How often has your child said, “I don’t like math!” “I just don’t get math!” I can’t learn math!”

Compared to reading, parents are more tolerant of problems in math. But math is very important in children’s lives and future careers. Many of the fastest growing occupations require math through algebra and even calculus.

Math is the most cumulative subject in school. Therefore, if your special needs child falls behind, he is particularly prone to developing “gaps” in knowledge that will haunt him in future years.

Elementary teachers do a poor job of teaching math

Math is the most poorly taught subject in school, particularly in elementary school. Research has proven that elementary teachers are uncomfortable with math—not only with teaching math, but with using mathematical principles in their own lives. In fact, many elementary teachers suffer from math anxiety themselves. Therefore, most elementary teachers are not good influences on the mathematical learning and attitudes of their students.

The combination of a teacher’s poor understanding of mathematical concepts, inadequate knowledge of teaching methods in mathematics, and limited knowledge about modifying teaching approaches to reach learners with atypical learning profiles can create dismal results for special needs children. 

Tip #1

Stress to your children the importance of mathematics in their lives and careers.

Jobs in science and technology require a strong knowledge of math, and play a vital role in the advancements that give us our standard of living. Students who understand mathematics have dramatically more career opportunities than students whose math abilities are weak.

The level of math sophistication is much greater for today’s students

Because the nature of math education has morphed dramatically since most parents went to school, often parents find themselves beginning to struggle with math concepts when their child reaches middle school.

If a special needs child has struggles with math, parents need to face the harsh truth that they may not stand in the ideal position to help their child themselves, particularly when math becomes conceptually difficult. Due to the history in the US of poor math teaching, parents may have limited knowledge of mathematics and may not appreciate the central role math plays in the lives of today’s citizens.

Tip #2

If you are finding that you do not completely understand the work your child is bringing home, you should bow out of the “direct teaching” role. Direct teaching involves explaining concepts and procedures to your child, much as a teacher or tutor would. If you don’t fully understand the math you are teaching your child, you and your child run the risk of ingraining inaccurate beliefs and inefficient habits that can take months to undo.

Math anxiety is rampant in the U.S.

Did you know that at least 66% of adults have strong negative feelings about math! This is largely due to poor teaching adults received in school. These negative feelings are easy to communicate to your child. When children feel negative about a school subject, they unconsciously engage in self-sabotaging behaviors such as tuning out in class, not doing their homework, not asking questions when they don’t understand, and not practicing the concepts and skills enough to make them automatic.

This starts a vicious cycle of failure…as the student “back away” from learning math, he or she begins to fall behind in learning, and this creates even more dislike and avoidance. Eventually, what’s called learned helplessness sets in.

This enemy robs a child of their power. This beast whispers in a child’s ear phrases such as “you’re stupid” “you’ll never learn this stuff” “who are you kidding, you don’t need this” and the ever-present “this is boring”

These self-destructive messages tear at a child’s resolve, limit what he or she can learn, and reduce future educational and career options.

Tip #3

If you have negative feelings about math, make a conscious effort to change these feelings, and encourage your children to feel positively about math. Praise your child’s efforts, especially when the going is tough.

Math has to “make sense” in order for your child to want to learn it

Students respond to a program that puts understanding and enjoyment into math. They benefit from meaningful learning experiences that overcome frustration with “math that just doesn’t make sense.” They learn concepts and computation more quickly from real life situations.

Tip #4

Show children how math is used in their lives.

At stores, have them develop mental arithmetic skills by adding up the cost of a few items, by estimating sales tax, or by figuring out the cost of one can of soda from the price of a six-pack.

Put some fun into math by playing games while riding in the car or standing in line. For “Guess My Secret Identity,” give your child clues such as, “When divided by three, I’m equal to your age,” or “If you add 22 to me, I’m the length of a football field.” Be playful and creative and have your child make up riddles for you to solve.

“Summing in all up”

Special needs kids want to succeed in life and their parents want to do everything possible to help them succeed. If you are among the majority of parents who have negative attitudes toward math, feel your math skills are inadequate, and express your feelings opening to your child, I urge you to make every effort to eliminate these tendencies from your parenting repertoire!

Even if you have, up until now, suffered from the power-robbing demon of math self-doubt, your children can learn math skills and can appreciate the wonderful role math plays in their lives. But they can’t do it without your support and encouragement!

My high school principal has just announced that our state (Maryland) is now one of 10 winners of RTTT. Our county will be getting $22 million for Professional Development, assessment and evaluation.  Fantastic!  More NGO’s, 501c3’s, and burnt out teacher-administrators will get a good chunk of change for their latest schemes to make the world safe for democracy, or is it to teach and reach all children and graduate them into the ranks of the army, the reserve army of labor (the massive unemployed) or McDonald’s? 

What this means is that teachers will be stressed out even more with testing, evaluating the tests, and workshops on how to administer and evaluate the tests.  Perhaps equipping each school in Maryland with a full bar would go a long way in improving the data.  Happy teacher. Happy student.

What’s missing?  In the funny sign at the church it says CH_ _ CH; the answer is UR.  (Not something I particularly endorse but I love word play.)

In the soon to be well-endowed schools what’s missing is the student. His and her real needs are not in the equation. Testing the student does not make him or her achieve. Evaluating and reforming the test only increases the speed of the wheel in the rat cage.

Here’s what I’d like to see happen in our schools with the additional $22 million. 1.  Hire more teachers, even if it means bringing in portable facilities.

2. Shrink class sizes with these new teachers.  One of our luckier Spanish teachers only has 47 in his class.  He got off easy.

3.  Restock the book room with new books and enough for the students to take home, not  by sharing a class set that’s short a dozen or so.

4.  Make sure all schools have a working library. I’ve taught in 3 high schools in Baltimore that didn’t even have one.  Put A People’s History of the US into the History curriculum.

5.  No more unrealistic quotas for reams of paper per quarter. No more waiting years for a simple lock to a closet and basic school supplies. Regular update of computer warranties.  You know this list is endless. 

6.  Fix the damn leaky faucet in my faculty bathroom that’s been leaking for more than the 2 1/2 years I’ve  been here and don’t say that it’s contracted to a company in Louisiana that went out of business.   

7.  Put AC in every school so when it comes time for the dreaded state assessments in May the students are not taking it in a pool of sweat. And, if the school fails the tests, don’t fire the teachers; get rid of the tests. Come up with assessments that are a combination of realism, rigor, and humanity.    

8.  Wire our schools so using computers and the internet is not based on who signed up first for the one computer room and will hog it for a whole week.

To all the youngins out there in colleges in training to be teachers. Re-evaluate your life’s goals. Do you want to be of a profession that sees you simply as a purveyor of data? Do you want to be evaluated for your ability to teach your students, reach your students, inspire your students, or to get their raw numbers higher than your colleagues, ‘cause one of you is gonna get furloughed, and your mortgage is higher than theirs?

It is a race to the top and the rats are winning.

You can’t rely on your college education to suffice for the rest of your career. If you want to stay at the peak of your earning potential, you will need to continue your education throughout your career. This can be done in a formal or informal setting. Informal education is very important. It may never show up on your resume, but it helps you stay up-to-date. Formal education has the added benefit of letting you work toward some type of recognition (degree or certificate) that employers are likely to reward. In some jobs, you can move to a higher pay-scale by adding a degree.



In this article we are going to look at some tips and methods for both formal and informal education. It is by no means exhaustive, but it may give you a few ideas about how to continue your education that you may have overlooked in the past.

You can’t rely on your college education to suffice for the rest of your career. If you want to stay at the peak of your earning potential, you will need to continue your education throughout your career. This can be done in a formal or informal setting. Informal education is very important. It may never show up on your resume, but it helps you stay up-to-date. Formal education has the added benefit of letting you work toward some type of recognition (degree or certificate) that employers are likely to reward. In some jobs, you can move to a higher pay-scale by adding a degree.



In this article we are going to look at some tips and methods for both formal and informal education. It is by no means exhaustive, but it may give you a few ideas about how to continue your education that you may have overlooked in the past.

As 2011 dawns, expect to see the rate of innovation in education increase. The weak economy that has bogged down the United States for the past two years will continue to lift the online learning innovations to new heights in both K-12 and postsecondary education.

Here are six trends and predictions to watch for in the New Year.

1. Just under 40 percent of all U.S. postsecondary students will enroll in at least one fully online course in the fall of 2011. The growth of postsecondary students taking at least one online course has continued year over year. In the fall of 2008, just under a quarter of students were taking at least one fully online course. In the fall of 2009, 29 percent of students did. Don’t expect this to slow down.

2. Public school budgets will continue to shrink, so more districts will do more business with online learning providers to fill in the gaps. Just as technology has made virtually every other sector in society more productive, the same will happen in K-12 education out of necessity. As the U.S. falls further behind other nations in educational achievement, doing less is not an option.

3. An increasing number of suburban schools will begin using online learning, too. Online learning has made its biggest impact in K-12 education to date in rural schools that cannot afford to offer breadth in their curriculum and in credit recovery and dropout recovery programs in urban districts. Two things will change this. First, suburban schools are increasingly feeling the pinch of tighter school budgets and of some students leaving for full-time virtual schools. They will therefore jump on the online learning bandwagon as well out of necessity. Second, as suburban parents begin to see children in other suburban schools accelerate ahead of their peers in other districts thanks to online learning, what was formerly a group that prevented changes in schools will begin to be a force for change. The full impact of this won’t be felt for a few more years, but the early signs of this will be increasingly visible in 2011.

4. Not to be outdone, education entrepreneurs will create high quality chartered schools that jump in the online learning game as well. They will do so by pioneering “blended-learning” schools, in which online learning is knit together with a supervised brick-and-mortar environment outside the home, so that they can scale faster—for less money and with better outcomes.

5. User-generated online content will begin to explode in education. The emergence and success of education rock stars like Sal Khan of the Khan Academy, which has attracted attention for its free online videos that teach math and science concepts and recently received a large grant from Google, will drive both the growth and awareness. The initial impetus for Khan to create videos that explained math concepts was simple: he was trying to help his cousins with their homework, so he created the videos from home and posted them to YouTube. More will follow suit. Some Fortune 500 companies are already seeing dramatic savings by turning to user-generated learning content—and they see no tradeoff in the quality of outcomes.

6. Mobile learning, the subject of increasing hype in the United States, will make its impact in the developing world first. Roughly 70 million children worldwide do not have access to primary school. Over 200 million do not attend secondary school. In the countries and regions where this is the reality, mobile learning will be a fast ticket to scaling education for people who historically have not had access to it.

This week, Innosight Institute, where I am the executive director of the education practice, released a landmark report, titled The rise of K-12 blended learning: Profiles of Emerging Models, which profiles 40 different operators leading the rise of K-12 blended learning.

Across America a skyrocketing number of K-12 students are getting their education in blended-learning environments. Over 4 million K-12 students took at least one online course in 2010, according to Ambient Insight, and this space is growing now by a five-year compound annual growth rate of 43 percent—much faster than the growth of charter schooling or other K-12 education reforms, for example. And the majority of this growth is occurring in different types of “blended learning.”

The report, by our senior research fellow, Heather Staker, provides clarity as to what this term means, defining it based on the research as “any time a student learns at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and at least in part through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace.”

We’re not talking about the end of school then by any means, nor are we talking about eliminating teachers. Parents need schools, students like to be with their friends, and teachers are crucial for learning—and the evidence is that teachers love working in online learning environments, whether they are blended or at a distance.

What we are talking about is the end of the classroom structure that was built to standardize the way students are taught and tested. The opportunity this is creating to remake and improve our education system is unprecedented. For the first time we have a way to create personalized pathways for each student that are affordable.

And as this report reveals, a lot of education leaders are working to do just that, from school districts like New York City and Albuquerque to charter organizations like KIPP and Rocketship Education, which is getting stellar results in its schools in San Jose, Calif.

One of the most interesting schools profiled is Carpe Diem, which both BusinessWeek and U.S. News & World Report have recognized as one of the top high schools in America—and for good reason, as this video about the school attests.

And we’re only scratching the surface of the personalization that is possible. There is a flowering of different models right now, as this report identifies (and should allow people to now better communicate about what they are and are not doing), as operators are trying a variety of different arrangements.

The report also identifies the technologies behind the different school models and who is using what. If anyone had any doubt that there are a lot of choices and options out there for content, for example, then look at the chart on page 161. There is unbelievable fragmentation of this market right now, with K12, Inc. and Apex Learning having the most usage among those schools profiled. Pearson dominates the Student Information System landscape with its PowerSchool product, and Blackboard dominates both the Learning Management System and Gradebook categories, although Pearson is just behind in the latter.

Lastly, the report also has some really important policy recommendations that echo the work of Digital Learning Now, but also reflect the direct voice of the leaders of these programs, as they voice what policies and regulations are holding them back from taking this revolution in learning to the next level to even better serve America’s students.

Curriculum Structure                 
Weekly Topics

I had the privilege last weekend to address the GOAL Academy’s graduation ceremony, as well as to spend several hours with many of the school’s committed and passionate staff and board members the day before to talk about the school’s plans and the direction of online learning across the nation.



The graduation ceremony was a moving one and a reminder of the power of online learning to serve those who are literally not served by the traditional school system. To give a feel for the students that this Colorado public high school serves, of the 176 students graduating, 12 were over 21 years in age, 33 were parents, and a few were serving in the military. Ninety-five of the graduates said they planned to attend a 2-year or 4-year college, and 23 had earned college credit while at the GOAL Academy.



What follows is a copy of my speech at the graduation ceremony.

Thank you so much.

To all of you who are graduating today, you may not have known this when you started at the GOAL Academy, but you stand at the beginning of a revolution in education, and it is an honor and a privilege for me to be a part of this special day in your lives, and I thank the GOAL Academy for making it possible.

Some of you came to the GOAL Academy because the traditional school didn’t give you the attention that you deserve. You may have been like Liz Ochoa, who is graduating today. She told me, “In a regular high school it’s so hard in a class full of students where everyone is raising hands and asking questions. And I was so shy because I thought my questions were stupid. I didn’t want to look stupid, so I kept my hand down.” Others of you chose to attend the GOAL Academy because you had jobs or circumstances that didn’t leave time for the traditional school day.

Or some of you may have felt like Audrey Skrivan, from whom you heard earlier and is graduating today. She told me, “Honestly, I hated the traditional school. I learn faster than most kids. I was learning [the material], and they were spending time learning things I already knew. I was getting held back.” And still others of you had dreams of what your life could be, and traditional school got in the way. For many of you, a combination of all of these things is true.

And this is what is causing this revolution in education. We’re only in the beginning stages of it today, but 10 years from now, over half—50 percent—of all high school courses will be delivered online in some form or fashion. And you will be able to say that you were one of the first. You were at the beginning of this transformation in American education.

The reason this is happening is that the education system our great nation has today is, quite simply, outdated. It was created in the early 1900s and was built to treat every student in the same way—like employees in a factory.

But the problem of course is that none of us is the same. We all have different learning needs at different times. We all have different life circumstances. And, as a result, we need an education system that can personalize for those differences, which is what led you to online learning and the GOAL Academy.

Today, the number of schools, like the GOAL Academy, that make this possible is tiny. Liz Ochoa told me that whoever created the GOAL Academy is a genius. She may be right, but without all of you, it wouldn’t have been possible. You are the resourceful ones who went out and seized this opportunity to direct and own your high school educational experience.

And you did so because there is one thing that you all do have in common. You have dreams of your own, and you know that a high school degree is important—not for its own sake—but to realize those goals.

Kyle Spillman, who is graduating today, will use his degree to go to college so he can build his own business in the automotive industry. Audrey will now be able to study public relations in college, so that she can move to New York City or Miami and pursue a modeling career.

And some of you may have no idea what you want to do, but you know that a high school degree and, for many of you, going on to some form of college, will be the ticket to that better life. And that’s normal. When I was in school, I dreamed of being an astronaut. Then I dreamed of being president of the United States; after all, I grew up in Washington, DC. Soon after I dreamed of being a musician. Incidentally, I did dream of giving a speech at a high school graduation—and, thanks to you, that dream has now come true. But I never imagined that I’d write a book and start a company dedicated to improving and transforming our country’s education system.

Which brings me back to the revolution that you are all leading. You stand today at the vanguard of the future of education. At most schools, teachers stand in front of their students and tell them that learning has no boundaries, yet there are four walls around their classroom.

Having attended an online school, you know that schools do not need walls because there are no limits to what you can accomplish. You know that school does not need a bell schedule because time is your friend, not your enemy. You know that teachers can be so much more—in the right setting, teachers like the GOAL Academy’s Mrs. Palmeri, who Liz said was instrumental to her success, can be your coaches, your cheerleaders, your mentors, and yes, your friends.

And you know that, above all else, you can achieve anything you want. Every time you look at your diploma—when you go home tonight after your celebrations with your families and friends and from here on out—remember that what you’ve learned is not that you can accomplish one thing, but that you can accomplish anything. You may not do it in the traditional or conventional way that everyone says it’s always been done, but that’s because you are an innovator. You know how to chart new paths and make things work. You’ve done it with your high school education, and you’ll do it again. You are an inspiration to me, your teachers, and your families and friends in the audience today who are so proud of you.

Please join me now and stand and give a round of applause to those in the audience today who have supported you. (applause) Thank you.

By graduating from the GOAL Academy today, you show all of us—and you show yourself—that no dream you hold and no goal for which you aim—no matter how high—is outside of your reach. After all, you graduated from GOAL.

Distinguished guests, friends, and families, please join me in saying congratulations to the members of the class of 2011!

Introduction

The ISTE Classroom Observation Tool (ICOT) is an observation tool developed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). The ISTE is a membership association for educators and education leaders. The association’s purpose is to engage in advancing excellence in learning and teaching through technology. The association is also responsible for developing the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students, teachers, and administrators. The classroom observation tool was designed to evaluate the amount of technology being used in the classroom as well as its effective use based on the NETS.

        Educators can download the ICOT application by registering free online. Once the educator is has registered and downloaded the application, classroom observations of both teachers and students can be conducted using a lap top computer off line, upload the data to a secure online account, where the data can be aggregated to generate reports.

Why use ICOT as an Observation Tool?

There are several good reasons for using an observation tool such as ICOT to evaluate the effective use of technology in the classroom. For one, Moskowitz & Martabano (2009) argue that today’s district and building level administrators are busier than ever. In addition, administrators are being asked about the use of technology or evaluated themselves based on the amount of time and quality of technology being used in their classrooms. In fact, one of the NETS for administrators, according to the ISTE website is to create, promote, and sustain a dynamic, digital-age learning culture at their school or district. Another reason to use an observation tool such as ICOT, according to the authors, is because larger amounts of school and district budgets are being earmarked for technology in the classrooms. The authors report that technology spending in education will reach $56 billion by 2012. Being able to document and retain the effective use of technology in the classroom using observation tools such as ICOT will give administrators much more confidence in requesting funds from the district or grants. A final reason for using such technology to evaluate the use of technology in the classroom is for administrators to better prepare and plan professional development for teachers in the use of technology. Collier, Weinburgh, & Rivera (2004) imply that the majority of teachers do not feel comfortable using computers in the classroom for instruction. The authors go on to say that educators must focus more attention on how to effectively use technology in the classroom.

About the Instrument

            The components of the ICOT instrument consist of setting, groups, activities, technology, NETS, and charts. There are a series of questions, calendars, timelines, or charts for each of the components. For example, the setting consists of a series of questions about the subject, grade, time of day, and number of students. The group component asks questions concerning what type of grouping (i.e. individual, pairs, small groups, whole class) as well as engagement in the activity. The activity component touches on what the students and teacher are doing during the lesson (i.e. researching, writing, test taking, simulations, etc…). The technology component is the meat of the observation tool. In this section, the observer reports on what type of technology is being used, who is using it and how they are using the technology. The NETS component reports on what teacher or student standards are being taught or used during the lesson. Finally, the chart section reports on how long technology was being used, who was using it, and for what purpose (i.e. used for learning or used for something else). The charts are arranged for the observer to report who is using the technology and for what purpose in increments of 3 minutes for the duration of the lesson.

Observation

         For the practical purposes of this article the writer used the ICOT instrument to observer a fifth grade teacher at the writer’s school. The teacher is a fifth year teacher who has taught traditional classes as well as boys’ single gender classes. The school is located in central South Carolina and has approximately 640 students. There are five fifth grade classes containing approximately 23 students per class. All of the fifth grade classes have one to one computing using wireless lap tops provided by the school. Each class also has a mounted interactive board as well as a mounted projector. Teachers are encouraged to engage students in the use of technology at least on a daily basis.  

The writer observed the teacher teaching a single gender boys’ class during a social studies lesson for 30 minutes. The teacher was having the students research and report on the Reconstruction period of United States history. There were 23 students in the classroom at the time. The environment was uncluttered and purposefully organized for movement and collaborative work. Each student had their own lap top computer provided by the school. This was the teacher’s first year having one to one computing in his classroom. Each pair of students was working on a Power Point presentation. One hundred percent of the students were focused and actively engaged in the activity. The teacher’s role was to facilitate and coach the boys as they researched and created a presentation. Students were creating, researching, collaborating during the lesson. The teacher also used an interactive board to model what he expected from the boys.

       There were a number of NET standards for teachers that the writer observed. One was the fact that the teacher was using curriculum-based presentations to engage the students. Second, the teacher created a developmentally appropriate learning activity for fifth grade boys. Third, the technology used during the lesson enhanced instruction. Fourth, the technology supported learner-centered strategies. Fifth, the teacher applied technology to develop students’ creativity. Finally, the teacher modeled legal and ethical technology practices by using the interactive board to show examples.

        After conducting the observation, the observer and the teacher were able to sit down and discuss the lesson. The observer was able to walk through the observation question by question and praise the teacher as well as offer constructive suggestions. For example, the observer suggested that since the boys were using wireless lap tops to let them sit on the floor, at their desk, or stand at the bookcase to work on their project. The observer felt that this is one of the benefits of using a wireless lap top to complete a task.

Conclusion

         ICOT is a useful tool for administrators to safely document the effective use of technology in the classroom. The tool allows educators to observe technology being used by both students and teachers based on the NETS. The data gathered is aggregated and stored for future reference. This data can be used to track effective practice, track the amount of technology use, and compare the use of technology to national standards. This information can be useful as administrators are competing for grants and other district funding for additional technology. The observation tool itself is user-friendly and is easily accessible by anyone.

It is important for educators to be able to observe a classroom for the purpose of evaluating the use of technology in the classroom specifically. Many general classroom observation tools touch on technology in the classroom, but very few if any go in to as much detail as the ICOT does. The writer suggests that the ICOT instrument be used in isolation to evaluate the effective use of technology in addition to the more general observation tools.  

In addition, district office administrators and directors of IT departments could definitely use the ICOT to evaluate instructional technology district wide. As administrators observe in classrooms and upload data to the website, district administrators can generate and view reports that can guide professional development and future purchases.

             

 References

Collier, S., Weinburgh, M. H., & Rivera, M. (2004). Infusing technology skills into a teacher education program: Change in students’ knowledge about and use of technology. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 12(3), 447-468.

Moskowitz, S. & Martabano, S. (2009). Administrators accessing the effectiveness of technology. Retrieved from http://www.schoolcio.com/default.aspx.