Group items tagged

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.

Site for students to practice their listening and typing skills. It's not an easy task typing words correctly while listening. the site does a good job of repeating information. Might be worth having students use as a practice tool. 

Drill and practice quizzes for grades 1-6 math.

What mathematical competencies must a teacher have to teach the subject well? This has proven difficult to investigate (1). A current view is that teachers' knowledge of mathematics "remains inert in the classroom unless accompanied by a rich repertoire of mathematical knowledge and skills relating directly to the curriculum, instruction, and student learning" (2). Unfortunately, there is no consensus on which "knowledge and skills" might activate teachers' inert knowledge. Two perspectives prevail, neither with a research base that enables strong claims about practice. The majority of current studies focus on explicit knowledge of curriculum content and instructional strategies. Such knowledge might be assessed directly through observation, interview, or written test (2), with a parallel research emphasis on the formal contents of teacher education programs [e.g., (3)]. A second school of thought, presented here, is that the most important competencies tend to be tacit, like skills involved in playing concert piano, learned but not necessarily available to consciousness.

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.

An adoption model/framework for integrating new learning into instruction/practice. Similar to CBAM. 

Geared toward developing good instructional strategies for entry level geo-science courses at the post-secondary setting, the suggestions can easily be applied to 6-12 setting and are just good instructional practices. Well organized and includes different perspectives and connected content.

The website says: "THE Place For Educational Games!Our research-based and standards-aligned free educational math games and language arts games will engage, motivate, and help teach students. Click a button below to play our free multi-player and single-player games! In the future we'll add features enabling you to save records, tailor content for differentiated instruction, and pinpoint student problem areas." I think using the games in conjunction with a holistic approach to developing skills would make for a great way of getting students to practices some skills. Let students play, set goals, monitor those goals, reflect on their progress, and apply strategies/heuristics to specific problems they struggle with would create an environment in the classroom where learning was fun, self-monitored, and successful. 

Math videos to help explain skills/concepts. Tends to be very skill based, but offers multiple takes on the same skill so if a students doesn't get it from one person the next might be a better fit, short videos makes it plausible that a student might use, GREAT integration of vocabulary. Well worth incorporating into classroom practice to help students understand how to use formulas or manipulate equations. Also they are GREAT models if you want kids to create their own.

Plus is an internet magazine which aims to introduce readers to the beauty and the practical applications of mathematics.  Interesting topics and free for now. Take advantage of the short topics to have students reading in mathematics and even some science topics!

Another nice description of how to think about blogging in the classroom and how to kick up the rigor of the process. I do like the description of different purposes from Will Richardson's book.  Always looking for ways to bring this conversation to the forefront again and again.... One of the highlights of the conversation centered around a section (on p. 32) of Will Richardson's Blogs, Wikis, Podcast and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom that articulates so perfectly the different levels of blogging: Posting assignments (Not blogging) Journaling, i.e. "this is what I did today." (Not blogging) Posting links. (Not blogging) Links with descriptive annotation, i.e., "This site is about…" (Not really blogging either, but getting close depending on the depth of the description). Links with analysis that gets into the meaning of the content being linked. (A simple form of blogging). Reflective, metacognitive writing on practice without links. (Complex writing, but simple blogging, I think. Commenting would probably fall in here somewhere). Links with analysis and synthesis that articulate a deeper understanding or relationship to the content being linked and written with potential audience in mind. (Real blogging). Extended analysis and synthesis over a longer period of time that builds on previous posts, links, and comments. (Complex blogging).

The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice. More information on many of our other activities can be found here. On our website you will find thousands of our free mathematics enrichment materials (problems, articles and games) for teachers and learners from ages 5 to 19 years. All the resources are designed to develop subject knowledge, problem-solving and mathematical thinking skills. The website is updated with new material on the first day of every month. For guidance on how to find the right resources for you, go to the Help section of the site.

Dedicated to creating a model classroom that integrates technology and uses better practices as central components of instruction. 

If you are thinking of using a flipvideo camera in your classroom, this is a good place to go early in your study. It is practical, has examples, and offers a variety of uses.

Lots of different 'games' to play to reinforce vocabulary for all kinds of subjects. If a student/teacher just wants to create a list of study cards this can do it. If there is a station in your class for vocabulary development you can use this site in lots of different ways to have students practice vocabulary skills. I dare you to try the space race. It's tough!

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.

"This report is based on evidence from a small-scale survey carried out between April and July 2009 in 35 maintained schools in England. It evaluates the extent to which the schools taught pupils to adopt safe and responsible practices in using new technologies, and how they achieved this. It also assesses the extent and quality of the training the schools provided for their staff. It responds to the report of the Byron Review, Safer children in a digital world."

Not sure it's the most impressive site I've seen for vocabulary instruction, but it is an alternative if you are looking. Primarily focuses on drill and practice, but using the engagement factor might help students stay with it short term.