Rowland Foundation

"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."

1st chapter from Creating Innovators.

"People who accomplished great things, [Duckworth] noticed, often combined a passion for a single mission with an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission, whatever the obstacles and however long it might take."

Nice resources showing stages of personalized learning, as well as the differences between Personalization, Differentiation, and Individualization.

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.

That's how blended learning should work-a combination of personal digital learning and community connected, team-based, production-focused, authentic, engaging, and relevant activities.  At Maker High, students would publish rather than 'turn it in'.  They would demonstrate mastery rather than finishing a class.

"Above any other measure, a person's level of grittiness will reveal their ability to execute ideas and sustain long-term goals."

If we are preparing students for success in college and career we must develop in them a skill set which includes perseverance and grit. While not as high in Vermont, "25 percent of students at four-year institutions fail to return for their sophomore year, a number that grows to 47 percent for students at two-year institutions." From the local and national pieces that I have looked at the reasoning for this is equally shared among these areas: Lack of Academic Preparedness; Lack of Sense of Purpose and Goals; Lack of Grit. We can't just educate students and expect them to be successful. We must also share Why and How. jf

Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Angela studies non-IQ competencies that predict success both academically and professionally.

Do we spend too much time on cultivating academics and not enough time on developing "Grit" in students? Education is just now really looking at fostering a sense off passion for students. But, here is the third piece " How do we nurture resiliency and perseverance? jf

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.

"To encourage student thinking about the overall structure of a course right from the start, why not include a concept map or mind map in the syllabus? When I looked at Linda's work (in the two references listed below) she actually advocates what she calls a "graphic syllabus," described as a "flowchart, graphic organizer, or diagram of the schedule and organization of course topics, sometimes with tests, assignments, and major activities included."

Interesting article. Back when I had "classes" the first day was dedicated to working through a modified version of a Chalk Talk. This gave me a really good sense of where students were at in their understanding and it gave them the opportunity to see how each lesson/concept would be part of the "big picture" of the class. I also would wrap up the semester with the exact same lesson. Huge opportunity for leaving them with a sense of accomplishment and final chance for them to see the pieces in a larger context.

"Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially… Today knowledge is free. It's like air, it's like water. It's become a commodity… There's no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn't care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know."

The greatest challenge to change in learning is our reticence to simply take action: - change the space - change the program - expect high outcomes.

"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

The new Groupthink on Groupthink?  A bit of discussion around this at the ACSR Critical Skills Master Teacher's training this past Saturday. Interesting.

"The best advice that I have ever been given to help me create good quality summative comments when assessing pupils' work came from Darren Mead. He explained that if the comments made are kind, specific and helpful, the pupil will be able to progress to the next level."

The Common Core in Vermont Wiki is a warehouse of materials and resources to help you and your school in our transition to the Common Core State Standards.The resources on this page are designed to increase awareness and provide general information about the Common Core State Standards and Vermont's plan for implementation.Content area resources available for Phase 2.

This Google Site has been set up by Dr. Helen Barrett to focus on the use of Google Apps to create ePortfolios. On this site, there are instructions on how to use the different elements of Google Apps to maintain e-portfolios.