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4 Tips for Getting to Know the Blended Instructional Model

4 Tips for Getting to Know the Blended Instructional Model
The days of talking at students are finally over. I recall many a college class filled to the brim with students feverishly taking down notes, as our professor talked at us. Sounds familiar? Probably. Recently, I finished my Masters degree in what was a new environment for me: blended classes. I left this experience determined to bring the concept to my classroom, and due to the Common Core's adoption, we all need to embrace this concept. Tip #1: Kids Aren't as Tech Savvy as You Think Like most subjects, your students' knowledge in regards to technology will vary. True, I had the occasional student that could hack into a supercomputer, but that student was generally rare. Realistically, you might to be forced to instruct students on how to use various mechanisms for your class. Tip #2: Be Wary of Online Textbooks and Online Classes Online textbook software is just a category of tools, so use these products as such. Tip #3: PowerPoint is for Planning Lessons, Not Delivering Lectures

Students Matter: 3 Steps for Effective Differentiated Instruction Differentiated instruction (DI) is a vast system in which it is difficult for many teachers to find a foothold for supporting students in a meaningful way. Teachers want and expect everyone to succeed, yet the means to that end can be foggy at best. How can we ensure that planned learning experiences have a significant and positive impact on student learning? We can answer this question with three important guidelines that will transform student learning experiences through meaningful differentiation. Evaluation, Buy-In, and Strategic Diversity Know Your Students' Strengths Effective differentiation starts with knowing the students' academic strengths, interests, and perspectives. Involve Students in the Planning Process Students, like adults, are more likely to commit effort when they're included in the decision-making process. Leave Ego Outside of the Classroom What makes good teachers is a dogged determination to help students succeed. Understanding Works Both Ways

The Importance of Teaching Digital Citizenship This week I am giving some guest bloggers the opportunity to share their ideas with you. This is a guest post from Salima Hudani. With technology playing a central role in education, teaching Digital Citizenship I believe, is a foundational and non-negotiable message that should be taught explicitly to all students. Digital Citizenship not only teaches students the etiquette involved in being a smart and effective participant in a digital world, but it empowers and equips students with essential life tools to help them navigate challenging digital based situations. I am a strong believer that until this becomes a natural and intrinsic process engrained for our students, Digital Citizenship should be taught. Visiting and connecting with different classrooms over the last four years, I’ve seen that students do not understand the basic foundational principles of Digital Citizenship and are often in awe when I share with them why it’s important to safe. 1.

Teachers: 10 Tips for Slowing Down Since my last Edutopia blog post, How Slowing Down Can Lead to Great Change was published, I've received dozens of messages asking for suggestions for how to slow things down in schools. The premise behind the following suggestions is that if we slow down, we'll have more opportunities for reflection -- to think about what we've done and how it went, to consider next steps, and also to listen to each other and therefore, strengthen our connections. Here are some steps that anyone working in schools can take to slow down: #1. Prune your goals Examine the goals you've determined for yourself, your students, your school, your department, etc. #2. Most of us overschedule ourselves, not necessarily because we want to, but we feel pressured or obligated to do so. #3. If you facilitate meetings, allocate 10 to 15 minutes to the opening. #4. Similarly, participants need routines to close meetings. #5. If you plan and facilitate meetings, apply your pruning skills to your agendas. #6. #7. #8.

Resources and Downloads for Teaching Critical Thinking Tips for downloading: PDF files can be viewed on a wide variety of platforms -- both as a browser plug-in or a stand-alone application -- with Adobe's free Acrobat Reader program. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader. Click on any title link below to view or download that file. Resources On This Page: Lesson Plans & Rubrics KIPP King Curriculum Planning Guide <img height="12" width="11" class="media-image media-element file-content-image" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content_image_breakpoints_theme_edutopia_desktop_1x/public/content/08/pdficon.gif? Back to Top Tools for Critical Thinking Scope and Sequence, Speech and Composition <img alt="" title="" class="media-image" width="11" height="12" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content_image_breakpoints_theme_edutopia_desktop_1x/public/content/08/pdficon.gif? Culture at KIPP

Designing Professional Learning The Designing Professional Learning report provides a snapshot of the key elements involved in creating effective and engaging professional learning in a globally dispersed market. Whether you are developing professional learning from scratch, enhancing an existing program or evaluating professional learning for yourself or others, the Designing Professional Learning report provides detailed guidance on how to configure and/or evaluate your own context-specific model/s. Following analysis of a broad range of professional learning activities, a Learning Design Anatomy was developed to provide a framework for understanding the elements of effective professional learning. Each learning design element is framed by a detailed series of questions that challenge users to refine and clarify aims, intended learning outcomes and the most effective ways in which to engage—taking into consideration the unique context for learning. Designing Professional Learning report 778KB PDF International Partners

4 Big Things Transformational Teachers Do The key to transformational teaching is not reacting, but rather a grinding obsession with analysis and preparation. Lee Shulman, as reported by Marge Scherer, suggests that expert teachers -- despite enormous challenges --demonstrate: Cognitive understanding of how students learn; emotional preparation to relate to many students whose varied needs are not always evident; content knowledge from which to draw different ways to present a concept; and, finally, the ability to make teaching decisions quickly and act on them. So how do they do that? Let's break it down. 1. Instructors tend to use one of two instructional orientations: Transmission: Where "the teacher's role is to prepare and transmit information to learners" and "the learners' role is to receive, store, and act upon this information." What Does Transformational Teaching Look Like? Have students ask questions and solve real-world problems. I learn best when the teacher is hands on and doesn't just talk at me. 2. 3. 4.

New Study: Engage Kids with 7x the Effect In education literature, "engagement" is a linchpin word, routinely cited as essential. Yet many experts offhandedly provide vague definitions of the term, or skip defining it altogether. So what exactly is engagement? It depends on whom you ask. By adding the word "engaged," we mean to distinguish between the skilled by rote and unsophisticated kind of academic literacy that many "successful" students master, and the more analytic, critical, and discipline specific ways of making meaning emblematic of engaged learners. Adam Fletcher’s definition is succinct: "Students are engaged when they are attracted to their work, persist despite challenges and obstacles, and take visible delight in accomplishing their work." The origins of the term hail back to its mid-17th century association with fencers. Benefits of Engagement According to multiple research studies, engaged students . . . In contrast, disengagement . . . Research-Supported Methods to Engage Students Tell us how you engage students.

5 Research-Based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback In recent years, research has confirmed what most teachers already knew: providing students with meaningful feedback can greatly enhance learning and improve student achievement. Professor James Pennebaker from the University of Texas at Austin has been researching the benefits of frequent testing and the feedback it leads to. He explains that in the history of the study of learning, the role of feedback has always been central. When people are trying to learn new skills, they must get some information that tells them whether or not they are doing the right thing. Learning in the classroom is no exception. The downside, of course, is that not all feedback is equally effective, and it can even be counterproductive, especially if it's presented in a solely negative or corrective way. So what exactly are the most effective ways to use feedback in educational settings? 1. For example, feedback like "Great job!" 2. 3. 4. 5.

Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge to Increase Rigor The word "rigor" is hard to avoid today, and it provokes strong reactions from educators. Policymakers tout its importance. Publishers promote it as a feature of their materials. But some teachers share the view of Joanne Yatvin, past president of the National Council for Teachers of English. Calculating Cognitive Depth For classroom teachers, the more important question is one of practice: how do we create rich environments where all students learn at a high level? Level 1: Recall and Reproduction Tasks at this level require recall of facts or rote application of simple procedures. Level 2: Skills and Concepts At this level, a student must make some decisions about his or her approach. Level 3: Strategic Thinking At this level of complexity, students must use planning and evidence, and thinking is more abstract. Level 4: Extended Thinking Level 4 tasks require the most complex cognitive effort. Recently, educators have begun applying Webb’s DoK to help them design better instruction.

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