Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/All Chapters
Philosophy and Ethics
- What are the philosophies of education?
- What is the purpose of schooling?
- What is the philosophy of Wikipedia and Wikibooks?
- What does it mean to be an ethical teacher?
- What does equality mean in American education?
- How should teachers teach ethics?
Dynamic Learning Environment
- Why is engagement important?
- How can we motivate students?
- What roles do fun and joy play in the learning environment?
- What is the role of edutainment?
- What are various strategies that can be employed for meaningful learning?
- How can we teach students to evaluate resources for learning?
- How can teachers continue to educate themselves?
- How can we promote learning from peers?
The History of American Education
- What are the markers of the 17th Century?
- What are the markers of the 18th Century?
- What are the markers of the 19th Century?
- What are the markers of the 20th Century?
- What are the markers of the 21st Century?
Educational Change and the Future of Education
- What is the Allen/Cosby theory of change?
- How has the NCLB act formed visions of change?
- What are the goals for educational change?
- What are the desired outcomes of educational change?
- What is the role of standards?
- How can we train Americans to compete in a constantly changing world work force?
- Why are all subjects are essential to be taught?
- Why do we need health and physical education in our schools?
- How should foreign languages be taught?
- How can we improve early childhood education (3- and 4-year-olds) for all?
- How can we find other ways to finance American schools?
- How can we educate students for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship?
Some of the Barriers to Effective Education
- How is obsolescence a barrier?
- How is mobility a barrier?
- How is equity a barrier?
- How is accountability a barrier?
- How can class size act as a barrier?
Classroom Issues
- How do we discipline?
- What are reward systems, and do they work?
- Are teachers isolated?
- How do student dynamics impact learning?
- What is the role of motivation?
- Can discipline be done positively?
- How can resistance to working with others be overcome?
The Forgotten Half: Those Who Do Not Succeed in American Education
- Who is the curriculum designed for, and why?
- What are the alternatives?
- What is the Hope Factor?
- How do we combat learned helplessness?
- How do differences in perception and reality affect learning?
Staffing Practices
- Are teachers interchangeable?
- What are the positives and negatives of class size?
- Credentialism—how has this impacted education?
- What are the roles of paraprofessionals?
- How can we recruit, select, and train new teachers?
- Should teachers be allowed to unionize?
Administering the School
- What is the role of the principal?
- How should personnel be evaluated?
- What does it mean for leadership to be ethical?
- What are the legal issues?
- How are schools financed?
Curriculum Development
- What is the standards movement?
- Can schools integrate vocational and academic learning?
- Why is special education an issue for all teachers?
- How do we plan lessons, and why is it important?
- How has technology impacted instructional design?
- What constitutes an effective instructional method?
- Is a national curriculum needed?
- What factors influence curriculum design?
- What is the importance of early intervention in reading performance?
Technology in Education
- What role does technology play?
- How might technology revolutionize education in the future?
- What are the pros and cons of technology in the classroom?
- How should the Internet be integrated into the classroom?
- Can teachers be replaced by computers?
- Should students have the ability to use computers in the classroom?
- Should students write their own textbooks?
- What technology should a teacher use in the classroom?
- How can PowerPoint presentations be used effectively?
- What is the role of social media in instruction?
School/Community/Parental Relationships
- Where is the school/community disconnect?
- What are the mutual responsibilities of teachers, parents, and the community for effective schools?
- Is there unity in diversity?
- How can families and schools better communicate?
Multiculturalism
- What is the global context for education?
- How has our multicultural world changed the responsibilities of teachers?
- How have gender issues changed our views?
- How should we think about minorities?
- Is being different bad?
Knowing What We Know, Knowing What They Know
- What do we know about brain research?
- How do people learn?
- What role does action research play?
- Why is feedback important?
- How can we be encouraging?
- Why is applied and abstract reasoning so important to the learning process?
Assessment Practices in Education
- What roles do assessment of performance and performance appraisal play in schools and administrations?
- How can we develop new testing systems emphasizing such areas as creativity and knowing how to work with ideas and abstractions, and functioning on teams?
- How can we create and monitor high performance schools?
- What is the role of Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate in creating national standards?
Acknowledging Differences and Complexity
- How can we encourage students and teachers to consider multiple perspectives?
- What are the different concepts of intelligence?
- What is lifelong learning?
- What is service-learning?
How Should Schools Be Held Accountable?
- How should teachers be held accountable?
- How should parents be held accountable?
- How should students be held accountable?
- How can we meet NCLB quality standards?
- How should society respond to under-performing schools?
- How should society reward outstanding schools and teachers?
- How can teachers be flexible in an era of accountability?
- What makes NCLB an enemy of quality education?
- What makes NCLB the savior of quality education?
Choice
- What is the case for home schooling?
- What is the case against home schooling?
- What is the case against vouchers?
- What role do charter schools play in education?
Student Assessment and Feedback
- How can we construct effective measurements, including exams?
- What are the principles of effective assessment?
- What are feedback skills?
- How should group work be assessed?
- What role should peer evaluation play in grading and course work?
- When should qualitative or quantitative assessments be used?
Special Needs
- How can we best teach children with disabilities?
- How can we best teach children with autism?
- How can we learn to understand children with ADD?
- How can we best accommodate children with hearing impairments?
Hot Topics in Education
- What is the ideal amount of homework to assign?
- What are the effects of the home environment on learning?
- Should school be held year-round?
- Should school districts implement school uniform policies?
- What can be done about the issue of bullying?
- What effects do inequities in school funding have on teaching and learning?
- What teaching styles can educators employ?