THE DEADLY EFFECTS OF "TOUGHER STANDARDS":
Challenging High-Stakes Testing and Other Impediments to Learning
The main effect "of the drive for so-called higher standards in schools is
that the children are too busy to think," said John Holt in 1959. Today, an
ill-informed version of school reform has been embraced by politicians,
corporate executives, and journalists, all demanding "accountability," which
turns out to be a euphemism for more control over what happens in classrooms
by people who are not in classrooms. The results: superb educators get tired
or fired, and the intellectual life is squeezed out of schools as they are
turned into giant test-prep centers. Alfie Kohn, author of THE SCHOOLS OUR
CHILDREN DESERVE, explains the difference between authentic challenge and a
mindless "harder is better" mentality, as
well as the difference between standards as guidelines for better teaching
and standards as rigid (and often ridiculous) lists of facts students must
know. The latter is described in this session not as a reality to be coped
with but as a political movement that can be opposed -- by people who understand
how children actually learn.
PERFORMANCE VS. LEARNING:
The Costs of Overemphasizing Achievement
Educational researchers have discovered that there is a significant
difference between getting students to think about their performance (that
is, how well they are doing) and getting them to think about the learning
itself (what they are doing). These orientations often pull in opposite
directions, which means that too much emphasis on performance can reduce
students’ interest in learning -- and cause them to avoid challenging tasks.
When the point is to prove how smart you are, to get a good grade or a high
test score, there is less inclination to engage deeply with ideas, to explore
and discover. Thus, as Alfie Kohn argues, the problem with standardized
testing is not only how bad the tests themselves are, but also how much
attention is paid to the results. Even new, "authentic" assessments may
backfire if students are constantly led to ask, "How am I doing?" Getting
students to become preoccupied with achievement may paradoxically
undermine this very goal because of what happens to their motivation in the
process..
OVERHAULING THE TRANSMISSION MODEL
Students are not receptacles to be filled with knowledge, or clay
to be molded. They, like all of us, are active meaning-makers. The
implication, as one educator put it, is that teaching is mostly
listening, and learning is mostly telling -- a dictum that requires us
to rethink the use of lectures, worksheets, textbooks, and, for that
matter, our preconceptions about what makes a good teacher (particularly
at the high school level). This presentation by Alfie Kohn, author of
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A CLASSROOM,
explains why the traditional "bunch o’ facts" model of instruction,
with its emphasis on memorizing right answers and practicing skills,
is virtually guaranteed to fail. Participants are invited to consider
how teachers of all ages and all subjects can become more successful
at helping students make sense of ideas for themselves -- and with
each other.
ON BRIBING STUDENTS TO LEARN:
Second Thoughts About A's, Praise, Stickers, and Contests
Teachers are often encouraged to rely on rewards rather than
punishments, but research suggests that carrots can be just as
counterproductive as sticks. Both are forms of manipulation, and
neither can produce anything beyond temporary compliance. In fact, as
Alfie Kohn, author of PUNISHED BY REWARDS,
will argue, students who see themselves as doing an assignment in order
to receive a gold star, an A, or an award are actually less likely to
develop an interest in the subject matter or to challenge themselves
to do their best. By the same token, stickers, popcorn parties, and
even praise give students no reason to act responsibly when there is
no longer a goody to be gained for doing so. For students to become
lifelong learners and good people, we need to work with them rather
than using techniques like rewards and punishments, which merely do
things to them
CHOICES FOR CHILDREN:
From Coercion to Community
If we want students to take responsibility for their behavior and learning,
it is up to us to give them responsibilities. Children learn to make good
decisions by having the chance to decide about what happens to them every day
-- not by following someone else's directions. Research shows unequivocally
that students learn more effectively and care more about what they are learning
when they have some say about what is going on. (By contrast, students, like
adults, suffer from burnout when they feel powerless.) Alfie Kohn describes
the whys and the hows of bringing students into the process of making decisions
about everything from how their classroom will be decorated to how their learning
will be assessed. Also included is a discussion of limits on children's right
to choose and teachers' use of "pseudochoice" to perpetuate their own control.
FROM DEGRADING TO DE-GRADING:
Basic Questions About Assessment
Research has found three consistent effects of traditional grades:
students think less creatively, they lose interest in what they’re learning,
and they try to avoid challenging tasks. Thus, rather than trying to improve techniques
for grading, we should be looking for alternatives -- and rather than
complaining that too many students are getting A’s, we should be worried that
too many students think that getting A’s is the point of school. Ultimately,
though, why we evaluate students is at least as important as how we do so.
Even alternative assessment may fall short if the point is to sort students
or "motivate" them to get a particular rating. Alfie Kohn discusses how
feedback can be constructive and informational, part of a learner-centered
environment, as well as strategies by which teachers can minimize the harms
of letter and number grades while they still exist.
THE CASE AGAINST COMPETITION
The race to be Number One has been described as America's state religion.
We have been trained not only to compete frantically, but to believe in the
value of beating people -- and to help our children become winners. Research
and experience, however, demonstrate that competition is actually destructive
to self-esteem, poisonous to relationships, and counterproductive in terms
of learning. Spelling bees, awards assemblies, competitive sports, and even
informal contests at home teach children to regard other people as potential
obstacles to their own success. The result is that everyone ultimately loses
in the desperate race to win. Alfie Kohn, author of NO
CONTEST: The Case Against Competition, describes the hidden costs of turning
the school into a place for triumph. The problem, he argues, is not just that
competition is overdone or badly handled; rather, the very win/lose structure
itself has damaging consequences for how children come to see themselves, each
other, and the act of learning. The alternative is not merely the absence of
competition but the construction of caring communities in which people help
each other to succeed.
TEACHING CHILDREN TO CARE
We can't blame "human nature" when children act aggressively or selfishly.
Extensive research has shown that these qualities are no more natural than
the impulse toward empathy or generosity. But how do we nourish those positive
inclinations and help children to act on their capacity to care? Alfie Kohn,
author of THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF HUMAN NATURE,
discusses the roots of prosocial attitudes and actions, and invites educators
to think about what promotes children's concern about others' well-being. He
urges activities (and a curriculum) that enhance understanding of how others
see the world, as well as a commitment to replace isolation and competition
with a feeling of community in the classroom and school.
THE (PROGRESSIVE) SCHOOLS OUR CHILDREN DESERVE
We are living through a dark, reactionary period in American education, which
means that it has never been more important to defend the theory and practice of
progressive schooling. Alfie Kohn explains how the constellation of approaches that
share this label can promote the development of each child while simultaneously promoting
a democratic society. Of course, progressive education must itself progress, evolving
in a way that traditional approaches do not. To that end, Kohn offers a series of questions
for educators and parents intended to help our schools move further in the direction of
helping children to become good learners and good people.
CHALLENGING STUDENTS. . . AND HOW TO HAVE MORE OF THEM
"The principal goal of education," said Piaget, is to create people
"who are capable of doing new things" and who don't "accept everything
they are offered." Critical thinking skills, however, don't necessarily
promote the desire to question. Alfie Kohn will suggest ways by which we
can support risk taking, build opportunities to challenge authority into
the curriculum, avoid a focus on right answers, and demystify the processes
of writing, thinking, and making decisions. (For more detail about this talk,
please see the article
of the same name.)
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