Group items tagged

This article suggests that improving upon a LD student's level of reading requires a strong combination of well-developed and strategic instructional strategies. These strategies include direct response and cueing processes, scaffolding, modeling the process, and providing an organizational structure to record, review and reflect upon learning.

Jennifer, I really like this article. It can be frustrating enough for parents and students when reading difficulties occur. Add to this complication learning difficulties, and the problems and insecurities really start to add up. This article, and the years of research that it is based on helped to enumerate the many reading interventions that already exist for students with documented learning disabilities. I will definitely use these in the future in order to combat such problems. Victoria

This interview provides research that supports an instructional gap based on gender. It mentions how and why girls are outperforming boys academically. The interviewees suggest ways to address the gender gap.

This article definitely examined many factors that could be a cause of an instructional gap, including gender. As I read through the interview, it discussed topics such as "Is it a problem that so few men are teachers? and Is single-sec education a viable strategy for addressing the problem"? My school has discussed creating an all-males 8th grade class, but without seeing proven data that this is in the best interest of the student/school, I don't think I could support this strategy. Great article on gender gaps and how it is effecting our educational system.

Rather interesting article. I work at an all boys school and it is very rewarding to see these young men excel in academics. We also study the male brain and customized our lessons to reach the male brain. Some customization used are brain breaks, water, multimedia and music and many others. Great article

Implementation Week 2 - Chris, Elijah, Noelle, Angela "Analyzing Differentiation in the Classroom: Using the COS-R" (available via UMUC Library): Citation: VanTassel-Baska, J. (2012). Analyzing Differentiation in the Classroom: Using the COS-R. Gifted Child Today, 35(1), 42-48. doi:10.1177/1076217511427431 This article discusses the use of the "Classroom Observation Scale-Revised" or COS-R. The COS-R is a tool intended for the use of observing and evaluating teachers in a more meaningful way. The COS-R assesses the teacher in a performance-based manner similar to performance-based assessments used for students. The goal of using this tool is to highlight "...the use of strategies that promote student learning and growth, especially in the area of higher order thinking, problem solving, and metacognition." This article was useful as one of our practicing teachers is an AP teacher and often needs to differentiate lesson planning for students of various high achievement levels. Other practicing teachers within our group expressed, much in the same manner as teachers referenced in the article, that many pedagogical tactics are not covered during teacher preparation programs, and there is a lack of strong feedback / recommendation of strategies that help increase teacher knowledge of differentiating instruction for various student populations.

"a Chalk Talk protocol allows students to have non-verbal "discussion.""

My group's SMART Target Learning Goal is 75% of students will improve their informational text comprehension by 1 grade level. The Dimension I'm referencing is Technology Integration. Although I feel this is a great tool and has a major impact on student learning, it does lack technology integration. I rate it as a 1. I think it rates off the scales in the other dimensions. Some sort of tech integration would make this a huge win all around.

EDTC615 FALL2018 I have found several dimensions from the Planning Protocol that I could assess this particular under for instance: Depth of Knowledge- The Chalk Talk can be use on a multitude of levels for DOK. From a basic warm up to a well thought out thought provoking silent Socrative seminar, depends on how the teacher want to use the tool in their classroom will determine the DOK. Teacher Friendliness - This instructional tactic is very teacher friendly and low maintenance across the board. you can just use a whiteboard and post it stickies, or chart paper and post it stickies, and just a window/liquid chalk and post it stickies. Rigor and Relevance- Again rigor and relevance is dependent upon how the teacher decides to use this instructional tactic in their classroom. This is a tool that can evoke deep thought or a tool that can be used as a quick response to a warm up question. Possible Technology Integration- Although the video did not depict a technology integration while I was watching the video an idea came to mind to use this idea in conjunction with Padlet app and divide the classroom up into groups with each a different Padlet question or conversation and first each member in the group share to the Padlet and then have the student rotate to each groups table and share a post to each other's Padlet. That is one way to integrate technology into a Chalk Talk discussion. This could be used as an instructional tactic for all our group members as an exit ticket, class survey, check for understanding of the day's lesson, warm-up question, and/or silent Socrative seminar. I can think of endless possibilities with this particular tool based on the dynamics of your student population, skill set, and grade level. Spencer's SMART Goal is 75% of the 24 students with a C or lower to have a B (80%) or higher in my class, by the end of the 1st quarter. Ericka's SMART Goal is By the end of 1st quarter 75% of the LSN Government students will be able to an

This is a great article about the late famed educator, Marva Collins, who advocated for less technology and more focus on non-tech problem solving. While not an opponent of using technology, she largely based her outstanding success with children on the following precept: "Though children are exposed to technology (a biology software program is used with four- and five-year-olds, for instance), it is secondary to other lessons. 'I think what most of us fail to understand is there are steps in life,' Collins explains. 'We try to teach children that you cannot skip from step 1 to step 10.'"

Two prominent methods for closing achievement gaps are discussed in this article: 1. increase district control over teaching and curriculum, and "minimum standard of instruction", 2. using teacher teams to develop curriculum and teaching methods. Because district control leads to set curriculum, methods, and assessments across schools, progress is easily measured. However, talented and creative teachers tend to feel less valued as educators, and more like tools of implementation. This could cause less effectiveness for having to fit lessons within such a strict construct. Teacher teams, or Professional Learning Networks, empower teachers for contributing to development of effective lessons. Educators tend to enjoy this approach, since it is more natural to teaching and learning, though it is difficult to measure what is being learned. Under district control, the focus can be on research based interventions, where measurement relies on teachers not straying from the mandated processes. Alternatively, it can focus on teacher learning, which would output teachers with similar goals, but who can draw from their own experience and knowledge. Mountain High School in Pleasantville, California, was divided into "learning communities" of around 80 students. Teachers were to serve as advisors, regularly contact families, collaborate with colleagues, and ELL and Special education students were divided amongst the communities. The teacher lack of experience with PDs showed, as they were more focused on student problems rather than ways to improve instruction. Teachers were also not used to contacting parents outside of problematic situations. It was also necessary to provide accommodations that help struggling students to strengthen the lacking skills that are preventing further growth. The proposed methods seemed sound, though implementation in the case study, was still problematic. The lack of success was potentially due to lack of understanding of what compris

(Week 9: Amber, Angela, And Kenneth) This article is accessible through the link given by accessing Diigo. This article discusses two methods for closing the achievement gap due to teacher collaboration. The article discusses how teachers can collectively have discussion that may identify and address the structural issues that are built into the school system. Teachers can use this article to begin to understand how their instructional practices can be hampered by systematic inequalities. The idea of all of this is for these "Collaborations to require and build trust, routines and skills for further collaboration efforts. This also means that the collaborators will need training in order to help them talk about issues of teaching and learning and critique each other's practice (Levine and Marcus, 2007). This would be useful for our practicing teacher because (1) They teach in different districts so there will be some disparities, (2) critiquing each other can be more helpful and a great learning experience. References Levine, T. H., & Marcus, A. S. (2007). Closing the achievement gap through teacher collaboration: facilitating multiple trajectories of teacher learning. Journal Of Advanced Academics, 19(1), 116-138. From http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ786607.pdf

"A word wall in the classroom is a powerful instructional tool to strengthen content vocabulary or concepts. A word wall can be an organized collection of words (and sometimes phrases) displayed on a wall or other space in the classroom."

Watching this video gave me a great idea for one of my group members Spencer who teaches ESOL students who struggle with verbal/conversational skills and written/language skills. Spencer's SMART Goal is 75% of the 24 students with a C or lower to have a B (80%) or higher in my class, by the end of the 1st quarter. With this strategy students can build vocabulary skills by word connections and possible interactions with one another to help strengthen each others vocabulary skills often times with the teacher being the facilitator of instruction not the lead in the instruction.

Watching this video gave me ideas on supporting my students. Word Walls are important supports for students in the classroom. They help students solidify their thinking process and content knowledge. Students in this video did the thinking required. This is also important as students tend to rely on teacher lead information. Our SMART goal is that 75% of students will increase their informational text reading comprehension by one grade level. The word wall in this video is a great strategy to make connections with my students.

(Week 7: Cathy, Sheila and Suzanne) This journal article is accessible though the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. This journal article discussed the connection between metacognition and cognitive retention dependent on particular Biology teaching strategies. The article focused on four strategies, Problem-based learning (PBL), Jigsaw, PBL integrated with Jigsaw and direct teaching. The article explained how PBL/Jigsaw leads to greater metacognition skills and therefore the students will be more successful learners. This article can help teachers identify student learning gaps and incorporate learning strategies that aid in metacognitive skills and also increase cognitive retention. It also examines how student motivation and leaning styles and cooperative learning strategies can help self-esteem and student achievement. Palennari wrote that metacognition makes students become independent learners that can manage and plan their learning process. "Self-regulated learners are responsible for their own learning progress and adapt their learning strategies reaching demands completely." (Palennari, 2016) Reference: Palennari, M. (2016). Exploring the correlation between metacognition and cognitive retention of students using some biology teaching strategies. Journal of Baltic Science Education. 15(5). Pp 617-629.

Implementation Meeting 3 - Chris, Noelle, Elijah, and Angela Citation: Wilson, D. & Conyers, M. (2015, February 12). Put Working Memory to Work in Learning | Edutopia. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/put-working-memory-to-work-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers This article focuses on activating and using the "working memory" of learners. Working Memory, as defined in this context, "...is what you can do with what you know." The authors provide several instructional strategies that encourage teachers to move away rote memorization instruction and move toward active use of knowledge. The strategies range in simplicity from repeating information to researching and peer-teaching. All of the working teachers within our group are seeking to improve student performance on testing, which in general, is more problem-solving based. In some of our data discussions, we have talked about students knowing material, not being able to identify and apply the information to complete certain tasks.

In order to increase the achievement levels of minorities and low income students, there are three components that are the focus: high standards, a rigorous curriculum, and effective educators.

This post hits home, as I see it at my Title I school. Students struggle but even the students passing AP classes and Honors courses, yet when they see the SAT's or the ACT's. Last year, my school's valedictorian only got a 1000 on the SAT and did not get to attend her first choice. We, as a school, and larger, we as educators need to ensure that we are doing everything we can to get these students to get past whatever challenges exist outside of the school and have strict standards that need to be met.

This a great resource for every teacher.

This article provides detailed background information regarding explicit writing instruction, especially regarding students with special needs such as ADHD, but the strategies discussed can be adapted and used with all learners regardless of ability or grade level. The article begins with a focus on strategies for providing students with motivational contexts for their writing as well as making writing a routine that they enjoy. The rest of the article is divided into sections based on students' ability/age level (basic skills, revising and editing, and motivation). This article discusses strategies that can help address teachers address students' learning gaps in elaboration and explaining their ideas fully in expository writing tasks. Be sure to click "Single Page" at the bottom right of the article so you can see the entire article on one screen, and explore the links to the left of the article for more information about writing instruction for different populations!