MEd Program Diigo Group

This is a blog post by Stephen Downes in which he provides a succinct counterargument to Daniel Willingham's thesis that learning styles do not exist. This post and the link to the source with additional reader comments could serve as a reading selection for a PLC.

This 8-day multimedia unit explores the fundamentals of electrical circuits in a highly interactive format for the beginning learner. Folder " Shared Folders " Alexandra Grizinski " Member Directory "

Nuffield Foundation " Practical Physics " > Electric circuits and fields " Simple electric circuits. Practical activities designed for use in the classroom with 11- to 19-year-olds. Have also developed resources and approaches that underpin effective educational practice. These are freely available via our teachers page.

Tests show that pre-service teachers have unscientific ideas about "source of stationary current", "The concept of current, energy and potential differences are used one another by mistaken", "current usage" and "sequential reasoning".

Build your own series and parallel circuits and measure voltages and currents with the brilliant Circuit Builder interactive. Offers voice and text instructions.

("Week 7" Group members : Ruchel and Beth) This website has strategies for teaching the alphabet aside from the common "letter of the week" style. This website can be used as a resource for alphabet related assessments in the Pre-k and Kindergarten classroom.

You know those paper fortune tellers?  They were *the* rage when I was a kid.  I loved them!  And it is time to introduce my kiddos to the joy of Cootie catchers – while reviewing math lessons. We made two paper games, one to review fractions and another to review times tables. . Want to learn …

Week 7

This article by Sunday Cummins focuses on teaching students how to self-monitor while reading difficult texts. It suggests teaching students the coding method to help them learn how to self-monitor. Using meaningful symbols to mark up a text students learn how to evaluate what they understand and what they still need to comprehend as well how to go about achieving that deeper comprehension. (Week 7)

This article addresses aspects of my groups exploration of student reading level ability and achievement on state tests on critical reading. In this article, the author suggests the implementation of a coding method while reading in order to teach students how to self-inform their reading in order to improve upon the student's ability to conduct close readings of informational text. This is just the sort of strategy that could assist IEP and ESOL students (2 subset groups of struggling readers) to improve the learning gap when it comes to reading for meaning.

"The results of the research provide a different picture of student learning and different strategies for teaching physics. The recommendations are aimed at changes required for improvement in student performance in physics and science in general. "

I was highly impressed by this young teacher's blog. He is already teaching like a master teacher. David Leed's blog has a tons of great teaching ideas and links.

It is a video on the how a science teacher Shelia Darjean Banks is incorporating the Common Core literacy standards into her physics course.

This is a video about using work group for students as a learning strategy. This teachers use of define roles for students in work groups is inspiring.

This website validated my concerns about science vocabulary for secondary students. It can also provide other resource videos and professional learning resources.

Week 9 Quizlet is an online study tool that allows users to setup vocabulary list or use existing vocabulary list setup at their site to study in six interactive ways. I highly suggest Scatter and Race. Chris, Alison, and Patricia

This Quizlet activity offers students a way to study for a test, test their knowledge, and improve their competency in the subject. This is a tool which has many different functions and purposes; teacher can use it as a homework assignment, a redo qualifier, or even a warm up activity. This integrates technology in the classroom in a way which is not a burden or done simply because it can be, if integrated it adds to the experience without detracting from the content or user experience.

Quizlet is a useful tool for the classroom. There is a library of "little quizes" already available for use in the class in a range of subjects. These allow students to review vocabulary, definitions and test their knowledge. There are various methods of reviewing the material, one example being flashcards. A teacher can also create their own lesson/quiz using Quizlet. The program could effectively be used to review for a test or as an exit ticket done in the class or at home.

WEEK 7 - Chris Baugher, Patricia Bankins and Alison Burns - First reading. "This paper investigates how pre-service teacher education can provide a strong literacy foundation for content area teachers. Pre-service teachers emphasized their growing awareness of how literacy strategies can enhance student learning in their specific subject areas." (Orr, Kukner and Timmons, 2014)

This article gives an interesting insight to content area literacy and infusing literacy into science and math classes. I was particularly interested in the different ways the sample teachers incorporate literacy strategies into their teaching. They talk of expanding notions of what learning and assessment can look like in science and math. Teachers must have a solid content knowledge themselves to be able to express "the most useful forms of representation of those [topics to be taught in the subject area and] ideas, the most powerful analogies, illustrations, examples, explanations, and demonstrations-in a word, the ways of representing and formulating the subject that make it comprehensible to others. (Schulman, 1986, p. 9)

The article supports this week's activity and Willigham's video on content knowledge improving reading skill. The first section in 'content area literacy" says it all: "Content area literacy is the ability to acquire understandings of, and think critically about, new content in a discipline using reading, writing and multiple other forms..." (Draper, 2002; Heller & Greenleaf, 2007; Kane, 2011; McKenna & Robinson, 1990) The article as a whole supports and builds upon the importance of not only literacy but also what assessments could look like and what they should reflect. Lastly, "[b]ecause literacy is important in all subject areas, content area teachers can plat a significant role in their students' literacy development" (Alger, 2007, 2009; Draper, 2002; Lind, 2008, Heller & Greenleaf, 2007). Before students can learn the material, we as teachers must become familiar and competent enough in the content to not only explain the ideas but to show them and relate them to the students' lives and prior knowledge.

Hundreds of games and activities for a variety of subjects (including math, science, language arts) and all grade levels. Many activities include quizzes to check for comprehension.

Educational Learning Games for students in Preschool and Elementary school. Pre-school games include pre-reading, shapes, colors, numbers and mouse skills.