Binomial distributions and multiple choice tests
Readers of my blog know that I generally regard multiple choice tests (MCTs) as an adequate tool to assess student knowledge of, and proficiency with, a given set of topics.…
Education
Awesome motion passed by the OCDSB last night!
… especially point “C”. It won’t make a hill of beans of a difference, but the Board said what needed saying. Thanks to @nancy_akehurst for the pic. (7) Trashy, Ottawa,…
Encouraging Early Political Engagement: I Have the Right to Be a Child
Early political engagement is a hot button topic for a number of us here at Politics ReSpun. As parents and/or political animals, we spend a lot of time contemplating methods…
On grassroots input
Saskatchewan’s NDP has released a report on its labour and employment consultations. And between the 700 participants and the report’s drafters, there are plenty of noteworthy suggestions and recommendations worth…
Earthgauge Radio October 18 2012: James Kunstler (part 2) and The Climate Reality Project
Download: earthgauge-podcast-oct-18-2012.mp3 On Earthgauge Radio this week, we continue our discussion on the limitations of technology in solving environmental problems and we learn about Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. I…
Leadership 2013 Roundup
One might have thought that the final days of municipal elections around the province would make for a relatively quiet stretch in the Saskatchewan NDP leadership campaign. But instead, it…
‘Hipster’ is not a real job. Neither is not having a job.
Last week, the CCPA released a report (authored by yours truly) about youth un- and underemployment in Canada. It showed that, while youth unemployment in Canada is not insubstantial –…
Globe and Mail on higher education in Canada
The Globe and Mail has just launched an in-depth feature on higher education in Canada, an installment of their Our Time to Lead series. For a couple of weeks, you…
Time to Rethink The Way We Fund Higher Education
This September, like every year, a new group of high school graduates headed to college or university to pursue higher education. But today’s generation of students is in for a…
Education and the Digital World
The other day I wrote a post commenting on an article by Doug Mann, a University of Western Ontario professor who calls into question the wholehearted embrace of all things…
How the Gov’t Is Saddling Parents with College Loans They Can’t Afford
by Marian Wang | ProPublica More than a decade after Aurora Almendral first set foot on her dream college campus, she and her mother still shoulder the cost of that…
Psst! What’s The Latest On TMZ?
In the latter part of my teaching career, I had the feeling that those in charge of education, especially on the local level, were suffering from a kind of drift…
Used book sale
A wee plug for the…. Pleasant Park and Hawthorne Public Schools Used book sale is back! Saturday, October 27 from 9 to 1 Join us in the Pleasant Park gym…
OCDSB survey
You might remember that I wrote about this last year. Now the Ottawa public school board has some results to talk about. And they are for sure talking about it.…
WTF, UBC? – University says it’s easier to cross picket lines with friends
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Teaching Support Staff Union, COPE 378, and other unions are escalating job action at universities across British Columbia because of bargaining…
Leadership 2013 Roundup
A few notes from the Saskatchewan NDP’s leadership campaign over the past few days… – Cam Broten’s supporters have been highlighting his statement of values, with his focus on long-term…
To teachers in the OCDSB, and others…
Thanks to all the teachers at my kids’ school and other schools across the province who have stuck with unpaid, voluntary extracurricular activities in spite of the removal of their…
Newhouse Tenure Committee – Call for Student Input [Professor Bruce Strong]
This year, I was elected to serve as the graduate representative on the Newhouse Tenure Committee. I’m committed to doing what I can to ensure Newhouse maintains the very best…
Teachers and extracurricular activities
Teachers in many of Ontario’s School Boards have heeded their union’s advice to take a “pause” from coaching or otherwise being involved in extracurricular activities, such as sports team, in…
Here is the Harper Hates Us…
…banner being flown over southeast Ottawa yesterday! It went by the school playground where I was picking up my kids. I, of course, seized upon the occasion to give a…