The Educational Triage Podcast

Assessments and Grading - what's effective and when?

Assessment & Grading 
 
This week, Philip Summers takes us through the labyrinth that holds types of assessments and grading processes  - those we use too much and many we underuse. We attempt to address the questions: “What are the most effective means to assess in various situations?” and “What methods fail to accomplish what we’re after?”  
 
To be honest, we had to give in on some - just for a practical stance, but that doesn’t mean one way is the only way there is much to consider! 
 
Here are some of the resources you might use to do some exploration of your own (in no particular order):
 
Reeves, Douglas.  Elements of Grading: A guide to effective practice.  Bloomington. 2011.
 
Stevens, Dannelle D., and Levi, Antonia J.  Introduction to Rubrics: An assessment tool to save 
          grading time, convey effective feedback and promote student learning.  Sterling. 2005.
Feldman, Joe.  Grading for Equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools 
            and classrooms.  Thousand Oaks. 2019.
 
Marzano, Robert J.  Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading.  Bloomington. 2010.
 
Butler, Susan M., and McMunn, Nancy D.  A Teacher’s Guide to Classroom Assessment: 
            Understanding and using assessment to improve student learning.  Greensboro. 2006.
 
O’Connor, Ken.  A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 fixes for broken grades. 2nd ed.  Boston. 2011
#EducationalAssessment #EducationalGrading #ProjectBasedLearning #EffectiveStudentAssessment #EffectiveStudentLearning #AlternativeEducation #AltEdClassroom #TeachingandLearning #CurriculumDevelopment #EducationalPodcast #EducationalTraining #TeacherTraining #EffectiveTeachingTools #EffectiveTeacherTraining
#EducationalInsights #EdcuationalPodcast #TeachingPodcast #CurriculumDevelopmentandAssessment #AlternativeEducationPodcast #TeacherInput #StudentEmpowermentinAssessemtn #Rubrics #StandardizedTesting #AlternativeTestingMethodsinEducation

Project-Based Learning - What It Is!

This week, we begin to explore Project-Based Learning.  We look at the reasons to pursue this learning mode and the pitfalls.  We learn more about what it isn't, as well.  
 
Why should you consider PBL?  What are the benefits? What are the expectations?  How much work do you need to put in before the first lesson?  These and many more questions are posed and possibly answered! 
Resources: 
Buck Institute for Ed
ucation (BIE) - PBLWorks:Website: PBLWorksDescription: BIE is a leading organization in the field of PBL. Their website offers a wealth of resources, including project ideas, research articles, and professional development opportunities. They provide guidance on implementing PBL in various settings, including alternative environments.
Edutopia - Project-Based Learning:Website: Edutopia - Project-Based Learning
Description: Edutopia's PBL section includes articles, videos, and guides on implementing project-based learning. The resources cover a range of topics, including designing projects, assessment strategies, and success stories from different educational settings.
New Tech Network:Website: New Tech Network
Description: New Tech Network is known for its innovative approach to teaching and learning. Their website provides resources and insights into project-based learning, particularly in the context of alternative school models. They offer project templates, professional development resources, and case studies.
Institute for Personalized Learning:Website: Institute for Personalized Learning
Description: This institute focuses on personalized learning, which often aligns with alternative education models. While not exclusively about PBL, their resources explore student-centered approaches and can provide insights into adapting PBL for alternative environments.
The Learning Accelerator - Project-Based Learning Toolkit:Website: Project-Based Learning Toolkit
Description: The Learning Accelerator offers a comprehensive toolkit for implementing project-based learning. While not specifically tailored to alternative environments, the toolkit provides valuable insights and resources for designing and implementing PBL.
BIE's Project Search:Website: BIE Project Search
Description: BIE's Project Search is a collection of exemplary projects designed for PBL. Educators can explore a variety of projects, adapt them to their needs, and find inspiration for creating projects in alternative settings.
National Education Association (NEA) - Project-Based Learning:Website: NEA - Project-Based Learning
Description: NEA provides resources on project-based learning, including articles, videos, and lesson plans. Educators can find information on incorporating PBL in diverse educational environments, including alternative settings.
High Tech High:Website: High Tech High
Description: High Tech High is a network of schools known for its project-based approach. While their focus is on project-based and personalized learning, their resources and case studies can offer insights into implementing PBL in alternative educational environments.
Envision Schools - Deeper Learning Framework:Website: Envision Schools Deeper Learning Framework
Description: Envision Schools provides a Deeper Learning Framework, which includes elements of project-based learning. The framework can be valuable for educators seeking to understand how project-based approaches align with deeper learning goals in alternative settings.
Asia Society - Center for Global Education:
Website: Asia Society - PBL Resources
Description: Asia Society offers resources on project-based learning, with a focus on global education. The resources can be adapted for alternative settings, providing insights into designing projects that foster global awareness and collaboration.
#EducatationalPodcast #AlternativeEducation #AlternativeModesofLearning #Teaching  #EffectiveTeaching #EffectiveLearning #RelevantLearning #RelevantTeaching #StudentEngagement #AlternativeEducationPodcast

How Do Schools Set Students Up for Success?

We talk a great deal about how students can/cannot read or do math, and we continue to focus on the skills.  But are we focused on what makes a student successful outside of school?  Remember, according to the SAS report of 2014 schools account for only 1-14% of academic outcomes.  Maybe you don't like that number, but it's a bitter pill we need to swallow. 
So, what are you teaching students? What are you modeling? What is the district, the community, the Educational Industrial Complex saying?  Is it what's really best for the child? or best for their pocketbook and their image?  
 
#StudentSuccess #HowDoWeMeasureStudentSuccess #EducationalAccountability #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #EducationalPodcast #Teaching

New Year’s 2024

Happy New Years!  
 
A quick, yet simple challenge for all this new year.  
 
Consider yourself already working on resolutions - but are you modifying and adjusting? 
How are you taking care of yourself?
Tweak your #ConfirmationBias to your win! 

How Do You Interview for Alternative Education?

The differences between alternative education and mainstream education are beginning to become wider.  More students are falling behind in Maths, Reading, Writing, and Sciences.  The system demands that teachers do better, but then they add more layers to the equation - they demand teachers also include lessons in Social Emotional Learning and demonstrate equitable lessons and grading systems.  They believe teachers should be social workers, parental figures, and more.   They demand a teacher-first approach, and if students fall behind, they try to figure out how to handle the dross.   Most times, they look to alternative programs - but not without contempt.  Alternative programs are successful where mainstream programs aren’t, and for that, the system is disdainful.  However, the programs take those students and make them successful, so why aren’t schools thrilled?
 
#AlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #Education #EducationPodcast #Teaching #TeachingforSuccess #InterviewingforEducationalPosition #HowtoInterviewinEducation #HiringTipsInEducation #QuestionsforTeachers #QuestionsforEducationalAdministrators #DefiningEducation #DefiningAlternativeEducation #EducationalAccountability #InvestigatingStudentAgency #InvestigatingSchools #UnderstandingAlternativeEducation

The Growing Rift Between Alternative Education and Mainstream Ed

The differences between alternative education and mainstream education are beginning to become wider.  More students are falling behind in Maths, Reading, Writing, and Sciences.  The system demands that teachers do better, but then they add more layers to the equation - they demand teachers also include lessons in Social Emotional Learning and demonstrate equitable lessons and grading systems.  They believe teachers should be social workers, parental figures, and more.   They demand a teacher-first approach, and if students fall behind, they try to figure out how to handle the dross.   Most times, they look to alternative programs - but not without contempt.  Alternative programs are successful where mainstream programs aren’t, and for that, the system is disdainful.  However, the programs take those students and make them successful, so why aren’t schools thrilled?
 
While this is hardly new for us, it is highly nuanced.  This week, we delve deeper and look for what is happening in the “Corporate” education venue instead of what might be considered the “Independent” venue. 
 
#AlternativeEducation #Education #EducationalPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationasIndependentStructure #MainstreamEdasCorporation #Teaching #Learning #EducationalIssues

Why Hasn’t Education Evolved for the 21st Century?

Why hasn’t Education Evolved for the 21st Century?
Let’s examine what the present looks like in education and ask the question, given the furious pace of advancements in technology, why does it look like it did in the 1950’s?  Maybe a better question would be why is the same model used since the early 1800’s still in use and considered effective?  Subconsciously proclaiming the inability to meet with cries of, “Zero and ones and AI, oh my!” are received by an audience who indulges the confusion instead of recognizing it.  School systems today are ill-suited for learning in the 21st century.  They are rooted in a culture that moved on long ago.
Blog Post: https://www.educationtriage.net/the-blog
#EducationEvolution #ChangingCurriculum #KeepingUpinEducation #AlternativeEducation #Education #StudentInvolvmentinEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationPodcast #AltEd #RethinkingEducation #EffectiveEducation

What Were You Thinking? Perceptions of Alt Ed

Why Do You Think That? Common Misperceptions of Alternative Education
 
“The only issue with Alternative Education is that those in the mainstream tend to dismiss it as an [illegitimate] mode of education.  That is what Alt Ed really needs to work on, itself.  Most have fantastic programs that tailor to the needs of the students, and they work with the families, as well – they tend to be comprehensive in that sense.  That is what really helps – building trust between the community and the school/program.  But if the rest of the educational community sees it as a place for “Those Kids” and as “Easy Education” the mindset will not change. “ (Current Educator)
Throughout the years I have discovered that many people go into Alternative Education as a mission to change the world.  They burn out quickly.  I have also discovered many who believe it to be an easy day.   They don’t last long, either.  Those who last in successful Alternative Education programs/Schools are those who understand that learning is a process – a lifelong process – that never ceases, and they are up to learning and exploring with the students.    This is why computerized learning and using those platforms, rather than 1:1 learning, and even packets with the right kind of teacher, is far more efficacious and successful for deeper and longer learning. 
If mainstream education is about compliance, rote-learning, and taking tests, then Alternative Education is about casting off those shackles and exploring the world of learning together.  Every student has their own story, and we treat them as individuals – not as a herd of sheep that need training; any dullard can figure out how to train or herd.   This is why we need and should require well-trained teachers who are empathetic and love teaching for the learning. Then Alternative Education will find itself legitimized. 
#AlternativeEducation #PerceptionsofAlternativeEducation #PerceptionsofAltEd #ChangingEducation #FalseImpressionsinEducation #StudentVoicesinAltEd #ParentVoicesinAltEd #TeacherVoicesinAltEd #UnderstandingAlternativeEducation #UnderstandingEducation #EducationalAlternatives #SuccessesinEducationalAlternatives
#Changing Perceptions #StudentRigor #EducationRevolution

What Are Tests (for)?

The world of standardized testing is not objective. Comparing students under uniform conditions to get an “accurate” measure of similar status in inherently subjective. Equal treatment of unequal’s is inequality. Standardized tests discount, and even overlook, a person as an individual unto themselves with unique abilities by placing artificial criterion on the outcomes. Comparison of individuals through testing produces false results: they find what they are looking for subconsciously.
 
#AlternativeEducation #Education #AltEdPodcat #Teaching #TeachingtotheTest #WhatAreTests #Whatistestingfor #TestingversusAsessing #TestingversusEvaluating #WhyDoWeTest #WhatDoWeLearnFromTests #EducationalPodcast #Learning #EducationalProcessing #Conformity #QuantifyingLearning #DoTestsMeasureLearningorMemorization #TestsversusDeepLearning #TeachingPodcast

Do Educational Institutions Serve Communities or Vice Versa?

How does the educational system impact the culture and the ecosystem of the community? Does it enhance the economy? Does it provide more opportunities for growth and participation?  What does it do, exactly?  If the system dictates the same rules/factors for everyone then where is equity for those communities that find it difficult to apply or even engage in those? 
The Blog:
https://www.educationtriage.net/the-blog
#EducationandCommunity #CommunityandEducation #HowDoesEducationServeCommunity #DoesCommunityServeEducationalInstitutions #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationPodcast #CommunityInvolvement #ImpactofEducationonCommunity #RelationshipofEducationandCommunity