Copyright 2003Edwin EllisGraphicorganizers.comInteraction
Effects
Enormous pressure to “cover the curriculum” = spray & pray” approach to teaching
Content is watered-down so that students with disabilities feel successful & get better grades
Information-providing substituted for meaning-making instruction
“Facts” curriculum driven by test items on high-stakes content tests = intellectual bulimia
Teachers are put between a“rock and a hard place”
“Accessing Gen. Ed. Curriculum” interpreted as “Reg. Ed. Courses”
Students with disabilities must take same tests
Wide range of student ability, experience, and knowledge in GE classes
High-stakes tests = enormous pressures on teachers to cover the curriculum
What happens when a facts curriculum drives high-stakes testing …
Coverage = Teaching Learning = MemorizingLOGICAL ASSUMPTION:
The tests we give students reflect what we expect them to learn
So what do content tests commonly reflect?
FACTSFACTS
FACTS
FACTS
FACTS
Lot of specialized knowledge that most people with MA degrees & PhDs don’t know unless it’s in their specialty area!
Buchou TRIVIA!
Teachers think Students think
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
A single fact-packed lesson doesn’t seem too bad
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
The long range effect doesn’t look too good!
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
FACTS
day after day…
What happens when a facts curriculum drives high-stakes testing …
FACTSFACTS FACTSFACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS
End up with a curriculum that’s a mile wide…
Superficial, temporary knowledge
…and an inch deep
What happens when a facts curriculum drives high-stakes testing …
FACTS FACTSFACTS FACTS FACTSFACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTSFACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS
End up with a curriculum that’s a mile wide…
Superficial, temporary knowledge
…and an inch deep
Doesn’t get it!
Gets it!
Ability to elaborate
one’s relational
understanding
Superficial, Erroneous, Incomplete
Sophisticated, Accurate, Complete
One’s understanding of an idea will fall
somewhere on a continuum
Doesn’t get it!
Gets it!
Ability to elaborate
one’s relational
understanding
Superficial, Erroneous, Incomplete
Sophisticated, Accurate, Complete
Can recognize inappropriate applications or iterations of idea
Can’t recognize inappropriate applications of idea
Makes many connections to other ideas
Can’t explain connections between this idea and others
Has sufficient knowledge of relevant facts
Knowledge of important facts is incomplete or erroneous
Can identify different manifestations of idea
Can’t identify different manifestations of idea
Can explain how idea is affected by various
phenomena
Can’t explain how different phenomena affect idea
Can explain impact of idea on the world
Can’t explain impact of idea on world
Makes effective comparisons with other ideas
Can’t contrast idea with others
Can’t summarize or explain idea in own words
Can summarize or explain gist of idea in own words
Doesn’t get it!
Ability to elaborate
one’s relational
understanding
Superficial, Erroneous, Incomplete
Sophisticated, Accurate, Complete
Can recognize inappropriate applications or iterations of idea
Can’t recognize inappropriate applications of idea
Makes many connections to other ideas
Can’t explain connections between this idea and others
Has sufficient knowledge of relevant facts
Knowledge of important facts is incomplete or erroneous
Can identify different manifestations of idea
Can’t identify different manifestations of idea
Can explain how idea is affected by various phenomena
Can’t explain how different phenomena affect idea
Can explain impact of idea on the world
Can’t explain impact of idea on world
Makes effective comparisons with other ideas
Can’t contrast idea with others
Can’t summarize or explain idea in own words
Can summarize or explain gist of idea in own words
Gets it!
Notice the limited role that facts have relative to the spectrum of important knowledge one should have about an ideaNote that facts are the only dimension of knowledge that have “right” or “wrong” answers
ALL other knowledge is “relational”No right or wrong, but rather degree of sophistication & elaboration
Yet most content tests almost always exclusively
measure knowledge of facts
If the tests address facts …
If the tests address facts …
Guess what students learn?
If the tests address facts …Guess what students learn?
Guess what teachers tend to teach?
Name Columbus’ 3 ships
Test questions from a real 6th grade test
Nina Pinta Santa MariaWhich of the 3 ships sank? Santa MariaCaptain of the Pinta? Martin Pizon
Ponce Deleon
Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?
Test questions from a real 6th grade test
Name Columbus’ 3 ships
Nina Pinta Santa MariaWhich of the 3 ships sank? Santa MariaCaptain of the Pinta? Martin PizonExplorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?
Ponce DeleonDesotoExplorer who discovered the
Mississippi River?
Test questions from a real 6th grade test
Name Columbus’ 3 ships
Nina Pinta Santa MariaWhich of the 3 ships sank? Santa MariaCaptain of the Pinta? Martin PizonExplorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?
Ponce DeleonDesotoExplorer who discovered the
Mississippi River?
CortezConquered the Aztecs?
Test questions from a real 6th grade test
Name Columbus’ 3 ships
Nina Pinta Santa MariaWhich of the 3 ships sank? Santa MariaCaptain of the Pinta? Martin PizonExplorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?
Ponce DeleonDesotoExplorer who discovered the
Mississippi River?
CortezConquered the Aztecs? Montezuma IILeader of the Aztecs?
Test questions from a real 6th grade test
Name Columbus’ 3 ships
Nina Pinta Santa MariaWhich of the 3 ships sank? Santa MariaCaptain of the Pinta? Martin PizonExplorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?
Ponce DeleonDesotoExplorer who discovered the
Mississippi River?
CortezConquered the Aztecs? Montezuma IILeader of the Aztecs ?
BalboaDiscovered the Pacific Ocean ?
Test questions from a real 6th grade test
Name Columbus’ 3 ships
Nina Pinta Santa MariaWhich of the 3 ships sank? Santa MariaCaptain of the Pinta? Martin PizonExplorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?
Ponce DeleonDesotoExplorer who discovered the
Mississippi River?
CortezConquered the Aztecs? Montezuma IILeader of the Aztecs BalboaDiscovered the Pacific Ocean
WHO CARES?Why do we spend so much time &
energy teaching stuff that well-educated people don’t know the
answer to?
By the way, did you know that the natives Columbus brought back to Spain were taken to demonstrate their potential as SLAVES?
Did you know Columbus was the first to ship slaves to the new world?
Did you know Columbus ordered the natives’ hands, noses, & other body parts CUT OFF if they did not produce a weight in gold each month!
SO WHY DO WE CELEBRATE THIS GUY?
Did you know Columbus was such a murderous leader that someone was sent from Spain to arrest him and that he was shipped home in chains?
If a “lost continent” was suddenly discovered today, would the people and resources there be treated the same way as in the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?
Do you think religion was intentionally used by countries as a way to build wealth during the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?
Competition for resources often causes powerful countries to manipulate and exploit weaker countries. Explain how this idea showed up during this age.
BONUS QUESTIONS (bigger picture)
If a “lost continent” was suddenly discovered today, would the people and resources there be treated the same way as in the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?
Do you think religion was intentionally used on by countries way a way to build wealth during the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?
Competition for resources often causes powerful countries to manipulate and exploit weaker countries. Explain how this idea showed up during this age.
Problem … “Big Ideas” or “generative ideas” are typically treated as incidental, BONUS learning rather than as essential-for-ALL-to-understand
..or only the really “bright” students are expected to understand the big idea
… everybody else is expected to memorize the trivia
BONUS QUESTIONS (bigger picture)
Learn some of the trivia
C
Learn most of the trivia BA
Learn all of the trivia and understand big ideas
What’s wrong with this picture?
Only the brightest are expected to learn anything worth knowing
students areLess capable
expected to playthe “school
game”memorize & regurgitate
Learning expectations typically reflected by test grades
Learn a little of the trivia
C
Learn some of the trivia BA
Learn LOTS of the trivia
What’s wrong with this picture?
Assumes students with LD can’t learn important concepts
“Adapted” learning expectations students with learning disabilities
(as reflected by typical adapted tests)
Assumes learning lots of trivia is more
valuable than understanding a
major concept, even at less sophisticated levels
Kids are well prepared to play “millionaire”…… they can tell who Cortez was… who discovered the Mississippi River… who was searching for the Fountain of
Youth…
But totally “NOT GET” the bigger
picture or understand the relevancy of the information
Kids are well prepared to play “millionaire”…… they can tell who Cortez was… who discovered the Mississippi River… who was searching for the Fountain of
Youth…
But totally “NOT GET” the bigger
picture or understand the relevancy of the information
Road to War
War declared against Great
Britain
War hawks promote
nationalism Battle of Tippecanoe
Native Americanrelations worsen as settlers move
westward
War of 1812
War Hawk's desire to control Canada
Treaty of Ghent
British burn Washington,
D.C.
Andrew Jackson's
victory in New Orleans
Expansion of sea trade with other nations
Non intercourse
Act
Amer. ships attacked by France & Great Britain
Embargo Act
Protecting Amer.
Neutrality
America's Involvement in World
Affairs
As a result, they have poor “relational understanding”
War Hawks desire to control Canada
British burn Washington, DC
Many students accumulate knowledge
They tend to memorize what seems like a bunch of disconnected facts
… rather than integrate knowledge
IN OTHER WORDS… THEY OFTEN FAIL TO SEE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN IDEAS
Road to War
War declared against Great
Britain
War hawks promote
nationalism Battle of Tippecanoe
Native Americanrelations worsen as settlers move
westward
War of 1812
War Hawk's desire to control Canada
Treaty of Ghent
British burn Washington,
D.C.
Andrew Jackson's
victory in New Orleans
Expansion of sea trade with other nations
Non intercourse
Act
Amer. ships attacked by France & Great Britain
Embargo Act
Protecting Amer.
Neutrality
America's Involvement in World
Affairs
As a result, they have poor “relational understanding”
War Hawks desire to control Canada
British burn Washington, DC
Many students accumulate knowledge
Some teachers assume that by immersing students in the information ….
…students will figure out how to organize it
Road to War
War declared against Great
Britain
War hawks promote
nationalism Battle of Tippecanoe
Native Americanrelations worsen as settlers move
westward
War of 1812
War Hawk's desire to control Canada
Treaty of Ghent
British burn Washington,
D.C.
Andrew Jackson's
victory in New Orleans
Expansion of sea trade with other nations
Non intercourse
Act
Amer. ships attacked by France & Great Britain
Embargo Act
Protecting Amer.
Neutrality
America's Involvement in World
Affairs
8
War Hawks desire to control Canada
British burn Washington, DC
Some teachers assume that by immersing students in the information …
…students will figure out how to organize it
Road to War
War declared against Great
Britain
War hawks promote
nationalism Battle of Tippecanoe
Native Americanrelations worsen as settlers move
westward
War of 1812
War Hawk's desire to control Canada
Treaty of Ghent
British burn Washington,
D.C.
Andrew Jackson's
victory in New Orleans
Expansion of sea trade with other nations
Non intercourse
Act
Amer. ships attacked by France & Great Britain
Embargo Act
Protecting Amer.
Neutrality
America's Involvement in World
Affairs
As a result, they have poor “relational understanding”
War Hawks desire to control Canada
British burn Washington, DC
Many students accumulate knowledge
Some students make very few connections
Students views all this other
informationas just isolatedbits & pieces to
memorize for the test
Road to War
War declared against Great
Britain
War hawks promote
nationalism Battle of Tippecanoe
Native Americanrelations worsen as settlers move
westward
War of 1812
War Hawk's desire to control Canada
Treaty of Ghent
British burn Washington,
D.C.
Andrew Jackson's
victory in New Orleans
Expansion of sea trade with other nations
Non intercourse
Act
Amer. ships attacked by France & Great Britain
Embargo Act
Protecting Amer.
Neutrality
America's Involvement in World
Affairs
Sometimes the
connections students make
are pretty erroneous!
POOR RELATIONAL UNDERSTANDING
NonIntercourse
Act
War Hawks desire to control Canada
British burn Washington, DC
For example, a student might believe that all of these “Road to War of 1812” events were the
result of the Non-intercourse Act
Road to War
War declared against Great
Britain
War hawks promote
nationalism Battle of Tippecanoe
Native Americanrelations worsen as settlers move
westward
War of 1812
War Hawk's desire to control Canada
Treaty of Ghent
British burn Washington,
D.C.
Andrew Jackson's
victory in New Orleans
Expansion of sea trade with other nations
Non intercourse
Act
Amer. ships attacked by France & Great Britain
Embargo Act
Protecting Amer.
Neutrality
America's Involvement in World
Affairs
8
Teachers often assume students will construct main ideas
War Hawks desire to control Canada
British burn Washington, DC
Road to War
War declared against Great
Britain
War hawks promote
nationalism Battle of Tippecanoe
Native Americanrelations worsen as settlers move
westward
War of 1812
War Hawk's desire to control Canada
Treaty of Ghent
British burn Washington,
D.C.
Andrew Jackson's
victory in New Orleans
Expansion of sea trade with other nations
Non intercourse
Act
Amer. ships attacked by France & Great Britain
Embargo Act
Protecting Amer.
Neutrality
America's Involvement in World
AffairsTeachers often assume students will construct main ideas
… but many students “don’t get
it”
??
?
?
POOR RELATIONAL UNDERSTANDING
War Hawks desire to control Canada
British burn Washington, DC
So what’s the problem with high-stakes tests?HST that are designed to measure academic competence …
But accountability of what?
reading, writing, math reasoning & calculations
HST become curriculum-drivers, so little attention paid to the arts, talents, ethics, exploratory learning, meaningful / authentic learning experiences, etc.
DO provide a degree of accountability
So what’s the problem with high-stakes tests?HST that are designed to measure content knowledge… social studies,
geography, science, etc. …typically measure knowledge of
facts, Who led the slave rebellion in Haiti in 1837?
What kinds of character traits are needed by someone who leads a rebellion against tyranny?
NOT generative ideas
HST become content curriculum-drivers, so instruction tends to focus on facts that might appear on the high-stakes tests
So what’s the problem with grades?2 students take Algebra I.
Alice, a “bright” student, finds it easy, doesn’t have to work hard, and gets an A.
Allison, a “not so bright” student, finds it very hard, works hard, and gets an A.
Are both A’s the same?Were both students equally successful?
So what’s the problem with grades?2 students take Biology.
Fred, a really “bright” student, finds it challenging, doesn’t work hard, and gets a B.Ed, a “not so bright” student, finds it very hard, but he works hard, and gets an B.
Are both B’s the same?Were both students equally successful?
So what’s the problem with grades?2 students take World History.
Mary is very good at memorizing and gets an A, but cannot explain the relevancy of the information.
Juanita is a holistic thinker and can understand and explain the bigger picture, but is a poor memorizer. She gets a C
Was Mary more successful than Juanita?
So what’s the problem with grades?2 students take 7th grade
English. Joe has a really easy teacher who doesn’t demand much. He gets an A.
Sam has a very demanding teacher, and he gets a C.
What do these different grades represent?
So what’s the problem with grades?2 students take 8th grade
Science. Scott works really hard, and manages to squeak out an A-, but it was tough!.
Paul has a learning disability, so he gets “content reduction” accommodations (he only has to learn about half as much as Scott). He works really hard, and gets an A-.Are these grades equal?
Among consumers (teachers, students, parents), grades are among the most valued indicators of success.
Yet grades are among the most unreliable, invalid measures used
Successful instruction results in …Makes Sense Strategies - 10 Indices of “Success”
1 Sense of belonging, being needed, and contributing
2 A sense of competence and confidence in the learner
5 Purposeful, strategic approach to moving through the world
4 Desire to help others and for social justice
3 Desire to learn more, curiosity
Successful instruction results in …Makes Sense Strategies - 10 Indices of “Success”
10Relational understanding of problems in the world, how and why they became problems, how we have attempted to solve them, and possible other ways to solve them
8 Ability to process information effectively - find and make sense of it, and apply or communicate it to others
9 An understanding of generative ideas or life-patterns and ability to recognize them within the context of state learning standards
7 Willingness to take risks in how something is understood or accomplished
6 Cognitive flexibility in understanding & ways to accomplish things