As a school librarian, I suppose I should discuss “Big Shift #5 – Know Where Learning“. After all, Richardson focuses on moving from “closed” sources of information, like textbooks, nonfiction books, and all things print that are no longer new once they are published. He says that teachers need to know all about the other information sources available online and whether they are relevant, unbiased, current, etc. Librarian to the rescue!
Or, perhaps I should have chosen “Big Shift #6 – Readers Are No Longer Just Readers“. Readers must not only read, but discern “good information from bad.” That is right up my professional alley, too.
Alas, I chose to reflect on ”Big Shift #9 – Mastery Is the Product, Not the Test.” On page 135, Richardson talks about “the limited ways in which we could show mastery in the ‘old’ days”, meaning that students showed mastery by passing a test. Apparently, Mr. Richardson has not heard of No Child Left Behind… we are still in his “old days.” Classroom teachers and specialists in my school spend September-February preparing students in grades 3-5 for the ISATs (Illinois Standards Achievement Test). That means everything from expository essays to “extended response” (students writing after being given a practice prompt) to math problem-solving to multiple, multiple posters on every classroom wall to assist students in learning what they need to know to pass this test. The ISATs are the Illinois indicator for meeting AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) under NCLB. First and second graders spend instructional time learning how to fill in bubbles!!!
I’m not kidding.
Here is where I come in. I don’t have to make AYP, so I can introduce my students to the wonderful world of the Internet, the podcast, the wiki, the digital story, and (new in January) the blog. I think Richardson is correct when he talks about showing mastery through publication for the wider world. However, classroom teachers have an enormous anvil hanging over their heads from September to August, and it is not until the second week in March, when the testing attains “completion”, that they feel free enough to allow their students more than a few opportunities to show their mastery of concepts through the use of technology in the classroom. There are a few exceptions to this teacher scenario, but not many.
I can already see intense, palpable learning happening on the book review wikis, particularly at the fifth grade level. Those students are working on internet safety podcasts with me this week, working in groups to teach the third grade students who will embark on their first big research project using Internet resources in January. As they do this project, they are reinforcing in their own minds what they have learned about the Internet and its dangers. That’s a stronger lesson than I could ever teach them by giving them a multiple choice exam.
My views on this subject have been enhanced by this course, and it makes me more determined than ever to guide my students into this age of connecting students with content, and with each other, to create new content and demonstrate mastery/learning. Hopefully, I will not have to leave any teachers behind…
References
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, California. Corwin Press.
You certainly cover a lot of ground here, but all your chooses for a big shift are nicely connected. Your comment about “readers not being just readers” struck me as a big shift. Readers in the connected world really are more than just readers, they are participants. They have a voice and can influence or shape the written conversation.
And I was hoping that you were kidding about the “bubble classes” but sadly it seems that you were not. Yikes.