Talking Twitter on EduTalk Radio

The amazing Tom Whitby and Shelly Terrell joined me and EduTalk Radio host, Larry Jacobs, to discuss the power of Twitter as a professional development tool. Tom and Shelly are the co-creators of #edchat, the most popular education conversation on Twitter. Enjoy our conversation.

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Don't miss ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com and Mark's new book, The 5-Minute Teacher: How do I maximize time for learning in my classroom

Moving from traditional to progressive teaching

After presenting results-only learning to a group of 150 charter school teachers in Ohio, one enthusiastic participant asked, "What was the biggest challenge in your transformation?" I had discussed discarding all traditional teaching methods -- lecture, worksheets, homework, testing and even grades.

Via: Alphamom.com

This was a challenging question and much broader than the queries I'm used to during these presentations. After some contemplation, I decided the most difficult of part moving from the daily grind of lecture-practice-assign homework-quiz to a vibrant student-centered classroom was replacing the old approach with projects that encompass many learning outcomes.

I spent a lot of time, discarding the old worksheets, workbooks and homework assignments, I told the inquisitive session participant. Many hours heading into the school year and throughout suddenly were filled with planning detailed, step-by-step projects that would take an entire grading period or more to complete.

Along the way, I created brief, interactive lessons that helped students acquire the skills necessary to apply new knowledge to the projects. My evenings during the school year were spent trolling websites or creating instructional videos that students could use throughout their project work and spark more inquiry on their part.

Weaving standards or learning outcomes into lengthy projects that students love and that truly demonstrate learning is a challenging, yet amazing, part of creating a progressive, results-only learning environment.

What challenges do you face?

Don't miss ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com and Mark's new book, The 5-Minute Teacher: How do I maximize time for learning in my classroom

Is the College Board dooming higher ed?

According to Education Week, the College Board is aligning four of its testing programs with Common Core State Standards, in an effort to assess students' mastery of skills in literacy and math, as outlined by the standards.

Credit: Crmoony.com

Instead of making a move to evaluate students on their body of work, the College Board is falling into line with bureaucrats and the publishing lobby, in their move to label students' abilities and achievements, based on ill-conceived learning outcomes and high stakes tests.

Am I the only one who finds this decision more than a little confounding? What possible incentive could the College Board have to align itself with a system that has not proven that it can effectively evaluate students?

For years -- mainly since No Child Left Behind was enacted -- professors have complained that students enter college unprepared for the intellectual challenges it brings. Now, they will assess so-called mastery of skills with standards that claim to be different, yet have no history of success. In fact, the Common Core is under so much fire that some states are considering abandoning it completely.

It seems that the College Board is taking an "If-you-can't-beat-them-join-them" approach, which may ultimately doom higher education as much as the Common Core may doom K-12 schools.

Don't miss ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com and Mark's new book, The 5-Minute Teacher: How do I maximize time for learning in my classroom

Real change takes courage and leadership

For decades I dwelled in a school district that was cemented firmly in outdated teaching methods. Sure, we got new technology -- a mobile laptop cart here, a few new desktop computers there -- but the pedagogy remained the same. I probably don't have to tell you that the philosophy was to get kids to pass high stakes tests at all costs.

So, each year brought more workbooks, more ill-conceived online reading and math tutorials and a steady stream of district-wide test scores that were, at best, pedestrian.

I rode this ride to mediocrity yearly, until I realized that I had to make change, regardless of the path my district took. Enter results-only learning, and the miraculous transformation it brought. Meanwhile, my school district forged ahead, no change in sight.

True Leaders

I recently worked with some true leaders at a school in Coppell, Texas. These are people who are ready to make major change. From superintendent to building principal to classroom teacher, they are embracing results-only learning -- tossing out archaic traditional methods, in favor of a progressive, student-centered, digitally-enhanced classroom.

They are even altering the way they evaluate learning -- discarding traditional points and letter grades, in favor of narrative feedback. The courage these educators have, leaving behind what most schools in America can't escape -- the chains of workbooks, worksheets and, yes, even grades -- is unparalleled.

So, this is where it begins -- in the great state of Texas. Educators in one school will pilot results-only learning. They will begin a wave of change that might eventually turn into a tsunami.

All it took was real leaders and courage. Well done Coppell!



Don't miss ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com and Mark's new book, The 5-Minute Teacher: How do I maximize time for learning in my classroom

Help me take results-only learning to the SXSW Conference

The SXSW Edu Conference and Festival in Austin, TX has become one of the top conferences on teaching and learning in America.

I think it's a marvelous place to share the power of the Results Only Learning Environment. But I  need your help. Part of the intense selection process is popular vote. So, please give Role Reversal your support.

Please cast your vote for my Role Reversal proposal here.

Don't forget to share with your PLN.

Don't miss Mark's book ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com

Answering questions about the ROLE

In a detailed, thoughtful reaction to Role Reversal, my Twitter friend, Aviva Dunsiger, wonders about a few important concepts in results-only learning. Rather than leave a lengthy comment on her blog, I decided to respond in a post of my own. I've taken some of Aviva's questions and paraphrased them below with my answer. I hope this helps.

How is a student with autism successful in a ROLE?

I taught a few students with Asperger syndrome; they didn't struggle with the noise and disruption as much as others might. What made the ROLE successful for these students is the freedom. For example, when we were completing research, one student wanted to do a PowerPoint project, rather than a formal paper. In the past, I would have never allowed this departure from tradition. As a ROLE teacher, I said, "Why not?" He did a fantastic project, complete with proper citations and a Works Cited section.

Is there a way to give students autonomy while also communicating student performance regularly to parents? 

The best way to communicate is with your online grading program, using the comment feature, or on your classroom website, complete with student blogs and private web pages. Parents were always in the loop, because I put everything on our classroom website.

Why would teachers want to eliminate guided reading?

Aviva suggests some small-group "guided reading" strategies, but I think we differ on the meaning of the phrase. My top 5 reasons for eliminating guided reading are here.

What about the one student who is insistent on getting a report card grade of A, when she deserved a C?

In this section of her blog, Aviva says:

"Grades may not be as important as feedback, but they do give parents an impression of student achievement and next year’s teacher an impression of student achievement too."

I will respectfully disagree with her here. As I contend in Role Reversal, grades say absolutely nothing about performance. They are misleading and unfair. When my children come home with report cards filled with A's, I don't say, "Good job!" I ask them what they learned over the course of two months. "Are you satisfied with your accomplishments? Of what are you most proud? Where did you fail?" No letter can answer these questions. So, to answer the larger question, if a student insists on an A, I'll give it to her. It's never happened more than a few times.

What about homework?

I have written widely on homework and have a new HW post coming in the near future. Meanwhile, here is my most-viewed post on the subject.

Thanks again to Aviva for her passionate critique of Role Reversal. Feel free to add to her work.

Don't miss Mark's book ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com

Education in a Changing World

Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting three sessions at the Education in a Changing World Conference, hosted by Monte Vista Christian School. This amazing conference featured luminaries in education, like Sir Ken Robinson and Alan November.

I presented student-centered learning, based on the concepts in Role Reversal, classroom websites and web tools for education. The video below, shot by a couple of very helpful MVCS students, is a brief segment from my Role Reversal presentation. I hope you enjoy it, despite the poor production quality -- my fault, not the videographers'.



Don't miss Mark's books ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, and The 5-Minute Teacher: How do I maximize time for learning in my classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com

Let's have a Twitter chat about results-only learning

I have spent most of the previous month talking about my new ASCD Arias book, The 5-Minute Teacher: How do I maximize time for learning in my classroom.

In spite of the excitement swirling around the new book I am still inundated with correspondence from readers of my first book, Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom.

Although I attempt to respond to all readers, I decided it's time to have an open chat about results-only learning, and what better way to do it than on Twitter, using the #RoleTalk hashtag?

Monday August 12th, 7-8 PM EST

Mark your calendar and add the #RoleTalk stream to your Twitter, HootSuite or TweetDeck feed. We'll discuss the following and more:

• student-centered learning
• yearlong projects
• narrative feedback
• SE2R feedback model
• BONUS: sneak peek at 5-Minute Teacher strategies
• transitioning from traditional to progressive student-centered learning
• digital/mobile learning strategies
• building autonomy into the ROLE
• discarding rules and consequences
• your other favorite ROLE strategies

 

Share with friends and colleagues

This promises to be an amazing chat with hundreds of intelligent teachers sharing their opinions on student-centered digital learning, assessment, feedback, project-based learning and much, much more.

See you on Twitter #RoleTalk at 7 PM EST on Monday, August 12th.


Don't miss Mark's book ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, and The 5-Minute Teacher:: How do I maximize time for learning in my classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com