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This article outlined several issues. 1. High powered politicians coming together to make decisions on federal policy that directly effect their financial profits. 2. The use of insufficient evidence from studies, the lack of scientific correlation and the improper transcription of results from studies being used to make "the best" decisions in standardized tests and phonics instruction on reading skills. 3. The emphasis and funding for schools being put toward standardized tests and phonics instruction along with materials/products needed for them instead of other places that may be in more need.

This article brings to light what Metcalf describes as the "Bush Revolution" in education. After providing a brief history of education, referencing Horace Mann and John Dewey, Metcalf stresses education as a business, connecting McGraw (Publisher McGraw-Hill) and Bush. Bush changes the system and creates new standards in education, as a result new materials are then needed to implement his new education 'revolution.' Metcalf implies the situation is more about business between friends than actually worrying about educating children.

This article provides a glimpse of the potential backlash from parents as their children begin to utilize social media within their education. Seen as a pastime, some parents are alarmed that social media is being integrated into the school curriculum.

An article highlighting the findings of a cohort of 14 teachers from high-needs, urban areas schools who have addressed the education dilemma in a report. The report highlights 5 things that needs to be addressed in order to change the effectiveness of how our schools current operate.

This article stresses the fact that we were never really taught how to communicate in a way that produces desired results. The author bullets some of the obstacles that prevent a person from reaching certain objectives during the communication process. The key to evolving a person's communication skills is taking full responsibility for the outcome of each conversation. The author then offers ten questions to consider when determining how effectively you communicate.

A range of approaches loosely linked by the value of getting people to tell stories about their lives. Some influence from White and Epston's narrative therapy in some chapters. A chapter of autobiographical narratives of people in the field (incl. Sternberg) mostly emphasizes who helped them on their paths; not much insight into how we address challenges.

"Woodhead, M. (1988). "When psychology informs public policy." American Psychologist 43(6): 443-454."

Jenal Austin December 2010 "When Psychology Informs Public Policy" According to this article, there has been significant evidence that early childhood programs in the United States increase cognitive competence, school readiness, school achievement, social development, and health status in young children. Regardless, the government has not fully acknowledged the importance of such programs on the political agenda. Leaders should know that providing preschool education is a solid financial investment for the country. Children who attend these programs have shown promising long-term impact including higher high school completion rates, greater occupational aspirations, and improved employments rates and reductions in referrals to special education, juvenile delinquency, and teenage pregnancy. However, the author reminds us that there are limits to how much we can generalize these findings. He explains that this will not be a one-all, fix-all solution to our society's complex social and economic problems. It is also important to understand that the effects of early childhood intervention cannot be taken in isolation from the context in which it occurs and it may not be possible to replicate all aspects of an experiment of such programs on a national level. "..Effects are the result of a complex interaction of variables in home and school, throughout the school years and beyond, but also… the children themselves play an active part in the process through the images they project and the self-concept they acquire of themselves, either as competent and motivated, or apathetic, problematic, and unwilling." Governments should use the research on the positive impacts of preschool education when designing public policy; however they should not expect a simple solution. "..Where human development is concerned even an experimental approach can rarely yield definitive universally applicable statements about the extent to which a program is effec

This podcast takes a broad view about what it means to pursue happiness, starting with the American context and then the challenges and benefits of the imagination. I think the concepts, especially in the second part, apply well to the concept of trying to make a positive change, and, for my project, the role of reflection in the process.

Although this podcast is about how to be a good teacher, it features some interesting thoughts about reflection and supportive learning communities when trying to improve your professional skills, in this case education.

Although this podcast is about how to be a good teacher, it features some interesting thoughts about reflection and supportive learning communities when trying to improve your professional skills, in this case education.

This web source provides a multitude of professional growth opportunities for educators. Resources include teaching skills, articles, lesson plans, behavior management strategies and resources from notable publishers and experts in the field.

By: Pearson Education Inc. 2000-2010

The Communications Director of Pepsi co discusses the marketing campaign Pepsi Refresh, wherein the public is encouraged to come up with new ideas to "refresh" some part of their world, and with the votes of the public, potentially win grant money to fund that idea. It is both a great marketing tool for Pepsi, and a great way to get the public to be creative. I have come across the Pepsi Refresh project in my research, because there are some ideas from the public that include finding ways to incorporate play into people's lives. I think that this project is a great way to have people think about the change that they want to make in the world, and create a proposal for it that is compelling enough to get others to vote for them and make it happen. With the added incentive of possible grant money, people can think freely without the worry of "how could I actually make this happen financially?"

This was a great team building exercise and would be benefical if working with groups.

I thought this article provided me with some ideas about feedback from a workshop. It might help others with their projects.

This is an article from the New York Times that caught my attention. It describes a conflict between a nurse and MD. This is why I am committed to conflict management.

This is another great article that simplifies conflict resolution skills to keep relationships healthy. Communication and creating healthy relationships is important is both personal and professional lives. I hope you enjoy this article.

Greenwald presents 3 key features that must be present in a TRUE problem-based learning lesson: initiating learning with a problem, exclusively using ill-defined problems, and teachers acting as thinking coaches. She gives and example of an ill-defined problem scenario, and also 10 Steps to PBL approach. This article is a great read and gives applicable tools, which seem like they would be great for teachers or facilitators to probe students to dig deeper in their hand-on investigations. In regards to my own project, I am always interested in problem solving approaches in graphic design, and a lot of the 10 steps in this article could easily be translated to a design problem/problem and the research that is required for it.

More predictable easy pap from Tom Friedman, the NYTImes resident billionaire sage. He reports that we are falling fast and that we, in order to field a strong military and compete in global economics, need to make serious changes in the quality of our national teacher stock. He points to countries that require teachers to graduate in the top third of their college class and he advocates establishing a federal/national teacher's college, similar to a military academy, as a symbolic leader in the all out public relations battle needed to get people to take schooling seriously. He does closes by acknowledging that students and parents have to get on board, too.

This article is an example of action research in schools serving students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Several schools were involved in this research which focused on student, parent, and teacher involvement to improve student's engagement and participation during the school day.