Iowa Core Discussion

For those visiting, this online community is right now in the developmental stage.  Some of what you see is only there to test the different features of the ning. 

When teachers use sound instructional practice for the purpose of gathering information on student learning, they are applying this information in a formative way. In this sense, formative assessment is pedagogy and clearly cannot be separated from instruction. It is what good teachers do. The distinction lies in what teachers actually do with the information they gather. How is it being used to inform instruction? How is it being shared with and engaging students? It's not teachers just collecting information/data on student learning; it's what they do with the information they collect.

a mile wide and an inch deep

In turn, it allows the educator to amend their instruction and content before they administer the summative assessment.

SAI members might be interested in downloading a Webinar on taking initiatives to scale and reading principles on how to create "sticky" messages that convey to the public exactly what you're striving to accomplish in your school improvement efforts.

Does this jettisoning of time-honored titles mean that the paperless classroom is also lacking a creator, controller and grader?  Is the paperless classroom also a teacherless paradigm?  The answer is in some regards, yes.  I have removed myself from center stage.  I have relinquished the need to control every class.  I have stopped seeing work as stagnant…completed and submitted by students and then graded by me.  I have let go of my need to pre-plan months at a time, in favor of following the path that unfolds as we learn together.  My classes are not, however, teacherless, just less about the teaching and more about the learning.  The students know that I am ready and willing to be student to their insights, that they can teach, create, control and even evaluate their own learning.  This shift has inspired a true spirit of collaboration, critical thinking, and communication in B304–it has been an amazing semester and has changed the course of my career for good!

Don't block: Educate.

Would you rather your child encounter questionable content alone in their room or in a classroom mentored by a trained professional?

We are educators. Nobody said education was going to be comfortable.

Teachers put off dealing with non-emergency situations and needs until students are working

High school and middle grade teachers have bellwork/warm-up/sponge activities on the board or overhead projector so students get to work as soon as they enter the classroom

Objectives for the day are displayed on the board

I like to say, "let's talk about it later..." It gives students a chance to cool down and me a chance to think about it...as well as keeps the class moving forward.

Friedman

(1) critical thinking and problem solving; (2) collaboration and leadership; (3) agility and adaptability; (4) initiative and entrepreneurialism; (5) effective oral and written communication; (6) accessing and analyzing information; and (7) curiosity and imagination.