Author(s): |
Torrence, Martha |
Source: |
Montessori Life: A Publication of the American Montessori Society, v24 n2 p18-23 Sum 2012 |
|
Pub Date: |
2012-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
|
|
|
Descriptors:
Montessori Method; Montessori Schools; Educational Change; Resistance to Change; Technological Literacy; Environmental Education; Intercultural Communication; Problem Solving; Skills; Creative Thinking; Cooperation; Curriculum Development; Integrated Curriculum; Communities of Practice; Cooperative Learning; Student Centered Curriculum; Active Learning; Inquiry; Teacher Role
Abstract:
Educational institutions change slowly, and sometimes superficially at best. Large public (and sometimes smaller private) systems can be highly resistant to deep change. Schools are notorious for rearranging the desk chairs for a while, then reverting back to something very close to the original design. Even the most well-intentioned of educational innovations can at times do more harm than good. Enter the new millennium and serious discussion among educators, corporate executives, government leaders, and entrepreneurs regarding the skills, knowledge, and expertise today's students will need in order to succeed in their future jobs and, indeed, in life. This complex set of competencies, now termed "21st-century skills," includes not only knowledge in core areas but also technological prowess, environmental literacy, cross-cultural communication skills, and the ability to solve complex problems, think creatively, and work collaboratively. Children, future citizens of the world, will need to think across disciplines, reach across cultures, and embrace new knowledge at every stage of their lives. If traditional schools wish to prepare children for their futures (rather than the lives their parents and grandparents faced), they will need to dramatically retool curricula and pedagogy and reframe priorities. To achieve the desired results, discrete strands of curricula (20 minutes of math, 30 minutes of science, etc.) must now be thoughtfully interconnected; age-specific grade levels must become communities of learners; rote memorization must give way to the use of knowledge to solve real-world problems; competition for grades and prizes must shift to collaboration with classmates; learning must become student-centered and driven by inquiry rather than imposed by textbooks; and the role of the teacher must become that of skilled coach rather than central knower and dispenser of information. The student, or child, becomes central to the process and an active co-constructor of knowledge rather than a passive vessel waiting to be filled. If this description of the new school reform movement is beginning to sound familiar to those who are knowledgeable about Montessori tenets, that is because many of these seemingly radical reforms accurately describe what has been going on in good Montessori classrooms for decades. In this article, the author suggests that this school reform is already a part of the contemporary educational scene in the form of Montessori education.
Note:The following two links
are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software.
 Show
 Hide
Full Abstract
Related Items: Show Related Items
Full-Text Availability Options:
More Info:
 Help |
 Tutorial
Help Finding Full Text
|
More Info:
Help
Find in a Library
|
Publisher's website
|
Author(s): |
Stone-MacDonald, Angela |
Source: |
Journal of the International Association of Special Education, v13 n1 p28-40 Spr 2012 |
|
Pub Date: |
2012-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
|
|
|
Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Developmental Disabilities; Related Services (Special Education); Community Based Instruction (Disabilities); Normalization (Disabilities); Accessibility (for Disabled); Integrated Curriculum; Integrated Services; Ethnography; Case Studies; Educational Strategies; Learning Activities; Daily Living Skills; Vocational Education; Models
Abstract:
At a special education school in Tanzania, children learn in natural settings using a functional curriculum that has been adapted to their local context. Children with developmental disabilities are supported in learning the skills and knowledge they need to participate in their families and the community. The school utilized funds of knowledge (Gonzalez, Moll, and Amanti, 2005) and cooperation between parents, teachers, and community members to design an appropriate curriculum. During an ethnographic case study, I observed how students with developmental disabilities could learn vocational and daily life skills in a natural environment at their school and successfully transfer those skills to multiple settings in their community. These strategies could be utilized in other countries, including the United States, in the same manner to support students with disabilities to learn the skills they need for home, school, and job success. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
Note:The following two links
are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software.
Show
Hide
Full Abstract
Related Items: Show Related Items
Full-Text Availability Options:
More Info:
Help |
Tutorial
Help Finding Full Text
|
More Info:
Help
Find in a Library
|
Publisher's website
|
|
|
Pub Date: |
2012-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
|
|
|
Descriptors:
Active Learning; Program Effectiveness; Educational Change; Faculty Development; Teaching Methods; Curriculum Implementation; Teacher Attitudes; Foreign Countries; Social Studies; Elementary School Curriculum; Educational Needs; Cooperation; Models; Influence of Technology; Technology Uses in Education; Interviews; Observation; Teacher Surveys; Focus Groups; Curriculum Development
Abstract:
Preparing teachers to implement a new curriculum presents a significant but important challenge. While formal professional development programs can assist in this preparation, finding prescribed experiences that meet the needs of all teachers can be formidable and indeed may not always be the best option for promoting change in practice. Decisions about what experiences to provide and how and when to provide them need to be made in an informed manner. Studies such as the one being reported on in this article provide insights into teachers' perspectives on what works and what doesn't work. This research project examined how elementary teachers in one Canadian school district were handling implementation of a new social studies curriculum over the 2009-10 school year, three to five years after they experienced a formal district-level program of professional development. An interpretive case study method was used to uncover the successes and challenges of implementing the new curriculum and to provide insights into what the teachers felt constituted effective professional development for improving practice and student learning. Findings from the study suggest that effective professional development needs to be based on teachers' needs; involve active learning, collaboration and modeling; be supported by a culture of learning in schools; and considerate of teacher resistance to change. Going forward, the study also highlights the need for a more intentional focus on the use of technology, and specifically digital networks, to enhance and extend the effectiveness of future curricular change initiatives. (Contains 10 figures.)
Note:The following two links
are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software.
Show
Hide
Full Abstract
Related Items: Show Related Items
Full-Text Availability Options:
More Info:
Help |
Tutorial
Help Finding Full Text
|
More Info:
Help
Find in a Library
|
Publisher's website
|
|
|
Pub Date: |
2012-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
|
|
|
Descriptors:
Academic Education; Functional Reading; Vocational Education; Curriculum Development; Numeracy; Educational Change; Skill Development; Reading Fluency; Grade 5; Educational Opportunities; Educational Needs; Skill Analysis; Diagnostic Tests; Educational Practices; Reading Skills; Reading Comprehension; Vocabulary; Reading Strategies; Integrated Curriculum; Mathematics Skills; Job Training
Abstract:
High literacy and numeracy demands in career and technical education (CTE) compared to low skill levels among many students prompted calls for academic infusion into training curricula. Research on CTE academic curriculum integration implicitly assumes that students' reading and math skills are like those described by models of typical academic skill development. However, studies of adolescents and adults with low literacy suggest that such an assumption overlooks the specific, perhaps intensive, remedial learning needs of many students with low basic skills. As a step toward developing targeted academic instruction in CTE, the present study describes 202 Job Corps students' word reading, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, functional literacy, and functional numeracy skills. The sample demonstrated word reading skills that were more than a full standard deviation below norm, reading fluency that equated to about 5th grade level, 8th grade equivalent functional reading skills, and 6th grade equivalent functional numeracy skills. Such deficits pose significant challenges to instructors whose primary goals focus on learners' acquisition of declarative and procedural curricular trade knowledge. Although many organizational elements (e.g., professional development, administrative support) will be important in addressing these challenges, we highlight diagnostic assessments and curricular interventions as two opportunities for doing so. (Contains 4 tables.)
Note:The following two links
are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software.
Show
Hide
Full Abstract
Related Items: Show Related Items
Full-Text Availability Options:
More Info:
Help |
Tutorial
Help Finding Full Text
|
More Info:
Help
Find in a Library
|
Publisher's website
|
|
