Educational Readings - for the creative teacher!

By Allan Alach

I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.

This week’s homework!

More bible study, less dreaming stories, less enjoyment, more memorising

Prof Spurr - best kept in Aust!!

If you think things are bad in your neck of the woods, the outlook for education is looking pretty bleak in Australia.

“He complains about too much emphasis on enjoyment, which he does not believe is necessarily part of learning literature. "The idea of pupils as ‘creators’ of literature in English needs to be kept firmly in check" he reports. Students’ own works should not be valued too highly.”

http://bit.ly/1t26wXz

American Schools Are Training Kids for a World That Doesn’t Exist
Not just American schools …

“We may not be getting dumber in America. But we need to get smarter in ways that match the challenges we now face. The time is now to support the role of learning in the pursuit of discovery and to embrace the powerful agency of culture.”

http://wrd.cm/1wVVW2k

How Students Lead the Learning Experience at Democratic Schools

“Children begin as explorers—they explore the environment around them, watch others, and try out what peers as well as adults are doing. … What they need to acquire, they are able to acquire quite proficiently through ‘discovery learning.’”

http://bit.ly/1wjSjmM

Research Indicates No Relationship between Student Standardized Test Scores and Quality of Teacher Performance

Are you surprised?

“Recent research from the University of Southern California has shown there is “weak or non-existent” relationship between state administered value added model tests—VAM, and the content and quality of teacher instruction. The study questions whether VAM data would be helpful in evaluating teacher performance and influencing teacher instruction.”

http://bit.ly/1w0O9Uj

Is this what we mean by ‘close reading?’

If you want to kill any love of reading, follow this example.

“85 questions assigned by a high school teacher to start off To Kill A Mockingbird… Is this what we mean by ‘close reading?’”

http://bit.ly/1zj0VzJ

Reading John Dewey

“Today as in 1897, if we could adhere to these basic principles, education would be in a much better state.”

http://bit.ly/1x4cLIy

Dewey, Testing Companies, and the Origin of the Common Core

“John Dewey’s vision of reform was a bottom-up approach that focused on the needs of the child and the expertise of the teacher. He warned against a system that relied on a lack of connection between the people in charge of planning for education and the people in charge of actually educating. What would John Dewey think of the Common Core?”

http://bit.ly/1wticT7

Your Data Will Lie To You If You Let It

A valuable article:

“So what is the better alternative to data-driven education? The answer is teacher-driven education, not data-driven.”

http://bit.ly/1pArvL7

Being Pegged, Late Bloomers and Effort

Check the following link for an article that Bruce wrote this week on a similar theme.

“This is not just a story about a late bloomer.  It is also about pegging students. Smart. Academically challenged. Either label can be a burden to a student for different reasons.  Plus, how do we know for sure?  Does the teaching culture of the school exhibit one-size-fits-all pedagogy?  Are there various modes and opportunities to learn? Do teachers have the time and resources to accommodate students' varied needs?  Or, do we just love to pigeon-hole students?”

http://bit.ly/1rFGYcK

This week’s contributions from Bruce Hammonds:

Teachers using ability grouping contributing to growing inequality in schools!!

Dr Rubie - Davies

“Although many teachers talk about groups being flexible there is research that ability groups students are placed into in their first year predicts the stream they will be placed in at secondary school.”

http://bit.ly/1DCYUv1

Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn."

—Loris Malaguzzi, 1920–1994

Report urges revamping student testing

Bruce’s comment: Moving away from standardised testing in the US.

“The report, by the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education and the National Center for Innovation in Education at the University of Kentucky, recommends alternatives to annual standardized tests. It says there should be far more emphasis on ongoing assessments of students as part of regular classroom instruction. Schools should focus more on “formative assessments,” the curriculum-based problems and quizzes that teachers give to students throughout the school year for feedback on how students are doing, in addition to locally developed alternatives to assessments, the report argues.”

http://bit.ly/1ylyc9k

Next two articles: Some good advice to ensure successful project  based learning.

Minimize Frustration and Maximize Deep Learning

“As we move through the Information Age, many educators believe that teachers should concentrate on crucial concepts rather than memorizing facts and students should use critical-thinking skills to build their own understanding and transfer skills and knowledge to authentic situations. But this reality is hard to create. Often, a project seems like the answer to a prayer, but without careful planning, it can quickly lead to curses and frustration.”

http://bit.ly/1nBS5Ie

Tips for Managing Project-Based Learning

“Project-based learning (PBL) can be messy by nature, but, then again, isn't all learning? PBL is a student-centered practice. Because it allows for voice and choice for students in not only what they produce but also how they spend their time, the learning is not as structured as many educators are comfortable with. However, PBL can still be focused if educators pair content standards with a menu of choices for demonstrating understanding of those standards, rather than allowing students to do projects on whatever they find interesting.”

http://bit.ly/1nBSfze

From Bruce’s ‘oldies but goodies’ file:

Bruce has been looking back at articles I wrote for him back in 2011 when my brain was working…

Guest Post by Allan Alach - a 'must read' and share with others

His introduction at the time:

‘My principal friend Allan sent me an e-mail that was so on the mark that I asked him to extend it into a blog. To my mind it is a piece of writing all teachers and schools should read -and then pass it on to as many other people as is possible.”

http://bitly.com/1DLwL73

A post apocalyptic vision of New Zealand education if present policies continue!

“One respondentused the nom-de-plume Ozy Mandias. This brought back memories of a high school English class, where we studied a poem of that name. I recalled enough of it to realise that it would provide an excellent analogy for my pessimistic view of the future of education in New Zealand.”

http://bit.ly/1xotDdg

Contributed by Phil Cullen:

School is a prison — and damaging our kids

This article is a must read:

“I don’t mean to paint self-directed education as a panacea. Life is not always smooth, no matter what the conditions. But my research and others’ research in these settings has convinced me,

beyond any doubt, that the natural drives and abilities of young people to learn are fully sufficient to motivate their entire education. When they want or need help from others, they ask for it. We don’t have to force people to learn; all we need to do is provide them the freedom and opportunities to do so.”

http://bitly.com/1FMZiLx

Teachers using ablity grouping contributing to growing inequality in schools!!

Dr Rubie-Davies

Does your school use ability groups?

There is no doubt in my mind that the biggest contribution to inequality in our schools lies outside the school gate – in the difficult home circumstances of the students. 

The Minister has spread the myth that one in five students are failing and that schools can alleviate this situation with better teaching - and National Standards. It is all too easy for politicians to blame teachers and in the process ignore that poverty is the problem – poverty created by the neo- liberal polices implemented by governments since the 1980s. 

One in five students failing – one in five students living in poverty – seems hard to ignore the correlation.

Schools can't do much about the poverty issue – this is a matter for politicians – but they ought not to add to the disparity by their teaching methods.

With this in mind it was welcome to read Dr Christine Rubie-Davies article about ‘enacting high expectations for all students’ in the NZ Principal magazine Sept 2014.

She writes that we often hear that teachers ought to hold high expectations for all students implying the currently teachers do not hold high enough expectations. But, she asks, ‘what do high expectations look like?’

Her research has led her into identifying teachers with high expectations and whether holding high expectations has a positive effect on achievement and student self-belief. Rubie –Davis defines high expectation teachers ss those who have high expectations for all their students ‘relative to achievement’. The point she makes is that ‘high expectation teachers expect all their students in their classes to make large learning gains –and the students do’.

So, she asks, ‘what is it that high expectation teachers do?Several studies have shown that high expectation differ from low expectations in three key areas: they do not  use ability groups, they create a warm class climate, and they set clear learning goals with their students. At the heart of these difference, in my opinion is the use of flexible groupings rather than ability grouping.’

This is why the article caught my attention as I have never believed in , or used, ability grouping because of the consequences for students attitudes about their learning ability – ‘once a weka always

An excellent book.

a weka’. (A weka is a NZ bird that has lost its ability to fly! )

Rubie –Davies' research lines upwith the findings of Professor of mathematics Jo Boaler and the research of the UK Teaching Without Limits project.

According to New Zealand researcher John Hattie within class ability grouping show little benefit in raising achievements levels – and this leads on to the negative effects of streaming or banding.

Hattie 'no benefit'

 As a secondary student commented to Rubie- Davies, ‘as you move down the streams, the students get browner’. ‘The major problem with ability grouping’ writes Rubie –Davis, ‘is that it results in differential opportunity to learn and therefore differential learning. Students learn what they are given the opportunity to learn.’

My own thought is that there is not an achievement gap in our schools but rather an opportunity one.

Students Rubie –Davis writes arrive at school as 5 year olds and within a week or two they find themselves in the Red group or the Tiger group (or the Wekas) - names teachers think disguises the hierarchy that represents ability grouping. Once placed students are given different learning experiences and this placement begins their careers not only in an academic hierarchy but also a social one.

 Although many teachers talk about groups being flexible there is research that ability groups students are placed into in their first year predicts the stream they will be placed in at secondary school.

 Other research shows that if children from low achieving groups are placed in average or even high achieving groups they quickly begin achieving at the same level as their peers. There are also studies that show the pernicious effect of ability grouping and streaming. And, it seems, there are no studies, says Rubie- Davies that shows ability grouping is wonderful.

Sadly all this evidence against ability grouping is ignored by schools and as a result schools contribute to student discrepancy.

Finland

In contrast Finland, hailed as having a high quality education system has a policy of schools using only heterogeneous grouping and they also have one of the smallest disparities between their highest and lowest achievers. Rubie –Davies concedes there may be other explanation for Finland’s success but, not withstanding, their policy of heterogeneous grouping versus our homogeneous ability grouping is worth considering as one potential explanation for our large ‘achievement tail’.

The high expectations teachers Rubie-Davies studied do not use ability grouping instead they use flexible mixed ability grouping where students can choose the activities that they complete, or higher and lower achievers are paired, or students are socially grouped, or students choose who they work with, or students assigned to mixed ability grouping.

  Educationalist David Perkins suggests students can be withdrawn individually or in small groups, for catch up help and then placed back into the ‘game’ of learning. This approach was identified by Rubie-Davies. She observed teachers ‘pull out students to teach particular skills so that the salience of ability is diffused’.

Such flexible grouping would seem to me to true to the spirit of holistic, integrated, student- centred or personalised learning that once NZ primary education was recognized for  as exemplified by the writings of the late Elwyn Richardson.

Elwyn Richardson

Another aspect of flexible grouping is that students can form relationship across the curriculum and in the process developing a stronger sense of class community.

Flexible grouping shows to students that teachers care equally for all of them. Ability grouping is more harmful at the secondary level where students are streamed and sadly this process is becoming more common in primary and middle schools with inter-class grouping and setting, usually in literacy and numeracy.

Schools’ using flexible groupings requires teacher expertise to monitor individual progress and provide feedback and assistance as and when required – but this is expertise that can be learnt.

 Rubie –Davies has completed studies to develop this expertise. This is the creative teaching that, when I was an adviser, teacher or principal, I admired. My own experience as a principal showed me how hard it was to shift teachers out of using ability grouping in literacy and numeracy – it seemed hardwired into teacher DNA.

‘All students’, concludes Rubie-Davis, ‘come to school enthusiastic about learning and the adventures that lie in store. Many leave school several years later disillusioned, disappointed and dispirited.’

As a country the talents of all our students is our biggest future asset – our school system should focus on developing the unique talentsand gifts of all students and not, as at present, contributing to some feeling winners and other losers – wounded by their schooling.

‘From an equity perspective, all students deserve the opportunity to achieve to their highest potential. High expectation teachers recognise the possibilities in all their students and work to ensure that all students achieve to the highest level they can. It is teachers who foster students’ talent and who can help every child to love learning, to challenge themselves, and to achieve more than others might have thought possible’.

All that is needed is some courageous leadership to create the conditions to encourage teachers to escape past destructive  ability grouping practices.

Further reading................................ Wounded by School by Kirsten Olsen

Podcast: Harmonized Learning 24

In this episode, we podcast from the MOREnet conference in Columbia, MO where we are presenting our 20% Time program. We talk about the conference, keynote speaker Dave Burgess (Teach Like a Pirate), MOREnet and what comes next in our classrooms. Listeners can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Search iTunes for Harmonized Learning in the podcast section and click "subscribe". You can also follow us on Twitter @melissahellwig4 and @dayankee

Educational Readings - educational myths, powerful learning, common core and David Perkins

By Allan Alach

I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.

This week’s homework!

The Myth of “Knowledge Gaps”

Let's put kids in the driving seat.

“I asked this question:

Is there really a developmental window of opportunity when learning needs to happen, and if it doesn’t happen at that time, can never effectively happen?”

http://bit.ly/1neuAoq

5 myths about the human brain, debunked

Education is full of myths propagated by snake oil salespeople and non-educators.

three pounds of flesh!

“The brain is the most amazing organ in the human body. Somehow, this collection of billions of cells gives rise to thoughts, feelings, action — all the things that make us who we are. So it's no wonder that there are lots of misconceptions about how this three-pound hunk of flesh actually works. Here are five of the biggest myths about the human brain:”

http://bit.ly/10La0BU

The Science Of The Common Core: Experts Weigh In On Its Developmental Appropriateness

By Alice Walton

“Child development experts and early childhood educators believe that there is actually quite a lot to lose. The issue is not at all ideological, they say – it’s partly pedagogical, and partly psychological. According to experts, a poorly conceived set of standards has the potential to be, at best, fruitless and, at worst, detrimental to the youngest kids who are on the frontline of the Common Core.”

http://onforb.es/1t77gtJ

The great peril of standardized education

“If Einstein was right when he said that “standardization is a great peril,” our nation may have suffered a brain robbery that has stunted the full development of the intellect and unique talents of millions of people. In their obsession with making students uniform or “common” in knowledge and skills, reformers may have overlooked the value of variety. Could it be that the “great peril” of standardization has been the devaluing of student curiosity, creativity and initiative, as well as reducing personal integrity?”

http://bit.ly/1ssAqmw

Learning, making and powerful ideas

Steve Wheeler

Recently I’ve included articles about the ‘maker’ movement. This article from Steve Wheeler provides a pedagogical background to this movement.

“The theory of contructionism is experiencing something of a revival in recent years with the emergence of maker spaces, robotics, 3D printing and other tools that can promote the making of objects.”

http://bit.ly/11ekcTL

Metacognition: The Gift That Keeps Giving

“Students who succeed academically often rely on being able to think effectively and independently in order to take charge of their learning. These students have mastered fundamental but crucial skills such as keeping their workspace organized, completing tasks on schedule, making a plan for learning, monitoring their learning path, and recognizing when it might be useful to change course. They do not need to rely on their teacher as much as others who depend on more guidance to initiate learning tasks and monitor their progress.”

http://bit.ly/1vNM7Df

Q&A with Daniel Goleman: How the Research Supports Social-Emotional Learning

“Goleman's work still examines the unconscious influences on our conscious mind, and gives us tools to understand and harness these influences to positive ends. In his latest book, The Triple Focus: A New Approach to Education, he collaborates with Peter Senge to showcase the importance of cognitive control in helping students make good decisions.”

http://bit.ly/ZdEPhi

Learning Is Different Than Education

“Learning is different than education. One can be self-directed but supported; the other is led and caused. One is driven by curiosity and the joy of discovery; the other is metered and measured,and a matter of endless policy and mechanization.”

http://bit.ly/1wg6eu4

This week’s contributions

 from Bruce Hammonds:

As Overtesting Outcry Grows, Education Leaders Pull Back on Standardized Tests

Wrong

Bruce’s comment: The anti testing movement slowly rising to the top as Obama speaks out. Too little too late. Best to not even have gone there in the first place – politics before education.

“As the outcry against the overtesting of American children has grown, state and local education leaders – in a move endorsed by President Barack Obama – have announced a new focus on dialing back the volume of standardized testing and dialing up the quality.” 

http://bit.ly/1rkob6B

Learning from Live Theater

“In a previous study, we examined the impact of field trips to an art museum. We found significant benefits in the form of knowledge, future cultural consumption, tolerance, historical empathy, and critical thinking for students assigned by lottery to visit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (see “The Educational Value of Field Trips,” research, Winter 2014). In the current study, we examine the impact of assigning student groups by lottery to see high-quality theater productions of Hamlet or A Christmas Carol.”

http://bit.ly/1nupYul

Duluth Middle students use STEM concepts to build solar-battery-powered cars

Bruce’s comment: Importance of active learning

‘“If we learn by using the car, we can actually have a hands-on experience with it instead of just looking at a board and writing stuff down about how to do it,” Jackson said.’

http://bit.ly/1sAlstg

Five Keys To Building A Culture Of Active Learning

“Independence does not develop in a culture that values compliance. Independent learners will be motivated to confront relevant problems, engage in challenging tasks, persevere long enough to overcome obstacles, and have ownership of goals for new learning. These are challenging tasks. Students will need educators willing to give them the latitude and guidance to start today.”

http://bit.ly/1wU9f3f

25 Things Skilled Learners Do Differently

Bruce’s comment: Sit down and quietly go through the list of learning strategies – how many do you use - or teach your students to use?

“Imagine for a moment that all human beings had the same IQ, but that some of us knew how to tap into it better than others. How would we approach education differently?”

http://bit.ly/1whXV0P

Innovation Psychology: Innovate like Leonardo da Vinci

Bruce’s comment: Learn by seeing connections between art and science – Learn like Leonardo da Vinci.

“Many people today believe that science and art, like oil and water, do not mix.  However, many of the worlds’ greatest innovators were not constrained by this bias. Leonardo da Vinci was pretty innovative, and his creativity spanned fine art, military engineering, anatomy and biomimicry.  He was not alone.”

http://bit.ly/1nw6dCF

Stagnating? Innovate How You Innovate With These 5 Ideas

Bruce’s comment: Is your school stuck in the present? Here are 5 ideas to develop innovative practices?

“Throughout this past year, I’ve been having conversations with innovation leaders from a couple of BIG companies about re-inventing their innovation capability. The pattern of conversation: we’ve had a good run, but feel that our process for making innovation happen is delivering incremental results. Bureaucracy has developed, and so we aren’t taking a lot of risks anymore. How do we shake ourselves out of it?”

http://bit.ly/1zh37HX

From Bruce’s ‘oldies but goodies’ file:

Great read

Advice from David Perkins to make learning Whole

“To get students involved in any learning game teachers need to present 'threshold experiences' suited to the students developmental level. And students need to see the point of the game in any content area.”

http://bit.ly/12hbepd

Contributed by Phil Cullen:

Common Core gets AWFUL review in new study

“Bad news for supporters of national education curriculum: States with education standards most closely aligned to Common Core fared worse on math tests than states with their own standards, according to a new study.”

http://bit.ly/ZNu2uJ

Bad Idea Factory: Kickoff to Brainstorming

We started off our brainstorming with the "Bad Idea Factory" again.  We believe that this is such a great way to break the current mold of how students think about brainstorming and coming up with ideas. Kids have been so trained to think and do things the "teacher way".

The idea is that the students put up ANY idea they come up with: the good, the bad and the ugly!  We want them to realize that brainstorming is a messy process and sometimes it is just about putting ideas out there and seeing what sticks.  We want them to feel comfortable sharing any and all ideas, realizing that even good or great ideas come from bad ideas.  This is just the brainstorming process and nothing, we say, NOTHING, should be perfect about this process. It should be messy, creative, organic, even inspiring.  We want kids to put up every idea that comes to mind without fear of judgement.  You never know what idea will take off or even inspire another student to come up an idea of their own.

We use this lesson to help our students break down the current paradigm of the traditional school model where teachers tell students what to do, they do it (all in the exact same way) and turn it in.  We want to see our students' creativity, thoughts and aspirations.  Our favorite phrase:  It is amazing what kids can accomplish if we just get out their way.

-Melissa

Educational Readings - critical ideas for the educationally curious

By Allan Alach

I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.

This week’s homework!

Are You an Autodidact? Or Do You Need Other People To Learn?

Thanks to Heather McQuillan for this article, good for self reflection.

An Annie Murphy Paul blog

“Most people are not autodidacts. In order to learn effectively, they need guidance provided by teachers. They need support provided by peers. And they need structure provided by institutions. “

http://bit./1xBhMcw

Reading Is About More Than ‘Evidence’

Sure is.

‘A few weeks later, another colleague and I were designing a reading curriculum. She suggested this daily objective: “Students will categorize evidence from a nonfiction text by subtopic.”How strange to think of the information we gather from a nonfiction text as “evidence.” Evidence of what? I thought. I suggested we keep her objective, but replace “evidence” with the word “information.”’

http://bit.ly/Z5vkB8

Curious learning

Uk academic Steve Wheeler:

“Curiosity killed the cat, but it also made each of us who we are today. Without curiosity, none of us would learn very much at all. Learning is based more on curiosity than any other human characteristic. Children who are curious are always interested in discovering more. Children who lose their curiosity usually turn off and tune out. Children are naturally curious, but sadly, rigid school systems and curricula have often knocked this out of them by the time they graduate.”

http://bit.ly/1oICbXH

One size education no longer fits all

This article is from Australia.

“Things like "leadership and personal development, confidence and resilience, wellness and a social conscience". God forbid that we equip our students with the latter. For might not our charges then turn bolshie and question the premise of rank materialism, the celebrity culture and democracies which are sometimes anything but.”

http://bit.ly/1COsDCR

What Happens When Education Serves the Economy?

Anthony Cody

A thoughtfully politically post by Anthony Cody - read it!

“Our political system has become one that similarly revolves around making profits. There is no political will to defend the environment, because just like public schools, the common resources of the natural world – including the air we breathe, the atmosphere that creates weather we can live in, and the water we drink, all must be put to maximum profitable use.”

http://bit.ly/1vGsKfB

GRIT: A Skeptical Look at the Latest Educational Fad
Alfie Kohn - is any comment needed?

Alfie Kohn

“Anyone who talks about grit as an unalloyed good may need to be reminded of the proverbial Law of Holes:  When you’re in one, stop digging.  Gritty people sometimes exhibit “nonproductive persistence”; they try, try again even though the result may be either unremitting failure or “a costly or inefficient success that could have been easily surpassed by alternative courses of action,” as one group of psychologists explained.”

http://bit.ly/1ssAVgc

The Opposite of Grit

Following on, here’s Curmudgucation’s take on grit:

“Life provides plenty of need for grit all on its own. It's not necessary to provide more on purpose. And the need for grit doesn't help get things done, doesn't help people succeed. It may call on their strength, but it doesn't create it. We know that. We understand it. When we want someone to succeed, we do as much as we can to remove the need for grit. Do we not want our students to succeed?

http://bit.ly/1xVeOQ5

This week’s contributions from Bruce Hammonds:

Sir Ken Robinson: What you cannot miss in the classroom.

Bruce’s comment: Another great interview with Sir Ken Robinson. Lots of links to other videos featuring Sir Ken.

“Sir Ken Robinson, renowned in the field of education for his valuable contributions, expressed his view on the relationship between education and technology”

http://bit.ly/1vUgnvW

20 Collaborative Learning Tips And Strategies For Teachers

Bruce’s comment: Strategies for cooperative learning – building on the ideas of Vygotsky

“Many consider Vygotsky the father of “social learning”.  Vygotsky was an education rebel in many ways.  Vygotsky controversially argued for educators to assess students’ ability to solve problems, rather than knowledge acquisition. The idea of collaborative learning has a lot to do with Vygotsky’s idea of the “zone of proximal development”.  It considers what a student can do if aided by peers and adults. By considering this model for learning, we might consider collaboration to increase students’ awareness of other concepts.”

http://bit.ly/1oQpWZ7

The Importance of Teaching Critical Thinking

Bruce’s comment: Focussing on standardisation neglecting critical thinking skills.

“Critical thinking is a term that is given much discussion without much action.  K-12 educators

and administrators are pushed to teach the necessities as dictated by the standardized assessments in order to catch up the students to students of other countries.  In this push for better test scores, many students are leaving the K-12 education system lacking the critical thinking skills that are necessary to succeed in higher education or in the workplace”

http://bit.ly/1EtIrfU

5 Reasons Leaders Need to Encourage Teacher Voice

“Being a school leader is not easy. It takes a delicate balance between knowing when to push, understanding how to pull, and making sure that you take the time to listen to all stakeholders in the school community. For too many years teachers have lacked a real voice in schools, and without their powerful and informative voices, we can never move forward to engage and encourage students to have a voice.”

http://bit.ly/1rWBA8h

Perspectives / Do-It-Yourself Learning

“This issue of Educational Leadership addresses the question, How do students learn for the long term? Our authors' research-based answers, although familiar enough, also pack some surprises.”

http://bit.ly/1ni9gOM

Why Don't Whales Have Legs?

Following on from the above article:

‘Time and again, long-term student feedback, program reviews, and end-of-year student reflections cite these two guided inquiry lessons as the most memorable. Posing lessons as questions, or problematizing them, allows students to learn and practice science in ways that make it “stick.”’

http://bit.ly/ZlQMS2

From Bruce’s ‘oldies but goodies’ file:

Disorganisation.Why organisations must 'loosen up'!

“From a creative individuals point of view there is a desire for greater autonomy and flexibility. Such people want a greater say in the future of the organizations they work for. In short they want organizations to ‘disorganize’!”

http://bit.ly/1sGifej

This week’s contribution from Phil Cullen:

There’s more to education than spelling and numbers

“We need to go beyond the economic, rote-learning mindset, which is singularly concerned with the acquisition and regurgitation of facts. There is great concern that the race to the top in PISA rankings is undermining the education our children and our country really needs. What is the point of top marks in all subjects if you are unable to live a fulfilling life?”http://bit.ly/1w8De8y

Testing Teacher Professionalism

“Members of the teaching profession are trained to accept each pupil’s natural desire to learn and to develop each one’s learnacy potential at the same time as each one accumulates knowledge. There is no greater kind of care; no greater profession.

There is no greater professional ambition. But we know that we have been turned around. We are under instruction to ignore the best-known teaching techniques and to use “the soft bigotry of low expectations” [Newkirk] caused by judgemental tests.”

http://bit.ly/1sUYNtn