Organizing Schools for Productive Learning

Ivy Geok Chin Tan

ISBN 10: 1402083947 / ISBN 13: 9781402083945

Published by Springer Netherlands Jul 2008, 2008

About this Item

This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -A major problem confronting schools is that many students are turned off from learning and are bored. Boredom is destructive of learning. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative of the US government (2001) stemmed from the claim - accompanied by sharp debates pro and con - that many schools in the United States fail to achieve basic educational objectives, and that many schools are doing a poor job for a wide variety of reasons and surely not just because of student boredom (Brigham, Gustashaw, Wiley, & Brigham, 2004; Essex, 2006; Goodman, Shannon, Goodman, & Rapoport, 2004; Sunderman, Tracey Jr. , Kim, & Orfield, 2004). The model of school organization and instruction presented here seeks to provide an effective plan for significant improvement in secondary school education, one of whose central aims is to make students genuinely engaged in what they are learning. The NCLB legislation emphasizes, inter alia, the need for school improvement. Without it one cannot reasonably anticipate improvement over current levels in student engagement in learning and in academic achievement. The NCLB literature frequently employs the term 'school improvement' to refer to the quality of the teachers, such as their academic credentials, instructional competence, and their knowledge of subject matter. Similarly, 'school restructuring' is said to include steps such as transforming the school into a charter school, replacing the teaching staff, or inviting a private company to administer the school. The use of those terms in this work is distinctly different. 128 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9781402083945

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Organizing Schools for Productive Learning
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands Jul 2008
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1402083947
• ISBN 13: 9781402083945
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 241W x 160H x 13D millimeters 241 millimeters width by 160 millimeters height by 13 millimeters depth
• Weight: 366 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A major problem confronting schools is that many students are turned off from learning and are bored. Boredom is destructive of learning. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative of the US government (2001) stemmed from the claim – accompanied by sharp debates pro and con – that many schools in the United States fail to achieve basic educational objectives, and that many schools are doing a poor job for a wide variety of reasons and surely not just because of student boredom (Brigham, Gustashaw, Wiley, & Brigham, 2004; Essex, 2006; Goodman, Shannon, Goodman, & Rapoport, 2004; Sunderman, Tracey Jr. , Kim, & Orfield, 2004). The model of school organization and instruction presented here seeks to provide an effective plan for significant improvement in secondary school education, one of whose central aims is to make students genuinely engaged in what they are learning. The NCLB legislation emphasizes, inter alia, the need for school improvement. Without it one cannot reasonably anticipate improvement over current levels in student engagement in learning and in academic achievement. The NCLB literature frequently employs the term “school improvement” to refer to the quality of the teachers, such as their academic credentials, instructional competence, and their knowledge of subject matter. Similarly, “school restructuring” is said to include steps such as transforming the school into a charter school, replacing the teaching staff, or inviting a private company to administer the school. The use of those terms in this work is distinctly different.

From the Back Cover

This book offers an alternative approach to secondary school organization. In line with the definition formulated by John Dewey's philosophy of education, the new approach aims to promote productive learning. The book shows the way to extricate schools from their past in order to respond more successfully to the requirements of the information age in which we are living today.

The chapters treat the primary components of teachers' work in schools in light of systems' theory as opposed to the organization of instruction prevalent in today's schools that is designed in light of bureaucratic theory. The book demonstrates how the current principles of organization impede the change and improvement of instruction and by necessity create boredom and the routinization of teachers' and students' activity in schools.