Phase 4: Dilemmas
Problematizing my ImagineIT
After reading the book, What Should I Do? Confronting Dilemmas of Teaching in Urban Schools by Anna Ershler Richert, I have decided to focus on the following two dilemmas that were highlighted in the book for my ImagineIT project: teaching in urban settings and assessment.
Many of the students at my school come from challenging home environments where it is difficult to see examples of how success in school can lead to a successful career. And it seems at times that the gains that many of these same students are making at school are temporary due to the situations and obstacles that they are overcoming or will have to overcome. How can instruction and learning be elevated in such a fashion that student thinking will be transformed permanently for good? And how can negative stereotypes like doing well in school means being a nerd or trying to act 'White' be dispelled?
It seems that there are more and more of the same types of assessments every year. As a result, teachers are encouraged to prepare their students for these types of assessments by assigning similar types of questions to their students. While most teachers will probably agree that it is essential to provide a variety of opportunities for students to learn and demonstrate understanding, it is becoming increasingly difficult to encourage the use of authentic assessments when students are rarely evaluated in this manner. How can teachers be encouraged to provide varied assessments when it is much more time consuming than to use the readily available resources?
After reading the book, What Should I Do? Confronting Dilemmas of Teaching in Urban Schools by Anna Ershler Richert, I have decided to focus on the following two dilemmas that were highlighted in the book for my ImagineIT project: teaching in urban settings and assessment.
Many of the students at my school come from challenging home environments where it is difficult to see examples of how success in school can lead to a successful career. And it seems at times that the gains that many of these same students are making at school are temporary due to the situations and obstacles that they are overcoming or will have to overcome. How can instruction and learning be elevated in such a fashion that student thinking will be transformed permanently for good? And how can negative stereotypes like doing well in school means being a nerd or trying to act 'White' be dispelled?
It seems that there are more and more of the same types of assessments every year. As a result, teachers are encouraged to prepare their students for these types of assessments by assigning similar types of questions to their students. While most teachers will probably agree that it is essential to provide a variety of opportunities for students to learn and demonstrate understanding, it is becoming increasingly difficult to encourage the use of authentic assessments when students are rarely evaluated in this manner. How can teachers be encouraged to provide varied assessments when it is much more time consuming than to use the readily available resources?