School of Education News and Announcements

SOE's Steve Ross Quoted in Post Article on Technology in the Classroom

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:00 AM

Steve Ross, of the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE), is quoted in a Washington Post article questioning the effectiveness of new technologies in the classroom. The article focuses on the use of whiteboards.Click here to see article.

Congress Debates Bill to AId Teachers

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:00 AM

The United States Congress is debating legislation to aid states in avoiding teacher layoffs. With many states facing severe budget shortfalls, the $23 billion in federal aid under consideration would help states close their budget gaps. See full Education Week article.

SOE Alum Recognized for Going Green in Classroom

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:00 AM

Shelly Blake-Plock was on WYPR's Morning with Sheila Kast for his paperless classroom. Blake-Plock,2005 MS Ed, teaches at John Carroll School. (see story below) 6-14-10: Teaching Paperless High school teacher Shelly Blake-Plock just finished his second year in a paperless classroom. He tells Sheilah what it’s like to trade in your Number 2 pencil for Twitter. Shelly Blake-Plock teaches art history, Latin, and Western Civilization and John Carroll School in Bel Air. There are no pencils in his classroom, and no paper — Shelly is a leader in the Teach Paperless movement. On Earth Day, over 1,500 teachers to go paperless for the day. Shelly tells Sheilah what it’s been like to teach paperless for the past two years. There was so much to talk about that Sheilah and Shelly kept talking long past airtime. Hear the entire 47-minute (!) interview here: Interview: http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/

National Teaching Standards Progress

Fri, 21 May 2010 12:00:00 AM

Education Week reports that the effort to develop common standards for teachers is turning to the question of how to get them in the classroom. EW reports that 48 states are supporting the effort and a final version is expected later this year. Click here to see ful article.

Ravitch, SOE Commencement Speaker, Blasts Obama

Fri, 21 May 2010 12:00:00 AM

Diane Ravitch, a former Bush administration official and advocate for greater competition accountability in schools, has published a new bood titled, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. According to Education Week, the books skewers President Obama's agenda for improving schools including the expansion of using test data and greater school choice. Ravitch will give the SOE commencement address on May 27 at 7:30 p.m. on the Homewood field.

MAT Grad Win Baltimore City 2010 Teacher of the Year

Fri, 14 May 2010 12:00:00 AM

Brian Rainville, 2008 MAT graduate, was named the 2010 Baltimore City Teacher of the Year. The award was presented by Baltimore City Schools CEO Andres Alonso in a surprise visit to Rainville's third grade class at Maree G Farring Elementary/Middle School in south Baltimore. See full Sun story

Diane Ravitch to Speak at School of Education Diploma Ceremony

Wed, 12 May 2010 12:00:00 AM

Please note: The School of Education’s diploma ceremony takes place rain or shine. In the event of thunderstorms or severe weather, graduates will be directed to the Goldfarb Gym to pick up their diplomas and guests will go directly to the reception in the Robert Scott Gym, both located in the O’Connor Recreation Center. Please call (410) 516-9700 if you have further questions. Thank you.Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University and bestselling author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, will be this year’s commencement speaker at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Our diploma ceremony will be held on May 27, at 7:30 p.m. on Homewood Field. A historian of education, Ravitch is well known for fearlessly articulating both the central importance of strong public education and the elements for strengthening schools. Her findings often times go against conventional wisdom and even counter her earlier, publicly espoused opinions when she was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. As Assistant Secretary, she was responsible for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education and led the federal effort to promote the creation of state and national academic standards (1991-1993). Currently on a national book tour, Ravitch takes issue with President Obama and Secretary Arne Duncan’s vision for the rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act. Ravitch also shares a blog called Bridging Differences with Deborah Meier, hosted by Education Week, and blogs for politico.com/arena and Huffingtonpost.com. Her articles have appeared in many newspapers and magazines. In addition, she is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Summit Look at Attention and Learning

Tue, 11 May 2010 12:00:00 AM

Multitasking, ADHD, and optimal study times were among the topics as scientists and educators shared their expertise during the “Attention and Engagement in Learning” summit this week in Baltimore. The summit was held at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore on May 5 as part of the Neuro-Education Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Education.

Quality of Instruction Matters Most to English Language Learners

Mon, 03 May 2010 12:00:00 AM

A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Research and Reform in Education could change the way schools in the United States teach non-native speakers to read and speak in English. The traditional argument surrounding the instruction of English-language learners has been whether English immersion or bilingual approaches work the best. But the Johns Hopkins study is poised to make that debate irrelevant: After five years studying Spanish-dominant children in six schools in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, Illinois and Texas, the researchers found that the quality of instruction, rather than the language of instruction, had a greater impact on how easily the children learned English.“There is considerable controversy among policy makers, researchers and educators about how best to ensure the reading success of English language learners,” said lead researcher Robert Slavin, director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education. “The goal of our study was to identify the appropriate role of native language in instruction.”Unique in that it follows children over a long period of time, the study, "Reading and Language Outcomes of a Five-Year Randomized Evaluation of Transitional Bilingual Education," will be presented this week during the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Denver. On Saturday, May 1, Slavin was among 67 fellows inducted into the association. See http://releases.jhu.edu/2010/03/24/johns-hopkins-education-researcher-robert-slavin-named-aera-fellow/ for more information.Funded by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, the study tracked the reading and language performance of three cohorts of English language learners who entered kindergarten in 2004, 2005 or 2006. Serving a range of impoverished neighborhoods in big cities and small towns, some school populations studied were almost entirely Hispanic, but two had significant African-American groups and one had 23 percent white, non-Hispanic students. The children were randomly assigned to either transitional bilingual education or structured English immersion conditions. During their kindergarten year, children in transitional bilingual classes were taught to read entirely in Spanish, and then by third grade, the children transitioned to English reading instruction. In English immersion classes, all materials were in English, and teachers taught in English except for occasional Spanish explanations. To ensure that children in both conditions received consistent curriculum and instruction, Success for All – a reading program with parallel versions in Spanish and English – was provided to all students. The Success for All program was developed by Slavin and has been extensively used and evaluated with Hispanic children. The current study did not evaluate Success for All, but used it to provide consistent reading instruction to all children. Slavin and his colleagues found that neither bilingual or immersion programs offered a distinct advantage to students. On measures of Spanish language and reading, fourth graders who had been taught to read in Spanish from kindergarten to second grade did not significantly outscore students taught only in English. And while English immersion students earned higher scores on reading tests in the early grades, there were few significant differences in their scores by fourth grade. Any advantages in either method's favor diminished or disappeared by the fourth grade. Results of the study did not support the notion that native-language instruction in beginning reading rather than English immersion should ultimately help Spanish-dominant children read better in English. Nor did the results support the superiority of English immersion. On the contrary, the study suggests that the language of instruction is not a key factor in the reading success of English language learners. “Schools may choose to teach English language learners in either their native language or in English for many reasons, including cultural, economic, or political rationales, and either method can be successful if a quality instructional program is in place,” Slavin said.To speak with Slavin and his colleagues, contact Beth Buckheit at 410-616-2407 or bbuckheit@jhu.edu. The full study is available on Johns Hopkins University’s Best Evidence Encyclopedia website at http://www.bestevidence.org/bilingual.htm

New Teaching Standards Proposed

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:00:00 AM

Maryland officials are considering adopting new national standards for teachers that will overhaul what is taught from kindergarten through grade 12. The new standards, proposed by the National Governors Association and chief state school officers, are expected to be adopted in most states in the next six months. According to the Baltimore Sun, teachers praised the new standards for being clearer and more straightforward. A Howard County teacher said the standards go" more deep and add more critical thinking." State schools superintendent Nancy Grasmick, said new tests will replace the Maryland School Assessments in 2013. She added the new standards will be more rigorous. Grasmick expects to take the proposal to the state board for a vote in the next month. See full Sun articleGive us your opinion. Post your opinion on SOE talk.