When Grading Harms Student Learning. There are so many forces at work that make educators grade, and grade frequently. For sports eligibility, coaches constantly look at grades to see if a student is at an academic level that will allow him or her to play. Colleges review transcripts to examine what type of courses students took and their corresponding grades. Teachers must follow policy that demands them to enter a certain amount of grades every week, month, or marking period.
There's no stopping it. However, we need to reflect upon policies and practices like this -- and possibly consider regulating them. Is grading the focus, or is learning the focus? Yes, grades should and can reflect student learning, but often they can get in the way and actually harm student learning. The Dreaded Zero I used to give out zeros in the hopes that it would force students to do work and learn.
Points Off for Late Work I'm guilty of this one as well. Grading "Practice" Grading Instead of Teaching Hope. 48 Ultra-Cool Summer Sites for Kids and Teachers. A good majority of northern hemisphere and international schools are winding down the 2011-12 school year, and doors will be closing as the students and teachers take off on their summer adventures. Here is a list of great sites for kids and teachers to keep you happily productive and learning this summer. These are in no way in any order of personal preference or coolness. Happy summer! 1) Magic Tree House If your students like The Magic Tree House series (and let's be honest, who doesn't?)
2) Toporopa Can't afford that summer vacation schlepping around Europe? 3) ReadWriteThink Printing Press ReadWriteThink creates a lot of great educational resources. 4) Spell With Flickr Spell With Flickr is a simple site that allows you to enter any word, and will then create a photo representation of that word using pictures from Flickr. 5) Freeology 6) Tagxedo Tagxedo is a Wordle-esque site that allows students to create beautiful word clouds. 7) Learn Your Tables 8) Virtual Sistine Chapel 9) Cool Math.
EDUWELLS. 10 Motivational Posters for Your Classroom | Edutopia. Posted 08/31/2015 1:01PM | Last Commented 08/07/2016 8:35AM WARNING: These posters are guaranteed to brighten up your classroom & inspire minds of all ages. Enjoy! 1. Frame for your desk as a daily reminder that you don't need a cape to be a hero. Download. 2. Inspire young readers by hanging this one near your reading zone. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Pixar In A Box Teaches Math Through Real Animation Challenges. Pixar senior scientist Tony DeRose was faced with a problem that animators had never solved — how to make the hand of an old man look lifelike. It was 1998 and he was working on the experimental short film “Geri’s Game.” DeRose needed to figure out how to make a sculpture hand model with many angular planes look smooth and skin-like on the screen. To do this he developed an algorithm using weighted averages that won him a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2006.
Pixar is constantly solving new technical challenges that allow its artists, designers and storytellers a broader range of movement and texture in the movies they make. Now the company is teaming up with Khan Academy to use examples like DeRose’s discovery of surface representation to show students how the math and science they’re learning in school is applied by Pixar animators. “The place we intersected was this need to pull people in,” Cruise said. “I wanted to do better, but that required a paradigm shift.” Star Wars Crawl Creator. - Lanesend year 3 global. Student Letters Deliver Heightened Engagement. Before each school year begins, I indulge in a back-to-school teacher movie marathon for motivation. One of my favorites is Freedom Writers, a film based on the real life of Erin Gruwell and her incredible work with teens and writing.
While planning for this academic year, my mind kept drifting to the scene in Freedom Writers when Ms. Gruwell sits at her desk on Parent Night. Once she realizes that the parents aren't going to attend, she decides to read her students’ recently turned in journals full of free writes. It's a turning point in the film, because Ms. Gruwell begins to truly know her students through their written voices. "We Have to Do This Each Week? " As many teachers do, I keep a notebook where I jot beginnings of ideas for lessons or notes regarding grading and miscellaneous teaching tasks.
Lightning struck. They would tell me about their week. To start, I required 7-10 complete sentences. You've Got Mail Friday arrived. I opened the first letter. Two-Way Communication.
Reporting in plain language / Reporting to parents & whānau / Home. Emilie Wapnick: Why some of us don't have one true calling. Historical Investigations for Students to Complete. One of my favorite ways to get students to attempt to connect pieces of historical evidence is to present the with a challenge or "mystery" that must be solved. I started doing this many years ago when I was teaching about Chinese history. I continued using this method when I began teaching U.S. History. If you want to try the same method, the following two resources will help you get started. Historical Scene Investigation offers a fun way for students to investigate history through primary documents and images.
Historical Scene Investigation presents students with historical cases to "crack. " Who Am I? HSI: Historical Scene Investigation. Thinking differently | Chris Clay. Wouldn’t it be great if every kid could access robotics equipment and make physical objects do stuff? If the answer is yes – this article might be interesting as I’ll be sharing a recent project I’ve been involved with to provide kit that helps kids build and code their own robot that has all the bells and whistles for less that $30. And just in case you’re wondering – No I’m not selling robots! For the last few years I’ve been playing with all kinds of robotic bits and bobs and exploring how and why kids might create with them. This has involved a lot of tinkering with screwdrivers, learning to write a bit of code and even a trip to South Korea. During this time I have also developed an appreciation for how expensive it is for schools to invest in robotics kits.
This expense is problematic for a number of reasons including the following: Schools struggle to purchase kits. For a long time there have been a number of low-cost alternatives to the more expensive kits. So enough babbling… 15 Books That Will Make You A Better Teacher. 26 Impulses that Sustain Engagement Infographic. Other Infographics 26 Impulses that Sustain Engagement Infographic Why do Human Beings Engage? 26 Impulses that Sustain Engagement Infographic What does real and authentic engagement look like- for students and adults? How can we create and sustain high levels of engagement?
Why do people engage in learning something? There are many factors that motivate engagement. Following are 26 instincts that motivate a commitment of time and energy: Compliance.A sense of duty or obligation; assignments that contribute to a goal; assignments from an assignor that counts (as a result of affection or consequence). Via: gettingsmart.com Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! 10 Not So Obvious Quotes for Teachers - A Teachable Teacher. Let’s face it…teachers need inspiration! With the craziness that is back-to-school, I thought I would share some not-so-obvious quotes for teachers. Why the not-so-obvious ones?
Because they are the ones you haven’t seen a million times on Pinterest and therefore they can truly “inspire” you. Enjoy! Is a student acting out of character? Did one of your administrators seem to be in a foul mood? My mom is probably cheering right now. Do you set high expectations for your students? There are so many things we are told to do and sometimes it seems overwhelming.
Can you say “first year teaching”?!? Other teachers, students, parents, staff, etc. We learn from others and our experience…but we work hard now because we are teaching the future! As teachers we don’t always get a pinterest-perfect set up. The kids are always watching! I saved the best for last…EVERY TEACHER NEEDS TO READ THIS!!
I hope you feel inspired and refreshed! Do you have any quotes that inspire you? The Power of the Morning Meeting: 5 Steps Toward Changing Your Classroom and School Culture. "The whole morning meeting not only sets a really good tone for the students, but it sets a tone for me. " - Teacher in Louisville, Kentucky When I first learned about the Morning Meeting model, I was working as an elementary school principal in Pasadena, California. I was new to that school, so I was skeptical about launching too many initiatives, but also curious about how it could work to transform my school and the lives of our students. The Morning Meeting was first proposed to me by a new teacher who had studied it in her pre-service classes.
She explained that the model was designed to: Set the tone for respectful learningEstablish a climate of trustMotivate students to feel significantCreate empathy and encourage collaborationSupport social, emotional and academic learning She had me at "respectful learning! " You see, I'd come to a school that was in a bit of trouble. Having been able to observe this school pre- and post-Morning Meeting, I can tell you that it was transformational.