Pedagogue Blog

In this multi-part series, I provide a dissection of the phenomenon of retention and social promotion. Also, I describe the many different methods that would improve student instruction in classrooms and eliminate the need for retention and social promotion if combined effectively.

While reading this series, periodically ask yourself this question: Why are educators, parents and the American public complicit in a practice that does demonstrable harm to children and the competitive future of the country?

What’s the true value of teachers? What are they worth to the education system and what we should be doing to make the most of their skills and time?

The relationship between teacher expertise and student success is vital to the success of this generation of students, and the next.

So, how do we go about creating qualified and competent teachers?

Teachers are usually the stakeholders we hold accountable for transferring standards, knowledge, and skills to our students. And whether or not this accountability is fair, if teachers themselves are not adept at the transfer of knowledge and skills then it hardly matters what sort of standards or curriculum an education system has developed.

We assume that teachers play a role in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of individual students. Part of being an effective teacher is having some insight into students – when they are excelling or likely to excel, when they are likely to need help, what sort of help they are going to need, and how they can make the most out of their natural abilities.

In our discussion of retention and social promotion so far, we noted that teachers play a part in deciding whether to retain struggling students or promote them. Teacher assessment is another of the core elements in this decision. Not only do teachers decide how to support students needing help, provide the support, and assess the student in their progress; teacher assessments also tend to make up a big part of the overall assessment process when it comes to retention decisions.

A lot depends on teacher quality. If teachers are not appropriately qualified and trained to meet these expectations and handle this responsibility, what is the price we end up paying? What is the consequence of this structuring?

The simple reality is this: not all teachers entering the classroom, whether at the elementary or secondary level, have adequate training and experience to meet raised expectations for student learning. Although effective teachers are the best defense against retention and social promotion, because they can make up for much of what individual students might lack in natural ability or capacity for knowledge or skills development, we have to be clear about what teachers need to do in the classroom. We have to establish all of our expectations, not just the ones that have the weight of officialdom.

A strong teacher, at the end of the day, is an invaluable classroom tool, although the education system has yet to define what constitutes a strong teacher. Certainly, we have yet to figure out exactly how to produce strong teachers with any degree of consistency.

The challenge is to think about the qualification standards for teachers – what should they be able to demonstrate regarding academic training, professional training, and professional experience? We also have to consider what it is that constitutes teacher competency – what practices should a teacher be able to implement in a classroom setting? What models for teaching should they be able to use? Considering these and related questions about quality teaching, we can then begin to identify the nature and causes of problems that are undermining teacher quality.

In this multi-part series, I provide a dissection of the phenomenon of retention and social promotion. Also, I describe the many different methods that would improve student instruction in classrooms and eliminate the need for retention and social promotion if combined effectively.

While reading this series, periodically ask yourself this question: Why are educators, parents and the American public complicit in a practice that does demonstrable harm to children and the competitive future of the country?

How can teachers rise above the ingrained system of pass/fail standards?

Kyra Shugt felt called to be a teacher: She was ashamed that her home state of Minnesota had one of the largest achievement gaps in the country, and wanted to do something about it. She had some teaching experience under her belt, as a preschool teacher and part-time art teacher. Hoping to get a teacher’s license as quickly as possible, she enrolled in Teach for America’s five-week summer program in Chicago.

At the TFA institute, she trained to be an ESL teacher, but when she received her teaching practice placement, it was in sixth-grade mathematics. She hoped her final placement as a teacher would be in the ESL field for which she had received training, but that was not to be: She ended up at Bethune Elementary in Minneapolis, teaching fourth grade. Though she was excited to have a job, she soon realized she was hopelessly unprepared.

“It was challenging,” she commented. “It was the hardest position I had ever taken on. I consider myself to be a dedicated teacher and just have a strong work ethic, but it was overwhelming.”

Not only had Shugt ended up in a position for which she was not prepared; she was also teaching in one of the worst-performing schools in the state. She noted that Bethune was “considered a lemon school. Students from the district that are kicked out of other public schools are sent to Bethune.” About half of the teachers at Bethune were newbies like Shugt, and they were paired with more experienced mentors. Though Bethune was designated a Priority School and received extra funding and had smaller classes (there were just fourteen students in Shugt’s fourth-grade classroom), teaching there was nevertheless an ongoing struggle.

In particular, Shugt felt unequipped to deal with the significant behavioral issues that cropped up on a daily basis. When fights broke out in the classroom, she would try to intervene, but felt that her involvement was endangering her. Finally, in consultation with the school management, Shugt decided to leave the school in the middle of the year.

“I loved the staff and the students,” she said, but “it just wasn’t the right fit. It was hard to leave my students but at the same time it just felt like it was not in their best interest for me to stay.”

A Familiar Teacher’s Tale

Kyra Shugt’s story may be extreme, but her experiences are all too common: under-trained teachers with little to no classroom experience are sent to some of the most difficult schools in the country. In the end, not only the teachers, but the students and the parents are left hurting.

In the not-so-distant past, public schools represented the central building block in the education and socialization of students outside of the home. Young minds were molded by the teachers, administrators, and friends they met at school.

Modern classrooms, unlike those of the past, are full of sophisticated youngsters that show up with a detailed view of the world formed from more than home life experiences. Instant access to knowledge from the age a child can press a touchscreen on a smartphone and widespread socialization from as young as six weeks old mean that kids arrive at kindergarten with less naivety than previous generations. Teachers are not handed a clean slate but rather one that is already cluttered with random knowledge that must be fostered or remediated.

In this multi-part series, I provide a dissection of the phenomenon of retention and social promotion. Also, I describe the many different methods that would improve student instruction in classrooms and eliminate the need for retention and social promotion if combined effectively.

While reading this series, periodically ask yourself this question: Why are educators, parents and the American public complicit in a practice that does demonstrable harm to children and the competitive future of the country?

Educators have a big stake in what they present in classrooms. The material is, after all, hand-picked by them to help get students from Point A to Point B. For most of the history of public education, a prescriptive form of teaching the masses has been widely accepted but that’s changing, and quickly. Any teacher who has spent more than a day on the job knows that students who have a say in how they learn are more engaged — and more invested in the end result. 

A study conducted by Apple tracked the benefits of high levels of student involvement in learning. Apple’s study found that with active classrooms, high levels of student involvement occurred. Encouraging students to frame their questions and urging them to take the initiative to follow up and essentially learn independently is a positive strategy.

The collaboration was also considered a key point and was particularly beneficial because of the diverse population of students in schools today. There is a clear need for education standards to support a system that also reflects and celebrates diversity and allows children to reach high standards.

Encouraging educators create new pathways to learning by providing more opportunities for students also makes allowances for the fact that not all children learn in the same way, or at the same time. By offering more routes to achieve learning standards, teachers enable more children to reach them, which should also be reflected in new education standards and learning criteria.

The challenge of expanding pathways is particularly significant because it determines that there must be some guidelines as to how this expansion should take place, how it could work, and how it should be supported as a policy.

One of the strategies for expanded learning, according to the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, is to incorporate flexible scheduling. By reorganizing the school day or even the school year, the report suggests, educators can more effectively use the time to support all learners and participants in ongoing professional development.

Block scheduling, in which classes are lengthened (often ninety minutes, rather than the usual forty-five or fifty) can also be effective for helping schools to meet the unique needs of students. Various models exist for this, as well. There are numerous advantages to block scheduling, including that students can be exposed to a variety of instructional techniques.

When students are exposed to various types of learning, they often experience improved grades, test scores, and attendance. Block learning can also mean that students have longer lunch periods and the opportunity to get extra help with their schoolwork. Teachers can have longer prep time and increased opportunity for teamwork and integrated professional development activities.

Reorganizing the school year is another a strategy that has gained some general popularity around the country, with several models available for year-round schooling, all of which involve modifying the school calendar so that learning occurs more consistently throughout the year.

The basic premise of the year-round learning calendars is that the school year can be reorganized to shorten the long summer break and schedule more frequent breaks throughout the year.

Specific advantages of this strategy include reduced summer learning losses, which typically require substantial catch-up and review time every fall. Reducing the length of breaks through reorganization can also help to increase student achievement because of the reduced catch-up time in the fall.

The various additional benefits of year-round schooling include supports for diverse populations of students, improved student and teacher attendance, and fewer discipline problems. These benefits alone would seem to suggest that year-round schooling might be an optimal approach to support the needs of minority students and other students who fall into high-risk categories for retention or social promotion.

Improved student and teacher attendance, fewer discipline problems, reduced teacher stress, increased student and teacher motivation, and increased opportunities for enrichment and remediation during breaks are further benefits.

Reorganization or differentiation of instruction can also expand learning opportunities. As Tomilson points out: “At its most basic level, differentiation consists of the efforts of teachers to respond to variance among learners in the classroom. Whenever a teacher reaches out to an individual or small group to vary his or her teaching to create the best learning experience possible, that teacher is differentiating instruction.”

Teachers can also more effectively differentiate with at least four classroom elements – content, process, products, and the learning environment – based on student readiness and interest. Supporting flexible grouping, cooperative learning, multiple intelligences, and brain-based learning, an emphasis on differentiation in teaching, supported by reorganization of the school year, would be a viable means to align resources and create clear expectations to overcome retention and social promotion.

In this multi-part series, I provide a dissection of the phenomenon of retention and social promotion. Also, I describe the many different methods that would improve student instruction in classrooms and eliminate the need for retention and social promotion if combined effectively.

While reading this series, periodically ask yourself this question: Why are educators, parents and the American public complicit in a practice that does demonstrable harm to children and the competitive future of the country?

When I talk about getting every kid from one grade to the next on schedule, I’m not talking about making anything easier for kids. If anything, our standards should continue to rise as our pedagogy improves.

So how do educators combine high standards with ensuring student achievement?

Establishing viable educational standards must include the development of a solid, valuable curriculum. One study that assessed students in Chicago classrooms showed an average of one-year learning gain when students were routinely given challenging assignments compared to those in Chicago classrooms where the intellectual quality of the assignments was low. For the same group, test results were also higher than national norms among those who received challenging assignments.

The intellectually stimulating assignments also appeared to lead to children posting learning gains 20 percent greater than the national average. Where assignments were less challenging in Chicago classrooms, students gained 25 percent less than the national average in reading and 22 percent less in mathematics.

Considering this example, the development of consistent standards should also involve the development of consistently challenging standards so that children of all abilities are encouraged to learn and inspired to learn.

The report by the Northern Central Regional Educational Laboratory also emphasizes that skilled teachers are crucial to intensifying learning; that these teachers were, in the Chicago classrooms studied, providing authentic instruction and meaningful assignments while holding high expectations for all students.

As a strategy, the provision of challenging assignments to students also helped to adopt habits of disciplined study, and to elicit higher-order thinking skills and their connection to the “real world.” Successful teachers allowed substantial time for discussion and idea sharing among students. Teachers also employed several learning models to create “active learning” and an “active learning environment.”

The environment helped to support a shift in the relationship among teachers, students, and knowledge. The active environments required collaboration and communication and encouraged more analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of information than traditional classrooms. One of the key effects was that students were forced to take ownership of their learning. It encouraged students to develop their learning and develop strategies for learning.

These approaches should be incorporated into an educational policy as well. Indeed, based on the identified benefits, it should be standard for schools to work to design instruction within “active environments,” emphasizing depth of learning rather than breadth of learning.

In this multi-part series, I provide a dissection of the phenomenon of retention and social promotion. Also, I describe the many different methods that would improve student instruction in classrooms and eliminate the need for retention and social promotion if combined effectively.

While reading this series, periodically ask yourself this question: Why are educators, parents and the American public complicit in a practice that does demonstrable harm to children and the competitive future of the country?

Consistency is the key to overcoming social promotion and retention issues in our K-12 schools, and that will take a shift in the way our school systems view pass/fail standards.

Without consistent standards, student motivation will continue to deteriorate, and there will be a further undermining of educational goals in themselves. The common assumption, when a strategy like retention is applied, is that holding back students who are underperforming is a viable way to ensure that they go on to master expected skills. The assumption has been that a student who fails to show mastery of specific skills simply needs more time to grasp curricular concepts.

Despite the fact that they are struggling already, retained students are expected to not only achieve the required knowledge and skill levels they previously failed to but also to master a higher standard of knowledge and skill if they graduate and move up to the next grade after a year.

The absurdity of this expectation is not lost on the education system, but that has not prevented the deployment of these policies since roughly 1850. Instead of working to have clear, consistent policies to support student development throughout their school career, the shifts in educational policies have determined that effective grading policies for students do not exist. The traditional grading scheme was instituted at a time when “only an advantaged few”were allowed to advance to the higher learning opportunities.

As Brookhart points out in his assessment of the application of grading in this sense, one of the larger failings of common grading practices is that they do not account for the needs of the teacher either. They do not recognize that individual teachers need to manage their classrooms and motivate their students.

“Traditional grading does not so much ignore motivation theory as much as it simply predates it,” says Brookhart, and it certainly makes little provision for struggling students, who are often labeled “uninterested” or “lazy,” when the issue may rather be that they are subjected to too much motivation in the wrong direction.

It is worth noting that many students impacted by retention and promotion policies which are regarded as having poor academic performance are not necessarily just having issues with the content that they are expected to learn. Many researchers have suggested that at least some of the problem is due to the grading and assessment system in use across the country. In other words, poor grading systems perpetuate the problem of poorly performing students.

James and Powell argued that “merely abolishing social promotion will not solve the problem.”  I believe we should be emphasizing intended progress toward individualized learning, as well as the promotion of greater parental involvement through government support of poor and disadvantaged families. What are your thoughts?

An elementary school librarian uses a kid-friendly digital database to teach ELLs both language and research skills.

By Melanie Curl

Being a school librarian is about much more than just organizing and scanning books. The library is the central hub in the school, where students can gather to explore the world, research their interests, and be exposed to exciting new technologies and ideas. Librarians play a pivotal role in engaging students with their learning, beyond the confines of a single subject. Librarians interact with the entire student body, and as such they have a unique opportunity—and responsibility—to ensure all students have access to the information the library contains, regardless of their reading ability or native language.

At Bean Elementary, we have about 50-60% ELL students. We are a Title I school: about 90% of our students are eligible for free/reduced lunch. We are also a dual-language school where pre-K–5^th grade have two classes that are taught in both English and Spanish. In these classes teachers conduct Monday, Wednesday, and Friday classes in Spanish; and Tuesday and Thursday classes in English.

To help support ESL/ELL students, we also have a designated Spanish section in the library, and we provide multiple technology resources to assist our ELLs. One of these resources is a kid-friendly digital database called PebbleGo, which has non-fiction articles in both English and Spanish. A read-aloud feature helps teachers looking to bridge the gap between Spanish and English. Even teachers who are not dual-language use this feature to support ELL/ESL students in their classrooms. Plus, the non-fiction content helps introduce academic vocabulary—words like “habitat”—that gives students the content knowledge they need, regardless of the language in which they have the most proficiency.

When it comes to reading, vocabulary is the biggest area in which I see ELL students struggle. Translating the nuances of meaning from one language to another can be difficult, particularly for younger students who simply don’t yet have the English vocabulary to read English fluently. PebbleGo helps by providing dictionary definitions for words that may be troublesome for students to understand the meaning of, and the read-aloud component helps them understand the proper pronunciation of these words. It allows them to learn new things, even if they have difficulty reading in English.

The simple visual layout of PebbleGo also creates a friendly reading experience for our ELLs (and native English speakers). Pictures, videos, and graphic organizers help support reading and comprehension skills, and the simplicity of the design allows our students to search and discover new things without feeling frustrated or hopeless. They learn information, whether in their native language or not. This, in turn, increases their enthusiasm for reading and research.

Teachers are always looking for multiple resources for research, and PebbleGo has helped them teach their students about finding reliable sources. In an age when “fake news” has become the latest buzzword, teaching students about finding credible sources of information is important, especially for ELL/ESL students. When English learners are reading nonfiction, their focus is on understanding the words, and it may not occur to them that what they’re reading may be opinion or fiction. Students are naturally trusting of the information provided to them. Teaching research skills at a young age is a great way to teach them about the difference between reliable and non-reliable sources. Students are now growing up in a very technology-based world, and information surrounds them daily. We teach them how to look for valid information and research topics deeply.

As the librarian at Bean Elementary, I believe it’s my job to enhance the knowledge of both the students and staff. I make sure a variety of types of resources are available, and introduce them to teachers and students. The library affords everyone in the school the opportunity to explore new interests and knowledge. PebbleGo has changed how I work with all students, but especially with our ELLs. It has helped me show them different databases and resources available to them, and helped them find information in a fun, engaging, and non-frustrating way.

Melanie Curl is a librarian at Bean Elementary in Lubbock, TX.

For many students, graduating from high school means heading off in short order to a residential four-year college or university to pursue higher education, a college degree, and – eventually – a career that will allow them to be a self-sustaining, productive member of society.  But as technology continues to reshape the landscape of education, many are beginning to wonder if the traditional brick-and-mortar colleges are the best way to serve the needs of the students.  The question becomes: how should colleges teach?  And how can they best serve the needs of all their prospective clients?  Is a physical college experience really the best way?  Or is there a growing place for digital learning in higher education?

We can consider two ends of the college education spectrum: traditional physical classes and online classes.  Each offers their own benefits and drawbacks, and each serves the needs of different types of students in specific ways.

Face to Face Courses

There are many benefits to traditional classes.  For a lot of students, the college experience is about more than simply taking classes.  The social experience can be as instructive as the classes in which one enrolls.  Brick-and-mortar colleges have the benefit of giving students the opportunity to spread their wings, living alone for perhaps the first time, managing their own affairs with less parental guidance (or interference) and opening a new world of opportunities through campus clubs and organizations.  Teaching via lecture in a physical classroom that meets are prescribed times can still incorporate a myriad of educational technology, but the structure of definitive classes is a necessity for some students who are still trying to learn to manage their own time and education.  Furthermore, the face-to-face interaction with the professor and the other students can provide both socialization and support for college students.

Online Courses

Not every student has the luxury of being able to afford to live on campus and attend college full-time.  Nor, in today’s flexible climate with people still chasing the American dream, are college rosters comprised solely of recent high school graduates.  In many situations, therefore, online education is an ideal opportunity.  Online colleges offer flexible schedules to accommodate other responsibilities and commitments, lower overall cost to students, and the ability to telecommute from wherever you are to whatever institution in which you wish to enroll.  With online educational portals such as BlackBoard, Moodle, and Google Classroom, it is easy to receive instruction, turn in work, and collaborate with the professor and other students through a digital medium.

Blended Learning

Of course, very rarely is there a one-size-fits-all best option for anything, least of all education.  Sometimes offering a mix of online and traditional classes can best meet the widest range of needs for the widest range of students.  Students can take physical classes during the regular semester and supplement their learning with online classes between semesters and during the summers, allowing them the freedom to work or intern while still earning credits and progressing through their education.  Letting students learn in different ways will accommodate their shifting needs throughout their educational pursuits.

Whether a college offers physical classes, online learning, or a mixture of the two, one thing is for certain: it is essential for professors to incorporate edtech in their teaching strategies.  From PowerPoints shown via projectors to Near Pod presentations sent remotely to students’ tablets or handheld devices, technology is a critical part of students’ education in the modern world.  Since most students attend college – either online or physically – in the hopes of settling into a lucrative career, it is essential that higher education students how to use technology to become more productive, to find the information they need, and to disseminate important information.  These are all technological skills that students will use in the real world.

Colleges should utilize technology to make education more accessible to more students.  Technology possesses the power to break down barriers, making education and achievement attainable even to those for whom it has always seemed out of reach.  The transformative power of technology is apparent in the ways in which it is improving the lives and opportunities of people throughout education.

While technology is certainly a necessary – and beneficial – tool in educating 21^st century students, it also comes with its own inherent set of dangers and risks.  Schools need to work harder than ever at keeping their students safe.  Now, not only must they contend with physical threats, but they must also work to keep cyber threats at bay as well.  Furthermore, students may need to be protected from themselves.  Schools can work to prevent cyber bullying or restrict access to some technological features that put kids at risk for jeopardizing their futures through misappropriation of technology resources.  Here are five key elements to promoting safe use of technology in K-12 schools:

1. Restricting Access

Obviously, schools want to be able to use technology to teach students the best ways to navigate the seemingly endless supply of information available on the web.  What sources are reliable?  Which are trustworthy?  But the fact of the matter is, students in elementary, middle, and even high school cannot necessarily be trusted with unlimited, unrestricted information.  Schools can use programs like Cyber Patrol or Net Nanny to restrict their students’ access to certain websites or types of websites. These websites work on either a school-by-school basis or a network-wide basis and can provide important protections from students.  They also can protect teachers by encouraging students not to use their technology for off-task activities.  Schools and districts can restrict access to chat boards, gaming sites, and movie and video sites.

2. Controlling App Availability in 1-to-1 Initiatives

When schools provide technology to their students through 1-to-1 initiatives, they also have the opportunity to control the access to the apps on mobile devices.  Districts that rent or purchase tablets, for instance, can eliminate individual app stores on the students’ devices and push out only the apps that will be used for the students’ educational benefit.  Coupled with restricting access to the internet, controlling the app store keeps students on task and prevents them from stumbling onto websites that could be detrimental, inappropriate, or unsafe.

3. Educating Students on the Consequences

Schools shouldn’t simply make and enforce rules; they should also educate students on the consequences of inappropriate technology use so that they can begin to make wise decisions on their own.  Bringing in guest speakers to talk about the dangers of cyber bullying and cyber predators helps students understand the real-world consequences of misusing technology.  Communities often have programs through the local police department or through the district attorney’s office through which law enforcement officials come and share their experiences and stories dealing with cyber crimes.

4. Using Spyware to Watch Over Students

There are many computer programs, such as Vision, that give teachers the ability to watch what the students are doing in a computer lab in real time.  Usually, these programs require all the computers to be connected to the same network or the same closed circuit, and the teacher can view all the computers at once, or toggle between them.  This is good because it keeps the students on task, but it also allows the teachers to provide on-the-spot one-on-one guidance to the students as they do their work.

5. Having an Acceptable Use Policy

The most important thing a school or district can have alongside its technology is an acceptable use policy.  Acceptable use policies should be clear, consistent, and explicit.  They should outline what is expected of students and what is strictly prohibited, with specific examples.  They should also clearly outline what the consequences of violating the policy will be.  Most acceptable use policies are formulated by school boards, with input from teachers and administrators, and are an official part of the district handbook.  Acceptable use policies should be reviewed with both students and their parents; many schools require a parent and student signature on the acceptable use policies.

Safety is paramount in any educational setting.  Students learn best when they feel safe and protected.  Having an acceptable use policy and procedures in place for keeping students on track and out of digital harm’s way is extremely important.  Watching over the students through educational monitoring systems, restricting access to prohibited sites and apps, and educating students and parents will keep the students safe and will make the technology as useful and educational as possible!

At Bridgewater State University, we have transformed how we report IT achievements to our board and stakeholders—resulting in more support for technology and improved staff morale.

By Ray Lefebvre

A few years ago, the annual IT report at Bridgewater State University looked like the reports you see on most college campuses: It was heavy on facts, figures, and charts detailing the number of tech support tickets we fulfilled and the number of file servers we installed.

It didn’t really communicate the impact we were having on academics, research, or campus life. It didn’t breathe life into the IT division’s accomplishments. It didn’t inspire anyone.

When I became Chief Information Officer and Vice President of IT, I decided to try something different. For our 2015 IT Outcomes publication, we picked a dozen examples of IT projects that had a profound impact on our campus community that year. We highlighted these success stories in a narrative format, focusing on the people these projects had affected and the improvements they made possible. This simple change has made a big impact.

We divided the publication into three sections: “Enriched Student Learning,” “Enhanced Communication,” and “Increased Efficiencies.” As an example of the impact our IT division had on student learning, for instance, we described how we had built and equipped a new Business Trading Room for our Louis M. Ricciardi College of Business, allowing business students to track and analyze stock performance and simulate trades. Our Business Trading Room, which includes a live stock ticker, 32 computer terminals, one 50-inch monitor at the front of the lab, and two 40-inch monitors toward the back, makes BSU one of only 120 colleges and universities nationwide to have such a space—and the only one in southeastern Massachusetts.

We also produced a companion video for those who would rather watch a story than read the information in text format. We distributed hard copies of the publication to our board of trustees, our president, our senior administration, and our IT staff, and we sent out a digital version (along with a link to the video) for our students, faculty, and administrators.

The response we got back was tremendous. By making IT success stories less about the technology itself, and more about the outcomes that technology enabled, we were able to put a human face on the work that we do as a division. The publication connected very powerfully with key stakeholder groups, who easily could see the significance of IT’s accomplishments on all aspects of our campus community. That, in turn, has resulted in more support for our IT division.

Reimagining our annual IT report proved so successful that we followed that up with a similar IT Outcomes publication in 2016, and I’m already thinking ahead to what we will include in our 2017 version.

When I travel to higher-education technology conferences, I bring copies of the IT Outcomes publication along with my business cards. And when I share the publication with my colleagues at other institutions, they all immediately see the benefits of reporting IT outcomes this way. Yet, no one I have met so far is doing anything similar at their own college or university. That concerns me, because I think campus IT leaders are missing a key opportunity to communicate the value they bring to their organizations more effectively.

By conveying the impact our work is having on the university in a more humanizing and compelling way, our IT division is building credibility with our president and board of trustees. When I share the publication at our cabinet meeting in December, I am not asked the questions I typically get about how we are spending our IT budget and why. What’s more, if I ask for additional IT resources, our board and president are confident they will see a return on this investment—and that whatever project I have in mind will be the subject of a future IT Outcomes profile.

I have found that our IT Outcomes publication also boosts the morale of our IT staff. It makes them feel connected to a greater sense of purpose. They get to see how they are making a huge difference on our campus.

Producing the publication is not a heavy lift. Because we take advantage of internal resources, we have been able to keep the cost to around $5,000—which is a small investment to make for something that has such a big impact. My hope is that people can see what is possible with limited resources. We’re a state university with limited money, but that hasn’t stopped us from being innovative.

We begin the process of compiling the publication each spring. Around March, I send an email to everyone in our IT division and ask them if they have any success stories in their department they would like to share. What accomplishments are they most proud of? I compare the feedback I get from our IT staff with information about successfully completed projects that I can view within our highly detailed Project Portfolio Management platform from TeamDynamix, and I identify 12-15 possible storylines.

We use a freelance writer to help us write the copy. I give her the storylines, along with the key people she should contact. I try to make sure that a faculty member, a student, and an IT employee are all interviewed for every story, so that each of these perspectives is represented.

Writing, reviewing, and editing the stories takes us into August. By then, we have started on the design for the publication. For the design process, we hire a student intern in our graphic design program for a paid internship that results in college credit as well. To produce the companion video, we rely on our Student Affairs division. The whole process takes 9-10 months. We try to go to press around November, so we can produce the first deliverables in time for our cabinet meeting in early December.

Focusing on the people and outcomes supported by technology, instead of a laundry list of tech upgrades, has been the main key to our success. But here are a few other lessons we have learned about communicating IT’s value to stakeholders more effectively:

1. Use multiple modalities. Make sure you offer several different methods of delivery. We print the IT Outcomes publication, we create a video, and we also produce a digital flipbook version that can be read on tablets, smart phones, and other mobile devices.

2. Make sure all stakeholder groups are represented. When you are communicating the value of IT, make sure you include success stories from students, faculty, and administrators. Every key constituency needs to see itself reflected in the successful IT outcomes for the year. That’s very important.

Looking ahead, we are trying to transition Bridgewater State University into a true IT service organization, where our IT division is focused not just on providing support but on offering an exceptional, technology-driven experience for every member of the campus community. Shifting that mindset involves communicating the value of IT beyond just the nuts and bolts of making the technology work—and our IT Outcomes publications are helping to lay the groundwork for this transition.

The number of servers installed or tickets fulfilled in a given year is meaningless. It’s the learning outcomes that people want to see—and the story of how technology has enabled these is what we should be telling. Communicating IT’s value more effectively, in a way that looks beyond the technology to the outcomes it supports, will help us get to where we want to be as an institution—and it can do the same for yours.

Ray Lefebvre is Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. Before joining Bridgewater State in 2012, he was the Director of Applications Development and Enterprise Reporting for the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He also has more than two decades of IT experience in the private sector.

Gamification has grown in popularity as teachers and educators realize the wealth of potential that games offer their students, no matter the age. Fast fading is the idea that video games are a waste of time. Children these days are among the most tech-savvy people precisely because they have been playing games on a range of devices for nearly their entire lives.

Gamification can be used in many different ways. Whether your students need a better set of flashcards, hands-on experience, or a more memorable experience, gamification gives you the tools to create something that will engage your students. With all of that being said, what are the essential things that educators should know about gamification, in order to harness its full potential? Well, not to worry, we decided to do the work for you. Here are the things that educators should know about gamification.

1. Gamification in education may optimize the brain’s processing of new information. This may be facilitated by the general aspects of gamified lessons, with the audio-visual presentation, minimized bites of schematized information, short time lapses, and often repetitive patterns.

New information is lost unless it is stored in our long-term memory through a multi-layered process involving attention, perception, selection, organization and integration of information. The first relay of new data is in our working memory, which can handle only a small amount of information at a time. Miller has suggested that the human brain can process seven pieces of information at one time, which will be lost in 20 seconds if not further processed to reach long-term memory.

The brain processes information in the working memory using two channels—visual and auditory. When information is presented using both channels, the brain, i.e. working memory, can accommodate more new information. However, information overload which may hinder the integration of the new information into long-term memory. Therefore, small chunks of information need to be presented in an organized fashion. This allows the brain to integrate and organize new information to existing schemas in our long-term memory.

Moreover, recent research has suggested that the attention span in humans has decreased from around 12 to 8 seconds. This change has been attributed to the digital revolution, aside from its beneficial effects including faster reaction time and increased ability to multitask. These findings stress the need to adopt modern ways, such as gamification, to transfer new knowledge and information to students and teachers alike.

2. Gamification in education can improve motivation and engagement. Game elements such as immediate feedback and earning badges for completing the challenges successfully are strongly influential on increasing the students’ drive in engaging in these games even within the walls of a classroom.

Additionally, the social component of gamified learning, whereby students gamify in groups, leads to loads of benefits on the brain function. Indeed, social, intellectual engagement activates neurotransmission in the brain, brain plasticity, and rewiring, and mitigates brain inflammation and the deleterious effects of oxidative stress on the brain. The beneficial effects of social interactions have been interestingly highlighted in delaying dementia in the elderly population.

3. Gamification modifies the brain’s reward and pleasure center and ameliorates learning. It is well established that games, whereby a person wins or receives positive feedback, can activate the brain’s pleasure circuits by inducing the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Educational games are suggested to have the same influence given their elements of winning challenges or successfully achieving a goal. This pleasure during gamified education results thus in a long-lasting affinity for the academic subject or for solving otherwise complex problems.

Furthermore, the influence of games on the pleasure center has important effects on learning per se. Indeed, reward-related signals have been reported to promote the storage of new information into long-term memory through dopaminergic modulation of the midbrain, which activates the hippocampus, a structure primarily involved in learning and memory. Dopamine is also involved in controlling neuronal plasticity within the hippocampus, which is a significant brain phenomenon underlying the acquisition of new information and skills. Moreover, hippocampal memory has been reported to improve following the practice of video games in adults through the stimulation of the brain circuits.

4. Teacher professional development can be gamified. To gamify professional development, instructors need to focus on student involvement. Often, this involves increasing the social requirements in the learning experience. Points based progress and leaderboards can also motivate those participating in the training to keep pushing forward. However, it is important to find options that bring more to the experience than a simple novelty. If the information isn’t valuable, the intrinsic motivation related to the learning process will decline. Additionally, the process needs to be streamlined to fit efficiently into a teacher’s otherwise busy day.

The priority of all professional development should be on creating quality content first and then adjusting the delivery system to increase motivation and overall engagement. Part of gamification is making the experience fun. Celebrate achievements along the way, and give participants a chance to learn from their mistakes and try again. Let the teachers earn shareable badges along the way, and create cumulative profiles of their accomplishments throughout their careers.

5. Gamification benefits struggling students. It is hard to engage struggling students in the classroom. If they are having trouble grasping the material, they may be less inclined to be involved in a traditional classroom lesson. These aren’t the kids that will volunteer to go to the board to work out a math problem; they aren’t raising their hands to answer questions, and may even be afraid of asking for help.

Adding a video game component can increase their comfort level. Various studies have shown that African-American students traditionally game more than their Caucasian counterparts, so this can be effective for reaching out to certain minorities in the classroom. It gives them a system that they enjoy, allows the information to be conveyed in a new way, and may feel like a more level playing field psychologically.

Not every student learns well by simply reading the textbook or managing homework. Some students prefer auditory input while others need hands-on demonstrations. Video games have the ability to combine all of these traits into a single learning system. And the increased entertainment value might make it more interesting to students in general.

In some cases, it may help students achieve flow, a psychological state where the person is fully immersed in the task at hand. This increased focus and absorption helps improve performance by completely engaging the brain.

A competitive spirit can also be fostered through video games. Students that are struggling in the grades department may find more intrinsic motivation through video game-based success. Leaderboards and level advancement can help students see how they are improving, even if they don’t immediately connect the achievement with learning.

6. Gamification doesn’t hurt high achievers. One of the points brought up against gamification involves the students who are already succeeding. The thought is that time spent gaming is a waste for those who don’t need the format to excel. But gaming within the learning context still benefits high achievers. It provides new methods for exploring knowledge and integrating new information and adds an element of fun that may be lacking with traditional mechanisms.

7. It is easy to gamify science. There are many subject areas that can be gamified; however, games can be particularly helpful when teaching students science-based lessons.  Educators can use two primary methods to gamify a particular subject or curriculum.  Teachers can incorporate science-based games into their curriculum, or they can find ways to create a game-like experience within the structure of the coursework.  The first method, adding games into the curriculum, can be easier for teachers to incorporate into lesson plans. Teachers at any level can gamify science with a few modifications to their lesson plans.  The key for gamifying any lesson is that it should be fun for the students.  When students are engaged with the material, knowledge acquisition will occur more easily as students begin to enjoy learning.

8. It is easy to gamify math. For educators, gamification can be applied to a variety of subjects, including math, to increase student’s motivation and subsequently increase student proficiency.  Gamifying math lessons does not have to be difficult; teachers can use a variety of techniques to add game elements to their courses. Educators primarily use one approach for gamifying math; they incorporate math-based games into the existing curriculum by inserting them into relevant lessons to replace less engaging content.  There are several game elements that are of particular importance to the motivation and engagement of students including competition, rewards, cooperation, self-driven pace, and feedback.  These elements can be found in most video and board games.  One very popular video game that can be utilized in the classroom is Minecraft (https://education.minecraft.net).

9. It is easy to gamify reading. Gamifying reading is not as hard as it seems. First, start by getting rid of the old terminology when talking to your students or when planning for lessons. Instead of having assignments and tests kids will participate in challenges, quests or battles and they have choices in how they demonstrate their knowledge. In this way, the students are able to work to their own strengths and to also incorporate creativity in their application of the knowledge. Including the class as part of the team of “game designers” gives them ownership over their learning, which is a powerful motivator.

For example, after reading a specific novel (the quest) students can choose between one of several challenges or battles to show their understanding. They could write an essay, design a board game, put on a play or perhaps create a PowerPoint presentation. Each of these challenges would equate to specific achievement badges, game points or even different player levels

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a lot of things that educators need to know about gamification, in order to unlock its full potential. Did we miss anything? If so, please leave your suggestion in the comment section below. We would love to add it to the article as an update.

In this multi-part series, I provide a dissection of the phenomenon of retention and social promotion. Also, I describe the many different methods that would improve student instruction in classrooms and eliminate the need for retention and social promotion if combined effectively.

While reading this series, periodically ask yourself this question: Why are educators, parents and the American public complicit in a practice that does demonstrable harm to children and the competitive future of the country?

Once there are appropriate student standards in place to prevent retention and social promotion, how can we ensure they are followed?

Universality of application is so important. The goal of this common thread standard application is to allow students, educators, parents, and other stakeholders to be on the same page and to apply and follow through with the same standards in each educational case.

Maintaining consistency in the definition of standards is only helpful so long as those standards are applied at every point of contact with the student. Indeed, one of the underlying problems with grade retention and social promotion is a disparity in expectations among students. The standards for academic performance are applied, and yet there is rarely an invariable response and a clear follow-through when a student does not meet those standards.

It is not enough simply to have standards and lines of communication to discuss the needs of non-achieving students. Consistent standards need consistent follow-through. The consistency of academic standards is undermined if one student has access to significantly better resources than others.

In Succeeding with Standards: Linking Curriculum, Assessment, and Action Planning, Judy Carr and Douglas Harris talk about building a link between classroom practice, curriculum, and assessment, and using these links as a basis for creating an action-planning process for student learning. They show that it not sufficient to have standards that align well with the curriculum and assessment procedures; it is also critical that educators explicitly delineate the relationship between what students need to know and be able to do (learning standards), how learning is expected to occur (curriculum), and how progress is measured (assessment). In other words, there must be a clearly defined relationship between standards and other parts of the educational system.

Carr and Harris identify eleven areas that educators must monitor and integrate to link standards effectively. Those areas are (1) vision, (2) what is currently being taught and assessed, (3) a curriculum and assessment plan, (4) school decision-making, (5) resources, (6) a professional development plan, (7) supervision and evaluation, (8) student profiles, (9) a comprehensive assessment system, (10) reporting, and (11) an action plan.

Having all of these elements would ensure that there is a logical framework in place. Carr and Harris also propose that this framework be recursive (recur in a similar fashion from grade to grade), that it be sustained by ongoing commitment, and that it reflect the systemic nature of reform. A well-integrated system linking learning standards to these areas is needed if the needs of students – their academic needs as well as the related non-academic needs – are to be met. The key, inevitably, will be aligning resources to a series of educational standards that does not entail an emphasis on grading.

The vision for a revised public education system focuses on producing students who emerge from high school college-ready and career ready. The system must be capable of producing high school graduates who are, at a minimum, ready to begin a high-level career and can contribute to society as healthy, productive, and educated citizens.

With this vision, standards of education should help students to achieve some understanding of their strengths, interests, and academic weaknesses.

As suggested earlier in this series, there is a need for rudimentary standards for knowledge and skill sets in key areas. We mentioned literacy, written communication, mathematics, science, and languages, but we could add rudimentary knowledge of history, social studies, sports and health science, and oral communication to the list.

Standards should also allow students to pursue areas of interest and particular ability, however. A teacher should, for example, be able to spot a student who excels at mathematics through the application of basic standards and then allows the student to undertake higher-level studies to achieve higher levels of mathematical achievement.

Grants available from Facebook’s inspirED initiative support school climate assessments for schools and districts using Panorama’s best-in-class survey and reporting platform

(Boston, MA) March 28, 2017 — Today, Panorama Education announces a partnership with inspirED, an initiative of Facebook, to support measurement and interventions for school climate and social-emotional learning in schools across the county. Panorama Education partners with school districts to survey students, staff, and families and to provide actionable data to school and district officials and teachers.

Schools and districts are invited to apply for the inspirED School Climate Assessment Grant through May 5, 2017. School Climate Assessment Grants provide financial support to schools and districts to use Panorama’s platform to measure school climate and social-emotional learning and to develop and implement interventions that support the holistic wellbeing and success of students. Panorama Education has partnered with inspirED to offer its school climate survey programs to awardees of the School Climate Assessment Grant.

“Panorama is delighted to partner with inspirED to help more school districts elevate their focus on school climate and social-emotional learning by using data-driven tools,” said Aaron Feuer, CEO of Panorama Education.

Schools and districts awarded with the inspirED School Climate Assessment Grants can partner with Panorama as a provider of a full range of measurement and analytics tools and support services. Panorama’s best-in-class survey and analytics platform includes national and peer benchmarks, data dashboards, heatmaps, and other visualization tools designed for educators. Panorama advises districts on data collection, data inquiry, and continuous improvement best practices.

In addition, all teachers and administrators in schools using Panorama through the inspirED School Climate Assessment Grants will gain access to Playbook, Panorama’s online community of teacher-driven classroom strategies. Playbook also includes social-emotional learning and school climate resources and materials for teachers from trusted organizations such as Character Lab and Open Circle.

For more information on inspirED School Climate Assessment Grants, visit the inspirED website. The grant application window is open until May 5, 2017.

About Panorama Education
Panorama Education partners with schools and districts to collect and analyze data about social-emotional learning, school climate, family engagement, and more. With research-backed surveys and a leading technology platform, Panorama helps educators act on data and improve student outcomes. Panorama has supported more than 6 million students in 6,500 schools across 40 states, including those in the New York City Department of Education, Dallas Independent School District, Seattle Public Schools, and San Francisco Unified School District. To learn more about Panorama Education, visit PanoramaEd.com.

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