Pat Basset Says It Best: Schools of the Future

Pat Basset, president of NAIS, discusses what schools of the future should and could look like. Teachers: we need to teach creative; we need to be innovative; and, we need to be relevant. Basset draws a difference between knowing and doing. In this, he says: we must be able to apply what we know.

Teachers: we need high IQ, but also high EQ. Students need to feel loved and intellectually inspired.

Parents: you cannot be resistant to teachers who want to experiment. That is exactly what education needs. Teachers that experiment are invested in what they do, and this is infectious.

Take 30 minutes out and watch this video: Schools of the Future.

THE NEEDED TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY
The education technology sector has many features and apps that are stimulating the growth and evolution of education for the 21st century. I have developed a plan to incorporate some of them into a cohesive program. Here is what I envision needing
a) a dynamic and east-to-use website that incorporates the math curriculum;
b) new apps (listed below) that integrate seamlessly into the website
c) a computer algorithm designed to match each student with the appropriate set of videos that best matches his or her learning style


TECH FEATURES NEEDED
General:
A. “Draw Together”: A program that allows students to collaborate on a math problem virtually, like Google Docs, except that they write by hand using a tablet.

B. YouTube Algorithm: This will use multiple feedback to provide students with the optimal “video teacher” for their learning style.

a. Matches students with the correct video for their learning style.

b. Provides feedback on students, video-makers, and the program.

c. Stores data to be used for analysis and educational research

d. Teachers will assess their own videos, and then students thereafter will assess videos on a 1-5 scale on such aspects as the following

i. Lecture vs. Discovery

ii. Use of computer graphics

iii. Use of examples

iv. length of video

v. Age/gender of lecturer

vi. Use of color and backdrop screen

vii. Virtual TI applications

viii. Overall quality of lecture

e. The performance on the following proficiency assessment is the final feedback.

C. Dynamic “Circles”: These are dynamic groups that match students with a) students in their own school, and b) students that are in the same place in the curriculum across the globe. This appropriately connects students so that they always have a learning community based on their position in the curriculum.

D. APPS: On the student work page, there will be a number of helpful apps

a. “HELPER”- This will be openstudy.com meets ShowMe!. It will create a student driven help center through chat room and screencasting. It groups students by where they are in the curriculum, continually creating “classrooms” of students studying the same thing. It also groups students by schools and districts to create a local learning community.

b. Graphing Calculator: An all-round functional calculator with analysis features similar to TI n’Spire. Includes slope fields, 3-d, contour mapping, and implicit equations. Graphs multiple functions.

c. Solver: Like Wolfram Alpha or nSpire, this will solve any problem through multi-variable calculus, allowing students to focus more on application

d. Notes: This is a notes app that links the notes to the section you are working on. It includes screencasting possibilities, as well as sharing (to facebook, g+ or helper)

E. Website:

a. General Login: Lets students view videos, choose topics to practice, and take SAT problems. It also gives data on students and teachers (by region), as well as an analysis for video makers.

b. Student Login: Students sign in and are brought to their home screen. They can choose to review, help others, monitor instructor feedback, or proceed to the next lesson. Proceeding to the next lesson means: watching videos, practicing, and when ready, taking the proficiency assessment. This course is available free to anyone with internet access.

c. Teacher Login: For an annual fee of $20/student, teachers will have access to an online grade book that follows the students whom they have enrolled. The teacher can monitor how much time the students are spending per assignment. The program will flag struggling students, and inform the teacher where each student is and recommends where they should be for the upcoming meeting.

Problems and Issues that the project will address

Poor instruction and overcrowded classes keep our students from reaching their potential. This project will offer a dynamic student-centered learning platform. The progression of material will be presented in a “mastery” approach to learning, which allows students to advance through the curriculum at their own pace, always being appropriately challenged. Recently, the Internet has become saturated by online education services, which are too often created by young entrepreneurs who have little real teaching experience. As a result, the products lack appropriate pedagogy that only active teachers can provide. This product is built by master teachers actively involved in education. Annual conferences will provide opportunity for reflection, evaluation and improvement.

What Next

The first part of the project requires curriculum development. This means: developing a curriculum map, creating proficiency assessments, and developing videos. Below is the ambitious goal.

Curriculum Development (Summer Plans)
1. Curriculum Map: Divide the high school math curriculum (Algebra 1-Multivariable) into short, proficiency based lessons. (Short = a 15-45 minute video lesson) Curriculum meets Common Core State Standards.

-Four teachers, one week (June)

2. Proficiency development: Create multiple proficiency tests for each lesson. Also include cumulative proficiency assessments every 10-20 lessons. (These will be multiple-choice and answer fill. They will eventually be uploaded into the course software.)

- Four teachers, one week (June )

3. Video creation: Develop rubric for teachers to describe their delivery. Create separate student rubric to evaluate the videos and the teaching style. Create up to 10 videos for each lesson, in which each video instructor employs a unique teaching style to create differentiated instruction.

-Twenty-four teachers, July

4. Problem Set and projects development: Practice problems (similar to text book problems) are problems that student take before the proficiency test. The projects are suggested application projects that can be done in groups to extend the learning into other disciplines.

-Twenty teachers, July