Annotated Bibliography

With technology being so prevalent in today’s schools, the “use of primary data sources and interactive websites or software provides teachers with opportunities to engage students in inquiry-based science lessons from preschool to college level” (Irving 2006). I feel as though it is very important to utilize such tools and it would be foolish not to. In recent years, advances in technology have allowed teachers and students to have endless information right in the palm of their hands. This new age technology is easily obtainable by many students and is used in nearly every assignment. Not only do these savvy new tools help students in the classroom, these tools are often very helpful outside the classroom as well. For instance, I have used my laptop to check due dates for assignments in my education class 200 times this semester if not more. These advances in technology are very powerful when used the right way and can help students at any level.

“Teachers in small classes have higher morale, which enables them to provide a more supportive environment for initial student learning” (Biddle 2014). I think that in order to be the best teacher one can be, the teacher needs to be passionate about helping others. It is more likely that a teacher will push students to reach their full potential if the teacher has a good personal relationship with his/her students. In my past experiences in the classroom, I’ve noticed that the best teachers have always supported me and made me want to learn and take intellectual risks. They did this by posing questions and providing insight after asking questions about new material. As long as the classroom in a positive and supportive environment, I believe any student can reach their potential.

“Exams used to be administered mostly to decide where to place kids or what kind of help they needed; only recently have scores been published in the newspaper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools—indeed, as the basis for flunking students or denying them a diploma, deciding where money should be spent, and so on” (Kohn 2000). First off, I strongly believe that test scores do not show if a teacher is good or not. Secondly, I do not think that test scores should determine where a student goes to school or determine the type of special treatment that certain students receive. Test scores should be used to help students improve in areas that they are struggling, rather than point out what they not good at. Too often students are categorized by what they scored on a test. I think this makes it hard for students who aren’t great test takers because it’s just a slap in the face and reminds certain students time and time again that no matter how hard they work, it doesn’t matter. I believe that hard working students should be the ones that are catered to rather than the students who are “gifted.”

 “Coming to know something is not a spectator sport, although numerous textbooks, especially in mathematics, and traditional modes of instruction may give that impression. As Dewey asserted many years ago, and as the constructivist school of thought has vigorously argued more recently to claim that “coming to know” is a participant sport is to require that we operate on and even modify the things we are trying to understand” (Brown 2014)

           

Works Cited

Brown, Stephen I., and Marion I. Walter, eds. Problem posing: Reflections and applications. Psychology Press, 2014.

Irving, Karen E. "The impact of technology on the 21st century classroom." Teaching science in the 21st century (2006): 3-19.

Sacks, Peter. Standardized minds: The high price of America's testing culture and what we can do to change it. Da Capo Press, 2000.

Kohn, Alfie. The case against standardized testing: Raising the scores, ruining the schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000.

Biddle, Bruce J., and David C. Berliner. "Small class size and its effects." Schools and Society (2014): 76.

Freire, Paulo. "The banking concept of education." Educational foundations: An anthology of critical readings (1970): 99-111.