Monday, March 21, 2011

The EduKare Platform...

 flickr photo via aeu044117

A great question arrived in the #edukare stream a while back from Chad Sansing (@chadsansing)... "So I wanna know, what are some of the ways edukare can restore balance?" I've been thinking about the answer.

Turns out it's pretty simple. As Gregory Hill (@mrsenorhill) says, it's all about the platform. At The Disruption Department he describes that,
platforms, in the computing and electronic fields, are common architectures or frameworks that allow developers to create applications or behaviors that can be executed on something stable, and then shared.
As it goes in the Twittersphere, the same weekend Gregory blogged the 'platform' post, someone sent me this:



What a brilliant visual representation of the platform concept, I think. No matter how much the original version of Windows was modified to fit an improved context, the original integrity of the program (the platform) remained viable and foundational.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Simple, clear language...


flickr image via iUnique Fx ©
A good friend gave this newspaper clipping to me a while back…
The parents of a Houston high school student received a message from the principal about a special meeting on a proposed educational program.
It read, “Our school’s cross-graded, multi-ethnic, individualized learning program is designed to enhance the concept of an open-ended learning program with emphasis on a continuum of multi-ethnic, academically enriched learning using the identified intellectually gifted child as the agent or director of his own learning.”
The parent wrote the principal, “I have a college degree, speak two foreign languages and four Indian dialects, have been to a number of county fairs and three goat ropings, but I haven’t the faintest idea as to what the hell you are talking about. Do you?”
When I read this it made me think about the language I choose when talking to others, especially students, their parents and also to my colleagues. There is great value in simple words. We can so easily get caught up in the jargon surrounding teaching and learning. We should keep it simple, I think.
 
As a school administrator I vow to use simple, clear language in my communication with people at school.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Kids really do live in their own world...

 flickr photo via Chris Campbell

I just knew it...
According to this research from the Georgetown University Medical Center, mental introspection increases as brain areas begin to act in sync. Young kids really do think differently than we do!

I was talking to some colleagues recently and we were reflecting on how we (adults) lose our ability to see the world through a child's perspective. We all had one as a child, but sadly most of us have lost it. When it comes to teaching and learning, this is bad.

Friday, March 4, 2011

It's not the test; it's the timing of the test....


Recent #ecosys Twitter (EcoSys: Exploring the future of K12 Education) chat surrounding the issue of common core curricular standards has me thinking about how EduKare would respond to the issue. In the interest of furthering the EduKare thought experiment, like everything else about an EduKare approach to teaching and learning, the element of assessment would require a series of small shifts as opposed to piecemeal change. Twisting the lens regarding how we view the role of assessment in education allows EduKare proponents to use their best integrative thinking to identify currently useful elements of assessment, and insightful, informed ways to improve them. Despite what some educators appear to believe, it's essential that we know what kids know.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Fundamental EduKare... balance and adaptabilty

flickr photo by Tom Hilton

Earlier this month I attended the annual Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) Conference. The purpose of the AISI Conference is to showcase a wide variety of Education Department-funded action research projects from all over the province. It was evident that a large number of teachers in Alberta take being involved in embedded action research within their schools very seriously... a good thing. A colleague pointed out to me today as we reflected on our experiences at the conference that although he was undoubtedly impressed by the broad range of research and results teachers were experiencing, each project was contextualized locally according to the needs, goals and environment surrounding it. We agreed that some of the projects were so specific and specialized that they simply wouldn't be adaptable in different situations. This is a problem that EduKare seeks to solve.

Large scale system transformation efforts must be grounded in foundational philosophical elements so the integrity of the process is transferable from school to school. They have to possess universal qualities allowing them to find balance by adapting to unique school contexts. Two fundamental systems quality attributes of an EduKare environment are flexibility and adaptability. If EduKare is to scale effectively in different school environments, it has to be able to fit different environmental school contexts. EduKare schools must demonstrate that they routinely balance their priorities toward providing services to address locally identified social, emotional, physical and educational needs, and they also must display adaptability with respect to addressing these needs in their unique social, physical and political environments.
Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Labels

learning (55) teaching (49) education reform (29) authentic learning (24) students (24) EduKare (20) school (20) effective teaching (19) resiliency (19) educational leadership (13) creative teaching (12) education (12) hope (12) change (11) collaboration (11) creativity (11) educational change (11) perspective (11) #edchat (10) 21st Century Learning (10) Glendale School (10) caring (10) leadership (10) school climate (10) school culture (10) support (10) assessment (9) #EduKare (8) culture (8) empathy (8) professional development (8) teachers (8) at-risk kids (7) inquiry-based learning (7) learning circles (7) learning stories (7) student success (7) technology (7) technology integration (7) Sean Grainger (6) at-risk (6) collaborative teaching (6) pre-service teachers (6) purpose (6) resilience (6) responsive teaching (6) teacher training (6) Alberta Education (5) Bell Curve (5) Twitter (5) action (5) empathy reboot (5) engaging (5) integrative thinking (5) kids (5) mentor teachers (5) public schools (5) relationships (5) student (5) teach (5) teacher (5) beliefs (4) belonging (4) bullying (4) children (4) debate (4) diversity (4) high-stakes testing (4) hope wheel (4) inclusion (4) learn (4) pedagogy (4) possibility (4) school leadership (4) #ACE #school #edchat (3) #cpchat (3) ConnectED (3) LCU (3) action research (3) child development (3) choice (3) classroom (3) commitment (3) communication (3) community (3) counseling (3) creative (3) dreams (3) duty to care (3) ed reform (3) educators (3) failure (3) fun (3) growboys (3) hope alliance (3) inquiry (3) interculturalism (3) karegivers (3) life-long learning (3) mentorship (3) mindfulness (3) nemetics (3) professionalism (3) reflection (3) thinking differently (3) transformational leadership (3) understanding (3) #KARE #students (2) #ecosys (2) #nemetics (2) #redcamp13 (2) #teaching (2) Bloom's Taxonomy (2) Control (2) Google (2) Innovative Voices in Education- Engaging Diverse Communities (2) Moore's Law (2) PD (2) Tao Teh Ching (2) adversity (2) alternative teaching (2) audience (2) balance (2) behavior (2) behaviorism (2) best educational practice (2) blogging (2) boys (2) bully (2) bully prevention (2) care (2) challenge (2) change agent (2) character (2) circles (2) classroom management (2) competition (2) connect (2) connecting with kids (2) covid19 (2) development (2) dialog (2) digital technology (2) disagreement (2) edcamp (2) edkare (2) education change (2) effective classrooms (2) etmooc (2) evaluation (2) facts (2) fear (2) feelings (2) formative assessment (2) future (2) goals (2) groupthink (2) growth (2) heuristic (2) ideas (2) independent thinking (2) innovation (2) interdependence (2) journey (2) learning story (2) listening (2) love (2) management (2) mastery (2) mindful (2) morphic resonance (2) multiculturalism (2) new teachers (2) opinions (2) opportunity (2) passion (2) personal learning network (2) phenomenological (2) philosophy (2) project-based learning (2) question (2) resilient (2) resolution (2) responsibility (2) self-esteem (2) self-organized learning environments (2) servant leadership (2) share (2) social-media (2) special education (2) standardized tests (2) struggling schools (2) student support (2) success (2) sympathy (2) teacher growth (2) teacher welfare (2) trauma (2) trust (2) unconditional love (2) unconference (2) university (2) values (2) vision (2) voice (2) words (2) "Art of Possibility" (1) #LCU (1) #bellletstalk (1) #ccunesco2014 (1) #covid19 (1) #humanKIND (1) #learning (1) #positive childhood experiences (1) #printernet (1) #rip (1) #schoolleaders (1) #speakchat (1) #teacher (1) #tg2chat (1) #toughloveforx #michaeljosefowicz (1) 40 Developmental Assets (1) ATLE 2010 (1) Africa (1) Black Swan (1) Brokenleg (1) Calgary Science School (1) Circle of Courage (1) Curate (1) Daniel Durant (1) Dry Island Buffalo Jump (1) FBA (1) Fouth Way (1) Geoffrey Canada (1) Grow Boys (1) Howard Gardner (1) Impact (1) Instructional leadership (1) John Dewey (1) Kathryn Schultz (1) Lao Tzu (1) MIT (1) Michael Josefowicz (1) Nunavut (1) Occam;s |Razor (1) PBL (1) PLN (1) Phoebe Prince (1) Piaget (1) Red Deer (1) SBL (1) SOLE (1) Search Institute (1) Second Way (1) Shankardass (1) TED (1) Vygotsky (1) Wangler (1) ableism (1) aboriginal (1) accountability (1) achievement (1) actions (1) anger (1) answer (1) applied behavior (1) applied research (1) apprenticeship (1) aptitude (1) aquaintances (1) at risk (1) athletics (1) authentic (1) autonomy (1) badges (1) being wrong (1) believing (1) benchmark (1) blended learning (1) blog (1) borders (1) brain research (1) budget (1) business (1) cdnedchat (1) chaos (1) character education (1) charity (1) child (1) child-development (1) clarity (1) collaborate (1) communciation (1) communicate (1) conference (1) confidence (1) conflict (1) consciousness (1) conversation (1) cooperation (1) coordinated children's services (1) counselling (1) critical thinking (1) curiosity (1) curriculum (1) democracy (1) destiny (1) developmental (1) differentiated learning (1) differentiation (1) digital citizen (1) digital immigrant (1) diigo (1) dissonance (1) dyslexia (1) early learning (1) education innovation (1) effort (1) emotions (1) enabling (1) endogenous (1) engaged (1) engagement (1) equity (1) ethics (1) excellence (1) existentialism (1) fail (1) faith (1) family (1) fate (1) fatherhood (1) feedback (1) feminine (1) finding voice (1) focus (1) forgiveness (1) friends (1) gender differences (1) gender identity (1) global education (1) goal setting (1) governing body (1) grandfather (1) happiness (1) happy (1) hard work (1) hardware (1) healing (1) healthy (1) high school (1) higher education (1) homework (1) honesty (1) hop (1) humankind (1) humility (1) iconoclastic (1) ideology (1) imagery (1) imagination (1) improbable (1) inclusive (1) inclusive education (1) indigenous knowledge (1) inspiration (1) instinctual (1) interdependent (1) internalize (1) internship (1) interpersonal (1) intuitive (1) judgement (1) knowledge (1) lacrosse (1) leading (1) leaps of faith (1) learning circle (1) learning disabilities (1) learning disorders (1) learning from place (1) learning goals (1) learning spaces (1) learning styles (1) learning tools (1) lecture (1) library (1) lifelong-learning (1) limits (1) literacy (1) lobby (1) manhood (1) masculine (1) masculinity (1) math (1) medicine wheel (1) men (1) micro-blogging (1) mindfullness (1) mission (1) mistakes (1) morals (1) motivation (1) navigate (1) negative reinforcement (1) network (1) networking (1) new year resolution (1) objectify (1) objective (1) open education (1) open-source (1) operant conditioning (1) outcomes (1) overcome (1) pandemic (1) partisan (1) pass (1) patience (1) peace (1) polarity (1) positive (1) positive reinforcement (1) positivity (1) positve dissonance (1) postmodern (1) poverty (1) power point (1) practice (1) pride (1) private logic (1) productivity (1) professional organization (1) progression (1) questioning. Socrates (1) rally (1) rationalization (1) rdcrd (1) rdpsd (1) re-frame (1) re-tool (1) reality (1) receive (1) reclaim (1) redcamp15 (1) relative (1) relativism (1) relevance (1) research (1) resourcefulness (1) rest (1) revolution (1) ritual (1) routine (1) scholar (1) scholarship (1) sciences (1) scrutiny (1) self-deception (1) self-determination (1) self-help (1) significance (1) silence (1) simple (1) sincerity (1) skate park (1) skateboard (1) smile (1) socialize (1) society (1) software (1) solution-focused (1) speaking (1) sport (1) standards-based learning (1) stories (1) story (1) strangers (1) strengths (1) stress (1) student engagement (1) student evaluation (1) sustainability (1) synergy (1) taking risk (1) talking (1) tangibility (1) targets (1) teacher evaluation (1) teaching. learning (1) textbooks (1) therapy (1) thinking skills (1) thought (1) thoughts (1) trans-species (1) transference (1) tribes (1) unconditioned response (1) unconditioned stimulus (1) universal (1) urban gardening (1) urban schools (1) victim (1) visceral (1) wellness (1) wisdom (1) work (1) work week (1) worksheets (1) writing (1)