CarnegieViews

Thomas Carey has been a faculty member, innovation leader and senior executive in Canadian universities for 30 years. In the U.S., he has been a Visiting Senior Scholar at San Diego State University for six years, where he heads a program for collaborative course transformation teams in the California community colleges, funded by the Hewlett Foundation. Tom Carey visited Carnegie in February for a brown bag talk with staff. He presented on his work with the NSDL Developmental Mathematics Collection, a project where regional faculty teams are collecting exemplary practices, tools and resources intended to ‘raise the bar’ for local teaching practices and provide a network infrastructure to sustain a national collection.

William Ayers is an educator, writer and social justice crusader. He and Exeric Award winning cartoonist Ryan Alexander-Tanner have created a comic book version of his 1993 book, To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, now titled To Teach: the journey, in comics. store.tcpress.com/0807739855.shtml In this innovative publication, Ayers and Tanner advocate for a form of education that downplays standards testing and focuses on the student as a three-dimensional human being, supported by a curriculum that plays to the students' strengths and interests. Williams Ayers and Ryan Alexander-Tanner visited Carnegie in spring 2010 as part of the Carnegie Chats series. They offered a vision of a collaborative classroom in which critical thought and alternative sources of knowledge are advocated and the ultimate goal is good citizenship in the form of an active and thoughtful individual.

Frederick M. (Rick) Hess is a resident scholar and director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. In the recently published book, Education Unbound: The Promise and Practice of Greenfield Schooling, Hess introduces us to the concept of break-the-mold "greenfield schooling" and its potential to free-up schools to be more responsive to communities and kids. Rick Hess visited Carnegie in May as part of the Carnegie Chats series. Instead of searching for a silver bullet or the "one, best" solution to school improvement, Hess said we should instead explore a vision for schooling based on starting over with a new infrastructure that encourages talented, motivated individuals to find alternative paths to better teaching and learning.

Katherine Merseth is Senior Lecturer and Director of Teacher Education Programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In

Research Director for the Digital Media and Learning Hub and a research scientist at the UC Irvine. Mimi Ito is a cultural anthropologist who studies new media use and is developing a research area focused on interest-driven learning.

Ruth Deakin Crick is with the Graduate School of Education, the University of Bristol, UK. She has introduced the notion of the assessment of 'learning power' through seven dimensions. Crick and colleagues have implemented and tested this assessment internationally and in the U.S. in Chicago and San Diego. Learning to Learn Ruth Deakin Crick visited Carnegie in late 2009 to introduce the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI), a framework for assessing the seven dimensions of student learning: changing and learning, meaning making, critical curiosity, creativity, learning relationships, strategic awareness, and resilience.

Tom Vander Ark is head of Revolution Learning. He says that we are in a perfect storm of financial support, government awareness and the development of new tools to advance innovation in education. An Innovation Agenda for Learning In late November, at a meeting sponsored by The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation held at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, some 25 education innovators, policy makers, and developers talked about what a new era of innovation in education would look like and what it would take to jump start this kind of agenda.

Esther Wojcicki is chair of the Creative Commons Board of Directors, head of the Palo Alto High School Journalism Program, a consultant to Google, and an education blogger for the Huffington Post. She says that engaging students and empowering teachers is the key to needed innovation in American education. An Innovation Agenda for Learning In late November, at a meeting sponsored by The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation held at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, some 25 education innovators, policy makers and developers talked about what a new era of innovation in education would look like and what it would take to jump start this kind of agenda.

Carnegie’s Gay Clyburn interviewed Rob Thomas, a professor of geology at The University of Montana Western. Thomas is one of four college and university educators named as a national winner of the 2009 Carnegie/CASE U.S. Professors of the Year Awards. Rob Thomas was named the Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year. Rob Thomas’s passion is teaching geology to students in the field so they can directly experience how the Earth works. With his help, the University of Montana Western became the first public university in the country to transition from regular semester courses to block scheduling.

Carnegie’s Gay Clyburn interviewed Tracey McKenzie, a professor of sociology at Collin College in Frisco, Texas. McKenzie is one of four college and university educators named as a national winner of the 2009 Carnegie/CASE U.S. Professors of the Year Awards. Tracey McKenzie was named the Outstanding Community College Professor of the Year. Tracey McKenzie creates a learning environment in which students are both teachers and learners. Much of her teaching is through “learning communities,” which are interdisciplinary, team-taught courses designed around a theme. She engages her students in original research and encourages them to present their work to a wider audience.

Carnegie’s Gay Clyburn interviewed Richard Miller, a professor of psychology at the University of Nebraska, Kearney. Miller is one of four college and university educators named as a national winner of the 2009 Carnegie/CASE U.S. Professors of the Year Awards. Richard Miller was named the Outstanding Master’s Universities and Colleges Professor of the Year. Richard Miller helps undergraduate students critically examine and contribute to the knowledge base in psychology. Students plan and conduct all aspects of their studies and many have presented their published research.

Carnegie’s Gay Clyburn interviewed Brian Coppola, one of four college and university educators who actively engage their undergraduate students in hands-on research and extensive team work who were named national winners of the 2009 Carnegie/CASE U.S. Professors of the Year Awards. Brian Coppola was named the Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor of the Year. Brian P. Coppola is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He encourages undergraduates to explore the teaching and learning of chemistry—from writing the text of the course and constructing the lab syllabus to participating in peer instruction and teaching groups.

Carnegie Developmental Math Convening September 2009 In early fall, Carnegie invited 25 people with an interest in student success to hear about and to comment on Carnegie's current work in developmental mathematics in community colleges. Carnegie is catalyzing and supporting the growth of a networked improvement community aimed at dramatically increasing the proportion of community college students who are mathematically prepared to succeed in further academic study and/or occupational pursuits.

Carol Lincoln, Director of Achieving the Dream, discusses the challenges of students success in community colleges.

Philip "Uri" Treisman is a Carnegie Senior Partner, advising the Foundation on work in developmental mathematics. He is professor of mathematics and of public affairs at the University of Texas, where he is also the executive director of the Charles A. Dana Center. He was named "2006 Scientist of the Year" by the Harvard Foundation of Harvard University for his outstanding contributions to mathematics. In all his work he is an advocate for equity and excellence in education for all children. In this interview Treisman describes the "joyful conspiracy" of organizations like Carnegie working on a way to ensure student success in developmental mathematics.

Educators, content developers, policy makers and investors gathered to determine how they could collaborate to create engaging learning-oriented content that would teach 21st century skills. Sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mitchell Kapor Foundation . Hosted by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on June 4, 2009

Educators, content developers, policy makers and investors gathered to determine how they could collaborate to create engaging learning-oriented content that would teach 21st century skills. Sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mitchell Kapor Foundation . Hosted by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on June 4, 2009

Educators, content developers, policy makers and investors gathered to determine how they could collaborate to create engaging learning-oriented content that would teach 21st century skills. Sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mitchell Kapor Foundation . Hosted by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on June 4, 2009

Educators, content developers, policy makers and investors gathered to determine how they could collaborate to create engaging learning-oriented content that would teach 21st century skills. Sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mitchell Kapor Foundation . Hosted by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on June 4, 2009

Educators, content developers, policy makers and investors gathered to determine how they could collaborate to create engaging learning-oriented content that would teach 21st century skills. Sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Mitchell Kapor Foundation . Hosted by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on June 4, 2009

Examining students’ learning in novel classroom contexts, including gaming environments, reveals another way to think about math education.

Design and innovation are at the heart of Quest to Learn, a school committed to helping students achieve excellence in the skills and literacies needed for career and college success in the 21st century.

The Carnegie Foundation is focusing on where and how technology can add value as we seek to advance more ambitious learning goals for all students, and where we can assist educators as they move toward making these new learning goals universal. The Foundation has enlisted expert advisors to help us look at how technology is transforming how we educate. One of these advisors is Nichole Pinkard.

The vast majority of students entering California’s community colleges are under-prepared for college, testing into "basic skills" or "developmental" classes; and many will never make it to the credit-bearing courses necessary to earn a degree. In response, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation began an initiative to identify interventions and design more effective models for teaching mathematics and literacy at this level. In the course of its work with 11 campuses participating in the Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges (SPECC) initiative, Carnegie found a need for shared responsibility for developmental education. At a recent SPECC convening, Carnegie spoke with a community college president, and two others who work with basic skills education on their campuses on what it will take to transform the community college student’s experience.

The vast majority of students entering California’s community colleges are under-prepared for college, testing into "basic skills" or "developmental" classes; and many will never make it to the credit-bearing courses necessary to earn a degree. In response, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation began an initiative to identify interventions and design more effective models for teaching mathematics and literacy at this level. In the course of its work with 11 campuses participating in the Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges (SPECC) initiative, Carnegie found a need for shared responsibility for developmental education. At a recent SPECC convening, Carnegie spoke with a community college president, and two others who work with basic skills education on their campuses on what it will take to transform the community college student’s experience.

The vast majority of students entering California’s community colleges are under-prepared for college, testing into "basic skills" or "developmental" classes; and many will never make it to the credit-bearing courses necessary to earn a degree. In response, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation began an initiative to identify interventions and design more effective models for teaching mathematics and literacy at this level. In the course of its work with 11 campuses participating in the Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges (SPECC) initiative, Carnegie found a need for shared responsibility for developmental education. At a recent SPECC convening, Carnegie spoke with a community college president, and two others who work with basic skills education on their campuses on what it will take to transform the community college student’s experience.

Eric Siegel, with the New York Hall of Science, describes the perfect museum, how to engage diverse audiences, and how people have to have interaction with others to learn.

Mark Petrich, from the San Francisco Exploratorium, talks about how tinkering is the way people make sense of the world, and explains why the Exploratorium brings scientists, artists and educators together to learn how they explore the world.

John Seely Brown, the self-proclaimed "chief of confusion," asks what we can do to find a way to get kids to play with creating knowledge, and challenges us to do a better job in fostering imagination.

Artist and performer Jamie Cortez discusses the need for a reward system for tinkering in public schools as well as the need for educators and students to understand that failing is an important part of learning.

Allison Clark, with the Hip Hop Information Technology Tour, talks about using music to draw kids into digital learning and her goal of getting them to become producers of technology, not just users.