When I was going to college at UMF, (which by the way has a new Master's Program in Education) we had a guest speaker in our Philosophy of Education class. He made the assertion that we need to take the competition out of education. That had me thinking recently. Would this be a good idea or not?
In the classroom, competition has the potential to be unifying and motivating. Think of the kind of solidarity and loyalty that builds in team or group activities like sports and clubs. The rivalries between school teams often bring in the community and sometimes even draw larger attention. In the classroom, at least at the high school level. Students seem to be driven by the sense of competition.
The flip-side, however is nasty. Some high school students define their academic successes by how many people are below them academically-- class rank, test scores, GPAs. What's really disturbing is to see some students with less concern about how they are doing and improving, and more concerned with making sure the rules of the game are designed in such a way that the competition stays down. For example, when our school changed grading systems, there was a major outcry from some parents and students. They were concerned that the grading system was going to make it harder to receive the top grades their students were used to achieving. They seemed a lot less interested in the question, "What are you learning, and are you growing as a learner?" and wanted to know how this would effect GPA, honor roll and class rank. These are the types of competition that I think deserve close scrutiny. I know that class rank is important to college admissions counselors because it provides some measure for comparing students within the environment in which they were educated, and therefore, it does serve a purpose. The larger question seems to be how we foster an importance on learning... not on grades and ranks, but on learning itself.
Of the public meetings I attended, I rarely saw parents of students who were not "winning at the game of school" probably because those parents feel isolated, left out or disaffected by schools. I think that schools face many challenges, but the highest among them is involving students and their parents (and sometimes even teachers) in the process of learning. It seems like such an obvious statement, but next time you are talking with a teacher or administrator, student or parent, ask them when the last time is that they talked about how we learn, why we learn and what's important to learn. In this time of year we worry about calendars, committees, budgets and graduation plans but it should always be about learning. When we get to that point in the schools, competition will not be as relevant an argument because then, everyone truly wins.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Scheduling Priorities
It's March and the discussions of how next year's schedule will come together has already started. Our principal has asked for use to balance out some priorities and I think hitting all of them would be impossible. So where do you make the trade offs? Here are some of the examples of conflicting factions.
We have been running an alternating block schedule for years now (approximately 90 minute classes that meet every other day), however some subjects and teachers feel that the 45 minute everyday class is better for reinforcing lessons and information (mostly in math, foreign language and freshmen courses). The problem? Introducing even one everyday period makes it harder to schedule upperclassmen in our regional vocational center because they have to attend for an entire day. So which takes priority?
The past few years, we have had common planning time in departments and a personal preparation period. In next year's schedule, it looks like we will have to alternate them (can't have both) because of declining enrollments.
Study halls. I have a personal disdain for them in general. Why should a structured educational environment have a "place holder" in the schedule where 90% of the students in the study hall socialize, skip or just goof off? Is it the job of the school to educate or herd people like cattle? However, if you ban study hall in your schedule, where do the students who have no class go? For seniors and juniors, you could have an open campus, but for sophomores and freshmen transportation and responsibility are reasons to this wouldn't work. Do we just make all students take a full load? What about students that struggle with the classes they already take?
These are only a handful of the issues we are dealing with in creating our schedule for next year. I didn't even get into the numbers games (how many courses each staff member has to prep for, how many kids in each classroom, how many AP course sections to offer).
Good news though, we did decide to drop a "remedial" set of courses that we had going this year which were really unsuccessful.
In a future blog post maybe I'll brainstorm some ideas where technology could help solve some of these issues.
We have been running an alternating block schedule for years now (approximately 90 minute classes that meet every other day), however some subjects and teachers feel that the 45 minute everyday class is better for reinforcing lessons and information (mostly in math, foreign language and freshmen courses). The problem? Introducing even one everyday period makes it harder to schedule upperclassmen in our regional vocational center because they have to attend for an entire day. So which takes priority?
The past few years, we have had common planning time in departments and a personal preparation period. In next year's schedule, it looks like we will have to alternate them (can't have both) because of declining enrollments.
Study halls. I have a personal disdain for them in general. Why should a structured educational environment have a "place holder" in the schedule where 90% of the students in the study hall socialize, skip or just goof off? Is it the job of the school to educate or herd people like cattle? However, if you ban study hall in your schedule, where do the students who have no class go? For seniors and juniors, you could have an open campus, but for sophomores and freshmen transportation and responsibility are reasons to this wouldn't work. Do we just make all students take a full load? What about students that struggle with the classes they already take?
These are only a handful of the issues we are dealing with in creating our schedule for next year. I didn't even get into the numbers games (how many courses each staff member has to prep for, how many kids in each classroom, how many AP course sections to offer).
Good news though, we did decide to drop a "remedial" set of courses that we had going this year which were really unsuccessful.
In a future blog post maybe I'll brainstorm some ideas where technology could help solve some of these issues.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Wiki's and Whatnot
Recently in a podcast episode, I introduced some wiki tools and promised to elaborate on my blog. Well, I finally got around to it...
What's a wiki and why would I care?
The best teaching analogy would be to envision a whiteboard... not hard so far right? Well, in a classroom, you'd have a whiteboard where everyone could see it. There are many ways to use it. The teacher can write on it so the students could read it. The teacher could hand out markers and erasers so the students could write on the whiteboard for all to see as well. When I say everybody, in this case I mean everyone who had access to the room.
So far you follow, right? Well, there are some differences between your whiteboard and a wiki, but only a few.
1. Instead of a whiteboard, it's a web page (don't get worried, it's almost as easy as writing on a whiteboard). Of course with a web page you can provide links, pictures, and even video and animation.
2. Instead of the audience being the classroom, it can be the world (or only those in the world you let read it).
3. Each person you let write, edit, or erase on the wiki can be tracked to see what changes he/she made--Kind of like assigning each student their own unique colored marker.
4. The last major difference is that you have the ability to turn back the clock. That means that if some student in your class were to change your great example from "The Great Depression" into a "yo mama" joke, you push a button and relive your pre-momma depression era.
5. Time and space are not an obstacle. Don't need a custodian to open up the room at 9:30 pm to get the notes off of the board if you were sick, just log on at your convenience, any time, any where.
So, why would someone want to use a wiki? (Here's a long list of valid uses in education but here's a quick guide.)
Instant, simple, publishing. It is an easy way to get online and communicate. Here's an example of a math wiki that is basically a web page. It is authored only by the teacher and is a way to include lessons, Power points, worksheets, a class calendar and homework. It is essentially being used in place of a textbook for the class.
It's a great streamlined way to collaborate. We are always looking for ways to get students to work together and take ownership. With a wiki, you can track who contributes what, and lets them do so in a common format without regard for time and space constraints. A great example of students collaborating for a real purpose is at this AP World History Review wiki--students created a collaborative study guide.
Wider audience, possibly interactive. For authentic assessment purposes, a wiki is a great way to open up student work to the public. When students perform/write for an audience larger than their teacher alone, they concern themselves more with accuracy, effort, and overall quality. You can even open up the forum to others to write in. Here's a world-wide student collaborative story writing wiki.
So as you can see, there are plenty of great reasons to use a wiki in the classroom. Here are some other great resources to check out for wikis:
Wikis in Plain English- Quick video explanation of wikis.
Wiki Matrix- An online wiki comparison tool.
Curriki- The wiki for collaborating on curriculum.
Wikispaces- A popular free wiki.
Wetpaint- Another free wiki with a video explanation.
PBwiki- Offers ad-free wikis for educators.
Wikis in the Classroom- The "one stop workshop" for wikis in education.
Flickr Photo Credit: Sam Pullara
What's a wiki and why would I care?
The best teaching analogy would be to envision a whiteboard... not hard so far right? Well, in a classroom, you'd have a whiteboard where everyone could see it. There are many ways to use it. The teacher can write on it so the students could read it. The teacher could hand out markers and erasers so the students could write on the whiteboard for all to see as well. When I say everybody, in this case I mean everyone who had access to the room.
So far you follow, right? Well, there are some differences between your whiteboard and a wiki, but only a few.
1. Instead of a whiteboard, it's a web page (don't get worried, it's almost as easy as writing on a whiteboard). Of course with a web page you can provide links, pictures, and even video and animation.
2. Instead of the audience being the classroom, it can be the world (or only those in the world you let read it).
3. Each person you let write, edit, or erase on the wiki can be tracked to see what changes he/she made--Kind of like assigning each student their own unique colored marker.
4. The last major difference is that you have the ability to turn back the clock. That means that if some student in your class were to change your great example from "The Great Depression" into a "yo mama" joke, you push a button and relive your pre-momma depression era.
5. Time and space are not an obstacle. Don't need a custodian to open up the room at 9:30 pm to get the notes off of the board if you were sick, just log on at your convenience, any time, any where.
So, why would someone want to use a wiki? (Here's a long list of valid uses in education but here's a quick guide.)
Instant, simple, publishing. It is an easy way to get online and communicate. Here's an example of a math wiki that is basically a web page. It is authored only by the teacher and is a way to include lessons, Power points, worksheets, a class calendar and homework. It is essentially being used in place of a textbook for the class.
It's a great streamlined way to collaborate. We are always looking for ways to get students to work together and take ownership. With a wiki, you can track who contributes what, and lets them do so in a common format without regard for time and space constraints. A great example of students collaborating for a real purpose is at this AP World History Review wiki--students created a collaborative study guide.
Wider audience, possibly interactive. For authentic assessment purposes, a wiki is a great way to open up student work to the public. When students perform/write for an audience larger than their teacher alone, they concern themselves more with accuracy, effort, and overall quality. You can even open up the forum to others to write in. Here's a world-wide student collaborative story writing wiki.
So as you can see, there are plenty of great reasons to use a wiki in the classroom. Here are some other great resources to check out for wikis:
Wikis in Plain English- Quick video explanation of wikis.
Wiki Matrix- An online wiki comparison tool.
Curriki- The wiki for collaborating on curriculum.
Wikispaces- A popular free wiki.
Wetpaint- Another free wiki with a video explanation.
PBwiki- Offers ad-free wikis for educators.
Wikis in the Classroom- The "one stop workshop" for wikis in education.
Flickr Photo Credit: Sam Pullara
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