The Selection and Preparation of Mathematics Teachers
Teacher preparation is a vital component of any educational system. Evidence from research shows that there is a 39% difference in the achievement levels of students who have most/least effective teachers. The federal government also recognizes the importance of the classroom teacher. The recent No Child Left Behind legislation emphasizes the role that teachers play in achievement. In order to meet the requirements of NCLB, states and universities will have to change the way that teachers are prepared.
Carefully selecting and properly training teachers and then giving them the authority to teach students as they see fit will go a long way to resolving the low achievement of American students. On the flip side, giving low ability and poorly trained individuals the opportunity to teach has produced several decades of low student achievement. Many of these academically unmotivated teachers demonstrate little content knowledge or curiosity and have been among the most flagrant violators of scientific application of educational research. Witness the indiscriminate use of trivial tests (learning styles, right/left brain, multiple intelligences, etc) that pretend to classify students in scant minutes. Worse still is that the learning theory behind these fads may in fact be even more suspect than the test. The current generation of American teachers firmly believes that lecture is a universally poor method of instruction, standardized tests are fatally flawed and the group learning is much superior to individual learning, all without scientific justification.
If America is to close the achievement gap with other industrialized nations it must be willing to set aside political correctness and educational faddism to place competent teachers in the classroom. There is constant pressure for education departments to find new pedagogy, criticize the old pedagogy and generally churn the academic waters so that their existence can be justified. Teacher preparation programs need to focus on only those aspects of educational research which have been proven to produce achievement gains and stop experimenting on prospective teachers and their dependent students.
The primary reason I am pursuing a doctorial degree in mathematics education is to have the credentials needed to teach mathematics pedagogy courses to prospective teachers at a four year institution. I feel strongly that my experience as a teacher and the intellectual training I am now acquiring will let me make a positive contribution to the cause of producing competent teachers.
The area of teacher preparation is being extensively researched and is currently a high profile issue in education.
This is precisely the problem. Standardized tests are old and outdated, and the harm they cause to America’s education system by far outweighs the benefits. These tests were intended to monitor and offer ways to improve how public schools function, but instead they have impaired the natural learning ability of students and imposed upon the judgment of experienced educators. Although a means to evaluate the progress of public schools is necessary, it is also necessary to develop more modern and effective ways of doing so. Standardized testing mandated by the federal and state governments has a negative effect on the education of America’s youth.
Today’s schools are classified according to which social class the children’s parents come from. The American education system teaches students to make decisions on aptitude. Harder standards are implemented with the idea that schools will output better students who know more, or who are more inclined to achieve things. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is the reality. Students are being taught to follow methods and instructions rather than making decisions based on experience.
Teachers who lack passion and desire to teach what they are given can translate and manifest its way to students as they also lose aspirations to come to school and learn only what will be on exams they are supposed to take to show that they are “learning.” Students come to school to learn things they did not know prior and with the acquisition of knowledge it can many a times create a drive for students to expand upon a particular subject, which can ultimately determine their careers and goals, but this whole process is shutdown with standardized tests, as many topics and subjects are limited to a few basic ones that put out the fire students are expected to have.
It is a well-known fact that students entering higher education increasingly lack the academic skills necessary to succeed in their collegiate endeavors. It goes without saying that this is largely due to the widespread substandard education provided by legions of mediocre teachers—teachers who deliver shoddy instruction due to their own innately inferior academic abilities. At least, these facts are what Notre Dame Professor of Philosophy Gary Gutting would have readers of The Chronicle of Higher Education believe in his article “Why College Is Not a Commodity.” Although he makes many points that, if true, would be damning of the elementary and secondary teaching professions, Gutting stops short of proving his arguments logically or empirically. He claims today’s budding K-12 teachers often come from the bottom of the heap academically, directly leading to poor teaching—yet he provides no research to back up this connection. Furthermore, Gutting attempts to provide a solution to this so-called travesty by recommending that teaching be “professionalized,” ignoring the already-present professional practices and standards present. Gutting’s critiques, though thought-provoking, ultimately are logically and statistically unsatisfying in both their explanations of the state of teacher qualifications and in their calls to action.
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
Education supports everyone getting opportunities in life and being able to choose better for themselves. As Horace Mann wrote, education is the “great equalizer for all.“ However, the United States Public School system will likely never be able to equally educate its masses of students. Public school educating all fairly is a myth.There is no one entity to blame for this failure. The failure lies with each student who has been conditioned to sit passively in an un-engaging classroom. Its failure lies in some students disrespectfully distracting their classmates and frustrating their once inspired teacher or administrator. The failure lies with administration being distracted with causes of the moment and burns out from knowing that all
In schools today there are many demands from the community, school level, state level and federal level. Each of these entities has put high demand on schools and teachers. They want the school to be high performing and this is currently shown through mandated testing. “These conditions have caused many educators to move beyond responsivenes...
Jazz is the kind of music that makes me want to do one of two things. Depending on the mood of the jazz, sometimes I feel like relaxing and just listening to the music and letting it run through me. Other times I feel like getting up and dancing as if I have not a care in the world. The jazz concert I attended on at SLO Brewing Company on October 6, 2001 inspired me to do both of these due to the variety used by the musicians in dynamic, rhythm, tempo, and many other aspects of music.
Jazz brought together individuals, who had the common goal of making music. This was especially true when evaluating the African American population. They knew that they had to bond together in order to survive the constant discrimination they faced each and every day, and jazz seemed to help them unite on a deeper level as they expressed all of their feelings through song. On top of that, each musician involved in a jazz band brought something unique to the table, and this diversity make some incredible things happen through the various instruments and notes being played. While playing, these musicians soon began improvising and playing “off the cuff” (Vernick, 2009). But in order for this technique to work out successfully, the individuals in jazz groups had to trust one another and embrace the uncertainty about what was going on. It was a requirement that members had to listen to one another very carefully and work together to create something powerful. Jazz brought a whole new meaning to the whole idea of collaboration; it helped them survive and
166-173). Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) discusses how teacher education has changed and how it has affected our education system (p. 166). The author also notes how even the most intelligent people found it hard to prosper in the field without the right skills and preparation (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p. 166-173). In the article, she presents how post baccalaureate programs are carefully structured, versus alternative routes which can be no more than backup employment options. Darling-Hammond (2000) also addresses how it becomes difficult for aspiring teachers to learn both subject matter and pedagogy (p.
To improve education in the United States, the core objectives in federal education legislation address the improvement of teacher education and quality, for example, Higher Education Opportunity Act (Cohen-vogel, 2005). Teacher preparation program is one of the policy instruments to deliver the goals. Unlike traditional preparation program and alternative teacher preparation programs, Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) is an innovative preparation program improving teacher quality in which a mentor will be assigned to work with the novice teacher for a year. UTRs are distinctive than other programs mainly in three aspects as follows: recruitment, preparation, and ongoing induction. First established in 2002, UTRs have gained its popularity and grown to 13 network programs by 2013 with $143 million federal fund support (Boston Teacher Residency Project Narrative, 2010).
According to the Birthplace of articles by Neworleansonline.com, Jazz music is the formal music in the African American communities. It originated in New Orleans, United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is created with the mixed influences of ragtime (songs with
Pressure is being exerted on students to pass, and teachers to enable their students to pass the standardized tests being presented to them. This takes much classroom time that could be spent instructing students on what might be more valuable information, and instead study for the test by what some consider rote memorization (Silva). Experiments have been done seeing how much different teaching approaches were before and after the implementation of standardized testing (Desimone). These experiments demonstrated how vastly the difference between teaching to the test and teaching what the instructor believes is the most valuable knowledge and the best way to present this knowledge. If there is a disconnect between what America’s teachers believe is best to know, and what is on the examinations, then one of the two is flawed, and it is not likely to be what the teachers are teaching.
As child growing up some of the frightful memories include a visit to the dentist; an evil man with scary drill whose solve purpose is to hurt you or the first day in elementary school you finally leave all behind the cozy classrooms and nap times of kindergarten and enter the big leagues. All of these are considered a cakewalk compared to standardize testing. Since the start of elementary school students in the United States are taught to test. In many instances students are held back or placed in remedial classes because of lower grades. But many don’t realize that some students are not great at testing taking and because of the lower grades some educators believe that these students are lower achievers. This leads to lower self-esteem and encourage students to drop out in later years. Also students are forced to memorize information merely as facts without sparking their creativity or enhancing their knowledge.
In a society where kids must go to school up to the collegiate level, teaching is an impactful career choice. Teachers help contour the minds of future leaders of the world. Furthermore, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students to the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in life, and teachers lead students to make informed decisions on any topic the meet in the future. As a teacher, a person must relinquish their knowledge onto students. Finally, they must prepare their students for all the obstacles they will face later in life.