tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87542972008-05-15T16:47:20.687-05:00Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-20753689383061274252008-05-15T16:43:00.004-05:002008-05-15T16:47:20.735-05:00

Me and my committe. You know who you are. And me in action.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-61854133416439836062008-05-14T07:49:00.002-05:002008-05-14T07:53:04.956-05:00

The outcome measure is student score on a standardized test. A norm-referenced test. That means that the test scores can be compared from year to year to get a sense of how much a student has learned. There is no "ceiling" on the score, so there is always growth. In my case, I am really interested in the month-by-month rate of growth in achievement, and how much specific kinds of teaching might

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-53271272506726287052008-05-11T11:57:00.001-05:002008-05-11T11:59:23.295-05:00

I'm updating my statistical equations today, in my last revisions on the thesis. Just for fun, I thought I'd share them. Looking at them now, I get kind of queasy. And I know what they mean. [6] Υtij = π0ij + πij(month) + π2ij(month2) + etij [7] π0ij = β00j + β01j(male student) + β02j(minority student) + β03j(chronological age) + β04j(student SES) + rij π 1ij = β10j + β11j(male

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-24823585927579113162008-05-06T11:03:00.002-05:002008-05-06T11:05:18.864-05:00

It isn't over. Maybe it's never over. The joy of graduation, the giddiness and silliness that follows is now replaced by more slogging through revisions. Sigh. I have to get the final, final, final document to the powers-that-be on May 21. Maybe then it will be over.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-26218731061992632392008-04-29T06:36:00.002-05:002008-04-29T06:37:12.277-05:00

I am so happy to be done. I need to post another photo.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-91709654411057626982008-04-28T21:32:00.007-05:002008-04-29T14:02:35.246-05:00

Our graduation speaker Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the District of Columbia schools is one smart and controversial woman. Fortunately, she got her speech down to a couple of bullet points so the brain dead doctoral students could follow. (We are seriously burned out.) She found when she took over the DC schools no accountability, and a culture centered around serving the adults in the system,

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-77329337111825861762008-04-26T12:38:00.006-05:002008-04-26T20:17:33.795-05:00

Today I graduate. I'm going to post some photos. The first one is from today. The second is from my high school graduation several decades ago. I tried to do the same pose....

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-46389879454085886662008-04-25T15:13:00.002-05:002008-04-25T15:15:24.413-05:00

Yes, that was me. I saw a student in a cap, gown and hood today, going to a ceremony for another school, not the Ed School. And I started to cry. Like sobbing as I walked down the street. I can't say why. Maybe I was so happy I would be in a graduation tomorrow. Or maybe I was so sad at realizing I had just spent about seven years of my life to do it. Can't say for sure. But I do know that it

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-14917651625190982522008-04-24T14:51:00.002-05:002008-04-24T14:55:57.392-05:00

Maybe. I'm starting to feel back to my old self, kind of wanting to write about the work I'm doing and the ideas floating around the Ed World. Things are looking up. I've decided to stay at UMich as a research associate (or some such title) working on this project that is studying and evaluating the effect of various interventions on teaching vocabulary to disadvantaged preschoolers. Also on how

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-66207640917676278002008-04-22T17:13:00.003-05:002008-04-22T17:14:35.257-05:00

Yup. I did it. I defended my dissertation on April 17. I still have a couple of details to iron out, but I will walk in graduation on Saturday. In the next few days/weeks I'll write about what I did. It's complicated and I'm still thinking about it. But not with such dread and fear. I passed through the ring of fire. wow.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-45285066524973909902007-12-05T08:46:00.000-05:002007-12-05T08:59:33.824-05:00

Today, browsing through blogs, I found that Michael Goldstein "Gone Wild" is sitting in for Andy R. at Eduwonk. He's inspired to write this, after doing his own blog browsing. What he linked to is this wonderful post by Teaching in the 408 about the sheer lack of professional knowledge that has been developed and systematically disseminated to teachers. It's poignant and really moved me. 408

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-90307613443372577952007-11-04T16:02:00.000-05:002007-11-04T16:04:28.845-05:00

I'm on the job market, and that means that I may be ending my weblog. My profile says I'm a graduate student, but that's almost over. I can't say for certain when I'm going to sign off, but I think it will be soon. I'm not sure I can be an edu-blogger and do what I have to do next. But this has been one of the best and most informative projects I've ever undertaken. Thank you to everyone who

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-26907919329586963412007-10-30T19:56:00.000-05:002007-10-30T20:14:40.400-05:00

I get emails from people suggesting what I should blog about, and it's fun to look them over, but often I don't write about them. But yesterday I got a note that I will write about. The Alliance for Excellent Education just put out a great report on dropouts. But even better than the report, at least for me, is the link to national information about high schools. Go here and check out your

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-67259989316829699922007-10-29T12:13:00.000-05:002007-10-29T12:15:31.694-05:00

I'm putting the dissertation into its final format. Mostly tht means making sure that all the tables and such are in APA format. And then getting everything into the UM dissertation format too. I'm measuring margins, checking labels on tables. But what makes me a little crazy is realizing that I have to defend the substance of this work to a group of pretty seasoned academics. Yikes. I mean, I

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-35618894002188911402007-10-18T18:12:00.000-05:002007-10-18T18:16:16.364-05:00

A journalists' guide to the classroom. I'm in it, with this look at classroom teaching. I'm thrilled to be in here. Wow. What a great group of people to be with inside these pages. And special kudos to Richard Colvin, exec. direction of Hechinger. He brings never-ending vitality to the organization and promises to improve journalists' coverage of education issues.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-80735371546171131402007-10-16T06:37:00.000-05:002007-10-16T13:39:53.400-05:00

The Ed World seems quiet at the moment. Policymakers, talking heads, etc. seemed consumed with the war, the election, other things. Am I wrong? Is there a burning education issue out there that I'm missing? My daughter is taking a course called "Picking the President" that culminates with a trip to New Hampshire to work for the candidate of her choice. Given that we live in a university town,

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-70152155904872278942007-10-13T19:33:00.000-05:002007-10-13T19:59:27.968-05:00

I have a date for my preorals: December 11. That means I present my dissertation to my committee in a closed meeting and they go after me. It's when I find out just how bad (or maybe how good) it is in their eyes. Then my defense maybe eight weeks later. And then I'm done. I'm starting to look for a job. Write if you have work for me!

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-88831843679091571962007-10-03T13:43:00.001-05:002007-10-03T13:44:55.767-05:00

Hi all. I've been massively preoccupied for the last month or so, but it has passed. No education news today, but I did see that the US State Department has a weblog. Wow. An end run around new media for sure. I wonder of the US Department of Education will follow their lead?

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-19282334931064611552007-08-22T11:40:00.000-05:002007-08-22T11:42:01.130-05:00

A website call "Peter Answers." I tried it. It's scary correct.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-51483255710538782842007-08-15T07:01:00.000-05:002007-08-15T07:03:25.566-05:00

What do folks think about the IB diploma program? Is it worth the investment? Who does it serve?

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-56889343061077229792007-08-14T09:38:00.000-05:002007-08-14T09:44:51.597-05:00

Topeka. My daughter swam in a meet there. Got home yesterday. It was as hot as hell. But my daughter swam really well. She's 12. Here are some times, for those who know swimming, in Long Course meters: 100 Back-- 1:09.77 200 IM-- 2:29.71 100 Free -- 1:03.12

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-68133722696486529342007-08-02T11:37:00.000-05:002007-08-02T11:40:22.368-05:00

This is one of my favorite blogs. Sherman Dorn, a prof at the University of South Florida, writes about everything from the penchant of university folks in his own state to hire celebrity faculty (to less than good ends) to a congressman's press conference. We often agree, sometimes disagree, but he is a pro either way.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-6498065478083671792007-07-31T15:41:00.001-05:002007-07-31T15:43:04.043-05:00

If you could choose an educational standard from another nation to be applied in the US, what would it be, and why? What do you think about IB? How about in terms of raising standards for ALL students? Thanks.

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-83441159867759026392007-07-30T10:47:00.000-05:002007-07-30T10:54:07.522-05:00

One thing that interests me is examining teaching practice up close, to learn more about how teachers use curriculum (that is materials, guides, etc.) and how students respond to the teaching of curriculum. It may be that different teachers interpret the same curriculum in different ways. We found that from the Study of Instructional Improvement, looking at Accelerated Schools, Success for All,

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754297.post-56674999805938394172007-07-27T08:32:00.000-05:002007-07-27T11:24:37.981-05:00

She told them that the real work of teaching math goes on in classrooms, not in debates over curriculum. She said it's more important to have a well-educated (in math and teaching) teacher in a classroom than to have a particular curriculum in place. She asked the reporters a couple of interesting questions. She asked them when they had used math that day. One answered she had made change when

Jenny D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00387495194556407445noreply@blogger.com