Prove It: Math and Education Policy
From September 2015 to September 2017, John Troutman McCrann, a high school math teacher, NBCT, and MfA Master Teacher Fellow in New York City, wrote about his quest to integrate inquiry- and performance-based learning into his instruction, and how these concepts might inform education policy. Follow him on Twitter: @JohnTroutMcCran This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: performance assessment.
Assessment
Opinion
Yes, We Have a Testing Problem. How Can We Solve It?
Over-testing is another disgusting habit. We should quit, but going "cold turkey" by simply trying to give it up won't work. Instead, we should adopt healthy assessment habits that will make over-testing unnecessary.
Teaching
Opinion
Our Union-Based Reform Movement
These innovations are possible thanks to our school's membership in the Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) program created in the UFT agreement with the city and the Department of Education.
PROSE allows us to revise aspects of the Chancellor's Regulations and the UFT contract, enabling us to apply creative thinking and approach our students' problems in more effective ways.
Teaching
Opinion
Performance Assessments Push Students to Work Harder
Teachers, especially math teachers, need to ask an analogous question of their students. We understand what students need to know, we ought to partner with them in figuring out a reason why they should know it. This might be because they need to present it to a fellow student. Or it might be because the solution can help make the world a better place.
Teaching
Opinion
What Secretary Duncan Could Learn About Performance Assessment From Our School
Fortunately for me, I have been able to move beyond the bubble. My school is a proud member of the New York Performance Standards Consortium, a group of schools that has accomplished your goal of collecting meaningful, formative data through performance assessment.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Dangerous Ideas in Teacher Leadership
Two ideas that I find pervasive and problematic in the conversation about teacher leadership: 1. The goal of teacher leadership is NOT to make principals' jobs easier. 2. Valuing teacher leadership means valuing teachers.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Two Things Policymakers Should Know About Teacher Leadership
Teacher leadership is the new hot topic in ed policy circles. It's in the blogosphere, it's supported by groups across the edu-political landscape, and Arne Duncan frequently talks about it. I have gotten at least 30 emails since August with the phrase "teacher leadership" in either the subject or body. But what are all these people talking about? What will all this talk mean for my career and the careers of my colleagues?
Teaching
Opinion
A Strategy for Moving Through Math Anxiety: Maze Moments
Try something. See that it fails. Re-evaluate. Try something new. Repeat until successful. That's problem solving: whether in a maze, math class, science experiment, or relationship. The power of the "Maze Moments" language is that it explicitly teaches students to anticipate being stuck from time to time in the problem solving process. Naming and normalizing this experience supports all students' ability to think critically and creatively in math.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Separate Is Still Not Equal: Desegregation Is Education Reform
My experience has confirmed what Thurgood Marshall helped to prove in 1954 when he argued Brown v. Board: Separate is inherently unequal. The existence of segregated schools in the year 2015 is immoral and unconstitutional.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Can We Stop Saying That Teachers Work 'In the Trenches'?
I refuse to speak about the place I teach and learn as "the trenches." To do so would frame this situation as a hardship to endure rather than a problem to be solved.