#RuralEdChat Archive
#RuralEdChat is a chat that focuses on the needs of the rural educator. This chat has been revised by Tammy Neil (@MathNeil), John Martin (@edventures) and Natalee Stotz (@nataleestotz).
Tuesday January 19, 2016
Good Evening, I hope you are all warm and cozy inside tonight.
. Cozy, yes. It's 9F outside with a windchill that brings it down to -10
Hi Looking forward to crowdsourcing more information re: tonight. Chilly here in WI but headed into the 20s by tomorrow!
Yes, that is on the cold side. Brrrr!
Hey, I'm glad you're warming up tomorrow. LOL
Welcome So glad you are here for :) Polly and I went to library school together!
I'm guessing you guys are definitely above freezing right now??
I don't know , I was chatting w/ tonight and it was 20F in GA.
I don't know , I was chatting w/ tonight and it was 20F in GA.
We are sitting on a toasty 35 deg. F.
Anyone else joining us for this evening?
We won't be able to see Polly's tweets. Her account is protected.
Ok, I was wondering why she wasn't showing up. Thought it was the app I was using.
I'll lead off with a couple of questions based on where we've been under in just a couple of minutes.
Q1: The drive behind was to “fix” No Child Left Behind. What in your experience worked w/ ? What failed?
A1: The assumption that 100% of our Ss would be above average. By definition, not possible.
A1 I feel like it led to increased testing and focus on scores vs. skills here
I never liked but it did bring needed attention to schools & student populations that were being ignored or neglected.
However had a chilling effect on innovation, creative thinking & applied learning.
This had some very negative impacts on students who deserved more investment in their schools and programs.
The extreme focus on testing and "data" led to a more rigid less student focused environment in our schools.
. Agreed. was poorly implemented & we'll be feeling its effects for years to come.
Yes. Since the stakes were raised on test scores, districts were under pressure to produce those.
I'll start tossing out some resources to help folks who haven't yet looked into it. Starting with https://t.co/bqmhwVvfnB
Thought I would stop by after I saw . Amy from Missouri
Despite the NCLB tangle, I'm proud of educators who have continued to put students, families and communities first.
So glad you are here. Thanks for joining in.
Q2: shifts authority from the fed to the state. Is this change good or bad for rural schools in your area?
In the case of NH, the return to local autonomy will be a good thing. I think my district does a pretty good job.
A2: I think this is a good thing for rural schools. Too many times federal policies don't understand our situations.
A2. 4 MO, I hoping good. We have a new commissioner of ed who is good listener & with 500+ districts here, we have lots rural.
A2 I'm not sure yet...I'm hoping that the mention of role of school library progs resonate & increase access to resources
NH is pursuing an alternative to called PACE which aligns w/ school curriculum & environment. https://t.co/G4LD0oW1xg
A2 Tech speeds up education cycle and need to be less centralized. there will be more decentalizition in the near future
I'm really impressed with the NH focus on competencies & local assessments.
I agree, too many times they only see LAUSD and others of that size.
Read you loud and clear ! Welcome to !
. Great question! I follow/am edubuddies w/ . She tweeted which led me to you, and I like what you tweet. :)
I love how this happened. You both amaze me for tons of reasons!
Q3: If you could do an assessment other than /, what would you want for your learners? What would it look like?
A3: We have the FSA here in Florida. We don't get to see it so I still don't know what it looks like.
A3: Having just taken the new certs, I'm a big fan of scenario based assessments w/ realistic experiences.
A3 N my fantasy world, a portfolio system highlighting growth of key standards.
. We're just keeping the East Coast rep on EduTwitter strong & interconnected!
A3: I would love for it to somehow be able to measure true learning not measure an understanding of click & drag.
Individualized edu will lead to mobile education in creative spaces benefiting learning PBL & Socratic as opposed to Lecture
A3 I wish we'd snapshot kids' best work & xamples of learning they've been most motivated in and share that
I realize this makes comparison tough...but it would look a lot different than snapshot scores
'cause a lot of our students get stuck in the clicking and dragging!
If we are teaching HOW to test, then we are missing the boat. Just like using tech in our classes.
Thanks! I was wondering where to start.
BINGO. We are changing up our state tests here uhgain...it's exhausting.
A3 Remember your field trip? what about what happened bef/after? lectures 5-10% PBL 50% Socratic 60% Test w/o Ss learning?
One of the reasons I didn't like our old FCAT was because math portion had different rules for scoring answers. ++
With NH's shift to Competency Based Lrning, I'm more interested in a growth model of learning & application over recollection
I had to spend time teaching HOW to write your answers. This was crazy.
Of course now we still have to teach 3rd graders how to type at speed so they can respond to computer based tests.
Yes. This is something we've been talking about. How much is lost between the mind and the keyboard??
That’s crazy. If answer required can’t b taught n normal writing process, is it worth learning?
I'm still waiting for the day when we can allow the best answer, not the best answer delivered in a specific format.
I think the true test of the ESSA will come with time. How will those "in charge" interpret it? That's the key.
Q4: doesn't require states to use . Do you foresee a shift in your local world? If so, to what?
A4 I'm also not sure on this one. Districts have invested a lot of $$ into CCS materials...
A4: Florida has its own standards (LAFS/MAFS). Wondering what is coming next for us.
And what funding will be made available to achieve these stated goals?
A4. MO had already started process of creating new standards, but they look a lot like with some additions.
Just remove the stickers. Its all good. :-)
Haha, that’s all they did the first time around anyway!
A4: I don't see NH moving away from but I can see us using them differently. The biggest prob w/ CCSS is the volume.
A2: depends on the admin & the school system https://t.co/eFdpjtf5rF
Q2: shifts authority from the fed to the state. Is this change good or bad for rural schools in your area?
Somewhere in my reading/listening to info I came across a mention of depth v breadth. Here's hoping!
. Very true - I think it also depends on the locality & economic state. I do worry about those schools.
Saddly, I've heard that depth v breadth so many times. It sounds like the old deep & wide song.
That’s what I said Patti. With Margi has our commissioner I think we will be good.
I know, I know. A girl can dream, right?
A3: PBL assessment to connect learning/application, Ss lrn diff&I still smh at 1 size testing for all https://t.co/OVQemRYXkX
Q3: If you could do an assessment other than /, what would you want for your learners? What would it look like?
I'm trying to learn more about the role of library programs also. It's needed in many areas.
I just wish any author, signer, implementer of edu legislation would have to spend a day admining assessments.
. And working w/ students leading up to it!
I just wish they would spend a day (a week would b better) teaching in our schools with high poverty.
Or 2 weeks actually teaching classes, throw in a parent conference or 2.
OR maybe they could ask the acting teachers how we measure success.
Sounds like is opening our doors to folks that really want to know the truth. Come on in, bring your own supplies like we do.
That would indeed be a novel idea!
Q5: One of the provisions of is funding for preschool programs. How might this help your rural schools?
A5: I think it would be great as long as the pre-schools don't become academically focused. Let's let the kids PLAY.
. Speaking of play, how about that article on Texas making more time for recess?
A5. Many of our rural school are also small and high poverty, Preschool will help with socialization.
Kindergarten was originally designed to help Ss learn social skills not learning to read. (They're only 5.)
I loved it. Yes, our kids need time to be kids. A break now and then is a great thing.
Exactly!! Play is how young children learn!!
. I wonder what shared play would look like? Ts and Ss!
It would look like a group of happy people.
As we wrap up tonight's exploration of , what questions are still on your mind?
I want to revisit this topic in the fall.
I'd like more information from our state regarding plans for
. I saw that, how cool! Wonder what it might take to expand that idea?
probably a little design thinking!
Ss do class online @ home, if they do their work,, they get fun one hour, music, art etc T ing if you don't do work no play
Thank you to everyone who joined us tonight. Wishing you all a great rest of the week!
A5: Rural areas often have Ss who need help to get K ready to overcome influe of socioecon barriers https://t.co/votExp5SoJ
Q5: One of the provisions of is funding for preschool programs. How might this help your rural schools?
