Amidst all the hand-wringing about what’s going wrong with current approaches to education reform we don’t hear enough about what could be done right.
In this clip, author and education researcher Linda Darling-Hammond discusses two different approaches to reform: capacity building vs. (the current) incentive-based reform.
“The professional approach to education, the approach taken in some of our states and many of the high achieving nations – in fact all of them – is that expertise rests in the classroom. That teachers have to have extensive knowledge and skill. That research is aimed at informing practice, as are texts and tests. Decisions are made collegially based on standards of practice. The emphasis is on doing what works, doing the right things rather than doing things right. And schools function as communities of learning. And as we move forward we must develop our capacity again to engage in professional policy and in professional teaching that rests on our capacity to do what’s best for kids.”
Hear more from Linda Darling-Hammond in these two clips:
Creating the Right Conditions: Supporting collaborative, inquiry-based professional development