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Problem-based approaches to learning have a long history of advocating experience-based education. Psychological research and theory suggests that by having students learn through the experience of solving problems, they can learn both content and thinking strategies. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method in which students learn through facilitated problem solving. In PBL, student learning centers on a complex problem that does not have a single correct answer. Students work in ollaborative groups to identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem. They engage in self-directed learning (SDL) and then apply their new knowledge to the problem and reflect on what they learned and the effectiveness of the strategies employed. The teacher acts to facilitate the learning process rather than to provide knowledge. The goals of PBL include helping students develop 1) flexible knowledge, 2) effective problem-solving skills, 3) SDL skills, 4) effective collaboration skills, and 5) intrinsic motivation. This article discusses the nature of learning in PBL and examines the empirical evidence supporting it. There is considerable research on the first 3 goals of PBL but little on the last 2. Moreover, minimal research has been conducted outside medical and gifted education. Understanding how these goals are achieved with less skilled learners is an important part of a research agenda for PBL. The evidence suggests that PBL is an instructional approach that offers the potential to help students develop flexible understanding and lifelong learning skills.

http://inderscience.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&eissn=1746-7268&volume=1&issue=2&spage=159 The purpose of this study is to identify the benefits that mobile technology can provide in education. From a review of the literature and interviews with individuals in the field of education, we developed an activitybased model to associate the uses of mobile technology with their benefits. The model first identifies the general uses of mobile technology in education and the specific activities that they encompass. Then, the benefits from their uses are identified with overarching themes emerging as follows: greater efficiencies and effectiveness in learning, increased individual support and opportunities for personal development, better methods of collaborating and communicating and greater exposure to technology.

The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) was developed to help guide the complex task of evaluating technology integration in the classroom. Basic technology skills and integration of technology into the curriculum go hand-in-hand to form teacher technology literacy. Encouraging the seamless use of technology in all curriculum areas and promoting technology literacy are both key NCLB:Title II-D/EETT program purposes. The Inventory for Teacher Technology Skills (ITTS) companion tool is designed to help districts evaluate teachers' current levels of proficiency with technology and is also used as a professional development planning and needs assessment resource. The TIM is envisioned as an EETT program resource which can help support the full integration of technology in Florida schools. What is in each cell? Each cell in the matrix will have a video (or several videos) which illustrate the integration of technology in classrooms where only a few computers are available and/or classrooms where every student has access to a laptop computer. Transformation The teacher creates a rich learning environment in which students regularly engage in activities that would have been impossible to achieve without technology. Active Indicator: Given ongoing access to online resources, students actively select and pursue topics beyond the limitations of even the best school library. Collaborative Indicator: Technology enables students to collaborate with peers and experts irrespective of time zone or physical distances. Constructive Indicator: Students use technology to construct, share, and publish knowledge to a worldwide audience. Authentic Indicator: By means of technology tools, students participate in outside-of-school projects and problem-solving activities that have meaning for the students and the community. Goal Directed Indicator: Students engage in ongoing metacognative activities at a level that would be unattainable without the support of technol

We are offering partners the opportunity to guest blog on the Alliance's blog, High School Soup, about promising practices, ideas, and a message supporting the efforts and intent of Digital Learning Day.  Our blog is the most-visited section of the Alliance website and has already received over 750,000 hits this year to date, making it a great way to reach out to a wide K-12 audience. If you are interested in getting on the blog schedule, contact us.

Quantitative studies of school effects have generally supported the notion that the problems of U.S. education lie outside of the school. Yet such studies neglect the primary venue through which students learn, the classroom. The current study explores the link between classroom practices and student academic performance by applying multilevel modeling to the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics. The study finds that the effects of classroom practices, when added to those of other teacher characteristics, are comparable in size to those of student background, suggesting that teachers can contribute as much to student learning as the students themselves.

Importance of language development in learning mathematics. Supports the mathematical literacy approach utilized in CTL's ALM.

David Jakes does a great job of laying out a vision of what should be expected for classroom interactions through a digital platform but still isn't. I love his thinking about it not being a happy website with mission/vision but a place to collaborate and inform.  The 21st century is now not tomorrow!

Not necessarily literacy, but if you are looking for some theoretical framework to justify instructional practice or rationale to support routine development in your classroom, here are many of the learning theories discussed in 'short' articles.

Always looking for resources that help math teachers think about how to promote learning in the classroom. This synopsis of formative assessment research starts with Wiliam and Black, "Inside the Black Box" from 1998 and progresses forward from there. Some nice specific tasks that are supported by links to examples.

Great article by Julie Lindsey and Vicki Davis about working with students in the digital environment, the opportunities it presents for customization, and the requirements it places on teachers to monitor, develop student understanding of the process, and support students in engaging with others. 

Reading is a Problem-Solving Process. Why Not Try the Thumb Method? New blog post by Denise Finley about supporting students while they learn to read scientifically!

Is this the direction textbooks will take in the near future? The content is important and is the center of this idea. It's also slightly portable (downloadable, accessible on up t o3 computers, and able to print 30%). This site makes annotations possible and more importantly sharable! The content is supported by learning communities! I like this idea; you even have the possibility of sharing beyond your classroom walls. 

Mix of research, products, PD, and leadership support. McREL is now a nationwide resource. 

Not a research article itself, but more evidence that supports the approach of activating prior knowledge, having students anticipate answers before reading a piece of text.

How to use clickers more effectively and for higher level uses.

The typical student at the Newcomer Center, an alternative school in Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, IL, is a recent immigrant with little or no English skills. The school is a temporary stopover for these students--they stay at the center for about a year, building up their English-language skills, and are then transferred to an ESL program at their home school in the district.