CHANGEd: What if we really utilized learning portfolios? 60-60-60 #30

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My amazing mother keeps a HUGE Tupperware container full of stuff that I made in my childhood. Oh…your mother does that too?

What if we really utilized learning portfolios to do the same in schools? I can imagine using the wonders of technology to archive and catalog various artifacts of learning as students travel through the journey called school. With 2.0 tools, teachers, parents, advisers, peers, etc. could comment and cross-link with learning of their own, feedback, constructive criticism, and so on. What amazing potential for positive digital footprints and a living history of one’s learning – full of podcasts, movies, pieces of writing, etc.

CHANGEd: What if…60-60-60 Project Explained

CHANGEd: What if we crowd sourced assessment? 60-60-60 #29

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Those who know me well understand that I think more school curriculum should be geared toward grand challenges and innovation opportunities. With such project-based learning comes the need for “authentic assessment with real-world audiences.” What if we crowd sourced assessment? What if more student work was published in 2.0 ways so that the work could be assessed with feedback from hundreds of available and willing relative experts? When we utilize more eyes and ears than just those of the classroom teacher, the students gain multiple perspectives for enhancement and growth – like the increase in vision with multiple windows and mirrors on a car or bus! (Not to mention – “many hands make light work!”)

School 2.0 just “lens” itself to taking advantage of the power of crowd sourcing.

CHANGEd: What if…60-60-60 Project Explained

CHANGEd: What if students self-assessed more and initiated progress reporting? 60-60-60 #28

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I know what it’s like to be “talked around.” You know, when others discuss your strengths and/or shortcomings, but they leave you out of the conversation…the one who needs to be involved the most is more “third party.” When school progress reports initiate with adult-to-adult conversation, I wonder if we are talking around our students. What if students self-assessed more and initiated progress reporting? What if the driver’s-seat learners took the wheel and posted updates about how they are performing relative to the learning standards? What if teachers and parents then JOINED the conversation started by the lead learner in the equation? I bet the long-term benefits would be profound!

CHANGEd: What if…60-60-60 Project Explained

CHANGEd: What if we allowed more immediate 2nd chances? 60-60-60 #27

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At schools around the country, conversations are happening about summer study and remediation. Student fails a course…send ’em to summer school. Many educators seem not to worry over such remedy. Yet, the same many often bristle at second-chance assignments or assessments. What if we allowed more immediate second chances? What if we tactically intervened instead of relying on “strategic” remediation?

CHANGEd: What if…60-60-60 Project Explained

CHANGEd: What if we buried the zero? 60-60-60 #26

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Zeroes in school grading are interesting practices. When schools shifted from letter grading (A-B-C-D-E/F) to number grading with percentages, an interesting thing happened statistically because of misalignment of the categorical stages. A zero in an average can have a disastrous effect. What’s more, how exactly does a zero communicate to youth the powerful lessons of responsibility? It seems more reasonable to teach responsibility by insisting that the work be done and providing feedback on that work, not by recording a zero and moving on. In the “real world,” I’ve never experienced a boss telling me, “Oh, you didn’t get the work done by the deadline? I’ll just record a zero; don’t bother doing the work now, as the deadline has passed.”

What if we insisted on responsibility? What if we used scoring to measure learning, rather than to “punish?” What if we held a funeral for bad practice and buried the zero? R.I.P.

CHANGEd: What if…60-60-60 Project Explained