Leadership and Technology

In chapter 13 of the Innovator's Mindset, George Couros writes about the limitations of assessment in education, and challenges us to re-imagine. What student outcomes do we value? How do we define success? How shall we identify and track evidence of learning in our schools? Image source Bill Ferriter ( @plugusin ) sums up the paradox of assessment brilliantly. Outcomes that are meaningful are not easily measurable; measurable outcomes are rarely meaningful. The prevailing mindset in assessment in education is to define data only in quantitative terms. What if we acknowledged that the most important, most meaningful outcomes are qualitative? The long-standing practice in education has been to let the tail wag the dog and define outcomes within the quantitative assessment bubble, thereby entirely excluding meaningful qualitative outcomes. What if we elevated qualitative research methods to equal stature in our conversations and practices in assessment? Students would doc...

In chapter 7 of The Innovator's Mindset , George Couros outlines eight things we should see in today's classrooms. It was sobering to reflect on my own teaching, and to try to identify these eight elements in my own classroom. In an effort to practice a strengths-based approach, I'll begin by outlining the few that I believe are visible in my classroom. Voice Student voice is a strength in my classroom. My students are regularly engaged in scientist meetings and group dialogue as they work together make meaning. Students produce, share, and learn from each other's work. For example, my students recently produced posters and videos to communicate relationships between genetics vocabulary. Critical Thinking We have a culture of critical thinking in my classroom. Students ask questions of each other, and respectfully challenge each others' ideas. Students critically evaluate each other's claims and reasoning about evidence. When new evidence is discovered, or...