When schools try to innovate, they often take a traditional top-down approach: devise a strategy, roll it out to teachers and support a high-fidelity implementation. The end result is often one that lacks teacher support or genuine enthusiasm — initiatives putter along and change is sporadic or modest.In education and beyond, innovation is usually the result of iteration rather than central planning. In schools that succeed in implementing real instructional improvements, teachers figure out how to improve teaching and learning by journeying through multiple passes of a cycle of experiment, reflection and adjustment.
Number one on their list is, what I feel, an important and overlooked aspect of education. Research and development is all too often replaced with, “the research says we should be doing this, so let’s implement this across the building or district, without doing any R&D”.
Common Core and vouchers down, but many other reforms still popular. Source: Ten-year Trends in Public Opinion from the EdNext Poll: Common Core and Vouchers Down, but Many Other Reforms Still Popular Fascinating data into common core, tenure, teacher salaries, etc. I especially like the differences in responses to questions such as spending and salaries…
Make your documents look consistent in a click Source: Styles for Google Docs I have been a big fan of styles for awhile. In fact, it’s probably the most underused feature of word processing. Once you start using styles, you’ll create better looking, consistent, work, faster then you thought possible. This add-on gives you twelve…
The scourge of open offices is not a new subject for ranting. Open offices were sold to workers as a boon to collaboration — liberated from barriers, stuffed in like sardines, people would chat more and, supposedly, come up with lots of brilliant new ideas. Yet study after study has shown open offices to foster…
Players seek risks, challenges, rewards, and recognition when they play a game. Application of various game mechanics to learning experiences can help fulfill these ‘human motivations’. When you design a learning game, you need to choose mechanics that seem appealing for your students, whilst also ensuring that they gel well with the context and the…
In a paper entitled Internet Filtering and Adolescent Exposure to Online Sexual Material, Oxford Internet Institute researchers Victoria Nash and Andrew Przybylski found that Internet filters rarely work to keep adolescents away from online porn. “It’s important to consider the efficacy of Internet filtering,” said Dr, Nash. “Internet filtering tools are expensive to develop and…
Sir Ken Robinson said the current education system is designed to create conformist and compliant students, but this approach doesn’t honor the diversity and creativity inherent in human life. Source: Sir Ken Robinson: How to Create a Culture For Valuable Learning | MindShift | KQED News Our society was built on the diversity of its…
