The theoretical framework for using alternative assessment in the classroom includes considering learners as constructors of knowledge; finding authenticity in materials and activities; employing dynamic, ongoing evaluation tools; and empowering students. By putting these ideas into practice, individual attributes of initiative, choice, vision, self-discipline, compassion, trust, and spontaneity can be promoted in students. The opportunities and obstacles associated with implementing alternative assessment in the classroom, as seen through the eyes of a group of graduate students, are presented here. The "freedom factor" as defined by Graves (2002, 4) is an amalgam of a number of components: initiative, choice, vision, self-discipline, compassion, trust, and spontaneity. As part of quality education for students in a democratic society, these would seem to be desirable traits to promote in individuals in our classrooms. However, as noted by Graves (2002), these may not be traits that can be effectively promoted in a climate of high-stakes testing. High-stakes testing is widely believed to be the force behind educational reform and, presumably, resulting quality education. Though policy makers and the public judge the impact of educational reform efforts by comparing changes in test scores over time, testing experts question the use of high-stakes testing as the public benchmark of educational quality (Linn 2000). Moreover, the consequences of testing and testing outcomes for many students-particularly students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds-are onerous. Labeling students and the gate-keeping effect of testing programs most seriously impact this population of students (
This paper reports the results of an analysis of 12 fourth-grade science and social studies lessons in which a textbook was used as a focus of instruction. The purpose was to determine how the textbook was used by teachers and students and, in particular, what kinds of questions the teachers asked during the textbook-based lessons. The results replicate and extend several findings from previous research. First, even when textbooks were used during instruction, students did not do very much reading, and the reading they did was round robin oral reading. Second, the teachers asked a large number of questions. Third, very few of these questions came from textbooks; rather, the teachers made up about 90% of their own questions. Finally, only about one-fourth of the questions asked were about the text segments currently being read and, of those questions, text explicit questions outnumbered text implicit questions two to one. Also of interest were the large number of question repetitions and rhetorical questions (questions that did not appear to elicit a response).
Reader response theory and research on book interest underpinned a study of the appeal of celebrityauthored children's storybooks to elementary school students. We engaged fifth-grade students in selecting and reading from a set of 41 celebrity-authored books and completing reader response forms. Utilizing the survey research design and a combination of quantitative and qualitative procedures, we analyzed the students' responses. The data revealed that the students focused on how and the extent to which the contents of the books "spoke" to them rather than on the celebrity status of the authors. Implications are drawn for book selection criteria not only for children's reading but also for the literature that might be promoted in children's literature courses and reading courses in university settings. , and Dom DeLuise whom he described as people "who just have a lot more money and a much better shot at getting on the 'Today Show' to promote whatever they write" (transcription p. 1 of 1). Repeatedly stating that he did not care about "celebrities messing around in my field," Scieszka predicted that those privileged writers might have great difficulty passing a key part of the grueling battery of tests all established writers take and pass with flying colors-the test of their books' appeal to children. He warned that it is imperative for celebrities who write children's books to grab the attention of that focal audience and charm them or otherwise their celebrity books will quickly sink into oblivion. Jon Scieszka cogently expressed that warning as follows:. . . real writers of children's books have a secret weapon-our audiencechildren. They are so sweet, so trusting, so loving and the most brutally honest As four professors who espouse a literature-based approach to reading and language arts instruction, Scieszka's comments struck a cord. Since reading those comments, we have done Internet searches and found celebrities who, among them, have written over 44 children's picture storybooks. Such writers include not only actors, comedians, movie producers and directors, talk show hosts, musicians, and journalists, but also politicians, princes, and duchesses. We have also found that although several of those celebrities are often interviewed and they and their books spotlighted on morning news shows, none of the current and well-known children's literature textbooks we use for our courses-such as Children's Literature: Engaging Teachers and Children in Good Books by Daniel L. Darigan, Michael O. Tunnel, and James S. Jacobs, Literature and the Child
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.