Pattern recognition: A new model for education | Personal Metrics. A generation exists that has never experienced life without the Internet. They are always connected, always communicating, and most important, always creating. Participation is a thing of the past. This generation is not passive. They are active creators who demand custom and personal experiences from the products and services they invite into their lives.
The creation driven generation is being raised in an unprecedented culture of change. The KnowledgeWorks Foundation recently released the 2020: Forcast: Creating the Future of Learning. Knowledge is changing from definitive ideas to the idea of discovery. “Social media and collaborative tools will leave “data trails” of people’s online interactions — including contributions to group activities, inquiries and searches, skills, digital resources, and preferences (such as playlists, buddy lists, and topics tracked) — and social networks. Say NO to Drugs! Oh, and Final Exams! | Teaching on Purpose. I’m in a happy place at this time of the year, mostly because my Middle School dispensed with the giving of final exams about five years ago.
How did that happen? Well, I’ll tell you. I was sitting at my desk one fine June afternoon, crafting a masterful exemption list….and feeling like I wanted to vomit. For you see, there are three types of students in any given classroom: 1) The ones who know they made the list, so they aren’t worried. You did a fantastic job all year and probably don’t need to be worried about being “ready” for high school because you have clearly demonstrated your ability to be a good student. You don’t need the added pressures of a “final exam” to prove your worth. 2) The ones who know there isn’t a chance in hell that they made the list so they don’t care. You haven’t tried all year. 3) The ones who are so close they can taste it…but just aren’t sure….. Oooooh, sorry about that. It’s group three that was making me ill. And you know what? I pause. Why? Ah, I see. Teaching with Passion: Advice for Young Educators. Jonathan Kozol talks about building relationships, fostering creativity, and standing up for students.
Jonathan Kozol Credit: Courtesy of Jonathan Kozol "'Start out tough and stick to the prescribed curriculum,' new teachers are too frequently advised. This, in my belief, is the worst possible advice. Establishing a chemistry of trust between the children and ourselves is a great deal more important than to charge into the next three chapters of the social studies text or packaged reading system we have been provided: the same one that was used without success by previous instructors and to which the children are anesthetized by now. -- Jonathan Kozol, Letters to a Young Teacher For more than 40 years, Jonathan Kozol has taught in, worked with, and written about America's inner-city public schools.
In his newest book, Letters to a Young Teacher, Kozol takes aim at the test-driven curriculum proliferating in our educational system. Why Teachers Leave The Best Defense. Dave Eggers' wish: Once Upon a School. Well, Duh! April 2011 “Well, Duh!” -- Ten Obvious Truths That We Shouldn’t Be Ignoring By Alfie Kohn The field of education bubbles over with controversies. While many such statements are banal, some are worth noticing because in our school practices and policies we tend to ignore the implications that follow from them. Here are 10 examples. 1. The truth of this statement will be conceded (either willingly or reluctantly) by just about everyone who has spent time in school -- in other words, all of us. The more closely we inspect this model of teaching and testing, the more problematic it reveals itself to be.
Even without these layers of deficiencies with the status quo, and even if we grant that remembering some things can be useful, the fundamental question echoes like a shout down an endless school corridor: Why are kids still being forced to memorize so much stuff that we know they won’t remember? 2. 3. There’s no shortage of evidence for this claim if you really need it. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Race to Nowhere | Stanford Panel Discussion Follows Screening of Race to Nowhere.
Hands-on Learning. Blended Learning. Differentiated Learning. Literacy. School Design. School Leadership. Professional Development. Comprehensive Assessment. PBL. Higher Order Thinking. Best practice. A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark. In addition, a "best" practice can evolve to become better as improvements are discovered. Best practice is considered by some as a business buzzword, used to describe the process of developing and following a standard way of doing things that multiple organizations can use.
Best practices are used to maintain quality as an alternative to mandatory legislated standards and can be based on self-assessment or benchmarking.[1] Best practice is a feature of accredited management standards such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14001.[2] Some consulting firms specialize in the area of best practice and offer pre-made 'templates' to standardize business process documentation. Sometimes a "best practice" is not applicable or is inappropriate for a particular organization's needs. Good operating practice is a strategic management term. Examples[edit] Principles of Best Practice for 21st Century Education. Principles of Best Practice for 21st Century Education Moderator & Summariser: Mark Nichols eLearning Consultant, UCOL Palmerston North, New Zealand M.Nichols@ucol.ac.nz Discussion Schedule Discussion: 15 - 24 April 2002 Summing up: 25 - 26 April 2002 Introduction The change in education practice and tools over the last ten years has been truly remarkable.
The old dichotomy of traditional face-to-face and distance education is becoming obsolete as more diverse mixed-mode forms of education delivery emerge. However the relationships between what is now possible in education, what various education stakeholders demand, and what is educationally effective are not clear as yet.
The imperatives for 21st Century education are (Nichols 2001:13-14): Increased capacity and efficiency - through enabling institutions to cater for the learning of a relatively large number of students at once. Individualisation – adaptability to the learning needs of the individual. Individualisation Shared Experience.
Curriculum. Affective Domain. Homework Debate. Open Education.