For Students, Why the Question is More Important Than the Answer. Thinkstock In a traditional classroom, the teacher is the center of attention, the owner of knowledge and information. Teachers often ask questions of their students to gauge comprehension, but it’s a passive model that relies on students to absorb information they need to reproduce on tests. What would happen if the roles were flipped and students asked the questions? That’s the premise of the Right Question Institute and a new book by its co-directors Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana.
The book, Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions, documents a step-by-step process to help students formulate and prioritize questions about nearly everything. Coming up with the right question involves vigorously thinking through the problem, investigating it from various angles, turning closed questions into open-ended ones and prioritizing which are the most important questions to get at the heart of the matter. “We’ve been underestimating how well our kids can think.” Welcome to PALS. 25 TED Talks Perfect For Classrooms. The 50 Best Sources of Free STEM Education Online 12.05K Views 0 Likes Colleges, universities, and other educational forums in your community can be excellent places to learn more about a variety of STEM topics, but there is also a wealth of educational material available on the web for those who prefer to learn at their own pace or take a more individual approach.
TEDx Bozeman - Classroom Game Design. Understanding Web 2.0 Embed Codes. Creating Custom Learning Assessment and Student Feedback Applications with Google Apps Script | Cultivating Change in the Academy. 5 Great Ways for Teachers to Collaborate on Twitter. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Twitter is an absolutely fantastic resource for teachers. But it can also be something of a blunt instrument. The daily surge of information, the ever-changing timeline of tweets, the potential to miss entire conversations simply by failing to log in at the right moment… the pitfalls are considerable. The best a teacher can get out of Twitter is truly enriching, meaningful collaboration with other educators – so try these top tips to make sure you manage to achieve just that… 1. Stick Together It’s not easy to collaborate if you’re not online at the same time. 2.
The key to successful long-lasting collaboration is sharing resources, ideas and tools. 3. Even taking the time to share documents or explain how to use tools can be time-consuming in the faced-paced world of Twitter. 4. It’s not easy to stay on top of everything that goes on on Twitter as things move so quickly. 5. FREE -- Teaching Resources and Lesson Plans from the Federal Government. FREE Features These features originally appeared on the FREE.ED.gov features blog. The features highlight resources and ideas related to holidays, awareness months, anniversaries and seasonal topics. January February March April May June July August Back to School: 7 Ways to Help Kids Transition Back to the Classroom September October November December About FREE Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) offered a way to find digital teaching and learning resources created and maintained by the federal government and public and private organizations.
FREE was conceived in 1997 by a federal working group in response to a memo from the President. Technology has made it increasingly easier to find information from government agencies or with custom search tools, like Kids.gov. FREE Disclaimer The U.S. Response: Working Smarter, Not Harder, With Neuroscience in the Classroom - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo. The most important skill for college-bound students | Sia Knight Consulting. Share this: Google+ Sia Knight Related posts: Category: College Admissions Assistance, Uncategorized Tag: academic coaching, college application, college coaching, college planning, high school, junior year, middle school, senior year, STNT, testing One comment on “The Most Important Skill To Teach Your College-Bound Student” Jose JR Vazquez on said: Sia,So glad someone said Number #2! Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published.
. * Copy This Password * * Type Or Paste Password Here * You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""><abbr title=""><acronym title=""><b><blockquote cite=""><cite><code><del datetime=""><em><i><q cite=""><strike><strong> Teachers' Expectations Can Influence How Students Perform : Shots - Health Blog. Hide captionTeachers interact differently with students expected to succeed. But they can be trained to change those classroom behaviors. iStockphoto.com Teachers interact differently with students expected to succeed. But they can be trained to change those classroom behaviors. In my Morning Edition story today, I look at expectations — specifically, how teacher expectations can affect the performance of the children they teach.
The first psychologist to systematically study this was a Harvard professor named Robert Rosenthal, who in 1964 did a wonderful experiment at an elementary school south of San Francisco. The idea was to figure out what would happen if teachers were told that certain kids in their class were destined to succeed, so Rosenthal took a normal IQ test and dressed it up as a different test.
"It was a standardized IQ test, Flanagan's Test of General Ability," he says. After the kids took the test, he then chose from every class several children totally at random. Trying Something New in Your Classroom For 30 Days. As many of my readers know, my classes are currently mimicking a TED conference by writing Advocacy/Memoir speeches of their own as a means to learn a more real-world version persuasive writing. That is, they are studying the structure of many of the TED speeches online, selecting their own topics in which to further research, and are constructing speeches that they will be performing that incorporate those same elements seen in many of the online speeches: Hook, Background Information, Problem, Anecdote/Personal experience, Call to Action/Solution, and a Visual. Immerse Them in the Models One of the activities I regularly assign as a way to immerse them in the TED universe is to watch a particular speech and analyze it in a blog post.
I recently assigned my students the task of watching Matt Cutt's "Try Something New for 30 Days. " It's been fascinating to read their responses. I have discovered that many of my students want to try to disconnect from technology for 30 days. 3 Reasons Students Have Trouble Setting Goals. If I have learned nothing else as an educator, I have learned to NOT underestimate what a motivated student, who sets appropriate goals and follows through on a relevant plan of action, can accomplish. That is why coaching students about how to set goals and create action plans is such a powerful tool for student achievement. Unfortunately, this is another area that most teacher preparation courses do not address. Since anything you accomplish can basically be attributed to attaining a goal, helping students set and attain goal Here are 3 reasons students have trouble setting (and attaining) appropriate goals. 1. They do not get specific enough Often students need prompting to get specific about what they want to accomplish and how they plan to do so. 2.
This topic alone could fill a book. 3. The two questions most students want to answer are "why" and "what". By Dr. A Union of Professionals - Ask the Cognitive Scientist. Do Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners Need Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Instruction? How does the mind work—and especially how does it learn? Teachers' instructional decisions are based on a mix of theories learned in teacher education, trial and error, craft knowledge, and gut instinct. Such gut knowledge often serves us well, but is there anything sturdier to rely on? Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field of researchers from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, computer science, and anthropology who seek to understand the mind. In this regular American Educator column, we consider findings from this field that are strong and clear enough to merit classroom application.
By Daniel T. Question: What does cognitive science tell us about the existence of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners and the best way to teach them? 1. Cognitive psychologists have used formal laboratory tasks to investigate the role of modality in memory. 2. 3. Daniel T. ePortfolios Australia Conference 2011: Making a difference ... | Mahara ePortfolio. Improve student presentation skills. October 10, 2011 By: Lora Helvie-Mason, Ed.D in Effective Teaching Strategies Do you find that students often struggle to put together effective oral presentations? To help students, try this activity as a way to provide feedback before the big speaking day. The four-corners activity can foster confidence in students while informing them about effective non-verbal/verbal delivery, audience needs, and how to craft effective speaking notes. Using the four corners of the classroom, each student delivers his or her presentation to a small group, receives individual feedback, and then rotates within that group from speaker to audience member.
Here’s how to structure the four corners: Preparation: You will want to schedule this activity at least a week before the presentation is due. Activity: Next, divide the students into four groups (a group for each corner). The instructor: The instructor moves around the room; stopping to listen in on each of the four groups and offer feedback. How Will Personalized Learning Really Work? “How will personalized learning really work?” The question was asked today by someone who should know the answer—the strategy director for an educational software company. But that’s the nature of the dynamic shift underway. There are 10 things up for grabs when it comes to personalized learning: Access device: what and when? Ecosystem: are we picking one set of apps over another?
There is growing consensus about descriptions of personal digital learning but many open questions. If you’re a school leader, here are 10 questions that will help you pick the right platform. If you’re a software developer, here’s a little advice There are 10 elements of learning platform ecosystems but I still think they will orbit around two critical components And, since it’s Digital Learning Day, today would be a good day to advocate for the 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning. Disclosure: Edmodo is a portfolio company of Learn Capital where Tom is a partner. Upgrade your KWL Chart to the 21st Century
One of the take aways from the Curriculum Mapping Institute this past week was that it brought an upgrade to THE trusted KWL (Know, What to Know and Learned) Chart to the forefront. It seems a no brainer…one of those things… “I should have thought about it”… So what is this upgrade all about? An “H” snuck into the Acronym! What does this “H” stand for”? Why is this an upgrade for the 21st century? I started out by searching Google, which immediately wanted to correct my search term and showed me the traditional “KWL chart” results. I had to re-affirm that I indeed wanted to find out more about KWHL charts. The top search results turned out mostly downloadable files for templates, which was quiet interesting as there were several explanations in these tutorials what the “H” could stand for: HOW can we find the answers to these questions? My Twitter network was much better in helping me extend my search for KWHL.
OK, so we have doubled the length of the original acronym. Related 12. 8. 29. Getting Organized. Organization Tips from Mrs. McDavid I have had many teachers stop by my room to ask how I keep things so well organized. I have had other teachers to ask if I would consider teaching a staff development course at our school to help teachers become better organized. Truly it's the small details that make the biggest impact.
Organizing the classroom takes time, dedication, and determination but once things are put together the classroom will run smoothly. Less time will be spent looking for instructional materials and more time will be spent teaching. You will be able to provide your students with the quality time they deserve and you will become a much happier teacher. Materials You Will Need ~ Back to the Top ~ Purge Unused Materials and Non Essential ItemsAs teachers we tend to hoard materials and supplies that we think might come in handy one day. The first thing you need to do in order to organize your desk is categorize the type of paperwork that crosses your desk: Organizing Unit Files.
20 Ways to Create a Healthy Faculty Environment. In honor of Edutopia's 20th anniversary, we're producing a series of Top 20 lists, from the practical to the sublime. When a classroom "works" it is a powerful place to be. While the students ultimately make these moments, talented educators need to set the stage for success. The same can be said of harmonious faculty and staff relations. A building full of talented people does not guarantee a comfortable place to grow as an educator. In honor of Edutopia's 20th anniversary, here are 20 ways to cultivate a healthy faculty environment: Faculty Meetings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Faculty Lounge 6. 7. 8. Professional Respect 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Information Technology 14. 15. 16. Beyond Campus 17. 18. 19. 20. What tips do you have for creating a safe place to learn and teach? 10 Ways to be a Terrible Teacher. Teaching is a noble calling. That is why when a teacher doesn't behave nobly it breaks trust and we get upset.
I have to admit that I've had days as a "TT" (Terrible Teacher.) If we're honest with ourselves, we all have. It is usually when we're tired, grumpy or were woken up by a parent calling to complain about something we don't really agree with. But there are no excuses. So, today, I'll share a few of the things I think make a teacher terrible. Stop and Be Excellent Some of you will be shocked that I've taken my positive tone out of this post. Sometimes knowing what to do means we also know what NOT to do. 10- The teacher is always on their cell phone. 9 - The teacher is always on the computer or not paying attention. I knew a teacher who used to sew on her sewing machine during class. 8- The teacher is always losing his/her temper or is predictably dramatic.
The predictably dramatic could be when you get soooooooo mad you jump on your desk. Let me tell you something. Education 2011: A case study in seniority—and burn-out - Buffalo Spree - September 2011 - Buffalo, NY. 8 Things Teachers Do To Cause Boredom. Building A Better Mousetrap: The Rubric Debate. What makes an interactive whiteboard interactive? Edulicious - FV #31 - Failure and Learning. 60 of the Best Websites and Apps for Teachers.