Standards for Authentic Achievement and Pedagogy

In their article, Wehlage, Newman, and Secada give what I think is an apt analysis of the potential disparity between the skills students are taught in a traditional school setting and what is actually needed for true intellectual development, or "authentic achievement". True "authentic achievement", as the authors define it, consists of three major factors that can often be neglected in traditional school settings. These factors include the ability to construct new knowledge out of a foundation of knowledge provided by others, the ability to conduct a "disciplined inquiry" (that is the ability to build on a knowledge base in a way that produces a deep and non-superficial understanding of the material), and the ability to build on learning that fosters skills applicable beyond the classroom. What I love about framing authentic achievement under these pre-requisites is that the definition is both simple and, as it seems to me, universally applicable to any specific subject matter. As a history major thinking back on my high school experience, for example, all of these factors have come into mind. In particular the first pre-requisite defined by the authors, the ability to construct new knowledge, struck me as a simple and obvious element that could often be neglected in my secondary education. For the vast majority of my high school experience, I treated history as the practice of memorizing and regurgitating names and dates. While it may have been implied, I was never explicitly told that  history was more about creating new ideas out of the information available than about simply memorizing that information. Simply having that concept of achievement in mind would frame history in a much different light for students, and would both make the subject more  attractive for them and encourage them to approach the material on an intellectual level.

Standards for Authentic Achievement and Pedagogy

In Standards for Authentic Achievement and Pedagogy, Nemann et al.'s goal was to encourage authentic achievement, which depends on construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value of learning beyond school. I appreciated that they acknowledged that conventional methods have allowed for a lot of meaningless work to be assigned which exposes students to hundreds of "isolated pieces of knowledge" and provides them with superficial understandings of complex topics and doesn't prepare them to use this knowledge in the working world. They advocate for students' construction of knowledge, by encouraging students to produce their own original works rather than simply asking them to regurgitate what others have produced. The disciplined inquiry involves building upon students' funds of knowledge, digging deep into topics, and expressing one's findings through elaborated communication. Lastly, teachers should strive to teach in ways that show the value of their field beyond the classroom. This called to mind the final portfolios that students had to prepare in The Flat World and Education that they presented to real professionals, which gave them the opportunity to see the relevancy of their work. An important qualifier they included was that they don't expect all classroom activities to meet these standards at all times because sometimes repetitive work is necessary; but still, we should keep authentic achievement in mind as the ideal end goal. Some of the examples of authentic learning that I liked were having students write letters to senators about local issues and mailing them and taking students to an amusement park to conduct physics research and brainstorm ideas for creating their own park. These examples showed that teaching that yields authentic achievement can be done. I believe that it's not a question of what students are capable of producing but rather what we ask them to produce.     

Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

I found the implementation of reading, writing, and presentation skills into the major content areas of the common core standards great as well as the stance that this article presents on this change. And this is not only because I am an English major.  Like the article addresses, I think that it is somewhat common sense that ELA should be incorporated into all subject areas.  I believe that this provides a more interactive approach to the curriculums as well as prepare the students for their academic and professional careers. Although some teachers may find it difficult to incorporate additional standards on top of the standards that they already have for their subject, it is evident that the two standards overlap and can be completed simultaneously.  This will also allow the students to better grasp the subject matter.
I enjoy the way that this article incorporates the growth mindset and the zone of proximal development into these core standards.  It always worries me when standards are set on a classroom because it gives the teacher little freedom to adapt their lessons in the way that they believe best fits their students.  However, the authors of this article point out how the Common Core Standards are just vague enough to ensure that this does not happen while still giving the teachers and students and end goal to strive for.  Although I have not read all of the Common Core Standards, it worries me when they discuss which specific vocabulary words students need to learn as well as which topics they need to discuss.  I think that this reduces the individualization of the curriculum which is a necessary component in education.  Overall, I enjoyed this article and I think that it gave me good insight about the Common Core and the positive role it is playing in schools.

Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

As someone who wants to teach a science class, I found this reading really interesting. I definitely think there is value in more cross-class collaboration (I did come to a Liberal Arts school after all). I found myself thinking of ways I could implement the six shifts in a biology class. Oftentimes, especially in high school, biology tests and quizzes are multiple choice, which makes sense when there's either a right or wrong answer and there is no work to show. However, there are a lot of opportunities for short-answer or essay questions. Many of the things and process taught in high school level biology can be complex and in depth. I can imagine ways to incorporate more writing and specifically the six shifts this chapter talks about in my future class- and I can't wait!

Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

Like Ileana, I did not know much about the Common Core before reading this article. I find it interesting that part of the standard is to integrate literacy and writing into all classes, not just ELA classes. This is something I noticed a teacher doing at the Winston School last semester while I was observing. She taught math classes and before every test, the students were to turn in a biography about a famous mathematician. Some of the students did not enjoy the assignment, but it is a great way to integrate writing into a subject that is typically comprised completely of numbers, variables, and graphs. Even today in my observation, my mentor teacher was integrating writing into the curriculum. As part of the Pre-AP Algebra II students exam this week, they will be asked to write a one-page essay about what they've been learning in the class. The assignment is technically for extra credit, but I think it's a great way to get students to want to write about math.

As far as vocabulary goes, I think that is something that is fairly easy to integrate into all subject areas. It is so important to know the vocabulary when learning a new subject so that you can effectively discuss it in class. This brings me to the next thing-- discussion. I love learning through discussion. If there is ever any material that I'm unsure about, I make sure to try and have a discussion with someone about it. That may be a specific type of learning, but I think it's helpful to all students if they can discuss the subjects they are learning in class.

One of my favorite points of this article was the point about Digital Literacy. When I was in high school, we had one computer class. and we learned the basics about Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but it would have been nice to have more integration of technology in our classes. I still don't really know how to work and SmartBoard and those are in almost every classroom now. Students are so tech-savvy these days that it doesn't make sense to not assign readings online or to have them watch video clips on the Internet. It seems as if they'd be more likely to pay attention to these things than to pay attention to text.

Overall, I'm very excited to continue learning about the Common Core and all of the changes it is making to all subject areas. I like the integration of several subjects, especially. This reminds me of the last chapter we read where students had long blocks of a class, but the classes integrated several subject areas.

Adolescents Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

This reading is a good insight into the changes being made in the curriculum. Me being a product of the factory styled classroom it is exciting to hear changes being made to the curriculum. I liked hearing about discussions being an important part of the classroom. This is something important in the Trinity curriculum, and I really enjoy having class discussions. I wish discussions were a bigger part in my high school because they enrich the material and help develop students social skills. The reading gave a more general look of how things are changing in the classroom. As someone that wants to be a math teacher, I'd like to learn more about the specific changes that are occurring in math classes.  

Adolescent Literacy in the Era of the Common Core

I really enjoyed reading this article--I thought it really illuminated some of the effects that the implementation of the common core is having in schools around the nation, and in suffice to say, I am a fan.

I read this through two specific lenses, one as a college student who has heard for years about the value of a solid foundation in written expression, the second as a language learner myself.

Throughout my four years at Trinity, I've heard a multitude of times how important it is to be able to express yourself through writing. There's a kind of joke that floats around campus that I'm sure others have heard; professors who teach common curric classes can always tell a science from a humanities major based off of their paper writing abilities. Likewise, my father always insists that I include writing as a skill on resumés, because "that's what the rest of your generation lacks!", etc. He's dramatic about it, but I definitely feel that writing well and putting together coherent thought is something that is lacking in public curriculum--something that I think the common core is trying to combat. By implementing a curriculum that stresses the building of extensive, content-specific vocabularies alongside ensuring a solid foundation in academic expression, I think students will enter both college and "real-world" environments with a better chance of success.

I was also really about to identify with this article as a language learner. I know through my own experiences that it is nearly impossible to have a conversation about anything unless you have specifically studied how to discuss that particular topic. If you don't have the vocabulary, you can't do it. When I studied abroad, I found myself floundering to do the simplest of tasks out in the real world,  like trying to put minutes on a cellphone, or asking directions, but then found myself having fluent conversation about gender inequality or voting policies in class-because that was what I had studied. I was labeled advanced, but couldn't survive at a 10-year-olds level in the world. Knowing the advanced words doesn't mean that you're more capable, it just means that you can throw together an essay. If teachers want to prepare their students for success, they need to ensure that they are providing a well-rounded experience for them. Teachers can no longer assume the knowledge of standard words and phrases. Students talk a lot about the relevancy of what they're learning (the eternal, "but am I ever going to useeee this trig as an adult?!?") so I think it's great that the common core is finally seeking to address the problem of interdisciplinary literacy in school. As the article says, the achievement of adolescents is not the task of  a single teacher, but the task of teams, departments, and schools.

Finally, one other thing that I think is really important from this reading is the discussion of spoken expression. Last semester I had an interesting conversation with a teacher who had taught ELA at the high school level for many years, and she shared with me the importance of developing an environment in which students were allowed to practice their speaking and debating ability, as such an environment allows them to develop their own views and identities. This article touched on that towards the end, mentioning how important it is to structure opportunities for the students to have directed conversation that forces them to use their minds, and uncover unclear answers. It is through those conversations that students stop being passive learners, and take an active role in their own education.