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anonymous

Imagining Successful Schools - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...gining-successful-schools.html

future education learning predictions

shared by anonymous on 01 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • This system has infuriated and shamed teachers, and is a lot of the reason that teacher turnover is so high, causing even many of the best teachers to abandon the ranks.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      This was always a topical conversation and was the reason some of my colleagues left. I saw engineers go from somebody with pride in themselves to saying that they had to leave because they did not like what was happening to them.
  • in order to meet the demands of a global economy, our educational system needs to be re-engineered for much higher performance.
  • No other country believes that you can get to a high quality educational system simply by instituting an accountability system,” he says.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      Accountability is not the answer because it creates an "tick and flick" control mechanism, meaning more of the same.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • test-based accountability is “doing untold damage to the profession of teaching.”
  • The main thing that works is treating teaching as a profession, and teachers as professionals.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      Oh gosh, how I wished this was so when I was in there. You do sometimes feel like the proverbial "glorified baby sitter." 
  • That means that teachers are as well paid as other professionals, that they have a career ladder, that they go to elite schools where they learn their craft, and that they are among the top quartile of college graduates instead of the bottom quartile.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      Wow, I'm so with this, as a professional tutor my rate is less than 25% of what a lawyer or accountant would get for the same time.
  • When I suggested that American cities couldn’t afford to pay teachers the way we pay engineers or lawyers, Tucker scoffed. With rare exception, he said, the cost per pupil in the places with the best educational systems is less than the American system, even though their teachers are far better paid. “They are not spending more money; they are spending money differently,” he said.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      When an individual is treated like a professional they raise the bar. I have seen this in all my encounters with students. How they are treated is how they behave.
  • Tucker would not abolish tests, but he would have fewer of them.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      This is great! I don't think we should do away with assessment completely but we should be using them as more of a tool for innovation.
  • And they would have a different purpose: In the high-performing countries, the tests exist to hold the students accountable, rather than the teachers.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      This is what I thought would happen when wanting to become a teacher but then I felt that the teachers were criticised if students did not perform. As a senior English teacher this is definitely the prevailing discourse.
  • When a school falls short, instead of looking to fire teachers, the high-performing countries “use the data to decide which schools will receive visits from teams of expert school inspectors. These inspectors are highly regarded educators.”
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      Back to the inspectors, or I would rather say more like advisors who work with teachers improving their craft. I loved the idea of team teaching but a lot of teachers were not open to it, mostly I think due to the fear of being judged but for others it was a control issue too, "no one can teach like I do"mantra, which happens because of a perceived threat to ego that makes individuals more fearful.
  • Tucker envisions the same kind of accountability for teachers as exists for, say, lawyers in a firm — where it is peers holding each other accountable rather than some outside force. People who don’t pull their own weight are asked to leave. The ethos is that people help each other to become better for the good of the firm. Those who successfully rise through the ranks are rewarded with higher pay and status.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      I am wondering whether this only works in private organisations. In public institutions as there is a lack of the profit motif, there is much more of an inclination to remove individuals perceived as a threat to one's status or worldview rather than how they are performing for the company. 
  • Would the teachers’ unions go along with such a scheme? The unions would certainly have to shed some of the things they now have, such as control of work rules.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      This points illustrates something fundamental - you never hear of lawyer or accountant unions, only teacher unions. Why?
  • fixation with test-based accountability
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      There is certainly this happening.
  • every other successful country has
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 01 Sep 14
       
      Is this a blanket statement, or a the grass is greener on the other side of the fence or is it true? 
  • anonymous on 01 Sep 14
     
    There are quite a few of us who are thinking a lot about the future of schooling. What do you think of his recent article?
Brendon Willocks

iThink, iTeach, iTeens | Slide to unlock…learning… - 3 views

willocksb.wordpress.com

shared by Brendon Willocks on 09 Aug 14 - No Cached
  • previous Blog post
    • Brendon Willocks
      Brendon Willocks on 09 Aug 14
       
      Reference to previous thinking in relation to NGL. Not 100% sure here how to add the spta tage. #spta
  • r 8 Humanities class and also my Yr 12 ITS classes
    • Brendon Willocks
      Brendon Willocks on 09 Aug 14
       
      Turn to face-to-face network for information first. Perhaps this is just a comfort zone. I need to a more PCP approach. #spta
  • Flappy Golf
    • Brendon Willocks
      Brendon Willocks on 09 Aug 14
       
      Multiple links to external sites. I wonder if this link opens in a new browser window, or if it is the same. ??? Dont want it to be the same window becasue we always want to keep the user on the original blog. #spta
  • ...41 more annotations...
  • poll.
    • Brendon Willocks
      Brendon Willocks on 09 Aug 14
       
      Created a poll to see what game to learn to play. But given the size of my current network the number of votes is less that optimal. Still need to work on expanding my network and connections.
    • djplaner
      djplaner on 18 Aug 14
       
      I probably would have suggested "Clash of Clans", which wasn't an option. But then perhaps that's just because my boys enjoy it.
  • “Attempts at integrating technology within education, however, have often focused on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the status quo, replacing traditional instructional approaches with ones that are technologically reinforced, yet qualitatively similar” “Research continues to show that access to technology alone has limited impact on learning outcomes and instructional methods and is often used to support passive, teacher-centered, and didactic instruction”
  • learning is often seen as a single and sporadic classroom activity as opposed to an endeavor that is ongoing, lifelong, and independent of educational institutions and age
  • it is important for learners to understand, and instructors to acknowledge, that knowledge is distributed and that the instructor is not the sole source of knowledge on a topic
  • We should aspire for learning that changes the ways a learner acts in the world. We want learners to talk, discuss and share their learning with family and friends, rather than compartmentalising
  • “transformative learning experiences cannot be”imposed” on learners.” invited, and encouraged, and facilitated.
  • Siemens (2005) describes the following characteristics of connectivism: Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions
  • Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources
  • The near infinite potential of dancing with anyone, anywhere, anytime coupled with the vast sound tracks and light shows (open educational resources) accessible on the Net, demand that learning be an experience of connecting and applying resources, rather than memorizing particular tunes or steps. The art of improvisation, of learning to dance, becomes the life learning skill – accumulating static data or memorizing scripts becomes obsolete.
  • When I reflect on other courses of formal study that I have undertaken at this university there are a diverse array of online teaching practices evident. Some model, facilitate and challenge learning just like this one; while others have an approach of ‘here is the assessment, good luck…see you at the end’. I need to make sure that all of my teaching is supportive and challenging to students learning – there is limited learning with the ‘here is the assessment…enjoy’ approach.
  • ‘As Student’
  • “It is through writing our ideas down that we make what we learn explicit, thus enabling us to “reflect upon it, and reanalyse it in light of new and sometimes conflicting information” (Goal et all., 2008).”
  • Riel and Polin reading is that we are a knowledge-based community given we “construct, use, reconstruct, and reuse knowledge in deliberate, continuous cycles” (p. 32).
  • ‘As Student’
  • sharing our ideas in PCP is not scary and threatening, but can help ourselves and others. Everybody’s ideas seem obvious to them. What is obvious to me is amazing for someone else.
  • I continue to do my work, I tell my little tales and share my point of view. Nothing spectacular, just my little thoughts.
  • ‘As student’ I was initially hesitant to share my thoughts opinions and ideas because I wasn’t sure if they were worthy of sharing. They are nothing different or innovative. But through engagement in Blogging and the non-threatening nature of the task – just blog, it doesn’t have to be perfect – has assisted a great deal. Overtime I have noticed that I am more comfortable sharing ideas.
  • feeding forward’, as identified by Downes (2011).
  • “We suggest three distinct but overlapping forms of learning within communities (task-based, practice-based; knowledge-based learning) and discuss practical design implications of these distinctions.”
  • learning theory has evolved from a cognitive theory of acquisition of knowledge to a social theory of increased participation in activity (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Lave, 1988; Mehan, 1983; Nonnan, 1980; Rogoff, 1994; Wertsch, 1997).
  • ntellectual development becomes a process of negotiation of meaning in everyday practice with others (Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1978).
  • Learning occurs through engagement in authentic experiences involving the active manipulation and experimentation with ideas and artefacts – rather than through an accumulation of static knowledge (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Dewey, 1916).
  • Wenger (2000) uses the metaphor of a garden to describe the nature of support that works for something as delicate as a community of practice. You cannot, he says, make the flowers grow by pulling on their leaves. You can, however, keep the flower beds free of weeds and pests, ensure there is water and sunlight, and you can even apply some plant food. But the flowers must do their own growing. What does that sort of support for the flowerbed look like in an isolated and troubled profession such as teaching?
  • ‘As Student’
  • ‘As Student’
  • sharing our ideas in PCP is not scary and threatening, but can help ourselves and others. Everybody’s ideas seem obvious to them. What is obvious to me is amazing for someone else.
  • feeding forward’, as id
  • We suggest three distinct but overlapping forms of learning within communities (task-based, practice-based; knowledge-based learning) and discuss practical design implications of these distinctions.”
  • earning theory has evolved from a cognitive theory of acquisition of knowledge to a social theory of increased participation in activity (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Lave, 1988; Mehan, 1983; Nonnan, 1980; Rogoff, 1994; Wertsch, 1997).
  • tellectual development becomes a process of negotiation of meaning in everyday practice with others (Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1978).
  • Learning occurs through engagement in authentic experiences involving the active manipulation and experimentation with ideas and artefacts – rather than through an accumulation of static knowledge (Bruner, 1973; Cole, 1988; Dewey, 1916).
  • Wenger (2000) uses the metaphor of a garden to describe the nature of support that works for something as delicate as a community of practice. You cannot, he says, make the flowers grow by pulling on their leaves. You can, however, keep the flower beds free of weeds and pests, ensure there is water and sunlight, and you can even apply some plant food. But the flowers must do their own growing. What does that sort of support for the flowerbed look like in an isolated and troubled profession such as teaching?
  • d social bookmarking in t
  • “Learners need to find their own unique pathway to transformative understanding of networked learning. There’s no simple and straightforward way to mastery that can be taught.”
  • ‘The past always looks easy and the future always looks challenging’.
  • Our information overload is a filtering issue and we are having filter failure.
  • lexibility is the greatest strength.
  • online learning is that it is asynchronous and students can participate and engage with content anywhere, anytime. I believe the f
  • Siemens (2004) also notes that learning occurs in informal and non-formal learning contexts.
  • “Knowledge is contained in the links between interconnected nodes and learning is the creation of these connections and the ability to traverse these connections. “For an individual this is about growing the connections in the mind by growing the connections.”
  • Alec Couros pointed out in a keynote from FUSION 2013 that – “There is strength in weak ties. Our acquaintances, not our friends, are potentially our greatest source of new ideas and information” (paraphrased from Gladwell, 2010).
Anne Trethewey

Educational Leadership:For Each to Excel:Preparing Students to Learn Without Us - 3 views

www.ascd.org/...dents-to-Learn-Without-Us.aspx

shared by Anne Trethewey on 12 Aug 14 - No Cached
  • The reality is that despite having talked about personalized learning for more than a decade, most schools and teachers have been slow to discover its potential through the use of the social web, interactive games, and mobile devices.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      Comments like this make teachers appear lazy. Using the word "slow" implies that teachers are ignorant and not proactive. I have seen many teachers wanting to integrate these technologies but finding the curriculum and day to day life of being a teacher as exhausting.
    • mari marincowitz
      mari marincowitz on 16 Aug 14
       
      I totally agree on this, Annelise. The problem is that the whole school system has not kept up the way technology has changed our daily lives and ways we interact and learn. For example, I'm teaching the IB Visual Art curriculum, a rigorous 2-year course for grade 11 and 12 learners. The sheer amount of work that need to be achieved in a very short period, makes it impossible to spend hours integrating new technologies that are not directly related to achieving the objectives set out by the IB to pass this exam. My husband teaches IB Psychology and the final examination is a traditional written exam, mostly based on students' ability to memorize large amounts of work. This means that students need to practice writing traditional pen and paper tests. This leaves little space for interactive games or application of new technologies. The curriculum will need to change before teachers can effectively discover the potential of these new technologies and consequently redefine their teaching.
  • schools see the eruption of technologies and environments that allow for personalized learning as a "disruptive innovation
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      Not in the schools I have been in.
  • we need to fundamentally rethink what we do in the classroom with kids
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      True, we do need to rethink but I think the model is fundamentally flawed.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • are we preparing students to learn without us? How can we shift curriculum and pedagogy to more effectively help students form and answer their own questions, develop patience with uncertainty and ambiguity, appreciate and learn from failure, and develop the ability to go deeply into the subjects about which they have a passion to learn
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      This is what the subject NGL is encouraging. We learn without teachers, where we answer our own questions, develop patience with uncertainty and ambiguity, appreciate and learn from our "mistakes," and follow our passion.
  • writing blog posts
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      A very good idea and something I was doing with my year 11s and 12s. Some loved it and others wanted the "paper and pen" approach. I found female students were more resistant as they were not as active in online forums as the males, but this is only my experience. I had many females complain, even some to their parents saying that they wanted to receive everything I did in hard copy, despite even the parents having access to all the online materials.
  • model the learning process together
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      A great idea, modelling active learning.
  • Assessment changes as well. Donhauser says that the emphasis moves to assessing in the moment rather than at the end of a book or unit. "Rather than having a defined product that I receive from 25 students," she says, "I receive 25 individual assignments with their own unique content, insights, and styles." Using Google Docs, students continually update their progress, and she provides regular feedback. Students also give one another feedback on their plans as they go. Everyone follows a rubric that covers such areas as standards, learning outcomes, artifact explanation, blog posts, learning activities, work ethic, and research. Personalized learning like this requires students to reflect deeply on their effort and assess their work and progress, a fundamental part of developing the skills and dispositions to continue learning after the class ends.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      I can see how it will take very brave souls to implement this approach in the current schooling model. I have seen massive resistance, and mostly because it is seen as "extra" on top of everything else. Education is like a "black hole" - never ending and constantly growing. :0
  • the truly personal, self-directed learning that we can now pursue in online networks and communities differs substantially from the "personalized" opportunities that some schools are opening up to students. Although it might be an important first step in putting students on a path to a more self-directed, passionate, relevant learning life, it may not bring about the true transformation that many see as the potential of this moment.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 12 Aug 14
       
      I think the demand for personal learning is increasing, particularly amongst male students. The proliferation of information on the web and the active engagement. Argghh, I just found out that Robin Williams has died. I'm heartbroken, i loved him.
    • djplaner
      djplaner on 12 Aug 14
       
      You're not alone in that feeling.
    • djplaner
      djplaner on 12 Aug 14
       
      On a less important topic, how would personal learning fit within a school setting with set curriculum etc? I can see a distinct difference with what is possible in NGL and what could be done in my undergraduate course.
  • By pairing personalized learning and technology, a teacher can help students learn what they need to learn through the topics that interest them most.
    • Anne Trethewey
      Anne Trethewey on 16 Aug 14
       
      An interesting statement - especially in light of many of the restrictions now placed on teachers in Australia with the new national curriculum, especially P-6.  Over the last few years, the explicit teaching focuses and prescriptive nature of many subject outcomes has seen my teaching change fundamentally, and I do not believe for the better. I know longer have the same scope and professional leeway to tailor learning to needs and interests of my students.  One-size DOES NOT FIT ALL!
  • Finding Their Passion
    • Anne Trethewey
      Anne Trethewey on 16 Aug 14
       
      Have explored 'Genius Hour' with my students in an attempt to introduce more opportunity for my students to engage in learning that is more in turn with their interests and passions.  Find time in a very hectic curriculum and timetable is the greatest hurdle!
  • It requires a totally different skill set on the teacher's part," Stutzman says. "We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, because we don't know the exact direction that a class will go when we walk in.
  • Personal and autonomous learning is self-directed and self-selected according to the learner's own needs, preferences, and learning arrangements … Truly autonomous and personal learning means making our own choices about what we wish to play or learn with, whom we wish to learn with or from, where we want to do this learning, when we prefer to learn or play, and how we want to learn. (personal communication, October 3, 2011).
  • anonymous on 12 Aug 14
     
    A very good article on encouraging students to personalise their learning to their personal interests, just as NGL is doing. It illustrates how learning should be self-directed.
  • djplaner on 12 Aug 14
     
    A very good article on encouraging students to personalise their learning to their personal interests, just as NGL is doing. It illustrates how learning should be self-directed.
Charmian LORD

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: #TLTechLive - What Worked + Conference Takeaways - 0 views

theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com.au/...ve-what-worked-conference.html

educator conference

shared by Charmian LORD on 26 Oct 15 - No Cached
thaleia66 liked it
  • Teachers before students. When you roll out tech, ensure you give teachers an opportunity to learn about and use the tech, before you provide it to the students.  Don't require. Inspire. Do not require all teachers to accept and use the technology. Start with the teachers who are most excited. Ask teachers to write short and sensible proposals about how they want to use the tech. Empower those teachers to help guide others along.  If you deploy to grade levels, start with the older students. If you start with lower grades the upper grades will resent that they never had the opportunity to have access to the tech. If you start with the upper grades, the lower grades will be excited about what they have to look forward to. 
  • Follow him at @Mr_Casal to get great ideas about how social media can be used to build and strengthen the school community. For those concerned about getting administrators on board, he shared information on how to explain how social media meets the standards
    • Charmian LORD
      Charmian LORD on 26 Oct 15
       
      Lauren, you may like this part about social media being used to build and strengthen the school community :)
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