Group items tagged

A look at linear time and information: from the occurrence of an event, era, social movement or discovery, ...to the documentation of evidence relating to this event, era, social movement, etc.to how the evidence is disseminatedand how researchers (and term paper writers) can find this documentation

In a world as fast-changing and full of information as our own, every one of us-from schoolchildren to college students to working adults-needs to know how to learn well. Yet the evidence suggests that most of us don't use the learning techniques that science has proven most effective. Worse, research finds that the learning strategies we do commonly employ-like re-reading and highlighting-are among the least effective.

Always good to read the original - in popularizing the information, some of the ideas are misrepresented http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/journals/pspi/learning-techniques.html

"It was the best times, it was the worst of times…." This famous observation by Charles Dickens is certainly applicable to the current status of school library programs and school librarians. On the one hand, some programs are valued and receive ongoing support from their communities. Led by competent, effective school librarians, programs such as those recognized as meeting the criteria of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National School Library Program of the Year Award, provide solid evidence of the positive impact of best practice on teaching and learning. On the other hand, the economic downturn, often combined with a lack of understanding or value for how school librarians and library programs contribute to student achievement, has led other communities to eliminate positions and to cut back, curtail, or get rid of once thriving programs.

The importance of advocacy is evident to us during a crisis. When our libraries are threatened or our staff faces cuts, then we leap into motion. But we should be mindful of advocacy every day. With social media tools, we can plan and effectively communicate our messages creatively and consistently throughout the year. Before school begins this fall, take time to craft a strategy for how you will talk about your library projects through social media. Especially if you are a solo librarian, making a calendar can help keep you on track.

"This kind of feedback loop-wherein an error that appears on Wikipedia then trickles to sources that Wikipedia considers authoritative, which are in turn used as evidence for the original falsehood-is a documented phenomenon."

You should evaluate every web site you use for research or for personal information. The CARS checklist encourages students to find evidence of credibility, accuracy, reasonableness, and support.

I like the CARB checklist better. Current, Authoratative and Accurate, Reliable and Relevant and Bias free.

Zoom-In Inquiry is often an introduction portion of a lesson. During this activity, students uncover a primary source image piece by piece in order to understand a big idea or theme related to curriculum standards. An investigative question starts the exploration and guiding questions focused on observation, interpretation, and evaluation follow as pieces of the image are revealed one at a time. Students use evidence and subject specific vocabulary to support their hypotheses. Students reflect on their understanding of the primary source and its relationship to "the big picture" or a large scale understanding that is overarching and essential to the subject. Finally, other related primary sources are presented that ask students to apply knowledge and understanding from the Zoom-In Inquiry to a new source or problem.

"So what is the vessay?  It's a voicethread essay.  My students are required to write their persuasive essay.  It will require a thesis that can be argued, transition words to make their writing fluid, and evidence from the text to support their point.  Then they will need to find pictures to represent their argument and, finally, record it as a voice thread."

Unfortunately, too many people consider libraries as mere rooms full of books and computers, and librarians as mere functionaries in charge of the rooms and their contents. When district leaders look for savings in a budget, too often they see the most important teacher in a school as the most expendable. California schools have seen a marked decrease in the number of teacher librarians in recent years. New York City has about 50% more schools than it did in 2002, but more than half of the district's libraries have closed in the past decade. In California, New York, and anywhere else cutting libraries, it's a classic example of a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to budgeting: there's no shortage of evidence that libraries and librarians - both, together - have a strongly positive impact on student learning.

This 1947 college newspaper essay from Martin Luther King is the source for his oft-cited quotations on the function of education as it relates to critical thinking. With the essay he also notes the import of character and the transmission of culture.

Database of policy research papers

a live binder of tools, tutorials and more to help students show what they have learned

education bloom's taxomony

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy; 21st Century Learning and digital connections