Is It Plagiarism or Collaboration? Teaching Strategies Matt Cornock By Jennifer Carey It’s an open secret in the education community. As we go about integrating technology into our schools, we are increasing the risk and potential for plagiarism in our tradition-minded classrooms. In fact, a recent PEW research study found that while educators find technology beneficial in teaching writing skills, they feel it has also led to a direct increase in rates of plagiarism and infringement of intellectual property rights. These concerns lead us to an interesting discussion about collaboration and plagiarism in the classroom. In the balance, does plagiarism make these tools more problematic than they are useful?
An Interesting Dilemma We want students to do “group work,” to collaborate, and to discuss. This leads to a broader and more provocative question. Instead of fighting a losing battle (as my grandmother would put it – “You can’t nail jello to a wall!”) Transforming “Cheating” Into Collaboration? But What About the Test? Related. Can teachers ever have a work-life balance? | Teacher Network | Guardian Professional. Teachers are, at times, a much-maligned and misunderstood community. Your friends will rib you about knocking off at 3 o'clock. "Oh, and you get all those holidays don't you? " they will quip. "How hard can it really be? " To cut to the chase, teaching is a stressful profession. Many of those friends of yours who jest about your extended holidays will not understand the complexities and strains of being in the profession.
I will only pick upon one of the litany of examples that no doubt are popping into your minds to exemplify the point. So I start this blog in defence of teachers, and particularly new or young teachers. While some might argue that it is worth staying up all night preparing lessons, I would argue against this. Numerous studies have shown that, above all other factors, it's the teacher in the classroom who inspires, cultivates and enthuses learning. Teaching is therefore not the profession for a perfectionist. So how do you achieve this balance? Geoffrey Canada: Our failing schools. Enough is enough! Using Flipped Strategies in the History Classroom. A MiddleWeb Blog by Jody Passanisi Before I went to the JET Institute in San Francisco this summer, I was very anti-flipped classroom.
Both my blogging partner Shara and I are committed to constructivist principles, and it is important for us to let the students uncover information, rather than be the passive recipients of information from the teacher. So when I went to the conference, I was skeptical (at best) when the flipped classroom module began. Cheryl Morris, a Bay Area teacher, shared her own journey in flipped classroom creation. I’d always thought that the flipped classroom was mostly for teachers who lectured. The wheels in my head began turning as I remembered all those times I stood in front of my students trying to explain complicated instructions — again and again and again. I began to see how some of Cheryl Morris’s ideas might have a place in my classroom. Flipping classroom procedures So I tried it.
These are understandable responses to a step-by-step process. It worked! A List Of 50+ Teaching Strategies To Jumpstart Your Teacher Brain. Teaching strategies are among the most important ingredients for highly-effective learning environments. In addition to literacy strategies, approaches to assessment, and grouping strategies (among many others), knowing the right teaching strategy for the right academic situation may not be a matter of expertise or training, but memory: out of sight, out of mind, yes? Which makes the following infographic from fortheteachers.org useful. While it doesn’t offer definitions and explanations for each strategy (it’s an infographic, not a book), and many great strategies are missing (e.g., 3-2-1, exit slip, project-based learning, accountable talk, ask a question, etc.) it does work well as a kind of reminder for what’s possible, even offering categories for each strategy, from progress monitoring (think-pair-share, KWL charts), to Note-Taking (graphic organizers).
There are 87 instructional strategies listed below, but several are repeated across categories, so let’s call it “50+” strategies. ‘I would love to teach but…’ (Clarification: An earlier version of this post noted that the teacher who wrote the e-mail I published used “a sample” from Kris Nielson but it did not give further explanation. This version explains that the sample comes from a 2012 post that was a resignation letter from teacher Kris L. Nielsen of Monroe, N.C. and sent to Union County Public Schools, and this version makes clearer what came directly from Nielsen.) I recently published a post with various answers to the question: How hard is teaching? Here is one response I received by e-mail from a veteran seventh-grade language arts teacher in Frederick, Maryland, who asked not to be identified because she fears retaliation at her school. It is with a heavy, frustrated heart that I announce the end of my personal career in education, disappointed and resigned because I believe in learning.
Classroom Design. To Inspire Learning, Architects Reimagine Learning Spaces As schools refocus on team-based, interdisciplinary learning, they’re moving away from standardized, teach-to-test programs that assume a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching. Instead, there is a growing awareness that students learn in a variety of ways, and the differences should be supported. With that in mind, here’s how one architecture firm is redesigning learning spaces.
Continue Reading To Foster Productivity and Creativity in Class, Ditch the Desks! Second-grade teacher Erin Klein wanted a classroom where students could move around freely, sit comfortably, and work together. So she got rid of her desks. Continue Reading Classroom Redesign Challenge! See how $1,000 and a crew of inspired helpers can completely transform a learning space in one weekend. Continue Reading For Back to School, Reimagine Classroom Design Continue Reading How Would You Design the Modern Classroom? Continue Reading. For Back to School, Reimagine Classroom Design. Teaching Strategies Lenny Gonzales By Therese Jilek As the school year begins, most classrooms across the country will mirror traditional class design: rows of desks with passive children sitting quietly listening to a teacher in the front of the class. But not at Hartland-Lakeside. Across the Hartland-Lakeside school district in Hartland, Wisconsin, teachers have transformed their Industrial Age classrooms into innovative, state-of-the-art learning spaces.
The innovative spaces were a product of teachers changing how they taught and viewed student learning. Teachers realized that they needed to do more than rearrange the room; they needed to start over. As teachers transformed their roles into facilitators of learning, they found that standing in front of the classroom or lecturing was no longer prudent. Students and teachers work together throughout the day in many different ways. This change also reflects the increased use of mobile technology to personalize learning. Therese Jilek. Classroom Redesign Challenge! Think Like a Designer.
Big Ideas For those of us who love to see spaces transformed, this series of videos and articles called Remake Your Classroom hits the spot. The crew at Edutopia teamed up with Third Teacher + to re-imagine a middle-school classroom with 36 kids. They set aside $1,000 and one weekend to do the job, and with the help of the students, the community, designers, and other helpers, they aimed at matching the physical classroom environment with lofty teaching and learning goals. The end result — complete with surprise unveiling — shows how imagination and design savvy can make a profound transformation in the learning lives of students and teachers.
Here’s the final video, but be sure to watch the first and second part in the series too. Related Explore: classroom design. 8 Tips and Tricks to Redesign Your Classroom. Remake Your Class is a 3-part video series that covers how one educator transformed his classroom with the help of his students, some community volunteers, and design experts.
Editor's Note: Author David Bill is a designer and educator who consulted with The Third Teacher+ on the Remake Your Class project highlighted in the videos below. The tips in this post go along with the companion video. We are excited by the simplicity (and low price tag!) Of this great redesign. Hope you'll share any of your own tips in the comments area below. If you're thinking of completing your own classroom remake project, good for you. I have been helping teachers redesign classroom spaces for the past three years, and have seen this process work for projects of all sizes. The tips below can be used for smaller scale remakes right way. Whether you are looking to reorganize one corner or redesign the entire room, here are eight tips that may help you throughout the process. 1.
Create Visual Inspiration 10x10x10. What’s Your Major? Working Toward the Uninvented Job. Flickr:Nazareth_College What kind of diploma will lead to the best jobs? Trends point toward business degrees, but it's anyone's guess. By Ana Tintocalis The U.S. unemployment rate is stuck at 9.1 percent. In that light, what are the “hot” majors among college students today? If you ask college counselors, it’s business degrees. That’s because today’s business degrees cover a wider range of fields than every before — everything from accounting to advertising. But as industries like technology, medicine, and science continue to make rapid advancements, an increasing number of college students are also signing up for degrees in engineering, computer science, biomedicine, and biological sciences. Who’s to know what jobs will exist 10 years from now?
According to Career Builder, the most promising majors will be related to cyber-security specialists, mobile application developers, social media managers, stem cell researchers, robotics technicians and simulation engineers. Related.