Prototype for a Different Kind of Report Card

I was speaking to a friend of mine the other day and telling her about an idea I had for a different report card and she said to create a prototype - so today, I start. I've asked my daughter and she is agreeable to being the tester - thank goodness b/c she has amazing thinking!

Time and time again, I hear that the report card is one of the biggest obstacles for change in education. It is a deeply rooted trademark in the tradition of public schooling and culture.

I think what parents want to know that their child is learning - and at their child's highest level. With the onset of personalized learning, this may be the right time to tackle this obstacle.

I am going to try to incorporate pacing and benchmarks through multi-disciplinary areas in a personalized manner - and yes, include the Common Core State Standards.

Thank you to my friend who game me the nudge to begin : )

Looking at the Education System along a Developmental Continuum

I love the mornings! My best thinking usually comes then : ) Here is why I believe personalized learning is going to change education and why it's the best way to go:

What if we looked at the education system as developing along a continuum?

Key ideas:
If there is learning, there is change.
Learning is developmental.

I think of two continuums:
Ruben Puentedura's SAMR model. If you have not seen his video to show the trends of technology over 200,000 years, it's very cool.

I also remember LoTI - Levels of Technology Integration. I remember we would teach classes and expect people to move along this continuum fairly quickly and in my experience, it takes about 4-7 years.

So let's talk continuum (in regards to use of technology):
Individual basis
Adoption - it's when a person starts to use technology in the classroom
Adaptation - it's when a teachers starts to use it to replace previous methods of technology b/c he or she has found it to be better in such a way, but still teacher directed

Education System
Adoption - this occurred quite awhile ago - lots of districts purchased technology -
Adaptation - when they started to use it, they applied it as a blanket approach, managed it

Ah ha!! From my research and from what I have read, there has not seen much of an impact on student learning in these two phases.

Here's my rationale - it's not until the use of technology crosses what I refer to as the mid-point that it has an impact on learning.  The mid-point is the moment that learning becomes personal. I refer to this as the Infusion phase b/c personal use and learning cannot be separated. This is the hardest phase to get to b/c it is emotional. It means letting go of the past and that is an emotional experience. It is a change in a belief system.

This is where I see our education system now - in the infusion phase. Learning and technology are becoming one in the same b/c people are able to personalize their technology.

The last phase is transformation. The person is different as a result of the learning experience that they have been allowed to personalize. There are 2 indicators of being in the phase - the broad acceptance that each person is unique and learning uniquely and the global market is increasing our global awareness and need to understand how we are connected at this level. I am seeing both of these topics emerge with greater awareness, understanding and emphasis. In addition, everywhere we look, life is becoming a personal experience from our jeans to how we shop.

And this is why I have no doubt that the system of education will never look the same as before. It is transforming into something different. It is transforming into YOU.

I am very excited about the opportunity to teach - I mean present - at the SLATE conference this year.

Here is the link to the presentation called: Understanding Transformation and Linking Technology to Student Learning

http://www.slideshare.net/tamj1143/understanding-transformation-and-linking-technology-to-student-learning-15450745

Enjoy!

Coaching Leads to Transformation

Coaching is a hot word in education right now. It's not surprising since it's good stuff. However, I wonder about the different styles of coaching. A good coach has style, right? I mean, take a look at sporting coaches like Vince Lombardi. I don't even watch football and I know his name. So why was he so great? Here's why - he found a way to bring out the best in his players and work the team.


And what about personal trainers? My daughter has quite a few for her gymnastics and they get her to do things she didn't know she could do!

And then there are Reality TV coaches. Yes, I know some of it is staged, but some of it isn't. Here are a few:
Supernanny, Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear, Jeannie from How Do I Look? Niecy Nash and Mark Brunetz from Clean House, Ty from Extreme Makeover and Jillian from The Biggest Loser.

All of them are experts and take proven techniques, fit them to the people, scaffold the learning and then leave. Yes, leave. Transformation has occurred and what really blows my mind is that it only takes a few days to completely change a life!

Is coaching sports or personal training different from coaching teachers or students? Can we learn something from sports or Reality TV show coaches? What if we try different styles of coaching in schools?

Fannie May Chocolate and Second Life Schools

What do Fannie May chocolate, TV, 3D worlds, science, inner city schools, and universities have to do with the future? Allow me to explain.

I was eating Fannie May chocolates, a favorite in our household, when a bunch of connections occurred to me.

I recently learned the term that explains one of the reasons I went into teaching. It is called social justice. In my graduate class, I discovered that not much has changed in education since I started teaching, over 20 years ago. This is where the TV show comes in. I wonder about combining the media industry with the education industry to transform schools. I just have not thought about how it can be filmed yet and the right idea has not come to me yet.

Anyway, I am the Gifted and Talented Coordinator in my district and I am currently planning a Science Summit. I started to research topics in science that might be of interest to our students and relevant to their future.  I researched "future jobs in science" and found this article by Popular Science: 10 Best Jobs of the Future.

It's incredibly interesting! I mean vertical farming, forecaster of everything, fetus healer! I think the kids will love talking about these.

Then I started thinking about an article I am reading for my graduate class about black males and how they view themselves in school and it reminded me of research that Peggy Sheehy did from her experience with students in Second Life, a 3D virtual world. She found that students create their own identity in that world and how they interact with others may be different that how they interact in a face-to-face situation. There was something about the 3D environment that nurtured this ability.

Yes, Black Males Are Different, but Different is Not Deficient, by Christopher Emdin

Peggy Sheehy on Exploring Identity in Second Life
Peggy Sheehy on Exploring on Body Image

That led me to think this. What if a group of inner city students had "school" in this different environment? What if they were allowed to be who they wanted to be? What if we gave them the freedom to create their future by providing them with rich examples of what future jobs could be for them? And we provided them with the nurturing to imagine themselves in their future with experiences such as the I-imagine: Taking My Place in the World Project from Bernajean Porter.

Then what if we "filmed" this 3D environment and showed it on TV? It would be real life, but it could still protect the identity of the children.

Do you think this can get the attention of George Lucas?

The Oscars

One day, I would like to build a school that is of the same caliber as a movie winning an Oscar and host an Academy of others who have done the same

Reading more than one book at a time

I wonder what ideas will surface about instruction if I listen to Drive, Flourish, Nudge and The Outliers simultaneously?