In response to Scott McLeod’s blog post challenge, these are the five things I think we must stop pretending in order to #makeschooldifferent. My ideas are not new and some echo those posted by others.
I believe we must …
- stop pretending that we have to teach children facts. – In a world of Google, Siri, and Wolfram Alpha, children must be taught how to find, evaluate, and apply information.
- stop pretending that assessing for memorization is acceptable. – Memorization does not equal learning or intelligence. We should be using student portfolios and competency-based grading systems aligned to performance assessments and mastery learning.
- stop pretending that essential knowledge and skills have not changed. – What is the purpose of K-12 education? Just as good instructional planning begins with essential questions and objectives, we must redefine and prioritize the intended learning outcomes of a public education. I believe the P21 Framework could help to inform this process.
- stop pretending that subjects should be taught in isolation. – The age-old question of “When am I ever going to use this in the real-world?” could easily be eliminated if academic concepts were taught along with an application. ELA concepts can be easily woven into research and writing across all content areas. Mathematical practices are much easier to understand within the context of automechanics, engineering, and science. Finland has begun this process of trading subject-specific lessons for topic-based instruction.
- stop pretending that teachers can design engaging, effective, technology-enhanced, personalized, collaborative instructional units, analyze assessment data, and provide individualized, thoughtful feedack to students without proper planning time. – Teachers should be 12 month employees. Period. (I would also throw in the school calendar if I had more than 5 things I could talk about!)
What are the 5 things you think we must stop pretending to #makeschooldifferent?
Image available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stop_it.png. Accessed April 16, 2015
Learning with Technology 
