Becky Nomaguchi

Teachers' working conditions are the students' learning conditions. At this stage of my career, one of my central goals is simple: bring JOY back to the profession of education and learning. My colleague Mary Laski at ASU's Next Education Workforce shared some findings that suggest the promise of team-based staffing models to deliver on that goal. Read on! https://lnkd.in/g_tWEw9T

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I am happy to announce that I will be representing the Arizona Science Teachers Association at the Arizona Department of Education's Teacher Institute and Leading Change Conference tomorrow afternoon! My session is titled: What Science Educators & Administrators Need to Know About Performance Tasks + the AzSCI. Join me to learn more about: 1️⃣ The 3 facets of high quality assessments 2️⃣ What 3-dimensional science performance assessments are 3️⃣ How 3-dimensional science performance tasks are developed and how this process directly relates to how the state science assessment items are created

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Now this is some document! The California School Boards Association published this document "Drowning in Documentation" listing all the reporting requirements school systems must complete. 📜 📰 🗞 📎 🖇 "Although individual reports may not present an undue burden, the cumulative impact draws resources away from critical tasks and responsibilities of LEA staff, especially in California’s smaller districts and county offices of education." I'm familiar with many of the reports from my time as a principal, central office director and business chief. Don't overlook one report and think it's no biggie. The first one listed, the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) can be hundreds of pages long and review hundreds of metrics, all of which need to be evaluated and reported on. Not to mention all the data gathering, meetings, community meetings, staff meetings, input sessions, presentations and more, that need to happen. It can be a full time position in school systems, if they have the funding. Otherwise, it's one of many duties to a central office administrator. Oh also, don't forget that in a school system with thousands of students, staff, parents, community - well, things happen, to say the least. The same people doing these reports have to take care of those things too. I suspect that nationally, there are similar sentiments from educational leaders. There's definitely a need for oversight, and accountability measures, reporting and more, but looking at this document (this is the first time I've seen in one document all the reports listed), you have to ask yourself how beneficial this is to students, educators and communities? That's why recently I've been thinking and writing that we need to release educators from so many mandates, and give them more agency. And education adjacent org/companies need to focus on making K-12 work easier. (shameless plug that's why I love Allovue - K-12 finance software - I lived the challenge of trying to manage complicated K-12 finance; it was tough, and long hours) Thanks to California School Boards Association for publishing. One item missed ... wait for it ... school board member report requests! 😉 😃 #education #k12education

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WE think about digital skills and digital literacy as highly contextualized; check out this digital skills framework, which really leans into that ideal contextualization. Mary Gaston and Jeff Goumas are the innovators behind this use of the great work done at Wash U and City of Seattle by @staceywedlake and @david-keyes-03b1512.

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Curious about how to implement an AI 'co-intelligence' model in public K-12 education? Join us in San Diego this fall to discover how our use of AI ‘collective intelligence' is transforming Aurora Public Schools. #DestinationDistrictAPS

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Very interesting! We are piloting M365 Copilot and I'm now wondering how these two will compare. #gptvscopilot #aiineducation #aiforeducation

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A big part of this is that is forcing us to change how we teach which will take time and energy. Secondly, there is the fear factor that drives many away from it. However, there could be really positive things that come from it like personalized learning, ai driven 24/7 tutoring, and data based teaching. https://lnkd.in/gP9Grqt3

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I'm excited to share our latest video on the art of instructional design! In this episode, we unpack the essential principles of creating impactful learning experiences, guided by the pioneering work of Robert Mager. Special thanks to Chuck Hodell, PhD and Elizabeth Mahler, EdD for their invaluable insights and contributions. We explore the nuances between learning goals and objectives and delve into the ABCD model, which is a cornerstone for educators designing course content. I'm eager to hear your thoughts! How do you approach setting objectives in your educational programs? What strategies have you found most effective in aligning teaching methods with learning outcomes? #Education #InstructionalDesign #LearningObjectives #TeachingExcellence Let's start a conversation! 🗨️ https://lnkd.in/eTQnKuSt

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I am looking forward to discussing the ethical considerations of AI in education tomorrow!

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Enrollment in higher ed can be challenging, especially for schools lacking strong online options. Those with extensive digital resources tend to thrive. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to tackle "brain drain" in communities and regions. Dr. Marina Aminy, from California Virtual Campus, discussed on the Parchment podcast how course sharing is changing the game. Students traditionally faced hurdles accessing key courses. Dr. Aminy highlighted how California's Community College system is leading the charge. With 116 colleges working together, students now access over 350,000 courses annually, vastly improving their educational opportunities. Here at Parchment, we partner with state systems and smaller groups to streamline cross-registration and expand non-degree offerings through our Course Sharing platform. Our aim is to help you combat brain drain, improve completion, and boost enrollment. What strategies have you found effective in making courses more accessible and enhancing student success? Let's hear your thoughts below as we continue to innovate together! #CourseSharing #HigherEducation #Innovation #StudentSuccess

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Marc Watkins's thoughts on automation and speed leads to me think—as higher education institutions look to maximize enrollment with several existential challenges on the horizon (or already here), we would do well to consider the question "what is our value proposition?" (and, indeed, "what are our values?") as a foundational part of any enterprise integration of #genai. The thought experiment Watkins touches on is one my teaching center has considered since ChatGPT came out: what do we think about a scenario when students use GenAI to compose deliverables and institutions use GenAI to assess, give feedback, and make other decisions based on those deliverables? Is there any specificity to this interaction that justifies the investment in being a student at a specific institution? Or is it just GPT University no matter where one might be? What kind of value proposition is that? (Yes, GenAI can be customized—caveats and qualifications abound.) Automating assessment and feedback in particular is an eyebrow-raising proposition. (Cf. the recent IHE article about ETS's CEO's mostly—and unsurprisingly—optimistic thoughts on the subject: https://bit.ly/ihe-ets-ai). There are a lot of points to consider before endorsing the notion of frictionless, AI-delivered assessment, evaluation, and feedback, and one I'd highlight here is often overlooked in favor of topics more focused on speed, efficiency, ethics, and the calculus of effort. It is, essentially, whether we *want* GenAI to be the primary agent of our interactions (e.g., https://lnkd.in/ex9Mn4zj). Does it align with our goals, values, expectations, investments, brands, institutional identities, etc.? Perhaps a bit of a self-endorsement (though that's what academic AI social media influencer culture is built on), but there is a rich history of considering slowness, friction, seamFULness, glitch, bending, subversion, critique, dissent, etc., in digital humanities and digital pedagogies as the locus of learning and growth (cf. https://lnkd.in/egbBgnjn). With writing, for example, we know that iterative feedback that draws from shared criteria and both instructor and student expertise is what leads to sustained learning and success. It's not just proof that the learning has already happened. It's where the learning happens in the first place. I should be clear: I believe that it's critical that universities foster AI literacies and skills among all students, regardless of discipline or major. And this will challenge us to innovate and, yes, disrupt our notion of business as usual. But in our zeal we don't want to speed past or skip over the higher-order learning and durable skill-building, which are the true value proposition of an educational journey. Let's hurry up and slow down before we go too far in the wrong direction.

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Providing STEAM opportunities can empower and prepare your students for success. Learn how to implement a #STEAM program at your school or district with this guide we created with We Are Teachers and bring meaningful learning opportunities to your students and teachers. https://bit.ly/3xUuoWo

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STEM topics are notoriously hard to teach using most text-to-speech programs. Here's how ReadSpeaker can help students of all abilities learn math. Dive into the future of learning here: https://okt.to/fe0DEB 🎓🔊 #Accessibility #EdTechEvolution

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The latest ODLI on Air episode is so good! We talk AI in higher education with Eryn Travis, PhD including a good framework for thinking about how to bring AI into your course and a couple of good instructional activities. We had so many good things to say, that this is just part 1 of a two part series. The blog post link in the comments will have example images from the students. https://lnkd.in/eUZDvs79

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Pepperdine's MSED 621 Blog Post 🏫 As an educational consultant with a background in early childhood and elementary education, as well as special education and bilingual/ESL certification, I’ve recently started exploring better ways to spread the message about intentional teaching and coaching. Like many classroom teachers, we tend to be so immersed in the field and staying at one school that we tend to not use networking services until or unless we intend on making a major life change. However, now that I’m running my own business, I’ve realized how much I missed by not using this platform earlier. Here’s what I’ve discovered and how I plan to move forward in my professional life. As teachers, we can tend to be very literal, seeing job-seeking platforms as only that, instead of focusing on how we’re provided with a dynamic community for professionals to connect, share insights, and grow their influence. Here are some key things I’ve learned: LinkedIn offers incredible opportunities to connect with other educators, administrators, and consultants. I realized how strongly responsive and growth-oriented this can be. Education does not need to be so tightly closed! I’ve had to step out of the classroom mindset and more into the consulting mindset. In education, it’s important that we understand our network is invaluable for sharing best practices, discussing industry trends, and finding potential collaborators. Additionally, it is how we establish ourselves as thought leaders, boost credibility, keep audiences engaged and informed, and stay connected with the best practices and policy changes in our field.  Regarding business growth, marketing is incredibly necessary. Perhaps in the education field, we feel that we need stay overly “humble”, when in reality we are gatekeeping our strengths and our ability to impact others. There’s no need to shy away from sharing when it comes to LinkedIn. Given what I’ve learned, it’s important that I build an even stronger profile, centering more around my business as it's in its third year now. I also plan to regularly publish articles and posts about educational trends (be on the lookout for those – two posts were just released right before this one!), success stories from my consultancy, and insights on general, bilingual, and special education. That also means….it’s time to connect! Gone are the days where posts go into a void, lacking connection. If there’s one thing I’ve learned at Pepperdine University, it’s that collaboration boosts impact. Sharing infographics, client testimonials, and other relevant information will be a perfect way to step deeply into the educational consulting community.  I’m excited to continue to use LinkedIn further, and to document my growth during this time!

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If observations are going to improve teaching and learning, then teachers have to enjoy them and feel like the process is a safe endeavor. This sampling of words from a survey of teachers in a Trust-Based Observations school in a small California district give us an idea of the positive teacher mindset about observations that I'm talking about. Make no mistake about it, when we stick to traditional models of observation, when we at any time as part of this process are rating or providing grades on pedagogy, all of our best efforts to build relational trust with our teachers will be diminished and resistance will be the result. I know many of you feel that resistance despite your best efforts. It's not your fault--you are using your best emotionally intelligent self and all your kindness--but research shows the rating/grading gets in the way of our best efforts to create a culture of trust that leads to collective teacher efficacy. If you're interested, we can show you a new system and observations can become a joy (believe it or not) for you and for your teachers--it's the breakthrough you are looking for on the path to schoolwide growth. Please reach out: https://lnkd.in/emQvMUxJ

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