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Really interesting set of linked protocols for organizational planning. "The Collective Action Toolkit isn't a rigid template for problem solving. It's designed to be flexible and accessible, with an action map and activities arranged into six categories, from building a group, to imagining new ideas, to planning change. The toolkit challenges groups to move beyond discussion to action, continually clarifying their shared goals based on what they learn through the problem-solving process."

Interesting piece that gives a good "heads up" to #EdReform.  Tech heavy, but other pieces include homeschooling, PBL, entrepreneurial learning.

TED Talk recommended by Andy Kepes.  Sounds like a good premise for personalized learning.

How two schools are linking Tony Wagner's ideas in Creating Innovators with Project Based Learning

Via Alison Bromage, Vermont Adult Learning "Finland and South Korea top the charts in a new global education ranking. But with very different philosophies. We're looking at what the US - ranked number 17 - can learn."

Here is a challenge to my fellow fellows...let's continue to move our work forward by sharing it beyond the #VTed borders. "The 2013 WISE Awards Submission period now open until March 31, 2013 The 2013 WISE Awards will celebrate six innovative educational projects for their positive contribution within a community or society. WISE seeks to share best practices world over and inspire others to spark change in education. The WISE Awards thus highlight today's most innovative solutions and approaches that are addressing educational challenges confronting the world at large. Project holders from any region, educational sector or level are encouraged to submit applications which demonstrate the quality and impact of their activities in accordance with the criteria.  Whether you are involved in a project that provides access to quality education, creates new opportunities for lifelong learning or develops innovative educational technologies, WISE invites you to apply for the 2013 WISE Awards."

'A great overview of Dan Pink's "Drive" by Vermont principal and VTASCD board member Larry Fliegelman. Thanks to my principal Jim Avery for reminding me how much is to be learned in this book about leadership and teaching.

"...researchers and educators ... want to know how kids learn by tinkering - fooling around with something until one understands how it works. They want to know what happens cognitively - how this learning process helps form habits of mind, builds character and how it affects the individual."

"If you look at four-year-olds, they are constantly asking questions and wondering how things work. But by the time they are 6½ years old, they stop asking questions because they quickly learn that teachers value the right answers more than provocative questions. High school students rarely show inquisitiveness."

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 biggest problem in American secondary schools may be boredom. What American youth need more then anything is opportunity to discover their passions and unleash them into the world. The Future Project, a NYC-based startup, is addressing this challenge by mobilizing an army-the Future Corps-to help American high school students find and begin working toward their dream."

Could be the next step for ELOs?! Starting to think about how I could present a proposal to collaborate with Castleton and/or Middlebury on developing similar project.

Khan as teacher-centered lectures, not student-centered learning.  Still, the videos could support independent learners.

Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL) Monday, July 16, 2012 Boston, MA "This Institute will launch a conversation among educators and enable participants to raise questions and examine issues about the implementation of eportfolio programs for K-12 teaching, Learning and beyond."

Website also has significant amount of information, resources, and exemplars re for those engaged in ePortfolio work.

Interesting story about Germany's apprenticeship programs and how it trains students on the job while paying them to learn.

I have a great auto mechanic in town that has been working with one of our seniors. He offered the student the chance to run a project by himself this last week. The student is learning about state tax and calculating hours and part costs. His only remark to me, "I know now that I do not want to own my own shop." By the way, the mechanics in the shop call him a 'wrench'. No Boeing plant around here, but we are fortunate to have community members, who can offer struggling seniors a chance.

"Florida's standardized testing program is being misused and has 'severely impacted student learning,' according to a new white paper that says that school districts in the state are required to give as many as 62 tests a year to students."

"While the specifics are about Florida, the general conclusions about the negative impact of state standardized programs are relevant across the country - not only because other states have their own version but because some looked to Florida as a model as they developed their own school accountability systems."

Written in partnership with San Diego's High Tech High, this guide offers step-by-step advice on planning and managing extended, interdisciplinary projects, as well as useful protocols for critique sessions, templates for important documents such as project plans, and examples of high-impact projects.

"What happens with this is that time is the variable and learning is the constant," said Kristine Kirkaldy of Vergennes Union High School. This fall's freshman class is piloting new performance-based graduation requirements-- shifting the focus for earning a diploma from a traditional report card and hours logged in a classroom to one that includes a 4-year, cross-curriculum portfolio. "You will have a portfolio into which you have placed pieces of evidence showing your growth and learning in the various areas that were asking," Kirkaldy said.

Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana, authors of the book, Make Just One Change, explain why teaching students to ask their own questions just may revolutionize the classroom. Audio clip.

"The simple shift in practice, from teachers asking questions of students to students learning to generate and improve their own questions, leads to significant cognitive, affective and behavioral changes in students."

Do you teach to inform...or to facilitate learning? jf

In December 2010, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel created a national, independent commission to study the teaching profession and make recommendations on maximizing teacher and teaching effectiveness. Drawing on the wisdom and experience of accomplished teachers, expert researchers, policymakers, and academicians, the Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching (CETT) examined the policies and practices governing the teaching profession and crafted a teacher-centered vision of teaching and the teaching profession. On December 8, 2011, CETT presented the NEA with its final report, Transforming Teaching: Connecting Professional Responsibility with Student Learning, which outlines the Commission's vision and recommendations for the teaching profession.