Graduation Thoughts

Last Sunday afternoon, District #1 graduated over 150 seniors. We endured torrential rainfall earlier in the week, and spent the next few days fretting over whether or not the football field would be dry enough to hold the event outside. However, on Sunday morning, the clouds parted and the sun appeared making for an absolutely perfect day.

I always enjoy commencement, as it is a time to celebrate the many accomplishments of our graduates and the hopes they hold for the future. However, each year as I sit on the stage, listen to the speeches and shake the hands of all the graduates just after receiving their diplomas, I always have the same thought--Did I do everything I could to prepare each of these students for success?

Although I am very proud of our school district, and believe we have tremendous teachers who do tremendous things for kids, I always sit on that stage thinking of what else we could have done. This year, my thoughts came back to two questions.

1. Did our system allow us to meet the individual needs of the graduates, allowing them every opportunity to reach their full potential?
2. Did our system adequately prepare them for the challenges they will face in the global economy they will experience upon graduation.

Taking the initial question first, many educational reformers are beginning to seriously question the "batch" form of instruction that is prevalent in most public schools. They are calling for a more individualized approach which fosters enhanced engagement and therefore, higher achievement. The Response to Intervention (RtI) model is a move in this direction, as it essentially calls for the development of an individualized education plan for any struggling student, and not just those with identified special needs. Clayton Christensen also advocates for this model of differentiation, which he believes will be accomplished through the use of technology, and specifically on-line education. Many charter schools are based on the idea of individualizing the educational opportunities for their students. Secretary of Education Duncan is advocating for creative and innovative solutions to improve public education, and furthering the individualization of instruction would definitely fit well with his articulated vision.

As our school district continues down the path of continuous improvement, moving towards furthering the individualization of instruction is a collaborative discussion in which our learning organization needs to participate.

I have blogged extensively on the second question of preparing our students to compete in the global economy of the 21st century. Therefore, I will not spend more time reiterating these concerns. However, I will recount the importance of public educators keeping this issue in mind as classroom curriculum, assessments, and experiences are developed. We have to remember that we are no longer preparing students to be obedient factory workers. Instead, we are preparing them for a dynamic economy in which they will change jobs multiple times, and most likely hold a job that today doesn't exist.

Preparation for success in this type of economy calls for a very different set of skills than what have traditionally been the norm in public schools. Our students must be able to not only regurgitate information, but also create information. They must not only be able to sit quietly and listen, but also be an active participate within a dynamic work group. They must not only learn the information we present to them in class, but be instilled with the skills to be lifelong learners. They must not only be receivers of information, but wise consumers of information. They must not only be expected to learn facts and theories, but have the ability to apply their learning to the dynamic, globally connected world in which they live.

The class of 2009 is full of fantastic young people who will definitely have a positive impact on our world. That is a testament to the fine faculty and staff who have poured their hearts and souls into educating these students. I am so proud of everyone's efforts. However, we owe it to ourselves, our students, and the communities we serve to continue to investigate how we can improve our already outstanding educational system. Two ways we can work towards this goal are to hold future collaborative discussions on furthering the individualization of instruction and preparing students for the educational demands of the global economy.

As Douglas Reeves stated, "You are so valuable and worthy, our mission is so vital, and the future lives of our students are so precious, that we have a joint responsibility to one another to be the best we can be."

As always, I would enjoy hearing your thoughts, and engaging in conversation, on the contents of this post.

The Purpose of Assessment?

The end of the school year is always synonomous with assessments. Whether we give unit, quarter or semester exams, this always seems to be the culminating event of most classes. Since this is usually the norm, I think it is appropriate to have some philosophical discussion about assessment. Specifically, what is the purpose of assessment and how do we use assessment results?

As our school district has aggressively moved forward in the development of a standards based curriculum and assessment model, I have become very interested in the various forms of assessment and how we use this information in our school system. Specifically, I have studied the work of researchers such as Thomas Guskey, Grant Wiggins and Richard Stiggins and become infatuated with their study of "assessment for learning".

In most classrooms, "assessment of learning" is the norm. This type of assessment is usually consists of a summative test given at the end of a unit or semester, which is used to provide a letter grade so the student's knowledge can be compared against a standard, or against other students. Typically, this type of assessment is handed back to the student; the student sees the grade; the teacher then moves on to the next unit of instruction.

I like to call this approach "the autopsy method of assessment", because this type of assessment is conducted after all instruction and learning has taken place. If there is no analysis of assessment results and subsequently no reteaching of nonmastered material, then what was the point of the assessment other than to give a grade to the student? This type of assessment does not enhance student learning. In fact, it could be argued that it has just the opposite effect.

What researchers like Wiggins, Guskey and Stiggins advocate for is "assessment for learning". This type of assessment is more formative in nature and takes place starting with the beginning of the course all the way to the culminating assessment. This type of assessment takes place multiple times daily in class, and the students are provided with frequent feedback on their progress. Most importantly, the teacher utilizes the data from this feedback to alter instructional methods in order to meet the needs of the students. This type of assessment can take many forms other than the traditional multiple choice test, such as portfolios, teacher observation, classroom discussion, and journals. However, no matter what the form, the key component is frequent feedback coupled with adjustments to instruction to meet the individual needs of the students.

When I was a young classroom teacher (many years ago!), I was caught in the trap of blaming poor assessment scores on the kids. I would use phrases like "They obviously didn't study," or "I don't know why they didn't learn it, because I taught it to them." However, I now realize that my responses were based on the fact that I was simply assessing the learning of my students. Had I been utilizing the philosophy of "assessment for learning", I would have been asking questions such as these.

"40% of the students did not understand what I taught today. How can I reteach that tomorrow in a way that those students will master the objective?"

"60% of my class missed this question on today's quiz. I wonder if it could have been a poorly written question?"

"From watching my class today, it was obvious they were confused. Mrs. Jones' students always do so well on this topic. I wonder how she teaches this? I think I will talk with her tomorrow."

"Stephanie usually does so well, but today she did very poorly on the assessment. I wonder if everything is okay with her? I think I will contact her parents to see if everything is okay."

As you prepare for your end of the year, think about the purpose of your assessments. Are you conducting "assessment of learning" or "assessment for learning"?

As always, I am anxious to hear your thoughts on these ideas.

Web 2.0: The Promise and the Challenge

Those who have read some of my previous posts know that I have become quite passionate about 21st century learning skills, the challenges of the global economy, and the promise Web 2.0 tools have to assist us in preparing students to meet those challenges. I recently read an article which I believe accurately reveals why we seem to be at a standstill in integrating Web 2.0 tools into the public school learning experience.

The Consortium for School Networking recently completed a study where school administrators where surveyed on policy issues related to the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies. Not surprisingly, "administrators were overwhelmingly positive about the ways in which Web 2.0 can be of benefit to students in their academic endeavors." In fact, as I talk to other administrators, I generally find this to be the case. Most understand that for our students to become competitive players in the global economy of the 21st century, we must alter their learning envirnoments and provide opportunities for the authentic use of technology in and out of the traditional classroom setting.

As Connie Yowell, Director of Education at the MacArthur Foundation stated, "We've come to believe that kids are learning in significanty different ways because of digital media, because of the ways they can participate, they can produce, the ways that they can share information, and the ways that they can create new information."

If there is general agreement amongst school administrators regarding the value of Web 2.0 as instructional tools, then why the disconnect between philosophy and reality?

When school administrators were surveyed regarding actual implementation of Web 2.0 tools in their schools, they were much less enthusiastic. Most were concerned about providing unfettered access due to issues with student safety and school district liability. Others stated that their own lack of familiarity with these technology tools made them ineffective at facilitating their use amongst teachers. Further, others were concerned that their teachers were too unfamiliar with the tools to be able to understand them, let alone redesign their teaching methods around them.

In summary, the issue of integrating Web 2.0 tools into schools is a microcosm of the frustrations many have with change initiatives in public education. The professional literature, and most educators, have wide agreement on many things that are good for kids (like the integration of web 2.0 tools; looping; differentiated instruction; authentic assessments; etc.), but yet we struggle to integrate these things into our learning organizations. Why? Maybe we can no longer afford to wait for these ideas to bubble up and transform education?

I would be interested to know your position on the integration of Web 2.0 tools in education. I would also enjoy reading your thoughts on the issue of "change" in public schools.

Twitter in the Classroom

Many of my past blog postings have questioned whether public education is sufficiently preparing our students for the challenges they will face in the global economy of the 21st century. Specifically, I wonder if we are doing enough to provide students with opportunities for authentic use of technology in the classroom. As I continue to read and learn about both the technology our students use, and the ultra-competitive workplace they will face in today's "flat world," I am becoming further convinced that we have a responsibility to not only insure our students achieve our state standards, but to provide avenues for this learning to occur that allow for student use of Web 2.0 tools.

One way to begin providing these types of opportunities is through the use of social networking tools in the classroom. I'm sure most people have heard about Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Plurk, Ning, etc. Most of us use these social networks as a way to catch up with old classmates, or keep in touch with family and friends. However, there are some very innovative teachers who are finding ways to incorporate these web tools to provide authentic learning opportunities for their students.

I have read quite a few articles lately highlighting the use of Twitter as an instructional tool. One article I found particularly interesting was from a Latin teacher who used Twitter as an assessment tool. Another is from a professor at Marquette who has her students use Twitter to develop marketing campaigns for class. In both cases, the educators found Twitter to be an extraordinary tool to facilitate learning in a new and unique way. It also provided the students with an authentic learning opportunity using Web 2.0 tools, which will prove invaluable to them in today's global economy.

As educators, we often worry about getting involved in such sites due to our concern with inappropriate use. However, sheltering students from these opportunities does nothing to prepare them for future use in the workplace. In fact, there are many arguments to be made for the positives of educators taking an active role in the world of social networking. I recently read a post on the Tech & Learning Blog listing "Nine Reasons to Twitter in Schools." I encourage all educators to read this post, because it might just convince you that we can't afford not to take advantage of the opportunities provided by social networking.

I would be interested in hearing examples of using social networking in your classroom. If you haven't used these tools yet, how might you use them? What worries you about using social networking sites?