Poisoned Apple."If you want truly to understand something, try to change it," says Kurt Lewin Kurt Zadek Lewin (September 9,1890 - February 12,1947), a German-born psychologist, is one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology. Lewin is often recognized as the "founder of social psychology" and was one of the first researchers to study group , founder of field psychology. His comment captures the essence of Betty Wallace and William Graves' book, Poisoned Apple: The Bell Curve Crisis and How Our Schools Create Mediocrity me·di·oc·ri·ty n. pl. me·di·oc·ri·ties 1. The state or quality of being mediocre. 2. Mediocre ability, achievement, or performance. 3. One that displays mediocre qualities. and Failure, which addresses in depth the historical evolution of the bell curve syndrome. They describe how the bell curve perpetuates educational inequity in American schools, offer examples of innovative non-traditional instructional systems that counter the syndrome, and provide a case study of Wallace's personal experience in implementing change as a superintendent in rural Vance County, N.C. The authors propose to replace the bell curve system of instruction, which focuses on grades, grade levels, and norm-referenced testing A norm-referenced test is a type of test, assessment, or evaluation in which the tested individual is compared to a sample of his or her peers (referred to as a "normative sample"). , with a method they call "guided learning," which reflects current research on motivation, achievement, and student learning. By incorporating elements of similar school restructuring proposals, their plan offers a prescription for change that could be implemented nationwide. Poisoned Apple presents a glimpse of what the future holds, the methods for achieving it, and the inspiration to pursue it. (Poisoned Apple: The Bell Curve Crisis and How Our Schools Create Mediocrity and Failure, by Betty Wallace and William Graves, St. Martin's St. Martin's or St. Martins may refer to:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y. 10010, 1995, 336 pp. with index, $22.95 hardcover) |
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