ED 383 498

AUTHORTITLE

DOCUMENT RESUME

RC 020 081

Cuban, LarryHow Teachers Taught: Constancy and Change in AmericanClassrooms, 1890-1980. 1st Edition. Research onTeaching Monograph Series.

REPORT NO ISBN-0-582-28481-3PUB DATE 84NOTE 306p.; Photographs will not reproduce adequately.

PUB TYPE Books (010) Historical Materials (060) Reports

Research/Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PC13 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Case Studies; Classroom Techniques; *Educational

Change; Educational History; *Educational Practices;Elementary Secondary Education; Open Education;*Progressive Education; *Resistance to Change; RuralEducation; Teacher Behavior; Teaching Methods; UrbanEducation

IDENTIFIERS School Culture; *Teacher Centered Instruction;Virginia (Arlington)

ABSTRACTThis book investigates teaching practices before,

during, and after reform impulses in the 20th century aimed atchanging what teachers routinely do. Patterns of stability and changeover a 90-year period are developed from evidence from a wide variety

of sources, including classroom photographs, textbooks and testsused, student recollections, teacher reports of how they taught, andclassroom observations by parents and administrators. A continuumstretching from teacher-centered instruction to student-centeredinstruction provides a tool to help map the intricate complexity ofclassroom practices. Part I covering 1890-1940 consists of threechapters: (1) a description' of teaching at the turn of the century,including progressive reforms of that era; (2) case studies ofclassroom practices in New York City, Denver, and Washington, D.C.during the 1920s and 1930s; and (3) a survey of teaching practicesnationally during those 2 decades, particularly in rural schools.Part II summarizes case studies of informal and open education inWashington, D.C., New York City, and North Dakota during 1965-1975,and provides an intensive look into Arlington (Virginia) classroomsduring 1969-1980. Part III examines five possible explanations forcontinuity/change in teaching during this century: (1) school as a

form of social control and sorting; (2) constraints related to the

organizational structure of school and classroom; (3) the culture of

teaching; (4) individual and shared beliefs about child development,the role of school, and authority; and (5) the nature andeffectiveness of reform implementation. This book contains over 300references, many photographs, and an index. (SV)

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This document has been reproduced asreceived born the person or organizationOoginaling rt

0 Minor changes have been made to improvereproduction quality

Points of view Of owns slatedin this documeal do not necessarily represent officialOERI position or policy

Res

earc

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UB

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t: C

onst

ancy

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nge

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ssro

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189

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OR

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ST

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NC

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1890

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uban

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IVE

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ork

& L

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n11

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How

Tea

cher

s T

augh

t

Lon

gman

Inc

., 15

60 B

road

way

, New

Yor

k, N

.Y. 1

0036

Ass

ocia

ted

com

pani

es, b

ranc

hes,

and

rep

rese

ntat

ives

thro

ugho

ut th

e w

orld

.

Cop

yrig

ht

198

4 by

Lon

gman

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.

All

righ

ts r

eser

ved.

No

part

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this

pub

licat

ion

may

be

repr

oduc

ed, s

tore

d in

a r

etri

eval

sys

tem

, or

tran

smitt

edin

any

for

m o

r by

any

mea

ns, e

lect

roni

c, m

echa

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otoc

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othe

rwis

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t the

pri

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of

the

publ

ishe

r.

Dev

elop

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dito

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ane

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Des

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Supe

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uper

viso

r: F

erne

Y. K

awah

ara

Lib

rary

of

Con

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s C

atal

ogin

g in

Pub

licat

ion

Dat

a

Cub

an, L

arry

.H

ow te

ache

rs ta

ught

.

Bib

liogr

aphy

: p.

Incl

udes

inde

x.1.

Edu

catio

nUni

ted

Stat

esH

isto

ry-1

9th

cent

ury.

2. E

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d St

ates

His

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h ce

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y.3.

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s

Fore

wor

d

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now

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M P

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Doo

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Thr

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ities

, 192

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PAR

T I

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ASS

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S:PR

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RE

VIS

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1975

4In

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196

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ew W

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gini

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208

PAR

T I

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N C

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1890

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xpla

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Tau

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tory

Ana

lysi

s23

7

vii xi 17 41 112

App

endi

x

Bib

liogr

aphy

Inde

x

272

274

287

w CO

elt

Nbl

icca

t Ala

rms

Aer

ial C

lass

room

,G

eogr

aphy

Les

son,

Los

Ang

eles

Pub

licSc

hool

s, 1

927

7

Fore

wor

d

Tho

se w

ho c

ondu

ct r

esea

rch

on te

achi

ngra

rely

con

side

r hi

stor

ical

inve

stig

atio

ns

germ

ane

to th

eir

wor

k. T

here

is a

sen

se in

whi

ch h

isto

ry is

trea

ted

as a

rcan

e,

esot

eric

, and

of

little

impo

rt to

the

conc

erns

of p

ract

ice

and

polic

y. I

n re

adin

g

this

boo

k, 1

am

con

vinc

ed th

atpr

ecis

ely

the

oppo

site

is tr

ue. C

aref

ully

cond

ucte

d

hist

oric

al in

quir

y m

ay w

ell p

rovi

de u

sw

ith th

e m

ost p

ower

ful g

uide

s av

aila

ble.

Any

stu

dy o

f te

achi

ng th

at p

urpo

rts

topr

ovid

e gu

idan

ce f

or f

utur

e pr

actic

e or

polic

y m

akes

two.

kin

ds o

f cl

aim

s.Fi

rst,

we

mus

t bel

ieve

that

the

part

icul

ar

clas

sroo

ms

stud

ied

wer

e re

pres

enta

tive

of c

lass

room

s at

larg

e at

the

time

the

inve

stig

atio

n w

as c

ondu

cted

. Sec

ond,

we

mus

tfu

rthe

r be

lieve

that

the

clas

sroo

ms

of in

tere

st to

us,

at a

tim

e an

d pl

ace

typi

cally

dif

fere

nt I

ron

thos

ein

vest

igat

ed,

bear

suf

fici

ent r

esem

blan

ce to

thos

est

udie

d to

pro

vide

hel

pful

insi

ghts

.

Cer

tain

ly it

can

be

argu

ed th

at th

e pa

stpr

efig

ures

the

futu

re, b

ut th

e pr

esen

t

neve

r ex

actly

mim

ics

the

past

.D

o w

e ga

in b

ette

r ad

vice

fro

min

vest

igat

ions

pluc

ked

out o

f th

e te

mpo

ral a

nd c

ultu

ral-

ideo

logi

cal c

onte

xt in

whi

ch th

ey o

c-

curr

ed; u

r ar

c w

e be

tter

info

rmed

thro

ugh

stud

ies

that

ext

end

self

-con

scio

usly

thro

ugh

time,

atte

mpt

ing

expl

icitl

y to

expl

ain

the

phen

omen

a de

scri

bed

by c

on-

nect

ing

them

mea

ning

fully

to o

thet

eve

nts

occu

rrin

g co

ncut

rent

ly a

s w

ell a

s to

thos

e th

at h

ave

prec

eded

? In

an

unpu

blis

hed

essa

y, L

ee C

ronb

ach

refe

rs to

ed-

ucat

iona

l res

earc

h an

d ev

alua

tion

as"q

uant

itativ

ely

assi

sted

his

tory

,"

Whe

n w

e th

ink

of h

isto

rica

l inq

uiry

, we

ofte

n im

agin

e a

scho

lar

read

ing

the

lette

rs, j

ourn

als,

new

spap

er a

ccou

nts,

and

offi

cial

doc

umen

ts o

f a

give

n pe

riod

and

then

agg

rega

ting

thos

e di

vers

efo

rms

of p

erso

nal o

r co

llect

ive

impr

essi

ons

into

the

indi

vidu

al im

pres

sion

of

the

hist

oria

n. A

s w

e re

ad th

is m

onog

raph

by

Lar

y C

uban

, we

can

begi

n to

see

how

the

line

that

div

ides

his

tory

fro

m s

ocio

logy

or p

sych

olog

y, h

ence

educ

atio

nal h

isto

ry f

rom

the

mai

nstr

eam

of e

mpi

rica

l ed-

ucat

iona

l res

earc

h, is

a th

in o

ne.

Cub

an m

akes

use

of

clas

sroo

m o

bser

vatio

n

reco

rds

colle

cted

ove

r m

any

deca

des

for

dive

rse

purp

oses

the

eval

uatio

n ac

-

tiviti

es o

f th

e E

ight

Yea

r St

udy;

syst

em-w

ide

mon

itori

ng o

f cu

rric

ulum

and

or-

gani

zatio

nal c

hang

es in

the

publ

ic s

choo

lsy

stem

s of

New

Yor

k,W

ashi

ngto

n,

Den

ver,

and

Nor

th D

akot

a, a

mon

g m

any

othe

rs; a

nd h

undr

eds

of p

hoto

grap

hs

of c

lass

room

s w

hich

he

uses

inve

ntiv

ely

to in

fer

how

teac

hing

was

con

duct

eddu

ring

thos

e pe

riod

s. N

ever

is a

ny o

ne s

ourc

eof

dat

apho

togr

aphs

, per

sona

l

BE

ST

CO

PY

AV

AIL

AB

LE8

vu

viii

IFo

rew

ord

diar

ies,

cla

ssro

om o

bser

vatio

ns,

dist

rict r

epor

ts a

nd e

valu

atio

ns,

publ

ishe

d ar

ticle

s,

or e

ven

his

own

obse

rvat

ions

take

n as

evi

denc

e by

itsel

f. C

uban

is a

car

eful

hist

oria

n w

ho in

sist

s on

car

eful

lyju

xtap

osin

g da

ta s

ourc

es, s

earc

hing

for

both

corr

obor

ativ

e co

nsis

tenc

y as

wel

l as

prov

ocat

ive

cont

radi

ctio

n be

twee

nda

ta

sour

ces,

am

ong

diffe

rent

scho

ol s

ites

durin

g th

e sa

me

era,

and

amon

g si

mila

r

scho

ol s

ettin

gs d

urin

g di

ffere

ntde

cade

s.

Muc

h of

the

richn

ess

com

mun

icat

edth

roug

h th

is b

ook

is a

con

sequ

ence

of

the

uniq

ue b

ackg

roun

d br

ough

t to

the

ente

rpris

e by

its

auth

or. L

arry

Cub

anbe

gan

as a

cla

ssro

om te

ache

r,sp

endi

ng fo

urte

en y

ears

teac

hing

seco

ndar

y so

cial

stu

dies

in th

e sc

hool

dis

tric

ts o

fC

leve

land

, Ohi

o, a

nd W

ashi

ngto

n,D

.C. H

e tr

aine

d

retu

rned

Pea

ce C

orps

vol

unte

ers

tote

ach

in in

ner-

city

sch

ools

and

subs

eque

ntly

dire

cted

sta

ff de

velo

pmen

t for

am

ajor

pro

gram

in th

e D

istr

ict o

fC

olum

bia

publ

ic

scho

ols.

His

inte

iest

in h

isto

ry a

s a

subj

ect a

rea

final

ly le

d hi

m to

Sta

nfor

d U

ni-

vers

ity, w

here

he

stud

ied

educ

atio

nal

hist

ory

unde

r D

avid

Tya

ck a

nd w

rote

a

mas

terf

ul d

isse

rtat

ion

on th

e ca

reer

sof

thre

e bi

g-ci

ty s

uper

inte

nden

ts.

His

Sch

ool

Chi

efs

unde

r F

ire w

as b

ased

on

that

diss

erta

tion.

But

Cub

an w

as n

ot c

onte

nt to

stu

dyhi

stor

ical

ly th

e ad

min

istr

atio

n of

larg

e

scho

ol d

istr

icts

; he

was

com

mitt

ed to

mak

ing

that

his

tory

as

wel

l. U

pon

com

plet

ing

his

doct

orat

e in

edu

catio

nal h

isto

ryhe

was

app

oint

ed S

uper

inte

nden

tof

the

Ar-

lingt

on C

ount

y, V

irgin

ia, P

ublic

Sch

ools

, a p

ositi

on h

e he

ld fo

r se

ven

year

sun

til

he r

etur

ned

to S

tanf

ord

in 1

981

as a

mem

ber

the

Sch

ool o

f Edu

catio

nfa

culty

,

The

re a

re th

ose

who

will

rea

d th

isvo

lum

e as

a p

essi

mis

tic a

sses

smen

tof

the

failu

res

of s

choo

l ref

orm

. Des

pite

the

ener

gy a

nd r

heto

ric th

at h

assu

ppor

ted

the

refo

rm o

f edu

catio

nal i

nstit

utio

nsin

the

dire

ctio

n of

"pr

ogre

ssiv

e"id

eals

,

espe

cial

ly s

tude

nt-c

ente

red

inst

ruct

ion.

in a

ctiv

ity-b

ased

cla

ssro

oms

in w

hich

subj

ect a

rea

inst

ruct

ion

is c

orre

late

d an

din

tegr

ated

, me

gene

ral p

ictu

re C

uban

draw

s is

of a

rat

her

stab

le, t

each

er-c

ente

red

peda

gogy

sus

tain

ing

itsel

f fro

m N

cw

Yor

k to

Den

ver,

from

Nor

th D

akot

a to

Mic

higa

n, fr

om 1

900

to 1

980.

But

the

pict

ure

draw

n by

Cub

an is

far

mor

esu

btle

than

that

. He

finds

that

the

port

rait

is n

ot m

onol

ithic

. Som

e re

form

sta

ke b

ette

r th

an o

ther

s. S

ome

setti

ngs

(e.g

.,

the

elem

enta

ry s

choo

l) ar

e m

ore

fert

ile g

roun

d fo

r pl

anne

d ch

ange

.E

ven

in th

e

failu

res

of r

efor

m h

e de

rives

less

ons

for

futu

re p

lann

ing

and

inno

vatio

n.H

e as

ks

not o

nly

why

the

refo

rms

wer

e no

tsu

stai

ned,

but

wha

t was

rig

ht a

ndad

aptiv

e

abou

t the

trad

ition

al m

etho

ds w

hose

resi

lienc

e he

doc

umen

ts s

o vi

vidl

y.F

rom

the

very

sta

bilit

y of

cer

tain

inst

ruct

iona

l for

ms,

he

asse

rts,

we

may

lear

n im

por-

tant

prin

cipl

es r

egar

ding

the

fund

amen

tal c

hara

cter

of

scho

ol-b

ased

edu

catio

n

prin

cipl

es th

at c

an g

uide

our

futu

re a

ttem

pts

to im

prov

e th

e qu

ality

of

publ

ic

educ

atio

n.W

e th

us c

onfr

ont t

he d

ual p

ersp

ectiv

esof

his

toria

n an

d sc

hool

man

. the

dis

-

pass

iona

te "

long

vie

w"

of th

e di

scip

lined

scho

lar

and

the

impa

ssio

ned

and

prac

-

tical

con

cern

of t

he fr

ont-

line

deci

sion

mak

er. I

t is

a ra

re b

lend

, whi

ch m

ay

occa

sion

ally

offe

nd th

e se

nsib

ilitie

s of

the

hist

orio

grap

her

who

pre

fers

his

sch

ol-

arsh

ip b

land

and

dis

tant

. Yet

this

issc

hola

rshi

p of

the

high

est,

mos

t met

icul

ous

orde

r. E

vide

nce

for

each

ass

ertio

n is

care

fully

mar

shal

led

and

cont

radi

ctor

yfin

d-

ings

met

icul

ousl

y ex

amin

ed. R

eplic

atio

ns a

reso

ught

in a

djac

ent d

ecad

es a

nd/o

r

Fore

wor

d/

Ix

conc

urre

nt e

vent

s in

sim

ilar

dist

ricts

. Qua

ntita

tive

and

qual

itativ

ein

dica

tors

are

used

with

out f

ear

of c

ombi

ning

the

inco

mpa

tible

. Whi

le u

ndou

bted

ly a

wor

k of

hist

ory,

Cub

an h

as w

ritte

n a

Mas

terf

ul e

xam

ple

of fl

exib

le in

quiry

that

can

be

read

with

pro

fit b

y al

l ir

embe

rs o

f the

res

earc

h on

teac

hing

com

mun

ity. T

hehi

ghes

t pra

ise

I can

giv

e a

piec

e of

edu

catio

nal r

esea

rch

is th

at it

con

trib

uted

subs

tant

ially

to m

y ow

n ed

ucat

ion,

How

Tea

cher

s T

augh

t did

so

for

me,

and

Itr

ust i

t lik

ewis

e fo

r m

any

othe

rs in

the

wor

lds

of s

chol

arsh

ip, p

olic

y, a

nd p

ract

ice.

10

LEE

S. S

FIU

LMA

NS

tanf

ord.

Cal

iforn

ia

Ack

now

ledg

men

ts

I be

gan

this

stu

dy a

s a

scho

ol s

uper

inte

nden

t and

com

plet

ed it

as a

pro

fess

or.

The

ble

nd o

f pr

actic

e w

ith te

achi

ng a

nd r

esea

rch

at th

e un

iver

sity

rea

ffir

ms

my

deep

ly h

eld

belie

f th

at w

orth

whi

le k

now

ledg

e dr

aws

from

bot

h w

orld

s. I

ndee

d,th

e se

para

tion

of p

ract

ice

from

theo

ry, o

f pr

actit

ione

rs f

rom

res

earc

hers

, is

mor

eof

ten

than

not

a d

ivor

ce th

at is

mor

e sy

mbo

lic th

an r

eal.

My

quar

ter-

cent

ury

ofex

peri

ence

in p

ublic

sch

ools

, shu

ttlin

g ba

ck a

nd f

orth

bet

wee

n te

achi

ng a

nd a

d-m

inis

teri

ng, p

ersu

aded

me

that

the

daily

rea

litie

s of

cla

ssro

oms

and

scho

ols

pro-

duce

d kn

owle

dge

of m

uch

wor

th b

ut th

at r

equi

red

conc

eptu

al f

ram

ewor

ksto

impr

ove

my

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

wha

t tho

se th

ings

I f

aced

dai

lym

eant

. The

inte

rpla

ybe

twee

n kn

owle

dge

deri

ved

from

exp

erie

nce

in s

choo

ls a

nd th

at w

hich

res

earc

hers

stud

ied

help

ed m

e gr

eatly

in g

rasp

ing

the

mea

ning

of

both

org

aniz

atio

nal

and

indi

vidu

al b

ehav

ior

in p

ublic

sch

ools

.T

his

stud

y of

cla

ssro

om te

achi

ng o

ver

the

last

cen

tury

is p

art o

fm

y jo

urne

yin

tryi

ng to

und

erst

and

the

com

plex

ity o

f th

e pr

oces

s of

cha

nge

in s

choo

ls.

Bec

ause

I ta

ught

for

man

y ye

ars

and

serv

ed a

s a

scho

ol s

uper

inte

nden

t for

seve

n ye

ars,

I ne

eded

to d

isco

ver

answ

ers

to s

ome

long

stan

ding

que

stio

ns I

had

abou

t the

proc

ess

of te

achi

ng b

oth

in s

choo

ls w

here

I ta

ught

and

thos

e w

here

I s

erve

das

an a

dmin

istr

ator

. The

que

stio

ns I

ask

and

the

answ

ers

I fo

und

cons

truc

t the

boun

dari

es o

f th

is s

tudy

.A

ny in

vest

igat

ion

that

take

s ei

ghte

en m

onth

s to

com

plet

e re

quir

es th

e he

lpof

man

y ki

nd in

divi

dual

s w

illin

g to

sha

re th

eir

time

and

advi

ce. H

isto

rica

lre

sear

chof

ten

mea

ns ti

me

spen

t in

libra

ries

. In

New

Yor

k C

ity, P

aulin

ePi

ncus

who

serv

ed in

the

scho

ol s

yste

m's

Pro

fess

iona

l Lib

rary

was

esp

ecia

lly h

elpf

ul in

trac

king

dow

n so

urce

s I

coul

d no

t fin

d el

sew

here

. Rob

ert M

orri

s of

Tea

cher

sC

olle

ge to

ok ti

me

to in

trod

uce

me

to th

eir

new

ly a

cqui

red

arch

ives

from

the

New

Yor

k C

ity P

ublic

Sch

ools

. Lill

ian

Web

er g

ave

me

a m

orni

ng to

tell

of h

eref

fort

s in

New

Yor

k, h

er v

iew

s of

the

info

rmal

edu

catio

nm

ovem

ent i

n th

e la

te19

60s

and

earl

y 19

70s,

and

som

e pe

rsis

tent

issu

es in

sch

oolin

g.H

er in

sigh

tshe

lped

me

to r

evis

e a

num

ber

of a

ssum

ptio

ns.

Gor

don

Yor

k, A

ssis

tant

Sup

erin

tend

ent o

f th

e G

rand

For

ks, N

orth

Dak

ota

Publ

ic S

choo

ls a

nd G

lenn

Mel

vey,

Far

go A

ssis

tant

Sup

erin

tend

ent

of I

nstr

uctio

n,ar

rang

ed v

isits

for

me

to e

ach

of th

e sc

hool

s I

had

requ

este

d. I

app

reci

ated

the

1112

xii

IA

ckno

wle

dgm

ents

patie

nce

of th

e pr

inci

pals

and

teac

hers

who

put

up

with

my

note

-tak

ing

and

ques

tions

.In

Den

ver,

Elle

ngai

l Bue

htel

who

dir

ects

!he

dis

tric

t'spr

ofes

sion

al li

brar

y

help

ed m

e lo

cate

a n

umbe

r of

sou

rces

that

I h

ad g

iven

up

on e

ver

find

ing.

John

Ran

kin

in th

e Pu

blic

Inf

orm

atio

nD

epar

tmen

t was

esp

ecia

lly g

raci

ous

in a

rran

ging

for

me

to u

se s

tude

nt y

earb

ooks

,cl

ippi

ng f

iles,

and

pho

togr

aphs

stor

ed in

the

base

men

t of

the

adm

inis

trat

ion

build

ing.

Res

earc

hing

the

Was

hing

ton,

D.C

.sc

hool

s in

two

time

peri

ods

was

mad

e

easi

er b

y th

e so

urce

s lo

cate

d in

the

Dis

tric

t of

Col

umbi

a Pu

blic

Lib

rary

's W

ash-

ingt

onia

Roo

m. I

n th

e sc

hool

sys

tem

,E

rika

Rob

inso

n an

d M

aggi

e H

owar

dof

the

Div

isio

n of

Res

earc

h w

ere

espe

cial

ly h

elpf

ul in

loca

ting

sour

ces

and

patie

nt

with

my

use

of th

eir

spac

e. B

illW

ebb

in th

e M

edia

Cen

ter

let m

e se

eph

otog

raph

s

of c

lass

room

s ta

ken

sinc

e th

em

id-1

960s

.G

ordo

n. Y

ork,

Ass

ista

nt S

uper

inte

nden

tof

the

Gra

nd F

orks

, Nor

th D

akot

a

Publ

ic S

choo

ls a

nd G

lenn

Mel

vey,

Farg

o A

ssis

tant

Sup

erin

tend

ent o

fIns

truc

tion,

arra

nged

vis

its f

or m

e to

eac

h of

the

scho

ols

I ha

d re

ques

ted.

I a

ppre

ciat

epa

tienc

e

of th

e pr

inci

pals

and

teac

hers

who

put

up

with

my

note

-tak

ing

and

ques

tions

.

Rev

iew

ers

of th

e m

anus

crip

t fol

low

ed m

yin

stru

ctio

ns to

giv

e it

a to

ugh,

clos

e re

adin

g. I

app

reci

ated

the

prom

ptan

d fu

ll re

spon

ses

from

Elis

abet

hH

anso

t,

Car

l Kae

stle

, Jos

eph

Ket

t, M

arvi

nL

azer

son,

Kim

Mar

shal

l, an

dD

avid

Tya

ck.

The

y ar

e ab

solv

ed o

fre

spon

sibi

lity

for

any

erro

rs in

fac

t orj

udgm

ent t

hat p

ersi

st

in th

e fi

nal s

tudy

.O

ne r

evie

wer

des

erve

s sp

ecia

lm

entio

n. T

he e

dito

rial

boa

rd f

orth

is s

erie

s

aske

d L

ee S

hulm

an, a

col

leag

uew

ho jo

ined

the

Stan

ford

Uni

vers

ityfa

culty

in

1982

, to

revi

ew th

e m

anus

crip

t.H

is g

entle

and

wis

e to

uch

help

ed m

eel

ithin

ate

som

e co

nfus

ions

Iha

d cr

eate

d, a

nd h

e ur

ged

me

to p

ursu

e m

yar

gum

ents

abo

ut

teac

her

prac

tices

to th

eir

logi

cal

conc

lusi

on. H

is in

sigh

ts w

ere

help

ful.

I al

so w

ant t

o ac

know

ledg

eth

e he

lp o

f C

harl

es M

issa

r, L

ibra

rian

for

the

Nat

iona

l Ins

titut

e of

Edu

catio

n. H

e w

ases

peci

ally

gra

ciou

s an

d pa

tient

with

an

ex-s

uper

inte

nden

t unl

imbe

ring

rus

ty r

esea

rch

mus

cles

. I a

ppre

ciat

ed h

is h

elp

a

grea

t dea

l. A

nd N

IE it

self

dese

rves

a b

rief

ack

now

ledg

men

t for

the

orig

inal

stu

dy

whi

ch th

ey f

unde

d an

d fr

om w

hich

this

boo

k de

rive

d. I

fee

l aw

kwar

dth

anki

ng

an o

rgan

izat

ion

for

betti

ng th

at a

sch

ool s

uper

inte

nden

tcou

ld c

arry

off

a c

ompl

ex

hist

oric

al in

vest

igat

ion.

Usu

ally

, I th

ank

indi

vidu

als

but a

larg

e nu

mbe

r of

peo

ple

wer

e in

volv

ed in

mak

ing

the

deci

sion

to f

und

this

res

earc

h.I

than

k th

em f

or

havi

ng c

onfi

denc

e in

this

prac

titio

ner-

rese

arch

er.

Fina

lly, a

s in

eve

ry s

ingl

e w

ritin

g ve

ntur

eI

have

und

erta

ken,

my

wif

e B

arba

ra

has

help

ed a

t som

e st

age

with

eith

er th

e m

echa

nics

, pro

ofre

adin

g, o

rpr

ovid

ing

supp

ort.

Tha

nks.

I ha

ve w

ritte

n a

grea

t dea

l ove

rth

e la

st tw

enty

yea

rs a

bout

educ

atio

n. I

cann

ot s

ay w

hat i

t has

am

ount

ed to

but,a

s fo

r th

is s

tudy

, I c

an s

ayit

was

the

mos

t sat

isfy

ing.

It s

crat

ched

an

itch

that

had

bee

n bo

ther

ing

me

for

anu

mbe

r

of y

ears

.

13LA

RR

Y C

UB

AN

Intr

oduc

tion

I ha

ve w

orke

d as

a p

ublic

sch

ool

teac

her,

adm

inis

trat

or, a

nd r

esea

rche

rin

four

sch

ool s

yste

ms

for

a qu

arte

r-ce

ntur

y.O

ver

the

year

s ba

sic

ques

tions

on s

choo

ling

aros

e th

atse

emed

una

nsw

erab

le o

r ha

d, f

or m

e, n

ope

rsua

sive

ans

wer

eith

er in

my

expe

rien

ce o

rin

the

rese

arch

lite

ratu

re. L

et

me

shar

e a

few

of

thes

equ

estio

ns th

at h

ave

trou

bled

me.

I ha

ve b

een

in m

any

clas

sroo

ms

inth

e la

st d

ecad

e. W

hen

I w

atch

edte

ache

rs in

sec

onda

ry s

choo

ls a

fla

sh o

fre

cogn

ition

jum

ped

out o

f m

ym

emor

y an

d sw

ept o

ver

me.

Wha

t I s

aw w

as a

lmos

t exa

ctly

wha

t Ire

mem

bere

d of

the

juni

or a

nd s

enio

r hi

gh s

choo

lcla

ssro

oms

that

I s

at in

as

a st

uden

t and

as

a te

ache

rin

the

mid

195

0s. T

his

acut

e se

nse

ofre

call

abou

t

how

teac

hers

wer

e te

achi

ng o

ccur

red

in m

any

diff

eren

t sch

ools

. How

, I

aske

d m

ysel

f, c

ould

teac

hing

ove

ra'

fort

y-ye

ar p

erio

d se

em, a

nd I

mea

n to

unde

rlin

e th

e w

ord,

alm

ost u

ncha

nged

?L

ongt

ime

unio

n le

ader

Alb

ert S

hank

erm

ade

a si

mila

r ob

serv

atio

nth

at o

nly

gave

fur

ther

wei

ght t

o m

y qu

estio

n.

Ten

thou

sand

new

teac

hers

eac

h ye

ar e

nter

the

New

Yor

k C

ity s

choo

l

syst

em a

s a

resu

lt of

ret

irem

ent,

deat

h,jo

b tu

rnov

er, a

nd a

ttriti

on. T

hese

new

teac

hers

com

e fr

om a

ll ov

er th

e co

untr

y. T

hey

repr

esen

tal

l rel

igio

ns, r

aces

,

polit

ical

per

suas

ions

, and

edu

catio

nal i

nstit

utio

ns.

But

the

amaz

ing

thin

g is

that

, aft

er th

ree

wee

ks in

the

clas

sroo

m y

ou c

an't

tell

them

fro

m th

e te

ache

rs

they

rep

lace

d.'

His

obs

erva

tion

unde

rsco

red

the

puzz

ling

ques

tion

of a

ppar

ent u

nifo

rmity

in in

stru

ctio

n ov

er ti

me.

Dur

ing

the

last

dec

ade,

ser

ving

as

a de

cisi

on-m

aker

in tw

o lo

cal s

choo

l

dist

rict

s, I

hav

e ha

d to

dea

l with

ano

ther

ques

tion

that

puz

zled

me:

inin

stitu

tions

so

appa

rent

ly v

ulne

rabl

e to

cha

nge

assc

hool

s w

hy d

o so

few

inst

ruct

iona

l ref

orm

s ge

t pas

t the

cla

ssro

omdo

or?

The

se q

uest

ions

, Ibe

lieve

, are

link

ed. T

he a

ppar

ent u

nifo

rmity

in in

stru

ctio

n ir

resp

ectiv

e of

14

2 / I

ntro

duct

ion

Intr

oduc

tion

I3

time

and

plac

e is

rel

ated

to th

e ap

pare

ntin

vuln

erab

ility

of

clas

sroo

ms

to

chan

ge.

In a

pap

er c

omm

issi

oned

by

the

Nat

iona

l Ins

titut

e of

Edu

catio

n(N

1E),

I s

ough

t ans

wer

s to

thes

equ

estio

ns th

roug

h a

stud

y of

curr

icul

um

chan

ge a

nd s

tabi

lity

sinc

e18

70.2

In

exam

inin

g ho

w v

ario

us f

orce

ssh

aped

the

curr

icul

um a

nd th

eir

cons

eque

nces

for

clas

sroo

ms

over

the

last

cen

tury

,

I us

ed th

e m

etap

hor

of a

hurr

ican

e to

dis

tingu

ish

betw

een

curr

icul

um

theo

ry, c

ours

es o

f st

udy,

mat

eria

ls,

and

clas

sroo

m in

stru

ctio

n. H

urri

cane

win

ds s

wee

p ac

ross

the

sea

toss

ing

up tw

enty

foot

wav

es; a

fat

hom

bel

ow

the

surf

ace

turb

ulen

t wat

ers

swir

lw

hile

on

the

ocea

n fl

oor

ther

eis

unru

ffle

d ca

lm.

As

tric

ky a

s m

etap

hors

can

be,

Ico

mpa

red

that

hur

rica

ne to

any

new

ly

trum

pete

d cu

rric

ulum

theo

ry. P

rofe

ssio

nalj

ourn

als,

for

exa

mpl

e, e

cho

pro

and

con

argu

men

ts o

n a

new

theo

ry.

Let

ters

to e

dito

rs a

nd s

harp

reb

utta

ls

add

to th

e fl

urry

. Boo

ks a

re w

ritte

nan

d re

puta

tions

are

mad

e. C

onfe

r-

ence

s ho

st b

oth

skep

tics

and

advo

cate

s. P

rofe

ssor

s of

edu

catio

nte

ach

the

new

wis

dom

to th

eir

stud

ents

. Yet

mos

t pub

lishe

rs c

ontin

uepr

oduc

ing

text

s un

touc

hed

by th

at th

eory

,and

mos

t tea

cher

s us

e m

etho

dsun

mar

ked

by c

ontr

over

sy, s

loga

ns, j

ourn

alar

ticle

s, o

r co

nven

tion

prog

ram

s. I

used

this

met

apho

r fo

r its

util

ity in

illus

trat

ing

dist

inct

ions

bet

wee

n th

eory

,co

nten

t, m

ater

ials

, and

, mos

tim

port

ant,

impa

ct u

pon

teac

hing

beha

vior

.

In th

is N

IE p

aper

I f

ound

that

curr

icul

um th

eori

es d

id in

flue

nce

prof

essi

onal

ideo

logi

es a

nd v

ocab

ular

ies,

cou

rses

of s

tudy

, and

som

ete

xtbo

ok c

onte

nt. B

ut I

did

not

fin

dm

uch

evid

ence

of

sign

ific

ant c

hang

e in

teac

hing

pra

ctic

es. H

owev

er, I

did

not

syst

emat

ical

ly o

r co

mpr

ehen

sive

ly

exam

ine

prim

ary

sour

ces

or r

esea

rch

any

scho

ol d

istr

icts

. I u

sed,

for

the

mos

t par

t, se

cond

ary

sour

ces

and

a fe

w p

rim

ary

docu

men

ts th

at w

ere

avai

labl

e. B

ased

upo

n th

is in

itial

rev

iew

I fo

und

evid

ence

of

a se

emin

gly

stub

born

con

tinui

ty in

the

char

acte

r of

inst

ruct

ion

desp

ite in

tens

e re

form

effo

rts

to m

ove

clas

sroo

m p

ract

ices

tow

ard

inst

ruct

ion

that

was

mor

e

stud

ent-

cent

ered

.D

eepe

ning

the

para

dox

furt

her,

the

limite

d ev

iden

ce s

ugge

sted

that

teac

hing

pra

ctic

es s

eem

ed u

ncom

mon

lyst

able

at a

ll le

vels

of

scho

olin

gto

uchi

ng s

tude

nts

of d

iver

se a

bilit

ies

in d

iffe

rent

set

tings

ove

r m

any

deca

des

desp

ite e

xten

sive

teac

her

educ

atio

n. I

n de

alin

g w

ith th

is p

arad

oxre

sear

cher

s ha

ve ti

ed m

ore

knot

s th

anth

ey lo

osen

ed. S

ome

wri

ters

ass

ert

that

stu

dent

-cen

tere

d te

achi

ngpr

actic

es w

ere

embr

aced

by

teac

hers

,w

hile

othe

rs a

rgue

that

suc

h cl

assr

oom

chan

ges

are

seld

om in

stitu

tiona

lized

.C

omm

on to

all

wri

ters

is s

ever

ely

limite

d ev

iden

ce a

bout

wha

t tea

cher

s

have

don

e in

cla

ssro

oms.

;Sc

anty

evi

denc

e ab

out t

he s

tabl

e or

chan

ging

cha

ract

er o

f in

stru

ctio

n

drov

e m

e to

war

d as

king

a f

unda

men

tal

ques

tion:

how

did

teac

hers

teac

h?

The

fra

gmen

ts o

f kn

owle

dge

abou

tw

hat t

each

ers

did

in th

eir

clas

sroo

ms

need

ed to

be

brou

ght t

oget

her

togi

ve a

cum

ulat

ive

clar

ity. T

his

stud

y

begi

ns th

at ta

sk.4

In tr

ying

to a

nsw

er th

e qu

estio

n of

how

teac

hers

taug

ht, I

will

use

the

fram

ewor

k of

t;-i

e pr

evio

us r

efor

m e

ffor

ts d

irec

ted

at a

lteri

ng c

lass

room

peda

gogy

. By

inve

stig

atin

g te

achi

ng p

ract

ices

bef

ore,

dur

ing,

and

afte

rre

form

impu

lses

in th

e tw

entie

th c

entu

ry a

imed

at c

hang

ing

wha

t tea

cher

sro

utin

ely

do, a

cle

arer

sen

se o

f w

hat h

as p

ersi

sted

and

wha

t has

cha

nged

incl

assr

oom

s sh

ould

em

erge

. But

wha

t to

look

for

in c

lass

room

s m

arke

d by

abe

wild

erin

g va

riet

y of

stu

dent

and

teac

her

beha

vior

s? W

hile

ther

e is

a r

ich

vari

ety

of in

stru

ctio

nal p

ract

ice

and

no s

ingl

e st

udy

can

do ju

stic

e to

the

intr

icat

e co

mpl

exity

of

clas

sroo

m te

achi

ng, a

use

ful t

ool f

or r

evea

ling

apo

rtio

n of

that

com

plic

ated

topo

grap

hy is

ava

ilabl

e. T

he c

once

ptof

desc

ribi

ng in

stru

ctio

n as

a c

ontin

uum

str

etch

ing

from

teac

her-

cent

ered

tost

uden

t-ce

nter

ed c

onta

ins

a lim

ited

but u

sefu

l set

of

indi

cato

rs d

escr

ibin

gim

port

ant d

imen

sion

s of

wha

t tea

cher

s di

d in

thei

r cl

assr

oom

s. N

ot a

imed

at c

aptu

ring

the

rich

ness

of

the

clas

sroo

m, t

his

cont

inuu

mno

neth

eles

spr

ovid

es a

han

dy w

edge

in p

ryin

g op

en th

e cl

osed

doo

rs o

f cl

assr

oom

s th

atex

iste

d de

cade

s ag

o an

d m

appi

ng, i

n a

prel

imin

ary

fash

ion,

thei

r pe

dago

-gi

cal t

erra

in.

Bef

ore

proc

eedi

ng f

urth

er, l

et m

e st

ate

plai

nly

wha

t I m

ean

byte

ache

r- a

nd s

tude

nt-c

ente

red

inst

ruct

ion.

Tea

cher

-cen

tere

d in

stru

ctio

nm

eans

that

a te

ache

r co

ntro

ls w

hat i

s ta

ught

, whe

n,an

d un

der

wha

tco

nditi

ons

with

in h

is o

r he

r cl

assr

oom

. Obs

erva

ble

mea

sure

s of

teac

her-

cent

ered

inst

ruct

ion

are:

Tea

cher

talk

exc

eeds

stu

dent

talk

dur

ing

inst

ruct

ion.

Inst

ruct

ion

occu

rs f

requ

ently

with

the

who

le c

lass

; sm

all g

roup

or

indi

vidu

alin

stru

ctio

n oc

curs

less

fre

quen

tly.

Use

of

clas

s tim

e is

det

erm

ined

by

the

teac

her.

The

cla

ssro

om is

usu

ally

arr

ange

d in

to r

ows

of d

esks

or

chai

rs f

acin

g a

blac

kboa

rd w

ith a

teac

her's

des

k ne

arby

.

Stud

ent-

cent

ered

inst

ruct

ion

mea

ns th

at s

tude

nts

exer

cise

a s

ubst

antia

lde

gree

of

dire

ctio

n an

d re

spon

sibi

lity

for

wha

t is

taug

ht, h

ow it

is le

arne

d,an

d fo

r an

y m

ovem

ent w

ithin

the

clas

sroo

m. O

bser

vabl

e m

easu

res

ofst

uden

t-ce

nter

ed in

stru

ctio

n ar

e:

Stud

ent t

alk

on le

arni

ng ta

sks

is a

t lea

st e

qual

to, i

f no

t gre

ater

than

, tea

cher

talk

.M

ost i

nstr

uctio

n oc

curs

eith

er in

divi

dual

ly, i

n sm

all (

2 to

6 s

tude

nts)

or

mod

erat

ely

size

d (7

to 1

2) g

roup

s ra

ther

than

the

who

le c

lass

.St

uden

ts h

elp

choo

se a

nd o

rgan

ize

the

cont

ent t

o be

lear

ned.

Tea

cher

per

mits

stu

dent

s to

det

erm

ine,

par

tially

or

who

lly, r

ules

of

beha

vior

and

pen

altie

s in

cla

ssro

om a

nd h

ow th

ey a

re e

nfor

ced.

Var

ied

inst

ruct

iona

l mat

eria

ls a

re a

vaila

ble

in th

e cl

assr

oom

so

that

stu

dent

sca

n us

e th

em in

depe

nden

tly o

r in

sm

all g

roup

s, e

.g.,

inte

rest

cen

ters

,te

achi

ng s

tatio

ns, a

nd a

ctiv

ity c

ente

rs.

4/ In

trod

uctio

nIn

trod

uctio

n I5

Use

of t

hese

mat

eria

ls is

eith

er s

ched

uled

by

the

teac

her

orde

term

ined

by

stud

ents

for

at le

ast h

alf o

f the

acad

emic

tim

e av

aila

ble.

Cla

ssro

om is

usu

ally

arr

ange

din

a m

anne

r th

at p

erm

itsst

uden

ts to

wor

k

toge

ther

or

sepa

rate

lyin

sm

all g

roup

s or

inin

divi

dual

wor

k sp

ace;

no

dom

inan

t pat

tern

exi

sts

and

muc

h m

ovem

ent o

f des

ks, t

able

s,an

d ch

airs

occu

rs in

rea

ligni

ngfu

rnitu

re a

nd s

pace

.

The

se c

once

pts

of te

ache

r-an

d st

uden

t-ce

nter

edin

stru

ctio

n sh

ould

be

view

ed a

s to

ols

to h

elp

in d

eter

min

ing

wha

t hap

pene

d in

cla

ssro

oms.

As

conc

eptu

al to

ols

they

are

limite

d be

caus

e th

ey a

re a

rbitr

ary;

they

ofte

n

lack

pre

cisi

on. A

t diff

eren

ttim

es, f

or e

xam

ple,

stud

ent-

cent

ered

inst

ruc-

tion

is u

sed

as a

syn

onym

for

prog

ress

ive

prac

tices

or

the

open

cla

ssro

om.

Fur

ther

, the

y si

mpl

ify c

ompl

excl

assr

oom

eve

nts.

Nev

erth

eles

s, e

ven

with

thes

e sh

ortc

omin

gs, t

hese

con

cept

sca

n he

lp s

ort o

ut,

how

ever

cru

dely

,

vario

us te

achi

ng p

atte

rns,

esp

ecia

llyw

hen

thes

e pa

ttern

s ar

e ar

raye

d on

a

cont

inuu

m. O

f eve

n gr

eate

r im

port

ance

is to

wei

gh th

ese

shor

tcom

ings

agai

nst t

he s

impl

efa

ct th

at th

ere

are

so fe

wst

udie

s th

at h

ave

capt

ured

wha

t

teac

hers

hav

e do

ne in

cla

ssro

oms

over

tim

e.

In u

sing

thes

e co

nstr

ucts

,I d

o no

t ass

ume

that

actu

al c

hang

es in

prac

tice

mov

ed s

olel

yfr

om te

ache

r- to

stu

dent

-cen

tere

d;tr

affic

flow

ed

both

way

s re

gard

less

ofr

efor

mer

s' in

tent

ions

. Ind

ivid

ualt

each

ers

stop

ped

at v

ario

us p

lace

s al

ong

the

way

. Nor

do

I ass

ume

that

cha

nges

in te

achi

ng

beha

vior

wer

e an

all-

or-n

othi

ngem

brac

e of

an

entir

e ap

proa

ch.

Qui

te

ofte

n, a

s th

is s

tudy

will

sho

w,

teac

hers

inco

rpor

ated

into

thei

r re

pert

oire

s

part

icul

ar p

ract

ices

they

foun

d us

eful

. An

elem

enta

rysc

hool

teac

her

in

1929

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hose

onl

ycl

assr

oom

cha

nge

in y

ears

was

todi

vide

her

clas

s in

to tw

o gr

oups

for

read

ing,

teac

hing

one

in th

e fr

ont

of th

e ro

om

whi

le th

e re

st w

orke

d at

thei

rde

sks

on a

n as

sign

men

t, ha

dad

ded

a ne

w

prac

tice

to h

er a

rsen

alof

teac

hing

met

hods

. Or

take

a h

igh

scho

ol h

isto

ry

teac

her

in 1

933

who

beg

an u

sing

exam

ples

from

con

tem

pora

rypo

litic

al li

fe

to e

nliv

en h

is s

tude

nts'

stu

dyof

the

Fre

nch

Rev

olut

ion.

Whi

le p

edag

ogic

al p

rogr

essi

ves

of th

e tim

e m

ight

hav

ew

ince

d at

my

wor

ding

and

labe

led

such

cha

nges

as

triv

ial,

thes

ete

ache

rs h

ad a

dopt

ed

prog

ress

ive

prac

tices

,al

beit

sele

ctiv

ely.

On

a co

ntin

uum

ther

e ne

eds

to b

e

spac

e fo

r pr

ogre

ssiv

ete

ache

r-ce

nter

ed in

stru

ctio

n as

ther

ew

ould

be

spac

e

for

the

vario

us ty

pes

of s

tude

nt-c

ente

red

inst

ruct

ion

mor

efa

mili

ar to

prog

ress

ive

refo

rmer

s.T

he v

ario

us a

dapt

atio

ns o

f pro

gres

sive

peda

gogy

that

teac

hers

in-

corp

orat

ed in

to th

eir

prac

tices

are

just

as

puzz

ling,

if no

t int

eres

ting,

as

wha

t was

igno

red.

The

ran

geof

teac

hing

pra

ctic

eco

ntai

ned

in th

is s

tudy

trie

s to

des

crib

e a

varie

tyof

teac

hing

beh

avio

rs.5

Des

pite

indi

vidu

al te

achi

ngdi

ffere

nces

, obs

erve

rs c

an,

I bel

ieve

, stil

l

cate

goriz

e in

stru

ctio

nal p

atte

rns

by c

aref

ul a

ttent

ion

toat

leas

t fiv

e vi

sibl

e

area

s of

cla

ssro

omde

cisi

on m

akin

g ov

er w

hich

teac

hers

hav

e di

rect

influ

ence

. The

se c

lass

room

indi

cato

rs c

an s

ugge

st d

omin

ant f

orm

s of

inst

ruct

ion,

esp

ecia

lly w

hen

they

com

bine

to c

reat

e pa

ttern

s.

1.A

rran

gem

ent o

f cla

ssro

om s

pace

2.R

atio

of t

each

er to

stu

dent

talk

3.W

heth

er m

ost i

nstr

uctio

n oc

curs

indi

vidu

ally

, in

smal

l gro

ups,

or

with

the

entir

e cl

ass

4.T

he p

rese

nce

of le

arni

ng o

r in

tere

st c

ente

rs th

at a

re u

sed

by s

tude

nts

aspa

rt o

f the

nor

mal

sch

ool d

ay5.

The

deg

ree

of m

ovem

ent s

tude

nts

are

perm

itted

with

out a

skin

g th

ete

ache

r

In s

eeki

ng to

des

crib

e cl

assr

oom

pra

ctic

es I

had

to n

arro

w m

y sc

ope.

No

judg

men

ts w

ill b

e m

ade

abou

t the

effe

ctiv

enes

s of

teac

her-

or

stud

ent-

cent

ered

inst

ruct

ion,

nor

will

com

paris

ons

be m

ade

amon

g te

achi

ng p

rac-

tices

. Fin

ally

, thi

s st

udy

will

not

dea

l with

the

emot

iona

l clim

ate

of th

ecl

assr

oom

or

the

rela

tions

hip

betw

een

adul

ts a

nd c

hild

rena

s im

port

ant a

sth

ese

issu

es a

re. T

he c

entr

al r

esea

rch

issu

e fo

r m

e is

to d

etet

min

e ho

wst

able

cer

tain

teac

hing

beh

avio

rs w

ere

deca

de a

fter

deca

de in

the

face

of

mig

hty

effo

rts

to m

ove

tow

ard

stud

ent-

cent

ered

inst

ruct

ionn

ot th

e re

la-

tive

valu

e of

teac

her-

cent

ered

inst

ruct

ion

in a

chie

ving

stu

dent

out

com

es.

How

ever

, the

re is

littl

e po

int i

n de

term

inin

g w

hich

teac

hing

beh

avio

rspr

oduc

e im

prov

ed s

tude

nt p

erfo

rman

ce u

ntil

rese

arch

ers

find

out w

hich

teac

hing

act

s pe

rsis

t ove

r tim

e, w

hich

hav

e ch

ange

d, a

nd w

hy.

Giv

en th

ese

limits

, an

obvi

ous

ques

tion

aris

es: i

f thi

s re

sear

ch w

ill n

otre

veal

wha

t is

"goo

d" o

r "p

oor"

teac

hing

or

how

som

e te

ache

rs a

re b

ette

rth

an o

ther

s at

cre

atin

g po

sitiv

e cl

assr

oom

clim

ates

. the

n w

hat w

ill b

e th

epr

actic

al u

se o

f the

res

earc

h? T

his

is a

fair

ques

tion

beca

use

it ra

ises

the

issu

e of

the

inte

rsec

tion

betw

een

rese

arch

and

pra

ctic

e. W

ithou

t get

ting

into

the

mer

its o

f app

lied

or b

asic

res

earc

h or

the

valu

e of

incr

emen

tal

know

ledg

e, I

antic

ipat

e br

oade

r us

es o

f thi

s st

udy.

Bec

ause

so

little

is k

now

n by

res

earc

hers

, pol

icym

aker

s, s

choo

lad

min

istr

ator

s, te

ache

rs, a

nd c

itize

n-ad

voca

tes

abou

t wha

t has

rem

aine

dst

able

and

wha

t has

alte

red

in te

achi

ng o

ver

the

last

cen

tury

, inv

estig

atin

gth

e se

emin

g pe

rsis

tenc

e of

cer

tain

inst

ruct

iona

l pra

ctic

es c

an il

lum

inat

ebo

th th

e po

tent

ial a

nd th

e lim

its to

cla

ssro

om c

hang

e. E

xplo

ring

the

terr

ain

of th

e cl

assr

oom

sin

ce th

e tu

rn o

f the

cen

tury

sho

uld

reve

al w

hat i

s du

rabl

ean

d w

hat i

s tr

ansi

ent,

wha

t is

open

to im

prov

emen

t and

wha

t is

invu

lner

-ab

le to

ref

orm

. By

sim

ply

know

ing

mor

e ab

out t

he in

stru

ctio

nal q

uark

that

is th

e cl

assr

oom

, citi

zens

and

pro

fess

iona

ls c

an c

ome

to h

ave

reas

onab

leex

pect

atio

ns a

bout

wha

t tea

cher

s ca

n an

d ca

nnot

do,

wha

t sch

ools

can

be

held

acc

ount

able

for

and

wha

t is

beyo

nd th

eir

reac

h. S

uch

mod

est

outc

omes

offe

r pr

actic

al d

irect

ions

for

the

perio

dic

surg

es o

f ref

orm

that

swee

p ov

er p

ublic

sch

ools

.

1718

61 In

trod

uctio

n

Sinc

e th

e la

te 1

950s

, ref

orm

s in

cur

ricu

lum

(e.

g. n

ewm

ath)

, gov

ern-

ance

(e.

g. c

omm

unity

con

trol

),in

stru

ctio

n (e

.g. t

eam

teac

hing

) ha

ve tr

ied

to a

lter

teac

her

beha

vior

in th

e cl

assr

oom

.T

here

sho

uld

be a

pag

e in

the

Gui

nnes

s B

ook

of W

orld

Rec

ords

on f

aile

d cl

assr

oom

ref

orm

s, f

or f

ew e

ver

seem

to h

ave

been

inco

rpor

ated

into

teac

hers

' rep

erto

ires

. Per

haps

inst

udyi

ng d

irec

tly h

ow te

ache

rs h

ave

taug

ht, r

elia

ble

clue

sw

ill e

mer

ge th

atsu

gges

t pat

hs th

at b

oth

.teac

hers

and

refo

rmer

s m

ight

pur

sue

mor

ere

alis

tical

ly, i

f no

t use

fully

.M

oreo

ver,

est

ablis

hing

that

whi

ch is

end

urin

g an

dth

at w

hich

isch

ange

able

in th

e cl

assr

oom

aid

s th

e pr

ofes

sion

al e

duca

tors

resp

onsi

ble

for

turn

ing

out t

he n

ext g

ener

atio

n of

teac

hers

. Whi

lefo

rmal

teac

her

educ

a-tio

n is

one

of

seve

ral w

ays

of im

prov

ing

clas

sroo

min

stru

ctio

n, s

tate

legi

slat

ors

acro

ss th

e co

untr

y ha

ve o

pted

for

stif

feni

ngce

rtif

icat

ion

requ

ire-

men

ts a

nd m

anda

ting

entr

y-le

vel t

ests

for

new

teac

hers

. Whi

le th

ese

may

be a

pol

itica

lly s

atis

fyin

g re

spon

se to

pop

ular

une

ase

with

pub

lic s

choo

ls,

anyo

ne k

now

ledg

eabl

e ab

out t

heco

mpl

exity

of

clas

sroo

m in

stru

ctio

nkn

ows

that

suc

h so

lutio

ns a

re m

argi

nal i

n th

eir

impa

ct o

nte

ache

r ef

fect

ive-

ness

. Wha

t is

less

mar

gina

l and

mor

e us

eful

is to

det

erm

ine

wha

tkn

owle

dge

and

skill

s te

ache

rs h

ave

used

in p

erfo

rmin

g cl

assr

oom

task

s

year

in a

nd o

ut, d

ecad

e af

ter

deca

de. T

o un

cove

rw

hat i

s ch

ange

able

and

wha

t is

stab

le in

teac

hing

off

ers

univ

ersi

ty te

ache

r-ed

ucat

ors

ingr

edie

nts

for

a w

ell-

grou

nded

app

roac

h to

wha

t can

dida

tes

for

the

prof

essi

onsh

ould

know

and

he

able

to p

erfo

rm o

nce

they

ent

er th

e cl

assr

oom

.Sim

ilarl

y, to

know

wha

t is

pers

iste

nt a

nd p

redi

ctab

le in

teac

hing

off

ers

scho

ol a

dmin

is-

trat

ors

path

s to

pur

sue

in w

orki

ng w

ithex

peri

ence

d te

ache

rs.

The

re is

a ta

ngib

le u

sefu

lnes

s fo

r te

ache

rs in

this

exam

inat

ion

ofcl

assr

oom

pra

ctic

e. F

or te

ache

rs to

be

relia

bly

info

rmed

that

colle

ague

s a

cent

ury

ago

cope

d w

ith s

imila

r si

tuat

ions

,fo

und

solu

tions

that

wor

ked

inth

eir

clas

sroo

ms,

and

ada

pted

to w

orki

ng c

ondi

tions

that

,w

hile

not

iden

tical

, wer

e un

deni

ably

alik

e, m

ay g

ive

prac

titio

ners

pri

dein

how

thei

rpr

edec

esso

rs c

oped

with

adv

ersi

ty a

nd a

cle

ar s

ense

of

iden

tity

with

apr

ofes

sion

that

is a

fflic

ted

with

sel

f-do

ubts

and

dim

inis

hed

publ

ic e

stee

m.

Furt

herm

ore,

for

teac

hers

to k

now

that

som

e cl

assr

oom

pra

ctic

es h

ave

pers

iste

d fo

r ov

er a

cen

tury

whi

le o

ther

s ar

e of

mor

e re

cent

ori

gin

may

sugg

est t

o th

em a

bas

is f

or a

ccur

atel

y es

timat

ing

wha

tcl

assr

oom

cha

nges

are

feas

ible

, giv

en e

xist

ing

cond

ition

s.Fi

nally

, und

erst

andi

ng th

at w

hat h

aspe

rsis

ted

and

wha

t has

cha

nged

in A

mer

ican

sc0

00ls

was

less

oft

en d

ue to

wha

t ind

ivid

ual t

each

ers

did

in th

eir

clas

sroo

ms

but s

tem

med

fro

mfa

ctor

sbe

yond

thei

r im

med

iate

infl

uenc

e m

ay s

ugge

st to

teac

hers

pro

per

targ

ets

for

chan

ge in

the

clas

sroo

m, s

choo

l, an

d co

mm

unity

. Mos

tin

stru

ctio

nal

refo

rms

in th

e la

st c

entu

ry w

ere

gene

rate

d ou

tsid

e th

e sc

hool

and

wer

esh

oved

dow

nwar

d in

to th

e cl

assr

oom

. Wer

e te

ache

rs to

be

mor

ein

form

edab

out t

he h

isto

ry o

f cl

assr

oom

inst

ruct

ion

perh

aps

they

wou

ldvo

ice

thei

rpr

efer

ence

s ba

sed

upon

a f

irm

kno

wle

dge

of w

hat c

an a

nd c

anno

t be

done

in c

lass

room

s as

they

are

pre

sent

ly o

rgan

ized

.

Intr

oduc

tion

17

The

re is

als

o an

othe

r le

ss d

irec

t, m

ore

subt

le u

se th

at I

see

for

this

stud

y of

cla

ssro

om in

stru

ctio

n. P

ower

ful m

etap

hors

dom

inat

e th

e th

inki

ngof

pra

ctiti

oner

s, p

olic

ymak

ers,

and

sch

olar

s on

sch

oolin

g. J

. M. S

teph

ens

wri

tes

that

the

com

mon

met

apho

r fo

r sc

hool

s is

the

fact

ory.

Thi

s im

age,

like

that

of

a m

achi

ne, r

einf

otce

s ra

tiona

l dec

isio

n m

akin

g, s

ugge

stin

g th

atev

ery

face

t of

scL

oolin

g is

a c

andi

date

for

pla

nned

cha

nge.

Sw

itch

the

met

apho

r to

far

min

g, h

e sa

ys, a

nd s

choo

ling

look

s ve

ry d

iffe

rent

. In

agri

cultu

re y

ou s

tart

with

an

anci

ent,

stab

le p

roce

ss a

nd b

uild

you

r ef

fort

sar

ound

the

sun,

clim

ate,

see

ds, p

lant

s, a

nd w

hat i

nsec

ts a

re li

kely

to d

o