Chapter 4: TP2000

This chapter dealt with how to design instruction so that the students will be able to learn the information that they need to, to be successful students. One of the big topics in the chapter was a set of criteria for teachers in order to get their students prepared. These criteria were: students should be able to produce knowledge instead of repeat information back; students need to be involved in work that makes them think; students’ achievements should show that they have gained a life skill instead of being nothing more than a measure of their rote memory. The chapter also talks of the importance of using differentiated instruction to help all students be able to learn the information. A big issue with this is to make sure that you do not give some students work that is too easy and you should also avoid giving more work to students who are above average. The chapter also talks of the importance of technology. The author warns teachers to make sure that computer use is for higher-order thinking and not just to play games on. When technology is used correctly, then students exhibit higher grades and more involvement, which is exactly what a teacher wants to see.
The content of this chapter was not all that new to me, but I did find two sections of the chapter very fascinating. They once again talked about the notion of tracking which is definitely a hot-button issue. In a perfect world, tracking should be used to make sure that students with the same abilities are in the same room in order to maximize learning,but in actuality tracking prevents students from working hard and there is also evidence that minority groups are overrepresented in lower tracks in school. This is what makes tracking such a terrible thing to support. When it came to technology, there was one thing that stood out to me. The section talked about how most African American students are asked to do much more lower-order thinking, such as playing games, than their white counterparts are. That very fact is quite sad and needs to be corrected, but I am curious why that is the case. I assume it happens because many more African American students are in lower tracks, and so the level of expectation is much lower. Set high standards and your students will reach them!