Group items tagged

"I think the concept of mindset should be taught to all educators but using a variety or resources and through modeling.  These resources below I have found have helped educators and  their students move from a fixed to growth mindset. I showed this video, "

"Often we think of Google Slides in terms of linear presentations, with one slide after another in order. However, Google Slides allows you to add hyperlinks to your presentation which can link to other slides within the presentation when clicked. This allows you to create a nonlinear slideshow, where the user can branch off to multiple different slides from any one slide. Linking to other slides can be used to create quizzes where each answer choice leads to a different slide to let you know if you got the correct answer. It can also be used to build an interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" story where each slide offers choices that lead to different parts of the story."

"Each week, educators from around the world take part in various conversations on Twitter known as "chats." These conversations have become an excellent way for educators to connect on relevant topics, share resources and best practices, all while challenging each other's thinking. The premise of a Twitter chat is simple. Each lasts for 60 minutes, moderators pose questions on a predetermined topic, and participants use a consistent hashtag (#) to communicate"

"Habits of Mind is knowing how to behave intelligently when you DON'T know the answer. It means having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known: dichotomies, dilemmas, enigmas and uncertainties."

View the entire book online - "The Standards for Mathematical Practice provide an excellent foundation for encouraging students to think, reason, and persevere like mathematicians. Many elementary school teachers, however, face a challenge unpacking these practices and figuring out how to implement them in their classrooms."

"Carol Dweck researches "growth mindset" - the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that's slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field."

"As the new school year approaches (we go back in two more weeks), I've been thinking a bit on how I can be a little more intentional and strategic in using formative assessment."

"Building a 21st Century U.S. Education System NCTAF Board member Robert Wehling and the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future have published a book that brings together the visionary thinking of some of the nation's finest education thought leaders and presents a diverse set of strategies and solutions to provide every child with a high-quality, world-class educational opportunity. You can download the full book or individual chapters by clicking on the following links:"

"The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) has been a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress for over 250 years.

"Today's guest blog is written by John Hattie, Professor of Education and Director of Research at the University of Melbourne. In addition, he is the author of four books relating to Visible Learning.  "Learning thrives on error" Among all the influences that can make a profound difference in student learning is how we think about our role!  So, start with looking inward and ask about the mind frames you have as an educator. "

"In this visual, Jackie features a number of ideas and tips that educators should adhere to in order to help their students develop a growth mindset. The argument here is that it takes a growth mindset to develop a growth mindset. To this end, Jackie provides a toolkit of reflective questions for educators to ponder on. I invite you to check it out below and as always share with us what you think of it. Enjoy"

"I made my comparison chart with one qualification in mind- it HAD to have the ability to add text to the pages.  The comparison chart below does not include every app that can be used to create social stories; it does include apps that I have used and think are worth taking a look at. Their features vary, their sharing options vary, their costs vary. "

"each day students read each section from the story, discussed as a group, and then chose an app to explain what they learned from the section read. Before students started the project, we created a rubric to keep students on track as a class. Students would begin their self-reflection sheet to write out their goal for the project and then fill out a storyboard (images above) to organize their thinking."

"The fact is, if we want students to think at high levels, we're going to have to give them time. And we're going to have to get comfortable with silence."

"The 3Doodler is the world's first and best 3D printing pen that allows you to draw in 3D by extruding heated plastic filament that cools almost instantly into a solid, stable structure. You'll be able to draw up into the air and create anything you can think of, whether it be a lamp shade, an architectural model, decorations, or even jewelry."

""What's worked well for us is the whole teamwork thing, realizing that we can't do it by ourselves and it's ridiculous to think we can," said King. "We show no shame in letting each other know when we fail." In addition, the school decided to group children by ability for 30 minutes daily in both math and English across the grade. That allowed some children to catch up, and a deeper dive for others even as they all learned the same basic material together. The change meant that for an hour each day, teachers left their classes and took a group of students that could number between 3 and 15, who were at a similar learning ability for that subject. As a result, the lessons, and the assessment of the children, had to be in lock-step. The strongest and weakest teachers worked as a team, and often met at the end of the day to discuss which lessons worked and which didn't. They also kept track of the progress of individual students using "exit tickets" or short assessments on tablets at the end of each class."

Ensuring that students are assessment-capable learners is the most important thing we can do to raise student achievement. The final task for this first session is to reflect on your own classroom. Use the continua below to mark where you think your students are in relation to being assessment-capable.

"Supporting Inquiry with Scaffolded, Collaborative Journal Writing"

"Since the dawn of time, English teachers have been requiring their students to write and present persuasive speeches.  By integrating student use of a number of technology tools, we have not only enlivened our rather tired persuasive speech unit, but also enhanced critical thinking opportunities for students and teachers alike.  Our new unit, a partnership between English teachers and the teacher librarian, integrates activities that meet virtually all the ELA standards."