Posted: November 6th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 1 Comment »
In Kenya, kids take high stakes KCPE at the end of Class 8. The English portion of the exam is, in some ways, similar to the USA English exams. Usually a tough question is: how much do “reading strategies help,” and how much is the only path to success “kids who read a ton, real books”?
Here Maddie Winter asks a third question. She writes:
Take a look at a paragraph from the released New York State 8th grade sample test questions:
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Beth, Meg, and Jo March are the daughters of Mrs. March. Their next-door neighbor is an elderly, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 16th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | No Comments »
Big props to a research duo that did a massive study of low-cost private schools in India. Their research methods were impeccable, sorting through all sorts of complexities.
What did they learn? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 8th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 1 Comment »
My colleague Theresa went to a Goat Derby this weekend. She writes:
Here are pics of the little goats dashing across to the finish line…though many didn’t run in that direction. They (the goats) wear the color of their sponsors. Few ladies wearing massive hats, there was lots of cotton candy, bbq! (or the closest thing to smoked bbq here)…and many beer tents.
Flashback. When I was really young, maybe 4 years old, my dad arranged to have a goat, or possibly a sheep, stay with our family for the weekend. I think the idea was to give us a little dose of farm life. Dad, somehow your buddy’s name sticks, the farmer — Bob Burns? What the heck were you thinking? Do we have film of that?
Pru — what do you say we put a goat in the backyard for a while, have the kids walk it around the neighborhood?
Posted: October 4th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 1 Comment »
Dai Ellis gave a talk to our team yesterday, about the new university he has launched in Rwanda, Kepler. It’s pictured above.
In Kenya, Dai’s team is trying some scaled-down work right now, trying to develop what he called a “Minimum Viable Product.”
We hear that term a lot around the i-lab. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 29th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 1 Comment »
Hi readers,
Yes, I’ve been slow to blog.
Got some nice emails to make sure I’m okay, and a call from Mom (“My email must not be working! Because I haven’t been getting your blog.” Oh, and thanks Mom, for the puzzle and coloring books. The kids love ’em).
Just been busy. Our team is plugging away on academics — curriculum and teacher training/selection — plus how to measure the whole shebang. But the pace is dizzying.
Then last Saturday afternoon, I saw an email from my colleague Lauren:
For those who haven’t yet turned on the news, there is an ongoing terrorist attack in Nairobi. I just got in touch with Lisa and she and Steph are OK. They haven’t yet been able to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 9th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | No Comments »
Prof Mwangi S. Kimenyi is senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative. He wrote an op-ed in the Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper:
For most children from poor families, the only sure way to exit poverty and compete with others is by acquiring quality education. From this perspective, Kenya’s free primary education is an incredibly important policy.
But there is a great difference between attending school and learning. A number of studies and surveys that have been conducted in Kenya (and in fact in other Africa countries) reveal a sad story of public schools that are totally dysfunctional.
The children are attending school but Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: August 15th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 2 Comments »
Seth writes:
Books, those bound paper documents, are part of an ecosystem, one that was perfect, and one that is dying, quickly.
Ideas aren’t going away soon, and neither are words. But, as the ecosystem dies, not only will the prevailing corporate systems around the paper book whither, but many of the treasured elements of its consumption will disappear as well.
THE BOOKSTORE as we know it is doomed Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: August 9th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | No Comments »
From Rick Reilly is my second-favorite columnist for ESPN. He snagged NBA hoops star Steph Curry to hand out mosquito nets in Africa, as part of a charity Reilly organized.
(Curry would) meet a woman named Nabwamima, who’s had four miscarriages due to malaria. “God bless you, Coory,” she said.
He’d meet a 25-year-old woman named Machozi, whose name means “tear” and who’s had malaria 20 times already. Her 6-month-old boy on her back is bloated and rust-colored from having it three times in the last three months. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: August 8th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 1 Comment »
#1
Reading Not Telling
Abundant Questions….with Answers
Tight, Legit Lesson
#2
Less Teacher Talking
Kid Thinking Drives Memory
Less Copy Off Board
Posted: August 6th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | No Comments »
What’s the purpose of a teacher during class? There are many. But for today, I’ll list 4.
1. Explainer.
In a typical math class, a teacher will explain new stuff that the kids don’t know. “Here is how to find the slope of a line.”
A problem is that telling doesn’t work very well as the main strategy.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin Read the rest of this entry »
