Anchor Charts 101: Why and How to Use Them, Plus 100s of Ideas - WeAreTeachers Spend any time browsing teacher pages on Pinterest and Instagram, and you’ll run across hundreds of ideas for classroom anchor charts. But you may have lingering questions about what they are, what purpose they serve, how to get started, and when to use them. Have no fear! WeAreTeachers has created this primer to inform you, and we’ve also included a huge list of resources to get you started. We have a feeling that once you get started, anchor charts are going to your new favorite thing. What is an anchor chart? SOURCE: Teaching With Simplicity An anchor chart is a tool that is used to support instruction (i.e. How do I create anchor charts? The first thing you need to know about creating them is that you do not need any special materials or artistic skills—just chart paper and a colorful assortment of markers. As you model a lesson or learning strategy and interact with your students through discussion, you fill in the blank spaces of the anchor chart. SOURCE: The Thinker Builder
160607151512 Given the difficult-to-digest subject matter in many STEM classrooms, educators have customarily relied on traditional lecture-based educational methods where they spend class time walking through content and then assign homework problems to supplement that learning. Liberal arts classrooms, on the other hand, often invert that structure. They task students with learning the material from a book outside the classroom and then turn class time into active discussion periods where they expand and develop what they've read. "It's difficult for an engineering student to extract the technical information from a book on their own," said Stephanie Butler Velegol, instructor in environmental engineering. The issue with the traditional lecture-based approach in STEM education is that even with capable and committed faculty, the method just doesn't engage some students and keep them interested. That's where the flipped classroom comes in. So Velegol decided to flip her class around.
…a child first has to learn the foundational skills of math, like______? – Thinking Mathematically I’ve been spending a lot of time lately observing students who struggle with mathematics, talking with teachers about their students who struggle, and thinking about how to help. There are several students in my schools who experience difficulties beyond what we might typically do to help. And part of my role is trying to think about how to help these students. However, first of all I want to point out just how difficult it is for us to even know where to begin! So where do we start? Take a look at the following quote. Really, take a minute to think about this. I’ve asked a few groups of teachers to fill in the blank here in an effort to help us consider our own beliefs about what is important. Here is the complete quote: Is this what you would have thought? Think about it for a minute. Visual perception and visual memory are used when we are: Symmetry games: Composing and decomposing shapes: Relating nets to 3D figures: Constructing unique pentominoes: So I leave you with a few questions:
Defining Digital Courseware - Courseware in Context Digital courseware is a solution with the potential to support student-centered learning at scale in postsecondary education. While millions of students use digital courseware today in their college courses, significant opportunity remains for effective digital courseware use to support new teaching and learning strategies, improve course accessibility, and drive improvements in learning outcomes for postsecondary students. What is Digital Courseware? The first step in building clarity around “digital courseware” is to establish a common definition for the category. Definitions used around the postsecondary community range broadly, from e-textbooks, to clickers and projectors, to an LMS. From our study of the market, including its historical evolution and where digital learning is headed, we define digital courseware as: Digital courseware is instructional content that is scoped and sequenced to support delivery of an entire course through purpose-built software.
Growth Mindset: How to Normalize Mistake Making and Struggle in Class | GROWTH MINDSET | MindShift | KQED News Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset has become essential knowledge in education circles. The Stanford psychologist found that children who understand that their brains are malleable and can change when working through challenging problems can do better in school. Now, many school districts are attempting to teach growth mindset to their students. At the core of this practice is the idea of “productive failure” (a concept Dr. Manu Kapur has been studying for over a decade)* and giving students the time and space to work through difficult problems. These mindset changes are easy to describe and dictate, but more challenging to implement. In the video below on classroom struggle, second grade teacher Maricela Montoy-Wilson repeatedly asks her students to justify their thinking using reasoning and evidence. “Everyone is going to feel stuck,” Montoy-Wilson said. *A previous version of this article neglected to mention the scholarship of Dr. Katrina Schwartz
Flipped Learning As technologies and broadband become more widely available and as the focus on integrating technology into learning increases, interest in Flipped Learning will continue to grow. In recognition of this interest, the Flipped Learning Network, with the support of Pearson and researchers at George Mason University, undertook a comprehensive review of relevant research in two phases. Transforming Instruction Time In the Flipped Learning model, some or most of direct instruction is delivered outside the group learning space using video or other modes of delivery. Class time is then available for students to engage in hands-on learning, collaborate with their peers and evaluate their progress and for teachers to provide one-on-one assistance, guidance and inspiration. The shift is from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered learning environment. Four Pillars of FLIP Flexible environments Learning culture Intentional content Professional educators Student Outcomes
Missing Factors: On Learning What You Don’t Know – Teaching With Problems I. Rachel Rachel was a student in my fourth grade class. At the start of the year, she showed traits that I worry a great deal about. She was a quiet girl who didn’t raise her hand at even the safest questions I lobbed. (“What is your favorite number?”) This was just my second time teaching math to fourth graders. Over the first few weeks of the year, I asked my class to solve problems in context: 8 cows have 4 legs each; 13 triangles have how many sides? We estimated. It took me a shockingly long time to notice that Rachel wasn’t making much progress. When I began thinking again about Rachel, I searched through old photos of student work from that year. The first photo contains just three problem and their solutions. If 8 x 8 should really be seen, in Rachel’s work, as 8 + 8, then the mistaken sum of 12 would be typical for her. It seemed to me that addition was hard for Rachel, though she didn’t see it that way. Though a mess, her board is full of good math. II. III. IV. Ms. V.
Ten Issues Capturing the Minds of Educators and Parents This Year | MindShift | KQED News Every year there are some topics and conversations that grab readers’ attention more than others. In 2016, MindShift readers engaged most often and deeply with stories about the tricky job of motivating learners, especially when circumstances like poverty, learning differences and trauma complicate classroom dynamics. Educators are looking for ways to reach all facets of the complicated learners that sit in their classrooms, diving deeply into research about self-control, mindfulness programs and teaching strategies to give students structures for their thinking. Motivating students is a perennially difficult aspect of teaching, so it’s no wonder that there is robust interest in the neuroscience behind motivation. On a more practical note, an article featuring 20 tips to engage even the most seemingly reluctant students also grabbed readers’ attention. Parents are crucial partners for teachers in the academic and social development of children. Katrina Schwartz