Chapter 16: schools and achievement Flashcards
Constructivist approach to learning
PRO: Encourages active exploration and critical thinking
CON: Not enough emphasis on content acquisition
Direct instruction approach
Based on traditional methods
Teacher directs and controls learning
High performance standards
Maximize student “learning time”
Pros and cons of direct instruction approach
PRO: Emphasizes mastery of material/achievement
CON: Promotes passive learning; no emphasis on creativity or critical thinking
Accountability
1990’s: Goverment-driven emphasis on school accountability (measurement of student learning) through implementation of No Child Left Behind and standardized testing
Pros and cons of accountability
PRO:
- Identification of underperforming schools for improvement
- Higher achievement expectations
- Higher performance
CON:
- Low validity of single-point measurement
- No measurement of creativity, critical thinking, or “soft academic skills” (Ex: cooperation, persistence, problem-solving, etc.)
- Encourages “teaching to the test”: memorization of material for purposes of test performance
“Whole Person Education”
Child-centered kindergarten
Focus on physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development
Developmentally appropriate; use play and experiential learning methods
The Montessori approach
Focus on promoting independent learning, exploration, freedom, self-confidence
Child is given opportunities to learn, but explores/chooses on his/her own
Criticisms of the Montessori method
Expensive and inaccesible to many children
Less structured content may be overwhelming/disorganizing and result in less emphasis on certain subjects
“Under-prepared for science and math; overprepared for language and arts”
Developmentally appropriate practice
Based on scientific knowledge of child development
Goal is to foster SKILLS rather than KNOWLEDGE
Critical thinking, cooperation, problem-solving, self-regulation, desire for learning
Which method is best?
Education is not “one size fits all”
Should be based upon children’s needs and learning style
Preschool is beneficial
Project Head start
Federally funded early education program for low-income families (1965)
Age 3-5
Early Head Start (1995)
Birth to three years
Elementary school
Performance standards are higher, instruction is more direct
Self-esteem begins to decrease
Middle school
Higher academic standards
Difficult transition
Puberty, abstract thought, cliques
High school
Current standards are too low
Underfunded, overcrowded
Does not prepare students for life after graduation
The poverty effect
Lower cognitive development
Low educational attainment in parents
Less resources in schools and neighborhoods
Ethnic/racial minority groups disproportionately affected by poverty
