Group items tagged

If we really want to "transform" education we need to stop worrying about if the initiative is going to succeed or fail. Because, as I've said before...there are no failures...only first attempts.I know I post quite a bit...this article, however, has more to teach than most.

"...the most important insight from design thinking was that you have to make sure you've defined the right problem before you try to solve it. So, you act like an anthropologist to understand human needs and problems before jumping to solutions."

"...this shift in mindset requires a different kind of leadership. ... linear analysis for planning and executing when the decision-making information is known, and a discovery mindset when they must use small bets to create the data."

"The model, now in practice or under consideration in states including Louisiana, Michigan, Arizona and Utah, allows students to build a custom curriculum by selecting from hundreds of classes offered by public institutions and private vendors. A teenager in Louisiana, for instance, might study algebra online with a private tutor, business in a local entrepreneur's living room, literature at a community college and test prep with the national firm Princeton Review - with taxpayers picking up the tab for it all."

With little to no oversight this would be a disaster. But, what if...

What if there were a regional "school" that oversaw these External Learning Opportunities and Diplomas with Certificates of Focus? A student would be assigned to a Mentor Teacher who would help to: Design a plan to graduation...and beyond, Give prior approval and determine assessments of learning experiences, Provide awareness and approve formal online opportunities such as VTVLC, VHS, Aventa Learning/K12, Provide awareness and approve formal online and traditional courses through Dual Enrollment at CVV and other local colleges, Connect students to local Internships, Apprenticeships, Connect students to programs such as TIPS, Medquest, etc., Guide students in inquiry-based Independent Studies, Guide students in developing and implementing Service-Learning projects, Bringing together like-minded students, community members, employers, educators together around specific college and career goals, and the list could go on. This could be a big draw for all students. This is could be a way to provide a highly individualized learning experience for students. With the right framework it could be amazing.

"Charting a new path forward in education by sharing positive stories of change, providing perspective on key issues, and giving you the news and analysis you need to take action."

This is my second MOOC; I am already addicted to learning this way. I have been taking ideas on how to move the platform for advisory discussions onto a Google+ Community.

I am completely energized by the MOOC experience. One of my seniors tried it: a human physiology course out of Yale. She was overwhelmed, but grateful to experience the caliber of a "university" course. She ended up dropping after a few months. The pace and rigor were beyond her horizons, but she tried it. We had a conversation about when is it okay to fail. She was finally in a place where she hit the wall. How many of our students hit the wall when they are in a college and paying for it? How many discover only too late that they are in the wrong major?

I can't wait to hear about your experience at our meeting. (Maybe with the extra time I have on my hands now I will give one a try...I've signed up for two, but never got started.) You have my gears spinning about MOOCs and the VTed community. First, I wonder how many schools would be willing to allow students, with oversight and guidance, to participate in a MOOC for credit? Second, what could a Rowland led VTed School Transformation MOOC look like? I see different fellows leading separate sections, sharing ideas and school transformation experiences with class participants who in turn share their own thoughts, inspirations, and challenges. Could have real potential to bring voices together from across the state.

"...Thanks to the ubiquity of text on the Internet, not to mention the popularity of text-messaging on cell phones, we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s, when television was our medium of choice. But it's a different kind of reading, and behind it lies a different kind of thinking..."

Colin, I immediately thought of your work when I read this article.

It appears that we are not the only group having this conversation. Here is an article that parallels our own. (It is actually eerily similar in its stream of thought.)

"...it's easy to see why students are disengaged from the learning tasks that we give them. The big question is whether we care. So far, most of our school systems don't seem too bothered by their environmental deficiencies when it comes to fostering internal motivation. Our actions put the lie to our school mission statements that state that we're about creating 'self-motivated, life-long learners.'" "As school leaders and classroom teachers, how long can we continue to ignore core principles of intrinsic motivation?"

I could not agree more and this is a critical topic for the independent schools with which I work.

"By the end of this year, Android will be in more devices than the next four competitors combined (Windows, iOS, Mac OS, and BlackBerry). Before the end of this decade, Android will be in nearly as many devices as all other operating systems combined."

Makes me wonder about what #EdTech curriculum should look like. Are we teaching skillsets which have the diversity necessary to meet our students' future needs? How much of our teaching focuses on mobile applications? How is the mobile experience planned into what/how we teach...of using technology that is not based upon using it while sitting on our backsides.

"...some of the most innovative thinking is not coming from above, but from the ground level, where the action is. Teachers and students in local schools are making their own plans on how to meet these demands and tie efforts together to improve student learning. The laboratory is the school itself, and the benefactor supporting the research is Vermont's own Rowland Foundation."

We have been awash in literature about Finland lately. Mostly because something about what they do works!Of the many articles that I have read, this one in particular does a superb job of sharing in a clear an succinct manner a good many of the pieces of their puzzle.

An expansive collection of articles on integrating curriculum from The Small Schools Project.  It is broken into 3 sections: Why Integrate Curriculum, How To Integrate Curriculum, and What Integration Looks Like.  This is a large document, so the Table of Contents is helpful.

Thank you for this post, Tom. We're having integration discussions as we try to work on the complexity of scheduling in a pre-K-12. The "whys" and the sample units are very clear.

While Volunteering and Service-Learning are not exactly the same, they share common foundations which apply here. Article contains many validating reasons for incorporating pieces into curriculum.

"...positive effect on grades, self-concept, and attitudes toward education. Volunteering also led to reduced drug use and huge declines in dropout rates and teen pregnancies."

New report - Optimal Learning Spaces Optimal Learning Spaces Design Implications for Primary Schools. Report is for primary schools, but same principles apply. Laura and Lauren, thought you might be interested in this fairly extensive report. Link to report on page is broken. Here is the report. Optimal Learning Spaces Design Implications for Primary Schools

"... enhancing teaching and learning outcomes by creating better built environments. It aims to link scientific knowledge to case-study examples "

"...three design principles emerge to support application in practice: the role of naturalness, the opportunity for individualisation and appropriate levels of stimulation."

"Regardless of the number of years someone has been on the job, anyone can benefit from a coaching experience."

An excellent, more substantive article on Coaching was added by Greg Young back in October. It is worth a second look.Personal Best: Top athletes and singers have coaches. Should you? http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/03/111003fa_fact_gawande

Interesting article that makes me think that we don't need to look to Finland for all of the answers. We can look to "The True North strong and free!"

"...the key to understanding ePortfolios is realizing that what you're looking at is a supporting technology that opens up an enormous range of potential for evidence-based learning."

Written by a classmate of mine at Bread Loaf. On how to use (and how not to use) technology in the classroom. Short and thoughtful.

Is the student who organizes tag during recess or chooses to help a classmate with math on track to be a senator, a CEO, or a community leader? He-or she-may well be.