Friday, August 3, 2012
Inefficiencies and Barriers to Change
Jeff Selingo: Inefficiencies and barriers to change:
1. Unneeded hierarchy and complexity (too many layers of supervisors)
2. Fragmented and redundancy (technology, servers, underutilized, inefficient)
3. Lack of standardization
4. Misaligned incentives
Free Online Courses
While I've been doing this internship at the Department of Education this summer, I've been working with a lot of online courses, in particular, free ones. Should I require students to take one free online course from a site like edX or Coursera?
There was also an interesting question raised at the AEI event: Should online classes be for lower-level courses (like they mostly are now) or for higher-level courses because more-advanced students need less guidance?
I'm also thinking that some students who do not come in at the same levels (like in math) should take online courses to get caught up. For instance, if I'm starting freshman with geometry (to move into Algebre II next), then students who didn't take Algebra I in middle school could take it online during their freshman year and be caught up in time for sophomore year.
There was also an interesting question raised at the AEI event: Should online classes be for lower-level courses (like they mostly are now) or for higher-level courses because more-advanced students need less guidance?
I'm also thinking that some students who do not come in at the same levels (like in math) should take online courses to get caught up. For instance, if I'm starting freshman with geometry (to move into Algebre II next), then students who didn't take Algebra I in middle school could take it online during their freshman year and be caught up in time for sophomore year.
Executive Board
To start MA, I need a Board of Directors. I need a lawyer, an accountant, and me. I might bring someone on for fundraising (Robert Archibald - Fundraising staff must raise more than their compensation), someone who can do IT work, and a parent. Eventually, I want a lot of schools and programs that answer to an executive board. I heard a lot of terms thrown around at the AEI event that I thought I should note as possibilities:
CEO: Chief Executive Officer – ensure quality is high
CFO: Chief Financial Officer – ensure cost is low
CIO: Chief Information/Intelligence Officer – collect and use data within and from outside the schools. Also figure out how to keep the schools running with different potential obstacles.
CLO: Chief Legal Officer
COO: Chief Operating Officer – me?
CAO: Chief Academic Officer
Executive Director – me?
What Employers Want from Schools
Employers want employees to have strong communication skills and creativity. They want schools to teach students how to think, usually not to train them for a job.
Faculty Training and Rewards
I want to have my own teacher training program. I think I want it to just be a summer-long course for my new teachers. But eventually it'd be awesome to have a credited teaching school from which people can actually get teaching certificates. Or I can have a year-long (or summer-long) MA teacher boot camp for people who want more training.
In college, faculty gets rewards based on teaching, service, and research, so I'm thinking two aspects for which I can reward my faculty are teaching and service.
In college, faculty gets rewards based on teaching, service, and research, so I'm thinking two aspects for which I can reward my faculty are teaching and service.
Panels
There were five different panels at the AEI event I attended yesterday, and I loved them so much that I decided I want my students to participate in weekly panels. Each senior will be required to sit on one panel. This is practice with events students will run across, public speaking, and work they'll probably be expected to do in the real world.
I liked the way the AEI event did it: one moderator and four panelists for each panel. Each panelist had 10-15 minutes to discuss the issue (in this case, two of the panelists had written a paper on the topic at hand, and everyone had to comment on them) with a PowerPoint (excellent practice for students). Then the moderator asked one or two questions of all or one of the panelists then opened the floor for questions of the panelists.
Each panelist could have a different aspect of the topic on which to focus: economic factors, social networking, health, future implications, etc. Teachers should get to know their students' interests so they can suggest panel topics and even students who might be interested in sitting on the panel. I'm thinking the panel topics should be announced about 5 weeks before it happens. Students can email whoever is in charge if they are interested then the panel should be finalized one month beforehand, so they have a while to work on the topic. This would be good, also, because we have three week breaks, so students would have plenty of time during the quarter sessions to plan for their panels.
I'm thinking of shortening Friday classes and/or putting the panels during the time students have for homebase the other days of the week.
I want students to turn in reflections to their English teachers (or ones that have to do with the panel's topic) on Monday or Tuesday the next week. I also want journalism students (and sometimes regular students) to write real papers on the panel topics and on what they're learning about in their classes.
I still don't know how many students I want at MA, but if I have 400 students total, then I'll have about 100 seniors that have to participate each year. There are about 40 Fridays in the academic year. I could fill 2 or 3 of the four spots on the panel with seniors. The other spaces can be taken by freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. I don't care which level of student moderates.
I liked the way the AEI event did it: one moderator and four panelists for each panel. Each panelist had 10-15 minutes to discuss the issue (in this case, two of the panelists had written a paper on the topic at hand, and everyone had to comment on them) with a PowerPoint (excellent practice for students). Then the moderator asked one or two questions of all or one of the panelists then opened the floor for questions of the panelists.
Each panelist could have a different aspect of the topic on which to focus: economic factors, social networking, health, future implications, etc. Teachers should get to know their students' interests so they can suggest panel topics and even students who might be interested in sitting on the panel. I'm thinking the panel topics should be announced about 5 weeks before it happens. Students can email whoever is in charge if they are interested then the panel should be finalized one month beforehand, so they have a while to work on the topic. This would be good, also, because we have three week breaks, so students would have plenty of time during the quarter sessions to plan for their panels.
I'm thinking of shortening Friday classes and/or putting the panels during the time students have for homebase the other days of the week.
I want students to turn in reflections to their English teachers (or ones that have to do with the panel's topic) on Monday or Tuesday the next week. I also want journalism students (and sometimes regular students) to write real papers on the panel topics and on what they're learning about in their classes.
I still don't know how many students I want at MA, but if I have 400 students total, then I'll have about 100 seniors that have to participate each year. There are about 40 Fridays in the academic year. I could fill 2 or 3 of the four spots on the panel with seniors. The other spaces can be taken by freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. I don't care which level of student moderates.
Making MA Happen
Ben Wildavsky: Making it work:
1. Pick curriculum carefully
2. Keep students engaged
3. Train teachers thoroughly
4. Track student progress and learning – “outcome guides” that directly track the learning of a student
Be careful of elitism and grade inflation (Amy Laitinen)
Are we paying for a college experience or for learning? – Amy Laitinen
Make data-driven decisions supported by measurement and accountability – Ari Blum
See a city/place as a big campus (Anya Kamenetz)
What Are Schools For?
A lot of people had opinions about what schooling is for, and then the question came up asking what a quality education really is. Here are some answers to that and to what education should provide that I think I need to apply to MA:
Accreditation (why learn) + socialization (how learn) + content (what learn) - Anya Kamenetz
Cost + Access + Relevance - Anya Kamenetz
Convenience, cost, completion, and credential (how fast learn)
Soft skills, citizenry, mastery of subject, network of peers, global structure
National service, study/service/work abroad, subject matter expertise (class, internship, etc.), living and learning communities
How to think and thrive in a world that is constantly changing. Everyone should be in a constant state of reinvention – 58% of grade school kids will have a job that doesn’t exist yet, this year MOOC’s are the fad, next year adaptive learning, etc. (Anya Kamenetz)
Personal growth – coming of age
Competitive in our economic market and in an international economy, become a good citizen, teaches you to enjoy life and to open you senses - Andrew Delbanco
Eliminating barriers to innovation and competition
Cost of MA
Last year, Texas governor called for schools to develop a $10K bachelor's degree so more people can have access to a college education. I've only barely started crunching numbers for MA, but I'd like to at least try to make my school less than $20K for all four years ($5K per year) because I want as many students to have access to MA as possible. Amy Laitinen from the AEI event I attended yesterday stressed that schools need to be careful of elitism, which was a wake up call for me to lower prices because I want all of America to attend MA's.
AEI Event
Yesterday I went to an AEI Event: Stretching the higher education dollar. It was incredible, and it really reminded me why I love education. I need to keep going to events like this to keep my education dreams alive. What I'm posting today are things that I heard in and/or thought of during this event. I should mention that this event was about higher education, but I learned a lot that could also be applied to private high schools.
Some insentive:
Some insentive:
“You have to be able to say in 30 seconds why what you’re doing is totally awesome.” – Michael Staton
“Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Archive: Cross-Subject Project Before 8/1/12
CROSS-SUBJECT PROJECT:
Based in 21st Century Topics: Students write a letter to (a) government (or other) official(s) about a current topic. English checks on formatting and argument. Culture checks on letter-writing skills. 21st Century Topics checks on argument and promotes the idea that students can make a difference in our society.
Based in 21st Century Topics: Students write a letter to (a) government (or other) official(s) about a current topic. English checks on formatting and argument. Culture checks on letter-writing skills. 21st Century Topics checks on argument and promotes the idea that students can make a difference in our society.
Archive: CE/LS and Change Class Descriptions Before 8/1/12
Current Events/Life Skills Class:Current Events/Life Skills class is one that focuses on current events, international studies, and epistemology (like theory of knowledge in the IB program).
Change Class:
Change class is one that focuses on volunteering (100 minute classes allow for a fifteen minute bus ride to and from a volunteer site and plenty of time to volunteer), doing good, making a change in the world (local to international), transitioning to college and careers (career goals), and having meetings working on different events throughout the school year. It seems like a complicated umbrella, but it is basically dealing with making change happen and dealing with changes that are happening.
Change Class:
Change class is one that focuses on volunteering (100 minute classes allow for a fifteen minute bus ride to and from a volunteer site and plenty of time to volunteer), doing good, making a change in the world (local to international), transitioning to college and careers (career goals), and having meetings working on different events throughout the school year. It seems like a complicated umbrella, but it is basically dealing with making change happen and dealing with changes that are happening.
Archive: History Class Description Before 8/1/12
History:12 - 20th and 21st Centruy Topics/World Topics
11 - European History
10 - American History
9 - World History
I'm playing around with the possibility of doing a year or a semester on each continent, but I haven't worked out the kinks yet, and that could only be done if I included middle school. If demand is high enough, I may include more specific classes that can replace European history.
Some of my goals: students should be able to have an overview of history, be able to analyze certain situations, and go in depth on specific topics; students should learn how big and different the world is but that it is accessable to them at all times for jobs and travel; and students should have an international mindset.
11 - European History
10 - American History
9 - World History
I'm playing around with the possibility of doing a year or a semester on each continent, but I haven't worked out the kinks yet, and that could only be done if I included middle school. If demand is high enough, I may include more specific classes that can replace European history.
Some of my goals: students should be able to have an overview of history, be able to analyze certain situations, and go in depth on specific topics; students should learn how big and different the world is but that it is accessable to them at all times for jobs and travel; and students should have an international mindset.
Archive: Graduation Requirements Before 8/1/12
English: 4 years
Foreign Language: 4 years, at least 3 years of the same language
History: 4 years
12 - 20th and 21st Centruy Topics/World Topics
11 - European History
10 - American History
9 - World History
I'm playing around with the possibility of doing a year or a semester on each continent, but I haven't worked out the kinks yet, and that could only be done if I included middle school.
Experimental Sciences: 4 years, at least one year of physics, chemistry, and biology, and at least one year of a higher level of one of the three
Math: 4 years
Students will need to complete algebra I, algebra II, geometry, and pre calculus. Depending on when they start math in middle school, they should also complete calculus and statistics.
Arts/PE: One year of art, one year of PE/sport, one year of health
Art and PE are also required every Friday, but the M-Th class is unrelated to the F class.
Culture: 4 years
Further Studies: 2 years of one semester courses
Friday Classes:
PE: 4 years
Arts: 4 years
Current Events/Life Skills Class:4 years
Change Class: 4 years
Other requirements:
40 hours of community service by graduation - completed during change class primarily
Foreign Language: 4 years, at least 3 years of the same language
History: 4 years
12 - 20th and 21st Centruy Topics/World Topics
11 - European History
10 - American History
9 - World History
I'm playing around with the possibility of doing a year or a semester on each continent, but I haven't worked out the kinks yet, and that could only be done if I included middle school.
Experimental Sciences: 4 years, at least one year of physics, chemistry, and biology, and at least one year of a higher level of one of the three
Math: 4 years
Students will need to complete algebra I, algebra II, geometry, and pre calculus. Depending on when they start math in middle school, they should also complete calculus and statistics.
Arts/PE: One year of art, one year of PE/sport, one year of health
Art and PE are also required every Friday, but the M-Th class is unrelated to the F class.
Culture: 4 years
Further Studies: 2 years of one semester courses
Friday Classes:
PE: 4 years
Arts: 4 years
Current Events/Life Skills Class:4 years
Change Class: 4 years
Other requirements:
40 hours of community service by graduation - completed during change class primarily
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