policy

Showing 60 posts tagged policy

Tough Questions on Texting in the Classroom image via flickr:CC | Stitch Does it make sense to ban texting if students ignore the ban and teachers back away from enforcing it? Can a ban be enforced? How about in a large course, can it be enforced then? Should it be enforced?  What are the costs of enforcing a “no texting” policy? Public altercations with students that erode the climate for learning in the classroom? But texting itself erodes the learning atmosphere of classroom, doesn’t it? What about taking the “if-you-can’t-beat-them-join-them” approach? Does texting show a lack of respect? Perhaps, but are students doing it because they want to disrespect the teacher? High-res

Tough Questions on Texting in the Classroom

image via flickr:CC | Stitch

  • Does it make sense to ban texting if students ignore the ban and teachers back away from enforcing it? Can a ban be enforced? How about in a large course, can it be enforced then? Should it be enforced?  What are the costs of enforcing a “no texting” policy? Public altercations with students that erode the climate for learning in the classroom? But texting itself erodes the learning atmosphere of classroom, doesn’t it?
  • What about taking the “if-you-can’t-beat-them-join-them” approach?
  • Does texting show a lack of respect? Perhaps, but are students doing it because they want to disrespect the teacher?

Exploring the Impact of Institutional Policies on Teaching

  1. Is the strength of an institution’s “culture of teaching” or policy support for teaching and learning reflected in faculty members’ pedagogical practices?
  2. Are “cultures of teaching” more prevalent at institutions with “learner centered” policies?
  3. Do the relationships between institutional policies, faculty cultures, and teaching practices differ across institutional types?

More States Consider 'Parent Trigger' Laws

The push for the “parent trigger” option for turning around struggling schools continues, with new laws under consideration in 12 states’ legislative sessions, even as such laws already on the books remain unused in all but one of the seven states that have them.

Parent-trigger laws allow a majority of parents to officially request an overhaul at their school, which often leads to conversions to charters, although not always.

Standardized testing becomes the great divide in schools policy The growing use of standardized tests to assess students and teachers is sparking a push-back nationwide in what has become one of the greatest divides in educational policy. Even as the federal government and major school districts in Chicago, New York and elsewhere continue to promote testing, counter-pressure is growing to step back from it. photo via flickr:CC | biologycorner

Standardized testing becomes the great divide in schools policy

The growing use of standardized tests to assess students and teachers is sparking a push-back nationwide in what has become one of the greatest divides in educational policy. Even as the federal government and major school districts in Chicago, New York and elsewhere continue to promote testing, counter-pressure is growing to step back from it.

photo via flickr:CC | biologycorner

Schools Set Boundaries for Use of Students’ Digital Devices “We’re caught in this perfect storm between our human comfort level with the rate of change we’d prefer, and the high-speed rate of change that is being foisted on us by evolutions in technology,” says Lewis. “And this is only going to get increasingly difficult for us as these evolutions happen more and more swiftly.” The article is largely about BYOD initiatives, and how a few schools have had issues keeping up their AUPs (Acceptable Use Policy) and problems with discipline. Overall, their 4 tips to BYOD policy are good: Clear rules Systematic rollout Coverage AND capacity Teach digital citizenship photo via flickr:CC | UBC Library

Schools Set Boundaries for Use of Students’ Digital Devices

“We’re caught in this perfect storm between our human comfort level with the rate of change we’d prefer, and the high-speed rate of change that is being foisted on us by evolutions in technology,” says Lewis. “And this is only going to get increasingly difficult for us as these evolutions happen more and more swiftly.”

The article is largely about BYOD initiatives, and how a few schools have had issues keeping up their AUPs (Acceptable Use Policy) and problems with discipline. Overall, their 4 tips to BYOD policy are good:

  1. Clear rules
  2. Systematic rollout
  3. Coverage AND capacity
  4. Teach digital citizenship

photo via flickr:CC | UBC Library

Oregon Bill Would Require College Credit in High School

The Oregon Legislature is looking at making college students out of every Oregon high-school student.

A bipartisan group of legislators has introduced a bill that would require college coursework as a condition of graduating from high school. The move would increase the number of students going to college, make their degrees more affordable and encourage students not considering college to continue in higher education…

Many proponents of private school choice take for granted that schools won’t participate if government asks too much of them, especially if it demands that they be publicly accountable for student achievement. Were such school refusals to be widespread, the programs themselves could not serve many kids. But is this assumption justified? Spoiler: Only 25% of schools said that testing requirements were very/extremely important to choosing if they would participate. Here’s what they found: Regulations that restrict student admissions and schools’ religious practices are more likely to deter school participation than are requirements pertaining to academic standards, testing, and public disclosure of achievement results; Curriculum and testing requirements ranked among the least important considerations for school leaders, with just 25 percent citing state assessment rules as very important in their decision to participate or not; Only 3 percent of non-participating schools cited governmental regulations as the most important reason to opt out; The reasons most cited by school principals for participating in voucher programs were expanding their mission in the community (87 percent), helping voucher-eligible families already enrolled in their schools (75 percent), and aiding needy children in the community (72 percent); About one-third of non-participating private schools cited a lack of eligible families in their vicinity as key to their decision to shun the program; and Catholic schools are most likely to participate in choice programs, regardless of the regulatory environment.

Many proponents of private school choice take for granted that schools won’t participate if government asks too much of them, especially if it demands that they be publicly accountable for student achievement. Were such school refusals to be widespread, the programs themselves could not serve many kids. But is this assumption justified?

Spoiler: Only 25% of schools said that testing requirements were very/extremely important to choosing if they would participate. Here’s what they found:

  • Regulations that restrict student admissions and schools’ religious practices are more likely to deter school participation than are requirements pertaining to academic standards, testing, and public disclosure of achievement results;
  • Curriculum and testing requirements ranked among the least important considerations for school leaders, with just 25 percent citing state assessment rules as very important in their decision to participate or not;
  • Only 3 percent of non-participating schools cited governmental regulations as the most important reason to opt out;
  • The reasons most cited by school principals for participating in voucher programs were expanding their mission in the community (87 percent), helping voucher-eligible families already enrolled in their schools (75 percent), and aiding needy children in the community (72 percent);
  • About one-third of non-participating private schools cited a lack of eligible families in their vicinity as key to their decision to shun the program; and
  • Catholic schools are most likely to participate in choice programs, regardless of the regulatory environment.
Combating the ‘Culture of Can’t’ We often hear from principals about all the things they’d like to do but that are impossible due to circumstances beyond their control. Perhaps the most commonly cited sources of frustration are, first, teachers’ contracts and, second, state and federal policies that tie the principals’ hands when it comes to teacher assignment, compensation, hiring, professional development, instructional time, and much else. Yet a closer look raises some questions about these common complaints…

Combating the ‘Culture of Can’t’

We often hear from principals about all the things they’d like to do but that are impossible due to circumstances beyond their control. Perhaps the most commonly cited sources of frustration are, first, teachers’ contracts and, second, state and federal policies that tie the principals’ hands when it comes to teacher assignment, compensation, hiring, professional development, instructional time, and much else.

Yet a closer look raises some questions about these common complaints…

‘Bill of Rights’ Seeks to Protect Students’ Interests as Online Learning Rapidly Expands 12 educators, many of them well known in online-education circles, did manage to draft a document that they hope will serve as a philosophical framework for protecting the interests of students as online education, propelled and complicated by the rise of MOOCs, hurtles into a new phase. Called “A Bill of Rights and Principles for Learning in the Digital Age,” the document proposes a set of “inalienable rights” that the authors say students and their advocates should demand from institutions and companies that offer online courses and technology tools. Those rights should include access and privacy, along with access to information about the financial models of institutions and companies offering online courses, write the authors. High-res

‘Bill of Rights’ Seeks to Protect Students’ Interests as Online Learning Rapidly Expands

12 educators, many of them well known in online-education circles, did manage to draft a document that they hope will serve as a philosophical framework for protecting the interests of students as online education, propelled and complicated by the rise of MOOCs, hurtles into a new phase.

Called “A Bill of Rights and Principles for Learning in the Digital Age,” the document proposes a set of “inalienable rights” that the authors say students and their advocates should demand from institutions and companies that offer online courses and technology tools.

Those rights should include access and privacy, along with access to information about the financial models of institutions and companies offering online courses, write the authors.