Given the torrent of publicity that has surrounded the release of the most recent PISA report on Students, Computers and Learning, it might be about time that we starting asking questions around the scope and intent of the whole PISA regime and the impact that it has around the world. Whether we like it or not, […]
A High Stakes Question for the World’s Highest Stakes Test Read More »
How many times have you been held to ransom by the bureaucratic silos that inhabit so many of our government and large corporate organisations? You usually find yourself wringing your hands and saying the ‘left hand doesn’t seem to know what the right hand is doing,’ and sadly it seems, that’s in fact exactly the
Who you gonna call? Silobusters! Read More »
If you don’t believe phonics is the answer to kids learning to read and spell, then ask anyone who was educated in the 1950s. It is no accident that we can all read and spell with little trouble, compared with the kids from the decades since ~The Australian, August 17, 2015 As hard as it
Who Owns Advocacy? Read More »
I was talking recently with a prominent Regional Director (aka Superintendent) who said currently her biggest challenge across her 85 schools (75k students) was variability. She said that while parents and the media focused on outputs such as test scores and ‘league tables’, her attention was on inputs, namely the consistency of the quality of
Variability and Inequity Read More »
I’m not sure if you read Nicholas Negroponte’s seminal book Being Digital, but going back to it recently some 20 years after it was first published made me realize just how much foresight he had at that time. While I’m not necessarily a fan of everything Negroponte has said or done, least of all the
Being Digital: Finally. Read More »
The concept of “improvement” is an interesting one. It’s one of those words that gets thrown around when we talk about “school improvement,” “improving test scores” and the like, but it’s also a word that can carry many hidden meanings. Improving test scores inevitably means higher scores, but it can also be used in reference
If you want to keep abreast of what is happening with technology in education across developing countries, Mike Trucano from the World Bank writes an interesting blog which focuses on the policy aspects across many regions. The Bank’s reach means he is across a lot more than most, and while his focus is around national
1 to 1 Is Not The Answer Read More »
Several weeks ago I wrote a column about the change, specifically about the accelerating rate of change we are seeing in the world around us. It continues to both puzzle and bother me. What puzzles me is how so many people seem oblivious to it, and what bothers me is the insignificant role the education
Changing How We Talk About Change Read More »
As the insignificance of much of the ‘21st Century-mania’ becomes more and more evident, many educational leaders are now looking beyond the superficial appeal of the cliché’s and asking what their real focus should be. While there has been obvious value in the broader conversations that have been generated around collaboration, critical thinking and however
Testing Assumptions About Self-Directedness Read More »
Given all the rhetoric that has surrounded Finland’s education system in recent times, it comes as no wonder that many thousands of school leaders and educators have made the journey to the Nordics and observed their practices at close quarters. What is surprising however is how little seems to have been learnt from such excursions;
What Really Makes a Difference? Finland Knows Read More »
How many times have you heard the chant, “pedagogy first, technology second?” I could not count the times it has been spoken about in vigorous terms in workshops that I have run in countries across the globe, yet I truly lament the reality we too often find in our schools. Recently I visited a school
Toward More Ambitious Practice in Schools Read More »
As we head towards EML’s first anniversary at the end of this week, I was interested in reflecting back on the topics we have covered in that time. One hundred newsletters and over 200 posts isn’t a bad start for our first year, and I must say in rereading a few, I found the diversity of
If You Think We’ve Seen a Lot of Change, Think Again Read More »
At a time when we seem to be increasingly called upon to make ‘research-based’ decisions, it’s worthwhile to reflect on exactly what types of research we really value. As educators we are expected to have a natural affinity with research, even though that of course isn’t always the case. For me, I am passionate about
What Research do You Find Most Useful? Read More »
At a time where there is so much talk about transforming our schools, maybe it’s time we transformed our ideas around change. In a recent McKinsey article, Gary Hammel argued that the reason 70% of large scale change initiatives fail lies in beliefs about who is responsible for launching change and how that change is
Are You Leading Change or Building a Platform for Change? Read More »
In the midst of the ongoing dialogue around modern learners and modern learning, I was wondering how far the conversations within your school community have reached. To what extent have you been able to engage parents and your wider community in the dialogue, and what has been their response? I think it would be fair
Who Knows About Modern Learning? Read More »
