The Spring semester starts on Tuesday, and that means we are heading like an unstoppable freight train to New Zealand in 8 and a half weeks! So much to do!
Our calendar is starting to shape up, although there are still some schools we need to schedule. We'll be doing some serious emailing this week for sure. We have received most of our equipment, minus a laptop, so we'll be having to familiarize ourselves with it (especially the voice recorders; these need to be "trained", with software added to our laptops for voice-to-text conversion). Now we need to hear from the second grant awarder so we can order a few other things. Eight and a half weeks!!
I've been reading more of the international research reports (TIMMS, Pirl etc... ) and it's really standing out to me that there seems to be a definite trend in all subjects. The USA is statistially significantly ahead of NZ in all 4th grade tests, but then in 8th grade there is no difference. By 10th-12th grade, NZ is statistically significantly ahead in all subjects. Why? Do NZ teachers teach more "lifelong skills"? Do teachers in the upper levels teach differently? It's not a case of money; the US puts more in that NZ does, and it's not a case of only testing the best students (the international tests addressed those problems more than a decade and a half ago, even though you'll hear people still saying "Oh well, they (other countries) don't educate ALL students" - we've got to address that as it's a copout, and simply not true.). So, what's happening? That's a question I'm taking with me to NZ. I doubt if I'll come up with a definitive answer, but maybe I'll get some ideas and insights.
Well, expect the blogging pace to pick up this semester!
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