Outsell Inc. :: Thinking Out Loud

It’s all about the teaching

By Kate Worlock - on March 11, 2010

Like all professions, teaching contains many fine individuals who are good at their jobs, a small handful who excel, and a long tail who perform less well. And it appears that it is teacher performance which impacts pupil achievements more than anything else. A recent New York Times article highlighted this, saying “Eric Hanushek, a Stanford economist, found that while the top 5 percent of teachers were able to impart a year and a half’s worth of learning to students in one school year, as judged by standardized tests, the weakest 5 percent advanced their students only half a year of material each year.”

Will the increasing use of technology change this? Most likely not, particularly if educational practice remains rooted, in the UK at least, in Victorian times – classes of around 30 children, with a teacher up front. This generation of learners will be subject to much experimentation around the ways in which learning is delivered – and this is where educational publishers can make an impact. The alternative is firing all of the bad teachers and recruiting more good ones – but this will likely be beyond budgetary means. The perception of the teaching profession also needs to change – the old adage “If you can’t do, teach. If you can’t teach, teach teachers” is doing the next generation of learners no good at all.

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New National Education Technology Plan – but is it just words?

By Kate Worlock - on March 9, 2010

The US education department has unveiled its thinking as to how technology should be used in schools to transform teaching and learning. The message that current teaching practices do not prepare K-12 students adequately for further education or for the workplace, and that school learning activities bear little relationship to how students access information and media in a non-school setting, is finally sinking in.

The new report, the National Education Technology Plan, has been welcomed by bodies such as the SIIA, and as a theoretical thinkpiece has much to recommend it. It’s difficult to disagree with statements such as “Education is the key to America’s economic growth and prosperity and to our ability to compete in the global economy” and to oppose the educational goals laid out by the Obama administration. But the cold harsh reality of the economic climes in which we live may prove too much for the report’s lofty aims. For example, how much will it actually cost to achieve this: “Ensure that students and educators have adequate broadband access to the Internet and adequate wireless connectivity both inside and outside school”? Or this: “Ensure that every student and educator has at least one Internet access device and software and resources for research, communication, multimedia content creation, and collaboration for use in and out of school”. At a time when government tax revenues are falling, and other worthy causes such as healthcare are also fighting for their share of the pot, moving the recommendations of this report into reality will be an uphill battle.

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You’d think someone would check before making the hiring decision…..but clearly not always

By Lisa Abrams - on January 12, 2010

Uncovering the Multi-Million Dollar Fake Degree Industry

CNN.com January 12, 2010

With competition still fierce in the jobs market, some people might be tempted to beef up their resume by buying a fake degree.

The problem of fake degrees is nothing new, but the Internet has made it easier than ever to obtain a bogus qualification.

George Gollin, a board member of the U.S.-based Council for Higher Education Accreditation, told CNN he estimates that more than 100,000 fake degrees are sold each year in the U.S. alone. Of those, around one third are postgraduate degrees. He added that a bogus degree will typically cost $1,000.

By trade, Gollin is a physics professor at the University of Illinois. He first became interested in degree mills after being spammed with offers of fake college degrees.

According to a story in Wired Magazine, his interest turned to outrage after he stumbled upon news of a forensic psychologist who had purchased her degree. “Here’s this person who’s untrained doing therapeutic interventions,” he told Wired. “I thought, ‘Jesus, this is really bad.’”

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Schools irked that they are being asked to prove their students learned something

By Lisa Abrams - on January 11, 2010

There would be a great market for assessment providers if only schools agreed their graduates had to prove they actually learned something and/or if employers insisted seeing the assessment or proof in advance of hiring.

January 10, 2010

Law Schools Resist Proposal to Assess Them Based on What Students Learn (http://chronicle.com/article/Law-Schools-Resist-Proposal-to/63494/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en)

Law schools would be required to identify key skills and competencies and develop ways to test how well their graduates are learning them under controversial revisions to accreditation standards being proposed by the American Bar Association.

The proposed revisions, which are being drafted by a committee of the association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, were a topic of heated debate here throughout the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, which ended Sunday.

Instead of judging law schools primarily on “input” measures, such as faculty size and library holdings, the proposed revisions would look more at “outcome” measures, such as what students are actually learning.

Several law deans said they have enough to worry about with budget cuts, a tough job market for their graduates, and the soaring cost of legal education without adding a potentially expensive assessment overhaul.

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Beyond the Credit Hour: Old Standards Don’t Fit New Models

By Lisa Abrams - on January 4, 2010

The Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Education Department landed a stinging attack on an accreditor last month, with some potentially far-reaching ramifications, particularly for those trying to develop creative new models for higher education.

In an unusual “alert memorandum,” the office lambasted a decision by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to accredit the for-profit American InterContinental University—despite qualms over how that institution awards credits for some of its distance-education courses. The alert said the decision “calls into question” the commission’s ability to verify quality education.

The alert, which also asked the Education Department to consider limiting, suspending, or terminating the commission’s authority as a federally approved accreditor, raised the specter of a long and bureaucratic spat. (Any action would have little immediate effect on the more than 1,000 institutions it accredits in 19 states.)

And to the dismay of many who advocate on behalf of proprietary colleges, the high-profile movemay also serve to stir simmering suspicions about the academic rigor of some for-profit universities, despite assurances from a spokesman for the university’s parent company that the accelerated five-week, nine-credit courses at issue were “totally consistent with good practice and contemporary learning theory.”

http://chronicle.com/article/News-Analysis-Thinking-Beyond/63349/

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As colleges add green majors and minors, classes fill up

By Lisa Abrams - on January 4, 2010

Colleges are rapidly adding new majors and minors in green studies, and students are filling them fast.

Nationwide, more than 100 majors, minors or certificates were created this year in energy and sustainability-focused programs at colleges big and small, says the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. That’s up from just three programs added in 2005.

Two factors are driving the surge: Students want the courses, and employers want the trained students, says Paul Rowland, the association’s executive director.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/2009-12-27-green-colleges_N.htm

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TN Legislators Want to Expand Mission of Community Colleges

By Lisa Abrams - on January 4, 2010

More students could be starting their four-year degrees in one of Tennessee’s 13 community colleges under an overhaul of the state’s http://www.tennessean.com/section/NEWS04“>education systembeing developed by Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Lawmakers will open debate next month on a plan meant to cut costs and bolster Tennessee’s graduation rate by realigning how the state’s two-year colleges and four-year universities work together. The proposal is part of a broader effort to reform http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912260322“>public education at a special session that begins Jan. 12.

The plan would shift some course work from public universities to community colleges while also making it easier for students to transfer credits between schools. But the proposal also represents a broadening in the educational mission of Tennessee’s two-year colleges, founded in the 1960s and 1970s as an alternative to universities.

“That associate’s degree should mean something,” said Rep. Beth Harwell, a Nashville Republican who serves on a group advising Bredesen on higher education reform. “Community colleges are supposed to issue associates degrees that should be transferable into any four-year institution.”

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091229/NEWS02/912290352/TN+legislators+want+to+expand+mission+of+community+colleges

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Report Shows Teachers Not Adequately Prepared for Education Reform

By Lisa Abrams - on January 4, 2010

A report released in December by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning (CFTL) indicated that in California, where schools are pursuing ambitious education reform, while many teachers are well qualified to take on the demands of such an effort, many more simply are not up to the task.

“The Status of the Teaching Profession” offers current data on the supply, qualifications, and distribution of California’s educators. The 2009 report includes the results of a survey of high school principals throughout the state regarding their views of their respective faculties’ preparedness for the growing demands of 21st-century education.

The survey addressed such components of reform as increasing academic rigor, making instruction more relevant, and creating learning environments that are more personal and supportive. It showed, for example, that only about two-thirds of the state’s high school principals believe the majority of their respective faculties have the skills necessary both to promote critical thinking and to engage and connect with students.

“The 3R’s of reforming high schools–rigor, relevance and relationships–set a high bar for teachers and principals alike and have implications for teacher preparation, professional development, and the ways in which high schools are organized,” said Margaret Gaston, Executive Director of the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. “But there is a mismatch between the needs of these high school teachers and the state’s systems of teacher preparation and support.”

The report also indicated a gap in principals’ perceptions of teacher qualifications along economic lines. Principals in 78 percent of California’s most affluent high schools reported that a majority of their teachers possess the skills necessary for effective 21st-century teaching, while only 48 percent of the state’s least affluent schools had their principals offering similarly favorable reports.

The complete report, “The Status of the Teaching Profession 2009,” along with summary materials and recommendations, can be found here.

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Extra Homework Applying for Education Grants

By Lisa Abrams - on January 4, 2010

It is astounding how difficult it is to apply for education grants from the Federal Government. It is no wonder that some states give up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/education/27educ.html?_r=1&ref=education

The Department of Education, preparing to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars to winning states in a $4 billion grant competition, has estimated how long it should take each state to prepare its grant proposal: 681 hours.

Not 680, not 700, but 681 hours.

“Nice round number — how’d they come up with that one?” said Lee Sensenbrenner, chief of staff to Gov. James E. Doyle of Wisconsin.

The thousands of state officials who are working feverishly to prepare proposals are not only stunned by the precision of the estimate, but many of them also say it grossly underestimates the amount of work they have to do.

“We’ve put in well above that already,” said Rick Miller, a deputy superintendent at the California Department of Education. “It’s all I’ve done for months, so my time alone would almost get us there.”

Joanne Weiss, director of the Race to the Top competition at the Department of Education, acknowledges that 681 is just an estimate. “States are welcome to spend more or less time,” she said.

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Connecticut 2020: Looking to Technology to Move Education Forward

By Lisa Abrams - on January 4, 2010

Today’s students have the world at their fingertips. Access to information increases by the day and as a result, math, science and world language are exploding in importance.

Educators across Connecticut and the nation are planning for the next decade with so-called “STEM” initiatives as a focal point.

Ken Mathews, mathematics supervisor in the New Haven Public Schools, predicts that 85 percent of jobs available to students in the next decade will be in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“The common element to predict whether our kids will have access and be successful in these jobs will be their achievement in math and science”, says Mathews.

A major priority across America is to bridge what’s known as the “Math-Science International Gap”. Toward that end, the state is taking a two-fold approach.

“We need to prepare people to be scientists and mathematicians. That’s one of our goals. It means taking our top level students and making sure they have access to the best teachers, the best courses,” says Richard Therrien, Science supervisor in New Haven Public Schools.

The other target is the student who’ll be entering the workforce straight out of high school. Therrien says employers will increasingly expect graduates to come to the table with science skills.

“They want people that can sit and problem solve, that can find data, talk about it with other people, find out what it means and come up with a solution,” says Therrien.

The international focus is the strongest of course in World Language circles where leaders have identified three critical languages of study: Mandarin Chinese, Arabic and Farsi.

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Who's thinking out loud?

Outsell's Thinking Out Loud – Education

It’s all about the teaching

New National Education Technology Plan – but is it just words?

You’d think someone would check before making the hiring decision…..but clearly not always

Schools irked that they are being asked to prove their students learned something

Beyond the Credit Hour: Old Standards Don’t Fit New Models

As colleges add green majors and minors, classes fill up

TN Legislators Want to Expand Mission of Community Colleges

Report Shows Teachers Not Adequately Prepared for Education Reform

Extra Homework Applying for Education Grants

Connecticut 2020: Looking to Technology to Move Education Forward

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