The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has recently offered opportunities to provide feedback on the most recent draft of Each Child=Our Future which is ODE’s proposed 2019-2024 strategic plan. I raised an eyebrow as I began reviewing the plan because it, at least on paper, is making some shifts many educators have been calling for over the last several years (see also Working Towards Debunking Educations "Big Lie"). For starters, there is a proposed shift away from a “college for all” attitude which includes a heavy focus on academic assessment accountability to more of a preparing our young people to be successful in life model with a balanced educational approach. The “four equally valued domains of learning” are composed of the more traditional domains of “Foundational Skills & Knowledge” and “Well Rounded Content” to go along with a new focus on “Reasoning” and “Social Emotional” concepts. It is these last two domains of learning that raised my eyebrow.
The new “Reasoning” domain is designed to encourage problem solving, critical thinking, innovation, and creativity among other skills which basically addresses the importance of “nurturing our young people’s roots.” Meanwhile, the “Social Emotional” domain also focuses on “root” concepts such as growth mindset, collaboration, and perseverance. The proposal points out that these two domains are not easily measured, but should be part of the “whole child” approach for educating our young people. As a matter of fact, the shift to a focus on the whole child is only part of what ODE calls their 8 Guiding Principles:
Whole Child
1. Students are the state’s hopes and dreams. Meeting the needs of the whole child,
including the development of social-emotional skills, is essential for preparing students for success in the classroom and to navigate the rapidly changing future of work. (see Schools as a Greenhouse and Change a Practice-Change a Life)
2. Equity is the state’s top education imperative. A student’s circumstances should never predetermine his or her success. (see Raising Young People as Human Beings… )
Caring Adults
3. Parents, caregivers, teachers, school leaders and support personnel are at the heart of the state’s education system. They care deeply about students and do whatever it takes to support student learning and success. (see Is Being an Educator your Job, Career, or Calling?)
Strong System
4. A student’s learning experience—from preschool through post secondary education—must be seamless and engineered for preparing each student for future success. (see What is Your One Wish for the School Year?)
5. Business, foundation and community partners are essential to helping the state reach its goals. The education system relies on community support, such as the meaningful participation of businesses, health care providers, social service organizations and others in the community. (I do believe it is important to get the schools into the community and the community into the schools, but we should be careful not to put the business community on a pedestal as schools are not a business. See also We Interrupt this Educational Blog Post…)
6. Schools are where it all happens—and a central focus of the work. Ohio’s schools often serve as hubs and resources for their communities. (This is a lot about the right culture, so please see Value of a Shared Vision)
7. There is no one-size-fits-all. Regions and communities across Ohio face unique and nuanced challenges. (see Using Standards & Collective Efficacy to Get on Common Ground).
8. Evidence, data and clarity on desired outcomes are essential to the work, particularly when it comes to school improvement. At the state level, Ohio is prioritizing the use of evidence as schools determine what strategies yield maximum results in student success. (see Confessions of a Closet Data Avoider and Hire a Math Coach to Raise Your ELA Scores )
ODE has admitted that over the years the main focus of assessment has been on the domains of “Foundational Skills & Knowledge” and “Well Rounded Content.” They also have stated on page 9 of the draft that “If Ohio values all four domains, the state must explore innovative approaches to summative assessments, while working to help school districts gauge learning in (the domains of) Reasoning and Social-Emotional Learning. The research is clear that the acquisition of social-emotional skills cannot necessarily be tested.” As a result, the state plans to provide feedback only for the domains of “Reasoning” and “Social-Emotional Learning” and therefore not have them be a “graded item on the state report card.”
Like I said, I am intrigued by ODE’s new direction and am curious to see how the feedback mechanism will look. However, there are a few areas that I think would be of value for ODE to consider adding to the strategic plan and they would be included as part of my comments on the plan.
- My first suggestion would to include a strategy which shifts the classroom to more of a student centered model. Telling is not teaching and listening is not learning, we need to do better at putting our students in situations which allow them to build on their own learning. (see Can Playing and Learning be Synonymous?, If THEY Build it Learning Will Come, They do not understand shallowness because they do not experience depth, Just Say I’m Disinclined to Acquiesce…, Which is Best for Kids: Questions or Answers?, Great Summer Read to Help Create Readers in High School, and Oh Good...Are They Just Reading? to name a few.)
- The second area I would suggest ODE add is to build on the importance of professional development and continuous learning for ALL of us. (see The Red Queen Effect, Instruction Leader = Questioner not Expert , Change a Practice, Change a Life, Supporting Collective Teacher Efficacy, and Discomfort & Depth Will Work for a Team By Any Other Name to name a few.)
These are my suggestions, I hope this helped to generate some of your own thoughts and comments that you will share with ODE concerning the direction of education for our young people.
No comments:
Post a Comment