curriculum

What are the pros and cons of the Common Core Standards?

On 09/23/2011, in 21st century, curriculum, education, education reform, expectations, K-12 related, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, policy, strategy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I haven’t had the chance to research this much, but I wanted to post several items re: the Common Core Standards. The jury is still out with me as to what I think about them. My initial concerns center around the ideas/curriculums and course offerings/assessment tools involved with the word “standards” — with implementing things that result in clear, consistent expectations.

I have become increasingly hesitant towards words like “standards” and “expectations” — at least as these words are currently being used in this context. I’m not saying that the Common Core Standards will try to further pound round pegs into square holes — though that type of thing captures my hesitation here — as not everyone has the same gifts, abilities, and passions. Much of the current K-12 systems focus so much on STEM-related items — at the expense of so much more that’s out there in the world today.

With that said, I like the idea of getting students prepared — as much as possible — for helping them hit the ground running later on in life when they will need to either go to college and/or get a job. I can see where if a student moves from one district/state to another, how it can be very helpful to have a shared foundation from which to develop the student’s current educational needs and plans.

Some items on this:

Common Core State Standards: A note to parents — from Core 4 All by Alan Matan
By the way, I appreciate Alan’s statement in his posting that asserts:
“The 21^st century skills embedded in the Common Core will pave the way for students to think, reflect, analyze, influence, evaluate, and communicate.”
Implementing Common Core Standards — from Advancing the Teaching Profession by Susan Graham
CEP reports on progress of Common Core — from Educational Publishing
Implementation of the Common Core Standards is proceeding with little resistance, but challenges remain in funding and guidance, according to a new study from the Center on Education Policy (CEP). CEP undertook the study to determine how far along each of the adopting states was in implementing the Common Core Standards and what their perceptions are of the standards.
CoreStandards.org

From DSC:

What do you think? What are the pros and cons of implementing the Common Core Standards? From the teacher’s viewpoint? From the student’s viewpoint? From the administrator’s viewpoint? From the parent’s viewpoint?

I look forward to learning more about them and to hearing others’ perspectives on them.

10 salient studies on the arts in education [onlinecolleges.net]

On 09/13/2011, in art, budgets, creativity, curriculum, drama/theater, education, K-12 related, music, by Daniel Christian

10 salient studies on the arts in education — from onlinecolleges.net

Excerpt:

A fine arts education — including music, theater, drawing, painting, or sculpture — whether in practice or theory, has been a part of any well-rounded curriculum for decades — but that may be changing. Many schools today are cutting back or eliminating their art programs due to budget constraints. It is estimated that by the end of this year, more than 25% of public high schools will have completely dismantled them. These stats aren’t just bad news for teachers working in the arts. Numerous studies done over the past decade have demonstrated the amazing benefits of such an integral education facet. Students who don’t have access to art classes may not only miss out on a key creative outlet, but might also face greater difficulty mastering core subjects, higher dropout rates and more disciplinary problems.

You don’t have to take our word for it — you can read the studies yourself. Here, we’ve listed some of the biggest on the arts in education conducted over the past decade. Taken on by research organizations, college professors and school districts themselves, the studies reveal the power of art to inspire, motivate and educate today’s students. And, of course, demonstrate what a disservice many schools are doing by undervaluing such an integral part of their education and development (emphasis DSC).

Tagged with: art • art history • budgetary • creativity • curriculum • drama/theater • education • K-12 • music

Also see:

How a Changing Labor Market Affects Education — from Education Stormfront

Tagged with: 21st century • AI • career development • corporate training / universities • creativity • design • economics/business • future • higher education • multimedia • new media literacies • professional development • society • technology (general) • training • web-based collaboration • workplace

Tagged with: 21st century • computer science • curriculum • K-12

Common-Core writers craft curriculum criteria [Gewertz]

On 07/24/2011, in assessment, curriculum, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, United States, by Daniel Christian

Common-Core writers craft curriculum criteria — from edweek.org by Catherine Gewertz

Excerpt:

New guidelines on crafting curriculum materials for the common standards in English/language arts are reigniting debate about how to ensure a marketplace of good instructional materials for the new standards without crossing the line into telling teachers how to teach.

Also see:

Tagged with: assessment • Common Core State Standards • curriculum • K-12 • legislation • standardized testing • United States

Reflections upon “MBA Curriculum Changes: Wharton, Yale, and Stanford Lead the Pack”

On 03/22/2011, in 21st century, business, corporate / business world, curriculum, Daniel S. Christian, future, innovation, leadership, learning agents, learning ecosystem, MBA, metacognition / metacognitive skills, strategy, technology (general), vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

MBA Curriculum Changes: Wharton, Yale, and Stanford Lead the Pack — from knewton.com by Christina Yu

Excerpt (citing article from a U.S. News article):

“Rather than consider pre-digested summaries of company situations, students tackle ‘raw cases’ packed with original data. Instead of being presented with an income statement, for example, they must mine the considerably bulkier annual filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission for data. The raw cases ‘push us to understand,’ says second-year Yale student Jason Hill. ‘They purposely put in more material than you could ever look at, but you have to learn where to look.’” (emphasis DSC)

From DSC:
I found this to be a good, interesting post. I just had a couple of thoughts that I wanted to throw out there re: it.

In looking at trends from an 80,000-foot level, I’d vote for MBA programs integrating much more of the tech-know-how — and/or appreciation of what technologies can bring to the table — as well as teaching grad students about some of the tools/technologies that are emerging these days (and I’d bet that the leaders/schools mentioned in this article are already doing this) .

I remember an instructor years ago — at SFSU’s MSP Program — saying that bots and agents will be the key to making decisions in the future, as there will be too much information for a person to sift through. The streams of content need to be tapped — but in efficient ways. So perhaps the logical step here is for MBA students to learn what bots/agents are, how to use them, and what their applications might be in making business/strategic decisions.

The most successful organizations of the future will be well-versed in technologies and what the applications/benefits of these technologies are. My bet? If you don’t have a technologist at the power table of your organization, the outlook doesn’t look very bright for your organization in terms of surviving and thriving in the future. Organizations will also need to be willing to take risks and move forward without having a full cost-benefit analysis done — as many times these don’t work well or are not even possible when implementing tech-based endeavors/visions.

Also relevant here:

Ten Steps Ahead: What Separates Successful Business Visionaries from the Rest of Us

Tagged with: 21st century • business • corporate / business world • curriculum • Daniel S. Christian • future • information overload • innovation • leadership • Learning Agents • learning ecosystem • management • MBA • metacognition • strategy • technology (general) • vision

Educated Citizen [Brian Kuhn, Canada]

On 03/21/2011, in curriculum, future, by Daniel Christian

Educated Citizen — from Brian Kuhn (Canada)

Also see:

2020 teachers — Steve Wheeler

Tagged with: curriculum • digital citizenship • future

Common curriculum/content: Is this a step in the right direction or in the wrong direction?

On 03/07/2011, in curriculum, education reform, K-12 related, leadership, strategy, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Leaders Call for Shared Curriculum Guidelines — from edweek.org by Catherine Gewertz
Diverse group says framework needed for new common standards

Seventy-five respected leaders in education, business, and government issued a call this week to devise shared curriculum guidelines for the new common standards.

The move is notable for finding common ground on a sensitive topic among an ideologically diverse group of thinkers. Signatories include political liberals and conservatives, and those with varying views on controversial education issues such as charter schools, testing policy, and ways to evaluate and compensate teachers.

From the “A Call for Common Content” webpage:
To be clear, by “curriculum” we mean a coherent, sequential set of guidelines in the core academic disciplines, specifying the content knowledge and skills that all students are expected to learn, over time, in a thoughtful progression across the grades. We do not mean performance standards, textbook offerings, daily lesson plans, or rigid pedagogical prescriptions.

From DSC:
This concerns me…as such a call for common content would be more palatable to me if ALL academic disciplines were available and represented equally — not just STEM-related items. Also, does the common content represent the average citizen? (Come to think of it, who/what is the average citizen and what do they want to pursue?)

I think that we need to move more towards an individualized/customized learning approach, where students can pursue their passions and God-given gifts. With dropout rates approaching 30%, is movement towards a common curriculum a step in the right direction? Will such a strategy decrease or increase the drop out rates? Will such a strategy end up creating a vanilla/cookie-cutter approach to K-12 education where you had better like STEM-related topics or else…oh well…better luck next time?

Your thoughts on this? Am I off-base on this?

Addendum on 3/8/11:
Summary of Research Statistics

40 million American adults did not complete high school.
The high school graduate, on average, earns $500,000 more in a lifetime as compared to an individual who did not complete high school.
Most high school dropouts (70%) have the intellectual ability to complete the courses needed for high school graduation.
Most high school dropouts do not feel a connection between high school courses and future employment.
75% of high school dropouts stated that if they could relive the experience, they would have stayed in high school.
81% of dropouts expressed a need for schooling that connected academics and employment.

Addendum on 3/23/11:

‘Curriculum’ Definition Raises Red Flags –– from edweek.org by Catherine Gewertz

Tagged with: curriculum • education reform • K-12 • leadership • strategy • United States • vision

How do we best educate our students to be successful in this type of workplace/manufacturing environment?

On 02/24/2011, in 21st century, change, curriculum, education, engineering, strategy, student-related, surviving, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Also see:

A Whole New Mind — by Daniel Pink
To survive in this age, individuals and organizations must examine what they’re doing to earn a living and ask themselves three questions:
1) Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2) Can a computer do it faster?
3) Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance? (p. 51)

Tagged with: 21st century • career development • change • curriculum • education • engineering • strategy • student-related • surviving • workplace

The Higher Education Landscape — by Mel Netzhammer

On 02/15/2011, in accreditation, assessment, budgets, business side of he, change, curriculum, higher education, learning, legislatures / government / legal, policy, staying relevant, teaching & learning, trends, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As I was reviewing Mel’s presentation, I couldn’t help but think of the amazing amount of pressure colleges and universities will be under towards “standardization” — or at minimum, institutions may need to accept much of what has occurred at another school. The costs are too high not to — and the expectations from parents, students, legislatures, and the general public may force this to occur.

Along these lines, I think that the dynamics of teaching and learning change when we talk about the cost of an education going from a few thousand to 150,000+ for 4 years. Expectations are one thing that change; Mel’s presentation points to this a bit. But I also wondered…how will institutions of higher education differentiate themselves if these pressures for portability continue to build? How will they keep from becoming a commodity?

Also noteworthy was Mel’s slide re: what students can ultimately DO as a result of their educations — this may become more of the Holy Grail of Assessment.

Tagged with: accreditation • adding value/not a commodity • assessment • budgetary • curriculum • financial aid • higher education • learning • legislation • policy • staying relevant • teaching & learning • trends

Educause: The Changing Landscape of Higher Education— by David Staley and Dennis Trinkle
The authors identify ten fissures in the landscape that are creating areas of potentially tectonic change.

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • adult learners/learning • career development • change • corporate / business world • cost of getting an education • curriculum • faculty • future • future of higher education • game-changing environment • global • higher education • learning ecosystem • Lifelong learning • nontraditional • perfect storm • student-related • traditional • trends • universities • workplace

Georgia Tech Center to explore 21st century universities — from CampusTechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

The Georgia Institute of Technology is setting up a new center specifically to serve as a living laboratory for testing new forms of education. Driven by the growth of social networking, online learning, and other developments, the Center for 21st Century Universities will enable faculty at the Atlanta institution to experiment with new approaches to curriculum and its delivery. According to former College of Computing Dean Rich DeMillo, who will lead the center, it will also work with national and international groups involved in higher education reform. The first item on the center’s agenda is to develop a seed grant program for promising early proposals.

Tagged with: 1:1 • 21st century • 24x7x365 • blended learning • customized learning • digital learning • education reform • educational gaming • educational technology • emerging technologies • future of higher education • game-changing environment • hybrid learning • ideas • innovation • leadership • online learning • personalized learning • social learning • social media • social networking • teaching & learning • vision

Updates re: Pearson

On 01/19/2011, in curriculum, digital learning, global / globalization, India, instructional design, online learning, online media, online tutoring, publishing, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
A global push continues to be evident in some of the things that Pearson has been up to in the last year:

Pearson takes controlling stake in India’s TutorVista — from WSJ (1/11)
Pearson acquires TutorVista: expands Pearson’s business in education in India and in global online tutoring — from Pearson (1/11)
Pearson to offer degrees in the UK — from Pearson (12/2010)
Pearson VUE opens Dubai office and appoints local Arabic-speaking team — from Pearson (11/2010)
Pearson acquires The Administrative Assistants Ltd.; extends leadership in student information systems — from Pearson (11/2010)
Pearson to open fifty new English language centres in China — from Pearson (11/2010)
Pearson to acquire 75% stake in CTI Education Group, a leading higher education company in South Africa — from Pearson (11/2010)
Pearson eCollege, National Academy Foundation partner to provide online teacher professional development — from Pearson (9/2010)
Pearson to acquire America’s Choice: plans to extend reach of school improvement services — from Pearson (8/2010)
Pearson to acquire Wall Street Institute: acquisition extends Pearson’s position as world leader in English language teaching — from Pearson (7/2010)
Pearson raises earnings guidance — from Financial Times
- Pearson, the publishing group that owns Penguin books and the Financial Times, raised its full-year earnings forecasts for the third time in less than six months, thanks to strong growth in computer-based learning products and in the developing world.

Tagged with: curriculum • digital learning • global • Global learning • India • instructional design • online learning • online media • online tutoring • publishing • UK • United States • vendors

Crafting e-curriculum that inspires [EdWeek.org]

On 01/13/2011, in blended learning, change, curriculum, engagement / engaging students, hybrid learning, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learning ecosystem, Michigan, motivation, online learning, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Crafting E-Curriculum That Inspires

Digital edition/interactive PDF version of the report.

Also see:

Excerpt:

The 19,100-student Grand Rapids school district in Michigan launched blended-learning classes this past fall. The district has started with high school social studies and math classes.

“There was some initial resistance from the public—concerned parents with the perception that kids are just going to be stuck in computer labs—but that’s absolutely contrary to what [this] is,” said John Helmholdt, the director of communications for the district. “When you say blended, people don’t understand what that means. It took months of really trying to educate and raise awareness of really what it was we were trying to do.”

Moving to a blended model actually made teacher-student ratios better, according to Mr. Helmholdt, by layering on support-staff members to circulate when the students were completing work online.

In Grand Rapids, the blended classes go through a three-day rotation of face-to-face and online instruction. During the first day, students receive a traditional lecture-based class in a regular classroom where a new concept is introduced. On the second day, the class starts by going over the concept again and then beginning to use some of the online software and support tools that reinforce the concept. On the third day, the students work solely with digital resources. [Rest of article here.]

From DSC:
I am very glad that the Grand Rapids school system is moving in this direction! It is a huge step in the right direction and I congratulate the district’s leadership for their vision and patience while this plane gets off the runway. This endeavor will help the students begin to build digital/information literacy. It will open their minds up to numerous creative possibilities — as well as career opportunities and goals. They are beginning to have “the world as their school“.

Tagged with: blended learning • change • curriculum • engagement • hybrid learning • instructional design • K-12 • leadership • Michigan • motivation • online learning • strategy

Tagged with: computer science • curriculum • K-12

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Learning Ecosystems

Reflections upon “MBA Curriculum Changes: Wharton, Yale, and Stanford Lead the Pack”

Educated Citizen [Brian Kuhn, Canada]

The Higher Education Landscape — by Mel Netzhammer

Updates re: Pearson

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