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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch April 19, 2016

Early Learning, Environmental Lessons and STEM Prioritization: Trends in K-12 Education for 2014, Part III

This week I’ve been talking about the trends I foresee making a big impact in K-12 classrooms in 2014. Already I’ve looked at the BYOD movement, cloud technology, personalized learning, school branding and online learning as they relate to the coming year in K-12 education. Today I’m going to wrap up the series with three more trends on the 2014 horizon in classrooms across the country. I invite you to add in your thoughts and any other trends you feel should be on my list in the comment section.

My final three trends in K-12 education for 2014 are:

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 student 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. This year, more states will lobby for pre-K funding and more families, from low- to high-income, will seek out early learning options to set their kids up for academic success.

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. Look for more official outdoor-teaching policies in the coming year, though, that encourage teachers to incorporate outdoor and environmental learning in all subjects.

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. Still, there are so many areas for improvement of STEM learning processes in K-12 classrooms and 2014 will see strides toward better delivery of these subjects to all students. This is another area where President Obama has weighed in, calling for more emphasis on STEM learning that is reflected in federal education spending.

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. This year, expect teachers as early as pre-K to start putting as much emphasis on STEM learning as reading and letter formation.

There is so much to look forward to in the 2014 calendar year when it comes to K-12 classrooms. These trends are just a sampling of what educators will seek out to better prepare students for the rest of their academic careers and for lifelong success.

What trends for 2014 in K-12 education would you add to my list?

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch, Teachers April 14, 2016

Teachers: 3 Quick, Simple Tips to Stay Insanely Productive Without Losing Steam

Teachers have strong commitments to their work. Most of them feel passionately about teaching, and see it as a “calling.” The emotions that teachers undergo include love for (most) students, hate for the paperwork, and the feeling of excitement when they see a student finally understand a concept. Then there’s the dread of filling out report cards, the feeling of burn-out in December, and the nervous feeling associated with the first day of school every year.

The intensity of the teaching profession and the chronic stress levels involved can lead to burnout. It usually means the inability to function fully in one’s job due to the prolonged stress related to these jobs. Stress and burnout are linked closely to an individual’s state of mind. Burnout is three-dimensional and includes feelings of emotional exhaustion or tiredness; teacher “depersonalization,” in which they develop a negative and distrustful attitude towards their students, parents, and their colleagues; and a reduced sense of accomplishment and self-esteem.

It also brings about other negative effects, such as increased absenteeism, decline in classroom performance, and poor interpersonal relationships with colleagues and students. Burned-out teachers are usually less sympathetic toward the problems of students, and are less committed to their jobs. They develop lower tolerance for classroom disruptions, are less prepared for class, and are generally less productive. As a result, burned-out teachers can have a negative influence on the morale of new teachers.

Here are some tips for teachers who want to be productive, be impactful—yet keep their health, alertness, and sanity.

Make a list of all the tasks that you have been postponing for some time. Try and identify whether these tasks have something in common. Doing this will help you determine the specific kind of jobs that you tend to postpone. Is it that you postpone tasks that have no deadline or those that involve doing something that you are uncomfortable with?
Keep a list of all the tasks that you need to do and prioritize them. Tell yourself that jumping the priority list is not allowed.
Finally, reward yourself with something that you like when you complete each task. Take a break and sip a hot refreshing cappuccino before you start the next thing, take a walk, or simply pause to look out the window; rewards, both big and small, can help you stay motivated and focused.

Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform, Testing April 7, 2016

Top 6 Reasons Most Americans Have No Faith in the Education System

By now, just about every American parent has seen the reports that American schools rank well below schools in countries such as China and Japan. Or maybe they’ve heard President Obama declare a “dropout crisis.”

The abundance of news reports and discouraging case studies has created panic among education stakeholders, who want to know why American school systems are failing. Many Americans believe that only a small percentage of leaders understand the complexities of the school system, and that those who do understand use their knowledge to justify the mediocre performance of our teachers and students.

It’s not hard to see why this is the typical opinion. Maybe it’s because:

1. The American school system is the best-financed system in the world, but is one of the lowest performing in the developed world.

2. The American school system as a whole has an appalling performance record. For children living in urban environments, the story is even more alarming. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are often educated in dilapidated schools where the too many educators lack the credentials and skills necessary to perform their duties adequately.

3. High student-to-teacher ratios are found in most urban schools, and these schools often lack the resources to deal with the diverse challenges they face, including unruly student behavior.

Education has been called the great equalizer, but for students living in poverty-stricken urban areas it is little more than a babysitting service and a place to get a hot meal.

4. No Child Left Behind was a giant mess. Many people question whether the No Child Left Behind Act has contributed to achieving academic success. Although NCLB was well intentioned, it has not lived up to the hopes of government or schools. In the eyes of some, NCLB has actually contributed to subpar academics becoming even worse. If American educators and school personnel do not make a concerted effort to develop effective measures to hold schools accountable for the education of all of our children, then the education crisis will continue.

There is an exception to every rule: some urban school systems are providing a quality education. Unfortunately, however, only a small number of school systems meet the state and federal government student performance requirements.

5. For underperforming urban school systems, a lot of the “plans for change” are full of hot air. At least, they often seem to be.

The problem usually lies with the inability to sustain existing reform efforts and initiatives. Mayors and school superintendents in these areas often concoct grandiose reform plans that are merely political devices meant to woo voters into believing they genuinely care about educational reform.

It is sad and sobering to realize that often, politicians create school reform to gain popularity and votes. It is discouraging to realize that our children’s futures might be used as a political device to win elections.

6. Finally, people are too busy trying to play the blame game. Politicians are not the only people at fault for the shoddy education American children are receiving, but no one will take responsibility for subpar educational environments. If administrators were asked who was at fault, they might point to a lack of parental involvement and too few quality teachers.

If teachers were asked who was at fault they might also cite a lack of parental involvement and ineffective administration.

If parents were asked who was at fault they might blame teachers and school administrators.

Society in general seems to conclude that the lack of quality teachers, effective administration, and parental involvement are all factors contributing to educational failure.

Whatever the reason, Americans have become the laughing stock of the free world when it comes to K-12 education. The solution, of course, is for the country to unite and work together to carry the responsibility of enriching and continuing America’s future via educational excellence without playing the “blame game.” But, realistically, where does that begin?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Matthew Lynch published in Bullying April 6, 2016

What should students do when the teacher or coach is the bully?

**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 post by Jennifer Fraser

Our sixteen year old son was competing at the 2012 Provincial Basketball Championships in British Columbia when one of the boys on the team texted his parents to say he “couldn’t take it anymore.” The coaches were calling the team “a bunch of pussies”, “hopeless” and “retarded.”

For my husband and me, that was the point of no return.

When we heard those words, we knew we had to get our son away from those coaches. No matter what it took, we could not let our son be spoken to like that. This wasn’t the first time we’d seen or heard there was something wrong on the team with how the coaches were “motivating” the players, but this time, there was no going back. We could no longer excuse or forgive. The basketball court, that our son loved so much, was becoming a place he dreaded and hated. We didn’t want him to join the statistics discussed by Professor Mark Hymen: 70% of children drop out of sports by the age of thirteen.

This coaching crisis happened a year before the Mike Rice scandal erupted and there were still those who thought it reasonable for a coach to scream obscenities at student athletes. There were still those who believed that this kind of humiliation was in fact “motivation”. Post Mike Rice, in many parts of America that changed.

The logic is that these coaches give athletes the worst in order to get the best out of them. But at what cost? People excuse — or even celebrate — such behavior as a passion. But, let’s call it by its real name: abuse.

– Charles M. Blow, New York Times, April 2013

But in many parts of world, including my son’s high-school, it hasn’t changed and I don’t think it will until bullying—by adults in power over children—namely emotional or verbal abuse joins sexual and physical abuse in the Criminal Code.

At the school where our son played basketball, at the request of the Headmaster, fourteen students gave detailed testimonies about how the coaches were treating them. The police said that there was a “definite pattern in the complaints, all pointing to verbal and emotional abuse.” However, the police could not intervene, as emotional abuse is not in the Criminal Code. And so, over the course of three years, along with a dedicated group of parents, we appealed to school administrators, the Inspector of Independent Schools, BC School Sports, the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, the Ministry of Education, and the Ombudsperson. To date, no one has done anything to hold the teachers to account for bullying conduct.

Decades of psychological, psychiatric, and sports abuse research has been done that reveals that bullying contributes significantly to a whole host of suffering: low self esteem, dropping out of sports and school, failure to reach potential, addiction, suicide and so on. However, in the last ten or so years, there have also been important neurological studies that illustrate the damage done to the brain of a bully victim whether at school or in the workplace. And in the last few years, there have also been further neurological studies that reveal that the adolescent brain is as fragile as that of the infant to toddler aged brain. It is in full development and therefore at great risk.[1]

Despite substantial research, emotional abuse from teacher to child, or coach to student-athlete continues to be minimized and dismissed as less serious than physical or sexual abuse. This dismissal is impossible to understand considering the neuroscience that chronicles the scars emotional abuse leaves on the brain. Dr. David Walsh, one of the world’s leading authorities on children and teens, stresses the way in which “Brain science lends even more urgency to confronting the scourge of bullying” exactly because there are “studies suggesting that the brain changes are long-term and therefore can create emotional scars that last for a lifetime”.[2] I doubt that when parents insist that “old-style coaching” is okay because it gets results and toughens kids up, they are informed about what is being done to their child’s developing brain. Parents may not know, but it is the job of teachers, school administrators and educational authorities to know.

Endless studies of peer to peer bullying are conducted while at the same time we wring our hands about how bullying is on the rise. We lament the fact that suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescent populations. But, we do not take a hard look at bullying done by teachers or coaches. It seems to be a taboo subject even among researchers. Yes, there are many wonderful teachers and coaches out there, but that does not mean that bullying from those who have power over children doesn’t happen.

The research Dr. Martin Teicher, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School conducted in 2002 found that “verbal abuse by parents was as psychologically damaging as physical abuse.” More surprising, his research has shown that “kids suffered more depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders when bullied by peers than by parents.”[3] If bullying in the school setting causes more harm than the home setting, and verbal abuse is just as damaging as physical abuse, what happens when it’s teachers or coaches who are doing the bullying at school?

If a child finds it hard to report on peer bullying, or not be a by-stander when he or she witnesses peer bullying, that challenge becomes exponential when it is a teacher who has power over the child. Besides, it becomes much more difficult to recognize. Teachers are invested with the professional credentials to assess students and therefore if a teacher says a child is a “retard” or that a child is “not trying” then those words are stamped with official force in a child’s mind. Children don’t want to tell their parents that the teacher is disgusted with them or has rejected them. That’s like having to show a bad report card. On a profound level, the child may believe that the teacher’s humiliating “assessment” is true.

In a recent ground-breaking study by Duke University, that followed almost two thousand students into adulthood, researcher William E. Copeland, Professor of Psychiatry concluded: “If the results of this study are dismaying because they indicate that bullying is permanently scarring, the findings also strengthen the argument for prevention. Copeland underscores this idea. ‘Consider me a reluctant convert, but I’m starting to view bullying the same way I do abuse in the home,’ he said. ‘I honestly think the effects we’re observing here are just as potent.’”[4] The focus of the Duke study is peer bullying which raises the concerning question: how permanently scarring is it when the bullying is done by a teacher to a student or a coach to a student-athlete?

Do we really want to keep saying that when coaches scream obscenities at kids it’s to help them develop as athletes? When a kid calls another kid a “retard” on the playground, we don’t say it helps the child learn. We say that we have zero tolerance for children who bully, but we appear to have vast tolerance for adults who bully.

Until there are consequences, until teachers and coaches are held accountable, until emotional abuse is in the Criminal Code, it’s going to continue to be on the rise and suicide will continue to be the second leading cause of death in adolescent populations. It’s time to make a change and protect children from all forms of abuse. These concerns form the basis for Teaching Bullies: Zero Tolerance on the Court and in the Classroom. The book is a call to action.

[1] Laurence Steinberg, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence, Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2014. Frances E. Jensen with Amy Ellis Nutt, The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults, Toronto: Harper Collins, 2015.

[2] David Walsh with Erin Walsh, Why do They Act that Way?: A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen, 2^nd edition, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014 (254).

[3] See Amy Anthes, “Inside the Bullied Brain: the Alarming Neuroscience of Taunting,” The Boston Globe, November 28, 2010: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/11/28/inside_the_bullied_brain/?page=2

[4] http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/02/20/new_duke_study_on_bullying_childhood_victims_bullies_and_bully_victims_all.html

________________

Jennifer Fraser has a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Toronto and is a published writer. She is presently teaching creative writing and International Baccalaureate literature classes at an independent school in British Columbia.

Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch March 30, 2016

Ask An Expert: Taking the Stress Out of Teacher Evaluations

Question: I am a recent college graduate and I am gearing up for my first year of teaching. I was well trained by my professors, but the thing that scares me the most is being evaluated, mainly because so much depends on the personality of the evaluator. Can you shed some light on the teacher evaluation process? Veronica R.

Answer: First of all, thank you for your question and congratulations on landing your first teaching job. For many new teachers, the fear of being evaluated is a clear and present danger; not because they lack confidence, but because of the fear of the unknown. Hopefully, by explaining the process in depth, I can help alleviate some of your anxiety. Each school system has a process for measuring and evaluating their teachers. In most districts, all teachers are evaluated by an administrator and are given feedback at least once annually. New teachers, however, typically have more than one evaluation. This section will give you an overview of what to expect before, during, and after an evaluation, as well as how to prepare for each.

Prior to an evaluation

Before an evaluation, most administrators will schedule a time with you, and some of those administrators will even let you choose the class that you know will be the most likely to shine the best light on your skills as a teacher. Here is a quick checklist of ways to prepare for the evaluation.

Ask for the rubric they will be using. The rubric allows the administrators to score each teacher equally and accurately by looking for specific skills and dispositions during the lesson. Knowing what they will be looking for will allow you to cover all of your bases.
Consider the audience before choosing a topic. Know the educational interests of the administrator. Were they a math teacher? Or a special needs teacher? Are they a proponent of technology? Think about what you know about them personally and professionally and consider their interests when selecting a subject, a topic, and a time of day.
Choose an easy topic. You do not want to choose a topic that you know is difficult for some students to grasp. For example, introduction to long division may not be the best topic, because you know that it is a multi-step process that is difficult to grasp for some students.
Prepare a detailed lesson plan. The lesson plan for an evaluation is not your typical everyday lesson plan. It is the extended version that includes details, commentary, and all of the bells and whistles that go along with it. Be sure to include the objectives, materials needed, an introduction, developmental activities, a closing, accommodations, an assessment, etc.
Prepare your class. Talk to your students about what to expect. Let them know who is coming and explain why. Let them know that they will be rewarded for their good behavior. It might not be a bad idea to do a practice run and pretend that you are being evaluated prior to the scheduled evaluation. This may all seem like window dressing, but it will help to put your mind at ease.
Prepare your classroom. De-clutter, decorate, and clean everything. Be sure to have your desk cleared in case she wants to sit there to evaluate.
Be flexible. Administrators are always busy. In addition, unexpected meetings come up, students misbehave and must be attended to at inopportune times, and some type of paperwork is always being thrown at them. If she must reschedule, just simply put aside your prepared lesson until another day.

During an evaluation

If you are thoroughly prepared for your evaluation as described above, the evaluation itself should be a breeze.
Remember that they have probably already figured out that you are an effective teacher. They want you to do well. They want the students to do well. They are not out to get you or hurt your career.
Relax! Again, they are not looking for an excuse to fire you. Just relax and do the best you can do.
Write your objectives on the board. Self explanatory.
Have fun! Having fun yourself will engage the administrator and the students alike.
Discipline as you always would. If a student misbehaves, be careful not to overreact. You will not get a lower score because your students are children and occasionally misbehave.

After an evaluation

Be prepared for feedback and constructive criticism. Administrators do not intend to tear you down and are not out to get you.

Thank them for their feedback and honesty.
Never argue! It will only lessen their opinion of you.
Sincerely apply their suggestions to your teaching styles.

If you follow my advice, the teacher evaluation process will be a breeze. Remember, evaluations are meant to gauge your teaching effectiveness, not as a pretense to get rid of you. Even if you score poorly during your first year, your evaluations will be used by your administrator to help you create an improvement plan. Well, good luck to you and remember, relax!

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation March 28, 2016

A mother’s view on cell phones in the classroom

A guest column by Karen Bresnahan

In recent years, there has been a lot of chatter on the internet about why cell phones shouldn’t be allowed in classrooms. Some teachers and parents are dead set against the idea, while others think it could work.

Schools everywhere are busy making new rules about cell phones. Some schools allow students to carry their phones, but only use them at lunch or in between classes, while others have banned the phones altogether from the learning environment.

The debate, it seems, has centered more on the negative side of the argument which views cell phones as a distraction, a temptation, and a detriment to learning because students can use them to avoid paying attention in class by texting on social media or playing video games, or to cheat on tests, by looking up the answers on Google.

As a parent, I always try to use my common sense when thinking about what I should teach my children. It seems to me that cell phones can be a difficulty or a benefit, depending entirely on the attitude of the teacher. After all, they get to decide what happens in their classroom.

I know, as a mom, how important it is for my kids to know what good behavior and bad behavior is at home. At school, it is no different for the teacher who must show the students what is expected of them and to enforce the rules the same way a parent does. If my child uses a cell phone in the classroom to text their friends or play video games, I expect the teacher to do something about it.

But, cell phones don’t have to always be tied to the expectation of bad behavior or misconduct. There can be a positive side. There are many ways cell phones can actually help children learn. Our kids already use the phones every day and they enjoy using them.

Do we want to take technology away from them and punish them for using it, or should we motivate them to use it in good ways?

With or without technology, it is always important to make sure our children know how to learn. It is up to parents and teachers to show them how. The best teachers know all the different ways to motivate students to learn, so the attitude of the teacher is the most important thing when it comes to deciding about cell phones. There are many ways that cell phones can add to learning.

Students can use their phones to do Google searches about any subject. The cameras on phones make it possible for them to take photos and videos for a school project or record an important school event. Phones can be used in emergencies to call for help, or to text a parent about a problem. Phones can be used on field trips to find locations, or on a daily basis, to make communication easier between students and teachers. Cell phones are a way for teachers to make learning applicable to real life and to let students have fun while learning.

Teachers are already finding helpful ways to use technology in the classroom and cell phones are just another way for students to use the internet to connect them to educational resources. Cell phones have become like tiny computers in their hands because the phones are so much better than they used to be.

Computer applications and software are making it easier for students and teachers to share information. Things like Dropbox, Evernote, Schooltown, Socrative, Wiffiti, and Polleverywhere are helpful online resources that many teachers are using now. Cell phone use supports the popular concepts of flipped classrooms and blended learning.

We live in a technology abundant world and cell phones have become a way of life for families. Most children already use cell phones long before they come to school. As adults, we rely upon technology every day, and it makes no sense to discourage our children from using it productively at school.

As a parent, I expect my children to behave at home and I support what the teacher does in the classroom. If a teacher wants to use cell phone technology as a tool for learning in the classroom, I am all for it. But if a teacher wants to take my child’s phone away when he uses it to misbehave, I am in favor of that too.

I want school to be a fun and active learning environment for my children, where technology allows them to quickly access information, and stimulates them to find exciting new ways to learn anything they want to learn. As long as what they are doing in the classroom peaks their individual interests, I am happy.

Cell phones are just another form of technology that can be used to help students become better and faster at learning. Phones can also be used for group sharing and hands on learning that has been shown to have a 90 percent retention rate.

To me, the argument is not about why we shouldn’t use phones in the classroom, but how can we best use technology as a tool to make learning more exciting and more fun, so that students can learn and grow to be self-motivated learners for the rest of their lives.

__________

Karen Bresnahan is a professional writer, photographer and artist from Boise, Idaho. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Idaho and is the mother of three children. She is a small business owner of Romantic Idaho Weddings, KBLifelines Positive Quotes, and Idaho Naturals Desertscapes artwork. She enjoys writing about education, parenting, health and fitness and positive thinking. Her goal is to motivate, educate and inspire others through her writing and photography. You can connect with her through email at [email protected] or on Twitter @idaho1111

Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity March 25, 2016

Study: Narrowing achievement gap would add $10 trillion to GDP by 2050

One study after another has shown a wide educational achievement gap between the poorest and wealthiest children in the United States. This prompted researchers at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a group focused on narrowing inequality, to study and conclude that if America could improve education performance for the average student, everyone would benefit.

The U.S. ranks behind more than 33 advanced industrialized countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development when it comes to math and science scores. The study used scores from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, a test used around the world to measure and compare achievement.

America ranks behind countries such as Korea, Poland and Slovenia in the 24th spot.

Elimination of the achievement gap in the U.S. will boost the economy — but this requires raising the country’s average score to 1,080. The average combined score for the U.S. is 978, and the O.E.C.D average is 995.

If the U.S. could move up a few notches to number 19 – so the average American score would match the O.E.C.D. average – it would add 1.7 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product over the next 35 years, according to estimates by the Washington Center. This could lead to approximately $900 billion in higher government revenue.

If the U.S. scores matched Canada, number 7 of the O.E.C.D. scale, America’s gross domestic product would increase by 6.7 percent. After taking inflation into account, this is a cumulative increase of $10 trillion by 2050.

The achievement gap in America is a pressing issue, and it is certainly something we have to hone in on to eliminate. I hope to see our country’s O.E.C.D. ranking improve in the near future so we can narrow, and eventually close, the achievement gap and benefit from the boost in the economy too.

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation March 24, 2016

How LRM is transforming teaching and learning

Behind every successful adult is at least one person who pushed him or her to greatness. If you ask some of the world’s highest achievers what motivated them to keep going, they usually mention a specific person who inspired them along the way – a parent, a teacher, a mentor, a coach.

Think about the people in your own life who made a positive impact when you were young. If you are an educator, it was probably a teacher of your own who inspired you to take that next step and answer the call to teach. There were likely other less-direct influences on your career choice, and others who influenced other parts of the positive parts of your adult life.

Now imagine what it would look like if all of those mentors – those teachers, those coaches – had been able to combine their efforts for a singular purpose: guiding you on the road to successful adulthood. It’s a pretty amazing thought, right? But most of those people were probably from different circles of your life with you (a kid) being the only connection between them. Technology is changing that though, by better aligning the important relationships in a student’s life.

More specifically, Learning Relationship Management is delving deeper into how mentors like teachers and coaches help guide all students to success — both academically, and in other areas of life. The Learning Relationship Management Alliance is a leader in this student-friendly technology that can also be applied to other groups that benefit from mentor support, like senior citizens in assisted living.

The LRM Alliance created this infographic to summarize exactly what the vision is for this relationship technology, including a need to cultivate authentic relationships, personalize learning, streamline content, and connect networks in a student’s life. Take a look:

So how is the LRM Alliance progressing these ideas in a coherent way that any district can implement? By combining the strengths of several leading companies to raise awareness about the many benefits to this learning setup. This group of edtech innovators is changing the way students succeed through electronic means that extend beyond academic pursuits. The five companies that make up the LRM Alliance are:

Through community-enabled mentorship, the strengths of a variety of people associated with each student is tapped. This includes, and is not limited to, parents, teachers, sports coaches, and more. Even older siblings can be included in the community to help encourage, monitor and ultimately guide the student to positive learning outcomes.

When it comes to personalized and blended learning, LRM allows K-20 brick and mortar schools and online schools to move from small pilot programs to large, full-scale implementation. Teachers and administrators have more information on how students are progressing and can tailor lessons to better fit their needs and learning styles. Personalized learning paths are in turn supported through learning relationship management and strengthened by the mentors outside the classroom who are in the student’s network. Learning Relationship Management does not just setup personalized and blended learning lesson plans; it gives students the tools to execute those plans.

Learning Relationship Management is not just about prescriptive methods, though, or simply handing out assignments. The students themselves are an integral part of the process of goal-setting, intervention planning and the communication that takes place about them. Every student can benefit from LRM tools because it does not dictate what people must take part. If a student lives with grandparents, or has a drama teacher but no sports coaches, or even has a trusted teacher he wants to keep in the system even when class has ended, LRM technology makes all of that possible.

Learning Relationship Management has the potential to combine what schools are already doing right with a stronger support group outside the classroom. There can be numerous people (invited by the student and overseen by the lead adult administrator) who weigh in on the goals, benchmarks and activities of the student. There is a lot of power in the community-enabled coaching model and the more people who can contribute to the success of a student — in a streamlined, productive way — the better that student will fare in school, and in life.

You can learn more about the Learning Relationship Management Alliance and its member companies at the organization’s site.

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

Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform, Teachers March 20, 2016

What’s the Secret to High PISA Test Scores? Top ranking BASIS Schools Say its Teachers

Author: Dr. Q. Mark Reford

Dr. Q. Mark Reford was born in Ireland. He was educated at Oxford and taught there, as well as Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. He is CEO of BASIS Independent Schools (http://www.basisindependent.com/), and is currently opening two new private schools this fall in Silicon Valley and New York City.

There is a war in American education. The nation is deeply polarized: charter supporters vs. traditional public school supporters; standardized testing supporters, and parents who find them a scathing and useless routine. And then, there’s PISA.

PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment, is a triennial test given around the world to 15 year olds in 60 countries. The OECD uses PISA to rate countries’ school systems. It doesn’t just test rote knowledge, but critical thinking as well. To be frank, PISA makes the US look like educational paupers. According to the OECD, American students are falling behind the rest of the world in math, science and reading. Even when US students make gains, they do not keep up with the gains made by others in Finland and Shanghai China and Korea and Poland.

And now with the most recent results released last month and being distributed to schools up through July, administrators at US schools that volunteered to take the OECD test are in a rare state of agita waiting for yet another ranking about which to brag or explain away. The scary aspect about PISA is that it precisely measures the deeper learning and problem solving skills that all agree are needed by students to thrive in their future lives and careers.

PISA is now used by many nations as a benchmark to help them improve their education systems. It has not had that effect in the US. Our poor showings have been absorbed into our parochial arguments pitting testing against deep learning; creativity against rote learning; or project-based learning against traditional cumulative exams.

With such recent attention as Amanda Ripley’s “Smartest Kids in the World,” the academic rankings of PISA are beginning to gain attention. There is another attribute to the test that is more obscure… and all the more crucial: student satisfaction with their teachers and how those teachers help them learn and grow in confidence.
What a surprise that asking students about their own learning could help us see how we might improve our schools!

Look at that data and the countries that do well on the academic side of PISA begin to slip in student satisfaction – South Korea and Finland, for example. Plot student satisfaction against student academic achievement and you have a fascinating picture – not just more data to argue about – but a road map to improving learning for all students.

The American family of BASIS Schools, as reflected in Ripley’s book, have been participants in PISA since first eligible, and achieved scores described as “stratospheric.” In PISA, they ranked academically with the very best in the world. And in other arenas as well: BASIS students perform brilliantly on content rich Advanced Placement tests – a BASIS student was one of 11 students in the world who made a perfect score on the AP Calculus-BC exam last year – when he was in 9th grade.

How do BASIS schools beat the best in the world – in particular, how do American students at BASIS defy all the stereotypes?

It turns out that what matters is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. We know that student academic achievement is driven by our teachers. But how? Is it just all work, all homework, the return of Grad grind to the faculty lounge?

No – what PISA shows and BASIS demonstrates is that the best education in the world is grounded in excitement, and inspiration and curiosity and what Yeats called the “fascination of what’s difficult.”

BASIS Schools recruit only teachers who are expert in their field, who have a passion to pass on their love of economics (or logic or physics or music) to another generation, and who like children. According to BASIS.ed founder Michael Block, the “secret sauce” of BASIS is the teacher who loves to teach.

PISA can help us re-calibrate the arid shouting matches of our parochial American conversation about education. It tells us to steer clear of the Scylla and Charybdis of traditional (standardized testing) and progressive (creativity) ideologues. It says, close your ears to the siren call of technology in the classroom. Does anyone seriously believe it is anything but an opportunity for capital to finally monetize education?

Focus instead on finding the best teachers and holding them accountable – and rewarding them appropriately. BASIS teachers earn bonuses based on student performance – they share accountability with their students, creating a partnership in achievement.

But above all, focus on culture. Inspiration, challenge, support, creativity – they are not mutually incompatible with rigor and standards and thoughtful external cumulative assessments. The schools our students deserve are schools that sustain a culture in which fascinated, engaged and supported students tackle and master difficult stuff.

You cannot have one without the other. They are a Mobius strip, a single side masquerading as two. America has its road map to the educational culture offering results needed to empower our young with the opportunity to make great choices in their futures – we need to move as fast as we can to the upper right hand corner of this PISA graph.

Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity, Teachers March 19, 2016

4 Ways to Help Your Students Embrace Diversity

When you’re a culturally responsive teacher, one of your major goals is to help all students become respectful of all the cultures and people that they’ll interact with once they leave class. I admit: this can be daunting, given that the world at large is infinitely more complex and diverse than the microcosmic environment that the student inhabits.

In typical educational and social settings, students tend to show classic in-group/out-group behaviors. In general, most students are comfortable interacting with people, behaviors, and ideas that they are familiar with, and react with fear and apprehension when faced with the unfamiliar. Culturally responsive instruction can help you show your students that differences in viewpoint and culture are meant to be cherished and appreciated, not judged and feared.

How can you, a culturally responsive educator, overcome human nature’s fear of the unknown and help students become more respectful of cultures with different ideas? Fortunately, I have a few tips to make this a lot easier for you.

1. Provide students with evidence that people who don’t look or act like them are still people just like them.

You can teach this viewpoint by building a culture of learning from one another rather than a culture of passing judgment on differences in values and beliefs.
There are a wide range of classroom activities that can help students recognize the essential humanity and value of different types of people. For instance, providing students with an opportunity to share stories of their home life, such as family holiday practices, provides fellow students with a window into their peer’s cultural traditions.
Another thing you can do is show your students everyday photographs of people of different ethnicities, shapes, sizes, and garb. This gives students the opportunity to see people that look very different from themselves and their family engaging in the same types of activities that they and their family participate in. This can help humanize types of people that your students have never had an opportunity to meet.
Welcoming guest speakers into the class that hail from differing backgrounds and have all made a positive contribution to important fields can also help dispel any preconceived notions that students might possess about the relative competence and value of people from different cultures.

2. Teach your students about multicultural role models. This demonstrates that people of all genders, ethnicities, and appearances can have a positive influence on the world and deserve to be respected and emulated.

It’s important to avoid teaching students about the same minority role models repeatedly; after all, if students never learn about prominent African American citizens other than Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X then it’s likely that some students will assume that few other African Americans have made substantial contributions to American culture and politics. If students are taught about the contributions that people of various ethnicities, genders, and creeds have made to a variety of different artistic, scientific, and political fields, then they’re more likely to respect and value diverse culture backgrounds as a whole.

3. Craft the right environment for culturally responsive learning. Use your wall spaces to display posters depicting cultural groups in a non-stereotypical fashion. Students can also mark the countries from which their ancestors immigrated on a world map, and classroom signs can be hung in several languages.
These added touches might seem innocuous, but they go a long way in helping students absorb the rich diversity that surrounds them, both in the classroom and in the world outside the school walls. Such touches will help promote an environment in which students from diverse backgrounds feel more comfortable being themselves and will help insulate students from the cultural and ethnic stereotypes that pervade television and other mass media outlets.

4. Teach students to embrace their own culture and heritage. Another important goal of culturally responsive education is to teach students to respect and appreciate their own culture and heritage. Minority students can sometimes feel pressured to dispose of their cultural norms, behaviors, and traditions in order to fit in with the prevalent social order. When this happens it can create a significant disconnect between the culture of the student’s school and community lives and can interfere with emotional growth and social development, frequently resulting in poor performance in social and academic domains.

Providing opportunities for students to investigate unique facets of their community is one effective way to help students gain a greater appreciation for their own culture. Having students interview family members about cultural practices and traditions or write about important learning experiences that the student has experienced in his home community are just two of the many ways that students can explore their heritage.

Using a culturally-centered instructional approach can help facilitate cultural pride among diverse students. Given the current federal and state preoccupation with standardized testing in core subjects, it is particularly crucial that educators consider the impact of multiculturalism in core curricula such as math, science, reading, and writing. Providing diverse students with examples of diverse contributors to these fields and using culture-specific subject matter when teaching core topics will help them perform better in these highly scrutinized and important domains. Placing ethnically diverse students in a situation that emphasizes the strong points of their culture’s preferred means of learning may help provide them with a greater sense of self-efficacy and achievement.

How do you promote a culturally responsive, accepting classroom? I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.