Archive for the ‘Leadership Books’ Category

Learn academic writing with AcademicHelp.net. See a lot of free writing guides and samples.

How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens by Benedict Carey summarizes research on this topic, much of which educators have yet to implement. Education’s leaders need to read this book and work to reform the system accordingly. Click the icon at the bottom of any page to get a copy for educators you know.

Benedict Carey

• Benedict is an award-winning science reporter who has been at The New York Times since 2004. He is one of the newspaper’s most emailed reporters. He has a bachelor’s degree in math from the University of Colorado, and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He has written about health and science for twenty-five years and lives in New York City.

Introduction

• Benedict starts with his own story about how he got mostly A’s in school along with low SAT scores and couldn’t get in to any of his desired colleges. Along the way he discovered many of the techniques he covers in this book that allowed him to integrate the exotica of new subjects into daily life, in a way that makes them seep under his skin. He has mined the latest science to so how you can make learning part of living and less about isolated choice during his writing career.

1. The Biology of Memory

• Benedict starts with a simplified explanation of how the brain is structured. Thanks to the study of brain injured patients, science has developed some understanding of how the brain stores and retrieves memories. At the bottom center of the brain is the hippocampus, which is vital for the formation of memories. One type of memory called episodic is used to remember events that take place over time like the first day of high school. The other type is semantic, which deals with facts rather than experiences. When we retrieve a memory of an event, we need to reconstruct it. As a result, the story is likely to change over time as one doesn’t put the story together the same way each time. The basic plot, however, should not change much if at all. In essence, using our memory changes our memory.
• We have another kind of memory that remembers physical skills. This is called motor learning and is not dependent on the hippocampus. We also have conscious and subconscious systems and a lot goes on while we are at sleep. Thanks to surgery on patients with split brains, we know that the left side is the wordsmith while the right side is the visual expert. The left brain interprets what we experience and makes stories that we use to remember what happened. We have at least thousands of brain modules that perform skills like calculating changes in light, tone of voice, and changes in facial expression, and they all run at the same time.

Share this:

IEP & Section 504 Team Meetings…and the Law by Miriam Kurtzig Freedman joins her book on Grading, Reporting, Graduating… and the law as must-haves for your school’s special education library. Both are quick reads and provide educators and parents with all the need to know. Principals should put a few copies in the faculty room and parent support groups should have some for parents to borrow.

Introduction: You’re kidding! Another law book for educators and parents!

• The goal is to help educators and parents conduct meetings that are legal and efficient and build positive and trusting relationships as they get the job done. All of the relevant legislation is considered here in a way that anyone should be able to understand. This just deals with the law and Supreme Court decisions, not politics or pedagogy. It also does not weigh in on whether the law is good or bad. IEP’s are developed for students with disabilities so they can receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is an anti-discrimination law that requires schools to provide eligible students with disabilities the same opportunities as their average peers. Written 504 plans aren’t legally mandated, but they are considered a best practice.

What is the purpose of an IEP team meeting?

• The purpose is to develop a plan that provides a FAPE for the student as it offers the parents the opportunity to participate in a meaningful manner. They must be provided for students whose circumstances adversely impact their educational performance. It’s the school’s job to identify these students, although parents can bring it to the school’s attention. Appropriate here means that the plan is calculated to help the child make progress and receive educational benefits in light of their circumstances. It should strive to close the gap between their current performance and their potential. It need not close the gap between students and their age-level peers. IEPs are about learning, not passing.
• The plan should also be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE), which usually means a regular classroom. The plan needs to include the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance along with appropriate measurable goals that will demonstrate progress (evidence). Slow progress and repetition of goals from year to year are legal. That doesn’t mean that goals shouldn’t be ambitious. Some states define education to include emotional, social, behavioral, and physical needs.

What is the purpose of a 504 team meeting?

• These plans are designed to provide eligible students with disabilities the same opportunity to access, participate, and learn as their nondisabled peers. They often include accommodations, services, therapies, and even placements. They provide an equal opportunity while IEPs provide benefits.

Similarities between IEP and 504 meetings

• 1. They require that you provide what is needed, no more and no less. If the plan offers more it must be provided and may have unwanted side effects. 2. They are developed by teams, not individuals. Members need to discuss, reflect, and think, but voting should not occur. 3. If the team can’t reach consensus the school representative makes the call. 4. They aim to provide what the child needs, not what the parent wants even if they have a doctor’s prescription. 5. The plans belong to the child. If the parents dispute it they can seek due process. 6. The educators are the experts while the parent provides input about the child (WHO). Teachers know WHAT they teach and they know something about the child (WHO) as well. As long as schools have cogent explanations, courts generally defer to their judgment rather than the parents or third party experts that parents hire.
• 7. Team members need to know how to include the child appropriately. They should be aware if they are fundamentally altering any aspect of a program of study. Accommodations provide access without fundamentally altering the standards or expectations. Modifications provide access, but they also lower standards and expectations. For more on this see Grading, Reporting, Graduating…and the Law. You need not include standard classroom practices provided to all students, but it’s a good idea to include them. 8. Avoid providing more than the child needs such as overuse of 1:1 aides, inflated grades, or too many adaptations. They are often used to make parents happy. Schools are not required to hold meetings simply because parents want one. 9. Parent consent for IEP meetings must be voluntary, informed (plain language), written, and revocable. 504 plans do not need parental consent. 10. Educators need to avoid jargon and speak simply. There are samples here.

Differences between IEP and 504 meetings

• The law mandates who will attend IEP meetings, when the team needs to meet, and how it should proceed. For 504 meetings the district develops its own policies and practices.

IEP team meetings: Who, when, where, why, how

• Who: Parent(s), at least one regular education teacher, at least one special education teacher, the district’s representative, an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results (Doug: It was the school psychologist for my meetings.), others with knowledge or special expertise, and whenever appropriate, the child. The district representative must be knowledgable about special education, general education, and the district’s available resources. The district must make a serious effort to get parents to the meeting. Just sending letters and leaving voice messages aren’t enough. Some members may be excused, but they must submit written input to parents. IEPs can be amended without meeting as long as the district and parent agree and it’s not the annual meeting.
• Goals on IEPs need to be specific, measurable, contain Action words, be realistic, and be time-specific. The first letters spell SMART. It is vital that good baseline information is available for the child at the start of the meeting. The team also needs evidence that the program they propose works. (evidence-based) Miriam suggests a pre-team huddle prior to starting the meeting with the parent to review available data. (Doug: I never did this as the meetings were already too long.) Team members need to have an open mind, but not an empty mind. Making decisions prior to a meeting has been found to be a denial of FAPE by the courts. If the school and parent disagree, the student “stays-put” in the last agreed-upon placement until the conflict is resolved.

Section 504 team meetings

• Written plans are not required, but you should have them. Standards should not be lowered so use accommodations, not modifications. 504 students have an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities and they need accommodations as a result. This meeting must determine if the child needs a 504 plan. Plans can be implemented without parent acceptance, which means there are no stay-put rights. The parents still have due process. Accommodations should be personalized not boilerplate. Don’t give more than the student needs, and don’t make it a consolation prize for students who don’t qualify for an IEP.

Good practices for both types of meetings

• Preparation prior to the meetings is key. Prepare an agenda, find a comfortable room that is large enough, and neatly decorated. Assign seats and make sure team members understand their roles. Miriam provides a list of “cringe words” that you should avoid. Make sure everyone understands the ground rules. Start on time. Don’t allow interruptions or side conversations. Turn phones off. Track issues agreed upon on a flipchart. Keep the meeting moving so it ends on time.
• The district representative should chair the meeting. This person needs to let other school employees know what is expected and how to behave. This person also needs to make sure that the parent’s rights are respected. At the end review what has been agreed on and make sure everyone understands the next steps. The focus should be on the future and what the student needs going forward. Smile and offer a friendly demeanor. Make sure school staff avoid negative body language. The goal here is to build TRUST with families. Members should actively listen and be succinct. Follow up with parents and reconvene if things don’t work out. Provide drinks and a snack. Miriam also gives two pages of advice for when things go wrong.

Miriam Kurtzig Freedman

• Miriam is an attorney and former teacher who works with people who want better schools. As an immigrant to America at elementary-school-age, she was empowered by public schools and works to help educators teach all children. She works for the Boston firm of Stoneman, Chandler, & Miller where she gives lively and practical presentations, training, and consultations. She co-founded Special Education Day, authored eight books, and has written for many national publications. If you are interested in her presentations visit schoollawpro.com and contact her at miriam@schoollawpro.com.

Share this:

Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning in the Age of Empowerment by Charles Schwahn & Beatrice McGarvey shares an exciting vision for education that uses today’s powerful mass customizing technology to meet the individual learning needs and interests of every learner every day. The goal is to do for learners what Apple does for music lovers, Amazon does for readers, and what Google does for seekers of information. Mass Customized Learning is necessary and doable.

Why This Book Is Necessary

• The world has left the Industrial Age of mass production and entered the Information Age of mass customization, except for education. We still presuppose that all students of the same age are ready to learn the same thing, the same way, in the same amount of time. This explains why people in general don’t think public schools are doing a good job. Technology has transformed nearly every sector of our lives and it should help enable changes toward customized learning. This is not only a book for teachers, but for everyone in the community especially students who will help show us how to do it. The models are available and there is no reason why it should cost more.

Facing Reality

• Schools are bureaucratic monopolies existing in a world of customization and service. What we teach now is not much different from a famous 1892 plan. The model was fine when dropouts could still get good jobs. It’s no longer ok to build in failure for some with a rigid time-driven system for learning. We know that not everyone learns at the same rate, but we plan as if they did. Not quite getting it is cumulative. Don’t ask if a child is ready for Kindergarten (or anything else), ask what is the child ready for.
• Policies and practices are chosen for administrative convenience and are inconsistent with basic learning research. We have expensive extra systems for those who need extra time while our fast runners are held back by the schedule and the curriculum. Averaging grades makes no sense. If someone can demonstrate learning they should move on. If they can’t, they’re just not finished yet. There also needs to be more relevance to the life students are living today and what they will face after school.
• Be sure to assess your agreement with these realities, which the authors admit may be overgeneralized, with the scale on page six. You should also take it again at the end to see if you have changed.

Share this:

Innovate Inside the Box: Empowering Learners Through UDL and the Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros with Katie Novak builds on his previous book The Innovator’s Midset. The goal of this book is to help teachers grow so they are more likely to make a difference in their students’ lives. Constraints like red tape, limitations, and lack of funds comprise “The Box” in the title. Innovating in spite of those constraints involves finding another way around problems that limit the impact teachers have on their students.

Introduction: Because a Teacher

• Most of us can remember one or more teachers who made a significant positive difference in our lives. Perhaps other adults have done the same. A goal of this book is to help teachers grow so they are more likely to be that kind of difference-maker. Constraints like red tape, limitations, and lack of funds comprise “The Box” in the title. Innovating in spite of those constraints involves finding another way around problems that limit the impact teachers have on their students.

Part One – The Core of Innovative Teaching and Learning

• 1. Relationships: Research shows that students perform better when teachers prioritize relationship building. Increased social capital leads to higher test scores. Since collaboration builds social capital it also raises scores. This means that relationships between adults are important too. It seems we learn more from someone with whom we have a positive connection.
• Tips for relationship building include: Greeting kids at the door, playing music as they enter, making first interactions positive, calling parents early, flexible planning, allowing students to design the classroom, tapping into to each student’s passion, encouraging students to ask questions to keep them curious, and loving them. Studies with dropouts show that they usually weren’t connected with anyone at school. If a student arrives late just say “I’m glad you are here.”
• 2. Learner-Driven, Evidence-Informed: Learner-driven means that students have a voice in setting learning goals. Evidence-informed means that teachers go beyond grades when they give students feedback. You should be driven by students, not data. Students get lost in the process when teachers are driven by test scores. Beyond grades, evidence can include portfolios, self-assessments, performances, and anything that highlights learning and growth.
• Most of what employers look for cannot be graded. That includes creativity, initiative, critical thinking, and complex problem-solving. Grades can even deter learning. George suggests that you give students feedback without grades. When students are invested in their own goals, they will go beyond the goals the teacher sets for them. Focus on students’ strengths first. If they see weakness as they use their strengths they will be more motivated to work on it.
• 3. Creating Empowered Learning Experiences: Empowerment is about helping students figure out what they can do for themselves. Rather than listening, reading, observing, and consuming they should spend more time speaking, writing, interacting, and creating. Student choice is big here. If students have a voice in what they learn and how they demonstrate that they have learned they will be more motivated. They should be doing writing blogs, video scripts, and podcasts.
• The next big idea is to have students generate questions rather than just give the right answers. The best questions might be those that the teacher can’t answer. We also note that curiosity improves intelligence as it drives the acquisition of knowledge. In essence, our goal is to create self-directed learners. George tells of how he created a student IT department at his school and how another teacher had students be responsible for all aspects of running the school store. In essence, students are the most underused resource in our schools.
• 4. Master Learner, Master Educator: In addition to continuously learning, teachers need to make sure that students know they are learning. For example, if you want students to curate digital portfolios, you should first make one yourself and let them see it. This is learning for your students. Learning about your students should, however, be your first priority. Start with the student who gives you the most trouble and spend time every day in personal conversation. That should improve that student’s behavior, which can improve the entire class.
• Rather than planning every step of the way be ready to adapt. Be sure to tell students to “figure it out” rather than telling them the answers. Students should be finding resources on their own and experiencing the power of teaching the teacher. The teacher and the class are smarter than the teacher alone.

Share this: