The Research Question

5 comments Published Tuesday, September 25, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in  


The “Research” Question

WWII Pilots:

“The flak only gets heavy when you’re over the target.”

Innovators and visionaries know that, when their vision begins to gain traction, those who have something to lose should the old paradigm change, will eventually challenge the new vision.  This is particularly true regarding education.  It is to be expected . . . still hurtful, but to be expected.

Educational visionaries who have been around for a while and who have been through a tussle or two, can quickly spot the opposition.  Typically, the signal that your vision is being challenged comes in the form of a question, a question that is made to sound protective of young students but, most frequently, is a veiled challenge that is protective of the adult and the status quo.

“Do you have any research that shows that this works?”

The question requires a response.  And actually, the question might signal an opportunity for the visionary to get his/her act together, to provide a strong rationale as to why educators, parents, and learners should be willing to trust him/her, to be clear in communicating that rationale to a variety of audiences.

The problem with most transformational visions is that there IS NO PLACE to go to see the vision in operation.  The very nature of a bold vision is that it has not been proven.  Even though the Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning vision is backed by a solid rationale and has nearly universal support, “where is the research.”

The MCL Rationale

The “research” question is based upon a false assumption, one that must be challenged quickly and upfront, i.e., "the question assumes that today's Industrial Age schools are research based."  They were not and they are not!  They were designed to be "administratively convenient," just like all other Industrial Age systems and structures. And, in all sincerity, THAT WAS RIGHT FOR THE TIME, IT WORKED! . . . in the Industrial Age.

Research.  The four statements that follow, written in laymen’s terms, have consensus validity with nearly everyone who has studied learners and learning.  We might call them research findings, opinions of experts, accepted theory, common understandings, or whatever, but educators, past and present, believe them to be solid truths regarding learning and learners:

1.  That learners learn best when they are challenged but not overwhelmed or bored, when they are met at their individual learning level . . . "do you agree with that statement?"
2.  That learners learn best and fastest when they are learning in one of their strongest learning styles . . . "do you agree with that statement?"
3.  That learners learn best when they are interested in the content that is being used to facilitate their learning . . . "do you agree with that statement?"
4.  That learners learn best when they find the content relevant to their lives and the lives of their parents . . . "do you agree with that statement?"

Well, if you agree with those four statements regarding learning and, more specifically,  "intrinsic" motivation, then MCL is very research based as it allows, encourages, and makes it possible for teachers and school systems to consistently apply all four of our most solid beliefs and understandings regarding learners and learning.

Our present bureaucratic, Industrial Age assembly line:
1.  Encourages teachers to teach all learners at one level when we know they do not learn at the same rate, at the same time,
2.  Encourages teachers to lecture and make assignments when we know that the learning styles of today's digital learners requires more interactive modes of learning,
3.  Forces the teacher to limit the content options available to learners and therefore significantly diminishes learner interest, and
4.  Leaves teachers with the challenge of teaching content, concepts, and skills that learners find irrelevant . . . like, "when will I ever use this!"

“Mass Customization” in general is highly “researched” and has proven to be highly successful.
·      Apple and iTunes used mass customization to take over the music industry.
·      Amazon used mass customization to flip the book market.
·      Wikipedia used mass customization to become the encyclopedia of choice.
·      Google and Bing used mass customization to make libraries a place to store “print” books.
·      Yahoo home page used mass customization to make the NYT just one of the newspapers we read in the morning . . . and it’s the digital version, for free.

We might ask record companies, bookstores, Encyclopedia Britannica, librarians, and news paper publishers if they think mass customization has been “researched.”

If we want research-based learning, it must be some type of MCL.  If we want our present Industrial Age school structure to continue, then don't expect teachers and school systems to be "research based."  We are kidding ourselves if we think that today’s schools are research based.  Industrial Age schools were never designed for learners and learning.  They were designed for "administrative convenience."  (If you have been a secondary principal and have constructed efficient master schedules, you readily acknowledge that this statement is true.)  The best that our best teachers, and the best of our best Industrial Age schools can ensure . . . . is that they are applying the best research of the best outdated Industrial Age schools.

Significant research is about learners and learning, not about how to best learn in a system that is not designed with the learner in mind in the first place. (cjs) (bmcg)

Mass Customizing Clarified

0 comments Published Monday, September 17, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in  

Sorry that my last post didn't take . . . let me try again.

Mass Customizing:

  • Not just meeting your individual needs . . . 
  • But meeting everyone's needs, simultaneously . . . 
  • Other professionals get to work with one client at a time . . . great, but that's not mass customizing . . . 
  • Teacher have 25 - 30 clients at a time . . . 
  • Now that's "Mass Customizing . . .  
(cjs)

Mass Customizing Clarified

2 comments Published Sunday, September 16, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in  

FLASH . . . MCL Fieldbook NOW AVAILABLE!

0 comments Published Friday, August 31, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in ,  

Great news today! It's Inevitable: Customized Teaching and Learning -- a Fieldbook For and From the Field has been completed, published, and is now available on Amazon.com.


Those of you who have read Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning know that the book describes, in detail, a desirable and doable vision that makes it possible to meet the learning needs of every learner, every hour, of every day. But how to get started? How to get your team or system moving? Those are the questions we receive from our colleagues who want to make something happen . . . and want something to happen now. It's Inevitable: Customized Teaching and Learning answers those questions and provides step-by-step suggestions as to how to get moving . . . moving in the right direction. Each "tool" also includes a story that makes the process inviting, real, and doable. The writing style of the Fieldbook is much like Inevitable -- serious, yet conversational and fun. Think of the Fieldbook tools as the "on-ramp" to the MCL freeway. (I love that metaphor that Jim and his team coined.)

Dr. Jim Parry, founder and former director of Technology and Innovation in Education, is Lead Editor of the publication. Dr. Nancy Hall and Dr. Patricia Peel, two highly regarded innovative thinkers, are also members of the "executive team" who made the practical "how to do it" field book a reality. We are most grateful to Jim and his team . . . and to TIE, our Inevitable partners. (cjs)

Thank You Advocates

0 comments Published Thursday, July 26, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in  

We (Chuck and Bea) watch our sales of Inevitable closely of course. Egos are involved . . . we admit! We wonder when Inevitable might be found in the bargain/discount/sales section of stores. We are aware that books, even rather popular books get their month or two of fame and then tend to flame out.

So this note to our friends, colleagues, and MCL advocates is to give you all a big thank you for promoting the Inevitable: MCL Vision. We don't, and haven't, advertised Inevitable. Advertising has all been "word of mouth," and you are the "mouths."

After being out for about 2 years, here are the sales stats for the past 30 days:

Kindle sales 125 copies
Amazon.com sales 450 books
Direct Purchases by School Districts 600 books
Total Inevitable Sales for past 30 days 1175

We are all eager to have the Inevitable Fieldbook available to our advocates . . . Jim Parry and his team are working through the publishing process and we are confident that the Fieldbook will also be a big hit.

So, thank you all for helping us to change education, one hemisphere at a time!

Careful When Ordering Inevitable on Amazon

0 comments Published Wednesday, June 20, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in ,  

We announced earlier that we had updated/revised Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning to include a chapter describing our Elementary School Vision. The addition of the Elementary Vision chapter expands our relevance to elementary school educators and parents significantly.

But because of some Amazon.com rules and policies, it is a bit difficult for buyers to know which book is being purchased. We asked CreateSpace, our publishers, and Amazon.com to stop giving buyers an option as the new version of Inevitable includes everything that was in the first edition . . . and all for the same price. We are afraid that buyers will not know that there is a new version and will be disappointed . . . and maybe a bit angry . . . when they learn that they have purchased an outdated version of our book.

So, when you go to Amazon.com to purchase Inevitable, make sure that you see the little note on the bottom left of the book which states "Includes New Elementary Vision." The new version has a 2012 copyright. (cjs)

Updated Inevitable Available

1 comments Published Friday, June 8, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in ,  

We have good news today . . . on two fronts. One, the updated Version of Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning has been revised to include a chapter that describes the Inevitable Elementary School vision. Tis available From Amazon.com or in bulk by contacting either Chuck or Bea. The new chapter is the companion chapter to chapter 7, Lori Does Her Learning Plan which helps to describe the MCL High School vision. The new Elementary School vision chapter is also available free of cost at our masscustomizedlearning.com website.


Two, the Fieldbook titled It's Inevitable: Customized Teaching and Learning is now with CreateSpace/Amazon being prepared for publication. You will like the field book. It focuses on the "on ramp" things educators and schools can do to ready themselves for system wide MCL. The Fieldbook is the effort of our partners, Technology and Innovation In Educaton. Dr. Jim Parry is leading a team of practitioners who know how to get us all started with the "heavy lifting" required to "manage the vision." (cjs)

Meeting Individual Learning Styles . . . a Clarification

0 comments Published Tuesday, June 5, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in ,  

We have come to realize that some MCL advocates are interpreting our vision about how systems can/will meet the learning style needs of every learner in a more complex manner than we intended. And this may be a good thing. This note is not about telling anyone to “shape up,” but rather to inform you of our intent when we were “visioning” and writing.

When we were writing, dreaming, and visioning, we were part dreamers, but also part pragmatists. We wanted our MCL vision to be very desirable but, at the same time, wanted the MCL to be doable . . . doable as perceived by our readers and especially doable as perceived by school leaders and teachers.

How is this learner outcome best learned?

We think that one of the major contributions of Inevitable is to be learner focused when determining how learning opportunities are created and made available to learners. We suggest that, for each learner outcome (LO), educators think “how is this LO best learned rather than the typical response of “how should we teach this LO.”

How is this LO best learned options

Chapter 9, Ready For Rollout, Critical Element #3, states that school systems, “Have categorized Learning Outcomes by learning format.” We thought/think that this task is best approached by first identifying which learner outcomes can be best learned via online learning. In fact, we were thinking of the need to first divide LOs into only two categories, those learned best (most efficiently and effectively) online and those LOs learned best in some other format.

Our/the rationale for this approach was pragmatic inasmuch as we believe that the more we can use technology to help learners demonstrate LOs, the more time teachers will have to teach those LOs that require interaction, hands-on approaches, coaching, etc. An interesting note here – when we ask groups to estimate what percentage of LOs can be best learned online, we get answers that typically range from 50% to 75%. Elementary teachers are usually in the lower range here and HS teachers are at the higher range.

Chapter 9 then suggests some options for those LOs that require formats other than online learning . . . e.g. seminars, projects, mentoring, etc.

The “Rub”

The “rub,” or the conflict (and it may be a good conflict) comes at this point, and it comes with the interpretation of the “meeting the learning style of each learner.” So here comes the pragmatic, secondary principal in our thinking! Do we suggest that each learner will be given learning style choices about each LO that does not fit into the online learning category, or do we suggest that there will be a “best way” for all/most learners to learn to demonstrate those LOs.

The complexity created by expecting a number of options for each LO outcome that falls outside on the online leaning category, is great . . . e. g., technology might be able to schedule 5 ways of learning to “write and defend a business plan,” but actually making each of those options available to each learner would be near impossible.

So, in short, when we said that each learner will have his/her learning style met, we were expecting that that would entail each learner being presented with the “how is this LO best learned option.” We continue to believe that customizing to this point would be doable (and probably preferable, but that needs discussion).

And further, there is a big difference between how a secondary principal schedules a learning opportunity (those that are not “best learned” online) and how a Learning Facilitator team actually delivers that learning opportunity. E.g., the master schedule groups learners for the Business Plan LO, but when the group comes together, the Learning Facilitators do their thing by personalizing that learner outcome to meet the learning styles and learner interests. Some will use the Internet for gathering info, some will have conversations with a banker, some will learn from their Mom, etc.

So, as we think about it now, we can have the best of both worlds if we group according to “how is this LO best learned” for those LOs not learned best online, and expect that the learning facilitators will provide options once the learners walk through their door . . . or meet at the bank conference room. We think that this win-win first focuses on the learner but, in turn, also considers the pragmatic needs of the system and the system leadership.

We don’t expect this communication to be a final word, but we hope that it frames a discussion of the topic for further clarification . . . and maybe even for some decisions. (cjs and bmc)

MCL is a Vision . . . for now

2 comments Published Friday, April 27, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in  

We are frequently getting requests to go see the school that is described in the video titled Lori Does Her Learning Plan. (The video is available through the masscustomizinglearning.com website or directly through YouTube) Sorry, but Inevitable: Mass Customizing Learning is only a vision at this point. Since the publication of the book, many school districts are taking "starter steps" so that they are ready for the "on ramp" when the technology catches up with the vision. A field book to help educators and school systems negotiate that on ramp is scheduled to be available sometime this summer. Some exciting "starter steps" that will be part of that Fieldbook are now available on our website.


At present, we are in discussions with a very successful tech-oriented company that may partner with us to make the vision a reality. The vision has great appeal. I worked with a group of 170 educators in Pennsylvania this Thursday (April 26). We spent 3 hours studying the rationale for MCL, the vision, what it could mean for learners, and what it could mean for our profession. It appears that there is near universal acceptance and support for MCL as described in Inevitable.

Visions are most powerful when they run well ahead of our present capacity to do them, and visions are more exciting when written in the present tense rather than the future tense. Creating the vision of a desirable and doable change is the first step in creating a new reality. (cjs)


Inevitable: An Inside Job

0 comments Published Tuesday, April 24, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in  

When we write, we attempt to share ideas and get people excited about innovative visions that have the potential to improve learning for learners. Later, if and when the book is successful, we learn in reverse some of the things that made the ideas/visions fly. When Bill Spady and I wrote Total Leaders for AASA, we didn't realize that it was probably the only "Ed Leadership" book that looked at education through leadership eyes. Other leadership books looked at leadership through old, entrenched, unsolvable "educational issues" eyes. The Total Leaders Framework allowed educational leaders see their role from a much larger perspective. They were able to see things anew, out-of-the-box you might say.


Bea and I had a similar hit about Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning recently. When we think about education and technology today, most of the innovation is coming from those deep in technology and not so deep in education and learning. Inevitable looks at technology through educator eyes. We apply technology to "transform" our learning paradigm. We don't/didn't think of technology first, we though of learning and leaders first.

So Inevitable doesn't "throw the baby out with the bathwater." Inevitable keeps the tried and true, our good practices and habits that research tells us work. We ask the most important question, "how is this learner outcome best learned." Those coming from the technology side tend to see "technology as teacher." While we think much of what we now want learners to know, be able to do, and to "be like" can be taught effectively through technology, we also know that the teacher's (learning facilitator's) role is critical for the most critical learner outcomes.

So, we now say that, "Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning is an Inside Job." (cjs)

New Elementary School Chapter

0 comments Published Saturday, April 7, 2012 by Chuck Schwahn in  

Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning was written for K-12 educators, but because your humble authors believe that our high schools are most in need of transformation, our major emphasis was on the secondary school level. Chapter 7, which deals with Lori doing her schedule, has been an important tool in helping readers to understand the Inevitable vision. (see the Lori Does Her Learning Plan by clicking on the Youtube icon) Since publication, we have been frequently asked to provide examples for the elementary educators. We have done that, and that new chapter, Chapter 11, is now available on our website. Feel free to download it and copy it for your colleagues if you wish. Go to resources on our website (masscustomizedlearning.com) and click onto it. It is in a power point format.


Also, we have decided to add that chapter to our hard copy book. In the near future, whenever we complete the publication process, Inevitable books will contain the Elementary School Chapter. There will be a small note on the cover stating that the Inevitable "Includes the new Elementary Chapter."

Thanks for keeping the MCL buzzzzz going. Inevitable continues to sell well and we are getting great reviews from readers and those who attend our workshops and seminars. cjs

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)