Check out photos and ideas from our recent two day design thinking challenge in collaboration with 11 Atlanta area public and private schools, Stanford’s d.School and the Howard Dobbs Foundation. Mary Cantwell’s Blog on #AK12DC
3 Major Initiatives in Middle School
1:1 Chromebook Program A Chromebook is a personal computer running Chrome OS as its operating system. The devices are designed to be used while connected to the Internet, though there are a variety of apps that can be run offline. All the data is stored in the “cloud” accessed by an internet connection. What is a Chromebook? Kentucky Country Day’s 1:1 CB Program Everything You Need to Know About Chromebooks Understanding by Design (UbD – Backwards Unit Design) UbD is a way of thinking purposefully about curricular planning and school reform. It offers a 3-stage design process, a set of helpful design tools, and design […]
What Can We Learn from Master Schedule Prototypes?
Google Doc with Schedule Prototypes Questions to Consider What are the advantages/disadvantages of each schedule? Review each one. What was your best idea? What was your biggest priority? What was your group’s biggest obstacle? What is your biggest question? What is your most drastic proposed change? What is the easiest/obvious change to make? What are the non-negotiables? What did you learn about your own assumptions and biases about teaching? Education? Mount Vernon’s mission?
Research & Development in Education?
We have R & D teams at our school. In my experience, this is largely unheard of in the field of education. Though innovation happens inside individual classrooms, having official teams and time dedicated to research and development around teaching & learning is rare. For three years, I have co-led the Social Science R & D team for Preschool through Grade 12. We have realigned learning outcomes vertically, to our school’s mission and mindsets, and we have run them through the filter of a book called “Being Global” by Cabrera and Unruh. Article/Blog: Where is R & D in Education? […]
Navigating Middle School Waters: Partnering with Parents
Every day (no exaggeration), I am informed about a posting, screenshot, or conversation happening online or outside of school involving students. They are usually either mean-spirited or pertain to content inappropriate for kids. I do not seek these out. They always find their way to me. They sadden me. I try to find new ways to help students, parents, and teachers steer clear from them. Our school has several proactive elements that I believe help to address these behaviors and hopefully provide a positive model for students to follow. A few of these include… Parent University External experts host seminars […]
#17 Private versus Public Schooling
I don’t want this post to be controversial. I was raised in public schools and taught in public schools from 1999 -2010. I taught in several great public schools with great teachers and administrators, with many of whom I am still connected. This will be my fourth year in independent schooling. Here are a few comparisons I’ve noticed … 1. Smaller class sizes – @MVPSchool the student teacher ratio is approximately 18:1. At CHS, I taught AP classes with 29, but also with 18. It is possible to have smaller classes in public schools with Gifted and AP teachers, but […]
#14 What Are Your Strengths?
What stands out when you look at this report card…? Math A+ Science A Composition A- Literature A History F Music A+ If you noticed five “As” then congratulations! Your default is to look for strengths. Why is it that we are drawn to the “F” despite all of the positive? It raises a larger question – is it better to focus on shoring up our weaknesses or exploiting […]
Why ePortfolios? Workspace & Showcase
If you try to follow #eportfolios on twitter, you may be disappointed. When you search and view samples of ePortfolios on the internet, you will find several schools with templates and beginnings. You won’t find many quality ones in the grade levels proceeding college. At least I haven’t yet. Many of them appear more like resumes than an instrument that not only documents learning but accelerates it, too. This summer, our team is designing an ePortfolio for students spanning Preschool through Grade 12. The team consists of representatives from Preschool, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School working together to […]