe those teachers taking this course are dedicated just by the sheer fact that they are taking this course, meaning they care about their students. But that's a handful in an overwhelming sea of bad education. So I will move on out of frustration. All this being said...the goal for this week's reflection was to discuss how the theories we read about would help to influence our instruction. For me personally, I think I will continue to do what I know (the 'Jewish way' I will call it for lack of a better word or explanation) because that is what makes sense to me. Not that it is the right way or the only way but it is my way. Much of what we read this week goes hand in hand with what is already being done in independent and private schools and although I do not believe this statement is possible, I would like public schools to adapt independent school mentality. I know, dreamer, right. I understand the education system in our country is seriously flawed and everyone thinks they have the magic bullet so who am I to propose such preposterous ideas? I don't know, I'm just saying...
On another note...Dweck was mentioned in the articles several times so I wanted to mention that she has a book called Mindset that is very helpful in identifying why some students think/act/behave the way they do in classes. There are two mindsets, fixed and growth. The person with the fixed mindset believes that their "qualities are carved in stone". The owner of the growth mindset believes that their "basic qualities are things they can cultivate through their efforts, that everyone can change and grow through application and experience". There is a chapter for teachers as well (What makes a great teacher?) and a chapter dedicatedd to changing mindsets (not just your own but your children's/student's as well).
Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The new psychology of success: How we can learn to fulfill our potential. New York: Ballantine.
Enjoy!
Wow Jen!
ReplyDeleteI love your passionate views and I too get frustrated with the focus on grades and testing. It is really hard not to get caught up in that mentality both as an educator and a parent because I want "my" kids (I always called my students "my kids" so this is referring to both my own children and my students) to feel "successful". Unfortunately, society/the education system tends to dictate what that looks like and grades and test scores are the almighty measure.
The "Jewish Way" as you describe it would certainly be ideal, however, as you point out, it is embraced by parents, rabbis and teachers so the child is getting a consistent message regarding the intrinsic value of learning from everyone. Sadly, this is not true for many children. Of course, I'm not sure what the answer to that would be other than to try to continue to include/educate parents and community members about the role they play in education. I am reminded of the "it takes a village" concept.
I really liked how Covington critiques the archaic view of the "factory model" of education and encourages the vision of "youngsters (being guided) toward a future of their own creation".
Without even going into detail, the latter even sounds better. With the exception of some technological advances, we haven't really progressed much in the way we "do education".
I think the book by Dweck sounds great and I will add it to my Shelfari shelf as an "I want to read" pick!
Happy Parents' Day!! (4th Sunday in July :))
Hello ladies,
ReplyDeleteJen, I found your Jewish analogy delightful! And how refreshing to know that we are teaching some people to question, question, question (I come from the old Irish Catholic model where questions = the ruler. Well, my parents did, anyway. But trust me: that kind of fear passes from one generation to the next. And I share your frustrations, just as Mary posted above. It's so heart-breaking to know and have experience with other ways to "do school" and to have some many obstacles stacked against any attempts to try.
We are in need of a great sea change, a paradigm shift that makes us - all of us: teachers, parents, administrators, community members, and of course, students - reconsider not just "what" schools are meant to do, but "why." Our purpose has been lost, and subsequently we lack vision. Yes our public schools suffer the most, but I absolutely refuse to believe that they are without hope; we just need to mobilize for the revolution...
If you get a chance, I would recommend you check out a video I posted on my blog, especially since the both of you are discussing the limitations of the traditional school model on more experimental instruction. I'd love to know what you think!
Hi Jen:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great blog posting. It was very informative and interesting because it revealed what Jewish education is like in America. I wish that education in the public school system could follow the same model. What I liked the most about the Jewish educational system is that it promotes the idea of value and worth in all its students. Furthermore, it actively encourages to be curious about and to question what they are learning in school Sadly, this is not the case for many students who due to their socioeconomic circumstances that can only afford to be a part of the public school system.
Currently, the public school system due to high stakes testing and accountability requirements demands that many schools adopt an ability-based model in their classrooms. This type of classroom structure follows a competitive format with students' performance being primarily extrinsically motivated and their academic interaction with one another is of an individualistic orientation. For the students who are unable to successfully compete, many of them are seemingly just written off as unteachable, leading to many of these students eventually dropping out of school.
In contrast to the above model, Covington recommends that schools and classrooms should be restructured into a equitable model where students work cooperatively with one another. The challenge as you so effectively pointed out in your posting is "when there are 30 kids in a class period for 40 minutes, all working at different levels" how can one promote cooperative interactions between students with varying levels of academic achievement, while as a teacher, striving to make the lesson and/or classroom assignments interesting and engaging to all students?
One slight frustration that I have in doing the various readings for this class is that I find that many of the motivational researchers do not offer any practical strategies for implementing the theoretical concepts that they write about and champion. More research needs to be done in the academic field of motivational studies where ways to to implement actual ideas are also disseminated. Keller saw the importance of and need for implementation strategies and that is why he conducted field work with the purpose of validating his research findings on what would eventually become the ARCS Model.