I have been developing the Dimensions of Observable Growth in collaboration with other educators for more than fifteen years, starting when my own two children were in school in Colorado in the early 2000's. The push for "data driven" decision making in classrooms prompted me to find a way to help teachers in developmental, experiential, … Continue reading the DOG: some background
Learning new tricks: Using The DOG to support Motivated Behavior Change
A look at popular self-help literature shows we have a penchant for positive imaging: we want to believe that we can manifest a different reality by visualizing it fervently. Unfortunately, research on motivation and goal achievement demonstrates that strong positive intentions alone are almost never enough to assure success in behavior change. Not surprisingly, a … Continue reading Learning new tricks: Using The DOG to support Motivated Behavior Change
Using developmental need to drive adolescent program development
The single most crucial element for the iterative design of developmentally meaningful adolescent programming is what I call a Pull Curriculum. The idea of the Pull Curriculum is informed by my experience as a Montessori teacher and elaborated for the secondary level. Teachers curate a co-working environment, offer collective learning experiences, introduce new materials and ideas, … Continue reading Using developmental need to drive adolescent program development
Essential characteristics of The DOG
A number of things became clear as I embarked on construction of the observation rubric I envisioned almost 15 years ago. Several (more professional sounding) names for the tool have been tried, but one moniker kept showing up on our doorstep. We finally relented and brought it in from the cold. The not-kidding-even-a-little-bit observation rubric online … Continue reading Essential characteristics of The DOG
Measuring what matters: a history of The DOG
Far beyond what I'd expected, school report cards offered insights into the fundamental values of a learning community. I felt like I'd found the place where the rubber hits the road: the school's concrete assertions, for parents, about what had been accomplished while students were at school.
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