Mi s si o n

Education Is Changing...

The old mission [for education] was about providing access for all to basic education and access for a relatively small elite to university education. The new mission.is to get all students to meet high standards of

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education and to provide them with a lifelong education that does not have the builtAnd the goal is not just about literacy and in obsolescence of so much old-style curricunumeracy scores. It is about learning to learn, lum but that equips them to be lifelong about becoming independent thinkers and learners. learners. It is about problem solving, teamBreakthrough, M. Fullan, P Hill, & C. Crevola, (pg. 1) Pr of e ssi on a l f or Te a c he r s Stu d i e s work, knowledge of the world, adaptability, and comfort in a global system of technologies, P r o fe s sio n al St ud ie s fo r T each er s conflict, and complexity. It is about the joy of learning and the pleasure and productivity of using ones learning in all facets of work and life pursuits. Breakthrough, M. Fullan, P Hill, & C. Crevola, (pg. 3)
P r o f e s s i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t

Cha n gi n g

Our job is to distort the bell curve

The New Mission for Education

The Old Mission
In the past, higher education was restricted to a select few. There were lots of jobs for less educated workers and skills such as literacy and numeracy were not essential to participate successfully in society. Elementary schools and high schools were used to sift and sort students into categories such as those destined for university, those for college, and those going straight into the work force. This was the old mission for education. Under the old mission, a graph of the final grades for any teacher, for any course, for any grade could be expected to resemble a bell curve:

Distorting the Bell Curve

In the new mission for education, the bell curve no longer represents the results at the end of a course. Through teacher interventions, either in small groups or with individuals, the curve is being skewed. More students are succeeding, creating a new curve.

The new mission for education represents the change that has taken place in society. Numeracy and literacy are essential skills to participate in our technology rich society. Educations purpose is no longer to sift and sort students, but rather to raise the skills of all students to a high level. Teachers are now coaches and facilitators working alongside students to find solutions to address each students individual learning needs.

Gone is the old way of doing things

Gone are the days when a teacher taught, assigned, and assessed. Now a teacher uses gradual release instruction: the teacher models the new learning, then shares the learning with the students by working together, followed by guided group work with the peer support in trying the new learning, and concluding with an opportunity to independently demonstrate the new learning. Gone are the days when teachers only assessed to determine success. Now teachers assess diagnostically to determine the starting point for each student and the next steps for instruction. Now teachers collect assessment information through the formative stage to determine appropriate small group instructional strategies and one-on-one interventions. Gone is the whole class approach to teaching, hoping that some students got it and the rest would try to keep up. Teachers now use assessment feedback to determine opportunities for differentiated instruction and personalization of demonstrations of understanding. Students now engage in their learning and take ownership over their own inquiries and projects.

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100%

The new the curve starts at 50% because students are being pushed to succeed. Work is not being accepted nor assessed until the students are ready to complete a successful demonstration of learning. This new curve represents high standards being met. Standards are not lowering, the criteria for success are still the same, but this curve represents that students are working harder than ever before because sub-standard work is not being accepted.

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The bell curve shows that some students did poorly, lots of students were average, and a few students did extremely well. An end result such as this showed that the teachers approach was just right not too hard and not too easy.

Classroom instruction should be organized so that teaching follows the student as opposed to the students following the teacher in pursuing common learning outcomes. Breakthrough, M. Fullan, P Hill, & C. Crevola, (pg. 37)

The old mission no longer applies in our society.