The purpose of this educational criticism is “to lift the veils that keep the eyes from seeing by providing the bridge needed by others to experience the qualities and relationships within some arena of activity” (Eisner, 1977, p. 348). This research then makes possible the awareness of opportunities to do something that can enhance educational practice.
In your educational criticism, build the bridge between what you have learned (through your observations, interviews, and reflections on an artifact and from the literature you read) so that others can access your resultant knowledge.
Topic: The Grading Scale (Structural Dimension). Should students be retained if they don’t meet the criteria of their school’s Grading Scale? Should schools determine a minimum grade teachers are allowed to give based on the Grading Scale? Etc.
The Artifact: School System’s Grading Scale
Think about the four dimensions:
· Describe your topic,
· Interpret it (tell us why it is like it is, or how it got to be this way, or what it means, or the way(s) it is significant),
· Make a section where you define your criteria. Evaluate it (judge it and/or measure it against criteria (say what would be ideal and say whether what you discovered meets this ideal, exceeds it, or falls short) or Dewey’s framework of mis-educative, noneducative, or educative experiences), and
· Share the lessons of what you have learned from others’ benefit (thematic)
Use the literature you read to help explain your findings.
