Chronic Absenteeism Can Devastate K-12 Learning (Opinion) - 7 views
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in a study of California students for Attendance Works, the organization that Hedy Chang oversees, only 17 percent of the students who were chronically absent in both kindergarten and 1st grade were reading proficiently by 3rd grade, compared with 64 percent of those with good attendance in the early years. Weak reading skills in the 3rd grade translate into academic trouble ahead: Students who aren’t reading well by that point are four times more likely to drop out of high school, according to a 2012 study released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
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Chronic absence in middle school is another red flag that a student will drop out of high school. By high school, attendance is a better dropout indicator than test scores.
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A recent report, “Absences Add Up,” also from Attendance Works, documents what many know from common sense: At every age, in every demographic, and in every state and city tested, students with poor attendance scored significantly lower on standardized tests. In our schools, this translates into weaker reading skills, failing grades, and higher dropout rates. Rather than looking at attendance as an administrative chore, schools can use the same data as a warning sign to change the trajectory.
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Maintaining a focus on concrete representations of mathematical concepts during remote ... - 5 views
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In times when we taught face-to-face, some of these challenges would be overcome through the use of concrete materials, at least with younger students. Unfortunately, it is common for the use of concrete materials to decline as students grow older. Fortunately, this pattern, and the prejudiced beliefs on which it is founded, are today being questioned.
Agency and Mathematics - The Learner's Way - 6 views
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Of all the subjects that our students engage in, mathematics is the one most requiring an injection of learner agency. What is it about mathematics that engenders it to modes of teaching that are so heavily teacher-directed? How might this change if we seek to understand the place that learner agency plays in producing learners who will emerge from our classrooms with a love of mathematics and a deep understanding of its beauty?
The Language of Praise & Feedback - The Learner's Way - 7 views
What might schools learn from McDonald's? - The Learner's Way - 13 views
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Walk into any McDonald's, anywhere in the world, and you know where you are and what to expect. For the homesick traveller, the consistency of McDonald's' design aesthetic is comforting. You know how this is going to work, you understand what to do, and you know what you are likely to get. McDonald's requires minimal cognitive load on the customer's behalf.
Language Moves that Encourage Initiative - The Learner's Way - 5 views
Perseverance and Mathematics - A mathematical journey to Mars - The Learner's Way - 9 views
In search of the conditions required for Spectacular Learning - The Learner's Way - 11 views
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Not all learning is created equal. Sometimes the learning that we achieve and the success generated through our engagement with a learning opportunity is spectacular. At its very best, our learning unlocks fresh understandings for ourselves and sometimes even for others. What conditions allow for such spectacular learning, and how might we bring these conditions into our classrooms?
Thinking throughout the Inquiry Cycle - The Learner's Way - 9 views
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If we believe that all learning is a consequence of thinking, then we should consider what types of thinking our learners are likely to benefit from at each phase of their inquiry. This is where the Understanding Map, developed by Ritchhart, Church & Morrison offers useful guidance. By contemplating the demands of each phase of our chosen inquiry model, we can plan for how we might scaffold thinking moves which will enhance our learners' learning.
Distracted Minds: Why You Should Teach Like a Poet - 4 views
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Routine is a great deadener of attention.
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When you follow the same routines at home, folding the laundry or doing the dishes, your mind goes on automatic pilot.
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same generic suite of teaching activities: listen to a lecture, take notes, ask some questions, talk in groups.
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Treehouse teaching and laundry art: Educators find creative ways to reach kids - 5 views
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was also concerned about her students’ lack of engagement — so few were completing the assignments she emailed to parents
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Playing with her family’s laundry marked the first time Maliah seemed happy — actually happy — since the start of the pandemic.
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Nobody should ever be penalized or put at a disadvantage for the supplies they don’t have,” Dillingham thought to herself. “But everyone’s got laundry!”
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Pondering metaphors for the impact that we have as educators - The Learner's Way - 4 views
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often think in metaphors. They help me to clarify and communicate my thinking. A metaphor can make a complex idea accessible and comprehensible. They invite understanding and are a useful catalyst for conversation. A metaphor can be made even more powerful when it is combined with a practical demonstration. One metaphor I like to share with colleagues revolves around the impact that we might have as teachers. - A guest post by Stellina Sim
Fostering a dispositional perspective of curiosity - The Learner's Way - 10 views
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When we are young, we are naturally curious. We ask many, many questions. As we encounter the world, our consciousness is bombarded by a plethora of opportunities for curiosity. And at this early stage of exploring and discovering the world we inhabit, there is no filter between our sense of curiosity and our expression of our it. If we are curious, we will be asking questions and heaven help anyone close enough to be a potential source of answers. - At school, our relationship to both curiosity and inquiry changes.
Taking a Reflective Stance - The Learner's Way - 7 views
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To ensure reflective practice is more than an activity added to our schedule, we need to take a reflective stance. Too often, reflection becomes the thing we do at the end of a task or the end of the day. We look back and contemplate what was, and with that in mind, we look forward to what we might do differently next time. It is in this way a very reactionary process. By all means, this form of reflection has its place, and it can be a powerful strategy to deploy as we seek to learn from experience. If we value reflective practice, we will be sure to set aside time for this form of reflection on a routine basis. By engaging in reflection habitually, we ensure that it is a routine part of our day. But adopting a reflective stance can make this more powerful.
Questions to ask when planning for deep learning - The Learner's Way - 12 views
PZ Sydney Network becomes PZ Australia - The Learner's Way - 4 views
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The PZ Sydney Network has achieved many of its goals in the past five years. Most importantly the network has been able to provide high-quality professional development to many educators through free events large and small and both face-to-face and online. The PZ Sydney Network has been able to expand its reach and in recognition of this is transforming to become the PZ Australia Network.