A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Traditional--Reform Pedagogy Continuum

This pursuit of this new orientation to teaching was found across the cases, whether they were science, mathematics or general cases. Illustrative of this fact are the following.

The teacher role in a reformed classroom is that of a facilitator of learning. In this role, the teacher helps students process information, models the learning process, and facilitates student thinking.
In general students feel as though there is more dialogue both between the teacher and the student and between students. The group work means that the classroom is decentralized, the teacher spends less time lecturing, and the students spend more time interacting, and they have more one-on-one interactions with their teacher ... Extrapolating from the statements about the curriculum, students are expected to participate in problem formulation and problem solving activities, to communicate about mathematics, to reason mathematically and to make connections between mathematical concepts and across contexts.
One of the ways we get students to function as workers is through higher order thinking skills. Students predict, compare, contrast, or tell why a turning point is significant. Our role is different, too. We facilitate, not disseminate. Our goal is to nurture classrooms where people think.

At the heart of this new approach to teaching is a dramatically different role for students. This new role of students is illustrated further by the following.

The students in the interactive classes were asked to take a much more active role in their learning. They were being asked to wrestle with problems--situations in which no path to solution was readily apparent--on a daily basis. They were asked to figure out how to solve these problems and why these solutions worked. They were asked to rely on other students for help, and to offer that help to others when they needed it. They were to turn to each other rather than the teacher. They were asked to take over the role of presenter from the teacher, even when they were not clear themselves. They were asked to deal with their inevitable frustration when trying to do something they did not already know how to do. Finally, they were asked to participate actively in the assessment of their mathematical progress.
During the assessment it was clear that students were indeed taking charge of their learning. They selected the question on which to focus; they designed their presentations within the structures handed them; and they initiated the presentations themselves.
Students observed by this researcher were often engaged in the following behaviors: developing hypotheses, collecting data, writing about their learning, exploring through hands-on activities, and working in cooperative groups. They were engaged in these activities more frequently than the more traditional activities of listening to lectures, reading a textbook, or answering written questions on worksheets.
... the students must learn how to use the graphing calculators, the computers, and the software. Additionally, students must learn how to work in a cooperative group, how to make class presentations, and how to do the research required to answer the questions posed in the units. Even the homework is different. Project homework requires students to write more, to read more, to be able to explain an answer, and to be able to work with problems that are presented in the context of some "real world" applications.

Although teachers often did not fully attain this orientation and students often resisted this change in expectations, it was this new pedagogical orientation that was being sought by the reformers in these cases.

The political dimension. This dimension addresses matters of authority, power, and influence. It extends to matters of negotiation and resolution of conflicts as well, and includes such situations as relationships among teachers within a particular department of a school, parent-school relationships, and teacher-administrator relationships. Moral issues, such as matters of fairness and justice, enter into the political dimension as well.

Decentralization. The nature of the reforms being sought generally are associated with decentralization of power and delegation of authority to lower levels within a given hierarchy. Individual schools are given more authority to make curricular and instructional decisions on their own, independent of district policies that impose uniformity on all schools. Teachers within a department of a school are given increased freedom and responsibility for making curricular decisions. This downward shift in power extends to students as well; teachers give students the freedom--and encouragement--to engage in self-directed learning.

Operationally, the situation is complex; it must be understood systemicly. Parents, for example, have a vital interest in their children's education and often choose to exercise their influence through a variety of informal means, as well as formal means such as appearing before the school board. What may appear initially to be simply a teacher-student matter, is a matter of vital interest to a much wider group. The goal is to de-centralize power in a manner that empowers all stakeholders.

Another important component of the picture is the availability of resources. Without the resources for implementing a decision on changing the curriculum, for example, the power of a school department to decide to change the curriculum may be a very limited power. Real decision-making power includes a certain degree of control over resources. Reform does not necessarily mean an increase in resources, but it does imply control over their expenditure by those responsible for educational results.

Collaboration. Empowerment is not just something given from above by people in authority who decide to decentralize decision-making. Teachers in a department may gain power through the act of collaboration itself. This collaboration may result in increased strength of convictions on a curricular matter, greater clarity as to the nature of a curricular change, and greater knowledge and skills. The power of collaboration in these cases often was of major proportions.

This collaboration may take place in informal settings or in the context of formally established processes, as illustrated by the following situation in one of the school-wide reform endeavors.

A major decision made early in the planning of the school was to not have department chairs. Instead, the department chair duties were split up among members of a department. Without department chairs, decisions about courses are made through the curriculum committee which has about 20 people, with each department represented. The committee looks at proposals for courses and evaluates whether or not the proposal meets the vision of the school. The principal is present at the committee meetings and gives input but has no final decision-making power.

Another example is embedded within the culture of an individual department. Its informal nature is highlighted by its presence within a department where the formal mechanisms are experiencing some difficulties.

... the impetus to change and improve comes from individual mathematics teachers rather than from state, district, or administrative mandates ... The process of change is ongoing at Fruitvale High School. As the force and intent come from within the staff of the mathematics department, the culture, politics, and power of that department are the important aspects of the reform process.

An example from another department illustrates that this collaboration can be the very foundation of a reform endeavor.

The context in which this communication and collaboration has occurred is in the development and planning of the course materials and instructional activities. Meetings are not held simply for the purpose of communicating information; they are held to accomplish specific work that needs to be done. At the same time, the teachers themselves recognize that the key to getting this work done is communication ... One of the collaboration outcomes is that the teachers in the science department depend upon each other's expertise. As a result, a great deal of learning from each other occurs among the teachers.

Moral considerations. A goal of the reforms is justice and fairness for all students--most often expressed as a commitment to educational excellence for all students. There is an expressed commitment to equality of educational opportunity and achievement regardless of gender, ethnicity, or career path. It is a commitment to educational excellence for all students whether they are bound for college or the workplace upon completion of secondary schooling.

In school practice these values may be expressed in varied ways. A common expression of these values in the reforms under study in these cases is a commitment to the elimination of tracking of students. Since not all teachers are convinced that the elimination of tracking is the best practical expression of equity and excellence, this example provides yet another hint of the previously mentioned conflict and struggle inherent in a significant reform endeavor. A moral issue is at the heart of a political matter having to do with power, authority and resolution of conflicts.

The cultural dimension. Values, beliefs, and school norms--both in terms of a general ethos and competing perspectives that war with each other--have a powerful influence upon what reforms are sought in a given case, as well as a powerful influence on how readily the reform can be made and what form it actually takes in school practice.

A number of values are embedded prominently in the desired reforms. For example, there is a strong commitment to quality science and mathematics education for all students, not just those who are college-bound or who are headed for a science-related career. In many contexts, this is translated as valuing heterogenous grouping of students and the elimination of tracking. Another embedded value is the greater worth of learning fundamental content concepts and interdisciplinary themes over discrete pieces of information. The connections of content to other content and to their applications are valued as well.

A number of beliefs about teaching and learning are prominently embedded in the desired reforms as well. These beliefs--most well grounded in extensive research--include what are often labelled constructivist principles of learning, such as learning being contextual, based on prior conceptions, socially negotiated and dependent upon individual's personal construction of their own understanding.

... the Project believes ultimately the teacher's job is to teach students to be self-directed learners.

These beliefs about learning extend into a variety of beliefs about teaching as well. While these beliefs about teaching also generally are grounded in research, explicit understanding of what this teaching looks like in practice is not as complete as in the case of the beliefs about learning. The vision of student learning is clearer than the vision of the teaching required to produce this learning.

These values and beliefs may be in conflict with the traditional ones generally held in the school culture, by a particular department, and/or by an individual teacher. What is being sought is a change in the culture of the school--a change in educational values and beliefs about how learning best occurs. In effect, what is being sought is conflict, tension and the related hard work needed to resolve the conflict and tension as part of a process of improving education.

This description of a climate of change hints at some of the barriers to be addressed later and at the means of clarification, consensus and/or accommodation that may be essential ingredients within a school or department that successfully engages in reform. This interrelationship between the nature of the reforms, the barriers encountered in their implementation, and the essential ingredients of successful reform cases highlights once again the fact that the desired reforms are complex, multi-faceted, and extend into the most basic aspects of the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, it also provides an indication of the prominence of a second theme that will become prominent in this cross-site analysis: achieving the desired reforms demands great effort and commitment expended over a substantial period of time.
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[Nature of the Reforms]

[Barriers to Reforms]