Khan Academy

I came across the Khan Academy website today and I must say I am very intrigued. This single guy named Khan produced over 1000 youtube videos and each of them is a little lesson on a mathematical, economics, or history concept. I have doubts that each of the subjects is taught in an excellent way - how can one man do it all? But still, it is impressive. I like the length of each video. In keeping with the Ted.com concept each video is short and that is important for young learners. I realize that many schools are putting up more and more videos like this and I think it is a good thing. It may not be a popular thing to say but I think these videos should replace the teacher-created lecture. It is very arrogant for teachers to assume that their lecture is any better than Khan's for example. Yes, he probably gives a biased view of economics, history, etc. and his math lessons probably cater to one kind of learning style or math program, but this is just a hint of the potential of the internet. We could create realms where there are 10 different lectures on the French Revolution with comment sections attached much like Amazon.com's review sections. The teacher's role then becomes one in which he or she helps students select the right video to watch and how to interpret them for bias.

Critics of online learning also moan about the lack of interaction but I think they are comparing the online realm with their utopian classroom where kids are super-interactive and getting their voice heard. while this does happen it does not happen enough and is no standard by which to judge online learning. Besides, the new revolution unfolding in the online realm is social networking and social learning. You are engaging in it right now if you are reading this. And progressives can cheer because learners get their curriculum catered to their interest and don't have to march to the beat of everyone else in their class.

Critics also contend that school is about more than acquiring information like what Khan's site is set up to do, and that it is about creating community. I think critics need to realize that community can be created and fostered in an online environment. And one of the buzzwords of progressives is creating global citizens. Think about it, where do you interact the most with diverse peoples around the world? On the internet. So of course online learning can have problems but instead of ignoring it we should be embracing it and finding out a way to make it work and unleash its potential. We are almost at the point where everyone can afford a portable multimedia device that allows for web 2.0 interactions. And the costs are coming down that having the government provide them for each student is not so far fetched. And if we invested just a few billion more in the infrastructure it could be high-speed and ubiquitous.

Drill 'n Kill

The NY Times recently ran this little article about drilling for memory or as E.D. Hirsch called "distributive practice". Most of us know what it is if we went through any form of traditional education. It is all about memorizing basic facts for a test. It might mean flash cards or worksheets or multiplication tables or....the list goes on. Progressives often portray traditional education as all about "drill 'n kill" and in doing so highlight the "kill" part. This article in the NY Times tries to give it some more respect. In doing so they quote from Dan Willingham and E.D. Hirsch, neither of them are progressives. It would have been nice if they sought the ideas of progressives who are known to be critical of this method.

Anyway, my stance is that there is a time and a place for distributive practice. Too much of it can destroy the motivation to learn. That is the progressive argument at least. If you "drill" you then "kill" student motivation. All things in moderation. Just because something has the potential to be taken overboard does not mean you get rid of it all together. If there is another way to make mental math automatic for students I am all for it but distributive practice seems to need to be part of the process. What we can borrow from the progressives is the notion that students need to have some kind of "buy in" to the process. They need to see the importance of why they are practicing a skill or memorizing a set of facts. It may not make the actual distributive practice any more fun but they will at least have the potential of seeing its importance and be more willing to engage.

Another trick we can learn from progressives is that students need to have input on what and when they learn. So if mental math is the goal then ask students what technique they want to use in order to get multiplication tables memorized. They can choose to use flash cards, whole group game, a computer program...etc. The important thing is that they would have buy-in. Also, have them come up with the time goals. That way, when it becomes homework they understand why it is homework and does not feel like busy work. Also, many of us feel that geography is important and that students should have a mental map of the world. But should that include memorizing all the states? State capitols? How about major rivers and mountain ranges? There are so many things that could be memorized but we can't expect all of them to be memorized. The important thing is not the state capitols themselves but that they have some cognitive anchors in place. Why not let students decide what aspect of the maps to memorize and let them come up with a plan for distributive practice as well as a plan for assessment. They may choose to memorize where theme parks are located but what they will be forced to learn in that process is states and major cities.

Some may say that memorization or drilling has no place in school but I disagree. I agree with progressives though that students should have much control as possible. However, I think teachers need to lay the parameters and let the students choose the details within those parameters. For example, teachers may say that students need to memorize a set of geographic data that spans all 7 continents and is widely distributed and then let students choose what they will memorize. Not so that they can just memorize for the sake of it, but so when we talk about India a rich set of facts and ideas are automatically associated with India and so new information can be more easily integrated.

Mass Personalization in Learning

Diane Senechal had a guest post on the Answer Sheet blog today and she had a lot of interesting things to say about personalized learning (differentiated instruction). Mass personalization happens when computer programs retrieve statistical information about you and your habits and then alter how information or products are presented to you. For example, at Amazon.com they keep track of what books and products you look at and buy and then suggest "similar" products. They also look at demographic information. A women in her 20s may get suggestions to buy parenting books for example. And if they find out you are pregnant watch for the diaper coupons in the mail.

In education personalization comes in the form of curriculum, assessment and instructional technique. What a student studies depends on their interests, ability level, cultural background and many other attributes. So if we assess students enough (formative assessments) we can find out their ability level and then a computer program can tell a teacher what lessons may be appropriate. Now if it is modeled after the Amazon.com idea lessons can cater to interests as well. If a student is known to like baseball it could have the student read stories about baseball.

Diane Senechal worries that this may narrow the curriculum and put students in a cage of their own self-interest. What about exposing students to subjects they are unfamiliar with and maybe have an aversion to in the hopes of expanding their repertoire of interests? Many of my students in class like the essentialist philosophy for this reason. A broad, content-based curriculum exposes students to many themes they don't know and subsequently find they do like.

Diane is also worried that the personalization of learning may lead to fragmented instruction. She says that some subjects need intense and lengthy amounts of time inn order to get at the core, complex issues of its main themes. For example, a work of literature needs this kind of in-depth study. Mass personalization, she fears, means all the students off doing their own personalized learning with no time staked out for group pondering (she calls it mass imprisonment). I think her fear here is somewhat valid however, in a sustained theme personalization may be helpful. For example, when reading a rich text some students may need vocabulary review while others will be reading to jump into the complex themes.

I disagree that this needs to be a project that imprisons students in their own "mini-worlds". Obviously it could lead to that but the technology can be a wonderful tool for expanding students' worlds as well. Just as programs can suggest similar content, programs can help students bridge the content they are familiar with and interested in to content they are unfamiliar with. For example, if a student loves baseball the program could point them into the direction of a baseball players mom who happens to be an artist and show how the worlds meet. That may spark an interest in art or show the value of seeing things from a mother's perspective. Likewise, plenty of science can be done with baseball as its subject. That is a natural segue into science. Personalized learning is a tool that can be use well or badly. Senechal does have a good point on the larger question though - what about doing things as a group? Where is our responsibility as a community to be looking at the same issue at the same time?

Massive Online Course

I've just enrolled in a "Massive Open Online Course" called Plenk2010. It is a very interesting concept. Anybody can enroll and there are discussions, live presentations, blogs, and other web 2.0 social interactions. So far I am learning a lot, however, I am worried that there may be a bit too much navel gazing. The subject of the course is open and fluid but it looks like the subject of the course is, well, the course. How much can be gained by advocates of using web 2.0 from talking to each other about web 2.0 I am not sure. The one thing I do hope to get out of it though is practice using different web tools and being introduced to new ones. I am also interested in seeing how a course like this will take on a life of its own. I expect that there will be many people with a wide array of experience in this field who will be adding their perspectives and knowledge. At the least it will be a great reservoir of materials and ideas on learning in an online environment. I'm not sure how much I will be able to keep up as I have plenty to do for my job but we shall see...

Learning Styles

For any of you new to education theory there is a popular notion that every individual has their very own learning style. Some are better at learning through auditory means, some are better with visual information, etc. There are all kinds of self-assessments out there to help you out. One thing this line of research has trouble answering is what the heck do we do with this information? As a teacher I am faced with a classroom full of diverse students and if I choose one medium of instruction I favor some students' learning styles while harming others. One answer is to differentiate instruction. While this is appealing it is difficult to do with large class sizes and limited resources. But another question arises, if you are a good visual learner is it wise to let your kinesthetic abilities whither? Is it wise to let students not learn by reading because they are not strong at reading? Do we not get a self-reinforcing pattern? Avoid one style of learning and that style goes down hill.

I tend to agree with the learning-style debunkers. Here is a blog post by Dan Willingham that explains what I mean. What medium you use for instruction should largely be guided on the nature of the content of the knowledge you are trying to learn. If it is cell biology it is hard to imaging learning it without incorporating strong visual images. My hunch is that many concepts have better than other mediums by which they can be grasped. It confuses students and teachers to always be student-centered when sometimes it may be better to be knowledge-centered.

One of the strong offshoots of learning styles is that it does make for a more diverse and interesting classroom. While it may not always be efficient to use kinesthetic means to learn math, the very act of getting kids moving may have benefits after-all that are not tied directly to the immediate objectives of the lesson. If it helps kids stay engaged longer it may have benefits that bleed into the language arts lesson that follows it. And just plain having many diverse mediums of instruction is more interesting. So I do favor diverse mediums of instruction but I don't think it can or should be micro-managed too much. Instead, it is more important to look at what is being taught and asking yourself what is the best medium for grasping this topic. Secondly, ask yourself if you are creating an interesting classroom environment so that things do not get too stagnant.

The federal department of Education just announced the winners of its Race to the Top Assessment grant winners. Two organizations won - PARCC ($170 million) and SMARTER ($160 million). Both consortia contain multiple states and both are working on common assessments that align with the common core standards. What does all this mean? Well, the common core standards were signed onto by 48 states, including Wisconsin. That means Wisconsin will share its standards with 47 other states. This is very close to national standards. But standards are not curriculum so Wisconsin is still free to interpret those standards in many ways. For example, what books students read in a literacy class are still up to the state or local level. On the other hand, Wisconsin has already said it will adopt the SMARTER assessment in 2014/2015. What does that mean? It means the WKCE tests will be out and WI along with 30 other states will use the SMARTER tests to measure student progress in compliance with NCLB. These assessments will drive curriculum at the local level because the way NCLB is structured now, if your school does not do well enough there are consequences, and thus, teachers must align their curriculum with the assessments. It remains to be seen how restricting the assessments will be. Will they expect students to know specific facts? If so, teachers will need to adopt a more traditional approach to instruction that relies more on content coverage and less so on a more progressive or inquiry based pedagogy. These are significant changes in ed policy that will affect all teachers in some way.

See the Common Core standards that Wisconsin is adopting here.

Welcome!

If you are in my EDS 310 course welcome to my blog. For anyone else feel free to read and comment as well. EDS 310 students are creating blogs and using them to comment on other blogs issued by teachers, professors and policy wonks who write about education issues. The goal of this exercise is to introduce teacher candidates to a powerful form of digital communication and get them to start thinking about how blogging can help them develop as educators and give them ideas as to how they may use blogs in their own teaching or personal lives.

Some may say that blogs are full of partisan commentary and unreliable or irresponsible opinions. These critics would be correct. But my observation is that blogs also provide a useful tool for getting at perspectives that the mainstream media fail to embrace or refuse to embrace. They are also a useful way of communicating with other people who share the same interests but not necessarily the same opinions. Issuing a blog and receiving comments are a great way of getting feedback on your ideas (if you can get anyone to follow your blog).

This assignment is experimental. I am looking for an effective way of getting my students to analyze current events in education but also, I want them to learn to engage each other in a meaningful manner. It is important that we recognize that there is not a consensus on issues involving education and that these issues are complex and that it takes many years to develop a mature perspective on what is best in educational practices. My hope is that reading and possibly writing blogs can help facilitate that process.