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 21st 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.
On 08/17/2011,
in internet, library / librarians, policy, teaching & learning, tools,
by Daniel Christian
On 08/17/2011,
in leadership, legislatures / government / legal, policy, society, sociology,
by Daniel Christian
Addendum on 8/18/11:
- Study: Child poverty up in 38 states in past decade — by NPR Staff and WiresNearly 15 million children, or 20 percent of America’s juvenile population, were living in poverty in 2009, according to a child welfare study released Wednesday.
On 08/10/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, budgets, change, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education reform, education technology, game-changing environment, K-12 related, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, policy, United States, using teams,
by Daniel Christian
Closing the loop in education technology — from The Journal by David Nagel
Excerpt:
K-12 education isn’t using technology effectively and isn’t investing nearly enough in IT infrastructure to enable next-generation learning. That’s the conclusion of a new report, “Unleashing the Potential of Technology in Education,” which called for a greater financial commitment to education technology and the adoption of a holistic, “closed loop” approach to its implementation.
See also:
From DSC:
We may continue to be disappointed in our overall results — even if we do bump up our ed tech infrastructure/investments — if we continue to use the same models/ways of doing things. That is, I wish we would move more towards a team-based approach and stop trying to load up our teachers’ and professors’ plates with tasks that they probably don’t have the time, interest, or training to do. Graphically speaking:
So…use teams to create and deliver the content — and allow for online tutoring from a team of specialists in each discipline. Like the healthcare-related billboard I kept driving by the other day said: “A team of specialists at every step.”
On 05/30/2011,
in accreditation, business side of he, change, cost of getting a degree, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, leadership, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, policy, reinvent, staying relevant,
by Daniel Christian
On 05/04/2011,
in 21st century, active learning, assessment, education reform, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, global / globalization, ideas, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, love of learning, morals/values, motivation, participation, play, policy, political science, presentations, project-based learning, real-world assignments, relationships, society, sociology, staying relevant, story, storytelling, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teaching & learning, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
John Hunter on the World Peace Game — TED March 2011 — my thanks to Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Kate Byerwalter for this great presentation
About this talk
John Hunter puts all the problems of the world on a 4’x5′ plywood board — and lets his 4th-graders solve them. At TED2011, he explains how his World Peace Game engages schoolkids, and why the complex lessons it teaches — spontaneous, and always surprising — go further than classroom lectures can.
About John Hunter
Teacher and musician John Hunter is the inventor of the World Peace Game (and the star of the new doc “World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements”).
On 03/21/2011,
in change, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, leadership, learning theories, legislatures / government / legal, organizational change, pedagogy, policy, strategy, tools, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
In my recent class at Capella University, one of the last discussion board questions asked:
- Do you think learning theory should be more explicit in official discussions of policy?
What a great question! My answer was yes, as it makes sense to me to guide educational reform by what is best for the students…for learning. Hopefully, we can make informed decisions. Though I’ve learned that there is no silver bullet when it comes to learning theories, each learning theory seems to be a piece of the puzzle for how we learn. Graphically speaking:
If viewing the above graphic on the Learning Ecosystems blog (vs. in an RSS feed/reader):
You may need to right-click on the above image and save it, then open it.
Such theories should have a place when policies are drafted, when changes are made. But I don’t often hear reference to the work of Thorndike, Bandura, Vygotsky, Gagne, Kolb, etc. when legislative bodies/school boards/or other forms of educational leadership are exploring future changes, directions, strategies. What is it that these people were trying to relay to us? What value can we gleam from them when we form our visions of the future? How does their work inform our selection of pedagogies, tools, organizational changes?
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.
On 12/28/2010,
in business, change, corporate / business world, Europe, future, game-changing environment, leadership, organizational change, policy, political science, sociology, strategy, trends,
by Daniel Christian
40 for the next 40: A sampling of the drivers of change that will shape our world between now and 2050 — from gerdleonhard.typepad.com and Toffler Associates
From the foreword:
We are in the midst of an accelerating, revolutionary transformation. Change is happening everywhere – in technology, business, government, economics, organizational structures, values and norms – and consequently affects how we live, work and play. As industry and government leaders, we must acknowledge that this change demands new ways of governing and of running our organizations. The ways in which we communicate and interact with each other will be different. The methods through which we gain and process information will be different. The means by which we earn and spend money will be different. Through the culmination of these and other changes, organizations will be radically transformed.
This change is not unexpected. Forty years ago, Alvin and Heidi Toffler recognized that the pace of environmental change was rapidly accelerating and threatened to overwhelm the relatively slow pace of human response. Through Future Shock, the Tofflers persuaded us to consider the future by imagining drivers of change and preparing for a wide range of resulting future environments. Now as we look towards the next 40 years, we continue to use these time tested methodologies, our founders’ legacy to Toffler Associates, for understanding the forces of future change. We focus on the convergence and interdependence of seemingly orthogonal aspects to connect the dots and develop strategies for future success. In this way, we recognize, as the Tofflers did, that preparation is the best defense against the future (emphasis DSC).
Here is a sampling of 40 drivers of change that – we believe – will shape the future.
From DSC:
Includes sections on Politics, Technology, Social, Economics, and the Environment.
On 12/03/2010,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, K-12 related, leadership, online learning, policy, strategy,
by Daniel Christian
On 08/24/2010,
in career development, higher education, pedagogy, policy, strategy,
by Daniel Christian
Lecture Capture: Policy and Strategy — University Business by Ellen Ullman
What is happening to the pedagogical process because of lecture capture?
July/August 2010 2010
On 06/11/2010,
in 21st century, change, curriculum, K-12 related, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, policy,
by Daniel Christian
