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Joellen Kriss

Extra Credit: With IB Rules, the Fast Track Can End Quickly - washingtonpost.com - 0 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...AR2009090803338.html

International Baccalaureate

shared by Joellen Kriss on 13 Sep 09 - Cached
    • Joellen Kriss
      Joellen Kriss on 13 Sep 09
       
      The IB Program is a program of High School education that has been standardized in the high schools in which it is implemented. What makes it unique is that it is an international program and thus extremely helpful to those students who might move around a lot.
    • Joellen Kriss
      Joellen Kriss on 13 Sep 09
       
      Unfortunately this parent is ignoring all of the other extremely important benefits of the IB Program by focusing only on math and not any other parts of his childs education.
  • Because the IB Diploma Programme requires students to take two-year Higher Level exams after senior year -- the program does not officially start until junior year -- she was advised to defer the Math HL I course for a year and take Math Standard Level I this year as a sophomore.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • This restriction seems to apply only if she pursues the IB diploma; there might be no such constraints for IB certificate candidates. If this is the case, perhaps she could continue an accelerated math curriculum, maybe taking a class such as multivariate calculus before starting college, by leaving the IB diploma path.
  • we can't help thinking that she's being held back. Although the IB Programme might need to establish rules and guidelines for consistent implementation, there's always a chance that they don't always provide for our kids' best educational opportunities.
  • Joellen Kriss on 13 Sep 09
     
    This is a letter written by a parent into the Washington Post Education section. As an IB Diploma recipient, I find this extremely interesting, as the parent ignores all of the wonderful and beneficial things that one gets out of an IB education, questioning it because it doesn't allow his daughter to accelerate her math classes.
Maria Mahon

44 Percent Is Passing Grade on New York Math State Test - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...14scores.html

shared by Maria Mahon on 14 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Maria Mahon on 14 Sep 09
     
    I think this article provides an interesting look at standardized tests. As school depend on them increasingly, math scores are actually decreasing. How valid are these tests in determining knowledge gained?
Lindsay Andreas

U.S. Standards Initiative Seeks to Equalize Benchmarks - washingtonpost.com - 1 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...AR2009101101456.html

skills knowledge local education federal great works Common Core State Standards Initiative

shared by Lindsay Andreas on 12 Oct 09 - Cached
  • can be accepted nationwide without leaving the impression that states and school boards have ceded control of what is taught.
    • Lindsay Andreas
      Lindsay Andreas on 12 Oct 09
       
      This sounds really great but I think we all know the reality. Local districts always freak out when they are asked to give up their discretion. Right or wrong, I really don't see things changing on that front.
  • His administration might provide money to help states develop tests aligned with the standards, if they are adopted. But the U.S. Education Department is not drafting the standards, and Congress will have no vote on approval.
    • Lindsay Andreas
      Lindsay Andreas on 12 Oct 09
       
      This seems like a reasonable compromise to me.
  • work backward through secondary and elementary grades to develop more detailed benchmarks for content knowledge and skills.
    • Lindsay Andreas
      Lindsay Andreas on 12 Oct 09
       
      Backwards planning, that seems logical, know where you want to end up so you can better understand what it takes to get there, very logical.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • on the proposal posted at www.corestandards.org. On Thursday, the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a prominent advocate of more rigorous standards, graded the effort with a B in both subjects.
    • Lindsay Andreas
      Lindsay Andreas on 12 Oct 09
       
      I'm always curious what these expert firms deem as good and bad, it all just seems so arbitrary. What does that firm even do? I feel like there are way too many hands in the cookie jar at this point, but that's policy making, oh well.
  • The math proposal spans equations, expressions, functions, statistics and several other topics. For instance, it says students should understand four core concepts about equations and be able to exercise six core skills.
    • Lindsay Andreas
      Lindsay Andreas on 12 Oct 09
       
      I'm obviously not a math person but I would think math standards are pretty straightforward, there really aren't the same kinds of debates over content like Social Studies and English. I'm sure there is more to it, but that seems to be the impression I get.
  • . "They would have gotten into a century-long battle over reading lists, multiculturalism, which authors to read and so on. They decided to duck that."
    • Lindsay Andreas
      Lindsay Andreas on 12 Oct 09
       
      This is what I see as the main problem with standardizing content in English and Social Studies.....bottom line we will never agree, so get over it. I realize that is cynical but seriously, especially, with the whole multiculturalism, it just seems never ending. I plan on taking on a multicultural approach but I'm sure there would still be some multiculturalists that would criticize that I didn't go far enough.
Michael Sheehan

Learning Never Stops: Science (and More) to Music - 0 views

seekoutlearning.blogspot.com/...science-and-more-to-music.html

learning music social studies

shared by Michael Sheehan on 14 Feb 13 - No Cached
  • Michael Sheehan on 14 Feb 13
     
    Songs based on science, social studies, and math concepts.
Debbie Moore

BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - 0 views

www.brainpop.com

social studies interactive teaching tools

shared by Debbie Moore on 25 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Debbie Moore on 25 Sep 09
     
    BrainPOP is an interactive instructional tool that uses animated characters, Tim & Moby to introduce and illustrate content material for social studies, math, science, English, arts, health and technology. The interactive resources include quizzes, movies, timelines, and activity pages. Other resources include lesson plans, classroom tools, curriculum calendars, research and much more. Some of what they offer is free. Unfortunately, there is an annual fee for most of their material. My practicum school uses this program extensively. The students really like using this program and actively engage in the material. At the moment, BrainPOP is featuring a segment on "American Indians" and "Digital Citizenship." If you go to this location, you will find a free movie on the civil war. http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/freemovies/civilwar/
Alan Edwards

Spark up the American Revolution with Math, Science, and More - 3 views

proquest.umi.com/pqdweb

lesson plan American Revolution interdisciplinary

shared by Alan Edwards on 19 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Alan Edwards on 19 Nov 09
     
    Michelle Lee, a middle school teacher in Michigan, wrote this interdisciplinary lesson plan for teaching the American Revolution. There are some great ideas for incorporating geography, math, sociology, language arts, phys ed, and music into the social studies/history classroom. -----------Once you click the link, hit the full text button on the right hand side.-----------
Alan Edwards

D.C. Launches Rigorous Teacher Evaluation System - 0 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...AR2009093004729_pf.html

teacher evaluation DC Michelle Rhee

shared by Alan Edwards on 02 Oct 09 - Cached
    • Alan Edwards
      Alan Edwards on 02 Oct 09
       
      Bill Turque's article in yesterday's Washington Post feels like a balanced view about a controversial plan. It definitely relates to some of the issues we've been chatting about in and out of our classes. These issues of teacher evaluation, standardized tests, teaching methods, and unions is important for anyone teaching in DC.
    • Alan Edwards
      Alan Edwards on 02 Oct 09
       
      So this year, it appears that the folks downtown will be testing a new method of teacher evaluation based on five in-class evaluations and the teacher's students grades and test scores. The program will only apply to about 20% of the teachers in D.C.
    • Alan Edwards
      Alan Edwards on 02 Oct 09
       
      DCPS will use a team of expert teachers to evaluate the teachers in 2 of the 5 evaluation sessions. They will look for active student engagement, diverse teaching methods, and teachers who work to create a safe learning environment for their students. I think that it's great that teachers will be a part of this evaluation process because great teachers have opportunities to give the best advice for these teachers. Moreover, the experts would have a degree of independence from the school's administration and union influence.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Rhee is investing $4 million in the system, called IMPACT, which will also assess teachers against an elaborate new framework of requirements and guidelines that cover a range of factors, including classroom presence and how carefully they check for student understanding of the material. But IMPACT is likely to be another flash point in Rhee's turbulent relationship with local and national teachers union leaders. They say that growth statistics are too unreliable to include in performance evaluations and that the new assessment system -- which the District can legally impose without union consent -- is an instrument to identify and remove struggling teachers, not a means to help them improve.
  • This year only reading and math teachers in grades 4 through 8 -- fewer than 20 percent of the District's 3,800 classroom instructors -- will be evaluated on the basis of growth on the annual District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System, or DC-CAS. Student value-added will account for half of their evaluation.
  • To allay teacher concerns that assessments will be tainted by personality clashes with principals, IMPACT will employ a corps of third-party "master educators" to conduct two of the classroom observations. The District's old system, like those in most other cities, required fewer classroom visits and left them largely to school administrators, who often had neither the time nor the expertise in subject matter to render fair evaluations, educators say. The master educators, who do not report to the principals, have backgrounds in the teachers' subjects.
  • IMPACT documents suggest that no nuance will be left unexamined in the 30-minute classroom visits. Observers are expected to check every five minutes for the fraction of students paying attention. Teachers are supposed to show that they can tailor instruction to at least three "learning styles" (auditory, visual or tactile, for example). They can lower their scores by "using sarcasm that visibly hurts or decreases the comfort of one or more students." Among the ways instructors can demonstrate that they are instilling student belief in success is through "affirmation chants, poems and cheers."
Margit Nahra

Economics of a Cupcake Factory | Khan Academy - 0 views

www.khanacademy.org/...economics-of-a-cupcake-factory

economics income statement profits cost overhead inflation prices

shared by Margit Nahra on 16 Sep 10 - No Cached
    • Margit Nahra
      Margit Nahra on 16 Sep 10
       
      Given the relatively quick pace of the narration, this video would probably be best used to introduce the featured concepts in preparation for an in-depth lecture, or for review of the material once it has been explored in class.
    • Margit Nahra
      Margit Nahra on 16 Sep 10
       
      Given the current cupcake craze, it could be fun to use this video as a starting point from which students could examine the economics of an actual cupcake busines.
    • Margit Nahra
      Margit Nahra on 16 Sep 10
       
      The low-tech approach used in this video is appealing for its lack of distractions.
  • ...1 more annotation...
    • Margit Nahra
      Margit Nahra on 16 Sep 10
       
      The background of the author of this site is in math, computer science and investment management. Thus, videos on the site addressing other topics should be carefully screened for accuracy.
  • Margit Nahra on 16 Sep 10
     
    This short (11 minutes) video uses the example of a cupcake factory to explain basic concepts reflected on an income statement, such as revenue, operating cost and profit.
  • Margit Nahra on 16 Sep 10
     
    This is a fun way to review and reinforce simple economic principles and vocabulary related to income statements.
David Loudon

CEC Lesson Plans - 0 views

www.col-ed.org/cur

lesson plan socialstudies English Math elementary high school middle school

shared by David Loudon on 04 Oct 10 - Cached
    • David Loudon
      David Loudon on 04 Oct 10
       
      This source relies upon posts of lesson plans from actually teachers that they have used in their classroom.
    • David Loudon
      David Loudon on 04 Oct 10
       
      Site put together by the Columbia Education Center based in Portland Oregon.
    • David Loudon
      David Loudon on 04 Oct 10
       
      Primary sources NOT included in the lesson plans, have to find those somewhere else.
  • David Loudon on 04 Oct 10
     
    A list of lesson plans created by teachers covering all subject areas and grade levels. Put together by the Columbia Education Center.
Kyle Adams

Sheppard Software - educational games and activities for kids of all ages. - 0 views

www.sheppardsoftware.com

games math geography science

shared by Kyle Adams on 08 Apr 10 - Cached
  • Kyle Adams on 08 Apr 10
     
    Great website full of educational games. I especially like the scaffolding techniques used for enhancing geography skills.
jbdrury

Re-thinking Newsweek and U.S. News Rankings - 0 views

www.bethesdamagazine.com/...rethinking-rankings.php

school rankings achievement montgomery county newsweek U.S. News bethesda measuring top schools best schools

shared by jbdrury on 18 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Re-thinking the Rankings
  • B-CC had been ranked as the nation’s 64th best high school on the 2008 Newsweek list, but it was missing from U.S. News’ top 100. One parent e-mailed: “Should I be worried?”
  • In the 2009 Newsweek rankings, released in June, four county schools (Richard Montgomery, B-CC, Thomas S. Wootton and Winston Churchill) were ranked among the nation’s top 100, with two others (Walt Whitman and Walter Johnson) narrowly missing
  • ...31 more annotations...
    • jbdrury
      jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
       
      Not to detract from MCPS, but I have often wondered if the fact that the designer of the index happens to live in the Bethesda is at all a coincidence?
  • Most years, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has more schools in the top 100 of both lists than any other school system in the country
  • rankings validate that the school system is “seeing the benefits of providing the academic support that allows our students to aim high and achieve at the highest levels.
  • But do the rankings really mean much?
  • I feel obliged to question the validity of the methods used to rank high schools.
    • jbdrury
      jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
       
      This is the basic explanation for how Newsweek ranks its schools; interesting to note that it is based almost solely on a sort of "preparation for college" mindset
  • for ignoring graduation rates and achievement gaps among socioeconomic and ethnic segments.
    • jbdrury
      jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
       
      The author speaks directly with the designer of Newsweek's index
  • Mathews’ goal is to improve students’ academic preparation, especially in lower-and middle-income neighborhood schools. His solution is to expose more students to challenging course work, and he unapologetically describes his purpose as “advocacy as well as evaluation.
  • He says the Challenge Index’s key attributes make it the singular best measure of a school’s quality: It can be easily understood; it points directly to implementing positive change through rigorous course offerings; and it can be applied meaningfully to all schools—unlike quality evaluations based on traditional measures such as test scores, which, he says, are inherently biased toward schools in wealthier, upper-middle-class neighborhoods.
    • jbdrury
      jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
       
      As a side note; this is my former social studies teacher and the person I credit most with making me want to become a teacher
  • Walter Johnson Principal Christopher Garran
  • Critics
  • have attacked the Challenge Index for not effectively capturing what it purports to measure (school quality), in part because it doesn’t gauge student achievement, only the number of rigorous course exams taken.
  • Newsweek ranks schools based on the Challenge Index, which was developed by Washington Post education reporter (and Bethesda resident) Jay Mathews. A school’s Challenge Index score is the number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge tests taken by all students in a school year divided by the number of graduating seniors. (AP courses are well-known; IB and Cambridge also consist of rigorous courses for which students can receive college credit. Like AP, their standardized exams are graded by outside examiners.)
    • jbdrury
      jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
       
      U.S. News also uses its own "college prep" index, but includes standardized test results, and takes socio-economic and racial differences into account
  • U.S. News’ approach
  • far more computationally complex
  • a school must do significantly better on standardized state English and math tests than statistically expected given its economic makeup; be in the top half of its state (approximately) in the performance of its minority students
  • “College Readiness” formula combines two components: the percentage of 12th-graders who had taken an AP or IB exam during or before their senior year; and the percentage who passed at least one exam—equivalent to an AP test score of 3 and an IB score of 4.
    • jbdrury
      jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
       
      He also directly quotes the manager of the U.S. News' index
  • U.S. News project, cites three ways its methodology is superior: “We measure success [tests passed]—not just quantity of tests taken. We factor in how well schools do in serving economically disadvantaged students and minorities. And we recognize schools within their respective state.”
  • The U.S. News rankings have been attacked by education experts for intermixing highly selective “elite” schools, such as Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va.—currently their top-ranked school in the U.S.—with schools having open admissions
  • Unlike U.S. News, Mathews eliminates some academically elite schools, setting the cutoff at the level of the highest average SAT/ACT scores of any “normal enrollment” school in the country.
  • “It would be deceptive for us to put them [schools above this threshold] on this list [because] the Challenge Index has been designed to honor schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. It does not work for schools that have no, or almost no, average students.”
  • As of 2009, schools with AP exam pass rates lower than 10 percent (schools that would have made the list in previous years) have also been eliminated from the main Newsweek ranking. Most of these schools, which are typically located in low-income neighborhoods, have recently introduced their students to academically challenging courses as a form of “shock therapy.”
    • jbdrury
      jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
       
      A summary of the author's thoughts; pro's and con's of both methods
  • Just as the Challenge Index is too limited in its concept of best schools, the U.S. News procedures try to cover too much. The crux of the problem is combining three essentially different criteria (college readiness, overcoming economic disadvantage and minimizing ethnic group disparities) into one ranking. Schools that excel in one aren’t necessarily those that excel in the other(s). Some schools that do the greatest job of preparing their minority students might not have total-school achievement scores that are among the best. Other schools characterized by superlative overall college readiness might score only slightly above average relative to their economic profile. In trying to incorporate “economic disadvantage” and the reduction of ethnic group (minority) achievement gaps together with schoolwide high achievement, the U.S. News ranking risks confounding different educational objectives. Depth and breadth of performance, and exceeding expectations, should be reported separately, rather than conjoined. Separate rankings would be easier to understand, more informative and less disputable—although perhaps less likely to help sell magazines.
  • Several principals, including Whitman’s Goodwin, noted how nonacademic programs that help students succeed and are a huge part of some students’ lives (arts, music, sports, civic activities, etc.) are not examined.
  • comparing large and small schools can be misleading
  • eferring to the many qualitative features that go into making a great school, Doran says, “The rankings are measuring the brain of the school—not the heart of the school.”
  • jbdrury on 18 Sep 09
     
    Having grown up in Bethesda, I am well aware of the preoccupation with the ranking of U.S. schools. This article shares some insight into how two of the more popular (or circulated) ranking systems come up with their results.
James Leslie

Explore Howard: North Laurel principal shaped 'Integrated' method - 3 views

www.theviewnewspapers.com/...cipal-shaped-integrated-method

shared by James Leslie on 17 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Alan Edwards on 31 Oct 09
     
    It seems that modern education has been guided by discipline-based curricula, with each subject separate and divided. This is probably a reflection of specialization and the division of labor of the culture. But why? Can't we have some math and science in an english class? or history class? This is pretty exciting stuff, but also pretty controversial.
Maria Mahon

Harlem Success Academy Prepares for Tests at Queens Farm Museum - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...20farms.html

standardized test Field trip

shared by Maria Mahon on 23 Oct 09 - Cached
  • New York State’s English and math exams include several questions each year about livestock, crops and the other staples of the rural experience that some educators say flummox city children, whose knowledge of nature might begin and end at Central Park
  • Educators have long known that prior knowledge of a subject can significantly improve a child’s performance on tests.
    • Maria Mahon
      Maria Mahon on 23 Oct 09
       
      I think this factor of prior knowledge of a subject matter is one of the most difficult things to contend with in the debate about standardized tests. If students walk in to a learning experience with this lack of prior knowledge it becomes very difficult for them to ever catch up to the test's expectations.
  • The New York State Education Department runs statistical analyses of its tests to look for gender, racial or socioeconomic bias, but it does not compare the performance of rural and urban students, partly because it is hard to isolate whether a disparity is the result of a lack of familiarity with an environment or is caused by other factors like socioeconomic status or quality of classroom instruction.
    • Maria Mahon
      Maria Mahon on 23 Oct 09
       
      Some of the examples provided in this article provide clear examples in my opinion of why the department should compare the performance of rural and urban students.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Only the prekindergarten and kindergarten classes at Harlem Success schools — about 450 students — attend the farm trips, though the state exams do not begin until third grade. Students in other grades go on nature-related field trips, like camping, that help acquaint them with unfamiliar settings, Ms. Moskowitz said.
  • Maria Mahon on 23 Oct 09
     
    The Harlem Success Academny takes its students on field trips that aim to help students do better on standardized tests by taking them on fields trips to introduce them to subject matter that will be on the test, such as a farm.
James Leslie

30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified" | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth - 2 views

www.nbcdfw.com/...Highly-Qualified-65580922.html

education standards teaching

shared by James Leslie on 23 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Updated 1:15 PM CDT, Thu, Oct 22, 2009 var partnerID=522927; var _hb=1; window.onerror=function(){clickURL=document.location.href;return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=parent.location.href; Print var partnerID=522927; var _hb=1; window.onerror=function(){clickURL=document.location.href;return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=parent.location.href; Email function position(o) { var pos = Position.get(o); Position.set('share_box',pos); } Share yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified""; nbc_dallasfor814:http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/30000-Teachers-May-Not-Be-Highly-Qualified-65580922.htmlBuzz up! TWITTER .postToFBArticlePage { background:transparent url(http://media.nbclocalmedia.com/designimages/facebook.gif) no-repeat scroll 0 0; display:block; float:left; height:14px; padding-right:5px; width:70px; text-align:right; } .postToFBArticlePage span { padding-top:0px; margin-top:3px; display:block; } #slideshow .showcase #slideCount { /* THIS DOES NOT BELONG HERE */ padding-left:140px; } #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage span, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage span { margin-top: 0px; } #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a:link, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToTwitterArticlePage a:visited, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a:link, #slideshow .yahoo_buzz .postToFBArticlePage a:visited { color:#C3C7C7; } // also publish comment to Facebook nbc.fbparamshare = { contentTitle: "30,000 Teachers May Not Be "Highly Qualified"", contentUrl: "http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/30000-Teachers-May-Not-Be-Highly-Qualified-65580922.html?__source=Facebook", contentThumbUrl: "http://media.nbcdfw.com/images/100*75/090209+classroom.jpg", bundleId: "104938618682", contentType: "article", summary: "Tens of thousands of Texas teachers could be in jeopardy of losing their jobs if they aren't certified as "highly qualified."" }; FACEBOOK $(document).ready(function(){ $('#jqm_wrp_1') .jqDrag('.jqDrag') .jqm({ trigger: '#jqm_trg_1', ajax: 'http://www.nbcdfw.com/i/dispatcher/?command=LoadImage&id=22644077&caption=Gay+slurs+don%27t+%3D+firing.', target: '#jqm_cont_1', overlay: 0, onShow: function(h) { h.w.css('opacity',1).fadeIn("fast"); G.doPixelTracking(83); }, onHide: function(h) { h.w.fadeOut("fast",function() { if(h.o) h.o.remove(); }); } }); });
  • According to those requirements, teachers must be "highly qualified" in reading, math, writing, education and social studies.  Most new teachers hired this year passed only a certification exam in a specific subject, according to the Dallas Morning News. 
  • The Morning News reports that as many as 30,000 new teachers may now have to take a competency test in order to keep their jobs under the new interpretation of the No Child Left Behind law.
  • James Leslie on 23 Oct 09
     
    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
  • James Leslie on 23 Oct 09
     
    Knowing your subject may not be enough for long. New "No Child Left Behind" law may make teaching more difficult.
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