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Bill Olson

For Effective Schools, Teamwork Is Not Optional | Edutopia - 0 views

  • The greatest resource that teachers have is other teachers. But sadly, teamwork and collaboration are not commonly found in schools. Having taught for 20 years myself, I know how it works. Teachers have very challenging and stressful jobs, and part of what contributes to their level of challenge and stress is a teacher's tendency to isolate him- or herself. How many teachers close their door and feel like they are all alone in fighting their overwhelming battle against ignorance and apathy and paperwork and standardized testing?
  • began by adopting those exact habits of preparing alone and working in isolation. I was a lonely superhero who went home exhausted each day without the encouragement or support of my more experienced peers
  • I had assumed that I could be more effective when planning and working alone, but I eventually found that, when working with people, efficient is rarely truly effective.
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  • To alleviate this feeling, instead of being tucked neatly away in separate rooms all the time, school administrations should give teachers the time and opportunity to talk and plan together, and to share laughter, encouragement, and ideas.
  • Effective administrations ensure that teachers can work together to plan, share ideas, and support each other. Once educators experience the benefits of collaboration, they will appreciate the camaraderie and creativity it provides.
Siri Anderson

Paradigms Restrained: Implications of New and Emerging Technologies for Learning and Co... - 1 views

  • Instructional technology seeks to disprove the idea that "great teachers are born, not made."
  • "Students today can't prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write." From a Teachers Conference, 1703. "Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?" From a principal's publication, 1815. "Students today depend too much on ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil." From the National Association of Teachers Journal, 1907. "Students today depend on store-bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or cipher until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education." From The Rural American Teacher, 1928. "Students depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of how to cope in the business world, which is not so extravagant." From the Parent Teachers Association Gazette, 1941. "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries." From Federal Teachers, 1950.
  • What this suggests is that all technologies, be they things that plug in or advances in thought, have various affordances that make them at times useful and at times not useful. The trick is to figure out what makes them useful in what situations in order to leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
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  • Organizational instructional strategies are those decisions the instructional designer makes when designing learning activities. The most important of these decisions is how the designer will assist learners to process new information and to process at a deeper level, producing meaningful learning, whether or not a teacher is presen
  • The choice of strategy is based on the designer's belief in the independent existence of knowledge: does it exist without the learner? Which epistemological approach to learning a designer espouses will have great impact on the organizational instructional strategy selected for use.
  • The goal of learning from the objectivist perspective is to communicate or transfer complete and correct understanding to the learner in the most efficient and effective way possible
  • In simple terms, objectivism holds that learners are the passive receivers of knowledge.
  • Cognitivism requires that learners devise methods for learning content.
  • Cognitivism recognizes that most people must develop a method of processing information to integrate it into their own mental models. The most recognizable mechanism in cognitive theory may be the definition of short term and long-term memory, and the need then to devise learner-appropriate methods of moving information from short-term memory to long-term memory. Learners must develop methods to learn how to learn. Consequently, interest in critical thinking skills has become fashionable in education. In terms of what this means for learning, it may be said that the truths are absolute in terms of what people are supposed to learn, but that we provide them latitude in how they arrive at those truths.
  • Constructivism, described by von Glaserfeld (1977) as an alternate theory of knowing, is the belief that knowledge is personally constructed from internal representations by individuals who use their experiences as a foundation (
  • he major differences between objectivism and constructivism involve beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how one acquires it. Objectivists view knowledge as an absolute truth; constructivists are open to different interpretations depending on who is interpreting. Objectivists believe learning involves gaining the answer; constructivists believe that because there are many perspectives, a correct answer is a limiting factor in learning. Constructivists say learning should focus on understanding and it may involve seeing multiple perspectives.
  • Transfer of inert knowledge from one context to another unfamiliar context (i.e. the real world) is difficult and unlikely.
  • nchored instruction is simply the idea that learning should be centered on problems.
  • Cognitive-flexibility theory is centered on "the ability to spontaneously restructure one's knowledge, in many ways, in adaptive response to radically changing situational demands . . .
  • The idea is to allow students to criss-cross the landscape of a content area so that they might have a rich mental model of the domain. The trick is to determine how much complexity a given group of learners is capable of handling without becoming lost or discouraged. A series of scenarios escalating in complexity can usually accommodate most learners.
  • Kurzweil (1999) says there is exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth; examining the speed and density of computation beginning with the first mechanical computers and not just the transistors that Moore used, he concluded that this doubling now occurs every year. He notes that "if the automobile industry had made as much progress [as the computing industry] in the past fifty years, a car today would cost a hundredth of a cent and go faster than the speed of light" (Kurzweil 1999, 25).
  • Already today it is becoming archaic and superfluous to teach facts. Instead, education needs to focus on ways of thinking. In particular, students will need to be able to recognize a problem, determine what information might be needed to solve a problem, find the information required, evaluate the information found, synthesize that information into a solution for the problem, apply the solution to the problem, and evaluate the results of that application
  • By the year 2099 there will no longer be any clear distinction between humans and computers.
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    This artcle really struck me in terms of the descriptions of instructional design and the way they influence the type of learning that happens. Much social studies instruction, it seems to me, produces "inert knowledge" which is why most of us can't remember it later. Consider the descriptions I've highlighted of anchored instruction for an alternative approach.
julielyncarlson

Effective Teaching Practices for Students in Inclusive Classrooms | W&M School of Educa... - 1 views

  • Collaborate with special education teachers, related service providers, and paraprofessionals on a regular basis
  • at least once a week
  • Teachers alternate roles of presenting, reviewing, and monitoring instruction.
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  • Be aware of student needs and provide the accommodations
  • Students are divided into mixed-ability groups
  • One person teaches, reteaches, or enriches a concept for a small group, while the other monitors or teaches the remaining students.
  • Tips for Classroom Management
    • julielyncarlson
       
      How do I incorporate accommodations into the classroom rules? What do I need to think about here?
  • Differentiate instruction
  • Think "universal design" when planning instruction. "
  • Provide opportunities for students to work in small groups and in pairs.
  • graphic organizers
  • "I do" (teacher model), "We do" (group practice), and "You do"
  • think, pair, share"
  • Teach learning strategies along with content material.
sadielaurenn

5 Effective Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom | KQED Education - 0 views

  • One of the most common accommodations for students with special needs is preferential seating. This doesn’t always mean in the front row of the classroom right next to the teacher’s desk
  • Many general education mainstream students cannot perform the following simple tasks: telling time from an analog clock writing a simple letter signing their name in cursive note taking and study skills
  • Collaborative teaching looks differently depending on what school, level, and setting you are working. I am fortunate enough to work in a school where collaborative teaching is encouraged and celebrated. Teachers have common planning times, and professional development time is often set aside for teachers to plan together.
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  • Posting daily schedules Displaying classroom rules and expectations Encouraging peer to peer instruction and leadership Using signals to quiet down, start working, and putting away materials. Giving students folders, labels and containers to organize supplies. Checking in with students while they work Utilizing proactive rather than reactive interventions as needed Speaking to students privately about any concerns Employing specific, targeted positive reinforcement when a student meets a behavioral or academic goal.
emerickjudy

Culturally Responsive Teaching - 1 views

  • concerns that, without the proper guidance, education leaders and individual educators can adopt simplistic views of what it means to teach in culturally responsive ways
  • key scholars and teacher educators Gloria Ladson-Billings, Geneva Gay, and Django Paris
    • emerickjudy
       
      How do educators know if students are benefitting from the CRP or CRT approaches utilized in the classroom?
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  • culturally relevant pedagogy to describe a form of teaching that calls for engaging learners whose experiences and cultures are traditionally excluded from mainstream settings
  • First, teaching must yield academic success. Second, teaching must help students develop positive ethnic and cultural identities while simultaneously helping them achieve academically. Third, teaching must support students’ ability “to recognize, understand, and critique current and social inequalities.”
  • Geneva Gay
  • culturally responsive teaching to define an approach that emphasizes “using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them.”
  • positive changes on multiple levels, including instructional techniques, instructional materials, student-teacher relationships, classroom climate, and self-awareness to improve learning for students.
  • Like Ladson-Billings, Gay also places a strong emphasis on providing opportunities for students to think critically about inequities in their own or their peers’ experience.
  • Django Paris
  • culturally sustaining pedagogy, an approach that takes into account the many ways learners' identity and culture evolve
Siri Anderson

"The Effects of Parent-Teacher Communication using Digital Tools in Ear" by NaTeal Bosc... - 0 views

  • Although Seesaw had much greater efficacy at the early elementary than middle school level, this may have been related to institutional factors.
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    This is that project I presented in Amsterdam!
chlohawk

To reach girls in classroom, align practices to specific learning needs - kappanonline.org - 1 views

  • Characteristics of lessons Clear lessons; Lessons relevant to students’ lives; and Collaborative lessons. Particular activities Class discussions; Hands-on; Multimodal; Creativity and the creative arts; and Out-of-class experiences.
  • Among the eight components that we identified as contributing to effective and engaging lessons, the components reflected in the above narrative are relevance to this girl’s life and group collaboration.
  • One central finding of Reichert and Hawley (2010b) is that boys elicit the kinds of teaching they need.
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  • Teachers designed lessons that captured student attention, which led to more meaningful classroom learning. This suggests that girls, like boys, elicit the pedagogy they need, though perhaps without (overtly) displaying resistance to the degree that boys do, and that both male and female teachers of girls are especially attuned to what girls need in terms of pedagogy and activities that maximize girls’ engagement.
    • chlohawk
       
      How can I work to meet the needs of boys AND girls in my classroom? What are the practices that will enhance the learning of them both without taking away from the other in any way?
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    Relating lessons to real life, having clear lessons that are collaborative, including class discussions, creating hands on activities, including creative arts and out of classroom experiences can better enhance the education of girl learners.
crispinfletcher

Trauma-Informed Schools | NEA - 7 views

    • crispinfletcher
       
      1 in 5 means any given class there are going to be more then a handful of students with 2 or more ACEs
    • crispinfletcher
       
      What are some key skills and methods to build your teacher toolboxs to help reach all your students?
    • crispinfletcher
       
      video on slide 7 we recommend
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  • adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
  • One in five U.S. children had two or more ACEs
  • most educators encounter trauma-affected students throughout their careers
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    Hi there, Joe! I'm so glad that you posed this question in response to this great resource. As somebody with several ACEs myself, I think that using a good mix of empathy and sympathy is a great place to start. Put yourself in their shoes and think of what you would have liked for your teacher to have done to help you, whether or not you share that experience with the student. Also, your colleagues are on your team, so pick their brains for what works for them. Lastly, educate yourself and learn about what you can do for your student, and from your student! Sometimes it can be as simple as asking your student what you can do to help and hopefully they could find a way to communicate their needs.
jkolodji

Why Are Gifted Programs Needed? | National Association for Gifted Children - 1 views

  • Gifted Programs Need
    • nikkilh
       
      The need for gifted programs
  • Gifted programming positively influences students’ futures. Several longitudinal studies have shown that gifted programs have a positive effect on students’ post-secondary plans.
  • Further benefits of gifted programs have been shown to include that students who had participated in gifted programs maintained their interests over time and stayed involved in creative productive work after they finished college and graduate school.
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  • Additionally, gifted students need gifted programming in many cases because the “general education program is not yet ready to meet the needs of gifted students” (p. 9) due to lack of general educators’ training in gifted education and the pressure classroom teachers face to raise the performance of their struggling students. [2
    • drewevanaho
       
      lack of training
  • According to one report on high-achieving students, more than 7 in 10 teachers of these students surveyed noted that their brightest students were not challenged or given a chance to “thrive” in their classrooms.
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    The advantages of challenging gifted students in stats and evidence.
clwisniewski

Accommodations & Modifications - Teaching Students with Visual Impairments - 2 views

  • Accommodations do not reduce grade level standards but rather help provide access to the course content. They do not alter the amount or complexity of the information taught to the student. Accommodations are changes in the program from a way things are typically done so that a student with a disability can have equal opportunity to participate and allow the student to be successful. These changes do not substantially or fundamentally lower or alter the standards.
    • sadielaurenn
       
      A group thing to remember, not only with this impairment, but when making all accommodations.
  • Be based on current individualized needs;Reduce the effect of the disability to access the current curriculum;Be specific about where, when, who and how the accommodations will be provided;Include current input from parents, teachers, student, and therapists;Be based on current specific needs in each content area.
    • sadielaurenn
       
      Again, great to remember with all accommodations!
  • Changes in the medium used:braillelarge printaudiotapeelectronic textoral testing/scribing Changes made in the way materials are presentedCopies of overhead projector/smartboard activities to be viewed at his/her desk as needed.The teacher or presenter should verbalize all information as it is written on the board or overhead. Information presented on the board should be in a high contrast color. Use a slant-board to position papers appropriately for reduced visual strain and to avoid glare.The computer screen should be eye level and tilted to avoid glare.Use recorded text as needed.Classroom recording of lectures/instruction by the student.Large Print textbooks/materials.Braille textbooks/materials.Clear, dark copies of worksheets.Use of a reading guide to assist in keeping place while reading and completing worksheets.Present materials against a plain backgroundUse a good contrast background and present on a contrasting tray or mat. Time requirements:Time and a half or double timeConsideration for the student's reading/writing speedConsideration for the time needed to use adaptive equipmentConsideration for eye fatigue and scanning ability Changes in the way students demonstrate learningModified assignments (when appropriate and needed) to accommodate visual fatigue (extended time and/or shortened amount of assignments).Avoid activities requiring extensive visual scanning.Avoid visually cluttered materials.Allow students to use (bold marker, 20/20 pen, mechanical pencil, or another unique writing tool) to complete assignments.Use of bold line paper.Use of raised line paper.Abbreviated homework assignment (includes all concepts, just fewer items).Shorter written assignment.Oral testing. Changes in Setting: preferential seating in the classroom for all films, assemblies and demonstration lessons.seated facing away from windows.permission to move about the room as needed to see information presented away from his/her desk. Changes in the Setting: EnvironmentAvoid glare in general from overhead lights. Consider placing light filters on fluorescent lights.Open and close doors fully (a half-open door can be a dangerous obstacle).Eliminate unnecessary background noise. Consider isolation headphones.Eliminate clutter from the room, particularly in aisles and movement paths.Place materials in consistent places so that students know where particular items are always located.Preferential locker position and locks with keys vs. combination locks.Use of task lighting as needed.
    • sadielaurenn
       
      An INCREDIBLE list of accommodations that are available when/if working with a student that has a visual impairment
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  • Modifications lower the learning expectations and should only be used if this is the only way for the student to be successful. Parents must understand if modifications to grade level standards are being made, their child may be at risk for not meeting graduation requirements.
    • clwisniewski
       
      Important to remember! We can make accommodations for students, but not to change the expectations unless approved by the school
  • Reducing assignments so a student only completes the easiest problems;Altering assignments to make them easier;Requiring a student to learn fewer materials that are required by the State's academic content standards; Providing help to a student via hints or clues to the correct answers on assignments and tests.
    • clwisniewski
       
      If we have a visually impaired student that needs modifications, these are ways to help, which can be indicated on their IEP
Siri Anderson

leading and learning: Making learning Visible - John Hattie - 0 views

  • Hattie's meta analysis ( a synthesis of 50000 previous studies) found that overwhelmingly student teacher interaction came out on top.
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    This is just a general resource on best practice in education. It applies, certainly, to Social Studies instruction but is a great overall resource to have for knowing what is most likely to work!
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    Democracy is contingent on having an educated populace in the 20th and 21st centuries. Therefore, knowing how to effectively teach is incumbent on those of us trying to support this part of our society.
Siri Anderson

TeacherPrints | Demo - 0 views

  •  
    This looks like a really interesting tool. I'd love it if someone tried it in their class and then shared the results with us in class.
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