C von Lersner accountability, assessment, DOG, education, Montessori, observation, productivity, purpose, self assessment, self-construction, self-directed learning, self-organization

the DOG: some background

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

C von Lersner accountability, productivity, purpose, self assessment, self-construction, Uncategorized

US education: the productivity problem

Lay an egg … Lay an egg … Lay an egg … @davidshrigley had a whole lot more than schools in mind when he created this image, but I've never seen a more apt depiction of what it must feel like to be a student in this country. For that matter, of what it feels … Continue reading US education: the productivity problem

C von Lersner assessment, self assessment

Power Over or Power With: Children’s personalities reflect the way adults engage with them

Children’s behavior can be a good guide to where their significant adults stand on the Influence Continuum. Sometimes the freedom we give children isn’t free. When we implicitly pressure children to make the choices we want while we are telling them the choice is theirs, the effects on their behavior are the same as if … Continue reading Power Over or Power With: Children’s personalities reflect the way adults engage with them

C von Lersner adolescence, assessment, DOG, education, self assessment, self-construction, self-directed learning

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