Category: Interview

Interview, MSMBy Troy Patterson

MSM 297 – An Interview with Mr. James Sturtevant – You’ve Gotta Connect

Interview:  James Sturtevant, You’ve Gotta Connect

  1. The Class Clown and getting cooperation through connecting.  Go.
  2. Healthy skepticism- Why is this important?
  3. Platitudes – How does the big picture relate to sweating the details.
  4. How did you come to decide that teaching was your calling?
  5. What would be the most crucial thing that teachers should know/remember?
  6. Talk a bit about accepting students vs accepting behavior.
  7. How does a quote from Bo Schembechler make it into a book from an Ohio graduate?  (i.e. Quintillanus:  “Studium decendae voluntatae quae cogi non potest constat.”)
  8. How does a rookie teacher develop “Connecting Skills”?
  9. Where is the line between connecting with students and “trying to be their friend”?
  10. How can folks tie your book in with another World Book published author Kim Campbell’s If You Can’t Manage ‘Em, You Can’t Teach ‘Em?
  11. How much of “Connecting” is art vs. formula?
    1. Can “Withitness” be scripted?

 

From the Gang of 34 (7th grade volunteers):

  1. A Joke for Mr. Sturtevant from Yadira:  Why do the Irish only eat 239 beans?  Because one more would be “Two Farty” (240 w/Irish Brogue).
  2. We have a new teacher coming to _______ next week. What kinds of things should students do to make her feel welcome and help her build relationships with students?
    1. Say hello
    2. Also show her around the school and make her feel welcome
advisory, AMLE, Interview, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 209: AMLE Feature Presentation . . . Popcorn Please!

AMLE Feature:

Today, join us for a interview with Todd Williamson. Director of Technology and Science for Carteret County Schools, MiddleTalk contributor, and NCMSA Technology Specialist.

  • Science Experiment
  • Tech-in-20 Series
  • Math and Science Portal
  • ISTE?

Jokes You Can Use:

Sign in a business:

 We understand that your phone call is important. 

So, we will not interrupt by serving you when you are on the phone. 

 

  RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi

Cats inherently dislike water. That explains why so many turn to alcohol. #HappyCATurday

 

On Our Mind:  

Eileen Award:   

  • Facebook:  Julie Smith Flack
  • Twitter:  John Winsor, US School Counselors, Microsoft TeachTec
  • Special Guest:  Todd Williamson

Advisory:

How big is your city?

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/06/07/how-big-is-l-a-at-least-8-other-major-u-s-cities-could-fit-inside-it/

 

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

 

In the Spring Edition of “Green Teacher,” Emily Harris wrote an article entitled, “Fostering Students’ Water Wisdom.”  The purpose of the article was to bring water awareness into the classroom and contribute to a better global future.

She says that teachers play a vital role in helping foster an early appreciation of this most precious resource.  For this reason, WaterCan developed curriculum resources in both English and French which can be freely downloaded from the “Water Wisdom Portal” at:

http://www.watercan.com/students

 

She then goes on to share one of her favorite lesson plans for 5th – 6th grade students, entitled “Water Alive!”  This is a research based activity designed to help generate an understanding about the universal dependence on water, through the “eyes” of an African animal.

 

From the Twitterverse:

Jerry Blumengarten ‏@cybraryman1

My Organization pages: http://tinyurl.com/4u2ku8m Many teachers need help being
better organized. #SATchat
Admins: Never lose sight of the fact of how hard it is to be in the classroom & all that
teachers have to deal with. Support #satchat

Scott McLeod ‏@mcleod

Use Technology to Upend Traditional Classrooms http://bit.ly/MrVUuu #edtech
Deming: Vast majority of problems we have with individual employees are attributable
to the work systems in which they’re embedded #satchat
RT @mandery: A1 Ineffective teachers teach in isolation. #satchat
a. Lack of effective feedback loops (from ‘above’ & ‘below’) contributes to teacher
ineffectiveness #satchat
b. Failure of systems to articulate/implement new vision of learning/teaching also
contributes to teacher ineffectiveness #satchat
New bookmark: Redefining Instruction With Technology: Five Essential Steps
http://bit.ly/LcUzGN

pammoran ‏@pammoran

Irish kids get diff kind of state exam than US kids- thinking & writing analytically abt
geography – not MC items http://j.mp/KVjlfl

Tweeter of Wit ‏@TweeterofWit

“@sccenglish: Choosing your summer reading: a flowchart from @Teachdotcom –
http://www.sccenglish.ie/2012/06/summer-reading-flowchart.html”

Sirius ‏@ButSiriuslyFlks

@TeacherSabrina I feel I was a better teacher 10 years ago when I had creative
freedom. Now, I’m a skill-and-drill teacher b/c I have to be.

Miguel Guhlin ‏@mguhlin

iPaddiction: 8 Burning Questions About iPads in Class (Answered!)
http://dlvr.it/1hWFrq

jennyluca ‏@jennyluca

“@rgesthuizen: Sad when we don’t know how hard it is to be a teacher today. Good article
TheAge
http://m.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/baillieu-has-no-idea-how-teachers-work-20120605-1
zu5x.html @NedManning’s article

TenMarks Education ‏@TenMarks

What I Wish I’d Done Before Deploying iPads to 735 Middle Schoolers, Pt 2
http://bit.ly/KlOcix via @tericeschneider #tichat #edchat #5thchat

John Norton ‏@middleweb

We’re about to launch the new MiddleWeb. Get a sneak peek & find out about the great
content. http://bit.ly/LaghJ1 #midleved #elemchat @amle
What’s new on the site? “ . . . [O]ur launch will include original pieces by Rick Wormeli,
Nancy Flanagan, Jose Vilson, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Chris Toy, Marsha Ratzel, Elena
Aguilar, Bill Ivey and other insightful middle grades minds.”

Terie Engelbrecht ‏@mrsebiology

What a zero really says by @cherraolthof: http://goo.gl/iV3rT #edchat #midleved

News:

 

Teacher tenure: a Fairfax schools firing case

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teacher-tenure-a-fairfax-schools-firing-case/2012/06/02/gJQAVt4l9U_story.html 

 

Resources:

 

KanBan2Go

kanban2go is an ‘app’ that can help you get work done by organizing your tasks in simple notes on a Kanban board. You can access kanban2go via your browser through most Internet connected devices – PCs, Macs, iPads, Android tablets, Windows tablets, iPhones, Android phones and Windows phones.

It is free for now. We haven’t figured out what to charge you yet :). Don’t worry. We’ll give you at least a 30 day notice if we decide to charge you a small sum to keep the lights on. And you have the option to take your data with you anytime you want to cancel your account.

https://kanban2go.com/

 

ScrollKit

A website builder that works more like drawing. No coding required.

https://www.scrollkit.com/

Web Spotlight:

The Greatest Teacher I Had in College

by Vicki Davis

I will never forget my meanest, toughest professor:Dr. Phil Adler at Georgia Tech. Everyone knew that he was hard. He taught Socratically (by asking questions)and his track record was the best.

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/06/greatest-teacher-i-had-in-college.html

 

BookType

Write, collaborate, publish.

Booktype is a free, open source platform that allows organisations and communities to produce beautiful, engaging books formatted for print, Amazon, iBooks and almost any ereader within minutes.

Use collaborative editing, live chat and messaging tools to engage proofreaders, editors and contributors and keep track through individual book histories, versions, clones, editing permissions and license management.

Booktype’s powerful, quick output to pdf, epub, mobi, odt and html will export books ready for Amazon, iBooks, Lulu.com and other print-on-demand or ebook stores. Build a community around your content with social tools and use the reach of mobile, tablet and ebook technology to engage new audiences.

Booktype is installed and hosted on your server so all content belongs to you. Not only can you give any book any license you wish, but you are free to distribute where and how you wish without restriction. No platform or data lock-in, no hidden fees, no sneaky reselling costs, no restrictive service agreements.

Booktype does not require you to transfer any of your content rights to Sourcefabric. It’s your content, not ours. Booktype does not make revenues from your content through any sales. it’s your money not ours. Total publishing choice, total publishing control.

You can use Booktype in a closed business environment for the production of inhouse materials, online for the production of open educational resources, or on the ‘open web’ for community based production – and any point in between.

Booktype’s use cases extend far and beyond the selling of books. It allows organisations of all sizes to use books to open up new revenue streams and reach new audiences through education, documentation, promotion and content reuse.

http://www.sourcefabric.org/en/booktype/

 

4 Great & Free Museum Apps to Teach your Students (or to simply enjoy!)

If you want to learn about art through the centuries, there is probably no better place than one of the great museums. But of course, if you are not living in Paris, London, New York you need to travel and you rarely have an excibition that brings together all great masterpieces of a certain artist.

Well, the next best thing might be one (or all) of the free apps below and visit the museum on a virtual trip.

http://www.edukwest.com/4-great-free-museum-apps-to-teach-your-students-or-to-simply-enjoy/

 

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:

 

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

 

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

Interview, Podcast, Strategy, Teaching Tip, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 189 – (Homework + Science) Dave^2 = Podcast

Homework:

Middle School Matters is proud to bring you a wonderful interview with Mr. Dave Tucker. His school has taken on the issue of homework with some terrific results. If your school struggles with students turning homework in, you need to listen to this interview.

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

This middle school science minute is about the physics of curling. In the December, 2011 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication), there is an article entitled, “Swept Away: Exploring the Physics of Curling” by Liza Esser.  In the article, Liza explains the game of curling, the physics of curling, and then she develops a 5E lesson that she uses in her unit on forces and motion.

Interview with Mr. Dave Tucker

School Improvement team effort

What things would improve the learning of the students?  Proficiency, meeting the needs of the students.

Changing it from a policy group to a learning policy group.

A strong indicator was the completion of homework.

Started with research and reading.

What should the policy be?

Decided that existing ones were not the best to choose from or merge into a policy.

Read stuff by Doug Reeves  (Wears a bow tie) in the pictures in his research articles.

Yes, it isn’t APA documentation, but will help you find it.  🙂    )

“No Missing Homework” policy wasn’t the best choice either.

All homework would be accepted, late or not, and accepted for full

credit.  No Killer Zeros.  A 0 is 10% below a D.

Tiered intervention system.

Homeroom/Advisory 30 mins.  (Homework Club Time)

Using Zangle, staff can pull the missing assignment list for each student.

Provides a coaching role for the Advisory teacher.

Level I:  Student gets a pass to Homework Club from Advisory and they have to continue to go there until it is all completed.

Level II:  Students are pulled from an elective class of administration’s choosing and put into an elective class called Homework Club II.  (Band seems to be an inoculation against Homework Club!)

Level III:  Intervention level that requires staying after school with the administrators  (This unjustified border is driving you nuts, isn’t it?)

What does homework mean?  Why give it?

It’s a good formative assessment.

Good way to introduce a subject.

Practice a skill that has been taught.

We don’t want homework to be a test of academic stamina.

It needed a systemic response with all of the teachers on board.

It is so labor and detail intensive.

Encore subjects are second to Core curriculum.

Art & Science of Teaching by Marzano


Find more information about Mr. Dave Tucker at gischools.org or contact us and we’ll pass it along.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

ISTE News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.

Ohio Middle Level Association:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

Second Life:

    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life