Next Generation Learning - Connecting Islands of Innovation

A few weeks ago I was pleased to learn that some connections I had made paid off...

(My personal and professional mission, to discover or design solutions that help people and organizations fulfill their potential, often involves making connections...connecting ideas and opportunities to people and organizations. )

I had the privilege of connecting four great organizations, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), CELT, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), and Edutopia, to apply for a grant through Next Generation Learing Challenges (NGLC). The project will rapidly expand the use and impact of ASSISTments technology to fundamentally alter teaching and learning processes for improved mastery of 7th-9th grade level Common Core State Standards and development of deeper learning competencies.

The ASSISTments system, developed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) under IES & NSF grants, combines online formative assessment with continuous feedback and expert tutoring. (In the grant proposal I coined the term "assessment AS learning" to describe ASSISTments, because it goes beyond summative “assessment of learning” and even beyond formative “assessment for learning”. The platform supports formative instruction and individualized learning.) The system has been used by hundreds of teachers and thousands of students across the U.S. and was cited in the 2010 National Education Technology Plan.

On June 14, Next Generation Learning Challenges announced the ASSISTments project as one of the winning proposals. The project is designed to scale use of ASSISTments from an "island of innovation" toward broad-scale use.

The founder of ASSISTments is WPI professor Neil Heffernan. You can learn more about Neil and the story behind ASSISTments in this interview on the nationally syndicated public radio show Hear and Now.

Conference Presentation on Teacher-Student Data Link Data Models

A conference presentation I did with esteemed colleagues from the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) and Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) was just posted to the U.S. Department of Education's NCES site here: http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/MIS/2011/session_VI.asp#A

About the conference: "Co-sponsored by the Texas Education Agency and the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the MIS Conference brought together the people who work with information collection, management, transmittal, and reporting in school districts and state education agencies."

About the session:

Concurrent Session VI Presentations

Thursday, February 24, 2011
10:00 - 11:00

VI–A: Teacher-Student Data Link in Data Models From Transactional Systems to the Data Warehouse

Laura Sonn, Data Quality Campaign
Cody Decker, Arkansas Department of Education
Jim Goodell, CELT Corporation

The presenters will examine how the teacher-student data link (TSDL) may be represented in various data models: operational/transactional systems, interoperability models (such as P-20 State Core), and data warehouse. Different uses of the TSDL have different implications for how and how often the data is collected, verified, stored, and presented. Audience participation is encouraged around each state's uses for the link and definitions for "teacher of record" and "contributing educators." The discussion will inform a proposed reference model adaptable to state-specific needs. Finally, the presenters will introduce a conceptual draft capability maturity model for roster verification for participant feedback.

Download Zipped PowerPoint Presentation:

Teacher-Student Data Link in Data Models From Transactional Systems to the Data Warehouse (3.04 MB)

University of Phoenix Course

I just completed an online course at University of Phoenix. The online model was well managed making rich use of asynchronous class discussion and electronic media. The value of the course was enhanced through the diverse perspectives offered by the class representing different geographies and experiences working with different grade levels, schools, and cultures.

This kind of learning experience, that breaks away from traditional fixed-time and fixed-location lecture model, has some distinct advantages over site-based/lecture-based higher education. Not being constrained to a fixed class session allows for more or less time as needed to interact with the content, construct thoughtful dialog and craft written assignments.

Harvard's Advanced Leadership Education Think Tank

Attending (virtually) Harvard's Advanced Leadership Education Think Tank

Khan Academy - Approaching 100% with a World-wide Classroom

My Visit to TechBoston Academy

Tech Boston Academy and its principal Mary Skipper got national attention yesterday with a visit from President Obama, Melinda Gates, and Arne Duncan. I had the privilege of meeting Mary Skipper and getting a tour of the school 2-3 years after it was founded. It was obvious that something was different and that Mary was a different kind of school leader, she connected with and encouraged every student we passed in the hall and didn't let the adults tagging along stop her from doing her job. It was obvious the students were focused on learning. We walked into one room and there was a group of students unsupervised, focused and quietly working on PowerPoint presentations.

Tech Boston students' success rate far exceeds other BPS students and everything the president said about why the school works was right. However, reflecting on my earlier visit, it was not only about how things were done, but about the attitude of every student and staff member. It was a sense of community 100% committed to the motto "We rise and fall together," and a willingness to to do whatever it takes to ensure that every student meet high standards.

That organizational culture didn't happen by accident. Mary's leadership and the flexibility to select staff with the same commitment have been critical as well as sufficient resources. Another key factor is a kind of cultural scaffolding. The president may have mentioned that every student gets a laptop. But that was not the whole story. I recall that students "earn" the laptop, they get laptops after they first demonstrate that they have certain skills, knowledge, and attitude to tackle on the responsibility. In this way the students cherish the laptop as a privilege not an entitlement. It also supports the underlying achievement-oriented culture and sense of community. This kind of cultural scaffolding creates a social structure for approaching 100%. Tech Boston has demonstrates that it is possible.

Here is the clip of the president's speech.

Information Design for Optimized Teaching and Learning

This video about how information design impacts public health behaviour can be applied to education. In the same way that the good information design empowers patients to make healthy choices, the right information design and feedback will empower students and teachers to act in ways that will optimize teaching and learning.

Thomas Goetz: It's time to redesign medical data Video on TED.com