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amacrae

The Third Teacher - 1 views

DIIGO_FILE_HOME/5qz9p/5nc2

shared by amacrae on 19 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • 2Getting Started with the Physical EnvironmentOVERALL ...It is both an art and a science to design (as opposed to decorate) a learning environment that responds to our ultimate goal as educators – to develop independent and rigorous thought. Therefore, if we want to foster discovery and reflection, dialogue and the sharing of ideas, the overall physical environment should include:•A large gathering space for whole-group work and discussions, located near whiteboards, easels and/or projector screens.•A gathering space for small-group and whole-group discussions – where students can see clearly the representations of learning that are posted on boards or screens and hear classmates as they share ideas.•Flexible and reconfigurable space for small-group collaborative work and inquiry – space must allow for groupings of various sizes, such as pairs, triads and groups of four or more.•Desks and tables configured to facilitate discussion by allowing eye contact with peers and teacher, the unencumbered flow of traffic and enough space for students to write collaboratively.•Active areas for inquiry, investigation and wonder and quiet areas for thinking and exploring technology – all areas need to be accessible to students for communicating and documenting their own learning (e.g., computers, computer software, tablets, digital cameras and video recorders, document cameras, interactive white boards).•Instructional materials organized in such a way as to provide easy selection and access for all students – materials may include computer software, educational web sites and applications, found materials, graphic organizers, newspapers and other media, resource texts, etc.FOR MATHEMATICS ...Mathematically literate students demonstrate the capacity to “formulate, employ and interpret mathematics” (OECD, 2012, p. 4); they view themselves as mathematicians, knowing that mathematics can be used to understand important issues and to solve meaningful problems, not just in school but in life. By extension, the physical environment for mathematics learning should include: •Spaces where students can use manipulatives to solve problems and record their solutions.•Board and/or wall space to display student solutions for Math Congress and Bansho – student solutions should be easily visible from the group gathering space.•Space to post co-created reference charts such as glossary terms and past and current summaries of learning that specifically support the development of the big ideas currently under study.•Instructional materials organized in such a way as to provide easy selection and access for all students; may include mathematics manipulatives, calculators and other mathematical tools, mathematical texts, hand-held technology.FOR LITERACY ... Today’s literate learners experience “a constant stream of ideas and information” – they need strategies for interpretation and making sense and lots of practice in identifying meaning, bias and perspective (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009, 2006). By extension, the physical environment for literacy learning should include: •Spaces where students can talk, listen, read and write.A place for wonder, mystery and discovery ...“We need to think about creating classroom environments that give children the opportunity for wonder, mystery and discovery; an environment that speaks to young children’s inherent curiosity and innate yearning for exploration is a classroom where children are passionate about learning and love school.” (Heard & McDonough, 2009)
  • maintain that the key to learning in today’s world is not just the physical space we provide for students but the social space as well (
  • A large gathering space
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • mall-
Justin Medved

The Ultimate Directory Of Free Image Sources - The Edublogger - 2 views

www.theedublogger.com/...irectory-of-free-image-sources

shared by Justin Medved on 02 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Justin Medved on 02 Sep 14
     
    We've spent some time categorizing our favorite sources for free images and organizing them in such a way as to help you find what you're looking for. Here are the criteria we've examined: Subjects: Does a site focus on specific genres of images, or is it a mass collection of various image types? High Resolution: Lots of great image resources emerged in the pre-Web 2.0 phase, but it wasn't until bandwidth dramatically increased that allowed for the uploading of much higher resolution images suitable for editing and printing. License: The licenses vary extremely from source to source. Some are listed as Creative Commons (with variations on attribution and availability for commercial use), others are Public Domain, and still others have unique licenses that maintain copyright while allowing users to download or embed photographs. To better understand Creative Commons licenses, check out our post on Images, Copyright, & Creative Commons. Safety: Government sites and many specific subject collections are extremely safe for students to use. But before you start using one of these sites for student blogging, check out our safety note and examine the site to see if you find it appropriate for students. Some sites are terrible for filtering out inappropriate content, while others display advertising from paid stock-photo websites that can often be questionable, depending on the age level of students.
Derek Doucet

Five-Minute Film Festival: Tips and Tools for PBL Planning | Edutopia - 3 views

www.edutopia.org/...al-project-based-learning-tips

21st Century learning PBL edreform edtech SAMR teaching

shared by Derek Doucet on 17 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Video Playlist: A Project-Based Learning Toolkit Keep watching the player below to see the rest of the playlist, or view it on YouTube.
    • Derek Doucet
      Derek Doucet on 17 Oct 14
       
      This is a one stop for PBL!!
  • Project-Based Learning: Explained. (03:50) First, let's get the basics out of the way. This video is a great tool for when you just need to describe PBL in four minutes. Created by the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) -- a one-stop resource for PBL tools.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • ating Essential Questions (07:01) Coming up with an essential question (also called a guiding or driving question) is one of the first key steps in designing a project. For a fun tool to help craft effective driving questions, check out BIE's "tubric."
  • BIE's Project Planner Tutorial (02:02) BIE offers a powerul and simple online tool, the Project Planner, for organizing your ideas while putting together a project. You must sign up for a free account, but you can save and print your work to your profile.
  • Tips For Building Projects (06:17) The audio is a little low on this teacher-produced screen-capture video, but it does a great job outlining the basics things you should be thinking about in your initial project planning stages.
  • Think Forward: Assessment (07:26) Assessment for project-based learning requires a more comprehensive approach. The poor audio quality is worth it, to hear real teachers describe exactly how they assess for learning throughout a project. From Manor New Tech High School's Think Forward PBL Institute.
  • roblem-Based Learning for the 21st Century Classroom (05:22) This nice overview from ASCD goes into some of the obstacles to project-based learning, and then shows teachers sharing strategies for addressing those challenges.
  • cheduling for Project-Based Learning (05:35) Three high school teachers talk about how they re-structured their day to accommodate integrated PBL. Not everyone has the flexibility shown here, but it's fascinating to see how these teachers broke it down.
  • How PBLU Works (01:15) Hungry for more lessons on PBL? PBLU is an incredible resource offered by BIE. See how you can access two-week training courses and Common-Core-aligned projects that you can modify and customize.
  • Derek Doucet on 17 Oct 14
     
    This will give you all the resources needed to get you started in PBL... If you're interested read the links at the bottom to further your understanding...
Derek Doucet

CEFR and the DELF - 0 views

www.cpfalta.ab.ca/...CEFRandDELF.htm

CEFR DELF

shared by Derek Doucet on 22 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • The CEFR
  • was developed to promote language learning, to facilitate educational and occupational mobility, and to support plurilingualism and multiculturalism.
  • The CEFR is organized into six reference levels
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • A  Basic User B  Independent User C  Proficient User A1 Breakthrough A2 Waystage B1 Threshold B2 Vantage C1 Proficiency C2 Mastery
  • "The CEFR examines and values what an individual does know, based on their competencies. Its philosophical underpinning is that all individuals have the capacity to learn, there are many different ways to learn, that learning can continue throughout the life span.
  • Educators: learn more about the CEFR through an online professional learning workshop offered to members of the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers. Contact mihaelavieru@caslt.org.
  • France has developed the Diplôme d'études en langue française (DELF) for levels A1 through B2 and the Diplôme approfondi de langue française (DALF) for levels C1 and C2. 
  • The DELF/DALF are offered in 154 countries to some 300,000 candidates each year.
  • A learner takes the level of assessment for which s/he feels confident (for students, the teacher normally assists in choosing the most appropriate level).  It is not required to take all of the tests, or to take them sequentially.
  • Having successfully passed one of the DALF / DELF exams, the candidate receives an official Diplôme issued by the Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale of France through the Centre International d'Études Pédagogiques (www.ciep.fr). The candidate also receives his/her marks for each portion of the exam.
  • This life-long certification is recognized internationally by employers and postsecondary institutions. For example, the B2 level is required for entrance into most universities in France. And, of course, the Diplôme and the accompanying proficiency descriptors are the perfect addition to any résumé, outlining in very practical terms what the individual is capable of doing in French.
  • In Canada, responsibility for the DELF/DALF rests with the Embassy of France. The DELF Scolaire is offered by a school district or a school in agreement with the Embassy, the DELF Junior by language schools such as the Alliance Française.
  • Each exam center receives the software and other materials required to conduct the exams. The center is responsible for logistical arrangements, assessors, registering candidates, printing the exams, marking the oral and written exams, and publishing the results.  The center establishes the fees it will charge for the exams.
  • A school or district can become an exam center through an agreement with the Embassy of France. Alternately, it can make arrangements with an existing exam center to administer the exams to interested students.
  • Derek Doucet on 22 Nov 12
     
    A website that explains the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, and the Diplôme d'Éducation de la Langue Française. 
garth nichols

Game Changers | Canadian Education Association (CEA) - 0 views

www.cea-ace.ca/...game-changers

Gaming

shared by garth nichols on 26 Nov 13 - No Cached
  • In 2011, game designer Jane McGonigal published Reality is Broken, where she outlined four simple rules that define a game: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation. Both Jeopardy and The History of Biology fit this definition, but clearly there is a difference between games that teach the recall of facts and those that teach higher-order thinking skills.
  • esame Workshop, published a paper in 2011 called “Games for a Digital Age.” They distinguish between short-form games, “which provide tools for practice and focused concepts,” and long-form games, “which are focused on higher order thinking skills.” This is a useful first distinction teachers can use when evaluating games for use in the classroom.
  • A theme that comes up with teachers who use long-form video games is teaching empathy. “When I first started teaching natural disasters in Grade 7, there were case studies in the textbook, or videos,” says Mike Farley, a high-school teacher at the University of Toronto Schools (UTS). “When we invite students to play a simulation like Stop Disasters or Inside the Haiti Earthquake, they are more immersed; there’s more of an emotional learning.”
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • UTS Principal Rosemary Evans sees these as “unique learning experiences,” different for each student with each session of play. “What excites me is the experiential component,” she says. “The simulations lead to an authentic experience, where the game environment represents different points of view.”
  • Justin Medved , the Director of Instructional Innovation at The York School, likes to talk about “layers of learning” taking place in the best games. “To what extent does the game offer an experience that offers some critical thinking, decision making, complexity, or opportunity for discussion and debate?” says Medved. The content is the first layer the students interact with, but meta-content skills can take longer to teach. Medved looks for “any opportunity for players to go out and do some research and thinking before coming back to the game.” Many games, says Medved, are super-fast and he tries to intentionally slow them down to allow for deeper thinking. “We want some level of learning to be slow, to discuss bias or different perspectives. Over time you can see a narrative unfolding.”
  • The question of whether to game or not game in class is not one of technology. It is one of pedagogy that starts and ends with the teacher. It is our job to provide a framework for deciding which games can be used in which contexts, and to use the best of the game world to inspire our students to higher-order thinking.
  • Justin Medved on 26 Nov 13
     
    "Game Changers How digital games are creating new learning experiences Using games to teach discrete topics in the classroom is not a new phenomenon; however, games can also be used to teach higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking, decision-making, creativity and communication. These so-called "long-form" games need to be contextualized by the teacher and woven into a robust curriculum of complimentary activities. Innovative educational gaming companies focus on developing high-quality digital content but also on the pedagogical implications of embedding the game in existing curriculum. Data collected from long-form digital games can be used to personalize instruction for students who are getting stuck on certain concepts or learn in a particular way. As games get more sophisticated, so must the teacher's understanding of the way students use them in the classroom."
  • garth nichols on 26 Nov 13
     
    For those interested in applying characteristics of gaming to their teaching.
garth nichols

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs184/1102752268498/archive/1122580804441.html - 1 views

archive.constantcontact.com/...1122580804441.html

feedback coaching PD cohort21

shared by garth nichols on 23 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • In my mind, a solid 4 rating means that your adult professional embraces feedback, both formal and informal and has strong systems and processes in place that encourage feedback - things like annual faculty,  parent, and board surveys, intentionally designed evaluation processes for students, faculty, staff and leadership that happen at minimum annually, but even better quarterly, regular audits of programs, curriculum, pedagogy, time and space.  Other good signs that your culture supports feedback might be meetings that end with questions like, "How are we working together as a team/department?" and "What can we do to get better at this work?"  and school leaders who ask their reports with genuine curiosity,  "What can I do to better support your work?"  "What do you think about this idea?" or "How did this meeting go for you?"
  • What if you spent a week "playing anthropologist" with the following question in mind: "What evidence do I see that our adult community has a strong culture of feedback?" 
    • garth nichols
      garth nichols on 23 Oct 15
       
      Love these questions of educators!
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • pend some time with colleagues. Ask them questions about their classes.  See how many times you hear someone ask questions like: "What do you think about this?"  "Will you come by my class and let me know what you think about this lesson I am teaching?"  "How can I/we do this better?"  Attend meetings with this question in mind.  How receptive are team members to feedback they get in meetings?
  • talk Feedback Without Frustration.  This 15 minute video offers some key habits and practices that designers (and educational leaders in their roles as experience designers) can adopt in order to make feedback more meaningful, especially when presenting a new idea or product and much of which can be applied to feedback - both formal and informal.  A few tips include:taking responsibility for the feedback you are gettinggoing after the kind of feedback you wanthaving a designated facilitator for more significant processeshaving goals for the project that you can use to make the feedback more helpfulnot confusing what you like/don't like with what is good/bad(most importantly) just getting better at talking to each other.
  • garth nichols on 23 Oct 15
     
    For those of us who lead teachers; for those of us who seek feedback from others; and for those of us who want to buid a culture of sharing and feedback, this is a great read!
Justin Medved

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_ThirdTeacher.pdf - 1 views

www.edu.gov.on.ca/...CBS_ThirdTeacher.pdf

learning_spaces

shared by Justin Medved on 21 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Justin Medved on 21 Apr 13
     
    Designing the Learning Environment for Mathematics and Literacy, K to 8 Imagine the ideal learning environment for today's learner. What would it look like? Think about how much the world has changed in the last three decades and how rapidly it will continue to change in the years to come. How do we ensure that the instruction we provide is responsive to the shifting demands of the 21 st century? Researchers and practitioners in a wide range of disciplines - early childhood and developmental education, psychology and cognitive science, school architecture and design - maintain that the key to learning in today's world is not just the physical space we provide for students but the social space as well(Fraser, 2012; Helm et al., 2007; OWP/P Architects et al., 2010). The learning environment, they suggest, is "the third teacher" that can either enhance the kind of learning that optimizes our students' potential to respond creatively and meaningfully to future challenges or detract from it. Susan Fraser, for example, writes: "A classroom that is functioning successfully as a third teacher will be responsive to the children's interests, provide opportunities for children to make their thinking visible and then fosterfurtherlearning and engagement." (2012, p. 67)
Justin Medved

Outlook for online learning in 2013: online learning comes of age - 1 views

www.tonybates.ca/...ok-for-online-learning-in-2013

learning mooc onlinelearning collaboration

shared by Justin Medved on 24 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • Initially in many institutions the move will be crude pedagogically, with an emphasis on video recording of lectures and flipped classes, or merely increasing the amount of online learning supporting regular classes. Over time, though, as instructors get more experience in hybrid learning, get more instructional design support, and greater pressure from the administration, full course re-design will increase, but major redesigns around hybrid learning may take as long as five years in many institutions. One reason for this slow adoption of re-design is the current lack of appropriate models for hybrid learning that have been tested and evaluated; this will change though as experience grows. Best practice for hybrid learning will emerge, as it did for fully online learning.
  • 10. Expect the unexpected: One year: 100%; Three years: 100%; Five years: 100% These are the monsters lurking in the shadows. In online learning, the only thing you can really be certain of is the uncertainty. These are Donald Rumsfeld’s unknown unknowns, so by definition they are unpredictable or non-forecastable. However, there are also some known unknowns that perhaps we should discuss. (MOOCs are good examples – they were known in 2011, but the likelihood that they would take off in 2012 in the way they did was not known, at least by most pundits.) Here are some possible bogeymen to lie awake worrying about:
  • the privatization of post-secondary education in the USA. Many states are in dire financial trouble. Will this result in some states privatizing their public post-secondary education systems? What price would Alabama State University fetch from a commercial buyer and how would that affect the state’s finances? If some states do decide on privatization, expect online learning to increase – indeed, online learning will likely increase in financially challenged states without privatization, because, rightly or wrongly, it will be seen as cheaper; also expect federal student financial aid to take a hit in the USA as Congress grapples with the deficit. a major Internet player (Apple, Google, Facebook or Amazon) jumps into the online learning market, perhaps in partnership with some elite universities, and takes a major share of the for-credit online market, because of lower costs, quality content, and accreditation from elite universities (but with a different category of degree from their on-campus programs) The US Congress backs publishers and shuts down all publicly funded open educational resources; copyright legislation is tightened on US-based Internet companies making it all but impossible to use educational resources over the Internet for free major power shortages/outages, due to bad weather/a surge in energy prices/political activists (pick your reason) makes online delivery increasingly unreliable during winter quantum computing arrives at a reasonable cost and completely changes the game.
  • Justin Medved on 24 Jan 13
     
    "What's primarily going to drive this move to the centre is not MOOCs but hybrid learning, by which I mean the re-design of courses to integrate the best of online and campus-based teaching. This is being driven by dissatisfaction with very large lecture classes in first and second year university courses, the need for increased productivity/better learning in times of economic austerity, and faculty's increasing familiarity with online learning in supporting regular lecture-based classroom teaching."
Derek Doucet

7 Essential Tools for a Flipped Classroom - Getting Smart by Guest Author - classrooms,... - 3 views

gettingsmart.com/...-tools-for-a-flipped-classroom

flipped classroom personalized learning

shared by Derek Doucet on 09 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • 7 Essential Tools for a Flipped Classroom
  • The flipped classroom uses technology to allow students more time to apply knowledge and teachers more time for hands-on education.
  • Google Docs
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • The following tools are listed from most basic to most sophisticated and can be used alone or in tandem to make flipped classrooms more engaging.
  • Google Docs have many advantages over traditional word processing programs, including real-time automatic updates visible to all users, a feature that enables robust discussion and sharing.
  • YouTube
  • Ideal for first-time flippers
  • Teachem
  • Teachem is a timely and valuable resource ideal for teachers interested in a more structured flipped classroom but unwilling to commit to paid or complex programming.
  • The Flipped Learning Network
  • A social media site open to first-time and experienced flippers, the Flipped Learning Network contains resources for all kinds of flipped classrooms while facilitating discussion, collective problem-solving and peer networking.
  • Camtasia Studio
  • Perhaps the most popular screencasting technology available, Camtasia Studio is now in its eighth incarnation and has remained up-to-date with educational trends
  • Edmodo or Schoology
  • eyond enabling activities fundamental to the flipped classroom, such as video lectures and e-readings, these comprehensive online learning platforms offer educator networks and resources,
  • iscussion and collaboration features, and grading and assessment options.
  • Derek Doucet on 09 Mar 13
     
    7 Essential Tools for a Flipped Classroom - nothing earth shattering but a nicely compiled list. 
garth nichols

Educational Leadership:Technology-Rich Learning:Tech Leaders Speak Up About Learning - 0 views

www.ascd.org/...s-Speak-Up-About-Learning.aspx

cohort21 leadership tech

shared by garth nichols on 07 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • The key to infusing technology for deep learning is professional development for teachers. At our school, each teacher wrote his or her own professional development plan. Then we changed the job description of the technology teacher to include meeting with each teacher to refine and review these plans. Instead of teaching computers to the students, the new technology integration coach—a new title to reflect new duties–was now available to partner with the teacher in the classroom. As teachers became more comfortable, the coaching sessions centered on how to extend learning.
  • At the same time, our administrative team began using e-communication folders for parent communication, e-portfolios for teachers, and Moodle for virtual classroom environments. Teachers experienced rich, efficient collaboration and communication through technology. This resulted in more effective face-to face communication.
  • Three things are basic to preparing students to be deeper learners: (1) access to quality curriculums, teaching, and learning, (2) robust information resources, technology tools, devices, and infrastructures, and (3) a student-centered learning environment that promotes critical thinking and problem solving.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • One of a leader's most important roles is to be a model for teachers–who then become models for students. Modeling digital learning in professional learning communities, faculty meetings, parent events, and everyday tasks helps adult learners in the school challenge themselves to authentically learn how to use technology.
  • garth nichols on 07 Apr 13
     
    This is a great article for how to introduce edtech into a school - it has real world examples as well
sallymastro

Mobile Tech in Classrooms Boost English Learners - New America Media - 0 views

newamericamedia.org/...-english-learners-a-leg-up.php

shared by sallymastro on 27 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • when a student asked Nieto if he could bring his iPod to class, Nieto agreed, and neither teacher nor student has looked back since.
    • sallymastro
      sallymastro on 27 Oct 12
       
      Whether iphone or ereaders...allowing students to use technology to enhance the learning process is something I am starting to approach with a more open mind.
  • said mobile devices are particularly useful because of the many learning applications and basic language tools, such as spell check and grammar check, which increase the speed of learning. Rather than view the mobile applications as learning shortcuts tantamount to cheating, Nieto sees them as motivational tools that increase his students’ interest in reading and writing by giving them instant feedback. It’s a perspective most of his students seem to share.
    • sallymastro
      sallymastro on 27 Oct 12
       
      Instant feedback is what I am looking for in the English classroom. I want to be able to provide constructive criticism more immediately, so the students can edit at the moment as opposed to waiting a day or two days to receive my comments on a writing piece.
  • as motivational tools that increase his students’ interest in reading and writing by giving them instant feedback.
    • sallymastro
      sallymastro on 27 Oct 12
       
      When I indicated to my students that they could use kindles, kobos or ireaders/iphones for the ISU novel study unit, they were quite excited and quickly retained copies of ISU via this means. I am still using paper copies of the books as well, but I want to be able to have choice in their methods of acquiring texts and engaging in the reading process.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Project Tomorrow survey of roughly 300,000 K-12 students, 42,000 parents, 38,000 teachers and librarians, and 3,500 administrators from over 6,500 public and private schools, on how they are using—and would like to be using —new technologies in the classroom.
  • The results show that while the majority of students—and, perhaps surprisingly, parents—are in favor of using mobile devices for learning as long as the school allows it, most school administrators remain opposed
  • “I know the main reasons mobile technology is not welcome in the classroom are fear and misunderstanding about the structure that it gives the learning,” said Reina Cabezas, a teacher at Cox Elementary in Oakland, Calif., who is also doing masters thesis research on the topic of mobile devices in the classroom.
    • sallymastro
      sallymastro on 27 Oct 12
       
      Currently my students are participating in their ISU novel study. They are currently reading and annotating their novels. I have indicated to my students that ireaders or ereaders are the quickest means to accessing a text as opposed to waiting one to two weeks for a book if it has had to be ordered. With the ireaders and ereaders they can now annotate and highlight important or interesting passages as they read. I would like to be able to have the students bring these technology tools to class. I have indicated that this is the direction in which I am going with ISU study, and so far, my Director has indicated he will back in allowing the kids to bring ereaders/ireaders to class. Fingers crossed it will bring positive and engaging results.
  • “But I don't think we stop living because of fear, right? No, we educate ourselves and learn about the security measures, expectations of all stakeholders, and apply principles of successful models of mobile devices in the classroom. Most importantly, we realize that technology is a tool of efficacy for the teacher, not the teacher's replacement. Lastly, technology only engages and motivates students when teachers know how to use them strategically to keep the hook. Overuse of anything is never good.”
    • sallymastro
      sallymastro on 27 Oct 12
       
      I am hoping that I will be able to show my Director and Head of School the successful incorporation of ereaders/ireaders into the English classroom.
    • sallymastro
      sallymastro on 27 Oct 12
       
      Ongoing concern within my school is the use of personal mobile devices in the classroom. Policy at our school is mobile phones are in the lockers and not used on school premises.
  • sallymastro on 27 Oct 12
     
    You should read this article because, like me, if you have been skeptical about the use of iphones in the classroom, you will be enlightened about how to proceed in a way that will make technologies in the classroom understandable to and meaningful for all stakeholders:administrators, teachers, parents and students. Stay tuned for my blog on incorporating ireaders/ereaders in the English classroom. 
anonymous

Why the Growth Mindset is the Only Way to Learn | Edudemic - 8 views

www.edudemic.com/growth-mindset-way-learn

growth mindset

shared by anonymous on 18 Oct 14 - No Cached
    • Derek Doucet
      Derek Doucet on 18 Oct 14
       
      A game changer - All Students can Learn!!!
  • “You’re too old to learn a foreign language.” “I couldn’t work on computers. I’m just not good with them.” “I’m not smart enough to run my own business.” Do you know what these statements have in common? They’re all examples of the fixed mindset- the belief that intelligence, ability, and success are static qualities that can’t be changed.
  • The problem is, this mindset will make you complacent, rob your self-esteem and bring meaningful education to a halt. In short, it’s an intellectual disease and patently untrue.
  • ...21 more annotations...
    • Christi Lovrics
      Christi Lovrics on 17 Oct 15
       
      I love the word 'earned'. Skills don't come easily, you have to really work for them.
    • Christi Lovrics
      Christi Lovrics on 17 Oct 15
       
      I love the word 'earned'. Skills don't come easily, you have to really work for them.
  • Talents are innate. Skills are earned.
  • Within a fixed framework, progress is impossible.
  • fixed mindset
  • the growth mindset,
  • a malleable approach to the world
  • believe that at a certain point, what you have is all you’re ever going to have:
  • “You’re too old to learn a foreign language.”
  • fixed mindset, you believe that at a certain point, what you have is all you’re ever going to have
  • In conversation, “skill” and “talent” are often used interchangeably – but there’s an essential difference: Talents are innate. Skills are earned.
  • he growth mindset is the opposite of the fixed: It thrives on challenge and sees failure as an opportunity for growth. It creates a passion for learning instead of a hunger for approval.
    • kristensolowey
      kristensolowey on 17 Oct 15
       
      How do you foster a growth mindset in your students?
  • Having
    • tanyacatallo
      tanyacatallo on 17 Oct 15
       
      Testing
  • ty; it crushes resilience an
  • The growth mindset is the opposite of the fixed: It thrives on challenge and sees failure as an opportunity for growth. It creates a passion for learning instead of a hunger for approval.
  • “The growth mindset does allow people to love what they’re doing – and continue to love it in the face of difficulties. … The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome.” Remember those students in Hong Kong. Be humble, act as if you’re remedial, and you’ll learn all the more!
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 17 Oct 15
       
      learning has value regardless of the outcome
  • In conversation, “skill” and “talent” are often used interchangeably – but there’s an essential difference: Talents are innate. Skills are earned.
  • As much as possible, take object orientation out of the equation. Focus on the task at hand. Don’t compare yourself to others or worry if you’re making the knowledge stick. Just learn- stolidly, patiently, and without tripping over your own expectations.
  • Focusing on innate qualities and praising purely for current ability inhibits learning, while praising the process of learning and growth instead of immediate talent promotes it.
  • reatens your competenc
    • heatherradams
      heatherradams on 17 Oct 15
       
      What are you doing with Growth Mindset stuff?
  • Derek Doucet on 18 Oct 14
     
    Looking at growth vs fixed in student learning...
  • ...2 more comments...
  • tanyacatallo on 17 Oct 15
     
    Understanding Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
  • kristensolowey on 17 Oct 15
     
    Talents are innate. Skills are earned. Moving onto the GROWTH MINDSET.
  • heatherradams on 17 Oct 15
     
    Growth mindset
  • anonymous on 17 Oct 15
     
    Great article highlighting the value of the growth midnset
Justin Medved

How Do I Differentiate Through Project-Based Learning? - TeachThought PD - 3 views

wegrowteachers.com/...-a-project-based-learning-unit

PBL

shared by Justin Medved on 21 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Justin Medved on 21 Nov 16
     
    "There are many opportunities to differentiate from the start of a PBL unit to its climactic conclusion. In my book, So All Can Learn: A Practical Guide for Differentiation (February 2017), I explain that the key is to think of Differentiation as a lens that's used to view lessons and units for planned opportunities of supports that meet all learner needs. For PBL units, as with traditional units, lesson planning is where the learning experiences take shape. Here are some PBL strategies that can be differentiated to bring out the power of meeting learner needs, so all can learn. Strong PBL units include standard elements that make for rich experiences. They include: Authentic Purpose Entry Event Need to Know protocol Checkpoints Student Voice"
mardimichels

This is How to Search Flickr for Free Images to Use with Students in Class ~ Educationa... - 0 views

www.educatorstechnology.com/...to-search-flickr-for-free.html

creative commons flickr technology copyright

shared by mardimichels on 22 Oct 13 - No Cached
  • mardimichels on 22 Oct 13
     
    How to search Flickr for free images to use with students/ for students to use. This is something I am really making a big effort to work on this year in class - teaching about copyright and fair use for their presentation.
garth nichols

Sugata Mitra and the new educational Romanticism - a parody - 0 views

www.digitalcounterrevolution.co.uk/...usseau-educational-romanticism

edtech Rousseau technology counterrevolution staff_development

shared by garth nichols on 21 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • ll children are born to drive their education. The problem is that prior to the digital age there were no child-friendly pedagogic vehicles. Now that the military-industrial complex has created them, parents and teachers should give the keys to the kids as soon as possible and let them head off on their own down the beautifully linear highway of knowledge.
  • One of the empires is the empire of fear. Surely we are not free if our lives are dominated by fear. Although Mitra’s minimal model blithely assumes that children greet everything new with a calm curiosity, Rousseau recognises that children can just as easily respond to the new with fear. To avoid this requires early training. A snippet of his advice on this subject:
  • At another junction on the same road is the empire of habit. We are not free if we are too firmly set in our ways. Hence Rousseau’s advice: “the only habit that a child should be allowed to contract is none. Do not carry him on one arm more than the other; do not accustom him to give one hand rather than the other, to use one more than the other, to want to eat, sleep, or be active at the same hours…Prepare from afar the reign of his freedom…” (63) (Sir Ken Robinson’s critique of the school bell is but a footnote to this.)
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  • If tools are needed, he suggested, it is better that we make them ourselves, and for the sake of the children’s freedom it is better that they acquire the belief that the imperfect tools they make themselves are better than perfect tools made by others.
  • he great Romantic pedagogy of liberation becomes a parody of itself when it loses sight of how vulnerable the child is to a myriad imperial forces, reducing itself to the myopic claim that the only thing children need to be liberated from is teachers.
  • Of course, the child must feel at every step of the way that she is making the discoveries, or, as Rousseau says of his Emile in his now outdated language: “let him always believe he is the master” but, he reminds the tutor, “let it always be you who are.” (120)
  • Rousseau suggests beginning the scientific part of a child’s education with some geographical discovery learning. He has a nice criticism of his EdTech contemporaries: “You want to teach geography to this child, and you go and get globes, cosmic spheres, and maps for him. So many devices! Why all these representations? Why do you not begin by showing him the object itself so that he will at least know what you are talking about?” (168)
  • If curiosity and attention need cultivation and direction, they also need protection. Rousseau sees a particular risk with the sciences – and this is one which online learning surely magnifies, not diminishes. He puts it beautifully, describing the entry into science as something that can be like entering “into a bottomless sea…When I see a man, enamoured of the various kinds of knowledge, let himself be seduced by their charm and run from one to the other without knowing how to stop himself, I believe I am seeing a child on the shore gathering shells and beginning by loading himself up with them; then, tempted by those he sees next, he throws some away and picks up others, until, overwhelmed by their multitude and not knowing anymore which to choose, he ends by throwing them all away and returning empty-handed.” (172)
  • In a parallel way, learning emerges at the edge of chaos where children meet Google, and it emerges with the same spontaneity seen when the first amoeba dragged itself out of the primordial soup.
  • “The man who did not know pain would know neither the tenderness of humanity nor the sweetness of commiseration. His heart would be moved by nothing. He would not be sociable; he would be a monster among his kind.” (87)
  • Rousseau makes a point more specifically about the psychology of the child, arguing that it is damaging for children to be encouraged to learn things that are beyond the developing sphere of their experience.
  • Children become accustomed to parroting the truth instead of perceiving for themselves that something is true.
  • No child ever came face to face with his mortality when his avatar was struck by a pixelated bullet. No, the child learns infinitely more about the human condition from a single bout of toothache than from 1,000 hours of online gaming.
  • Mitra’s minimalism is not just the minimalism of a hands-off approach to teaching; it is also the minimalism of a theory that – in that questionable analytic tradition – wants to limit itself to technique. All we are given is a methodology – the theoretical equivalent of the automotive machinery that children can drive.
  • garth nichols on 21 Apr 14
     
    This is a real eye-opener for the counter-digital-revolution perspective. It's good to keep these perspectives in mind as we chart our way forward because these ideas can help temper our enthusiasm for tech as a panacea
garth nichols

Why I'm Asking You Not to Use Laptops - Lingua Franca - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher... - 3 views

chronicle.com/...-asking-you-not-to-use-laptops

Laptops EdTech

shared by garth nichols on 05 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • On the first day of class, students and I spend the first 30-40 minutes learning something new about how language works (in order to set the tone for the class), and then we go over the syllabus. When we get to the laptop policy, I pause and say, “Let me tell you why I ask you generally not to use laptops in class.” And here’s the gist of what I say after that:
  • There’s also the issue of the classroom environment. I like to foster a sense of conversation here, even in a class of 100 students. If you are on a laptop, I and your peers are often looking at the back of your computer screen and the top of your head, rather than all of us making eye contact with each other. Learning happens best in a classroom when everyone is actively engaged with one another in the exchange of information. This can mean looking up from your notes to listen and to talk with others, which means you may need to make strategic decisions about what to write down. Note-taking is designed to support the learning and retention of material we talk about in class; note-taking itself is not learning. And speaking of what you choose to write down …
  • Now I know that one could argue that it is your choice about whether you want to use this hour and 20 minutes to engage actively with the material at hand, or whether you would like to multitask. You’re not bothering anyone (one could argue) as you quietly do your email or check Facebook. Here’s the problem with that theory: From what we can tell, you are actually damaging the learning environment for others, even if you’re being quiet about it. A study published in 2013 found that not only did the multitasking student in a classroom do worse on a postclass test on the material, so did the peers who could see the computer. In other words, the off-task laptop use distracted not just the laptop user but also the group of students behind the laptop user. (And I get it, believe me. I was once in a lecture where the woman in front of me was shoe shopping, and I found myself thinking at one point, “No, not the pink ones!” I don’t remember all that much else about the lecture.)
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  • In addition, I can find your multitasking on a laptop a bit distracting as the instructor because sometimes you are not typing at the right times; I am not saying anything noteworthy and yet you are engrossed in typing, which suggests that you are doing something other than being fully engaged in our class. And that distracts my attention.
  • First, if you have your laptop open, it is almost impossible not to check email or briefly surf the Internet, even if you don’t mean to or have told yourself that you won’t. I have the same impulse if I have my laptop open in a meeting. The problem is that studies indicate that this kind of multitasking impairs learning; once we are on email/the web, we are no longer paying very good attention to what is happening in class. (And there is no evidence I know of that “practice” at doing this kind of multitasking is going to make you better at it!)
  • A study that came out in June—and which got a lot of buzz in the mainstream press—suggests that taking notes by hand rather than typing them on a laptop improves comprehension of the material. While students taking notes on a laptop (and only taking notes—they were not allowed to multitask) wrote down more of the material covered in class, they were often typing what the instructor said verbatim, which seems to have led to less processing of the material. The students taking notes by hand had to do more synthesizing and condensing as they wrote because they could not get everything down. As a result, they learned the material better.* I think there is also something to the ease with which one can create visual connections on a handwritten page through arrows, flow charts, etc.
  • I figure it is also good for all of us to break addictive patterns with email, texting, Facebook, etc. When you step back, it seems a bit silly that we can’t go for 80 minutes without checking our phones or other devices. Really, for most of us, what are the odds of an emergency that can’t wait an hour? We have developed the habit of checking, and you can see this class as a chance to create or reinforce a habit of not checking too.
  • Of course, if you need or strongly prefer a laptop for taking notes or accessing readings in class for any reason, please come talk with me, and I am happy to make that work. I’ll just ask you to commit to using the laptop only for class-related work.
  • garth nichols on 05 Jan 15
     
    Why we need a balanced approach to the use of computers in the classroom. This is a great partner-piece to Clay Shirky's from 2014...
Justin Medved

12 Good Research and Citation Tools for Students ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Le... - 1 views

www.educatorstechnology.com/...ch-and-citation-tools-for.html

shared by Justin Medved on 10 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • Justin Medved on 10 Nov 14
     
    "12 Helpful Tools for Research and Citations" is an excellent list created by Kira DeVaul and shared on Graphite. This list comprises a number of useful web tools that can help students during their research. As a process, research is made up of different interconnected stages: The first phase is the search for information, reading sources and taking notes, doing the write up and creating a bibliography for references. "
garth nichols

The chasm between high school and university - 0 views

www.thespec.com/...een-high-school-and-university

designing high school university

shared by garth nichols on 19 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • Let's start with the secondary system. As this level of education becomes significantly student focused, there are many of us in the system who fear we are coddling students in the extreme and not preparing them at all for the realities of the work world or college/university. Here are samples of policies, largely instituted by the Ministry of Education, that added together, have lead to concerns re: coddling.
  • •Late work: Student work is not penalized for lateness. Late work is viewed as a behavioural issue, not an academic one. •Plagiarism: This is also seen as a behavioural issue, and usually does not result in any academic penalty, even in a grade 12 University level course. •Evaluation: Policies are moving away from grades being derived from an average of all student assignments in favour of a more general approach that reflects "most recent and/or most consistent" achievement. •Lower limits: Students getting failing grades are assessed by this policy which requires teachers to give a mark of 30 to students who are, on paper, achieving anywhere from 1-29 per cent. This is designed to 'give them hope' of success. •Credit rescue/recovery: A policy designed to give students who fail a course the opportunity to make up key missed work with the goal of achieving a passing grade. •Memorization: The idea of students actually memorizing material is viewed as "old fashioned" and is rejected in favour of "inquiry based learning'." The world of the university student is decidedly different, as evidenced by their policies. •Late work: Most courses do not accept late work. Period. •Plagiarism: This is viewed as academic dishonesty, and harsh academic penalties are in place. •Evaluation: Most courses feature few evaluations that are weighted heavily, and grades are based on the average of all assignments. •Evaluation: The move toward knowledge-based evaluation is epidemic. Exams, even in courses like literature studies and philosophy, are commonly multiple choice and short answer exams.
  • •If students are trained for the 14 years they attend school that there really are few consequences to academic problems, how will they fare in the much more rigorous world of post-secondary education? A history professor recently asked me what we (high school teachers) were doing to our kids.
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  • The idea that we have largely abandoned 'knowledge based learning' in no way prepares students for the new reality of university
  • As for the world of work, students who have struggled to graduate by submitting work late, gaining credits through credit rescue, and who have not developed responsibility for their work may improve rates of graduation, but will not serve them in the work world, where the safety nets they have come to rely on do not exist.
  • garth nichols on 19 Jan 16
     
    Interesting perspective on how the MoE is/is not preparing our students for post-secondary and the work force
garth nichols

A High School in Massachusetts Where the Students Are the Teachers | TIME.com - 0 views

healthland.time.com/...-the-students-are-the-teachers

shared by garth nichols on 02 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Sam Levin, an alum of Monument who is currently a sophomore at the University of Oxford in England studying biological sciences, started the program in 2010. Frustrated with his public-high-school schedule and realizing that his friends weren’t inspired to learn, Levin complained to his mother about how unhappy he and his classmates were, to which she responded: “Why don’t you just make your own school?” And so he did — albeit in small steps. In ninth grade, Levin started a school-wide garden that was solely cared for by students; some woke up early on Saturdays to work with the plants. The garden is still functioning and serves at-need families in the community. After witnessing the commitment that his classmates had to nurturing something they had created themselves, Levin was convinced that they were capable of putting more time and energy into their studies — as long as it was something they cared about. “I was seeing the exact opposite in school. Kids weren’t even doing the things they needed to do to get credit. There was something at odds with students getting up to work for no credit or money [on the garden] at 7 in the morning, but not wanting to wake up to read or do a science experiment,” says Levin. “I saw the really amazing and powerful things that happened when high school students stepped it up and were excited about something.”
  • The semester is split in half, with the first nine weeks focused on natural and social sciences. Each Monday morning, the students formulate a question with the help of their classmates. For example, “How are plants from different parts of a mountain different from each other?” or “What causes innovation?” The students spend the rest of the week researching the answer and creating a presentation to summarize their findings to share with their classmates at the end of the week for feedback and critique. The students are in charge of keeping themselves on task, creating their research plans and meeting their deadlines.
  • By taking ownership of their learning, the students at Monument are forced to think creatively and capitalize on their own talents in order to excel. The class framework is similar to what will be expected of them in college and in the workforce, when they have to make their own educated and independent decisions.
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  • Still, the project is not without its challenges, and the program continues to evolve. This year was the first time students in the program could receive general credit for the course instead of elective credit. Powell also says it’s not necessarily right for every student. “It is a challenge to think that a teenager can have that much freedom to figure out what they want to study and manage their time,” says Powell. “People are more on board now that they have observed the program, but there are still some skeptics with legitimate reasons, and we are always addressing challenges.”
  • His hope is that the Independent Project will continue to challenge current theories about education, and help teachers and policymakers think more creatively about the best way to help young people learn. Ultimately, that understanding should lead to systemic changes that open up more opportunities for children to get the education that will benefit them the most. “It is one thing to help school by school, and that is how a lot of change happens, but at the same time, the long-term goal and broader ambition is to make changes to the education system,” he says.
  • garth nichols on 02 Apr 13
     
    A different approach to learning via whole school change.
garth nichols

Stop Penalizing Boys for Not Being Able to Sit Still at School - Jessica Lahey - The At... - 1 views

www.theatlantic.com/...276976

whole-child Boys_Education

shared by garth nichols on 02 Jul 13 - No Cached
  • The authors of this study conclude that teacher bias regarding behavior, rather than academic perfor
  • mance, penalizes boys as early as kindergarten. On average, boys receive lower behavioral assessment scores from teachers, and those scores affect teachers' overall perceptions of boys' intelligence and achievement.
  • The most effective lessons included more than one of these elements: Lessons that result in an end product--a booklet, a catapult, a poem, or a comic strip, for example. Lessons that are structured as competitive games. Lessons requiring motor activity. Lessons requiring boys to assume responsibility for the learning of others. Lessons that require boys to address open questions or unsolved problems. Lessons that require a combination of competition and teamwork. Lessons that focus on independent, personal discovery and realization. Lessons that introduce drama in the form of novelty or surprise.
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  • Split the class into groups of four and spread them around the room. Each team will need paper and pencils. At the front of the room, place copies of a document including all of the material that has been taught in some sort of graphical form--a spider diagram, for example. Then tell the students that one person from each group may come up to the front of the classroom and look at the document for thirty seconds. When those thirty seconds are up, they return to their group and write down what they remember in an attempt to re-create the original document in its entirety. The students rotate through the process until the group has pieced the original document back together as a team, from memory. These end products may be "graded" by other teams, and as a final exercise, each student can be required to return to his desk and re-create the document on his own.
  • Rather than penalize the boys' relatively higher energy and competitive drive, the most effective way to teach boys is to take advantage of that high energy, curiosity, and thirst for competition. While Reichert and Hawley's research was conducted in all-boys schools, these lessons can be used in all classrooms, with both boys and girls.
  • garth nichols on 02 Jul 13
     
    Great article on Boys' Education
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