Book+Notes

// **PLEASE ADD TO THESE NOTES AS YOU ARE READING!!!** // __ The Global Achievement Gap __ Chapter 1 Notes

// Seven Survival Skills that ALL students need to know: //

“Taking issues and situations and problems and going to root components; understanding how the problem evolved – looking at it from a systemic perspective and not accepting things at face value. It also means being curious about why things are the way they are and being able to think about why something is important.”
 * 1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving **
 * Page 16 contains a great definition of cirtical thinking:

- What do I really need to understand about this? - What is the history? - Why are other people thinking about this? - How does this all come together? - What frames and models can we use to understand this from a variety of different angles and then come up with something different?
 * Questions to ask:


 * Critical thinking is coming up with creative solutions on your feet.


 * 2. Collaboration across Networks **
 * The world is entering into an age where there are not just “face to face” meetings – and, meetings are now global (across time zones and continents)


 * Idea of “Leading by Influence” – trust is important, especially when little to no face to face contact. Self-direction IMPORTANT – students need to be able to exist without someone there to “micro-manage” them.


 * Need to understand and utilize each individuals strength within a group – students need to know about themselves and what they excel at


 * Knowledge and understanding of other cultures important in global society.


 * 3. Agility and Adaptability **
 * Need to be able to deal with ambiguity (directions not entirely clear), and being able to deal with situations with no right answer.


 * “Learning on the Fly” – jobs change so quickly, a new skill might need to be learned thoroughly and with speed


 * “Strategic Agility” being proficient at more than one skill, being able to be flexible


 * 4. Initiative **
 * The world needs self starters (entrepreneurial spirit). Those that can visualize and begin projects without being told, those that can self monitor and self-direct to get the job done


 * 5. Oral and Written Communication **
 * Writing must be clear and concise


 * Students must learn to write and speak with focus, energy, and passion


 * 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information **
 * Manage vast quantities of information – Internet, Media. The basics are one “Google” search away, students need to learn what to DO with the basics.


 * Evaluate sources for credibility, usefulness


 * 7. Curiosity and Imagination **
 * Left-Brain skills for 21st Century (critical thinking, problem solving)


 * Right-brain skills for 21st Century (curiosity, imagination, creativity)


 * Creation vs. Being Given tasks to do – “create your own position”

__ The Global Achievement Gap __

Chapter 2 Notes

What is the Achievement Gap? What capable students are being taught and what they will need to succeed in today’s world.

page 44 – conversation AP Chemistry – What is a hypothesis? Students did not know what to do when their experiment did not come out as it was supposed to, did not know how to tie it back to their hypothesis… knew hypothesis only as term from vocabulary quiz

“MIT Freshman coming out of AP classes know how to pass all of the tests, but they don’t know how to observe, and they want to be told what the right answer is.” (Jonathon King, MIT scientist)

Top high schools are defined by percentage of students taking AP classes (and exams).

“Learning Walk” PP 50 – 51, PP 56 – 59, PP 61 – 63, PP 65

“Rather than looking at what teachers are doing, I try to assess what students are being asked to do. The specific skills and knowledge that students are expected and the level of intellectual challenge in the lesson. What the teacher does is the means by which the students learn – not the end.”

“The kinds of questions students are asked and the extent to which a teacher challenges students to explain their thinking or expand on their answers are reliable indicators of the level of intellectual regor in a class. “

Teaching content vs. teaching skills – which one is more important?

Curriculum as test-prep More “rigor” = more content? Subjects taught in isolation, using district-mandated curricula: What is taught is prescribed, and not deviated from. Standards-based and data-driven are not enough.

Math lesson on pg. 65-66: Students are working in groups, randomly calling on people to hold group accountable Multi-step problems that students have never seen before Explain their proofs Find 2 ways to solve problem – creativity and ingenuity

5th graders spend 90% of time in seats, listening to teacher. Only 7% working in groups

5th grade, 60% of time is on literacy and basic math

5th graders received 5 times as much instruction in basic skills focused on problem solving or reasoning, ratio is 10:1 amongst 1st & 3rd graders

US is 29th on PISA exam (which tests critical thinking) – America has always historically been a nation of “innovators,” but recently other nations (China and India) are attempting to bring out more creativity through education reform.

__ The Global Achievement Gap __

Notes – Chapter 3, Testing 1, 2, 3…

High-stakes testing: if you don’t pass the test (get a few times to pass it), you do not graduate high school.

On these sorts of tests, the “premium is on answering as many questions as quickly as possible.” – Students have little time to struggle and work through all problems.

Passing score on these tests does not indicate college or work ready status (37% of students who go to college lacked skills and knowledge needed)

Important concept in education: accountability. But what are we holding everyone accountable for? Skills necessary for work, citizenship, and college? At what cost does this accountability come?

We test math and reading – but in a study of 400 employers’ expectations for new employees who are high school grads, and college grades (AA/AS or BA/BS), knowledge of math did not even make list of top 10 skills employers thought of as most important (was 14th or so) – here’s their top ten: - professionalism or work ethic - oral and written communication - critical thinking and problem solving - teamwork and leadership - reading comprehension - ethics and social responsibility

The math that everyone uses and needs to know is statistics and probability. We teach algebra the same way it’s always been taught because it teaches “problem-solving skills.” (Yes, notice the snarky Latin comment on page 92) What is the evidence? Cause and effect vs. association EX: Taking harder classes usually shows an association with more success in college – because it’s a harder course, not because it caused the success.

Writing – writing on tests is wiring with a formula (intro, 1st point, 2nd point, 3rd point, conclusion)… writing part on SAT caused schools to drop SAT/ACT requirements (now 750 colleges are the same)

How ready are students to be functioning citizens? History as roots of issues we face as a country, but also developing analytical skills to allow students to make up their own minds about the important issues we face today. Requiring higher-level skills on Naturalization and Citizenship test than on standardized tests given to American students – EEK! What does it take to be jury-ready? Analyze an argument, weigh evidence, recognize bias, distinguish fact from opinion – DO WE TEACH THIS?

Student focus group at highly competitive college – How might class time be better spent to prepare you for college? 1. More time on writing 2. Research skills 3. Time Management 4. Learning to work with others in study groups

College teachers surveyed: 70% said students do not understand complex reading material 66% said students cannot think analytically 65% said students lack appropriate work and study habits 62% said students write poorly 59% said students don’t know how to do research 55% said student can’t apply what they have learned to solve problems **Students most lacked //competencies//, not content knowledge**

Habits of Mind (Conley) that matter most for success in college: Intellectual openness; inquisitiveness; analysis; reasoning; argumentation and proof; interpretation; precision and accuracy; problem solving – THIS IS THE RIGOR THAT IS NEEDED

Some facts important to memorize… Motivation: Students seem less motivated – because of high stakes testing and punitive nature of schools. Less choice = less motivation. Has affected drop out rate

Better Standardized Tests: CWRA (College Work Readiness Assessment) CLA (Collegiate Learning Assessment) – this test is around $40 a student PISA (cross-disciplinary test) ISkills (technological competency test)

High-stakes testing is political and economic (political for elections and for federal funding, economic because people make a lot of money on them)

__ The Global Achievement Gap __

Chapter 4 Notes- Reinventing the Education Profession

Very few teacher preparations programs focus on developing the skills needed to be an effective teacher, rarely give student teachers meaningful teaching experience with knowledgeable and effective supervisors.

Administration programs focus on history of education, educational psychology, school law, and research methods, but not on how to be a leader, or how to supervise teachers effectively.

Focus on teachers being prepared to teach content, not kids.Teachers as independent sub-contractors. I will tow the company line if you leave me alone and let me do what I want in my room.

WHAT MATTERS IN BEING AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER: Collaboration - "isolation is the enemy of improvement" Transparency - being able to observe each other without fear or judgement

__ The Global Achievement Gap __

Chapter 5 Notes- Motivating Today's Students and Tomorrow's Workers

Do Students today have a low work ethic or a different work ethic? This Generation - the "Digital Generation" (News, Current Events, reminders, reminders, wikis) Continuous Partial Attention: need to connect, and be connected. Inclusiveness without knowing people. Instant gratification.

NEW LEARNING STYLES: Multimedia/Connections to students - no long reading assignments - graphically lay out instructions - more class discussions - prose = song, photos = video - television, audio, animation, text - ability to be your own librarian - information is at the tip of your fingers

Learning as Discovery - links to other links - active, dynamic, non-linear, discovery-based (ex. video-games)

Learning by Creating - Web 2.0 Tools. Personal Creativity, Self-expression

CONCERNS: 1. Multi-tasking/Overstimulation - leads to unfulfilled children and adults 2. Instant Gratification - less patience. loosing ability to relate to different people or talk to people 3. Multi-media - media stimulated, not media literate 4. Discovery - not EVERYTHING can be discovered, discovery at the expense of contemplation and reflection 5. Learning by Creating - issue of quality, impulsive self-expression vs. works of art

Students today are interactive producers - not isolated consumers. Don't want to go through the motions, want to learn/create in a collaborative environment. All adult work is real, requires both analysis and creativity.

Employees crave... interesting and differentiated work work that plays on individual strengths work that engages visual learners work that allows for personal dignity

Students want... Active learning Challenging to think Solve problems with no easy solutions learning to be an end in itself more creativity/self-expression adults to relate to them on equal level

REASONS WHY PEOPLE WORK: 1. Pushed to - need, threat, risk 2. Transfer of Habits - societal norms 3. Pull - interest, need, desire

Meier's "Habits of Mind" Significance - why important Perspective - point of view Evidence - how can you verify information Connection - how does it apply Supposition - what if it were different

Communication Skills: inquiry - where did you get information voice- descriptive/persuasive audience - know who youre talking to

How do I take in and express ideas? How do I prove it? What do I bring to this process? How do I measure, compare, or represent it? What are other's perspectives on this?