Lectures were invented before print was available for the dissemination of information. One person talked and other people listened. It was the best they could do at the time.

However, today we can do better. Lectures are a cost-minimising way of presenting information to a large group of people. Note I didn’t say cost-effective. The universities of the world love lectures, and their buildings reflect that. However all the research I have ever read says that lectures are not an effective way to teach. They can do a wonderful job of inspiring and even converting, and sometimes entertaining, and they can be really fun to give if you enjoy that sort of thing. (Which I do.) But sadly, they are not really a very good way to teach.

When I first started work as a “Lecturer” of Operations Research, I read up about the whole process of lecturing in order to do the best I could. I was an experienced highschool teaher, but knew that a class of 250 differed from a class of 33. I was a trifle dismayed to find that the method that I thought had served me just fine as a student wasn’t really very effective. I read that you shouldn’t talk while people are copying notes down. So I prepared my overhead transparencies (which were modern and innovative back then) and worked out my timing. Within two or three lectures I realised how boring this was for me. I would talk a bit, expose some notes, and wait for the students to copy them down verbatim. This was self-delusion – the copying process leaves much to be desired, and is especially fraught when involving mathematical formulas. In fact I brought in an unnecessary level of error.

I started to photocopy my transparencies and distribute them at the start of class. I left gaps for working problems. This definitely left much more opportunity for interaction and participation from the students. But it was still “statistical methods as a spectator sport.”

Fast forward a bit over a decade and things have changed with regard to what is available. Let me tell you about my course now. Thanks to a natural disaster, last year I have been able to abandon real-time, face-to-face lectures entirely. The course is delivered using a learning management system known a Moodle. There are eight sections, with material in various forms. Each section has open tests which the students take repeatedly until they master the material (defined as 80%). There is a bank of questions so that the tests are different each time. Then they sit through a similar test in a supervised setting, to ensure the student has done the work. Again they must gain a mark of 80% or better, but may have multiple attempts.

The most important part of the course is the tests. This is where the learning takes place. The support materials include lecture notes with audio (podcasts), lessons with step-by-step instructions, links to outside material, notes, videos of lectures from pre-earthquake, and carefully made videos which are hosted at www.youtube.com/creativeheuristics. You can read more about how the videos are made at www.learnandteachstatistics.wordpress.com. We provide daily opportunities for students to get one-on-one help, though surprisingly few take it up. The material is very carefully designed to build skills, confidence and learning strategies as the students progress through the course, so that at the end they are tackling difficult material that they would have balked at at the start of the course.

I could write much more about this course, and the success it has had, particularly for students who are not mathematically inclined. And I will – soon!

About the author: Dr. Nicola Ward Petty has taught business statistics and operations research at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand for over twenty years. She was awarded a university teaching award in 2006 and has mentored other faculty, and developed innovative and successful courses to help people who find quantitative subjects difficult. You can read her blog here and follow her on Twitter here.

Topic: What would be a better alternative to present leadership hierarchy we’ve come to accept in public education?

This week’s #edchat topic was an especially welcome change of pace for me, because once again I was forced to really think about an aspect of teaching that I, as an “outsider” and non-teacher, had never previously considered. I like topics like that. They force me out of my usual style of thinking and put myself in the shoes of someone else.

As someone who studied business in college, I sort of took it for granted that schools would have the same structure and hierarchy as businesses. There would be a couple big-wigs at the top, several layers of bureaucracy below them, and then a legion of teachers (“employees”) that were managed relatively closely but given the appearance of autonomy.

It turns out, I was at least partially right. There are several layers of bureaucracy above teachers, and there is a prevailing sense that teachers don’t exactly have as much autonomy as they need. But the point that I was missing was this: why should schools function the same as businesses? Why should it be this way?

I guess I had figured that the school my father teaches at was the norm. I would hear him complain about all the bureaucracy at his school regularly over dinner. It was just the same type of complaining I imagined I would hear if my father worked in an office or in a factory. There’s always a big boss who has forgotten what it’s like to be an employee. And there’s always stuff to complain about.

The point is, though, it doesn’t have to be that way. There were a few #edchatters this week who said that they were quite happy with their schools’ hierarchy and leadership. They were well supported and those at the top knew how to communicate and prioritize.

Unfortunately, we all know that this is not the norm – not in business and not in education either. The question is: what can we do about that?

Main themes from the discussion:

• Things are too hierarchical. One prevailing theme I saw this week was that there is too much of a division between teacher and administrator. Administrators got to make the decisions, but it was teachers that had to abide by them. That makes teaching really difficult because teachers know that the rug can get pulled out from under them at any moment and they won’t have any say in the matter. That’s not a good way to do things. We need more communication and more collaboration. Decisions need to be made together. In fact, we should even be making more of an effort to involve students and parents in the making of important decisions.
• Administration is out of touch with the needs of teachers. Even though the majority of teachers were very sympathetic towards administration, I did see quite a few complaints that administrators have forgotten (or never knew) what it was like in the classroom. That’s never a good thing. When those in charge of making decisions are out of touch (and collaboration across hierarchical levels is discouraged) they are not likely to make the right decisions. The solution? Have administrators spend more time in the classrooms for observation purposes only. They shouldn’t only show up briefly to judge a teacher and make an arbitrary decision. The “cream of the crop” administrators seem to know this already.
• The way things are is a hold-over from the industrial age. I have heard it said before (and I really do believe it) that many conventions in education were created during the industrial revolution to prepare children for factory work. America has moved way beyond that for the majority of workers, yet still we continue to do things in much the same way as we did “back in the day.” Apparently the educational hierarchy is no different. Why should there really be such a division between principal and teacher? Shouldn’t it be the administration’s job to support the teachers, and not the other way around?
• Is there too much weight on the principal’s shoulders? I was surprised to see so much sympathy for principals during this week’s #edchat. I would have thought that teachers would be ruthless, complaining that these folks get more money for doing less difficult work. Instead, I saw a lot of teachers pointing out that there are simply too many responsibilities for the average principal. And while delegation and prioritization can solve some of those problems, they can’t solve all of them. The solution that I liked best was to split the job in half (or in thirds) and have one principal look after education and the other(s) look after the business side of running a school.
• Sometimes, the current system works very well. It should be mentioned that more than a couple #edchatters seemed genuinely happy in the way their schools ran day-to-day. They felt like their administrators were in touch with their needs and had not forgotten what it meant to be on the front line. This, I think, is a very good point that gets lost in #edchat from time to time. Sometimes, things work out really well. Let’s not forget that there are a lot of great teachers and administrators out there right now, and that in general things are only getting better. The tendency for the elite is to focus on the negatives, but we need to remind ourselves that there are plenty of positives as well.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

tomwhitby I believe the leadership of schools was set up as an industrial model.

USCTeacher Perhaps we need to look at hierarchy as more of community; something we have access to and can collaborate with?

John_DAdamo I would argue this is not a phenomenon exclusive to public education. Private schools all have layers of bureaucracy as well.

cybraryman1 I personally agree with more collaboration. Must include students, parents, and community in this process.

Mamacita When opportunities for parent input do occur, VERY few parents bother to show up. They seem to prefer whining after the fact.

MrBernia Many schools around the world have a lead teacher rather than a principal. Is our setup just closest to the industrial model?

ShellTerrell Current model has a few make decisions while those who are expected to implement them aren’t included in the decision-making process.

drdouggreen I don’t think superintendent, principal, teacher structure is the problem. It’s all about the vision in this food chain. Principals and superintendents should view teachers as customers whose needs must be met.

PrincipalPC It’s not the model — it is the poor implementation of the model. We are talking about the symptoms, not the disease.

cybraryman1  I always felt there should be two leaders in a building. One for curriculum/learning  and the other for business matters.

rliberni  Much of what principals do is buildings, payroll, and everyday business that all schools have to do, so it would be easy for one “business principal” to do 2 or 3 schools.

John_DAdamo I have seen the 2-headed dragon (two principals) fail because no one was held accountable.

A few resources that were shared:

delta_dc Schools would benefit from structures like this: http://t.co/WF2rKMeC

cybraryman1  Walkthroughs are good ways to learn but I would like to see more modeling by administration. http://t.co/i7LDUk5x

###

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

10% homework, 40% quizzes, 20% participation….. sound familiar?

The result seems to be students working to achieve a grade as close to 100% as they can, while being confused about how they can even calculate their own grades. Teachers want students to realize the power of a strong work ethic and develop intrinsic motivation necessary for deep learning, however, we often use an enigmatic grading system rather than meaningful feedback. The focus is on the grade achieved rather than the learning. This is problematic and all too common. Learning is not simply an end goal but a process as well.

I use portfolio assessments in my world language classroom according to the following general guidelines.

1.     Change the vocabulary to assessment and performance-based assessments. It more accurately describes what we, as teachers, should be doing.

2.     Start with the end in mind. The ultimate goal for our students is to develop a certain skill or content knowledge. Therefore, we need learning targets, both a mixture of skills and content, in relation to which we can assess a student’s current ability and progress towards their goal.

3.     Assessment needs to happen early and often. Students need feedback immediately to know where they stand and specifically where they can improve.

4.     We don’t need to “grade” everything. If the purpose is to give feedback, then everything does not need to be recorded. Nor is it practical to record grades as much as they could be given.

5.     Not all grades need to be numerical. What’s wrong with “meets standard, approaches standard, exceeds standard” with narrative to go with it?

6.     Informal assessments are as useful as formal assessments. They often take less time, and specific feedback can be given quickly and easily. They serve to guide instruction and student work.

7.     Grades should be disaggregated. What do you do if a student turns in a project that completed all the requirements and has acquired all the content but turns the project in one day late. Some teachers would take 50% off the total score. So instead of a 95, that student now has a 47. What does that tell the student when factored into the 20% category of projects? When a parent looks at the 45%, is it clear what the student could or could not do? Instead, have categories that represent specific skills: work ethic (turning assignments in on time and completion), collaboration, content, critical thinking, etc.

8.     Metacognition should be a part of all major assessments. Students need to reflect on the quality of their own work and the contributions they made to a project.

9.     Open-ended performance assessments that show what a student can do rather than what they can’t, perhaps given freedom to display their achievement of skills as content through the platform of their choosing.

10. Involve your students in the grading process. They can help to choose the wording of the rubrics or alter the categories. They can also peer and self-assess. Rubrics and feedback should be put in kid friendly terms, so they know what they can do to improve.

Here’s an example:

My French II students were doing a unit on French cinema. The goal was for students to gain an understanding of the place the cinema holds in French culture and how that differs in products, perspectives and practices of Americans. The main project was to create a whole class blog for the local community to encourage the viewing of French films from the library. The performance assessments were as follows. They had a conversation with a friend deciding what movie they wanted to see that night and why. They took a description about the movie Les Misérables (which we watched) that was very short and choppy and made it made it more complex using object pronouns. They chose their own French movie to watch and created a blog post about it, including brief synopsis, general opinion and recommendations. Each student then had to choose one other movie to watch based on the description of their peer and leave a comment to their review.

Each assessment was designed to show what a student was able to do with the language in order to elicit meaningful feedback. I also designed smaller assessments along the way to be informally assessed by peers or the teacher in order to check for progress.  All assessments used the same or similar rubrics with shared vocabulary. Each had component of proficiency, content and, if it was a group task, collaboration. The language of the rubrics were put in student-friendly terms, and modified based on student feedback. Each item that was formally or informally assessed was numbered and placed in the portfolio with a note from the students about the success they achieved and an area of improvement to focus on.

At several points along the way, we as a class stopped so the students could reflect generally on where they were in the process and write something longer than they did in the quicker checkpoints. This reflective process was also assessed using a rubric. These reflections can be used to create individualized work for students or serve as a general temperature check for the teacher in scaffolding the work. The half-year reflection point is especially useful for setting goals, and involving parents. With the use of rubrics, students stop discussion around topics like “getting As instead of Bs” and move to using specific language about their own proficiency and work style. This does have to be modeled in the beginning.

Portfolios give students an individualized targeted method of focusing on what they can do with the language. They analyze their own strengths and weaknesses with the help of the teacher and peers to continually improve on specific areas. They can be either housed in a paper folder in the class or digitally on-line. In my world language class, I prefer the digital version, so we can include speaking, writing, and tech-based assessments, like Voicethread, podcasts or blogs. The students are excited to have, virtually or physically, tangible evidence of their success.

My ultimate goal would be for reported “grades” to be a narrative and based on meeting a standard. This however is a larger school or district decision.  Therefore, when using a portfolio assessment, a teacher will have to decide for themselves what it would look like as translated into a numeric grade.

I hope we can all begin to contemplate the power of this type of assessment.

Think about when you were in school and received grades you did not understand, that did not in actuality assess what you knew or were able to do with the skills and content that were acquired. In most classes, grades are an end result. Learning should be the end result with grades a way to focus the students and give them direction on how to create an individualized implementation plan.

About the author: Lauren Scheller graduated from Rutgers with a double major in Biological Sciences and French. As an elementary and secondary science teacher, Lauren became the initiator and foremost authority in inquiry and project-based learning and differentiated instruction at her school. Upon transitioning to teaching French, Lauren’s student-centered approach contributed to the development of thematic-based unit plans with a focus on 21st century skill development and performance-based assessment. Check out Lauren’s blog and follow her on Twitter @Lauren_Scheller.

Topic: What does your district/school do to provide relevant professional development (PD) for you and your colleagues?

I must admit, this #edchat was reminiscent of one that I participated in back in November. Happily, I summarized that one too, and so I just gave it a quick re-read to make sure I won’t simply be repeating myself (too much).

Some repetition is inevitable. For example, I read many, many complaints about traditional PD in November, and I read many, many complaints about tradition PD this week. But the conversation  has seemed to evolve a bit since then. Which is great.

I think Tom Whitby is sort of leading the charge on this one (he does tend to lead charges in education, doesn’t he?). His big point these days is that all people, especially teachers, should be “life-long learners.” The idea is that you don’t just stop learning and thinking about how to be a great teacher just because you have your teaching certificate framed at home. You keep going.

This point has become something of a rallying cry in #edchat – and for good reason! Almost all #edchat participants are, very clearly, life-long learners. They’re already self-motivated. They’re already out there seeking ways to better themselves and help their students.

The question is: how can school administration help those teachers that aren’t willing to help themselves? How can we design a system to pull the whole group forward, willingly or not?

Main themes from the discussion:

• “Traditional” PD is just no good! I won’t waste any time going over this one again. I will simply say that “traditional” PD, which consists of a so-called expert rolling into town and talking to every single educator in a school about some random topic a couple times per year is useless. It should be quite obvious that it’s useless. But apparently it’s not (to many of the higher-ups). That’s unfortunate.
• To be effective, PD needs to be folded into the regular schedule. I know it’s hard for teachers to find time to do anything “extra” these days (what with all the grading and the testing and the bureaucratic non-sense), but PD shouldn’t be considered “extra” at all. It is an essential ingredient to a quality education system. We can’t have teachers simply regurgitating the same lessons they crafted right out of school year after year until they retire. At least, we can’t have that if we want our students to succeed later in life. We need to make time for PD – and we need to make time for PD regularly. Once a week or maybe twice a month sounds about right.
• Teachers should be more involved in shaping PD. We’re trying to move away from the “sage on a stage” method of teaching in everyday classrooms. So why are we preserving it when it comes to PD? If it’s good for the goose, it’s good for the gander! Why fly in experts to talk about some random topic when, if we bothered to take the time to look around, we’d find experts on a myriad of topics sprinkled throughout the teaching staff of any school? It just doesn’t make sense – not financially and not any other way you slice it. If we want teachers to “buy in” to PD, then we need give them some power in shaping it. Check out November’s post for more information on that.
• Teachers should be more in charge of their own PD. One of the ways that we could likely get more teachers to self-direct their own PD (as many in #edchat and elsewhere already do) would be to allow them to pursue topics that actually interest them. This is another idea that we’re playing with for younger students, so why don’t we adopt it for those adults that we’ve put in charge of teaching our children? The rationale sounds solid to me. If you give a teacher more choice in what he wants to learn about, he’s far more likely to really invest himself in it and get something out of it. Which, in turns, makes him a better teacher. It’s all about cultivating the life-long learner.
• “No PD” is simply NOT an option. The necessary corollary to “give teachers more control in shaping PD” and “let a teacher choose his own PD methods” is this: you have to do something. Not only that, but you have to do something regularly. Again, once a week or once every other week seems about right. Of course, we need to relax our definition of PD if we’ll be requiring weekly participation. It’d be hard to attend a conference every week. Instead, online participation in programs like #edchat and many others should be included. As long as it’s something, it should be allowed. The hope is, of course, that by opening up the array of options, we’ll have more buy-in from those that traditionally opted out.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

MsDittmar One of the greatest things my district does for me is allows access to Twitter. Without it and the #edchat community I would be lost.

Mamacita In 26 years, my former district had exactly ONE good PD for us. The rest were overpriced wastes of time.

MertonTech The problem with PD is its relevance is relative to the individual. Hard for a district to provide relevance for all.

tomwhitby How can PD workshops held once or twice a year on a conference day be relevant? How many schools continue this practice? PD must be part of the work week and supported w/follow through by all.

ProjectAdvance Teachers should be very involved in the PD selection process. Without their buy-in, the information may fall on deaf ears.

ugafrank All the stakeholders in PD need to be involved in design, implementation, and evaluation.

MertonTech For tech PD, give teachers a chance to co-teach with a tech expert. I love working with my teachers, and it is working for the kids.

tomwhitby Learning about pedagogy and content should never stop when one gets a degree, teaching license, or a job as a teacher.

MeetOkema With PD, everyone doesn’t learn the same. All modules won’t work. Neither will all trainers. Same topic in different forms?

cybraryman1 Why do so many educators here on Twitter say what they learned here is the best PD they ever received?

jrichardson30 Our first attempt with an edcamp, we had great success! Teacher feedback was overwhelmingly positive; wanting more.

John_DAdamo The only PD mandates should be: 1) you actually do some (self-directed), 2) you reflect on experience, and 3) you share your learning.

mikevigilant  I offered a Twitter PD just this morning! Only 6 people came, but it still went well.

vltreadway I provide Lunch Bytes. (1/2 hour drop in sessions.) Same teachers come every time though.

teacherdebra  Time is huge factor. Allow for technology days. Get subs & let these teachers collaborate.

tomwhitby Giving choices is fine as long as NO CHOICE is not a choice. Too many have gone down that path.

Mamacita I can’t respect adults in any profession who aren’t eager, avid learners; willing to upgrade skills, experiment, change routines.

kylepace The time for PD does not need to be found it needs to be made.

SECottrell The freedom to find my own PD is the most beneficial thing my administration has done for me.

daveandcori My district offers “PD” but low quality. I go looking for my own: Twitter, EdCamp, TechForum, ISTE, etc.

John_DAdamo A good admin finds a way to share the successful PD reflections/experiences by staff members with the community.

bennettscience We used flip for a conference 2 weeks ago with HUGE success. “Lecture” part of presentation was video, so it was all discussion during day.

sdavids51 Twitter works because it’s immediate and relevant info that I control. I get what I need and also get to share what I know.

A few resources that were shared:

Mr_Brett_Clark  Here is something I do as a coach in my school: Coach’s Menu http://t.co/qMbDxlqX. We also have a summer elearning conference, July 11 & 12. http://t.co/uHYnrAmB

daveandcori Professional Development for Teachers needs to change – http://t.co/ET2VIMZd

cybraryman1 My Professional Development page: http://t.co/TMtMGpx8

j_allen A link to our recorded fall “Tech Tuesday” webinars. http://t.co/n6rZTacx

NancyW The year long PD I am leading for 21st century learning has an open Grouply site you can explore: http://t.co/v10lUSSq

###

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

Debra Finger, The Incidental Techie, writes this week’s contribution on her own blog, and instead of simply reposting the entire thing here I will post up a little teaser and then point you towards it. Hopefully by now you trust me when I say that this post is worth the couple minutes it should take you to read it.

Teacher Debra (to use her Twitter handle), writes this week about the student narrative, i.e. “what parents want to know that grades don’t tell them.” A student’s achievement and involvement in school is a complex thing, and the occasional report card doesn’t even come close to explaining it.

What does? Well, here’s an example from her school:

I am fortunate enough to work in a school that values the whole child and as such, twice a year tries to capture that child in the form of narrative reports about each child’s strengths, weaknesses and efforts in a particular curricular area, including a social emotional picture of each child. These narratives, though extremely time-consuming (did I mention these take weeks and weeks to write?) offer the parent or guardian what letter grades alone cannot: a lens through which they can see their child as the teacher sees him. These narratives can show the parent that after 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 38 weeks a year this teacher knows that child as a person and a learner.

That was the teaser. But the post goes on from there to talk about other ways of showing parents what their child is doing: student portfolios. So please, by all means, go read it.

Next week’s guest post will come to us from another teacher (that I met in #edchat, of course) that has already been down the student portfolio path in her classroom. Look forward to it.

Topic: Depending on whose research we read, class size does or doesn’t matter. Why does class size matter to you?

I hadn’t thought about class size in a very long time. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I devoted the issue any serious thought. As a student, I think we don’t really question it. We have to accept classes of whatever size we get placed in, so we might as well just roll with it. And now that I’m out of school and only reading/discussing education from afar, I must confess that the issue is not one that often rises to the forefront.

Is that a bad thing? Maybe. Perhaps the issue deserves to be brought up once in a while – and luckily it was this week!

Right off the bat, it seemed like the actual topic for this week’s discussion was discarded in favor of a more specific one. Very few people were making the case that large classes were not a problem for teachers (and even the ones that were had to qualify it by saying “certain subjects/lessons lend themselves to large classes at certain times”), and so the topic really turned to: What is the optimal class size and how do we achieve that number while balancing shrinking education budgets?

This is something that happens in #edchat sometimes. Either the question has too many parts and we spend the entire hour discussing only half of it, or it’s too general and we spend a few minutes in the very beginning answering the specific question before moving on to weightier (but related) issues.

Main themes from the discussion:

• Classes are definitely too big! No doubt about it, teachers are pretty stressed about the number of students assigned to them each year. Classes of 30-45 students are hard to control and make providing each student with individual attention quite difficult. Not only that, but having 3-5 sections each semester means that each teacher is responsible for grading hundreds of assignments each week! This puts huge strains on a teacher’s free time and on the time that they have available to plan lessons. Less preparation means less effective teaching, and that’s a problem for everyone.
• There is a such thing as “too small.” But before we start a revolution and demand that all teachers have no more than a dozen students under their care each year (so they can really get to know them and help them individually as much as possible), we need to remember that sometimes larger classes are beneficial. After all, it’s not just factual learning and understanding we want. It’s cooperation and teamwork too. Larger classes do present more opportunities when managed properly. So what is the optimal size? It seemed to me that it ranged from 10 (for special needs and very high level courses) to about 25 (for average courses), based on the tweets this week. Some teachers can handle more; others prefer less. It’s often a question of experience.
• The real problem is teaching methods, not class size. One thing is certain: you can’t teach a big class the same way you would teach a small class. The dynamic is totally different. And while it may be optimal to campaign for smaller classes overall, right now we’re sort of stuck with what we’ve got and we might as well make the most of it. This means taking the time to adequately prepare lessons that are appropriate for the number of students that you are teaching. Doing that is actually in our sphere of influence, after all.
• To properly prepare teachers, we need to set aside more time for preparation. Good preparation takes time, and no #edchat would be complete without plenty of reminders about how busy teachers already are. Still, lesson prep is one of those things that you need to make time for, one way or another. It might mean giving up some free time or cutting back on the number of assignments that you grade, but it needs to happen – especially if you find yourself with classes that are just a bit too big. I saw one tweeter propose higher salaries for teachers with more students. I think that makes sense, since it clearly is more work. Another suggested slowly increasing class size (to a point) based on experience levels. That also seems wise.
• It’s always about the budget. In the end, though, the final deciding factor is always the budget. After all, it’s entirely possible that the higher-ups already know that the optimal class size is somewhere between 10 and 25. They’re probably just bound by the budget (and the size of their school building) to form classes of 30, 35, and 40. It’s just the sad reality. Accepting that, it really does make sense to search out other ways of effectively reaching each student, because that’s the bottom line goal. And I think, if you go through the archive of this week’s #edchat, there are plenty of good ideas for doing just that.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

<> Classes are too big!

CTuckerEnglish I hate feeling like I am scrambling to keep my head above water with huge classes. It tends to suck the creative energy out of me!

mikevigilant We only have 30 comps per lab but some classes with 35 kids have 5 who don’t know what to do!

jguarr Budget increased our class sizes this year. Went from 30 student max to 35. HUGE difference.

michellek107 in large classrooms, children with dominant personalities can “monopolize” teachers’ time. Quiet children fade.

katetheteacher For my job, I pull out struggling students for individual attention. 1:1 time is crucial for some kids, & lost in larger classrooms.

JasonFlom If the goal is a #wholechild education, class size definitely matters. If “student achievement” is test scores, maybe it doesn’t.

tomwhitby Increasing class size is a way to reduce cost. It has nothing to do with quality education. Larger classes cost less, so we deal with it.

<> Class size isn’t the end-all, be-all…

lemino I’m not a teacher, but as a mom I can see class size doesn’t matter. The method does.

MertonTech  I feel like as experience increases, class size can increase as well. But there is a top limit.

drdouggreen We need to be flexible with class size. For movies/lectures, fill the auditorium. For other activities, small groups/1:1.

chlupa Why does a student need tons of teacher attention for personalized ed? Isn’t the point collaboration and sharing?

QZLPatriotHawk It’s not that larger classes can’t learn; it’s that classroom management is more difficult if you approach teaching the same way.

davidwees Is a focus on reducing class size the wrong place to focus? What about sufficient time to collaborate, learn, and prepare?

RogoNic A class can also be too small in my opinion. You lose the energy and opportunity to learn off others. Gets a bit intense.

AGMichal I used to teach at a very small school. Often had classes of 6-8 for some activities; I wished I had more students.

<> A few resources:

cybraryman1 Can infusing some Self-Directed Learning http://t.co/I5nudKaG in a large class help teachers?

politicalteach EdWeek article on class size laws: http://t.co/ZK4IuNtf.

vanroet A blog about 1:1 schools: http://t.co/nBWxYq9b.

politicalteach Looks interesting, regarding class size effects on achievement: http://t.co/mcR0T1R1.

politicalteach Reducing class sizes was one of Finland’s moves toward improving their education system:  http://t.co/tTacVOlX.

cybraryman1 I had success in large class when I used Cooperative Learning projects:  http://t.co/oHX8gZBR.

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

###

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

Topic: What should a report card look like to provide information to parents?

Since I’m not a teacher and it’s been quite a while since I paid attention to my grades (by college I had stopped caring about grades and started focusing on what I was learning, understanding, and retaining), I didn’t think that I would get much out of this week’s #edchat. Then again, I am going to have a kid in school soon, and I can’t imagine not caring about his report cards when he brings them home.

I’m actually really looking forward to my step-son’s report cards when he starts kindergarten later on this year. As far as I can tell, that’s the age where we really have report cards nailed down. From what I hear, kindergarteners (and even first and second graders) don’t really get grades. They get stars, happy faces, and other little trophies for good behavior or for demonstrating that they’re learning in some way. It’s not really so much about achievement as it is about heart.

Of course, at some point kids need to grow up and learn that the world is about achievement (and many other things). But are we rushing it? Is it misleading to start giving kids A’s, B’s, and C’s while they’re still in elementary (and even middle) school? What does that actually accomplish?

There are tons of #edchat participants who are outspokenly “anti-test.” I think that’s reasonable. Anyone who reads anything about education in this country knows that most teachers (and parents, and students) are getting fed up with the amount of standardized tests we put our kids through – and with the importance we ascribe to them. But as it turns out, I’m not the only “wacko” out there wondering if we’re overdoing it with the grading too.

We heard from plenty of teachers this week who think that grades are simply not the best way to communicate with parents or the best means of summarizing a student’s abilities. And that’s really what report cards and grades are for, right? It’s not like they go anywhere else but home to be signed and off to college admission offices to be reviewed.

As with all good #edchat experiences, this one serves as only the beginning of a much larger discussion. As Tom Whitby pointed out to me, the best part of #edchat is what comes afterwards. Reforming report cards is yet another item we can add to the list when we finally get around to making real changes to our archaic educational system.

Main themes from the discussion:

• How relevant are report cards, really? David Wees asked where they came from, and then later on pointed out that “back in the day” they used to be reports of how many biblical verses each student had memorized. Arguably, they’ve come a long way since then (and so have most average students), but are they really necessary? Couldn’t we replace them with something like an online portfolio or with weekly email updates on student progress? Personally, I think we could (or at least we could supplement them with these things), but it seemed like most teachers were hesitant to throw what may be the only fool-proof means of parental involvement out the window. At least, until every family has home internet.
• We need them, but they need to change! Admitting that we need report cards, are they okay in their current format? The resounding answer to that is “NO!” Everyone had one quibble with them at least, and most had many. I can’t even begin to summarize all the complaints that were voiced, so I will remind you to look for the archive of this conversation when it goes online.
• We need less of an emphasis on grades. This was one of the main points against report cards that nearly everyone agreed on. While there were a couple folks who stood by grades as a means of motivating and ranking students, many others were quick to point out how completely subjective grades are (an A in one district might be a C in another), and how they’re just as likely to demoralize a student as they are to motivate him. Still, asking all schools to do away with grades on report cards is not going to happen, especially because colleges use them as a major determining factor when selecting applicants.
• We need more of an emphasis on personalized comments. If we’re stuck with grades, how can we make report cards useful? One of the biggest points I heard a lot of people making this week was that we need to get rid of standardized comments because they mean almost nothing. Of course, the corollary to this is that teachers need to provide much more individualized feedback for each student. This can get time-consuming, and as we all know teachers aren’t exactly made of free time as it is. I suggested that we should have teachers create audio reports on each student instead of taking the time to type something up. This would allow parents to get more feedback than they would normally get on a report card without being entirely too burdensome on the teacher. Others suggested reviving the lost art of the parent-teacher conference.
• Report cards are only one way for teachers and parents to communicate. One final point that I feel needs to be emphasized (because I saw it come up more than once this week) is that report cards should not be the only time a teacher communicates with parents. It should never be a surprise when a parent opens up their child’s report card – especially if that student is struggling. Teachers need to remember to involve parents early and often, even though this can be one of the more difficult components of the job. But hey, nobody ever said teaching was easy, did they?

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

<> Good questions:

cybraryman1 I feel we have to start with what do parents want on a report card?

MertonTech How relevant is a quarterly report card when we have the ability to have access to a live report card via the internet?

davidwees Does anyone know when and where report cards first developed? What’s the history of the report card?

cybraryman1 Should grades be replaced by teacher comments & individualized assessment?

jheil65 Hasn’t the existing ed system made grades the endgame? Learning takes a back seat to grades and standardized tests.

<> Good answers:

TeachersNet Reports should be 1. frequent, 2. succinct, 3. report progress measured against past performance, and 4. show standing regarding grade level.

GTConsultant Parents in my districts don’t even look at report cards with the online grades they look at everyday!

davidwees ”The best report cards are the ones where the teacher speaks up. They’re personal. A grade – it just doesn’t say enough.” @John_Merrow

cheflincoln Report card should look like a Job Evaluation! Isn’t employability and not gamesmanship the goal?

MertonTech Portfolios of work. Students choose what they think is their best work.

<> Less grades, more comments:

jheil65 @mikevigilant My problem with grades is that there is no direct connection between grades and learning. . . Learning should be primary!

davidwees What the modern report card needs is not more numbers, but more meaningful information.

aaronmueller A modern report card should do away with canned comment codes. Online reporting can allow students to see “big picture feedback.”

VanessaSCassie Love the idea of a “work ethic” column on the report card.

Caplee62 Yep, my school had no grades. At first parents confused and then they loved it.

<> A few resources:

cybraryman1 My Parent-Teacher Communication page:http://t.co/zvwQ21nJ

delta_dc I like to use the analogy of a trip:http://t.co/QoHOBtZ3

davidwees ”What mattered in 1825 on your report card was how many lines of scripture you had memorized.”http://t.co/0C9yGqZY

cheflincoln Has anyone mentioned Shawn Cornally andhttp://t.co/Hisz9eDW his SBG gradebook? Worth a look!

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

###

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

And here it is:

Brian Reese, TestSoup’s founder and an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force was deployed to Afghanistan early last year — but now he’s home again, safe, sound, and ready to rock on some more TestSoup content.

We’ve made some decent progress in his absence, growing the TestSoup user base substantially and adding a lot of new flashcard sets for our online, Android, and iOS platforms. But now that the man with the plan is back in the saddle, the company is poised to go in some bold new directions and make some key additions to our test prep line-up.

We’ll have more details for you as things develop. For now, though, we’re happy to just welcome Brian home!