Stigler, J.W., & Hiebert, J. (1999). The Teaching Gap. The Free
Press
Warning: This book will change the way you see instruction, your
role in it, and what needs to be done about The Teaching Gap here in America.
Have you ever wondered why our schools and our children lag behind international
standards for reading, mathematics, and a variety of other areas?
What are they doing in other countries that is working?
Questions: for anyone who has
read this book . . .
1. Have you ever thought about
teaching and learning through the eyes of "culture" and wondered about
the instruction that takes place in other countries and how it differs
from ours? Do you think a culture's values shine through and can
be seen by their expectations with instruction in the schools?
2. What do you think . . . should
teachers teach and researchers perform research, like here in the United
States? Or should we follow the model developed by other countries
where teachers are involved in research and have the opportunity to learn
and grow?
3. Do you believe that the collaborative
effort involved in "teamming" or communicating with peer teachers is important?
Are you willing to sacrifice your time to make it a priority?
4. What do you think about the
graphs in this book that reflect the amount of practice, apply, invent,
and think time? What does this say about our country?
5. Based on all of the research
gathered in this study and all of the information we now have about education
and instruction in other countries in comparison to our own, what do you
think we should do here in the United States to improve instruction?
Is there anything we can do? Does the problem go even deeper than
the book presents? Is it a "cultural" issue?
Submitted by: Jenny Sandstrom
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