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Lessons Learned: A326 Final Project

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01/04/2012 3:57 PM
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Three students in Senior Lecturer Katherine Merseth‘s course, School Reform: Curricular and Instructional Leadership, recently produced a video reflecting on lessons learned in the class. The popular course focuses on school reform policy from the perspective of the classroom, school, and district, specifically by looking at leadership and pedagogy and a deep investigation into the purpose of schools. For a final assignment, Merseth asked students to design a project of their own choosing to demonstrate an understanding of the various stakeholders in school reform, the variety of efforts currently being used to improve schools, and specific leadership acts taken to implement these reforms. students , , and created a 13-minute video featuring an artistic and verbal rendering of their views on the purposes of schools. The goal of the video is to illustrate students’ beliefs and perspectives, an awareness of others’ beliefs and knowledge, and an understanding of strategies and approaches in school reform.

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  • Charlenepose1

    My name is Charlene, i am a teacher from Australia, Sydney and we too have this same problem. What a great way to show both governments and parents that it is a much more complicated than just teaching to a test. Well done!

  • P1m2l3

    Maybe we need to worry less about “Tests” and need to find some way of determining of students actually learn something, in school, that they can use in later life, in the real world…

    Basic useful facts and skills that we can all as a society share, and need to know: The 3 R’s, a little history, a little civics, and whatever.

    Some people are good at learning on their own, some are not. So we have to look at seversl learning styles. What we need is a mixed style, because we can not customize things infinitely down to each student. A lecture here, a video there, individual stuff on Wednesday, a group thing on Friday, etc. That way, however any student CAN learn, something will appeal to that student, and he/she will learn something.

    Moreover, we have to get kids through both grade school and through high school. It is sad today to have people with doctorate degrees working as “Fry Guys”. Maybe we put too much emphasis on higher learning.

    My father had grade 3. He supported a family and raised 3 kids. He never knew calculus (which they tried to teach me an failed), he never heard of the silly Bayeux Tapestry! But he always had work.

    I have 2 university degrees, and plenty of other training besides. I can barely make ends meet. True, I do have some health problems, that have worked against me to some degree….

    But all, in all, I honestly do believe we have a severe bunch of over trained people. Less, College, Less University. More basics. And an easier path for people at the bottom end of the economic scale… to pick up small simple skills and know how, without either Government Policy, or School’s Policy, or something else … stepping in the way to prevent this learning/experience from happening.

    And maybe some of what the 99% Occupiers have been saying makes sense too: Fair wages and taxes for all. Maybe those who earn under a certain amount should be tax free, as long as they are trying. And classifying someone as “disabled” and sending them home on nothing, after they worked 20 years, then telling them they cannot upgrade their skills/knowledge at all, or earn more than $4000 a year, is also very counter productive!

    Take one guy who had “introductory training” in 10 fields, but had no job. Why? It was only INTRODUCTORY training, and not enough training in any area to get a job! The money and time spent on all this training, if it had been concentrated in 1 or 2 areas, might have yielded him a chance to earn a living. (But his instructors and the administrators all made a good buck!)

    And I have seen all these horror stories and more!

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