Using technology to teach critical thinking skills
Results from the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) set off alarm bells when they revealed that US high school students lacked critical thinking skills. The test, designed to measure the capacity for 15-year-old students to apply reading, mathematics, and science knowledge to real-world settings, found that American students ranked 31st in math, 24th in science, and 21st in reading, in a comparison with students from 65 other countries. These findings indicated that American students not only struggle to recall rote procedures and facts, but they also had trouble analyzing, reasoning, and communicating effectively as they solved or interpreted problems.
We think this is important, so let's make kids learn it
The idea that school leaders, teachers, and students should have more autonomy seems to be gaining traction, as the centralized approach of NCLB gives way to (some) increased flexibility in ESSA.
But for this greater autonomy to truly take hold, we need fewer stakeholder groups advocating that their area of expertise is something that all K-12 students should learn and know.
Changing work, changing school
When people talk about the need to adapt schools to changes in workforce needs, they usually focus on areas such as increasing use of technology, the need for collaboration, and similar skills.
But that misses the bigger picture.
"The person who invented the ship also invented the shipwreck"
Innovations bring new possibilities, improvements, and advances of all sorts.
They also bring new ways to crash and burn. And certainly, the crashes tend to get more attention than the successes.
Should schools ban spiral notebooks?
From the first-hand experiences of millions of students and teachers worldwide, it’s clear that paper notebooks are a deterrent to quality education. For generations, students have used them in class to scribble or doodle, pass messages to their friends, or construct wads, planes, and spitball projectiles. Given the numerous ways students can use their notebooks to derail learning, it’s a wonder that most schools still permit them in class, right? … Hold on a sec.
Post-secondary online learning is more developed than K-12
Evidence that online learning is more developed at the post-secondary level than at the K-12 level includes:
A higher percentage of college students than K-12 students take all of their courses online.
A higher percentage of college students take at least one course online.
Federal data systems at the post-secondary level are better at distinguishing online courses and online schools/programs from physical schools/courses.
Bridging the gap in a rural school district through personalized learning
In Putnam County, Tenn., with 23 schools spread across 400 square miles, we share many of the challenges faced by our fellow rural school districts nationwide, including inconsistent attendance, long commutes, and a high "mobility rate" - the rate at which students are moving in and out of the district.
Lessons from the rise and fall of the federal Learning Registry
Nov 9, 2011
Departments of Education and Defense to Launch “Learning Registry” Tools and Community
“The U.S. Departments of Education and Defense announced last night the launch of ‘Learning Registry,’ an open source community and technology designed to improve the quality and availability of learning resources in education. The launch is an important milestone in the effort to more effectively share information about learning resources among a broad set of stakeholders in the education community.”
Online learning for Pre-K children
As a researcher and practitioner in the field of K-12 digital learning, I’m frequently asked by people, “Are kids really learning online as early as Pre-K?” My answer to them is “yes.” It’s happening in part because of a Waterford Institute program called UPSTART (Utah Preparing Students Today for a Rewarding Tomorrow), a nonprofit organization that helps Pre-K students prepare for Kindergarten. Thanks to a 2015 Obama administration grant totaling $11.5 million, UPSTART is bringing early math, reading, and science lessons to four- and five-year-olds. These lessons are 15 minutes a day, and the program is funded at the state, school, or partner level. Families do not have to cover the cost of the program.
Who are great blended-learning teachers?
What does it take to be a great teacher in a blended program? To ask that same question in education parlance, what competencies—meaning motives, traits, self-concepts, values, knowledge, and skills—matter most for teachers who are substituting online learning for part of face-to-face instruction?
Is screen time for kids good or bad? It can be both.
A recent New York Times article (The Digital Gap Between Rich and Poor Kids Is Not What We Expected) makes the case that schools are promoting too much use of computers, by saying that “America’s public schools are still promoting devices with screens — even offering digital-only preschools. The rich are banning screens from class altogether.”