Download - The Progressive Education Tradition
PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION: GRAND TRADITION, CONTEMPORARY TRANSITIONS
Beaver Country Day School
April 19, 2005
P. Gow
P. Gow/BCDS Professional Day 2April 19, 2005
BACKGROUND
“Progressive” at the turn of the previous century meant populist, reformist, left-leaning; impulses and accomplishments included abolitionism, woman suffrage, trust-busting, and even “environmentalism”
These in turn grew out of the tradition of Locke and Rousseau—that human society, properly structured (less is more, for Rousseau) can be brought to a state of moral perfection and universal happiness
Progressive education was explicitly political in its origins—education to support these principles
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FROM ED SCHOOL TO KIDS Educators educating teachers: Francis W. Parker (U.
Chicago); John Dewey (U. Chicago Columbia); William H. Kilpatrick (Columbia; the project guy)
Lab and prototype schools: F.W. Parker (Chicago); City & Country School (NY); Horace Mann School (NY); Winnetka (IL) public schools
Independent early adopters: Park (NY)—1912; Park (MD)—inc. 1912; Shady Hill—1915; Dalton (NY)—1919; BCDS—inc. 1920; The School in Rose Valley (PA)—1929
Maria Montessori (1870–1952)—child-centered and intentional in every respect; first U.S. school—1912
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SERIOUS SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS
Ethical Culture schools (NY)—1890s; high school since 1904 (Felix Adler was ahead of Dewey on social aspects of education)
Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education (AL)—1907
The Lincoln School (NY)—1917, by the Rockefeller Foundation/Teachers College; political and pedagogical agendas
Arthurdale (WV) community schools—New Deal community building
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PROGRESSIVE INNOVATIONS FROM “BACK IN THE DAY” School-provided lunch Advisors Field trips (okay, also from H. D. Thoreau) Physical education as a class and a discipline Project-based learning The syllabus (E. R. Smith on geometry) School-based teacher training programs Developmental psychology as aspect of teacher training Folklore and folk traditions as academic study
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PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION, 1930 (BCDS) Students are free to develop naturally Interest is the key to motivation The teacher is a guide, not a taskmaster Scientific study is made of student development and
ability; psychometric testing as a key tool Attention paid to all factors in a student’s physical
development: light, air, nutrition, activity Cooperation between school and family is key “The progressive school a leader in educational
movements”—ideas and new approaches are valued
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EIGHT-YEAR STUDY (1933–41)
QUESTION: Does “Progressive Education” work? Funded by the Carnegie Corporation; officially known
as Commission of the Progressive Education Association on School and College Relations
Eight years; thirty schools; control group included Careful investigation of each school Careful tracking of student progress in secondary
schools and in college study Report published in 1942; WW II in progress; no one
much interested in progressive education
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THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
Progressively educated students the equal of traditionally educated students in college
School recommendations as accurate a predictor of college success as standardized tests
“Grades” less important than clear description of skills and accomplishments
In other words, progressive methods are as effective as traditional methods in preparing students for college work (and perhaps better, it was implied, at preparing students to make the life decisions associated with the college experience)
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THE EISENHOWER YEARS
“Classical” progressive education falters and fades amid Cold War anxieties; the fascination of Skinner’s Walden II and behaviorism
Many progressive schools drift into the mainstream; Our Miss Brooks is good enough for now
“Sputnik Panic” and the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement refocus attention on schools as 1960s begin; progressive ideas of emphasis on the child and on curriculum design resurface and head off in many directions
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PROGRESSIVE to PERMISSIVE, 1960s–1980s: Things Critics Love to Hate A. S. Neill’s Summerhill (published 1960) The New Math—concepts over “times tables” Open classrooms (from England) Free schools—politics trump pedagogy Alternative schools—acknowledging the legitimacy of
resistance to “traditional” schooling and authority “Rules” seemingly optional—attendance, homework The “self-esteem movement” An endless sequence of fads and change
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BUT YET… The charter school movement—American
legislators “letting a hundred flowers bloom” Central Park East (NY), Urban Academy (NY) and
the “Small Schools” movement Parent- or educator-founded small schools with
child-centered mission, social-justice orientation, and strong community purpose
The Coalition of Essential Schools—a set of ideals growing out of the Horace books by Theodore Sizer
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REMEMBER…
Progressive education came into being to change the world—to effect the moral and social transformation of students (and thus society) in order to move the human condition forward towards a state of perfection
This is not a modest goal, nor is it easily set aside
A New Progressivism for the 21st Century
Some propositions
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THE RECENT CRITIQUE Progressive education is often misunderstood
to be about endless experimentation, cultural relativism, and an absence of standards
John Dewey has become to social conservatives writing on education what Bill Clinton was to the religious right
Some names: Arthur Bestor; E.D. Hirsch, Jr.; Diane Ravitch; Chester Finn; Abigail Thernstrom
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THE RESPONSE
Progressive education in this century is not a slavish attempt to follow the letter of Dewey’s “law” (if he had written one), nor is it a remnant of the free and alternative schools of the later 1900s
Contemporary progressive education responds to new understanding about cognition and to new ideas about the design and delivery of challenging learning experiences
Contemporary progressive education continues to have an important social role in a society struggling towards equity
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SUCCESSORS OF DEWEY et al. Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg, Mel Levine—the
nature of intelligence, learning “styles” Theodore & Nancy Faust Sizer, Deborah Meier—
school in society, school structure Grant Wiggins, Rick Stiggins, Heidi Hayes Jacobs,
David Perkins—learning, curriculum, and assessment Alan November, Jason Ohler—technology James Banks, Linda Chavez, Peggy McIntosh, Lisa
Delpit, Carol Gilligan, Jaime Wurzel—equity issues around gender and race; multicultural education
Project Zero, the regional education laboratories, the Coalition of Essential Schools—”think tanks” of a new progressivism
Aspects of the New Progressivism: Institutional Values
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VALUES All children are worthy as individuals Human institutions and human beings can always
be made more righteous, more just; progressivism is an agent of change
Deeply humanistic, nurturing values are fundamental to any progressive institution or impulse
Progressive educational values need not be spiritual values, but they are essentially and undeniably values of the spirit
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STANDARDS The standards are forward-thinking and must
support preparation for challenging work in college and beyond—changing the world
Progressive standards must be rigorous, and must be based on goals that are authentic and worthy
Standards are about intention, not about work for work’s sake; “sweat equity” is a valid progressive concept, but effort unrelated to actual learning is not
Accountability is a progressive value
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CULTURALLY INCLUSIVE
Explicit and positive acknowledgement of cultures and ways of being embedded in curriculum and programs
Beyond tolerance; rejects content and assessment that perpetuate oppression and cultural evaluation
Insists upon core values of respect, kindness, non-violence, and hard work that transcend cultural differences and bind the members of an intentional community
Schools, as small utopias, can model the future of the planet
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ENGAGING
Learning should engage students in worthy work Engaging learning touches and inspires curiosity,
but not every task need engage every student Reveals to students the causal relationship between
intellectual effort and intellectual effect—that thought and struggle matter and bring rewards
The successful and happy individual has learned to engage positively in life’s challenges and tasks; the school must help students learn this
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THE THIRD CULTURE
Beyond the home and peer cultures of village, suburb, or city, a Third Culture of school and work
Third Culture invites optimism, creative problem-solving, generous collaboration, and language and technique that evidence seriousness of purpose
Effective education must teach, nourish, and reward Third Culture values, skills, and habits of mind
Third Culture can be subversive: It’s about learning how to act within a certain cultural context to further the work of perfecting society
Aspects of the New Progressivism: Curriculum
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“INTERDISCIPLINARY”
Invites students to see connections among the skills and content of different disciplines
Demands sophisticated analytical thinking and choices as to approach and emphasis
Acknowledges and preserves the essential modes, methods, and content of distinct academic disciplines; “inter-” does not mean “non-”
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PROJECT-BASED
Effective project-based learning is by definition skill-based learning
Effective project-based curriculum contains opportunities for explicit skills instruction and rehearsal
While the product is important, the process is more important; good project design requires careful construction and evaluation of process
A project’s success is measured by the learning it engenders, not by its coolness
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EXPERIENTIAL
Prior experience provides the context for new learning
Experience complements and supports other kinds of learning—from texts, from teachers
The experience of the senses and emotions is cognitively powerful—it tends to stick in the brain
But: “Even sitting at a desk is an experience”—Ted Sizer
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ASSESSMENT-DRIVEN Assessment should reflect the goals of the
teaching Effective assessment tasks are varied in nature,
intensity, and scale—and timely in administration Effective assessment matches the nature of the
learning be measured The nature of assessment tasks should not run
ahead of the acquisition of fundamental skills needed for true mastery
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FEEDBACK The purpose of evaluation is to give feedback
that improves future performance Effective feedback is clear, precise, timely, and
based on known criteria and standards Evaluative feedback should contain explicit
suggestions for the improvement of performance and should focus on areas over which the student has control
Feedback on effort (i.e., observed performance, including non-performance) is of great value
Aspects of the New Progressivism:Pedagogy
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THE TEACHER-OBSERVER
The task of the teacher is carefully to observe and note the work and behavior of students
The teacher-observer’s concern is the character growth and academic success of students
The teacher-observer sees, notes, and analyzes student performance against the goals of the curriculum and the mission and values of the community
The teacher-observer eschews labels and embraces analysis and action
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COLLABORATION
Collaboration is more than just conversation or cooperation
Collaborative learning begins with the intent and attention of the teacher-observer
Collaborative learning occurs best in a collaborative classroom culture
Collaborative classroom culture develops based on the teacher’s understanding of each student’s needs, strengths, and affinities and of how to design effective collaborative tasks
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LEARNING STYLES Learning styles reflect the individual’s peculiar
cognitive and neurochemical nature as well as behaviors born of experience
Learning styles are “strengths” or “weaknesses” or even “disabilities” in context only
Learning styles are the chief subject of the teacher-observer
Students understand their own learning styles and learn to accommodate their strengths and preferences to rigorous educational demands
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METACOGNITION
To know how one learns is to have power in one’s own learning
Each student’s learning can become visible to the careful teacher-observer
But to have learning become visible to the student is to open the doorway to knowledge and to intellectual maturity
Aspects of the New Progressivism:Some Implications
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FOR CURRICULUM:
Students must be challenged by sophisticated ideas and rigorous work; there cannot be any holding back from the intellectual, social, and ethical demands of the Third Culture
Teachers must be purposeful in their preparation, cunning in their methods, and steadfast in maintaining the values and expectations of the Third Culture
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FOR PEDAGOGY:
Kids have to be kids, but in a progressive environment they have to be taught how to be serious—about their work, about the school environment, about themselves
Teachers must have the opportunity to expand and practice their skills as observers and mentors and in clarifying and maintaining Third Culture values
Teachers must have opportunities to expand their capacities in classroom practice
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FOR INSTITUTIONAL VALUES
Progressive schools must be unafraid to become bastions of the Third Culture
Schools must engage in continuous investigation and research into the ways children learn and into the best practices in the design of curriculum
In the realms of work, play, and care, schools must be serious and intentional at all times and in all areas
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FOR STUDENTS: The values and expectations of the Third
Culture are not fixed and absolute, but in some way each person can be brought to a higher plane of being and knowing
The path to “perfection” involvesself-knowledgea belief that the self matters—one’s own and
others’a belief in one’s worthiness to be taken
seriously as a thinking and ethical beinga willingness to take one’s responsibility to
oneself and to the world seriously
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FOR US: Hold to our values regarding connecting with students
and engaging in a continuous process of curriculum and program refinement
Continue tough discussions about equity and opportunity Enunciate and adhere to Third Culture values Don’t be afraid to set high standards for all students We are the inheritors of a grand and important tradition
that was designed to change the world We are innovators and leaders in this tradition Help our students learn and understand their own place,
not only in the Third Culture, but in this tradition and in what it means