Archive for the 'Technology' Category

More on brain-based education

Published by JohnL on 16 May 2008 in Administration, Arithmetic and mathematics, Content learning, Musings, News, Policy, Reading, Research, Spelling, Teacher education, Technology, The press and Written Expression. 0 Comments

My colleague Dan Willingham has posted a marvelous video that’s an introduction to thinking about neuroscience and education. Under the title “Brain-based Education: Fad or Breakthrough,” he illustrates important elements about what are reasoned extrapolations from cognitive neuroscience to education and what are not.

Update (18 May 2008): It’s heartening to see that other sites are pointing to Dan’s video. Here’s a preliminary list (please add others via the comments):

Update (7 June 2008): A couple of days ago, Dan posted a new version of the video; I’ve modified the links in the box accordingly.

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Are education blogs valuable?

Published by JohnL on 19 August 2007 in Musings, News, Policy, Teacher education, Technology and The press. 5 Comments

On his self-named blog, Mathew K. Tabor posted his response to a quotation by David Warlick. Mr. Warlick suggested that administrators might ask prospective teachers what blogs they read and students in schools of education might ask their instructors a like question. In his post—Don’t Ask This Question, Part I (18 August 2007)—Mr. Tabor took exception to this question and argued that too many blogs about education are untrustworthy and he’d rather have educators who promote mastery of content.

There are two issues here - I’ll address in this article the insignificance of the blog medium given this context and in Part II the reasons why asking this question in this way is inappropriate.

Warlick’s question rests on the assumption that education blogs are a necessary and irreplaceable part of education curricula. Simply put, they aren’t.

I agree that there are too few good blogs related to education, but there are some. I think many are represented in the blogroll for Teach Effectively! I also agree with Mr. Tabor that instructors can (and should) teach to mastery; this is true whether the instructors read or write blogs.

Educators’ blogs can—and do—provide valuable content. To the extent that blogs are based on empirical data, go beyond case studies and personal opinion, they provide a valuable service. To the extent that blogs communicate news and other current developments in education, they can help readers be informed.

link to Mr. Tabor’s post and a link to Mr. Warlick’s original article that started Mr. Tabor on his response. Of course, I hope teachers (practicing and prospective), administrators, and others will find useful information on Teach Effectively!

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BEE cool

Published by JohnL on 10 June 2007 in Administration, Arithmetic and mathematics, News, Parents, Policy, Reading, Research and Technology. 0 Comments

The Best Evidence Encyclopedia (BEE) from the Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE) at the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, US) provides a marvelous set of resources to help educators and the public understand effective practices. BEE, which is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education, summarizes the results of meta-analyses or other integrative sumamaries that have examined the efficacy of curricula, computer applications, and instructional practices.
Continue reading ‘BEE cool’

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Tech bust

Published by JohnL on 5 April 2007 in Administration, Arithmetic and mathematics, News, Reading, Research, Technology and The press. 0 Comments

A report from the US Department of Education which revealed that use of educational software in schools has yielded little improvements in students’ outcomes is receiving lots of media attention. For examples, there is a front page story in entitled “Software’s Benefits On Tests In Doubt: Study Says Tools Don’t Raise Scores” by Amit R. Paley in the Washington (DC) Post and there is coverage under various headlines (e.g., “Study Eyes Effect of Education Technology” on Fox) by Nancy Zuckerbrod, the AP Education Writer.

The study on which these and other folks report examined reading and mathematics software that had previously been identified as effective and was then used in 132 schools (439 teachers), with the products introduced according to an experimental design. Based on assessments administered a year later, students experienced no significant changes in their reading or math achievement.

1. Test Scores Were Not Significantly Higher in Classrooms Using Selected
Reading and Mathematics Software Products. Test scores in treatment classrooms that were randomly assigned to use products did not differ from test scores in control classrooms by statistically significant margins.

2. Effects Were Correlated With Some Classroom and School Characteristics. For reading products, effects on overall test scores were correlated with the student-teacher ratio in first grade classrooms and with the amount of time that products were used in fourth grade classrooms. For math pwith classroom and school characteristics.

I’m not terribly surprised by this. Most software is not predicated on appropriate instructional principles. But, there are other concerns, too. For example, as is the case in studies where multiple products are compared in aggregate, it is likely that they overall results mask some differences at a lower level. The research team promised software companies that the outcomes for individual products wouldn’t be identified, but there are likely to be different effects by product; some are likely to be more effective than others.

Even more importantly: Even if you have great curricula and instructional packages, it matters how they are used. You can put the teacher’s book that describes an excellent set of lessons for teaching reading on the teacher’s desk, but that’s not going to cause reading scores of the students in that classroom to rise. Even good technology won’t do much good unless it’s used appropriately. (To their credit, the researchers here observed in classrooms and have examined some of these issues.)

Link to stories by Ms. Paley and Ms. Zuckerbrod (Fox version). Link to a site from which you can read HTML pages about the actual report; alternatively, download the full report, which is the result of a study by a large team of researchers associated with Mathematica Policy Research and SRI International, by clicking here (PDF).

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Zig book redux

Published by JohnL on 28 February 2007 in Administration, Arithmetic and mathematics, Assessment, Behavior Management, Content learning, Musings, News, Parents, Reading, Research, Social behavior, Spelling, Teacher education, Technology, The press and Written Expression. 0 Comments

Good news for those who discovered too late that Zig Engelmann was publishing a history of his time in education. The chapters were available only briefly (2 weeks each) but Zig’s making the entire product available again briefly.

If you missed downloading any of the earlier chapters of “The Outrage of
Project Follow Through,” Zig is re posting ALL chapters on Monday, March 12
about 8am pacific and will leave them up until Monday, March 19, around 8am
pacific.

Bryan
Bryan Wickman,
Executive Director
Association for Direct Instruction

Save the dates. Get it while it’s free. Go to zigsite.com.

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New from the W-W-C

Published by JohnL on 4 October 2006 in Administration, Arithmetic and mathematics, Reading, Research, Social behavior and Technology. 0 Comments

The What Works Clearinghouse has released additional reviews of reports summarizing the research on various interventions.

What Works Clearinghouse Releases 10 New Reports: Beginning Reading, Early Childhood Education, Character Education, English Language Learning, and Elementary School Mathematics
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, announces 10 new intervention reports highlighting available research on Beginning Reading, Early Childhood Education, Character Education, English Language Learning, and Elementary School Mathematics. New WWC Reports include:
Beginning Reading:

More information about the Beginning Reading review is available at http://whatworks.ed.gov/Topic.asp?tid=01&ReturnPage=default.asp.
Early Childhood Education:

More information about the Early Childhood review is available at http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/Topic.asp?tid=13&ReturnPage=default.asp.
Character Education:

More information about the Character Education review is available at http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/Topic.asp?tid=12&ReturnPage=default.asp.
English Language Learning:

More information regarding the English Language Learning review is available at http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/Topic.asp?tid=10&ReturnPage=default.asp.
Elementary School Mathematics:

More information regarding the Elementary School Mathematics review is available at http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/Topic.asp?tid=04&ReturnPage=default.asp.
The WWC is releasing an ongoing series of reports over the next few months covering these topics, as well as releasing reports for Dropout Prevention and Middle School Mathematics. Approximately 30 additional reports will be released by the end of the year. Weekly updates will be sent to the WWC subscribers notifying them of the latest available findings.

See earlier posts on Teach Effectively! regarding reports from the W-W-C.

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Learning styles challenge

Published by JohnL on 9 August 2006 in News, Research and Technology. 0 Comments

Over on Will at Work Learning, Will Thalheimer has a challenge for those who advocate differentiation of instruction based on the putative learning styles of learners. The lead for his post says a lot:

I will give $1000 (US dollars) to the first person or group who can prove that taking learning styles into account in designing instruction can produce meaningful learning benefits.

I dropped a comment in on his blog and I plan to track the results. Link to Will’s post. Flash of the electrons to Liz Ditz of I Speak of Dreams for alerting me to Will’s post.

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Effective transition technology

Published by JohnL on 30 March 2006 in Research and Technology. 0 Comments

I got this invitation today. It’s a good opportunity to ask questions about the evidence base for various technology practices.

The Family Center on Technology & Disability is pleased to announce the start of our next month-long, online discussion, beginning on Monday, April 3rd. Led by Dr. Mary Morningstar and Dr. Sean Smith, of the University of Kansas, we’ll look at assistive technology issues that become critical during periods of transition in a student’s life.

What do families and the organizations that serve them need to do when a student makes the transition from elementary school to middle school, from there to high school, and then, to college, work, and/or independent living? How do AT issues change with each transition and how do we ensure that a student continues to receive the services and devices he or she needs to succeed? Please join us as we explore this important topic. You can access the discussion throughout the month of April at www.fctd.info. We look forward to seeing you online!

* * *
Family Center on Technology and Disability (FCTD)
1825 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 700S
Washington, DC 20009

email | fctd@aed.org
web | www.fctd.info

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