Saskatchewan Reform, Superman and the Media

Sep 30

The education world is a buzz with the release of the new movie "Waiting for Superman". The media has embraced the movie and is joining the charge to make schools better. While everyone is in agreement that our system is broken, not everyone is siding with the methods and approach and even the pedagogy described in the movie. Here are three takes you should...

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HDR WOW!

Sep 27

It's been quite a while since I've been blown away but technology. You'd have to look way into the archives to find me blogging about a gadget, software or a web tool. But I'm breaking that streak today. On Saturday I picked up the iphone 4 which if you live in Canada you realize that's quite an accomplishment in and of itself. But the phone...

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Curriculum Renewal: There has to be a better way

Sep 21

Curriculum Renewal: There has to be a better way

Saskatchewan is smack dab in the middle of curriculum renewal. The shift is to outcome based education.   It is a student-centered learning philosophy that focuses on empirically measuring student performance, which are called outcomes. OBE contrasts with traditional education, which primarily focuses on the resources that are...

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Writing: Are we Teaching it Wrong?

Sep 07

Writing: Are we Teaching it Wrong?

For this school year, I've been asked to support teachers in the writing portion of the English Language Arts Curriculum. I'm not a writing teacher by speciality but I'm a writer and a teacher so that's start.  As I scan the list of concepts and issues I've been asked to support, I continue to wonder about the relevance of these ideas for...

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