I should've reread this before I wrote my piece yesterday. I definitely don't know the right way to influence teacher practice in a broad way, these seem like two different wrong ways. I appreciate the depth of the research here, compared my vibes and loose impressions.
I am old enough to be an eye witness to the events David Cohen described and you comment on. I agree with your main points, but you are factually wrong to presume anyone then or now believed curriculum was enough. Much was spent on “staff development”, some of it spent well. Much was done to develop and support teacher leaders, professional communities. Regional nctm affiliates flourished. Yet, what Cohen found about teachers was and still is true.
It is not because anyone ignored teachers; it is because what was done for teachers didn’t work. Blaming on stupid state leaders let’s all of us off the hook.
Why didn’t teacher supports not work? This is what we need to understand. Was it too sparse a dosage? Were teachers being asked to do truly impractical things? Was the quality poor and why? …
I admire your analyses and comments. I would love to see your thoughts on what would work for teachers.
First of all, I did not know that you were in the room! That's amazing.
Second, it sounds like I overstated things, and thank you for the correction.
Third, I don't really have a vision for improving education through curriculum + teacher training. Maybe the Mathalicious study shows that there is good to be done just from putting resources in the hands of teachers, but most people won't use those resources. Some professional development is high quality, but most is not and probably good PD doesn't scale for the same reason that good teaching doesn't simply scale. PD has its own structural constraints, recruitment problems, etc.
If someone put me in charge of a district or even a school, I honestly don't know if curriculum/PD would be at the top of my list. Are there encouraging success stories out there?
This is one of my favorite essays by you (and I have many), I remember laughing out loud the first time around at the thought of you quivering as your students started eating beans in class.
I should've reread this before I wrote my piece yesterday. I definitely don't know the right way to influence teacher practice in a broad way, these seem like two different wrong ways. I appreciate the depth of the research here, compared my vibes and loose impressions.
I am old enough to be an eye witness to the events David Cohen described and you comment on. I agree with your main points, but you are factually wrong to presume anyone then or now believed curriculum was enough. Much was spent on “staff development”, some of it spent well. Much was done to develop and support teacher leaders, professional communities. Regional nctm affiliates flourished. Yet, what Cohen found about teachers was and still is true.
It is not because anyone ignored teachers; it is because what was done for teachers didn’t work. Blaming on stupid state leaders let’s all of us off the hook.
Why didn’t teacher supports not work? This is what we need to understand. Was it too sparse a dosage? Were teachers being asked to do truly impractical things? Was the quality poor and why? …
I admire your analyses and comments. I would love to see your thoughts on what would work for teachers.
First of all, I did not know that you were in the room! That's amazing.
Second, it sounds like I overstated things, and thank you for the correction.
Third, I don't really have a vision for improving education through curriculum + teacher training. Maybe the Mathalicious study shows that there is good to be done just from putting resources in the hands of teachers, but most people won't use those resources. Some professional development is high quality, but most is not and probably good PD doesn't scale for the same reason that good teaching doesn't simply scale. PD has its own structural constraints, recruitment problems, etc.
If someone put me in charge of a district or even a school, I honestly don't know if curriculum/PD would be at the top of my list. Are there encouraging success stories out there?
This is one of my favorite essays by you (and I have many), I remember laughing out loud the first time around at the thought of you quivering as your students started eating beans in class.
Haha, thanks for the kind words! With a few more years under my belt, I now recognize that the main problem is not eating but throwing the beans.
What a tremendous essay.
There's the Oublier Bypass - I will hand each kid a diff textbook. Straight up rejection of district.
But how common do you think is Halfway Bypass?
The Halfway Bypass might be:
1. Occasionally I'll teach using the district book. And I won't literally pass out a diff book.
2. But when I give classwork and homework I
a) photocopy frequently from that diff book (old school) or
b) I will assign stuff from internet - so the typical problem sets are not from the district book.
3. Moreover, when I explain a new procedure, I don't use the district book explanation. instead I
a. Do it my favorite way at the board ("This is how you find an equivalent fraction") or
b. I have kids examine the procedure from that "diff book" or "diff internet resource" ("Watch this on Khan Academy").