Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Grading on a bell curve? There are several reasons to do so, but none are grounded in learning. #eduction #highschool #highereducation #Assessment

Francis Dalton, one of the first "data scientists" was an ardent eugenicist. Some groups were genetically superior, and he found the data to prove it. Politics and bias have always been deeply embedded in the questions that motivate data, its collection, and interpretation.

Your test... it isn't as valid and reliable and objective as you think, no matter how carefully it was crafted.

Anyone who identifies as a bricoleur is someone I want to follow.

If you can do all of your lessons with one technology (this is inclusive of tools, approaches, models) you are doing it wrong.

The time your students spend figuring out what to do, what you expect, and how to “game” your grading scheme is not available for learning.

I’ve always been puzzled by teachers who complain about all the work they have to grade and record when they decided to assign it, then micro-grade it (check every answer is correct), then add it into an overly complicated grading scheme.

“What do you want to be true when you finish?” A colleague uses that question to start planning courses. It is far more effective than “What are your objectives?” if you want students to do more than answer test questions.

I actually read a “motivational” poster encouraging one to work as as you “get what you deserve.” Really?

Want to destroy education? Take curiosity out of the mix.

A project I was doing “for the money” ended abruptly a few weeks before it was expected to end... the time I’m getting back is way more valuable than the money.

“Our product makes learning easy!” No it doesn’t. It might make something easy, but it isn’t learning.

“That circus music’s gotta be hell on the ices cream man....” The van driving around my neighborhood supports this conclusion.

I used to work in a #school where the principal would say, “this is simple” to summarize situations. He was wrong every single time.

The problem with good teaching strategies is that we tend to over use them and not fade them. If students are really becoming reflective, then we need not always prompt them and always use the same scripts.

Most learning is not a “one-time event.” Some episodic learning is the obvious exception.

"If you are not going to bring any more attitude than that, let's go home," is my new favorite quote. James McMurtry attributed it to his bass player Cornbread.

“What do you want your #students to learn?” If your answer begins with “about,” as in “I want my students to learn about science,” then rethink your goals.

Domain knowledge is never sufficient to solve problems... unless you are in school.

Algorithms usually lead to excellent performance, but very little understanding.