Wise Social Studies in an Age of High-Stakes Testing
Essays on Classroom Practices and Possibilities
A volume in the series: Research in Curriculum and Instruction. Editor(s): O. L. Davis, University of Texas - Austin.
Published 2005
The chapters in this volume illustrate how teachers are bringing creativity, higher-order thinking, and meaningful learning activities into particular school settings despite pressures of standards and testing. We chose the word wise for the title of this book, and we use it frequently to describe the pedagogical practices we have identified. The words powerful and ambitious are used as well. The larger point, as Keith C. Barton makes in his chapter, is that there is no necessary connection between content standards and high-stakes tests on the one hand, and lowlevel, rote instruction on the other. He reminds us, as Thornton (1991) and Wiggins (1987) previously have argued, that "teachers play a crucial role in mediating educational policy, and their intentions and interpretations have at least as much influence on classroom practice as does the content of standards and highstakes tests." Barton also asserts that “this makes it all the more crucial to identify the wisdom of practice that enables teachers . . . to engage students in powerful educational experiences.”
CONTENTS
Foreword. Introduction: The “Wisdom of Practice” in the Challenging Context of Standards and High-Stakes Testing. Elizabeth Anne Yeager. “I’m Not Saying These Are Going To Be Easy”: Wise Practice in an Urban Elementary School. Keith C. Barton. How She Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Test. . .Sort Of. Andrea S. Libresco. Voices of Florida Elementary School Teachers: Their Conceptions of Wise Social Studies Practice. Diane Yendol-Hoppey, Jennifer Jacobs, and Keith Tilford. A Good Teacher in Texas: Conversations about Wisdom in Middle School Social Studies Practice. Mary Lee Webeck, Cinthia S. Salinas, and Sherry L. Field. The Impact of Accountability Reform on the “Wise Practice” of Secondary History Teachers: The Virginia Experience. Stephanie D. van Hover and Walter F. Heinecke. More Journey Than End: A Case Study of Ambitious Teaching. S.G. Grant. Wise Practice in an Innovative Public School. Diana Hess. Wise Practice in High School Social Studies: The Case of Joe Gotchy. Bruce Larson. Engaging Pedagogy in an Advanced Placement European History Classroom. John K. Lee.
RELATED CATEGORIES
> SOCIAL SCIENCE: Research
MORE TITLES IN THIS SERIES
Deep Change: Cases and Commentary on Schools and Programs of Successful Reform in High Stakes States
Explorations in Curriculum History
Exposing a Culture of Neglect: Herschek T. Manuel and Mexican American Schooling
Measuring History: Cases of State-Level Testing Across the United States
Narrative Inquiries of School Reform: Storied Lives, Storied Landscapes, Storied Metaphors
Talent Knows No Color: The History of an Arts Magnet High School
The Pursuit of Curriculum: Schooling and the Public Interest
What Shall We Tell the Children?: International Perspectives on School History Textbooks
Addressing Social Issues in the Classroom and Beyond: The Pedagogical Efforts of Pioneers in the Field
War, Nation, Memory: International Perspectives on World War II in School History Textbooks
An Awkward Echo: Matthew Arnold and John Dewey
Teaching and Studying Social Issues: Major Programs and Approaches
Educating About Social Issues in the 20th and 21st Centuries Vol 1: A Critical Annotated Bibliography
A Century of Leadership: Biographies of Kappa Delta Pi Presidents
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