while critical thinking and communication are important, Wagner said schools are in danger if they stop there. “Above all, they need to be creative problem solvers,”
a bottom-up and top-down strategy should be implemented
the bottom-up strategy will only work, if it’s accompanied by business leaders clearly articulating the outcomes they’d like to see and helping align accountability to those outcomes.
Recently elite liberal arts colleges like Hampshire and Bard have announced they won’t consider SAT or ACT scores if they’re submitted with an application, because admissions officers don’t believe the tests are a good measure of students’ potential.
The survey found that student who felt supported — that their professors cared about them as individuals, that professors made them want to learn, that they had a mentor — were three times more likely to thrive as those who did not feel supported. Only 14 percent of college graduates answered that all three of those qualities were present in their college experience.
Even fewer college graduates found their higher education experience to be relevant to life and work after college. Only six percent reported with strong affirmatives that they worked on a long term project (at least a semester), had an internship where they could apply skills, and were very engaged in an extracurricular.
It’s a bit like the Socratic method flipped on its head.
Rule 1: Ask As Many Questions as You Can (Gives License to Ask). There are a number of potential stumbling blocks related to this rule, including:
Students struggle trying to produce the questions:
Students ask for examples:
Groups are working at different pace:
Some students are not participating or one student is producing all the questions:
Rule 2: Do Not Stop to Discuss, Judge, or Answer Any Question (Creates Safe Space and Protection).
Rule 3: Write Down Every Question Exactly as It Is Stated (Levels the Playing Field So All Questions and Voices Are Respected.)
Rule 4: Change Any Statement into a Question (Insists on the Discipline of Phrasing, Asking, and Thinking in Questions, Not Statement). Potential challenges that may arise with rule 4 include:
Peer reviewed (please consider LRS online dbase to retrieve):
Westera, W., De Bakker, G., & Wagemans, L. (2009). Self-arrangement of fleeting student pairs: a Web 2.0 approach for peer tutoring. Interactive Learning Environments, 17(4), 341-349. doi:10.1080/10494820903195249
Interesting conference proceedings:
Gaofeng, R., & Yeyu, L. (2007). An Online Peer Assisted Learning Community Model and its Application in ZJNU.Online Submission,
A model to consider, if you have a higher ed instution in the vicinity and replace freshman students with K12 ones. I like how the authors further classified the tutors into 3 categories:
De Smet, M., Van Keer, H., & Valcke, M. (2008). Blending asynchronous discussion groups and peer tutoring in higher education: An exploratory study of online peer tutoring behaviour. Computers & Education, 50207-223. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2006.05.001
This is the foundation, which the startup companies from Sillicon Valley are using to make money:
Hsiao, Y. P., Brouns, F., Kester, L., & Sloep, P. (2013). Cognitive load and knowledge sharing in Learning Networks. Interactive Learning Environments, 21(1), 89-100. doi:10.1080/10494820.2010.548068
this is old, but you can take the concepts and apply them right toward your research of using CAI
Dewey, D. P., & Cannon, A. E. (2006). Supporting technology instruction through peer tutoring, discussion boards and electronic journals. IALLT Journal Of Language Learning Technologies, 38(2), 17.
this one goes towad
Mengping, T. (2014). Mathematics Synchronous Peer Tutoring System for Students with Learning Disabilities.Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 17(1), 115-127.
Tsuei, M. (2012). Using Synchronous Peer Tutoring System to Promote Elementary Students’ Learning in Mathematics. Computers & Education, 58(4), 1171-1182.
creating a learner profile, a set of criteria the school district wanted students to learn while in school. That profile includes: seek knowledge and understanding; think critically and solve problems; listen, communicate, and interact effectively; exhibit strong personal qualities; and engage and compete in a global environment. The profile helps guide all approaches to learning in the district.
Kids already know how to use their devices, but they don’t know how to learn with their devices,” Clark said in an edWeb webinar. It’s the teacher’s role to help them discover how to connect to content, one another and learning with a device that they may have only used for texting and Facebook previously. “It’s about the kids being empowered in the classroom to make decisions about the ways that they are learning,”
IN-CLASS BACK-CHANNELING: Backchanneling refers to the use of networks & social media to maintain an online, real-time conversation alongside spoken remarks.
IN-CLASS READINGS AND HANDOUTS. Smartphones can also be used productively in the classroom as eReaders for books and handouts. You can place all student handouts into DropBox folders (see “Dropbox A Multi-Tool for Educators”).
ORGANIZING RESEARCH.
Using Google Docs for backchanneling with students:
This past week, I had the privilege of introducing US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as a guest moderator for #edtechchat, an educational Twitter chat that I founded with four members of my personal learning network (PLN). Over the course of 60 minutes, almost 2,000 people from around the world, shared about 10,000 tweets in response to the Secretary’s six questions related to being a Connected Educator. Secretary Duncan (@arneduncan) and his Office of Educational Technology (@officeofedtech) deemed October “Connected Educator’s Month” for the second straight year. To close #ce13, Secretary Duncan used the #edtechchat forum to engage in conversation with educators from all over the world.
In reflecting on the chat, many people asked how to get started, and how to possibly follow such a quick flow of information. For one, 10,000 tweets in an hour is by no means typical; but then again, neither is the opportunity to interact with the US Secretary of Education. Although this particular chat with the Secretary may be an extreme example of what possibilities can arise when connecting with others online, each week there are over 160 chats that occur. Virtually all topics are covered in some fashion. Whether you’re a 4th grade teacher (#4thchat) in Maryland (#mdedchat), a principal (#cpchat) in Arkansas (#arkedchat), a new teacher (#ntchat) in Rhode Island (#edchatri), or a parent (#ptchat) connecting on a Saturday (#satchat), there’s something for you.
Start small. Choose a chat that peaks your interest. Lurk, listen, and learn. When you’re ready, jump in head first. Grow your PLN and get connected through a Twitter chat this week! Your students will benefit.
