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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Higher Education

Is use of technology necessary in classrooms?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest column by Lucy Brown

There has been a dramatic change in the use of technologies in the last few decades and particularly in classrooms. Schools have had to invest heavily in the purchase of hardwares and softwares; set up internet access and train teachers to use technology. This has made the young people in education to be enthusiastic about technology and made them grow to use it more often. Some of them lack the extensive knowledge use of the technology they are embracing. Use of technology in the classroom is very important, though at times, opportunities to harness children’s skills and enthusiasm to improve learning in school are sometimes missed out.

Technology continues to be increasingly adopted and used by all educational institutions across the world, but examples of cutting edge technology being harnessed to transform teaching and learning remains the exception rather than the rule (Becta, 2009)

Effective use of technology is central to achieving the goals set out in schools. This is because, with technology, the learners are assured of enhanced teaching and learning activities; technology improves efficiency of systems and processes within the school and it also reduces the administrative burden on teachers. With it comes the advancement and exploration of future ways of working.

Students get an opportunity to learn beyond the confines of the school timetables and school gates when they incorporate technology in their learning system. It is very fundamental to students because it makes them to search for innovative ways of incorporating new technologies and the teachers get an opportunity to use them to advance the curriculum to suit its relevancy in the 21st century. With it, an already successful school will improve further. It is a tool for students to take control of their learning.

Technology is important in education in the classroom as it forces us to reconsider how people learn, how they are empowered and what type of learning and useful information is.  Technology is forcing educators to re-evaluate the very nature of what and how we teach and it is impossible to without them in schools.

With use of technology in classes, computer can serve as a tutor. This lessens the burden of teachers in the class, as they are just left with the role of guiding the students as they learn from the computer. It can also help with students who are slow learners; this is through the computer tutorials being repeated until the students who are falling out grasps what is being taught. This is the main advantage of technology in classrooms; teachers don’t have that time to repeat lessons over and over again.

Technology is really helping in fighting illiteracy in the world. A story is told of an American, Annaben Thomas (Bennett, 1999). She was unable to read even after several years in high school at a New York City school. She eventually enrolled herself in a computer program that taught her how to read and write. This was her last resort after she had tried everything humanly possible to learn to read and write to no avail. Her success story was published in an article “Computers as Tutors’ by Bennett.

But some critics view technology in the negative. They think that, with computers in the classrooms, students will be transformed into less fools. Boyle (1998. P.618) argues that information technology may actually be making us stupid. Some people who grew up in the pre-technology era also argue that the use of technology will take the emotion and heart out of the classroom (Wehrle, 1998).

Education serves as a window through which our imagination and curiosity can take flight into the unknown and enhance our creativity, and the use of technology in education plays a vital role in helping students to achieve their full development potential. Given the role of education in shaping students for the outside world, there should be a connection between the world and education, and that can only be achieved by incorporating technology in the classroom.

The advantages of having computers in classrooms outweigh the disadvantages. Technology is a positive supplement to bridge the gap between education and the technological world in which we live. Technology is setting a pace in students to jump start with marketable job skills.

Reference:

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~lbrady/wehrle.html

Warger, Cynthia L. Technology In Today’s Schools. [Alexandria, VA]: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1990. Print.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

___________

This post is brought to you by Lucy Brown from Auvisa.org. Auvisa.org is an Australian visa agency, founded in 2011 by migration lawyers. Lucy has 11 years of teaching experience in chemistry before joined Auvisa.org.

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, EdTech & Innovation

K-12 Learning Experiences: 6 Trends That are Improving Them

In this age of technology and innovation, the K-12 learning is continually evolving in order to adapt to the times. It’s important that teachers keep up-to-date with the latest helpful technology for their students and that parents understand the ramifications of that technology, too.

Here are six major classroom trends that are impacting the K-12 learning process:

1. BYOD: This movement which embraces mobile technology through the devices that students already own has already gained momentum in many districts across the country, and it is rapidly moving towards mass adoption. Places like Chesapeake Public Schools are already allowed to use privately owned electronic devices to access the wireless network on the school system’s filtered Internet. In Chesapeake, as in the other public and private schools where BYOD policies exist, students must sign a responsibility form that says they will only use the mobile device for academic enrichment while on school property. Students who bring their own devices into the classroom eliminate the initial costs and are also already comfortable with the technology. The downside of course is that not all students can readily afford such technology, but look for schools to develop technology financial assistance programs for families to help offset the full cost and maintenance of school-owned devices.

2. Customized learning experiences: Self-initiated and self-directed learning experiences are based upon individual needs, preferences and abilities of students who are then the masters of their own success.  The traditional way to look at learning is through teachers creating and assigning all work for students in a one-size-fits-all approach.

On the flip side, customized learning has the ability to incorporate a variety of resources, such as virtual learning, to aid in the learning process while making it a way for teachers to moderate one-on-one learning experiences in practical ways. I think that the idea of handing control to students is hypothetically frightening to some educators and administrators but once they’ve actually tried it on a small scale, personalized learning actually looks more attractive from an adult’s perspective.

3. Online learning: Virtual learning is certainly not new to the K-12 scene, but its increasing popularity can’t be ignored. It used to be that online learning was associated only with distance learning, or students who went through the academic process off of school grounds. Today, online learning is more segmented and often just one part of a more traditional learning experience. Virtual learning is no longer all or nothing; it has become mainstream and will continue to transform in-classroom learning.

4. Early education emphasis: Optional preschool is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Research shows that students who start the formal education experience, even one year earlier than Kindergarten, fare better long term in their academic careers. Thirty eight states offer free, voluntary preschool learning programs and nearly 1.6 million low-income families receive assistance from the federal Child Care Development Fund to pursue early childhood education. That fund is just one portion of President Obama’s $75 billion plan to expand early childhood learning in order to give American students a stronger foundation going into Kindergarten. I expect that in the next decade, our terminology will change from K-12 to PK-12 when we talk about student benchmarks.

5. Outdoor/environmental learning: In short, more schools are looking for ways to get students and teachers outside. We are in an era of experiential learning, so environmental education fits the bill for many students.  Lessons in this field teach children an appreciation of the earth and of its resources that the human population is quickly depleting. A better, hands-on understanding of nature also helps with science comprehension and gives students practical learning experiences.

Research has also found that teaching outside, even for short stints, improves student attitudes, attendance and overall health. In many schools teachers have always had the freedom to take students outside if they deemed it lesson-appropriate.

6. Strengthening STEM education: A greater focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning has been a “trend” for at least the better part of a decade.  Specifically, teachers are looking for innovative ways to deliver STEM material (mobile technology is just one way, virtual science labs are another) and more stringent benchmarks are being created at the local, state and federal level. It is no longer enough for American students to just get by in comparison to each other in STEM subjects; global competition is proving that students in the U.S. need more focus in these subjects to lead the worldwide marketplace as adults.

As you can see, K-12 classrooms are not at all static, but will continue to incorporate cutting-edge technology and socially relevant practices into the curriculum. Understanding and supporting this technology is vital to advancing K-12 students to the next level of their educational success.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity

There are fewer than 100 black professors in Britain – why?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

William Ackah, University of London

It is a shocking statistic that there were just 85 black professors in UK universities in 2011-12. In stark terms, this means that there are more higher education institutions than there are black British, African and Caribbean professors actually teaching in them. The latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency put the number of UK academic staff from a known ethnic minority at 12.8%.

In contrast, black and minority ethnic students are well represented. In some institutions, such as City University, they make up nearly 50% of the student population. Yet even in these universities black academics are a rarity, particularly those in senior positions.

It is hard to think of an arena of UK public life where the people are so poorly represented and served on the basis of their race. Yet this scandalous state of affairs generates little by way of investigation, censure or legal scrutiny under the 2010 Equality Act.

The Metropolitan Police has come under intense scrutiny for a number of years for its lack of diversity. It was famously labelled as institutionally racist by the 1998 Macpherson report for its failure to be representative and adequately serve the black community under its jurisdiction. In statistical terms, UK universities are as unrepresentative as the Metropolitan police. Somehow, they have managed to escape intense scrutiny of their attitudes, practices and procedures relating to the black populations that they have a duty to educate and serve.

It is also evident that there is a staggering absence of black people in other leadership positions within the UK higher education system. This includes vice chancellors, registrars and other administrators who make the key strategic decisions concerning ethos, priorities and direction of their institutions.

No Black British studies

Another stark feature of UK academia is the absence of any degree courses that systematically explore the experiences of black people in Britain. In the US, African American Studies are part and parcel of the academic environment. Many academic institutions house departments and academic leaders dedicated to the discipline.

But in Britain there is not a single institution that has a degree programme in Black British studies. If one thinks about the plethora of degree programmes that are offered by UK institutions, it is remarkable that not one of them offers a programme of teaching and research into the experiences of communities that have been so important to the shaping of the United Kingdom.

However, black communities are often the objects of detailed academic scrutiny by UK academics. In sociology, psychology, politics, history, theology, and numerous other disciplines, black communities are analysed, assessed, examined, evaluated and commented upon.

This analysis of black life, conducted primarily by white academics, often portrays black communities as dehumanised. Black people are used to illustrate problems as diverse as educational underachievement, health inequality, and religious extremism.

In doing this, universities contribute to an unflattering, stereotypical and false image of black communities in Britain. The rich complexity and diversity of the black British experience gets buried under an avalanche of supposedly detailed and well-established research findings. Equally damaging is that the communities who are the objects of this research are so rarely empowered by these findings.

Black communities still experience exclusion, under-representation and marginalisation when it comes to the UK’s major institutions. While academics benefit from research income and a raised profile because of their knowledge of black communities, the communities themselves remain on the margins of academic life.

Call to action

In order to move black people into the mainstream of British academic life, fundamental cultural and procedural shifts are required. It needs to be acknowledged that the British higher education system has institutional inadequacies. Universities need to take pro-active measures to ensure that institutions genuinely reflect the diversity of the wider society, both in terms of personnel at all levels and in relation to curricula and research.

The introduction of Black British studies courses in British university campuses could be one positive step on the journey towards a more inclusive higher education system. But rigorous scrutiny, analysis and action is also needed to tackle the institutionalised discrimination that is a stain on the reputation of Britain’s liberal university culture.

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William Ackah is a Lecturer in Community and Voluntary Sector Studies at Birkbeck, University of London

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Read the original article.

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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's

HBCU Insights: Cultivating change agents

A column by Dr. Larry Walker

The recent events at University of Missouri, Yale and other post-secondary institutions throughout the United States have dramatically altered the way administrators react to student concerns. Administrators should be on alert; the ouster of the president and chancellor at the University of Missouri was a coordinated effort from activists focused on addressing years of systemic problems. While the student’s efforts should be celebrated it does not represent the end of the fight. Student leaders worked collaboratively like an award winning symphony.

They started off slowly, planned carefully, and finished with a crescendo that created a crack in the foundation. Unfortunately the sudden shift in power between students and school leaders could cause administrators to implement stringent policies that hinder efforts to address student needs. This would be a mistake and could lead to more turmoil on college campuses. Historically post-secondary institutions have been incubators for social change. Ensuring the concerns of students and faculty members are properly considered is vital. To avoid further problems on campus administrators should encourage students to debate and challenge university policies.

Allowing students to freely challenge various programs and/or practices is consistent with democratic principles that the founders of the Constitution sought to protect. School leaders that choose to fight against the tide that is sweeping throughout the country will face criticism from alumni, faculty, media and students. Thus, taking a proactive approach that embraces change would endear administrators to student leaders while allowing them to exercise their constitutional rights. Utilizing antiquated approaches including refusing to meet with students, avoiding the media and ignoring years of discrimination could ignite the campus community.

Students understand that they have the power to force system wide changes. For instance, social media creates a platform for savvy student leaders to brand the movement in terms that people can understand. Millennials understand that posting videos, messages of protests could go viral. Institutions are ill equipped to counter coordinated efforts to highlight macro aggressions that alienate students. Encouraging students to fight for social change could lay the foundation for the next generation of leaders. However, administrators have to allow students to challenge institutional policies that are inconsistent with student needs. Over the next several months transformational university leaders will work with students to address specific concerns. In contrast, laissez-faire leaders will face increased scrutiny and backlash from passionate change agents seeking to upend traditional models. To avoid alienating the campus community school leaders should consider the following:

  • Respect student concerns- Some administrators view students concerns as insignificant. Ignoring months or years of concerns could cascade out of control and lead to campus wide rebellion. Consistently meeting with students to discuss various issues could prevent problems from affecting the campus community.
  • Don’t pretend that everything is ok- Choosing to pretend that the institution does not have a history of ethnic, racial, gender or sexual orientation discriminatory policies is counter productive. Far too often administrators stand before students, media and suggest that the University of ________ does not have a problem. Shortly after the press conference events on campus spiral out of control and an interim leader is brought in to listen to students.
  • Understand the importance of social justice issues- Students are organizing throughout the United States to combat a myriad of issues including community policing. Administrators that fail to measure the school climate could anger student leaders and faculty. Closely monitoring national and international issues important to the student body would prevent school leaders from making embarrassing comments.
  • Utilize social media- Administrators that refuse to have a presence on social media will struggle to respond in real time. We live in a fast pace society that celebrates, challenges and embraces events throughout the world. When problems arise (and they will) school leaders can interact with students to address their concerns. Social media gives the campus community the opportunity to discuss issues without alienating subgroups.

College campuses bring together students from diverse backgrounds. Supporting student efforts to assemble is important. Embracing policies that prohibit student expression will create a combustible environment that interrupts learning. Cultivating student leaders interested in economic and political change is critical. Without a new cadre of leaders systems don’t change and fail to meet the needs of underserved and under resourced communities.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

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Dr. Larry J. Walker is an educational consultant focused on supporting historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). His research examines the impact environmental factors have on the academic performance and social emotional functioning of students from HBCUs.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, list, Matthew Lynch

3 Ways Technology Can Fix Education

As the use of technology becomes more and more prevalent in schools, concerns have popped up about its ubiquity in schools. Some will even go as far as to say that technology will ruin education in America.

For better or worse, the various educational technologies are here to stay. In fact, they can and have made an impact on K-12 education today. Here are three areas in which technology can actually improve the quality of education in our country:

  1. High school graduation rates. We have recently experienced the highest graduation rate the country has seen since 1974. Educators are collectively working harder to help students make it to the high school finish line and get prepared for college and the workforce. There is a lot of credit to be handed out for the successful graduation rates around the country (of course, there are still plenty of areas for improvement) but I think one shining area deserves a lot of the praise: technology.

The website DropoutPrevention.org singles out technology as a leader in high school graduation upsurge. The site states:
“Educational technology is needed for a variety of reasons. It provides an alternative method of learning for those who struggle to learn using traditional methods.

Technology can be used to address multiple intelligences and also to provide authentic learning experiences for students.”
In other words, technology has made it possible for students who fall off the traditional path to jump back on and finish what they spent most of their childhood working towards. This may be in the form of taking remote classes from home, remedial classes in on-campus computer labs or even by enrolling in full-time online schools, public or private.

Having in-classroom technology more directly impacts the graduation rate by providing customized learning experiences. A student who needs extra help on a particular topic need not hold up the entire class, or feel embarrassed asking for that help, when there are computer modules and tablet apps available for individual learning experiences. Teachers who spot a trouble area with a particular student can gear that teen towards more exercises to master the topic. Of course technology is not the magic wand to fix all problems, but it does allow for more flexibility of the learning process which in turn makes it easier for a wider group of students to stay in classrooms until the end of the K-12 journey.

  1. Students with disabilities. In 2011, 22 percent of non-institutionalized adults with disabilities had less than a high school education. If this statistic was applied to the general population, my suspicion is that there would be an outcry to reform K-12 education to have better graduation results. But for students with disabilities, there is no shock or outrage and that is something that has to change. The key to improving the educational experience for students with disabilities is better accommodations in schools and continued improvements in assistive technology.

Assistive technology in K-12 classrooms, by definition, is designed to “improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.” While the word “technology” automatically conjures up images of cutting-edge electronics, some assistive technology is possible with just simple accommodations. Whether high-tech or simple in design, assistive technology has the ability to transform the learning experiences for the children who benefit.

Here is a look at strides being made in just a couple of common assistive technology areas:

Alternative input devices: These tools are designed to allow students with disabilities to use computers and related technology easily. Some alternative input devices include touch screens, modified keyboards and joysticks that direct a cursor through use of body parts like chins, hands or feet. Some up-and-coming technology in this area is sip-and-puff systems, developed by companies like Microsoft, to perform computer functions through the simple process of inhaling and exhaling. On-screen keyboards are another area of input technology that is providing K-12 learners with disabilities better use of computers and mobile devices for learning.

Sensory enhancers: Depending on the disability, children may need to learn differently than their peers. Instead of ABCs and numbers first, a child with language hindrances may benefit from bright pictures or colors to learn new concepts. Sensory enhancers may include voice analyzers, augmentative communication tools or speech synthesizers. With the rapid growth of technology in the classroom, these basic tools of assistive technology are seeing great strides.

  1. Urban students and the education achievement gap. Students in urban schools tend to have stereotypes attached to them. Rather than see these students as individual learners, many urban kids and their schools are often thrown into the “lost cause” category. Problems like deteriorating buildings and overcrowding often become too overwhelming for reformers.

In a 2009 article in the Harvard Political Review, writers Tiffany Wen and Jyoti Jasrasaria discuss the “myths of urban education.” The article points out that many people are quick to label urban schools as lost causes without actually investigating individual issues or how they can be resolved.

As with all aspects of K-12 improvement, finding the answers to higher achievement for urban students is a complicated process. I believe that technology can work to teacher and student advantages though. The implications of mobile technology in K-12 classrooms are still being realized but one thing is certain: more individualized learning is now possible. In cases where overcrowding is detrimental to learning experiences, mobile technology can serve as a placeholder teacher in terms of directing students and keeping them engaged in learning when the physical teacher is unavailable.

At its core, the American educational system is about democratization of knowledge for all students, regardless of their circumstances. Advancements in technology are making this more and more possible.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch

K-12 Technology: Benefits and Drawbacks

The late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once famously said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” Though he was speaking about the road to true equality for all people, I have often attributed this quote to the role of education in America, particularly public education for K-12 students. Despite the quickness with which our society has become accustomed to having everything, all at once, educational reform and progression is still a slow-turning gear in the great machine of time.

The truth is that the face of K-12 education is in a constant state of change. Educators that have been in the field for several decades may notice that the speed at which changes in methodology and student population are taking place is on a high-speed course compared to the past. Many factors play into this but none as strongly as technological advancements. The Internet, wireless devices and improvements in communication all heighten the immediacy of information both within and without the classroom.

This is both a blessing and a curse, of course. It is really too soon to tell if the first Internet-raised generations will fare better or worse in life and succeed on a global scale. The assumption is that technology equals improvement and I would argue that overall, it is a true statement. More access to information and a shrinking world can only lead to beneficial results for K-12 students. The children graduating from high school in the next decade will have a broader view of the world than ever before and that is thanks to traditional geographic boundaries becoming non-issues in communication, workforce and learning. I take no issue with the actual technology. It is great. Where I see existing and potential problems is in the indirect effects of technology on the comprehension habits of our youngest learners.

You have to look at the overall influence of rapidly advancing technology to realize how it is also an obstacle to K-12 classrooms. In its broadest sense, technology has totally transformed the way that our children view life. A recent study by Common Sense Media for children age eight or younger found that 72 percent have computer access at home. Television use is almost universal, with 98 percent of children in this age group having at least one at home and 10 percent reporting that theirs is kept on all the time.

While television consumption by children is nothing new, programs targeted toward toddlers and even infants are on the rise.  Consider cable and satellite television staple Baby First TV. The channel plays continuous programming aimed at infants and toddlers that is commercial free. I bring this up not to spark a debate about whether this type of television viewing is helpful or hurtful to developing youngsters; I mention it as an example of just how ingrained screen culture has become in the lives of our kids. The journal Pediatrics found that between the ages of birth and six, kids watch an hour-and-a-half television per day. These measurements do not even address indirect exposure, which puts the amount of time a television plays in the background at four hours per day for kids under the age of two. Love it or hate it, screen culture is a foundational element of the contemporary American childhood.

As a result, our kids arrive at Kindergarten with an advanced idea of instant gratification. They know that any game, program or form of communication is available at the touch of a button. This easy access to everything translates to the way that these children are programmed for learning, especially when moments of frustration arise. There is not a “quick fix” solution for everything but most children have limited firsthand experience with waiting. It has always been very difficult to keep the attention of students, particularly in the elementary set, but advancements like smartphones, tablets and Web sites directed at young learners have complicated this truth even more. Teachers and administrators today must find ways to keep students interested but not completely abandon tried-and-true methodology. Thus the great problem with technology takes its toll on K-12 classrooms across the nation.

Phrases like “hitting the books” may soon be non-existent as budgets for e-readers slowly chip away at the book budgets for school libraries. An electronic book has a lot of appeal: it is cheaper to manufacture, lighter to carry and even manages to reduce the carbon footprint of the student. Since students are so comfortable with touchscreen methods, it stands to reason that reading may actually come more easily when learned through an electronic device. The problem again is not that the technology harms the actual learning mechanics, but it leads to another issue altogether.

When was the last time you bought or borrowed a book, electronic or hard copy, just to admire the rhetoric? Have you ever found yourself reading simply because you enjoy grammar? Most of us would have different responses to why we read for leisure. Special interest. Excitement. Chance to escape reality. People that love to read have an interactive relationship with the material. Cracking open a fresh book is an experience unlike any others and is a reserved, special moment. Kids that are introduced to literature in the same way that they learn math problems, or have video calls with grandparents, or play non-educational games do not have the same reverence for reading because it is nothing special.

I’ve heard the argument that it is not the delivery method but the content that matters in getting kids excited about reading but I’m not sure I’m biting. Again, this is an issue that is still too young to have definitive answers. It is just one area of the indirect impact of rapidly advancing technology that keeps me up at night.

So what then is the answer? If technology is embraced by some and rejected by others, how can K-12 students be expected to know the right way to learn? It seems that the answers are about as clear as mud. I believe that technology has provided the swift kick that K-12 education has needed for decades to make the sweeping adjustments required to reach contemporary students and inspire education. I am just not sure yet which traditional teaching elements deserve to be clung to and which ones are meant to for the curb. The debate of how to best prepare our children for a lifetime of achievement is one that I believe deserves constant fueling in order to give K-12 students the best shot at academic, and life, success.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership

Are you smarter than Bill Gates?

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest column by Douglas W. Green, EdD

If you are reading this article, I suspect that you probably have more expertise in the field of education than Bill Gates and the other members of the corporate/political class who have given us our current test and punish reform policies. I know that I do. I’ve been a full-time educator since 1969, and now that I’m retired, I have much more time to stay up to date on educational theory and practice, which happens to be the field where I earned my doctorate.

Since we may not have Bill’s IQ, which at least one website claims to be 160, I need to define what I mean here by smart. Unlike Bill Gates and his wife Malinda, I maintain that we are smart enough to know that this system is failing, while they haven’t seemed to figure it out yet. In this field therefore, I am smarter than Bill and you probably are too.

In “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell tells us that psychological studies have demonstrated that great artists and people with great expertise got there after putting in at least 10,000 hours of serious effort and focused practice. Even Mozart didn’t make great music until he hit this number. It takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery in a field. In Bill’s case, he probably had logged this amount of time in the field of computer science by the time he dropped out of Harvard. This was due to the fact that he had unprecedented access to computers from middle school on well before personal computers were common.

As for his experience in education, I doubt that he has put in his 10,000 hours studying and observing how students of all abilities think and learn. On the other hand, I have been involved in education since I started teaching in 1969.  I usually worked far more than forty hours a week until I left the profession to care for my wife who had ALS. A conservative estimate would put my total hours over 80,000. During the last thirty years of my full-time work, I spent a great deal of time observing and evaluating teachers and students, and as Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot by watching.”

Since my wife passed in 2009, I have been blogging almost every day and reading and summarizing the most salient books I can find for educators. During this period alone I have approached another 10,000 hours, and I think that these hours have been far more beneficial to my understanding of the field than those I logged when I worked as a full time teacher and administrator.

In the same book, Gladwell points out that in basketball, once you get to a certain point, height stops mattering. Michael Jordan was only 6’ 6”. Nobel prize winners come from Harvard and Holy Cross. With IQ, once you get to about 120 you are smart enough to win a Nobel prize or make other outstanding accomplishments in the field of your choice. As many other authors have noted, hard work, focus, and determination are hallmarks of people who accomplish anything of note.

When asked about parents opting kids out of tests by Gwen Ifill for the PBS News Hour, Bill’s response was: “it would be very unfortunate out of this if people thought, oh, we shouldn’t test students, we shouldn’t test doctors, we shouldn’t test drivers.” While I agree with Bill that tests can be good, I would remind him that not all tests and testing methods are good.

The most effective tests for learning happen when students are asked to retrieve information they have recently studied. It has been shown that efforts to retrieve what we have tried to learn are more effective that further study of the same material. I think he also knows that prompt feedback can aid learning. Does he know that students and teachers never see how they did on each question on state tests?

I recently took a test to get a motorcycle license. When I handed it in, it was graded while I watched. Had I failed, I could have studied some more and taken it again until I passed. I suspect doctors get prompt results as well.

If I asked Bill should we give tests to some students who have absolutely no chance of passing, he might agree that this is a bad idea. Unfortunately, this is just what we are doing. Does it make sense to give the same test to all students regardless of their academic ability simply based on their born on date? This would be like telling a high school teacher to give the same tests to their AP classes and their special education classes. All educators know this makes no sense. How come Bill and the other people driving policy don’t seem to know this?

I do admire Bill and Melinda for trying to make a difference in a number of important fields such as fighting disease, poverty, and hunger. I suspect that when it comes to these fields, Bill relies on experts in the field for the necessary expertise. If they are doing the same in education, I would like to know which experts tell them that our current testing system makes sense.

Of course schools and teachers should be accountable, but the policy makers have resorted to the easy and inaccurate approach of giving every one the same test at the same time. If I’m a parent, I want to see what my child is able to do with the help of the teacher. There are ways to test student skills and knowledge that reflect where they are at. Students should be taking tests they are ready for, given immediate feedback, and opportunities to try again. It should be possible to see how much progress a student makes each year, but one-size-fits-all tests don’t get it done in a way that informs their future learning.

If you have access to Bill Gates or any other powerful member of the corporate/political class responsible for education policy, please encourage them to read this and to start tapping real education experts for assistance.

References:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/

IQ Facts and IQ of Famous People

http://bit.ly/1W7oAP5

Bill and Melinda Gates on the political debate over Common Core standards. PBS interview with Gwen Ifill, October 7, 2015

http://to.pbs.org/1Gk2AJG

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Dr. Doug Green started teaching chemistry, physics, and computer science in 1969. He has 30 years of administrative experience at the secondary, central office, and elementary levels. He taught leadership courses for The State University of New York at Cortland and Binghamton University and authored over 300 articles in computer magazines and educational journals. In 2006 he gave up his job as an elementary principal to care for his wife who had Lou Gehrig’s disease. After her death in 2009 he started his blog at http://DrDougGreen.Com to help busy educators and parents hone their skills and knowledge.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Education Leadership, Matthew Lynch

Beyond Principals: Leadership Assessment Tools for All Educators

As the end of the school year approaches, plans are already being made for the fall in schools throughout the nation. Much-needed summer improvements will take place, along with retiring teachers cleaning out their classrooms and new ones coming in. For areas that observe the traditional “summers off” school calendar, those months are still busy ones on schools grounds. Along with the physical maintenance of schools during the time when students aren’t on the premises, what if schools did some non-physical improvements too?

Two education college professors from The University of Wisconsin-Madison and a consultant from the Wisconsin Center for Educational Products and Services have developed a survey-based system that calculates areas of strengths and weaknesses in schools, and creates an action plan for improvement. The Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning, or CALL, does not single any particular educators but rather takes a snapshot of what is happening as a whole entity. It is a smart assessment tool to implement at the end of the year and then brainstorm actionable steps on improvement when school is back in session.

The survey and results-delivery system were born of necessity. More than ever, schools are in need of transformational leadership that creates learning opportunities for students but also prepares them for the real-world economy. The pressure has never been greater, particularly as Common Core Standards and other state-based ones heighten accountability for teachers, administrators and other instructional staff. The belief used to be that principals were responsible for all the leadership roles within a particular school but that theory is starting to fade. While principals certainly need solid leadership traits, distributing those responsibilities can actually lead to stronger school systems that are able to better support student bodies.

The problem with existing leadership assessment tools is that they only evaluate people on an individual basis, instead of looking at how school personnel can work together to achieve maximum effectiveness. CALL was developed with funds from the U.S. Department of Education and tested in more than 150 schools containing thousands of educators. The survey itself has over 100 questions and takes around 40 minutes to complete and is thorough in its approach, thereby making it more of an “activity” than a “survey.” It has five main areas of concentration, including:

  • Focus on learning. Essentially, this portion looks at the way school leaders practice what they preach. Do school leaders do classroom visits, and engage with students? Do they participate in the team-building and leadership programs that they design for others? Collaboration and staff buy-in to school learning initiatives is an integral part of this portion of the survey.
  • Monitoring teaching and learning. School leaders should be able to not only make sense of their student performance, but know how to communicate it to teachers. Monitoring of school successes does not need to mean constant micromanagement; rather, leaders should understand the scope of their students’ strengths and weaknesses and know how to empower improvements.
  • Building nested learning communities. While educators are ultimately responsible for their own teaching successes, school leaders must provide the support and resources to make effective teaching possible. Leaders should have ways to measure teacher/student performance and be willing to put improvement plans in place.
  • Acquiring and allocating resources. Time spent on whole-school, grade-level and subject-matter reflection is just one aspect analyzed in this part of the survey. If external leaders are part of a school’s leadership and decision-making process, then they are asked to give input on this section. The school’s communication with its community through things like social media, and email, are also assessed in this portion. How are schools making the best use of their resources?
  • Maintaining a safe and effective learning environment. Above all, schools must be safe places for students, teachers and administrators. This starts with the basics, like cleanliness, and extends to factors like schools as safe havens for the students who may be struggling. The safety of students and their perception of being in a “safe” place do make a difference in learning effectiveness and this portion of the survey analyzes ways in which schools can maximize that fact.

It really is true that “it takes a village” and understanding how each educator in a school can best contribute to its success leads to stronger student outcomes, and stronger schools. By implementing the in-depth CALL survey, schools can see exactly HOW to get where need to be when it comes to school leaders.

If you are interested in learning more, you can register to join a free webinar on CALL. The webinar will discuss the theory behind CALL as well as provide a demonstration of the CALL automated data feedback report system.

This is a great opportunity for schools to obtain data on leadership effectiveness in order to support school leaders’ professional growth and school improvement.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

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Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform

How to Develop School Reform Policies that Work

Many school administrators enter the field hell-bent on making a name for themselves and refusing to live in the shadows of their predecessors. Often, they feel as though their only choice is to go in a totally different direction, making the previous school reform mandates null and void. This situation creates frustration among the surviving faculty and staff. The changes of the new administrators often happen before they fully think about the consequences or repercussions of their actions. Perfectly competent adults massage their egos instead of thinking about what is in the best interests of the school, the teachers and the children.

To be fair, part of the reason that most administrators take the jobs they do is because they want to make a difference and blaze new trails. As teachers, it may have been difficult to implement the change they really wanted to see – but as administrators, that path is more straightforward. Taking the time to develop a well-thought-out plan, and keeping policies of merit in place, makes a big difference in the well-being of any school community, though. So how should administrators looking for school reform proceed?

Start with a plan.

When initiating reform, an action plan must be developed before the school can determine how the reform implementation will be carried out. Too often, administrators become anxious and feel the need to change the implementation processes before any data has been collected. It is best to examine all the moving parts before making the decision to start from scratch on any initiative.

Allow time for the plan to work.

It is counterproductive to start one reform and then decide to start another several months later. Some school districts revert to a model proven to be ineffective due to impatience and the desire for quick results. Once reform has been implemented, all parties involved must show fidelity to one reform until there is concrete data or evidence that indicates the reform is effective or ineffective. Reform is about creating an environment in which students are the priority and we as their teachers assist them in starting and finishing their journey to becoming educated citizens.

Be okay with some setbacks.

Strategic planning and the implementation of school reform sometimes require schools to absorb temporary setbacks in order to reap the benefits of long-term gains. Student progress might dip for a month or two before teachers and administration see a significant gain in student learning and performance. Teachers and administrators need to allow change to take place and not panic when instant significant changes are not apparent.

Don’t compare.

Model schools can be found in every major city, but when trying to recreate their successes, many schools fail to achieve the same results. Trying to recreate another school’s success is potentially dangerous, even when schools share similar characteristics. This is because, regardless of the similarities, every district is unique. Often, after a large amount of time, energy, and money has been spent, the school declares the plan a failure and has nothing to show for the efforts.

Stay focused.

Too many plans to change can be as dangerous as not having a plan at all. Strategic plans are a district’s consistent road map, even in the face of overturning staff or administration. The plan will also serve as documentation when the federal government looks into accountability. In this way, schools should glean what they can from the efforts of other schools to implement and sustain change. In the end, a strategic plan that reflects the culture and needs of the individual school is likely a better route than attempts to replicate the efforts at another school, or a plan that is over-zealous for the wrong reasons.

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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education

Some HBCUs struggling with NCAA academic requirement

A new NCAA requirement that governs if a college or university’s athletic teams will have the ability to compete in the postseason is hitting some HBCU’s pretty hard.

The Academic Progress Rate, or APR, is the rule that the NCAA uses to “hold institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term,” according to diverseeducation.com.

This new rule makes it so that all Division 1 schools would be judged by the same APR.

That’s a mouthful.

But APR is judged in four-year periods, so some of the HBCU’s facing expulsion from postseason play are being judged on academic performance starting in the 2013-14 school year.

According to diverseeducation.com, some of the schools that may be on the outs are Florida A&M University, Savannah State University, and Prairie View A&M University. There are 7 HBCU’s with teams facing penalties.

In an effort to comply, those HBCUs, and other schools, are seeking a deferment of at least one year so that they may show improvement in “their performance in the classroom.”

Also–the NCAA gave “limited-resource institutions” “more flexibility to meet the APR standards.”

Still, with HBCU’s already low funding and state legislatures slashing money that goes towards higher education, some of them were bound to struggle.

Hopefully the NCAA grants the APR extension that will allow these HBCU’s to comply with the order. Disrupting athletic programs could mean some serious financial and morale consequences on the HBCUs involved.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

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Matthew Lynch published in Parental Involvement, Teachers

Teaching Kids about Standing up for the Underdog

By Annie Fox

**Editor’s note – These tips are applicable to teachers too, as educators face the challenges of teaching kindness in K-12 classrooms**

Kids and teens can view of themselves as powerless in a world where adults call all the shots. But that’s not the whole story. Kids have power. And every day, your children and mine get opportunities to use that power to do good or to do harm. Sometimes, turning a blind eye and choosing to do nothing results in more harm.

If we truly value kindness and appreciate it when it comes our way, we can’t ignore suffering. We’ve got to do our part to keep kindness alive… every chance we get. And we’ve got to teach our kids to be kind. But how?

Child or adult, it takes extra social courage to exit our comfort zone and to help a vulnerable person. When kids ask me about standing up for someone who is being harassed, I tell them they should never put themselves directly in harm’s way. But I make it clear that there are many ways to help an underdog and let him or her know: “I’m not like the others who are giving you a hard time. I’m here to help.”

Fuel for Thought (for adults) —At different times we have all been underdog, top dog, and middle of the pack dog, so we know what it feels in each of those places. Being on the bottom, without support, can be terribly lonely. Think about a time when you felt like an underdog. Where did you turn for support? What response did you get?  Think of a time when you helped an underdog. What happened?

Conversations That Count (with kids)– Talk about the concept of a “pecking order” among animals and humans. Say this to your children: “Most of the time, when we’re not on the bottom, we don’t give much thought to those who are.” Now ask your kids what they think about that. True? Not true? How do you know? Talk about who is “on the bottom” in your child’s class. (Even kids as young as second or third grade have a keen awareness of social strata.) How do other people treat that child? How do you treat that child? What might happen if you stood up for the underdog?

Teach—Challenge your child to be a hero and shake up the social strata at school by standing up for someone who needs a friend. Follow up and find out from your child what happened with the challenge.

Please let me know how you teach your kids and students about the importance of standing up for the underdog.

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Annie Fox is an internationally respected parenting expert and family coach who empowers parents with the special support, leadership skills, and practical tools needed during our children’s tween and teen years. Her books include The Girls’ Q&A Book on Friendship and Teaching Kids to Be Good People.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Matthew Lynch

The 4 Attributes of Transformational Leadership

Leadership – it’s not just giving orders. The role of school administration is about more than just making schedules and disciplining children. Transformational leadership offers administrators the opportunity to drive organizational change and to create strong schools by fostering a culture of learning and growth in educators that then gives children an environment in which to grow.

It’s not difficult to see how Transformational Leadership would fit well into the school setting, as its attributes line up perfectly with the goals of education. In fact, when transformational leadership is applied to school setting the results are quite remarkable. So what are the attributes of transformational leadership, and how can administrators go about implementing them?

1.    Idealized/Charismatic influence

A leader must be able to inspire the people who they are leading. How? Through language, etiquette, mannerisms and lifestyle. Those being led must have great amount of trust in their leader in order to allow themselves to be guided. Living by example is essential, because just as this model demands that educators look beyond self interest, by extension the leader must look beyond their own self interest as well. High levels of integrity and moral values are absolutely essential.

In order for leadership to be transformational, a charismatic leader has to spread out responsibility and to take it on without compromising. That means that their followers must follow because they are committed to the cause and confident in their leader’s ability to get things done. Charisma isn’t some ethereal quality that’s limited to politicians and movie stars – in the real world it is derived from respect and a visible projection of responsibility. The other point here is that followers will follow other followers. If a leader is able to distribute tasks and have those tasks completed effectively by subordinates, then others will latch onto that and naturally follow. In effect a leader can grow their charisma by utilizing their resources effectively.

2.    Inspirational Motivation

The top goal of a transformational leader is to get the full support of everyone involved, all with an eye for the common goal. The best way to do this is to be open and honest about challenges. When people feel that their leader is willing to face known issues rather than brushing them aside, they become invested. The aim is to develop that sense of belonging within the school culture, which then supports everyone involved.

Transformational Leadership takes the compartments out of the school. Rather than teachers being focused only on what’s going on in their classrooms, their vision becomes expanded to see how their relationships with others in the school affects the outcomes of students. There is an investment in the success of other teachers, who are all working toward the same goal of brightening young minds. The core of transformational leadership is employee commitment, which then creates opportunities for the goals of the entire school environment to be achieved.

  1. Intellectual Stimulation

Education is at it’s core about getting those neurons to fire. Leaders who encourage their employees to stay rational in the face of emotional challenges that come with the educational setting are creating an environment that will have less conflict and more growth. Innovation and hard work are encouraged through intellectual pursuits like problems solving. Just as keeping students intellectually engaged in the classroom keeps them on track, so too does keeping teachers intellectually engaged keep them on track.

It’s so important that there is an understanding that education is about growth. Any good teacher will tell you that teachers learn as much from their students as their students learn from them. There is an organic understanding among educators that teaching and learning are partners. Educators cannot help their children to grow if they are not growing themselves, and in fact educators want to grow. Educational leaders should use this desire for growth to keep their followers actively engaged.

  1. Individualized Consideration

Creating relationships is essential, and that means two-way communication. Followers who feel heard and valued are much more invested in the process and interested in pursuing the larger, organizational goals. Not to mention this individualized process allows leaders to then know the strengths of the people within the organization, so as to better structure the group for success. In a school setting, this translates to interactions beyond the mandatory observations and meetings. Administrators who seek connection with their staff in smaller, more regular ways are able to build trust and a sense of shared service that leads to a better and more productive relationship overall.

Best practice for a transformational leader is to have opportunities to work with individuals on a one-on-one basis in at least some form. While in large settings this might be more of a challenge, nonetheless it is the individualized communication that creates the right environment for transformational leadership. There are myriad ways to make this happen, without having to pile on undue stress or time commitments. Transformational leaders employ creative means to create those relationships.

References

Transformational leadership is a theory of leadership that was developed by James Burns (1978), and has been written about by many other scholars since then. To read more of James Burns’ work on transformational leadership and other topics, click here to visit his Amazon.com page.

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