Dear Classmates and Professor,
As fellow educators and aspiring educators, do you think that the number of standards in all subjects should be reduced? As the second workshop in the Private Universe Project series demonstrates, it is important to foster critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills. In addition, there are many experts in the field that feel that these are the types of skills that students need to learn in a twenty-first century school. How do we balance teaching many standards and teaching students so that they develop a deep understanding of the material? Being able to articulate one's thoughts and justify one's answer is so important in many subjects and mathematics is certainly no exception. However, there are state tests that loom over everyone’s heads, and they cover all of the standards. I see this as a dilemma that many educators currently face. What do you think about this?
Marc
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Marc,
ReplyDeleteGood post. I honestly would be in favor of reducing standards with more of a focus on quality rather than quantity. I am new to teaching so my opinion is not supported by much experience, only what I have seen and heard by fellow teachers I speak to. Such changes would, on the surface, appear to benefit students because then teachers could teach more in depth and perhaps utilize more in class projects that can take more than a traditional 40 minute period to get a particular lesson across. Not sure if this is a sign of things to come, but in 2 classes we have this semester (this and Math 511) there is more of a focus on the cognitive process and thinking in patterns/justifying an answer, so perhaps there is a shift amongst mathematicians in the way the subject is taught and as a result, standards may be amended. For what it is worth, I did also see a draft of proposed standards, and throughout it there does seem to be a focus on problem solving and some reduced content (particularly with regards to functions).
Keith
Keith,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response. The quality versus quantity debate has been going on for as long as I can remember. I have attended professional development conferences where the individuals conducting the professional development are representatives of the New Jersey Department of Education. It was not uncommon to hear people voice their concerns over this issue at these conferences. The State representatives seem to be listening, as I have noticed a small reduction in the number of biology standards.
Marc