Posts
All Comments
Recent Posts
Click here for full screen version
A fitting name, since the goal of the game is to help a small white gnome through a puzzling series of tasks intended to divert a gigantic mass of floating driftwood from colliding with his home planet. Okay, so it's hard to describe, but very addicting to play."Samorost" in Czech means a root or piece of wood which resembles a creature; but it is also a term for a person who doesn't care about the rest of the world. I think it's a nice Czech word which has various meanings.
The focus of Mark’s book is the most important and often least talked aboutWhen I’ve mentioned formative assessment in various training situations, I’ve been met with furrowed brows and tilted heads; the fact is, formative assessment is not nearly as well known nor as widely practiced as it should be. This book will prove a remedy for that void. In simplest terms, this book answers the complex question “How do we move from trying to evaluate every piece of writing to using writing as a basis for our teaching?” (p. xv)
facet of assessment: formative assessment. Formative assessment is,
specifically, assessment for learning versus assessment of learning.
(which inspired that workshop and the blog that you're reading right now).
Classroom management is key to effective instruction. You can't even begin to worry about making your teaching sticky if you don't first have an environment which is respectful, safe, and orderly. For novices and veterans alike, one of the best classroom management websites available can be found at http://www.disciplinehelp.com/. This website, maintained by The Master Teacher, lists 117 problem behaviors, structured by
A behavior labeled The Smart Aleck, for example, is defined by these characteristics:
So, does that define your problem behavior? If not, the site offers related behaviors: The Class Clown, The Defier, The Distracter, The Loudmouth, The Show-Off, or The Smartmouth. Yes, these are separately defined behaviors! Step one, then, is making sure that you zero in on the appropriate behavior.
So let's suppose that The Smart Aleck is the proper label. You'd then be able to view the Effects of this behavior. The Effects list helps you realize that that the feelings you're experiencing are a natural outcome of this behavior and not simply you "overreacting." The Effects list can also help you dialogue with the student and parents about the behavior's effect upon others.
Now comes time to take Action. In the words of the site: "Identify causes of misbehavior. Pinpoint student needs being revealed. Employ specific methods, procedures, and techniques at school and at home for getting the child to modify or change his/her behavior."
Perhaps most useful of all is Mistakes, a list of those misjudgments which may "perpetuate or intensify the problem." It's so tempting to respond in turn, yet rarely productive (or mature).
Looking for preemptive strategies and structures to use in the classroom? I highly recommend Setting Limits in the Classroom: How to Move Beyond the Dance of Discipline
When you visit You Can Handle Them All, be sure to first read the sidebar to the right. It begins: "We are labeling behaviors, not children!" A good sentiment to keep in mind when approaching your discipline problems.
yAuthor is an on-line authoring tool that allows users to create professionally looking interactive content easily. For the teacher, this might mean independent learning modules, self-paced reading selections, tutorials, quizzes, or flipbooks.
Since some of this blog's readers are upper elementary and middle school teachers (special shout out to my homeschoolers), I thought you'd like to know that I've launched a new blog over at Wordpress.
and Using Myth to Power Your Story
takes over where Joseph Campbell left off. This snippet of video serves to set up this topic up for classroom discussion.
In terms of the Internet, Trackstar is old school. Many teachers, however, haven’t had the chance to see it in action. Basically, Trackstar is a collected set of websites framed by a table of contents which is always visible. As each site is selected, the heading above the site viewer changes to include the teacher’s notes about the site being viewed, as well as questions about its content.
Now that I’ve thoroughly confused you, check out a couple examples that make it very clear. Stayin' Alive: How Plants and Animals Adapt to Air Pollution is a well constructed track with clear instructions and a variety of sites. In addition to the frames format of that previous link, you also have the option to see your links and notes in text form.
"I have read that the mind treats stories differently than other types of
information. It seems obvious that people like listening to stories, but it’s
not obvious how to use that in the classroom. Is it really true that stories are
somehow "special" and, if so, how can teachers capitalize on that fact?"
, this article is a concise, highly accessible how-to guide for putting story to work in your instruction.
. For those of us who have heard or used the expression "in his element," we understand phrase to mean that he is "doing what he is best at," or "doing what he was born to do." in a nutshell: a bold proclamation that people can do best what they actually enjoy and are good at (no news there), but that too often they are turned from the pursuit of what will ultimately fulfill them by the dictates of others, the "realities" of making a living, and (you guessed it) schools that limit their choices and dreams. Not saying he's wrong, mind you, but we all knew that was coming. And that's probably bad.Finding a purpose in the work we do or they way that we spend our time which resonates deeply with who we think we are, is an essential part of knowing who we are. In a way, if you don’t know what you can do, then you don’t really know what you might be.If you've got the time, this is well worth a look.
Our own lives are not linear. Think not of linear metaphors for human growth and development, but organic metaphors… that our lives evolve around the responses we have to the opportunities that meet us. We, in turn, reciprocate with them. We still run our education systems as if life is linear. We run them as if it’s mechanistic. This is one of the reasons so many things get phased out of education, because people say, "Well, you’ll never get a job if you do this." Things are dropped off the end because they don’t meet the linear assumption.
