Edchats

Okay, so in order to complete the requirement of participating in two edchat, well, I participated in two edchats. Here is what I think. Edchats can be extremely useful if you use them for what they are intended. For what are they intended you ask? Their purpose is to bring educators together from all over to discuss specific topics in order to acquire and share new ideas so that they can add to their education and the education of their students. The two edchats I participated in were #pblchat (on 5/8) and #lrnchat (on 5/10). The first was focused on project based learning and the second was focused on learning in general. Since these were the firs edchats I participated in and not necessarily ones that I was really interested in the experience was somewhat mixed for me. I did learn several things form other teachers but was unable to give much myself to the conversation. Most of my time was spent observing the flurry of activity as many educators tweeted in a very limited amount of time. This being said, the experience was still useful and educational for me. The point of these edchats is to learn as much as you can from others and then gradually begin to share more and more yourself as your PLN increases in size. Eventually you will be able to give back more and more to those educators have thus so far given you so many ideas. I believe participating in edchats you (or I) were specifically interested would help this process even more. As I said, I picked two that were convenient for me timewise as I could only participate in ones that were later in the evening.

Teaching Technology to Others

So, something we've been working on in our EDSS 530 is creating our own PLN, a Personal Learning Network. Something I've realized more recently though is that the creating of this network is something we should be sharing with others who don't have one. Recently I was talking to one of the teachers as my clinical practice and showing them my digital reflection project. In my project I used YouTube, Prezi, and Screencast-O-Matic. When I showed her the project and explained all the tools she was instantly interested in how she could use it in her own classroom. These were tools she hadn't used in her classroom but was very interested in using. As a result, I offered to show her and other teachers in the English department how to use them and she thought it would be a great idea. Consequently, myself and another student teacher are going to design a short presentation and show several teachers how to use these great tools. To me this is such a great opportunity as not only am I displaying to them new things I can bring to school to teach students but I am also giving them tools they can use themselves in their own classrooms. To me, this is just as important as learning and using the tools myself. After all, the point of using all these tools is to enhance our own learning, the learning of our students, and our effectiveness as teachers.

Sprint to the Finish

This post goes out to all my friends in the teaching credential program at CSUSM. I want to encourage you right now as you probably are exhausted and feel like you want to tear your hair out. My advice to you is simple. It'll all be over very soon. This year has been incredibly long, you've overcome numerous struggles, and you have put in an inhuman amount of time in learning, lesson planning, and developing yourself into an excellent teacher. In two weeks you will graduate and give a huge sigh of relief. I myself am doing numerous things and have often felt like giving up. Right now I'm sending out applications, finishing up assignments for school, planning lessons, grading papers, trying to find time to eat and sleep, and trying not to completely ignore my wife. This would all seem very overwhelming except for that fact that I finally can see light at the end of the tunnel. Picture these last two weeks like this. You've been running at a steady pace for an insane amount of time. You're on the home stretch with the finish line in sight. Now it's time to pick up the pace, put your head down, and give an all out sprint to the finish. Once you cross that line you can stagger to the ground, lay on your back, and relax with a big smile on your face knowing that you have done something incredible.

You Can't Save Them All

"Doctors bury their mistakes, lawyers get sued by them, and teachers graduate them." - Anonymous Okay, so I'll be the first to admit that at first I laughed when I heard this. However, as I started to think about it more and more I became serious. I began to reflect on what this actually meant and I came up with two conclusions. The first is that you can't save all your students. The second is that even though the first statement is true, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try. If we are all honest with ourselves we should be able to admit that some students will indeed slip through our fingers. No amount of excellent teaching combined with determination will change that. However, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't do whatever is within our power to make sure as many students as possible enjoy a successful academic experience.

What Students Want

Yesterday I had a really neat opportunity along with some of my colleagues to talk to a panel of students about what they want from a teacher. Here are 10 things they mentioned:

1. Be assertive or we will walk all over you.
2. Be funny but don't try to hard or we will think you're crazy.
3. Be creative or we will get bored.
4. Don't be too mean or we will hate you.
5. Be organized or we will be confused.
6. Give us a reason to work or we won't care (a good grade is not a good enough reason).
7. Review for tests in a fun manner or we won't study.
8. Don't give us the answers just to be nice or we won't learn.
9. Get to know us individually or we won't care about you.
10. Give us good instructions but don't baby us or we will roll our eyes at you.

Easy right?

"It's worth it."

"It's worth it."

This is the phrase I seem to be repeating to myself a lot recently. Fortunately I've been doing it in my head and so I I haven't gotten any weird looks from people (except maybe from my wife because I'm pretty sure she can read my mind). The reason I've been repeating this to myself is because, quite frankly, life is a little overwhelming right now. My friends are starting to wonder if I'm still alive, my wife is starting to wonder if "game night with the guys" has been extended to every night of the week, and my dog is making bets with my car over who's going to go the longest without getting a bath. Needless to say, a lot of people and things are being neglected in my life. The reason, of course, is the insane amount of time it takes to get a teaching credential, work a job, and make lessons for students that both teach them something and keep them from falling asleep.

"It's worth it."

This is what I tell myself when I see the lightbulb go on in a student's eyes after you give them an answer to a question that is bouncing around in their heads. This is what I tell myself when a teacher thanks me deeply for covering a class for them so they could attend to something urgent. This is what I tell myself when a student thanks me for staying with them after school to help them proofread and edit an essay they wrote. This is what I tell myself when I stay up late at night trying to help some of my fellow teacher candidates solve some technical difficult so they can meet a TPA deadline.

"It's worth it."

This is what I tell any person reading my blog who is going the extra mile for anyone, whether they are at home or at work. I guarantee you that someone knows what you're doing and someone greatly appreciate it. Your reward is not monetary, it is not physicial, it is not anything you can touch with your fingers. Your reward is the profound impact you are having on someone's life through your selfless acts, hard work, blood, seat and tears. You are making a difference and no matter how difficult it is what you're doing...

"It's worth it!"

Technology and Video Games

Thought I would share a little research Allia and I did on video games and video game technology. Specifically how these can be seen in a positive light.

Flexibility and Special Circumstances

Well, as one of our famed professors said, flexibility is a key trait we all need to acquire as future teachers. I realize this more and more every day. Every day it seems like a new situation is presented: I might have to cover a teacher's classroom so they can take care of their child who just got sick, I might have to do the video for my TPA today instead of next week like I planned because CST testing starts next week, I might have to teach in a fourth class so that I can complete all the requirements for my BCLAD, I might have to make my lesson plans extra detailed because my CT has asked me to provide lessons to her so she can teacher the 3rd 11th grade class (I'm teaching the first 2) the same material that I am covering, and so on.

All these, of course, are situations I have experienced this semester and I guess the more they happened the less I should be surprised when they come up. Although they are annoying and taxing circumstances, I understand more and more how important it is for me to rise to each challenge. We are teachers after all and our primary focus is our students and providing them with whatever they need. Although most of the circumstances I described above apply to me and not really my students, I know that once I get a full time job more and more these situations will revolve around my students. I will have to adapt to their needs because I am their teacher and it is my job to provide and take care of them while they are in my classroom.

One specific example related to a student that comes to mind is when I was returning to my car in the school parking lot at 11 p.m. I was doing this because I had carpooled with a friend to a class I had that night. When I got to the parking lot I noticed there was a student there. Curious, I went over to him and asked him what he was doing there. After all, there was literally no one else around. He told me that his brother had forgotten to pick him up and he had no cell phone or money to call anyone from a payphone. Also, he lived in a city 15 miles away up a 2 lane road in the mountains. Flabbergasted, I offered him the use of my cell phone. Fortunately he was able to call his grandparents who lived close by so that he could spend the night with him.

This whole situation, made it so that I didn't make it home until closer to midnight. Although it added stress to my life I'm very thankful that this situation presented itself for a couple reasons. The first and most important is that student was able to get home and not have to spend the night out in the cold all by himself. The second is it made me realize as a teacher I need to be considerate and flexible to students special circumstances. If that student had been in my classroom the next day (and I had not been there to help him get home) I probably would have thought him lazy as I saw him fall asleep at his desk. I may have even gotten on this student's case for not doing his homework. Of course, I would have done this all without knowing what he had potentially just been through. To make a long story short, this would have been unkind and unfair to this student. As teachers we need to realize there may be a lot more going on underneath a student's behavior instead of them just being lazy, rebellious, or defiant.

El Camino High School Visit Reflection

During our visit to El Camino High School we got the opportunity to see students learn in the classroom using ipads. Unfortunately, when we visited most of the students were neck deep in preparing individually for the Math CAHSEE and so we didn't get to see some of the lessons or day to day assignments the students would've used their ipads for. However, there were some intriguing uses of the ipad I did grasp while we were there.

The first is, with an apple TV device, I could take my ipad and teach the classroom while I walk around in it. Instead of being up at the board with my back to my students while I write, I could project what's on my ipad onto an overhead projector for them to see. This would allow me to focus more on them to see if they are paying attention and understanding what I am teaching. It also allows me to manage the classroom better through proximity to my students.

Another thing I really liked, though not something relegated solely to ipads (it could easily be replicated through computers) is using them to guide my assessments. Something Dr. Nank (one of the teachers we observed) used his ipads for was to have students take assessments on them. His computer would then gather the data from all the answers submitted by the students and create a chart showing what the students did well and what they had trouble with. The advantage of this is it circumvents the nebulous question of "who doesn't understand this?" Using this method of assessing, a teacher wouldn't have to ask this question and instead say something like "from the answers you submitted, I can tell many of you are having trouble with question #21. Let's take a closer look at it to see if we can figure out what was confusing or difficult about that question." Assessing therefore, becomes much more accurate and useful in helping students correct misunderstandings and progress at a faster pace towards learning.

Learning in New Media Environments

"I buy hundred dollar textbooks that I never open," is a phrase that really caught my attention while I was watching Dr. Wesch give his talk. The reason being, of course, it is something I probably would've typed on my computer during my undergrad. This isn't to say I didn't learn anything or didn't open any textbooks. Inevitably I had to so I could study and pass a test. The "textbooks" that I really was interested in though were those books that I genuinely wanted to read and learn from. Being an English major, most of the time these types of books were novels.

To me, the idea of a textbook is a somewhat outdated one. It seems like with the advent and mindblowingly huge use of the internet today, textbooks are almost obsolete. You can literally get on the internet and find out just about anything you could possibly want to know. All you need is a wifi connection at your local Starbucks. Which is why during my undergrad I hardly ever had to open a textbook. Why read through an incredibly boring book when the information I need is just a few clicks away?

Although as Dr. Wesch said, this privilege many have can be abused. Left to their own devices, most students (especially younger ones) don't have the maturity or focus to "learn" themselves. This is where teachers come in. Teachers can guide them, provide adequate individual instruction, and sometimes even provide a relationship that is more akin to a parent or mentor, something many students are missing in their lives. What teachers can do that is very difficult for the internet to do is teach students to be  "open, caring, sharing, collaborative, self-motivated, and voracious."

Are Grades Necessary for Learning Reflection

Like Dan Pink said, the problem is that "grades have become the point." The only way learning is assessed is if a students gets a certain score or not. This is unfortunate though as many have pointed out that getting a good grade doesn't mean a student has learned what they were supposed to (and vice-versa). Although, I think the example Dan Pink used (about French) wasn't necessary the best. The reason many don't learn a language after studying it for several years is they don't practice it regularly because they are not immersed in an environment where it's required to use. Most people who learned how to speak a second language did so because they spent a decent amount of time in a country where that language was spoken with regularity.

Back to the question though...are grades necessary for learning? The obvious answer is of course they aren't. Anyone can learn something without needing a grade to determine whether they have learned or not. That being said, there does need to be some measurement to decide whether a student has learned something or not. Grades, were initially institutionalized because they provide a picture of how well a student has learned something (or at least that is what they were supposed to do). As Mr. Pink said though, grades are now the focus instead of learning and that is where the problem lies.

My personally philosophy, one that is changing and under constant scrutiny, is similar to one we learned about at El Camino High School, something they called "grading for learning." In my opinion, a student's grade should be an A as long as they completed the learning goal. If they take a test on their 5th try and finally get an A, then an A should be their final grade. This, of course, creates a set of problems. How do we encourage students to not take advantage of a system like this (i.e. not try really hard the first four times and waste everyone's time)? Some students have the ability to learn faster than others and have greater mental skills who only need to take a test once to get an A. Do we treat them exactly the same as those who take a lot longer (i.e. some students are better suited to mentally demanding jobs compared to others)? There's also the logistical problem of creating a completely new educational system that puts students through at an individualized pace. We can't keep those students who past the test the first time behind just to wait for those it takes five times to pass the test.

Clearly, the answer to this question deserves considerable thought and debate. The ultimate goal, of course, should be to create as best a learning environment as we can for our students.

Visitors and Residents Reflection

After watching the video by David White I would consider myself somewhere between both worlds, but probably more in the visitor world. The reason for this is that I primarily see the internet as a collection of tools, not as a place to go to socialize. When I think of socializing, I think of sharing a drink with my colleagues at the local pub, playing videogames with my friends online, or going to a party with my wife. I don't think of putting a collection of posts and information about myself and ideas that I have on the internet in order to connect with others who share similar interests.

However, more and more I see that this is where our society is going, especially amongst teens and young adults. As an educator who will be spending the next several decades in the educational environment teaching this age group, I believe it is important for me to have a strong presence on the internet to help me connect better with my colleagues and with my students. I need to be able to relate to them in a format they are comfortable with, I need to share with them what I know about thoughtful and responsible use of the internet, and I need to learn from them as inevitably they will pass me up at some point and will be able to teach me a thing or two.

Not only this, I also realize how important the internet can be to helping me run a more effective classroom. Using a social website (tool) like Moodle will help me establish an online environment my students can go to so they can socialize, do assignments, check missing work, and so on. Teaching and reaching out to students doesn't have to be limited to just the classroom anymore and it would be a waste for me to not take advantage of something like this. Teachers should always be looking for and willing to do whatever it takes to help their students (excepting anything illegal of course).

Reading Reflections 25-30

#25: Identify key information for Leanna that will inform educational goals and supports for her IEP.

1. Leanna suffers from mild cognitive impairment. No specific disability has been determined.

2. Her disability has kept her from keeping up with her peers (skill & knowledge).

3. She lacks confidence due to falling more and more behind her peers.

4. She works really hard despite her disability.

5. Strong in auditory comprehension skills.

6. Oral reading skill is good but comprehension of reading material is low suggests low analytical skills.

7. Changes at home have encouraged Leanna to be more responsible instead of being disruptive like they normally are for students.

8. Low percentile scores on ability tests (age equivalent around 10 on many tests instead of 16)

9. Responds well to guided instruction (independent skill is low).

10. Mother is very supportive of her.

#26: Describe 3 differentiation strategies (content, process, & product) you would use to support Leanna in your class.

- Content: The material and instructions given to Leanna should be clear and simply worded. She should not have to guess at was is expected from her. The teacher should make sure to spend time with her for each assignment and assessment to ensure she understands what she is supposed to do. When possible, give Leanna notes on what is being discussed whether it be grammar rules, the theme of a novel, the structure of a character analysis essay, etc. Spend time with her going over these notes, rules, etc. to make sure she understands them.

- Process: She does very well when instructed and guided on an individual basis. Therefore, her teachers should make sure to spend a lot of time with her making sure she understands what is expected. They should also provide her with more guiding instructions than the rest of the class as she has a hard time when left on her own to figure things out. Another thing teachers could do is pair her up with strong students in the classroom who are both knowledgeable and helpful. This way she will understand better what to do and will develop better social skills (something she's also lacking in).

- Product: Her skills are quite a bit lower than her peers because of her cognitive disability. Every attempt should be made to help her increase these skills (i.e. work individually with her) but she should not be expected to provide the same level of content as her peers. Leanna should be encouraged to come to after school tutorials so the teacher can help her create quality work. Her mother should also be encouraged to help her with her homework.

#27: Identify key information for Mwajabu that will inform educational goals and supports for her IEP.

1. Mwajabu is a deaf girl (not completely deaf) from Tanzania and received no educational services there.

2. Moved to the US when she was 10; did not attend school for first 1.5 years in the US.

3. Must complete tasks beginning to end without interruption.

4. Likes to draw and is a visual learner.

5. School environment in Tanzania relied heavily on individual work.

6. Independent attitude.

7. Has difficulty interacting with her peers and can't communicate very well with them.

8. Social skills have been hampered due to her inability to interact normally with her peers.

9. English is a second language, has difficulty speaking and pronouncing some sounds correctly.

10. No mental deficiency although her analytical skills have been hampered because of her disability.

11. A more extensive evaluation of her abilities is required.

#28: Describe 3 differentiation strategies (content, process & product) you would use to support Mwajabu in your class.

- Content: Instructions and material should use simpler language than the instructions and materials given to the class. The teacher should also spend more time with Mwajabu explaining the content being taught. She should be provided with outlines, notes, etc. of whatever is being taught at the time. This will let her focus on understanding the material instead of having to write and listen at the same time (like when taking notes on a lecture for example). The teacher should spend individual time with her to make sure she understands what is being taught.

- Process: Mwajabu will probably do better in class with graphic organizers as these tend to organize content in a visual manner to increase understanding for those that are visual learners (like Mwajabu). Therefore, teachers should provide graphic organizers to her when possible, even if the rest of the class is not receiving one for a particular assignment.

- Product: Mwajabu's speaking and listening skills have suffered because of her disability. Therefore, the teachers should attempt to gather assessments that play to her learning style (visual) when possible, even implementing writing assessments as opposed to verbal assessments (speeches, presentations, etc.). Mwajabu cannot produce the same product as her peers as she has not had the same level of schooling as her current peers. Her disability has also made it difficult to acquire skills and knowledge. Therefore, there should not be expectations of her producing work on the same level as her peers. Teachers should work especially hard with Mwajabu on an individual level to help bring her closer to the academic level of her peers.

#29: List 10 best practices for preparing for an IEP meeting.

 

1. Learn about the families’ cultures and important traditions.

2. Provide opportunities for parents to learn more about the school environment.

3. Invite parents to visit their child’s classroom and special events and make sure all communications are in language that the parent understands.

4. Ask parents who they would like included at the meeting. Make sure all of the appropriate people attend, and inform the parents of who will be present

5. Meet with special education advocate for the student.

6. Share how the student has progressed in your class and what are appropriate goals for the student in the context of your class.

7. Ask what goals the special educator, parents and student believe are appropriate for the student and how you and your course will be an integral part of the IEP.

8. Identify what supports will ensure student’s success and how those supports will be provided.

9. Identify what evidence you might bring to represent students work from your class.

10. Identify what goals you will be responsible for and how those goals will be observed, measured, and documented

#30: List 10 best practices for conducting an IEP meeting.

1. Be mindful of the seating assignment. Avoid an “Us vs Them” Positioning.

2. Make sure all people are introduced.

3. Review purpose of meeting.

4. Begin the meeting by reviewing the strengths of the child and focus on the positive aspects of the family and student throughout the meeting.

5. Minimize educational jargon during the meetings to enhance parents’ understanding. Try to refrain from using acronyms!

6. Make ideas shared at meeting visible (white board, overhead projector…).

7. Check for parents’ understanding of key points made.

8. Review Team member roles & responsibilities

9. Follow through on what you are responsible for, supporting, differentiation, teaching, assessing, document and communicating to student, parents and special educators.

10. Conduct followup meetings to assess student's progress and determine further action.

Reading Reflections 22-24

#22: Provide feedback for each Peer Group ITU.

Done in class.

#23: Identify 2-3 strategies from the ITUs that you can use in your clinical practice.

1.

2.

3.

#24: Write a persuasive letter to a board member, principal, faculty member or parent detailing your plan to implement your ITU. Include preplanning, planning, implementation, post implementation stages in your letter.

http://sphsitu.weebly.com/itu-letter.html

Reading Reflections 19-21

#19: Identify strategies to differentiate assessment.


#20: Identify 2-3 assessment strategies you can use in your unit.


#21: Identify how you can use these assessment strategies in TPA Tasks.

Reading Reflections 16-18

#16: Identify the 5 different components of cooperative learning.


#17: Identify how you will use cooperative learning in your ITU. Be specific and describe the strategies you will use for each component.


#18: Incorporate some of the lesson planning resources in your lessons and ITU.

Reading Reflections 13-15

#13: Identify what co-teaching approaches were modeled this week.


#14: Describe the co-teaching approaches you will use in your ITU (Task 5).


#15: Describe in your lesson plans who, what, when, how, and why in regards to the co-teaching approaches (Task 7).

Journal #5

Looking back at your teaching last semester, what did you discover about the needs of students in your classes? What kinds of “needs” surfaced that surprised you? To what degree do you think you really understand the needs of your students? How wide is the “gap” between them and you? What might have surfaced in the reading or in your teaching (about the realities of students’ needs) that triggered a negative response in you? Try to identify why this response was triggered and how it relates to your biases.

I think one of the things that surprised me the most was how all of my students, regardless of their gender, race, primary language, etc. all needed help with writing. This was especially surprising to me as I expected them to at least have a general understanding of the mechanics involved in writing an essay by the second half of their 1st semester. This, however was not the case. As a result, I had to teach them from the ground up how to write, proofread, edit, and rewrite an essay. This experience taught me it is a good idea never to assume what your students know or can do. Next time I teach I will be sure to give a few diagnostic assessments at the beginning so that I can better understand what my students know and can do.

As far as how wide the "gap" is between my students and myself, I don't believe it is that wide. Although their needs and concerns obviously differ from mine, I do believe that I understand what their needs and concerns are. I would say the biggest challenge for me teaching them though was getting them to realize how important it was for them to do well in my class. I remember several times when getting an assignment back I was frustrated with how many of my students didn't turn it in. I began to realize that it was simply because they did not understand the gravity of not passing my class. They didn't understand that if they failed a semester in English then they would have to make it up by taking 2 English classes at a time since to graduate they all need to pass 4 years of English. Once I realized this need I decided to spend the beginning of the next day explaining this to them, specifically how failing a semester could severely affect any long term goals they may have. I believe it is because of this that I began seeing more and more of them do their work.


A bias I had related to what I just discussed was I assumed that just because students didn't do their homework it meant they were lazy or didn't care. After talking with one student in particular I promptly corrected this assumption. Sure, there were definitely students who didn't care and who were lazy. But there were also students who didn't do their homework simply because they didn't have anyone at home to help and encourage them, or they had such a messed up homelife that it made it very difficult for them to get their work done. Once I realized this, I started encourage many of my students who did not do their homework to stay after school in English tutorial to get their work done. This way another teacher or I could help them get their work done for the next day. Several students promptly took me up on this offer. It was a very exciting thing for me to be able to help them. I talked to one of them this semester and found out he is still going to tutorial and he is getting all his homework done! This was very encouraging for me to hear.

Journal #4

What are your biases and how do you mitigate your behavior when working with students?

I will be the first to admit that during my CPI I had biases towards my students. I thought my Hispanic students would have more difficulty with reading and writing than their Caucasian peers and I thought girls would enjoy artistic assignments more than boys. On both of these counts I was wrong. In fact, what happened was pretty much the opposite of what I expected. On a summative assessment where I had my students write an essay it was my Hispanic students that had the top 3 grades. For the artistic assignments I gave to my class there were 2 boys in particular that really enjoyed those activities and put far more effort into them than the rest of the class. Needless to say, both of these experiences were eye openers to me about what my biases were and what I should do with them.


It wasn't soon after that I began reflecting on what I needed to change about my biases and I finally came up with the only conclusion that made sense. I would need to believe from the very first day that all my students have different abilities and interests, and that these are not determined by race, religion, or gender. It's not that these 3 factors can't affect a student's ability and interests, because they do sometimes. It's that I shouldn't automatically correlate outside influences and appearances with inside interests and abilities. In fact, all students are capable of doing well and all of them have varied interests because they are all different, just as one human is different from another. Once I realized this, it was a lot easier for me to approach all my students in an equitable manner and they were much better for it. I decided from this point forward I would seek to study each student individually to seek out what their particular interests and abilities are. For me, it was simply a change of perspective and attitude that enabled me to be a much more effective teacher for my students.

Responses to Distrupting Class

Chapter 1: Why Schools Struggle to Teach Differently when each Student Learns Differently
1. Explain the difference between interdependence and modularity.  How is education currently organized?

Products and services all have specific designs in how the different parts that make them up interact with each other. These parts all fit together using something called an interface. Products have interfaces as well as people that work within the same organization. There are two ways these parts or people are interfaced with one another, in an interdependent manner or a modular one.

A product or service is interdependent if the design of each component depends on the designs of the rest of the components in the product or service. In short, they are dependent on each other. When two or more components are being designed for an interdependent product or service they must be designed together. In contrast a product or service is modular if the parts do not depend on or need to be made together. They can be made or designed by separate entities at separate times and will still fit together as they all follow specific design instructions.

Education today is mostly designed interdependently. There are four types of interdependencies in education today: temporal (material instructed in high school is dependent on material instructed in junior high), lateral (changing how Spanish grammar is taught is dependent on the strategies English grammar is taught), physical (certain ways school buildings and classrooms are laid out prevent project-based learning even though this strategy is known to be highly effective), and hierarchical (different educational laws at different levels ranging from local all the way up to federal).


Chapter 2: Making the Shift:  Schools meet Society’s need
2. Explain the disruptive innovation theory.  What does this have to do with schools?

The disruptive innovation theory is the theory that attempts to explain why organizations succeed or struggle with innovation. Sustaining innovations are ones used by organizations that increase their own performance which in turn helps increase the performance of their customers. Disruptive innovations, in contrast, does the opposite and decreases performance both for the organization and the customer. One example discussed in the book is oddly enough, the personal computer. When these were first introduced they weren't nearly as useful or usable as the current and incredibly more expensive market standard, the minicomputer (the cost of these was in the $200K range). It wasn't until about 10 years after they were introduced when their functionality was greatly increased that they became a sustaining innovation. An interesting fact about disruptive innovations is more often than not they take longer to become sustaining innovations as a company would rather throw its resources at its established sustaining innovations.

The way all this relates to schools is that, in general, schools have been increasing performance. However, they have done so under much duress and only with tremendous effort. The best way to explain this is schools have always had a specific way in which performance was measured as well as a specific design intended to increase performance according to that established way of measurement. What society has done is they have imposed a new method of measuring performance while asking schools to use the same design created to increase performance on the old way of measuring performance. What schools need is to be able to redesign themselves and how they function in order to help themselves meet those performance expectations in a more efficient and sustaining manner.

One example of how the way scholastic performance measurement was changed is when American society stopped comparing American schools to themselves and how they performed year over year, and instead began comparing them to other nations and they performed year over year. This was done so in order to keep American schools globally competitive when compared to schools from other nations who started demonstrating greater scholastic achievement. One way in which this changed the educational landscape is students were made to focus more and more on core subject matter that could be measured globally (math, science, language, etc.) instead of being allowed to focus on subject matter that interested them.


Chapter 3: Crammed Classroom Computers
3.  Why doesn’t cramming computers in schools work?  Explain this in terms of the lessons from Rachmaninoff (what does it mean to compete against nonconsumption?)

The reason cramming computers into schools hasn't worked is because educational software has not become an integral part of curriculum and as engaging as video games, and many teachers are still not ready to use and teach technology. These two goals were two of four set forth by President Bill Clinton in a vision he had of integrating the usage of technology in schools. In essence, computers have mostly been disruptive innovations in schools and not enough resources, effort, and thought have been thrown at them to turn them into sustaining innovations.

The original idea behind injecting computers into schools was it was assumed they would increase performance just like they have increased performance in many other business and technological industries. The reason why this increase in performance hasn't happened for schools though is they, unlike these successful businesses and technological firms, haven't altered their design in order to utilize computers to the extent for which they were made. As already stated, curriculum hasn't integrated computers as an essential part and it hasn't gotten very far in designing software specifically to use computers in education. In short, simply putting a computer in a room is not going to automatically make the students in that room more productive.

The other part of this equation is, of course, teachers have not changed their teaching strategies to better employ computers in their classrooms. As the books says, "lecturing, group discussions, small-group assignments and projects, and the occasional video or overhead are still the norms." This in stark contrast to the successful organizations where employees practically use their computers most of the 8.5 hours they are at work. Another way to phrase this is the disruptive product or computer is competing against nonconsumption in the classroom. In other words, the computer being injected into schools is a disruptive innovation, the reason for this is because it is not being utilized as sufficiently or efficiently as the way other organizations use computers (who do so in a sustaining manner).


Chapter 4: Disruptively Deploying Computers
4. Explain the pattern of disruption.
Disruptive almost always share the same pattern. Firstly they compete against nonconsumption. As time goes on the technology improves while the cost lessens. Eventually the disruptive innovation turns into a sustaining innovation as it is integrated and utilized more and more. The shape of this pattern generally follows the shape of an S-curve. When it is first introduced performance increases very slowly. Gradually performance increases more and more until there is a significantly sharp increase in performance. As it nears the top though it flattens out as the innovation reaches its max potential within the organization it was introduced.

5. Explain the trap of monolithic instruction.  How does student-centric learning help this problem?
The "trap" of monolithic instruction is to keep instructing students in batches or groups, in the same way batches of a material are produced from a factory. One example in education where monolithic instruction is used is in assessments. Assessments have always served two purposes: to determine how well students understand a particular subject so they can move on to the next subject and to compare one student with another to analyze the rate at which they are progressing through the material. Assessments using monolithic instruction do not accomplish these two things every effectively, especially when contrasted with a different type of instruction, student-centered learning.

The biggest way these two strategies differentiate themselves from each other is monolithic instruction is focused on groups while student-centric learning is focused more on the individual. For example, student-centered learning would teach to the individual student, determine how fast they are learning the material, assess that particular student's understands the material, and determine whether they are ready to move on. This is very hard for a teacher to do which is why monolithic instruction is used more commonly. A way to circumvent the logistics of teaching to a group is to implement student-centered learning through higher usage of computers that use software to teach and assess the individual.


Chapter 5: The System for Student-Centric Learning
6. Explain public education’s commercial system.  What does it mean to say it is a value-chain business?  How does this affect student-centric learning?

Public education today mostly follows the VAP or value-adding process business model. VAP businesses "bring inputs of materials into one end of their premises, transform them by adding value, and deliver higher-value products to their customers. The basic why this is seen in school is textbooks on specific subject matter are created, the teacher instructs students on this material in group fashion, and then assesses students on how well they have learned the material in order to determine if they are ready to graduate after having "increased in value" from going through the production line. In short, schools follow a value-chain business model where value is added along the chain in order to produce something that is a lot more valuable than the initial "product" introduced at the beginning.

As far as student-centric learning is concerned this is all both positive and negative. The good news is that student-centric learning can be highly effective when computers and educational software are introduced into the equation. Computers and software are designed specifically for companies that use this commercial system. The bad news is that purchasing, integrating, and developing computers and software in order that they sustain the VAP business model as it applies to education can be a very expensive endeavor (which is why introducing computers into education was done but the other steps to the process largely ignored). In order for these tools to really serve students' individual needs and ensure they are coming out at the end of the value-chain with a much greater value placed on them, time and money will have to be spent making sure computers and software are an integral part of curriculum and the educational experience.