Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap GCDS Faculty Book Club February 10, 2011
Group Members:
David Allen Joann Gray Steph Guertin Charlie King Austin Lehn, ex officio Palmer Sloan Eliot Spencer, Facilitator Marshall Spooner
The Seven Survival Skills:
1) Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
2) Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
3) Agility and Adaptability
4) Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
5) Effective Oral and Written Communication
6) Accessing and Analyzing Information
7) Curiosity and Imagination
DISCUSSION PART A: Interpreting and Assessing Wagner’s Argument
General Topics for Discussion:
· What does it mean to be an educated, “active[,] and informed citizen” in today’s world? What is “core knowledge” today? (see pg. 112) o And, to get there, what should kids leave their formal education knowing? · Wagner says: “work, learning, and citizenship in the twenty-first century demand that we all know how to think—to reason, analyze, weigh evidence, problem-solve—and to communicate effectively” (xxiii) o the question is, how can we get there most effectively, given the abilities, needs, and expectations of our students? · Wagner speaks repeatedly about “dwindling curiosity,” shortening attention spans, and increasing boredom among students, particularly inhigh school, where dropout rates are increasing. He seems to imply that we, as educators, shoulder part of the
responsibility. Despite the fact teachers often are fighting mandates (from our departments, administrators, accrediting organizations,
etc), what can WE do to ameliorate or even reverse these troubling trends in our students? · What do we think of the “schools that work” that Wagner visited? Are they too far from the mainstream to be viable alternative?
Specific Thematic Questions:
· Why is algebra, but not probability or statistics, required for entry to college? (Wagner argues that the latter are much more relevant, being more applied than abstract) (92) · Why do we ask students to memorize “times tables” if they can look up the information in an instant, or use a calculator? (and ultimately that’s what they will be doing in the workplace) (111) · Are parents as much of a burden to change as Wagner makes them out to be? (the “if it ain’t broke, don’t change it” argument) (140) · Do we agree with Wagner’s argument that schools of education do not prepare graduates (new teachers) to deal with the realities of today’s classrooms? (145) · Wagner argues that teacher supervision is “the single most effective strategy for improving instruction for all schools,” such as classroom observations, video recording, and other faculty evaluation procedures. He claims that teachers need regular coaching
and critiquing of performance, and he disavows tenure and other mechanisms that allow teachers to relax in their “security and continuity” instead of having to adapt and challenge themselves constantly in their lesson planning. To what extent do we agree or disagree? (142, 154) · Is Wagner oversimplifying the role of the administration? (156)
DISCUSSION PART B: Analyzing and Assessing Wagner’s Research Methodology:
· EMPLOYERS: Wagner conducted interviews and visits with corporate leaders, other large-scale employers, and even military commanders in an attempt to gauge perceptions of the skills and abilities that today’s workforce (and the current students in the
pipeline) will be expected to demonstrate if they want to succeed on the job market. Do we agree with this qualitative approach? Does he neglect to consider any potential biases? · SCHOOLS: Wagner visited many public, independent, and even military schools around the country and conducted “walk throughs” in hallways and classrooms (many in high schools but some in middle schools) to observe and critique what he saw
happening. Does this heavily anecdotal approach seem appropriate, given that he is positioning his argument against NCLB and state-level institutional structures that have quantitative, statistical, and/or systematic evaluative methodologies? (I think we can agree that Wagner’s approach is anything but systematic!)
DISCUSSION PART C: Related topics
· How are we doing at GCDS? Do you see echoes of your own classes in Wagner’s “walk-throughs” of classrooms? Have you already adjusted your approach to certain assignments since reading Wagner’s book and hearing his talk? · How do you feel about the idea of identifying competencies for teachers and administrators and then holding them to a particular standard? How about teacher portfolios as a standard part of the routine faculty evaluation process? (148-149)
Comment from David: One line of questioning I am curious about, which Wagner alludes to but doesn’t fully address, is this: Wagner concedes that some content is vital/foundational, but goes on to say that defining that set of content is not the focus of his book, and basically leaves the topic after giving a few obvious examples (e.g. Times tables). How can we create a framework for determining what content is indeed foundational, especially as a private school that lacks mandates from above like those given to public schools. Is that a process undertaken by individual classroom teachers? Departments? Grade levels? The faculty as a whole? The administration? What should the role of parents (who after all finance the school) be in this process? What should be the role of secondary schools and their expectations?
Response from Eliot: You are raising some excellent points here that deserve our consideration. I know that the skills vs. content argument is a controversial one. I suspect it will be a key aspect of our discussions. I would be interested in hearing your perspective as an educator who works with our younger students, in particular with regard to how the students respond to content taught through skills versus skills taught by way of content. My personal opinion is that the skills we teach have far greater pedagogical longevity than content/knowledge bases that students might study for a test and then forget shortly afterward. That is not to say we shouldn’t teach rich, diverse, engaging content. We absolutely should. But I think we should frame our lessons not around learning facts A, B, and C but around honing and refining skill sets that students will need in their future education.
The curricular issue that you bring up does have major ramifications. While we do not have government mandates for the curricula we teach, we do have considerations and obligations outside our institution that affect our program, such as our Fairchester peer institutions (many of which are involved in our regular external reviews) and also our accrediting organizations like NAIS and CAIS. As an independent school, we also have very active parent and alumni advisory bodies, all of whom have their own ideas about how we should be educating the kids. And of course, since all of us on the faculty are creative, independent-minded people, we have our own personal philosophies, pedagogies, and methodologies. It makes your mind spin after a while! If anything, in an independent school environment, things are more complex than in the public schools where a state or local mandate or school board governs the curriculum.
Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap
GCDS Faculty Book Club
February 10, 2011
Group Members:
David Allen
Joann Gray
Steph Guertin
Charlie King
Austin Lehn, ex officio
Palmer Sloan
Eliot Spencer, Facilitator
Marshall Spooner
DISCUSSION PART A: Interpreting and Assessing Wagner’s Argument
General Topics for Discussion:
· What does it mean to be an educated, “active[,] and informed citizen” in today’s world? What is “core knowledge” today? (see pg.
112)
o And, to get there, what should kids leave their formal education knowing?
· Wagner says: “work, learning, and citizenship in the twenty-first century demand that we all know how to think—to reason, analyze,
weigh evidence, problem-solve—and to communicate effectively” (xxiii)
o the question is, how can we get there most effectively, given the abilities, needs, and expectations of our students?
· Wagner speaks repeatedly about “dwindling curiosity,” shortening attention spans, and increasing boredom among students,
particularly inhigh school, where dropout rates are increasing. He seems to imply that we, as educators, shoulder part of the
responsibility. Despite the fact teachers often are fighting mandates (from our departments, administrators, accrediting organizations,
etc), what can WE do to ameliorate or even reverse these troubling trends in our students?
· What do we think of the “schools that work” that Wagner visited? Are they too far from the mainstream to be viable alternative?
Specific Thematic Questions:
· Why is algebra, but not probability or statistics, required for entry to college? (Wagner argues that the latter are much more relevant,
being more applied than abstract) (92)
· Why do we ask students to memorize “times tables” if they can look up the information in an instant, or use a calculator? (and
ultimately that’s what they will be doing in the workplace) (111)
· Are parents as much of a burden to change as Wagner makes them out to be? (the “if it ain’t broke, don’t change it” argument) (140)
· Do we agree with Wagner’s argument that schools of education do not prepare graduates (new teachers) to deal with the realities of
today’s classrooms? (145)
· Wagner argues that teacher supervision is “the single most effective strategy for improving instruction for all schools,” such as
classroom observations, video recording, and other faculty evaluation procedures. He claims that teachers need regular coaching
and critiquing of performance, and he disavows tenure and other mechanisms that allow teachers to relax in their “security and continuity” instead of having to adapt and challenge themselves constantly in their lesson planning. To what extent do we agree or disagree? (142, 154)
· Is Wagner oversimplifying the role of the administration? (156)
DISCUSSION PART B: Analyzing and Assessing Wagner’s Research Methodology:
· EMPLOYERS: Wagner conducted interviews and visits with corporate leaders, other large-scale employers, and even military
commanders in an attempt to gauge perceptions of the skills and abilities that today’s workforce (and the current students in the
pipeline) will be expected to demonstrate if they want to succeed on the job market. Do we agree with this qualitative approach? Does he
neglect to consider any potential biases?
· SCHOOLS: Wagner visited many public, independent, and even military schools around the country and conducted “walk
throughs” in hallways and classrooms (many in high schools but some in middle schools) to observe and critique what he saw
happening. Does this heavily anecdotal approach seem appropriate, given that he is positioning his argument against NCLB and state-level institutional structures that have quantitative, statistical, and/or systematic evaluative methodologies? (I think we can agree that Wagner’s approach is anything but systematic!)
DISCUSSION PART C: Related topics
· How are we doing at GCDS? Do you see echoes of your own classes in Wagner’s “walk-throughs” of classrooms? Have you already
adjusted your approach to certain assignments since reading Wagner’s book and hearing his talk?
· How do you feel about the idea of identifying competencies for teachers and administrators and then holding them to a particular
standard? How about teacher portfolios as a standard part of the routine faculty evaluation process? (148-149)
Comment from David:
One line of questioning I am curious about, which Wagner alludes to but doesn’t fully address, is this: Wagner concedes that some content is vital/foundational, but goes on to say that defining that set of content is not the focus of his book, and basically leaves the topic after giving a few obvious examples (e.g. Times tables). How can we create a framework for determining what content is indeed foundational, especially as a private school that lacks mandates from above like those given to public schools. Is that a process undertaken by individual classroom teachers? Departments? Grade levels? The faculty as a whole? The administration? What should the role of parents (who after all finance the school) be in this process? What should be the role of secondary schools and their expectations?
Response from Eliot:
You are raising some excellent points here that deserve our consideration. I know that the skills vs. content argument is a controversial one. I suspect it will be a key aspect of our discussions. I would be interested in hearing your perspective as an educator who works with our younger students, in particular with regard to how the students respond to content taught through skills versus skills taught by way of content. My personal opinion is that the skills we teach have far greater pedagogical longevity than content/knowledge bases that students might study for a test and then forget shortly afterward. That is not to say we shouldn’t teach rich, diverse, engaging content. We absolutely should. But I think we should frame our lessons not around learning facts A, B, and C but around honing and refining skill sets that students will need in their future education.
The curricular issue that you bring up does have major ramifications. While we do not have government mandates for the curricula we teach, we do have considerations and obligations outside our institution that affect our program, such as our Fairchester peer institutions (many of which are involved in our regular external reviews) and also our accrediting organizations like NAIS and CAIS. As an independent school, we also have very active parent and alumni advisory bodies, all of whom have their own ideas about how we should be educating the kids. And of course, since all of us on the faculty are creative, independent-minded people, we have our own personal philosophies, pedagogies, and methodologies. It makes your mind spin after a while! If anything, in an independent school environment, things are more complex than in the public schools where a state or local mandate or school board governs the curriculum.
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