Roger Passman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Roger Passman
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Apr 1, 2002
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Sep 22, 2003
Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces o... more Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces of writing given the time set aside for writing. Using a convenience sample with 17 fourth-grade students in two classes in a rural West Texas elementary school, we found that when given time as the constraint, children were better able to stay on task and, in fact, they wrote more than students that were constrained by length. Introduction This work grew out of a developing partnership between one small, rural West Texas elementary school district and a university professor responding to a call by the Regional Educational Service Center serving the school to improve the writing performance in grades K-8. The school was searching for a way to improve writing across the entire school curriculum with a concentration in fourth-grade because the school was labeled low performing by the Texas Educational Agency based on the results of the prior year's Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) writing exam at the fourth-grade level. In my role as writing consultant to the school, I engaged in a larger study of the impact of reflection on teaching and learning. The larger study included students and teachers in grades 2 through 6 with a focus on writing pedagogy. This qualitative study is seeking to understand more about the role of reflection in professional development, especially as reflection impacts the teaching of writing in elementary school classrooms. This paper grew out of that collaborative relationship as participating teachers and I began to explore ways to increase the length of fourth grade writing. I will report the results of a study in fourth grade writing aimed at increasing the length of student writing. The project goal was to find a way to encourage fourth-grade student writers to compose longer and more meaningful pieces. I am only concerned here with the quantity of writing and not the quality of that writing. Several factors influenced this decision. First, the writing model I followed strongly supported the notion that before students could develop the motivation to improve quality of writing they had to see themselves in the role of author Calkins, 1994). In addition, the underlying notion that as quantity of writing increased the quality of that writing would soon follow (Murray, 1997). I reasoned that length may be closely related to notions in reading such as rate and fluency, mechanical aspects of the reading process that helps build fluency (Adams, 1994). Background I began by asking students to frequently write for authentic purposes and to write over extended periods of time. Strategies and skills were also being introduced as a part of a comprehensive strategic writing approach. In using the term authentic I follow Newmann and his colleagues (Newmann, Marks, & Gamoran, 1995; Newmann & Wehlage, 1993) when they argue that in order for an assignment to be authentic it must have two significant features: 1) value beyond school, and 2) an audience beyond the teacher. I believed that by engaging students in authentic writing while introducing both rhetorical strategies and mechanical skills, longer and more meaningful writing would emerge, unencumbered by false or imposed constraints such as length as a determining factor. In the fourth grade classrooms participating in this inquiry, students wrote for an audience beyond their teacher. Through use of the author's chair (Calkins, 1994) students wrote primarily, although not exclusively, for an audience of their peers. Students, for example, wrote for parents and community residents by organizing and presenting an "Author's Tea" in March. In order to give assignments that had a value beyond school, I was careful to choose real-life issues, encourage students to engage in personal experience narratives, or to let students choose topics on which to write. In order to keep students engaged in writing during the teaching of rhetorical strategies, I never assigned writing topics based on length. …
Paper delivered at AERA , 2002
Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmu... more Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmud, the rabbis discuss whether or not the Torah, or any other sacred writing, can be translated into the language of the 'goyim' (Hebrew for the nations) and have that translation continue to retain sacred qualities. In this paper, I argue that the rabbis were considering the Jewish diaspora seeing the problem of Jews assimilating into the world in which they lived or remaining a separate people. For them, the question was similar to that raised by W. E. B. DuBois who wrote of a middle alternative, acculturation. To acculturate means to know the world of the other while hanging fast to the world of the self and community, to exist in two worlds with the potential to live well in both.
This paper describes a format developed to confront those things that are taken for granted (TFGs... more This paper describes a format developed to confront those things that are taken for granted (TFGs) by inservice teachers of grades 2 through 5 as they struggled with learning to improve the teaching of writing in their school through the use of focused, rule-governed reflection on artifacts of practice. In addition to reflection, the participants in this study were involved in in-class modeling, teach teaching, and planning. The study took place in a school district in rural Texas, and all six participating teachers lived nearby. Teachers were engaged in the writing improvement project in response to the performance of students in the writing portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. The researcher modeled the T-I-P Writing Process for teachers focusing on "Teach" writing strategies, "Introduce" rhetorical and mechanical skills, and allow time for "Practice." Reflective Practice Discussion Group (RDPG) meetings were held about once a month. Da...
Education Review, 2007
Description: Teaching Writing in the Inclusive Classroom offers teachers in grades 6–12 everythin... more Description: Teaching Writing in the Inclusive Classroom offers teachers in grades 6–12 everything they need to help all students develop basic writing skills, relate writing to real-life tasks, and explore writing as a creative and enjoyable practice. Filled with fifty engaging activities, this hands-on resource is an important and valuable tool that can supplement any teacher's approach to writing instruction. Teaching Writing in the Inclusive Classroom offers strategies based on the proven TIP Writing Process that is designed to individualize the writing process by focusing on the specific needs of each student within the classroom.
This study analyzed rural Texas teachers commitment to purposeful change through active participa... more This study analyzed rural Texas teachers commitment to purposeful change through active participation in a teacher study group, the Reflective Practice Discussion Group (RPDG). The RPDG involved focused, rule-governed discussion that examined how to support teachers engaged in purposeful change. The fundamental professional concern of the project was to support teachers through the process of developing student centered learning environments, particularly as related to writing. The project focused on new ways to think about the teaching of writing, in-class modeling of these strategies, and RPDGs. Data were collected from interviews with participating teachers, audiotapes of RPDG sessions, field notes, and student writing. Results indicated that all fourth grade students, particularly those most at risk of failure, made gains in writing during the 2000-01 school year (when teachers were involved in the project). Teachers attitudes toward the teaching and value of writing changed dramatically and positively. They felt that the project helped them to really be teachers. They began to release more responsibility to their students for learning. Students developed more positive attitudes toward writing. The district incorporated time for reflective conversation as part of its ongoing professional development. (Contains 16 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This paper grew out of the collaborative relationship that emerged from in-class modeling of stud... more This paper grew out of the collaborative relationship that emerged from in-class modeling of student-centered writing approaches as participating teachers and a consultant/researcher began to explore ways to increase the length of fourth -grade writing. The paper reports on a small study in fourth-grade writing aimed at increasing the length of student writing. According to the paper, one goal was to find a way to encourage student writers to compose longer and more meaningful pieces, and additionally, to develop personal experience narratives and the writing process. The limited focus of the paper is to tentatively explore one approach to increasing the quantity of writing produced in one session. The paper reports that students (n=17) in two classrooms were assigned the same writing topic and given similar instructions for prewriting activities. The paper states that in both classrooms the researcher modeled the idea that an elevator to assist people with disabilities to reach the...
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Sep 22, 2003
Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces o... more Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces of writing given the time set aside for writing. Using a convenience sample with 17 fourth-grade students in two classes in a rural West Texas elementary school, we found that when given time as the constraint, children were better able to stay on task and, in fact, they wrote more than students that were constrained by length. Introduction This work grew out of a developing partnership between one small, rural West Texas elementary school district and a university professor responding to a call by the Regional Educational Service Center serving the school to improve the writing performance in grades K-8. The school was searching for a way to improve writing across the entire school curriculum with a concentration in fourth-grade because the school was labeled low performing by the Texas Educational Agency based on the results of the prior year's Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) writing exam at the fourth-grade level. In my role as writing consultant to the school, I engaged in a larger study of the impact of reflection on teaching and learning. The larger study included students and teachers in grades 2 through 6 with a focus on writing pedagogy. This qualitative study is seeking to understand more about the role of reflection in professional development, especially as reflection impacts the teaching of writing in elementary school classrooms. This paper grew out of that collaborative relationship as participating teachers and I began to explore ways to increase the length of fourth grade writing. I will report the results of a study in fourth grade writing aimed at increasing the length of student writing. The project goal was to find a way to encourage fourth-grade student writers to compose longer and more meaningful pieces. I am only concerned here with the quantity of writing and not the quality of that writing. Several factors influenced this decision. First, the writing model I followed strongly supported the notion that before students could develop the motivation to improve quality of writing they had to see themselves in the role of author Calkins, 1994). In addition, the underlying notion that as quantity of writing increased the quality of that writing would soon follow (Murray, 1997). I reasoned that length may be closely related to notions in reading such as rate and fluency, mechanical aspects of the reading process that helps build fluency (Adams, 1994). Background I began by asking students to frequently write for authentic purposes and to write over extended periods of time. Strategies and skills were also being introduced as a part of a comprehensive strategic writing approach. In using the term authentic I follow Newmann and his colleagues (Newmann, Marks, & Gamoran, 1995; Newmann & Wehlage, 1993) when they argue that in order for an assignment to be authentic it must have two significant features: 1) value beyond school, and 2) an audience beyond the teacher. I believed that by engaging students in authentic writing while introducing both rhetorical strategies and mechanical skills, longer and more meaningful writing would emerge, unencumbered by false or imposed constraints such as length as a determining factor. In the fourth grade classrooms participating in this inquiry, students wrote for an audience beyond their teacher. Through use of the author's chair (Calkins, 1994) students wrote primarily, although not exclusively, for an audience of their peers. Students, for example, wrote for parents and community residents by organizing and presenting an "Author's Tea" in March. In order to give assignments that had a value beyond school, I was careful to choose real-life issues, encourage students to engage in personal experience narratives, or to let students choose topics on which to write. In order to keep students engaged in writing during the teaching of rhetorical strategies, I never assigned writing topics based on length. …
High stakes testing is a given in many public school districts in the United States. This paper r... more High stakes testing is a given in many public school districts in the United States. This paper reports the chilling effect high stakes testing had on the pedagogy of one teacher. The study took place in a large Midwestern urban district where a university consultant observed a fifth-grade classroom. This researcher was able to observe and document a teacher who attempted to engage in purposeful change in her teaching style and classroom structure. The instructor decided to teach a unit on the Age of Exploration, a long-term inquiry project about explorers. She divided the class into six groups of five and sat them at individual tables. She started the project by covering her curriculum in a traditional manner, but once she determined what the students knew about explorers, she instructed the students to choose one question, either one of their own or one from another group, and do research and discover the answer. The students were then asked to take a series of weeks to prepare a report, both written and visual, to present to the school community. Over the next several weeks, the students researched at the school library, connected to the Internet, and looked at classroom resources on their topics. The teacher's role became more of a coach in which the'shift of responsibility for learning was on the student. As a result, she watched the students enter the world of discovery and inquiry on a topic that genuinely engaged the entire class. The project was a complete success; two of her groups gave very impressive and sophisticated presentations on the topics of "navigation" and "supplies". The teacher noted, "It's amazing how smart kids get when you teach them this way." However soon after the completion of the exploration project, the principal called a faculty meeting. He made a direct order to the school teachers stating, "Don't teach anything that isn't on the Iowa test". He then reminded the teachers about probation, testing success, and job security. After the meeting, the fifth grade teacher felt compelled to return to a traditional classroom setting and abandon her efforts toward a student-centered pedagogy. When faced with the pressure of high-stakes assessment, sadly, the teacher returned to a more teacher-directed classroom where students were once again isolated from one another. She stated, "The constructivist stuff is nice, but we have real work to do now." (Contains 4 figures and 16 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Education, Sep 22, 2001
... ИНФОРМАЦИЯ О ПУБЛИКАЦИИ. Название публикации, EXPERIENCES WITHSTUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING AND L... more ... ИНФОРМАЦИЯ О ПУБЛИКАЦИИ. Название публикации, EXPERIENCES WITHSTUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING AND LEARNING IN HIGH-STAKES ASSESSMENT ENVIRONMENTS. Авторы, R. Passman. Журнал, Education. Издательство, Project Innovation. ...
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Apr 1, 2002
High stakes testing presents a significant problem for the design of effective professional devel... more High stakes testing presents a significant problem for the design of effective professional development. The absurdity of asking teachers and administrators to raise test scores constantly encourages teachers to teach to the test without regard for the intellectual development of students. This case study from Texas describes the reflective discussion group in which teachers in a high-stakes testing situation met monthly to focus on what student writing revealed about their teaching practices. Six elementary school teachers and the researcher held reflective meetings, and the content of the meetings was analyzed. The reflective conversation data are supported by interviews with the teachers. The discussions fell into three phases, discourse related to Barriers to Change, discourse focusing on Conditions for Change, and a final Discourse of Change in which teachers begin to think not only about their current teaching, but on what they could do in the future. The school experienced a dramatic increase in scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), jumping from a 44% pass rate to a pass rate of 68% and moving from low performing to acceptable. This change was attributed to schoolwide emphasis on literacy and using the TAAS to inform instructional practice rather than to dictate instruction. Teachers also credited the reflective conversations in helping them understand their roles as teachers and guides. (Contains 12 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmu... more Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmud the rabbis discuss whether or not the Torah, or any other sacred writing, can be translated into the languages of the "goyim" (Hebrew for nations, generally referring to nations other than Israel) and have that translation continue to retain the qualities that make the text sacred. In a statement of unlimited universality the Mishna gives only minimal assurance that translation does not interfere with sacredness. The position is one of assimilation, welcoming cross-cultural interface with the host nation. This paper considers Jewish relations with host nations, specifically suggesting that the "Halakah" (Law) leans decisively toward acculturation rather than assimilation deserves a serious revisiting by U.S. Jews. The paper provides a historical overview of Jewish immigrants' reaction to the U.S., particularly post-World War II. Considering the price for Jewish assimilation, it contends that the issue Joseph faced in Egypt was self-definition and asserts that this is the same critical question facing assimilated U.S. Jews today in light of two significant events, the Shoah and the state of Israel. The paper discusses the assimilationist discourse in relation to the Jewish discourse of social responsibility. It finds that understanding that discourse to participate in the social and political life of the U.S. culture is quite different from adopting that discourse as your own; that acculturation is understanding and contributing to the host culture while retaining the content that affords a full and complete connection with the horizons that make a person Jewish. (Contains 13 references and 10 notes.) (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This paper argues that teacher knowledge is a necessary component in the development of new knowl... more This paper argues that teacher knowledge is a necessary component in the development of new knowledge about teaching and learning. Teacher knowledge in collaboration with university partnerships that are engaged in the practice of intentional change coupled with reflective conversations that serve as an enhancement to ongoing, long-term professional development is a powerful tool for understanding the nature of teaching and learning. The paper describes changes that occurred over time in the reflective conversations of one such collaborative partnership. Four teachers and a teacher educator worked over one year in active, intentional, and ongoing professional development. One significant element of their collaboration was engaging in reflective conversations. These conversations led to the growth of an interdependent learning community in which all participants came to understand their connection to every other member of the group. The paper describes the project, which was set in middle schools within a large urban school district to promote faculty development. It discusses the reflective conversations, examining barriers to change, conditions for change, and changing practice. Finally, it notes implications arising from this work, discussing action made public; action as a. focus of change; focused, rule-governed reflection; connections; and going public. (Contains 39 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Drafts by Roger Passman
This paper critically examines the consequences of standardized testing on the development of cri... more This paper critically examines the consequences of standardized testing on the development of critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and civic engagement among students. It argues that the overemphasis on standardized testing in K-12 education leads to a generation of students who are not only ill-prepared for the complexities of modern life but also easily manipulated by populist politicians. The discussion expands to explore how standardized testing reinforces systemic inequalities such as racism, gender bias, wealth disparity, religious intolerance, nativism, and xenophobia. Through a comprehensive analysis, the paper highlights the urgent need for educational reform that prioritizes critical thinking, creativity, and civic responsibility over mere test performance.
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Apr 1, 2002
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Sep 22, 2003
Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces o... more Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces of writing given the time set aside for writing. Using a convenience sample with 17 fourth-grade students in two classes in a rural West Texas elementary school, we found that when given time as the constraint, children were better able to stay on task and, in fact, they wrote more than students that were constrained by length. Introduction This work grew out of a developing partnership between one small, rural West Texas elementary school district and a university professor responding to a call by the Regional Educational Service Center serving the school to improve the writing performance in grades K-8. The school was searching for a way to improve writing across the entire school curriculum with a concentration in fourth-grade because the school was labeled low performing by the Texas Educational Agency based on the results of the prior year's Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) writing exam at the fourth-grade level. In my role as writing consultant to the school, I engaged in a larger study of the impact of reflection on teaching and learning. The larger study included students and teachers in grades 2 through 6 with a focus on writing pedagogy. This qualitative study is seeking to understand more about the role of reflection in professional development, especially as reflection impacts the teaching of writing in elementary school classrooms. This paper grew out of that collaborative relationship as participating teachers and I began to explore ways to increase the length of fourth grade writing. I will report the results of a study in fourth grade writing aimed at increasing the length of student writing. The project goal was to find a way to encourage fourth-grade student writers to compose longer and more meaningful pieces. I am only concerned here with the quantity of writing and not the quality of that writing. Several factors influenced this decision. First, the writing model I followed strongly supported the notion that before students could develop the motivation to improve quality of writing they had to see themselves in the role of author Calkins, 1994). In addition, the underlying notion that as quantity of writing increased the quality of that writing would soon follow (Murray, 1997). I reasoned that length may be closely related to notions in reading such as rate and fluency, mechanical aspects of the reading process that helps build fluency (Adams, 1994). Background I began by asking students to frequently write for authentic purposes and to write over extended periods of time. Strategies and skills were also being introduced as a part of a comprehensive strategic writing approach. In using the term authentic I follow Newmann and his colleagues (Newmann, Marks, & Gamoran, 1995; Newmann & Wehlage, 1993) when they argue that in order for an assignment to be authentic it must have two significant features: 1) value beyond school, and 2) an audience beyond the teacher. I believed that by engaging students in authentic writing while introducing both rhetorical strategies and mechanical skills, longer and more meaningful writing would emerge, unencumbered by false or imposed constraints such as length as a determining factor. In the fourth grade classrooms participating in this inquiry, students wrote for an audience beyond their teacher. Through use of the author's chair (Calkins, 1994) students wrote primarily, although not exclusively, for an audience of their peers. Students, for example, wrote for parents and community residents by organizing and presenting an "Author's Tea" in March. In order to give assignments that had a value beyond school, I was careful to choose real-life issues, encourage students to engage in personal experience narratives, or to let students choose topics on which to write. In order to keep students engaged in writing during the teaching of rhetorical strategies, I never assigned writing topics based on length. …
Paper delivered at AERA , 2002
Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmu... more Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmud, the rabbis discuss whether or not the Torah, or any other sacred writing, can be translated into the language of the 'goyim' (Hebrew for the nations) and have that translation continue to retain sacred qualities. In this paper, I argue that the rabbis were considering the Jewish diaspora seeing the problem of Jews assimilating into the world in which they lived or remaining a separate people. For them, the question was similar to that raised by W. E. B. DuBois who wrote of a middle alternative, acculturation. To acculturate means to know the world of the other while hanging fast to the world of the self and community, to exist in two worlds with the potential to live well in both.
This paper describes a format developed to confront those things that are taken for granted (TFGs... more This paper describes a format developed to confront those things that are taken for granted (TFGs) by inservice teachers of grades 2 through 5 as they struggled with learning to improve the teaching of writing in their school through the use of focused, rule-governed reflection on artifacts of practice. In addition to reflection, the participants in this study were involved in in-class modeling, teach teaching, and planning. The study took place in a school district in rural Texas, and all six participating teachers lived nearby. Teachers were engaged in the writing improvement project in response to the performance of students in the writing portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. The researcher modeled the T-I-P Writing Process for teachers focusing on "Teach" writing strategies, "Introduce" rhetorical and mechanical skills, and allow time for "Practice." Reflective Practice Discussion Group (RDPG) meetings were held about once a month. Da...
Education Review, 2007
Description: Teaching Writing in the Inclusive Classroom offers teachers in grades 6–12 everythin... more Description: Teaching Writing in the Inclusive Classroom offers teachers in grades 6–12 everything they need to help all students develop basic writing skills, relate writing to real-life tasks, and explore writing as a creative and enjoyable practice. Filled with fifty engaging activities, this hands-on resource is an important and valuable tool that can supplement any teacher's approach to writing instruction. Teaching Writing in the Inclusive Classroom offers strategies based on the proven TIP Writing Process that is designed to individualize the writing process by focusing on the specific needs of each student within the classroom.
This study analyzed rural Texas teachers commitment to purposeful change through active participa... more This study analyzed rural Texas teachers commitment to purposeful change through active participation in a teacher study group, the Reflective Practice Discussion Group (RPDG). The RPDG involved focused, rule-governed discussion that examined how to support teachers engaged in purposeful change. The fundamental professional concern of the project was to support teachers through the process of developing student centered learning environments, particularly as related to writing. The project focused on new ways to think about the teaching of writing, in-class modeling of these strategies, and RPDGs. Data were collected from interviews with participating teachers, audiotapes of RPDG sessions, field notes, and student writing. Results indicated that all fourth grade students, particularly those most at risk of failure, made gains in writing during the 2000-01 school year (when teachers were involved in the project). Teachers attitudes toward the teaching and value of writing changed dramatically and positively. They felt that the project helped them to really be teachers. They began to release more responsibility to their students for learning. Students developed more positive attitudes toward writing. The district incorporated time for reflective conversation as part of its ongoing professional development. (Contains 16 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This paper grew out of the collaborative relationship that emerged from in-class modeling of stud... more This paper grew out of the collaborative relationship that emerged from in-class modeling of student-centered writing approaches as participating teachers and a consultant/researcher began to explore ways to increase the length of fourth -grade writing. The paper reports on a small study in fourth-grade writing aimed at increasing the length of student writing. According to the paper, one goal was to find a way to encourage student writers to compose longer and more meaningful pieces, and additionally, to develop personal experience narratives and the writing process. The limited focus of the paper is to tentatively explore one approach to increasing the quantity of writing produced in one session. The paper reports that students (n=17) in two classrooms were assigned the same writing topic and given similar instructions for prewriting activities. The paper states that in both classrooms the researcher modeled the idea that an elevator to assist people with disabilities to reach the...
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Sep 22, 2003
Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces o... more Abstract Our goal was to engage fourth-grade writers to write longer and more meaningful pieces of writing given the time set aside for writing. Using a convenience sample with 17 fourth-grade students in two classes in a rural West Texas elementary school, we found that when given time as the constraint, children were better able to stay on task and, in fact, they wrote more than students that were constrained by length. Introduction This work grew out of a developing partnership between one small, rural West Texas elementary school district and a university professor responding to a call by the Regional Educational Service Center serving the school to improve the writing performance in grades K-8. The school was searching for a way to improve writing across the entire school curriculum with a concentration in fourth-grade because the school was labeled low performing by the Texas Educational Agency based on the results of the prior year's Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) writing exam at the fourth-grade level. In my role as writing consultant to the school, I engaged in a larger study of the impact of reflection on teaching and learning. The larger study included students and teachers in grades 2 through 6 with a focus on writing pedagogy. This qualitative study is seeking to understand more about the role of reflection in professional development, especially as reflection impacts the teaching of writing in elementary school classrooms. This paper grew out of that collaborative relationship as participating teachers and I began to explore ways to increase the length of fourth grade writing. I will report the results of a study in fourth grade writing aimed at increasing the length of student writing. The project goal was to find a way to encourage fourth-grade student writers to compose longer and more meaningful pieces. I am only concerned here with the quantity of writing and not the quality of that writing. Several factors influenced this decision. First, the writing model I followed strongly supported the notion that before students could develop the motivation to improve quality of writing they had to see themselves in the role of author Calkins, 1994). In addition, the underlying notion that as quantity of writing increased the quality of that writing would soon follow (Murray, 1997). I reasoned that length may be closely related to notions in reading such as rate and fluency, mechanical aspects of the reading process that helps build fluency (Adams, 1994). Background I began by asking students to frequently write for authentic purposes and to write over extended periods of time. Strategies and skills were also being introduced as a part of a comprehensive strategic writing approach. In using the term authentic I follow Newmann and his colleagues (Newmann, Marks, & Gamoran, 1995; Newmann & Wehlage, 1993) when they argue that in order for an assignment to be authentic it must have two significant features: 1) value beyond school, and 2) an audience beyond the teacher. I believed that by engaging students in authentic writing while introducing both rhetorical strategies and mechanical skills, longer and more meaningful writing would emerge, unencumbered by false or imposed constraints such as length as a determining factor. In the fourth grade classrooms participating in this inquiry, students wrote for an audience beyond their teacher. Through use of the author's chair (Calkins, 1994) students wrote primarily, although not exclusively, for an audience of their peers. Students, for example, wrote for parents and community residents by organizing and presenting an "Author's Tea" in March. In order to give assignments that had a value beyond school, I was careful to choose real-life issues, encourage students to engage in personal experience narratives, or to let students choose topics on which to write. In order to keep students engaged in writing during the teaching of rhetorical strategies, I never assigned writing topics based on length. …
High stakes testing is a given in many public school districts in the United States. This paper r... more High stakes testing is a given in many public school districts in the United States. This paper reports the chilling effect high stakes testing had on the pedagogy of one teacher. The study took place in a large Midwestern urban district where a university consultant observed a fifth-grade classroom. This researcher was able to observe and document a teacher who attempted to engage in purposeful change in her teaching style and classroom structure. The instructor decided to teach a unit on the Age of Exploration, a long-term inquiry project about explorers. She divided the class into six groups of five and sat them at individual tables. She started the project by covering her curriculum in a traditional manner, but once she determined what the students knew about explorers, she instructed the students to choose one question, either one of their own or one from another group, and do research and discover the answer. The students were then asked to take a series of weeks to prepare a report, both written and visual, to present to the school community. Over the next several weeks, the students researched at the school library, connected to the Internet, and looked at classroom resources on their topics. The teacher's role became more of a coach in which the'shift of responsibility for learning was on the student. As a result, she watched the students enter the world of discovery and inquiry on a topic that genuinely engaged the entire class. The project was a complete success; two of her groups gave very impressive and sophisticated presentations on the topics of "navigation" and "supplies". The teacher noted, "It's amazing how smart kids get when you teach them this way." However soon after the completion of the exploration project, the principal called a faculty meeting. He made a direct order to the school teachers stating, "Don't teach anything that isn't on the Iowa test". He then reminded the teachers about probation, testing success, and job security. After the meeting, the fifth grade teacher felt compelled to return to a traditional classroom setting and abandon her efforts toward a student-centered pedagogy. When faced with the pressure of high-stakes assessment, sadly, the teacher returned to a more teacher-directed classroom where students were once again isolated from one another. She stated, "The constructivist stuff is nice, but we have real work to do now." (Contains 4 figures and 16 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Education, Sep 22, 2001
... ИНФОРМАЦИЯ О ПУБЛИКАЦИИ. Название публикации, EXPERIENCES WITHSTUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING AND L... more ... ИНФОРМАЦИЯ О ПУБЛИКАЦИИ. Название публикации, EXPERIENCES WITHSTUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING AND LEARNING IN HIGH-STAKES ASSESSMENT ENVIRONMENTS. Авторы, R. Passman. Журнал, Education. Издательство, Project Innovation. ...
Academic Exchange Quarterly, Apr 1, 2002
High stakes testing presents a significant problem for the design of effective professional devel... more High stakes testing presents a significant problem for the design of effective professional development. The absurdity of asking teachers and administrators to raise test scores constantly encourages teachers to teach to the test without regard for the intellectual development of students. This case study from Texas describes the reflective discussion group in which teachers in a high-stakes testing situation met monthly to focus on what student writing revealed about their teaching practices. Six elementary school teachers and the researcher held reflective meetings, and the content of the meetings was analyzed. The reflective conversation data are supported by interviews with the teachers. The discussions fell into three phases, discourse related to Barriers to Change, discourse focusing on Conditions for Change, and a final Discourse of Change in which teachers begin to think not only about their current teaching, but on what they could do in the future. The school experienced a dramatic increase in scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), jumping from a 44% pass rate to a pass rate of 68% and moving from low performing to acceptable. This change was attributed to schoolwide emphasis on literacy and using the TAAS to inform instructional practice rather than to dictate instruction. Teachers also credited the reflective conversations in helping them understand their roles as teachers and guides. (Contains 12 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmu... more Judaism is, through its scholarly traditions, both inclusive and isolationist. In the Bavli Talmud the rabbis discuss whether or not the Torah, or any other sacred writing, can be translated into the languages of the "goyim" (Hebrew for nations, generally referring to nations other than Israel) and have that translation continue to retain the qualities that make the text sacred. In a statement of unlimited universality the Mishna gives only minimal assurance that translation does not interfere with sacredness. The position is one of assimilation, welcoming cross-cultural interface with the host nation. This paper considers Jewish relations with host nations, specifically suggesting that the "Halakah" (Law) leans decisively toward acculturation rather than assimilation deserves a serious revisiting by U.S. Jews. The paper provides a historical overview of Jewish immigrants' reaction to the U.S., particularly post-World War II. Considering the price for Jewish assimilation, it contends that the issue Joseph faced in Egypt was self-definition and asserts that this is the same critical question facing assimilated U.S. Jews today in light of two significant events, the Shoah and the state of Israel. The paper discusses the assimilationist discourse in relation to the Jewish discourse of social responsibility. It finds that understanding that discourse to participate in the social and political life of the U.S. culture is quite different from adopting that discourse as your own; that acculturation is understanding and contributing to the host culture while retaining the content that affords a full and complete connection with the horizons that make a person Jewish. (Contains 13 references and 10 notes.) (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This paper argues that teacher knowledge is a necessary component in the development of new knowl... more This paper argues that teacher knowledge is a necessary component in the development of new knowledge about teaching and learning. Teacher knowledge in collaboration with university partnerships that are engaged in the practice of intentional change coupled with reflective conversations that serve as an enhancement to ongoing, long-term professional development is a powerful tool for understanding the nature of teaching and learning. The paper describes changes that occurred over time in the reflective conversations of one such collaborative partnership. Four teachers and a teacher educator worked over one year in active, intentional, and ongoing professional development. One significant element of their collaboration was engaging in reflective conversations. These conversations led to the growth of an interdependent learning community in which all participants came to understand their connection to every other member of the group. The paper describes the project, which was set in middle schools within a large urban school district to promote faculty development. It discusses the reflective conversations, examining barriers to change, conditions for change, and changing practice. Finally, it notes implications arising from this work, discussing action made public; action as a. focus of change; focused, rule-governed reflection; connections; and going public. (Contains 39 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This paper critically examines the consequences of standardized testing on the development of cri... more This paper critically examines the consequences of standardized testing on the development of critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and civic engagement among students. It argues that the overemphasis on standardized testing in K-12 education leads to a generation of students who are not only ill-prepared for the complexities of modern life but also easily manipulated by populist politicians. The discussion expands to explore how standardized testing reinforces systemic inequalities such as racism, gender bias, wealth disparity, religious intolerance, nativism, and xenophobia. Through a comprehensive analysis, the paper highlights the urgent need for educational reform that prioritizes critical thinking, creativity, and civic responsibility over mere test performance.