Innovative Teacher: A different way forward

Tests 50%
Quizzes 30%
Class Participation and effort 10%
Homework 10%

Does that look like a typical weighted grading system for a class?

But, what does the grade we give at the end of the class mean?

Is it supposed to reflect the learning that has occurred? If so, then maybe we should only count the last test. Is it supposed to reflect the improvement? If so, then a student who does really poorly on tests and quizzes for the first half of class, but that figures it out by the end should get an A (but will not). Is it supposed to be a reflection of the day to day work and effort that they do all year? Then our daily participation and effort percentage should change to 75%. Should we even grade homework? Is it important that they do it? If so, shouldn’t it be more of a part of the grade? Is that homework graded based on attempt or only correct answers? Is the grade supposed to be a reflection of the regurgitation of content? If so, give a huge multiple choice test with no discussion. Is it supposed to be an analysis of content? Then let our exams be all essay and short answer instead of multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank. Is it supposed to be an application of understanding? Then an in-depth project that incorporates and requires application of a variety of cumulative skills should be a majority of the grade. Students say a teacher gives a grade, but teachers say students earn it. Which is it? Is there any truth to what the students say? Teachers, have you ever given a pop quiz because you know most kids did not read? Teachers, have you ever made a test harder than usual, or worse…..easier than usual? Why? If a student bombs one major test, but gets A+ on everything else, what grades does he earn? If a student is apathetic every day in class but gets A+ on all tests and quizzes demonstrating unquestionably that she ”gets “ the material, what grade does she get? If a student works hard all semester, participates in class, tries hard on all homework and assignments, but in the end just not quite “get it” so does poorly on tests, what grade does he get? Teachers, have you ever curved a test? Why? How does that sync up with you grading system? Teachers, if test grades do not follow a standard Bell curve, is that OK? If all students have mastered the material and demonstrate that effectively on an a solid evaluation, is it ok if all students get “A”s?

So, you see, a grade is actually very complex, yet there is no standard at any school, in any district, or college. Schools even use different number systems to define letter grades. Some school use + and -, some don’t . Some use larger bands for B and C. Some allow D as passing, some do not. Some high schools “weight” Honors and AP class grades, some do not. Teachers even within the same department have very different scales and weight percentages. Teachers sometimes even have completely different categories. I am not suggesting that this is necessarily bad, just something to consider. And maybe something that may push us into considering that we move away from looking at(and using) grades like we do. Teachers hate when students only seem to care about the grade, yet don’t we dangle it in front of them all semester long?

So how can we possibly compare a grade from one school to another, even for the same class? When we know the classes are probably far from similar in the first place and most likely the grading as well. And if the answer to that question is that we really do not have to compare them, then I’ll re-ask my original question, what does the grade a student gets in a class mean?

So in conclusion, I’ll ask the same question yet again in the biggest sense: what does the grade a student gets in a class really mean?

Ahhhhhhhh, it’s that time of year, and if you’ve read my BLOG posts you know I am not big on standardized tests and exams, but instead of dreading it, I am so excited because it’s one of my favorite times of the year.
Better let me explain
I do have exams in my classes, but they are different than you are imagining.

In my freshman classes, students pair up in groups of 2 and put on a demonstration table for two of the topics that we studied this year in class. They are able to include creativity and presentations skills in their board display, as well as show and describe what they’ve learned. They dress up nice and for an hour one evening, we invite all the parents in as our guests. So, we’ll have 40 parents and 20 students in our library with sounds of robots, background music from games that they’ve programmed, loud explanations of how to design in 3-D Maya, and various clankings of computer components being put together and taken apart as parents build computers. Lots of proud moms and dads who are charged by me with asking lots of questions, but also to enjoy a hands-on experience with their children as teachers. Parents wander around all the demonstrations and interact with other students, parents, board members, and other teachers. Truly a wonderful night! What a great chance to address the dinner-time question, “What did you do in school today?”

In my sophomore year class, students will again have their parents involved in their final exam, but this time the students will actually be leading their parents through an evening Mobile App development workshop. Each student will lead their parent(s) through the entire process of programming a mobile app using Windows Phone or Android. Students are not allowed to touch the mouse, so pressure is on them to explain and teach well, so that parents can not only design the app, but also upload it and test it on a real smart phone. As any teacher will vouch, it’s one thing to do something; it’s an entirely different thing to teach someone else to do it.

In my junior year class, students present yet again, but this time it is to a panel of “expert” judges who will hear their presentations and evaluate each student’s performance and project. Students spend an entire semester working on one project (a game or simulation for the Xbox game system) and along side that they put together business plans that would allow them to take an idea (like theirs) to the market place. After a short demo of their actual game, our “venture capitalist” panel (consisting of one students, one parent, two successful entrepreneurs, one business executive, and one guest “Skype” judge from Uganda) will hear and see each students work their way through mission statements, competitive analysis, market research, and COGS as they try to sway the panel to invest in their game idea. Because we still have a few weeks of school left, students will be able to finish up their games up until the last day of class since they have now gotten their exam out of the way.

But, was that really an exam?

Well, if we define exam as a culminating experience that requires students to bring in what they’ve learned and apply it and use it in new ways; if we define exams as a rigorous experience which really “tests” to see if students have learned the material and requires them to demonstrate that understanding; if we define exams as a chance to synthesize a large quantity of information….

Then I’ll argue my exam not only meets all those criterion, but exceeds them. Students will spend 2-3 times longer preparing for this kind of effort than they would “studying” for a traditional exam. And because they cannot cram for this; because they can’t fake it; because I am not asking them to regurgritate a bunch of words but use them as a vocabulary to demonstrate and explain; because they are forced to create an entire presentation , it allows us to bring visual, written, motion, language arts, fine arts, and Computer Science together in true cross curricular nature

The exam itself is a learning experience on its own.

Imagine if every exam they took was like that?

I’d like to bring up a topic that, while maybe a hot potato topic, is certainly worth thinking about and discussing. For the most part, most school systems in the U.S. follow a similar yearly calendar: school starts in early fall/late summer (Aug or Sept), we take a long 2-3 week holiday break during the end of December and early January, we have a spring break in March or April, and we end in late May or June for a 2-month summer break. School starts some time between 7am and 8am and we go until 2pm or 3pm. Extra help, sports practices and games, and play practice and performances are all after school and into the evening. This is basically true for all levels of education in the U.S. even at the college level.

I’d like you to think about the yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily schedule of a typical school year. I submit that it is time we look at making not just subtle, but dramatic changes to not necessarily how we educate students, but when we educate them. And when we think about that, there are many opportunities which come out of that discussion, if we are just willing to think out of the box.
In a world of instant access and immediate feedback, it does not make sense that we limit ourselves by the traditional clock and calendar, when every other aspect of life is not limited.
Probably one of the first things we should do is completely abandon our system of school holidays. (Woah. Did he just say what I think he said? But that would be going against the status quo. Why would anyone do that? That would involve change! What we’ve got is working ok now, right? I mean I got through school and I turned out ok. Why change?) Especially in a world in which religion, economics, business, family priorities, weather, culture, expectations, and personal preference are so varied, perhaps a different model can fit better. There was a time when it made sense that school followed a calendar that synced up with the farming & agriculture calendar. After all, it was a major part of the economy and many people were involved with that. There are a variety of possibilities that might incorporate that same 24/7/365 world I mentioned before.
There is evidence which suggests that our current model of a daily schedule does not fit the best time of day for learning for students. For example is the 8am-10am starting time slot of any value for middle school and elementary school aged kids? It’s certainly convenient, but is is smart?

We find many M-F 9-5 business people spending a few hours here and there on a weekend, or weekday evening catching up on work, corresponding to some emails, or working (without typical distractions) on current projects…why not take that same attitude and apply it to education. Why not have classes which are offered in the evening, on a Saturday morning, Sunday afternoon, or during the summer. It would allow students to be able to take classes they normally could not, or could free up some time during the regular day to focus on other equally important efforts. It would allow business people an opportunity to teach. It opens the doors for an entirely new style of teacher. It would allow many students to be able to maintain a part time job throughout the year—something which many adults agree is a valuable part of growing up. And, it would allow flexiblity with our existing teachers; your classes might be spread out more giving you time during the day to collaborate, research, plan presentations for conferences, keep current in your discipline, visit other schools, and develop higher order curriculum.

Part of the issue is that we still insist on having definite beginnings and endings in a very traditional sense. I also agree that psychologically they are important, but our beginnings and endings tend to be based on grade level only. If you talk with most teachers, many will agree that seldom does age, grade level, maturity, and intellect ever intersect together. So, one possibility is that we base the school model of advancement (at least in part) on progress and demonstration of ability….. as compared to age. Age is simply a measurement of how many days that you have been alive, hardly a system to base a curriculum, learning progression, and an entire school system on. Intelligence, maturity, and problem solving skills are earned and learned through experience and by acquiring understanding. I think there are certainly some places in a system like that where age would play a part, but maybe just not as the primary basis for advancement. I am not suggesting it would be easy to do this, but just that our current model is not the only one. And just because we’ve always done it this way does not mean that we should continue. I realize that there are numerous issues, problems, obstacles, and reasons why altering our model would present. But, maybe that is the exact reason WHY we would consider it in the first place; not because it is easy, but because it would be hard. I’ll argue all day long that even if it is hard, if we as a collective society deem it worthy of that effort, then it is truly worth whatever we go through. Our country has never stepped down from a challenge before…and for a challenge with the potential to make our country better able to compete on the national and international level, why would we not explore this with great energy?
One way we might define a beginning and ending is not by a date on a calendar, but by accomplishing a required set of tasks and demonstrating proficiency, similar to the capstone projects in the I.B. program, but on a more regular and smaller scale throughout the educational process. And we know there are successful models of a system like that; Montessori education has elements of that approach built in to their educational model. The Boy Scout program has a model like this where students work to accomplish a required set of tasks, events, and activities, and when they do, they receive their “badge” and they move on to the next series. There are students of all ages interacting together in both of those internationally proven systems. Not that w would follow them exactly, but we study them and extract what elements fit our school system. Sure, it involves us having to redefine how we administer and offer school, but is that necessarily a bad thing? In a corporation or business, if the current model of success is starting to not meet the needs of the customers, community, and business itself, then the business would determine what model has the most successful chance of success and work towards that.

In our current system, it seems that no matter what change we talk about making or what needs we have, or what desired outcome we want to work towards, it seems as if our answer to that is always a new version of a( or simply more) standardized test(s). And, so over the last 50 years, we have seen education reform make giant circles over and over again eventually coming back to the same place we when we started.

In the spirit of looking at time and scheduling and, there are some interesting areas where we might see some positive changes.

• Consider a typical day. If I said to any of you that you were going to go to 7 meetings per day every day for a year(many of which you would simply take notes and do worksheets) you would laugh loudly in angry disgust, then kill me. Yet, that’s what we do each and every day for many years of our student’s lives. Is that truly the best we can do? Is there not a better way to use the time we’ve got? There are so many options for us to consider if we can just get ourselves to think outside the standard school model.

• Consider exams. Normal policy calls for each class to offer a 2-3 hour culminating test during a 1 week period at the end of a semester. Doesn’t it make better sense to administer exams at different times, rather than all at once? After all, if they could really focus on one subject area at a time, wouldn’t they study harder deeper, and better? I might even add, that if we were to make every test they take cumulative, then their final exam is really no different that a regular test.

• Consider summertime. Summer school traditionally has been only for those who need remedial work…perhaps it is time to flip that on it’s head and let summer be the time for the normal and even high-achieving students. Schools offer remediation in their schools all summer long, but for students who want to challenge themselves and learn more, we make them pay lots of money and travel far away to attend programs. Shouldn’t our own schools be centers of excellence and achievement for our own students?

• Consider field trips. What if every discipline took field trips throughout the year. Currently, it is not possible , but with an extended year and multiple breaks along the way, trips of all kinds suddenly become not just possible, but probable. Travel, life experience, cultural education, global education can become not just a luxury for a few can become opportunities for many.

• Consider distance education. Perhaps 10 years ago, the idea of distance education, online classes, and even on-line degrees was a joke. Suddenly, with technologies to support those types of efforts, as well as the culture starting to realize that the office and classroom are no longer defined by a Monday-Friday, 8:00 – 5:00 regiment…these ideas make sense.

• Consider family time. Not every family has a schedule which is in sync with the time structure of the school day. Families with moms and dads who work in restaurants, work in retails, are self-employed, travel through the week, work 2nd or 3rd shifts. A school schedule which was spread out more with opportunities throughout the year (not just during long summer breaks) would allow families to have more time together throughout the year.

• Consider PBL (Project-Based Learning). Few teachers disagree that PBL is a great tool for learning The hands-on experience provides a chance for students to “feel” content, not just hear about it and regurgitate information on a test. But, sometimes we are limited in what we can do as struggle to get through material (perhaps in order to prepare students for a standardized test? Sorry, I had to sneak that in). Teachers: think about a schedule which allows you a chance to plan this (even cross-curricular), allows you the chance to let it go long enough for the learning to happen, and allows the students a chance to work together outside of school to get it done. Some of the breaks throughout the year can be academic in nature.

• Consider the summer break. Families with parents in business get no summer break, so having children home for 2+ months is often times a very challenging scenario. For many destinations for family vacations, the summertime is the most crowded, most expensive, most challenging weather.

• I know the nay-sayers are already asking me to provide standardized test score which prove that a year long school year is more effective that the current norm. Sorry, gang. I am proud to say that even if there is (and I am sure there is), I am not going to use it in this argument. Please tell me our motivation is not a multiple choice test. If it is, I’ll ask you not to read the rest of my BLOG, nor anything else I’ve ever written.

• Consider multiple daily schedules. With some much time to accomplish our goal (to lead students through the educational process), schools could even alter the daily schedule throughout the year, for example, maybe in the fall and spring when days are longer, we do one schedule, but during winter months, we alter that with another schedule, and during high heat summer months, we use yet another schedule. In the same spirit of rotating schedules during a standard school day at many schools, a rotating schedule of a higher level might also provide opportunities for us all.

Now, don’t misunderstand what I mean here. I am not talking about suddenly requiring teachers to work longer hours and more days for the same salary. I am not talking about throwing away textbooks and lessons plans. All those hours teachers have spent developing great lessons will finally have better chances of being received like you hoped. I am not necessarily talking about more days in the classroom(although that is probably something we should also look at….however that is NOT part of this BLOG); I am talking about rearranging how and when we have kids in the hallways and classrooms. Have we ever thought about how important time and management of time is? It is not something to be taken lightly. Consider the various sports out there. Competitions range from an hour to many hours in length for a “match”. But, each one is completely different in how (if at all) they structure their time; so the “how and when” their players work is intentional, planned, managed, and taken advantage of. In football, there are four 15-minute quarters—in fact management of time in the last minutes often times decides winning and losing; in soccer, you’ve got two 45-minute halves;

in Greco-Roman wrestling, you’ve got two 3-minute periods, in boxing, you’ve got fifteen 3-minute rounds; in tennis, there is not time at all –it is simply the first person to reach an objective (best of 3 or 5 sets, with lots of opportunities for both players to win and lose throughout the match); in baseball, there is also no time limit, it is also determined by the highest number of accomplishments (runs) that are earned after 9 innings; sumo wrestling bouts tend to last a few seconds but can last for minutes, yet the entire “match” (tournament lasts) 15 days—and even more spectacular…the beginning of each bout is never specified in advance..it is decided by the two competitors meeting eyes and without verbal communication; in basketball, you’ve got four 15-minute quarters; cricket has many forms of time ranging from 2 ½ hours to 5 days. So you see my point, there are dramatically different ways of using time depending on the needs of the situation. Some of the greatest activities do not even have time as a component of the event…wow now there is something to consider….what if students simply advanced to the next level in education when they were ready?
Teachers: think about this: Imagine several multi-week holidays from school; those holidays could be of varying lengths depending on the needs of each community. Camps and other educations activities pop up for students to attend during the off time. Remediation could happen during part of the time off… giving students help WHEN THEY NEED IT, not after the class is finished or have failed the class. Schools could alter how they schedule classes. We could have classes which meet for 2-3 hours per day for a month. For classes which need time to let the material sync in, we stretch those courses over multiple sessions. There could be classes which meet 8 hours a day for a week. We could attract different types of, and more varied teachers, as we open up our schedules to evening and weekends; thus allowing eager business men and women the chance to teach. It also opens up options for teachers and school to make extra money as well. Schools could have staff which are in charge of the off-season holidays, recruiting teachers to teach classes, tutor sessions, lead academic travel excursions, take students to tournaments, lead a touring choir, lead grade-level trips with some power behind them(service oriented , out of comfort zone culturally and physically, not just going to an amusement park). Student council and other student led organizations would actually have time to plan events and learn how to lead. Teachers would actually have time to plan collaborative lessons, inter-disciplinary projects, and exploratory lessons in the midst of their year. Teachers and admin will vouch, once the year starts, it’s nose to the grindstone until you look up in May. Little time to plan something like once the school year starts.

So, whether you agree or disagree with some of the ideas presented here, I beg you to start a discussion with your colleagues and co-workers, family friends, academic leaders, politicians.

There is a different way forward in education.

I was honored to have been interviewed by Anthony Salcito’s team for their current project: A 365-day look at educational heroes in education.
Check it out here : The Cross-Curricular Power of Computer Science

If you know me or my writing, you know I have strong opinions about standardized anything and standardized curriulum. So with spring around the corner, no BLOG of mine would be complete without a post regarding the AP. This BLOG is targeted towards United States readers, but I’ve tried to include enough details for international peers to understand the topic because I am assuming other countries have some similar efforts in their country. I will try to keep this as unbiased as I can, but will likely fail.

In the United States, we have a “system” in our high schools called AP (Advanced Placement). They are courses, in over 20 subject areas, which are taught by high school teachers, but the content is college-level and at the end of the academic year students who are taking classes take a standard test in each discipline. The tests cost about $75 per test. Each year in May, all across the country, all the AP tests are administered in each discipline. That test is not published in advance, so student and teachers will not know what will be on the test until test day. The possible scores are 0 – 5, where 5 is the highest score possible. Most of the students who are college-bound will find themselves taking numerous AP classes in order to have a really competitive resume as they compete for admission spots at the colleges across the country. Ideally, students who do great on the exam will “exempt” that same class when they go to college. Their high school resume, as well as performance on a national standardized test called SAT (coincidentally also offered by the same company), will have a tremendous impact on determining where the majority of students attend college.

In any high school and around many dinner tables, there is a fundamental debate that is publically and privately played out year after year in the spring. As schools decide which classes to offer, and students and parents evaluate which classes to take, there is an elephant in the room: AP

Just so you understand my context, I am a teacher in a college-prep private school. Most of our students take numerous AP classes in high school…in fact students will go to college with anywhere from 3 to 30+ college credit hours. We offer many AP classes, and usually see good results on the tests.

But what was the original idea behind the AP program?

Originally: For those unique students around the country who have mastered what the typical high school is able to offer, and wanted to explore a higher level of content, then there is a recognized system to allow students to take the next level of a discipline, giving them a taste of college while still in high school.
Currently: Some schools sell themselves as “AP schools”. For example in the city I live it, we have a school “ranked” as one of the best high schools in the country based on how many AP courses it offers. Is that really what determines excellence? Some schools selectively pick who can take the test, then use their successful results on the tests to attract new students each year. AP has become a perceived “required” criterion for admissions into college.

AP classes from the perspective of the teacher do not offer flexibility in deciding what content to teach. It is a class which no one, not the students, teachers, or schools are able to know in advanced what exactly will be evaluated or the questions/problems that will be used on the test. (Of course the general topics are made available, but the specifics are highly confidential.) We say it is bad teaching to teach to a test, but it is simply not possible to offer an AP class and not teach to the test. You’ve got to expose your students to the terminology, design, layout, and approach that College Board uses in the administration of their tests.

Due to the volume of students taking the tests, tests must be offered only on paper, even for lab-based classes such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Computer Science. So, while the labs are an integral aspect of class throughout the year, it ends up not being as much of a part of the final evaluation. (evaluating what we think is important: there is another BLOG post coming up)

I’d like to throw this out there as food for thought: What is the real purpose for schools to offer AP? What is the real purpose for students to take AP? We know the motivation from College Board. While it is a non-for-profit institution, it is a money making machine. My hats off to their marketing team; they somehow became the standardized test king; and have schools all across the country selling their products (yes, the have more than just AP). They additionally sell books, offer classes, charge you to take their test, and yes students can even pay an extra fee to find out their results a day early. It’s the Sally Foster of education. If they went public and sold stock, it would be a cash cow.

Surprisingly, AP test scores are not uniformly accepted across the country at the college level. Every university and college has its own policy, specific to each discipline whether it accepts it for credit or not. Some accept and give credit for any score 3 or higher, some only accept 5, some only accept 5 on the harder of two offered tests, some do not accept any tests, some accept only as electives, some say they do not consider AP in the admissions process but actually do, etc. Some kids use the taking of the AP class as a resume building tool and do not care how they do on the actual test or even in the class. Some want to enter into college with many credits already completed. Others take the AP class because they love the subject area and/or teacher and just want to learn more, regardless of the AP signature. But what’s our goal here? College is one of the most enjoyable, full of academic and life learning, experience of our lives. Why would we want to shorten that experience?

As far as students go, there are 2 motivations. One: Some students love learning, love challenge, love pushing themselves, and will take the hardest path possible. They do that not to satisfy anyone but themselves. While it certainly helps them get into the best colleges, that is not the sole purpose of taking the AP classes. Two: Students and parents have heard “through the grapevine” that you’ve got to have many AP to even have a chance to get into the schools of their choices. The perception is that it does not even matter what grade you get in the class, or even on the test, but that you are in the AP course to begin with. It does not matter if the class is something they are passionate about or not, they just take it because it fills periods of the day and stacks the resume.

As far as teachers go, there is a huge grey area. We tell teachers not to teach to the test, but if your kids don’t do well on the test, that is a reflection on the teacher. (teacher evaluations: that’s another BLOG post coming up) Some students just don’t do well on tests like these, but do fine in hands-on classes. Those students tend not to do well on standardized tests, so the grade they get may not reflect their actual understanding and ability to apply their knowledge. Have you ever had a bad day, a busy week, a few hours in the day where you were just not there? Don’t let that happen in May or you will pay for that and perhaps undermine 12 years of hard work. An AP teacher is said to be an excellent teacher if their students do excellent on the test. So, the end would certainly justify any means for a teacher. Do we get excellence in teaching with our AP classes, or do we get excellence in test preparation?

Here is an interesting way of looking at the AP program from the student point of view: (Woah! Stop right there! I can tell he is going to suggest something that is different than what we normally do. You stop right there young man. Don’t you dare suggest something outside the box) for a student going into a specific discipline ( for example Biology , History, or Computer Science), and they have decided on pursuing that discipline as a possible major and/or career, and they have spent a couple years researching higher education institutions to find the best choice for them, then I argue that they should experience the entire program that the college has to offer. Don’t skip over the first year or two because you did well on one single test when you were 16 years old. If you are going to major in Biology from U.N.C., then you want to immerse yourself in the entire program they have to offer. Additionally, despite how wonderful we high school teachers think we are, the experience of taking an AP class in a high school is dramatically different than the experience of taking the same class in college. Every teacher teaches a class, even one with a predetermined curriculum and syllabus, with their own spin to it. Each teacher brings their own focus, passions, and interpretations(which is a good thing). Now, to a certain extent, we can assume that the teacher is working under the umbrella of their department and their school, so we know it is in sync with the objectives of their schools and departments, so there is some commonality and expectation of excellence. But, we can all agree(?) that the objectives of a high school are dramatically different than the objectives of a college. High Schools have to prepare students as best they can for the world, but their immediate focus is to get the kids ready for the next step, which is college. Colleges have to prepare students to enter into the marketplace and beyond, standing on the shoulders of what the students have learned and accomplished in their secondary and even primary education. So, even the best of AP high school classes cannot accomplish the same objectives and goals of the comparable college level class…nor should it. At the high school level, we have assemblies, pep rallies, dress down days, halloween costume days, senior cut days, ½ days, field trips, detentions, shirts to tuck in, early dismissals for sport….and parents are still heavily involved(far too much…that is another BLOG post) in the academic life of their kids and also their kids teachers. None of that exists in a manner even close to that at the college level.

Keep in mind, university students in those 100 level classes (first year college) do NOT take the AP test that all the high school students take for the same class. At the college level, in Computer Science 101 and English 101 in hundreds of colleges across the country, each teacher teaches the class and evaluates the class differently. In that same spirit, I’ll throw this out there as well: college professors would go ballistic if they were forced to require students take another exam in place of their own to determine passing or not, and with what grade. Yet, the high school teachers who (supposedly) teach the same class for the same credit, must. So we know right there that the experience is a dramatically different one.

Here are some ways of breaking this down as we go forward

Option 1: With most high schools in the country offering AP, then I argue that what has happened, which is not necessarily unusual nor is it even bad, is that what we were teaching in the first year of college has simply moved up in the curriculum. This happens all the time. Especially in my area, Computer Science, we move content up to earlier grades somewhat frequently to keep our curriculum fresh and relevant. So, I suggest we stop calling those classes AP, and just let them be what we study in high school. Let colleges and universities push their curriculum up as well to meet the needs of their incoming students.
Option 2: Change the way we offer AP (WHAT? Is this guy suggesting that we alter the way it’s worked for decades? OH MY GOD! Surely the status quo cannot be wrong). Here are some possible ways of looking at this:
• AP classes are extremely challenging: For those students who have always taken the hardest classes, challenged themselves, followed their natural curiosity, and performed well , then they can apply to be considered; and it would be a real honor to be accepted into the class. And isn’t that a system that makes sense. This is geared more in line with the early years of the AP. It allowed for students to distinguish themselves by simply doing what they do naturally.

OR

• Any student who wishes to enter an AP class can try his/her luck and are encouraged to do so. In this environment, the teacher has to make a choice. Either you go through the material at a relatively standard rate, knowing the lower end kids will either not be able to keep up, or will require additional assistance. Or, you realize that you will lower the pace of the class to make sure that what they do get through, they are comfortable with, and the advanced kids will need to learn some on their own in order to be ready for the test in May. Also you would have to decide whether to make all kids who are in the class take the test. This allows a student to try something new (and maybe not do well in that attempt…they might fail sometimes along the way….they might even fail on the exam…is that ok?)

OR

• Offer both styles and let the students decide which to take. (and do not distinguish the two on the transcript):

• Test-Focused-AP, where the goal is simple: prepare for success on the test. Lots of practice tests, every assignment in line for the test, only addressing that which is on the test. All students are expected to not only take, but do well on the test. These require admissions application and only proven students with recommendation can be accepted.
• Content-Focused-AP, where the teacher teaches the content of the AP, but students do not actually take the AP test itself. This allows the focus of the class to shift from preparing for a test to simply immersing in the content area. Still requires applications to get in, but appeals to a different type of student.
• Exploratory AP: For students who may not meet any criteria, but are wanting to challenge themselves with a college level content class. Any student can take the test

OR

• Don’t offer AP classes at all. Let your faculty design curriculum around the mission statement of your school. Understand your student and teacher populations, as well as the culture of the school, and let your curriculum reflect that. Provide curriculum which is rigorous, challenging, engaging, hands-on, and prepares students for the world.

OR

• Offer the IB program, which is a standardized methodology, like the AP, but has more depth and individual responsibility for the student. Tends to be more portfolio-based, where students earn credit by presenting and applying what they’ve learned.

Ok, so are there any other viewpoints to consider? I mean what’s the issue and why even have the conversation at all? After all the system seems to be working, right? Kids are getting into college and the sky is not falling. (I might argue that it is academically)

If you do not separate students like this, then the advanced students are stuck in classes with students who are not able to do well or are not as interested/motivated thus slowing down the classes and not challenging our best students. Welcome to school since the first grade. That’s not an ideal scenario, but one that is ever present.

If you do not allow students to try something a little beyond their comfort and aptitude level, knowing they may fail along the way, how can they learn? That flies in the face of our grading system which frowns on anything less than a B.

Anyway, there are some serious philosophical discussions, as you can see, that are fun to have with your colleagues in your schools. I encourage you to have them. Regardless of which argument(or none or all of them ) that you support, it is crucial that we as a country look at everything we do, including traditional programs like the AP program, and evaluate it and make sure it allows us to succeed in the ways we want to succeed. And , in the end, whatever our view, we must make sure that whatever we do is for the long term good of students to allow them to enter the world after school and be active contributors and engaged global citizen in the world. See you online!

As we enter into the beginnings of the spring semester, teachers of seniors all have the same thoughts…How do I keep my seniors engaged? They’ve worked hard for 12 years in school to finally get to college. They’ve spent the last many months spending hours on applications, interviews, and visits. And while students may not have gotten exactly what they expected, many have found a really good path to the next level of education; for some that’s college, for some it’s travel, for some it’s work.

And so what we see in the classroom is kids who have made it. They’ve done it. They’ve done all that we asked them to do; they jumped through all the hoops. So, how do we keep their attention in class? But, we are not done yet! So how do we keep them learning?

It comes to motivation. If all we’ve ever done in class is prepare students for the next quiz, test, or class….then what do we do when they’ve reached all that? If you’ve tried hard in your class to let your students experience your class instead of being told about it, then I argue that your kid can still be motivated. But, truthfully, going into the dreaded Spring Fever , even that may not be enough.

I propose that schools look into requiring some serious effort, energy, and brain power from our seniors. Why not let that last 4 months of high school be some of the most productive, useful, beneficial, challenging, and rigorous of their academic career.

One option is to limit how AP dictates the senior year. Collegeboard can plan tests to be taken in December, which forces schools to have to have time with their students for the spring semester.

What might we do in those 3 months? There are many names for this, but in essence a Capstone Project: students have a multi-discipline, multimedia, hands-on, huge project that requires research, interviews, analysis, presentation, and the building of something. There should be some social-cause component involving analyzing and proposing solutions to real world problem. Students would also have to identify and connect with real people as mentors. For example students who are going to build some type of model might connect with architects. Students who are going to work on major art projects could connect with the art museum curator. Students who might develop a mobile app would interview professional software developers. Then they present to an audience who has value in hearing their presentation.

Let it be a right-of-passage, famous for the rigor and hard work required, and the feeling of elation upon competing it…..that cannot be faked. Let it be something which gets them out of their seat, out of the classroom, thinking, interacting with people and places in the real world, addressing real problems. Problems can be local problems or larger ones…as long as it is something they are really genuinely interested in. Students who choose the easy way out, or do not put in the work can resubmit for the following year…i.e. we communicate that it is serious by not allowing it to be taken lightly. Students can be part of the evaluation and if we truly want to evaluate what we say is important, then make sure the various multi-disciplines are reflected in the evaluation.

If there is a recorded audio or presentation component, then let the performance arts department help develop good 21st century evaluation of that. If there is a Computer Science aspect of it, let real developers help evaluate. If there is a presentation component in front of an audience, let expert presenters help evaluate.

Why would we do this? The world does not need students who have mastered test taking or the reading of a textbook chapter. We need students who can work with other people, put in serious effort and work and thoughtfulness, and synthesize it all together for a final project.

Consider: You are a company looking to hire one of two students. One has an academic resume full of honors and AP courses; has great performance on classwork, homework, and quizzes and did extremely well on all standardized tests. The teacher recommendations were glowing.
The other has a solid academic record, perhaps solid Bs. This student has applied for a patent, developed a prototype for a product based on an idea (s)he developed, manages an e-commerce website that markets the idea. The student has presented in front of venture capitalists for possible funding as well as at a regional academic conference. The student spent 2 months working behind the scenes for a charity and during that time even rose through the ranks to be able to manage some projects. This student has recommendations from business and professional leaders, political figures, leaders of research, and heads of charity organizations. The teacher recommendations were glowing.

My question to you is: Which do you hire? Sure, you can argue that both kids are good kids…no questions about that…both kids challenged themselves in different ways and succeeded in those challenges…no question…both kids were leaders on campus…no question. Both have experiences success and high achievement…no question. But, back to our original question: if you are a small business owner looking to hire one of them. Which do you hire?

Now, I’ll take this one step farther…if you agree that there is at least some credibility to an idea of a major senior capstone project, then I suggest we not stop there. Why not do a couple smaller versions in each grade. Maybe that last a few hours or a few days and increases in scope each year. Why not even drop down into elementary and middle schools. We might be amazed at how the younger generations view our world and how they might address some of our problems.

There are some schools around the world which are doing things like this. I realize this is not the norm, nor does it sync up with the typical educational or college admissions model, but in order for us to be art of an educational system that truly prepares students to be active contributors in the real world…then we are going to have to find new and different ways forward.

Educators: Are we all on the right bus? (reference to Good to Great)
Teachers: Does your curriculum let students experience your subject area, or just hear about it?
Administrators: Do you have the courage to tell your teachers NOT to teach to the test?
Political Leaders: Do you have the courage to put the authority for schools in the hands of the individual schools?
Schools: Are you willing to build a schedule that truly helps implement curricular goals and let the nonnegotiables be negotiable?
World: Have traditionally elective classes (Religion, Finance, Home Economics, Physical Education, Art, Music, Theater, even Computer Science) become even more important than traditionally “core” subjects?
Parents: Are you willing to let your child have failures in education in order to let them learn?
Students: Are you willing to let yourself learn for learning sake, and not for the grade?
Teachers: Are you willing to prepare students for the world THEY are going into, not the world YOU went into?
World:Can we really look at ideas such as the flipped classroom even though they seem to go against the grain?
Teachers: Do you hate when students ask, “Is this on the test?”, yet often say, “You better pay attention…this is going to be on the test!”
Parents: Will you sometimes say NO to your child?
Schedulers: Is it time to reconsider the idea of going from class to class in 45 minutes blocks for 7 hours per day….where each class is relatively independant of the others?
Colleges: Will you support high schools that try to implement learning environments suggested by Tony Wagner?

Parents: Will you allow your child’s high school career not to be guided solely by CollegeBoard.com ?
Teachers: Do you let your students build things during class?
Administrators: Will you support your innovative teachers?
Students: Do you have the guts to take a public stance on honor in your school?
Curriculum Leaders: Are our graduation requirements in line with what the world needs?
Students: Will you sign up for courses in the subject areas you love?
Everybody: Is it possible to have a class where the grade is not the focus?
School Leaders: What about traditional extra-curricular activities becoming intra-curricular and vice versa?
Everybody: Is our standard grading system in sync with what we say is most important?
Teachers: Do you provide time and support for students to discover and struggle to figure things out? Or do you give them everything?
Leaders: When you know it’s the right thing to do, do you really have the courage to lead differently, even when it might cause your school, department, or district to be an outlier?
School Leaders: Does school really have to be 5 days per week, 8:00-3:00 for 180 days? Or are there other options…not necessarily more, but better.
Innovators: Is there a different way forward?

The Reversal
“Neeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrdddddddddddddds”, the infamous scream of terror from the cool guy as he points to the group of techy gadget-loving kids. Dennis T. Nedry, the evil, yet lovable computer programmer of Jurassic Park.

Ah, yes! What a great time to be living in right now. For those of us in who were lucky enough to see the tail end of the pre-tech age, but who are actively involved now in the current digital age….we can truly appreciate the world we live in today maybe even more than our tech savvy generation.

What person doesn’t walk into a technology store and want to spend all their money? As I look around a store like BestBuy here, I can spend hours browsing, exploring, reading about, playing with, and learning about all of the various tech gadgetry. Conferences such as CES showing off the latest and greatest breakthrough technologies that are on the horizon. Who would not give anything to go to that? (Yes, people with connections out there, that was a shameless plug for you to get me tickets and invite me)

When I was in high school, if you were found in the computer lab on your free time, you were a one of the cliche geeks, nerds, and/or a social outcast. If you had a computer, GPS, handheld calculator, email account, mobile phone, Walkman(hey what’s that?),

video game console, or PDA then you were labeled with a big “L” on top of your forehead.
Now, in my school, if you want to find students at break, lunch, or before school, you need to go the computer lab. What? Are you serious?! Do I work in an advanced Math and Science Tech School? Nope. Look at where we are today: the stereotype for the typical Computer Science “nerd” has completely flipped on its end. It has reversed. The dream of Steve Jobs has become a reality. The efforts of Bill Gates have helped bring us here. The foresight of Tim Berners-Lee has helped cause this incredible reversal of fortune. It’s cool to be a nerd! (Yes!)

Imagine a kid who does NOT have a cell phone? Uh…Loser.

You don’t have a laptop? Whatever. You do not know how to change the advanced settings on your smartphone? Who is this kid? You do not know what Angry Birds is? Dude, come on! You can’t use your GPS to find the restaurant? Get out of the car now. You don’t know what an Android tablet is? Oh my GOD!

Because it’s what people do. It’s what people talk about. It’s what people have. It’s what they LOVE! The Nerd, Geek, Techno-wizard…they are the regular folk now. In fact the coolest guy in the room is the guy who is texting his friends, posting on Facebook, and tweeting on Twitter. The sharpest girls are the ones posting on their BLOG, leaving comments on & responding to online discussions and videos, and listening to songs on their IPhone. In fact the sterotype has completely reversed itself so much that it has actually become an issue at schools. We are actually putting policies into play to stop kids from using their smart phones, laptops, IPODS, IPADS, and Facebook accounts.

What a great time to be in Computer Science. The days of pocket protectors, striped tube socks, and big bifocals being the face of technology are gone! We have a new look. Suddenly, we are seeing increased demand for Computer Science courses. At my school I was forced to teach an overload class schedule because we had so many kids signed up for our advanced Computer Science course. Yeah baby!
Hey, that’a a cool game, when I say to a student, “Do you want to learn how to make your own games?” Hey that is an awesome app on your smart phone, do you want to learn how to make your own apps? Hey, that’s a sweet laptop, do you want to learn how to upgrade it so it’s even better? Hey, see that cool Lego, Finch, or Scribbler robot moving around reacting to stuff near it? Wanna learn how to make it do other stuff? Hey, that’s cool jewelry you’re making. Wanna learn how to make a website so you can sell more? Hey, wanna make your GPS do some really advanced cool stuff?

And the loud, eager, crisp, clear response is universally:

YES, we do.

Everything that we used to point and laugh and make fun of at has become mainstream. Everything which used to make you an outcast suddenly brings you right into the middle. Everything which used to be for only the genius math, tech, and science wizards is for anyone just for the asking.

And we ARE asking.

And as teachers, we have to make sure that we connect enough with that world so that we maintain the respect of our students. If we are going to demand that they look to us to help them navigate their way into the “world out there”, then they have to have confidence in US that we understand that world out there.

Students of today , in our schools, in their jobs, in their families, and within their peer groups, are demanding a different way forward.

I wanted to say a few words about an experience Trey had over the last couple weeks in my advanced Computer Science classroom. Students in that class, for their “final exam”, have to create an application for the Android, prepare a complete on-line video tutorial for making that app, and then lead their parents through that tutorial during a Parent Workshop one evening at the end of the semester. Over the last few weeks of class, students spend time creating the app itself, then create a teaching video which explains not only how to do it, but more importantly why they are doing those steps, what the commands mean, and how they play a part in the completed app. Mom and dad are invited to the Computer Lab and together with their child (in a supporting role much like I am as a teacher in that class), they work through the tutorial together, creating their first Android app in a student-led Android Workshop. It’s a fantastic evening with mom and dad usually blown away experiencing what their kids have been doing…and then to have their own child lead them through doing it themselves…wow… Lots of proud moms and dads….yes for completing their own app and seeing it on the smart phone…but more so of their son or daughter for a great evening of teaching and learning.

Trey had worked hard on his app for a couple weeks, but just could not get one last part to work. He researched, studied, asked questions, experimented, came in on free periods and study halls and after school, worked with me, and still he could not get the app to function correctly. Not once did he lose his excitement and optimism towards trying to get it to work. So, he decided to try to build a different app. He made tremendous progress but again got stuck one some of the advanced sections. Again, he came in at study hall, free period, lunch and break, trying this and trying that..and while many parts of the app worked great, the part he was working on was not, and that was not ok for him. Again, not once did he lose his excitement and optimism towards trying to get it to work. So, he decided to try yet another app and spent the same energy and eagerness getting it to work. And this time he persevered. I offered tid-bits of help here and there, but this effort was all Trey. So, now he would have to work on his video tutorial. And he finally finished it! But, as he rewatched it, there seemed as if the sound and video in the recording were not syncing up. So, he re-recorded the entire tutorial on a second computer. After completing his entire tutorial again, he noticed that the sound on the computer, while appearing to be recording…was not…so there was no audio instruction to go along with the tutorial. He just could not win. If there was ever a time to give up, I would have understood. Yet, he was still smiling and said he would figure it out.

And we had come to the day of the presentations…

With just a few hours left before the big event, Trey came to me for guidance on the best way forward. It was apparent that the video recording was not going to work as he wanted and I did not want him to spend any more time on this than he already had. Anything he was going to get out of this project was already learned. He had already written three apps and recorded the tutorial twice and had little to actually show for it. And yet he was still as excited and energetic and optimistic as he was two weeks ago. Here we were a few hours before the Parent Workshop, the “performance” that night counts 25% of the grade. He decided he would perform his tutorial workshop LIVE with his parents. Lots of unknown issues and risks come along with LIVE performance, but he confidentially said he was comfortable doing it that way, in fact was looking forward to it.

And so the event came, 30 parents and 15 students crowded the lab. After my brief introduction of the evening activities, students led their parents through the how-to and why for designing an app. There would be apps using UI controls, touchsceens, accelerometer, and GPS. As I walked around the room , I was so proud of all my students! Moms and dads were engaged with their computer screen and also their “teachers”, who were in control..confident..smiling… actually enjoying the experience. And I kept an extra eye on Trey just to see how he was doing. And every time I walked by, both parents were glued to the screen, immersed in their learning and project, listening to him with complete focus as he led them through an experience unlike any they’ve had.

And, to my pleasure and surprise, every student in the class, including Trey, was able to successfully lead their parents through the development of their app!

Despite numerous failures, numerous technical issues, time deadlines, and the pressures of presenting something LIVE to an audience….Trey worked through all those problems, held his head high, never lost control, (and in the middle of all this took an hour out of that afternoon to be the photographer for my other class’s presentations) and finished the evening with two very proud parents.

Trey’s experience the last few weeks, while I am sure he is glad it’s over, is exactly why we believe in our Computer Science program. There is freedom to figure things out, expectations are high, student self-direction is critical, both teaching and learning are part of the student experience, failure is part of the path to success and instead of failures stopping the learning…it inspires them to push on, problem solving and persistence is core to success, and passion for Computer Science is the backbone of the class.

It’s easy to be on top of the world when things go well, so I look for the student who is on top of the world when things don’t go well. Trey’s many successes over the next two years will happen as a result of working his way through the failures he experiences along the way.

And I have no doubt that he will succeed. Students like Trey are why teachers do what we do.