Blogs, China/Chinese, Education Reforms, Globalization »

[4 Jan 2020 | No Comment | 12,770]

PISA has many peculiar and surprising discoveries…
Having a growth mindset is negatively associated with academic performance for participating students from China (Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang or B-S-J-Z China), according to the 2018 PISA results. That is, Chinese students who had a fixed mindset scored higher in PISA reading than those who had a growth mindset. Considering that Chinese students’ stunning scores that put them way above all other students in the world, this finding should be disconcerting to proponents of growth mindset, including the PISA team.
Does this invalidate the belief that growth mindset …

Blogs, Education Reforms, Technology »

[2 Jan 2020 | No Comment | 23,135]

“Better-paid, better-educated workers face the most exposure” to AI, concludes a  recent report about the impact of Artificial Intelligence on jobs in the future. This conclusion should make us question the widely held belief that our children should get more education. More education is never a bad idea and has long been believed to lead to better lives, more income, for example, as illustrated in the diagram below.

https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/research-summaries/education-earnings.html
Historical data suggest that the premium of education has increased over the years. The payoff of more education has grown significantly from the 1960s …

Blogs, Education Reforms, Globalization »

[7 Oct 2018 | No Comment | 26,491]
Problems with Evidence-based Education: Side Effects in Education

The following is the Introduction of my book What Works Can Hurt: Side Effects in Education published by Teachers College Press in June 2018.
Introduction
“Ibuprofen may cause a severe allergic reaction,” you are warned when you buy a bottle of Advil, and “this product may cause stomach bleeding.” Medical products are required to disclose clearly their intended effects and known side effects. The intended effect of the common pain reliever Ibuprofen, for example, is to temporarily relieve “minor aches and pains.” The drug’s known side effects include allergic reaction and stomach bleeding. Hence …

Blogs, Education Reforms »

[2 Feb 2018 | No Comment | 25,121]

My latest book Reach for Greatness: Personalizable Education for All has ben released by Corwin Press. You can order it from Corwin or Amazon. Below is the Introduction.
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Benjamin Franklin wrote about a philosopher friend of his who used his two legs to determine with whom to avoid acquaintances more than 200 years ago. In The Deformed and Handsome Leg, Franklin says there are two kinds of people: One always finds beauty and good in things and people and thus is happy and pleasant to be with, while the other always looks …