Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

When preparing to solve problems, it is important to identify who will be satisfied by the solution and who will find it abhorrent and who will be ignored by it.

Problem framing is as important than problem solving.

The average learner does not exist, so plans to meet their needs end up meeting the needs of none.

In engineering, solutions are designed and tested before they are put into production. In education, the solution is never really tested until it is used in the classroom.

In education, "solutions" often satisfy only a small part of the population.

In education, the solution is often defined by the tools we have available. The degree to who the problem will be solved it irrelevant.

In education, we often don't know the cause of the problem, or we ascribe it to a different cause than the actual one.

What is worth measuring?

“The man of science who cannot formulate a hypothesis is only an accountant of phenomena.” Yeah… pretty much.

You know how everything looks like a nail when you have a hammer? Same thing applies to tests in schools.

Here is your regular reminder that your data don’t matter; your interpretations, on the other hand, do.

Standardized techniques are essential in natural science.

Innovation implies things are done differently, not just more efficiently.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

Those complaints folks have... take them seriously.

Schools are perpetually beginning new practices, and none is ever allowed to have deep influences on pedagogy and student experiences.

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. - Carl Sagan

The politically powerful who want to affect school appear to be those who are the least aware of the nature of human learning.

“When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown.” - Stephen Jay Gould

“the signs were clear that NCLB was just another educational reform initiative rich in rhetoric, but fundamentally bankrupt.” It sure seems NCLB can be replaced by most any "educational reform."