Habits of Mind: Stories from the Field

What makes people from all different career paths successful? In their new book, Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind, authors Art Costa and Bena Kallick update and synthesize years of research on the 16 traits of successful individuals.

Developing these habits when solving problems whose answers are not immediately known helps students acquire 21st century skills like creativity, collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking.

Hear Costa discuss his conference session, "Habits of Mind: Stories from the Field." Session details are after the jump.

Transforming Urban Schools: February's Whole Child Podcast

As more and more young people drop out or score poorly when tested, it is important to ensure that all urban schools are providing students with the education they deserve. On February 5, ASCD's Whole Child Podcast will focus on the crucial task of transforming urban schools.

We'll talk to urban education experts and activists New York University professor Pedro Noguera, National Urban Alliance for Effective Education Executive Director Yvette Jackson, and Monarch Academy principal Tatiana Epanchin. We'll hear firsthand about the challenges facing urban schools and how urban educators and students are working to defy the odds against them.

Tune in next Thursday by going to the Whole Child Web site to download this podcast (and browse previous podcasts). Or just click on the upper right corner of this blog, where we link directly to all of the latest podcast offerings from ASCD.

ASCD Express Calls for Submissions

ASCD Express is looking for short, 600–1,000-word essays on the theme "Reading, Writing, and Learning in Different Subject Areas." The theme description is below, and guidelines for submissions are here. Send us your submissions by February 5, 2009.

Do school kids really need to pay attention to differences in how they approach learning in different subject areas? Research says that science, history, literature, and other subjects each have specialized vocabulary and tools of the knowledge trade. It becomes especially important for students to understand these differences at the secondary level. What does research say about how we learn in different subjects? What are some practical ways to apply such research in the classroom?

Minnesota Schools Perform Well on International Stage

Minnesota, one of two states with schools participating in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), ranked above average in all four major categories that the study measures. The strong showing is believed to be the result of rigorous state standards for math and science.

Minnesota educators started teaching math and science problems that other countries tend to focus on and saw their scores make some of the highest jumps of all the countries participating in TIMSS. The success on the international test has also resulted in high scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) exam, leading many to believe that other states should begin focusing on international standards as a guideline to improving education quality at home.

"States need to go outside their boundaries to see what [other states and foreign countries are] doing," said Gary W, Phillips, a chief scientist at the American Institute of Research. Participating in tests like TIMSS is a good start, he argues (via Education Week).

What do you think about considering international math and science standards in how U.S. schools craft their standards?

Social & Emotional Learning: Practical, Research-Based Whole Child Ed.

Just as we teach reading early so that children can successfully wield literacy skills throughout their life, says Mary Utne O'Brien, so too do we need to teach social and emotional learning so that students may benefit from strong self-awareness and a keen ability to develop positive relationships.

In this ASCD Annual Conference speaker spotlight, O'Brien shares her research on social and emotional learning (SEL), the elements of a strong SEL program, how districts are implementing SEL standards, and how education leaders can develop their own SEL curriculum framework.

Hear O'Brien discuss her conference session, Social and Emotional Learning: Practical, Research-Based Whole Child Education. Session details are after the jump.

The Principal's Role in Fostering Collaboration

In this installment of My Back Pages, we revisit a lively discussion from 1948 on teacher collaboration and school leadership. What role should the principal play in fostering a cooperative environment for teachers? How can educators work across departmental divisions to develop a strong curriculum? These are just a couple of the questions addressed among a group of Denver educators in "Supervision as It Functions in the Instructional Program: A Discussion" from the April 1948 issue of Educational Leadership.

Read the transcript: Supervision as It Functions in the Instructional Program: A Discussion (PDF)

The Elementary Educator

For all you elementary educators out there looking for new ways to improve your teaching skills, head over to Mark Pullen's The Elementary Educator. Filled with practical tips and considered observations on primary education, this blog covers everything from reframing student perceptions about learning to the importance of recess. Pullen's experience as a 3rd grade teacher and cofounder of an online math league comes across in posts like "Math Algorithms" and imbues his writing with authority and a sense of expertise. The comments section is lively and well-trafficked and provides a great place for sharing ideas and airing complaints.

Make Someday Today: Sign the Whole Child Petition

Ask your state board of education to stand for policies and practices that support the whole child--Sign the Whole Child petition.

Someday happens. We saw that phrase on what probably was a homemade T-shirt at an inauguration event this week. And it gave us hope. It reminded us that perhaps the most powerful 45 words in the U.S. Constitution, the 45 words of the First Amendment, are the best possible tools for change and progress. Those 45 words guarantee freedom for all Americans from a government that tells us what to say or print, whether and how to worship, with whom we can gather, and how we can ask for change.

More than 200 years later, those foundational freedoms of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition continue to challenge us to live up to the expectations of those who came before us and make someday happen for those who will follow. 

Intro to a Teacher's Take on The Art & Science of Teaching

This post is teacher and blogger Dina Strasser's first in a series on Marzano's The Art and Science of Teaching. Read Marzano's response here.

Robert Marzano is a guru, as I'm sure most of the readership knows. His name is consistently the only one I can throw out at educator-type cocktail parties and have teachers from all walks of the profession say, "Oh, yeah, HIM." So you can imagine my delight and sense of honor at being asked to chronicle my ongoing tango with his latest book, The Art and Science of Teaching (2007). 

I first encountered Dr. Marzano directly at his 2008 ASCD Annual Conference in New Orleans keynote. I fell for his presence; not only because he backs up every single assertion he makes with gobs of quantitative research, but because he is as unsparingly and honestly critical of his own teaching as of anyone else's; indeed A & S is essentially a revisiting (and occasional revision) of the principles he discusses in his earlier work Classroom Instruction That Works (2001). This is not something that a teacher may necessarily know from reading A & S, but it may be the most important thing to know about it, ironically. Dr. Marzano is not some education "expert" eating sugar plums in the ivory tower. I trust him. You should too.

The other assertion I need to make right off the bat is about where I am professionally myself: in my tenth year of teaching, but only my second in a new subject area (middle school English/Language Arts). I tell you this because I feel it encapsulates the weird, but useful, universe in which I live at the moment. I am both experienced and green; understanding keenly what I need to do to be an effective educator, and still struggling mightily to do it. In other words, if you're a teacher, I am probably just like you in one way or another. I hope you can trust me as well.

Marzano Responds to "A Teacher's Take on The Art & Science of Teaching (part 1)"

This post is Robert Marzano's response to A Teacher's Take on The Art & Science of Teaching (pt. 1).

First, let me state that I'm honored Dina would be interested enough in The Art and Science of Teaching to blog about it. In the beginning, I'd like to make a few points. First, although I appreciate Dina's intent in the use of the word "guru," I'm anything but that. We all have our place in the grand scheme of K-12 education in the U.S. There are people who are building administrators, central office administrators, curriculum developers, state level administrators. There are also people like myself who try to translate research and theory into practical tools and ideas for practitioners. However, all of us listed so far are on the periphery. The place where the rubber meets the road is the classroom, and the people who are at that critical point of contact with students are teachers.

Making Education a Priority During the Obama Administration

During his inaugural address yesterday, President Obama listed some of the serious challenges that face our nation.

"Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land, a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights."

In this month’s Is It Good for the Kids? column, ASCD Executive Director Gene Carter suggests that improving education is one way to meet our nation’s many challenges and to ensure that all of our children will be given the tools to lead successful lives so they don't have to "lower their sights."

He writes, “Because the strength of our nation’s economy is inextricably tied to the strength of our education system, education is a sound investment in our future.” Carter expresses ASCD's commitment to making education a top priority during the Obama administration.

The column also includes thoughts from a few middle school students about how President Obama can help them and other students succeed in school.

Do you think investing in education will help the nation face its challenges? Do you agree with the students' comments about how education can be improved?

What If We Also Set Up Teachers for Success?

Post submitted by ASCD author Robyn R. Jackson, author of Never Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching.

Marc Fisher's recent Washington Post two-part series (here and here) on teacher quality and school improvement struggles in the District of Columbia has caused me to wonder: What would we say of a teacher who told her students that they were performing terribly but did not provide them with the support and structure they needed to improve? How would we react if that teacher put her lowest-performing students on a 90-day instructional plan, and if they did not improve, expelled them? What if that teacher then replaced those students with a new crop of students but treated them the exact same way?

What would happen, in other words, if we treated our students the way that we often treat teachers?

ASCD's January Podcast: Education and the New Administration

President Obama and his Education Secretary nominee, Arne Duncan, face a host of education issues, with the rewrite of NCLB at the top of the list. Complicating matters are the severe budget deficits that are forcing dramatic cuts in education programs and services. This month's Whole Child Podcast addresses what the Obama administration can do to support our public schools and secure our children's future in these uncertain times.

In addition to rounding out education policy news and views posted here on Inservice, we'll also hear from Claus von Zastrow from the Learning First Alliance (LFA) on LFA's meeting with President-Elect Obama's transition team, and LFA's recent paper on the federal role in K-12 education. Lastly, student journalist Myles Miller will tell us what young people think Barack Obama should do to improve education in America.

What are your hopes for the new administration's efforts to improve education? How can federal policy ensure each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged?

This month's podcast is available for download. Listen to archived episodes anytime by visiting www.wholechildeducation.org/podcasts.

How Are You Creating Global Classrooms?

The article "Creating Global Classrooms," in the January issue of Education Update, discusses some of the innovative, interactive projects connecting students around the world. Tech-savvy educators collaborate across continents using electronic portals such as ePals and iEARN to develop online projects that infuse academic lessons with a global perspective. Using online forums, Webcams, blogs, and other interactive tools, young people can participate in exciting cultural exchanges and learn from one another. 
 
How are you using technology to create globally competent students? What kind of cross-cultural education projects are you doing in your classroom?

A Big Investment with Long-Term Dividends

Yesterday the U.S. House Appropriations Committee unveiled a massive, $550 billion economic recovery package that includes nearly $100 billion in K-12 spending. The spending plan would double funding for Title I and IDEA programs and provide $14 billion for local school construction.
 
In a statement, ASCD Executive Director Gene Carter applauded the resources for public education and urged Congress to expedite the passage of a recovery package. Carter said, "We are encouraged to see the federal government make a strong commitment to fully funding IDEA as well as Title I—not only as a short-term stimulus but also as a long-term investment in our human capital that will continue to pay dividends long after this crisis has passed."

The proposed investments align with the funding requests made by superintendents in response to a recent ASCD member survey, which asked a sample of the education leaders about their school systems' greatest needs during this fiscal crisis.

The Senate has yet to introduce its economic stimulus plan, but the new administration and Congressional leaders have expressed a strong desire to enact a recovery package by the end of February.

In your school or district, what is the most immediate investment Congress can make in education?

Schools and the Inauguration

How is your school or classroom handling Tuesday's inauguration ceremony? Here in the D.C. area, some schools are simply closing for the day, and many students are highly engaged, according to the Washington Post:

"The thing that I thought was surprising was how many students were willing to do something else besides just talk about it," said Springbrook High government and politics teacher Elizabeth Kelley. "They weren't just interested in getting a day off, but they were truly interested in getting a day off to participate in one way or another. . . . I had two different students tell me that their parents were not going to let them take their exams because they were going to go to the inauguration."

How many students will be there? The Post cites the Student Youth and Travel Association's estimate of 500,000. Assuming your school is in session, one way to engage students is an online collection of 2009 Presidential Inauguration Lesson Plans, jointly produced by the NEA and the AFT and housed on the Presidential Inaugural Committee Web site.

What are your plans for Tuesday?

Great Britain: School Gate

Part of the Times Online, a London newspaper, the School Gate blog grapples with issues facing educators the world over, from single-sex schools to sex education. Particularly fascinating in light of the United States' efforts to reform secondary education, is a report on the progress of new vocational diplomas offered as an alternative to traditional academic credentials.

On a less serious note, a post on the top television shows set in schools is a fun primer on UK school-themed TV, and a post on the raging controversy over Strictly Come Dancing (the British take on America's So You Think You Can Dance?) and its implications for children may well draw in reality TV lovers around the globe.

How Are We Grouping?

The March 1947 Educational Leadership article "How Are We Grouping?" looks at a wide range of ability grouping practices at various schools.

Read the article: How Are We Grouping? (PDF) 

An Ohio elementary principal claims, "The techniques of grouping do not constitute the most important problem. The critical question is how the children, teachers, and parents feel about it. Grouping must be acceptable to parents and teachers, known and understood by them. It must be administered by a high sensitiveness to how people, little and big, feel about any and all aspects of the program. It must be developed slowly and through cooperative planning with the pupils, moving toward the democratic ideals of respect for persons, faith in intelligence, and cooperative solution of common problems."

Never Work Harder Than Your Students

In her new ASCD book, Never Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching, educator Robyn R. Jackson makes a bold assertion: Any teacher can become a master teacher with the right kind of practice. The book makes the case that high-quality teachers concentrate on seven essential principles of effective teaching before implementing specific classroom strategies. One of Jackson's seven principles is that teachers should "never work harder than your students."

"The starting point comes when teachers embrace the messiness that is learning," says Jackson. "We have sanitized learning; we want to make it so clean. Everything in a classroom has to go just like we planned it. But if you leave spaces [in lesson planning] for kids to occupy, that's when they'll start to take control. You're creating situations where the kids have to do the work. We think kids are lazy, but kids want to work. They'll work in ways that are authentic to what they need."

Jackson, a former National Board–certified teacher and middle school administrator, not only shares how she learned from her mistakes but also explains how other teachers helped her think and act like a master teacher. Watch Jackson talk about her book on ASCD Talks With an Author.

How do you embrace the messiness of learning in your classroom?

Maryland Tops Ed Week Report Card

Education Week's annual Quality Counts report ranked Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York as the top three states for education, based on 35 factors. States were also ranked according to three separate indexes: Chance for Success, School Finance, and Transitions and Alignment.

There's a lot to digest here, but a few quick items of note:

• As a nation, the United States has held steady with a C+ on the Chance for Success index.
• Fewer states have college-readiness policies than early education standards.
• Sixteen states have plans to add college-prep courses in the coming years, while states have already increased efforts to sync curriculum with career pathways.

At the least, it would seem we're on the move to convert more students to graduates heading to college or into a career and bump up chances for success after graduation. What parts of the report resonated with you?

In addition to the State of the States report, Quality Counts 2009 includes a special report on English language learners.