participation

Several items re: microschooling, homeschooling, & why families may seek alternatives

On 06/23/2024, in Alternatives, education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, parents/guardians, participation, society, sociology, special needs, student-related, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

Microschooling Movement’s Latest Wave of Major National Media Coverage — from microschoolingcenter.org by Don Soifer

Today’s microschooling movement continues to attract major coverage in national and local media outlets around the country. This week saw important new feature articles highlighting microschools in two of the most influential.

The New York Times ran this piece by its lead national education reporter Dana Goldstein, who visited several Georgia microschools and conducted research and interviews with leaders there and around the country. “…The appeal goes beyond the Republican base and includes many working- or middle-class Black and Latino parents — especially those whose children are disabled, and who feel public schools are not meeting their needs,” the article found. The National Microschooling Center was pleased to see several of the Times’ explanations and background about our exciting movement cited in our own published research.

Also this week, The Hill, Congress’ own daily newspaper, published its own article, “What Are Microschools? The Small Classrooms Growing Large in the School Choice Movement.”

Also relevant, see:

Maine’s Microschooling Movement: As New Wave of Schools Launch, Many Old Ones Are Redefining Themselves — from the74million.org by Kerry McDonald; via GSV
McDonald: Founders across the state see a growing movement toward smaller, simpler, more holistic educational models.

It’s part of a growing trend, both in Maine and nationally, of new schools and spaces offering smaller, more individualized, more flexible learning options that parents and teachers desire. Many of these programs, including School Around Us, are part of the VELA Founder Network that supports alternative education environments across the U.S. with grants and entrepreneurial resources.

According to the new Johns Hopkins UniversityHomeschool Hub, homeschooling numbers now hover around six percent of the total K-12 school-age population, a dramatic increase from pre-pandemic estimates. Maine has seen its homeschooling numbersremainhigh since 2020.

Public Schools Violate Their Sacred Mission When They Turn Students Away — from the74million.org by Tim DeRoche
DeRoche: There needs to be more legal oversight of school and district enrollment policies to ensure that public education is truly open to all.

Some readers may be surprised to learn that many U.S. high schools deny entry to legally eligible students. It is, after all, conventional wisdom that public schools are open to all families and that they eagerly seek to serve all potential students.
…
Available to All launched in early 2023 as a nonpartisan watchdog defending equal access to public schools. We have documented many cases in which schools turn away students, either unfairly or illegally, based on discriminatory criteria…

Families should have the legal right to apply to any public school, and the school should be required to publish a formal letter of denial if a child is rejected, explaining the legal basis for the decision. Every public school should be required to publish application and enrollment data, and every American family should have the right to appeal denial of enrollment to a neutral third party (as families already do in a handful of states, including California and Arkansas).

And speaking of homeschooling…

Outschool Launches Courses to Support Increased Interest in Homeschooling and Alternative Education — from prnewswire.com by Outschool

SAN FRANCISCO, June 19, 2024/PRNewswire/ — Leading online learning platform, Outschool announced today the launch of Courses, new classes and features designed specifically for homeschool and alternative education families. Outschool’s Courses is designed to empower homeschooling families and power-users of Outschool to craft their own individualized education with expert teachers, unique and engaging classes, easy scheduling, and progress tracking. Outschool Courses has been created to help families put their learner’s unique educational needs first.

A Record Number of Kids Are in Special Education—and It’s Getting Harder to Help Them All — from wsj.com by Sara Randazzo and Matt Barnum (behind a paywall)
What’s driving a rise in special education: pandemic disruptions, a shrinking stigma

More American children than ever are qualifying for special education, but schools are struggling to find enough teachers to meet their needs.

A record 7.5 million students accessed special-education services in U.S. schools as of 2022-2023, including children with autism, speech impairments and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. That is 15.2% of the public-school student population…

From DSC:
For anyone who really believes that teaching is easy, try attending a few Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings. You’ll be blown away about how intricate and challenging teaching can be.

The future of career exploration is virtual [Rajakumar]

On 06/19/2024, in career development, engagement / engaging students, motivation, participation, real-world assignments, reinvent, skills, society, sociology, student-related, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, XR - extended reality, youth, by Daniel Christian

The future of career exploration is virtual — from fastcompany.com by Bharani Rajakumar
Maximizing our investment and reinvigorating the workforce will take a whole new approach to educating students about the paths that await.

A PUSH TOWARD EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
There is an answer to our narrow-view career exploration, and it starts with experiential learning.

Over the last decade, educational institutions have been reaping the rewards of more engrossing learning experiences. As Independent School magazine wrote a decade ago, when experiential learning was becoming more popular, by setting young people “loose to solve real-world problems, we are helping students find that essential spark not only to build their academic résumés, but also to be creative, caring, capable, engaged human beings.”

Rather than take students on field trips, we have the technology to create extended reality (XR) experiences that take students on a journey of what various careers actually look like in action.

Learning to Work, Or Working to Learn? [Crisp]

On 05/12/2024, in apprenticeships, business, career development, corporate / business world, Design Thinking, education, education reform, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, participation, passions, project-based learning, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Learning to Work, Or Working to Learn? — from insidehighered.com by Erin Crisp; via Melanie Booth, Ed.D. on LinkedIn
We need a systems approach to making work-to-learn models just as accessible as traditional learn-to-work pathways, Erin Crisp writes.

Over the past two years, I have had the unique experience of scaling support for a statewide registered teacher-apprenticeship program while also parenting three college-aged sons. The declining appeal of postsecondary education, especially among young men, is evident at my dinner table, in my office, and in my dreams (literally).
…
Scaling a statewide apprenticeship program for the preparation of teachers has meant that I am consistently hearing from four stakeholder groups—K-12 school district leaders, college and university leaders, aspiring young educators, and local workforce development leaders.

A theme has emerged from my professional life, one that echoes the dinner table conversations happening in my personal life: Society needs systematic work-to-learn pathways in addition to the current learn-to-work ecosystem. This is not an either/or. What we need is a systematic expansion of effort.

In a work-to-learn model, the traditional college sequence is flipped. Instead of starting with general education coursework or survey courses, the working learner is actively engaged in practicing the skills they are interested in acquiring. A workplace supervisor often helps him make connections between the coursework and the job. The learner’s attention is piqued. The learning is relevant. The learner gains confidence, and seeing their influence in the workplace (and paycheck) is satisfying. All of the ARCS model elements are easily achieved.

The US is experiencing a boom in microschools. What are they? [O’Connell-Domenech] + other items from the K12 learning ecosystem

On 04/12/2024, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, motivation, participation, personalized/customized learning, society, special needs, student-related, teachers, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

The US is experiencing a boom in microschools. What are they? — from thehill.com by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech; via GSV

Story at a glance (emphasis DSC)

There has been a surge in new microschools in the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Microschooling Network estimates there are about 95,000 microschools in the country. The median microschool serves 16 students.
There is no regulatory body solely responsible for tracking microschools, so it is difficult to determine just how much their popularity has grown.

Advocates for microschools say they offer some students — especially those who are gifted or have learning disabilities — a greater chance to thrive academically and socially than traditional schools do.

At Sphinx Academy, a micro-school based in Lexington, Ky., almost all 24 students are “twice exceptional,” meaning they are gifted in one academic area but have one or more learning disabilities like ADHD or dyslexia, according to the school’s director Jennifer Lincoln.

Student Apathy Is a Big Classroom Challenge, Teachers Say. Cellphones Aren’t Helping — from edweek.org by Madeline Will

The stakes are high: Students have a lot of academic ground to make up following the pandemic. Yet they’re not fully engaged in the classroom, teachers report in a new national survey.

3 Steps for Creating Video Projects With Elementary Students — from edutopia.org by Bill Manchester
A straightforward plan for facilitating multimedia projects helps ensure collaborative learning and a fun classroom experience.

Having elementary students make their own videos instead of consuming content made by someone else sounds like a highly engaging educational experience. But if you’ve ever tried to get 25 third graders to use a video editing software platform that they’ve never seen before, it can get really frustrating really fast. It’s easy for the lesson to become entirely centered around how to use the software without any subject-area content learning.

Through years of trial and error with K–6 students, I’ve developed three guiding concepts for elementary video projects so that teachers and students have a good experience.

Supporting Students As They Work Independently — from by Marcus Luther and The Broken Copier
4 tools that have helped me improve “independent work time”

Movement-Based Games That Help Students With Spelling — from edutopia.org by Jocelyn Greene
Games that combine spelling with physical activity can make it easier for young students to learn new words.

Like actors, students are often tasked with memorization. Although education has evolved to incorporate project-based learning and guided play, there’s no getting around the necessity of knowing the multiplication tables, capital cities, and correct spelling.

The following are movement-based games that build students’ abilities to retain spelling words specifically. Ideally, these exercises support them academically as well as socially. Research shows that learning through play promotes listening, focus, empathy, and self-awareness—benefits that build students’ social and emotional learning skills.

Quizlet Survey Reveals Students Crave Life Skills Education — from prnewswire.com by Quizlet; via GSV

The survey’s key findings included:

Financial and life skills uncertainty: One-third of recent graduates don’t believe they have or are unsure they have the financial and core life skills needed to succeed in the world.
Appetite for non-academic courses: 68% of recent graduates think non-academically focused courses in formal education settings would better prepare students for the real world. This belief is especially strong among respondents that attended public schools and colleges (71%).
Automotive maintenance skills are stalled: More than any other skill, nearly one in five recent graduates say they are the least confident in handling automotive maintenance, such as changing a tire or their oil. This is followed by financial planning (17%), insurance (12%), minor home repairs (11%), cooking (11%), cleaning (8%) and organizing (8%).
Financial planning woes: A majority (79%) of recent graduates said financial planning overwhelms them the most – and of all the life skills highlighted in the survey, 29% of respondents said it negatively impacts their mental health.
Social media as a learning tool: Social media is helping fill the skills gap, with 33% of recent graduates turning to it for life skills knowledge.

From DSC:
Our son would agree with many of these findings. He would like to have learned things like how to do/file his taxes, learn more about healthcare insurance, and similar real-world/highly-applicable types of knowledge. Those involved with K12 curriculum decisions, please take a serious look at this feedback and make the necessary changes/additions.

How Can Educators Build Support Systems for Students Eyeing Technician Jobs? — from gettingsmart.com by Dr. Parminder Jassal

Key Points

Integrating technical skills into the high school curriculum can inspire and prepare students for diverse roles. This approach is key to fostering equity and inclusivity in the job market.
By forging partnerships with community colleges and technical schools, high schools can democratize access to education and ensure students from all backgrounds have equal opportunities for success in technical fields.
High schools can expand career possibilities by providing apprenticeships as viable and lucrative alternatives to traditional four-year degrees.

What is executive function? [Belsky]

On 03/13/2024, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), biology, memory, parents/guardians, participation, professional development, psychology, special needs, student-related, teachers, user experience (UX), youth, by Daniel Christian

Executive function is a set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. We use these skills every day to learn, work, and manage daily life. Trouble with executive function can make it hard to focus, follow directions, and handle emotions, among other things.

Snapshot: What executive function is
Some people describe executive function as “the management system of the brain.” That’s because the skills involved let us set goals, plan, and get things done. When people struggle with executive function, it impacts them at home, in school, and in life.

There are three main areas of executive function. They are…

How a Hollywood Director Uses AI to Make Movies — from every.to by Dan Shipper
Dave Clarke shows us the future of AI filmmaking

Dave told me that he couldn’t have made Borrowing Time without AI—it’s an expensive project that traditional Hollywood studios would never bankroll. But after Dave’s short went viral, major production houses approached him to make it a full-length movie. I think this is an excellent example of how AI is changing the art of filmmaking, and I came out of this interview convinced that we are on the brink of a new creative age.

We dive deep into the world of AI tools for image and video generation, discussing how aspiring filmmakers can use them to validate their ideas, and potentially even secure funding if they get traction. Dave walks me through how he has integrated AI into his movie-making process, and as we talk, we make a short film featuring Nicolas Cage using a haunted roulette ball to resurrect his dead movie career, live on the show.

6 work and workplace trends to watch in 2024 [Whiting at weforum.org]

On 02/14/2024, in business, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, economics, future, lifelong learning, organizational change, pace of change, participation, reinvent, skills, society, sociology, staying relevant, surviving, training / L&D, trends, workplace, by Daniel Christian

6 work and workplace trends to watch in 2024 — from weforum.org by Kate Whiting; via Melanie Booth on LinkedIn

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

The world of work is changing fast.

By 2027, businesses predict that almost half (44%) of workers’ core skills will be disrupted.

Technology is moving faster than companies can design and scale up their training programmes, found the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report.
…
The Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 found that “lack of economic opportunity” ranked as one of the top 10 biggest risks among risk experts over the next two years.

5. Skills will become even more important
With 23% of jobs expected to change in the next five years, according to the Future of Jobs Report, millions of people will need to move between declining and growing jobs.

Some items re: creativity — including “cinematic thinking” [Grush & Campbell]

On 12/14/2023, in art, blogs / blogging / vlogging, creativity, digital audio, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, media/film, online learning, online media, participation, photography, by Daniel Christian

The 2023 Ocean Photographer of the Year Contest Highlights the Stunning Sights Above and Below the Surface — from thisiscolossal.com

It’s Not Kansas Anymore: It’s Cinematic Thinking — from campustechnology.com by Mary Grush and Gardner Campbell
A Q&A with Gardner Campbell

Blogs are like a screenplay to a mental movie the student has made. It’s a kind of narrative, but in a way that’s more associative, the way film can be.

Grush: What about your recorded online class sessions? Do they present another path to cinematic thinking?

Campbell: Yes! A couple years ago I started describing what I did with online learning as making movies on location. That referred to the way that I really wanted each of our class meetings to be: a kind of experience, not just for students to be here as I’m lecturing, though I may be doing that, but an experience that’s similar to a live television show. Or almost like a live recording session. Of course, we’re making something that is recorded on video, and you can go back and look at it to get the flow of the experience of our time together: the way in which that story exists through time.

Educational practices to identify and support students experiencing homelessness [Pavlakis, Kessa Roberts, Richards, Hill, & Mirakhur]

On 12/07/2023, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), communications, education, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, parents/guardians, participation, psychology, society, sociology, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

Educational practices to identify and support students experiencing homelessness — from edresearchforaction.org by Alexandra Pavlakis, J. Kessa Roberts, Meredith Richards, Kathryn Hill, and Zitsi Mirakhur

The EdResearch for Action Overview Series summarizes the research on key topics to provide K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students. Authors – leading experts from across the field of education research – are charged with highlighting key findings from research that provide concrete, strategic insight on persistent challenges sourced from district and state leaders.

Central Question
What evidence-based practices can schools and districts implement to identify and support students experiencing homelessness?

A simple mindset shift to help empower student ownership of learning: https://t.co/Hz30Tjiepu

— edutopia (@edutopia) November 5, 2023

When schools and families go to court over special education, everyone loses — from wfyi.org by Lee Gaines

While federal law mandates public schools provide an appropriate education to students with disabilities, it’s often up to parents to enforce it.

Schwarten did what few people have the resources to do: she hired a lawyer and requested a due process hearing. It’s like a court case. And it’s intended to resolve disputes between families and schools over special education services.

It’s also a traumatic and adversarial process for families and schools that can rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and destroy relationships between parents and district employees. And even when families win, children don’t always get the public education they deserve.

Future of Learning: Native American students have the least access to computer science — from The Hechinger Report by Javeria Salman

But computer science lessons like the ones at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School are relatively rare. Despite calls from major employers and education leaders to expand K-12 computer science instruction in response to the workforce’s increasing reliance on digital technology, access to the subject remains low — particularly for Native American students.

Only 67 percent of Native American students attend a school that offers a computer science course, the lowest percentage of any demographic group, according to a new study from the nonprofit Code.org. A recent report from the Kapor Foundation and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, or AISES, takes a deep look at why Native students’ access to computer and technology courses in K-12 is so low, and examines the consequences.

The Case for Andragogy in Educator Development — from Dialogic #341 by Tom Barrett

Understanding the Disconnect
We often find ourselves in professional development sessions that starkly contrast with the interactive and student-centred learning environments we create. We sit as passive recipients rather than active participants, receiving generic content that seldom addresses our unique experiences or teaching challenges.

This common scenario highlights a significant gap in professional development: the failure to apply the principles of adult learning, or andragogy, which acknowledges that educators, like their students, benefit from a learning process that is personalised, engaging, and relevant.

The irony is palpable — while we foster environments of inquiry and engagement in our classrooms, our learning experiences often lack these elements.

The disconnect prompts a vital question: If we are to cultivate a culture of lifelong learning among our students, shouldn’t we also embody this within our professional growth? It’s time for the professional development of educators to reflect the principles we hold dear in our teaching practices.

In Memphis, A New School Graduates Its First Class [Chaltain]

On 11/02/2023, in attention, changing business models, creativity, Design Thinking, education, education reform, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, participation, project-based learning, real-world assignments, reinvent, society, student-related, youth, by Daniel Christian

In Memphis, A New School Graduates Its First Class — from samchaltain.substack.com by Sam Chaltain
And a new documentary film captures it all…

Crosstown High: Rethink High School

Crosstown High is a learner-centered public charter school that engages students in meaningful, project-based work and authentic relationships that will prepare them to be self-directed, lifelong learners. We are located inside Crosstown Concourse, a landmark adaptive reuse development project in the heart of Memphis.

Also relevant/see:

Education in America is going to look very different 10 years from now.

In some places, that future is already here – and there are some incredibly talented people building it.

Here are 10 of those people you should be following ?

— rebelEducator (@rebelEducator) September 3, 2023

Big Ideas in Education — from edweek.org by various

Big Ideas is Education Week’s annual special report that brings the expertise of our newsroom—and occasionally those beyond our newsroom—to bear on the challenges you might be facing in your classroom, school, or district. Big Ideas questions the status quo and explores opportunities to help you build a better, more just learning environment for all students. Browse our collection.

Several items re: the Pre-K-12 learning ecosystems out there [from edutopia.org]

On 08/17/2023, in collaboration, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, Europe, ideas, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning spaces, library / librarians, more voice more choice more control, participation, pedagogy, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

Building Pre-K Students’ Skills to Codesign the Classroom — from edutopia.org by Sarika S. Gupta
In order to help ensure that young students’ needs are met, it’s important to seek feedback about their learning experiences.

VIEW CHILDREN AS ACTIVE LEADERS IN THEIR LEARNING
I was co-teaching in an inclusive preschool classroom 20 years ago when I led my first professional development workshop (the project approach). The aim was to show teachers that children could co-construct their learning experiences when they were invited to do so. Two groundbreaking Reggio Emilia books came to mind—Shoe and Meter and Everything Has a Shadow Except Ants. These inspirational books were part of a series published in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Education called “The Unheard Voice of Children.”

The series recognized children as active leaders of their learning and endeavored to document the process of learning through children’s learning experiences.

Learners need: More voice. More choice. More control. -- this image was created by Daniel Christian

Let Kids Make Decisions — from edutopia.org by Sean Cassel
An overreliance on rules can backfire. Instead, teachers can focus on providing students with choices and teaching good decision-making skills.

I’ve deeply thought about that last part over the course of my career: Let kids make decisions. Twenty years later, I am a high school administrator tasked with enforcing rules every day. Let me be clear: Schools need rules to function, but they don’t have to be the focus. My school focuses on allowing students to make choices: It is a centerpiece of how we operate. And although kids don’t always make the right choices, often enough they do. An overreliance on rules, in either a classroom or an entire school, can limit the ability of students to grow and develop their decision-making skills.

Using Free Edtech Tools to Get to Know Your New Middle and High School Students — from edutopia.org by Matthew X. Joseph
Older students can use these tools to introduce themselves to their teachers and each other—even before school starts.

From DSC:
Some nice ideas and tools listed here to start developing relationships even before the first day of school.

An Intentional Approach to Improving Your Teaching Practice — from edutopia.org by Marcus Luther
By selecting one area for growth, collecting resources, and connecting with others, teachers can make meaningful improvements in the classroom.

Last summer, my focus was improving the level of inquiry in my classroom. I describe my process below, which transfers to any area or topic on which you might hope to focus your own professional learning.

Setting Up Libraries to Be the Best Space in School — from edutopia.org by Paige Tutt
We took a peek inside school libraries across America to see how librarians are reframing the space to support students’ social, emotional, and creative growth—while still prioritizing excellent reads.

The recently renovated library—now known as the Learning Commons—is a bright, spacious multipurpose hub within the school. There are bistro tables where kids can work together; comfortable and flexible seating; a makerspace where students can explore activities like sewing and jewelry making; an audio recording and production studio; and a video production studio where kids can create TikToks or YouTube videos using their phones or school-issued laptops. It’s a far cry from the space it used to be—an attendance sheet from 2008 tracked just 21 students signing into the library one day.

Excerpts from the Too Long Didn’t Read (TLDR) section from AIxEducation Day 1: My Takeaways — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard (emphasis DSC)

* There was a lot of talk about learning bots. This talk included the benefits of 1:1 tutoring, access to education for those who don’t currently have it (developing world), the ability to do things for which we currently don’t have enough teachers and support staff (speech pathology), individualized instruction (it will be good at this soon), and stuff that it is already good at (24/7 availability, language tutoring, immediate feedback regarding argumentation and genre (not facts :), putting students on the right track, comprehensive feedback, more critical feedback).

* Students are united. The student organizers and those who spoke at the conference have concerns about future employment, want to learn to use generative AI, and express concern about being prepared for the “real world.” They also all want a say in how generative AI is used in the college classroom. Many professors spoke about the importance of having conversations with students and involving them in the creation of AI policies as well.

* I think it’s fair to say that all professors who spoke thought students were going to use generative AI regardless of whether or not it was permitted, though some hoped for honesty.

* No professor who spoke thought using a plagiarism detector was a good idea.

* Everyone thought that significant advancements in AI technology were inevitable.

* Almost everyone expressed being overwhelmed by the rate of change.

Stefan recommended the following resource:

- The Future of Higher Education — from/by Jeppe Klitgaard Stricker

Learning Ecosystems

For storytellers and filmakers: How a Hollywood Director Uses AI to Make Movies [Shipper]

6 work and workplace trends to watch in 2024 [Whiting at weforum.org]

Some items re: creativity — including “cinematic thinking” [Grush & Campbell]

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