Thought-Provoking Articles and Posts

"It looks to me as if one of the most acclaimed reforms of today's education profession-not just in the U.S. but also all over the planet-is one of the least examined in terms of actual implementation and effectiveness. How often and how well do instructors, whose administrators and gurus revere the concept of differentiated instruction, actually carry it out? How well does it work and for which kids under what circumstances? So far as I can tell, nobody really knows. I've been roaming the globe in search of effective strategies for educating high-ability youngsters, particularly kids from disadvantaged circumstances who rarely have parents with the knowledge and means to steer them through the education maze and obtain the kind of schooling (and/or supplementation or acceleration) that will make the most of their above-average capacity to learn. As expected, I've found a wide array of programs and policies intended for "gifted education," "talent development," and so forth, each with pluses and minuses."

"What happens when administrators throw out the rulebook and try fundamentally different models of education? The models are all different: In one successful school, kids help choose the lunch plan. In another, classes start at 10 a.m. (with less homework-and more field trips). And in a third school, physical education happens three times a day, instead of once a week. Sound like items from a third grader's wish list? Nope. These are initiatives from real schools where, instead of nibbling at the edges of curriculum and technology, administrators have embraced radically new approaches to the very idea of school itself. We caught up with leaders at three such schools to find out how it's working out for them-and to show you what you can steal for your own district, without necessarily ­turning your whole model upside down. "

"Education has to focus on learning how to learn - metacognition. School will still be important, but not to impart what happened during the Revolutionary War or to teach the quadratic formula. School, he said, should focus on teaching young people the intangibles, the things that make humans unique: relationships, flexibility, humanity, how to make discriminating decisions, resilience, innovation, adaptability, wisdom, ethics, curiosity, how to ask good questions, synthesizing and integrating information, and of course, creating. "

"Jon Negroni isn't done with his Pixar theories. As it turns out, Andy, the boy Woody and Buzz Lightyear belong to in the "Toy Story" movies, has a surprising family history. Remember last summer, when Pixar superfan Negroni wrote up his incredibly comprehensive report linking all of the studio's movies into one giant, linear universe? It was an ambitious undertaking that resulted in something obsessively researched and remarkably well-reasoned. In short, it blew our minds. And now, he's reemerged with a new theory, this one revealing the secret identity of Andy's mom, pointing to the many clues served up in "Toy Story 2.""

"Every Pixar movie is connected. I explain how, and possibly why. Several months ago, I watched a fun-filled video on Cracked.com that introduced the idea (at least to me) that all of the Pixar movies actually exist within the same universe. Since then, I've obsessed over this concept, working to complete what I call "The Pixar Theory," a working narrative that ties all of the Pixar movies into one cohesive timeline with a main theme."

"Last December, after the events at Sandy Hook Elementary, I stumbled upon the Facebook page that Ana Marquez-Greene's parents had set up for her. I followed the page and spent the last year getting to know Ana through the eyes of her parents. I knew that I wanted to commemorate the day with a blog post that celebrated the life of this angel. I've been preparing to write that post for months."

Young man (magician) telling story of Bible through deck of cards and thanking soldiers who protect us. amazing!

"We had a delightful visit to The School of the Future in New York City the other day. Lots of engaged kids, a great blend of instruction and constructivist work, and an obvious intellectual culture. And as the picture illustrates, everywhere we went we also saw helpful visual reminders of the big ideas and essential questions framing the work we were watching: School of the Future staff have long been users of UbD tools and ideas. But far too often over the years I have seen plenty of good stuff posted like this - but no deep embedding of the Essential Question (EQ) into the unit design and lessons that make it up. Merely posting the EQs and occasionally reminding kids of it is pointless: the aim is to use the question to frame specific activities, to provide perspective and focus, to prioritize the course, and to signal to students that, eventually, THEY must - on their own - pose this and other key questions. (Note: I am not criticizing what we saw and heard at SoF, rather using this teachable moment to raise an issue that needs addressing by almost all faculty using our work.)"

"In the fall of 2006, Clarence R. Edwards Middle School ("the Edwards" as it is known locally within Boston Public Schools) became one of the first schools in the state of Massachusetts to implement the Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Initiative. The reasons why were simple: we were not making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and we wanted to make significant academic gains with our students. As it turned out, making our school day longer was one of the best things we could have done to help reform our school model and improve student outcomes. Our statewide exam scores, student enrollment, daily student attendance rate, community and family engagement, and time for team teaching/collaboration all improved as a result of ELT. "

"Handwriting still has a place in the digital age, its proponents say, and they hoped that what they billed as a "summit" on the subject this week would spotlight their case for the enduring value of handwriting in the learning process."

"Welcome to Katie's Krops....Growing for the Greater Good! The idea for Katie's Krops began with a 9 year old girl and a 40 pound cabbage. In 2008 Katie brought home a tiny cabbage seedling home from school as part of the Bonnie Plants 3rd Grade Cabbage Program. She tended to her cabbage and cared for it until it grew to an amazing 40 pounds. Knowing her cabbage was special she donated to a soup kitchen where it helped to feed over 275 people. Moved by the experience of seeing how many people could benefit from the donation of fresh produce to soup kitchens, Katie decided to start vegetable gardens and donate the harvest to help feed people in need."

Random Acts of Kindess

"Last month, while at the Apple Education Leadership Conference, I went to a presentation about the SAMR model. This weekend the IT department went on a retreat to our school's chalet in the Alps and one of the issues we were considering was how to raise the level of technology from enhancing the curriculum to transforming the curriculum. Often we attend planning meetings where teachers suggest using technology in a way that is merely enhancing what they are doing (the S and A in the model) - we have decided that if they want to do that they should book the lab themselves and do these activities, the ones shown in blue on the above diagram - and that this will free us up as IT teachers to go into the classrooms to concentrate more on the M and R to transform the learning experience (shown in pink on the diagram)."

"Technology does not necessarily improve education. Take a simple innovation like the pencil: One can use it to write a superlative essay, to drum away the time, or to poke out someone's eye. The best television has educated thousands, while the daily network offerings dull the sensibilities of millions. "

"Visual representations of data is extremely valuable for all of us in the education industry; we've got to consume a lot of it to make valuable decisions for our students and schools."

"At a time proposed state funding cuts have put some full-day kindergarten programs in jeopardy, a new report says that the program improves reading skills."

"At Big Picture Learning, we are always trying to see learning with "new eyes" in order to enrich our school design and to sharpen our practice."

"However, you can help people discover what they can use to motivate themselves. This is very similar to what Edward Deci, one of the premier researchers and authorities on intrinsic motivation, wrote: "The proper question is not, 'how can people motivate others?' but rather, "how can people create the conditions within which others will motivate themselves?" "

"Twenty-three second-graders file into Virginia Edwards' technology classroom at Grant Ranch School, take a seat at their iMacs, pull on headphones and launch a program whose graphics and audio prompts teach them crucial keyboarding skills."