"This collection of blogs, articles, and videos from Edutopia aims to help teachers deploy social media tools in the classroom to engage students in 21st-century learning."
This is basically another "attack" on the way education is "done". I love the sarcastic approach to the prep for the "real world" that is the dominant excuse for rule following. This article reflects why I think the whole notion of "grades" and a "grade book" must be re-examined if we are to really shift instructional practice toward genuine and authentic student learning.
Rather, educators should ask "how to apply the elements of effective instruction to teach students both deep conceptual understanding and procedural fluency.
"Any sufficiently important mathematics topic requires students to learn the topic in four dimensions: procedurally, conceptually, contextually, and investigatively"
"The first thing we attempted to clarify was what exactly is a grade? If I were to look in my grade book and see that Johnny has a B, what picture does that actually paint? That B should tell me that Johnny is pretty proficient. He obviously has some flaws, but I would venture to say he is fairly well-versed in the subject at hand.
The question is, however, what actually went into that B? "
So why not encourage seniors to share their experiences with underclassmen before they graduate? I'm thrilled to be developing a course for the Student College and Career Library Assistant program that we'll launch in the fall.
They are practicing leadership by creating the school they want and need.
As I read more and more blogs, twitter feeds, etc. teachers everywhere are asking how to engage their students. This blog post demonstrates a real shift in ownership to the students!
When teachers deploy the QFT in their classes, they notice three important changes in classroom culture and practices. Teachers tell us that using the QFT consistently increases participation in group and peer learning processes, improves classroom management, and enhances their efforts to address inequities in education.
I laughed so hard when I read this part:
First, stop expecting kids to pay attention. They don't owe you anything. They're only in school because it's the law and their friends are there.
He also lists some good strategies - none that are new, but it is always good to review!
A growth mindset is the secret to maximizing potential. Want to grow your staff? Give them tasks above their ability. They don't think they could do it? Tell them you expect them to work at it for a while, struggle with it. That it will take more time than the tasks they're used to doing. That you expect they'll make some mistakes along the way. But you know they could do it.