Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Both Sides Now
Judy Collins wrote a beautiful song called "Both Sides Now". In one of the verses she talks about clouds and how beautiful they are. She sings "Bows and flows of angel hair and ice-cream castles in the air". She continues with, "But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone." Her song brings to mind what I am thinking about learning and assessment. Am I a constructivist or do I favor direct instruction? I have been in education a long time and I have looked at education from both sides now(actually every side) .In this module we looked at two journalism classes, one planned by a constructivist and the other in the style of direct instruction. As a graduate or undergraduate student I am a constructivist. I read and write well and I love being in charge of my own learning. I love the richness of the discussions and learn from members of the class. We are all teachers in this online class.
As a middle school teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools I see administrative support for both types of learning. As part of a Saturday Academy I attended a session on "Understanding by Design." In addition school leaders have encouraged descriptive feedback and peer assessment. On the other hand, the district and state assessments and the low scores of Milwaukee's school children muddle the issue. There is now a tendency to mandate direct instruction out of a purchased curriculum. Maybe there is a middle ground where reading and writing is directly taught and become tools for future constructivists. At any rate Milwaukee is under a storm cloud being cited as a failure under No Child Left Behind.Hope the storm cloud goes away soon, as I am busy applying constructivist theory to my final project, and really want to teach it this fall to my middle school students.
# posted by pamelag @ 12:23 PM 
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