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Spencer's Scratch Pad: Anti-Homework
Interesting discussion about homework
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Karen Cator: Schools Should Get Creative With Spending | MindShift
Interesting read as it relates to our failed efforts for 1-1
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Students Know Good Teaching When They Get It, Survey Finds - NYTimes.com
Student surveys may reveal powerful results
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Generations Online in 2010 | Pew Internet & American Life Project
Scroll down for a great graphic on Internet usage by generation
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Internet Now as Popular as TV, Survey Shows - Digits - WSJ
Not surprised as well....Net surpasses TV in popularity. Must be ahead of the curve as it has been that way for me for years now.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
What I learned this week 12/22/2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Students Know Good Teaching When They Get It, Survey Finds - NYTimes.com
Students Know Good Teaching When They Get It, Survey Finds - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/education/11education.html?_r=1
I don't think the article mentions the age of the students being surveyed. At what age is a student able to objectively and thoughtfully answer these questions?
Researchers are studying value added measures and looking for other measures that correlate well.
Turns out student surveys seem to be a good way to figure out the teachers who "add value".
Student surveys reveal that the following statement correlate to value added teachers:
Classrooms where a majority of students said they agreed with the statement, “Our class stays busy and doesn’t waste time,” tended to be led by teachers with high value-added scores, the report said.The same was true for teachers whose students agreed with the statements, “In this class, we learn to correct our mistakes,” and, “My teacher has several good ways to explain each topic that we cover in this class.”
Teachers whose students agreed with the statement, “We spend a lot of time in this class practicing for the state test,” tended to make smaller gains on those exams than other teachers.
For a number of years our school administered a survey called CSImpact or something close to that. It surveyed all stakeholders....including students as young as grade 3. In addition, we also gave our own student surveys. I thought the gathered data was not only interesting but relevant and for a number of years (before NCLB) it drove much of our improvement efforts. However, for a variety of reasons, we no longer give the survey.
I've asked us to give some type of students survey but the idea hasn't gained much traction.
After reading this article I think it is time to start asking again.
What I learned this week 12/21/2010
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Knoword | Expand your vocabulary!
fun vocabulary game with potential
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How do it yourself (DYI) PD works – What are you working on? « 21st Century Collaborative
DO it yourself PD
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Doing it Differently: Tips for Teaching Vocabulary | Edutopia
Good ideas on teaching vocab
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
What I learned this week 12/19/2010
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What Makes A Master Teacher | Connected Principals
How many qualities of the "master" do you have?
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Differentiate Language Arts: Making Inferences
real world application of inferencing
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Announcing the 2010 Edublog Awards Winners! – The Edublog Awards
Announcing the 2010 Edublog Awards Winners! – The Edublog Awards
http://edublogawards.com/announcing-the-2010-edublog-awards-winners/
As we come to the end of another calendar year I like to reflect on the year we are so close to completing. Part of that routine involves going through various end of year lists that other people post on their blogs. Of special note I especially like to look over best of the year music lists, music videos, books, children's books, movies, cookbooks.
There are many posts and lists that contain the above information. But when it comes to my online teacher resource/materials "best of" list I only really have one GO TO list and that is the Edublog award winner lists. This list is a great way to find new blogs and other online resources of which you need to follow.
I've reviewed the entire list and plan to add the following to my Google Reader feed:
http://kirstenwinkler.com/
As we come to the end of another calendar year I like to reflect on the year we are so close to completing. Part of that routine involves going through various end of year lists that other people post on their blogs. Of special note I especially like to look over best of the year music lists, music videos, books, children's books, movies, cookbooks.
There are many posts and lists that contain the above information. But when it comes to my online teacher resource/materials "best of" list I only really have one GO TO list and that is the Edublog award winner lists. This list is a great way to find new blogs and other online resources of which you need to follow.
I've reviewed the entire list and plan to add the following to my Google Reader feed:
http://kirstenwinkler.com/
http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/ (influential post, but I will also subscribe to the blog)
To further explore for other resources:
Enjoy the list!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
What I learned this week 12/16/2010
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Education Week: Value-Added: It's Not Perfect, But It Makes Sense
Interesting essay on the imperfections of value added analysis and an argument that some imperfection is acceptable because of the data such studies yield.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/theyearinreview
Enjoy the YouTube year in review which also included the top 10 videos by viewership of the year.
#1 was......
Can't say I liked the song but I love the creativity and it inspired me to see if I could autotune to work on Audacity.
Enjoy the YouTube year in review which also included the top 10 videos by viewership of the year.
#1 was......
Can't say I liked the song but I love the creativity and it inspired me to see if I could autotune to work on Audacity.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
What I learned this week 12/10/2010
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ALA | Top 25 | Best Websites for Teaching and Learning
ALA list of teacher tools
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Official PISA results page
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Flypaper: Education reform ideas that stick, from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
PISA....another Sputnik moment?
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In PISA Test, Top Scores From Shanghai Stun Experts - NYTimes.com
More on PISA results. Skimming the comments section I see a slam on our Math curriculum....Everyday Math
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The Answer Sheet - Do international test comparisons make sense?
PISA (program for international student assessment) results are out and the results don't look good. Basically no growth for the US. Will be posting how the results are being looked at. This article from Wash Post tries to dismiss results/value of the test before they have even been released.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Learning without Borders
Definitely worth the time to watch this videos....excellent job of getting to where we are at right now in education in terms of reform, improvement and technology's impact.
Monday, December 6, 2010
What I learned this week 12/07/2010
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edublog awards/nominations are up....great way to find new blogs to read/follow
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from the open source project that can play anything comes the tool that can convert anything.
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Free Technology for Teachers: 10+ Alternatives to Drop.io
Drop.io replacements
Sunday, December 5, 2010
What I learned this week 12/06/2010
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easy post with text...perhaps use as student made vocab tool
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28 Tech Tools to Bring Out the Story in History - TheApple.com
online tools to make history more appealing (always my favorite subject)
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Free online web polls generator
worth a try for quick results
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Equation of Success: Top Ten Responsibilities that Students Must Own | Edutopia
Great advice for all students....although more applicable the older a student gets.
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Blogging About The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom: 6 Nifty Ideas For Using Google Apps In The Classroom
Good tricks for the classroom
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PBL DO-IT-YOURSELF : Guidance, Tools and Tips for Your Projects | Buck Institute for Education
PBL DO-IT-YOURSELF
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The 7 tacit lessons which schools teach children - Mind Dump
Food for thought
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Animating Your Lessons with Some Drama: 20+ Resources | Teacher Reboot Camp
Add drama to your lessons
Thursday, December 2, 2010
What I learned this week 12/03/2010
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ASCD Express 6.04 - 10 Essential Strategies for Teaching Boys Effectively
Seems to be in the news a lot recently....boys need to be taught differently. Good list of ideas...
Monday, November 29, 2010
A’s for Good Behavior - NYTimes.com
A’s for Good Behavior - NYTimes.com
Interesting yet brief article detailing how one school is making the transition to standards based grading.
Several quotes from the article really stood out for me and made me ask some interesting questions that all teachers in our school should reflect upon.
Do we suffer from "grade fog"? -- ie do our grades communicate student learning or mastery of content or more than that. If it is more than that can our students and parents really know how well they are doing?
Do we grade for compliance?
What percentage of our grades reflect a student doing, saying, or acting a way we have asked or told them to do. Do we grade for completion of work or mastery demonstrated by the execution of that work?
Are grades flexible enough for a student to improve upon them as they are able to do so? If a student fails a test or doesn't score well do we allow them to retake the test. Yes, making a new test is a pain, but isn't the goal of the test for teachers to also help determine what and how much a student has learned. If the test does reveal that a student isn't learning as much as expected do we give the student a chance to continue learning and show their mastery at a later date?
If we allow the students do retake a test which grade do we use? The first one, the most current one, or an average of the two. I'm guessing most teachers would say an average of the two. Mathematically it makes sense....using a second test to raise the first. However, if we are using grades to show what a student has learning/mastered/achieved shouldn't we just use the second measure since it is closer to real time.
When a sprinter runs a race we don't average the various heats together. What matters is what they do in the final run. Shouldn't we extend the same courtesy to our students?
Sunday, November 28, 2010
What I learned this week 11/29/2010
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Presentation for parents as partners
Great presentation about how we can harness Net tools to get parents involved in our classroom.....don't push them away
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Economists want to stop teachers' degree bonuses
Economists are weighing in on teacher pay and the lack of evidence that higher degrees = better learning. Is pay for performance much further behind?
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100 Incredible & Educational Virtual Tours You Don’t Want to Miss | Online Universities
Wonders of the Internet never cease to amaze
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Technology to Engage, not Distract | Connected Principals
Tech can be so much more than a filler or looking for better engagement...use tech!
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Technology to Engage, not Distract | Connected Principals
Technology to Engage, not Distract | Connected Principals
There is plenty of discussion about student engagement these days or more accurately the lack of student engagement in the classroom.
Teachers are always commenting in the lunchroom or wherever they congregate that this year's kids don't listen as well as last year's students. I've even heard teachers say they fear for our nation's future as our students just aren't very good listeners.
Is it that they aren't good listeners or is it that they just aren't "buying what we're selling"?
I would urge all teachers (even those reporting good engagement in their classroom) to view their classroom from the perspective of their students.
Answer these questions:
Could you really handle being a student in your own classroom?
How engaging would the experience be?
Would you be tempted to tune out?
How much do you spend "lecturing" or reciting facts to your students?
What percentage of the time are you in charge of the information?
What percentage of the time are you the students in charge of the information?
Before you tell me it is easy for me to judge you, I need to tell you that I judge myself fairly harshly in answering those questions.
I don't think of my classroom as lecture, but I do spend plenty of time presenting what Marzano would call "procedural" knowledge. I want the students to know what buttons to press when in the software we use. In fact I spend so much time talking procedures that they don't nearly enough application time. How can they learn the "procedures" if we don't spent nearly enough time with the independent practice? It is a battle that I struggle with each week. At what point have I given the students enough knowledge/information that they can move to independent practice? Sadly, I don't know the answer to that question and mainly it is because the answer is different for different learners and I need a formative assessment to get a better sense of when they are ready to move forward.
So what say you, would you be able to survive your own class?
Sunday, November 14, 2010
What I learned this week 11/15/2010
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Great site help you fill out your feed reader
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practice basic math skills against other students
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Free Online Whiteboard and Collaboration Tool - Scribblar.com
this one has some promise for at home support
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Connect Safely |A Parents' Guide to Facebook | Safety Advice Articles
parent's guide to facebook...hope it tells parents to keep their kids off facebook until old enough
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Teacher Training Videos created by Russell Stannard
tool training site for teacher
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Where to Stash and Share Your Stuff After Drop.io Shuts Down
Drop.io is going away...here are some alternatives
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
What I learned this week 11/08/2010
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The Answer Sheet - Willingham: How sugar really affects kids
Funny how certain "myths" seems to last quite a long time.
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Learning English - The Teacher
Idiom videos from the BBC
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Douglas Reeves' articles
I've long been a fan of Doug Reeves and his ideas for improving education.
The Leadership and Learning Center makes many of his articles available for us to read. Among the more recent (and always interesting) articles are:
The Write Way
http://www.makingstandardswork.com/sites/default/files/articles/article-1011-asbj-wrtie-way.pdf
Writing improves achievement....we need more!
Fixed or Multiplier
The qualities that make someone a great superintendent (leader)
Focus: The Forgotten 21st Century Skill
http://www.makingstandardswork.com/sites/default/files/articles/09-fall-the-trillium-focus-the-forgotten-21st-century-skill.pdf
Now what was I doing before I found this article?
The Leadership and Learning Center makes many of his articles available for us to read. Among the more recent (and always interesting) articles are:
The Write Way
http://www.makingstandardswork.com/sites/default/files/articles/article-1011-asbj-wrtie-way.pdf
Writing improves achievement....we need more!
Fixed or Multiplier
The qualities that make someone a great superintendent (leader)
Focus: The Forgotten 21st Century Skill
http://www.makingstandardswork.com/sites/default/files/articles/09-fall-the-trillium-focus-the-forgotten-21st-century-skill.pdf
Now what was I doing before I found this article?
Friday, November 5, 2010
The secret of self-control : The New Yorker
The secret of self-control : The New Yorker
Fascinating article about the research done at Stanford University related to "self control" and delaying gratification. The research finding is so relevant to teachers and especially parents.
As I read the article I wondered how my own kids at that age would have treated the marshmallow situation.
Now older but still children they are slowly learning to wait. Learning to work hard and save money for the things they want. I often have problems with the things they want (why are those American Dolls so expensive!) but I do try to instill in them the importance of only buying what they can afford.
Re: The American Girl Doll my wife disagree. For the cost of one Amer. Girl I can buy 1 really nice "generic" doll and have $80 left to put in savings or something else. My wife sides with the "specialness" of the American Girl doll. Perhaps my gender renders me unable to understand a $100 doll. And yes I would feel the same way about a $100 set of Legos.
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