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"There is a prevailing conception that students must learn facts and procedural knowledge BEFORE they can then engage in so-called 'higher-order' thinking skills. Educators, parents, policymakers, online commentators, and others point to Bloom's taxonomy (which typically has been portrayed as a pyramid) and say, "See? You have to do this stuff down here before you can do that stuff up top!" But that's not how Bloom and his co-authors categorized the taxonomy..."

"By working together on problem sets in math and sharing their perspectives in roundtable discussions in English, students at The College Preparatory School are making collaboration the driving force in their learning." Some great examples of collaboration -- both in practice and theory.

Some great opportunities for more learning this summer!

Tons of links and resources on blended learning, from Diigo.

Very smart writing on the distinctions between a hierarchy of thinking vs. scaffolded learning. "the notion that students have to be immersed in 'lower-level' factual and procedural knowledge BEFORE they can do 'higher-level' thinking work doesn't comport with what we know from cognitive research."

6 models of blended learning, from Michael Horn: "Face-to-Face driver, Rotation, Flex, Online lab, Self-blend, Online driver."

Illustrates a lot of information from tine Innosight document, as well as several other sources. A bit busy but might be useful as a summary.

Three white papers from Innosight Institute. All are about K-12 blended learning. Very useful research.

"The five Cs below will empower educators to discover how they and their students can begin building personal learning networks specific to the learner's needs extending relevant learning connections to like-interested people around the globe." 

"Search, links, media sharing, social media, Wikipedia, games, open source etc. are ground breaking shifts in the way we learn, says Donald Clark. Unfortunately, they're not matched by the way we teach. The growing gap between teaching practice and learning practice is acute and growing. Institutional teaching, especially in Universities is hanging on to the pedagogic fossil that is the lecture. The true driver for positive, pedagogic change is the internet."

A slick interactive map of learning objectives according to Anderson/Krathwohl's revision of Bloom's taxonomy.

Interactive animation of Bloom"s revised taxonomies

A slick interactive map of learning objectives according to Anderson/Krathwohl's revision of Bloom's taxonomy.

Slideshare in which Robert Talbert explains his vision of a flipped classroom: its justification and its application in classes.

Totally free to educators. "Can the expertise we have developed over the past 25 years enable us to produce technologies that enhance learning? The answer-an enthusiastic Yes-came only after deliberating with educators. SAS Curriculum Pathways is the result of those deliberations."

Math and Physics learning videos. Could be used for flipped teaching.

Videos and examples of flipped learning.

"We teach numbers, then algebra, then calculus, then physics. Wrong!" exclaims the Massachusetts Institute of Technology mathematician, a pioneer in artificial intelligence. "Start with engineering, and from that abstract out physics, and from that abstract out ideas of calculus, and eventually separate off pure mathematics. So much better to have the first-grade kid or kindergarten kid doing engineering and leave it to the older ones to do pure mathematics than to do it the other way around."

A passionate and eloquent plea from a university lecturer, attesting to the continued relevance of the lecture as a learning tool. I value her point that a lecture promotes active listening, but I disagree with the notion that a technology that has worked for thousands of years should see continued use simply because it has worked in the past.[1] Given the multitudes of other means of delivery of information today (remember, the lecture was developed when the only other means to spread information was handwriting), the lecture as transmission of information is a tool, not THE tool. She also equates books to lectures, and says that if we abandon one we move toward abandoning the other. A bit of tenuous logic, if you ask me. Still, perhaps worth a read.  [1] See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptorium#Trithemius.27_Praise_of_Scribes

"Children may perform better in school and feel more confident about themselves if they are told that failure is a normal part of learning, rather than being pressured to succeed at all costs, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association."

An overview of Twitter for professional development as well as some links. "Teachers who are fans say they appreciate the easy-to-use tool as a quick way to network with colleagues. They like being able to ask and answer questions, learn from experts, share resources, and react to events on the fly."