Category: schoolreform
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Innovation and Gaming: Keys to the future
I heartily agree with David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was quoted in the Washington Post’s article “Give a child a video game — and maybe a job” last week saying: …young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that…
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Assess schools on a happiness and engagement index?
I’ve been thinking lately about the DIFFERENT educational policies we need at state and federal levels to encourage a focus on ENGAGEMENT, creativity, fun and authentic learning in schools. (Add to that list “21st century literacy/workforce skills” too.) Building on those thoughts, I posted the following as a comment on the Tech Chicks Tips post,…
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Synthesizing the pieces
David Truss has posted a nice synthesis of several of my recent posts relating to educational reform and learning, and even created a graphic that refers to podcast #79 titled, ‘Reject Rigor: Embrace Differentiation, Flexibility, and High Expectations’. In his post, David hits on an “elephant in the room” of educational reform debates: the wide…
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NCLB has been a destructive tragedy, not an accomplishment
I take issue with Washington Post writer Amy Fagan in her article “Bush-Democrat alliance on education law feared” today: Mr. Bush is urging Congress this year to renew one of his biggest domestic accomplishments, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law of 2002, which aims to increase student achievement through more testing and by tracking…
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Building A Better Mousetrap: How Technology Will Improve Achievement
A MacWorld 2007 presentation by Dr Monica Beglau of the University of Missouri (I AM RECORDING THIS SESSION WITH DR. BEGLAU’S PERMISSION, AND WILL POST THIS SUBSEQUENTLY AS A PODCAST) I think NCLB and a few other little requirements from state DOEs have made us feel like the mouse in this graphic: Who moved my…
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Worthwhile thoughts from Gary Stager
Attending an event like MacWorld is a tremendous opportunity not only because of the excitement of keynotes and the expo hall, but primarily because of the opportunity it affords to meet with people face to face and have great conversations. It was a great thrill and an intellectual stimulating opportunity to meet Gary Stager today…
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Apprenticeship learning and critical thinking
I think most people in the world today are asleep to the changes being wrought in the information environment, and the implications this should have for us in formal educational settings. I had a thought provoking discussion this morning with Richard Crum, who attends the Friday morning men’s group at my church and is an…
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21st Century Education reform
Kudos to the editor of Time Magazine and authors Claudia Wallis and Sonja Steptoe for their December cover story: “How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century.” (Note that you don’t have to pay to view/read the full article: If you aren’t already a Time magazine subscriber, you can opt to view a…
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Reservations about empowerment without accountability
Joe Makley shared a thoughtful comment last night to my post from December 2005 on “Educational Banner Evangelism.” Joe is questioning advocacy for constructivism and empowering teachers without accountability and at least minimum expectations based on identified standards. He wrote: The point being, we still have standards, and they are more important than ever. It…
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Thinking about new schools
In his article (linked on the Creativity Exchange) “Beyond Schools: A New Foundation for Education in the 21st Century” (PDF) Gary L. Thompson addresses several key questions and issues about reinventing education for our new millenium: If the World is Flat, then how do we Flatten Education? Education as [a] Pipeline Rather Than [a] Linear…