Reform Teaching and Learning
To meet the demands of the 21st century – the need for creative problem-solvers, collaborative workers, and adaptive learners – the United States must begin to shift its education reforms to become more learner-centered. [i] Focusing on what children actually experience in their learning environment and providing effective teachers that maintain high expectations while creating classrooms that offer good instructional practice and emotional support for students is crucial.
What Can Policymakers Do?
·
Enhance teaching standards and training . Establish qualification standards and on-going professional development for K-3 teachers that prepare them to be effective in the classroom.
· Enhance teacher-child interactions . Improve the classroom instructional environment by focusing on and improving teacher-child interactions.
[i]
Darling-Hammond, L. (1997).
The right to learn: A blueprint for creating schools that work
. San Francisco, CA: Joseey-Bass; McCombs, B.L. (2003). A framework for the redesign of K-12 education in the context of current educational reform.
Theory Into Practice 42
(2), 93-101