The Dr. Fox effect
from Wikipedia
...Professor of law Deborah Merritt summarized the Dr. Fox Effect as it was observed in the first experiments:
"The experimenters created a meaningless lecture on 'Mathematical Game Theory as Applied to Physician Education,' and coached Fox to deliver it 'with an excessive use of double talk, neologisms, non sequiturs, and contradictory statements.'
At the same time, the researchers encouraged Fox to adopt a lively demeanor, convey warmth toward his audience, and intersperse his nonsensical comments with humor. ...
Fox fooled not just one, but three separate audiences of professionals and graduate students. Despite the emptiness of his lecture, fifty-five psychiatrists, psychologists, educators, graduate students, and other professionals produced evaluations of Dr. Fox that were overwhelmingly positive....
The disturbing feature of the Dr. Fox study, as the experimenters noted, is that Fox’s nonverbal behaviors so completely masked a meaningless, jargon-filled, and confused presentation."
Showing posts with label evaluating teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evaluating teachers. Show all posts
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Should we toughen the weak by taunting them?
Police aren't the only ones who believe in showing contempt for the weak. It's a strategy also used by teachers, school administrators and others who "care for" young people.
Family Calls for New Police Policy for Suicide Threats
CW San Diego Channel 6
8/07/08
The family of a 20-year-old Oceanside man who barricaded himself inside his home, then committed suicide is calling for change. They say their son's death didn't have to happen, and a police negotiator may have pushed him over the edge.
His parents, Bill and Julie Hillestad, are now calling for a policy change because of the way an Oceanside Police Department negotiator handled their son's case. Sattaur had locked himself inside his home with a gun, threatening suicide after a break-up with his long-time girlfriend.
This is part of his exchange with an Oceanside police negotiator.
Police Negotiator: "Grant shut up and listen to me. Will you do that, keep your mouth shut. You need to come out of the house so other people can go home."
Police Negotiator: "Are you going to be a coward to stay in the house or are you going to be a man and come outside and take care of your problems?"
Sattaur: "I don't know"
Police Negotiator: "So you're a coward?"
Sattaur: "Yes"
The ACLU of San Diego has joined Sattaur's parents to bring attention to the case. "The Oceanside Police Department's whole system for responding to depressed people contemplating suicide is broken, " says ACLU Executive Director Kevin Keenan... "It's policies treat suicidal patients the same as barricaded homicidal individuals and hostage takers," says Keenan.
An Oceanside Police spokesman says Sattaur's death is tragic, but their negotiator did nothing wrong. They have no plans to change their policies...
video
ON THE OTHER HAND: A DEATH THAT TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OCEANSIDE POLICE
Canine commemoration: K-9 units pay tribute to Stryker, fallen Oceanside police dog
By: PAUL SISSON
North County Times
January 15, 2008
A funeral service for Stryker, the Oceanside police dog who died after falling from the Coronado Bay Bridge on New Year's Eve, drew about 100 police dogs and their handlers to North County from throughout Southern California on Monday.
Oceanside Police Officer Kedrick Sadler, speaking publicly for the first time since the dog was killed, thanked his canine partner for his loyalty, discipline and bravery on the bridge that night.
"The only thing I regret is that I was not there to comfort you in your final moments and tell you that you did a good job," Sadler said..
Oceanside remembers Stryker
1/17/2008
By Lance Cpl. Shannon E. Mcmillan
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
... OPD canine Officer Stryker [a dog] sacrifice[d] his life in the line of duty.
People and dogs from all over California mourned the loss of Officer Stryker at a memorial here Jan. 14.
...The suspect struggled to his feet and hurled himself from the bridge, carrying with him one of Oceanside’s bravest peace keepers.
“You died doing what you do best, getting the bad guys,” said Sadler, Stryker’s handler and police officer of Oceanside K-9 unit. “With a selfless act to get the bad guy, you lost your life.”
Stryker touched the heart of many police officers’ in the K-9 unit.
...said Manual Villa Nueva..."Stryker was dedicated to the job. He never showed weakness and gave 110 percent..."
Family Calls for New Police Policy for Suicide Threats
CW San Diego Channel 6
8/07/08
The family of a 20-year-old Oceanside man who barricaded himself inside his home, then committed suicide is calling for change. They say their son's death didn't have to happen, and a police negotiator may have pushed him over the edge.
His parents, Bill and Julie Hillestad, are now calling for a policy change because of the way an Oceanside Police Department negotiator handled their son's case. Sattaur had locked himself inside his home with a gun, threatening suicide after a break-up with his long-time girlfriend.
This is part of his exchange with an Oceanside police negotiator.
Police Negotiator: "Grant shut up and listen to me. Will you do that, keep your mouth shut. You need to come out of the house so other people can go home."
Police Negotiator: "Are you going to be a coward to stay in the house or are you going to be a man and come outside and take care of your problems?"
Sattaur: "I don't know"
Police Negotiator: "So you're a coward?"
Sattaur: "Yes"
The ACLU of San Diego has joined Sattaur's parents to bring attention to the case. "The Oceanside Police Department's whole system for responding to depressed people contemplating suicide is broken, " says ACLU Executive Director Kevin Keenan... "It's policies treat suicidal patients the same as barricaded homicidal individuals and hostage takers," says Keenan.
An Oceanside Police spokesman says Sattaur's death is tragic, but their negotiator did nothing wrong. They have no plans to change their policies...
video
ON THE OTHER HAND: A DEATH THAT TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OCEANSIDE POLICE
Canine commemoration: K-9 units pay tribute to Stryker, fallen Oceanside police dog
By: PAUL SISSON
North County Times
January 15, 2008
A funeral service for Stryker, the Oceanside police dog who died after falling from the Coronado Bay Bridge on New Year's Eve, drew about 100 police dogs and their handlers to North County from throughout Southern California on Monday.
Oceanside Police Officer Kedrick Sadler, speaking publicly for the first time since the dog was killed, thanked his canine partner for his loyalty, discipline and bravery on the bridge that night.
"The only thing I regret is that I was not there to comfort you in your final moments and tell you that you did a good job," Sadler said..
Oceanside remembers Stryker
1/17/2008
By Lance Cpl. Shannon E. Mcmillan
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
... OPD canine Officer Stryker [a dog] sacrifice[d] his life in the line of duty.
People and dogs from all over California mourned the loss of Officer Stryker at a memorial here Jan. 14.
...The suspect struggled to his feet and hurled himself from the bridge, carrying with him one of Oceanside’s bravest peace keepers.
“You died doing what you do best, getting the bad guys,” said Sadler, Stryker’s handler and police officer of Oceanside K-9 unit. “With a selfless act to get the bad guy, you lost your life.”
Stryker touched the heart of many police officers’ in the K-9 unit.
...said Manual Villa Nueva..."Stryker was dedicated to the job. He never showed weakness and gave 110 percent..."
Monday, December 17, 2007
Why CTA should change its stance on merit pay
Julia Rosen started the following discussion on the Calitics website:
Nancy Pelosi and George Miller are getting it wrong: No on NCLB
by: Julia Rosen
Mon Sep 10, 2007
(full disclosure, CTA has hired me to work on blog outreach about NCLB)
The main flaws of NCLB have been known for years.
The program is woefully underfunded to the tune of a whopping $56 billion
It relies too heavily on one measurement of student achievement,: standardized testing.
...My sister is getting close to getting her teaching credential. How are we going to keep people like herself in the profession, when we are going backwards with this law? California needs to hire 100,000 teachers in the next ten years. The law would make it more difficult to hire and retain the teachers we need to improve California's schools.
The Democrats were elected to Congress with a mandate for change. NCLB was on their lists of things to fix. Why do we have a Bush Dog bill instead of a real bill? Are we saving gunpowder on this issue too?
We can't let the past repeat itself. This law is too important for the future of our public schools. Find out more on the NCLB page. And take action.
by: Julia Rosen @ Mon Sep 10, 2007 at 15:50:14 PM PDT
Do you know Pelosi and Miller's rationale on this issue?
When I saw that ad on DKos, I had two reactions. One was depression, because Pelosi and Miller were apparently on the wrong side. The other was depression because if we don't even have their votes to fix NCLB, it's hard to imagine where the votes will come from. (The GOP?)
Is there any constructive engagement going on with them to figure out what they could possibly be thinking and why, and what better approach they might support?
by: Major Danby @ Tue Sep 11, 2007 at 12:20:52 PM PDT
Thanks for Posting This (8.00 / 1)
I called B Lee's office (my rep) Pelosi & Miller. Miller's local staff took detailed notes on my comments. I told her Representative Miller has been great on a lot of issues, but that he is very misguided this time. I also suggested that he owes the parents, students and teachers in the West Contra County School District (in his Congressional District and one of the worst in the nation) a visit to listen to their concerns.
by: caligal @ Mon Sep 10, 2007 at 16:05:05 PM PDT
thanks so much for taking action!!
by: Julia Rosen @ Mon Sep 10, 2007 at 16:07:34 PM PDT
CTA limits reform, leaving few options
Julia, the way to keep your sister in the teaching profession is to:
1) Reward her with a salary commensurate to her ability and efforts; This won't be possible until CTA accepts that teachers do not all bring the same ability and effort to their jobs;
2) Take the politics out of schools, and institute a meritocracy;
3) Give below-average teachers less responsibility and less money than far-above-average teachers, instead of putting politically connected individuals in a position to force your sister to turn her back on the methods she knows are superior, and teach in lock-step with people who don't care where they are going, only that they go there in lock-step.
by: MauraLarkins @ Sun Dec 16, 2007 at 15:52:14 PM PST
Again, this sounds great
Take the politics out of schools, and institute a meritocracy;
Now the question is how is that done? This is a serious question, because a LOT of people say this, and what we get is endless standardized testing, which results in nothing but teaching to the test. I know a couple teachers, and that's what they're expected to do, which pretty much destroys any joy or creativity in teaching. Moreover, if they (for example) have a classroom of kids with bad chemistry, or below grade, or with poor English skills, how are they measured?
For that matter, how are they measured if they have a classroom of great kids? 20-30 kids is not a good sample size. 20-30 kids year over year is still not a good sample size.
The reality is that unless every kid is tracked individually for their entire classroom career, and all of their non-school environmental factors are also tracked, it is very very difficult to "institute a meritocracy". That's very difficult in any organization -- think about how many corporations get it so very wrong, even with millions of dollars of study and consulting going into that question. And with teaching, you have to have a standard clearer than "I know it when I see it" or you're just throwing the question back to politics.
by: jsw @ Sun Dec 16, 2007 at 16:14:14 PM PST
How to evaluate teachers
I agree that we'll never be able to completely eliminate politics from evaluation procedures, but we can do better than the current system, which serves no real purpose, since teachers are fired rarely, almost always for political reasons or moral turpitude.
But what if the evaluations had a purpose? What if we had a two-tier system, where teachers could advance to master-teacher status with double or triple pay?
I think that direct observation of how a teacher teaches is the most useful method of evaluation. Evaluators could be sent to schools where they had no political contacts. This would provide a wonderful education for the evaluators, and the observed teachers would get some unbiased feedback about their performance. Perhaps beginning teachers, and teachers who are making slow progress, could accompany master-teacher evaluators in order to learn more.
Master teachers could be responsible for several classrooms, where they would give instruction several hours a week, and guide the regular teachers in how to do instruction the rest of the time.
Stuent test scores should be used in evaluating teachers, but only as one part of the process. It might actually be more useful to test teachers. School districts could give standardized tests to teachers every few years, to make sure that teachers understand math, comprehend the written word, and are able to write and think effectively. Those who fail could go to summer school.
by: MauraLarkins @ Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 11:23:10 AM PST
http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3735
Nancy Pelosi and George Miller are getting it wrong: No on NCLB
by: Julia Rosen
Mon Sep 10, 2007
(full disclosure, CTA has hired me to work on blog outreach about NCLB)
The main flaws of NCLB have been known for years.
The program is woefully underfunded to the tune of a whopping $56 billion
It relies too heavily on one measurement of student achievement,: standardized testing.
...My sister is getting close to getting her teaching credential. How are we going to keep people like herself in the profession, when we are going backwards with this law? California needs to hire 100,000 teachers in the next ten years. The law would make it more difficult to hire and retain the teachers we need to improve California's schools.
The Democrats were elected to Congress with a mandate for change. NCLB was on their lists of things to fix. Why do we have a Bush Dog bill instead of a real bill? Are we saving gunpowder on this issue too?
We can't let the past repeat itself. This law is too important for the future of our public schools. Find out more on the NCLB page. And take action.
by: Julia Rosen @ Mon Sep 10, 2007 at 15:50:14 PM PDT
Do you know Pelosi and Miller's rationale on this issue?
When I saw that ad on DKos, I had two reactions. One was depression, because Pelosi and Miller were apparently on the wrong side. The other was depression because if we don't even have their votes to fix NCLB, it's hard to imagine where the votes will come from. (The GOP?)
Is there any constructive engagement going on with them to figure out what they could possibly be thinking and why, and what better approach they might support?
by: Major Danby @ Tue Sep 11, 2007 at 12:20:52 PM PDT
Thanks for Posting This (8.00 / 1)
I called B Lee's office (my rep) Pelosi & Miller. Miller's local staff took detailed notes on my comments. I told her Representative Miller has been great on a lot of issues, but that he is very misguided this time. I also suggested that he owes the parents, students and teachers in the West Contra County School District (in his Congressional District and one of the worst in the nation) a visit to listen to their concerns.
by: caligal @ Mon Sep 10, 2007 at 16:05:05 PM PDT
thanks so much for taking action!!
by: Julia Rosen @ Mon Sep 10, 2007 at 16:07:34 PM PDT
CTA limits reform, leaving few options
Julia, the way to keep your sister in the teaching profession is to:
1) Reward her with a salary commensurate to her ability and efforts; This won't be possible until CTA accepts that teachers do not all bring the same ability and effort to their jobs;
2) Take the politics out of schools, and institute a meritocracy;
3) Give below-average teachers less responsibility and less money than far-above-average teachers, instead of putting politically connected individuals in a position to force your sister to turn her back on the methods she knows are superior, and teach in lock-step with people who don't care where they are going, only that they go there in lock-step.
by: MauraLarkins @ Sun Dec 16, 2007 at 15:52:14 PM PST
Again, this sounds great
Take the politics out of schools, and institute a meritocracy;
Now the question is how is that done? This is a serious question, because a LOT of people say this, and what we get is endless standardized testing, which results in nothing but teaching to the test. I know a couple teachers, and that's what they're expected to do, which pretty much destroys any joy or creativity in teaching. Moreover, if they (for example) have a classroom of kids with bad chemistry, or below grade, or with poor English skills, how are they measured?
For that matter, how are they measured if they have a classroom of great kids? 20-30 kids is not a good sample size. 20-30 kids year over year is still not a good sample size.
The reality is that unless every kid is tracked individually for their entire classroom career, and all of their non-school environmental factors are also tracked, it is very very difficult to "institute a meritocracy". That's very difficult in any organization -- think about how many corporations get it so very wrong, even with millions of dollars of study and consulting going into that question. And with teaching, you have to have a standard clearer than "I know it when I see it" or you're just throwing the question back to politics.
by: jsw @ Sun Dec 16, 2007 at 16:14:14 PM PST
How to evaluate teachers
I agree that we'll never be able to completely eliminate politics from evaluation procedures, but we can do better than the current system, which serves no real purpose, since teachers are fired rarely, almost always for political reasons or moral turpitude.
But what if the evaluations had a purpose? What if we had a two-tier system, where teachers could advance to master-teacher status with double or triple pay?
I think that direct observation of how a teacher teaches is the most useful method of evaluation. Evaluators could be sent to schools where they had no political contacts. This would provide a wonderful education for the evaluators, and the observed teachers would get some unbiased feedback about their performance. Perhaps beginning teachers, and teachers who are making slow progress, could accompany master-teacher evaluators in order to learn more.
Master teachers could be responsible for several classrooms, where they would give instruction several hours a week, and guide the regular teachers in how to do instruction the rest of the time.
Stuent test scores should be used in evaluating teachers, but only as one part of the process. It might actually be more useful to test teachers. School districts could give standardized tests to teachers every few years, to make sure that teachers understand math, comprehend the written word, and are able to write and think effectively. Those who fail could go to summer school.
by: MauraLarkins @ Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 11:23:10 AM PST
http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3735
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