socialmedian: Tom Vander Ark: How social networking with transform learning

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Tom Vander Ark: How social networking with transform learning

Source: Huffington Post

Nov 07, 2009

Summary

There are plenty of theories about how to improve education. Most focus on what appear to be big levers--a point of entry and system intervention that appears to provide some improvement leverage. These theories usually involve 'if-then' statements: 'if we improve this, then other good stuff will happen.' Leading theories focus on people, schools, policy and community. Nonprofit ecosystems develop around theories, they ebb and flow with foundation interest. Although seldom discussed, leading levers differ substantially in terms of risk and return.

People. Teach for America was an early leader in what is now commonly referred to as the Human Capital agenda in education. With increased federal and foundation attention, alternative certification programs have achieved some scale but still train a fraction of all teachers and leaders.

• Problem addressed: weak talent distribution

• Key assumption: teacher effectiveness is the key variable; more good teachers will improve student achievement

• Risk: low risk especially with proven recruiting and training pr

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