The Flat World and Education Chapter 9:
Linda Darling Hammond states that in order for our nation to be equitable and high achieving, our schools need five key elements: 1. Meaningful learning goals are required for both content and skills in order for students to succeed. She also states that curriculum and assessment need to be closer to teachers and part of the ongoing process in order to have improvement. 2. Intelligent, reciprocal accountability systems are needed in order to ensure continually improving curriculum, teaching and school capacity. A state accountability system would help with a level of good practice that would lead to progress. This would also help schools invest in interventions needed at their school. 3. Equitable and adequate resources would require states to be equitable in their funding by allowing adjustments. Also, in order to reach this level of equity, the amount of well-prepared teachers needs to available in all communities. 4. Strong professional standards and supports are required for all educators! Schools should include fully funded professional development, mentoring, high-quality preparation, throughout teacher's careers. Teachers should be given the opportunities needed to constantly improve. 5. Schools organized for student and teacher learning creates a learning environment with a coherent curriculum that lead to ongoing inquiry in the classroom. We need classrooms that focus on collaboration and teacher networking. One of the best ways educators can learn, is through the learning network of other educators. The Flat World And Education has made may realize one important key idea, as educators, it is our responsibility to learn and grow in this ever changing world of education!
3 Comments
Listening to Mishra made me think about how my classroom technology has changed over the last two decades. When I first started teaching my class and I went to the computer lab once or twice a week. However, my first classroom was walking distance from Cupertino, home of Apple! Mishra says, "We live in a world of hyper links" and "Technology links us all together" all because of the shift of communication through technology. I watched my tiny school with one computer lab, change before my eyes, and suddenly we were a 1:1 school! Why? Because we have to change as technology changes. We have to constantly ask ourselves, "How does technology change the way I teach and my students learn?" Today, I use technology with every aspect of my teaching. Our new common core Language Arts adoption has be learning a new tool everyday that my students are so excited to use. I have just this week activated my Google Classroom and it sounded like Christmas morning when I let them explore what I had added to our Google classroom in Room 6.
Mishra continues to explain how change with technology is "Wicked." Wicked in the sense that it never lets us rest, it's constantly changing and how teachers can help solve this problem. I found myself constantly walking down this path of changing technology. How many times have we had students show us how to use a technology tool of some sort? It has become a full time job for us educators to keep with technology world! I need to learn how to keep up with changes, consistently investigating what to try next, and how to use it in the classroom. As teachers we are responsible for getting our students ready for their next adventure. |
AuthorHeather Feinberg is an Academic Specialist for grades K-5 at Yountville Elementary. Archives
July 2018
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