Creating a Culture of Student Reflection: Self-Assessment Yields Positive Results The seventh and eighth graders in my math class at O'Farrell Community School in San Diego work in groups of five or six. One student in each group presents a stamp designed by group members for the country of Guinea. They had started the assignment by creating small versions of their designs, then rendered them as large posters -- learning math by calculating ratios as they increased their artwork in size. (Art was my college major, and I'm always looking for ways to link math and visuals.) These sessions, called critique circles, are one of many innovative educational practices adopted at O'Farrell as part of a comprehensive restructuring effort. We want them to be able to judge for themselves whether a piece of work is excellent or falls short of the school's standards. Teachers clearly define their expectations, then give students feedback indicating whether the work does not meet, meets, or exceeds expectations. Students learn a lot from this portfolio process.
Webb's Depth of Knowledge Rigor. Text Complexity. Difficulty. What do these words all mean in the world of thinking? Teaching? I learned about Webb’s Depth of Knowledge just last year when I was at a Larry Ainsworth Professional Development workshop about unwrapping Common Core State Standards and aligning our instructional sequences to those standards. So, what is Webb’s Depth of Knowledge and what’s the big deal? Branching off of a “flipped classroom approach” and because I don’t pretend to be an expert on Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, click here to review (or learn about) the four levels of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge continuum: DoK1. DoK3. DoK4. I believe that each unit needs a mixture, or a balance, of all of the levels above. How do we apply Webb's Depth of Knowledge into our classrooms? If we are asking students to research, for example, here are some ways that we might be able to integrate DoK into a research unit sequentially: DoK1. DoK2. DoK3. DoK4. How does that look in Writing Workshop? DoK1. DoK2.
12 Ways To Integrate (Not Just Use) Technology In Education There are a couple dozen ways to ‘use’ technology in education. There are also a couple dozen ways to integrate technology in education. Think those two things are the same? Situation 1 You’re a school principal and decide to make the Apple iPad a cornerstone of your school’s curriculum. Situation 2 You’re a school principal and decide to make the Apple iPad a cornerstone of your students’ learning. Weigh In Which principal would you want? Five-Minute Film Festival: Digging Into the Common Core It's been nearly two years since I first wrote up "Resources for Understanding the Common Core State Standards," Edutopia's roundup page for all things Common Core, and the demand for tools and resources only grows as we get deeper into implementation. Like any major (and mandated!) educational initiative, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have their fans and their detractors, but if you're in one of the 45+ states that have signed on, they are here to stay. I highly recommend reading an excellent recent opinion piece from The New York Times, by Charles M. Blow, "The Common Core and the Common Good," which provides a compelling and succinct summary of the potential problems and the opportunities around the Common Core. Edutopia's team of bloggers have been exploring every corner of the Common Core. Video Playlist: Digging Into the Common Core State Standards Keep watching the player below to see the rest of the playlist, or view it on YouTube. see more see less
Evidence-based practices for teaching writing Amy Gillespie and Steve Graham reveal the techniques that have been proven to work when teaching students to write WRITING IS A MULTIFACETED TASK THAT involves the use and coordination of many cognitive processes. Due to its complexities, many students find writing challenging and many teachers struggle to find methods to effectively teach the skill. Gathering evidence for effectively teaching writing Advice from professional writers and the experiences of successful writing teachers offer some guidance in developing sound writing practices. Scientific studies of writing interventions provide a more trustworthy approach for identifying effective methods for teaching writing; they supply evidence of the magnitude of the effect of a writing intervention, how confident one can be in the study’s results, and how replicable the writing strategy is in new settings with new populations of students. What does the research show? Effective writing practices Additional suggestions About the authors
Books That Tweak (Not Twerk!) Great Classics Originally posted on Kirkus Writers are always borrowing from one another, across centuries and continents. It’s the writers who aren’t just borrowing but building on what previous writers have created who we’re interested in. Ronald Frame’s novel "Havisham," for example, puts the jilted malefactor from "Great Expectations" on center stage, imagining the life of a woman Charles Dickens left a mystery. "Havisham" is newly released in the United States but check out the other enticing sequels of a sort in this week’s list. For more from Kirkus, click here! "Havisham" by Ronald Frame "An intelligently imagined Dickens prequel." "Hardly a false note in an extraordinary carrying on of a true greatness that doubted itself."
eLearning Authoring Tools Check List of Features Are you looking for a new tool for authoring eLearning? Content authoring tools vary widely in their capabilities. Many are specialists – converting PowerPoint presentations, capturing screens, preparing quizzes and assessments, developing mobile modules, etc. Some are desktop programs for individual use and others are web-based for collaborative authoring. A few are fairly comprehensive. This is a authoring tools checklist of possible features that you might look for when making a decision about an eLearning authoring tool. What are the most important features in an eLearning Authoring Tool? Share you opinion with us by leaving a comment! Intuitive user interface for both designers and learnersLogical process of creating a course or module. What other features are you looking in an content authoring tool? You may also find useful: Ultimate List of Learning Management Systems Ultimate List of Content Authoring Tools Get 2 Free eBooks Get the eLearning Industry's Articles in your inbox.
Common Core in Action: Writing for an Audience What is new and different in the Common Core? When it comes to the writing standards, a heavy emphasis on audience for one thing, and this is very good news. The "audience" for student writing was once the lone teacher sitting after school with her cup of coffee, a red pen, and a stack of essays or other writing projects. And sadly, she might have been the only one, besides the student writers, that ever read them! Let's take a look at the Common Core Anchor Standard in Writing that highlights audience. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4: Produces clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. When asked, many kids, and even adults, might tell you the main difference between "school" writing and real-life writing is that the latter has an audience and the other does not. Keeping It Real Back to anchor writing standard 4. So let's consider then some ways to engage students in real-life writing, starting in second grade:
CIFER • Ohio University Donald Murray “Teach Writing as a Process Not Product” (1972) Description In “Teach Writing as a Process Not Product” Donald Murray writes that the literature education of many writing teachers has trained us to view student writing as a fixed product. His argument is that student writing should instead be thought of as a developing process. Murray calls writing a “process of discovery,” a way to learn about and evaluate the world as well as a method of communication, and he divides the writing process into three recognizable parts: prewriting, writing, and revising. For Murray, prewriting involves narrowing down a topic, recognizing audience, and selecting a format. Date of Upload
GUYS READ Mahoodle4MOOC - CoachCarole Mahara An unexpected journey - our CO13 presentation is recorded here. This group is for the collaborative design and development team for Mahoodle4MOOC, which is a learning experience for VET professionals in instructional design for e-learning This is not a 'course' where you'll be enrolled and assessed; it is rather an experience in which you will self-enrol and self-assess. You can work independently or with a group! You can login at any time and do as much learning each week as you wish! First thing to do here is to introduce yourself to the others in the Welcome forum in General Discussion. Request membership, Publicly visible Coach Carole Open 15 January 2013 Between 15 January 2013, 4:48 AM and 30 July 2013, 11:59 PM 2 12 6 2 2 5