Kim's Learning(e) Weblog

Tue, 20 May 2003 14:23:22 GMT

Students explore building trades by Mary Fricker (link to Press Democrat no longer available) This article gives some interesting facts about Sonoma County's construction industry. The article mentions that the industry is trying to interest Sonoma County youth in the field because many baby boomers will soon retire and there will be many employment opportunities. North Coast Builders Exchange hosted over 400 students at this year's career expo in the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building where the students talk with trade professionals from electricians and carpenters to landscapers. Entry-level positions pay $10 - $20 an hour. I would add to these observations that the construction industry is a fertile area for small business development, for those of our youth who are more ambitious. Business owners can earn substantially more if they learn the trades and simultaneously develop good basic business skills such as documentation, leadership, basic accounting and budgeting, systemic thinking and problem-solving skills, good verbal and written communication skills, and good inter-personal skills and relationship building skills. I recommend that any students planning to work in the construction fields should look for education programs through the Small Business Administration and Gallup that can prepare them for the logical next step of being a manager in a small construction industry company or becoming self-employed and building their own small business. If you are interested in knowing more about how to begin thinking about building your own small business, you might want to check out Chapter One of the E-Myth Revisited, which is the best book about small business development. I wrote an article about Market Research for the E-Myth Newsletter called Don't Forget to Ask. In the article, there are a number of links to other extremely useful resources on the topic of small business development.

Tue, 20 May 2003 02:07:19 GMT

Teachers, Parents Protest Untested Math Curriculum by Patricia Ford Loeb "For instance, several teachers pointed out that third-graders are taught area and perimeter before multiplication, and are taught mean, median and mode before division--a sequence that not only seems illogical but, they say, can hinder students' development of number sense. The curriculum also introduces ambitious vocabulary at an age when many students are still learning to read. For example, vertex and its plural, vertices, are taught in second grade. "What they want to do is admirable and exciting," said one third-grade teacher. "But they're not looking at the cognitive level of an 8-year-old." Teachers in the upper grades, meanwhile, complained that they are required to move so quickly to get through all the curriculum objectives, there's no time to help students who start out the year below grade level. "We have kids that cannot add whole numbers, and I'm teaching them two-step algebraic equations," said one middle-school teacher. "I'm supposed to somehow have time to teach what they missed and all the new stuff." Unfortunately, the article doesn't give more specifics about the developer of the curriculum or whether it will be adopted in other states or districts outside of the Washington DC area. It does say that it is based on research and on curricula like Singapore Math. The article also mentioned that the old math program had been in use for 27 years and is being replaced due to a new statewide mandated test that will be required for graduation from high school during 2007. I would like to investigate more about Singapore Math and some of the other math programs that are being implemented in reaction to state mandated testing initiatives, here, in California. I would like to new math programs that provide flexible. Individuals come to an understanding of math concepts in very different ways and from different paths. I was happy to see that this particular program was advocating "differentiating" techniques, breaking the class into small groups and working more closely with them. I struggled a lot with upper level math because it was taught in a large class, lecture style, with little or no interaction.

Sun, 18 May 2003 16:55:27 GMT

Amid different symptoms, ADD often overlooked in girls by Mary Beth Faller "What to look for--Symptoms of girls with AD/HD often differ from those of boys. Here are some underlying issues in school-age girls with the disorder:

School phobia or avoidance

Low self-esteem

High IQ and creativity, but low academic performance

Poor organizational skills, messiness

Sleep problems

Shyness

Poor social skills

Disheveled appearance, grooming problems

Withdrawal in the classroom"

"When [girls] get to seventh and eighth grade, things get much worse for them, with the requirements of attention, focus, and homework and changing from class to class. Their grades may plunge," [Simon Epstein] says." The article goes on to explain that treatment includes counseling for the family and the child, special skills training in peer relationships, dealing with frustrations, and organizational skills. Medication can be provided, if necessary, but a girl's hormonal cycle negatively impacts the effectiveness of medication. Knowing about the training in organization, relationships, and frustration, is very useful. It supports my view that we need to be providing this type of training to all of our youth. The fact that it is prescribed for AD/HD reinforces my resolve to build learning scenarios that support developing these skills for all students. I am reminded of the Five Essential Skills of Leadership as described by Michael Gerber in The Power Point. The five Essential Skills are concentration, discrimination, organization, innovation, and communication. If you can develop these skills in any student, you can probably help them overcome just about any obstacle including AD/HD.

Sat, 17 May 2003 21:20:20 GMT

Study: D.A. R. E. Plus, parents make difference On February 10, 2003, an interesting study was published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine about the D.A.R.E Program and it's effectiveness with 7th grade students in 24 schools during 1999 and 2000. One of the three groups in the study used the traditional D.A.R.E program's 10 session direct instruction curriculum taught by a police officer. One group utilized a new D.A.R.E Plus program that included a four-session classroom-based, peer-led program that included parental involvement and was lead by specially trained teachers. The third group had no drug prevention program. The study concludes that there was no significant difference between the traditional D.A.R.E. students and those who had no drug prevention program. However, among boys in particular, the D.A.R.E Plus program resulted in less experimentation with alcohol and drugs during the year of the program. The study followed up with the students again during the following year with the same results. The Reuters article concludes that the parental involvement made the difference. I firmly believe that parental involvement is a strong predictor of success in the behavior and performance of students. However, in reading about the changes in the program's approach to teaching the students, I noticed a marked shift from more "behaviorist" approaches to more "constructivist" approaches. I think that it is likely that the new educational approach had an impact on the improvement of the program's effectiveness. I would be interested in developing a study that would confirm or deny this observation.

Mon, 17 Mar 2003 06:07:39 GMT

Here's an idea for keeping young teachers. by Peter Delevett (Mercury News) Here's another contribution from the world of business on how to address our current education budget crisis: Delevett writes, "What if, for instance, every teacher agreed to a 10 percent pay cut--provided districts used those savings to preserve teaching jobs? We've seen people in other fields come together during our ongoing economic slump." Delevett goes on to suggest later in his article, "Say a veteran teacher is a year or two away from retirement. But he or she is loath to retire right away, given the gap between what they're currently earning and what they'd get under their pension plan. Under a golden handshake, the school district retains that teacher as a "consultant," letting him or her work a few weeks a year in exchange for, say, $10,000 to make up the salary gap. . . instead of having to spend $70,000 to keep that teacher in the classroom full time, the district can pay half as much for a younger teacher -- who, after all, might also be more energetic and effective than somebody en route to retirement." I'll admit that the thought of a 10% cut for all teachers, who probably don't make enough money to begin with, was a bit hard to read. However, the parent inside of me wants to hang on to the class-size reduction plans, at almost any cost. Obviously, each district has its own unique situation to deal with, but my agenda is to put as many ideas on the table and brainstorm about any new ideas that might be inspired by any one of these possibilities.

Mon, 10 Mar 2003 13:52:58 GMT

Savvy School or Capitalist Tool? By Kendra Mayfield Mayfield writes, "The names of U.S. corporations are routinely splashed across the front of professional sports stadiums, from the Arco Arena to Enron Field to 3Com Park. Soon, a California school district could enjoy a similar fate." Mayfield explains, "Officials in California's Belmont-Redwood Shores district are weighing a proposal to offer corporate and philanthropic sponsorships of the district's six elementary and middle schools to lessen the blow of statewide budget cuts. The proposal could bring as much as $1 million to the district, which stands to lose $4 million, or 20 percent, of its $20 million annual budget under Gov. Gray Davis' proposed spending plan." Now, I'm not suggesting that selling school naming rights to the highest bidder is the best way to raise the funds needed for education. I cringe at some of the possibilities (McDonald's High School, Taco Bell Middle School, Coca-Cola Cafeteria), but I think we can learn some lessons from the concept. Perhaps there is a method of implementing sponsorship of educational programs with greater success for all parties involved. What if Dell and HP sponsored math programs? What if Apple, Sony, and TimeWarner sponsored the literary, art, and music programs? What if Medtronic, Boeing, and Merck sponsored the science programs? How do we get corporations, who are clearing struggling with their own problems, to provide more support for the schools? What do corporations need from the schools or the students that is an acceptable trade for the parties involved in the partnership? How do school leaders connect up with the executives who have the power to implement these programs within their company and their community? Should schools partner with corporations in order to get the funding needed to get through the current budget situation? As a result will the state decide that funding schools is not necessary because the money is coming from private sources? Ideas and comments welcome!

Sun, 09 Mar 2003 08:14:15 GMT

Vision + Inspiration + Progress = Life This article about how to provide leadership in our communities was written for the E-Myth Worldwide monthly newsletter. I am integrating some themes that I am seeing repeatedly in work, in school, and in current events. This month's issue covers leadership and business development. If you are interested in these topics, there are some very good article links throughout the articles page on this web site. Some of my friends will recognize references in the article, to Neil Postman's book, Building a Bridge to the 18th Century.

Sun, 09 Mar 2003 07:26:37 GMT

Janurary 15, 2003 Knowledge Management and E-Learning SIG of SofTECH I'd like to give credit to Lance Dublin for half of the inspiration behind the "handle" for this Learning(e) webLog. I heard Lance Dublin speak at a SofTECH E-Learning SIG presentation on January 15, 2003. This SIG meets about once per month at Fair, Isaac in San Rafael and I recommend it, highly. Lance noted in his presentation that the emphasis on the E in E-Learning would eventually shift back to an emphasis on Learning where electronic methods are a means to the more important end of Learning. He said that E-Learning would be thought of as Learning e (where the "e" is superscript to the word "Learning." The following is the complete text of my report about this very entertaining presentation by Lance Dublin. The meeting summary that is at the link above will be replaced during the next 30 days, and I think the information is potentially of continued interest to those who read this webLog. For that reason, I am providing it herewith. ========= 1/15/2003 Lance Dublin Implementing e-Learning: Ensuring You Get the Most Lance, for many years, considered himself a trainer, but was told to drop, "Trainer" from his business card, and so now he goes with "Strategist." What is eLearning, E-Learning, E-learning? Lance started his talk by explaining where the phrase eLearning came from. Is it E-Learning or eLearning or E-learning? Lance says that it is E-Learning. He says the name, E-Learning, in particular developed out of the VC market. Venture capital analysts were looking for a term that would cover a grouping of companies that they were interested in funding. The name grew a following in our industry as many companies wished to be associated with a product group that was of interest to the VC community. Lance's definition of E-Learning? Anything technology-oriented that supports learning. Lance admits that the term, E-Learning, may disappear soon in the constant flow of trendy labels. He suggests that we will return to calling these products, Learning Products. The Book Lance's book, Implementing E-Learning was published by the American Society of Training because they were able to get it onto the market rapidly, an important quality in a technology publisher dealing with quickly-evolving topics. The timing of the book was important to Lance because skepticism is high, right now, in the marketplace, and results are mandatory. He focuses on helping organizations come up with strategies for implementing E-Learning. Regardless of what is bought or built, the goal is make a system that is successful and efficient. How do you prepare the "organization" for not just installation, but also for total integration and pervasive use of the new technology? Look to the discipline of change management for direction. Lance suggests that the success zone exists at the overlap of Change Management and Consumer Marketing. You might be asking yourself, "What does marketing have to do with E-Learning?" Lance points out that creating a brand is about establishing a position in an environment. Implementing E-Learning requires strategy about how to create a position in your pool of users that need to become users of the new E-Learning system. OK, so how does Change Management apply to what we are doing with E-Learning? Lance reminds us that change is a very emotional proposition for many users who are required to adopt the new system. Change management shares this emotional quality with marketing. Lance states that the change formula is 30% logic and 70% emotion. Lance describes several routes to successful adoption of new E-Learning systems within large organizations. Strategic communication with and from senior management is critical as well as with the middle management. Front line management needs to know that Sr. Management is strongly supporting the goals of the new E-Learning initiatives. Otherwise, front line managers tell the technicians that they can't take the time for the E-Learning programs because they need to be getting the "work" done. Lance referenced The Tipping Point and confirmed that adoption of E-Learning systems, like so many other technologies, requires influencing the early adopters and reaching adoption by that magical 5% of the population that has influence over the rest of the community. In addition, systems for two-way communication between the managers, users, and the planners of E-Learning are critical. 3 Phases of Technology Adoption and E-Learning - Innovation, Effective Use, Transformation When a new technology is first developed, it can progress through some unusual and even impractical applications as it goes through the three phases of adoption. For example, gaslights were installed on the walls. When electric lights were first utilized they were also installed on the walls where the gaslights had be installed. Eventually, electric lights evolved to the more logical location in wide-spread use today--suspended from the ceilings. Imagine for a moment if payroll automation has only reached the second phase of adoption. First, we use the payroll systems to write and print checks. In the second phase, we are all receiving our checks via direct deposit, but with no interest for the period of time that the employer has a float on our earned income. What might the transformation phase look like for payroll automation? Perhaps, we will be paid by the minute for our work as we complete it, and our bills will be paid automatically in the moment in a steady flowing stream of transactions. Lance also called us to imagine how revolutionary books were to the process of learning. Along came TV and radio, and they were the first form of distance learning especially in 3rd world countries. E-Learning will be a powerful force in the next evolution of learning. Of that, we can be sure, but perhaps we are not seeing it from the right perspective. What will E-Learning look like as it reaches the transformative phase? Lance points out that the #1 E-Learning application is Google. He also states that contrary to some opinions, "[Learning program] drop out rates are a good sign." It means people are potentially finding what they want and then putting the information to work, immediately. They don't need anything else. Lance suggests that perhaps we should reconsider calculating a dropout as an unsuccessful user and/or user experience. In fact, it might be a very successful E-Learner. The take away is that speed is a critical component to successful E-Learning design, and courses should be short. Transformation for E-Learning will occur when E-Learning is integrated seamlessly, and in a customizable fashion, into the work, job, and computer of each technician or manager. Think of E-Learning as an integrated service the way we think of Google when we are ready to go somewhere on the web. In a corporate environment, you want learning to be transparent because this is how it most effective. Like the unconscious competence of driving a car somewhere and then thinking, "I don't remember driving here." The user wants learning to be unconscious. E-Learning = Learning e Someone from the audience asked, "Is looking something up with Google, for example, E-Learning?" Lance replied, "When Einstein was asked, 'why didn't he know his phone number.' Einstein said, "why would I waste my time memorizing a phone number." Then Lance noted, "Studies have shown that the amount of information that we need to learn is actually shrinking." Presumably, this is because of the advances that are being made in software services, archiving, Knowledge Management, and E-Learning. However, adoption of our innovations might actually be aided by dropping the labels that we have been giving our technologies. E-Learning should probably we thought of as Learning e. E-Learning and Knowledge Management SIG Report by Kim Walls