Group items tagged

"We recommend discussing explicitly the purpose, associated practices, and changed roles that the use of Essential Questions entails. Here are some examples of key ideas framed as sentences to be spoken in class to prepare students for the changes: "There's not a single correct answer for this question. Life is about the consideration of plausible and imperfect alternatives." "Coming to understand important ideas is like fitness: it takes practice over time." "When a question is posted on the wall, it means that we are going to consider it again and again." "Inquiry is not a spectator sport: each of you needs to listen actively and participate." "Everyone is fair game. I won't only call on people who raise their hands." "If and when I or others challenge your comment, it doesn't mean we don't like you or don't value your contribution." "Making mistakes is an expected part of learning. If you never take a risk of making a mistake, you're not likely to improve." "You may find that you are re-considering things that you thought you understood. That is normal - even desirable." Like the care of seedlings, the new rules will require patience, careful nurturing, and constant reminders. Overtime, they will become the norms, allowing big ideas to take root and mature understandings to blossom."

"About three years ago, I began inviting my student-led, peer-evaluated, collaboratively structured classes to think about the shape of a course: what defined it, what its participants could do to describe and circumscribe its practices, how a group of strangers, all enrolled in the same institutional experience of a "course," could come together as a community of choice, mission, shared purpose, and mutually beneficial learning. "

"Jennifer Symington, the Leader of Pedagogy at at the All Saints Catholic Girls College in Liverpool (Sydney), Australia. Teaching 12-16 year old students geography, English, math, history, and science, Jennifer has used Schoology for two years in her integrated studies course where she blends all the aforementioned subjects. Her video is a shining example of the incredible power of technology to foster global learning."

"direct my energy and attention on what worked, what went well, and what I feel was successful. I've discovered that this strategy is critical to build my emotional resilience. One of the only things in life that I have control over is how I tell my story -- how I interpret my experiences and make sense of them. If I create a story that is one of learning, growth, and empowerment, I feel better. So how are you telling the story of this school year? "

"Publishing student thinking can be among the most powerful ways to improve learning. There are a variety of reasons for this, but the biggest reason is that the "threat" of publishing moves the lodestone from the classroom to the "real world." This, of course, changes everything."

Seven-step process for planning problem-based learning experiences.

""Just as rigor does not reside in the barbell but in the act of lifting it, rigor in reading is not an attribute of a text but rather of a reader s behavior engaged, observant, responsive, questioning, analytical. The close reading strategies in Notice and Note will help you cultivate those critical reading habits that will make your students more attentive, thoughtful, independent readers." Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst In Notice and Note Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst introduce 6 signposts that alert readers to significant moments in a work of literature and encourage students to read closely. Learning first to spot these signposts and then to question them, enables readers to explore the text, any text, finding evidence to support their interpretations. In short, these close reading strategies will help your students to notice and note. In this timely and practical guide Kylene and Bob * examine the new emphasis on text-dependent questions, rigor, text complexity, and what it means to be literate in the 21st century * identify 6 signposts that help readers understand and respond to character development, conflict, point of view, and theme * provide 6 text-dependent anchor questions that help readers take note and read more closely * offer 6 Notice and Note model lessons, including text selections and teaching tools, that help you introduce each signpost to your students. Notice and Note will help create attentive readers who look closely at a text, interpret it responsibly, and reflect on what it means in their lives. It should help them become the responsive, rigorous, independent readers we not only want students to be but know our democracy demands."

"In this six-part series, I will highlight apps useful for developing higher order thinking skills in grades K-5 classrooms. Each list will highlight a few apps that connect to the various stages on Bloom's continuum of learning. Given the size and current exponential growth of the app market, I will also assist educators in setting criteria necessary to identify apps that maintain the integrity of teaching for thinking."

A wide variety of ways to visually represent thinking and learning.

"Kindergarteners learn by doing - using iPads to create and share their story. Park Tudor School Indianapolis, IN"

I have become interested in the idea of 'flipping' the classroom since I first read about it on Karl Fisch's Fischalgebra blog (see resources at the end of this post).  He describes how he makes eight to ten minute 'mini-lessons/lectures' for his students which they have to watch at home as 'homework'.

"Every child needs to encounter frustration and failure to learn to step back, reassess, and try again."

"A teacher's role in the classroom is to supply direction, maturity and wisdom. It is to raise questions, inspire endeavour and lay down challenges. A teacher brings purpose to the lesson. But to be effective in an iPad classroom, she must relinquish control over the tools used, allowing students to share the responsibility and joy of discovering and sharing solutions to achieve that purpose. I'm not saying that teachers are absolved of their professional responsibility for learning to use the technology. But they should admit to being learners, and not let that fact stop their students from using the device in unforeseen ways, in the pursuit of the class goals."

"Use engaging videos to create customized lessons. You can use, tweak, or completely redo any lesson featured on TED-Ed, or create lessons from scratch based on any video from YouTube. Watch the video to learn how. "

" 375 Free eBooks: Download to Kindle, iPad/iPhone & Nook This collection features free e-books, mostly classics, that you can read on your iPad/iPhone (purchase), Kindle (purchase), Nook (purchase) or other devices. It includes great works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. To learn how to load books to your Kindle using the links below, please watch this video. This other video explains how to upload epub files to a Nook."