tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/khan-academy-15921/articlesKhan Academy – The Conversation2019-07-05T12:21:56Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1180302019-07-05T12:21:56Z2019-07-05T12:21:56ZWhat is personalized learning and why is it so controversial? 5 questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281036/original/file-20190624-97757-14030mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More schools are plopping students in front of computer screens for 'personalized learning.' What are the drawbacks?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/school-kids-using-computer-classroom-575481121?src=KAVuNu86uJUD8S8hqU6axA-1-81&studio=1">wavebreakmedia/www.Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: The term “personalized learning” is becoming more common. Indeed, <a href="https://knowledgeworks.org/resources/personalized-learning-every-student-succeeds-act/">39 states</a> mention personalized learning in their <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/review-finds-some-states-essa-school-improvement-plans-miss-the-mark-on-equity-2/">school improvement plans</a>, as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Not only are states <a href="https://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/iNACOL-Promising-State-Policies-for-Personalized-Learning.pdf">legislating</a> personalized learning, but philanthropists are <a href="http://www.attoreassociates.com/news/chan-zuckerberg-push-ambitious-new-vision-personalized-learning/">funding</a> it and, in some cases, families are <a href="https://nypost.com/2018/11/10/brooklyn-students-hold-walkout-in-protest-of-facebook-designed-online-program/amp/?fbclid=IwAR2ATi_LGGl4QS1Y9OS1VaPMbbttTdwO9hCJRh6rkDekZbswldqfdzHtBn0&__twitter_impression=true">pushing back</a> against it. Penny Bishop, a researcher who focuses on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GxMminAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">learning environments</a>, answers five questions about personalized learning. Her edited answers are below.</em></p>
<h2>1. What is personalized learning?</h2>
<p>As one education writer <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/11/08/the-cases-against-personalized-learning.html">observed</a>, the term has been used to describe “everything from supplemental software programs to whole-school redesigns.” In its most basic form, the goal of personalization is to customize learning to an individual student’s needs by giving the student greater control of the learning. What students are given control over, however, varies based on the type of personalized learning environment.</p>
<h2>2. What types of personalized learning are there?</h2>
<p>Two of the most common types of personalized learning are pace-driven and student-driven.</p>
<p>Pace-driven personalization enables the learner to move through the material at his or her own pace, typically through an online curriculum that adapts to the learner’s needs and skills along the way. This addresses the problem that human beings do not learn at the same rate, even though most schools organize students by age. <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org">Khan Academy</a>, an extensive online set of instructional videos, tools and exercises, is one well-known example of this approach. The academy lets students slow down or speed up based on their level and rate of mastery. Although students have greater control over the pace of their learning, the curriculum is pretty much already established. </p>
<p>In student-driven personalization, students play a bigger role in what they want to learn based on their goals and interests. That is to say, the curriculum itself – not just the pace at which a student moves through it – is personalized. Students work both individually and collaboratively, often on projects that align with the questions and issues they wish to explore.</p>
<p>In Vermont, where personalized learning plans have been mandated in grades 7-12, for instance, students might choose to learn about genetics and nutrition through <a href="https://tiie.w3.uvm.edu/blog/cabot-at-molly-brook-farm/#.XQujsi2ZPOR">dairy farming</a>. Or students might study <a href="https://tiie.w3.uvm.edu/blog/5-lessons-burke-town-school-pbl/#.XQujwy2ZPOT">forest ecology</a> and population growth guided by the United Nations’ <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">sustainable development goals</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Is personalized learning something to worry about?</h2>
<p>As with most educational reform, personalized learning is controversial. With pace-driven personalization, some parents report that their children are spending <a href="https://www.indianagazette.com/news/directors-vote-to-scale-back-summit-learning-program/article_b3bc086a-e4d1-11e7-8c95-57ffb928e16e.html">too much time in front of computer screens</a>. This is particularly a problem for families who already struggle to limit their children’s screen time at home. In other cases, students complain that personalized learning leads to an overreliance on technology and a <a href="https://nypost.com/2018/11/10/brooklyn-students-hold-walkout-in-protest-of-facebook-designed-online-program/amp/?fbclid=IwAR2ATi_LGGl4QS1Y9OS1VaPMbbttTdwO9hCJRh6rkDekZbswldqfdzHtBn0&__twitter_impression=true">lack of meaningful interaction with teachers</a>. Initiatives such as <a href="https://www.summitlearning.org/approach/learning-experience">Summit Learning</a>, a personalized learning program developed by Summit Public Schools – a network of public charter schools in California and Washington state – with <a href="https://help.summitlearning.org/hc/en-us/articles/360000892408-Is-there-a-relationship-between-the-Summit-Learning-Program-and-Facebook-">help from Facebook</a> and funded by the <a href="https://chanzuckerberg.com/">Chan Zuckerberg Initiative</a>, have experienced significant <a href="https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/03/06/facebook-program-school-causes-controversy/97711414/">backlash</a> over similar issues. </p>
<p>Student-driven personalization has not met with the same concerns about isolation, as learning is often collaborative and connected to the local community. However, student-driven personalization often replaces traditional grading practices with <a href="https://www.edglossary.org/competency-based-learning/">competency-based assessment</a>, a grading system based on students showing that they have learned certain skills. Some families worry about their <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/vermonts-all-over-the-map-effort-to-switch-schools-to-proficiency-based-learning/">children being disadvantaged</a> by competency-based assessments as they apply to selective colleges and universities. The reason is because competency-based transcripts may not include traditional GPA or class rank information, which parents worry could affect their children’s chances of getting into their desired schools.</p>
<h2>4. What’s the long-term impact of personalized learning?</h2>
<p>It’s too soon to assess the effects of personalized learning on students’ life outcomes. The implementation of personalized learning is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0895904816637688">challenging</a>. Educational researchers and policymakers are still figuring out <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19404476.2018.1493858">how to measure what it looks like</a> in practice. And educators don’t know enough about which strategies are most effective. With <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/kickstarters-personalized-learning-local-funds-promote-innovation/">millions of dollars</a> being invested, however, personalized learning <a href="https://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/iNACOL_ANationalLandscapeScanOfPersonalizedLearning.pdf">continues to spread</a> across the nation. And <a href="https://www.nmefoundation.org/getmedia/fec54ec1-06e9-4d28-a478-ae51d06e288b/MAPLE-2017-PL-Landscape-Analysis-Executive-Summary?ext=.pdf">states</a> are paying more attention to studying both how it’s being implemented and what kind of results it’s getting.</p>
<p>Early evidence suggests that personalized learning can improve <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2042.html">student achievement </a> and student engagement, but exactly how it does so remains unclear. My colleagues and I at the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/cess/tiie">Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education</a> study student-driven personalization within a statewide policy context. <a href="https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/personalized-learning-in-the-middle-grades">Our research</a> shows that students are deeply engaged by having more say in what and how they learn. They find a great sense of agency in doing real work that matters and that holds personal and social significance. Families notice the new levels of engagement demonstrated by their children and even learn new things about them. And teachers are inspired by their students’ perseverance and commitment when delving into learning that is personal.</p>
<h2>5. Will personalized learning replace teachers?</h2>
<p>Our research shows that teachers remain a crucial element in the schools of today and the future. Far from making teachers obsolete, student-driven personalized learning requires an expanded set of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318679625_Middle_Grades_Teachers'_Dispositions_in_a_Personalized_Learning_Context">skills and dispositions</a> from teachers, one that demands they are even more responsive to the evolving interests and needs of their learners. For example, in order to help students achieve their learning goals, teachers need to scout out a wide array of resources and match these with each student’s skill level. While challenging, understanding each student’s needs and interests in this way can help strengthen relationships.</p>
<p>In fact, thoughtful implementation can bolster <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1178378">students’ relationships with teachers</a>, as well as with their peers, families and communities, by inviting learners to share their identities, curiosities and questions with others. While teachers in traditional settings may opt to invite similar sharing, understanding students on a personal level is an essential component of the personalized learning environment. Making learning personal shouldn’t mean isolation. On the contrary, it seems the best of learning is both personal and social.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to reflect that Summit Public Schools developed Summit Learning with help from Facebook.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penny Bishop does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Throughout the nation, parents and students are pushing back against personalized learning. An expert on the different ways that students learn explains what’s behind all the fuss.Penny Bishop, Associate Dean and Professor of Middle Level Education, University of VermontLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/487872015-10-14T03:55:53Z2015-10-14T03:55:53ZWorld’s largest radio telescope must tap into Africa’s fascination with night skies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98084/original/image-20151012-17811-1y59wwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People throughout Africa can play a part in the work of the Square Kilometre Array even if they are not scientists.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world’s largest and most powerful <a href="http://www.ska.ac.za/qa/">radio telescope</a>, which is to be constructed in South Africa from 2017, has the potential to stimulate interest in astronomy across Africa by tapping into the continent’s traditions of watching the night skies. </p>
<p>The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be used by scientists to understand how the universe evolved as well as how stars and galaxies form and change. </p>
<p>Traditionally, <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=TMZMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA280&lpg=PA280&dq=tradition+of+night+sky+watching+in+africa">astronomy</a> on the continent is associated with a history of watching the night sky without the help of telescopes. Such indigenous or cultural astronomy relates to how local cultures interact with celestial bodies. </p>
<p>Africa has a continuing tradition of artistic representations of celestial bodies in identifiable forms, including stars, constellations, the moon, the sun and eclipses. </p>
<p>As no borders exist in the sky it is a shared resource. The night sky is a source of inspiration and fascination used for navigation, time keeping, calendaring and monitoring <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/menses">menses</a> and fertility cycles. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/538461e8-3586-11df-963f-00144feabdc0.html">Tuareg</a> in the Sahara, East Africa’s <a href="http://www.omniglot.com/writing/swahili.htm">Swahili</a> and <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=TMZMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA280&lpg=PA280&dq=tradition+of+night+sky+watching+in+africa&source=bl&ots=ghVYBkoPMn&sig=Ct-xRNlzoVtuNnyoWFpBYLFKd88&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=tradition%20of%20night%20sky%20watching%20in%20afri&f=false">people</a> afar as Eritrea and Djibouti are renowned for their dexterity with navigation.</p>
<h2>Stimulating astronomy</h2>
<p>When the decision to co-host the SKA in South Africa and Australia was reached in 2012, it opened the door for collaboration on the African continent. </p>
<p>The arid regions of South Africa are ideal for the high and medium frequency arrays which are vital for the <a href="https://www.skatelescope.org/africa/">SKA</a>. The groundbreaking, continent-wide telescope has a central computer with a capacity of the processing power of about 100 million personal computers. </p>
<p>But South Africa is not the sole host for the components of the SKA in Africa. Eight other African countries will provide sites for radio telescopes that feed the network supplying scientists with the world’s most advanced radio astronomy array. These are Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. The sheer distribution of the countries provides an opportunity to stimulate interest in astronomy through citizen science on the continent.</p>
<h2>Peoples’ science</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/about/definition">Citizen science</a> is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge. It is referred to as the the involvement of volunteers in science through active participation without pay. People share and contribute to data monitoring and collection programs.</p>
<p>Often, the natural phenomena that scientists hope to assess have vast geographical distributions that make it cumbersome to study with conventional research methods. </p>
<p>The participation of volunteers enables an enormous geographical reach and gives the public an insight into the scientific process and closer connection to nature. </p>
<h2>How volunteers help</h2>
<p>The Citizen Science blog <a href="http://cosmoquest.org/x/about/">CosmoQuest</a> suggests that, just as it takes a whole village to raise a child, it takes a global community to raise the understanding of science. </p>
<p>Volunteers assist in a variety of ways. These include taking pictures of night skies to give insights on light pollution. They also report on the seasonal changes in plants to understand the impact of climate change. In some cases they take rainfall measurements to assist weather reporting and research, as well as viewing the night skies for space exploration. </p>
<p>Scientific knowledge has consequently been made more easily accessible through the media such as science blogs, social media, <a href="https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization">TED Talks</a> and the <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a>. Similarly, the experimental side of science is coming to the doorstep of the layman by the kind courtesy of citizen science programs.</p>
<h2>Examples</h2>
<p>There are several examples of thriving citizen science programmes around the world. <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Sustainability/Pages/MelbourneBioBlitz.aspx">BioBlitz</a> is the city of Melbourne’s initial citizen science programme. It has used the public to conduct a survey of animals and plants in the city. Volunteers have since become involved in Melbourne’s ecology strategy.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globeatnight.org/">Globe at Night</a> is a global citizen-science drive to increase public awareness on the effects of light pollution. Citizen scientists are invited to assess the brightness of their night sky and send their observations to a website from a computer or smartphone.</p>
<p>Because of a history of the earth being hit by asteroids – huge rocks in space that can result in significant damage upon collision – the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/news/asteroid_initiative.html#.VhthH_mqqko">NASA</a> Asteroid Initiative was launched two years ago. It gives citizens a voice in the decision-making of space exploration to protect the earth from potentially hazardous impacts.</p>
<h2>Opportunities for Africa</h2>
<p>Many countries on the continent have space clubs, astronomy societies, and planetariums associated with educational institutions suitable for teaching and public viewing.</p>
<p>Lay people and volunteers can join space related activities such as recording and identifying changes and features in many solar system bodies. They identify and track solar storms, observe and create light curves of variable stars, take and upload astrophotographs to a database of outer planet images and search images for tracks left by interplanetary dust grains. </p>
<p>Counting stars in certain constellations sometime during a four-day period to determine light pollution is not beyond the ambit of the lay person. </p>
<p>This is potentially an exciting time and opportunity for astronomy and citizen science in Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Felix Donkor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Citizen science will ensure that the skies have no limit when it comes to research, as ordinary people are encouraged to take part in simple acts of exploration.Felix Donkor, Doctoral Researcher, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/392262015-04-07T10:16:53Z2015-04-07T10:16:53ZCrisis in American education as teacher morale hits an all-time low<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77104/original/image-20150406-26473-1dk7gad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A large number of teachers leave the profession each year.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=ocL7sMCKE_gKuJmbndCFNg&searchterm=teachers%20leaving&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=2326408">Man image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A slew of policies and <a href="http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/school_tech.pdf">technologies</a> promising to dramatically revolutionize teaching and education over the past decade has not only failed to produce desired results, it has also led to a decline in teacher morale, with large numbers leaving the profession. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://all4ed.org/reports-factsheets/path-to-equity/">recent report</a> for the <a href="http://all4ed.org/">Alliance for Excellent Education</a>, a policy and advocacy organization, found that about “13% of the nation’s 3.4 million teachers move schools or leave the profession every year.”</p>
<p>The question is how did this happen? While the answers to the current problems are long and complex, some of them can be traced back to the <a href="http://www.k12academics.com/education-reform/reforms-1980s#.VSKuiJTF8mU">road to reform starting in the 1980s</a> when measurable academic standards were set up for students. </p>
<p>As a researcher and author of a <a href="http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415890113/">2012 book</a> on education reforms in the US on top of being the father of children who are attending public schools, I have seen how these reforms have led to a situation in which teacher job satisfaction is at an all-time low and university graduates are less inclined to join the profession.</p>
<h2>Teachers lost control of curricula</h2>
<p>Over the past few decades, teacher professionalism and morale <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ333634">declined</a> as education was turned into a market with a push for <a href="http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/">high-stakes testing</a> and a centralized control of education. </p>
<p>Since the beginning of the latest rounds of education reform in the early 2000s, <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20130113/opinion/130119923/1122">billions of dollars have been spent</a> at the local, state and national levels on programs such as <a href="http://febp.newamerica.net/background-analysis/no-child-left-behind-overview">“No Child Left Behind,”</a> “<a href="http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html">Race to the Top</a>” and <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/">“Common Core.” </a></p>
<p>Supported by a wide variety of “reformist” groups, which include foundations, consulting firms, <a href="http://nepc.colorado.edu/files/summary-13.bracey.pdf">charter school and voucher advocates</a>, <a href="http://cpfa.org/tag/neoliberal-think-tanks-and-foundations/">neoliberal think-tanks</a> and <a href="http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/24_04/edit244.shtml">teacher-bashing</a> politicians of both political parties, education reforms ended up making way for privatization, charter schools or <a href="http://www.greatschools.org/school-choice/7200-school-vouchers.gs">voucher systems</a>. </p>
<p>As a result teachers no longer control the curriculum as they should. This vacuum has been filled by a host of <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/marketplacek12/2014/12/40_fast-growing_private_education_companies_make_2014_inc_5000_list.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS3">commercial companies</a> that have developed products to be used both inside and outside the classroom.</p>
<p>They range from <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may04/vol61/num08/What-Is-a-Professional-Learning-Community%C2%A2.aspx">Professional Learning Communities</a>, <a href="http://www.ed.gov/oii-news/competency-based-learning-or-personalized-learning">Competency-Based Education</a>, <a href="http://www.smartboards.com/">Smart Boards</a>, <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a>, <a href="http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/">Flipped Classrooms</a> and <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/22/09pl-overview.h34.html">Personalized Learning </a>to name but a few on a very long list. Teachers in school have seen a variety of such ‘edu-fashions’ in the form of reforms, flicker and fade. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77106/original/image-20150406-26507-e6wnfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77106/original/image-20150406-26507-e6wnfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77106/original/image-20150406-26507-e6wnfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77106/original/image-20150406-26507-e6wnfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77106/original/image-20150406-26507-e6wnfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77106/original/image-20150406-26507-e6wnfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77106/original/image-20150406-26507-e6wnfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">There is little evidence to show that testing and evaluation methods have worked.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=0OH0H6T29p112uMPObm6Hw&searchterm=testing%20teachers&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=4654732">Test image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Despite this there is little evidence to show that any of this has worked, even by the reformers’ criteria for success in testing and evaluation methods such as, <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/may10/vol67/num08/Using_Value-Added_Measures_to_Evaluate_Teachers.aspx">“valued added measures” (VAMs)</a> and standardized tests scores. In fact, years of these <a href="http://www.christenseninstitute.org/">“disruptive innovations”</a> have resulted in a situation today of poor job satisfaction for teachers. </p>
<h2>Highly stressed school teachers</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/foundation/MetLife-Teacher-Survey-2012.pdf">2012 MetLife Survey of Teachers </a> found that teacher job satisfaction declined from 62% of teachers feeling “very satisfied” in 2008 to 39% by 2012. This was the lowest in the 25-year history of the survey. </p>
<p>The survey also showed how stressed teachers in America were. It found that over “half (51%) of teachers report feeling under great stress several days a week,” an increase of 70% from teachers reporting stress in 1985. </p>
<p>It is not surprising then that the turnover rate in the teaching profession is on the rise. The report for the <a href="http://all4ed.org/reports-factsheets/path-to-equity/">Alliance for Excellent Education</a> estimated that “over one million teachers move in and out of schools annually, and between 40 and 50% quit within five years.” </p>
<h2>Enrollment declining in teaching programs</h2>
<p>In addition to these rather grim statistics, fewer university students are, unsurprisingly, going into the field of education. </p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/22/09enroll.h34.html">data from the US Department of Education</a> “enrollments in university teacher-preparation programs have fallen by about ten percent from 2004 to 2012.” In California alone, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/03/03/389282733/where-have-all-the-teachers-gone">enrollment in teaching education programs </a>declined by 53% over the past five years. </p>
<p>Indeed, we are now in the early days of the <a href="http://dianeravitch.net/2014/07/09/data-is-fools-gold-of-the-common-core-says-wagthedog/">“Great Common Core Gold Rush” </a> as companies dash about trying to provide the curricular and testing materials for Common Core, much as they did for the earlier state-based testing demanded by No Child Left Behind. </p>
<p>However, the time is now long overdue to begin an entirely new path of education reform – to rediscover the road to reform that was not taken. This path seeks to support teachers, re-establish their autonomy and rebuild the more general trust in institutions. </p>
<p>As a <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/?no-ist">system like Finland’s</a> illustrates, the key to effective schools does not reside in the interventionist strategies and think-tank polished ideas, but in the way teachers and schools are supported, both financially and publicly.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven C. Ward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With teachers leaving the profession in large numbers and a drop in candidates applying to teaching programs, it is time to take a fresh look at education reforms.Steven C. Ward, Professor of Sociology , Western Connecticut State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.