DaveShearon

Tech Stuff

I fooled with OneNote briefly and couldn't figure out why I'd want to add it to my tool set since I already had MindManager.  A post to a MindManager yahoogroup today captures my impression:

I have yet to find the 'killer app' to move me from MindManager as my default tool for whatever problem or process I am working on. I also found OneNote's on-screen metaphor of physical pages & tabs meant that most information was invisible most of the time - a real step backwards from MindManager, I feel.

MindManager continues to be my tool of choice for working out ideas, gathering and organizing information, and planning. 

The new Dell Latitude X1 I'm using for work is really nice.  Love the light weight and NO FAN!  The light weight means less stress on the machine when moving aroudn with it.  I wish I could say it makes my computer bag lighter, but I tend to carry books, papers, and other stuff in their just about to capacity anyway.  But, when I travel, I tend to cut down on that stuff, so I expect it will pay off there.  Maybe I'll look for a lighter bag!  Oh, and it's wireless range is definitely superior to the Latitude C600 I used before.

ActiveWords.  What a great tool.  How did I get by without it?  Go download a trial copy.  If you do any reptetitive keyboard tasks, use common paragraphs, etc., you'll love it.

Finally, I've quit using my pocketpc.  I experimented with one, but it just doesn't deliver enough for me.  I don't even keep it syched due to a shortage of USB ports.  I do like having my calendar and contacts with me, but not at the expense of carrying another device.  Maybe a bluetooth enabled smartphone next time?

On Getting and Keeping Effective Teachers

In a yahoogroup on Metro Nashville Public Schoos (MNPS), I was asked about how I use the term "effective teacher",  how I would keep them, and whether it really takes around 10 years for a teacher to reach his maximum effectiveness.  The answer to the latter is that is what TVAAS data indicates, and, yes, I believe it.  As for the rest, here's my response:

How do I use "effective"? Basically, the 20% of
teachers in Tennessee who get the highest TVAAS gains
scores are what I call "highly effective".  The 20%
that get the lowest (including negative gains!) are
highly ineffective.  The rest are, effective, average, and ineffective. 

"Wait," you may be saying, "there's more to good
teaching than test scores."  Well, I could ask, what
more?  And why do you think it would not be reflected
in test scores?  But, the more powerful question is
whether a person making that claim would be willing
for her children to be squenced through a string of
highly ineffective teachers.  Sure would help with the triage problem. If you haven't read this:
http://www.heartland.org/pdf/21803a.pdf
I highly recommend it.  One of the most important
pieces of educational research in the last decade, and its results have been duplicated with different tests and underlying methodology.  See
http://www.shearonforschools.com/TVAAS.html for more
information.

As for the 10-year learning curve, three points:

#1 -- How can we get new teachers a higher starting
point on that curve?  This is a question for teacher
education programs and my understanding is that the
schools in TN are working with Dr. Sanders on this.

#2 -- How can we shorten the curve for teachers in the system?  Notice the use of lead teachers in the NY Times article in anoter post to this group.  I'd also highly recommend lesson study, but that's a judgment -- we didn't stick with it and so don't have data. Finally, continuing education is an important
component, but it's not nearly enough in itself.

#3 -- How can we keep the best teachers?  Respect.
Stop the "central office to improve teaching"
approach.  Ten years from now, teacher engagement,
reflection, thoughtfulness and cooperative improvement will still be important.  Sandy Johnson's programs won't be.  Stop telling them how to teach.  Make sure, and I mean with data and systematic approaches, that the culture in each school is healthy and that we are tapping the feelings and opinions of teachers. 

New books listed

I've been doing some recreational reading in my preferred genre, science fiction.  Two new entries listed on the side.

The mathematics of Value-Added Models (VAM)

The TVAAS layered model is the most ambitious

VAM effort to date. The full model simultaneously

examines outcomes on multiple subjects, from multiple

cohorts, across five or more years of testing.

Article here.  Warning:  serious statistics!

More on TVAAS.

NBTS -- Worth $$??

Is NBPTS certification worth what some states and systems are paying for it?  Does it really identify the most effective teachers.  Not according to two educations psychologists who've done value-added studies:

Their analysis shows the top 10 percent of ordinary classroom teachers in North Carolina--those without national certification--produce student achievement gains 10 to 20 times larger than those produced by teachers with NBPTS certification. Under the uniform salary scale, these top teachers receive no additional pay for their exceptional work.

NC is paying $7,500 per year to NBPTS-certified teachers!

Singing Past the Graveyard (Huh?)

Time for a little fun.  I've always enjoyed Sam Cooke's Wonderful World.  It even has a plan for improving schools:

Now I don't claim to be an A student
But I'm tryin' to be
Oh maybe by being an A student, baby
I can win your love for me

Yep.  When girls start chasing the top male candidates for valedictorian, president of the chess club, science fair winner, debate team members, etc., school performance will go up (at least for guys).  A fantasy?  You betcha.  But no more so than the fantasy so many school boards operate under -- that some administration-imposed curriculum, pedagogy, dress-code, grading scale, or what have you is going to make schools perform better.  In fact, if forced to choose, I'd rather try to get teenage girls to value smarts. 

Hey!  That suggests a poll!  So, here it is:

5/15/2005  OK.  Poll's closed.  Here are the final results:

School Improvement Which approach is most likely to improve any given school system? Get teenage girls to prefer "brains" first 59% 16 Get teachers working together in small groups to improve instruction 30% 8 Implement the right program in the right way 11% 3 Get a shake-things-up superintendent 0% 0 total votes: 27 Free polls by www.snappoll.com

Government-run Hospitals, Armies, and Schools

In a recent column in the Wall Street Journal on Britain's current political campaigns, the writer was discussing what dominated the news when it was being preempted by the Pope's funeral or Prince Charles' wedding.  He mentioned unemployment, the high cost of "petrol", and then appeared the phrase "the usual media blather about 'killer hospitals.'"   That's not part of the usual media blather in the United States, though "failing schools" is.  Just as I think the "failing schools" is not a completely accurate portrayal of our school system, I also suspect that "killer hospitals" isn't completely accurate for Britain. 

But, I'd argue that our public schools could be much better.  And Britain's hospitals could be much better -- they could be like ours.   Of course, we put WAY more money into health care than Britain, and we get better care.  All those who think tax increases for health care are going to be easier to sell than tax increases for schools, please raise your hands.  So, I find Kevin Drum's suggestion that national health care would be "good for the middle class" pretty weird.  But what about schools?

There are certain dynamics that go with public services, whether those services are schools, hospitals, or the military.  Right now we seem to have the best-in-the-world military, in personnel, equipment, training, and leadership.  We've got best-in-the-world hospitals and health care in general.  In both cases, though through different funding mechanisms, we are putting significantly greater resources than the rest of the world into those efforts.  We also spend more than the rest of the world on education.  We have outstanding post-secondary education, but we don't get best-in-the-world results in K-12 education.  Why?

Well, we trust soldiers to use judgment to implement their training, and we provide them with tremendous technological support.  We've gone for a smaller, better-trained and better-equipped military, and it's worked.  And, our military leaders are tremendously well-educated, generally far more than comparable business professionals.  Multiple degrees are common, and the experience and training are beyond compare.

We also give freedom and respect to university professors.  Though this has gotten us some Ward Churchill types, it's also produced a top-notch higher-education system.

Perhaps we should look at some similar approaches in K-12.  Look for leaders with diversified experience and multiple degrees.  Give teachers time to reflect and plan collaboratively, and expect them to critique their own work and build on it.  Question whether many teachers with small classes is a better approach than fewer, more effective and better-supported teachers with larger classes.  (At least, we could experiment a little, right?)

If you've read this blog much, you've seen my suggestions before.  For a interesting book comparing how our college system developed and the different history of K-12, try Teaching in America: the Slow Revolution.