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"Close Reading and Argument Writing - Authentically Across the Curriculum 7/16/2015 0 Comments Close reading of informational texts and non-fiction articles is not - and should not be - reserved for language arts classes. Every content area would be immensely enhanced if science teachers, social studies teachers, physical education teachers, welding teachers, woodworking teachers (in other words, "all technical subjects," as Common Core states) would not push aside the textbook, but instead embrace it, along with content area and trade articles. Students would then simultaneously learn how to dissect the readings while gaining knowledge in these content areas. What often happens is that teachers feel that students can't handle the text books or can't read the articles independently - and often that is true. However, when teachers instead go into a survival mode, of sorts, and read aloud the whole chapter or article or summarize it with a slideshow, it ends up doing a disservice to students - students are not learning HOW to read these complex texts. They are not learning how to acquire the information on their own. They are not being given the skills to read the sometimes intricate information within a particular content area or even within their possible future trade. They are not being given the opportunity to read, understand, articulate, and discuss or even debate topics within their area of study. Teachers sometimes feel that they can't do these things with students because they are not language arts teachers, or because they don't have time, or simply because they don't know how. Alternatively, a simple solution is to let go of the control and let students do…..with the guidance called close reading. Close reading is a guided reading approach. It is guided because 1) the close reading strategy is reserved for complex texts that are often too high for students to be left with independently and 2) students don't use close reading strateg

"The Minute Paper comes in many variations, but the simplest one involves wrapping up the formal class period a few minutes early and posing two questions to your students: What was the most important thing you learned today? What question still remains in your mind? Taken together, those two questions accomplish multiple objectives. The first one not only requires students to remember something from class and articulate it in their own words (more about that in a moment), but it also requires them to do some quick thinking. They have to reflect on the material and make a judgment about the main point of that day's class. The second question encourages them to probe their own minds and consider what they haven't truly understood. Most of us are infected by what learning theorists sometimes call "illusions of fluency," which means that we believe we have obtained mastery over something when we truly have not. To answer the second question, students have to decide where confusion or weaknesses remain in their own comprehension of the day's material. Closing connections. If we want students to obtain mastery and expertise in our subjects, they need to be capable of making their own connections between what they are learning and the world around them - current events, campus debates, personal experiences. The last five minutes of class represent an ideal opportunity for students to use the course material from that day and brainstorm some new connections.The metacognitive five. We have increasing evidence from the learning sciences that students engage in poor study strategies. Likewise, research shows that most people are plagued by the illusions of fluency. The solution on both fronts is better metacognition - that is, a clearer understanding of our own learning. What if all of us worked together deliberately to achieve that?Close the loop. Finally, go back to any of the strategies I introduced in my recent column on the first five minutes of clas

"Open with a question or two. Another favorite education writer of mine, the cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham, argues that teachers should focus more on the use of questions. "The material I want students to learn," he writes in his book Why Don't Students Like School?, "is actually the answer to a question. On its own, the answer is almost never interesting. But if you know the question, the answer may be quite interesting." My colleague Greg Weiner, an associate professor of political science, puts those ideas into practice. At the beginning of class, he shows four or five questions on a slide for students to consider. Class then proceeds in the usual fashion. At the end, he returns to the questions so that students can both see some potential answers and understand that they have learned something that day. What did we learn last time? A favorite activity of many instructors is to spend a few minutes at the opening of class reviewing what happened in the previous session. That makes perfect sense, and is supported by the idea that we don't learn from single exposure to material - we need to return frequently to whatever we are attempting to master.But instead of offering a capsule review to students, why not ask them to offer one back to you?Reactivate what they learned in previous courses. Plenty of excellent evidence suggests that whatever knowledge students bring into a course has a major influence on what they take away from it. So a sure-fire technique to improve student learning is to begin class by revisiting, not just what they learned in the previous session, but what they already knew about the subject matter.Write it down. All three of the previous activities would benefit from having students spend a few minutes writing down their responses. That way, every student has the opportunity to answer the question, practice memory retrieval from the previous session, or surface their prior knowledge - and not just the students most likely to

"Teaching children according to their individual "learning style" does not achieve better results and should be ditched by schools in favour of evidence-based practice, according to leading scientists. Thirty eminent academics from the worlds of neuroscience, education and psychology have signed a letter to the Guardian voicing their concern about the popularity of the learning style approach among some teachers. ..."

Primer numero de la Revista online gratuita de la "National Science Teacher Association" americana sobre enseñanza STEM: Connected Science Learning is an online journal that highlights STEM education experiences that bridge the gap between in-school and out-of-school settings. It features articles about highly effective preK-12 STEM learning programs that promote collaboration between the in-school and out-of-school communities, and shares research that supports such efforts. The journal is a joint initiative of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). Funding to pilot and evaluate the effectiveness and demand for the first two issues is provided through a National Science Foundation (NSF) EAGER award (DRL-1420262).

"WordPress has many uses that most of us are exceedingly familiar with. It can be a blog, business website, art portfolio, e-commerce store and so much more. Over the last few years another use case has become more and more popular: WordPress as a Learning Management System (LMS)."

"Back in the 1980s, a group of social workers in Jamaica visited low-income homes one hour a week for two years, bearing age-appropriate toys for the kids and advice on child rearing for the parents. Researchers tracked the outcomes, and a generation later, the results are in. The children whose homes were visited by social workers became adults who earn wages that are 25 percent higher than those earned by peers who had not been visited. Their I.Q.s are an average seven points higher, and they are less likely to resort to crime or suffer from depression. Other studies, including several recent ones in the United States, have shown similar results, contributing to a consensus on the importance of early childhood development that has led governments around the world to increase spending on the first five years of life. In Latin America and the Caribbean, a region of longstanding social and economic inequality, several countries have been especially ambitious. Brazil and Chile doubled the coverage of day care services over the past decade, while in Ecuador they grew sixfold. These investments build on historic gains in child nutrition and health. But while Latin American children are now healthier and more likely to attend preschool, they still lag far behind in learning, particularly in the areas of language and cognition, when compared with their counterparts in wealthy countries. What are we doing wrong? ..."

"Back in the 1980s, a group of social workers in Jamaica visited low-income homes one hour a week for two years, bearing age-appropriate toys for the kids and advice on child rearing for the parents. Researchers tracked the outcomes, and a generation later, the results are in. The children whose homes were visited by social workers became adults who earn wages that are 25 percent higher than those earned by peers who had not been visited. Their I.Q.s are an average seven points higher, and they are less likely to resort to crime or suffer from depression. Other studies, including several recent ones in the United States, have shown similar results, contributing to a consensus on the importance of early childhood development that has led governments around the world to increase spending on the first five years of life. In Latin America and the Caribbean, a region of longstanding social and economic inequality, several countries have been especially ambitious. Brazil and Chile doubled the coverage of day care services over the past decade, while in Ecuador they grew sixfold. These investments build on historic gains in child nutrition and health. But while Latin American children are now healthier and more likely to attend preschool, they still lag far behind in learning, particularly in the areas of language and cognition, when compared with their counterparts in wealthy countries. What are we doing wrong? ..."

This paper reports on the outcomes of a mini-research project about visible forms of collaboration when children are learning with the support of Wikis-online editable websites. The findings were based on observing the children using the Wiki, analysis of the video recording of the task and the survey that was completed by the children using the Wiki as a tool for a task. Qualitative research methodology became a primary technique for the data collection and content analysis approach used to explore the children's behaviour when investigating the use of the wiki and video recording of the sessions. Various types of behaviour associated with collaboration, were observed when the children were working on Wiki pages with their peers.  

Read this article and find out why native speakers of English have a great advantage. English: The Inescapable Language — The American Magazine

Artículo en inglés... "Mobile devices as teaching tools are becoming a more and more common part of the American education experience in classrooms, from preschool through graduate school. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 58% of U.S. teachers own smartphones - 10 percentage points higher than the national average for adults. Those teachers are building that tech-savviness into their lesson plans, too, by embracing bring-your-own-device policies and leading the push for an iPad for every student. In 2013, an estimated 25% of U.S. schools had BYOD policies in place and it's reasonable to assume those numbers have risen in the past two years. ..."

Artículo en inglés... "Mobile devices as teaching tools are becoming a more and more common part of the American education experience in classrooms, from preschool through graduate school. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 58% of U.S. teachers own smartphones - 10 percentage points higher than the national average for adults. Those teachers are building that tech-savviness into their lesson plans, too, by embracing bring-your-own-device policies and leading the push for an iPad for every student. In 2013, an estimated 25% of U.S. schools had BYOD policies in place and it's reasonable to assume those numbers have risen in the past two years. ..."

"there is no live teacher engagement... Currently, just 10 percent of MOOC registrants complete their courses. Where Will MOOCs Be Just Two Years From Now? Within the next two years, MOOCs will quickly evolve from lacking teacher engagement to having a lot of teacher engagement. Right now, it's essentially a model where computers are teaching students. This model is simply not sustainable in the long run without live student-teacher engagement. Teachers are the key that unlocks learning in these courses. They help students resolve issues and problems. Will the biggest change in online education moving forward be putting live teachers at the center of the MOOC (not just on video)? We will know the answer very soon."

"there is no live teacher engagement... Currently, just 10 percent of MOOC registrants complete their courses. Where Will MOOCs Be Just Two Years From Now? Within the next two years, MOOCs will quickly evolve from lacking teacher engagement to having a lot of teacher engagement. Right now, it's essentially a model where computers are teaching students. This model is simply not sustainable in the long run without live student-teacher engagement. Teachers are the key that unlocks learning in these courses. They help students resolve issues and problems. Will the biggest change in online education moving forward be putting live teachers at the center of the MOOC (not just on video)? We will know the answer very soon."

"Seguramente los colegas que han hecho de las TIC algo cotidiano para su profesión se sentirán de algún modo identificados con lo que voy a decir: cada vez que regreso de mis extensas horas de clase, me encuentro con una gran cantidad de mails que responder; aulas virtuales que cargar, alimentar y seguir, y redes sociales en las que responder a demandas diversas. No me voy a quejar de algo que yo misma generé por convicción, pero quiero compartir algunas reflexiones respecto del impacto laboral que ha provocado en nuestra profesión este uso cotidiano de la tecnología, que le suma una gran cantidad de horas de trabajo no reconocidas a nuestras jornadas. Me provoca una gran contradicción pensar que a eso que le llamamos "el sistema" le importa nada que sus docentes pasemos extensas jornadas abocados a la comunicación y a la producción de contenido digital. Eso que llamamos "sistema" opina que nuestro trabajo se mide por la cantidad de horas presenciales que pasamos dentro una institución educativa, pero desconoce todo aquello que pasa fuera de ella. En Argentina incluso, hay una larga tradición de falta de reconocimiento hacia las horas de planificación y preparación de las clases. Todo lo que tiene de positivo el hecho de pensar que el aula no se reduce a cuatro paredes y que la enseñanza y el aprendizaje trascienden las fronteras escolares, es directamente proporcional a la ansiedad por la pronta respuesta sustentada en la fantasía del "docente 24 hs". Hay una especie de idea dando vueltas en los alumnos de la disponibilidad permanente, que se vé por ejemplo en situaciones como salir de dar clase un día a la noche, llegar a tu casa, arrancar el día siguiente a las 8 hs con el comentario de un estudiante de: "-¡Profe, no respondiste mi mail!". Y una intenta contestar desconcertada pensando "estar en falta": "- ¿Cuándo me lo mandaste?", ante lo que escucha: "- Y… habrá sido a las 2 de la madrugada…". ¿Acaso se imaginan un "docen

"Seguramente los colegas que han hecho de las TIC algo cotidiano para su profesión se sentirán de algún modo identificados con lo que voy a decir: cada vez que regreso de mis extensas horas de clase, me encuentro con una gran cantidad de mails que responder; aulas virtuales que cargar, alimentar y seguir, y redes sociales en las que responder a demandas diversas. No me voy a quejar de algo que yo misma generé por convicción, pero quiero compartir algunas reflexiones respecto del impacto laboral que ha provocado en nuestra profesión este uso cotidiano de la tecnología, que le suma una gran cantidad de horas de trabajo no reconocidas a nuestras jornadas. Me provoca una gran contradicción pensar que a eso que le llamamos "el sistema" le importa nada que sus docentes pasemos extensas jornadas abocados a la comunicación y a la producción de contenido digital. Eso que llamamos "sistema" opina que nuestro trabajo se mide por la cantidad de horas presenciales que pasamos dentro una institución educativa, pero desconoce todo aquello que pasa fuera de ella. En Argentina incluso, hay una larga tradición de falta de reconocimiento hacia las horas de planificación y preparación de las clases. Todo lo que tiene de positivo el hecho de pensar que el aula no se reduce a cuatro paredes y que la enseñanza y el aprendizaje trascienden las fronteras escolares, es directamente proporcional a la ansiedad por la pronta respuesta sustentada en la fantasía del "docente 24 hs". Hay una especie de idea dando vueltas en los alumnos de la disponibilidad permanente, que se vé por ejemplo en situaciones como salir de dar clase un día a la noche, llegar a tu casa, arrancar el día siguiente a las 8 hs con el comentario de un estudiante de: "-¡Profe, no respondiste mi mail!". Y una intenta contestar desconcertada pensando "estar en falta": "- ¿Cuándo me lo mandaste?", ante lo que escucha: "- Y… habrá sido a las 2 de la madrugada…". ¿Acaso se imaginan un "docen

"It has me thinking about what it would mean to improve online classes. A few ideas come to mind: Use multiple platforms. I'm not against using an LMS as a central hub. However, I think it's valuable to experiment with the types of productivity tools you will actually use outside of a classroom. Use Google Docs to share ideas, create surveys, and ask questions. Use Google Hangouts to meet as a group. Go project-based. I haven't figured this out entirely with my first class but my hope is that we can go fully project-based in the same way that my face-to-face class is. In fact, the asynchronous nature of online classes actually means there is a better potential of creating a project-based culture that mirrors the way people actually work on projects. Make something together. I use a collaboration grid with co-creating and communicating on separate spectrums (x-axis) and multimedia and text on another spectrum (y-axis). This has been an effective way to think through collaborative tools that allow students to co-create. Embrace a synchronous/asynchronous blend: I love using Voxer because students can speak back and forth in the moment. However, if they miss it, they can listen to it later. The same is true of using a Google Hangouts On Air. Make it more connective. We tend to treat online instruction as if it is a linear process and we don't do enough to link things back and forth and connect ideas, resources, discussions and content creation in a seamless, back-and-forth nature. Incorporate multimedia. It's a simple idea, but I create a short video at the beginning of each week and I encourage students to create video and audio as well. This has a way of making things more concrete. There's something deeply human about hearing an actual human voice. I know, crazy, right? Go mobile. I don't simply mean use a smart phone. I mean assign some things that allow students to get out in the world and create videos, snap pictures,

"It has me thinking about what it would mean to improve online classes. A few ideas come to mind: Use multiple platforms. I'm not against using an LMS as a central hub. However, I think it's valuable to experiment with the types of productivity tools you will actually use outside of a classroom. Use Google Docs to share ideas, create surveys, and ask questions. Use Google Hangouts to meet as a group. Go project-based. I haven't figured this out entirely with my first class but my hope is that we can go fully project-based in the same way that my face-to-face class is. In fact, the asynchronous nature of online classes actually means there is a better potential of creating a project-based culture that mirrors the way people actually work on projects. Make something together. I use a collaboration grid with co-creating and communicating on separate spectrums (x-axis) and multimedia and text on another spectrum (y-axis). This has been an effective way to think through collaborative tools that allow students to co-create. Embrace a synchronous/asynchronous blend: I love using Voxer because students can speak back and forth in the moment. However, if they miss it, they can listen to it later. The same is true of using a Google Hangouts On Air. Make it more connective. We tend to treat online instruction as if it is a linear process and we don't do enough to link things back and forth and connect ideas, resources, discussions and content creation in a seamless, back-and-forth nature. Incorporate multimedia. It's a simple idea, but I create a short video at the beginning of each week and I encourage students to create video and audio as well. This has a way of making things more concrete. There's something deeply human about hearing an actual human voice. I know, crazy, right? Go mobile. I don't simply mean use a smart phone. I mean assign some things that allow students to get out in the world and create videos, snap pictures,