486 Search Results for "effective"

• Unmuted: The Importance of Stu Unmuted: The Importance of Student Feedback

  • From: Mindy_Keller-Kyriakides
  • Description:

    Unmuted: Using Student Feedback to Create an Effective Secondary Learning Environment

    Join us for a Webinar on June 25     Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/580671226   By the time they reach high school, teenagers know the business of school and teaching. They know what works and what doesn’t work, how to get under a teacher's skin, and how to avoid doing anything. Seriously capitalizing on their input is at the core of how to reach them and increase their willingness to learn. If teachers provide students with a strong foundation of trust and rapport, student feedback can function as a powerful metacognitive dialogue, a constant flow of “what are we learning” and “how are we learning it?” When taken to the next level, it also entails much higher thinking processes such as: How well is the teacher teaching it to me? The aim of this session is to provide educators with the means to garner student feedback purposefully and effectively. Participants will: • Discuss how criticism can strengthen their teaching practice. • Hear, firsthand from former students, how a teacher who seeks and uses student feedback impacts students and their learning environment. • Work through potential scenarios, brainstorming ideas that they can immediately use in the classroom. • Be provided with a handout that includes helpful links and student feedback tools. Target Audience: This webinar is designed for new and veteran secondary teachers, but may also be applicable for instructors of teacher preparation courses.   About the Presenters: National Board Certified Mindy Kyriakides is fifteen-year veteran of the classroom in both online and traditional environments.  She, along with her former students, authored Transparent Teaching of Adolescents: Creating the Ideal Class for Students and Teachers (2012, Rowman & Littlefield Education), a conversation about best practices for high school teachers. She also runs an education blog for secondary teachers. Her fellow presenters for this session are former students and co-authors.   Title: Unmuted: Using Student Feedback to Create an Effective Secondary Learning Environment Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 Time: 8:00 PM - 9:15 PM EDT   After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

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• The Importance of Student Feed The Importance of Student Feedback

  • From: Mindy_Keller-Kyriakides
  • Description:

    I had no idea how important it was to my high school students that I asked them for their feedback on our courses. The impact was far more profound than I ever imagined.
    
    In light of the recent Duncanville issue, where student Jeff Bliss offers criticism to his teacher, the time to discuss listening to student feedback, particularly on how they're learning, is now. Had his teacher taken the time to establish a learning environment where criticism was not considered a form of disrespect, but rather, a constructive dialogue, things might have turned out differently for both of them.
    
    In this video, some of my former students offered their perspective on just how much they appreciated being asked for their feedback. We're also offering a webinar on the topic! 

    Unmuted: Using Student Feedback to Create an Effective Secondary Learning Environment

    Hosted by Kappa Delta Pi, June 25, 8pm

    Register at:  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/580671226

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• How will your child suffer? How will your child suffer?

  • From: Jessica_Bohn
  • Description:

    Normally, I am not one to write on controversial issues, but there is freedom in the provocative, and the time is now (or yesterday) for action in education.  Although this speaks to one state's journey through the massive budget cuts and the looming additional injustices, I think that most educators in the nation have experienced a degree of this.  I humbly share my thoughts with legislators considering budgets for next school year and the community of ASCD advocates: 

    How will your child suffer?  We must stop this ridiculous abomination of a proposed budget now.  The incessant and continuous hit that education has taken in the last 5 years has been beyond reason.  However, this year's proposals fall just shy of criminal.  As a voter, a parent of children in the school system and a school principal, I have many perspectives to offer.  First, as a voter:  We elect officials into office who we believe will stand for the things that we hold close to heart.  Public schools are the birthplace of some of the best minds in America.  What does it mean to be American?  Please ask yourself this, as our elected representative.  Americans value critical opinions and diversity but stand united when someone attacks our home or our community.  To my esteemed elected officials, I say: We are under attack.  Make no mistake... this is a war of interests.  We must not let the future of our children and ultimately our country falter to other priorities.  We know that you are under pressure to invest in the political interests that got you into office, but we beg you not to sacrifice our children, your children or the future of our great nation in doing so.  As a parent:   We cannot provide quality schools without adequate funding to do so.  Should we settle for mediocrity?  Would you settle for mediocrity for your own child?  Absolutely not.  I want my children to get access to teachers with skills that will challenge their minds and inspire their hearts. Teachers deserve pay worthy of the countless hours they spend planning. Let Principals hold them accountable to that. I want my children to have adequate support in their classes as they are acclimated to the rigor of public schools. Teacher Assistants provide this support.  They are educators, advocates and probably teach your child in a center or reading group. I want my child to have access to the equipment, books and materials needed for 21st century learning. As a school principal:   Is the public aware that kids in most counties are still using outdated books, so teachers have to develop their own curriculum materials to match the new standards?  And what justice do we pay teachers when they do this with a smile on their face and protect our children from the perils of society?  We cut their support (TAs), cut their pay (furlough), cut their money for supplies (instructional money), increase their class size (class size waiver elimination), increase their insurance premiums and cut their access to resources and support (district funding going to charter/private schools).   Teacher Assistants are not just secretaries for the teacher, and I wonder if the public realizes that.  They are instructional assistants... they help your children and grandchildren learn.  Also, as a school administrator, one of the ways in which we can provide a duty-free lunch for teachers (which is a state requirement) is through the use of teacher assistants.  Similarly, I wonder if the public understands the correlation between effective instruction and the number of students in a class.  There is an inverse relationship between time for critical learning and the number of students in a class.  This state and this nation is in a dire place of certain demise, if we cannot commit to providing safe, quality schools for our children today, so they can solve nationwide and worldwide problems tomorrow. With the proposed legislation about class size, harsh cuts to public schools (again), elimination of Assistants, sequestration at the federal level, and funneling the leftover pocket change to charter/private schools rather than public schools... I must ask the question... how will your child suffer?
    
    

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• Complexity: Unpredictability Complexity: Unpredictability

  • From: Kevin_Goddard
  • Description:

    When analyzing their school’s organizational context, principals cannot underestimate the unpredictability of the long-term future of the system. Marginalized populations within the school act as a recessive system undermining the efforts of the dominant, legitimate system. The future of the school emerges from interactions within and between the recessive and the dominant systems. A new paradigm that recognizes and makes meaning of the dynamic, nonlinear versus linear nature of the processes and interactions of these two subsystems would help protect principals from unreasonable long-term planning, unproductive and unmanaged conflict, innovative but misguided agents, and wasted time due to superficial work and restructuring efforts not based on emergence (Bower, 2006; Stacey, 1996).

    The dominant paradigm rosily sees success in stability, predictability, and carefully strategic plans (Stacey, 1996). “Predictions are nice, if you can make them. But the essence of science lies in explanation, laying bare the fundamental mechanisms of nature” (Waldrop, 1992, p. 39). Educational complexity is not different. Researchers have to look at explaining how education works with the knowledge that it may not result in predictability since education is emergent based on too many factors to mathematically analyze.

    History and past pedagogy is important to creating effective high-performing, high-poverty schools (HP2S), but vast changes in the sociocultural capital available to students in this decade make research of previous decades null or irrelevant. Even within the same time period, findings in one context will not be generalizable to another setting. Failing schools that are trying to transform cannot hope to perfectly implement what other successful schools have accomplished because of the unpredictability of complex systems (Barr & Parrett, 2007; Berliner, 2002; Brady, retrieved October 22, 2007; Church, 2005).

    Strategic planning in complex environments results in rigid processes such as goal setting and action plans that restrict emergence. Educational institutions should allow for a more flexible process that takes into account causal relationships (Gilstrap, 2005). Small fluctuations would have a harder time permeating multiple boundaries within similar structures across a flattened hierarchy. This redundancy provides stability, robustness, and resilience against small environmental fluctuations (Stacey, 1996).

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• Refocus on the Learner Refocus on the Learner

  • From: Michael_Fisher
  • Description:

    

    Recently, I worked with Steve Hargadon of Classroom 2.0 at an educational conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Steve is a marvelous conversationalist and has fantastic stories to share.

    
    

    In the car on the way to the conference, Steve and I were discussing the “institution” of school and the “system” of school. The largest part of our conversation centered around the fact that we have, collectively as a nation, created a massive operation for educating children that does not work. Students are not graduating with the skills they need to be successful in the world they are graduating into. No surprise to many of you reading this--it isn’t “new” news. We know it’s not working.

    
    

    The “institution” is the bureaucratic, policy side of public education that demands that “each get some.” The “system” is the mechanism for delivering the “some” to all.  The good ideas that created the system and thus the institution around it are lost in the shuffle. Doing what’s best for kids and doing what’s fair for all have each become a separate megalopolis each on a separate continent.

    
    

    Education has become so institutionalized that the act of “doing” something equates to readiness for the next checked off item on the “to do” list of instructional practice. The ebb and flow of “doing” becomes the barometer for success as measured by standardized high stakes tests that, in one moment, assess a student’s ability to “do school,” measure a teacher’s effectiveness, and be a checks and balances sheet to maintain the system as directed by the institution.

    
    

    Note that in the previous paragraph, the word “learning” was not used. In a Huffington Post article from last March, Connie Yowell describes education as what institutions do and learning as what people do. What’s happening, though, is the system and the institution are methodically destroying learning. I think it’s high time we refocus on the learner.

    
    

    My friend and colleague Jennifer Borgioli recently wrote a piece for the Gotham Schools blog about standardized testing, in the wake of the recent Common Core aligned New York state tests. In the blog post, she describes learning as a construct. We can measure variables that indicate that learning is happening but cannot quantify the whole of what learning means. In Jen’s words, we can’t “pull out a child’s brain, slap it on a scale, and say, yup, they’ve learned this much.”

    
    

    The system and the institution would have you believe that it is possible to well quantify the learning with one high-stakes assessment that serves as a good indicator of year to year growth, how well a teacher teaches, and whether or not the school as a whole is an effective system. The problem is with the variables. In science, we draw conclusions based on the experimentation of one variable at a time, a process approach that helps winnow the possible outcomes of comparative observation. In our current model, the system and the institution are on a multi-variable train that not only amounts to bad science but, in turn, leads to bad practices.

    
    

    Case in point:  A few weeks ago, students in New York State took the first version of the new Common Core aligned tests. They were asked questions that were more rigorous than ever before in an attempt to measure the learning of the Common Core standards. The stories that came out of the woodwork over the course of the week involved students walking out of the test, kids crying, kids unable to finish, kids just giving up, etc. The test was designed to measure the degree to which the students met the Common Core standards. The test does not allow for variations in home environment, parental support, socioeconomic status, etc., all of which are variables that are not necessarily considered as important but in the end, majorly affect the data collected. (Other variables here would also include teacher support, teacher training, schools as systems supporting the standards versus pocket buy-in, etc.)

    
    

    The test was designed to evaluate the system and perpetuate the institution. The tests in other states that are being designed to evaluate the “learning” are all heading in the same direction.

    
    

    Do we want our students ready for college and careers? Absolutely.

    
    

    Do we want them ready to meet the challenges of the world they will graduate into? You betcha.

    
    

    Do we need assessment? Of course.

    
    

    Do we want them suffering through assessments that were designed with the institution/system rather than the child in mind? Not at all.

    
    

    Steve and I discussed how the people with the best ideas are usually not the ones running the companies that develop and market and sell the product that the idea people generated. Wonderful ideas are snagged up by companies or companies are created around them. In order to sell to the masses you need a system set up for production and delivery. You also need an institution to maintain and advance the ideas, normalizing everything for the benefit of impacting the most people possible to increase the bottom line over time.

    
    

    The problem though, lies in the fact that once the ideas/learning lose the focus of priority in favor of the system or the institution because of a mistaken belief that “some” of the original ideas are best for “most” in the system, the system falters. How well does that work when the institution or the system becomes the priority? You tell me: Polaroid. Enron. Commodore. Hollywood Video. Madoff Investment Securities. The list is long...

    
    

    Assessment is not bad. In a previous blog post, I wrote about why in the world we would practice for a game we never played or rehearse for a performance we never give? I also don’t disagree with checks and balances in the system, but the system must have integrity. That integrity lies in the priority of keeping the learner at the center. That means that we must not only find ways to more rationally assess students without causing complete psychological breakdowns on test days but also that we address some of the other variables that the system and the institution keep in the periphery, primarily poverty and family/environmental support.

    
    

    Hmmm. “Test days.” Now that I’ve said those words specifically, perhaps that’s the beginning of the new conversation. Instead of the grimness of the dark and scary hell week of assessments, perhaps we start looking at what can be embedded in instruction. Perhaps we look at leveraging opportunities for choice and differentiated products through performance tasks and problem-based scenarios that not only generate a product but also are a launching pad for the next learning moment. These aren’t new ideas. I’m not innovating here. I am talking about something though that is difficult for institutionalized implementation. It is difficult for systemic production and delivery. It’s expensive and messy and would involve much more local control.

    
    

    We can send a man to the moon but we are still having trouble negotiating the creation of a better assessment of student learning? I wonder how many one size fits all, end of the year, high stakes assessments those NASA engineers took before they were finally ready to, according to the system and the institution, design and implement their ideas? I wonder if Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would have been comfortable putting their lives on the line for a bunch of scientists that did REALLY well on their one moment in time, end of year state tests?

    
    

    There are no easy answers here, I know that. But I also know that there are still kids at the heart of all of this. The institution and the system need to refocus on that. We have an unbelievable challenge and a massive obligation to get this right.

     

    Originally blogged on Smartblogs.com/education. Portions added.

     

     

    Follow Mike on Twitter

    Upgrade Your Curriculum now available at the ASCD Bookstore

     

     

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• L2L News: May 2013 L2L News: May 2013

  • From: Meg_Simpson
  • Description:

    ASCD Leader to Leader (L2L) News is a monthly e-mail newsletter for ASCD constituent group leaders that builds capacity to better serve members, provides opportunities to promote and advocate for ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative, and engages groups through sharing and learning about best practices. To submit a news item for the L2L newsletter, send an e-mail to constituentservices@ascd.org.

     

    Your To-Do List: Action Items for ASCD Leaders

    • Attend today’s Whole Child Virtual Conference Session “Grit: Multiple Intelligences and Instructional Technology in the Classroom” at 4:00 p.m. eastern with Walter McKenzie and Professional Interest Community Facilitator Tom Hoerr. Register now.
      View and register for the other Whole Child Virtual Conference sessions.
      
      
    • Apply for the 2013–14 Nominations Committee. ASCD is seeking ASCD leaders who are interested in serving on the 2013–14 ASCD Nominations Committee. More information, including the committee’s charge, qualifications for service, and time commitment, is available at www.ascd.org/nominations. ASCD will accept applications until May 31.
       
    •  Submit a proposal for ASCD’s 2014 Annual Conference. ASCD is accepting proposals for 2014 Annual Conference presentations until May 15.

     

    Newest Policy Points Revisits A Nation at Risk

    ASCD’s newest Policy Points (PDF) takes a closer look at A Nation at Risk, the 1983 report on the state of U.S. education that launched a spirited and ongoing debate about the quality of our public schools. This issue of Policy Points examines the specific recommendations of the report, the accuracy of its dire prediction about “a rising tide of mediocrity” undermining the nation’s well-being, and the evolving school reform debate the report kick-started three decades ago.

     

    Throughout May on www.wholechildeducation.org: The New Poverty

    In today’s global economic state, many families and children face reduced circumstances. These “poor kids” don’t fit the traditional stereotypes—two-thirds live in families in which at least one adult works and the percentage of poor students in many rural districts equals that in inner-city districts. In the United States, the economic downturn has dramatically changed the landscape, and districts that were previously vibrant are now dealing with unemployment, underemployment, and more transient families.

    Join us as we share what new—and old—solutions we are using to support learning and ensure that each child, whatever her circumstances, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

    Download the Whole Child Podcast for a discussion on the current economic downturn; its result that many families and children face reduced circumstances; and implications for schools, many of which have seen drastic changes in the populations they serve and their communities. Guests include Deborah Wortham, superintendent of the School District of the City of York, Pa., and former assistant superintendent for high schools and director of professional development for Baltimore City (Md.) Public Schools; Felicia DeHaney, president and CEO of the National Black Child Development Institute; William Parrett, director of the Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies and professor of education at Boise State University;  and Kathleen Budge, coordinator of the Leadership Development Program  and associate professor in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Department at Boise State University. Parrett and Budge are also coauthors of the 2012 ASCD book Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools.

    Throughout the month, read the Whole Child Blog and tell us what has worked in your school and with your students. E-mail us and share resources, research, and examples.

     

    ASCD Leader Voices

    • Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) cadre members PJ Caposey and Brian Nichols were featured in EdWeek’s Classroom Q&A series with Larry Ferlazzo. Read their thoughts about ways to observe teachers without demoralizing them.
      
      
    • Read ASCD Emerging Leader Ember Conley’sWhole Child Blog post about “Promising Whole Child Practices in Arizona”
       
    • Read ASCD Emerging Leader Daniel Smith’sWhole Child Blog post, “Who is Today’s Principal?”
       
    • Check out OYEA winner and ASCD Board Member Marc Cohen’s Whole Child Blog post, “Our Expectations Are (and Should Be) High”
       
    • 2013 OYEA Winner Joshua Garcia has a blog series on ASCD EDge called WILL (What I Learned Lately). Read his #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6 posts.
       
    • ASCDEmerging Leader Kevin Goddard, also known as “the Goddblogger,” has written great posts over the last few weeks on ASCD EDge: “Complicated vs. Complex,” “Systems Theory,” “Reductionism,” “Chaos vs. Complexity, ” and“Capacity Building.”
    • Read ASCD Emerging Leader Nicole Zuerblis’ ASCD EDge blog post: “Everything But the Kitchen Sink?”

     

    Arkansas Governor Signs Whole Child Legislation

    Arkansas Governor Michael Beebe signed a new bill into law that promotes a whole child approach to educating the state’s children. The legislation (PDF) establishes a Whole Child Whole Community recognition program and aims to measure the comprehensive well-being of children and how well stakeholders are meeting their needs according to the five whole child tenets and their indicators as identified by ASCD.

    The recognition program will acknowledge and highlight the work of Arkansas educators, parents, community members, and policymakers who support the whole child. The legislation also indicates that one purpose of the recognition program is to help spur systemic collaboration and coordination within and beyond schoolhouse doors and to promote a shift from narrowly defined student achievement and traditional education reform to broader, more comprehensive efforts that recognize the crucial out-of-school factors that influence teaching and learning. A diverse state working group will work over the course of a year to recommend a framework and process for recognizing exemplary whole child and whole community successes.

    Congratulations to Arkansas ASCD, which played a crucial role in supporting the bill’s development and introduction!

     

    Rhode Island Passes Whole Child Resolution

    The Rhode Island General Assembly passed a joint resolution (PDF) supporting a whole child approach to education that ensures each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

    The resolution affirms that to educate Rhode Island’s children effectively, the state must pay attention to factors within and beyond its school buildings as well as integrate efforts among schools, families, and communities. In addition, the resolution expresses the assembly’s intent to model whole child concepts in its own work and to join with other stakeholders who support the whole child.

    Congratulations to Rhode Island ASCD(RIASCD), which worked hard to have this joint resolution introduced into the Rhode Island legislature!

    To help the state fulfill its commitment to whole child education, ASCD and RIASCD offered some initial steps (PDF)—organized by the five whole child tenets—for educators, parents and community members, and policymakers to take. RIASCD also highlighted some of ASCD’s free resources to help the state put its whole child vision into action. 

     

    South Carolina ASCD Featured in ASCD Inservice Blog Series

    Weasked some of our affiliate leaders to tell us how the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been going in their home states.In the seventh post of the series, South Carolina ASCD leader Josh Patterson writes about the challenges and successes that South Carolina has had with CCSS implementation.

    Previous Posts:Tennessee ASCD, New Jersey ASCD,Alabama ASCD, Arkansas ASCD, New Hampshire ASCD, and Florida ASCD

     

    The Effective Principal

    What we see through our research, reading, and conversations with principals and school staff is that to see what an effective principal is, don’t look at the person; look at the effects of her leadership on student achievement, school culture and climate, teacher effectiveness and satisfaction, and community relationships. As the wearers of many hats, principals are crucial to implementing meaningful and lasting school change. Read more on the Whole Child Blog.

    In April, we looked at what qualities principals in today’s (and tomorrow’s) schools need to fulfill their roles as visionary, instructional, influential, and learning leaders. Listen to the Whole Child Podcast with guests Donna Snyder, manager of Whole Child Programs at ASCD; Kevin Enerson, principal of Le Sueur-Henderson High School in Minnesota (an ASCD Whole Child Network school); and Jessica Bohn, an ASCD Emerging Leader and principal of Gibsonville Elementary School in North Carolina.

    Also this month on the Whole Child Podcast, we talked with educators from Oregon’s Milwaukie High School (winner of the 2013 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award) about how they meet student and staff needs, taking challenges and turning them into opportunities for all. Guests include principal Mark Pinder, assistant principal for curriculum Michael Ralls, assistant principal for student management Tim Taylor, dean of students Donnie Siel, and teacher leader David Adams.

    Have you signed up to receive the Whole Child Newsletter? Read the latest newsletter and visit the archive for more strategies, resources, and tools you can use to help ensure that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

      

    Something to Talk About

    ·         Most recent blog posts on ASCD EDge®

    ·         Mostclicked stories from ASCD SmartBrief

     

    Association News

    Killeen Independent School District Deepens Professional Development Partnership with ASCD—Killeen Independent School District (ISD)—whose more than 6,100 staff members serve approximately 42,000 students—is deepening its relationship with ASCD to meet its professional development goals. Read the full press release.

    ASCD Publishes Leadership Guide on Transforming Any Teacher into a Master—ASCD is pleased to announce the release of Never Underestimate Your Teachers: Instructional Leadership for Excellence in Every Classroom by best-selling education author, renowned educator, and professional development expert Robyn R. Jackson.
    Never Underestimate Your Teachers offers school leaders a new model for understanding great teaching as a combination of skill and will, and it's the first book of its kind to support leaders as they facilitate teacher growth in both areas through differentiated leadership. Jackson shows readers how to design and deliver targeted professional development to help each teacher realize his or her potential and achieve great results for the benefit of every student. Read the full press release.

    New ASCD Common Core Academy Supports School Leadership Teams Across the United States—ASCD is bringing its inaugural ASCD Common Core Leadership Team Academy to Chicago August 5–8, 2013. This intensive four-day professional leadership experience offers groups of administrators, teacher leaders, and nonprofit and higher education partners an accelerated plan for putting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into routine practice. Read the full press release.

    ASCD Summer Reading List Identifies 10 Books That Can Transform Teaching and Learning—In the spirit of promoting year-round professional development, ASCD has assembled a diverse list of books essential to educators who seek to improve their practice over the summer months. These books—organized by how they help educators transform teaching and learning—offer readers the opportunity to dive deep into the hottest topics in education, including using data to focus improvement, project-based learning, child development, and neurodiversity. All books are currently available in paperback and e-book formats. Read the full press release.

    Arkansas Governor Beebe Signs Education Reform Law Supporting the Whole Child—Arkansas Governor Michael Beebe has signed a new bill into law that promotes a well-rounded whole child approach to educating the state’s children.“An Act to Establish the Whole Child– Whole Community Recognition Program; and for Other Purposes” (Senate Bill 1051[PDF]) outlines a plan for the Arkansas education system that ensures Arkansas students receive a whole child education. Read the full press release.

    New ASCD Staff Expand Association’s Ability to Design, Deliver, and Evaluate Professional Development Resources—ASCD welcomes three new staff members to the association’s Program Development Work Group. Dr. Andrea Muse has accepted the position of director of research and program evaluation, Jen Thompson will serve as director of program management and process improvement, and Elizabeth Thurman has joined ASCD as director of customer engagement and product support. The additions of Muse, Thompson, and Thurman expand ASCD’s capability to design, deliver, and evaluate the crucial professional development resources today’s educators need to learn, teach, and lead. Read the full press release.

     

     

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• Strengthening Curriculum and I Strengthening Curriculum and Instruction in a 21st century world

  • From: Elliott_Seif
  • Description:

    This commentary examines criteria for selecting effective curricula and instructional models in a 21^st century world, and also provides eight examples of relatively unknown yet powerful curricula-instructional programs that should be considered for adoption.

     

    In the same way that it is hard to build a building without an architectural blueprint, so too it is hard for a teacher to be effective without strong curricula-instructional frameworks. Curricula/instructional frameworks lay out the goals, methods, strategies, approaches, assessments, and resources needed for successful teaching and learning. The better the framework, the more likely will be the sturdiness of the foundation and the effectiveness of instruction. The more that curricular-instructional models available to teachers are consistent with the goals and practices of the teacher and school, and the needs of students, the more likely it is that teaching will have good results.

     

    Just imagine how an architectural blueprint influences and affects the construction of a building. Building construction based on a poor design may make it difficult to walk from one part of the building to another, make communication among building occupants difficult, make furniture arrangements impossible, make lighting too dark or too light, make the building safe or unsafe. In the same vein, a poorly designed curriculum may lead to too many unclear, vague goals that do not match student needs, include too much to teach, limit “deeper understanding” of a subject, teach the wrong skills, provide few connections between its different parts, have little meaning for learners, foster passive learning, and make alignment of content among teachers and grade levels difficult. When teachers work from poorly designed curricula and instructional frameworks, they have to work very hard to redo the curricular and instructional practices encouraged by these frameworks, and many times powerful learning is difficult if not impossible to create within the given framework.

     

    What are the components of successful curriculum/instructional frameworks for teaching in a 21^st century world? Some framework characteristics might include:

    • Meaningful, worthwhile core goals focused around essential questions, big ideas, understandings and key 21^st century skills;
    • An emphasis on developing student understanding, concepts, and content relationships and connections over time;
    • A focus on important skills, attitudes and values, such as positive attitudes towards learning, the importance of effort, research and study skills, openness to new thoughts and ideas, scientific experimentation, curiosity, self-reflection, thoughtfulness, creativity, application and transfer, multiple forms of communication, and conflict resolution/collaboration;
    • The use of multiple types of readings and resources that foster the development of literacy skills and can be integrated into instruction;
    • “Deeper” learning instructional strategies that go well beyond coverage and superficial textbook learning, “drill down” to promote understanding and thoughtfulness, encourage effective writing and discussion, and promote student interest, motivation, inquiry, research, and active engagement;
    • Multiple types of both formative and summative assessments, including authentic performance tasks, teacher observations, self-reflections, writing of all types, and on-going feedback strategies designed to improve student work;
    • A framework organization that is clear and coherent;
    • Appropriate and realistic use of technology as a helpful tool for reaching goals;
    • Realistic learning time frames that distinguish between core and supplemental learning;
    • Support and enrichment activities;
    • Alignment among goals, materials, strategies, and assessments;
    • Links with goals, curricula and instructional approaches across grade levels and subjects.

     

    Teachers, schools and districts need to regularly review their curricular programs in order to update them and create programs more attuned to this new age that we live in. Ultimately, this will make a huge difference for children in this new age.

     

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    The following curricula and instructional models exemplify powerful “21^st century” program elements built around many or most these criteria. You are probably unfamiliar with most or all of them. They, and programs like them, should become familiar to educators and achieve greater use throughout the educational community.

    NOTE: Many of their descriptions are adapted from the program’s website.

     

    1. LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

     

    SERP-Word Generation for the Middle School

    SERP - Word Generation is a research-based, highly motivating “vocabulary” development program for middle school students designed to teach words through language arts, math, science, and social studies classes. The program consists of weekly units, each of which introduces 5 high-utility target words through brief passages describing controversies currently under debate in this country. The paragraphs are intended to help students join ongoing "national conversations" by sparking active examination and discussion of contemporary issues. The target words are relevant to a range of settings and subject areas. The cross-content focus on a small number of words each week will enable students to understand the variety of ways in which words are related, and the multiple exposures to words will provide ample opportunities for deeper understanding.

    The Word Generation program is designed to build academic vocabulary, i.e., words that students are likely to encounter in textbooks and on tests, but not in spoken language. Interpret, prohibit, vary, function, and hypothesis are examples. Academic vocabulary includes words that refer to thinking and communicating, like infer and deny, and words that are common across subjects, but hold different meaning depending on the subject, like element and factor. Both types of academic vocabulary are likely to cause problems with comprehension unless students have been taught how to deal with them.

     

    For more information, go to: http://wg.serpmedia.org

    For information about other SERP programs in development, go to: http://www.serpinstitute.org/2013/

     

    Other literacy development programs you might want to examine:

    Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) http://www.cliontheweb.org

    Reading and Writing Workshop: http://readingandwritingproject.com/about/overview.html

    100 Book Challenge: http://www.americanreading.com/products/100bc/

    Touchstones discussion Project: http://www.touchstones.org

    Jr Great Books Program:  

    http://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/junior/

    Educurious http://educurious.org

     

    2. CREATIVE THINKING

     

    Design Thinking

    Design Thinking is a structured approach to generate and develop new ways to solve difficult problems and challenges. Design Thinking starts with a challenge, and then works through a series of steps to help find creative solutions to the challenge, such as empathy, interpretation, brainstorming and choosing alternatives, building models, and planning for implementation. The process can be used to help solve school challenges or world-wide challenges. It includes learning additional skills such as finding reliable information, developing surveys and questionnaires, and building interview skills. It can be adapted to be used with students at all ages.

     

    Other creative thinking programs you might want to explore:

    Creative Problem Solving: http://www.creativeeducationfoundation.org

    The Future Problem Solving Program: http://www.fpspi.org

     

    3. POSITIVE ATTITUDES, VALUES, AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

     

    Champions of Caring: Journey of a Champion Middle and High School Programs

    The Journey of a Champion Middle Grades curriculum is a year-long course of study divided into 4 modules. It promotes academic excellence, character development, service-learning and citizenship. The curriculum is a catalyst for encouraging caring, thoughtfulness and good judgment through service and civic participation.  Students gain civic engagement skills as they design community and school service projects. Civic skills developed include: 


    • Designing and implementing community interviews and surveys
    • Service-learning/community project development and assessment
    • Self-reflection
    • Public speaking
    • Persuasive writing skills
    • Conflict resolution and problem solving
    • Leadership and team building
    • Professional etiquette and work readiness
    • Building a personal portfolio

     

    The Journey of a Champion High School Program is a character education and service-learning curriculum for students in grades 9-12. Through this program, students learn how to act as responsible, caring and involved citizens who respect themselves and others and succeed academically.

    Journey of a Champion invites students to learn about and reflect on the challenges they and their contemporaries face. It places those challenges in a historical context and leads students to develop strategies and skills that will help them confront those challenges. The journey "destination" is students creating and planning sustainable service and civic participation. The curriculum affects positive change in students by:


    • Developing character through community involvement
    • Engaging students in active learning that demonstrates the relevance and importance of academic work for their life experiences and career choices
    • Increasing awareness of past and current social issues
    • Broadening and deepening perspectives of diversity issues, causes and solutions to conflicts, respect for self and others in their communities
    • Enhancing critical thinking skills, with particular emphasis on conflict resolution, decision-making, and problem solving.

     

    For more information, go to: http://www.championsofcaring.org

     

    Other programs to look at:

    Second Step: http://www.cfchildren.org/second-step.aspx

     

    4. ECONOMICS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

     

    Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)

    Entrepreneurship education is a tool that can equip young people to not only start businesses and create jobs, but also to be opportunity-focused, flexible employees ready to fill existing jobs.

    NFTE fosters the creation of entrepreneurship skills, businesses and the development of an adaptable, driven and opportunity-focused workforce that ultimately promotes economic stability.  External research has shown that NFTE graduates start and maintain businesses at substantially higher rates than their peers. Other research findings indicate that students develop:

    • Increased interest in attending college
    • Greater occupational aspirations
    • Improved scores in independent reading

     

    Working with schools in low-income communities where at least 50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch, NFTE targets young people who are at risk of dropping out of school, and helps them graduate with their own personal plans for success. The program, Highly Academic, is a semester or year-long class with a NFTE-certified teacher who guides students through one of the curricula: Entrepreneurship: Owning Your Future  or Exploring Careers for the 21st Century. Lessons include the concepts of competitive advantage, ownership, opportunity recognition, marketing, finance, and product development - and all tie back to core math and literacy skills. Lessons include field trips, games and experiential activities. Classes regularly have guest speakers. Students are paired with coaches who help students work on their business plans, and business plan competitions are judges by local entrepreneurs and business people.

     

    Each young person who takes a NFTE class works toward completing a business plan, then goes on to present and defend it in a classroom competition. The winners of these competitions go on to compete in citywide or regional competitions, with the hopes of reaching our annual national competition.

     

    For more information, go to: http://www.nfte.com

     

    Other Economic-Entrepreneurial Programs:

    General information about entrepreneurial education programs can be found at: http://www.entre-ed.org

    Information about Economic and Financial Education resources can be found at: http://www.councilforeconed.org

     

    5. INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCE

     

    Full Options Science System (FOSS)

    Science is an active enterprise, made active by our human capacity to think and “search for the truth”. Scientists value open communication, investigation, and good evidence for drawing conclusions. Scientific knowledge advances when scientists observe objects and events, think about how they relate to what is known, test their ideas in logical ways, and generate explanations that integrate the new information into the established order. Thus the scientific enterprise is both what we know (content) and how we come to know it (process). The best way for students to appreciate the scientific enterprise, learn important scientific concepts, and develop the ability to think critically is to actively construct ideas through their own inquiries, investigations, and analyses.

     

    The FOSS program was created to engage students in these processes as they explore the natural world. FOSS program materials are designed to meet the challenge of providing meaningful science education for all students in diverse American classrooms and to prepare them for life in the 21st century. Development of the FOSS program was, and continues to be, guided by advances in the understanding of how youngsters think and learn.

     

    FOSS K–6 is a complete program consisting of 26 modules for self-contained elementary classrooms. The components exclusive to K–6 are

    • Teacher guides for K–6
    • Equipment kits for K–6
    • Teacher preparation videos for K–6
    • FOSS Science Stories and Spanish Editions

     

    FOSS Middle School components consist of nine units for students and their teachers in departmental science grades 6–8. Each unit requires 9–12 weeks to teach. The Middle School program includes the following five interconnected components:

    • Teacher guides for middle school courses
    • Equipment kits for middle school courses
    • Lab Notebooks for students
    • Resources books for students
    • CD-ROM for middle school courses.

     

    Two components that apply to both FOSS K–6 and FOSS Middle School are the FOSS Assessment System and FOSSweb.com.

     

    For more information, go to: http://www.fossweb.com

     

    Other programs to consider:

    Active Physics: (high school): http://its-about-time.com/htmls/ap.html

    GEMS (K-8):

    http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/programs_for_schools/programs/gems

     

    6. CONCEPTUALLY-ORIENTED MATHEMATICS

     

    Cognitively Guided Instruction

    Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) is a professional development program that increases teachers’ understanding of the knowledge that students bring to the math learning process and how they can connect that knowledge with formal concepts and operations. The program is based on the premise that children throughout the elementary grades are capable of learning powerful unifying ideas of mathematics that are the foundation of both arithmetic and algebra. Learning and articulating these ideas enhance children's understanding of arithmetic and provide a foundation for extending their knowledge of arithmetic to the learning of algebra.



     

    CGI is guided by two major ideas. The first is that children bring an intuitive knowledge of mathematics to school with them and that this knowledge should serve as the basis for developing formal mathematics instruction. This idea leads to an emphasis on working with the processes that students use to solve problems. The second key idea is that math instruction should be based on the relationship between computational skills and problem solving, which leads to an emphasis on problem solving in the classroom instead of the repetition of number facts, such as practicing the rules of addition and subtraction.

     

    With the CGI approach, teachers focus on what students know and help them build future understanding based on present knowledge. The program aims to improve children's mathematical skills by increasing teachers' knowledge of students' thinking, by changing teachers' beliefs regarding how children learn, and by ultimately changing teaching practice. In 1996, CGI was extended into the upper elementary school levels to assist first through sixth grade teachers in integrating the major principles of algebra into arithmetic instruction.

     

    There is no set curriculum. Teachers use the CGI framework with existing curriculum materials, or they use CGI principles to help develop their own math curriculum.

     

    For more information, go to: http://www.promisingpractices.net/program.asp?programid=114#programinfo

     

    Other math programs that might be considered:

    Project Seed: http://projectseed.org

    Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP)(High School): http://mathimp.org/general_info/intro.html

     

    7. SOCIAL STUDIES/CIVICS PROGRAMS

     

    Social Studies School Service

    Social Studies School Service offers teachers, K-12, a variety of alternative and unique materials, programs, and curricula for social studies at all levels. The materials have been developed for the many aspects of social studies – government, history, geography, and civics – and often are interdisciplinary, incorporate conceptual understanding, develop research skills, big ideas and essential questions, and use data-based test questions (DBQ’s), performance tasks, and multiple readings. Catalogues of available materials are frequently sent out and shared.

     

    For further information, go to: www.socialstudies.com

     

    Other social studies/civics programs to consider:

    Teacher’s Curriculum Institute social studies programs: www.teachtci.com

    Center for Civic Education: http://new.civiced.org

    Zinn Education: http://zinnedproject.org                                            

    A History of US: http://www.joyhakim.com/works.htm

    The Choices Program (Middle and High School): http://www.choices.edu

     

    8. STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS) PROGRAMS

     

    Engineering is Elementary

    EIE consists currently of twenty STEM units designed for the elementary grades. Each EIE unit ties in with an elementary science topic and is meant to be taught either concurrently or after students learn the appropriate science content in life science, earth and space science and physical science areas. Each unit has five “lessons” (lessons can be more than one day).

    The units attempt to combine learning in a science area with engineering concepts. Engineering projects integrate other disciplines. Engaging students in hands-on, real-world engineering experiences can enliven math and science and other content areas. Engineering projects can motivate students to learn math and science concepts by illustrating relevant applications. They foster problem-solving skills, including problem formulation, iteration, testing of alternative solutions, and evaluation of data to guide decisions.

    Learning about engineering increases students' awareness of and access to scientific and technical careers. The number of American citizens pursuing engineering is decreasing. Early introduction to engineering can encourage many capable students, especially girls and minorities, to consider it as a career and enroll in the necessary science and math courses in high school.

     

    For more information, go to: http://www.eie.org/

     

    Other STEM examples:

    Engineer Your World: http://www.engineeryourworld.org (high school)

    Project Lead the Way: http://www.pltw.org (high school)

     

     

    Some Final Thoughts

     

    Every school and district should have some mechanism to help staff members regularly review the many available potential curriculum and instructional programs and approaches, and to select those that provide students with opportunities based on the criteria suggested at the beginning of this commentary, such as focused, meaningful goals; targeted key skills, attitudes and values; multiple formative and summative assessment options; a focus on deeper learning; and active student engagement and inquiry.[i]

     

    The programs listed above are only some examples of the many powerful curricula and instructional options that are often neglected and put into place too infrequently in schools and classrooms.[ii] Many others that meet the criteria cited above and match 21^st century goals should be considered. Through continual review and renewal, every District should move towards having a set of powerful curricula and instructional programs, tied to appropriate staff development training, that help prepare students to live in a 21^st century world.

     

    We also now have the technology to develop curriculum review websites, comparable to Amazon’s book service and reviews or TripAdvisor’s travel site that rates hotels and bed and breakfasts in all parts of the world.  The website should include a comprehensive set of curriculum programs, all reviewed by experts and rated by users. Such a site would provide educators with data that would be helpful in a curriculum review and renewal process.

     

    
    

    ---

    [i] For additional information about curriculum renewal criteria and strategies, go to www.era3learning.org, then to resources, then to curriculum renewal, and then to the article by Elliott Seif, Reconfiguring Learning Through Curriculum Renewal (unpublished).

    [ii] For more information about curriculum selection criteria and additional alternative curricular and instructional programs in many subject areas, go to: www.era3learning.org, then to the resource page, then to the meaningful curriculum section.

  • Blog post
  • 2 weeks ago
  • Views: 285

• #Edchat: Why and How. #Edchat: Why and How.

  • From: Tom_Whitby
  • Description:

    Each Sunday afternoon there are five Topic questions posted on a poll to determine which will be selected as that week’s #Edchat Topic. There are two #Edchat discussions each Tuesday on Twitter, so the top two topics selected by the poll become the topics of the chats. The number two choice goes at noon, Eastern Time, and the number one selection goes at 7 PM, Eastern Time. The larger audience is the 7 PM Chat. If you did not know it before, I am the person responsible for making up the #Edchat Topic questions that are voted on each week. I admit that I do have favorites each week, but, more often than not, they are not the favorites of the voting public. This week it was a little different. I actually had two favorites, and fortunately for me, they were the chosen topics for the chats. I found both yesterday’s #Edchat discussions thought-provoking, and very much in need of public discussion. The topics were very much connected as well.

    #Edchat is very much an open, public discussion by educators from around the world. Ideas on each topic are presented from various points of view as we discuss the varied topics in education each week. As in any public discussion, a person may pick and choose those ideas that suit his/her needs and in this case, educational philosophy. Sometimes it is a new idea, and other times it is validation of what is already being done. Since it is a discussion using Twitter as the platform, most of the participants are educators who are somewhat familiar with technology and social media. As a generalization they tend to be a collaborative group, more progressive in their approach to education, and open to the use of technology as a tool for learning.

    The other day I engaged an educator who described himself as a 20^th century traditionalist educator (my words). He said that he participated in #Edchat so that he could know his “Enemy”. When I called him on this, he informed me that “Enemy” was in quotes in his tweet. I guess that was to make it humorous, but there is much truth in humor. The point here is that most of the participants are striving to move from the methods and pedagogy of 20^th century education to a place that we have not yet found. It is also a great help when authors and experts on these various topics join in on the Chats giving clarity and direction in their areas of expertise. Many of these thought leaders are connected educators.

    Usually the #Edchat question is a singular interrogative. The Topics this week had more than one part in the hope of generating more discussion. The noon Chat Topic: What is the BIG Shift in education that everyone is looking for? Is there one big idea that can positively affect education? If not why? Of course there is no single idea because education is too complex for an easy fix. A point lost to most politicians and business people. The question, I thought, would prompt the chatters to present and promote their best and biggest idea.

    From the folks I engaged in conversation on this topic the overwhelming objective was support of student-centric as opposed to teacher-centric lessons. The shift being from Direct instruction, and lecture to problem-based, or project-based learning. The teacher would no longer be the content-delivery expert filling the empty vessels of students, but rather a mentor, guiding their learning direction rather than mandating it.

    The 7 PM Question: Children are anxious learners in the early grades of education. What are the factors that turn kids off to learning, as they get older? This #Edchat started slowly. I hate when that happens. My biggest fear in doing these chats is that there may come a time when nobody responds to the question. Going into moderator mode, I broke the topic down, and peppered the chatters with a series of smaller questions to loosen them up. That worked which immediately calmed me down. It was like the priming of an old well. It took a minute to get it going, but it came on strong.

    Words that popped up with those who I engaged were curiosity, authenticity, and ownership. What I took from it was that students at a young age are curious about learning because it is all new and exciting. It is also relevant ant authentic since what kids are learning enables them to participate in more stuff as well as society. However, some reach a point where they think they have as much as they need and the curiosity is gone. The direction however continues providing to them things that they no longer want to engage in. They do not own their learning and cannot direct its direction to things they would like to learn. If this occurs in a student, it comes at different times for each student. Some teachers saw it on the elementary level others in Middle school where hormones play an even bigger role. The point here is that it happens to many students.

    Engagement in learning is the goal of education and the ability for students to own that learning and for it to be authentic, and relevant was a theme for this #Edchat. Again it came down to the teacher being the guide or mentor and not a content delivery person directing content to kids who don’t see it as relevant or authentic. They prefer to create content instead of memorizing it. They prefer to use content instead of regurgitating it on a test.

    Both of these #Edchats led me to the same place. For kids to be engaged in learning it will be more effective if they own it and direct it. Teachers can always guide the direction and, as content experts, they have the capacity to do so. Teaching kids how to learn, and how to continue to learn, is more important than whatever content the curriculum tells us the students should know for a test. If we can use their interest to promote our content, fine. If our content doesn’t interest students at all, then what do we do?

    #Edchat is not the best method to introduce people to online chats for the first time without preparation. It requires some knowledge and a little strategy. If you are interested, this may help: #Edchat Revisited.  If you are interested in viewing the past #Edchat discussions, we have archived the last several years here: #Edchat Archives.  If you do not have time to read, you can download a podcast analysis of several of the #Edchats from Bam Radio Network, and The #Edchat Radio Show.  #Edchat is one of many education chats. It was started 4 years ago be Shelly Terrell,@shellterrell, Steve Anderson, @web20classroom, and me,@tomwhitby. It was not the first chat, but it is the most enduring, and it has spawned many, many others.

  • Blog post
  • 2 weeks ago
  • Views: 293

• Principals don’t need personas Principals don’t need personas. They need authenticity.

  • From: Ryan_Thomas1
  • Description:

    Having the responsibility of shaping a school, managing teachers, students and curriculum—and having to shouldering the blame when things go wrong—has led more than a few principals to project a persona. Principal or not, we all do this to some extent, of course. Under the pressure to succeed, under the pressure to “brand” ourselves with amenable qualities, we often fashion a version of ourselves that minimizes our blemishes and highlights only our best traits. Eventually though, false personas corrode and break down. That’s why we want to talk a bit about authenticity.
    
    

    Know thyself
    “What are some of your weaknesses?” This ubiquitous question shows up in nearly every interview. And while most of us have learned strategies to skirt the question, we believe principals should honestly reflect on their weaknesses. You may not necessarily want to share all of them in an interview, but having the ability to reflect critically on your shortcomings is an integral part of becoming an effective principal because it helps you assess where and when to seek help from others.
    
    

    Learn to laugh at your blunders
    Principals are under an incredible amount of scrutiny and that can make it hard to laugh. But taking yourself too seriously, denying or beating yourself up when you make a blunder is going to take a toll on you and your relationships. Self-deprecating humor is often the funniest. Laugh and laugh often. 
    
    

    Be interested, not interesting
    We’ve all spent time with someone who didn’t understand how the give and take of a conversation works. We’ve all gotten off the phone a half hour later and realized, “Wow. She didn’t ask me a single thing about myself.” We all have our moments, but try not to be that person on the other end of the telephone. Authentic principals ask questions and are focused on being interested, not interesting.
    
    

    Don’t surround yourself with yea-sayers
    Praise and concession sure feels nice, but it amounts to little if it is coming from those who offer it out of fear or flattery. Connect with other educational leaders who aren’t personally invested in your school. It’s helpful to have mentors who are encouraging but who also aren’t afraid to give you a perspective that’s different from your own.
    
    

    Accept that you cannot do this alone
    You may think that you have to do it all—and certainly you have an overwhelming amount of responsibilities—but trying to do it all on your own is impossible; and it could have the effect of making you look like a control freak or worse—take a toll on your health. Let your “army” of intelligent and perfectly capable teachers help you shoulder the burden. They may gain a better perspective of the scope of the issues you face too.
    
    

    Schools benefit from authentic leaders—men and women who engage others and who are working toward authenticity. Being authentic has the added benefit of letting people know that while you’re tough and very capable, you are human too, and appreciate help and support from others.
    
    

                                    

  • Blog post
  • 2 weeks ago
  • Views: 556

• Teacher Appreciation! Teacher Appreciation!

  • From: Michael_Fisher
  • Description:

    

    It’s Teacher Appreciation Week this week and I’d like to take the time to share some memories of teachers who have impacted me over the years.

    
    

    ...

    
    

    We’ve all heard Herbert Hoover’s most famous quote, “Children are our most valuable natural resource.” I agree wholeheartedly and would like to add that teachers are second only to those children as one of our most valuable natural resources.

    
    

    The teacher is the common denominator, the roots of all successes. Teachers lay the foundations that students need to do whatever is in their reach, in their dreams, in their wildest imaginations. Teachers take seeds and help them grow. Teachers give their students wings to help them fly. Teachers unleash the power of the brain to do impossible and never thought of things.

    
    

    It’s very difficult to quantify and qualify every little nuance of what makes an effective teacher. Sure, we can check off this or that, or look for evidence that suggests that they do effective work or better some or all of the time. What’s harder to measure, though, are the little details that are beyond the role of just teacher but that matter more than just delivery of content. I’m talking about caring. I’m talking about a deep interest in the lives of their children. I’m talking about taking on multiple roles such as parent, friend, confidant, playmate, role model, tour guide, nurse, coach, psychologist, clean up crew, chef, and constant imagineer.

    
    

    At ASCD's 2013 Annual Conference, guest speaker Maya Angelou referred to teachers as “rainbows in her clouds.”  Even when there may be storms brewing, there’s always a light. Ms. Angelou shared some of her rainbows, and I’d like to share some of mine here:

    
    

    I remember specific details about being in first grade. Playing with the hermit crabs, washing my hair in the sink on picture day, and going into the private book nook to turn myself into the Incredible Hulk so that I could get all of my work done. Jill Roach, my first grade teacher took it all in stride, and still somehow managed to teach me to love reading. We used basal readers from a mid-70’s series with titles such as Galaxies, Secrets, and Tapestry. I was a voracious reader and Mrs. Roach gave me as much text as I was willing to consume. Later, as a resource teacher, she taught me how to program a Texas Instruments computer and the perseverance and tenacity it took to turn three solid weeks of work into a color-changing, pixelated dancing man called Mr. Bojangles.

    
    

    This love of reading was supported throughout Elementary school and in 6th grade, Ron Seabolt introduced me to The Trumpet of the Swan. He used to read to us every day after lunch and I remember this book specifically. I’ve read it dozens of times since then. Later, when I started teaching myself, I read this exact book to my own 6th graders who were in as much awe as I was, so many years ago. There was something so caring in Mr. Seabolt’s reading to us; something so kind and inviting. Reading to a child is the most wonderful thing in the world. It is a gift to all involved, both the reader and the listener. When I read to others and especially when I re-read The Trumpet of the Swan, I still think about Mr. Seabolt, perched on his bar stool, reading with careful pronunciation and multiple voices. It’s one of my favorite school memories.

    
    

    In 1986, I was in Mr. Robert Shinn’s 9th grade history class watching, with my classmates, the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. We had been taking copious notes earlier and were relieved to get a little break to watch history unfold live. Mr. Shinn was a teacher’s teacher. He knew his content extremely well and his charge was to prepare us both for meeting the requirements of his class as well as being prepared for the world we would all be graduating into. His class was consistently rigorous and I was well prepared for everything that came after his class. When the space shuttle exploded in front of us, and we quickly realized that all aboard had died, Mr. Shinn turned quickly from his teacher role and into a parent. He walked to the television and turned it off. When he turned around, his eyes were red and he spoke softly, “That was the bravest thing I’ve ever had the honor to witness. This is a horrible tragedy for our country but it’s all going to be okay. We will all be okay.” While I’m paraphrasing, I was both comforted and haunted by his words. We sat in silence for awhile and he later added, “there was a teacher on board that shuttle. Her name was Christa McAuliffe. Don’t forget her name.” I haven’t.

    
    

    Jim Rodgers and Bess Oxendine were my High School English teachers. I had each of them for two alternating years. These were the two smartest people I had ever met and were each on different ends of a continuum of eccentricity that I haven’t seen since and doubt I will ever see again. Mr. Rodgers was straight-laced and cultured and referred to us all as “scholars” where Mrs. Oxendine was kooky and humorous and had a very “campfire / kumbaya” approach to teaching. In each of their classes I came to love Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Eudora Welty, C.S. Lewis, Chaucer, William Faulkner, and Barbra Streisand. Well, maybe not so much love with Streisand, but definitely a firm like. I can still recite, from memory, the introduction to The Canterbury Tales and in my Southern accent it still sounds as tainted as ever. I remember specific moments in their classes where I felt smart and I remember enough details from that time that it still resonates and impacts my current professional practice. When my wife is irked that I make connections in popular culture or answer correctly all of the literary categories on “Jeopardy!” I remind her that it is because of Mr. Rodgers and Mrs. Oxendine. They are the reasons why I have a Master’s in English today.

    
    

    Speaking of that English Master’s...one of my professors at Buffalo State College, Dr. Susan Leist, who I still keep in contact with, was definitely a bright spot in my higher education. Our relationship began with me seeing her only as a “Comma Nazi” and trying to avoid her ire at all costs. It turns out she was excellent at her craft. She asked good questions. She didn’t tell me “what” to do or even “why” I should do it, she simply offered opposing arguments and different perspectives. Through conversation, she helped me learn to think of both product, audience, and impact--skills that are essential in the 21st century. Her conversations and voice have morphed over the years into what I call my “Leist Filter” through which I look at every single thing I write; looking for alternative ways to say something important and absolutely making sure that every comma is needed or at least has a plausible reason for being in the neighborhood. I probably still overuse that particular punctuation mark but like good seasoning I believe you should pepper your work with as many opportunities to pause and reflect while both reading and writing. I know now that is a stylistic decision, and as an artist, it is within my creative boundaries to permit such behaviors.

    
    

    I am where I am today because of the fabulous teachers I’ve had. They have been models and mentors who showed me divergent paths and taught me to be diligent and perseverent. They taught me to think and they gave me choices. They gave me roots and wings.

    
    

    It is with deep appreciation and sincere gratitude that I say, simply, “Thank you.”

    
    

    Thank you to my teachers and thank you to ALL teachers. You have the most unbelievable charge, especially in this day and age. Know that you are having an impact on your students both in learning and in their lives. Know that bureaucracies and politics and their related ilk are tidal. They ebb and flow with the times. Teachers are constants. Teachers always do what must be done. Teachers are heroes.

    
    

    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

  • Blog post
  • 2 weeks ago
  • Views: 269

• Improve Student Outcomes: Less Improve Student Outcomes: Lessons from Around the World

  • From: Aparna_Patankar
  • Description:

    What is the most important factor that contributes to student success? Teaching.

    Educators know this, but implementing practices that support excellent teaching is often harder, especially in school systems that must address myriad issues that frankly go beyond education.

    In a recent Asia Society study, Stanford professor and education expert Linda Darling-Hammond examines teacher quality policies in Singapore, Melbourne, and Toronto and offers advice for what policymakers can do to create and sustain high-quality teaching forces.

    While much of this report is geared towards systemic changes that enable the development and retention of a high-quality teaching force, Darling-Hammond’s research suggests a variety of school-level policies and practices that can improve instruction and achievement in our schools.

    Here are some lessons:

    1. Create a school-wide mentoring and coaching system 

    All three of the cities studied provide mentoring and coaching support to their teachers, especially those who are just beginning their careers. In Ontario, the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) provides supports such as orientation and mentoring over the first four years of a teacher’s career. Through this program, Ontario drove down their once high teacher attrition rate and is now able to retain over 98% of first-year hires.

    While we may not be able to change the level of government support that mentoring and coaching receives, we can work to create school-level mentorship and coaching programs. Educators and school leaders can strive to create school-level mentorship programs. Such programs can help educators develop a sense of community at the school-level and hopefully encourage them to continue teaching at the school.

    2. Encourage collaborative inquiry 

    School leaders and educators can also encourage collaborative inquiry in their schools, so that teachers see one another as educational resources and partners. In Singapore, starting during pre-service preparation, teachers are encouraged to share knowledge and collaborate with another. Promoting a culture of collaboration and trust enables educators and school leaders in Singapore to leverage innovative instruction and assessment practices.

    This practice of collaborative inquiry can also be adopted at the school level. Educators and school leaders can work together to create a culture that encourages teachers to view one another as peers and resources. They can encourage their peers to share their success stories, highlight to their school community what is working, and spread these successful practices to other teachers and classrooms.

    3. Establish more effective performance management and evaluation systems 

    Teacher performance reviews should not be seen as punitive assessments but rather as formative assessments, evaluating teacher learning and shaping further professional development and learning opportunities for teachers. In Melbourne, school-wide evaluations use multiple sources of feedback to inform individual, team, and collective practice and support educators as they develop a personal professional development plan aligned with their individual and the collective school goals. Such practices drive and enable both individual and collective improvement. At a school-level, educators and school leaders can work together to create more productive evaluation systems. Such evaluation systems can not only promote a stronger sense of community but can also achieve the intended goal of such assessments—improving both student and teacher learning.

    4. Cultivate emerging leaders 

    Another feature of systems with high-quality teaching forces is their focus on career and leadership development. This is also a change that we can adopt at the school-level. Look for educators that are going above and beyond and highlight their efforts. Encourage them to take on leadership positions within the school—whether as leaders in teacher inquiry groups or in more formalized positions as department heads or lead teachers. Make an effort to cultivate people who are helping the school and who you could see leading in the future.

    Take Action

    These are all practical changes that can be implemented at the school-level. Educators are education leaders, and as such, anyone can start a movement to support teaching, adopt world-class practices, and ultimately, improve student achievement.

    To learn more, directly from Linda-Darling Hammond, please join us at the Partnership for Global Learning Conference June 27*-29, 2013.

  • Blog post
  • 3 weeks ago
  • Views: 80

• Social Media Week Ideas Social Media Week Ideas

  • From: Vincent_Young
  • Description:

    Social Media Week is one of the two New York events that inspire me and inform my perspective on developing curriculum. The New York Comic Con is the other. While they may seem tangential at first glance to classroom teaching and curriculum design, they actually offer a model of and insight to creating moving narratives which I believe drives effective learning.

    It was at a Social Media Week session two years ago that I learned about Timehop. Timehop is a social media service that places your tweets and wall posts into an historical context. On any given day, you are sent a reminder of what you tweeted and posted on the same date last year. This includes news items you retweeted and shared. When you compare what you tweeted a year ago to what you tweet today, you have the beginnings of an autobiographical narrative (a personal history).

    Currently, Timehop only presents you with an account of day-to-day social media activity. What I am hoping to see somewhere down the line is a "timeline" feature. I am certain there would be some meaningful classroom applications, if Timehop users were given the option to view day-to-day activity over multiple days, weeks, months, and even years.

    Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend as many sessions this year. I was particularly disappointed about missing the Cowbird workshop. Cowbird describes itself as a "community of storytellers". I like to think of it as a great online anthology of flash non-fiction filled with examples of folksy wisdom and lazy Sunday observations over coffee or tea. Cowbird is definitely meeting its goal of building a "public library of human experience".

    I particularly admire Cowbird's resistance to video and hope it continues to ask its community to take the time to contemplate the pictures and sounds (the individual components of video) and text they chose to tell their stories with. There is a risk of forsaking these individual pieces when composing directly in video.

    Cowbird offers classroom teachers in the age of Common Core a powerful tool to create personal narratives. It also provides teachers with a way for engaging in informational texts especially in "Integration of Knowledge and Ideas" where in eighth grade students are tasked to "Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea."

    Happily, I managed to attend the "gsummitX - Gamification in NYC" presentation with Gabe Zichermann from Gamification.co. In the classroom, teachers understand that playing games is an effective way of engaging students. However, with the rise in the number of free online video games and the increased portability of traditional console games, students are much more sophisticated edutainment consumers than we Generation X'ers were with our Colecovisions and Commodore 64s.

    Gabe was speaking from a Sales/Marketing perspective when he stated the challenge of retaining consumer attention. However, I don't think you need to stretch your imagination too hard to see how even with the onslaught of educational online video games that student attention retention can still be a challenge for teachers.

    Gabe made several interesting comments during his presentation. First, he stated that gamification is a process not a product (Sound familiar?) It's what those who favor a constructivist approach to education believe. He then said that (I'm rephrasing slightly) games allow players to play with the limits of the reality of their jobs. In classrooms, this might mean games allow students to play with the limits of the reality of their... classrooms? subjects? tests? school? community?

    Writing about Jane McGonigal's TED presentation, “Gaming Can Make A Better World” I suggested a game that addressed the school dropout crisis. The role playing games that Jane has worked on fit well into Gabe's statements on gamification. In creating a game that challenges students to solve the real world problem of dropping out, the challenge would be to convince the player to find value in the rewards and prizes. There are plenty of good commercial games available but also an equal (if not overwhelming) amount of bad video games. And there are instances where a game comes highly recommended but the player does not see value in continuing it.

  • Blog post
  • 4 weeks ago
  • Views: 67

• Am I Who I Say I Am? Am I Who I Say I Am?

  • From: Tom_Whitby
  • Description:

    I just spent the morning viewing a livestream from an Education Forum from Education Week. For those who may be unaware a livestream is a live transmission of an event over the Internet. This was a forum that recognized Education Leaders. It was titled Leaders To Learn From 2013. I think what Education Week did was great and I hope not to diminish their contribution. I do have some observations that I would like to share.

    My friend and colleague Kyle Pace, @kylepace, was the person who drew me to this forum. Kyle is a connected educator known to tens of thousands of educators as a collaborative, connected educator who engages people with knowledge and information in the realm of technology in education. If any educator deserves an award for collaborative leadership, Kyle would top my list of candidates. It is a well-deserved recognition.

    What struck me about the other award winners recognized for their leadership accomplishments that other educators are supposed to learn from was that we as an education community have not heard from them before? I realize that not all educators are connected through social media. It also seems to me as an observer of social media in education that it is often more difficult for Administrators to connect than teachers. There are reasons for that, both real and imagined, and I understand that. It would seem to me however, that if collaboration is part of a reason for recognition, the award winners should demonstrate some proficiency in modern collaboration as educators.

    I also attended a Discovery Education forum recently where a number of Superintendents were recognized. When asked about their professional Social media involvement and collaboration, each claimed Twitter accounts and some claimed to have blogs. Of course sitting with Josh Stumpenhorst, @stumpteacher, we were able to quickly fact-check each of their claims to discover that most of them rarely tweeted and few had Blogs.

    In a time when mobile devices can vet any speaker in a few seconds, people should not speak out of hand. In addition to education leaders, all leaders should get the fact that they can, and will be held more accountable for what they do compared to what they say. The world and information distribution has changed. Their failure to recognize that fact is testament to their relevance in a technology-driven society.

    I have made my views on sharing as a professional responsibility known in many previous posts. A question from Dean Shareski really summed it up for me in regard to professional collaboration. What would we say about a doctor who found a cure for cancer or even a partial pathway to that end, but failed to share it with medical colleagues?

    If educators are doing things in a better way, why are they not collaborating using the methods of today? Educators may not have the Journal of the American Medical Association, but we do have Twitter and we do have Blogs. I am tired of educators who espouse technology for everyone else, but fail to employ it for themselves and their profession.

    Many Administrators use the Internet to vet out teaching candidates. They get to Google information about individuals that they are legally precluded from asking about in an interview. If that has become the standard then let’s have at it. We should look at everyone’s digital footprint including administrators. What is their educational philosophy as it is stated in the digital world? What does their Professional Learning Network include? What is it they have collaborated on in the Social media world? How effective are they in the very collaboration skills that they claim to have? How reflective are they based on their public blog? Do they hold to their principles in their public reflections?

    We are moving forward in the way we access and obtain information. If an administrator has not contributed and that information is not obtainable, then that may be an indication of ability, or relevance, or both. At the very least it should be a red flag. I am not suggesting that any administrator who is not on social media is a Luddite. I am suggesting that the best leaders in an age of technology are those who understand it as a result of effectively using it, as well as modeling it for those who follow. We need to consider relevant collaborative skills as a requisite for administrative positions if we have hope for changing the system in positive ways.

  • Blog post
  • 1 month ago
  • Views: 560

• Avoiding those pesky, first-ye Avoiding those pesky, first-year blunders

  • From: Ryan_Thomas1
  • Description:

    Despite the fact that many new principals have spent years—and sometimes decades—in education, they are often broadsided by the new (and unavoidable challenges) that come with the territory. Although we certainly can’t prepare you for all of them, we’d like to offer a few tips to help you avoid a few first-year blunders.
    
    

    The first year: Making new principals into effective principals
    
    

    Effective principals know that not everyone knows what they do all day
    The expectations placed on leadership have never been more demanding. Sure, principals know who creates the school’s vision, develops curriculum, evaluates teachers, manages the building and collects data. But outsiders are, generally speaking, completely unaware of what principals do throughout the day.
    
    

    Here's what Jessica Bohn suggested in a recent article: If your colleagues genuinely believe that your day consists of issuing orders or combing the halls for truants, it makes sense that they would be frustrated when you do not respond to their needs immediately. The best way to let them know what you do is by having them help you do it—which brings us to our next point.
    
    

    Effective principals create a community of shared responsibility
    You may think that you have to do it all—and certainly you have an overwhelming amount of responsibilities—but don’t try to be a rugged-individualist. We’re saying this for a few reasons: First, it’s impossible. Second, because it will make you look like a control freak. Third, because you have any army of intelligent and perfectly capable teachers who can help you shoulder the burden.
    
    

    If you assign a specific, task-savvy adult to handle every anticipated melodrama—crumbling drywall, for example, or a flock of birds who has made a nest in the rafters of the gym—you can spend your time on “big-picture” issues. Quick fixes may make you look good, but you’ll be doing yourself a disservice when you stay mired in perfunctory disruptions.
    
    

    Effective principals make themselves visible
    Like we said earlier, not everyone understands what principals do—and they’re never going to if you hole up in an office all day. One way to make yourself visible is by taking your office with you. If you need access to email, bring along a laptop and set up shop in the library. Is there a study hall going on somewhere in the school? Grab a seat in the back of the room and get some work done there. Try rotating your “satellite office” every day. Doing this not only gets you out of the office, it also gives you the opportunity to speak with faculty and students.
    
    
    Effective principals accept the fact that they’ll be compared to predecessors
    Knowing ahead of time that everything you do will be measured against your predecessor will save you a lot of grief and restless nights. Comparisons are going happen. You are going to hear things like, “Principal X didn’t seem to have a problem with this,” or “Principal X would never have done this.” Ditch your gut reaction to react defensively and use these moments to ask questions and engage in an open discussion.
    
    

     

    

    

  • Blog post
  • 1 month ago
  • Views: 136
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• How about we let the kids figu How about we let the kids figure out the achievement gap?

  • From: Spike_Cook
  • Description:

    We started a Saturday program at my school in order to provide students with additional academic remediation, support, and some fun. I know that some of you might think this is just another "test prep" venture to raise scores considering we identified specific students, and it's April.... You would be both correct and incorrect (or maybe it is just how you define test prep).

     

    Here is a little information about the program. We have targeted about 30 students in grades 3, 4, and 5 to provide math and language arts remediation through a very effective tool. The tool that we use is SuccessMaker which is a digital learning curriculum that is designed to assess, remediate and instruct based on the Common Core and New Jersey Model Curriculum. In addition to the online instruction and assistance, we have teachers who work with students individually on their specific needs. SuccessMaker can develop specific lessons for the teachers and students to master. Additionally, SuccessMaker also facilitates 21st century learning as the students are required to use high levels of Blooms Taxonomy to solve problems while also providing them with the experience for taking the online assessments such PARCC.

     

    But there is more to our program then SuccessMaker. First, team-building and cooperative learning activities are embedded within the structure of the program because we feel urged to not only address the academic needs but also the social and emotional needs of our learners. We want them to feel confident as they approach problems and situations that involve critical thinking. Since we have the students grouped into three teams, we wanted to continue to push the envelope and challenge the students, and that is where Problem Based Learning comes in.

     

    For our "problem", the students are going to have determine why there is an achievement gap and what they can do to "solve" the problem. During the first session, we presented them with the challenge and what the end result could look like (an invention, commercial, iMovie trailer, etc.). We also asked them to define what is a "problem" and why are some students achieving while others are not. For instance, in order to engage them in self reflection (we all know that kids like to point fingers), we asked the students this question, "Who is responsible for the achievement gap... is it parents, teachers, principals or students?" Most, if not all the students said the responsibility falls on themselves. Their rationale for owning the problem included items such as low self esteem, not paying attention, and not taking school seriously.

     

    Over the next few weeks the students in PBL will be presented with data about the achievement gap as well as what adults say about the achievement gap. Ultimately, the students will solve this problem and present their findings to parents, teachers and other students at our culminating event on May 11.

     

    I will make sure to report back on their progress each week as well as their solutions to this age old problem... why do some students achieve while others do not.....

  • Blog post
  • 1 month ago
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• Effective Teachers Need 21st C Effective Teachers Need 21st Century Teaching Skills

  • From: Mike_Anderson
  • Description:

    This post is a part of the ASCD Forum conversation “how do we define and measure teacher and principal effectiveness?” To learn more about the ASCD Forum, go to www.ascd.org/ascdforum.

    As we face rapid technological, environmental, economic, political, and social changes in this new world, the need for dedicated, skilled teachers has never been greater. We need teachers who can teach children not only how to solve problems, but how to use higher-order thinking skills to discern what problems need solving—teachers who can inspire students to do their best work and thrive as contributing citizens in an increasingly complex world.

    We need, in short, teachers who move beyond good teaching to great teaching—transformative teaching. Just as students need a specific set of skills to equip them to succeed in the 21st century, teachers need a specific set of tools to be effective teachers of 21st century learners.

    Responsive Classroom professional development focuses on building 21st century teacher skills in three crucial, interrelated domains:
    
    

    • Engaging Academics: Effective teaching requires that teachers know how to offer academic lessons, assignments, and activities that are active and interactive, appropriately challenging, purposeful, and connected to students’ interests. This kind of teaching leads children to a higher level of motivation, skill mastery, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
    • Effective Management: Effective teaching is possible only in well-managed classrooms and schools. In such classrooms, teachers establish and teach behavior expectations, manage the schedule, and organize physical spaces in ways that enable students to work with autonomy and focus. When children make behavior mistakes in these settings, teachers respond in non-punitive ways that quickly and respectfully help them resume their learning.
    • Positive Community: Effective teaching requires a classroom and school where every child feels safe, valued, and fully included in the learning community; where teacher and students share a common purpose along with regular routines and traditions that form a comforting underpinning for their days; and where a sense of joy envelopes hard work. Only when such a positive climate prevails can children take the risks necessary to learning.

    
    Too often in schools, community, management, and academics are seen as three separate domains. Responsive Classroom approaches the challenge of increasing teacher effectiveness for the 21st century by helping educators develop teaching skills that simultaneously apply across all three of these crucial, interrelated domains.

    Teachers who have these tools at their command have the ability to immediately impact student learning in powerful, positive, and lasting ways. Few teachers begin their careers with highly developed skills in all three domains, which is where professional development comes in. We work with teachers, schools, and districts to develop the skills that today’s teachers need to realize our shared vision of a high-quality education for every child, every day.

  • Blog post
  • 1 month ago
  • Views: 797

• L2L News: April 2013 L2L News: April 2013

  • From: Meg_Simpson
  • Description:

     

    Thanks for a fantastic 2013 ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois!

    Read ASCD Executive Director Dr. Gene Carter’s annual conference reflections here.

    Your To-Do List: Action Items for ASCD Leaders

    •  Submit a proposal for ASCD’s 2014 Annual Conference. ASCD is accepting proposals for 2014 Annual Conference presentations until May 15.

     

    Register for the Whole Child Virtual Conference: May 6–10, 2013

    Join ASCD for its third annual Whole Child Virtual Conference. This free online event offers thought leadership discussions; presentations from leading authors and experts; and an exploration of the steps outstanding schools, communities, and individual countries take as they move along the continuum of a whole child approach—from implementation to sustainability to culture. No matter where you are on this continuum, you’ll find lessons you can learn and questions you can ask to improve and grow your schools.

    This year the conference will include 24 sessions over 7 days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. eastern time, with sessions on May 2 and 3 specifically for Australasian and European audiences. This year’s conference speakers include authors and experts Thomas Armstrong, Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Eric Jensen, Wendy Ostroff, William Parrett and Kathleen M. Budge, Pasi Sahlberg, and Yong Zhao.

    Sessions will also feature presentations from ASCD Emerging Leaders, ASCD’s Outstanding Young Educators Award winner, the recipient of Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award, and members of ASCD’s Whole Child Network of Schools.

    Registration is now open. Go to www.ascd.org/wcvirtualconference to sign up.

     

    ASCD Nominations Committee Applications Open in May

    ASCD is seeking ASCD leaders who are interested in serving on the 2013–14 ASCD Nominations Committee. More information—the committee’s charge, qualifications for service, and time commitment—will be available starting May 1 on www.ascd.org. ASCD will be accepting applications May 1–31. We invite ASCD leaders to consider their interest in this opportunity over the next few weeks before the application becomes available.

      

     ASCD Leaders in Action: News from the ASCD Leader Community

     

    ASCD Student Chapters Help Chicago’s Hungry During ASCD Annual Conference

    On March 15, 46 ASCD Student Chapter members volunteered to make a difference in the fight against hunger in Chicago. Working together the Friday morning before ASCD’s Annual Conference, the students packaged more than 15,000 pounds of food to help feed the nearly 678,000 people who rely on emergency and supplemental food from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Thank you and congratulations to our ASCD Student Chapter volunteers! Read the full Conference Daily article.

    
    

    ASCD Forum Session at ASCD Annual Conference Gives Educators a Voice on Teacher and Principal Effectiveness

    On March 17, ASCD Past President Debra Hill facilitated a discussion of the ASCD Forum topic “how do we define and measure teacher and principal effectiveness?” Ten ASCD leaders stepped forward to help lead the discussion:

    ·         Jason Flom, ASCD Emerging Leader

    ·         Ben Shuldiner, Position Advisory Committee Member

    ·         Amy Vanden Boogart, ASCD Emerging Leader

    ·         Jeffrey Lofthus, Alaska ASCD Executive Director

    ·         Daina Lieberman, ASCD Emerging Leader

    ·         Mamzelle Adolphine, Professional Interest Community Facilitator

    ·         Laurie McCullough, Virginia ASCD Executive Director

    ·         Alice Wells, Arizona ASCD Executive Director

    ·         Matthew Cotton, ASCD Emerging Leader

    ·         Torian White, ASCD Emerging Leader

     

    Session attendees stepped up to the front of the room to share their thoughts and also posted tweets to the #ASCDForum hashtag. Many thanks to the ASCD leaders who participated to make this session a success!

     

    Congratulations to ASCD Affiliate Recognition Award Winners

    Please join ASCD in congratulating the ASCD Affiliate Recognition Award Recipients:

    Two affiliates were recognized for the 2013 Overall Excellence Award: Iowa ASCD, for its increased focus on integrating technology into professional learning opportunities and their influence and advocacy work with ASCD, and New Hampshire ASCD, for its work to increase membership and provide increased professional learning opportunities, such as Common Core workshops.

    In addition, New Jersey ASCD received the Area Excellence Award for Programs, Products, and Services for their leadership in their state as a trusted source for professional learning. Texas ASCD received an Exceptional Progress Award in Influence and Policy, and Alberta ASCD, Ohio ASCD, and Vermont ASCD were all recipients of the Exceptional Progress Award in Programs, Products, and Services.

    Read the Conference Daily article.

     

    Welcome to the “Educating Beyond Disabilities” Professional Interest Community

    Please join ASCD in welcoming our newest Professional Interest Community, facilitated by 2011 ASCD Emerging Leader Christina Yuknis. Please join her group on ASCD EDge.

     

    Tennessee ASCD Featured in ASCD Inservice Blog Series

    Weasked some of our affiliate leaders to tell us how the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been going in their home states. In the sixth post of the series, Tennessee ASCD President-Elect John Combs writes about the challenges and successes that Tennessee has had with CCSS implementation.

    Previous Posts:New Jersey ASCD,Alabama ASCD, Arkansas ASCD, New Hampshire ASCD, and Florida ASCD

    
    

    Congratulations!

    • ASCD Emerging Leader Jessica Bohn wrote an article for this month’s Educational Leadership issue on The Principalship. Read her article “First-Year Hurdles” on ascd.org.
      
      
    • ASCD Emerging Leader Craig Martin is featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Teachers of Color Magazine.Read the article (PDF).
      
      
    • Niles West High School Dean and ASCD Emerging Leader Alum Antwan Babakhani has been promoted to be the school’s new assistant principal effective July 1. Read more about Antwan.
      
      
    • ASCD Emerging Leader Torian White was featured in a blog post for the points he made during the ASCD Forum discussion. Read the post about Torian.

     

    Other News

    • ASCD Emerging Leaders Curtis Pelham,Amy Murphy, and Armentress Robinson were recently featured in the ASCDInservice blog “8 Questions” series.
       
    • Check out Fred Ende’sWhole Child Blog post, “Exceeding Needs Through a Partnership Perspective.”
      
      
    • Minnesota ASCD’sSpring Conference, “Creating a Highly Engaged Classroom,” takes place on April 25.
       
    • South Carolina ASCD’s Spring Conference was a huge success! Read more at scascd.org.
      
      
    • Check out Illinois ASCD’s revised website.
      
      
    • Five new members joined the ASCD Board of Directors at ASCD Annual Conference. Read the press release.

     

    Meet ASCD President Becky Berg

    Becky J. Berg is from a family of educators. "My dad was a school board president; my mom was a career educator; and my sister, my grandmother, and my great-grandfather were educators," she says. Despite the genetic pull, Berg wasn't completely convinced she would follow in the family's footsteps until her experience as a summer camp counselor while she was in college. It was then that she realized how much she loved working with kids. Read the full Conference Daily article.

     

    Congratulations to the 2013 Outstanding Young Educator Award Winners!

    ASCD salutes a new generation’s passion for education excellence through this year’s selection of two Outstanding Young Educator Award winners: Joshua Garcia, deputy superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools (Wash.), and Parkville High School  (Parkville, Md.) teacher Ryan Twentey. Twentey teaches art, photography, and interactive media production and also serves as the school’s technology liaison. Read the full Conference Daily article.

     

    Interactive ASCD 2012 Annual Report Features ASCD Leaders

    Check out the ASCD 2012 Annual Report, entitled “Creating Solutions: The ASCD Revolution in Motion.” This interactive report features videos footage of ASCD leaders, including ASCD Emerging Leader Steven Anderson, Florida ASCD President Alina Davis, Alabama ASCD Executive Director Jane Cobia, ASCD Board Member Harriet Arnold, and Connecticut ASCD President David Cormier.

    
    

    Throughout April at wholechildeducation.org: Principal Leadership

    Principals are the key players in developing the climate, culture, and processes in their schools. They are critical to implementing meaningful and lasting school change and in the ongoing school-improvement process. Principals who have a clear vision; inspire and engage others in embracing change for improvement; drive, facilitate, and monitor the teaching and learning process; and foster a cohesive culture of learning are the collaborative leaders our schools need to fully commit to ensuring each student—and school staff member—is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

    What qualities do principals in today’s (and tomorrow’s) schools need to fulfill their roles as visionary, instructional, influential, and learning leaders?

    There are two episodes of the Whole Child Podcast in April for you to download and share. The first episode, “Leveling and Raising the Playing Field,” features school staff from Oregon’s Milwaukie High School, winner of the 2013 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award, and is available now. On April 11, the second episode will be available. It will focus on principal leadership and include guests Kevin Enerson, principal of Whole Child Network school Le Sueur-Henderson High School in Minnesota, and Jessica Bohn, ASCD Emerging Leader and principal of  Gibsonville Elementary School in North Carolina.

    Throughout the month, read the Whole Child Blog and tell us what has worked in your school and with your students. E-mail us and share resources, research, and examples.

     

    The Best-Case Scenario

    As we review and reinforce our schools’ safety measures, we aren’t planning for the worst-case scenario that might happen; we are working to make sure the best-case scenario—where schools are learning environments that are physically, socially, and emotionally safe for students and adults—is an everyday occurrence that does happen. Read more on the Whole Child Blog.

    In February and March, we looked at what we, as educators, believe is crucial to making our schools safe—not just physically safe, but also safe places to teach and learn. Listen to the Whole Child Podcast with guests Joseph Bergant II, superintendent of Chardon Schools in Ohio; Howard Adelman, professor of psychology at UCLA and codirector of the School Mental Health Project and the Center for Mental Health in Schools (a whole child partner); and Jonathan Cohen, adjunct professor in psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and president and cofounder of whole child partner National School Climate Center.

    Have you signed up to receive the Whole Child Newsletter? Read the latest newsletter and visit the archive for more strategies, resources, and tools you can use to help ensure that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

      

    Something to Talk About

    Most recent blog posts on ASCD EDge®

    Mostclicked stories from ASCD SmartBrief

     

    Association News

    • ASCD Announces 2013 Conference on Teaching Excellence in National Harbor, Md.—ASCD will host its Conference on Teaching Excellence June 28–30, 2013, in National Harbor, Md. The conference—which will take place over two and a half days—will focus on the topic of teaching excellence and will have more than 150 sessions tailored for educators of all levels, including teachers, teacher leaders, principals, and district supervisors. Read the full press release.
      
      
    • ASCD Announces New Spring and Summer Professional Development Institutes Supporting Common Core Implementation—ASCD announces new one- and two-day Professional Development Institutes supporting educators nationwide as they implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Read the full press release.
      
      
    • The Third Annual ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference Launches May 6, 2013—ASCD’s third annual Whole Child Virtual Conference, entitled “Moving from Implementation to Sustainability to Culture,” will run May 6–10, 2013. The free and exclusively online event—which attracted more than 900 participants last year—offers educators around the globe 24 sessions to support their work to implement and sustain a whole child approach to education. Read the full press release.
      
      
    • ASCD Names 2013 Elected Leaders and Affiliate Awards Recipients—ASCD announced Becky J. Berg—superintendent of the Deer Park School District in Deer Park, Wash. —as the association’s new President. Berg took office at the conclusion of ASCD’s 68th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in Chicago, Ill., on March 18. Read the full press release.
      
      
    • ASCD Launches Interactive 2012 Annual Report—ASCD is pleased to announce the release of the association’s 2012 Annual Report, entitled “Creating Solutions: The ASCD Revolution in Motion.” This report showcases the association’s achievements and serves as a resource discovery tool for educators who seek programs, products, and services that empower them to support the success of each learner. Read the full press release.
      
      
    • Florida Association of District School Superintendents Launches Professional Development Partnership with ASCD—At ASCD’s 68th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show, ASCD and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS) announced a new partnership to provide FADSS members statewide with customized professional development that will build participants’ capacity for successfully leading, supporting, and monitoring the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in their districts. Read the full press release.
      
      
    • ASCD Selects Washington State Deputy Superintendent and Maryland Teacher as 2013 Outstanding Young Educators—At ASCD’s 68th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in Chicago, Ill., Joshua Garcia, deputy superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools in Tacoma, Wash., and Ryan Twentey, a photography teacher at Parkville High School in Parkville, Md., were announced as winners of the association’s prestigious 2013 Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA). Read the full press release.
      
      
    • Oregon's Milwaukie High School Named 2013 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award Winner—ASCD announced that Milwaukie High School, located in Milwaukie, Ore., is the 2013 winner of the association’s Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award. Principal Mark Pinder accepted the award on behalf of Milwaukie High School from ASCD Executive Director and CEO Dr. Gene R. Carter at ASCD's 68th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in Chicago, Ill., on Sunday, March 17. Read the full press release.
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• This Month’s Character Trait: This Month’s Character Trait: Hope

  • From: Kevin_Parr
  • Description:

    Returning from spring vacation to a new month I am reminded that as a schoolteacher the beginning of a new month means more than simply flipping the calendar.  It signals the time to erect another pillar of our growing character.

    Elementary school children around the nation are gathering in their schools’ gymnasiums for the monthly ritual of introducing a new character trait from Character Counts.   In many schools one of the Six Pillars of Character (respect, responsibility, honesty, caring, citizenship, trustworthiness and fairness) will be introduced with a video or skit.  Students will then in some cases make posters or banners to adorn the school walls and advertise the value of the trait.  Teachers will give token attention to the character trait in the classroom by reading a picture book or doing some other isolated activity to highlight the trait of the month.  At the end of the month the same school children will reconvene in the gymnasium to see who was selected as best demonstrating the character trait of the month. 

    Sadly, that is the state of character education, or social emotional learning, in many schools today.  In fact, this article explains these two approaches among others.  Even sadder, when presented with the idea of beginning to infuse a comprehensive social and emotional learning program into the existing curriculum many teachers at those same schools will reply, “No thanks, we are already doing that.”    

    Now let me be clear about one thing:  I am in no position and have no motives to neither endorse nor reject Character Counts as an effective character education program.  It is simply that Character Counts seems to be ubiquitous in schools, including mine.  What I do reject, however, is the method by which many schools use Character Counts as their best attempt at teaching social and emotional skills.  We can (and must) do better than simply mentioning and celebrating these virtuous traits once a month.

    In a landmark meta-analysis of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs published in 2011 the authors found that effective SEL programs include “processing, integrating, and selectively applying social and emotional skills in developmentally, contextually and culturally appropriate ways.”  Furthermore, “Through systematic instruction, SEL skills may be taught, modeled, practiced, and applied to diverse situations so that students use them as part of their daily repertoire of behaviors.”  The four practices recommended in the study create the acronym SAFE.  From the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning’s (CASEL) summary of the findings:

    Effective programs and approaches are typically sequenced, active, focused, and explicit (S.A.F.E.), meaning they:

    • S: use a Sequenced set of activities to achieve skill objectives
    • A: use Active forms of learning
    • F: include at least one program component Focused on developing personal or social skills
    • E: Explicitly target particular personal or social skills for development

    Clearly, there is a stark contrast between a comprehensive SEL program as described in the meta-analysis and the manner in which many schools today are using Character Counts for teaching students the social skills necessary for a productive life inside and outside of school.  We as teachers must drop our “we’re-already-doing-it” attitude and start doing what students and the rest of society needs us to do—put forth a wholehearted effort in teaching social and emotional skills in our schools.  That will be cause for real celebration.     

     

    

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• Complexity: Chaos versus Compl Complexity: Chaos versus Complexity

  • From: Kevin_Goddard
  • Description:

    Many confuse chaos theory with complexity theory. Chaos theory is defined by nonlinear, chaotic systems, homogeneous in nature, moving toward strange attractors which may very well describe dysfunctional organizational units within a complex system. Complexity theory seeks to understand heterogeneous complex adaptive systems moving toward one or more attractor patterns with the ability for “strong emergence” with radically novel results which describes the institution of education as a whole (Gilstrap, 2005).

    Theory is meant to explain in order to gain understanding to the point of accurate predictability whereas the science of complexity serves as a “conceptual framework” or paradigm to analyze complex adaptive systems (Semetsky, 2006). Bloch (2005) says, “It is in the nature of each [complex adaptive entity] to adapt to its environment and internal state to maintain its life” (p. 195). Levin (2002) defines the properties of complex adaptive systems as diversity and individuality of components, localized interactions among those components, and an autonomous process that uses the outcomes of those interactions to select a subset of those components for replication or enhancement. Schools can only be complex if they are more than their ‘complicated’ parts. Structure is not enough since those components have to be in competition and cooperation with each other to have enough tension for the system to become emergent as appropriate components within the school are replicated and enhanced. Schools are just now beginning to embrace complexity since the past has been an effort to revolve and replicate the entire institution of education around a point attractor and wait for the next cycle to occur.

    In Waldrop’s (1992) masterpiece, he defines complexity as:

    A class of behaviors in which the components of the system never quite lock into place, yet never quite dissolve into turbulence, either. These are the systems that are both stable enough to store information, and yet evanescent enough to transmit it. These are the systems that can be organized to perform complex computations, to react to the world, to be spontaneous, adaptive, and alive (p. 293).

    While Stacey’s (1996) following piece examining complexity in human organizations speculates

    what the peculiarly human features do seem to add is potential complexity; they make the operation of human systems more complex and unpredictable rather than less so…the rate of information flow, the level of diversity in schemas, and the richness of connectivity among agents all remain as control parameters [with] further control parameters added…of power differentials and levels of anxiety containment (p. 114)

     which move the organization along the complexity continuum and/or edge of chaos.

    “Complexity arises because you have a great many of these simple components interacting simultaneously” (Waldrop, 1992, p. 86). Since broad features of complex adaptive systems are knowable (Levin, 2002), “the challenge for theorists…is to formulate universal laws that describe when and how such complexities emerge in nature” (Waldrop, 1992, p. 86). Understandings of complex organizations coalesce around relationships, especially in schools where the density of network connections determines the level of complexity (Bloch, 2005; Gilstrap, 2005).

    A supersystem such as education has “a holographic or fractal aspect in which the parts interact continually to recreate the whole and the whole affects how the parts interact” (Stacey, 1996, p. 21). As smaller organizational units or fractals, which look similar to the overall organization, paradoxically enable and constrain each other through the layers of the organization, leaders have the opportunity to understand, through complexity science, the “dynamic, co-implicated…integrated levels—including the neurological, the experiential, the contextual/material, the social, the symbolic, the cultural, and the ecological—” of the school “rather than isolated phenomena” (Davis & Simmt, 2006, p. 296). Levin (2002, p. 16-17) asks “seductive” questions surrounding the study of complex adaptive systems that make their study relevant to educational leaders facing diminishing resources, increasing accountability, a hostile political environment, rigid school structures protected by reluctant staff and unions, growing concerns of equity and social justice, and absent family involvement:

    • How does cooperation arise and become sustained?
    • How do social norms arise in human societies and become sustained against external influences?
    • Can this understanding help us to sustain patterns of behavior that serve the common good…
    • And to change antiquated frameworks that are resistant to progress simply because they have become frozen accidents of a cultural evolutionary process?

    The dominant metaparadigm currently views organizations predominantly in equilibrium with members acting rationally and cooperating. Outcomes are predictable in the long run within a regular and uniform world. A metaparadigm based on the science of complexity would understand effective organizations as far from equilibrium operating at the edge of chaos, but not quite falling into chaos. The organization could embrace the paradox of competition and self-organizing cooperation in the behavior of its agents. Actions into outcomes would be unpredictable except in the extremely short-term as “the links between actions and their long-term outcomes are lost in the complex interactions between various components of the system” (Stacey, 1996, p. 248).

    An educational complexity metaparadigm would serve as a framework for understanding how school systems act as complex adaptive systems within local, national, and global ecosystems (Waldrop, 1992).  Because complex adaptive systems have many parts cooperating and competing, interaction is too overwhelming to reflect on at once, so, paradoxically, educators use many lenses to focus on one or two aspects of a system while keeping in mind that all the systems and agents working together actually account for what is happing on local and global scales (Stacey, 1996). Educational complexity is the matrix of cultural, social, environmental, political, symbolic, economic, historical, and directional interactions and contexts of which any given school is comprised. A school would not exist in as richly a manner and be able to provide the degree of cognitive stimulation necessary for the development of future citizenry without the complexity existent in the public school system. If we were all white, middle-class males from the same geographic location of the U. S. and would never work outside the local school community, then maybe complexity would not be as big an issue; regardless, the brain is a complex learning system that grows by being challenged and making connections through complex problem-solving situations (Nasir & Hand, 2006).

    Education is constantly barraged by new programs and new practices (Marzano et al., 2005). The recent trend of comprehensive school reform recognizes the complexity of the school system and attempts “to address all aspects of school effectiveness” (U.S. Department of Education, 1998, p. 21); however, through a lens of complexity, leadership recognizes resources “not as discrete items…but as inter-related variables that are a part of a comprehensive plan to impact student achievement in high-poverty schools. This is an important step beyond one-shot remedies or magic bullets” (Machtinger, 2007, p. 7). Marzano and colleagues(2005) agree with Fritz (1984) and Fullan (2001) that education is too complex for absolute truths or “once-and-for-all answers” (p. 67). DuFour and Eaker (1998) reiterate, “The interconnectedness of the elements affecting teaching and learning makes it impossible to attribute either improvements or problems to a single area” (p. 268). Leaders prepare for structural and pedagogical changes in school function as complex, difficult, and dependent on context while gauging multiple cores of successful practice within unstable environments (Marzano et al., 2005; Schechter & Tischler, 2007; Chenoweth, 2007).

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• Throwing Money At It Isn't Alw Throwing Money At It Isn't Always The An$wer

  • From: Craig_Mertler
  • Description:

     

    In last week’s (March 27, 2013) edition of Education Week, a story reported on New York state’s  plan to purchase the design of customized curricula to reflect the Common Core standards.  A graphic reported that the total cost of P-12 curriculum materials in (only) English/Language Arts and Mathematics is equal to:

    $28,335,642...

    ...more than $28 million!  For only two content areas!!  Although I realize that it’s not an entirely scientific or completely accurate calculation, I extrapolated this figure to the 45 states that have adopted the Common Core Standards, and I came up with the following nation-wide expenditure:

    $1,275,103,890...

    ...one and one-quarter BILLION dollars!!!  What happens to this dollar figure when the remaining subject areas are added over the next few years?  Seriously??  What about all of the required professional development for teachers that must go on related to the implementation of the Common Core Standards, as well as to the assessments??  And, what about the cost associated with the development of the new assessments??  WOW—mind-boggling, isn’t it?!

    I have to be honest—I don’t get this . . . at all.  I have always been a huge, devoted supporter of public education.  But, we’ve had standards before; we’ve had standardized assessments of the mastery of those standards for years.  How will a “national curriculum” and “national assessments” result in improved learning and academic achievement???  For example, are we really going to be teaching math and math content differently than we ever have before?  And, are the assessments going to be markedly different?  If not, we seem to be wasting a lot of money.  If so, maybe it will be a good thing, but with no supporting evidence or data at this point, this is an extremely risky investment, to say the least.

    We seem to be throwing a lot of money at the problem, in the hopes that these new standards and assessments will “stick.”  What if they don’t?  There hasn’t been much (any?) of a “trial” period to see just how effective they might be.  Isn’t this important—even critical— enough that we have some idea of how effective it could potentially be, before spending such exorbitant amounts of money on it??  Our kids’ lives and futures are at stake.  Imagine if a similar process was followed for a new drug, whose potential effectiveness had not been demonstrated—there would be a national outcry against it.

    For the broader educational community—across this country—that has become so data-driven in its approach to decision making and to teacher/administrator evaluation, why are we implementing something that has not been field-tested and for which we have no data about its potential effectiveness?  I have to admit—I find this frightening.

    Doesn’t seem to be a very “data-driven approach” . . . at all!

    Engaging in your own professional development through an action research approach—perhaps, even extending it to an entire building or district—can provide these data as sort of a pilot test.  Doing so does not cost a lot of money up front, but can provide information on how potentially effective a program or educational approach can be, and can do so prior to large-scale implementation.  I’ve written a lot about this idea, and have spoken about it at several professional conferences.  You’ll find links to two of these below.

    The first is a video of my 2008 Presidential Address at the annual meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association.  The title of the talk is “A Systematic Approach to Transforming the Art of Teaching into the Science of Teaching: Developing a D-DIDM Mindset.”

    http://youtu.be/hsxmE3G6AMw

    The second one below is a video of my 2011 Keynote Address at the annual meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association.  The title of the talk is “Transformational Innovation in Education:  Empowerment as a First Step.”

    http://youtu.be/5-kvqhMkweE

    Here’s the proverbial bottom line for me—

    We have to find ways to improve education in this country, not just ways to spend money in the hope that maybe we can improve education. 

     The latter is simply not good enough.

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