Find a copy online
Links to this item
Find a copy in the library
Finding libraries that hold this item...
Details
Additional Physical Format: | Online version: Wurdinger, Scott D. Time for action. Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Education, ©2012 (OCoLC)775873182 |
---|---|
Material Type: | Internet resource |
Document Type: | Book, Internet Resource |
All Authors / Contributors: |
Scott D Wurdinger |
ISBN: | 9781610486606 1610486609 9781610486613 1610486617 9781610486620 1610486625 |
OCLC Number: | 760176398 |
Description: | x, 110 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
Contents: | Time for action -- Stop high-stakes standardized testing and teaching to the test -- Moving from memorization to life skills -- Skills, benchmarks, and assessments -- Preparing educators for new school models -- Final thoughts. |
Responsibility: | Scott D. Wurdinger. |
Abstract:
Reviews
Publisher Synopsis
Wurdinger (Minnesota State Univ.) offers an accessible, commonsense alternative to teaching to the test. His central tenet is simple: students learn the most and at the highest level when they are actively engaged in their own learning. Wurdinger offers an entire chapter on preparing teachers to use hands-on, skills-focused learning through projects, activities, and field experiences. While his arguments are hardly new, Wurdinger offers readers a refreshing antidote to the sterile, creativity-starved 'education reform' texts now on the market. Wurdinger believes that assessment of students should be based on their demonstration of what they have learned, and by demonstrate he does not mean through narrow, paper-and-pencil tests that tend to fixate on the memorization of disconnected and decontextualized facts. Instead, students demonstrate what they have learned-whether it is academic knowledge, or a technical or life skill such as time management-through practice and products. The book is best suited for lay audiences....It is highly recommended for general collections and undergraduate education programs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. * CHOICE * Scott Wurdinger has written a compelling book-a very worthwhile read for both policy makers and practitioners. -- Tony Wagner, co-director, Change Leadership Group, Harvard University Graduate School of Education Scott Wurdinger's new book hits the proverbial nail on the head. His thoughtful work on testing, disengagement and modern 'schooling' doesn't just re-state the problem but has practiced and proven solutions. He researches examples and ideas that work and he gives us hope by showing us that some of the solutions are already here. His experiential education background (wisdom really) lends well to a changing time that even the most canned curriculum and tightest content standards can't hold back. Innovation is in the air and Wurdinger gives us a peek at what's to come. Read this book and then have a conversation with someone who can really make a difference in a policy, in a school, in a classroom or a community. -- Doug Thomas, Executive Director EdVisions Schools Dr. Wurdinger's book provides a passionate look at why we must significantly expand our NCLB driven definition of achievement. He correctly argues that achievement is much more than what standardized tests are addressing. He points out that what is more problematic is the iron grip the tests have on curriculum and instruction and the implications this has on student learning in the 21st century. -- Robert J. Wedl, former Minnesota Commissioner of Education This is a polemic in the best sense of that word. Scott Wurdinger has produced a book full of compelling arguments against the current 'teach to the test' mentality. Accessible and entertaining it is sure to provoke energetic debate. -- Stephen Brookfield, John Ireland Endowed Chair, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis-St. Paul Read more...

