Data can become evidence only if it is reliable. Reliability is based on the degree to which the same observations can be made under similar circumstances but at different times, and also one the degree to which different measures of the same effect agree. Theory allows managers and leaders to make predictions about what they Read More
Category: Leadership
Elevators Pitch on Change in Schools
Some schools lack the structures necessary to change what happens in classrooms; schedules, departments, prescribed curriculum, and other systems are obstacles that are too great. Schools are social organizations, thus inherently political; changes in how teachers interact with students can be affected by the demands or threats of those who are more powerful. Some teachers Read More
On IT Roles in Schools
In schools today, most professionals who work with technology typically fall into one of six groups. The descriptions of the duties assigned to these individuals illustrate the range of tasks necessary to manage and use the very complex information technology infrastructure encountered in a typical school and the scale of the system that requires support: Read More
On School Planning
In general, one can surmise there is consensus regarding the role of formal educational systems: the public supports and maintains the system to prepare youngsters to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of society. The nature of the experiences designed to meet this purpose changes over time. Traditionally, the domain of education includes Read More
Some Technology Decisions are Permanent in Schools
Early in the history of computers in schools, they typically purchased and supported only one operating system. Schools were “Apple” schools or “IBM” schools; later they were Macintosh or Windows schools. Ostensibly, decisions were made for financial reasons (PC’s were generally assumed to be less expensive than Macintoshes) or for educational reasons (“PC’s are what Read More
Elevator Pitch: Teaching is Political
Because education and schools are technologies, they are not neutral. What happens in school is politically relevant, it matters to humans. This may seem a silly statement, but frequently, adults in schools proceed with their work and appear to be ignorant of this. The effect is especially observed in those classrooms in which the goal Read More
Efficacious Decisions…
… allow us to conclude:
Technology and Communication Problems
Organizations are created to serve a purpose. For schools, it is (ostensibly) to make people “smart.” We know, of course, that when systems are created, their purpose immediately changes to sustaining itself rather than fulfilling its purpose, but let’s ignore that for this post. We who work in organizations complete tasks and solve problems that Read More
Assumptions That Are Likely False
• curriculum comprises well-defined information and skills that represent necessary human knowledge • the purpose of schools is to ensure students get the information and skills into their brains, thus become educated • educators know how to deliver instruction so the curriculum is transferred into students’ brains • the most efficient instruction occurs from simple Read More
Education is Not Business
In recent decades, educators have adopted the language and models of business processes (some of us prefer to say this way of understanding our work was foisted on the profession). Business is deconstructed into inputs, business processes and outputs. Success is measured in quality and quality of outputs (in business outputs can be reduced in Read More