Listening to Dr. Chargois opened my eyes to
the importance of research on the campus and classroom level. One of the most powerful
statements that are sticking with me is “The old adage of saying if I only
touched one kid I’ve done….no sir that doesn’t work under today’s
accountability”. I think it was an honest statement. It is alright to acknowledge
you made a child feel better about them self, but it is always important that
student progresses academically. Until the laws change about testing, this is a
fact of education, student achievement is critical. His advice about being a lifelong
learner being a key to students’ success is also very true.
“Never stop learning. If your green your
growing, if you’re brown your dying”.
The concept of changing quantifying qualitative
data is also a concept that made me think. Teachers have to produce results and
have to use data to impact their instruction. Instructional strategies and
methods have to be looked at and monitored to promote student achievement. No longer should teachers be only
knowledgeable in pedagogy and content, but also have to understand the benefits
of performing research within their own classroom to produce results. Being
action research oriented is important for teachers to accomplish results. Dr. Chargois also went on to say he would recommend for teachers to go back to school and learn about the research model.
Thoughts on his view about accountability?
I agree with you. The comment about touching one kid is definitely not enough! I don't think it should have ever been enough. I know it is a fact that we will not always get everyone, but we are not doing our job if we are not trying everything we can to reach every child.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of teachers keeping data is interesting to me. The task seems grand because it would be hard to get buy in. However, I can see how convincing teachers to use data through test results in order to understand student understanding can be a step toward helping them understand the value in data collection on a larger scale.
I stated on my Blog that it is important for anyone using data to also look outside of data results before making decisions. Sometimes relying on what numbers and pictures tell us just isn't enough to jump in and make decisions. This is why Action Research is so important. Data is only a part of the information gathering and it leads to better decision making.