End: Due 2/13

Did this book make you think differently in terms of the future of education?  Why?

Chapter 15: Due 2/11

Lichtman talks of 12 major signposts to the future of education.  

 Choose one and discuss how you think it can impact the future of education.

Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 14: Due: 2/6

What are the 3 innovative horizons  that school need to have in place to flourish in the 21^st century?


If you could change one major thing in your school, what would it be and why? 


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 13: Due 2/4

What types of diversity are already in place at your school that will allow it to move from an industrial based model to more of an ecosystem model?


How has technology changed the permanent boundaries in your school system?  


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 12: Due 1/30

Education is now at that point where we are spending more time assessing (via standards and standardized tests) for a product that is increasingly outdated. Lichtman, 

Do you agree or disagree and why?

All standards, including the Common Core, are an attempt to ensure this need for repeatability and explanation. Even if the standards are designed to shift the balance of learning from content to skills. Lichtman, 


Do you agree or disagree and why?


Respond to one other person on either question. 

Chapter 11: Due 1/28

If schools are no longer the purveyors of knowledge then what are they for?


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 11: Due 1/28

Zuboff speaks of the world as having changed to “distributed capitalism”

 How does this idea of “distributed capitalism” fit into school systems?

Chapter 10 Due 1/23

Mindfulness training helps to strengthen the parts of the brain that increase focus and attention and decrease the natural wandering that derails that focus. Lichtman 

Try out one of the mindfulness activities with yourself or a student.   
Does it help?   
Have you ever used these types of strategies before?  

Respond to one other person.

Reference:   www.pocketmindfulness.com/6-mindfulness-exercises-you-can-try-today/

 

Chapter 9: Due 1/16

Are textbooks becoming obsolete?  Why or why not?

Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 9 Due 1/14

Creativity changes learning from a system that is largely about consuming knowledge and ideas to one that is also about generating knowledge and ideas. Lichtman

Have we lost creativity in our schools?  Why or why not?


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 8: Due 1/9

What are options besides brick and mortar buildings for learning environments?  

 Are they better than traditional forms of education?

Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 7: Due 1/7

Teachers who are keen to adapt, (change) often say that the first step is to throw away the syllabus at the end of each year.

Lichtman, IF everyone in your school did this, what do you think would be the result?  

Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 6: Due: 1/2

The Rose Standards, as a measure for whether or not we are producing well rounded graduates that will be productive citizens in the world, has be newsworthy as part of the lawsuit on sufficient funding for schools.   

Are we living up to the Rose Standards in our schools?  Why or Why not? 

Respond to one other person.


Reference:  7 Rose capacity standards.  (These standards are used to determine what a sufficient and "suitable" education is for funding purposes in the Kansas funding lawsuit.) 

Communication/Basic Skills 

• Rose Capacity 1: Sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a complex and rapidly changing civilization;

Civic and Social Engagement

• Rose Capacity 2: Sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the students to make informed choices;
• Rose Capacity 3: Sufficient understanding of governmental processes to enable the students to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state, and nation;

Physical and Mental Health

• Rose Capacity 4: Sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness;
• Rose Capacity 5: Sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his or her cultural and historical heritage;

Postsecondary and Career Preparation

• Rose Capacity 6: Sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational fields so as to enable each child to choose and pursue life work intelligently; and
•  Rose Capacity 7: Sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills to enable public school students to compete favorably with their counterparts in surrounding states, in academics or in the job market.

 

Chapter 6: Due 12/19

“Essential Qualities of a High School Graduate”: Persistence, Confidence, Resilience, Patience, Openness, Creativity, Adaptability, Courage, Perspective, Empathy, and  Self-control.  Lichtman   

Do you feel the students we are graduating have these qualities?  Why or why not?

Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 5: Due: 12/17

Chapter 5 speaks of fear and inertia being roadblocks to change.   

How do you see fear and inertia hindering change in your school?


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 4: Due: 12/10

How does the school leadership and money affect innovation at your school?

Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 3: Due 12/3

"Educators like to try new things, but then revert to their old ways."

Do you see this happening in your school?  

 Do you see change as more of the “flavor of the month” and then we go back to doing what we were doing before?"


Respond to one other person.

Chapter 3: Due 12/3

The mission of most schools over the past fifty to one hundred years has been to graduate students who excel on standardized exams. Lichtman, Grant (2014-08-13). 

Agree or disagree and why?


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 2: Due 11l25

How does traditional styles of teaching hinder innovation?   Or does it?


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 2: Due 11/21

Do you consider yourself an innovator?   

Which of the attributes listed do you feel you have the strongest affinity to?

Chapter 2: Due: 11/19

“school leaders told me that the single most impactful driver of effective change was creating a “growth mindset” among employees: the recognition and willingness that next year can, and probably should be, different from this year.”

How do you see this year as being different from last year?

Chapter 1: Due 11/14

How do you imagine your school or you would react if you went to “google time”?

Reference: “ 'Google time,' applying it to new learning opportunities for students as well as teachers. At Google , one of the most innovative companies on the planet, employees are expected (not allowed— expected) to spend 20 percent of their time doing something that has nothing to do with their real job."

Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 1: Due 11/12

Where could you find more time in the school schedule? (Brainstorm)


Respond to one other person. 

Chapter 1: Due 11/12

Time is most often cited as the biggest obstacle to meaningful innovation and change in school.  

“Teachers have been hired, trained, labeled, organized, and evaluated by how well they control their time, their classroom, and their subject. A change to the daily schedule is a threat to who and what they are as teachers.”

 How has time manifested itself as an obstacle in your school system?

Introduction: Due 11/7

Lichtman writes: “The sum of all human knowledge will soon be doubling every year, a frightening concept even if you are not good at math.”

 

How does this statement “hit” you and what does it mean to you as a teacher?



Respond to one other person.