The Instruction Myth

Download or read book The Instruction Myth written by John Tagg and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-05 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Higher education is broken, and we haven’t been able to fix it. Even in the face of great and growing dysfunction, it seems resistant to fundamental change. At this point, can anything be done to save it? The Instruction Myth argues that yes, higher education can be reformed and reinvigorated, but it will not be an easy process. In fact, it will require universities to abandon their central operating principle, the belief that education revolves around instruction, easily measurable in course syllabi, credits, and enrollments. Acclaimed education scholar John Tagg presents a powerful case that instruction alone is worthless and that universities should instead be centered upon student learning, which is far harder to quantify and standardize. Yet, as he shows, decades of research have indicated how to best promote student learning, but few universities have systematically implemented these suggestions. This book demonstrates why higher education must undergo radical change if it hopes to survive. More importantly, it offers specific policy suggestions for how universities can break their harmful dependence on the instruction myth. In this extensively researched book, Tagg offers a compelling diagnosis of what’s ailing American higher education and a prescription for how it might still heal itself.

Download or read book Seven Myths About Education written by Daisy Christodoulou and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-14 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this controversial new book, Daisy Christodoulou offers a thought-provoking critique of educational orthodoxy. Drawing on her recent experience of teaching in challenging schools, she shows through a wide range of examples and case studies just how much classroom practice contradicts basic scientific principles. She examines seven widely-held beliefs which are holding back pupils and teachers: Facts prevent understanding Teacher-led instruction is passive The 21st century fundamentally changes everything You can always just look it up We should teach transferable skills Projects and activities are the best way to learn Teaching knowledge is indoctrination In each accessible and engaging chapter, Christodoulou sets out the theory of each myth, considers its practical implications and shows the worrying prevalence of such practice. Then, she explains exactly why it is a myth, with reference to the principles of modern cognitive science. She builds a powerful case explaining how governments and educational organisations around the world have let down teachers and pupils by promoting and even mandating evidence-less theory and bad practice. This blisteringly incisive and urgent text is essential reading for all teachers, teacher training students, policy makers, head teachers, researchers and academics around the world.

Download or read book The Instruction Myth written by John Tagg and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-05 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Instruction Myth argues that higher education can only be saved if universities are willing and able to abandon one of their key assumptions: that education revolves around instruction. In its place, he presents a powerful new model of a university centered upon student learning, offering concrete plans for its implementation.

Download or read book Writing Myths written by Joy M. Reid and published by University of Michigan Press ELT. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for writing teachers in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. It was written to help ensure that writing teachers are not perpetuating the myths of teaching writing. Each author is a practicing teacher who selected his or her "myth" based on classroom experience and expertise. Both the research and pedagogy in this book are based on the newest research in, for example, teacher preparation, EAP and ESP, and corpus linguistics. The myths discussed in this book are: § Teaching vocabulary is not the writing teacher's job. (Keith S. Folse) § Teaching citation is someone else's job. (Cynthia M. Schuemann) § Where grammar is concerned, one size fits all. (Pat Byrd and John Bunting) § Academic writing should be assertive and certain. (Ken Hyland) § Students must learn to correct all their writing errors. (Dana Ferris) § Corpus-based research is too complicated to be useful for writing teachers. (Susan Conrad) § Academic writing courses should focus on paragraph and essay development. (Sharon Cavausgil) § International and U.S. resident ESL writers cannot be taught in the same class. (Paul Kei Matsuda) The book concludes with a discussion of students' myths about academic writing and teaching written by Joy Reid.

Download or read book Pronunciation Myths written by Linda Grant and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2014-02-21 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for pronunciation and speaking teachers in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. Like others in the Myths series, this book combines research with good pedagogical practices. The book opens with a Prologue by Linda Grant (author of the Well Said textbook series), which reviews the last four decades of pronunciation teaching, the differences between accent and intelligibility, the rudiments of the English sound system, and other factors related to the ways that pronunciation is learned and taught. The myths challenged in this book are: § Once you’ve been speaking a second language for years, it’s too late to change your pronunciation. (Derwing and Munro) § Pronunciation instruction is not appropriate for beginning-level learners. (Zielinski and Yates) § Pronunciation teaching has to establish in the minds of language learners a set of distinct consonant and vowel sounds. (Field) § Intonation is hard to teach. (Gilbert) § Students would make better progress if they just practiced more. (Grant) § Accent reduction and pronunciation instruction are the same thing. (Thomson) § Teacher training programs provide adequate preparation in how to teach pronunciation (Murphy). The book concludes with an Epilogue by Donna M. Brinton, who synthesizes some of the best practices explored in the volume.

Download or read book Teaching K-8 Reading written by Christine H. Leland and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-10 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Accessible and engaging, this methods textbook provides a roadmap for improving reading instruction. Leland, Lewison, and Harste explain why certain ineffective or debunked literacy techniques prevail in the classroom, identify the problematic assumptions that underly these popular myths, and offer better alternatives for literacy teaching. Grounded in a mantra that promotes critical thinking and agency—Enjoy! Dig Deeply! Take Action!—this book presents a clear framework, methods, and easy applications for designing and implementing effective literacy instruction. Numerous teaching strategies, classroom examples, teacher vignettes, and recommendations for using children’s and adolescent literature found in this book make it an ideal text for preservice teachers in elementary and middle school reading, and English language arts methods courses as well as a practical resource for professional in-service workshops and teachers. Key features include: Instructional engagements for supporting students as they read picture books, chapter books, and news articles, and interact with social media and participate in the arts and everyday life; Voices from the field that challenge mythical thinking and offer realworld examples of what effective reading and language arts instruction looks like in practice; Owl statements that alert readers to key ideas for use when planning reading and language arts instruction.

Download or read book Urban Myths about Learning and Education written by Pedro De Bruyckere and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2015-03-06 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many things people commonly believe to be true about education are not supported by scientific evidence. Urban Myths about Learning and Education examines commonly held incorrect beliefs and then provides the truth of what research has shown. Each chapter examines a different myth, with sections on learning, the brain, technology, and educational policy. A final section discusses why these myths are so persistent. Written in an engaging style, the book separates fact from fiction regarding learning and education. Recognize any of these myths? - People have different styles of learning - Boys are naturally better at mathematics than girls - We only use 10% of our brains - The left half of the brain is analytical, the right half is creative - Men have a different kind of brain from women - We can learn while we are asleep - Babies become smarter if they listen to classical music These myths and more are systematically debunked, with useful correct information about the topic in question. - Debunks common myths about learning and education - Provides empirical research on the facts relating to the myths - Utilizes light-hearted, approachable language for easy reading