Center Events:
Speaker Series
George Hillocks (University of Chicago)
The Challenge of Preparing Teachers for 21st Century Schools: Inadequacy
of the Standards Methods Course
September 9, 2002
For
nearly forty years, George Hillocks, Jr., University of Chicago Professor of
Education and English Language, has dedicated his career and research to the
teaching of writing. He has written over forty scholarly articles and five
books, including Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice (1995), where he
extends Schon's work on reflective practice and integrates the use of the
Toulmin model of argument into inquiry-based writing curricula. In his most
recent book, The Testing Trap: How State Writing Assessments Control
Learning (2002), Dr. Hillocks examines how various state writing
assessments, such as those developed and used in Texas and New York, shape
the teaching and learning of writing. Given the current national trend
toward increased accountability, Hillocks' call for "needed change" on these
issues seems timely. Dr. Hillocks has headed the Master of Arts in
Teaching/English program at the University of Chicago for 27 years. He
currently serves as adviser to the MAT program and the graduate program in
English Education.
