The Unintended Consequences of Historical "Best Practices" in "Post-Truth" Times: A National and International Perspective

• In Event: 18.017 - The Unintended Consequences of Historical "Best Practices" in "Post-Truth" Times: A National and International Perspective

Abstract

This working group roundtable session addresses the uneasy relation between “best practices” in educational research and the consequences that often follow efforts to implement practices deemed “best.” This relation is often complicated by the social phenomenon long recognized as "unintended consequences.” It is proposed that practices advanced as “best,” are shaped as the consequences -- subsequently revealed as the very product of the good intentions that underlie prevailing theory and methods. Through critical perspectives questioning cultural differences—from racial to gendered--this roundtable raises deeper questions about what it means to make claims to understand something complicated out of the desire to simplify. Presenters offer critique at both the macro (big data) and micro (classroom) perspective.

Authors

• Tracey Pyscher, Western Washington University

• Anne Crampton, Saint Olaf College

• Bernadette Baker, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Jinting Wu, University at Buffalo - SUNY