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In order to create a universal set of educational standards, a few old requirements had to be replaced, according to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. One of which includes the requirement to teach cursive. Under that standard, states are no longer required to teach their students cursive. Instead of spending time teaching cursive, the standard requires states to spend more time teaching K-12 students how to type.

First, there are fewer of them, with 156 standards for grades 9-12. In addition, 38 of those standards are identified as "advanced" standards, which leaves us with 118 standards for all students spread out over four years of high school, or just under 30 per year.

(My not-so-modest proposal is that no state legislature is allowed to require standards that they couldn't demonstrate proficiency on themselves. Since they are clearly successful adults and they are saying that these standards are necessary for all students to be successful, surely they'd be able to demonstrate proficiency by taking the same tests our students do. But I digress.

I'm still not sure whether teaching algebra as a separate course is the best way to accomplish it -- even for that small subset of our student population that is passionate about math and science.

recommends that schools start, “learning from challenges that people face rather than from a formal curriculum.”

Teachers can either ‘cover’ standards, or turn them into concepts and problems to be solved. Inquiry works towards supporting the kind of ‘out of the box’ thinking we need for the future.

blank column that invites students to deliver a product that cannot be anticipated or easily defined in words. It’s not the ‘A’ category—that’s Mastery or Commended or a similar high-ranking indicator. The breakthrough column goes beyond the A, rewarding innovation, creativity, and something new outside the formal curriculum. It’s a ‘show me’ category.

Working with teachers to affect a deliberate culture and practice shift from teacher-directed instruction to inquiry-based learning Alternative pedagogical development Resource identification

Before approaching systemic change, we first considered the most prevalent instructional models. What we saw over and over again were relatively autonomous and singular teachers working with discrete groups of students. They were using directive instruction modes designed to impart information and learning within a specific topic area, often in isolation from other topic areas, and they were having inconsistent student achievement results with inner-city middle school populations.

Critically, pushing around symbols on paper is just a symbolic representation of the real math taking place within one’s head. When one does a calculation, whether it is by hand or by machine, an important feature of whether or not one can be said to be doing the calculation is whether or not one can predict the potential output from the algorithm, or if one understands the process they are using.

We also require, as a system, much more flexibility in the mathematics taught at the K-to-12 level. I’d like to see a system where many different types of mathematics are taught besides just the standard hierarchy leading to calculus.

as software increasingly handles direct instruction, this will create big opportunities for teachers to facilitate rich and rewarding project-based learning experiences for their students to apply their learning into different contexts and gain meaningful work in the so-called 21st-century skills.

And as software increasingly simplifies administrative tasks and eliminates a significant need for lesson planning and delivering one-size-fits-none lessons, there will be significantly more time for teachers to work in the ways that motivated many of them to enter teaching originally—to work one-on-one and in small groups with students on the problems where they are in fact struggling.

Today, teachers spend a significant amount of time engaged in what we call “monolithic” activities—one-size-fits-all, standardized activities that are designed to reach the mythical middle of a class of students.

Proactive leadership in developing a shared vision for educational technology among all education stakeholders including teachers and support staff, school and district administrators, teacher educators, students parents, and the community

Technology-related professional learning plans and opportunities with dedicated time to practice and share ideas

Consistent and reliable assistance for maintaining, renewing, and using ICT and digital learning resources

Top priorities include promoting a greater emphasis on depth over breadth in understanding science and getting young people to continually engage in the practices of both scientific inquiry and engineering design as part of the learning process.

core scientific concepts revisited at multiple grade levels to build on prior learning and help facilitate a deeper understanding.

“next generation”

When the school was created, a research and design studio known as Mission Lab was integrated into the design of the school by founding partner Institute of Play. The goal of Mission Lab is to help teachers teach the way they wish they could — the way they dream of engaging their students, were it not for the lack of support and other obstacles that often get in the way. Mission Lab supports teachers by pairing them with a game designer and a curriculum designer (staffed by the Institute of Play) who help make the teacher’s vision a reality, providing support throughout the process of design and implementation.

Teachers in their first year at the school have two weekly curriculum meetings built into their schedule, and meetings for returning teachers are scheduled on an as-needed basis, usually once a week.

he mission narrative, or context, is developed once the teacher, game designer, and curriculum designer have identified the big ideas, learning goals, and standards for the trimester.

First, it is consistent with other findings that the more discussions students have to pay attention to, the less satisfied they were with the learning environment.

so perhaps they do not need higher levels of interaction because the content may not need interpretation or further analysis.

Put simply, project-based curriculum emphasizes learning through doing classroom projects that address a specific issue or challenge. Students typically carry out the projects in groups, and teachers guide them along

Tina Barseghian Editor of MindShift, a website about the future of learning Posted: January 7, 2011 02:48 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index Napa New Tech High: 5 Reasons This is the School of the Future Amazing Inspiring Funny Scary Hot Crazy Important Weird Read More: Computer Tech School , Education Technology , Napa New Tech High , New Tech High Napa , New Tech Network , New Technology High , School Computer , Tech School , Tech Schools , Education News share this story 11481122 Get Education Alerts Sign Up Submit this story digg reddit stumble What does the high school of the future look like? It's one that emphasizes useful, relevant skills that can be applied

At Napa New Tech, you'll hear very little lecturing and see few teacher-led activities. For this school, the decision to use project-based curriculum was based not only on what topics students should learn, but also what skills they should acquire in school.

How can we help our students embed meaningful purpose into BYOT? 1. As educators and librarians we can model the best practices by balancing innovation with tradition and requiring high standards of critical thinking. 2. We can model our own learning in this new era by showing our own willingness to “learn, unlearn, and relearn ~Toffler” and allowing time to unplug and reflect on the meaning of our learning. 3. We can put people first!  Teaching and librarianship are service-oriented professions.  We are not books or buildings, we are human beings.  We are not robots (yet). Just kidding on that last line.  Putting people first requires admitting that they are more important than our tech gadgets which we all turn to throughout the day.