tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42538880396942027352024-02-20T09:40:37.093-05:00The Wired SuperintendentA space for the discussion of the changing landscape in education and the exciting possibilities this holds for those with the courage and vision to imagine a new future for our kidsLisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-69324083120472884992016-09-13T19:22:00.000-04:002016-09-13T19:32:17.431-04:00Creating Original Thinkers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think it is safe to say that most of us admire creativity?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although I am not one to spend a lot of time at events such as craft fairs, when I do have a chance to meander through one, I can hardly believe how clever some people are. I am amazed at the things that some people think of.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Does it get me to thinking about originality and how we can create the conditions that support original ideas and independent thinking in schools? You bet.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In January, the Board of Education in my school district in Dobbs Ferry, New York, will be hosting a book chat with our parents and community to discuss Adam Grant’s new book, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Originals-How-Non-Conformists-Move-World/dp/0525429565">Originals - How Non-Conformists Move the World.</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grant wrote an interesting essay in the New York </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/sunday/how-to-raise-a-creative-child-step-one-back-off.html?emc=eta1" target="_blank">How to Raise a Creative Child. Step One: Back Off</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In his </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Times Sunday Review last year, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">essay, he notes that </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Child prodigies rarely become adult geniuses who change the world. We assume that they must lack the social and emotional skills to function in society. When you look at the evidence, though, this explanation doesn’t suffice: Less than a quarter of gifted children suffer from social and emotional problems. A vast majority are well adjusted — as winning at a cocktail party as in the spelling bee.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What holds them back is that they don’t learn to be original. They strive to earn the approval of their parents and the admiration of their teachers. But as they perform in Carnegie Hall and become chess champions, something unexpected happens: Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To go back to the craft fair, it makes me wonder about …… what if all kids ever learn or value in school is how to “follow the directions” or “follow the recipe?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questions like …. Is this going to be on the test? Or …… “what do I need to do to get an “A”? These queries should disturb teachers and disturb parents. And for the record, parents need to stop asking these questions too.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A perspective shift is in order in our schools. Societally, non-conformists are the “thorn in our sides” ….. the people who ask the annoying questions …. the rule breakers …. those who are “piping to their own drum.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Dobbs Ferry, our vision is to create “independent thinkers prepared to change the world.”</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0ba8095f-25d4-2892-d985-ac7a0a087b01"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s understand the intersection of non-conformity with independent thinking so that we create and support more kids prepared to change the world.</span></span></div>
Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-82740073188667661102016-09-08T19:14:00.004-04:002016-09-08T19:14:53.816-04:00There is no such thing as a new normal<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I am ruminating over a powerful blog post by my friend and colleague Will Richardson entitled </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; mso-themecolor: hyperlink;"><a href="http://modernlearners.com/our-uncertain-moment/?utm_campaign=postplanner&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com" target="_blank">Our Uncertain Moment</a></span></u></b></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And because I have a propensity for living “in the moment,” this blog pokes at me and disturbs me. This is a good thing. I actually relish being disturbed. My favorite essay of all time is Margaret Wheatley’s piece, <b><span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.margaretwheatley\.com\/articles\/pleasedisturb\.html\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.ode.state.or.us/opportunities/grants/saelp/willing-to-be-disturbed.pdf" target="_blank">Willing to Be Disturbed</a></span></u></span></b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Will’s blog links to a post by <span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/snip\.ly\/2ujec\0022 \\l \0022http\:\/\/ziauddinsardar\.com\/2011\/03\/welcome-to-postnormal-times\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://snip.ly/2ujec#http://ziauddinsardar.com/2011/03/welcome-to-postnormal-times/" target="_blank">Ziauddin Sardar</a></span></u></span> who has been writing for the past six years about what he calls “postnormal times.” Sardar is the <b>Director of the Centre of Postnormal Policy and Future Studies</b>, East West Chicago and the editor of its journal <i>East West Affairs. </i>His work really captures the disconcerting nature of our current reality and should challenge school leaders everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He writes that <i>all that was ‘normal’ has now evaporated; we have entered postnormal times, that in between period where old orthodoxies are dying, new ones have not yet emerged, and nothing really seems to make sense. To have any notion of a viable future, we must grasp the significance of this period of transition which is characterized by three c’s: complexity, chaos and contradictions.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We live in an in-between period where old orthodoxies are dying, new ones have yet to be born, and very few things seem to make sense. Ours is a transitional age, a time without the confidence that we can return to any past we have known and with no confidence in any path to a desirable, attainable or sustainable future.</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you find this disturbing? Do you find it disturbing because we know this to be true but continue responding so impotently?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I feel responsible as a school leader to tackle this. To find others who share my urgency about creating the conditions for learning that will help our kids cross between where we are now and where we need to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-22068983138196843652016-09-01T14:29:00.000-04:002016-09-01T14:29:21.657-04:00Getting Off Course On Growth Mindset<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A growth mindset isn’t just about effort. Perhaps the most common misconception is simply equating the growth mindset with effort. Certainly, effort is key for students’ achievement, but it’s not the only thing. Students need to try new strategies and seek input from others when they’re stuck. They need this repertoire of approaches—not just sheer effort—to learn and improve. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Carol Dweck)</span></i></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have read and re-read Carol Dweck’s seminal book </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mindset: The New Psychology of Success</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a number of times and read it again last year with our Board of Education. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a Commentary Piece in </span><a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset.html?qs=Carol+Dweck" target="_blank">Education Week</a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Dweck talks about what keeps her up at night. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It something that keeps me up at night too. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In her research, Dweck uncovered that how students perceive themselves and their abilities – mindset – affected their motivation and achievement. Students who believed that their intelligence and abilities could be developed – growth mindset – experienced greater success and increased achievement. Students who believed that intelligence was fixed – fixed mindset – performed more poorly in school. This is, of course, a thumbnail sketch of her research which culminated in her book published ten years ago. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But as is often the case …. We have run off the rails. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what keeps Dweck up at night?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>It’s the fear that the mindset concepts, which grew up to counter the failed self-esteem movement, will be used to perpetuate that movement. In other words, if you want to make students feel good, even if they’re not learning, just praise their effort! Want to hide learning gaps from them? Just tell them, “Everyone is smart!” The growth mindset was intended to help close achievement gaps, not hide them. It is about telling the truth about a student’s current achievement and then, together, doing something about it, helping him or her become smarter.</i></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The research about mindsets has the clear goal of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">increasing the capacity for learning</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s about helping us to become smarter. And it applies to people of all ages and all walks of life. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A growth mindset needs to exist at all levels of a school organization. It needs to exist among school board members, superintendents, principals and teachers. We have absolutely no shot at transforming our schools without the will and the effort. But without getting smarter about teaching and learning – we will never be on the right track.</span></div>
Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-90973972021949130112016-08-31T11:12:00.001-04:002016-08-31T11:12:09.037-04:00Why We Can't Do The Wrong Thing Right<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"So it’s better to do the right thing wrong than the
wrong thing right. Almost every school problem that confronts us today is a
consequence of trying to do the wrong things right. So instead of looking at
the efficiency with which we are pursuing our objectives we need to re-examine
our objectives.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the theme that resonates with me most from our
keynote speaker this morning in Dobbs Ferry. <a href="http://willrichardson.com/" target="_blank">Will Richardson</a> challenged us to think deeply and critically about our beliefs, context, and
practices. You can follow our Twitter
feed at <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23DFHS2017&src=tyah" target="_blank">#DFHS2017</a> to see what teachers were thinking and saying during the
morning session. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We were pushed to think about student agency and our core
beliefs about how kids learn. About how we learn. The age of limitless learning
is a huge challenge for schools. How do we understand the critical nature of
digital footprints? Our own and our kids? Are we creating a maker culture
instead of maker spaces? <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is breathtaking to think of the difference we can make
when we choose to be bold and courageous in our schools. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s do it!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-77562636641435477792015-05-04T18:37:00.000-04:002015-05-04T18:37:56.963-04:00Hitting the Snooze Button on Sleepy Teens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Garamond;">Ask any parent who undertakes the daily battle of rousing a “sound asleep” teenager from bed at 6AM to catch a school bus, or get on the road to school, and I’ll show you an exhausted parent. In response to starting the school day at the crack of dawn and needing a jolt into “full academic mode,” younger and younger students are turning to caffeine and other forms of energy boosts to jar their adolescent brains awake. Just stop by any Starbucks in the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond;">The Dobbs Ferry Board of Education is currently considering the serious implications of adolescent sleep deprivation on student health and learning. Currently, Dobbs Ferry Middle School and High School have the earliest start times in Westchester County, as well as one of the longest school days. Although research is clear that changing circadian rhythms drive the delayed sleep-wake patterns of adolescents (sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty), school start times remain at the mercy of adult convenience, transportation, athletics and politics rather than the educational and health needs of kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond;">Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a report </span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><a href="https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Let-Them-Sleep-AAP-Recommends-Delaying-Start-Times-of-Middle-and-High-Schools-to-Combat-Teen-Sleep-Deprivation.aspx">https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Let-Them-Sleep-AAP-Recommends-Delaying-Start-Times-of-Middle-and-High-Schools-to-Combat-Teen-Sleep-Deprivation.aspx</a></span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> calling for later school start times for adolescents, stating that “a too-early start to the school day is a critical contributor to chronic sleep deprivation among American adolescents.” The report also states that “studies show that adolescents who don’t get enough sleep often suffer physical and mental health problems…and a decline in academic performance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond;">But is sleep deprivation really an epidemic and is it a problem for schools to own? What responsibility do teens have in taking charge of their own health and how do parents play a role?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond;">Concerns have been raised that teens will simply stay up even later if they think that they have a later start time for school. In the January 2015 edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">School Administrator</i> dedicated to the topic of “Flexing School Start Times,” these concerns have not come to bear in districts that have tackled the school start time challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.pageturnpro.com/AASA/63026-School-Administrator-January-2015/index.html#1"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">http://www.pageturnpro.com/AASA/63026-School-Administrator-January-2015/index.html#1</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond;">There is no doubt that helping teens understand and accept responsibility for their health and wellness is a goal. We allocate resources and professional services in our efforts to keep adolescents healthy, both physically and emotionally. Sleep deprivation and sleep disorders have emerged as a serious health issue for not only teens, but adults as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond;">Today’s teenagers are busier than ever with extracurricular activities, homework, after-school jobs and the proliferation of technology and 24/7 use of social media. I’m yawning just thinking about the lack of sleep that our students get during the weekday. Maybe we can’t control all of these factors, but even an extra 30 minutes of sleep in the morning might make all the difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-44107523921300057382015-03-06T13:02:00.001-05:002015-03-06T13:02:20.574-05:00Please Opt In<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There. I have said it. And although it goes against every fiber of my deep-seated, rebellious, rabble-rousing nature, it needs to be said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last week, our Board of Education, parents, teachers and administrators, participated in a well-attended book chat to discuss National Public Radio’s Digital Education Reporter Anya Kamenetz’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Test – Why Our Schools Are Obsessed With Standardized Testing But You Don’t Have To Be</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’ve heard over and over again from teachers who are working tirelessly to preserve their practice while they continue to create classrooms where children still love learning. The new requirements of the Common Core are hard, for teachers and kids. But they are doing it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Is the bar high? You bet! Are the kids reaching for it? Like champs! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Dobbs Ferry is a unique, diverse village, and we value our small schools. Every kid counts. Every teacher counts. Our community is only as strong as the reputation of our schools. Rightly or wrongly, families moving from places near and far look at standardized testing scores and draw conclusions about our schools.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Students who are “opted out” of testing by their parents diminish the excellent work being done each and every day. It unfairly penalizes teachers whose end-of-year evaluations are weighted by the performance of their students. Students coming to school and “drawing pictures” with the bubble dots in a show of defiance only hurts them and their teachers. This past year, we have scrambled to provide support services to students who need them, but were deemed ineligible because we did not have standardized test scores due to their “opting out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Parents and educators must continue to put pressure on their legislators in Albany to abandon the current standardized testing “road to nowhere” and support the letter writing campaigns being promulgated by groups such as the New York Suburban Consortium for Public Education. Teacher evaluations tied to the performance of students on standardized tests, in their current form, must be halted by Governor Cuomo now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In our discussion last week, our Board of Education and community made it clear that the results of student performance on standardized tests must be but one piece of information used by teachers for formative assessment purposes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In Dobbs Ferry, it is important to remember that student success is ultimately measured by the number of pupils who successfully access the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in High School and exemplify the Learner Profile skills. These figures have increased dramatically in recent years and our IB Middle Years Program (MYP) will further impact this important measure. Our students successfully gain admission to the finest colleges and universities in the nation. Our graduates are among the most successful anywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s find our own way to “swim against the tide.” Support our schools, our teachers, and our students by “opting in” to the NY State tests this year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-23113455624607133342013-07-30T18:00:00.002-04:002013-07-30T18:00:45.005-04:00Bitter or Sweet? First Fruits of Teacher Evaluation in NY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Among many good things that
took place for the Dobbs Ferry School District over this past year, the
District was accepted as a member of the prestigious <a href="http://www.tristateconsortium.org/" target="_blank">Tri-States Consortium</a>.
Founded in 1992, the Tri-States Consortium has developed an alternative assessment
model designed to enhance student performance in high performing districts. In
addition to providing extremely high quality professional development for
teachers and administrators, the Tri-States Consortium offers site visit
services to member districts as an alternative to Middle States Accreditation
and other types of “monitoring.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This past spring, I had the pleasure of
participating on a site visit team to the Bronxville Schools where our team was
charged with looking for evidence of critical thinking skills across the
curriculum. This was a new and unusual “take” on these types of school visits
since the team was charged with corroborating evidence of 21<sup>st</sup>
Century skills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It was an enlightening
experience. I know that I speak for all of us on the visiting team when I say
that the learning goes in both directions whenever we have the opportunity to
engage with a school system in such an intimate way. Bronxville allowed a
“fearless look” at what is happening in their classrooms in an effort to support
and sustain meaningful change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">During the 2013-2014 school
year, Dobbs Ferry will begin to think about a Tri-States Consortium site visit
for the 2014-2015 school year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will
be sure to keep everyone informed as we move forward in this process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Another advantage of our
membership with Tri-States is our access to the consortium white papers and
research documents. In the late spring, the group issued an extremely well
articulated position on <a href="http://www.dfsd.org/www/ud00/f/fbefdbabb2bc4ba88f8d09037f49b369/Personal_Documents/TeacherEvaluation-Tri-States.pdf" target="_blank">Teacher Evaluation</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As the new school year
quickly approaches and the “first fruits” of the new teacher evaluation system
in New York come to bear, gaining perspective and insight is critical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And so I am hoping that you
will find this Position Paper from the Tri-States Consortium helpful as we endeavor
to make sense and meaning of this new “window” on teaching and learning.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-64739333394413889272013-02-23T15:31:00.001-05:002013-02-23T15:31:27.842-05:00Conversations That Change The Course<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This morning I discovered a great new resource<a href="http://www.bamradionetwork.com/"> <span class="s1">www.BAMRadioNetwork.com</span></a> or @BAMRadioNetwork on Twitter when I was invited to do an Internet radio show with my long time colleague <a href="http://willrichardson.com/"><span class="s1">Will Richardson</span></a>, author of the best selling book <b>Why School?</b> and <a href="https://twitter.com/pammoran"><span class="s1">Pam Moran</span></a>, Superintendent of the Albemarle County Schools in Charlottesville, VA. Pam is a nationally recognized educational leader who is paving the way by modeling empowered leadership and innovative ideas about teaching and learning.</div>
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Here are some of the questions we discussed and my thoughts as I was preparing for the conversation.</div>
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<b>How do we have to reframe the idea of a school in a world where school can be everywhere?</b></div>
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I think that it is critical that we engage in <b>face to face</b> conversations with teachers, STUDENTS, parents, Board members and others in our community. School leaders on every level need to share a <i>new vision</i> for teaching and learning that is dynamic, collaborative and where everyone who contributes is an equal participant in the process. People need time to think about this and school leadership needs to be able to “paint the picture” and create some learning spaces within existing structures where this kind of learning can be “seen in action.” Schools can start with a few classrooms and teachers who are early adopters but we have to support them with resources and encouragement for taking risks in their classrooms.</div>
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Another way to stimulate exciting and productive conversations is through sharing reading and information that evokes the kinds of necessary provocative discussions which need to take place. Books such as:</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00998J5YQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B00998J5YQ&link_code=as3&tag=weblogged-20"><span class="s1">Why School?</span></a> – Will Richardson</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Global-Achievement-Gap-Survival-Need/dp/0465002307"><span class="s1">The Global Achievement Gap</span></a> – Tony Wagner</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Innovators-Making-People-Change/dp/1451611498/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y"><span class="s1">Creating Innovators</span></a> – Tony Wagner</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><a href="http://heathbrothers.com/books/switch/"><span class="s1">Switch </span></a>– Chip and Dan Heath</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Change-Die-Three-Keys-Work/dp/0061373672"><span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s1">Change or Die</span></a> – Alan Deutschman</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Size-Does-Not-Fit/dp/0974525219"><span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span><span class="s1">One Size Does Not Fit All </span></a>– Nikhil Goyal</div>
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<b>What are the new roles of educators, and how do we prepare for them?</b></div>
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Educators must begin to reimagine their work and embrace their role as facilitators and “meaning makers.” We need to prepare by helping everyone associated with our schools to understand that they are part of “thinking and learning organizations.” We have to model that “no one person owns the learning.” This is hard for some superintendents and administrators who still feel that their job is to somehow know everything and have all the answers. I think that teachers are relieved and empowered when they hear superintendents and other administrators say that <b>we all own the responsibility </b>to figure things out and that we cannot do this without their help. We should also be modeling this inquiring, curiosity and persistence to uncover new ideas and innovations for our kids. The more that kids see us being willing to manage rapid change; the more adept they will be at doing the same thing. </div>
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<b>What steps are you taking to initiate and stimulate conversations around change?</b></div>
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I am using a lot of book chats/coffees with parents in their homes where they seem more comfortable having these conversations with their friends and people whom they trust. Parents realize that other parents are trying to figure things out too. Inviting Board members, parents, teachers, students and community members and others to explore new and emerging technologies like Twitter and social networks where they can get a sense of just how many other people are discussing and trying to figure out these same things is important. Also what some of the solutions can be. There has to be expanded conversations and professional learning that engages everyone. </div>
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In public schools, a lot of this professional learning time is contractual so it is REALLY important that we are taking time as school leaders to create understanding among Board members, parents and the community about why professional learning time is necessary for teachers and why it is so critical at this particular moment in time. Inviting as many people as possible to be part of these conversations and even part of the professional development is key. Time is money ….taxpayer money in public schools ….so this is critical if we are going to create a climate that supports change.</div>
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<b>What do you think are the most uncertain aspects of the future when it comes to your students? How do we prepare them in the face of that uncertainty?</b></div>
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There is no question that everything is uncertain - except that we have a pretty good idea of the skills that kids will need to successfully navigate most any future. These are the skills that we have to share will ALL students. If we look at something like the <a href="http://www.ibo.org/programmes/profile/"><span class="s1">IB (International Baccalaureate) Learner Profile</span></a>, we can embrace curriculum that empowers and enlightens students. We can mold students into confident young adults who are prepared to tackle the complex problems in their world. Our goal is to create good citizens and good thinkers and learners. Lovers of learning who are curious about life and the world. Students who embrace differences and understand that they are part of a global solution to the challenges in their world. These are the people who will successfully hold the future - theirs and ours - in their capable hands.</div>
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Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-66859441175212467022013-02-10T16:23:00.002-05:002013-02-11T16:22:08.319-05:00The Education They Need<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am really excited that the Dobbs Ferry Board of Education decided last week to support the exploration of an </span><a href="http://www.ibo.org/myp"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> for our students in Grades 6 through 10.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1998, Dobbs Ferry High School became the first International Baccalaureate (IB) World School in Westchester County, New York. So extending the IB philosophy back through the grades leading into the 11th and 12th grade Diploma Program makes sense from many perspectives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The IB Middle Years Program begins to emphasize and incorporate the all-important skills of the IB Learner Profile. The IB Learner Profile essentially identifies the outcomes that we want for ALL of our students. Through the IB focus on international mindedness, global perspectives, multiple languages and collaborative process, we aim to foster learners who strive to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Right now - today - we have a chance to make meaningful change in our schools. Perhaps now, more than ever before - we can make this happen. But we have to want it. We have to want our kids to have the education they need in order to become successful learners prepared to change their lives and their world.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We are at an exciting precipice in education with the implementation of the Common Core and the resulting necessary curriculum work that accompanies this intensive change. In Dobbs Ferry we have decided that although the Common Core poses many excellent opportunities for learning experiences that incorporate cross-disciplinary connections, performance-based assessments and clear learning targets; it is also a chance to explore a deeper dive into a much larger pool of ideas about teaching and learning. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The IB Middle Years Program insists upon the thorough study of various disciplines and encourages students to:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">see the interrelatedness of disciplines</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">appreciate other cultures, as well as understand one's own history and traditions</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">develop admiration for the elegance and richness of human expression</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">learn to communicate effectively in one's own language as well as in a second language</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">become competent in the use of information technology</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">acquire a genuine love of learning and disciplined habits of mind and body that will guide their young </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">adulthood</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Seizing opportunities and being willing to be flexible with our thinking and our ideas about the quality of education in our schools - that’s what the Dobbs Ferry Board of Education, our teachers, parents, schools and community are all about. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We are boldly embracing the changes in the education landscape uncovering new horizons ahead. We are committed and determined to give EVERY student the education they need.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-73932529714750681202012-12-09T16:21:00.002-05:002012-12-09T16:21:34.764-05:00Why We Should Be Listening to Students<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you have not yet heard of 17-year-old Nikhil Goyal from
Woodbury, New York it is only a matter of time. Nikhil is the author of the
recently published <b>One Size Does Not Fit
All: A Student’s Assessment of School</b> and has been featured on just about
every news and media outlet available. The Washington Post calls him “
most likely to be the future Secretary of Education” and Dell has named him one
of the Top 100 <i>World Changers</i> in
2012.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am thinking that by any standard, this is pretty amazing
for a high school senior.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nikhil and I follow each other on Twitter. He actually
contacted me first by email when he realized that I was engaged in book chats
with parents. He was wondering if I might be interested in reading his book and
discussing it with students. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nikhil Goyal is still in high school and is already creating
his own future. A quick check of his website <a href="http://nikhilgoyal.me/book">nikhilgoyal.me/book</a> and you
cannot help but be impressed with the multiple resources that he has amassed to
share his views on the education being received by the majority of students in
America. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When using any 21<sup>st</sup> Century Skills rubric he has
done the following:</div>
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</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Thinks critically and analyzes an issue of
interest to him and others</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Explores available research</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Identifies experts by using technology to help
him communicate and collaborate</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Uses technology to expand his personal learning
network</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Writes a book</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Manages to get his book published</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Markets his book</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Draws significant attention to his work by
maximizing resources available to him</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
<div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today he tweeted:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>There has never been a better time to be an innovator and dreamer in
America<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What an exciting perspective amid all the talk of hopeless
prospects for the future! Carpe Diem!<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
</div>
</div>
Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-4978757312268111092012-11-26T15:15:00.000-05:002012-11-26T15:15:23.263-05:00What Do Teachers Do on those Early Dismissal Days?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teaching is perhaps the most complex profession on the planet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t think so, then watch this short video of a first year teacher as she struggles to differentiate instruction in her science class </span><a href="https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/differentiating-instruction"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/differentiating-instruction</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Think about how much time it would take for her to engage in this same work for every lesson that she teaches. Notice the time of day that she arrives at school and the time of night that she continues to work on her lessons… it is a 24/7 job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Dobbs Ferry School District is full of teachers who rise to the same challenges and aim for this same high bar for their students. With our inclusive program for all students, Dobbs Ferry, more than most schools, is especially charged with meeting the needs of very diverse learners. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In an effort to support this philosophy and what we value, those early dismissal days play an increasingly important role. Here are some of the things that routinely happen in our School District when students have a half day….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teachers meet in grade level teams to look at student performance data and talk together about instructional changes designed to meet individual student needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teachers gather in collaborative groups where they “step up” to share what they have learned with other faculty and administrators about using technology integration in their classrooms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Administrators “turn-key” the use of technologies that they are personally using and work with teachers to explore connections to the classroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teachers work within and across grade level teams to engage in curriculum design and work to “map” the curriculum to ensure continuity from Grades K-12.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teachers come together, in response to APPR initiatives, to develop student-learning objectives (SLO’s) and design pre-assessments that set the baseline for student achievement in individual courses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teachers and administrators engage with professional consultants in the areas of curriculum and instruction to align curriculum to the new Common Core Standards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is what teachers do when they are <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">not</b> involved with “official” professional development time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Spend hours designing engaging lessons that focus instruction on student learning targets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Review and provide feedback on student work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Participate in webinars with other teachers around the nation and the world on topics of interest to their craft.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Join social network discussions with other teachers at their same grade level or content area who are conversing about innovative curriculum and instruction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Share Twitter exchanges with over 300 school administrators around the nation to highlight and debate key educational issues of importance to all schools.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Engage with students via Twitter and video-conferencing to connect with other students and schools around the country to discuss curriculum-relevant current events.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Connect with students to model the creation of personal learning networks so that they can learn how to use technology as a “learning tool” instead of a “social tool.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teachers in the United States are often compared to their colleagues in Finland and Japan. In both of those countries however, teachers spend almost half of their time engaged in professional development processes like lesson study and inter-classroom visitations. The “value” of teacher-time is not only measured in the “quantity” of time that they spend working with students, but in the “quality” of their instructional practice in the classroom. This assessment of “quality” is determined by continual professional growth and honing their craft as educators. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teaching and learning needs to undergo a seismic shift in order to meet the needs of 21<sup>st</sup> Century students. Teachers need time and exposure to expertise both from within schools and from the larger world around us. Half days, early dismissals and other professional development time and dollars are not simply a luxury. They are critical components to instructional excellence and student success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teaching is complex hard work that is nurtured in an environment that encourages and promotes reflection, creative thinking and innovation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-75700195622129693302012-10-29T13:39:00.000-04:002012-10-29T13:39:26.438-04:00What “Inquiring Minds” Need to Know<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;">There
are many discussions happening about 21</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">st</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"> Century teaching and
learning. Lots of conversations about skills such as collaboration, adaptability,
creativity, effective communication and the ability to analyze and synthesize
information.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">How
do we help kids prepare for a world where knowledge is abundant and
opportunities for learning are everywhere?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">One
strategy for bridging this gap is the use of an “Inquiry” or “Active Learning”
lesson design. Although not exactly new, the use of inquiry is challenging for
teachers, students and parents who are unfamiliar with it. Randall D. Knight at
California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo has compiled a list
of research-based active learning strategies most suitable for teaching physics
in his book, <i>Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching</i>
(Addison Wesley, 2004). These strategies for active learning and inquiry can
apply to any content area but have been used in science education for years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Knight
points out that active learning strategies have five traits, which are <b><i>quoted</i></b>
here from his 2004 book:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">•<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Students spend much of class time actively
engaged in physics.</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> The engagement consists of thinking,
talking, and doing physics, not merely listening to someone else talk about
physics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">•<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Students interact with their peers. </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Communication
between and among individual students and groups is an important component of
knowledge construction - developing, sharing, and evaluating ideas and
processes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">•<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Students receive immediate feedback on their
work. </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Students receive corrective feedback from their
peers or the teacher as appropriate to the learning situation. Students must
have a standard against which to measure their propositional and procedural
knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">•<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The instructor is more of a facilitator, less
of a conveyor of knowledge.</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> The saying, "The teacher
should be a guide on the side, and not a sage on the stage" is a statement
that helps make the point. Students should "construct" knowledge from
observations and reflections whenever possible. This includes the development
of concepts and laws from first-hand laboratory experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt;">•<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Students take responsibility for their
knowledge</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> This includes student
metacognition (knowing what one knows and doesn't know) and self regulation
(bringing oneself into compliance with expectations).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Inquiry
is more difficult than it may sound. It is a strategy that challenges many of
our traditional ideas about how classrooms should be organized and what
teachers should be doing. It feels “loosely constructed” and can be particularly
hard for students who are most successful when they have very clear guidelines and
feel most effective when given highly organized directions. Inquiry feels
sloppy at times and requires a very different kind of thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It
is critical that students gain understanding and practice with inquiry-based
lessons because they mimic many of the experiences that they will have when
they participate in college coursework and the workplace. Employers continue to
echo that they need talented young people who are able to find creative
solutions to problems without needing a lot of direction. Successful people
today are prepared to create their own jobs and not assume that they will one
day be working for someone else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Inquiry
is important. We have to model it and help our kids have the “grit” to figure
things out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-48930247345304494282012-10-03T15:46:00.002-04:002012-10-09T16:38:22.880-04:00How important is “getting it right?”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--StartFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 21px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a recent presentation at Maker Faire in New York City, internet marketing “guru,” Hastings resident, author and occasional education blogger Seth Godin, one of my favorite paradigm changers says, “If you’re doing something that might not work, then you are doing something important.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It made me think about 21<sup>st</sup> Century teaching and learning and reminds me that it is very important to continue to highlight the fact that we do not have all the answers, we expect to not always get it right and we embrace the chance to “learn by doing” and try new things while embracing “failure.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Isn’t this what we are telling kids about learning? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his recent <b>TED</b> book <b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/RuiDq7" target="_blank">Why School</a>,? </i></b>Will Richardson, educator, blogger, speaker and colleague who recently presented at our Dobbs Ferry Schools Superintendent’s Conference Day talks about the notion that traditional schools were designed for a society where knowledge was scarce. He writes about an earlier society that needed to attend school in order to acquire knowledge and information. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In contrast, our world today is one of knowledge over-load. Information is everywhere. The challenge becomes one of filtering and collecting data, news, statistics, facts, figures and intelligence in order to “make meaning” and understand a new reality. As educators, this is a seismic shift in our roles and our thinking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In pondering the opportunities and challenges, I am very heartened to be surrounded by teachers, administrators and a Board of Education in Dobbs Ferry that embraces this new landscape. Since the end of school last year, we have made a collective commitment to working together to understand how technology can help us expand and change the way that we think about teaching and learning. This is not just geared to our students, but for us too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This week, we will debut our first monthly staff coordinated and driven professional development sessions designed to help us share our knowledge about technology tools with each other. The entire initiative is grounded in the idea that none of us are experts, but we have ALL learned some new-age instructional and technology skills over the last few months and feel comfortable about sharing these with our colleagues. We are ALL working to find ways to connect new ideas with new pathways for student learning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Dobbs Ferry, we recognize that traditional economics may be scarce, but in-house we have no shortage of talent, dedication and passion for teaching and learning. And so ….sometimes we may not always get things right ……but we know for sure that we are doing something important.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-34084237568579530602012-06-05T00:48:00.002-04:002012-06-05T00:48:40.515-04:00So What About Those Field Tests?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I received an email on Friday from a parent with some
important questions about the administration of “field tests” to our students.
He was interested in my opinion of the recent parent <i>push back</i> toward these
tests as well as parents who are choosing to “opt out” of these tests for their
children.</div>
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I thought I would share my thoughts and responses to him in
light of the growing discourse around the issue since there is lots of chatter
and questions in Dobbs Ferry and the surrounding towns over these past few days.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dear Dobbs Ferry Parent:</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>The parent push back toward standardized testing is directed in a large
part (at this particular time) at the administration of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">field tests</span> by Pearson Inc. It is also
important to note that we have Dobbs Ferry parents who are part of a consortium
of parents from all of the Rivertown schools as well as parents from many other
districts in Rockland, Westchester and Long Island who have organized to lobby
Albany about unfunded mandates in schools as well as standardized testing. All
of these district parent groups have posted the same petition on their websites
calling for parents to sign the petition related to field tests and increased
time and emphasis on standardized tests in general. Their intention is to send these
petitions to Albany and make their voices heard as parents and constituents. <br />
<br />
Since you have asked for my opinion as the Dobbs Ferry superintendent I am
happy to share it with you. I believe that standardized tests<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> in their current
form</span> are a waste of valuable instructional time and provide useless
information when used in isolation which is how they are used by the New York State
Department of Education. The fact that we are required to waste further
instructional time on "field tests" which will be used to construct
additional meaningless tests is, in my opinion, appalling. I am certainly not
against standardized tests. In fact, I am a strong supporter of quality
assessment practices designed to allow our students to demonstrate what they
know and understand. The issue lies in the fact that the standardized tests
currently administered do not do this in any way. The current tests are
designed to provide a measurement that is cheap and easily scored by Pearson.
Hence, the field tests do certainly provide Pearson with the information they
need to produce more shallow assessments with limited usefulness to teachers in
their work with curriculum design and addressing student needs.<br />
<br />
As for having a positive bearing on our kids, I can't imagine anything positive
for our kids about assessment practices in their current form. A much better
measurement would include shorter, more frequent formative assessments that are
performance based and would provide teachers with ongoing feedback so that they
can make continued instructional adjustments based on the needs of individual
students. These can certainly be standardized and could be used in an aggregate
way to provide the kind of teacher accountability that all of us would like to
see.<br />
<br />
Boycotting "</i></b><b><i>field tests"</i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> would not have any effect on student classroom grades however
we, like most schools, certainly use student performance on standardized tests
as one measure when looking to place students in programs. This is always done
in conjunction with teacher recommendations and other internal assessment
measures. This does not apply to field tests since we do not receive feedback
about field test performance by individual student. Feedback about performance
on field tests sometimes is only used by the testing company and is never even
shared with districts. </i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Boycotting standardized tests that are not considered field tests could certainly have negative impact on our schools, our scores and the scores used as part of the new teacher evaluation process. These tests are similarly flawed but ramifications for boycotting them is more complicated for all involved. This would really need to be better researched and I believe that the parent consortium advocacy groups will more than likely explore this.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I think that parents questioning and voicing their concerns is really
important at this moment in time. Unfortunately, the New York State Department of
Education is not interested in the voices of professional educators and many of
the issues associated with this have been created by the educators themselves.
Nonetheless, it is critical that we stand up for the education of our children
and advocate for classrooms where instruction is dynamic, student centered,
innovative and not a "test prep" laboratory designed to "get
kids ready for the test."</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So ……there you have it. This is what I think and I applaud
our Dobbs Ferry parents and all parents who are beginning to organize and make
their voices heard in Albany and across our communities. It is time we spent
our time and efforts working toward quality assessment practices. It is what is
best for our kids, our teachers and our schools.</div>
</div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-66147964946546157002011-11-20T20:56:00.000-05:002011-11-21T22:49:46.356-05:00Where I Stand on Differentiated Instruction<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Call me part of the digital education revolution, but I am just going to say it …. You need access to technology in order to more effectively differentiate instruction.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To ask teachers to meet the needs of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>all</u></b> learners using differentiated worksheets, different textbooks, flexible grouping -- which by the way simply translates into homogeneous grouping within the same classroom-- with the teacher running around the room like an athlete on the track team trying to give some modicum of individual attention to every student and/or every group, is just plain impossible. And more importantly, the kids are not getting what they need. They are not really being challenged or helped to become self-directed learners because we are still working way too hard to construct a gamut of appropriate multiple learning activities for them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> To “differentiate” means to make different.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And in most classrooms in most schools, we are doing very little differently. We are pretty much doing the same thing we have been doing for the last 50 years; probably longer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you want to get an idea of the complexity of differentiating instruction, I would invite you to explore the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Universal Design for Learning</i></b> website at <a href="http://www.udlcenter.org/">www.udlcenter.org</a> and take a look at the model lesson plans. Consider the level of expertise and time that would be involved with thinking through the differentiated activities, testing them out, redesigning the lesson and reflecting on the student outcomes. And keep in mind that these are single lessons. Think about an entire school year and an entire course of study. Think about the fact that even the most talented, and dedicated “uber” teachers would occasionally, when they are not in their classrooms, actually need some time to …..perhaps ….have a life. Absent of spending every waking hour working with colleagues to design these kinds of lessons for ever single class and every single student; I think it is fair to say that we are asking a lot. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m a big proponent of differentiation, but I also believe in the power of technology. And I believe it is the means by which we can most effectively help teachers differentiate instruction to its fullest degree. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Picture this:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teachers use social networks to engage students with their peers in other schools, in other states, in other countries and around the globe to share their ideas and their work.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We “flat out” ban worksheets …. period ….no more worksheets projected on the SMART Boards, no more paper worksheets, electronic worksheets …..can we just try this? Maybe start with a “No Worksheet Week” and see what happens?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teachers and students embrace and take risks with project based learning (project based learning is synonymous with learning in depth). We educate and actively engage parents about project based learning and what they can expect and not expect to see in this kind of learning environment. (These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of “lifewide” learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom).</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As a community we are willing to commit resources to teacher professional development that helps them to understand inquiry based lesson design, and then support them as they engage in an inquiry based instructional approach. (An old adage states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." The last part of this statement is the essence of inquiry based learning)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teachers talking to parents and parents talking to teachers about instruction, having conversations where EVERYONE – teachers, administrators, parents and students --are learners knowing that they are valued equally in the learning community.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Parents letting go of the “great idea, love risk-taking” as long as it is with someone else’s child philosophy; this attitude hinders teachers from trying new and innovative strategies.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So back to why I think that differentiation is more and more dependent on technology. In his paper for the Centre for Strategic Education <a href="http://www.cse.edu.au/">www.cse.edu.au</a> Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto says, “Teachers need to get grounded in instruction, so that they can figure out WITH students how to best engage technology.” He believes that technology can be a dramatic accelerator if we put instruction and skilled motivated teachers and students in the lead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kids and teachers need to be able to access the internet in any classroom in our buildings. Both students and teachers must learn to effectively leverage the power of social networks. True exploration with inquiry involves students developing personal learning networks where they can access on-the-job professionals and academic mentors. Project based learning in its most highly evolved state requires students to work together in groups, and work as a team to design and demonstrate their understanding of central concepts and principles of a discipline. Quite frankly, they will probably facilitate this process most readily on Facebook. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whether students bring their own devices to school and are permitted to use them in the classroom; whether we give teachers tablet computers so that they can have their resources always in hand; whether we furnish kids with low cost tablets, netbooks or iPads ….. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We simply must do things differently, if we want to make the most of differentiated instruction.</span></div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-35382277726233001442011-11-18T23:39:00.000-05:002011-11-18T23:43:09.262-05:00Why I Love To Talk To Parents<div class="MsoNormal">In September I invited the parents in my school district to join me in reading Tony Wagner’s text <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Global Achievement Gap</b>. As you may recall from my early blogs the Wagner text speaks to the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seven Survival Skills</i></b> necessary for students to be successful in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century. He talks about why schools - even the best schools - are failing in this regard. He also talks about what needs to happen to change the educational paradigm rooted in an industrial education model which is ineffective and obsolete.Wagner was the key note speaker today in Boston at the Learning and the Brain Conference and the message is resonating with educators and social scientists from across the country.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In recent weeks, my conversations with parents have been fascinating, enlightening and encouraging. I am learning that parents:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Are passionately interested in the education of their children</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Value innovation and creativity over teaching to the test</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Wish that we would talk more about engaging students in learning and not engaging them to take tests</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Believe that if students are learning to be critical thinkers, adept problem solvers, collaborative work partners, influencers, leaders and self-directed learners …..the tests will take care of themselves.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Embrace the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate program but would like to understand more about it </li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Want to understand how they can engage meaningfully with our teachers and administrators; especially at the middle and high school; understanding that there is a changing dynamic at these levels but still a place for them to be active and valued as parents</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Believe that there are many extraordinary teachers in our schools and strongly support all efforts to give teachers the professional development resources necessary to grow and develop their skills</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Understand that they can and do play a critical role in maintaining the necessary community support for our schools especially in these challenging economic times</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Agree that we need to do more to improve technology resources and the use of technology in our classrooms to enhance the instructional program</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal">Although our book chats always begin with discussion of the Wagner text, we quickly move on to parent perceptions, experiences, concerns and hopes for growth in our schools. As one parent expressed recently, “I felt like I was part of a ‘think tank’ and we were thinking together about how we could explore ideas for richer experiences and improvements.” </div><br />
<br />
Parents need to be partners in learning. Educators need to embrace instead of exclude them.Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-50938233046119182652011-09-30T19:38:00.000-04:002011-09-30T19:38:04.049-04:00Game On!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">I have never been a gamer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And I will totally date myself here by saying that I was never into Pac Man, I don’t own an X-Box or a Wii and I was generally not following the connections between games and the classroom.</div><div class="MsoNormal">That is until a couple of summer’s ago at the Harvard Graduate School’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Future of Learning Institute</b> where I both learned to “tweet” and had the opportunity to attend a session with Chris Dede, Professor of Learning Technologies at Harvard. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And I thought …whoa! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">He was talking about disruptive innovations and that the disruptive innovation heading toward our classrooms was the customization of individual needs. This was way beyond <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>differentiating instruction. Chris Dede talks about a full customization of the learning process that is student driven. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Imagine. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Students understanding themselves in ways that allow them to create the learning situations which will help them to meet their goals as individual learners.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And then we talked about gaming.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At the recent New York State Council of School Superintendents Conference in Saratoga Springs, Mary Cullinane, Director of Innovation – US Partners of Learning for Microsoft Corporation focused part of her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>presentation on gaming. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">She shared an amazing statistic ….. that kids playing video games fail at the game 80% of the time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…….and think about what do they do every time they fail? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">They go back for more!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When I get a mental image of what this type of perseverance and persistence would look like inside our classrooms I am filled with excitement. Kids so engaged with an activity or a concept that if they failed to understand it 80% of the time they would willingly and of their own volition keep going back until they got it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just picture that! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Consider the incredible implications this holds for learning. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the September issues of “the Journal,” an educational technology publication which you can check out at <a href="http://www.thejournal.com/">www.thejournal.com</a> writer Charlene O’Hanlon talks about “a new generation of gamers who are not just picking up skills by playing video games – they’re learning by designing an creating games themselves.” In her article she explains that game creation as a learning tool is really just a digital-age take on the learning-by-doing approach to teaching. All of the current curriculum re-design work being done in schools across the country is being structured to include more opportunities for project-based learning. We know that students pick up concepts more easily and retain more information when they are hands-on with their subject matter. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am especially drawn to the use of Gamestar Mechanic because it is targeted toward middle school students. There is much research that points toward middle school as the time when many students disengage from learning; especially boys. Gamestar Mechanic is built on a foundation of pedagogical research that includes systems thinking, digital literacy skills and STEM learning. It is being used in 800 schools and the basic program is free. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I would encourage you to check out some of the following websites:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.gamestarmechanic.com/">www.gamestarmechanic.com</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.worldwideworkshop.org/programs/globaloria">www.worldwideworkshop.org/programs/globaloria</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.elinemedia.com/">www.elinemedia.com</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am convinced that the use of games as part of the instructional program holds endless opportunities for our students to practice 21<sup>st</sup> Century skills such as communication, problem-solving, collaboration and teamwork. These skills simply cannot be replicated in the same way by traditional classroom activities. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">According to David Samuelson, Executive Vice President and Director of Games and Augmented Reality at Pearson and co-moderator of the working group that focuses on game-based learning within the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), “we are graduating through the stage where we’ve accepted that games are now a part of society, and we’re looking for the best ways to incorporate them into the teaching environment. It’s a natural progression.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So …..to innovative teachers willing to embrace the redesign of teaching and learning for our 21<sup>st</sup> Century classrooms ….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Game On!</div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-47045121809897627762011-09-20T09:53:00.000-04:002011-09-20T14:18:17.218-04:00Ask A Sixth Grader<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Change is good and these are exciting times! As the new superintendent in Dobbs Ferry, I have been trying to unravel the “state of the schools” in an effort to pick an entry point for where to begin. As is the case with all schools, we are attempting to “change the tire while the car is moving.” How do we establish the technological culture that will inspire, educate and empower all students to be successful participants in a 21<sup>st</sup> Century global society?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">We began over the summer with our Board members and administrators reading Tony Wagner’s book, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.schoolchange.org/">The Global Achievement Gap</a></i></b>. The text grapples with the issues facing all schools in teaching our students what Wagner refers to as the “seven survival skills” that our children need in order to be successful in a global society. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">In November, I am beginning a series of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Parent Book Chats</b> coordinated by our District PTSA. Hosted in neighborhood homes, we will meet in groups of 10-12 parents to discuss the Wagner text and engage in dialogue about the kinds of things we want our students to be able to know and do when they graduate from <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Dobbs</placename> <placename w:st="on">Ferry</placename> <placetype w:st="on">High School</placetype></place>. It is hard for me to imagine a group more invested in the changes that need to occur. After all, every parent holds high hopes and dreams for their child including the ability to secure a decent job and become a contributing member of society. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Today, I met with a group of our new sixth graders. This is their first year in Middle School and .their ideas and feedback on what they think would make their learning more relevant astounded me. In a recent piece in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/09/10/what-todays-digital-native-children-can-teach-the-rest-of-us-about-technology/">The Next Web</a></i></b>, entitled <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i>What today’s Digital Native children can teach the rest of us about technology<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,”</i></b> Neela Sakaria, Senior Vice President of Latitude (a research consulting company to leaders in content, technology and learning) explains that research is “focused on giving children a real voice in the broader, often very adult, discussion of future technologies and real-world problem solving. We believe that kids are the architects of the future- they’re creative, have an intuitive relationship with technology and have proven that they think in extraordinarily sophisticated ways about how tech can enhance their learning, play and interactions with people and things around them.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The sixth graders were explaining to me that one of the things new to them this year was having different subject area classes and that they really needed to be more organized. I asked them the obvious question, “What are you doing to keep yourselves more organized?” They started by explaining that they were using multiple folders and binders to keep all the class work separate, but that there was always lots of “stuff” on their desks because of the various papers, folders and notebooks. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I was fascinated by this since I was thinking “how many adults in the “real world” use notebooks and folders to keep themselves organized?” I will admit to a small number of file folders in my office but …really ….do we think that this is the way that these kids will one day structure their homes and offices? Unable to contain my curiosity about how the students would respond, I asked “Do you think there is any other way to keep yourselves organized?” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Well … I wish you could have been there. Without having any knowledge of Wagners’ “seven survival skills,” our students’ answers demonstrated many of the attributes that he cites are imperative for the next generation to master including critical thinking, understanding resources, problem solving, adapting technology, analyzing information and imagination. Here are some of their creative ideas:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">“Everyone should have an iPad because when we get home we have an ipad and we just use online folders to organize our work.”</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">“I think that someone would have to write the code, but you should be able to bring your iPad to school and log on to a network where all of your game apps are disabled while you are in school.”</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">“If kids don’t have money to buy an iPad they should able to rent one from the school.”</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">“If you added up all the money that the school is going to spend on paper for us from the time we are in sixth grade to twelfth grade it would probably cost the same as an iPad. Using technology is a better environmental solution.”</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;">“All the desks in the school should have a ‘built in’ iPad so that whatever classroom you went into, you would just log-in to the iPad in the classroom.”</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Trying to put aside the pros and cons of ipads vs. netbooks vs. laptops, the larger conversation revolves around why our classrooms are so disconnected from what our students encounter and engage in during their daily life? Why are they being forced to “power down” when they walk through our doors? The research being done by Latitude has found that today’s children perceive a very seamless connection between online and offline worlds. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The pivotal question is “how willing are we to hear what our digital native children are telling us, and what are we willing to do about it?”</div></div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-70609724081840504692011-03-24T14:45:00.000-04:002011-03-24T14:46:45.713-04:00Let Kids Rule The School<div class="nyt_headline" id="nyt_headline">Let Kids Rule the School</div><div class="byline" id="byline">By SUSAN ENGEL</div><div class="timestamp" id="pubdate">Published: March 14, 2011</div><div class="story" id="summary">Eight teens were given the chance to create their own curriculum, and the results have been transformative.</div><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/opinion/15engel.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/opinion/15engel.html</a>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-83550634120223663682011-03-19T16:43:00.000-04:002011-03-19T16:46:36.383-04:00Student Reflection on Project Based Learning<div class="MsoNormal">Sometimes, the kids just “nail it.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> For the past 18 months, as a learning community of teachers and administrators at <a href="http://www.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/">Hunterdon Central</a> we have been reading, discussing and exploring the changing dynamics surrounding what we love and what we do. We are teachers. And we embrace the challenges that we face in preparing our teenagers for a rapidly changing world. We have been pulling forward and toward becoming the kind of school that our students really need and away from the traditional school that we have always been. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I think that the following essay from one of our tenth grade students as she reflects on her recent Chemistry class paints a compelling picture:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“When students hear the phrase ‘science lab,’ often their first thoughts are troubling: memories of deciphering monotonous sets of instructions, plowing through procedures, saddled with uncooperative partners. So let’s just say I was less than thrilled to be starting chemistry in September of my sophomore year. However, as the first week unfolded, it became quite clear that this was not the experience my classmates and I were about to have.</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>On day 2 we were presented with our first lab; a fictitious popcorn company sought our advice to improve their product and increase market sales. We were tasked with analyzing the kernels of several companies to determine the most favorable traits in an ideal popcorn kernel. But there was something missing from this assignment – a set of instructions and a list of lab partners. Soon my classmates and I realized that there would be no one holding our hands, guiding us through every step of the process. In this class, labs challenged us to access and apply our prior knowledge, take advantage of available resources and work together to complete the given task. We would lead ourselves.</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>At first none of us understood or appreciated the lack of structure and format in our labs. It was stressful having to read between the lines, sift through ideas and collaborate until a feasible solution was reached. What happened to passively following a designated path laid out by our teachers? Where were the rules? We eventually adjusted and surprisingly, my classmates and I grew fond of this approach – it felt as if a layer of freedom and opportunity had been added. We developed a new sense of pride and ownership in our work. Thinking, working and creating together was immensely satisfying (who knew)?</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Almost nothing in the “real world” will be simply handed to you. Upon leaving for college, parents can’t give you a detailed map outlining the rest of your life (although many would love to). To some degree, you engineer your destiny. For my classmates and me, Chemistry was an introduction or glimpse at this new world soon to be thrust upon us. Lessons learned transcended mastery of the subject. In working with others we learned compassion; through failure we developed perseverance; free format sparked our creativity; and independence moved us to self-reliance – an unexpected outcome in a subject so absolute.”</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we move through the transformation of traditional teaching and learning, we continually ask ourselves the pivotal question – <b>“Why Change?”</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For me, I think of all the kids like Sydney. I know that I want to be smack in the middle of her “ah ha” moment. Where teachers and students belong …..together as they co-create and co-construct learning and discovery.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So thanks Sydney! I couldn’t have said it better myself!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-67814249147404453002011-02-26T17:27:00.000-05:002011-02-27T16:00:35.910-05:00The School Newspaper Meets Social Networking<div class="MsoNormal"><b>School Newspapers Meet Social Networking </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you haven’t yet checked out Hunterdon Central’s <a href="http://www.gsspa.org/thelamp/"><i>The Lamp Online</i></a>, you really must. The students and their advisor, English teacher Tom McHale have done a fantastic job and the online publication is snappy, professional and informational. Taken directly from the publication’s mission statement, “<span style="color: black;">the online student newspaper of<span class="apple-converted-space"> <a href="http://www.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/">Hunterdon Central Regional High School</a></span><a href="http://www.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/"> </a>is an open, public forum for student expression, to promote inquiry and to provide an authentic venue to showcase student work. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the school board, administration, sponsors, staff, or student body.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Once again, we tread into some interesting territory as we continue to embrace the many opportunities offered by technology. Traditionally, student newspapers have been tightly controlled by school districts and content considered the property of the district. At <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1861383125"></a>Hunterdon Central as both the principal and the superintendent, I have always given wide discretion to <b><i>The Lamp</i></b>. The circumstances in which I have asked to see the content of the paper prior to publication have been extremely rare. Perhaps because I was a newspaper reporter myself when I was in my 20’s I have a different level of respect for freedom of the press. I have also enjoyed the benefits of extremely conscientious student reporters and a student newspaper advisor with whom I share a common sense of what is appropriate and what is not. We are also extremely fortunate to have the support of a Board of Education that embraces divergent opinions and perspectives. This is one of many factors that make Hunterdon Central a forward thinking, progressive district. We are a district that values leadership at every level.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">So now, we have the online publication and a marked relinquishment of control. We are excited about taking the leap to allow opinions and the posting of content from across all sectors of our school community (students and staff) who are registered users of the site. As a team, we have committed to “responsible discussion within our school community.” We have also committed to allowing divergent opinions that, when expressed in an appropriate manner, will remain posted to this online, public forum. We have come a long way from the parameters set forth in<a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?Filename=/docketfiles/86-836htm"> Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier</a>, the 1988 U.S. Supreme Court case that held that “speech that can be reasonably viewed to have the school’s imprimatur can be regulated by the school if the school has a limited pedagogical concern in regulating the speech.” With the online publication, other than profanity, hate speech, personal attacks, false/inaccurate information or plagiarism; content will be permitted and remain in the public domain. Kind of like the school newspaper meets social networking.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">We have been working over these past months to craft a policy for students and staff that want to post and comment to our online student newspaper. The proposed policy states that </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1734329067"><i><span style="color: black;">The Lamp Online</span></i></a><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.gsspa.org/thelamp"> </a>staff will work toward meeting the standards set for professional journalism developed by the <a href="http://www.jea.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #660000;">Journalism Education Association</span></a>. This includes, but it is not limited to, a code of ethics concerning accuracy, balance, fairness, independence, and responsibility.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">I have great faith and confidence that this “leap of faith” has far more benefits than risks. We shall see.</span></div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-35354127647735214482011-02-19T12:16:00.000-05:002011-02-21T16:41:07.422-05:00The School Schedule Choke Hold<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal">Over the past 20 years, there seems to have been a never ending conversation about school schedules. Block schedules, traditional schedules, modular schedules, alternating schedules are all examples of the efforts of education reformers to improve the experiences of teachers and students in our classrooms. With the invasion of the 21<sup>st</sup> Century learning revolution into our educational culture, conversations about school schedules have taken on new and much more interesting tones. With e-learning, virtual schools and the open source learning management software being used by almost all schools, just how limiting are the constraints of any of the traditional modes of scheduling? For many of us who hope to continue to tear down the walls of traditional schooling, traditional schedules can feel like a choke hold on innovation and the creative use of time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Over this past year, our School Schedule Task Force at <a href="http://hcrhs.k12.nj.us/">Hunterdon Central</a> has been working to explore alternatives to the 4 X 4 Block schedule that my school has been using since 1996. One of the earliest schools in New Jersey to move to a block schedule, it has become clear that with the changing educational landscape as related to 21<sup>st</sup> Century learning environments as well as standardized testing schedules that are dictated to schools by the State, our current schedule may not be meeting the needs of our students in ways that it once was. The extended learning time afforded by any block schedule is something that we believe is best for our students however the way that we allocate time for learning needs to change if we are going to seriously consider the exciting opportunities that technology and virtual learning may offer for both students, teachers and parents.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Currently we are looking at the following Exploratory Topics:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Year Round Schooling/Trimester Plans</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Staggered Day/Flexible Hours</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Community College Schedules</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Virtual Schools/Hybrids</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Extended Learning Time/Block Schedule Variations/Modular Schedules</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Academies/Schools within Schools/Freshman Teams</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As the need for more flexible time to engage with our students in a true 21<sup>st</sup> Century Learning environment expands, the way that we use our time – both students and teachers – needs to change. Or at least be considered differently. As we have moved to the use of open source learning management software (Moodle), our teachers and students collaborate with one another in an almost 24/7 environment. The constraints of traditional school schedules are becoming more limiting. Some of the questions that we have asked ourselves include:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal">Do all students and teachers really need to be here at the same time?</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Do all students necessarily have to start and end school at the same time?</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Should all teachers and students be exposed to some kinds of virtual/on-line learning opportunities in preparation for college and work?</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">How does that translate into teacher time since it is not a traditional class taught in a traditional way? How does this translate in the old “seat time” paradigm for kids?</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">What about year round schooling and trimester plans? Wouldn’t some kids, parents and teachers simply like this model better? <span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Does “teaming” make more sense for freshman in a large school district or for students with learning challenges?</li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Working in teams, our teachers and administrators have been researching schedules in a variety of schools and consistent themes are emerging. We know that we need to find and create time for teachers to meet together in professional learning communities to discuss student work and individual student progress among the teachers working directly with each student. The shift toward educational progress plans for EVERY student mandate that teachers have this collaborative time. Students seek more opportunities to work collaboratively with one another on inquiry based learning projects and to work virtually taking a blend of both on-site and on-line courses. Traditional schedules are not designed to allow for this kind of collaboration which is critical in a 21<sup>st</sup> Century learning environment. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Although once considered a “taboo subject’” especially at the high school level, why not simply attend school year round as they do in many countries on a trimester type schedule that mimics more of a college experience. An example of a year round schedule <span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.nayre.org/calendar_comparison.htm">http://www.nayre.org/calendar_comparison.htm</a> </span>seems to really resonate with many members of our committee.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The traditional year round calendar features a long summer vacation of 12 weeks followed by a long period of in-session days, with the first break coming at Thanksgiving. The winter holidays are followed by 55 in-session days before a short spring break. Spring break is followed by 40 work days before the end of the school year<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">. </span>Realistically, most schools in the Northeast are in session until almost the end of June anyway. Many, many students are already back at school by mid-August for band camp and fall athletics as well. On the year round calendar, everyone is off during the month of July which is pretty much when we are off on a traditional calendar. Year round schooling allows for both remedial and enrichment opportunities and has a strong research base that points to the importance of the “loss of lag time” for learners who are struggling. For those who have fewer learning challenges, they can choose to expand their learning through enrichment programs during time off, virtual course work or simply just take a break.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Putting aside issues regarding transportation (which are very real constraints), why do all kids have to be in school at the same time? Why do all the teachers have to be there at the same time? Maybe there are kids who would rather start at 10:30 and be finished at 5:30. Maybe there are teachers who would rather do this too. Especially if I am not involved in athletics, a later school day may make sense. There are myriad interesting issues and options to explore.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We are excited that our next steps involve students into our conversations in a meaningful way so that we can begin to fold their input and ideas into the dialogue. Knowing that “one size does not fit all,” I am looking forward to some challenging and lively discourse as we expand our conversations. Involving parents and community is the next phase of our plans and I welcome your thoughts, comments and concerns.</div></div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-73469148223399603832011-02-02T09:27:00.000-05:002011-02-02T09:27:50.691-05:00Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!<iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r9LelXa3U_I?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-52278779695542822782011-02-02T07:23:00.000-05:002011-02-21T13:37:42.057-05:00Student 1:1 Pilot Project and 21st Century Teaching and Learning<div class="MsoNormal">With everyone talking about 21<sup>st</sup> Century classrooms and changes for teaching and learning, I thought I would share what we are doing at <a href="http://www.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/">Hunterdon Central</a> with our student 1:1 computing program. This is our second full year running this program and for our kids and teachers involved with this initiative, it has radically changed the way that instruction is being delivered in these classes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Student 1:1 computing was an idea that we piloted and implemented during the 2009-2010 school year. No one can argue that we are in a time of remarkable technological change. Having witnessed the rise of a truly interactive World Wide Web where people of all ages and interests can create content and share their ideas, it is hard to not be on fire about the implications for our classrooms. This new connectivity has ushered in an era of communication and collaboration that our society has only begun to understand. Transformational tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS, social networking and simulations make sharing information and interacting with others easy and efficient. Wikipedia, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, and Ning, are just some of the high profile examples of the types of technologies that are connecting disparate people in communities of work and play.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">This world-wide shift has manifested itself at <a href="http://hcrhs.k12.nj.us/">Hunterdon Central</a> in many ways, including a classroom model that equips each room with at least six computers, a wireless projector and multimedia sound, a teacher tablet PC program, monthly technology professional development meetings, a summer technology academy and a teacher technology self-reflection survey that informs the development of professional improvement plan goals. A 1:1 student computing environment, in which each child has a computer for use at school and at home, builds upon this existing foundation in many ways. First, it enhances the classroom environment by giving every student access to powerful tools throughout the school day. Second, it gives students the same kind of technologically rich environment at home that they receive at school. The 1:1 computing program allows students to begin to spend their class time and homework time operating in the same kind of information rich environment that they will use after graduation. This gives students enhanced opportunities for leadership, increases the level of possible personalization and enhances the environment for teaching and learning.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">We believe that it is critical that schools take the lead in producing technologically rich learning environments since many students, despite their facility with basic technological tasks, do not understand how to leverage these resources into powerful learning tools. Students need the same kind of scaffolding for their technology use that they receive in many other areas. They need to learn how to operate safely online, how to create an age-appropriate online presence, how to connect with other people to further their learning, how to filter the torrent of available information and how to contribute meaningfully to the world through their online activity. We believe that a well-implemented student 1:1 program will measure the same increase in student technological skills and understanding that we have traced during the past few years in our teachers and will better prepare them to compete in the Twenty-First Century.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">During the 2009-2010 school year, 17 teachers and over 300 students participated in the 1:1 pilot project. The data collected as related to their experiences has been exciting and powerful for both teachers and students. During the summer of 2010, an additional 27 teachers were trained and the pilot has been expanded this year to include over 1,000 students. Through a partnership with the Verizon Foundation, we have been able to provide internet access at a reduced cost to the district for our students who are economically disadvantaged. We have also reached out to community members and businesses who have generously provided financial support for economically disadvantaged students to have netbooks even if they are not part of the 1:1 computing classes. This gives these students the same resources and access as their peers from more financially stable families.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Changes in the way that instruction is delivered is a critical catalyst for the kinds of changes that will engage our students in the kinds of authentic learning experiences that will prepare them to be the kinds of global citizens and independent learners that we envision when we think of their future success. Although the technology is important, it is the changes in the way that we think about teaching and learning that will define the successful schools of the future.</div>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253888039694202735.post-76801139860742055322011-01-31T16:34:00.000-05:002011-01-31T16:34:14.767-05:00Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms | Video on TED.com<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html">Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms | Video on TED.com</a>Lisa Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360041953934167407noreply@blogger.com0