As I begin to brainstorm what medium I want to use for my inquiry project, a number of methods appeal to me. I would love to simply make a radio show or podcast in an attempt to play off of my academic conversation part one piece. I like the radio or podcast idea because it is somewhat simple, yet, entertaining at the same time. This would allow me to simply elaborate on my piece while getting across the point of my entire inquiry project. However, I also like the Prezi and powtoon options. The prezi gives the traditional powerpoint a nice twist whereas powtoon gives the traditional powerpoint an entertaining twist. By using either one of these options I can still convey my findings and thoughts of inquiry to my peers while making the presentation more audience friendly. My overall main purpose in this presentation is to get my point of inquiry across while, still, appealing to my audience.
On Friday, I failed to mention that the link to the online google doc survey that I used as my source of primary research is located on the primary research tab of this website.
Sorry for any confusion! Thank you As we go into the inquiry project and presentation piece, my main question is what is the difference between this piece and our academic conversation pieces? Im curious as to what it is that we are changing in this portion of the project that will become the final product in the inquiry project because - to me- it is all starting to seem the same. Also, I would like to know if we could use a revised version of our actual academic conversation drafts for the inquiry project or are we just going to take bits and pieces from these drafts and create a whole new paper? Finally, by the end of this project should we have arrived at a straightforward resolution or answer to our inquiry question or are we just going to share our thoughts and opinions on the issues as well as our sources'?
As far as the portfolio is concerned, it seems to be rather straightforward at the moment, however, I would like to know where we are supposed to include the daybook posts, for example, should we create another tab or just post them as blogs? In Alfie Kohn's "The case against standardized testing", Kohn examined the negative evolution in testing in the first chapter, Measuring What Matters Least. The chapter aided me in my query, is standardized testing the right solution to evaluating student's abilities and understanding in a course or objective? Kohn made some valid points on the institution of testing in the educational system. Most significantly, "the standardized test scores may not be significant in representing what a student has or has not not learned." He used plenty of examples of things that could affect the validity of test scores like test anxiety, test bias and the student's perception of the test as a whole. Kohn stated that any test influencing the reaction of testing anxiety are not providing good representations of what students know and can do in the classroom. From reading Kohn's book, I also realized that, in the beginning, testing was used to determine where to place children and what help they needed in the classroom (Kohn, 2000), however, now testing, in Kohn's perspective, has become the primary tool in judging children, teachers and schools as well as in failing students and deciding where money in the educational system should be spent. One of the most important points that Kohn made in his writing was that "efficient tests tend to drive out less efficient tests, leaving many important abilities untested and untaught." This connects to my inquiry because it reaffirms my opinion that standardized testing is actually not beneficial in the education system because it is not testing what really matters in these students. Kohn also went further on to say that "test scores are merely used to track, calculate and define success or failure."(Kohn, 2000) Also, Kohn made a point suggesting that in order to prepare students for the real-world they should not use standardized tests. He also suggested that SATs and ACTs aren't very effective as indicators of college academic performance or professional success. Kohn also suggested something that I truly agreed with and that is that standardized tests rely solely on right or wrong answers and not on how the students arrive at the right or wrong answer which is what matters the most because any student can memorize problem solving methods and get a right answer but not know how to correctly apply that problem solving method to real-world application. All of these points helped steer me and my inquiry in a positive manner. It actually caused me to pose more questions in my inquiry project to delve further into reasons why standardized testing isn't an accurate representation of a students comprehension or understanding. I definitely feel that my inquiry project is, currently, headed in the right direction.
Kohn, A. (2000). The case against standardized testing: Raising the scores, ruining the schools. (2 ed.). New York: Heinemann. Dear Ms. Sippy,
In my mind I have been going over all of the possible inquiry topics that I could use for my project and I still cannot decide on just one because I feel like some would either be difficult to perform primary research on or that some would not examine issues from all sides of the spectrum. In other words, I am finding it hard to settle upon one topic because I think that I would either run into discrepancies concerning bias or my method of primary research. However, at the time being I am planning on focusing my inquiry on the subject of testing. I feel like from the time that we are thrust into school until the time that we exit, we are subjected to standardized tests that are used in an attempt to define each individual student’s comprehension of an objective or overall topic. The use of standardized testing has become a common denominator in the educational system that is supposed to illustrate the students understanding, however, I believe that standardized testing does not accurately represent an individuals comprehension and that it is merely a system of scholastic labeling that subjects students to academic competition in an attempt to make them want to perform better in the classrooms. My potential topics of inquiry are “How does the scholastic labeling/grouping of testing performance influence the students perception of him or herself of a student?” Do the students feel like good or bad students as a result of their testing performance? Do the students feel more inclined to want to perform well on standardized test and in class in order to earn “good grades or high rankings?” Do the students feel as if they are prepared enough by their teachers to perform well on these standardized tests? Finally, how much of the responsibility do these students feel is on their teachers to ensure that they do well on standardized testing? I am interested in these topics of inquiry mainly because I was once that student working endlessly and stressing over a test that would define my comprehension in a course that I thought I did well in. I was once the student that did not perform well on standardized tests, not because I was not smart enough or did not understand, but because I was worried about the label that my performance on that test would place on my academic standing and overall image as a student. Also, I was that student that studied material given to me by my teacher day and night. However, I found that, on the day of the test none of that material benefitted me and I, in turn, felt that in some way I had been short changed by my teacher. All of these points of inquiry are what I hope to touch down on and address in my project in order to examine how the institution of testing really affects students and their perceptions of themselves. I also hope to tie in some of the readings that we have been discussing in class. For example, we have read pieces by Mark Edmondson and Mike Rose along with other authors and have examined the educational system from different points of view. However, the most important thing we have discussed and also one of the points I hope to incorporate into my inquiry is the responsibility of learning and education as it pertains to both the student and the teacher. I feel like this is a very important topic because it is something that can and has been heavily debated in the world of scholastic journals and critiques and it is something I feel very passionate about addressing. From Edmondson’s point of view the process of learning and expounding upon knowledge has become more of the students responsibility whereas from Rose’s point of view the student is the blob of clay that is to be by the teacher and while both of these viewpoints are nicely worded I don’t find either of them to be accurate. To me, education is a partnership between the one imparting most of the knowledge and the one receiving that knowledge in a dynamic equilibrium setting where they both can learn something from one another. The responsibility is 50/50 essentially when it comes to learning and I hope to incorporate this in my inquiry about testing because just as education should be a 50/50 contribution between teacher and student, so should standardized test preparation. The educational system should take more caution in ensuring that these students that they are rigorously testing are in fact properly being prepared by these teachers that are supposed to be teaching them all that they will need to know to do well on these complicated tests. I plan to begin this inquiry by doing some background research on standardized testing and its uses just to help support my inquiry for example, I hope to research how standardized testing came about and what were the original purposes for it? In my primary research I plan to randomly select a sample of students and have them to complete a questionnaire of questions inquiring into their perspectives on standardized testing, test preparation in the classroom and how their potential or actual test performance altered or affected their viewpoints of themselves as students. I feel that the only people who would know how they were prepared for a test or how a test made them feel about themselves are the people who actually have had to take them in the past and this is why I chose to conduct my primary research in a survey form. I hope to discover some correlation between the labeling/grouping conspiracy of testing and the student’s perspectives of themselves as I do between the level of preparation in the classroom on a test versus home preparation and how preparation affects test performance as a whole. However, any comments or constructive criticism are welcome. Thank You, Alyson Bradley Honestly, to me we could propose possible solutions all day long in relation to the current educational system but it would take YEARS to see any change being made. At the end of the day we are only a class of 30 something out of the billions of people in the educational system today and who's to say what works for one person or class for that matter works for another? People are never going to be satisfied with the educational system however, I feel as if you make it what it is instead of making excuses and looking to people for all the answers. People want change to be SPONTANEOUS but I think they should wake up and smell the roses because its not and it wont ever be that way. However, if I had to suggest a possible solution I would say to make education a partnership in the classroom where the teachers become a little more one on one with the students in order to understand their needs when it comes to learning. When it comes to education the responsibility is equivalently divided between the student and teacher if not the student a little more because it is for the betterment of our future that we even attend school in the first place so what sense would it make to sit inside of a classroom and not make an effort and just expect the teacher to give you the grade that you want in order to pass them on because that is not what the real-world is like- things just aren't handed to you and today I feel like there are a lot of students that have this mentality. You have to put into education what you expect to get out of it. Also, the teachers must exhibit more passion to actually teach the students in a manner of which they can apply to real life issues. Worksheets and long papers are not the solution to actually teaching a student things that they will retain they must find ways to make education appealing and, most importantly, worthwhile.
"They speak a The very beginning of this article is what interested me the most because it, essentially, coincided with the articles that we have read in the past that focus on the traditional school system and their lack of effort to challenge these students the way they really need to be challenged. Most importantly, when reading this article I thought of Mike Rose's article and how he expressed his level of indifference in the vocational ed program as well as his teachers disregard for the improvement of his and his peers education. The infamous five-paragraph format essay has been thrown upon non-collegiate students at a very young age because, to the teachers, its the best solution in the student's creative writing. However this indifferent essay format actually hinders the student and their growth in writing. The children grow accustomed to being asked to write a traditional five paragraphs when given ANY written assignment and, over time, that is the only thing they know when it comes to writing and writing assignments. Also, and most importantly, in writing not every clearly developed thought and response can be scrunched into five measly paragraphs nor does it deserve to be. "They speak a logic that is important to challenge precisely because this logic perpetuates the commonsense myth that the five-paragraph theme is an actual “form,” and that “forming” in writing is simply slotting information into prefabricated formulas rather than a complex process of meaning-making and negotiation between a writer’s purposes and audiences’ needs." (Et al, 2013) This quote clearly illustrates just how "modeled" writing is today and how unchallenging writing is for students because all that is required of them is to "fill in the slots" as et al puts it. Writing has evolved into a fabricated systematic form instead of a complex, thought provoking process that requires the children to think beneath the surface and to voice those thoughts and opinions. Also, because students are writing in a fabricated form, they are beginning to develop a disregard for the purpose of their writing as well as the readers expectations and needs. The five-paragraph essays not only deprives the student but also the audience of quality writing, therefore, it is clear to see that reform must be made for the students benefits in writing and creative thinking.
Freire's depiction of banking education, now, is definitely similar to how Mike Rose illustrated his schooling experience. Mike Rose's major point in his story was about how the teacher's, essentially, aimed to just OCCUPY the students instead of actually teaching them because the of their perceptions that these students knew nothing and were not worth teaching. "In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing."(Freire,2012) This quote definitely exemplifies just how much of the learning process is put into the hands of a teacher, which in some cases can be a bad idea. For example, in the vocational education program, Rose and his peers did not receive any quality education because the teachers did not care enough to choose to invest in the students by teaching them material they could and would need to be successful in life. And, in return, most of the students did not strive to be any better than what was expected of them as "below average", isolated, vocational ed. students which Freire seemingly touched on in his quote, "The students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian dialectic, accept their ignorance as justifying the teachers existence -- but unlike the slave, they never discover that they educate the teacher." (Freire, 2012). Rose and his peers essentially received education that did not appeal to and, as a result, limited their creativity and learning processes and turned them into mere "receptacles" of the school system. They became human beings who went to school only to be filled with information that was not relevant to or useful in the real world- the students realities. In my mind, problem-posing education is taking away the overbearing degree of separation between the teacher and the student in the classroom. By this I simply mean make the teacher and the student essentially "equals" as far as education, knowledge and the exchange of knowledge is concerned. I say this because at the end of the day, teachers are not some SUPER HUMAN BEINGS who know everything in the world that there is to know and that they're just there to impart all of this wisdom on students; teachers are in the classroom to learn just like we are and, in some cases they do learn from us. Problem-posing education would consist of the teachers and students consciously working together to analyze the world and the realities that they live in to make sense of the things around them. To me, humans can never stop learning because this world evolves and changes every single day but I think the major accomplishment in the learning process is when we LEARN TO LEARN TOGETHER AS EQUALS no matter the age, gender or color. We each possess knowledge that we can share with others and I think that if the education system would stop using teachers as "wardens" of a classroom and actually use them as tools of collectively learning and interacting with students that education would take a significant turn for the better.
"Average? Who wants to be average?" (Rose 186) The article by Rose comes across as a narrative making it harder to get into as a reader because of the extensive detail with no interesting points that really grasped my attention. However, it does achieve a similar purpose in relation to the trajectory that I created in class. Rose commences to revisit his days in Voc. Ed and to document the going on's of the program and of his peers how they caused him to question aspects of the word around him and its possibilities. Similarly, I created a schooling trajectory outlining the most significant people and events in my life that influenced me in school and also led me to discover and question things about the world such as what I would want to become when I got older. Although the premise for the trajectories were similar, Rose and I clearly went about it in two different ways. I illustrated my schooling trajectory, whereas, his was in the format of an academic narrative. Also, Rose's trajectory was much more in-depth than mines, hence the detailed descriptions of Ken, Ted, Billy and many of the other guys that he knew, whereas, my trajectory was much more quaint- short and simple. The reason behind the differences in our presentation of trajectory could be based upon the purpose for creating the trajectory. It was clear from the very beginning that Rose was using his as a background story to prove that children that are written off by the schooling system can indeed become something- he had a genuine interest and purpose for telling his story. I, on the other hand, just approached the trajectory as any other assignment without much desire to tell my whole life story to my peers which reflected in my work and very brief descriptions. From reading his article, one can tell that Rose really took something with him from his experience at their "Lady of Mercy" by learning from his peers and personal experiences what it was to grow and that everyone has a say in what they choose to become in life no matter the past circumstances. However, to me, the most significant area in the article was Rose's statement "Average? Who wants to be average?" (Rose 186). This quote resonated in my mind from the time that I read it because, to me, in his article Rose was referring to the Voc. Ed program as a way to help the "bottom dwellers" of the schooling system just "survive", "occupy" and "get through" school with the expectation that they would just become average human beings at the very least. The teachers were not innovative in the classroom nor did they push the students to be innovative in their schoolwork because in a sense the school had given up on them already. However, to me, thus far, in his life Rose has achieved goals "above average" which implies that he had a innate desire to want to be something greater than "average"- this quote made that very clear- average just wasn't good enough for Mike Rose and neither is it for me.
  This trajectory timeline made me think about how my life as a whole has influenced my school trajectory. Beginning from the top left and moving towards the right, my trajectory timeline focuses on events and people in my life that I found to be both instrumental and inspirational in my schooling.
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