General Archives - Page 2 of 3

23

Jun

Teacher Evaluation and Quality Learning

I have had several people contact me about how to approach teacher evaluation in a Quality Learning context, so I decided to make it the subject of a newsletter. This is a hot topic, especially in the United States, since state and federal grants and funding are now requiring teacher evaluation. I don’t have any quick fixes to this dilemma, but I do think there are three concepts to consider when…

13

Jun

Quality: Program of Strategy

Often when I hear educators discussing problems related to school improvement I want to shout, “Stop the madness!” Undoubtedly, everyone in education, both in K-12 schools and higher education, feels pressure to improve.

8

Jun

The Crux of the Matter

We are often faced with changing or getting rid of something, but not knowing what to do differently. Most educators I meet agree that grading and ranking systems are a destructive force in learning. However, when asked what to do instead, they go blank.

3

Jun

Close Encounters of the Halstead Kind

In the early 90s, the LISD administrators had agreed to ask—and be asked—one simple question of each other: How do you know? As we struggled to apply what we were learning about making decisions based on data, we needed that question to serve as a reminder to gather data and challenge our assumptions..

29

May

The Ungrateful Syndrome

I often hear teachers and administrators complaining that they have given students laptop computers, smart boards, new textbooks, science equipment, language parties, new tardy bells and gym equipment, and the students don't seem to appreciate any of it. In fact, students frequently abuse these materials — deflating basketballs, vandalizing walls, and scratching equipment. Have we simply bred a generation of apathetic scallywags? Or is there something else going on?

21

May

Quality Learning: Transformation Thinking

Improvement of any system or process requires some degree of change for if we continue to do what we have always done, we will continue to get what we have always gotten. Australian educator Caroline Press said it well, “If you want things to change; change something!!”

14

May

Who Do We Put Our Trust In?

“We get training from many consultants. We read books on application and theory. Do we trust you? Who do we trust?“

7

May

Working to Learn

While it’s great to teach students about discipline, there’s a huge discrepancy between “work” and “learning.” What if teachers started the day by saying, “Quiet down guys, we have a lot of learning to get done today.” This simple switch changes the feeling of the classroom.

1

May

World Languages

Dear David, I teach lower level Spanish — Spanish 1 and 2. I am excited to try some of your ideas in my classes, although I'm having a hard time envisioning using some of the ideas in my classes because there is so much that goes into learning a language that is different than other classes. Do you have any specific ideas for me?

30

Apr

Quality Learning: Goal Tending

As a Continuous Improvement consultant for schools, districts, colleges and universities, I continually encounter the same common systemic problems no matter the size of the organization, nor its location in the world. One of these common problems is the idea of goal setting to improve performance either within the class-room or the organization.

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