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Valuable points about coaching - makes me want my own coach!

Stupski Fndtn staff + McREL researchers ask 2 questions: (1) How can teachers adapt the principles of effective pedagogy to differentiate instruction and meet the needs of all learners in order to help Our Kids be challened, motivated, and successful? (2) How can teachers create structured, challenging, yet nurturing classroom environments to ensure that Our Kids are engaged and successful learners? KEY FINDINGS: adaptive and differentiated instruction (theory and methodologies) in culturally relevant classroom that allows for student "role fluidity" + teacher skill in finding gaps in knowledge/skills + motivating students through engaging projects and targeted instruction (academically rigorous and nurturing) PLUS fac devt must be supported by and inclusive of school leadership. a Design Collaborative might act on 5 options: (1) Support teachers to better utilize methods and theories of culturally relevant pedagogy and differentiated instruction, (2) Implement a pedagogical program based on the notion of "role fluidity" to give students a central voice in the classroom, (3) Use technology to engage students and enhance pedagogy, (4) Guide teachers in creating academically rigorous and positive classroom learning environments, (5) Implement pedagogical programs based on developing higher order thinking and subject-specific skills. Report by Kerry Englert, Helen Apthorp, Matthew Seebaum. Dated Oct 2009

"In the virtual world, the definition of a student-teacher relationship is hazy, particularly on social networks like Facebook and MySpace, where adults and teens share the same forums to connect and keep in touch with friends, classmates, relatives, and co-workers. Chances are, your teen has already found her teachers on Facebook and sent friend requests to join their networks."

Looking for Learning in 21st Century Classrooms A leadership guide to supporting and coaching best practice technology use across the curriculum. Administrators are given the charge to foster professional development of teachers through classroom observation, walk-throughs and overall supervision. In recent years, technology has changed significantly and the world has altered alongside that change. Education has begun the process of including technology, but finds variety in teacher expertise and practice. What questions can supervisors ask of their teachers to best promote technology-use to improve learning? Here are some helpful guiding questions.

We've created the Twitter Handbook for Teachers, a brand new, interactive, 13-page guide to Twitter. This guide is for educators who are new to Twitter, or veterans to the social media platform who want to bring Twitter into their classrooms or grow their network. Is that you?

"Conversation is key . Sawyer succinctly explains this principle: "Conversation leads to flow, and flow leads to creativity." When having students work in groups, consider what will spark rich conversation. The original researcher on flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, found that rich conversation precedes and ignites flow more than any other activity.1 Tasks that require (or force) interaction lead to richer collaborative conceptualization. Set a clear but open-ended goal . Groups produce the richest ideas when they have a goal that will focus their interaction but also has fluid enough boundaries to allow for creativity. This is a challenge we often overlook. As teachers, we often have an idea of what a group's final product should look like (or sound like, or…). If we put students into groups to produce a predetermined outcome, we prevent creative thinking from finding an entry point. Try not announcing time limits. As teachers we often use a time limit as a "motivator" that we hope will keep group work focused. In reality, this may be a major detractor from quality group work. Deadlines, according to Sawyer, tend to impede flow and produce lower quality results. Groups produce their best work in low-pressure situations. Without a need to "keep one eye on the clock," the group's focus can be fully given to the task. Do not appoint a group "leader." In research studies, supervisors, or group leaders, tend to subvert flow unless they participate as an equal, listening and allowing the group's thoughts and decisions to guide the interaction. Keep it small. Groups with the minimum number of members that are needed to accomplish a task are more efficient and effective. Consider weaving together individual and group work. For additive tasks-tasks in whicha group is expectedtoproduce a list, adding one idea to another-research suggests that better results develop

Microsoft in Education free teacher guides

PDF guide to Moodle tools

Poster of the functions of Moodle

Sacha Chua has once again created an awesome slide presentation. In this presentation, A Teacher's Guide to Web 2.0 at School, Sacha does a great job of addressing the "yeah buts" and "what if" opposition statements that some administrators and teachers make in regards to using Web 2.o in schools.

 The 40 page guide (embedded below) is designed to help teachers who have never used Google Documents. 

"Walk into a typical classroom and you'll find the teacher in perpetual motion. In an effort to be the best teacher they can be, most teachers over teach. That is, they talk too much, help too much, and are seen too much. They become so preoccupied with giving of themselves, with providing, nurturing, guiding, reminding, directing, and advising, that they don't leave room for their students to learn"

Google Tools for teachers - a 33 page guide

School Leaders: Guiding Teachers into the Digital Age

Shallow (still important) analysis of the major issues regarding technology integration in schools.

Leveled readers can be used for more than just guided reading. If teachers are flexible and willing to try to get the most out of their resources, they will find new ways to use their leveled readers that they may not have thought of before. Paired reading, independent reading and the Accelerated Reading program are just some of the great way that teachers can use these readers in class.

"Windows 7 in the Classroom Guide for Teachers" - Learn how educators can use Windows 7 to simplify everyday tasks, save time and make lessons more interactive.

Constructivism is one of those ideas we throw around in educational circles without stopping to think about what we mean by it. They are the terms that have multiple meanings, are at once highly technical and common usage and are likely to cause debate and disagreements. Constructivism in particular carries a quantity of baggage with it. It is a term that is appropriated by supporters of educational approaches that are in stark contrast to the opposing view; constructivism vs didactic methods or direct instruction. The question is what are the origins of constructivism and does a belief in this as an approach to understanding learning necessitate an abandonment of direct instruction or is this a false dichotomy?