I believe that schools are becoming irrelevant in the lives of young people. Adults are trying to improve schools by looking towards their past; “what worked for me will work for them,” is their misguided reasoning. We (and this pronoun includes educators and all other adults who care about our children’s future) must reinvent our Read More
Category: Elevator Pitches
Elevator Pitch on Educational Expertise
The expertise we need to improve education comes not from business leaders nor the other citizens who dedicate their time and energy to serving on boards of education or in the legislature, nor even from education leaders (most of whom have built careers building compromises that satisfy different constituencies). The expertise comes from scholars who Read More
Buzz-word Driven Education: A Brief Rant
One of the defining characteristics of “buzz-word-driven” teaching is its advocates’ insistence that its universal applicability. Those advocating the approach will maintain the methods work for all students in all classes in all circumstances. This is supported with dubious evidence at best, and often there is no evidence that the methods will actually produce the Read More
Elevator Pitch on Adults Working in Schools
If you are reading this post, it is likely you attended elementary, middle, and high school as a child. You may have some experience in higher education or professional training. In addition, you may have experience as a parent or caregiver who has interacted with schools. One of the most striking realizations for many who Read More
Elevator Pitch on the Application of Knowledge
As students experience deeper learning, they frame, understand, and attempt to solve problems as they interact with foundational knowledge. This facilitates their ability to remember what they learned, and they also become more skilled at assessing what they know and what they do not know. Advocates for deeper learning differentiate the use of foundational knowledge Read More
Elevator Pitch: Statistical Learning
Similar to conditioning is learning that results when the learner is exposed to consistent patterns for many, many repetitions; statistical learning is understood to be a largely unconscious process. One of the best illustrations of statistical learning in informal setting s how humans learn language. We learn how to form sentences and the rules of Read More
On 1:1 Computing in Schools
In the United States, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) is recognized as the first large-scale effort to provide school-owned computers to students. In 2002, middle school students in the New England state were provided Macintosh laptops. Since then, one-to-one initiatives have been widely adopted. In some schools, students are allowed to take their devices Read More
Elevator Pitch: Learning Outcomes
Curriculum and assessments leaders recommend beginning lesson and curriculum plans with a list of learning outcomes. What knowledge will students develop and what skills will students develop during the lesson or the unit. Many also advocate for clear and measurable outcome to be articulated. It is reasoned without these, the data deemed necessary for making Read More
Elevator Pitch: Deeper Learning & Foundational Learning
As students experience deeper learning, they frame, understand, and attempt to solve problems as they interact with foundational knowledge. This facilitates their ability to remember what they learned, and they also become more skilled at assessing what they know and what they do not know. Advocates for deeper learning differentiate the use of foundational knowledge Read More
Elevator Pitch on Cognitive Scaffolding
Some scaffolds are introduced to share the cognitive load or to draw attention to specific aspects of the work. Reiser & Tabak (2014) suggest scaffolding can be introduced to facilitate thinking in several ways. Especially when dealing with complex situations early in their studies, students may focus on irrelevant aspects of the problem or they Read More