Has the NCTQ figured out what's wrong with teacher preparation?

The National Council on Teacher Quality recently published its Teacher Prep Review, an exhaustive study on teacher effectiveness, based on how we prepare educators to be classroom teachers. The 94-page study asks plenty of interesting questions about teacher preparedness. 

Photo credit: PBS.org

This lengthy study should give all educators a moment of pause. Indeed, the fact that such a study even exists speaks volumes about the current state of education. However, there is plenty to be concerned about, with regard to how this study is conducted. Note page 1 of the report:

"As the product of eight years of development and 10 pilot studies, the standards applied here are derived from strong research, the practices of high-performing nations and states, consensus views of experts, the demands of the Common Core State Standards (and other standards for college and career readiness) and occasionally just common sense."

See any problems here? The studies are based on so-called high-performing nations and states and the views of so-called experts and, you guessed it, Common Core State Standards. The credibility of research that measures educators against other nations and against the CCSS must immediately be called on the proverbial carpet. Here's more from the report:

"Fewer than one in nine elementary programs and just over one-third of high school programs are preparing candidates in content at the level necessary to teach the new Common Core State Standards. . ."

Hmm., what is meant, I wonder, by "at the level necessary to teach the new Common Core?" Just who has decided what this necessary level is? In fact, rarely are the people most knowledgeable in a subject area the best teachers. I've known engineers and attorneys, who attempted to be teachers but couldn't escape back to the private sector fast enough, once they encountered the real issues that the everyday classroom presents.

The NCTQ report is hard on colleges and universities that allow educators to "enter the classroom as teachers without institutions having ensured they possess adequate content knowledge," which the report states will not fix a broken system.

Is the education  system broken? Absolutely. Does the NCTQ have the solution figured out? Absolutely not! In fact, I'm frustrated that the NCTQ would spend eight years studying over 1,100 teacher prep programs, only to pin most of its findings on how well educators can teach the Common Core State Standards.

Teacher preparation needs to be changed. Comparing us to nations no larger than Montana and looking at the tactics of dilettantes like Teach for America is simply not the best approach to fixing teacher preparation. I have some ideas, but I'll save those for a future post.

Meanwhile, what do you think?


Don't miss Mark's book ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com

When students and teachers collaborate

One of my Twitter friends (pictured above) tweeted this at me, in response to an article I posted at the ASCD EDge blog, called Top five reasons to eliminate classroom rules. She later amended "rules" to "expectations." Here is my response to her tweet.

Collaborating with students on creating a learning community

Any classroom will run smoothly, when students see that their teacher values their input. This doesn't mean using assertive discipline, in order to manipulate students into creating your rules. In fact, there's no place for the word "rules" in a high-functioning results-only classroom.

Here are a few simple guidelines for involving students and building a successful learning community:

1. Begin with collaboration: Tell your students that you want their help. "We need a successful learning community, free from disruption. Let's brainstorm some guidelines for this kind of environment." Now, get out of their way and let them work.
2. Listen to all suggestions -- even the crazy ones: Don't easily dismiss seemingly-wild ideas. Something like "Let us go to the bathroom anytime we want to" can go a long way in building the class that you want, when all parties agree on how to make it work. I did this once, and the students created a remarkable policy of signing out, taking the classroom pass and leaving whenever the urge hit them. They loved and respected the policy, because they created it.
3. Remember the ultimate goal -- learning: When ideas are unreasonable, simply remind students that, "We are setting guidelines for a successful learning community." There can be chaos, but it has to be good chaos. There are times for movement and noise, and there are times for quiet contemplation. Discuss how to distinguish between the two.
4. Emphasize mutual respect: Be sure to discuss what this means (let them talk about it with each other first). You can always fall back on respect, when something goes awry.

Start your year this way. Revisit the conversation often, and you can throw out the rules and consequences.


Don't miss ROLE Reversal: How Results Only Learning Will Change Education as We Know It, due in early 2013 by ASCD, the world's top educational leadership organization

Do you apologize to your students?

Photo credit: Chicago Theater Beat

I was a bad teacher today. I lost my cool, which rarely happens in a student-centered classroom, especially near the end of the school year.

A student got a little loud, and before I knew it, I had moved his seat and engaged in a war of words that left the rest of the class in shock.

This awful scene started when I put the student on the spot for something extremely insignificant. This was not a proud moment for me, as it could have easily been avoided, had I dealt with things as I've done all year -- with patience and collaboration.

Upon further consideration, I tried to pardon the act by telling myself that it's the end of the year; it's hot, and all teachers are starting to lose it. This didn't help.

I did, however, feel better when the student came to me after school and apologized. I was happy that he admitted to his own wrongdoing.

I was even happier that I got a chance to apologize to him for my own role. It felt good to do it.

So, have you ever apologized to a student? What happened?

Betraying my students with standards

I just read Nancie Atwell's, The Reading Zone, a brilliant treatise on leading all students to the joys of voluminous reading.

Atwell, arguably education's top expert on teaching reading, smacked me in the face, figuratively speaking, when she explained the dangers of removing students from "the zone," by creating activities that, at best, serve only to interrupt reading. Most of these interruptions -- summaries, book reports and, yes, even projects -- are often included because teachers feel compelled to meet standards and to prepare students for high stakes testing.

Atwell's sobering words on the subject sent me scurrying off to my classroom web site, where I quickly eliminated the posted learning outcomes (standards). As a results-only learning teacher, who vilifies standards and high stakes tests as often as possible, I am ashamed that I included these in my teaching in the first quarter.

I was shocked at myself for being seduced by the inclusion of standards into project-based learning.

Next came the reading project. As a ROLE teacher, I advocate the use of year-long projects to capture objectives, in order to engage students in learning and to create autonomy. I'm still a big believer in this. Atwell, however, reminded me that reading is best taught without this sort of interruption. So, I had more work to do, the kind that would take more damage control than simply removing a project.

At the end of the grading period, my students completed self-evaluations and assigned themselves a report card grade. Much of their decisions were based on a project I assigned that involved integrating learned book structure into various web tools. (Sounds cool, I know, but after reading Atwell's book and revisiting my own goals as a ROLE teacher, I realized the project was a huge mistake.)

Now, I need to have a long heart-to-heart talk with my students and explain my error. I'll then ask them to re-evaluate their performance. You see, many students had a fine 9 weeks, filled with many completed books, excellent collaborative work and insightful in-class activities. Some of these, though, performed poorly on the reading project, for one reason or another. Based on that result, they assigned a low grade for the quarter.

I'm sure some teachers would say I should live with my error and just move on without bringing it up. Results-only learning depends on self-reflection and integrity, though, so this has to be dealt with.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Getting students to collaborate

A reader e-mailed me about students wanting to work just for the sake of completing a task and also not talking enough. Sounds strange, I know, but in a successful workshop environment, communication is necessary. Here's my response to her queries.

First, I don’t think doing a task for completion is necessarily a bad thing.

Many people are task-driven, which can be positive when it comes

to achieving goals. Obviously, the learning is important, and we want to

constantly do what we can to develop that critical thirst for learning that

a ROLE typically creates.

Next, If they aren’t “putting it together” and not talking, there are a few steps you can take. Start with breaking the project into smaller steps and focusing on them one at a time. The kids may not be talking because they may be struggling. 

Be sure to move about after a mini lesson on the step you want completed and listen in. I often sit with a group but say nothing. (In my book, I write how difficult this is for teachers, because we’re so conditioned to simply give it to them). 

After some silence, someone will ask a question. Once you direct them a bit, ask your own questions, “What would you do? What do you think is the first step? Who will be responsible for what?”

Unfortunately, students don't take immediately to collaboration, because most have spent the bulk of their school years sitting in rows and working independently. So, don't be surprised if you have to teach them how to work together.

How to raise test scores

Regular readers of the ROLE Reversal blog may be shocked at the title of this post, knowing how ardently I oppose high stakes testing. Fear not, I have not been transformed into a traditional teacher or bureaucrat, who believes that standardized testing is the best way to evaluate learning.

Photo credit: Nursingcrib.com

However, after hearing my superintendent browbeat his staff for poor returns on last year's test and subsequently listening to colleagues say we need a plan for better high stakes test scores this year, I began to ponder this issue. Even though I loathe the test, we're stuck with it, so I figured why not tell my colleagues how to raise their students' scores.

I shared how my students pass at a higher rate than their peers in traditional classes. So, what strategies do I use to prepare my students for the test, I was asked.

"Simple," I say," I do nothing. I never talk about the test. I don't teach test-taking strategies, and I don't review practice test results."

After a silent moment of astonishment, I explained that my Results Only Learning Environment is built on developing a thirst for learning. Students work on projects, they collaborate and, most importantly, they read all year. With minimal help from me, they develop the skills they need to pass any test.

So, if you want to improve scores on high stakes tests, the easiest way is to stop teaching to the test. Throw out your remedial programs and stop designating the failing students as "failures," or those "at-risk of failing." Treat all of your students the same. Get them to love learning, and they'll begin learning.

When the standardized test arrives, tell students you know they'll do well, because they have learned.

It really is this simple.