Anthony Armstrong's Public Library

25 Nov 09

“Engaging Minds” Davis et al. offer a way for teachers to think about the way they design work for classrooms.
If student-centered learning merely involves (and I’ve seen this and done this myself) having students choose their own topics, raise their own questions, research and present the findings, I can’t help but think this it doing a great disservice to the history, authority and complexity of the disciplines.
4 more annotations...
- For Davis et el, the role of the teacher in a classroom becomes locating and structuring activities built on ‘liberating constraints’ from within the lived world of the discipline. This is the act of structuring learning, not in the sense of a pre-determined, closed plan of action, but rather an organic, biological understanding of structure, where organisms respond and adapt to changing conditions. Davis et al. refer to the etymology of structure to “describe how things spread out or pile up in ways that can’t be pre-determined, but that aren’t completely random either.
- But there is important tension within this approach to structuring learning; the space must be governed by the authority of the discipline, but open to the possibilities that emerge from the students’ prior knowledge and experience. When designing learning around these “liberating constraints” the teacher must strike a balance between the authentic constraints put on the task from within the discipline itself, yet carve out the space for students to participate in the experience through their own creativity and individual voices and experiences. There’s a danger at both ends of the balance – a structure too limited removes any potential for possibilities to emerge within the study – a structure too loose removes the disciplined constraints that actually create the possibility for student creativity.
- What I find interesting here is the ‘control’ or ‘power’ in the classroom is no longer something once held by the teacher, that is now handed over the students, but rather a measure of control power resides in the discipline. The discipline determines what is appropriate, what is right and what learning methods best fit the material at hand. If we take seriously the authority of the disciplines we teach, then we as teachers are ‘subject’ to the discipline in the same way our students are. It is possible that the most appropriate content to teach and learn within a given discipline is not determined by the teacher, or by the student, but by the very nature of the discipline itself?
- Often those of us who teach do not participate in our disciplines outside of our classrooms. Those who teach writing, often do not write themselves, those who teach science do not engage in scientific inquiry.

BIE: Project Based Learning: Handbook: Introduction to Project Based Learning

www.bie.org/...pbl_handbook_introduction - Preview

pbl

BIE: Project Based Learning: PBL-Online

www.bie.org/...pbl_online - Preview

pbl

24 Nov 09

How do I go ad-free if I am a teacher? - Creators

creators.ning.com/...how-do-i-go-adfree-if-i-am-a - Preview

ning

DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: Tools and Technologies for Effective Classrooms

"You Want Me To Use This In My Classroom? What's The Point?"

www.guide2digitallearning.com/..._use_my_classroom_what_s_point - Preview

profdev

Motivation comes from success. Use the same strategies as with students - meet them where they are. Change is always painful but change WILL come. For those who refuse to integrate - it depends. Is it mandatory by the school or district? If so, refusal becomes grounds for dismissal. Why do we hesitate to dismiss employees who demonstrate poor performance or insubordination?
technology is ever-changing. It can be very intimidating for those who don't keep up with the current trends, such as twitter, delicious, and blogging.
4 more annotations...
- We need to get administrators on board with the amount of support, time, and training it takes for continuous technology integration. Teachers need to have an in house person to go to to fix what doesn't work. They need to be given time during the school day to work on lesson plans, collaborate with others and integrate technology. Training needs to be scaffolded, accessible and continuous. We can't expect teachers to learn everything in the summer. PD needs to be throughout the school year. We need to take away the excuses so that there is no good reason to NOT integrate technology.
- I believe the best way to try to motivate your peers is by showing them that you have been using, effectively, a tool to save you time and, at the same time, foster learner autonomy. I don't really think that refusing to integrate is a problem as long as the teacher is capable of responding to his or her learners' needs. After all, what matters is that we, educators, empower our learners with knowledge and show them that they are the ones who have to make it happen. This can be done through many different ways.
- I'd say it's because they might not be willing to make changes in something that's always worked for them, and they might be afraid of realizing they can't cope with the new technology properly.
- Authentic trainings are important. Those of use who spend vast amounts of time training teachers need to realize that in addition to teaching the tool and showing examples of how it can be used in the classroom, teachers want to hear from other teachers how it works for them.

How-to-Podcast-Mini-Guide.pdf (application/pdf Object)

www.radiofreeassociation.com/...How-to-Podcast-Mini-Guide.pdf - Preview

podcasting

23 Nov 09

TweetReach: How Far Did Your Tweet Travel?

tweetreach.com - Preview

twitter

20 Nov 09

The Oooo-Ahhh Versus the Ahhh-Haaa (by Jen Wagner)

"When you – when I – forget to show the substance of the tool and only showcase the “oooo” of the tool – we do a disservice to both ourselves and those we are trying to teach."

www.techlearning.com/25424 - Preview

profdev

How often do we present or show a new tool just for the “WOW” factor and don’t give it the foundation to stand on?? The WHY you should be using this within your classroom.
By studying good teaching strategies first and then the technology we are learning how to absorb it into our curriculum and not let it dictate what we teach or to become a distraction. We want to control the technology and not let it control us.

Education Week: Schools Need a Culture Shift

www.edweek.org/...12sternberg_ep.h29.html - Preview

21stcenturylearning

How do we bridge this “culture gap”—the gap between the culture of our classrooms and that of our best work environments? How do we transform the culture of our classrooms to prepare students to enter the culture of thriving, cutting-edge business environments? Surely not in the current classroom milieu, fostered by an overreliance on narrow measures of achievement based on standardized tests. Such tests do not measure the skills and competencies needed to thrive in today’s world—teamwork, collaboration, creativity, and innovation. So it is no wonder that a much-respected private school in my state of Connecticut is running an advertisement to attract families that says, “Your child will develop into a person, not a test score.”

The Electric Educator: Google-Proof Questioning: A New Use for Bloom's Taxonomy

electriceducator.blogspot.com/...f-questioning-new-use-for.html - Preview

21stcenturylearning

Let me explain. In the "old days" (that would be pre-internet) when a teacher assigned a worksheet with a series of questions on it students had a few options to get the answers.

1. Ask mom.
2. If mom doesn't know, ask Dad.
3. If Dad doesn't know look it up in the textbook.
4. If the answer isn't in the textbook, give up.

Now I am a teacher. When I give worksheets with questions on them my students immediately type the entire question into the omniscient search box on Google and in an instant, they have their answer. They have expended absolutely zero energy or effort to find the answer and as a result will not remember the question or the answer.

There are two solutions to this problem:

1. Ban the use of Google by all school-aged children.
2. Learn to write "Google-proof" questions.

What Caught my Eye this Week

www.techlearning.com/25352 - Preview

21stcenturylearning

The Google it! mode of education today should force all educators to
let go of the notion that we hold the keys to knowledge. Instead we are
facilitators of knowledge. If a question can be answered by Googling
it, then that question should not be the first question we ask.

Education Week: When Teachers Are the Experts

www.edweek.org/...10hunefeld.h29.html - Preview

profdev

What my school is learning, and what current research suggests, is that teachers don’t improve by listening to someone tell them how to do something newer or better in their classrooms. They learn by working together to address problems they themselves identify in their schools and classrooms.
Any group presentation runs the risk of being too advanced for some and too basic for others. Teachers also have different interests and needs, so the topic of the day may lack relevance for many in the room.
4 more annotations...
- Studies show that techniques taught in old-style professional-development workshops result in extremely poor classroom implementation. On top of this, the cost of hiring experts to provide such programming is high
- There are few problems teachers can’t solve, and few techniques they can’t master, given adequate time and resources. Collaboration allows them to share the expertise within a school, and gives veteran teachers the opportunity to take on leadership roles.
- Professional learning in this context becomes much more authentic, as teacher-learners choose their own topics to emphasize and proceed at a pace that is appropriate to them and to their students’ needs
- Finally, schools must place an emphasis on hiring staff members who are willing to collaborate and who wish to constantly improve their practice

Top News - Teens sue district in suggestive pix flap

www.eschoolnews.com/...index.cfm - Preview

digitalcitizenship

21st Century Skills and Education revisited

techlearning.com/24834 - Preview

21stcenturylearning

When I think of 21st and 22nd century skills, I think of being able to utilize new technologies and work in new paradigms. However, I see too many educational types using 21st Century skills to mean: project based learning, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving.
For me, I see us needing to teach students how to think critically and solve problems, learn on their own, and be creative and adaptable.

Teacher Magazine: Making Professional Development an Inside Job

www.edweek.org/...tln_cody.h28.html - Preview

profdev

How much more potent would this experience have been if it had been led by a local teacher with experience applying these techniques in our schools? How much more convincing if we could see work samples created by our very own students? How much more empowering if our staff could see one of our own emerge to share what worked for them, and how they had overcome the specific obstacles they encountered with our students?
On the other hand, when local leaders are tapped, they remain available as a continual resource and inspiration for their peers. They can gain experience in sharing their expertise with their colleagues, and can convene future gatherings where lessons from the ongoing work are shared.
3 more annotations...
- Outside consultants should be brought in only when their particular knowledge is essential and lacking within the system. And these consultants should seek to collaborate with local teacher leaders so they can connect with existing practices and expertise.
- In most cases, however, local teachers should be considered the first and best choice for professional development within a district
- This is a corrosive thing, and we need to work to build support for our colleagues when they are brave enough, not only to try something new, but to step beyond the walls of their classroom to share it with their peers. As teachers we should celebrate and welcome this

Copy / Paste by Peter Pappas: A Guide to Designing Effective Professional Development: Essential Questions for the Successful Staff Developer

peterpappas.blogs.com/...-for-the-successful-staff.html - Preview

profdev

staff development should model what you want to see in the classroom.
Did your teachers have a meaningful role in deciding what PD is being offered?
11 more annotations...
- If it's a school-wide inservice day, have you provided appropriate training for all faculty and staff?
- Is there a clear alignment between how the session is promoted to teachers and what the trainer is prepared to deliver?
- Do you offer appropriate training for all staff?
- Have you considered internal expertise, before turning to outside trainers?
- Will the trainer be utilizing the strategies being advocated?
- Will teachers leave with ideas they can immediately put to use?
- Will appropriate administrators be in attendance?
- What is your plan for follow up to the training?
- If you are offering technology training, will teachers have immediate access to the necessary equipment?
- Do you have a mechanism to gather and act on participant feedback
- If administration is holding teachers accountable for student performance, then administration is accountable to engage teachers in the design and implementation of meaningful PD. Likewise, if teachers have an active role in shaping their professional learning environment, then administrators should expect to see the strategies utilized in the classroom, followed by an honest appraisal of what's working.