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Friday, December 31, 2010

Life Long Learner

Read any mission statement for a school improvement plan or sometimes posted in the main hallway, there is usually some reference to developing a love for learning in the students. If you can't get a copy, or don't see the mission statement, ask any educator what do they want their students to develop when they graduate from the school or district. Included in their list will be a hope for students to become life long learners.

This hope and dream is an important expectation, a blessing, which when happens, leads to the prospect of an interesting and fulfilling life long endeavor. Scientists have shown that when learning occurs, adult brains grow dendrites. I've experience a natural high when I have an epiphany from some area of study, or seeing something in a different light from a conversation or conference. Don't you recall similar experiences?

So to truly help students develop a desire and drive for life long learning, we need to first inspire ourselves to practice the same, and share our experiences with students. Teaching is challenging and time consuming. Improving teaching craft requires a constant drive to learn more.

The result is...

What's Best 4 All.

Happy New Years.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

How well does your data drive your decision making? Three elements for continuous improvement - News Archive -Pawley Lean Institute

How well does your data drive your decision making? Three elements for continuous improvement - News Archive -Pawley Lean Institute

This is an interesting article to consider regarding avoiding data rich, information poor scenarios. That is to say that often we have plenty of data, from assessments to demographics, as a small portion of the plate. The challenge is how best to organize the information so that it's useful for informing our decisions in the classroom, building-wide initiatives, and district direction.

Important, Timely, and Sufficient are the guide posts this author uses. How well do you use these guidelines in your respective work? What other considerations are there?