Education Commons^™

Collaborative Autonomy: Exploring The Professional Freedom Of Three Science Teachers, Michael Ralph, Darian Robbins, Stephen Young, Laurence Woodruff

Educational Considerations

Education reform efforts must support and protect professional autonomy for classroom teachers. When policymakers attempt to make systemic change in ways that reduce the professional autonomy of educators, student learning suffers. Teachers need the freedom to identify their professional goals, seek resources and collaboration opportunities in pursuit of those goals, and act on feedback regarding their progress in meeting those goals. We present three stories from teachers who share a department engaged in collaborative autonomy. These accounts provide guidance for how professional autonomy can be defended by those pursuing systemic change.

Leadership During Change, Mischel Miller

Educational Considerations

The national education system, similar to the Kansas education system, has seen little change since the 1800s(Throckmorton, 1967). In fact, over 50 years later, there have been few changes. Children come to school around the age of five to enter kindergarten and then move through the current system by age and grade level. These children sit in rows, are addressed by the expert teacher, are given information, and are expected to memorize and regurgitate the material in a standardized testing process. Schools in Kansas predominately open their doors in August and close in May (KSDE, 2018), perpetuating the long history …

What Does A Successful 24 Year Old Look Like?: Reflections From The State Board Of Education, Jim Porter

Educational Considerations

“What does a successful 24 year old look like?” This is a critical question that must be successfully addressed if Kansas is to “Lead the World in the Success of EACH Student.”

For many decades we have attempted to fit the student in to the system and many students have been successful, however, many have not. What would happen if the system were built around the individual student? What would happen if student’s interests, passions and talents were controlling when determining the best educational plan for each student?

By developing Individual Plans of Study based on student interests, abilities and …