Are We Further Ahead than Other Countries?

I write today after the question was asked of me this weekend, " Do you think the we [the US] are further ahead or behind Japan?". I was asked specifically about Japan because 6 years ago I spent 3 weeks immersed in educational culture and learning in Japan.

I have to say that I responded that I feel the we are ahead and behind. I feel like we are ahead when striving to meet the needs of each learner, but behind as we set false ideals for what many of our students are able to accomplish academically. I think we sell ourselves short and spread ourselves too thin by trying to meet all needs through school based staff and that we do not have the staff or service centers available nationwide to provide intervention, support and training to make meeting MOST of all learners need even possible.

I will also say that based on my limited experience in schools in Minnesota and North Dakota, that the environments are more welcoming and vibrant than those I have experience in in Japan. I also have experienced much higher levels of knowledge of students (interests, abilities, friends, parents) than in Japan. It could be said that I feel that in ND and MN that there is more being taught than just Math, English, Social Studies and Science. I sense that we chase trends and fads instead of responding to ACTUAL DATA DIRECTED NEEDS of our kids. Aditionally, I feel that we fall behind on showing educational staff at all levels ( paras/ aids through administration) appreciation and financial compensation. For it is without these individuals that we wouldn't have greatness in all other professions.

So, it is this question that I really desire to receive feedback on... "What do ND or US schools do that is "better"/ further ahead of or "worse"/ behind on?

Thank You in advance for sharing!

What is Professional Learning?

What is Professional Learning? How is professional learning supported in your school and district? Is it a drive by, a one time hit, or a round about on-going concept? Is one better than the other or do they each serve a purpose? Is it individual or group? Is it solely decided upon by administartion at the top or are teachers surveyed for their ideas?

Professional learning comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes; often driven by administration as a result of direct teacher input, observation, evaluation data and student test scores. Depending on the purpose of the learning that is to take place, drive bys, one time hits and on-going training all serve a purpose. Personally, I believe the later is the best no matter what the topic or learning curve may be.

Despite the variety of formats and topics the professional learning process has research behind it. This research has identified, set, defined and strongly suggested a method for implementation. The eight (8) Standards for Professional Learning are: (link to Learning Forward)
* Learning Communities
* Leadership
* Resources
* Data
* Learning Designs
* Implementation
* Data

No matter who decides on the topic, it must be relevent and supported by a need, the need great enough to inact a professional level of concern, as well as, delivered in a manner that will reach the most people and have a lasting effect. The standards laid out by Learning Forward assist schools and districts in ensuring that every minute spent in professional development is being spent wisely.

In North Dakota, North Dakota Learning Forward is holding a conference this fall. It will be held November 8-9, 2012, at the Seven Seas in Mandan and will introduce, revist, remind, and help schools ensure that all professional learning is on a needed/ target area shown by data. It will also help schools and districts make sure thay professional learning it is getting the attention and response that it deserves. For conference information please check out the flier at http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/title1/events/11-8-12.pdf or the ND Department of Public Instruction's Professional Development Blog .

Here's to quality, needed, impacting, professional learning!

Helpful Homework!

So the school year has begun and the slower pace of the first few weeks is officially over.... Homework is in full force. I must admit that I, as a parent and educator, struggle with homework. There is quality skill reinforcement and/ or completing work not finished during the day and then there is busy work and / or self educating assignments. I strongly believe that homework in elementary should be brief and reinforcing and as needed. At the high school level it should be mostly studying/ reviewing and working on larger projects.

So, my questions to all of you out there are...
Parents: What kind of homework do your kids have? How long do they spend on average doing homework each night? and Do you feel that it is beneficial or busy work? How do you handle excessive homework or that which you feel is not meaningful?

Teachers or instructional staff: How do you decide what is homework and what kinds do you give? How long do you expect your students to spend on homework? Do you work with other teachers to try and not expect large quantities of work on the same nights?

Administrators: How do you work with teachers to promote quality homework assignments/ tasks? What kinds of work do you see your teachers sendinghome with kids? How long do you think students should spend on assigned homework each night or per week?

Students: What do you like about homework? What kinds do you appreciate the most and least? How much time to you spend on homework? What kinds of things determine how much time to spend on it ( ie. extra-curricular, chirch, job, chores, parents etc).

Thanks for your input and insight! We can all benefit from your responses!

Keeping ND Legendary in Learning

The state of ND is changing. We have over a thousand new students in our schools. Some have been in several schools in a short period of time and others that have been in one school and plan to be in their new school for many years to come. The question is, "How do we plan for these students? How do we meet their needs, keep class sizes small, and ensure that children younger than school age be given opportunites to be prepared for Kindergarten."

There are programs such as BECEP and Right Track, but people don't always enroll and there are not always enough resources in place.

Not every community has preschool opportunities and some of the opportunities are limited to numbers, income level, disability. Many families utilize home childcare where there are generally less Pre-K skill based activities, but lots of love and socialization which are very important too.

Schools can hire staff to meet rising numbers, but do not always have space or available resources. Student needs ( stregths and growth areas) are not always known when they enroll in school. Qualified staff are not always available and individuals interested in taking new positions may not be able to fund their training.


North Dakota has a lot of top notch kids, we want the new kids to be able to join in our success and future too, but how do we deal with and plan for the unknown.... We are a state with lots of possibility, excitement and desire to make things GREAT!
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction works to maintain integrity in education and provide insight and information into keeping our education strong in the state.

Yet, there is only so much that a government office can control and dictate. We need to be able to work locally to improve and maintain the systems and opportunities that we have. Here is a link to ND's Educational Progress through 2008....

How do we continue this tradition of excellence within our educational system? Please share you ideas so we all can benefit.

Quality of a school is ....

I sit today in a training and the following quote was shared...
"The quality of a school as a learning organization can be measured by how effectively it addresses the needs of it's struggling learners."

What are your thoughts?
Do you agree? Disagree?
Is this where we are now and have been historically?
Does it need to change?

How Do We Know What to Teach

Ever wondered if our kids are learning the right things or how teachers decide what to teach? Well, in ND this is more or less is left up to the individual schools and districts and guided by the state.
Currently teachers are still trying to figure out what standards will be tested in the fall while preparing and planning for the shift to the Common Core in about 18 months.
Many different strategies and theories float around regarding how to tackle this transition.

What are your thoughts on how to tackle it or what things kids need to know in order to be ready to tackle the world outside the school yard?

Why talk learning?

I have created this blog as a place to share ideas about what some our best teachers, administrators, school districts, students and parents are doing to ensure that our kids learn the skills and gain the knowledge base that will prepare them for the expectations and needs in the future.

I am not by no means an expert. My background includes being a para-professional, elementary classroom teacher, special education teacher, elementary principal, and state department of public instruction employee. Currently, I do professional development in central and southern North Dakota. I am also a mom to what will soon be 5 children.

It is my hope to provide information, ask questions and get answers and be a place where we can share, support and learn from each other to improve the teaching and learning process in our schools.

So I begin with a question. Where or how do you keep up on current trends and practices in education?