胡適 《名教》 (1928)

You’re Invited to Learn About the Use of Improvement Science and Networked Improvement Communities in Education

For the past five years, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has been pioneering a fundamentally new vision for the research and development enterprise in education. We seek to join together the discipline of improvement science with the capabilities of networks specifically designed to foster innovation and social learning. This approach is embodied in what Carnegie refers to as Networked Improvement Communities (NIC). These NICs are scientific learning communities distinguished by four essential characteristics:

• focused on a well specified common aim,
• guided by a deep understanding of the problem and the system that produces it,
• disciplined by the rigor of improvement research, and
• networked together to accelerate the development and testing of possible improvements, their more rapid diffusion, and effective integration into the highly varied contexts that is education in America.

While there remains much more to be learned about networked improvement communities in education, evidence is beginning to accumulate regarding their benefits for development, implementation, and improvement. Carnegie’s experience to date with NICs has not only demonstrated this to be true, it has also provided evidence of significant impact on longstanding and seemingly intractable problems (most notably, for example, the problem of inordinately high failure rates of community college students in developmental mathematics).

Explorers’ Workshop
The Explorers’ Workshop offers a first engagement with the ideas of improvement science pursued in the context of NICs. Lasting two days, it includes a “boot camp” introduction to improvement science, including problem definition and specification, systems analysis, measurement and analytics, change theory, and improvement research as well as the principles behind the organization, initiation, and support of NICs. It s intended for those interested in but not deeply knowledgeable about this work.

Who should attend?
The Workshop is intended for those interested in but not yet deeply engaged in this work.

Details
The next Workshop will be at the Carnegie Foundation in Stanford, California, March 7 – 8, 2013. The cost for the workshop is $1500, with some meals and a reception included.

Workshop Registration
Registration will begin mid-January, but to “pre-register” or for more information, email Gay Clyburn at clyburn@carnegiefoundation.org.

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The Futures of School Reform


ABOUT K-12
ADVICE, CAUTION FROM EARLY ADOPTERS OF NEW TEACHER EVALUATIONS
Two-thirds of states are in the process of adopting new evaluations, and many will include student achievement, along with intensive classroom observations. It's unclear whether the new evaluations will have the desired effect. But early adopters say they have at least begun to pinpoint what hasn't worked, and what teachers and principals find most useful. The article is in the Hechinger Report.
ABOUT HIGHER ED
THE EDUCATION REVOLUTION OPENS UP THE PATH LESS TAKEN
Jeff Selingo writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education: Last spring, Ithaca S+R, the research service of the nonprofit group Ithaka, which promotes the use of technology in education, released the results of a study that found students learned just as much in the hybrid format of a statistics course at six public universities as they would have in a traditional version of the course. In releasing the study’s findings, William G. Bowen, a former president of Princeton University and an architect of the research, said “the most important single result” was that “it calls into question the position of the skeptic who says, ‘I don’t want to try this because it will hurt my students.’”
THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF POSTSECONDARY DEGREES
President Obama, philanthropic and policy organizations, and states have set bold goals essentially to double the number of postsecondary degrees and certificates produced in the next 8 to 13 years. Behind this commitment to increased attainment is a value proposition for policymakers and the general public that achieving these goals will lead to social and economic benefits for individuals, states, and the nation. While the relationship between education and income is strong, incomes vary significantly among the types of degrees by level and discipline and within each state. It is beneficial for policymakers to understand market conditions as they make investments in higher education. Under the State Policy Resource Center (SPRC), SHEEO releases the Economic Benefit of Postsecondary Degrees: A State and National Level Analysis. This information is from the SHEEO website.
AUTHORS HELP STANFORD PRESS PUBLISH YOUNG SCHOLARS
Stanford University Press has started inviting authors to donate some or all of their royalties to a new fund with the goal of publishing more books by younger scholars. Alan Harvey, director of the press, said a few thousand dollars has been raised so far, and that more is likely -- especially when authors of some of the most popular books join the program. The funds will be set aside so that when the press is considering its ability to publish promising work by a young scholar, there is extra money available. The article is in Inside Higher Ed.

 青史字不泯、新聞說某區公所20萬人今年約5%要求改名(改運) 、全國的幼稚園必須改成幼兒園、行政院發言稿將陳以真之名寫錯、台大的校友募款信也有”行政疏失” 、胡適 《名教》 (1928) 真妙