Group items tagged

"It seems only fitting to explore the role of questions in education by asking questions about the process of doing so. I propose that we start with the customary way of framing this topic and then proceed to questions that are deeper and potentially more subversive of traditional schooling. 1. WHICH QUESTIONS? To begin, let's consider what we might ask our students. The least interesting questions are those with straightforward factual answers. That's why a number of writers have encouraged the use of questions described variously as "true" (Wolf, 1987), "essential" (Simon, 2002), "generative" (Perkins, 1992; Perrone, 1998), "guiding" (Traver, 1998), or "fertile" (Harpaz & Lefstein, 2000). What the best of these share is that they're open-ended. Sometimes, in fact, no definitive right answer can be found at all. And even when there is one - or at least when there is reason to prefer some responses to others - the answer isn't obvious and can't be summarized in a sentence. Why is it so hard to find a cure for cancer? Do numbers ever end? Why do people lie? Why did we invade Vietnam? Grappling with meaty questions like these (which were among those generated by a class in Plainview, NY) is a real project . . . literally. A question-based approach to teaching tends to shade into learning that is problem- (Delisle, 1997) and project-based (Kilpatrick, 1918; Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Wolk, 1998). Intellectual proficiency is strengthened as students figure out how to do justice to a rich question. As they investigate and come to understand important ideas more fully, new questions arise along with better ways of asking them, and the learning spirals upwards. Guiding students through this process is not a technique that can be stapled onto our existing pedagogy, nor is it something that teachers can be trained to master during an in-service day. What's required is a continual focus on creating a classroom that is about thinking rather

The Atlantic covers consequential news and ideas in politics, business, entertainment, technology, health, education, and global affairs.

"La publicación de un informe PISA de la OCDE acerca de cómo repercute el uso escolar de los ordenadores en las notas de los alumnos desencadenó ayer una oleada de titulares absurdos, irresponsables, cogidos por los pelos y peligrosísimos de cara al futuro, en los que con toda ligereza se acusaba a la introducción de la tecnología de "no servir para nada", o incluso de poco menos que "ser perjudicial para el aprendizaje". Una lectura mínimamente rigurosa del estudio permite ver que en realidad, se trata de una interpretación absurda. Lo que el informe viene a demostrar es que en las circunstancias actuales, con una introducción de tecnología que se ha limitado a cambiar las herramientas sin variar la metodología, y que se aún encuentra en una fase de pruebas absolutamente temprana, los resultados no son milagrosos, sino simplemente lógicos: si quitamos a los alumnos el papel y el bolígrafo y les ponemos un tablet o un dispositivo similar en las manos… ¡sorpresa! ¡Se distraen más! Lo raro, por supuesto, sería que esto no ocurriese así. Resulta no evidente, sino de perogrullo, que un artefacto electrónico conectado a la red ofrece infinitas oportunidades más para la distracción que las que ofrece un papel y el bolígrafo en el que, como mucho, podemos dibujar unos cuantos muñecos con palotes, hacer algunas cadenetas, o ya acercándonos casi a los deportes de riesgo, hacer una pajarita. Frente a esto, la versatilidad de los terminales móviles o los ordenadores es impresionante: podemos comunicarnos, acceder a un ilimitado océano de contenidos buenos, malos o regulares, ver vídeos de gatitos, o incluso jugar. Obviamente, si lo único que hacemos es cambiar de soporte, pero no alterar la metodología, ni formar a los profesores, ni modificar siquiera la manera de evaluar, lo único que haremos con la tecnología es crear una generación de alumnos que se habrán pasado una parte significativa del tiempo de clase dedicándose a otras

"1. Blogging enables reflection. This is true for both students and educators. Too often do we go through our days, class to class, with minimal opportunities for reflection on our experiences or the information that we have acquired along the way. Blogging offers the opportunity to take a step back and connect with our learning and place it in the context of the bigger picture. Make reflection an assignment or part of another assignment - it is an important component to learning. For students: This is not the easiest thing to accomplish - blogging takes time and that is a finite resource during a busy class period. There is great opportunity in academic support periods or advisory classes for students (particularly in 1:1 schools) to blog. Many advisory classes take place throughout the day, which is a great break point for students to create based on their learning from that day. For teachers: This type of reflection can and should be compiled into your lesson planning for future lessons. Take what you learned from teaching and learning that day and incorporate it into the next day's lessons. Find time to do this during a conference period during your day or right after school. Yes, it is tough to get in the habit of doing a new thing - but once you start using reflection through blogging, I think that your lesson planning will be easier and much more meaningful. 2. Develop an Authentic Audience An authentic audience is a great way to increase rigor and in all of my experiences has led to increased performance by students. Authentic audiences in blogging could mean any number of things - family members, students from other classes, students from other buildings, other teachers, individuals interested in the content from around the world, etc. A student knowing that their work may be seen by people other than what they consider their 'typical audience' (read: teacher) typically spends more time and exerts more effort to creating a quality p

Artículo en inglés... "Mobile devices as teaching tools are becoming a more and more common part of the American education experience in classrooms, from preschool through graduate school. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 58% of U.S. teachers own smartphones - 10 percentage points higher than the national average for adults. Those teachers are building that tech-savviness into their lesson plans, too, by embracing bring-your-own-device policies and leading the push for an iPad for every student. In 2013, an estimated 25% of U.S. schools had BYOD policies in place and it's reasonable to assume those numbers have risen in the past two years. ..."

"The first day of school for the corner boys in Season 4" Pryzbylewski

"The first day of school for the corner boys in Season 4" Pryzbylewski

"77 Simple STEM Activities for Families (ideas for doing STEM at home or school) Get your copy of Daily STEM on Amazon! 77 STEM Activities for Families: Nature Edition (PDF) 77 STEM Activities for Families: Nature Edition SPANISH (PDF) 77 STEM Activities for Families #3 (PDF) 77 MORE STEM Activities for Families #2 (PDF) 77 MORE STEM Activities for Families #2 SPANISH (PDF), thanks to Mauricio González @mauricioge 77 STEM Activities for Families #1 (PDF) 77 STEM Activities for Families #1 SPANISH (PDF), thanks to Ekuwah Moses of FACES CCSD in Las Vegas, NV 77 STEM Activities for Families #1 Arabic (PDF), thanks to Ali Robbins & Khadi Goodside from Spring Forest Middle School in Houston, TX"

"Teaching climate science & action can seem daunting: for university-level lecturers, teaching to younger children can be quite intimidating. For primary-level teachers, the science and scope can seem too vast and fast changing to cover. For everyone, the content can be overwhelming. As adults, how do we present this topic to children: give them the information they need without crushing them? I decided to face the challenge, and over the course of one rather sleepless night, put together some materials for my 6 year-old son's class. This post summarizes and communicates that experience, in the hope that others can take ideas and inspiration, and will be encouraged to volunteer to teach about climate in primary schools. Teaching and engagement in schools is now part of all of our work, as researchers, academics, parents, activists, advocates, so I hope this idea spreads. The 4-part lesson plan worked quite well: the topics & materials held the children's attention, gave them varied aspects to think about and interact with, and they seemed to come away with deeper understanding. The whole thing took roughly 1 hour. This is doable!"

The aim of the Transmedia Literacy project is to understand how the young boys and girls are learning skills outside the school. The construction of those cultural competencies and social skills will be at the centre of the research. Once the informal learning strategies and practices applied by young people outside the formal institutions are identified, the team will 'translate' them into a series of activities and proposals to be implemented inside school settings. The Transmedia Literacy Project will also produce a Teacher's Kit that will be designed to facilitate the integration of transliteracies in the classroom.

If you haven't noticed lately, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is kind of a big deal, both in business, technology, and education fields. Why? In education, BYOD (and its initialistic cousin, BYOT), 1:1, and other trends are symbolic of (at least) three things: 1. Schools, teachers, and students want technology in the classroom 2.

by Hope Mulholland, TeachThought Intern BYOD policies-Bring Your Own Device-allow schools to bring technology into the classroom with a "bottom-up" approach. Such an approach can save money, allow students to use their own devices, and encourage a student-centered approach to learning.

A blog post from Eleanor Dickey. Above: A Roman relief from Trier showing part of an ancient school, and Below: Reading's Emma Aston modelling a costume based on that relief. On November 19th the d...

A blog post from Eleanor Dickey. Above: A Roman relief from Trier showing part of an ancient school, and Below: Reading's Emma Aston modelling a costume based on that relief. On November 19th the d...

Social media is fast becoming as ubiquitous as the air we breathe. In recent months, many schools and districts around the country have taken steps to create social media policies and guidelines for their students and staff. In my work with several districts to draft these documents, I have seen many approaches that work well, and some that don't.

"Quizá podemos especificar qué es un adecuado "marco del aprendizaje" en la combinación de estos tres elementos, seguro que tú nos propones alguno más: Un buen educador: Con una excelente competencia en comunicación y habilidades interpersonales Con entusiasmo y la pasión por su materia Que tenga Auto motivación y la capacidad de motivar a los estudiantes Con excelente capacidad por el contenido de la materia y la manera de enseñarlo Con buenas habilidades para la gestión del aula Que disponga de habilidades de organización educativa Con una clara voluntad de ser innovador y creativo Con buenas habilidades para colaborar con los demás y trabajar de forma cooperativa como parte de un equipo. Una escuela eficiente: schools Un Aprendiz eficaz: Un aprendiz eficaz es aquel que encarna los valores de la escuela de respeto, responsabilidad, exigencia, ética y cooperación. Un aprendiz eficaz también busca activamente un cambio positivo y el crecimiento personal de sus capacidades. Según Marzano, Pickering y Pollock (Classroom instruction that works : research-based strategies for increasing student achievement / Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, Jane E. Pollock.), aquellos estudiantes que aprenden a utilizar la enseñanza eficaz emplearían estas nueve estrategias que mejoran los porcentajes señalados : Identificar similitudes y diferencias (45%) Resumir y tomar notas mejora la retención (34%) Utilizar el refuerzo y reconocimiento (29%) Llevar a cabo tareas prácticas aumenta el logro (28%) El empleo de representaciones no lingüísticas (27%) El uso de aprendizaje cooperativo (27%) Establecer objetivos y proporcionar información periódica (23%) Generar y probar hipótesis aumenta el aprendizaje (23%) Preguntas, pistas y organizadores avanzados (22%)"

"To mark last month's World Teachers' Day (sponsored by UNESCO , the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), photographers from Reuters took pictures around the world of educators with their students in a telling exhibit of the very different circumstances under which children attend school. Here are 15 pictures taken by Reuters photographers, revealing the spectrum of "classrooms" - from those with literally no resources to those well-stocked and housed."

Blended Learning: different models of blended learning and dive into key issues that impact students, teachers, and schools.

"This article analyzes teacher strikes in Argentina during 2006-2012. It stands out how teacher strikes prevail over claims from other unions, and are shown to be relevant events for education policy just for some provinces and only for public schools. We found that none of the policy measures implemented over the last decade has proven to be effective in reducing conflict. Analyzing a dataset on labour unrest, this study builds an index of teacher labour conflict to better understand the evolution of teacher strikes over time and under the various provincial governments that integrate the Argentinian federal education system. The article shows no correlation between teacher labour unrest and the growth of private enrolment. However, we note that despite the lack of statistical correlation, teacher strikes should not be ruled out as an explanatory variable of the increase in private education in Argentina."