An A to Z list of Michigan colleges and universities — from mlive.com
On 09/02/2011,
in higher education, Michigan,
by Daniel Christian
On 08/19/2011,
in analytics, data related items, education, K-12 related, Michigan,
by Daniel Christian
Web site lets you compare Michigan high schools’ success — Detroit Free Press by Lori Higgins
Also see:
On 08/17/2011,
in faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, higher education, Michigan, relationships, student-related, United States,
by Daniel Christian
See what a summer day in West Michigan can offer.
Los Campesinos’ “You! Me! Dancing!” used with permission of Turnstile Music.
On 08/06/2011,
in 21st century, learning spaces, Michigan, science, smart classrooms, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Custer helped Calvin College outfit a new science lab;
above picture features one of the possible implementations of Steelcase’s Media:Scape product
On 06/28/2011,
in flipping -- inverted learning, Michigan,
by Daniel Christian
Clintondale High cuts freshman failure rates with flipped classes — fromConverge.com by Tanya Roscorla (Detroit, MI, USA)
Excerpt:
In an urban school outside Detroit, more than half of freshmen failed English in fall 2009.
Along with failing classes, freshmen students got in trouble. A lot. That semester, principals at Clintondale High School dealt with 736 discipline cases for 165 students.
A year later, the scene changed.
Of 165 freshmen, only 19 percent failed English. Math classes saw similar results, going from 44 to 13 percent. And both science and social studies failure rates dropped too.
On 06/12/2011,
in budgets, business, career development, entrepreneurship, innovation, Michigan, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
$3 billion slated for Michigan start-ups through Pure Michigan Business Connect — from metromodemedia.com
Excerpt:
The recently announced Pure Michigan Business Connect initiative promises to leverage about $3 billion in seed capital and new revenue streams for Michigan-based start-ups, thanks to some local heavy hitters stepping up to the plate.
David I. Smith
Director, Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning
Professor, Department of Germanic and Asian Languages
.
Our efforts to think about teaching and learning in a Christian manner have often been focused on broad philosophical questions and principles, leaving open the task of relating these to the daily work of the teacher. This workshop, to be held at Calvin College and led by David I. Smith, Director of the Kuyers Institute, will explore how a closer examination of the nature of practice can shed light on the calling of the Christian teacher and on what might be Christian about a school or classroom, not merely in terms of conveying Christian ideas but rather in terms of shared practices. Participants will study and discuss recent work on the nature of social practices and of Christian practices. We will focus on how our participation in shared practices relates to formation in the classroom, and how the choice and design of such practices relates to Christian faith.
Further information:
The Kuyers Institute will offer its Teaching as a Christian Practice summer workshop, during July 11-15, 2011, at Calvin College.
The workshop is open to P-12 educators from any subject area and to Christian faculty in higher education (especially, but not limited to, education departments). The participation fee for the workshop is $100; both graduate credit from Calvin College and Michigan SB-CEUs are available at an additional cost. Thanks to a grant from the Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in Faith, the cost of study materials and lunches during the workshop will be covered, optional graduate credit will be available at a discounted rate, and a limited number of needs-based scholarships (up to $300 each) will be available to defray accommodation and travel costs for out-of-town participants. Attendance will be limited to 20 participants.
The workshop will explore how a closer examination of the nature of practice can shed light on the relationship between faith and learning. Our efforts to think about teaching and learning in a Christian manner have often been focused on broad philosophical questions and principles, leaving open the task of relating these to the daily work of the teacher. This workshop will examine what recent discussions of Christian practices have to do with schools and classrooms: can an exploration of Christian practices help us to discern the calling of the Christian teacher and to articulate what might be Christian about a school or classroom? Together we will explore what it might mean to approach Christian teaching and learning not merely as the conveying of Christian ideas, but as a shared Christian practice. While the workshop will place a strong emphasis on practical application, an interest in thinking broadly about issues of faith and learning is a prerequisite.
Also see:
- Seminars in Christian Scholarship — including the Kuyers Institute fall conference, Education as Formation: Christian Approaches
On 02/16/2011,
in chemistry, faith, flipping -- inverted learning, Michigan, pedagogy, strategy, teaching & learning,
by Daniel Christian
The Fisch Flip in Michigan: Dale Eizenga on flipping traditional lecture and homework routines — from singaporeeducationdirectory.com
Excerpt:
Today I had the opportunity to spend time visiting with teachers and students at Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Michigan. One highlight of my day was the following five minutes of sharing by Holland Christian Schools’ chemistry teacher Dale Eizenga. Dale explained how access to a variety of technology resources has enabled him to flip the traditional in-class lecture and at-home assignment model of learning. Using software and websites, Dale records many lessons for students and makes those screencast videos available online and via the school’s podcast channel.
Several things are notable here. First, Dale didn’t read about Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, or Karl Fisch, online or in print. He stumbled upon this instructional model when his school provided all teachers and students with a robust digital learning environment. That not only includes access to laptops (for everyone in grades 6-12) but also an online learning management system (Moodle,) robust digital curriculum resources, school-supported options for sharing videos online, AND certified educators supporting technology integration. There are a lot of ingredients to this situation, and that’s critical to understand.
Secondly, Dale addresses in the video how some students struggle with this SHIFT to a “lecture at home on video” model. Dale still shares some lectures in class with students. He mixes it up. Dale explains this model forces students to “own their learning” in ways they may not have needed to in a traditional lecture-in-class setting. Dale relates this as “more of a college model,” where students are responsible for THEIR OWN learning. Dale explains his instructional role as one where he surrounds students with learning resources, and then assists students as they access / utilize those resources. When students aren’t “getting it,” he’s able to talk with them to find out if they’ve watched the podcast video which applies to the current topic or skill, and find out what students need specifically to master new content.
From DSC:
The folks at Holland Christian are doing an awesome job! Keep up the great work over there!
.
On 01/15/2011,
in Australia, budgets, economics, education reform, Europe, global / globalization, India, K-12 related, Michigan, online learning, open courseware and systems, relationships, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Half of Detroit’s schools may close — from good.is
Financial mismanagement and declining enrollment are ringing a death knell for Detroit’s schools. According to Detroit Public School Emergency Manager Robert Bobb, to close a $327 million budget deficit, he’ll need to shut half of the city’s campuses over the next two years.
Under the plan, the 142 current schools in the district would be reduced to 72 by the 2012-13 school year. What will happen to the students attending those schools? Bobb plans to shift them over to the remaining campuses, raising class sizes to 62 students per teacher.
From DSC:
Seriously…this is crazy and completely unfair! Those of us who have more resources need to step in and help out. But how can we best do this? How can folks outside of the Detroit area make a solid, helpful impact? Coming from the tech side of the house, I’d like to see us offer FREE materials…online.
That assistance could come from private corporations, individuals, colleges, universities or for-profit organizations such as K12 Inc. Another idea along the lines of individuals, is to allocate $1-$5 billion from the amounts being donated by some of the nation’s wealthiest people. Use those funds to make outstanding educational materials that engage our youth. Then we could offer those incredibly-well done, multimedia-based, interactive, engaging, highly-sophisticated materials FREELY to anyone who wants access to them — whether inside or outside the United States. This would be a massive undertaking from a curricular, instructional design, programming, production, etc. standpoint. But WOW! What a difference it could make to level the playing field!
Perhaps working with vendors, some of the funding could be used for loaning out the devices needed to “play” and interact with the materials, and perhaps some other funding could be allocated to the city of Detroit to provide wireless access throughout the city and surrounding suburbs.
Also see:
The $600 billion challenge– from Fortune
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking the nation’s billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of philanthropy.
