Deborah Greenblatt | Medgar Evers College, City University of New York (original) (raw)
Papers by Deborah Greenblatt
Teacher Certification during Multiple Pandemics in the Epicenter of it All
Excelsior, Oct 31, 2023
Antisemitism as an Integral Part of Anti-Bias Educational Policies and Practices
Journal for Multicultural Education, 2024
The purpose of this paper is to show how the impact of White Supremacy and Christian hegemony on ... more The purpose of this paper is to show how the impact of White Supremacy and Christian hegemony on the educational system. By highlighting interconnectedness across targeted groups, the authors assert that through coalition building, groups are stronger than they would be working alone. Solidarity gives hope to combating hatred of all kinds. Learning that there is a long history of antisemitism is an important component of fighting bias. With book banning and controversy over teaching critical race theory in schools, it is important that educators reflect on their social justice education.
Building a community of allies and upstanders: Using The Assignment to disrupt hate, bias and antisemitism
English teaching, Jul 13, 2023
Purpose Recognizing that hate crimes and antisemitic attacks are increasing, the purpose of this ... more Purpose Recognizing that hate crimes and antisemitic attacks are increasing, the purpose of this article is to discuss ways The Assignment by Liza Wiemer, a contemporary young adult novel that depicts curriculum violence and its effects on students, acts as a “disruptor” in young adult literature. The authors present a rationale for using young adult literature on The Holocaust in high school classrooms to challenge the status quo and identify ways to become upstanders in the face of hate. Design/methodology/approach Through a content analysis using a critical literacy framework, the authors analyzed The Assignment for pedagogical ways to use the novel to challenge educators and students to examine and rethink how they feel about hate, bias and antisemitism. Findings Four ways the novel can be used as a disrupter were identified: text structure and language, pedagogical practices and curriculum violence, the student/peer/authority figure power dynamic and challenging accepted beliefs that can lead to bias, hate and antisemitism. Practical implications Although all individuals can be impacted by hate and antisemitism, this article focuses on young adults as they are the novel’s target audience. However, the authors believe people of all ages have the potential to disrupt societal practices and become upstanders and suggest ideas in this article be applied broadly to other novels and teaching situations. Originality/value A focus is on the ways the novel can build a community of allies and upstanders – students as agents of change rather than complacent bystanders. As bias, hate and antisemitism are on the rise, this article presents a unique way to combat it through literature and critical discussion.
The Consequences of edTPA
Educational Leadership, May 1, 2016
Conclusions and Some Hopeful Signs
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Reimagining American Education to Serve All Our Children
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Critical Democratic Education as a Way to Prepare for Civic Participation in a Social and Political Democracy
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Working in Educational Settings
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Reimagining American Education to Serve All Our Children: Why Should We Educate in a Democracy?
Teacher Education Quarterly, 2015
Inservice Teacher Education
Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, Feb 22, 2018
Policy Futures in Education, May 1, 2018
The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the "construction of the problem of teac... more The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the "construction of the problem of teacher education" (Cochran-Smith et al., 2013). From this neoliberal discourse came the push for more accountability, contributing to the promotion of a nationally scored standardized teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article examines the impact of the assessment on those taking the elementary education edTPA in New York City, teacher educators and the teacher education curriculum. Based on survey and interview data from teacher candidates and faculty, there is a strong concern about the impact of the cost of the edTPA on economically disadvantaged teacher candidates and under-resourced schools of education. In many cases, teacher candidates were not encouraged to fight the neoliberal discourse but rather to "play the game" to pass a test. Because teacher educators felt it was their job to help their teacher candidates get certified, little resistance was found even among those who were not in support of the edTPA. In resistance to the standardization, teacher candidates were encouraged to be strategic, within the Pearson guidelines, in terms of their class size and composition as well as with the lessons that they taught. There were also accommodations made in teacher candidates placements to avoid testing grades or schools with a standardized curriculum; however, this potentially created new consequences with the avoidance of high-needs schools. Additionally, due to the intersection of the specific requirements of the edTPA and the mandated curricula, teacher candidates went outside the guidelines to pass the test. Furthermore, some teacher candidates decided not to take the edTPA and to get certified in another state or not to go into public education.
What are the Different Meanings of Democracy and Social Justice?
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
What is Knowledge and How Does It Lead to Power and Success?
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Advances in higher education and professional development book series, 2016
The edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) is an enormous undertaking that requires much time and... more The edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) is an enormous undertaking that requires much time and effort. This can create a stressful situation that can have an impact on the teacher candidates and affect on their student teaching experience. With this in mind, schools of education have to look for ways to support teacher candidate and make the process less burdensome while not losing sight of the goals of student teaching or their school missions. This chapter will start with an explanation of the acceptable guidelines for support for the edTPA. It will then move into explaining the challenges teacher candidates face such as mastering unfamiliar language, test documents, and digital literacy skills followed by support strategies. The next section considers the populations of teacher candidates who might need specialized support due to the lack of local scoring and the inherent biases embedded in standardized assessments for a diverse population. The chapter concludes with the benefits and consequences of providing support for teacher candidates to pass the edTPA.
Education in a Democracy: A Journal of the National Network for Educational Renewal, 2021
At the National Network for Educational Renewal Summer Institute in 2020, the Community of Volunt... more At the National Network for Educational Renewal Summer Institute in 2020, the Community of Volunteer Educators (COVE) was transitioning into an organization dedicated to the values of democracy, care, innovation, anti-bias/anti-racism, and equity. The Summer Institute became a forum to get advice on sustaining a group with core values that are similar to the NNER, recruit members, and start additional chapters as part of the Network model. This article will show what was applied by this newly formed non-profit with a mission to expand learning opportunities through free, virtual programming to advance issues of economic, racial, and social justice.
Curatorial note from Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: The Mapping the Futures of Higher Educat... more Curatorial note from Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: The Mapping the Futures of Higher Education (MFHE) course at the City University of New York (CUNY) supplements the cultural and political geography of the metropolis with student-centered timelines and genealogies. The course "emphasized student-centered pedagogies and digital innovation and its practical application within diverse undergraduate classrooms at CUNY." Measures meant to empower undergraduates and graduate student instructors were crucial to its success and integral to its potential implications for future projects that use digital tools to enhance and represent spatial knowledge. Evaluators noted that workshops on mapping software and data management would have enhanced the course by enabling students to produce more technically sophisticated maps; for courses of study that have the objective of imparting or refining those technical skills, mapping their institutions in accordance with local, community...
Authenticity and the edTPA
In this article, we examine the vision and mission of fostering democracy within public schools a... more In this article, we examine the vision and mission of fostering democracy within public schools as described by John Goodlad and others within the field of education, and situate that important work within critiques of the public school system through a social justice perspective. Through the use of case studies, we then describe the ways in which three NNER partnership sites and a newly formed committee within the NNER organization are working to address issues of equity and access for students and families relegated to the margins of school life. These case studies highlight the ways in which work at partnership sites focused on social justice initiatives can empower students, teachers, and members of local communities and amplify the voices of those usually diminished or drowned out in the everyday work of public schools.
Neoliberalism and teacher certification
Policy Futures in Education, 2018
The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the “construction of the problem of teac... more The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the “construction of the problem of teacher education” (Cochran-Smith et al., 2013). From this neoliberal discourse came the push for more accountability, contributing to the promotion of a nationally scored standardized teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article examines the impact of the assessment on those taking the elementary education edTPA in New York City, teacher educators and the teacher education curriculum. Based on survey and interview data from teacher candidates and faculty, there is a strong concern about the impact of the cost of the edTPA on economically disadvantaged teacher candidates and under-resourced schools of education. In many cases, teacher candidates were not encouraged to fight the neoliberal discourse but rather to “play the game” to pass a test. Because teacher educators felt it was their job to help their teacher candidates get certified, little resistance was found even among those w...
Teacher Certification during Multiple Pandemics in the Epicenter of it All
Excelsior, Oct 31, 2023
Antisemitism as an Integral Part of Anti-Bias Educational Policies and Practices
Journal for Multicultural Education, 2024
The purpose of this paper is to show how the impact of White Supremacy and Christian hegemony on ... more The purpose of this paper is to show how the impact of White Supremacy and Christian hegemony on the educational system. By highlighting interconnectedness across targeted groups, the authors assert that through coalition building, groups are stronger than they would be working alone. Solidarity gives hope to combating hatred of all kinds. Learning that there is a long history of antisemitism is an important component of fighting bias. With book banning and controversy over teaching critical race theory in schools, it is important that educators reflect on their social justice education.
Building a community of allies and upstanders: Using The Assignment to disrupt hate, bias and antisemitism
English teaching, Jul 13, 2023
Purpose Recognizing that hate crimes and antisemitic attacks are increasing, the purpose of this ... more Purpose Recognizing that hate crimes and antisemitic attacks are increasing, the purpose of this article is to discuss ways The Assignment by Liza Wiemer, a contemporary young adult novel that depicts curriculum violence and its effects on students, acts as a “disruptor” in young adult literature. The authors present a rationale for using young adult literature on The Holocaust in high school classrooms to challenge the status quo and identify ways to become upstanders in the face of hate. Design/methodology/approach Through a content analysis using a critical literacy framework, the authors analyzed The Assignment for pedagogical ways to use the novel to challenge educators and students to examine and rethink how they feel about hate, bias and antisemitism. Findings Four ways the novel can be used as a disrupter were identified: text structure and language, pedagogical practices and curriculum violence, the student/peer/authority figure power dynamic and challenging accepted beliefs that can lead to bias, hate and antisemitism. Practical implications Although all individuals can be impacted by hate and antisemitism, this article focuses on young adults as they are the novel’s target audience. However, the authors believe people of all ages have the potential to disrupt societal practices and become upstanders and suggest ideas in this article be applied broadly to other novels and teaching situations. Originality/value A focus is on the ways the novel can build a community of allies and upstanders – students as agents of change rather than complacent bystanders. As bias, hate and antisemitism are on the rise, this article presents a unique way to combat it through literature and critical discussion.
The Consequences of edTPA
Educational Leadership, May 1, 2016
Conclusions and Some Hopeful Signs
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Reimagining American Education to Serve All Our Children
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Critical Democratic Education as a Way to Prepare for Civic Participation in a Social and Political Democracy
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Working in Educational Settings
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Reimagining American Education to Serve All Our Children: Why Should We Educate in a Democracy?
Teacher Education Quarterly, 2015
Inservice Teacher Education
Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, Feb 22, 2018
Policy Futures in Education, May 1, 2018
The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the "construction of the problem of teac... more The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the "construction of the problem of teacher education" (Cochran-Smith et al., 2013). From this neoliberal discourse came the push for more accountability, contributing to the promotion of a nationally scored standardized teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article examines the impact of the assessment on those taking the elementary education edTPA in New York City, teacher educators and the teacher education curriculum. Based on survey and interview data from teacher candidates and faculty, there is a strong concern about the impact of the cost of the edTPA on economically disadvantaged teacher candidates and under-resourced schools of education. In many cases, teacher candidates were not encouraged to fight the neoliberal discourse but rather to "play the game" to pass a test. Because teacher educators felt it was their job to help their teacher candidates get certified, little resistance was found even among those who were not in support of the edTPA. In resistance to the standardization, teacher candidates were encouraged to be strategic, within the Pearson guidelines, in terms of their class size and composition as well as with the lessons that they taught. There were also accommodations made in teacher candidates placements to avoid testing grades or schools with a standardized curriculum; however, this potentially created new consequences with the avoidance of high-needs schools. Additionally, due to the intersection of the specific requirements of the edTPA and the mandated curricula, teacher candidates went outside the guidelines to pass the test. Furthermore, some teacher candidates decided not to take the edTPA and to get certified in another state or not to go into public education.
What are the Different Meanings of Democracy and Social Justice?
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
What is Knowledge and How Does It Lead to Power and Success?
Routledge eBooks, Nov 28, 2019
Advances in higher education and professional development book series, 2016
The edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) is an enormous undertaking that requires much time and... more The edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) is an enormous undertaking that requires much time and effort. This can create a stressful situation that can have an impact on the teacher candidates and affect on their student teaching experience. With this in mind, schools of education have to look for ways to support teacher candidate and make the process less burdensome while not losing sight of the goals of student teaching or their school missions. This chapter will start with an explanation of the acceptable guidelines for support for the edTPA. It will then move into explaining the challenges teacher candidates face such as mastering unfamiliar language, test documents, and digital literacy skills followed by support strategies. The next section considers the populations of teacher candidates who might need specialized support due to the lack of local scoring and the inherent biases embedded in standardized assessments for a diverse population. The chapter concludes with the benefits and consequences of providing support for teacher candidates to pass the edTPA.
Education in a Democracy: A Journal of the National Network for Educational Renewal, 2021
At the National Network for Educational Renewal Summer Institute in 2020, the Community of Volunt... more At the National Network for Educational Renewal Summer Institute in 2020, the Community of Volunteer Educators (COVE) was transitioning into an organization dedicated to the values of democracy, care, innovation, anti-bias/anti-racism, and equity. The Summer Institute became a forum to get advice on sustaining a group with core values that are similar to the NNER, recruit members, and start additional chapters as part of the Network model. This article will show what was applied by this newly formed non-profit with a mission to expand learning opportunities through free, virtual programming to advance issues of economic, racial, and social justice.
Curatorial note from Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: The Mapping the Futures of Higher Educat... more Curatorial note from Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: The Mapping the Futures of Higher Education (MFHE) course at the City University of New York (CUNY) supplements the cultural and political geography of the metropolis with student-centered timelines and genealogies. The course "emphasized student-centered pedagogies and digital innovation and its practical application within diverse undergraduate classrooms at CUNY." Measures meant to empower undergraduates and graduate student instructors were crucial to its success and integral to its potential implications for future projects that use digital tools to enhance and represent spatial knowledge. Evaluators noted that workshops on mapping software and data management would have enhanced the course by enabling students to produce more technically sophisticated maps; for courses of study that have the objective of imparting or refining those technical skills, mapping their institutions in accordance with local, community...
Authenticity and the edTPA
In this article, we examine the vision and mission of fostering democracy within public schools a... more In this article, we examine the vision and mission of fostering democracy within public schools as described by John Goodlad and others within the field of education, and situate that important work within critiques of the public school system through a social justice perspective. Through the use of case studies, we then describe the ways in which three NNER partnership sites and a newly formed committee within the NNER organization are working to address issues of equity and access for students and families relegated to the margins of school life. These case studies highlight the ways in which work at partnership sites focused on social justice initiatives can empower students, teachers, and members of local communities and amplify the voices of those usually diminished or drowned out in the everyday work of public schools.
Neoliberalism and teacher certification
Policy Futures in Education, 2018
The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the “construction of the problem of teac... more The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the “construction of the problem of teacher education” (Cochran-Smith et al., 2013). From this neoliberal discourse came the push for more accountability, contributing to the promotion of a nationally scored standardized teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article examines the impact of the assessment on those taking the elementary education edTPA in New York City, teacher educators and the teacher education curriculum. Based on survey and interview data from teacher candidates and faculty, there is a strong concern about the impact of the cost of the edTPA on economically disadvantaged teacher candidates and under-resourced schools of education. In many cases, teacher candidates were not encouraged to fight the neoliberal discourse but rather to “play the game” to pass a test. Because teacher educators felt it was their job to help their teacher candidates get certified, little resistance was found even among those w...
This paper reports the preliminary findings of a mixed-methods study which investigates the state... more This paper reports the preliminary findings of a mixed-methods study which investigates the state implementation of a nationally distributed and scored pre-service teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This study is focused on two specific groups: a) elementary education teacher candidates and b) those who attend and student teach in New York City schools. At this point in the data collection, 59 teacher candidates were surveyed across nine schools of education. From those surveyed, 13 teacher candidates volunteered to be interviewed. Additionally, interviews were conducted with six teacher educators from the schools included in the study. The purpose of the study is to investigate: 1) The supports and challenges faced when taking a state-mandated pre-service teacher performance assessment for certification purposes. 2) How the implementation of the assessment affected participants' personal, professional, and academic experiences.
Multicultural Books for PreK-Grade Three: Jewish Children's Literatyre
Multicultural Books for PreK-Grade Three, 2023
Jewish children's literature within multicultural children's literature Pre-K to grade 3. This ch... more Jewish children's literature within multicultural children's literature Pre-K to grade 3. This chapter gives a grounding for those unfamiliar with the culture and genre with resources, and teacher guides to complement the suggested" books to start with."
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Multicultural Books for PreK-Grade Three: A Guide for Classroom Teachesr, 2023
This chapter provides background about Jewish identity and children's literature. There are resou... more This chapter provides background about Jewish identity and children's literature. There are resources provided as well as activities to complement the suggested title to start with.