A colleague asked a question… she suggested I share the answer… So, I have several students taking Coursera courses…. also EdX and Udemy… there are other MOOC providers out there as well. The model for MOOC’s (massive open online courses) is generally the same regardless of the provider: 1) Some MOOC’s have start dates and Read More
Category: Schools
Theory in Planning
In the vernacular, “theory” is associated with ideas that are incomplete or not necessarily true. Among educators, and other pragmatic professionals such as technologists, theory is often associated with unrealistic or idealistic thinking that has little connection to her or his work The interpretations of theory are unfortunate, however, as theory can inform and focus Read More
Alternatives to the Standard Model of Education
This post continues the theme begun in The (Overturned) Model of Standard Education Many educational scholars and practitioners have recognized the inadequacy of the Standard Model in recent decades and they have proposed alternative models of education. The (incomplete) list of alternatives includes authentic learning (Herrington, Reeves, & Oliver, 2014), natural learning (Caine & Caine, Read More
Horizontal versus Vertical Reform
Educational reform in the last several decades has been horizontal as schools commonly jump from one initiative to another with little reason. The typical cycle is familiar to many: First, an initiative (supported with little or dubious evidence from the learning sciences) is introduced and implemented (with little or dubious support and rationale). Second, problems Read More
Three Questions about Assessment
45: Three Questions About Assessment These ideas are further supported in Technology in Support of Diverse Assessment which was prepared for the 2017 AECT Annual Conference. “Assessment” has been an important aspect of teaching and learning (or perhaps more accurately, it has been a buzzword garnering much attention) for most of my career in education. Advocates for Read More
The (Overturned) Standard Model of Education
Appropriate Proper Reasonable Words are powerful tools for human thought; once “something” is named it can be recognized and humans can both communicate about it and interact with the concept in a way they could not previously. When the named thing is not an object, but an action (or collection of actions), words can clarify Read More
The Future of Work
Since the turn of the century, a seemingly never-ending series of advocates have told whoever will listen about the changing nature of work in the coming decades. Graphs such as this one I adapted from Levy and Murname (2005) seems to convey the typical message: In general, these advocates predict employers will value different skills Read More
A Brief Typology of Teaching
Perhaps it is the many advertisements that have found there way through my spam filter recently. Perhaps it is that I have been reading (actually browsing) equal amounts of vendor-created content in trade magazines and peer-reviewed book chapters and articles from academic authors. Regardless of the origins, it is coming clear to me that there Read More