Richard Byrne is one of those teachers who “get it”. He regularly posts really good links. Here is a post about GeoGebra. He provides links to the site as well as support materials. Make his site a regular stop.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/11/geogebra-tutorials-for-beginners-and.html
Found this post via Scott McLeod:
Alan McCluskey from the Swiss Agency for ICT in education spoke about The 7 tacit lessons which schools teach children:
1. Knowledge is scarce
2. Learning needs a specific place and specific time (lessons in classrooms)
3. Knowledge is best learnt in disconnected little pieces (lessons)
4. To learn you need the help of an approved expert i.e. a teacher
5. To learn you need to follow a path determined by a learning expert (a course of study)
6. You need an expert to assess your progress (a teacher)
7. You can attribute a meaningful numerical value to the value of learning (marks, grades, degrees)
http://edubuzz.org/blogs/donsblog/2006/06/08/utopia/
So I started thinking about what lessons do we want to teach kids? I mean, what are the big life lessons that we want kids to leave us with? Much of the information that we have will change (or least not be absolutely crucial to know as facts). I would think that we wouldn’t want to teach the 7 things above. Then again, is this the right list? Comments are open for your thoughts.
Tuning
The doorbell rang, and the lady of the house discovered a workman, complete with tool chest, at the front door. “Lady,” he announced, “I’m the piano tuner.” The lady exclaimed, “Why, I didn’t send for a piano tuner.” The man replied, “I know, but your neighbors did.”
Age
A teacher said to her student, “Billy, if both of your parents were born in 1967, how old are they now?” After a few moments, Billy answered, “It depends.” “It depends on what?” she asked. “It depends on whether you ask my father or my mother.”
Space
When the Smith family moved into their new house, a visiting grandparent asked five-year-old Tommy how he liked the new place. “It’s great,” he said. “I have my own room, Alex has his own room, and Jamie has her own room. But poor mom is still in with dad.”
Painting
Mary goes to her first show at an art gallery and is looking at the paintings. One is a huge canvas that has black with yellow blobs of paint splattered all over it. The next painting is a murky gray color that has drips of purple paint streaked across it. Mary walks over to the artist and says, “I don’t understand your paintings.” “I paint what I feel inside me,” explains the artist. “Have you ever tried Alka-Seltzer?”
Guys- I have just recently started to listen to your podcasts and follow you on Twitter. I am impressed and look forward to learning from the networking. I am a middle school principal in Lowell, Indiana. I need some help with a couple of things. First, it is a Science adoption year here in Indiana and I need help locating quality digital resources for adoption instead of textbooks. Do you guys know of any that I could research. Second, I am interested in Second Life and how you guys use this web tool.
Reid
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Cell Phones, iPods and energy. What do your students need to know?
Have your students take a short quiz on World Hunger. You could have the students take the quiz collaboratively, or take it yourself first, then give it to the students. Good discussion topics. Plus a donation is made every time someone takes the quiz.
http://gifts.wfp.org/quiz/
 *ransomtech ✜ Stephen Ransom Gr8 screencasting tool on Mac!! RT @ScreenFlow: #BlackFriday is here! 15% off ScreenFlow thru end of November 🙂 |
 *brasst Tami Brass Connect Safely |A Parents’ Guide to Facebook | Safety Advice Articles diigo.com/0dsjc via @Diigo |
 *rkiker How I Planned a Successful Unconference in 6 hours – and You Can Too http://pulsene.ws/o0Eo #edchat #edcamp |
 *kevcreutz Seven Ways to Build Your Own Educational Games #edtech |
 *kconners09 RT @DanielPink: An inspired school principal (@L_Hilt) tries a FedEx Day for her teachers. Fantastic. |
 *shannonmmiller 10 Terrific iPhone and iPad Musical Performances http://ow.ly/3fUBZ @johnccarver |
 * drmmtatom Twitter Rubric: #fhucid |
 * jeanbont #pun outside class door today: “My arm!”, said Captain Hook, offhandedly. |
 *maggiecary When Your Child’s Grades are Failing: |
This Part for Infamous40000 . . . :
Waiting to hear back from Infamous40000 . . .
PLC is NOT:
The research says that we take on the characteristics of the students we teach.
Culture
Climate
•Standards based (Learning Targets)
Coaching
Early success breeds Hope.
Covey’s concept of Sphere of Influence. Sphere of control is where we need to operate.
Collaboration leads to taking out the walls.
Professional Development:
True Colors
Adults do not learn from experience, they learn from reflection. J. Mezirow
Must build reflection into the PD experience.
The starting of the PLC:
Led to:
Instructional Focus
Formative assessment
Metacognition (Think alouds)
Prior Knowledge
Collaboration is the key.
Starting collaboration:
Grade level;
2 collaborative sessions required per 9 weeks. There was form for follow up.
The next year, 1 was required. The third year, no mention. The idea was to integrate it into what they do.
Special education started getting involved. The special ed teachers gave some ideas for accommodations.
Common planning for departments. Started vertical articulation. This lead to similarities being identified. Identified overlap of standards.
Developed a 2 year plan. Language Arts teachers decided to “loop”. (5th & 6th and 6th & 7th grades.).
Cross curricular
Leads to Differentiation as well.
Leadership Team
The leadership team takes issues to the principal. Makes sure that all teachers have a voice.
Reading became the focus of the school.
Reading became the common core.
First Step:
SRA
Next:
Sphere of Influence.
ICU – Intensive Care Unit
Exploratory Math labs, Lit labs
Saturday School
Summer school
ICU questions. All students are listed on Google Docs. Students who have issues are marked and followed up by everyone (eg. student missing homework).
Every teacher has to make 3 parents calls a week. At least 1 must be positive.
Celebrations at card marking
*************************************************************************************
SoundNote Recording created November 4, 2010 12:30 PM:
Sheila_J_Berlinger@mcpsmd.org
Jennifer_Bernard@mcpsmd.org
Denise_M_DeFlore@mcpsmd.org
Elizabeth_A_Sandall@mcpsmd.org
Pink folder on table and name tag. Types of development paper to share.
This we Believe
“For middle school students to be successful, the school’s organization, curriculum, pedagogy and programs must be based on the developmental readiness, needs and interests of young adolescent learners.”
We need to staff our middle schools with experts in teaching middle school kids.
Outcomes
• Identify the characteristics of the adolescent learner
• Explain the instructional implications for adolescents based on their brain development.
• Articulate how the selection of instructional ….
Characteristics of the Adolescent Learner: Step One
Step one
• Draw 2-3 strips from the envelope.
• Sort the characteristics by the categories on the placemat.
Step two
• Look at the hot pink paper and discuss.
• Consult the document titled “Characteristics of Adolescent Learners.”
• Examine how the characteristics were sorted.
• Compare your lists to one we have provided.
Implications for learning
What implications does the information on the characteristics of the adolescent learner handout have for planning and instruction based on your role in your school district?
I need to incorporate those characteristics into my teaching to support their learning.
Why is rigor important and why does it matter?
• Review your rigor placement.
• Define Rigor:
International competitiveness.
Teaching with the end in mind.
Using thinking based learning.
Green Handout: Rigorous Instruction in the middle school
Triangle image on the page.
1. Explicit opportunities for critical thinking
2. Selection of rigorous instructional materials
3. Appropriately matched and differentiated instructional strategies.
Application activity:
Toni Morrison’s The Big Box
Chosen for an adult audience in a conference setting.
This is an illustration for use around the triangle.
1. Listen to and look at the Big Box.
2. With your table mates, revisit the text with the elements of reasoning.
3. Be prepared to share your assignment element(s).
Reflection:
How did this experience motivate and engage you?
Rigor selection process.
Provocative: To what extent is the curriculum concerned with the central problems in the discipline that challenge students’ previous concepts?
Ambiguous: To what extent does the curriculum focus on cymbals and images paced with multiple meanings?
Complex: To what extent is the curriculum organized around complex, interrelated concepts?
Emotional: To what extent is the curriculum …
(Lilac paper)
Ambiguous: forced us to interpret
Emotional: there were things there that each reader can identify with.
Provacative: Things to defend or discuss vigorously.
Complex:
PACE and the Big Box.
Implications for planning and instruction
What implications do the definition and measure of rigor (PACE) have for planning and instruction based on your role in your school district?
Engaging the students in something worthy of their time.
The elements of thought: The Reasoning Wheel
Richard Paul and Linda Elders model.
1. Points of view
2. Purpose of the thinking
3. Question at issue
4. Information
5. Interpretation and inference
6. Concepts
7. Assumptions
8. Implications and consequences
Am I critical thinker?
Implications: things that might happen
Consequences: Things that will happen.
Discussion:
How would this model support their learning and help ensure rigorous instruction?
Adolescent Brain Development
Emotions?? Highly developed …
Reasoning and reflection?
Under construction …
(Until early or mid-twenties)
Developmental Rates
Significant growth occurs in the adolescent similar to childhood growth.
As those synapses are growing, we need to use them or lose them.
The stronger the relationship between the student and the teacher, the better the ability to set emotions aside and learn.
Prune the students to direct their energy to where it should go and strengthen the core of the tree/student.
Which neuron provides the greater potential for connection?
What students are asked to think about and what they’re asked to do determines the level of neuron they have.
Neuron develops on feedback and challlenge.
Challenge: problem solving, critical thinking, relevant projects, complex materials.
Feedback: Exemplars, connected to clear standards and criteria, various forms, timely, opportunity to use it.
Sense and Meaning
Long term memory: retrieving information
Sense: comprehension, I understand it, it makes sense. Until it makes sense, it’s not stored.
Meaning: Relevance-I can connect it to something else I know. No connection = no meaning.
“Of the two, meaning has the greater impact on the probablily that the information will be stored.” -Sousa
Implications for planning and instruction: What implications does the information on the adolescent brain have for planning and instruction based on your role in your school district?
Rigorous Instructional Practices
• The content refers to WHAT students will learn.
• The process refers to HOW students will learn or explore the content.
• The product is the EVIDENCE of student learning.
Implications for planning and instruction
What do I now have to consider in order to successfully develop adolescent thinkers?
CEU Code: UN8
News:
What Really Happened?
A comparison of Thanksgiving stories:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/what-really-happened-comparing-stories-of-the-first-thanksgiving/
Sharendipity
ClassTools.net
Purpose Games
What 2 Learn
YoYo Games
Jeopardy Labs
ProProfs Brain Games
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/11/seven-ways-to-build-your-own.html
NMSA News:
Other News:
If you are looking to use rubics, Rubistar is a great resource. It is easy to use and has a ton of pre-made rubrics which can be customized. If Rubistar doesn’t work for you, check out iRubric. Both of these sites give you plenty of examples and allow you to customize your own rubrics. Both of these resources are free for individual teachers. Both can be extended to be used on-line instead of just as paper copies (there may be a cost for that though).
Frogs
A guy was walking beside a pond when a frog jumped out and told him that she was really a beautiful princess and if he were to kiss her, she would make him VERY happy! He picked up the frog and put it into his pocket. A few minutes later, the frog poked her head out and said, “Didn’t you hear me?! I’m a beautiful princess and if you kiss me I will stay with you and do ANYTHING you want!” The guy took the frog out and said, “Look, I understand what you are saying, but I am a computer programmer and right now I don’t have time for a girlfriend… but a talking FROG is REALLY, REALLY COOL!”
Scotland
Over a remote Scottish island a helicopter lost power and was forced to make an emergency landing. Luckily there was a small cottage nearby. The pilot walked over to it and knocked on the door. “Is there a mechanic in the area?” he asked the woman who answered the door. She scratched her head and thought for a few seconds. “No,” she finally said, pointing down the road, “but we do have a McArdle and a McKay.”
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
“Heliophysics.” and more.
 * NMSAnews NMSA RMLE Online: Influences of High-Stakes Testing on Middle School Mission and Practice |
 * rguthrie Rachel Guthrie Is school a selective process where students need to be ranked, sorted and culled? or an experience meant to encourage and promote learning? |
 *chadratliff Ouch: The 20 worst-paying college degrees in 2010 http://yhoo.it/b8ESfk |
 *PrometheanUSA THANK A TEACHER MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE IN ON PROMETHEAN PLANET STORE GET 10% OFF ALL ADULT T-SHIRTS +15% ON yr ORDER $40 OR MORE**code TY15 |
 *presentationzen Mac News reporting that Pearson/Peachpit books, including my books, now on iBookstore. http://snipurl.com/1hb5uc |
 *DianeRavitch Is teacher experience important? “Reformers” say no. Research says yes: http://shankerblog.org/?p=1319 |
 *go2publicschool Professor gives an exam, analyzes the grades, realizes 1/3rd of his class cheated. Proceeds to call them out: #badass |
 *doctorjeff #EDUCATION VIEW: LET’S TEST to see if testing has taken all joy out of our classrooms, and if we find it hasn’t, let us test until it does. |
 *drmmtatom Official Google Docs Blog googledocs.blogspot.com/?spref=tw #fhucid |
This Part for Infamous40000 . . . :
Waiting to hear back from Infamous40000 . . .
Session 2:
1267
Sharon Faber
Ms. Sandra Dutemple
Motivating Students
“Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but children have the equal right to develop their talent, their ability and their motivation”
John F. Kennedy
Kids are different. They are smarter -they know stuff, just not necessarily what we want them to know.
Kids come to school to see their friends – we just happen to be there.
Research says 4th grade is crucial. Once they feel dumb- they need to save face.
Insanity – Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results .
When the horse dies – get off.
“The goal of teachers is to meet all students at their starting points and to move each one along a continuum of growth as far and as quickly as possible. Learning has no ceiling. ”
Tomlinson
Vocabulary & Prior Knowledge are required to increase knowledge.
Need to have a personality to be a good teacher.
Teachers need to be enthusiastic.
BA or BS – Borrow and Adjust or Borrow Straight.
Use a different noise to bring kids back. Not all of the kids will hear your voice. Then the good
Email for handout
You teach like you learn.
“For these are all our children. we either profit or pay for what they become.” James Baldwin
Successful teaching is an evolving process.
It is important to keep an open mind because new and promising ideas are constantly emerging.
When a strategy or method clearly increases student learning, follow the practice as early as possible so that the students become accustomed to the specific way of thinking and acting.
Teachers make a tremendous difference in student achievement.
The key trait of effective teachers is that use systematic and explicit instructional strategies that work in any content.
Systemic
Skills and con pets are taught in a planned, logically progressive sequence.
Explicit
Direct explanation: stories, example
Teacher modeling: show them
Guided practice: pairs think together
Independent practice: formative assessment
Application: own, understood, useable
More than pairs allows for “slugs”
Too often the cooperative group allow for training kids to not think. (Time keeper, etc. )
Common Behaviors
What you can do:
Hardwired by DNA:
Teach:
• Give respect to students when they seem to least deserve it.
• Share decision making with the class. Maintain expectations while offering choices and getting input.
Avoid sarcasm.
Model the process of adult thinking. Keep voice calm
Discipline through positive relationships instead of exerting power or authority.
Embed social skills like meet and greet skills, turn taking, thanking others.
Be inclusive
Celebrate efforts as well as achievement.
Actions that DON”T help:
Focus only on the basics.
Maintain order through force.
Eliminate or reduce time for arts, sports & PE.
Decrease interaction among students.
Deliver heavy handed, top down lectures. ( Kids know what your buttons are and will use them).
Actions that DO help:
Teach in 15 to 20 minute blocks and then let them share.
Routine & Consistency are crucial
Motivation always revolves around good teaching.
Davis Sousa – How the Brain Learns to Read. 2005
Get their attention
emotion drives attention
focus their attention
maintain their attention
Keep them on task.
How long until I retire?
OR
What miracles can I create today?
Part Two:
Rick Wormeli, 2010 (Handout provided)
Break
Summarization Strategies:
Reading Notations
Annotated text is one of the best things we can teach according to research.
(Check Mark) I agree with this.
X I disagree with this.
?? I don’t understand this.
!! Wow! (‘Elicits a strong emotion)
CL General Claim
EV Evidence for the Claim
(These can be numbered to indicate their sequence, too: EV1, EV2, EV3…)
Journalistic vs. Encyclopedic Writing
Read the journalistic version first then read the encyclopedic version is workable.
They’ll hang on the encyclopedic version if they read the journalistic stuff first.
Create narrative versions of boring stuff that we have to teach.
Reading Notations
EV for evidence
Annotated text is one of the best things we can teach according to research.
Journalistic vs. Encyclopedic writing.
Read the journalistic version first then read the encyclopedia version is workable.
They’ll hang on the encyclopedic version if they read the journalistic stuff first.
Create narrative versions of boring stuff that we have to teach.
Text structure: The kids memorize the key words for each structure to identify it in class.
Chronological Order
Definition and Key words:
Compare and contrast
Proposition and support
Enumeration
Virtual Metaphors: Graphic Organizers
Matrix
Venn Diagram
Writing is 98% thinking!
“If I had more time, I’d have written less.” -Pascal
Kids need feedback in 1 – 3 days to internalize it.
Shorter is better, less is more.
T-Chart/T-List
Cornell Note-Taking format
T-Chart with summarization at the bottom.
Somebody wanted but so
Somebody (characters)
wanted (plot motivation)
but (conflict)
so (resolution)
Something Happened and Then
Something (independent variable)
happened (change in that independent variable) …
and (effect on the dependent variable) …
then (conclusion) …
Narrowing the Topic
Is the topic narrow enough to be focused , but broad enough to have plenty to write about?
When we summarize, we:
Delete some elements
Keep some elements
Substitute for some elements. (DKS) Ask students to memorize these three actions.
TaRGeTS
Trivia
Redundancies
Generalize
Determine Topic Sentence (Subject and author’s claim about it)
(What’s the headline for this?)
Writing Concisely
Avoid redundancies and saying the same thing in different ways: see slide.
-Write Tight, 1993 by William Brohaugh
More Summarization Tips.
Use reading notations.
Allow students to mark consumable and non-consumable text. (Highlighting tape) Eraseable highlighters and wikisticks
Emphasize opinion free summaries – no commentaries.
Teach students to evaluate their own summarizations.
Set length slimit of 10 to 25% of the original text, <1% for longer text.
Encourage two or more readings or exposures.
Evaluating our Summaries (see handout)
Does it convey the information accurately?
Is it too narrow or too broad? Does it convey . . . .
Help with Paraphrasing
Build students’ vocabulary and verbal dexterity. Post word banks. Use vocabulary immersion.
Provide repeated experiences with varied sentence combinations and word play.
Use repeated think-alludes
Play renaming and clue games such as Password, Taboo, and $25,000 Pyramid.
3-2-1
3: Identify
2: List
1: Name/What
Unique Summarization Formats/Products
See slide on handout.
Endless list of writing possibilities see slide
RAFTS
Raise the complexity:
Lower the complexity:
Change the verb:
See the verb list from the slides.
Backwards Summaries
“Make the web from which this paragraph came.”
Save the Last Word for Me
Read a passage, making notations as they go.
They identify three or more sentences to which they have a response.
Place students in groups of 3 to 5, then one member of each group to read a line that he has identified. He reads; there is no commentary or reason for choosing it given.
Each group member other than the reading person responds to … see slides.
Change the point of view
Tell the story from the points of view of other objects/people . . .
Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Frayer Model
“Word Link”
Each student gets a word and they have to find someone to join with and explain the connection.
Summarization Pyramid.
Great prompts for each line: Synonmy, analogy, question, three attributes, alternative title, causes, effects, reasons . . .
One word summaries
Exclusion Brainstorming
Premise: Ther eis not any curriculum so symbolic or abstract that we cannot “physicalize” it for better student learning.
Funny: Yelling Movie in a crowded Firehouse …
Physicalizing Process:
Identify essential pieces
Physicalize those pieces and present them to the class.
Class critiques the physicalization in terms of accuracy, comprehensiveness.
see slides
Statues (Body Sculture)
Line-up
“If I get the kids to say it, they hear it.”
Summary Ball
The ones left standing are declared the winners.
Human Bingo
Always put something in there that’s crazy.
Human Continuum (Mobile Socratic seminar)
Masking tape on the floor (winding)
A=Gree
D= Duh, or disagree
Middle Line is uncomfortable to respond.
It’s ok to tell little white lies to protect the kid.
$25,000 Pyramid
Pictionary
Taboo Cards
Share one, Get one
We think primarily in physical terms. Over time we become adept at translating symbolic and abstract concepts into meaningful structures or experiences.
Metaphor
Make one!
________ is/are a _____________ because ____________ .
Ask students …
Metaphors Break Down
Descriptions with and without metaphors.
Common Analougous Relationships (kids memorize)
4-Square Synectics
Brainstorm four objects from a particular category
How is the human digestive system like each household item: sink, old carpet, microwave, broom.
Highly Recommended and Scummarization Ideas
Go to NCTE’s ReadWriteThink website.
Where do we go from today?
3x3x3!
Three Strategies/principles/aspects that will be in your thinking in the next three weeks for four weeks.
Three topics/ skills . .
One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Americans went to war with themselves. Disunion revisits and reconsiders America’s most perilous period — using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/disunion/
Using the power of video to tell stories about real people and progress in global development.
Varied length of videos. Videos can be downloaded. Some really great videos can be found. You can change the view from an interesting circle to a list view. Many different subject areas are represented.
http://www.viewchange.org/
http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/Home.html
A timeline of image-makers who have shaped world history
Excerpted from the book, TIME History’s Greatest Events
Read more:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2031505,00.html#ixzz15pzqxYhq
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2031505,00.html
NMSA News:
Other News:
I remembered seeing Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution sometime in the past. In fact, I watched part of one episode- seems I’m not the only one. Here is a write up about why the “Food Revolution” is over. I’m not surprised that the cost of the food was higher- that seemed pretty predictable. I am, however, surprised that he “failed to meet the nutritional guidelines” (too much fat, not enough calories) of the federal government. I particularly liked this quote:
“Ultimately, Jamie picked the wrong target….factors such as sedentary lifestyles, fast-food consumption, family meal patterns and junk-food advertising aimed at children are “a much bigger problem than food served in schools.”
It’s a long but interesting write up. Many of the kids left the lunch program. Junk food versus healthy options are discussed. A worthy read.
Thanks to our listeners who have nominated Middle School Matters for an EduBlogs award!
Are you looking for some old maps? Do you love cartography? Here is a collection of ancient maps.
Search the Web through Timelines
(and surprise yourself with what you find)
Women’s Rights
A girl involved with the women’s libertarian group boarded a crowded bus and one man rose to his feet. “No, No, you must not give up your seat. I insist,” she said. The man replied; “You may insist as much as you like, Lady. This is my street where I get off.”
Initials
Mr. R.B. Jones applied for a position with the government and was accepted. On his first day, the personnel dept processed his records. When asked what the R.B. stood for, he informed the clerk that they stood for nothing. His parents had named him with the initials only. The clerk informed him that his records could not show initials only so they typed his name as R. (only) B. (only) Jones. He got his first paycheck made out to Ronly Bonly Jones!
Barbershops
The reading material at the barbershop consisted entirely of murder stories, mysteries, thrillers, and ghost tales. When Peter asked the barber if he wanted to terrify his customers, he replied, “No. Peter. These books make the customers’ hair stand up and then it becomes easier to trim and cut.”
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Chemistry Facts. Cool and useful. Did you know……?
 *gcouros Let Them Speak – Why Student Led Conferences are the Right Choice |
 *coolcatteacher Vicki Davis“Education ranks 55th out of 55 industries surveyed in the US” in the use of technology. Bob Wise |
 *web20classroom Steven W. AndersonUsing Wikis To Strengthen Vocabulary: |
 *francesblo Fran LoHow To Get Early Access To ‘Skype Education’ Right Now edudemic.com/2010/11/how-to… via @edudemic #midleved #elearning |
 *elemenous Learning: Is there an app for that? http://ow.ly/37Uit |
 *shannonmmiller The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness…Great Math Resources http://ow.ly/329S9 #vanmeter |
 *shannonmmiller Glogster and Gloster.edu as an alternative to PowerPoint http://ow.ly/329re |
 *Larryferlazzo Elect.io is an easy way to find candidate positions in any US election http://www.elect.io/ |
This Part for Infamous40000 . . . :
Waiting to hear back from Infamous40000 . . .
Kristin Heckt
Sara Malinoski
Jennifer Webb
Timothy Edwards in Connecticut
1100 kids. 30 kids on Tier 3.
SRBI- Scientifically Researched Based Interventions
Must be Multi-Tiered.
Highly successful model. By 8th grade, no students are below basic.
Focus on academic interventions.
See “What Needs to be in Place?” –
Data
PD
Embedded- into the course of the day. Team meeting everyday. Moved from compliance issues to PLC practice.
Communication
DDDM at grade level
Students & Families – students monitor their own progress.
Support
Schedule – Flexible block schedule – kinda. Music is crucial to the district. Tier 2 or 3 comes out of encore periods. Needed flexibility from teachers as the kids would come and go throughout the year. Some kids would come out of Social Studies or Unified Arts (life skills, tech ed).
Administration
Personnel – 4 teams at each grade level. Down to 3 grade by grade level. 108 teachers for 1100 students. Reorganized teachers to include some interventionists as well as the core areas. 6 Intervention Teachers.
Reallocated Resources
Programming
3 Tier Approach
Research based programs
Interdisciplinary teams
PLC’s
Special Education referrals have dropped considerably. Data shows that progress is being made. This leads to fewer students being identified. They went from a discrepancy model to the RTI model.
Including special education teachers now. They were just using interventionists. Special education and regular education teachers are both included into the intervention classes.
45 kids in Tier 2 & 16 in Tier 3 per grade level – approximate.
Email Kristin for her schedule. Teachers cover lunch. kheckt@swindler.k12.ct.us
Topics for embedded PD
Understanding by Design
Literacy
Technology
PLC
Data Driven Decision Making & Data Teams
High Yield Instructional Strategies
Common formative & Summative Assessments
Differentiation
Standards Based Grading
Book study. Change in culture.
Instructional Rounds is next. They want teachers to do the instructional rounds.
PLC/Data Team Structure
Interdisciplinary Teams – includes encores. 6 teachers per team level. Unified Art is “core class”. Encore is PE, music and health.
Tier 1:
The Assessment Process:
Tier 1 Assesment Questions:
Why is the student not performing at the expected level?
What skills does the student need to learn to be a skilled reader?
See Tier 1 Literacy Intervention Plan
Tier 2
Literacy Example:
Work Your Way Back: (See handout).
AIMS web norms.
Keeping students aware is a big part of the process.
Tier 3: Customized and Intense.
Programs:
Individual or small group (4 or less).
Homogenous groups.
Interventions require a high degree of expertise on the part of the teacher.
Fidelity of the Program:
LW5
NMSA 2010: Summarization in Any Subject
Part One:
Rick Wormeli, 2010 (Handout provided)
email him if we want the Powerpoint presentation of this if we want it.
Break at 10:00 am and the water is behind him.
Housekeeping done
Summarization
College websites have pages and pages of advice that should have been taught in elementary and middle school.
He started teaching in 1981.
Real learning has little to do with instruction.
Learning happens two ways:
They have to use it outside your classroom.
They need to summarize their learning in the middle and at the end of their learning.
Summarizing and debriefing.
What you teach is irrelevant. It’s what the kids carry forward that matters.
Lectures chunked with summarization increases learning.
It’s revitalizing to do summarizing.
Summarize the brown slide article selection:
Text from the presentation (Courtesy Rick Wormeli):
Take a look at the NMSA’s This We Believe materials, Turning Points 2000, or the on-line research at www.nmsa.org: middle level students are in prime exploration mode. They require ample opportunities to wrestle with ideas, not have those ideas spoon fed to them. They should feel safe and invited to experiment and fail in the middle of class or at home as they learn new material. Unfortunately, the way we’ve set things up in many middle schools, students consider academic struggle as being weak when it could be used as a launching pad for more effective learning instead.
Let’s make it okay to fail in the pursuit of learning. One of the most vivid ways we can do this is to model it. We set up real situations in which we do not know answers or how to solve problems – ‘really not know something, not just faking it — then find the answer or solve the problem constructively in front of students so they see what it looks like to not know something, to handle it wisely, and to remain a respected individual in the community. Many middle school students do not push themselves to explore different talents or new thinking because they are focused on protecting their reputations as the persons who always get the right answers. What potential is lost because a student needs to protect his personal status quo?
My summarization:
Prime exploration mode for middle school students.
They need opportunities to wrestle with ideas of their choosing.
They need to feel safe to experiment as they learn. (Free to fail.)
Schools are not set up that way unfortunately.
Policy: make it ok.
Model it for them.
Construct sandboxes to experiment it. It helps protect them in the social of transescent learning.
“Share deodorant zones” and tell your neighbor why it is a good summarization.
Person listening: agree or disagree, but tell why you agree or disagree.
Most of probably did well. Most kids haven’t done it and so they struggle with it.
What makes a summarization good?
Is it comfortable to share under the scrutiny of others?
Problem/solution structure
Using one’s own words.
Give them a chance to language play to build vocab to summarize.
Jeremy ate pizza.
Embellish as needed. Give me 10 ways to say a sentence.
Writing process terms: they have to describe what they are doing/have done with the clay.
“Great books are rewritten.”
It captures the text accurately.
Could our neighbors get all the information in the topic from our summarization?
1. Read it.
2. Read it again.
3. Look for key terms that are critical for understanding.
4. Find key terms:
Nouns & Verbs
Words that without them, the sentence or passage wouldn’t make sense.
Topic sentence
Things that answer the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Chris Tovani, “I read it but I don’t get it.”
How was it to give advice on how well someone did on their summarization?
When we defend our thinking, we move into our internal editor.
They’ll remember it for much longer.
Kids will have to be taught on how to critique each other’s summarizations.
Gettysburg Address example
1. Go sentence by sentence.
2. Do a compressed poem.
3. Guided reading.
4. Visualization: Draw a picture.
5. Provide context to the document.
6. Ask students what their experience is with death and cemeteries.
7. Read aloud.
Yes, but by someone who knows the context and background. Don’t read it cold.
8. Define difficult words.
Rick’s method:
Pull out some phrases and then add them back in to reduce overloading.
Highlight contrast words: Now/ago for example
One strategy won’t work: You need 5 or 6 together to make it work.
Poetry Example: “With hocked gems financing him . . . ” (Dooling and Lachman, 1971)
• With hocked gems financing him our hero bravely defied all scornful laughter that tried to prevent his scheme
• Your eyes deceive, he had said, an egg, not a table, correctly typifies this unexplored planet
• Now three sturdy sisters sought proof, forging along sometimes through calm vastness, yet more often over turbulent peaks and valleys
• Days become weeks, as many doubters spread fearful rumors about the edge
• At last from nowhere, welcome winged creatures appeared, signifying momentous success
-Christopher Columbus
Students must have a frame of reference to understand the metaphor: “He flozzled his website.”
Is this a good or a bad thing? Add more context information to add clarity and creating background where there is none.
Tell the story of the Code of Hammurabi before discussing the Magna Carta.
Before studying the detailed rules of baseball, play baseball.
Before reading about how microscopes work, play with microscopes.
“In terms of standards, maybe a standard for exposure to exploring…” -A summarization of Bill Ivey and Rick Wormeli.
Before reading the Gettysburg Address, inform students that Lincoln was dedicating a cemetery.
Before reading a book about a military campaign or a murder mystery with references to chess, play Chess with a student in front of the class, or teach them the basic rules, get enough boards, and ask the class to play.
Primary-Recency Effect
See Graph:  (Courtesy Rick Wormeli)
Frontload and backload the hour.
Makes a difference
The bell work is always related to the stuff we’re doing that day.
Stop 7 minutes early and have them summarize what they learned in the hour. (Gotta do this one!)
Make these cycles with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Free fact: If you’re not a good student, put your paper under a poorer student’s paper and you’ll get a better grade.
Definition: Summarization is restating the essence of text or an experience in as few words as possible or in a new, yet efficient, manner.
Sprenger’s Suggestions for Long Term Retention (How to Teach So Students Remember, ASCD, 2005) (Preview of the inside of the book: http://books.google.com/books?id=z5ipcWRLCPYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22How+to+teach+so+students+remember%22&source=bl&ots=fyqpgsXxJ8&sig=VOVU5LOBWF4-gZPA9CNtyzf0o_o&hl=en&ei=swTeTIfEHsbPnAe4_YSvDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false )
Reach: on an emotional level.
Reflect:
Recode: put it in terms of their own life
Reinforce: graphic organizer
Rehearse:
Review:
Retrieve:
Remember who’s doing the learning.
Break Here for Next Show:
Whomever responds to the students/classmates is doing the learning. Make sure the majority of the time it’s the students responding and summarizing, not the teacher.
Teachers ask 80 questions each hour on average, while students ask only two during that same hour. (Betty Hollas) Students learn more when they ask questions. Find ways to make question-asking so compelling and habitual they can’t escape it.
Have a conversation (with Wormeli) using only nouns.
First one to utter a verb loses.
Prime the brain prior to asking students to do any learning experience.
Priming means we show students:
1. What they will get out of the experience (the objectives).
2. What they will encounter as they go through the experience (itinerary, structure)
Avoid Confabulation
The Brain seeks wholeness. It will fill in the holes in partial learning with made-up learning and experiences and it will convince itself that this was the original learning all along. To prevent this:
Deal with misconceptions: Students should summarize material they already understand, not material they are coming to know.
Recall success with individual, unrelated items:
Age of Student
# of Unconnected, Individual Items Successfully Recalled
(plus or minus 2, Wolfe, 2001)
5 2
7 3
11 5
15+ 7
Courtesy Rick Wormeli’s PowerPoint.
Summarization tips:
Create or activate personal background.
Prime the brain.
Plan according to the Primacy-Recency Effect.
Use varied summary formats – written, artistic, oral, physical, musical.
Use summary experiences before, during, and after lessons.
Teach students to recognize familiar text structures .
Teach students to recognize familiar writing structures.
Use analogies.
Chunk text and experiences.
Courtesy Rick Wormel’s PowerPoint.
Reading Math
Math books have more concepts per sentence and paragraph than any other type of text.
There is little redundancy in math text.
Words as well as numbers and other symbols are used throughout the text.
Eyes travel in different patterns than traditional left-to-right.
They often have distracting sidebars.
In most text there’s a topic sentence or key idea followed by detailed supports. In math, we get the details first then the topic sentence – the key idea is given in the form of a question or a task at the end. Students ahve to read the text agian after seeing this key idea and figure out what material in the text is important and unimportant.
Word Morphology
Teach prefixes, roots and suffixes!
See the list in his handout.
Kids who know their roots and suffixes, can summarize.
Latin is Fun! – Book example.
Break
Part Two
Summarization Strategies:
Reading Notations
Annotated text is one of the best things we can teach according to research.
(Check Mark) I agree with this.
X I disagree with this.
?? I don’t understand this.
!! Wow! (‘Elicits a strong emotion)
CL General Claim
EV Evidence for the Claim
(These can be numbered to indicate their sequence, too: EV1, EV2, EV3…)
News:
http://portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=128942579843364600
NMSA News:
Other News: