LATimes Pans LAUSD Superintendent's Laptop Plan

The Los Angeles Times (10/9) editorializes that Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy "wants to buy every teacher and student in Los Angeles Unified School District a tablet computer within a year or two - 700,000 of the electronic devices, he figures - and pay for it with bonds that were passed by voters to build, repair and update school facilities." However, Deasy "doesn't know which tablets he's interested in buying or have an estimate of how much they might cost." The piece states that in addition to the issue of spending facilities money on this type of technology upgrade, the nebulous nature of Deasy's plan makes it advisable that he do more research before committing resources to it.

Private Schools Increasingly Adopting Common Core Standards

Education Week (10/9, Robelen) reports that many private schools are following the example of public schools in adopting the Common Core Standards. Moreover, "more than 100 Roman Catholic dioceses spanning the nation from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, have decided to adopt the standards, according to a recent survey from the National Catholic Educational Association. ... Experts say practical considerations are likely an important motivator, as many private schools feel the pressure from the tidal wave of states beginning to implement the new standards, which cover K-12 mathematics and English/language arts. That's having profound effects on textbook and test publishers, for instance, which are revising their wares to better reflect the standards." Moreover, the move is further motivated by the likely changes that will come to college entrance exams as the Common Core Standards increase in prevalence.

New Mexico Governor Vows To Continue Pushing For Third-Grade Retention

Hispanic Business (10/8) reports that New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) "said that she intends to continue to push the Legislature for a 'no social promotion' bill as part of her educational reform platform for New Mexico. The governor and Secretary of Education-designate Hanna Skandera spent much of Wednesday promoting literacy skills by reading aloud to pre-kindergartners at several Santa Fe public school sites." Martinez touted public support for her education policies, and "noted her administration's dedication of $30 million for reading assessments and reading coaches in grades K-3 to measure students' progress and said the Public Education Department needs this type of hard data to drive its reading programs over the course of this school year."

Obama, Romney Education Policy Positions Compared

As part of its "comprehensive look at the positions of President Obama and Mitt Romney on several key issues," the Washington Post (10/5, Balz) reports that both candidates "agree that improving schools and providing more training is one of the keys to restoring America's economic prowess." However, they disagree on some issues. The Post contrasts their positions on vouchers, No Child Left Behind, and higher education financing. The Post also explores both candidates' records on education legislation.

 

Paper Praises Obama's Education Policies Over Romney.Meanwhile, an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (10/8) reports that while President Obama would be likely to expand on the theme of Race to the Top during a potential second term, it is less clear how Mitt Romney would move forward on education policy if elected. "Would it be the Mitt Romney who once wanted to abolish the Department of Education? Or the Mitt Romney who acknowledged in his debate with Obama on Wednesday night that there were aspects of Obama's educational policy that even he liked?" The piece stresses the importance of education policy in the national policy debate and praises Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan for "designing federal incentives to encourage smarter policy" and saving teacher jobs through stimulus spending.

Experts: Teacher-Led Data Collection Spurs Improvement

Education Daily (10/8, Offut) reports on the practice of Instructional Practices Inventory, a system in which "a teacher pops into a colleague's classroom, quickly observes students, jots a code onto a chart, and off she goes to the next classroom. She and a team of teacher leaders will repeat these observations, visiting each classroom multiple times, over the course of the school day." The piece notes that the system is intended to analyze student engagement, adding that "a key facet that drives IPI - teacher-led data collection, analysis, and collaboration - is one to consider no matter what school improvement strategies you use, said Jerry Valentine, professor emeritus, who developed the IPI process more than 15 years ago along with colleagues at the University of Missouri's College of Education."

Writer: Strong Early Vocabulary Skills Needed For Future Academic Success

Ginia Bellafante wrote in the New York Times (10/5, Subscription Publication) about the positive impact that having a strong vocabulary can have on young students when they enter into school, noting that "in the '80s, the psychologists Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley spent years cataloging the number of words spoken to young children in dozens of families from different socioeconomic groups, and what they found was not only a disparity in the complexity of words used, but also astonishing differences in sheer number. Children of professionals were, on average, exposed to approximately 1,500 more words hourly than children growing up in poverty. This resulted in a gap of more than 32 million words by the time the children reached the age of 4." She writes about how this issue relates to New York City's Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, which has been criticized because of the low number of minority students who are able to pass it.

California Officials Urge Schools To Use Technology Vouchers Before Deadline

The Los Angeles Times (10/8, Blume) reports, "State officials have urged school districts and charter schools to use $66 million in vouchers to buy technology before they expire next year. The warning, issued Friday, pertains to funding remaining from an antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. One set of vouchers must be redeemed by April; the other has a deadline in September." The piece notes that most of the funding has already been claimed, but "substantial resources remain, including more than $10 million for the Los Angeles Unified School District."

New York City Students Pay To Store Phone During School Hours

The AP (10/5, Matthews) reports, "Thousands of teenagers who can't take their cellphones to school have another option, courtesy of a burgeoning industry of sorts in always-enterprising New York City: paying a dollar a day to leave it in a truck that's parked nearby." The piece reports that the practice has become "routine" for many students, adding, "cellphones and other devices, such as iPods and iPads, are banned in all New York City public schools, but the rule is widely ignored except in the 88 buildings that have metal detectors. ... Schools where violence is considered a risk have metal detectors to spot weapons, but they also spot phones."

New Accountability System Resulting In Teacher Burnout

The New York Times (10/5, Smith, Subscription Publication) reports that beyond the impact of cuts to education budgets, teachers face "a deeper strain" that "has more complex origins" than reductions in financing, and if "the issues are not addressed, they could further frustrate efforts to attract and keep top teachers in public schools." The factor "that has had the biggest impact on teacher burnout over the years has been efforts to raise teacher quality and educational standards through the accountability system, whether it be changes initiated at the state or the federal level."

Why teacher training fails our teachers

Why teacher training fails our teachers

By Jay Mathews

 

American public elementary and secondary schools spend about $20 billion a year on what is called professional development — helping teachers do their jobs better. Many teachers will tell you much of that is a waste of time and money.

Now, three former teachers involved in training have discovered an important reason. Teachers are rarely given time and opportunity to practice what they have learned.

"Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better," is the new book by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway and Katie Yezzi exposing this flaw in teacher training and the way most of us learn any complex skill. Professional athletes know the value of repeating moves again and again before the game starts. Michael Jordan was famous for how much time he spent practicing in the gym, even after he became a superstar.

But the rest of us either don't see that or, as in my case, are too lazy to make the effort.

For teachers, the authors of "Practice Perfect" say, pre-game repetition is crucial. "If a teacher's performance during a given class is less than what she wanted, she cannot get it back," they say. "She cannot as, say, a lawyer working on a contract might do, stop in the middle of her work and call someone to ask for advice. She can't give it her best shot and then, as we are doing as we write this book, go back and tinker and revise and have the luxury of being held accountable for a final product that reflects actions taken and reconsidered over an extended period."

"If we asked a roomful of teachers how often they practiced what they did in the 'game,' that is how often they rehearsed the questions they'd ask or the way they'd start class, most would look at us funny," the authors say. "Teachers listen, reflect, discuss and debate, but not practice."

They learned this only recently after analyzing the results of a study of great teachers in high-poverty public schools, reported in Lemov's previous best-selling book, "Teach Like a Champion." The teachers with the best results "were often the most likely to focus on small and seemingly mundane aspects of their daily work." The authors liken this to legendary basketball coach John Wooden, who went so far as to teach players how to put their socks on correctly. But the insight did not immediately illumine the importance of practice.

As part of the Uncommon Schools charter school network, the authors began to train their teachers with video clips of skilled instructors performing a given technique. The trainees discussed and analyzed until they were sure they understood it, then moved on to the next technique. They left the class full of confidence, but when surveyed three months later, were not so sure. Something often went wrong when they tried the techniques in class.

The authors realized that their trainees hadn't practiced. It was the equivalent of trying to learn a new backhand in the middle of a match at center court Wimbledon.

They added repetitive exercises to their training workshops. Teachers played students so the situation would resemble a real classroom. Teachers still had trouble getting it right. The real world situation was too distracting, The authors dialed down the student disruption so their trainees had a chance to do the technique correctly several times. Once it became automatic, they could handle unpredictable moments.

In their real classrooms, the new skills began to work. Teachers not only implemented the techniques but began to innovate and adapt them in new ways. The authors know this because they made and studied videos of the teachers at work, one of their favorite tools.

In the future, schools will still often spend big money on training teachers in ineffective ways. Learning to practice, this book vividly illustrates, takes time and effort, trial and error. It won't happen tomorrow. But even a small movement in the direction of more practice will reap benefits, in teaching and many other things we do.

 

From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/why-teacher-training-fails-our-teachers/2012/10/03/f88d470a-0c56-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_blog.html

 

Mathews: Book Stresses Need For Teachers To Practice PD Lessons

Jay Mathews writes at the Washington Post (10/4) "Class Struggle" blog that many teachers say that the $20 billion spent annually on professional development is wasted because, according to three former teachers, "teachers are rarely given time and opportunity to practice what they have learned. 'Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better,' is the new book by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway and Katie Yezzi exposing this flaw in teacher training and the way most of us learn any complex skill. ... For teachers, the authors of 'Practice Perfect' say, pre-game repetition is crucial."

Most Texas Voters Support Higher Taxes For Teacher Pay

The Houston Chronicle (10/3, Fikac) reports that "nearly three-quarters of state registered voters would be willing to pay more in taxes to raise teacher pay, according to a new poll by the non-partisan, nonprofit Texas Lyceum leadership group." While "voters decidedly would not be willing to pay more for school administrators," a majority "said that in addition to raising teacher salaries, they would be willing to pay more in taxes for school staff, construction of new schools, additional instruction in art and music and investment in computers and high-tech equipment."

Rural Educators Get PD Help From Tennessee Valley Learning Network.

The Chattanooga (TN) Times Free Press (10/3, Benton) reports that the Tennessee Rural Education Association has launched the Tennessee Valley Learning Network to give "educators in five Tennessee school districts...professional development and curriculum help." The program "is a work in progress but already is making hard-to-get resources available to more educators, Copper Basin Elementary School Principal Ryan Goodman said. The network, open to educators from Bradley, Marion, Monroe, Polk and Rhea counties, 'kind of streamlines the resources available,' Goodman said."

    

Many Colorado Districts Opting For Four-Day Week Though Savings Are Scant

The Denver Post (10/2, Simpson) reports that the school district in Weld County, Colorado, has joined a number of others in the state in switching to a four-day school week. The piece notes, however, that such moves are controversial, and result in little more than a 2.5% decrease in operating costs.

Common Core's Emphasis On Informational Texts Stirs Controversy

The Chicago Tribune (10/2, Rado) reports on a class of local second-graders participating in "'informational text' time," adding, "Welcome to an avant-garde classroom in Illinois, where nonfiction is edging out fiction. It's part of a controversial curriculum shake-up and marks a pivotal change in thinking about what public school students should be reading to prepare for college and work." The piece notes that fiction will not be entirely supplanted by nonfiction in the new system, adding, "For better or worse - only time will tell - the emphasis on nonfiction is a key element of the new Common Core learning standards in English language arts and math that are reshaping curricula across the country." The paper presents the pros and cons of this shift in emphasis.