JosieHolford 
What can you tell about a school in one visit when the kids are still on vacation? Well – quite a lot as it turns out. I had the opportunity this week to visit the Robert C. Parker School which is a wonderful progressive pre-k through 8th grade school up in the Albany area. I … Read more
The latest Program for International Assessment (Pisa) results are out and that means another round of handwringing, lamentation, self-flagellation, finger pointing and all that other good stuff. Basic summary: Shanghai tops the overall ranking with Singapore and Hong Kong coming in at second and third place. Since 2000, the OECD has benn trying to evaluate … Read more
I’ve recently discovered Haiku Deck – a new way to create slide presentations. It’s an interesting tool for finding images that are in the public domain and matched with the words you enter. You can also upload your own images. The PDS strategic plan has nine learning commitments. These are the nine beliefs about learning … Read more
“The necessary supply of heroes must be maintained at all costs.” (Siegfried Sassoon 24 February. 1917, quoting Sir Edward Carson in a speech in Dublin. I have been unable to confirm the details of that speech.) Each night at 8 pm the traffic is stopped at the Menin Gate and The Last Post is sounded. … Read more
by Charley-Chartwell. Always useful to have some Shakespearean insults on hand. From – Visually.
So easy to toot your own horn these days. The harder thing is to cut through the cacophony and have others hear the tuneful joyful noise! I’m enjoying the new Inspiration Lab from NAIS designed to allow member schools to highlight their work. We sent in our first contribution yesterday. It was a screenshot of Global … Read more
I like the work of the RSA very much and enjoy their articles, posts and animations. But their continued use of the noun “creatives” is becoming wearing. Here’s the latest: Street based business training for young creatives When I hear or read the word creative as a noun it’s often in the plural – as above … Read more
A recent Twitter chat included the following exchange with Mark Crotty, head of school at St John’s Episcopal in Dallas. Mark blogs at To Keep Things Whole and I am a frequent visitor. He used it in a post entitled: Failure of Promoting Failure that you can read at the link. He alerted me to … Read more
Yesterday PDS faculty received an email from a colleague outlining a plan for the use, care and maintenance of one of our new makerspaces. She is one of two teachers who have a created a whole scheme to ensure the room works effectively and is accessible to all classes. It’s a detailed plan with well-considered … Read more
I’ve been playing with making visuals for the design thinking process. Here’s the latest.
I’m just back from a fantastic three days at the NYSAIS STEAMCamp. Twitter: #steam13 So much to think about, so much to process and so many plans to make for the new year. Thank you to NYSAIS for hosting the event and to all the leaders, facilitators and participants. And special thanks to all my … Read more
Design thinking – it’s everywhere in education. And that’s great because problems are everywhere and design thinking offers a way forward. It aligns with problem seeking, solution finding, empathy, integrative and interdisciplinary work, collaborative processes, open-ended thinking, revision and creative contribution – all that good authentic and relevant stuff. And it’s great that we seemed … Read more
