This is my final segment for this particular series on applying lean startup principles to the process for improving learning in the K12 environment. My previous entries recount the journey of developing an MVP for education, determining what to build, measuring for impact, and learning how to move forward....
Recapping Part I – Developing an MVP: We identified our problem, crafted a hypothesis, and used lessoncasts as the communication vehicle to define the minimum viable practice. Part II – What to Build: We developed a two-week cycle to facilitate collaborative planning, reflection, iteration, and refinement. Part III -...
Here’s a quick recap of parts I and II… In applying lean methodology to guide the implementation of our reading strategies initiative, we defined our problem, crafted a hypothesis, and used lessoncasts as the communication vehicle to define the minimum viable practice (the essential elements required for effectively implementing the identified teaching practice)....
Recapping Part I of our journey to apply lean methodology in a K-12 setting… We started by defining the problem to be solved: increasing reading comprehension despite a limited amount of instructional time devoted to literacy instruction. Then we crafted a hypothesis: if we identify key reading strategies...
A week ago, the LessonCast team attended an edtech event hosted by New Schools Venture Fund and Imagine K12. Eric Ries shared his lean startup methodologies and how they relate to education startups. Among the gathering of education companies, new and veteran, Eric Ries spoke interview-style with Jennifer Carolan to share his...
In attempts to erase achievement gaps, transform instruction and invigorate learning communities, we school leaders craft improvement plans with targeted initiatives and specific objectives. But many are familiar with the military adage, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” (Field Marshall Helmuth von Moltke) While...
In a climate of increased accountability, schools and districts are pushed to demonstrate that they are employing research-based strategies to improve instruction. But what makes a teaching strategy, technique, or practice “research-based”? A commonly accepted answer defines research-based as the bar set by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)....