Positive Academic Results with Technology Infused Curriculum

The 2009 National Trends Report: Focus on Technology Integration in America's Schools describes how five states incorporated the use of technology and increased academic achievement in specific content areas.

English, Math, Science and Social Studies--Georgia
The Instructional Technology Enhanced Environment (ITEE) grant teachers at Georgia's Claxton High School, 11th grade, represent all four academic core content areas: English/language arts, science, social science, and mathematics. Teachers plan common units which incorporate technology. Significant gains were made in all areas with the greatest gains in math and science with a 15% and 16% increase, respectively.
http://www.gadoe.org/it.aspx?PageReq=ITEnvGrant

Math--California
The Vallejo EETT-C Project involved Franklin Middle, Solano Middle, Springstowne Middle, and Vallejo Middle Schools. The project focused on the lowest performing students in 6th and 7th grade. While typically these are students who do not engage fully in learning, the different types of technology in this program turned that around. The district saw gains on CST scores for the target students, the 50 lowest performing students in each middle school. Approximately 40% moved up one performance band in the first year, essentially accomplishing the two-year objectives the first year.
http://www.vallejo.k12.ca.us/

Math--New Jersey
The Alfred C. MacKinnon Middle School in New Jersey received the Math Achievement to Realize Individual eXcellence (MATRIX) grant for technology integration in math instruction for special needs 7th grade students. Students planned and designed the construction of a new bridge connecting New York and New Jersey. Seventh grade special education students won first place for their bridge designs and models during the 2006 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics National Conference. Last year the percentage of students scoring in the GEPA proficient ranges increased to the highest percentage in the district's history (74.4%).
http://mcubed4.tripod.com/

Math--Iowa
Great Prairie consortium developed a new initiative that focused on 8th grade math achievement. Great Prairie focused on professional development at the middle school level as the primary change agent for improving student achievement. Comparison of student growth in math achievement for proficient and non-proficient students in six participating school districts showed a statistically significant closing of the gap between proficient (n=327) and non proficient (n=131) students during the 8th grade.
http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1527&itemid=2343

Reading and Math--Oregon
The LIVE-C--Learning through Interactive Video Experiences at Three Rivers School District (1st-12th grades) was designed to bring the world to the geographically isolated, culturally limited and high poverty students through the use of mobile interactive video conferencing equipment. Teachers invite experts from around the world to enter their classrooms as co-teachers, as well as connecting their students to students around the globe. Fifth grade reading/lit Statewide Assessment scores at Fruitdale Elementary rose from 61.4% in 2006-07 of students meeting or exceeding the standard to 95% in 2007-2008. In math, 86.7% of students met or exceeded in 2007-08, up from 63.6% in 2006-07.
http://www.soesd.k12.or.us/News.asp?NewsID=278.

These examples add to a growing body of research focused on student achievement and the use of technology. School leaders have the opportunity to study the models and learn strategies for implementation by contacting schools where they have been successful.

Class of 2020 Action Plan for Education

SETDA (State Educational Technology Directors Association) recently published a series of white papers called "Class of 2020: Action Plan for Education" that focuses on topics relevant to the use of technology in schools. The following paragraphs from this series may be useful in our work with school leaders:

Student Bill of Rights

I. Each student has the right to feel safe in and proud of a school.

II. Each student deserves an engaging educational experience that provides opportunities for learning and for the future, including the acquisition of 21st Century Skills required for the global workforce.

III. Each student deserves to have highly qualified and effective teachers that have the necessary support in terms of resources, professional development, planninhg time, and leadership.

IV. Each student deserves an individualized learning experience addressing his/her abilities, strengths, weaknesses.

V. Each student has a right to the tools, technology, and resources needed for developing life-long learners and creators of knowledge.

Action Steps To Support Our Students

1. Ensure that technology tools and resources are used continuously and seamlessly for instruction, collaboration and assessment.

2. Expose ALL students (Pre-K through 12) to STEM fields and careers.

3. Make ongoing, sustainable professional development available to all teachers.

4. Utilize virtual learning opportunities for teachers to further their professional development, such as online communities and education portals.

5. Incorporate innovative, consistent and timely assessments into daily instruction.

6. Strengthen the home and school connection by using technology to communicate with parents on student progress.

7. Provide the necessary resources so that every community has the infrastructure to support learning with technology, including assessments and virtual learning.

8. Obtain societal support for education that utilizes technology from all stakeholders--students, parents, teachers, state and district administrators, business leaders, legislators and local communities.

9. Provide federal leadership to support states and districts regarding technology's role in school reform by passing the ATTAIN Act.

10. Increase available funding for E-rate so that school districts and schools can acquire telecommunication services, Internet access, internal connections and maintenance of those connections.

For additional information on topics highlighted in the Class of 2020 Action Plan visit SETDA's Class of 2020 Website at http://www.setda.org/2020.

Good News--You CAN Make a Difference

In an attempt to fulfill this year's resolution for getting better organized, I'm reading a lot of articles right now that I had filed "to read later." I'm sure at the time I didn't think it would be two years later, but as luck would have it, this one by Ronald F. Ferguson of the Tripod Project from the Fall 2006 issue of JSD couldn't be any more timely. In today's economic climate, leaders are struggling to meet budgetary limitations while still providing top notch professional development for teachers.

The good news is that school leaders can effectively improve instruction simply by addressing the following five challenges for implementing professional development:

1. Introduce activities in ways that inspire ownership
2. Balance principal control with teacher autonomy
3. Commit to ambitious goals
4. Maintain industriousness in pursuit of those goals
5. Effectively harvest and sustain the gains

In other words, succcessful practices in schools have less to do with the program or initiative being implemented, and more to do with the implementation process. So what can school leaders do?

1. Select and introduce the focus of the PD
2. Assign responsibilities and define accountability for participation, including feedback mechanisms.
3. Refine and clarify both school and personal goals (of teachers) for instructional improvement.
4. Implement and monitor activities to help teachers succeed at these goals.
5. Celebrate and reward accomplishments.

Making the PD enjoyable, with feasible goals that are clearly defined, and encouraging peer support won't cost a thing, but can provide amazing returns.

Made to Stick

Recently, I have had the opportunity to begin reading "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip & Dan Heath. In the book, there are some principles given about ideas that can be applied to leadership. First, "keep it simple." As a leader, it is vital to "determine the single most important thing." Too often in our work as educators & leaders we become too easily diverted from the main focus. One of the fundamental rules of journalism can be summed up by the statement: "Don't bury the lead." As leaders, we must have single-mindedness of purpose and laser-like vision on the main goal and we must continually share that goal with others so that we don't "bury the lead."
Another key component of effective leadership is use of the "unexpected." It is vital as leaders to "grab attention" and then to keep it. How do we keep people's attention? As a writer, one might employ a technique known as the "news-teaser approach." For example, a headline such as "Which local restaurant has slime in the ice machine?" is certain to garner more attention than something like "Local man eats cereal for breakfast." While this may seem like a ridiculous comparison, it illustrates an important point: as leaders, we must exhibit an uncommon enthusiasm and confidence when working with others. We must have a genuine concern for people and their needs that is evident in our words and actions, as well as in our eagerness to listen.
A third characteristic of effective leadership is summarized by the word "concrete." We must be able to address issues in a way that is practical and relevant. All the theories in the world are meaningless if they do not lead to specific actions that can help resolve people's issues. It is important to find common ground at a shared level of understanding. As leaders, we must master the ability to place ourselves "in another's shoes" to know best how to help in any given situation. It has been said that teachers learn much more than students because they learn the material twice: once during the preparation, and once during the delivery to the students. As leaders, we are only effective when we offer advice that gets to the heart of the issues that people face.
A fourth characteristic of effective leadership is "credibility." We must help people believe. It is not enough to offer advice and then say "I hope this works for you." We must convince people that what we have to share with them has been proven to be effective in other similar situations and circumstances.
A fifth trait of effective leadership is the concept of "emotion." We must make people care! How can we make people care? We need to appeal to self-interest and identity. I doubt there are many people in the world who get out of bed each day and say "I wonder how badly I can perform today?" However, some people don't reach their potential simply because they don't have the proper encouragement. At the 1993 ESPY Awards, the late Jim Valvano, former men's basketball coach at North Carolina State University, delivered a stirring speech that brought the audience to tears. He suggested that all people need to do three things each day: think, laugh, and cry. In doing so, he said that people experience a "full day." As human beings we are emotional beings, and as leaders, we must be able to display emotion at appropriate times and in appropriate ways. We are not robots!
Finally, a sixth characteristic of effective leadership is the ability to tell stories. There are two main types of stories: stories that simulate (or tell people how to act), and stories that inspire (or give people energy to act). We must be able to use both types of stories as we work with people. Some people need more of the former, while others need more of the latter. As we continually develop our relationships with people, we will gain insights as to what types of stories they need to hear from us!
By employing these six principles, we will be able to provide effective leadership for people from all walks of life, no matter where our journey as leaders might take us.

New Teacher Support on a Budget

I think we can all agree on the validity and effectiveness of teacher mentor programs, both in getting new teachers better prepared at a faster rate and in keeping teachers in our schools, which has an economic benefit as well. Unfortunately, we can all take a look at shrinking budgets and see support programs like mentoring being put on the chopping block. We also know that December and January can be truly low points in the year for new teachers--they've been working really hard for months and the end of the year isn't close enough to boost their spirits.

So here are a few ideas for helping new staff members feel more included. They don't replace quality ongoing mentorship, but they can at least help build a relationship and support system.

1. Include new teachers in end of the year meetings, student orientations, and classroom visits. Better yet, be your new teacher's sub for a day so they can visit other classrooms and connect with experienced teachers.
2. Invite new teachers to professional workshops--perhaps waiving the fee or creating a small informal book study group.
3. Introduce new teachers to subject and grade level colleagues--and consider hosting team building or getting to know you activities throughout the year
4. Include information about new staff in newsletters. Go beyond the fall introduction and feature the new teacher's interests or hobbies.
5. Continue to provide orientation and mentoring opportunities as much as possible. Even hosting a mid-year new teacher tea or getting an experienced teacher to "check in" on the new teacher can help them know they are not alone!

Kicking But

One of the exercises Dan Pink recommends in his book A Whole New Mind seems to fit well with January being a time for focusing on the new year, new goals, new resolutions for improving our lives. The exercise is this: make a list of changes you'd like to make and what's keeping you from making them. The word "but" tends to make less important what is in front of it, while putting all the emphasis on what follows--thus you focus on the obstacle. By replacing "but" with "and," you put an equal emphasis on both sides--thus it's easier to focus on how to make both parts of the sentence doable. Therefore, I want everyone to get closer to their goals, and it's impossible for me to be there to help all of you. So, I'm going to blog about this in order to give you a tool for helping yourselves. Happy New Year!

Example: I want to exercise more but I work too much.
Now replace the but with an and.

Example: I want to exercise more AND I work too much. Now follow that up with a specific idea for how to make the two work together.

Example: I want to exercise more and I work too much. So...I am going to find an exercise program that works with my busy schedule.

Use communication skills to foster rational conversations

With all the preparation for the holidays and the bringing together of friends and families, we often find ourselves involved in stressful situations. I invite you to take a few minutes and read the coaching reminder written by my friend, John Dyer. In a recent conversation, he and I talked about how the holiday season gives us a great opportunity to practice our communication skills with both colleagues and family. He writes:

One of the most difficult applications of the communication skills of coaching is to be able to use them when a speaker is in an extended emotional state, AND you are involved with or the cause of the emotional reaction. How does one maintain one’s composure and diffuse the emotion of the speaker so that the conversation can be rational and productive? It is not easy. Some possible suggestions for handling such a situation:

· Focused, sincere and genuine listening is essential. The listening set-asides are imperative. No autobiographical listening. No solution listening. AND, let us add two more in this situation. No “defensive” listening, and no “counter-argument” listening.
· Paraphrase is essential beginning with emotional paraphrase or combination emotional and content. Label the persons feeling. Examples may include: “ You are really upset about this”. “This is bothering you a great deal.” “You’re angry about how this was handled.” “You’re disappointed in me.” “You’re insulted because what I said offended you”. (Hey wait a minute – how come these examples are coming so easy to me?)
· It may be necessary to do repeated emotional paraphrases (3 or more) to allow the person to vent their feelings and lower the intensity level.
· What for evidence of the speaker’s reduced stress – slower, deeper breathing pattern, a reduction in the flush of the skin, reduced muscle tension, lower of pitch of voice and slower pace of speech.
· When the speaker is calmer present a thought provoking question that can focus the conversation on resolving the situation. Examples may include: “ What are some possible things we could consider doing to resolve this?” “What might I do to help rectify the problem?” “What might have to happen for us to avoid a similar situation in the future?” “How might I be more proactive in supporting you?” “What might be some alternative strategies that we could use in advance to make certain the situation doesn’t happen again?”


And I say with the smile – this is easy to say, it may not be so easy to do when you are equally involved emotionally – both in a work situation and maybe especially in a family situation.

Remember the coaching pattern: pause, paraphrase, pause and question. Your friends and relatives will be astounded at your conversational skills!

Developing a Better Focus

If there are two words in education we might soon tire of hearing, they are creativity and innovation. Yet, I can't help but be excited by the current focus on these two human talents, and I'm not alone. In this article from the New York Times, author and Systems Change 2005 Keynote speaker Dawna Markova illustrates the challenges for leadership in fostering these.

"The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder," Dawna says. "But we are taught instead to 'decide.' ...to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities."

In addition, to paraphrase, the focus on standardized testing often leads to a focus on preparing all students to be good test-takers, encouraging mediocrity and limiting students' abilities to achieve excellence in where their talents lie. Unless the brain has determined creativity and innovation to be worthwhile mental patterns by the time an individual reaches puberty, it will prune those areas to put more energy into the "critical" areas established.

For the sake of our future, it is imperative that we continue to find ways to focus on higher order thinking skills, from the first day of Kindergarten to graduation day and beyond, if we want our students to be lifelong learners who succeed in the 21st century.

Connectivism and the 21st Century Student

I received this video from Kathy Schrock's SOS weekly email. She always has interesting resources, but I just love the way this one provides a glimpse of life for the 21st century students. It was also an introduction to connectivism for me--I had heard of the concept but for some reason did not yet see it as an educational philosophy. Now I am working to merge connectivist thinking with the constructivist thinking for which I've been advocating to see how these philosophies work together.
The question I have for educational leaders is this: what kinds of systemic change need to occur in order to support this student? how will you make connectivist instruction possible for your students?
And on a side note, if you have not seen the original videos from Common Craft, visit http://commoncraft.com/ for an easy explanation of practically any Web 2.0 concept and more.

What if?

I recently read the article "Cover the Material or Teach Students to Think?" In the article, former school administrator (among his many other educational roles) Marion Brady poses the argument that our schools need to pose the question, "What if..." more often to encourage student thinking. His premise is that our system is currently geared toward a knowledge-based economy, and our schools with their textbooks, tests, and focus on recall are outdated for today's era of rapid social change.

"Education leaders can take a crucial step toward getting students to use
higher-order thinking skills by drawing a sharp line between firsthand and
secondhand knowledge."

In other words, instead of giving students lower level taxonomy skills to prepare them to think, or failing to believe our students are capable of thinking, maybe we should encourage them to actually think, by interacting with the world and through using the available technologies to connect them with primary sources so they can learn to analyze information, draw conclusions, and create new understandings.

Making this shift is not an easy battle--educational policy, influential business leaders, the media, and high stakes testing all tend to focus on those lower levels of thinking, making the assumption, one can only guess, that by mastering facts a person can then use those facts to synthesize, evaluate, and create. As leaders, it is a daily challenge to structure a learning environment where teachers are encouraged to involve students in authentic projects that incorporate higher order thinking skills, to face down the testmakers and focus on learning instead of covering what will be on the test. But what if...?

A Good Holiday Read

What Great Teachers Do Differently has been wafting around my world, and so I finally took it in hand and read it. It is a positive and energizing read, and it is a great handbook for LEADERS, too! The lessons here apply to life and work in general, and I'm taking away some gems. Author Todd Whitaker is a principal who shares his experiences in concise and interesting stories. One chapter that made a difference in my behavior already is one called "The Teacher is the Filter." He poses the question, "How is your day going?" And then continues: As educators, we hear this question many times a day. Our response not only influences how others view us, but also affects the frame of mind of the person who asked. What's more, we have choices about how to respond...You can smile at a fellow teacher and and say, "Things are great! How about with you?" Or you can respond, "That Jimmy Wallace is getting on my nerves!"--and all of a sudden Jimmy Wallace is getting on that teacher's nerves too (whether the teacher knows him or not. Whitaker then takes that lesson further by describing how important it is for principals not to share information with their staff about an irate parent, for example, because it serves no useful purpose. This is an authentic leader with real experiences on which to draw. Many principals with whom I get to work have a similar positive outlook, and it's energizing to be around them. You can literally feel it when you enter their building, because this attitude is contagious--teachers, janitors, and parapro's all "catch" it! And, most importantly, kids catch it, too.

Educators apply Cognitive CoachingSM skills

As more educators (teachers, administrators and retired administrators) across the state are learning the process of Cognitive CoachingSM, it is becoming evident that the skills and tools are becoming their default. As I travel around the state coaching educators who are currently involved in trainings or were past participants, I find they are eager to learn how to continue to develop their capacity. They want to push to the next level of coaching groups as they find using their skills in these situations valuable. A big questions is, "How do I coach and faciliate at the same time?"

So, what is coaching? Coaching is skill set. It is a capacity for effective communication. The fundament skills of coaching are: rapport, listening, giving wait time, paraphrase, probing for specificity, inquiry and the use of structures or maps.

This skills are learnable. Some of the strategies for internalizing the ability to attend to these skills at a level of automaticity include;
· Real time practice – applying the coaching skills
· Mental rehearsal
o Listening to the radio mentally formulate paraphrases to what you hear announcers speaking
o Listening to the radio or watching TV interviews, formulate questions of inquiry that you might use if you were a part of the conversation
o Listening to other people’s conversation mentally formulate paraphrases, questions or probing that you might use if you were in the conversation
o Select one skill that you want to acquire at a level of “unconscious competence” and devote intentional focus on that singular skill for an appropriate time period until you are confident that you do it automatically. (i.e. for the next two weeks I am going to pay serious attention to “rapport” etc.)

· With a friend or colleague ask them if you could practice your communication skills as you engage in a social conversation
· Using these communication skills in most conversations – it doesn’t have to be a “coaching” to make use of high level communication skills such as these. (John Dyer, 2008)

The Cognitive CoachingSM website is: www.cognitivecoaching.com.

Spark: Exercise and the Brain

While preparing a book talk on Spark: the Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, I asked many random teachers and leaders if anything was happening with fitness in their school or community. No one had much to share...So, I gave my book talk at the Systems Change Conference and SUDDENLY, I'm hearing great things about fitness in South Dakota schools! Some standouts are described here: http://www.healthysd.gov/Schools/SuccessStories.aspx
The book confirmed what I had already noticed about my own exercise and how it enhances my mental functioning. Author Dr. John Ratey shares compelling research about improved test scores, overcoming depression, coping with ADHD, and many motivating stories and statistics. There are great reasons for encouraging exercise for kids, and I think it's just as important for us adults to benefit from and to model this transforming behavior. Here at TIE, we celebrate a colleague's birthday with an annual hike up Harney Peak. It's great for our brains, our bodies, our relationships, and our work! Are you doing anything to encourage excercise for the adults and/or kids in your schools? Please post them here--or at the Healthy South Dakota website. One idea can spark a movement...

Systems Change Speaker Keith Sawyer

This speaker braved the blizzard to get to Rapid City on November 7 to speak to educators who appreciated his low-key but informed approach to creativity and innovation. One idea he described that sparked my interest was how the Gore Company (makers of Gore-Tex) encourages innovation. The company allocates 10% of employees' time to explore something they feel has great potential. They do not need permission or approval to do this exploration, but they frequently collaborate. This unstructured time allows innovation to come from the bottom-up, which has kept the company viable, fresh, and competitive. Imagine what it would be like to have 10% of a day or a week to be creative or to follow a dream! It reminded me of some school leadership teams that I have seen at work...The synergy in those teams as they look at student work and plan instructional improvements can be extremely creative and energizing! It also supports my belief that everyone is creative...just in different ways.

Smart Boards - What a Phenomena!

Watching Jackie Jessop Rising manipulate the Smart Board was a phenomena. While I was hardly able to keep up with her maneuvering, it was even more difficult to transfer what I was seeing to how I might use it. And I really haven't figured that part out yet. However, I was so impressed with the capabilities of the Smart Board, that I started asking teachers questions about how they were using this tool. Several special education teachers started talking about how they are utilizing the Smart Board and they left me in the dust. I confess I really don't know what they were talking about. So, I did some research and WOW. Check out this website and and then log onto Anne Marie's blog.

http://smartboards.typepad.com/smartboard/2008/05/smart-boards--3.html
and log onto the Talking Smart Boards & Much More blog.

As you work with teachers across the state, I suggest sharing this website with them. The site includes resources such as interactive websites, sharing notebook lessons, and an interesting section called "Sharing SMART Board successes.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I am amazed at the vast number of websites that offer quality blogs, tips and lesson plans for using the Smart Board. Now, I just need to figure out how I can use it so I'll be look for Jackie!

Systems Thinking and Dynamic Modeling

Peter Senge and Systems Thinking
A report from Systems Thinking and Dynamic Modeling.
Peter Senge’s keynote address reinforced the idea that systems thinking is based on interrelatedness.
He supports the idea of systems citizenry and several teachers shared examples of how they are involving students in real world problem solving. Carol J. Petri, at teacher from Texas, shared a project in which high school sophomores tested water streams above and below their community and shared this information with city government officials. These students help shape restoration of the stream in their community.
Senge and others at the conference advocate student involvement in making meaning from the data around them and thinking forward to see how complex systems change over time. See more at http://sysdyn.clexchange.org/

Evaluating Technologies - NECC - 6/28/08

A report from the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC). One vendor, ePals, invites attendees to contribute to an online discussion about evaluating technology solutions. The framework is a great discussion starter for leaders who make technology decisions for their organization about any type of technology.

From the website:

How can teachers move beyond technology integration and authentically embed NETS (National Education Technology Standards) into curricula across the content areas to transform learning?

A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING SOLUTIONS

How does this service help students become global citizens in the global marketplace (e.g., in building innovation, literacy, critical thinking, creativity and responsibility)?

How does this service enable collaboration, teamwork and problem solving in the classroom?

How does this service address the needs of ALL students?

How does this service foster real-life learning experiences and independent exploration across the curricula?

How does this service create a safe and secure environment for teaching and learning?

How does this service provide professional development that encourages teachers to collaborate, share expertise and maximize student achievement?

Tired of sticky notes?

Personally, I can't even begin to imagine this. I love sticky notes. I have to truly restrain myself from buying more sticky notes every time I go to an office supply store or even many gift stores now. But for those of you who have had enough of Dilbert, Garfield, or even that tropical multi-color pop-up sticky note block that was fun for the first six months and now you just want it gone...

Bob Sprankle has some ideas for going digital, and ditching the sticky note once and for all. Plus, Hotchalk is running a promo right now where you can get full access to their journals. And if you're not familiar with the Hotchalk resources, it's worth some summer Internet time to check them out (some are free, others have a small fee).

Image Source

21st C Skills & Any Century Skills

This presentation from Jim Moulton (Maine) is a fantastic focus on the importance of the appropriate use of technology to encourage student learning. Student learning. Project based learning can give students the authentic context for engaging students in the content to be learned. Also, if you have not yet invested the TCPK framework, do. Jim is right on target and every teacher should think in terms of possibilities the way he does.

Peter Reynolds Lists 6 Essentials

I hope you caught this recent article in District Administration, but if you didn't, you can read it online here:
http://www.districtadministration.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=1605

Peter Reynolds is a beloved children's book author (The Dot) and a great technology innovator and founder of Fablevision. In this article, he's celebrating ISTE's addition of Creativity and Innovation to their standards. Here's part of #6 to entice you to read the other five: "Leadership:...Without enlightened leadership, none of our lofty goals for revolutionizing education can take root. We need brave leaders who can invent the future with their staff and with the next generation. We need leaders who live the new ISTE standards personally, rather than pass them along on badly photocopied sheets for teachers to pass along to their students. This is not the "pass it along" era. This is the "connected universe" era. Unconventionally constructed social networks are reinventing the world..." His other five are equally provocative and practical! maggie