Improving Education

Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) organized a mass posting on education reform. He setup a Wallwisher and asked people to publish a blog post about reform on Sunday October, 17th. In my grad studies, I have taken several courses on educational reform. I don't have enough time to crystallize my thoughts, but I will contribute thoughts I collected from others. If you want to contribute, here is the Google Docs (link)

• • when students raise their hands, teach them to be patient and not beg to have their question answered (@johnfaig)
    
  • teach students to take ownership for checking their own work and not rely 100% on the teacher (@johnfaig)
  • Listen to the children, they know what works and what doesn't. (@andyhampton)
  • Connect and network online for lifelong learning (@michelledodd)
  • Improving my teaching through reflective practice improves the education of my students. (@Sarahhanawald)
  • get teachers excited about the possibilities that exist with real lesson planning. give them the time & freedom to play around with it. (@samjshah)
  • I have ideas -- give me the planning time and technological resources to make those ideas real in my classroom. Make school about learning. (@welikesnow)
  • Way more subgroups where students work on way more projects (@onealchris)
  • Finance educators to help prepare students for a world that exists. (@teachntweet)
  • Engage students, foster knowledge construction, promote self-efficacy and get rid of grades. (@swils00)
  • Give novice teachers as much support as we give them responsiblity! (@AppreciationNation)
  • Inspiring teachers to inspire children needs time and talk (@icklekid)
  • http://bigtweet.com/c/b/twitter/willrich45/YtS1z (@ewellburn)
  • above link is Judy Willis article w 10 ideas (@ewellburn)
  • Flex schedule and groupings so students who want to learn can be more intensive (@gtsstl)
  • Roll out major initiatives to a subset of faculty, develop PD materials and let majority of teachers learn from early adopters (@johnfaig)
  • implement theme-based and project-based curriculum (@johnfaig)
  • offer benchmarks at the beginning of each unit to identify students who already know the material - they can work on a project instead of being bored (@johnfaig)
  • provide faculty examples of great technology integration ideas or work with faculty to develop their own ideas (@johnfaig)
  • longer periods (@johnfaig)
  • Enable students to explore their curiosities and interests with supportive learning environment. (@kaferico)
  • process and product are of equal importance (@jeffmason)
  • throw away textbooks - they teach students to focus on units and chapters with no responsibility for the material in the future (@johnfaig)
  • create a Sims-like teaching "game" for new teachers to better understand pedagogy and individual learning styles (@johnfaig)
  • Find most economical, efficient way to teach and make it standard while being open to improvements...no textbooks (@Jwrussell)
  • Implement an online gradebook to improve communication and eliminate the crush of writing interim reports (@johnfaig)
  • Classes should be thematic with at least one "Big Idea" and related skills to be learned (@johnfaig)
  • hands-on, minds-on learning (@drwetzel)
  • get rid of worksheets, kids refer to them as busy work (@drwetzel)
  • problem-based teaching and learning (@drwetzel)
  • challenge students to think and apply what they have learned (@drwetzel)
  • get rid of rote memorization of facts and teach for understanding (@drwetzel)
  • make sp.ed certification something you do AFTER you have taught gen ed 5 yrs (@ssocha)
  • Teachers - strive to design learning experiences that provoke student reflection (@edteck)
  • All decisions should be based on what is best for students. (@dianadell)
  • Do away with the current power structures in schools. Too many try to please the higher-ups rather than doing what they know is best. (@dianadell)
  • Foster student engagement in the learning process. (@dianadell)
  • Implement multi-age, continuous progress, non-graded classrooms and schools in K-12 education. Eliminate departments while we're at it. (@mjmontagne)
  • pose authentic problem-solving scenarios. Encourage, encourage, encourage. (@bhallowes)
  • invest in providing special education, our children are being left behind (@nemitzc)
  • Take turns with students in offering artifacts: you offer one definition, help them make and share one; you offer a theorem, help them build a conjecture, etc. (@MariaDroujkova)
  • Care about the whole student and create constant feedback loop to help them grow. (@midquel)
  • More time outside! (@suevanhattum)
  • cook together, plant gardens together, sing, dance, climb trees (@suevanhattum)
  • kids decide what they'll study, kids learn how to work our their conflicts, kids are in charge (@suevanhattum)
  • it probably needs a new name, 'school' has too much baggage ('teacher' too). maybe children's center, and mentors? (@suevanhattum)
  • teachers have more time to learn new things, they do lesson study (like in Japan) (@suevanhattum)
  • Problem-based learning (@emiller)
  • Parents/Community/Culture valuing education and teaching children to do everything in excellence (@emiller)
  • Focus on the learning. (@caryharrod)
  • Encourage and demand teachers learn, grow and explore on a regular, systemic basis. (@sguditus)
  • Time needed for all! (@sguditus)
  • Get rid of 'social promotion' - keep students in the same class for more than a year if they need it, but give them lots of extra support (@ProfBravus)
  • Re-professionalise the profession: put a lot less energy into 'accountability' and making teachers prove to others what they're doing, so that energy can go into the teaching (@ProfBravus)
  • Assume good intentions of teachers, students and parents, even in the face of uncertainty (@pepepacha)
  • nutritious food and plenty of recess time (@pepepacha)
  • Provide ongoing mentoring for teachers who are early in their careers. (@klbz)
  • Convince teachers that sharing isn't just for kindergarten students - it's a good thing for grownups too (@Chantellabella)
  • If we want our students to be life long learners, We must be life long learners (@debot)
  • use a UbD-like course design and focus on "big ideas" first to design curriculum around (@johnfaig)
  • Strive to make yourself useless. (@paulbogush)
  • Ongoing collaborative and reflective Professional Development; stop one shot and done "programs". (@mackrellr)
  • Use the power of social media to encourage exploratory dialog. (@davideisert)
  • give each student a laptop or netbook (@doug_holton)
  • when planning constantly ask yourself "Why do my students need to know this? How will this help them understand their world?" (UBD once again!) (@hcarver)
  • Ask self, "why are we doing this, and is this the best way?" (@bluka)
  • Let teacher leaders make decisions, not policy makers or polititions. Esp. true regards to assessment. (@hrmason)
  • Treat teachers as professionals, not task doers. Teachers act as professionals no task doers. (@hrmason)
  • If you can't do the job better with technology then don't use technology. Although I'm a tech fanatic, I still believe tech isn't always the answer. (@nparson)
  • education should be more about exploration than book learning (@vishalsodani)
  • focus more on engaging, open-ended questions than quick-fix answers (@nehrmann (HS math))
  • do not choose boring (students AND teachers) and refuse to let the joy be sucked out of the classroom. (@dlaufenberg)
  • encourage the risk taking teachers who are willing to pour their lives into their work (@montgorp)
  • Use whatever tools available to involve the community - school, local, global... (@Tonitones)
  • Allow teachers to get a special ed degree only after they have taught five years in the classroom (@scsocha)
  • Most teachers can spot good teaching. Have schools take responsibility for the teachers they hire. (@johnfaig)
  • Critical Thinking, collaboration, and conversation are the three most important things a teacher can teach. (@fisher1000)
  • Collaboration and Conversation are the two most important things teachers can engage in with each other. (@fisher1000)
  • Keep the teaching and learning, it is what's in between that needs scrapping. (@Deangroom)
  • Create a teaching index where participation and collaboration impacts pay (admin and teachers) (@Deangroom)
  • Fund home school and go to school on the same basis. (@Deangroom)
  • Behind standardized tests, technology, data, questions, and ideas there is a child who wants to learn and be nurtured. (@TeachTechie)
  • Insist on professional autonomy and then insist that students take responsibility for (and understand) their own learning style. (@LisaRead)
  • Change schools into community learning centers open 24/7 where learners of all ages take responsibility for what and how they learn to meet their learning goals. (@bbray)
  • Students design individual learning plans and post evidence on their ePortfolio demonstrating mastery of skills or acquiring knowledge with the support of their advisor or eCoach. (@bbray)
  • Create a professional development lab where teachers work in small, cross-age, cross-curriculum groups and map the curriculum to design thematic project-based learning activities. (@bbray)
  • Provide enough time for ongoing sustainable professional development that includes individualized coaching. (@bbray)
  • pay teachers more money. (@hotei)
  • train teachers for at least 3 years & be substantially more selective about who gets into education programs. (@hotei)
  • empower professional learning communities to implement & experiment following authentic, sober analysis of data. (@hotei)
  • Trust your students. (@stevekatz)
  • give students more responsibility - not less (especially with technology) (@johnfaig)
  • challenge students - attention starts with meaningful and deep tasks (@johnfaig)

References:
image from Edchoices.org (link)