Best experimental education methods books according to redditors
We found 14 Reddit comments discussing the best experimental education methods books. We ranked the 14 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
>Ms Creighton said teachers should also be included: “It happens across the world and this is the new system of management within public service delivery which happens right across the globe, and we have to be able to distinguish between those who excel and those who don’t, whether that’s in the education system — after all, this is about our children, it’s about the future of the nation, and we can’t tolerate underperformance any longer.”
I'm a teacher. I'd love performance related pay, as I feel I'd do pretty well out of such a regime.
Unlike Lucinda, however, I'm not a fucking delusional eejit. Lucinda has no expertise in any of the shite she's talking about here. She's never worked in management. She's never worked in the public service. She's never worked in education. She's never worked, except as a politician and, incredibly briefly, as a newly qualified barrister.
Whatever about the rest of the public service, which I've never worked in, performance related pay in education would be a disaster and always has been a disaster.
Lucinda, in mentioning performance related pay for teachers, is ignoring the huge an gigantic elephant in the room: How are you going to measure that shit? In fact, on a more basic level, how are you going to define it?
How you do oversight is the problem. Teaching is an incredibly complex (and not super well understood) process.
The strategies countries currently tend to lean on include standardised (high stakes) testing and/or inspections of classroom teaching. Both these methods are fatally flawed, and the flaws actually only get worse as the teachers get more intelligent.
To take testing first. The problem is fairly obvious, clever teachers who are incentivised to get students to achieve high test scores will essentially alter their methodologies to ensure that this occurs. Optimal teaching methods are seldom the same as the optimal methods for ensuring that students do well on an exam. As a method this has improved with our ability to better analyse data and control for certain external factors, but it's far from perfect. I'm not sure it can ever work when you take into account that clever people will always find a way to game the system, what you will end up with are not the best teachers, but the best exam coaches. Is that aligned with the goals of a good education system? Fuck no.
Inspections pose a similar problem. They're better, because you get a more holistic sense of what the teacher is doing. However there are two practical issues with it. The first is that in order for inspections to be worthwhile you need talented and experienced inspectors. That's not cheap. You also need to do very regular inspections, that's not cheap either. A robust system of inspections is expensive.
The second problem is that for inspections to work as a disciplinary model you also need to have fair, clear, and transparent criteria on which the inspections assess teachers. This leaves you back in a similar (if slightly better, while significantly more expensive) situation as the testing scenario. Teachers will quickly adapt to the criteria, and do "just enough" to ensure they hit the target. They will, as the phrase went in my time within such a system (the UK) "play the game man, you've got to play the game". Nowadays you'll see books like The perfect "OFSTED" lesson which are a guide to essentially gaming the inspections.
The best method, and this is what thriving education systems like the one in Finland do, is to ensure that only extremely bright and motivated graduates enter the profession by making teacher training highly selective. This method works because it gives freedom to teachers, it assumes (correctly) that bright and motivated young graduates will make bright and motivated teachers, and that as a result you won't need to peer into their classrooms to check on them. You can trust that they will do their jobs well and use their best judgement, which has been well trained.
I believe The Well Trained Mind can be a little overwhelming. The same author wrote Rethinking School which was published last year which I feel is a bit friendlier to the person considering homeschooling.
I also quite liked THE BRAVE LEARNER which is less about navigating the system and more about how to build a routine / lifestyle around education.
It was for my graduate program in Literacy. We had to set up a research study that we'd conduct in a classroom regarding some issue related to literacy. But we also learned how to teach the students to go through the research process starting with generating questions that they would like to research. The idea being we need to learn to do it and then do it ourselves.
Here is a link to the book that we used in the class: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Questions-Teacher-Student-Research/dp/0325006989
I'm impressed that you were allowed to have such a club at your daughters school, that's very unusual imho.
As for role playing, you could use the money game from "Rugged Trousered Philantropists"...
> 'All right,' he replied. 'I'll show you how the Great Money Trick is worked.'
> Owen opened his dinner basket and took from it two slices of bread but as these were not sufficient, he requested that anyone who had some bread left would give it to him. They gave him several pieces, which he placed in a heap on a clean piece of paper, and, having borrowed the pocket knives they used to cut and eat their dinners with from Easton, Harlow and Philpot, he addressed them as follows:
> 'These pieces of bread represent the raw materials which exist naturally in and on the earth for the use of mankind; they were not made by any human being, but were created by the Great Spirit for the benefit and sustenance of all, the same as were the air and the light of the sun.'
> 'You're about as fair-speakin' a man as I've met for some time,' said Harlow, winking at the others.
> 'Yes, mate,' said Philpot. 'Anyone would agree to that much! It's as clear as mud.'
> 'Now,' continued Owen, 'I am a capitalist; or, rather, I represent the landlord and capitalist class. That is to say, all these raw materials belong to me. It does not matter for our present argument how I obtained possession of them, or whether I have any real right to them; the only thing that matters now is the admitted fact that all the raw materials which are necessary for the production of the necessaries of life are now the property of the Landlord and Capitalist class. I am that class: all these raw materials belong to me.'
> 'Good enough!' agreed Philpot.
> 'Now you three represent the Working class: you have nothing--and for my part, although I have all these raw materials, they are of no use to me--what I need is--the things that can be made out of these raw materials by Work: but as I am too lazy to work myself, I have invented the Money Trick to make you work FOR me. But first I must explain that I possess something else beside the raw materials. These three knives represent--all the machinery of production; the factories, tools, railways, and so forth, without which the necessaries of life cannot be produced in abundance. And these three coins'--taking three halfpennies from his pocket--'represent my Money Capital.'
> 'But before we go any further,' said Owen, interrupting himself, 'it is most important that you remember that I am not supposed to be merely "a" capitalist. I represent the whole Capitalist Class. You are not supposed to be just three workers--you represent the whole Working Class.'
> 'All right, all right,' said Crass, impatiently, 'we all understand that. Git on with it.'
> Owen proceeded to cut up one of the slices of bread into a number of little square blocks.
> 'These represent the things which are produced by labour, aided by machinery, from the raw materials. We will suppose that three of these blocks represent--a week's work. We will suppose that a week's work is worth--one pound: and we will suppose that each of these ha'pennies is a sovereign. We'd be able to do the trick better if we had real sovereigns, but I forgot to bring any with me.'
> 'I'd lend you some,' said Philpot, regretfully, 'but I left me purse on our grand pianner.'
> As by a strange coincidence nobody happened to have any gold with them, it was decided to make shift with the halfpence.
> 'Now this is the way the trick works--'
> 'Before you goes on with it,' interrupted Philpot, apprehensively, 'don't you think we'd better 'ave someone to keep watch at the gate in case a Slop comes along? We don't want to get runned in, you know.'
> 'I don't think there's any need for that,' replied Owen, 'there's only one slop who'd interfere with us for playing this game, and that's Police Constable Socialism.'
> 'Never mind about Socialism,' said Crass, irritably. 'Get along with the bloody trick.'
> Owen now addressed himself to the working classes as represented by Philpot, Harlow and Easton.
> 'You say that you are all in need of employment, and as I am the kind-hearted capitalist class I am going to invest all my money in various industries, so as to give you Plenty of Work. I shall pay each of you one pound per week, and a week's work is--you must each produce three of these square blocks. For doing this work you will each receive your wages; the money will be your own, to do as you like with, and the things you produce will of course be mine, to do as I like with. You will each take one of these machines and as soon as you have done a week's work, you shall have your money.'
> The Working Classes accordingly set to work, and the Capitalist class sat down and watched them. As soon as they had finished, they passed the nine little blocks to Owen, who placed them on a piece of paper by his side and paid the workers their wages.
> 'These blocks represent the necessaries of life. You can't live without some of these things, but as they belong to me, you will have to buy them from me: my price for these blocks is--one pound each.'
> As the working classes were in need of the necessaries of life and as they could not eat, drink or wear the useless money, they were compelled to agree to the kind Capitalist's terms. They each bought back and at once consumed one-third of the produce of their labour. The capitalist class also devoured two of the square blocks, and so the net result of the week's work was that the kind capitalist had consumed two pounds worth of the things produced by the labour of the others, and reckoning the squares at their market value of one pound each, he had more than doubled his capital, for he still possessed the three pounds in money and in addition four pounds worth of goods. As for the working classes, Philpot, Harlow and Easton, having each consumed the pound's worth of necessaries they had bought with their wages, they were again in precisely the same condition as when they started work--they had nothing.
> This process was repeated several times: for each week's work the producers were paid their wages. They kept on working and spending all their earnings. The kind-hearted capitalist consumed twice as much as any one of them and his pile of wealth continually increased. In a little while--reckoning the little squares at their market value of one pound each--he was worth about one hundred pounds, and the working classes were still in the same condition as when they began, and were still tearing into their work as if their lives depended upon it.
> After a while the rest of the crowd began to laugh, and their merriment increased when the kind-hearted capitalist, just after having sold a pound's worth of necessaries to each of his workers, suddenly took their tools--the Machinery of Production--the knives away from them, and informed them that as owing to Over Production all his store-houses were glutted with the necessaries of life, he had decided to close down the works.
> 'Well, and wot the bloody 'ell are we to do now?' demanded Philpot.
> 'That's not my business,' replied the kind-hearted capitalist. 'I've paid you your wages, and provided you with Plenty of Work for a long time past. I have no more work for you to do at present. Come round again in a few months' time and I'll see what I can do for you.'
> 'But what about the necessaries of life?' demanded Harlow. 'We must have something to eat.'
> 'Of course you must,' replied the capitalist, affably; 'and I shall be very pleased to sell you some.'
> 'But we ain't got no bloody money!'
> 'Well, you can't expect me to give you my goods for nothing! You didn't work for me for nothing, you know. I paid you for your work and you should have saved something: you should have been thrifty like me. Look how I have got on by being thrifty!'
> The unemployed looked blankly at each other, but the rest of the crowd only laughed; and then the three unemployed began to abuse the kind-hearted Capitalist, demanding that he should give them some of the necessaries of life that he had piled up in his warehouses, or to be allowed to work and produce some more for their own needs; and even threatened to take some of the things by force if he did not comply with their demands. But the kind-hearted Capitalist told them not to be insolent, and spoke to them about honesty, and said if they were not careful he would have their faces battered in for them by the police, or if necessary he would call out the military and have them shot down like dogs, the same as he had done before at Featherstone and Belfast.
> 'Of course,' continued the kind-hearted capitalist, 'if it were not for foreign competition I should be able to sell these things that you have made, and then I should be able to give you Plenty of Work again: but until I have sold them to somebody or other, or until I have used them myself, you will have to remain idle.'
> 'Well, this takes the bloody biskit, don't it?' said Harlow.
> 'The only thing as I can see for it,' said Philpot mournfully, 'is to 'ave a unemployed procession.'
Rugged Trousered Philantropists Chapter 21.
You could also look for a "socialized" copy of this book: The Classes They Remember: Using Role-Plays to Bring Social Studies and English to Life
100% flipped classroom is difficult. As part of my graduate program, I read, the book on flipped classroom.
In a nutshell, students should watch videos at home and them work on the material during class time. This assumes ALL students have home internet access and a device to view the videos. The book says students who do not watch the videos at home do so during class time while other students work on activities.
I've taken some college courses which are flipped classroom, but I can't imagine it working in K-12.
This is the curriculum we use.
This book has been really helpful too.
I have a book called Einstein Never Used Flashcards that's been helpful in understanding how their brains process information.
Classroom management is a steep hill to climb your first year. You will adjust your style weekly, if not daily to try and find what's comfortable for you. Stick to something that you can maintain. Be VERY clear with your expectations as other posters have stated.
For me personally, I refrain from correcting the behavior in front of the whole class, instead, I will ask to speak with them after class, or have a quick one to one while other students are completing independent work. This is where I am now after 7 years of teaching though.
In the beginning, I used "Busted Cards" when a student was being disruptive or not completed required tasks I would place a 3x5 card down on their desk and ask them to explain what they were doing and why it was not appropriate for the given moment. I would put the students name, date and period on the card and file it away in a little 3x5 cardholder. Once a student was given 3 "Busted" cards, I would photocopy the cards and either e-mail or send home a copy of the document for parents to sign. Asking parents to discuss strategies with their student that would help them be successful. If I did not hear back from parents I would call home. I teach 8th grade and try to involve parents as little as possible unless a student needs the extra support in academics or behavior.
I know reading is the last thing you probably want to do but Eric Jensen's "Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind" was HUGE in changing the way my classroom ran. Another great book is "Hacking Engagement"
Be nice to yourself! Teaching is HARD. Try to leave some of the stress at school so you can recharge at home.
Differentiated Instruction is a huge deal, so read up on it. Also, anything by Carol Ann Tomlinson, since she is the expert on DI.
First of all, I want to acknowledge that 30 minutes at the end of the with Grade 7s is tough. I want to applaud your capacity to reflect and desire to improve. Being a first year teacher is tough!
A couple quick thoughts and ideas:
Happy learning!
I grew up in Finland and I hated school, until I got into lut.fi which I loved. After having kids in USA I read some interesting stuff, like Seymour Papert's Children's Machine, Roger Schank's Coloring outside the lines and Gatto etc. and became aware, that homeschooling is actually a great alternative. We have done it up to high school, and a few years we had kids in the middle school.
Basically, just read seven lesson schoolteacher and you read my mind.
https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Guide-Makerspaces-Teacher-Presents/dp/0692786120
Concerns: A variation on Return Desk might work better than Party Quirks. After all, Return Desk is about the act of giving an item to another person. Return Desk and Party Quirks are "Naive Games," which involve one player not knowing what's going on, which also means that person must leave the room. How would a 7-10 year old leave the room unsupervised?
Concern #2: How does this actually teach the concept of giving or sharing? Rather, how does this demonstrate the behavior of sharing? It really workshops the behavior of listening and guessing. Plus, the "correct answer" aspect of this may cause some children to panic and shut down if they're struggling.
I might suggest instead a game where the kids get to "gift" other kids, like Here comes Charlie. We can talk about how much fun it is to give nice, funny gifts. We can talk about it's not fun to give mean gifts. We can talk about how we can take the gifts and be thankful for the by having fun with the gifts.
We can also warm up the kids' brains with a little I Am A Tree, again, we point out how we give gifts to other people, and how the best gifts are those that listen to the other person.
Also, check out this blog and The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom
To be honest this doesn't sound like the best homeschool environment. But: Many (if not most) homeschoolers of kids who were pulled out of public school take a sort of "detox" period when the kids are taken out of school. This kind of gives them a chance to relax, put the public school environment really on the back burner, and kind of reset to get ready for homeschooling.
The kinds of programs you are describing are basically "school at home." This is fine for many kids. For a kid who obviously hates school and "learning" as he perceives it (i.e. what he has been forced to do at school all his life,) this is probably not a good option.
There are as many different ways and methods of homeschooling as there are families who homeschool and that's really what is so exciting and effective about it. Now is a great time to start exploring these methods WITH HIM. He is certainly old enough to have a vote in how he learns.
For a kid who is resistant to book learning I would read up about unschooling, free range learning, project-based homeschooling. It goes by different names but the basic premise is the same: people learn best when they are interested and engaged and making their own choices about what to learn and when.
He needs to start taking an inventory of his interests and abilities. Is he mechanically inclined? He obviously doesn't like to read but what about math? Video games? Does he want to learn how to code? What about animals? He could become involved in a program that trains dogs to become service dogs for people with various disabilities. The possibilities are really endless and bounded only by his own imagination.
This could be a very exciting time for your brother (and the rest of your family); fighting about sitting in front of a computer all day and reading about the civil war or whatever is not going to help anything. He has decided he doesn't like to learn. This is a potential tragedy but he is still young and there is still time to change his mind.
It is important that when you begin his interest inventory (I would suggest doing this as a family) that there are no disparaging comments made. If he says he is interested in video games, it goes onto the list. If he loves to play guitar, it goes onto the list. There are plenty of ways to work those interests into valuable projects, you just have to get creative.
On another note: he is old enough to start learning about trades; if he thinks that's where his interests may be. You could track down electricians, plumbers, any kind of tradesman in your area and I'm sure any one of them would be thrilled to explain their career and necessary education to a 14-year old.
It looks like you live in Texas? I am also in TX and the state has some of the most liberal homeschool laws in the nation. Unschooling is definitely possible here.
I noticed that you said your parents are high school dropouts and that they can't teach your brother. This does not have to be a barrier to his education; at the high school level most parents aren't actually "teaching," anyway, they are acting more as mentors. It is important that they are on board in supporting his projects and interests but they don't have to teach him trigonometry; there are plenty of other ways to go about getting that information when he needs it.
I hope this helps. The most important thing you can do right now is to get him excited about learning something. ANYTHING.