Dwight D. Jones

Note: I conducted this interview a couple years ago. Since the original site where it was published is slowly going down the tubes, I have transferred it to here to keep it available for historical reference. Mr. Jones is currently superintendent of a large school district in Nevada. Although he is no longer in charge of education in Colorado, it provides insight into his views on the challenges facing education not only in Colorado, but across the U.S.A.

Since taking the helm of the Colorado Department of Education, Dwight D. Jones has faced many challenges. He remains a staunch supporter of quality education in Colorado.

When the time came for Colorado’s State Board of Education to appoint a new commissioner of education in 2007, it was unanimous: Dwight D. Jones was their man. Jones was a teacher and administrator before becoming the superintendent of a district known for narrowing and eliminating achievement gaps related to minority children and students of low-socioeconomic means.
Closing the Achievement Gap

Jones has continued to focus on achievement at the state level. How much of a concern is the achievement gap in Colorado?

“I am concerned about the achievement gap that exists between students of various ethnic backgrounds, between students of families with different socio-economic means and, yes, between students from America and those of other industrialized countries,” says Commissioner Jones. “America has lost its competitive edge, particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and this loss is to the detriment of both the students and our nation.”

Recognizing an achievement gap is one thing, but Jones says that Colorado is doing something about it. “In six districts—urban, suburban, rural, small, large, ethnically diverse—we are in the second year of a three-year pilot, in which targeted interventions and proven methods are being implemented in order to close the “race” and “income” gaps. One of the goals is to determine what works under what conditions and at what cost.”

Funding Education in Colorado

Other areas besides STEM-education are of concern. “The way education is funded poses many problems,” he says. “The “seat time vs. competency” debate continues about whether schools should receive per-pupil operating revenue (PPOR) based on student enrollment/attendance (seat time) or whether PPOR should be tied to student outcomes (competency). Teacher pay is a matter that needs to be addressed and remedied.”

How much of an influence do health care costs have on education funding in Colorado? According to Commissioner Jones, “Quite a bit.” He goes on to add, “Medicare program increases have by and large tapped out all other sources but education, and analysts believe education will be hit next. Ultimately this means fewer dollars will be allocated to education. Health insurance and related costs also affect education’s bottom line in districts. Districts that have self-funded insurance policies are greatly impacted. Individual claims against the insurance pool equate to higher premiums, as does the escalating cost of health care services in general.”
Preparing Students With 21st Century Learning

Like many other states, Colorado teachers strive to incorporate so-called 21st Century Skills into the classroom experience. Although not everyone agrees that 21st Century Skills should be a part of the curriculum, the commissioner is a strong supporter.

“Students have always needed to have critical thinking and decision-making skills. However, I believe these skills [21st Century] are even more important for today’s students because of the world in which we live. The advent of the Internet, the instantaneous nature of the media and a multitude of technological tools allow for the continual availability and distribution of information of all kinds.”

Jones says, “I believe it is vital that students be taught to evaluate both the nature of the information and the reliability of its source, to decipher fact from fiction. Only then will they truly expand their breadth and depth of knowledge and have a basis on which to for their own opinions.”

Improving Education in Colorado

When it comes to the biggest needs of students, Jones comes back to the achievement gap. “I am a firm believer that all children—whether they live in a big house or a small apartment, in a city, a suburb or on a farm many miles from the next town—can learn, achieve and excel, and deserve every opportunity to do so,” he says. “Accomplishing that will be a great improvement to education in Colorado.”

Despite ongoing challenges in funding and achievement, Colorado has done well in some areas. Jones points to the evolution and improvement of Colorado’s standards as a high point. “From their inception, Colorado’s model content standards—what we believe students should know and be able to do—have been noteworthy,” says Jones. He believes that ambitious standards are a critical component of a high-quality education.

According to Commissioner Jones, “The refinement and revision of the standards will make them more meaningful to both students and teachers. The governor’s Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids and other legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly in recent years are putting things in place to ensure that all students receive a high quality education.”

The sign on my door says it all.

The first quarter is over. It has been a great year so far and my our 7th grade flipped classes in Algebra and Pre-algebra have been going much better than they did last year. Chalk it up to experience I guess.  A couple of science teachers in 8th grade are also testing the waters with the flipped model and it is great to have some kindred spirits in the building. Another math teacher at 6th grade is also assigning videos for homework and that is certainly a move in the flipped direction. The times they are a changin’.

Are we going as fast as I’d like? No, but I think that with the slower pace at the beginning, the fundamentals will be stronger and we will have an opportunity to increase the rate of progress later on.

I had some things in my course descriptions at the beginning of the year which were more in the realm of philosophy than description, so this seems like a good time to lay them out. Some of my initial thoughts at the beginning of the year have evolved as well.

Tests and Quizzes

I initially planned to prevent mindless quiz taking (quizzes are on-line and automatically graded) by offering a two-tiered system, with tier I to consist of 4 attempts from which the average grade would be the taken result. Tier II would be a single attempt and I would take whichever grade was higher from the two tiers. On further reflection, and after thinking about what a colleague had to say about it, I decided averaging was not the way to go. I began by allowing one or two attempts with a requirement to come see me if the attempts did not result in a satisfactory score. Then after a discussion and perhaps some review, I’d reset the attempts for another try.

After discussing options with the kids and getting their feedback, we are now doing 4 attempts on a quiz, with the highest grade accepted for a score. The understanding is that if you do not get the score you want (a minimum of 70% is still the standard) after the third try, you better come see me for help and advice before you use your last attempt.

So far this is working well, it maintains buy-in for the kids since they know they can’t just take a quiz over and over again until they pass it, plus it keeps me from constantly having to take time to reset individual quizzes to allow more chances.

What About Extra Credit?

There is plenty of credit available, so why should there be any extra? If someone wants to go out of their way to do more than is required to learn more and get more out of it–great! I would even consider replacing some part of an assignment with the extra work done on another, but so far that situation hasn’t come up. Bottom line is, there is no need for extra credit, and I don’t accept it. I don’t think any teacher should. Extra credit is just  a free pass for erasing the negative result of something you should have done but didn’t, and accepting it sends the wrong message.

On Grades and Grading

I reproduce below, in its original form, the paragraph I had initially used in my course descriptions — philosophical and highly opinionated parts included!

In a mastery learning class, learning is paramount. Grades are really only of secondary importance. When it comes to assessing learning, there is really only one thing that counts; can you demonstrate that you have learned the skills and knowledge that are the content of the course? Last year, with that in mind, the only way to get “points” toward the grade was from the quizzes and tests (Can you do it? Do you know it? Have you reached a minimum acceptable level of learning?). That mostly worked, but based on my experience I am shifting back a bit toward what I used to do. Why? Because like it or not, be it right or wrong (it’s wrong) there are a number of learners who are not used to having to master material for a grade, and expect to get points for attempting to learn. Attempting to learn is a very important part of learning, but it is the actual learning that counts (not the attempt). Unfortunately, this mind set has resulted in it being too common for kids not to do work if they don’t get “credit” for it. Some day we will be past that, but the day is not here yet.

What About that Camp Stool?

I had planned to tote a camp stool around the room with me so I could use it to sit and provide help anytime, anywhere in the room. As it turned out, the class sizes were small enough so that there was almost always one free seat at every table for me to use. So, I figured I didn’t need the stool. But, now we have added more kids, so I am back to considering that idea.

Stop Playing School, Start Playing Learning

Some conversations I have had on twitter and seen on blog post comments mention the notion that kids are good at playing school, and not so good at learning. I see that. It is most evident when kids do all the assignments and pass all the quizzes, but fail on more comprehensive tests. Some kids have the mechanics of note taking, filling in the blanks, completing the assignments etc. down pat but get little out of it. Those are good skills, but we need to move them past that phase into actually processing the information that they are presented with during the reading, listening, discussion and completion of the assignments. As I said in the the initial version of my course description:

We are after real learning here. Not fake learning where you show up every day, “turn in” all the assignments, fail all the tests and still pass with a C. Uh-uh. Ain’t gonna’ happen.

None of this stuff is written in stone, and there are exceptions to every rule. I’d like to hear what others have to say about how things are going after one quarter of playing school learning has gone by. The comments section is open.

Figure 1. 21st Century Learning Skills (Sharon Greenberg/Flickr)

Trends come and go in education. The pendulum swings from one “research-based” classroom method over to some other “best practice” and back again. The period of the swing seems to be somewhere between ten and thirty years. The pendulum is currently swinging at full speed.

Learner-Centered Education

There is a very strong trend toward learner-centered education. In my view it’s a form of constructionism, only better. Constructionism has it’s roots in some of the work of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget.  Seymour Papert has also contributed some more recent ideas to this school of thought.

To where does the pendulum now swing then? After talking to many teachers, attending conferences and meetings, and  reading as much as I can on “the best way to teach mathematics,” here is how I see it:

• It seems to generally be  realized that “kill and drill” repetitive problem solving stifles creativity and curiosity
• That said, it seems to be pretty much agreed that it really is a good idea to learn one’s basic math facts in elementary school
• It is also desirable that your average human be skilled in the standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• Mathematics should be introduced as a series of fun and interesting puzzles at an early age
• “Students” should actually be considered “learners” and the “teacher” the “director of learning.”
• Learners need to do just that — learn, not passively sit around  and be “taught.”
• Classroom lectures should be short, with the majority of time spent experimenting, trying to figure things out, and making mistakes
• Learners need to be reoriented to realize that mistakes are GOOD, are made to be learned from, and are not a sign of weakness
• If you are not making mistakes, the problems you are working on are not challenging enough
• Skills should be learned to mastery and progress does not take place until mastery is demonstrated
• Mathematics should be connected with all other subjects, and not presented as an isolated practice
• Everyone should NOT be forced to learn at the same pace
• An enriched environment and challenging problems are for everyone, not just the “gifted”
• Investigation, and project-based learning should be the major classroom activity
• BUT, learners need to be given some basic ideas and knowledge (through direct instruction) to which they can attach their future discovery and learning
• Mathematics skills are important, but the goal of math education should be to develop citizens who can solve future unknown real-life problems by employing mathematics where needed

That pretty well covers it, I think. These basic ideas in pedagogy are also finding traction in science, and there is no reason they can not be adapted to pretty much the rest of the school curriculum.

Learner-Centered Education Quotes

Personally I  find short quotes to be rather inspirational. I have gathered together a collection of them here.  One reason for doing so is because I want to refer to them once in awhile. Another is that they accurately reflect my thinking on how to best provide children (anyone really) a math education.

Not all of them can exactly be considered “constructionist” in nature, but I have chosen them to reflect what I believe are the core ideas of where things have gone wrong and where we need to be heading. Please let me know if you know of any I have missed and that you would like to see included.

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think—rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men.” ~ John Dewey

“The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.” ~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” ~ Plato

“Some people would rather die than think.” ~ Bertrand Russell

“There is nothing as useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” ~ Peter Drucker

“Success is a worn down pencil.” ~ Robert Rauschenberg

“The student told the least, learns the most.” ~ R. L. Moore

“Unlike puppets we have the possibility of stopping in our movements, looking up and perceiving the machinery by which we have been moved. In this act lies the first steps towards freedom.” ~ Peter Berger

“Present thinking people kill the future.” ~ Ken Blanchard

“Those who have most at stake in the old culture, or are most rigid in their beliefs, try to summon people back to the old ideas.” ~ Marilyn Ferguson

“The map is not the territory.” ~ Alfred Korzybski

“We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their vision… not one that succeeds in making apathetic students satisfying minimal standards.” ~ S. Papert

“It is our dream that students will …experience their classrooms as invigorating, even inspiring environments – places they look forward to going to and places they hate to leave. It is our dream that they will come to know themselves as masters of various crafts…It is our dreams that …they will come to love the process of learning itself… by making it their own.” ~ Paideia Schools

“Too many young people are being taught to give up their dreams before they have any experience attempting to pursue them.” ~  Robert Fritz

“What worked yesterday is the gilded cage of tomorrow.” ~ Peter Block

“(In schools) There is an emphasis on doing things right rather on doing the right things.” ~ Thomas Sergiovanni

“Hire Rembrandt to do the painting and don’t tell him how to paint.” ~ Anon

“Learning is a matter of intensity not elapsed time.” ~ Tom Peters

“Good teaching is forever being on the cutting edge of a child’s competence.” ~ Jerome Bruner

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the following for some of these quotes:

Quotes to ‘Re-Imagine’ Schools for the 21stC

Quotes on Teaching and Learning

The Moore Method by Coppin et al.

Rauschenberg by Barbara Rose