Scot Graden's Blog

Recently, I’ve had several conversations about creating a 21st Century School.  They have been interesting discussions with experienced and talented educators.  Our thoughts and opinions have had a consistent theme, but we each think a bit differently about what we envision when we say 21st Century School.  In his recent book, Harvard Professor Tony Wagner defines seven essential skills for the 21st century that all students should master.  They are critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration across networks and leading by influence; agility and adaptability; initiative and entrepreneurship; effective oral and written communication; accessing and analyzing information; and curiosity and imagination.  In general, our thoughts tend to pick up on these seven ideas.

One thing that is clear – creating an environment that focuses on developing these skills requires serious thought and hard work.   The other issue is the perception that many American parents are more focused on “getting into the right school” than developing a critical thinker who is curious about the world around them.  I am not sure this perception is correct, but I do know the feeling is held by many educators in Saline and across the country.

Why?  I feel some of it has to do with the focus on test scores – such as the ACT.  In Saline, like most districts, we focus energy on making sure our students are well prepared to perform well.  We know that a solid score opens doors to colleges and possible scholarship opportunities.  However, many of us are starting to feel that focus draws us away from the preparation of lifelong learners.

The challenge is to stop preparing our students for the present and start preparing them for the future.

There was an interesting article this week in USA Today called, “Tech-savvy ‘iGeneration’ kids multi-task, connect.” It left me with more questions than answers about “post-millennial” generation that is currently in middle school.  The article notes the constant access to technology.

Here are a couple quotes:

“It’s simply a part of their DNA,” says Dave Verhaagen, a child and adolescent psychologist in Charlotte. “It shapes everything about them.”

He goes on to say, “They know almost every piece of information they want is at their disposal whenever they need it.” Verhaagen goes on to say, “They’re less interested in learning facts and learning data than in knowing how to gain access to it and synthesize it and integrate it into their life. We’re talking about kids in elementary school and up and talking about much younger children who know how to get ahold of information. Their brains are developing in ways where they’re taking in astronomical amounts of information, screening out unimportant details and focusing on the parts they need.”

This year our high school English department altered one of our College Writing courses into an online course with a service learning focus.  All assignments will be online, and students can fulfill their service requirements during that fifth hour class. Students will volunteer in areas that interest them, and their writing will focus on issues related to their service organization.  Early reports from students and staff indicate the course has been a success.

Its emphasis on community involvement is an example of what is called service learning. Its use of technology and focus on real world connections, like volunteering at Brecon Village, illustrates a growing interest in service learning, and what some refer to as “21st century skills.” We have debated what 21st century skills really mean. Many think it describes the need to apply knowledge to real world problems, collaborate and be creative. But some wonder how to fit these into the traditional curricular focus on math, reading, writing, and other content.

“It is important to avoid simplistic ‘either or’ thinking about 21st century skills,” Craig Jerald wrote for the Center for Public Education in his report, Defining a 21st Century Education.

“Factual knowledge, the ability to follow directions, knowing how to find a right answer when there is one — all of these things will still be important in the 21st century,” he continued. “The key is to develop a curriculum that teaches students those things as well as how to apply what they learn to solve real world problems.”

So what does it take to provide these experiences?  First, it takes fearless and innovative teachers.  Second, it takes students and parents who see the value in a rigorous curriculum and who are also willing to try the flexible environment this type of course offers.  Lastly, it takes community partners who help provide these “real life” experiences for our students.

If you are a parent of a Saline High School student – I encourage you to consider this type of course for your son or daughter.

Last night, as part of our ongoing attempt to reduce our current budget deficit for the year, the Board of Education approved our recommendation to eliminate 6 positions.  This resulted in the laying off of 4 remarkable young teachers and eliminating 2 long-term substitutes – effective March 17th.  It was particularly difficult, as I had been involved in recruiting and recommending each of the laid off staff for hiring here in Saline.

In reducing 6 positions and meeting contractual obligations related to staff seniority we altered the assignments of an additional 12 faculty.  This is not a day they talk about at Superintendent Boot Camp, but it is a sad reality of the current economic climate. Even with these reductions, the previous non-staff cuts, and concessions from several of our bargaining units – we are still looking at the likely scenario of taking $750,000 from our fund balance to cover the shortfall.

In the bigger picture, this is the beginning and not the end.  We still have a lot of work to do in evaluating revenue and cost saving measures for next year as we wait for more information from Lansing in May about the level of revenue we can expect.

I was recently at a meeting with several Saline Area School parents discussing communication.  We were discussing the ways in which we (SAS) communicate with families and the community.  The group entertained the idea of developing a team of “key communicators” to meet with, discuss issues, get feedback, etc.  with administrators.  As we talked about “who” these “key communicators” are, it became more complex.

We realized that over the last several years, Saline has changed.  For example, the president of the bank, publisher of the local newspaper, executive director of the hospital, etc.  don’t necessarily live and raise their families in Saline.  In the not so distant past, most if not all key community leaders focused their work, family and social lives around Saline.  Now, it is common to consider the Ann Arbor region as the area within which the “key communicators” might work and pursue their social interests.

So, how do we communicate to a broad cross-section of the community?  Is it possible to assemble a workable sized group to represent the many diverse opinions within our community?

This is a question we are working to answer so that we can better communicate what is happening in and around Saline Area Schools.  The timing is critical.  We need engaged residents to provide insight and feedback as we work through challenging budget issues, as well as, develop and refine the instructional focus for the next three to five years.

I know it’s not likely to mean much very soon here in Saline, but there are some fundamental changes coming down the pipe from Washington D.C. We are moving from NCLB (No Child Left Behind) to RTTT (Race to the Top).  Or, as I like to call it….. from education policy Texas style to Chicago style…..  which if we were talking about pizza, would be great!

It’s still too early to tell what it all means, but it is interesting as all of us in public education watch the process unfold.  Today there was an interesting OP-ED  in the New York Times about the issue. It talked about the transition and the promise any change process holds.  I am hopeful that we can shift the focus to deep understanding, 21st Century skills with an integrated/project-based approach.  The piece notes,

Imagine, for instance, a third-grade classroom that was free of the laundry list of goals currently harnessing our teachers and students, and that was devoted instead to just a few narrowly defined and deeply focused goals.

In these difficult times where most of our conversations are about what we can’t do – it’s exciting to think about a brighter future for us all.

In a December, 2009 article in American Educational Research Journal, researchers reported on a study of how students learn using four different instructional approaches. All four claim to be effective at getting students actively selecting relevant information, organizing it in their minds, and integrating it with what they already know. Here are the teaching approaches, as seen from the student’s point of view:

• Tell me how it works
• Show me how it works
• Let me explain how it works
• Let me investigate how it works

Under normal circumstances, it’s very difficult to determine the merits of an instructional approach from the talents of the individual teachers. It was decided to factor out teaching as a variable by studying the four approaches as students worked with interactive computer instructional programs, all teaching mathematical probability theory to the 10th and 11th graders:

• Hypermedia learning (tell me) – Text, pictures, animation, and video elements are presented in nodes interconnected by hyperlinks; students are free to decide which piece of information they want to select and observe, and can work at their own sequence and pace.
• Observational learning (show me) – The computer program allows students to observe experts performing a task or solving a problem.
• Self-explanation-based learning (let me explain) – Worked-out examples are presented without the solution steps and students themselves type in explanations of how to work out the steps.
• Inquiry learning (let me investigate) – Students inductively come up with the answers by interacting with the subject matter.
• And the winner was… (c) The self-explanation approach. The outcome for students who used this learning program had the most impressive results across the board. The hypermedia and observational approaches produced the lowest results, and the inquiry approach was in between.

The only downside of self-explanation was that it took more time, whereas the hypermedia software was the quickest. Given enough time, self-explanation would be the method to use – although, if they could redesign the experiment, the researchers suspect that a combination of self-explanation and inquiry would be even better.

Ever been in a conversation in the stands or on the sidelines of a youth athletic event?

Ever traded comments while shopping at the local grocery store or Target?

People often share their thoughts and opinions about their local schools. Saline is no different.  In speaking to superintendents across the state, our community is no different than theirs when it comes to the rumor mill.

The issue is misinformation and unfounded rumors about the schools tend to take on a life of their own and official information from the school is often not heard.  The issues can be inconsequential to seriously disruptive.  For example, last week I was speaking with a class at the high school and student asked about the pool being “3 inches short” and that all records set in the pool were invalid.  He added that he heard we were going to spend thousands of dollars to fix the issue.  Thankfully, he asked the question.  I was able to clear up this misinformation, letting him know that there was no truth to the rumor and that the pool was the proper length, and that the hard work that went into setting those records was not to be discredited.  Sadly, this was not the first time I had heard the rumor.  Over the past 5 years I have heard the “pool’s too short” rumor.

So how do we combat the rumor mill and inform a community of 5,400 students and 600 employees?  My answer is to provide information that is understandable.  School districts can be a complex organizations even for the most informed community members.  For example, I’m not sure it is widely known that the vast majority of district decisions are based on state and federal regulations, board of education policies and contractual obligations.

The first step is to ask the question.  Like the student in the class last week, ask a school official about what you may have heard.  If they don’t know the answer, they can get it for you.  It may be something that we need to communicate out to a larger group via our email loops or on our website.  Feel free to post a comment/question here or on one of the other blogs for more information.