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Bradford Saron

School-by-School vs. System Reform: Why Business Leaders Need to Go Back to the Future ... - 0 views

  • Do you remember those days?  Well, they are gone. Over the last 30 years, the dominant American firms have gone global.  Thirty years ago, they weighed in on American education policy because they were scared to death that they would be unable to compete because they would not be able to hire a competitive work force.  Now, they care as much as ever about getting a competitive work force, but they have learned that they can find the people they need at whatever skill level they require all over the globe, and often in greater quantity and at less cost than they can get them in the United States.  If they can't get what they need for their research and development labs or their distribution centers or their factories here in the United States, they can get them in Singapore or India or China or Hungary.
  • They tend to be deep believers in "disruptive change."  They typically distrust government and the "system," and adopt a rather libertarian outlook.  Rather than work within the education system, they tend to support people and entities that work outside the system or work hard to challenge it.  They distrust education professionals and prefer instead to trust young, bright, well-educated people who are willing to take the system on.  In short, they identify with and give their support to people like themselves.  They are big backers of individual charter management organizations and of policies that would strengthen charter schools, which they see as taking on the system.  It is very doubtful whether the charter school movement would have gotten away from the starting gate without these deep pocketed, very committed supporters.
  • I very much hope that, as the new generation of business leaders that has provided so much support to charters and other entrepreneurial efforts in education take pride in their successes, they also recognize the limitations of those efforts, and turn their talents and their influence to another, much more difficult challenge:  How to greatly improve the system that educates all the children in this country.
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    Hat tip: @mcleod
Bradford Saron

Chris Hedges: Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System - Chris Hedges' ... - 0 views

  • A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind. It prizes test scores above critical thinking and literacy. It celebrates rote vocational training and the singular, amoral skill of making money. It churns out stunted human products, lacking the capacity and vocabulary to challenge the assumptions and structures of the corporate state. It funnels them into a caste system of drones and systems managers. It transforms a democratic state into a feudal system of corporate masters and serfs.
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    Via @mcleod
Bradford Saron

How to Overhaul the U.S. Education System - WSJ.com - 0 views

  • to make all of the politically unpopular choices that had been put off for decades
  • year after year, our schools have been run for the benefit of the adults in the system, not for the benefit of the kids.
  • first time someone dared to question an entrenched practice that had only served the interests of adults.
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  • based on quality and performance instead of seniority.
  • Ineffective teachers are immediately dismissed from the system
  • higher level of accountability with some of the highest teacher pay
  • comprehensive system for evaluating teachers, including growth in student achievement as measured by standardized tests (so that teachers who take on the toughest students aren't unfairly penalized), observation of their classroom practices and assessment of their contributions to the school community.
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    Rhee's parting comments as she leaves the office of DC district administrator. 
Bradford Saron

The Technium: The Positive Balance of Technology - 1 views

  • More importantly the sum of all these technologies form an interacting whole much like a technological ecosystem. I call this super system of codependent inventions the technium. Like life itself, this whole system exhibits behavior that its parts do not. Just as we cannot detect any “hiveness” in an individual honeybee (only in the total system of the hive), we cannot see the behavior of the technium in a lone iPhone, knife, or refrigerator. The true influence of technology is felt in its whole system.
  • The patterns by which living organisms mutate and diversify in evolution so resembles the way technological varieties transform over time, that we can think of the technium as the “seventh kingdom of life.” Technology is an extension and acceleration of the same forces of evolution that crafted the other six kingdoms of life.
  • I would suggest that most of the problems in the world tomorrow will be caused by technologies that we are still inventing today.
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  • Each new invention also creates more than one new moral choice for us, and this accumulation of free will over time supplies a positive charge to the technium. Over the long term technology gives us greater differences, diversity, options, choices, opportunities, possibilities, freedoms. This is the definition of progress.
  • We are involved in much more than just inventing novelty. When we create and use technology we're actually involved in something that's bigger than ourselves. We are extending the same forces that make life, accelerating evolution into the future, and we're increasing the possibilities, both for us, our children, and for the world at large. That is what technology wants.
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    Great article on the evolution of technology and us. 
Robert Slane

Poll Finds Support For Use Of Technology | LEAD Commission - 0 views

  • poll results today that found that the majority of parents and teachers of K-12 students support greater use of technology in education
  • the poll found that these audiences increasingly believe that school systems should be doing more to improve access to technology in education.
  • 89 percent of teachers and 76 percent of parents would choose to spend $200 per student for an Internet-connected device over $200 per student for new science textbooks
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    "... poll found that these audiences increasingly believe that school systems should be doing more to improve access to technology in education. "89 percent of teachers and 76 percent of parents would choose to spend $200 per student for an Internet-connected device over $200 per student for new science textbooks
Bradford Saron

Where Does It Live - Building Systems and Structures for What You B... - 0 views

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    I love this concept: Begin with what you believe, then build 
Bradford Saron

The Wisconsin Vision - 4 views

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    This is the report published by the Wisconsin School Administrators' Alliance in the summer of 2010 (I think). Check out the part on A Visionary Tale on page 9. Hat-tip to Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten for forwarding this piece on to me.
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    Very nice. AND, as the report indicates, leadership and community need to be included. This means you need the school board to play a role. They are the conduit to the community. Public education has been down the transformation road before. In some ways we are not inventing anything new here. John Dewey championed experiential learning as the public education system developed a century ago. Progressive educators tried in the 1930s and 1960s to introduce experiential learning into the system. The grammar of schooling, the deep structure, the notion of "real school" all pull the system back into the status quo. We need to remain cognizant of these dynamics and consider how to address them if we want to see the promise of the ideas contained in this report become a reality. You have to connect the ideas outlined in this report to the notion of collective impact. I think this idea is key to seeing a different outcome: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/2197/
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    I want to be clear: I am a supporter of the ideas contained in the Wisconsin Vision report. I also want to be sure we take a realists view of how to make it happen. I do not want to see this effort and the ideas of CESAs 1 and 6, wind up in the history books like past transformation efforts.
Bradford Saron

How the world's most improved school systems keep getting better - 0 views

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    A new report (globally oriented) on how the best school systems still have the capacity for even more improvement and agility to solve problems. 
Bradford Saron

McREL Blog: One-to-one initiatives require a "core vision" - 0 views

  • Calling on and sharing research and best practices will be crucial to district’s messaging. If tablets are the chosen devices, a district must be prepared to provide technologies for students to create, multi-task, store and produce robust results/activities in addition to what they will do on the limited functionality tablets…and they need to honestly share this need and solutions to provide additional device support. There is a much bigger picture and quality impact on education with authentic one-to-one implementations. It has to be about core vision, beliefs and strategies that complement what’s needed for learning and producing in the 21st century. It is not as simple as buying a cool tool. We can all have cool tools and have the same old, same old education system resulting in the same old, same old results.
  •  What do administrators, teachers, parents/guardians, etc., need to know and do differently in this changed state?
  • o transform teaching and learning to a student centered, personalized instructional setting, there are key components—project plan elements—that have to be addressed to be successful.  Leaders need to know, understand and guide the ‘change’ process. A 360 degree professional learning program must be embedded for all stakeholders. Teachers who will need to change their practices from adult-centered, static systems to student driven, experiential operations require time, guidance and learning communities to ensure the shift of practice. And overarching policies must direct the practices.
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    Thoughful overview of 1:1 considerations. 
Bradford Saron

Reforming Chinese Education: What China Is Trying to Learn from America | Solutions - 0 views

  • Some educators have come to the conclusion that China’s outstanding academic success, as indicated by test scores, may be what is holding it back. Now, China is searching for better education models elsewhere. Although the government does not publicly endorse American education as the model, the public seems eager to embrace what is viewed as a more liberal and creative system—ironically, at a time when many in the United States are gazing enviously at the discipline and order of the Chinese system, and the No Child Left Behind Act has brought a new focus on testing.
  • For thousands of years, dynasties of emperors (with a few exceptions) followed the Confucian tradition of conformity, hierarchy, and respect for authority, and the Communist government continued this tradition by seeking to maintain control over all aspects of life. The result has been a highly disciplined but docile workforce. Fostering creativity suggests freedom, and though that prospect can be glimpsed in education reforms, the reality may still lie someway off.
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    A must read from Yong Zhao. 
Bradford Saron

Driving Innovation in K-12 « - 1 views

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    What's driving your system? 
Bradford Saron

Now You See It // The Blog of Author Cathy N. Davidson » What's the Problem t... - 2 views

  • nd here is the issue that I pose in Now You See It, the one that keeps me up at night:   how do you prepare kids for an increasingly indefinite, rapidly changing job world, in an era of high-speed technological change and global competitiveness, where what is required for success is (I’m quoting the first set of problems the bubble test is not intended to address) is:  “intellectual dexterity, higher order thinking, associational thinking, problem solving, collaborative thinking, complex analysis, the ability to apply learning to other problems, complexity and causality that do not have one right answer”
  •   What would be amazing is if we could solve the problems of variability and efficiency with a peer-driven system that actually motivates and rewards real learning.  What would be equally amazing is if we could find a system that solves variability and efficiency and, at the same time, supports learning communities (for informal learning), teachers (in the classroom), and workforce trainers (in the workplace) who strive for complex, ongoing, lifelong, connected collaborative learning.  
  • The bubble test solves the problem of variability and efficiency.   The profound problem of education that remains, once the issue of variability and efficiency is solved.  If we find a better solution to variability and efficiency than the bubble test, we can then concentrate on the real learning objective of school:  how best to prepare our kids to thrive in the life that they will lead once they are no longer in school. 
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    Thoughtful post about assessment. 
Bradford Saron

Three Ways of Integrating Technology in Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Clas... - 0 views

  • The first way is in the classroom. Most teachers with abundant access to electronic devices have integrated desktops, laptops, interactive white- boards, and clickers into their lessons.
  • The second way of integrating technology is in the school. Combining online instruction for individual students tailored to their academic needs and interests with regular classroom instruction have emerged in past few years as “blended learning.”
  • The third way are for-profit and non-profit K-12 cyber schools such as Agora (PA) and Florida Virtual School where students receive online instruction at home or elsewhere and get their diplomas without entering school buildings.
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    A thoughtful analysis of #edtech integration (system wide). 
Bradford Saron

Executive Summary | U.S. Department of Education - 1 views

  • 1.1 States should continue to revise, create, and implement standards and learning objectives using technology for all content areas that reflect 21st-century expertise and the power of technology to improve learning.
    • Bradford Saron
       
      Sounds like a Technology Plan, doesn't it. 
  • 3.2 Leverage social networking technologies and platforms to create communities of practice that provide career-long personal learning opportunities for educators within and across schools, preservice preparation and in-service education institutions, and professional organizations.
    • Bradford Saron
       
      This is exactly what we are doing right now. 
  • 4.1 Ensure students and educators have broadband access to the Internet and adequate wireless connectivity both in and out of school
    • Bradford Saron
       
      Both in school and at home. 
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  • 4.2 Ensure that every student and educator has at least one Internet access device and appropriate software and resources for research, communication, multimedia content creation, and collaboration for use in and out of school
    • Bradford Saron
       
      1:1 just got national endorsement. 
  • 5.2 Rethink basic assumptions in our education system that inhibit leveraging technology to improve learning, starting with our current practice of organizing student and educator learning around seat time instead of the demonstration of competencies
    • Bradford Saron
       
      Leveraging technology to improve learning. 
  • Convening education stakeholders, in person and online, to share content, insights, and expertise and to collaborate on key elements of this plan. Ideas and best practices that emerge from these convenings will be shared throughout our education system
    • Bradford Saron
       
      My hand is digitally raised right now. 
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    iI found this interesting. Wisconsin could benefit from some of this thinking.
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    Great job, Miles!
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    As you know Brad, I am all over this. One thing I have been thinking about: in the past some reformers have tried to bring a more experiential feel to public education. I am thinking of John Dewey, progressive reformers in Waukegan, IL and Gary, IN in the 1930s, open classrooms in the 1960s and earl 1970s. Each time these reforms failed to take hold and scale up. I think it would be smart to look at these efforts and think about what's different today, what's the same, and how do we avoid the same fate.
Bradford Saron

12 Fun Hacks for Getting More Out of YouTube - 2 views

  • SynchTube
    • Bradford Saron
       
      Imagine the possibilities with this. 
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    I can think of five educationally geared ways that I can use the hacks contained in this article if youtube was freed from our filtering system. Do you have any ideas? 
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    Appreciated this site and immediately sent it out to our administrators. We're active users of YouTube in Hudson.
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    Welcome, Mary!
Bradford Saron

A Different Type of Grading Scale | Connected Principals - 0 views

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    As we begin to move away from Education 1.0 and into Education 2.0 (or 3.0), we will all struggle with describing/assessing student progress in mastery of skills and concepts--if you aren't struggling with it already. Here are a couple of alternatives to the traditional grading system. These also align better with technologically-based, tech-oriented, cloud-associated assignments.
Bradford Saron

New ratings for CMS teachers spark questions - CharlotteObserver.com - 1 views

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    Great article with resources on growth models and teacher rating systems.
Bradford Saron

Social Media + Learning is more than Social Learning - by Jane Hart | E-Learning Council - 1 views

  • There are two key areas where this is happening and where it is having an impact on organisational learning.Extensive use of public social media sites like YouTube, Scribd, Slideshare, Blogger, Wordpress, Wikipedia, and so on, that support the creation, sharing and commenting of content, as well as the co-creation of content, means that workers are now using similar approaches in their organisations to co-create and share their own content within their own work teams.Extensive use of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc where individuals have built a personal network of trusted friends, means that they are using similar approaches to build networks of trusted colleagues (both internally and externally), as well as power team workspaces and internal communities of practice.
  • This new approach will embrace both the use of external social media tools as well as internal tools, but what is clear these tools will need to support - as well as power - far wider approaches to learning, than has hitherto been the case. In fact as learning and working become much more closely integrated, “learning” will not be seen as a separate activity requiring separate, dedicated learning systems or platforms, but will need to be supported and enabled within the normal workflow collaboration systems.
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    Must read. 
Bradford Saron

What do international tests really show about U.S. student performance? | Economic Poli... - 2 views

  • Secretary Duncan said, U.S. educational reform policy is motivated by a belief that the U.S. educational system is particularly failing disadvantaged children. Yet an analysis of international test score levels and trends shows that in important ways disadvantaged U.S. children perform better, relative to children in comparable nations, than do middle-class and advantaged children. More careful analysis of these levels and trends may lead policymakers to reconsider their assumption that almost all improvement efforts should be directed to the education of disadvantaged children and few such efforts to the education of middle-class and advantaged children
  • A re-estimated U.S. average PISA score that adjusted for a student population in the United States that is more disadvantaged than populations in otherwise similar post-industrial countries, and for the over-sampling of students from the most-disadvantaged schools in a recent U.S. international assessment sample, finds that the U.S. average score in both reading and mathematics would be higher than official reports indicate (in the case of mathematics, substantially higher).
  • Disadvantaged and lower-middle-class U.S. students perform better (and in most cases, substantially better) than comparable students in similar post-industrial countries in reading. In math, disadvantaged and lower-middle-class U.S. students perform about the same as comparable students in similar post-industrial countries.
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  • This re-estimate would also improve the U.S. place in the international ranking of all OECD countries, bringing the U.S. average score to sixth in reading and 13th in math. Conventional ranking reports based on PISA, which make no adjustments for social class composition or for sampling errors, and which rank countries irrespective of whether score differences are large enough to be meaningful, report that the U.S. average score is 14th in reading and 25th in math.
  • To make judgments only on the basis of national average scores, on only one test, at only one point in time, without comparing trends on different tests that purport to measure the same thing, and without disaggregation by social class groups, is the worst possible choice. But, unfortunately, this is how most policymakers and analysts approach the field.
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    A must read. 
Vince Breunig

Effects of Inequality and Poverty vs. Teachers and Schooling on America's Youth - 0 views

  • What does it take to get politicians and the general public to abandon misleading ideas, such as, “Anyone who tries can pull themselves up by the bootstraps,” or that “Teachers are the most important factor in determining the achievement of our youth”? Many ordinary citizens and politicians believe these statements to be true, even though life and research informs us that such statements are usually not true.
  • till further discouraging news for those who advocate testing as a way to reform schools comes from the PISA assessments (The Program for International Student Assessment). Nations with high-stakes testing have generally gone down in scores from 2000 to 2003, and then again by 2006. Finland, on the other hand, which has no high-stakes testing, and an accountability system that relies on teacher judgment and school level professionalism much more than tests, has shown growth over these three PISA administrations (Sahlberg, 2011).
  • Now, in the USA, our parents are a greater determiner of our income in life than either our weight or our height.
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  • what the best and wisest parents want for their children should be what we want for all children. Thus, that same kind of opportunity to catch up in school should not be denied to youth who come from poorer families
  • citizens calling for school reform without thinking about economic and social reforms are probably being foolish. The likelihood of affecting school achievement positively is more likely to be found in economic and social reforms, in the second bill of rights, than it is in NCLB, the common core of standards, early childhood and many assessments after that, value-added assessments, and the like. More than educational policies are needed to improve education.
  • I think everyone in the USA, of any political party, understands that poverty hurts families and affects student performance at the schools their children attend. But the bigger problem for our political leaders and citizens to recognize is that inequality hurts everyone in society, the wealthy and the poor alike. History teaches us that when income inequalities are large, they are tolerated by the poor for only so long. Then there is an eruption, and it is often bloody! Both logic and research suggest that economic policies that reduce income inequality throughout the United States are quite likely to improve education a lot, but even more than that, such policies might once again establish this nation as a beacon on a hill, and not merely a light that shines for some, but not for all of our citizens.
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    What does it take to get politicians and the general public to abandon misleading ideas, such as, "Anyone who tries can pull themselves up by the bootstraps," or that "Teachers are the most important factor in determining the achievement of our youth"? Many ordinary citizens and politicians believe these statements to be true, even though life and research informs us that such statements are usually not true. citizens calling for school reform without thinking about economic and social reforms are probably being foolish. The likelihood of affecting school achievement positively is more likely to be found in economic and social reforms, in the second bill of rights, than it is in NCLB, the common core of standards, early childhood and many assessments after that, value-added assessments, and the like. More than educational policies are needed to improve education.
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