What does it mean to be a “good” student according to the commonsense?

The “good” student according to commonsense still follows parts of the factory model of education. Traditionally, the “good” student is quiet, sits still and does what they are told. A student that is able to easily retrieve the information being taught and later regurgitate it on an assessment are viewed as the smarter or better students. As referred to in seminar, a good student needs to be silent and stand in a straight line while moving classrooms. As well, good students view their teachers as respectable superiors that is a holder of all upper knowledge.

Within my classroom, I believe a good student is a child that has an open mind to learning. I understand that not every student will want to learn but allowing students to take responsibility for their education can help them become stronger students. I believe that structure is needed within a classroom but it should not be so rigid that it impedes on a student’s creativity and individuality.

Which students are privileged by this definition of the good student?

Typically developing students with stable home life is privileged. When teaching, one of the goals is to teach the next generation of workers so a teacher will try to make their students successful in the work force. Painter explains that in the Chinese culture boys were the ones being educated and in turn they are the most privileged. Students with any form of disability or disorder, mentally or physically, are pegged to be student with learning or social issues. Students of other ethnicities are marginalized, especially within history, because most textbooks students are exposed to are written from the “white” or European point of view. Though the “good student” idea is viewed negatively at times, it is helpful to some students who prefer independent structured assignments.

What is made impossible to see/understand/believe because of these commonsense ideas? 

I discussed this in an earlier blog post but it is so relevant in this situation.  If a teacher does not reflect on themselves within the classroom, then there is no way for their students to fully succeed. Students come into school with prior knowledge, beliefs and goals for the future. Teachers also come into school with prior knowledge, beliefs and goals for the class. Unless the teacher and the students work together to try to achieve a common goal they no goal will be fully met. One of the first priorities must be the identification of the end goal, and the documentation that shows how the students and staff will know when they have reached that goal. Students within minority groups are less likely to succeed within school. As well students are not encouraged to discover parts of their education for themselves, for example problem solving in math is a newer concept because it goes against the grain of traditional education. The idea of common sense come often with older generations’ belief that there does not need to be change within education because they were able to learn without the changes. Many in the older generation do not want to see new things in education, as they were taught in the factory model and they turned out just fine, so why fix it if it is not broken.  But educators are no longer the disseminators of facts, they are the guides that help students to think and problem solve. The idea that students are individuals and all learn differently is something that teachers are beginning to use but if it does not continue students will be treated less like individuals and more like a homogeneous group.

https://archive.org/details/historyofeducati00painiala/page/12

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kkJc7k2AyKB-Usl3pujiMAeWpfzmpZRK/view

“…the greatest effects on student learning occurs when the teachers become learners of their own teaching and when the student become their own teachers”- John Hattie 

I was first drawn to this quote because it discussed the idea of reflective teaching. There is no such thing as the “same student” or the “same class”, so lessons should alter to help all students succeed. There are times when some teacher, consciously or unconsciously, put their own biases into their lesson, which in turn teaches students from a place of prejudice. It also shows the importance of students being passionate and involved with their learning.

Possibilities 

Saskatchewan’s three emphasis of learning are for students to have a sense of self, community, and place; as well the goal is for all students to become lifelong learners and engaged citizens. Allowing students to have self-directed studies, especially in areas that they enjoy, can increase their self-confidence and inspire students to continue learning outside of school hours. By allowing students to express themselves, the school will become a healthier community. Self or peer directed studies allow for more work within the community, and students could research different areas of the city then visit them to see the large impact places have on a community.

This goes along side another quote of Hattie’s, which is…

“It is teachers who have created positive teacher student relationships that are more likely to have the above average effects on students”.

– John Hattie

Knowing and acknowledging a teacher can impact their student’s learning, with something as simple as a “hello” or “how are you” can help a student feel more connected. Learning alongside students can have a large positive impact on how a student views school. By learning alongside the students, teachers can create a positive teacher student relationship. This can help unconscious psychological area of schools, because the teacher stands at the front, while the students are in desks it is as if they are towering over the students but allowing each student to have a chance to teach gives a sense of equality. When a teacher learns alongside their students it builds a positive learning environment.

Impossibilities or set backs

At one point it needs to be accepted that a teacher will have the knowledge and understanding that the students are learning.  There will be times in which a teacher might need to teach in the traditional way, but allowing to students to have discussion within that time can help with their memory of the subject. Assessment and meeting the curriculum criteria can become challenging when allowing students more independence. To avoid having frequent small subject specific assignments, try using multiple outcomes from different subject areas so students can still see improvement.

These quotes show the importance of students being noticed, and if a student is noticed they are more likely to be engaged with school. A student that is told to sit still and listen to the teacher all day, like a factory assembly line will struggle to connect because there is no student teacher connection as well as no student subject connection. If a student is allowed to choose subject matter to study and the teacher has discussions with the student, that student will be more engaged because they have a connection to their learning.

Links to quotes

Respond to the following prompt on your blog: In a post, unpack that quote. Think about what it makes possible and impossible in education. What does it say about the teacher, about the student? How does it related to your own understandings of curriculum and of school? Take this as a dry run for your first assignment!

As a teacher it is important to look at what you are teaching and ask “why”. There are times that your schedule gets busy or the students are not learning at a desired rate but it is important to realize that it is better if the students truly understand one concept rather than only knowing parts of multiple concepts. I believe that it would be a helpful when making lessons to look at Tyler’s fundamentals to see if you are successfully teaching your students.

I find that teachers often understand the purpose of a lesson, but that purpose is not always shown to the students, and in turn the students become less interested. Within my education math courses, I have learned the importance of allowing students to discover their own learning through activities rather than “having the instructor perform certain activities” (Tyler 1949: 44). It is important that the students are engaged in what they are learning and have a chance to discover parts of it by themselves. Students need the time to internalize and understand the material.

Within my placement school I found that the teacher had the outcomes the class was working on listed on the board. This allowed the students to see what they were working towards and what the expectations were. Within my classroom I would like to expand this and add what activities we will be doing to learn each outcome. I will also try to talk to my students to see if my teaching is effective. Having exemplars of the work helps the students to identify what they need to strive for.

Growing up many of my assessment mirrored the shopping list style. If a student was able to solve one question on one assignment, it meant that they were capable of solving any question using those same principals. This is just not true, as even people who are trained and certified in certain areas still make mistakes but they are able to find those mistakes afterwards because they full understand the concept. This was also common in high school were a unit would be taught and tested at the beginning of the year, but also tested at the final even though the concept was not use since the original testing. If we truly understood the concept, the final should be easy, but if we can just do the shopping list, the final would be much more difficult.  A professor once referred to this type of teaching as “covering the content” rather than seeing and understanding the concepts.

The limitation I found within the four fundamentals and other areas of Tyler’s rationale is the difficultly to assess students who are not part of the classroom majority. If a school or classroom is trying to get each student to read at grade level, what happens to the students who are reading above grade level, as they are no longer challenged. There is no true way to know if the educational purposes will be attained, especially since educational purposes will have to change as society changes.

The educational purpose of Saskatchewan education is based around becoming lifelong learners. To create educational experiences Saskatchewan tries to encourage both learning in the classroom but also learning from a professional in certain fields. By introducing both new material and reviewing previous material it allows students to find areas that they enjoy. If students are asking questions and researching independently, it shows that the purpose of education is being attained.

Tyler’s four fundamentals

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?

2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?

3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?

4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained? (Tyler 1949: 1)

Works Cited

Smith. (n.d.). Theory and Practice in Curriculum

Tyler, R. W. (1949) Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction , Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Curriculum development from a traditionalist perspective is widely used across schools in Canada and other countries. Can you think about: (a) The ways in which you may have experience the Tyler rationale in your own schooling? (b) What are the major limitations of the Tyler rationale/what does it make impossible? (c) What are some potential benefits/what is made possible? Be sure to refer to the assigned article in your post; you may also include information from lecture if you wish.