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Lauren Parren

Everything you know about curriculum may be wrong. Really. « Granted, but… - 3 views

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    Funny, really, that this thought-provoking article comes from the king of curricular design, one my district fully embraces.  
Adam Rosenberg

Pass the Books; Hold the Oil - 4 views

Underscores the inverse relationship between a country's natural resources and its human ones. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/friedman-pass-the-books-hold-the-oil.html

started by Adam Rosenberg on 16 Mar 12 no follow-up yet
Jason Finley

The Experience of Education: The impacts of high stakes testing on school students and ... - 1 views

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    Australian lit. review of mostly US & UK research on effects of high-stakes testing...sections on: Reliability, Student Health & Well-being, Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum.
Jason Finley

Five Leadership Lessons From James T. Kirk - 1 views

  • We need to keep exploring and learning. We need to ensure that we encourage creativity and innovation by listening to the advice of people with vastly different opinions. We need to occasionally get down in the trenches with the members of our teams so we understand their needs and earn their trust and loyalty. We need to understand the psychology of our competitors and also learn to radically change course when circumstances dictate.
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    "Here are five of the key leadership lessons that you can take away from Captain Kirk as you pilot your own organization into unknown futures."
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    Kirk also didn't believe in 'no-win' situations. He was the only Starfleet cadet to pass the Kobayashi Maru test, an unbeatable scenario designed to assess the character of cadets. He reprogrammed the simulation to allow success. Despite having cheated, he was commended for his 'original thinking.'
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    Kobayashi Maru? I was never very good with languages in school. Does that translate to No Child Left Behind?
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    In our educational leadership analogy, yes! However, while being the ultimate no-win scenario, I think NCLB has still encouraged leaders to innovate and improve learning in their schools by holding them accountable and providing funding for improvement.
Jason Finley

Teacher Experience Exchange - 5 things you should know about Common Core standards - 2 views

  • 5 things you should know about Common Core standards
  • Promotes classroom creativity
  • Perfect for project-based learning
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  • Ties to technology integration
  • Inspires cross-curricular activities
  • Includes history, social studies and science
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    As we head this direction... Thanks ACSR for the heads up on this link.
Jason Finley

Surviving a Leadership Undercurrent | Connected Principals - 0 views

  • Leaders must understand their staff and community members’ dispositions to the changes they are leading.  This does not mean that you have to wait until everyone is happy and on board with the change.  In truth, that moment will never occur because people naturally resist change.  The key for leaders is to tailor their practices in stakeholder accordance with disposition and changes that are occurring.
  • Effective leaders understand how the changes they are leading will be received and understood by all stakeholders.   The most effective leaders take the understanding a step further and tailor their leadership styles to create a movement for these changes.
  • advice holds true for both leaders and swimmers.  Leaders will exhaust themselves by going directly against the undercurrent.  Think about the undercurrent during your next initiative.  Your situational awareness will be key to not only surviving but also effectively implementing a new initiative to move your organization forward.
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    The idea that a leader responds to undercurrents and tailors changes to anticipate what will eventually rise to the surface proves true in the work of Rowland Fellows in their school systems...The best of our school leaders - teachers, principals, superintendents - listen and look for the groundswell. The beauty of transformation from the ground up is that, like a good undercurrent, the conditions that allow it to spread and then surface are best arrived at when philosophies and practices become invitations to participate and a recognition that there are many unique and valuable ways to be a part of a growing undercurrent - for long-term changes to manifest, a good leader proposes - not imposes.
Jason Finley

Conservative education reform: The Floridian school of thought | The Economist - 1 views

  • First Florida started grading its schools from A to F, based on the proficiency and progress of pupils in annual reading, writing, maths and science tests. The state gives extra money to schools that get an A or improve their grade, and children at schools that get two F grades in four years are allowed to transfer to better schools.
  • Second, Florida stopped letting third-grade pupils who could barely read go on to fourth grade (a practice, common all over America, called “social promotion”).
  • Third, it created a merit-pay system in which teachers whose pupils pass certain exams get bonuses.
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  • Fourth, it gave parents much greater choice, with state vouchers, between public, charter, private and even online schools.
  • Fifth, Florida set up new methods of certification to draw more talented people into the profession, even if those people have no college degree specifically in education.
  • Controversial at the time, these reforms now have bipartisan support in Florida, where black and Hispanic pupils in particular have made huge gains.
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    Debatable, but interesting reforms.  While I may not agree with all of the pieces I do like that they are taking a multipronged approach...and that they are not just talking about transformation, but taking real and decisive actions.
Lauren Parren

Commons 2.0: Library Spaces Designed for Collaborative Learning (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | ... - 4 views

  • information commons as a space for students to gather and work with technology
  • How well do these environments currently support social learning and promote collaborative work?
  • flexible design
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  • Do they encourage creativity and discovery
  • Do they offer services and features that students don't already have
  • self-help graphics services
  • one-stop collaboratory for out-of-class assignments, writing, research, and group proje
  • social software
  • learning spaces should align with current pedagogy.
  • "environments designed for people" where the availability of food and drink, comfortable chairs, and furniture support a variety of active and social learning activities.3
  • "human-centered" design
  • modular clusters
  • multiple options for output
  • open, free, comfortable, inspiring, and practical
  • Wireless laptops give students the freedom to explore the commons or anywhere in the library—to group themselves as they see fit and not as decided for them.
    • Lauren Parren
       
      One of Laura's gifts!
  • his space should feel dynamic
  • inspiring
  • practical.
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    Although a bit dated, this seems like a great example of the type of library we want to create.  Combine this physical space with inspiring, practical Professional Development and we're going to cook!
Jason Finley

Leaning Forward New Hampshire - 2 views

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    Leveraging Technology For professional learning, teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Wednesday, May 9th Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH
Jason Finley

Personalization vs Differentiation vs Individualization - 11 views

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    "There is a difference between personalization and differentiation and individualization. One is learner-centered; the others are teacher-centered."
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    Great chart to make you think about how we do what we do.
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    Jason, Excellent chart - I have long appreciated the learning styles awareness inherent in differentiated instruction, but providing instruction in this way is highly teacher centered - and group focused. Feeding, encouraging, and developing students' individual interests spark the desire to learn and engage. I printed this chart immediately. Really appreciating your posts...personalization could be a "brand" for a school increasingly willing to transform in this direction. Anne
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    Thanks Anne, The "brand" thing sounds very Corporate America to some, but I think that is is extremely important for schools...and not just because of the looming school choice issue. There is also a connection to community piece to this. To some it might come across as selling the school, where in actuality it is just the school identifying and clarifying what it sees as its mission and role in educating its students. I think that this starts with the perceptions and expectations of the community. What are those? Do they match the schools mission and action plan? ...They certainly should. Ideally when a school has an established brand it gives a sense of identity and pride in the school system by all stakeholders, provides a foundation and rationale for professional development, informs the community about what the school does well, gives students an idea of "Why?" to their education, and much more. Identifying and building a brand really is about moving away from the ambiguous and esoteric way we often speak of education and makes what happens in our schools clear, approachable, and embraceable to our communities.
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    Having participated in several differentiated instruction trainings, and seen strategies executed successfully by trained teachers, I've found that sound DI includes much of the content listed under 'personalization.'
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    Completely agree Adam! The chart is a little perplexing at times in its definitions/examples. How the first is Competency-based and the others must be Carnegie Unit based comparison…I just don't get. What I do like about the chart is that it makes me reflect on how I do what I do. And also on, "Do I do what I say that I do?" Sometimes I feel like I might begin implementing a strategy one semester only to have my application of that strategy drift as time goes by. Every now and then I think that it is necessary to take a step back and question each piece of my own professional practice. This approach comes from my belief that we need to question and challenge everything...especially those things we most believe in.
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    Excellent point! Beliefs are like clothes. If we don't regularly take them off to wash them, we often mistake our own stench for what we perceive as someone else's.
Jason Finley

29 Things I've Learned as an Administrator…So Far… « ErHead - 3 views

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    29 Great pieces of wisdom for all educators to reflect on.
Jason Finley

10 ideas for 21st century education - 0 views

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    "1. Open up lessons 2. Think outside the classroom box 3. Get personal 4. Tap into students' digital expertise 5. Get real with projects 6. Expect (and help) students to be teachers 7. Help (and expect) teachers to be students 8. Measure what matters 9. Work with families, not just children 10. Power to the student"
Adam Rosenberg

Flipped & PBL - 4 views

I don't know of any; I would also like to see it in action.

blended instruction good teaching

Adam Rosenberg

"The Rise of the New Groupthink" - 4 views

"SOLITUDE is out of fashion. Our companies, our schools and our culture are in thrall to an idea I call the New Groupthink, which holds that creativity and achievement come from an oddly gregarious...

innovation

Adam Rosenberg

Solitude and Leadership - 4 views

http://theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/ Interesting speech on the developmental importance of solitude.

leadership

started by Adam Rosenberg on 22 Feb 12 no follow-up yet
Jason Finley

Harnessing Creativity and Innovation in the Workplace - 4 views

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    Great resource on creativity, innovation, and change. Has implications for working with students, professional development, program design and implementation, and more.
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    Page 10 "Planning for Innovation" could be helpful to the 2012 Fellows.Tables 3 and 4 are great ways to assess the environment for change in any of our schools when "I" is replaced with "we" or "our school".
Karen Budde

Career Thoughts - 3 views

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    Students often think that they have an idea of what jobs are available in a particular field, but they may not have a good grasp on what is required to work in that field. Career Thoughts could be a good place for students to investigate and educate themselves on various career options.
Jason Finley

http://careerthoughts.com/ - 8 views

Hey Karen! Along these same lines I often think that schools should take advantage of the Vermont Senior Survey Part I: Planned Activities After High School that VSAC puts out.To me I wish that w...

career exploration

Lauren Parren

Seedlings @ Bit By Bit Podcast: Show 126 - bit by bit - 5 views

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    I haven't listened to the whole podcast yet, but it is interesting to hear what's happening in Maine to personalize learning and to create effective professional development.  Projects4ME should be of interest Rowland Fellow Alison.
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    I sent him off an email. Maybe he'll share with us. As we all know 80% of success is putting oneself out there.
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