Rowland Foundation

The Great Schools Partnership, Inc. is a nonprofit school-support organization committed to redesigning public education to improve the quality of learning for all students. Our focus is not on a single classroom, school, or district, but we work at all levels of the educational system-from the classroom to the statehouse-in the effort to shape America's finest secondary schools.

This web site offers great resources and webinars on various topics relevant to our work!

"... one of the world's leading psychologists, Professor Carol Dweck visited the RSA to discuss how students' mindsets shape their motivation and learning. She discussed new research showing: a) how parents' and teachers' praise can create fixed mindsets and undermine children's motivation, b) how fixed-mindset school environments can decrease the representation of women and minorities, and c) how teaching students a growth mindset increases their success in school."

Is "grit" something that educators need to develop in students? Or rather, is grit inherent in all children? If so, instead of asking if it needs to be developed in their learning, should we be more introspective and work on not suppressing it through our teaching?

Praising a student on process and effort contributes to their learning and their desire to learn more. Praising success based on intelligence has the opposite effect...it actually inhibits growth. What implications does this have on how we assess student learning and communicate those assessments?

This is a great challenge to all of us to make better assessments of learning, not memorization.  

Thanks, I enjoyed this article-

I have a BA and MA in English, but in my doc degree I'm focusing on the inter- and trans-disciplinary studies of complex systems. I'm reading a ton about math, science, and computer programming lately and find myself questioning why I chose English over a STEM field so many years ago. One reason: the science classes I did take in high school sure didn't seem to be pointing me toward profound questions like these.

These ARE great questions, and I'll share them with my district Diigo. As students begin to take ownership of their learning, creating big questions is important.

"...as a culture, our collective bias is toward extroverts. The popularity of work environments with 'open plans' that have no, or low walls and constant noise are completely focused on extroverts. She also notes the current popularity of what she calls, 'new group think', which revolves around work being done in groups and highly valuing collective thinking."

Interesting blog, great book. Really makes me think about how we design learning experiences...especially when we attempt to foster creative thinking.

"If you mistakenly believe that the most effective leaders are Extroverts, that using teams to brainstorm is the best way to foster innovation, or more simply, that Extroversion is a choice, you must read this book. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology as well as relevant case studies, Cain effectively debunks the Extrovert Ideal, and equally important, helps us to better understand and value many of the attributes and behaviors associated with Introversion."

The Common Core emphasizes the instruction of nonfiction. I'm all for that push in general. Nonfiction is the genre where I spend the vast majority of my (ridiculously limited) free reading time. It offers so many rich texts through which we may integrate the traditional disciplines. Still my two degrees in English have served me very well in helping me understand context, motivation, and complexity in the world around me. This little NPR article discusses a study that offers empirical evidence for the power of reading literary fiction. As we de-emphasize the arts and literature, how many opportunities do we lose to teach and foster empathy?

This 23 slide screen-cast features 3 videos and explains Mike McRaith's 2013 Autumn Research as a Rowland Fellow. It can serve as a good starting place for anyone interested in building perseverance and grit into school culture.

This month, the European Association for International Education adopted a charter that said: "National student loans and grants should always be portable. Students on grants that cover tuition and expenses while studying abroad should be provided with safeguards against arbitrary withdrawal of their funding."

IMHO Single most valuable piece of advice for successful #EdReform. As amazing as all of our programs are, I truly believe that programs have very little to do with successful EdReform. I believe that it is about people more than programs, about the freedom to teach, and especially about administrators supporting an entrepreneurial spirit in the classroom. It is not too much of a stretch to grasp the connection between ownership and passion. And, when we love what we do...we simply do it better.

A note. I am not saying the work we are doing isn't important...what I am saying is that you are the most important piece to making your work...work.

Agreed!

"Twitter has emerged both as an important source of news, information, and resources for educators, as well as a valuable way to engage in a meaningful professional learning network. This webinar will provide a useful overview of Twitter and how it can inform and support the ongoing development and networking of K- 12 educators." Webinar THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 | 3:00-4:00 PM EST

The author was the first generation in her family to go to college and ended up with a doctorate at Oxford.  Her story is a quick and compelling read.

Earlier this year, for example, a school in Stockholm made Minecraft compulsory for 13-year-old students. "They learn about city planning, environmental issues, getting things done, and even how to plan for the future," said Monica Ekman, a teacher at the Viktor Rydberg school.

Author Susan Cain explains the fallacy of "groupwork," and points to research showing that it can reduce creativity and productivity

Wondering if focus on collaboration, group work stifles creativity and individuals ...Do some approaches to education reward those students who are simply more extroverted. Do we often, inadvertently, value Personalities over Substance in our classrooms?

This excellent Horizon Report, generated by the New Media Consortium, sets a remarkable and aggressive timetable for significant changes in teaching and learning due to emerging technologies.

It's been a lot of fun to work on.

Thanks so much Jim for this post. It's a great piece with lots of very interesting links. The RF is investing directly in learning about the two technologies--cloud computing and mobile devices-- on the report's most immediate time horizon. These two, among the others, are poised to take education in new directions. They are transformative, in and of themselves, and it's exciting to think about how they can and will (and do) support the other many initiatives being worked on by RF Fellows.

PARIS -...The test does not evaluate the most relevant of students' capabilities, many critics say.

LONDON - The global financial crisis has amplified the value of a good education, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "The people who really paid the price for the financial crisis are those without baseline qualifications," Andreas Schleicher, the O.E.C.D.'s deputy director for education and skills, said last week at a London news conference.

The best part of the rise of online education is that it forces us to ask: What is a university for? Are universities mostly sorting devices to separate smart and hard-working high school students from their less-able fellows so that employers can more easily identify them?

I wonder if Dan Pink makes a good point? Ha ha just kidding! I was trying out his advice. I haven't read the new book, but find his book DRIVE very useful.