LessonCast helps learning communities design professional development that targets specific needs and changes instructional practice. We support a continuum of professional learning that spans support for teachers new to the classroom, experienced teachers with expertise to share, and leaders guiding a community in improving instruction. The Common Core Conundrum – Why We Can Set the How or the What but not Both
2013-05-02 12:17:50
Once upon a time, I learned that in leading a school initiative I could specify the how or I could s...
Posts Tagged 'education'
The Lessons We Teach Our Children: Why the end can’t justify unjust means
This post is very unlike my other blog entries, but I just have to write about an incident that happened this weekend, mainly because I am so infuriated… Friday evening, my husband, two kids, brother, and pet boxer head down I-95 to travel from Baltimore to Apex, North Carolina to attend my great uncle’s funeral. After numerous snack stops and bathroom breaks, we finally near the homestretch as I turn from the main parkway to the residential neighborhood where my cousin lives. I notice in my rearview mirror that two …
Ten Takeaways from Eric Ries’ Chat on EdTech
On our return trip from ISTE, our LessonCast team stopped over in San Francisco for an EdTech Meetup featuring Eric Ries. Wayee Chu from New Schools Venture Fund and Alan Louie from Imagine K12 began the event by introducing companies that launched through their respective incubators—great to see friends from Junyo, GoalBook, ClassDojo, and Remind101 all in the same room. Also reconnected with friends from MySciHigh, Kidblog, NoRedInk and Plickers. (Missed my friend from alumn.us!) Jennifer Carolan, from New Schools Venture Fund and longtime friend of Eric Ries, interviewed Ries before …
Moving Toward Individualization in Education
I’ve been returning recently to a conversation I had in January when walking to dinner with Steve Hargadon during EduCon. We were discussing Finland’s high performance on the international benchmarking assessment, the PISA. There was initial puzzlement when Finland was announced one of the top 5 scoring countries because so much of their educational structure was quite different from the other high scoring countries. What became apparent though is that the one theme the Finnish could agree on collectively was a narrative of equity. We’d like to believe that Americans …
Why Do We Listen to “Experts” Who Have No Expertise in Education?
Shaun Johnson’s article, “Climate Scientists, Educators, and Why We Avoid Consulting the Experts,” addresses an important issue that frustrates me on a daily basis—whose voices have the most influence in education? Johnson makes the parallel between non-climate scientists extolling their inaccurate expert opinions on climate change and “economists, statisticians, software engineers, CEO’s, politicians, financiers, hip-hop artists, and talk show hosts” explaining the best ways to improve education. Why do we place so much weight on these opinions? If I need expert advice on how to treat my allergies, I wouldn’t …
Algorithms Won’t Replace Teachers
When Vinod Khosla asks “Will We Need Teachers or Algorithms? ,” of course the answer is both. Really, TechCrunch’s title is misleading because Khosla doesn’t argue that algorithms should replace teachers. I had the pleasure of meeting Khosla when Mike Arrington was interviewing him as part of StartupWeekend EDU in Seattle, and he comes across as passionate about seeing technology’s potential to change education. Many of Khosla’s points I agree with wholeheartedly—our system of fixed class time for graduation credit needs replacing, online learning has the clear potential to change …
Why Educators Should Think Like Entrepreneurs
Becoming an ed-tech entrepreneur has not only taught me to think differently about creating a business, but it’s also changed how I approach being an educator. For example, here are some of the lessons I’ve learned: 1. Don’t wait for “someone else” to solve a problem. You know the issues that need solving because you live and breathe them, which means you’re in the best position to articulate and perhaps even develop the solution. You are also surrounded by other education experts who may also have workable ideas. 2. Connect …
