9 Questions for Reflective School Reform Leaders
In response to the November 22: Day of National Blogging for Real Education Reform, I have posed nine questions for school leaders to consider. They're organized around three themes and a concluding recommendation. Readers might also want to review my post "A Taxonomy of Reflection: Critical Thinking For Students, Teachers, and Principals"
Theme 1. Learning must engage student in rigorous thinking at higher levels of Bloom - analyzing, evaluating and creating. School leaders should ask:
1. Does our school community recognize the difference between higher and lower order thinking?
2. Are students expected to just consume information, or are they asked to create something original that demonstrates their learning?
3. Is our school a creative problem-solving organization?
Answers: We cut music and art for remedial math. (Wrong!!!)
We recognize music and art are vehicles to teach math. (That's better!)
Theme 2. Learning is relevant when the student understands how the information or skill has some application to their life, has an opportunity to figure out their own process rather than just learn “the facts," and is given opportunities to reflect on their work and their progress as learners. School leaders should ask ...
4. Do our students get high grades for simply memorizing the review sheet for the test?
5. Do our students “follow the recipe” or are they increasingly asked to take
