Tag: Podcast

MSM, NMSA08, PodcastBy Troy Patterson, ,

Podcast #51: News, Kagan Structures, and NMSA ’08 Part Deux …

Items & Events

  1. Get introduced to ISTE!
  2. Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, February 19-20, 2009 in Sandusky, OH.  Presenter information is posted on the page.  Download now and get it it in to your administration while they’re too confused and dazed with the opening of school’s events to say, “No.”  (You could argue . . . )
  3. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators (MAMSE ) Annual Conference will be meeting March 12-13 in Saginaw.  Make plans to attend.
  4. The Michigan Department of Education has posted new proposed Tech Standards for K-12 and opened a Zoomerang survey page for posting comments and replies.  You can get to the proposed standards directly here and you can go to the survey page here.  No one will stop you at the front door of the survey if you’re not in the Great State of Michigan, so have at.
  5. The New England League of Middle Schools has a whole bevy of professional development planned for the 2008-2009 school year and you can access it here.
  6. ANNOUNCEMENT:  The New England League of Middle Schools is looking for someone to fill the position of Executive Director!  Contact Paul Freeman if you’re interested in the position.
  7. ADVISORY IDEAS NEEDED:  NELMS is putting together an Advisory Resource page with lessons for you to use.  They are asking for submissions here by January 1, 2009.  If your entry is used, you will be entered in a raffle for a 3 day NELMS conference ticket.
  8. Are you a member of the National Middle School Association?  You are eligible to join MiddleTalk, a listserv for middle school teachers that engages in middle level “shop talk.”  Sign up here.
  9. Join the gang going to NMSA’s Annual Conference by signing up at the Ning site and connecting with other Conference goers:  NMSA08 Please do sign up and connect with other conference attendees.  Of course, you’re always welcome to post here too . . .
  10. There’s a new research document on counselors in middle schools and the importance they play in our students’ lives.  The research summary details the importance of each student knowing one adult well and how to do that before the counselor’s role can become multifaceted.  In a way, think of them being the ultimate super Advisory teacher first then counselor.  Check it out here.
  11. If you get a chance to visit Second Life, zip over to the ISTE island for their speaker series on Tuesdays & Thursdays.  This Tuesday’s topic is PBS Teachers.  It begins at 6:00 pm Pacific and is scheduled to end at 7:00 pm pst.  Tomorrow will be a SL ISTE tour.  Meet at HQ to begin the tour.  Check the bulletin board for times and details.  Thursday is a social event.  The topic is a prelude to Thanksgiving.
  12. NMSA is looking for an editor!  Tom Erb was honored at this year’s Annual conference with the John Lounsbury award for his many years of service to middle schools as editor of the Middle Journal.
  13. ISTE is holding their annual Computing Conference (NECC) in Washington D.C. this year.  Click here for housing and dates.
  14. Case to watch:  FCC v. Fox TV.  Profanity is defined by local standards.  Fox and the FCC went before the Supreme Court on Nov. 4 and argued that definition and the application of the profanity rules are confusing.  Look for a definition of profanity, what constitutes offense, and how it applies to free speech to come out of this decision.  The next time you write up a kid for profanity I wonder if they’ll use this in their defense while you write up the referral.
  15. Second Life in Education – http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Second_Life_Videos or   http://sleducation.ning.com/
  16. MathTrain.tv – Math videos
News:

Obama’s High Tech win holds lessons for Education
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=56032
“A lot of schools are struggling just to keep their web sites updated,” she said. “They might not know where to start with something like [social networking].”
Schools can take similar steps by soliciting feedback from parents and students through their web sites, taking the pulse of the community to find out what stakeholders think is important and make them feel like a part of the school community.

Wisconsin could lose $200 million through shaky investments

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=55995

Two years ago, school board members across Wisconsin tried to help save teachers’ retirement plans by borrowing money from a European bank in an investment that reportedly promised big profits.Now, these five Wisconsin school districts–Kenosha, Kimberly, Waukesha, West Allis-West Milwaukee, and Whitefish Bay–are suing the investment firm of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc., as well as the Royal Bank of Canada, in Milwaukee County Circuit Court over their $200 million loss. The districts say the investment firm did not fully disclose the risks involved.

Teachers & Facebook: Privacy vs Standards

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/around-the-web/index.cfm?i=56043

An attorney for a suspended Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher says she never intended for the public to view negative comments she made about students on Facebook.

She now faces possible firing for listing “teaching chitlins in the ghetto of Charlotte” among her activities.

A 26-year-old third-grade CMS teacher who did not want her name used, fearing reprisals, said the district hasn’t clearly specified what employees can and cannot post on such sites. Most teachers think if they keep their profiles private, she said, they’ll be safe.

Some say teachers can use social networking sites to help students, who communicate regularly online. Others say the risks are too great. They say some cases of teachers having inappropriate relationships with students started with electronic messaging.

Full Story:http://www.charlotteobserver.com/education/story/349354.html
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/around-the-web/index.cfm?i=56041
School Chief Takes on Tenure
The Washington, D.C., schools chancellor has proposed spectacular raises for teachers willing to give up tenure in a move that has stirred up controversy, reports the New York Times. Michelle Rhee, the hard-charging chancellor of the D.C. public schools, thinks teacher tenure might be great for teachers–but it hurts kids, she says, by making incompetent instructors harder to fire. So Rhee has proposed raises of as much as $40,000, financed by private foundations, for teachers willing to give up tenure.
Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/education/13tenure.html?_r=2&ref=education&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

NMSA 2008 Conference

Excellence & Equity: Proven Instructional Strategies Close the Achievement Gap
Kagan
Based off of cooperative learning. Pointed out the research that backs up the effectiveness of cooperative learning. One of the issues that Dr. Spencer Kagan addressed was the issue of excellence vs equity. In a traditional method of instruction, the high achievers learn at a higher rate than lower achieving students. Essentially, this leads to both sets students learning, but the most successful students learn more. Practically, this is indicative of the belief that traditional instructional methods are more geared toward those students who are considered “smart”. With cooperative learning, the high achievers and the low achievers both grow, but the low achievers make up some of the gap. Of course, this part of the demonstration was clarified with charts, arrow and diagrams.
Show pictures of a traditional class with hand(s) up vs a classroom where all of the kids  are working.

Cooperative Learning vs Traditional – 182 studies – Effect Size .78 – Percentile Gain 28
this talks to excellence but not equity.
Looking at equity, traditional methods (direct instruction) work for both but the high achievers are learning at a higher rate than lower achieving students.
With cooperative learning, the high achievers and the low achievers both grow, but the low achievers make up some of the gap.

Doesn’t deal with what we teach but how.

Groupwork vs Cooperative Learning
“Put them together and pray”- no structures is not coop learning.
Think Pair Share – groupwork
Timed Pair Share

Active participation takes the same amount of time but allows for more equity.

Each moment we have a choice (Traditional, Goupwork, Kagan) they have over 200 structures.

Quiet Signal:
1.Raise Hand (no bent elbows)
2.Full focus on Teacher (no talking, no working)
3.Signal Others
Managing attention is the key here. This focuses the kids onto what you want them to do.

Kagan Structures:
Rally Robin:
Steps:
1.Teacher poses a problem to which there are multiple possible responses or solutions, and provides think time.
2.Student take turns stating responses or solutions

Frequent Processing:

Three Step Interview:
Steps:
1.Teacher provides the ____________topic, states the ____________ of the interview, and provides think time.
2.In pairs, Student ______ interviews Student _______.
3.Pairs _________ roles: Student B interviews Student A.
4._____________: Pairs ____________ up to form groups of _____. Each student , in turn, shares with the team what he/she learned in the ______.

Sage -N- Scribe
Setup: In pairs, Student A is the Sage; Student B is the Scribe. Students fold a sheet of paper in half and each writes his/her name on one half.

Steps:
1.The ______ gives the Scribe step by step instructions how to perform a task or solve a problem.
2.The Scribe __________ the Sage’s solution step-by-step in writing, coaching if necessary.
3.The Scribe ____ the Sage.
4.Students _____roles for the next problem or task.

Pairs Compare
Pairs generate a list of possible ideas or answers. Pairs pair and compare their answers with another pair. Finally, pairs work as a team to create additional ideas or answers.

Steps:

Kagan: Teaching the Middle School Brain
• Teaching the Middle School Brain (Stop by the booth for a handout on the session.)
• 1. Principles of Brain Friendly teaching.
• 2. Align instruction with how brain best learns through structures.
• 3. Silly sports & Goofy games that align with brain friendly instruction.
• 4. Deepen our understanding of our 3 pound miracle.
• The quiet signal:
• 1. Raise your hand.
• 2. Full focus attention on Dr. Kagan
• What the brain attends to the more the brain retains.
• 3. Signal others.
• Good brain instruction involves structured interaction and a high level of engagement.
• Structure: Take off, Touch Down
• If it’s true, stand up. If the second statement is true move again.
• Why is it brain friendly?
• It increases blood and glucose and oxygen in the brain to stand up and sit down a couple of time.
• The brain consumes 20% of all the glucose in the body. It is only 2% of the body’s weight.
• Put your two fists together. That’s the size of your brain. Disappointed?
• Brain dendrites fire 200 times per second.
• 100 billion neurons.
• Standing up and sitting down puts more glucose and oxygen in the brain.
• Better nourishment: Frequent muscle movements are important.
• Book: Spark by John J Ratey, MD.
• Evidence for more phys. ed. in the schools to grow better brains.
• Aerobic movement is required.
• Brain attends to Novelty.
• Stand up, Hand up, Pair up
• RallyRobin
• Why is RallyRobin more brain friendly?
• Frequently stop and have students process information.
• Why frequently process?
• 1. More energy for new learning.
• Inhibiting impulses takes a ton of energy.
• 2. Clarify and refine thinking.
• Became aware of what you know and what you don’t know.
• 3. Store in long-term memory.
• 4. Clear working memory.
• It’s what we can hold in our heads at one time.
• Not usually more than ten things.
• Number 11 replaces one of the original 10.
• 5. Engage multiple intelligences and multiple memory systems.
• Episodic memory is the most engaging of the memory systems.
• The brian processes in episodes, something that takes place at a location, has a beginning and an end and a location.
• More brains active
• More brain parts active
• Social Interaction
• Episodic memory
• Team Interview
• Teambuilding
• Favorite snacks
• anything fun will serve as a teambuilder
• Ways to spend $1000.
• Fun things to do after schooll
• Movies you have liked.
• Describe a scene from a movie you enjoy.
• See the Personal Questions page he has prepared. (Sells?)
• Favorites
• Academic content
• Science: View on cloning; inert elements
• Math: Geometry Proof; prime numbers
• Language arts: Verbs; metaphors
• Social Studies: Causes of event; consequences of an event.
• How will I use?
• Interview each other (gambit chips?) and create a 5 paragraph essay based on the information they’ve gleaned from their partners and incorporate transtitions between paragraphs. 3 main paragraphs are based on each of the 3 people interviewed.
• What happened in the brain?
• The amygdalae
• There are 2.
• Left processes tone of voice
• Right processes faces.
• Both sides are threat sensors
• When do they fire most?
• Stranger
• Other race
• Fearful face
• Angry face > Happy face
• out-group > in-group
• Linked to all major parts of the brain.
• Prerontal Cortex
• Decision making
• Emotional Control
• Attention, thinking, working memory
• The Amygdala can shut this down.
• The Amygdalae explain
• Impared learning (high stress destroys brain nerves).
• Silly Sports
• Hagoo: Inuit game.
• If they can make the other person smile, they cross over the line and join their team. Teams are in two lines.
• No touching, can say anything they like.
• Great picture of a “teenage brain”
• What is white matter?
• Myelination of neurons helps them fire 200 times faster.
• The teenage brain is not completely myelinated.
• Independent Memory systems
• There is not one thing called memory!
• Memory Test
• 1 Night
• 2 tired
• 3 wake
• 4 dream
• 5 sleep (not on list!)
• 6 bed
• 7 rest
• 8
• 9
• 10 (slumber)
• Memory pinciple: Memory is not a place it is a process!
• SPEWS & Structures (matrix made by Kagan)
• CEU Code: DS8

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advisory, NMSA08, PodcastBy Troy Patterson, , ,

Middle School Matters #45 – Next, More Substitute Adventures!

From an actual test (at least according to the Internet):

The 3 day breast cancer walk:
http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer

News & Events: 

1.  October’s Month of the Young Adolescent is here! 
2.  Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, February 19-20, 2009 in Sandusky, OH.  Presenter information is posted on the page.  Download now and get it it in to your administration while they’re too confused and dazed with the opening of school’s events to say, “No.”  (You could argue . . . )
3.  NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1 (Video sample)  Watch the video invitation on the main page of NMSA’s website. 
4.  Canadian National Middle Years Conference, November 5, 6, & 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
5.  Rick Stiggins has a Balanced Assessment Manifesto posted at NMSA‘s website worth checking out.  
6.  Looking for news from Ontario Middle Level Educators Association.  If you have any, drop us a line. 
7.  Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Educators annual conference is coming up October 9-10, 2008. 
8.  The New England League of Middle Schools has a whole bevy of professional development planned for the 2008-2009 school year and you can access it here. 
9.  ADVISORY IDEAS NEEDED:  NELMS is putting together an Advisory Resource page with lessons for you to use.  They are asking for submissions here by January 1, 2009.  If your entry is used, you will be entered in a raffle for a 3 day NELMS conference ticket. 
10.  NMSA’s latest podcast focuses on using wikis in the classroom to promote learning.  
11.  Research Summary Posted:  Vocabulary Teaching and Learning Across Disciplines is now available at NMSA.   
12.  NMSA has a Facebook !  They would like to invite you to join them on Facebook and the opportunities it affords. How many of you can reach Facebook through your district’s firewall?

The National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference (NMSA08) is coming up soon (yes, 27 days or so, I know, but I’m excited already).
Preparations:

  1. Housing:  Use the NMSA housing form.  It goes through the local city’s convention bureau so if you are the type to check if your reservation is in the books, you won’t be able to contact the hotel and find out if you have a room.  You’ll have to wait until the convention bureau has taken their compiled lists and sent them to the individual participating hotels.  Do use the form on the website.  You’ll save a tidy sum.
  2. Registration:  If you were able to talk a group into going, use the individual/team registration form.  The reduction in price for getting a team to go is worth selling one’s firstborn to the gypsies . . . well ok, maybe not worth that, but do try to take a team of teachers to get the discount.  Mongo-sized groups have a different form.  Mention you saw the registration information here at Middle School Matters.  It won’t get you anything, but the puzzled looks on the poor NMSA staff will probably be worth it.  😉
  3. Transportation:  NMSA has worked out some transportation discounts with United Airlines (promotion code:  584CM), but do check other airlines for their airfares.  Don’t necessarily take the first choice.  One teacher’s experience has shown checking multiple days could yield a better price.  Hertz has a rental car agreement worked out (promotion code:  CV#022Q3931), but do consider public transportation as a viable alternative.  One of the neat things about the conference is walking a bit and seeing part of the city.  In Philadelphia, I would have missed the really cool stuff at Reading Station and some other places had I not taken a stroll from the hotel to the conference center.
  4. Transport from/to Airport:  FlyDenver.com has a host of transportation options to/from the airport for you to choose from.  My group that went last year used the SuperShuttle service.  If you use them, plan on multiple groups traveling to multiple destinations.  It wasn’t a bad experience.  The only downside is that the scheduled return is set by the dispatcher at the airport, not according to your flight schedule.  We had to be at the airport several hours before we had to be there the regular several hours before departure.  Do chat up the driver.  Ours was allowed to use the vans on the off hours to make some cash on their own and they have a good handle on locations in the area to pick up a flavor of the local culture.  Check out the Colorado Convention Center’s directions to the center from all points on the compass rose and the airport.
  5. Colorado Convention Center:  Use the virtual tour of the Convention Center to find your way around before the conference in October.
  6. Luggage (promo code: 9601):  Find a way to make your luggage distinguishable.  Scarves are not recommended since they catch in the conveyor belt.  Unique tags and stickers, are useful.  If you’re really into luggage tags…   World Richman is an Official NMSA Exhibitor of luggage, but not necessarily for the long distance traveler.
  7. Comfort:  Socks, Shoes, Shoes for Administrators, Chair (wait for it …), Parrot, iPod, coffee, computer, fudge, Middle School Matters, tech podcast, alternate middle school podcast, cherries (what happens to the pits?), in-flight book,

Substitutes:

Hey guys

Who is the least appreciated person in the building and yet critical to the success of a middle school? The substitute teacher of course. Without them, forget IEP meetings, professional development, sick days, personal time or even special events. They are the ninja workforce who appear and seemingly disappear without leaving an obvious trail.

Good substitutes are worth their weight in gold, but many teachers either have never subbed or forgot how tough a job it is. Having been a sub teacher for three years in a middle school environment, I know all too well its pitfalls and rewards. When I became a full-time teacher, I knew how my temporary replacement wanted to be respected professionally through good preparation for their day with my kids.

Therefore, perhaps you can give some tips to teachers and remind them of how they can either make or break the day of a sub teacher in their classroom through planning or lack thereof.
I have had teachers who truly understood how to create a seamless transition from being absent one day and returning to class the next to find significant student progress. Good sub teachers are not babysitters, and they have an obligation to the school district and the teacher to keep kids safe and on-task.

Let me make a few suggestions of my own and perhaps you can elaborate:

-Lesson plans that provide more work than can be accomplished in the alloted time
-Necessary photo copies of worksheets, study guides, or reference material; subs do not have passcodes for copiers, nor do they know where to find them
-Directions for finding any materials or supplies needed; subs do not know your room or your desk
-Guide for standard operating procedures in your classroom; kids take too much liberty when asked to share the rules
-Teacher schedule that clearly indicates room numbers and times as well as lunch time, duty times and locations
-Class rosters and Seating charts that are up-to-date and reflect the latest changes made as students are moved for various reasons
-Emergency procedures for Fire Drills, lockdowns, etc. that are clear and easy to understand at a moments notice
-List of contact teachers (with room numbers) who can provide assistance and guidance
-Telephone extension list and clear indication of main office number
-Behavior referral slips and procedure for using them

Most schools require a sub folder to be kept in place for each classroom. But these get buried and forgotten until the teacher needs to be out. Therefore, nothing gets updated and the sub is working with inaccuracies that can, at best, totally change the delicate balance of a classroom and at worst, create a dangerous situation in an emergency.  When a teacher provides everything they would have wanted themselves in the same situation, things go smoothly and everyone wins.

Thanks

Ron
New Jersey

1.  National Substitute Teachers’ Alliance offers benefits to members and an annual conference.
2.  Substitute Teachers are taking personal and professional advancement in their own hands.  Edweek article articulates their position.
3.  Substitute teachers have tried to organize.  This is not legal in all states.
4.  The National Education Association has a Substitute Teacher division with resources and advice on their website.
5.  Looking for some training material for your substitute teachers?  Check this out.
6.  Some districts have language in their contracts that address substitute teacher issues.
7.  NEA position on substitute teachers:

  • The National Education Association believes in the importance of employing professional educators to fulfill the critical role of substitute teachers.
  • The Association also believes that substitute teachers perform a vital function in the maintenance and continuity of daily education. In order to achieve and maintain the highest standards of student learning and professional practice, and to ensure quality instruction in every classroom every day, the Association further believes that substitute teachers must —
    • a. Meet the same standards as other licensed teachers within the state
    • b. Receive professional compensation and benefits
    • c. Receive continuous professional development
    • d. Be provided with materials and information appropriate to the position in which they are substituting
    • e. Be entitled to and supported by state and national affiliates in collective bargaining.
  • The Association condemns the practice of assigning substitute teachers to regular positions for an extended duration of time. Positions created by extended absence should be filled by available licensed teachers who are eligible to be placed on contractual status by the school district.
  • The Association opposes the practice of replacing absent teachers by dispersing students to other classrooms
  • The Association also opposes the use of individuals such as educational support professionals, part-time employees, or employees hired through private agencies to cover classes.
  • The Association further opposes requiring teachers to substitute during their preparation time.
  • The Association believes that school districts must provide full compensation for licensed teachers who substitute for personnel on extended leave. (1975, 2000)

8.  Recommendations from Education Minnesota on preparing for a substitute teacher:

  • Leave detailed information about the daily schedule, the names of your colleagues, specialists who work with your students, and any special procedures or concerns regarding individual students.
  • Provide the name of a colleague the substitute can contact for information or assistance.
  • When writing down assignments, include titles and authors of texts and laboratory manuals, as well as numbers of pages, problems and experiments. Also be sure to leave copies of texts, answer books, and lab manuals for the substitute. Don’t just say, “The kids know where everything is.”
  • Try to include meaningful assignments in your plan book. Busywork often results in wasted time for both students and the substitute. Behavior problems can occur.
  • Keep an up-to-date seating chart that gives the full name of each student. Insist that students always occupy their assigned seats.
  • Prepare your students for a substitute by instilling good work habits and a code of conduct that is conducive to order and accomplishment.
  • Post the names of students who assist you in the classroom, such as monitors and the clean-up crew.
  • Leave working keys for your desk, doors and cabinets.
  • Ask the substitute to leave you a note about how the day went. Also ask him or her for feedback on your preparation and how you might improve.
  • Thank your substitute.  Substitutes work hard and, in many cases, for inadequate compensation. They play a valuable role and deserve lots of appreciation. Strive to ensure a good experience so that your substitute will want to return to your classroom.

9.  Some districts provide some professional development for substitute teachers prior to their first day in the classroom.
10.
Resources:

  1. United States Substitute Teacher’s Association
  2. Transcript of a conversation with substitute teachers.  Some of the themes are worth pulling out and discussing at the local level.
  3. Lesson Plans for substitutes in the English classroom.
  4. Sub humor.
  5. Utah State University has a substitute teacher training institute with resources available for both the sub and the regular teacher.  USU offers substitute teacher training and a certificate at the end with successful completion.  Check out the forums and the substitute teacher resources page.
  6. A framework for classroom discipline:  Ed Ford’s Responsible Thinking Process.  Obviously you will work within your administration’s guidelines, but when you want to work out those situations where you feel you can resolve it in the classroom with the student, the Responsible Thinking Process can be a good way to resolve the situation.  If you get a chance, pick up the training offered by RTP, Inc.  The key questions to the process can be found here, but do read the books to understand the process.
  7. Kathy Schrock has a resource page for substitute teachers.

Ideas for Teachers:

  1. Make contact with a building level guest teacher.
  2. Term them “guest teachers” versus subs.
  3. Talk to “guest teachers” at your school. Get to know them.
  4. Have team support the “guest teacher”.
  5. Get the absence in early.
  6. Know your district rules about getting subs.
  7. Prepare Emergency lesson plans.
    1. Include seating charts.
    2. Include class rosters.
    3. Include classroom rules.
    4. Include school rules.
    5. Include the name of a contact (teacher buddy) for the guest teacher.

Ideas for Guest Teachers:

  1. Get there early.
  2. Read through everything.
  3. Look around the room.
  4. Talk to a neighbor teacher.
  5. Have some “tricks” in your bag.
    (One of my favorites: write the following on the board: (8,5,4,9,1,7,6,3,2,0) Then discuss where this came from – a 16 year in New York City, rides the bus for an hour a day. He starts a class in the back of the bus. In order to get into the “class” students have to present a logic problem. This is one. The question is why do these numbers belong in this order. (Want the answer? Post a comment and we’ll see what we can do).
  6. Network (talk to the principal).
  7. Leave a note of the day.
NMSA08, PodcastBy Troy Patterson,

MSM 44 -News, Mucus, Saliva, and Articles

Middle School Matters #44 – News, Mucus, Saliva and Articles – Click to Listen!

News & Events: 

1.  Start planning for October’s Month of the Young Adolescent!
2.  Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, February 19-20, 2009 in Sandusky, OH.  Presenter information is posted on the page.  Download now and get it it in to your administration while they’re too confused and dazed with the opening of school’s events to say, “No.” 
3.  NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1 (Video sample)
4.  Canadian National Middle Years Conference, November 5, 6, & 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
5.  Rick Stiggins has a Balanced Assessment Manifesto posted at NMSA‘s website worth checking out.  
6.  Looking for news from Ontario Middle Level Educators Association.  If you have any, drop us a line. 
7.  Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Educators annual conference is coming up October 9-10, 2008. 
8.  The New England League of Middle Schools has a whole bevy of professional development planned for the 2008-2009 school year and you can access it here. 
9.  ADVISORY IDEAS NEEDED:  NELMS is putting together an Advisory Resource page with lessons for you to use.  They are asking for submissions here by January 1, 2009.  If your entry is used, you will be entered in a raffle for a 3 day NELMS conference ticket. 
10.  NMSA’s latest podcast focuses on using Skype for academic learning.  How many of you have access to Skype at school? 
11.  Research Summary Posted:  Vocabulary Teaching and Learning Across Disciplines is now available at NMSA.   
12.  NMSA has a Facebook !  They would like to invite you to join them on Facebook and the opportunities it affords. How many of you can reach Facebook through your district’s firewall?

NMSA adds Featured Sessions
NMSA has announced that Apple, Inc. will be hosting a featured session as part of their Classrooms of Tomorrow program.  To borrow from Martha, “Its a good thing.”

Its the second week of school and the Great Disease Exchange has happened.  What can you do?
1.  Hand Sanitizer
2.  Personal box of tissues
3.  Wipe down surfaces with sanitizer wipes.
4.  Prepare a substitute teacher lesson box.
5.  Get plenty of rest, fluids, and load up on your favorite Middle School Matters podcasts.

Alan November has a new Tech Article up at the NMSA website.
“Many classrooms have one computer sitting in the back that gets very little use.”
http://www.kiva.org/
www.skype.com
www.google.com/coop/cse/

Middle School Reading Coaches Found to Make Impact

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/09/11/04coaches.h28.html

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

Reading coaches in Florida middle schools have helped teachers and administrators build their knowledge and skills, and have had a positive influence on students’ motivation to read, but their impact on achievement is mixed, a report on the little-studied topic says.

“We found that the coaches’ review of assessment data with teachers was associated with positive outcomes,” said Jennifer Sloan McCombs, who was a co-principal investigator for the study with Julie A. Marsh. “That seems to be this key step in the push for data-driven decisionmaking: getting someone to help you actually translate what the data means and how to put it into an instructional strategy.”

“From the qualitative measures,” she said, “the report gives one the sense that coaches could have a big impact, particularly since they are helping principals to learn more about literacy, and they are really helping teachers improve their teaching strategies.”

Read the Study
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG762.pdf

21st Century
Report: Retool instruction, or U.S. will Fail
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=55173

The report, called “21st Century Skills, Education, and Competitiveness,” argues that for the United States to be globally competitive–and for states to attract growth industries and create jobs–the nation requires a fresh approach to education that recognizes the critical role 21st-century skills play in the workplace.

In 1967, the production of material goods (such as cars and equipment) and the delivery of material services (such as transportation and construction) accounted for nearly 54 percent of the country’s economic output. However, by 1997, the development of information products (such as computers) and the delivery of information services (such as financial and broadcast services) accounted for 63 percent of the country’s output.

“It has become apparent that there isn’t a lack of employees who are technically proficient, but a lack of employees who can adequately communicate and collaborate, innovate, and think critically,” said Ken Kay, P21 president.

Parents May Sue over Cops MySpace Lecture

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_10431473

Students who attended the presentation on the first day of school said Officer John Gay called some students’ MySpace pages “slutty” and said they would be grist for sexual predators.
Gay has denied he sought to publicly humiliate students. He said he was trying to show them how easily an Internet predator could gain access to a student’s private information through websites like MySpace and Facebook. He also denied calling anyone’s page “slutty.” Teachers in the room at the time of the talk agreed with Gay’s version of the event.
“What we really want to see is the school district take some action and to prevent Officer Gay from harming other children,” Gillian C said.

From Hybrid Courses to Hybrid School:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/news-by-subject/curriculum/index.cfm?i=54655
“Hybrid” courses, which offer a blend of online and face-to-face instruction, have become increasingly popular in schools and colleges nationwide. Now, a new high school in Hawaii has taken the same concept and applied it to an entire school.

The combined online and face-to-face curriculum gives students the benefits of a flexible schedule, while maintaining a high-quality education, school officials said. Courses are taught by experienced teachers who provide small-group instruction and individualized feedback to help students master course material. Students also will benefit from ongoing interaction with their teachers and peers via online and on-campus lessons and face-to-face lab and field activities.
You can check them out at:  http://www.uhmseedacademy.org/kapoleihighschool/

UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson, ,

Podcast #42 NMSA: Not Much, School Actually.

News & Events: 

1.  Start planning for October’s Month of the Young Adolescent!
2.  Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, February 19-20, 2009 in Sandusky, OH.  Presenter information is posted on the page.  Download now and get it it in to your administration while they’re too confused and dazed with the opening of school’s events to say, “No.” 
3.  NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1 (Video sample)
4.  Canadian National Middle Years Conference, November 5, 6, & 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
5.  Rick Stiggins has a Balanced Assessment Manifesto posted at NMSA‘s website worth checking out.  
6.  Looking for news from Ontario Middle Level Educators Association.  If you have any, drop us a line. 
7.  Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Educators annual conference is coming up October 9-10, 2008. 
8.  The New England League of Middle Schools has a whole bevy of professional development planned for the 2008-2009 school year and you can access it here. 
9.  ADVISORY IDEAS NEEDED:  NELMS is putting together an Advisory Resource page with lessons for you to use.  They are asking for submissions here by January 1, 2009.  If your entry is used, you will be entered in a raffle for a 3 day NELMS conference ticket. 
10.  Second Life Education Community Conference (SLEDcc) Announcement:  (From the webpage…) “The Second Life Education Community Conference 2008 will take place in conjunction with the Official Second Life Community Convention 2008 in Tampa, Florida (US) and in the virtual world of Second Life on September 5 – 7th, 2008. All members of the Second Life educational community and anyone with an interest in the use of virtual worlds technology in education is invited to attend! Please note: Registration fees cover both the SLEDcc and SLCC events! Conference registration and fees only apply to those going to SLEDcc/SLCC in Tampa, in-world only participants do not need to register or pay any fees.”  Here’s your chance to attend a free conference during the first week of school.  The conference schedule can be found here.
11.  The Tennessee Association of Middle Schools has announced the results of their election and congratulations to the following:

Congratulations to the newly elected TAMS Board members for 2008-2009:

Vice President: Cedrick Gray, Memphis City
Teacher Rep (West): Trassey Boone, Shelby County
Admin Rep (West): Charlene Thornton, Memphis City
At-Large Rep (West): Jessie Hubbard, Memphis City
Teacher Rep (Middle): Kristi Thone, Williamson Co.
Higher Ed Rep (East): Andrea Stairs, UT Knoxville

12.  NMSA has a Facebook !  They would like to invite you to join them on Facebook and the opportunities it affords. How many of you can reach Facebook through your district’s firewall? 

NMSA to Consider Name Change

The group cited several reasons for the recommendation, but two were considered crucial:

  • To clarify that NMSA provides support and resources to all who are working with young adolescents, no matter what the grade configuration. Because “middle school” is in our name, some assume that our interest is only in middle schools, and that is far from the truth. Our overriding interest is the education of all young adolescents, period.
  • To recognize that while NMSA started in the heartland of the United States, we are no longer “national” in scope. We have members in 45 countries and strong affiliates in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, so we are in fact an “international” organization.

The name of National Middle School Association belongs to our members, and members will make the ultimate decision about whether we change our name. Therefore, Task Force 2010 was appointed this year to establish a process to gain input from a vast audience about 1) whether we should change our name, 2) what that new name should be, and 3) how we should move from one name to the other. It’s anticipated that such a transition would happen in the year 2010—thus the name of the task force. Ultimately, members would decide through a vote during our annual election.

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleGround/Articles/August2008/Article11/tabid/1714/Default.aspx


Ideas (note if any of these actually get used, Troy & I would each like a Kindle presented by Mr. Jack Berckemeyer.):

  • International Middle School Association (too obvious?)
  • International Society of Middle School Professionals
  • Societe Internationale des Professeurs de Middle School
  • Intercontinental Middle School Association
  • Polynational Middle School Association
  • Multinational Middle School Association 
  • Teachers of Transescents (ToTs?  Would those from Idaho be “Tater ToTs?”)
  • Polynational Middle School Association
  • International Congress of Middle School Teachers
  • People for the Ethical Treatment of Adolescents (PETA, hmm, taken?) 
  • Institute for Middle Level Learning
  • Foundation for Middle Level
  • Interstellar Middle School Association (home of the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster – apologies to Douglas Adams)
  • The Association for People Perceived as Not-Normal for Loving the Age-Group Considered Not-Normal  (APPNLACNN)


One Reason to Attend NMSA ’08:
Starting February 12, 2009 and continuing throughout the year will be the bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency.  The State of Illinois has put together a traveling exhibit on the late president and among the few stops currently scheduled is the NMSA Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado this year.  The exhibit travels in a semi-trailer and has been in several places in Illinois and Missouri.  This may be your chance to see it unless it gets sponsorship to your area I’d imagine.  Want to check it out some more?  Look here.  Poke around for the educational materials on the site as well.  Many places with a Lincoln connection are producing materials for the coming celebration and there should be lots to choose from in the coming days. 



NMSA ’08 Prep Tips: 

Considering attending NMSA ’08 this year?  A couple of factoids you might want to know:

  • Concessions are at the back of the exhibit hall this year by the NMSA booth and the touring Lincoln Bicentennial truck.  Prepare to be fleeced . . . 
  • There is a business center on site.  They have shipping services so you don’t have to shove your loot into a suitcase and worry about going over the 50 lb. limit or carrying an extra bag on board and paying the additional bag fee. Do make sure to check out the business hours for the business center.  Experience in the past has been waiting until the last moment to ship stuff ends up in a closed business center and an extra bag at the airport check in counter. 
  • Internet is provided solely through the Colorado Convention Center.  Bring your iPhone or join us in calling for Mr. Jack Berckemeyer to provide us with Kindle units so we can download the entire conference handout library and access it as we go throughout the conference.  (You should know, however, that neither of us has spoken to Mr. Berckemeyer about providing such a unit.  But it would be nice and if anybody could make such a thing happen . . . )
  • Check out the NMSA conference website for housing, in my experience it generally tends to be a better price than going to the hotel directly. 


Service Learning Projects Grant
Looking for something for Advisory?  What about having your students take the lead on a service learning project and having it funded by State Farm?  State Farm Insurance is funding 30 of these types of projects through a Youth Advisory Board.  Details on the grants can be found here at their website. 


“Gotta have this!” Tech Moment:  

World’s smallest projector can project a 40″ inch screen with VGA quality.  Reinforces the need to teach presentation skills in that our students will be giving presentations from their cell phones in the near future.  Product is now out on the market. 


Sneaking Suspicion:  Does anyone else get the feeling that a large part of incorporating computers in education has been only in creating redundancy for bureaucratic regulations?  Just wondering . . . (First you enter this in the ‘puter, then print three copies, one for C.O., one for the Secretary, and one for your personal file …) 


Shout outs:

  1. Mary Henton from Ohio, thanks for the email and the link! 
  2. Tom, we love ISTE members too!  Glad you caught us in Second Life through our link in the ISTE Blogger’s Hut.  Thanks to ISTE for putting a link in their Second Life location for us. 
  3. Michael Cohen, thanks for the feedback and suggestions from your laundry buddies! 
  4. Brad Emerson, thanks for the heads up on the Kid’s Open Dictionary Builder.  Go check it out! 


Postyourtest.com raises concerns
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54822;_hbguid=cb2345ee-c2d6-4fee-9a62-0df21d2748bf

MindLadder:
In effect, the programs aim to pinpoint how each student’s mind processes information, then prescribe a solution that is targeted specifically to the individual.
“These questions begin the search for patterns in the student’s learning processes,” said Jensen. “We’re moving away from the wait-to-fail approach. With MindLadder’s reach-to-teach model, schools can anticipate, recognize, address, and document student learning needs and match them up, without delay, with specific and effective instruction.”
When the teacher has completed the LearningGuide, each function of the student’s mind is color-coded according to what must be developed (urgent), what must be strengthened, and what could be built upon (good). (See image below)
“Before, only school psychologists could complete these kinds of tests, and it would only be for troubled students. Now, the test is simple enough for any teacher to use and understand, and [it] can be used for all students to best help them learn,” Jensen said.
“This is not meant to replace traditional testing,” Jensen said. “Instead, it is a whole new way of looking at assessments. The teacher is a mentor, not just an examiner. The test, along with the guide, measures students’ growth over time, allowing them to be the best learner they can be.”
“Most of us were taught, implicitly or explicitly, that intelligence was a fixed entity, thanks in part to the proliferation of IQ tests and classification of students’ potential to learn over the last 50 years,” Pennington explains. “We need to throw away those old perceptions and embrace the idea that we can teach in ways that enhance students’ ability to think and learn, making mastery of any content standards possible.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54932;_hbguid=aad77d55-6dcc-47bc-bf7a-d623374632ad&d=top-news

Podcast, Tech, UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson,

Podcast #40 – Google, Wisdom in Group Learning, and More Technology in Education!

Book Update: 
Troy:
Getting to Got It! – Done

Shawn:
Alan November – Done
Wisdom of Crowds – In progress

News & Events

1.  Start planning for October’s Month of the Young Adolescent!
2.  Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, February 19-20, 2009 in Sandusky, OH. 
3.  Institute for Middle Level Leadership.  July 13-16 & 20-23
4.  Best Practices for Student Success.  July 28 & August 6 
5.  NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1 (Video sample) 
6.  Summer Teacher-to-Teacher professional development program registration is open. (free)
7.  Canadian National Middle Years Conference, November 5, 6, & 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Interesting tidbit:  “It is crucial that all presenters send a copy of their session handouts to NMSA no later than September 21, 2008. It is our plan to offer ALL session handouts to participants electronically. For this reason, we prefer to receive the handouts electronically, but can accept paper copies as well. Please plan to prepare your handouts accordingly.” – from the NMSA Annual Conference website.  It appears that all presentation notes and handouts will be available in electronic form to all conference attendees.  One third of my handouts from one of my presentations this year walked out the door without the person taking it hearing the presentation.  Its good for more exposure to a wider audience, but at the same time the handout doesn’t contain the visuals and the examples that a presentation gives either.  Is this a good balance?  I admit, it was nice having Rick DuFour’s presentation on my iPhone so I could look at it whenever I wanted to.

Shout outs:

  1. Pamela in Farmington, thanks for the email.
  2. Ron in New Jersey, thanks for the email.
  3. Van Drinkard of Bishopville, South Carolina


Reader & Listener questions:

  1. How can Core Content Curriculum Standards keep up with the speed of technology advancement when entire technologies evolve or become irrelevant within the span of a child’s elementary to middle school years? (i.e. floppies to flash memory to network storage)
  2. With an emerging group of older adults moving out of the business world and choosing education as their new career path, what are your thoughts about the value they bring to the middle school classroom environment where real-world connections to content are more critical then ever?


From the net:

  1. Advice needed, everyone!  I have a math teacher friend who wants to set up a website that will allow:
    Kids to keep it up-to-date at school.
    Kids to access it at home.
    Kids to access a blog section.
    Also, of course, she would like to be able to enter in the regular
    stuff, like problem of the day and homework.
    She also wants to be able to keep a long term record of what has been
    on the site during the year.
    And – of course – she wants to be able to do this within the confines
    of a teacher’s salary.

    Any great ideas, anyone?


SAT Scores:  Better indicator with or without a writing section? 
Several years ago schools jumped into action because the SAT was adding a writing section to the test.  So what has been the impact of the change? 

TED Talk – Visual Perspectives – Chris Jordan – Picturing Excess
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/279


Will We Let Google Make Us Smarter?
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/06/will_we_let_goo.php



NMSA08, Podcast, UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson,

Middle School Matters #39 – Book Talk, Hacking, & Transformation

News & Events

1.  Start planning for October’s Month of the Young Adolescent!
2.  Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference, February 19-20, 2009 in Sandusky, OH. 
3.  Institute for Middle Level Leadership.  July 13-16 & 20-23
4.  Best Practices for Student Success.  July 28 & August 6 
5.  NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1 (Video sample) 
6.  Summer Teacher-to-Teacher professional development program registration is open. (free)
7.  Canadian National Middle Years Conference, November 5, 6, & 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 


Shout outs:

  1. Folks in Rock Hill, SC and Black Diamond, WA:  Thanks for listening! 
  2. Ron for the email.


News:

Text Message ruling could affect school policies. Seems as though work issued cell phones could be exempt from search unless a warrant or employee permission is given.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54232;_hbguid=11811143-391a-4171-a124-ad9529840329&d=top-news

Teens face felony charges of computer break-ins
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-cheaters18-2008jun18,0,1317744.story

How do we transform our schools? Use technologies that compete against nothing … Education Next journal
http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/18575969.html
In order to create change, do we have to blow everything up and start from new? Highlights here. 

From Literacy to Digiracy
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11392128
“So, no surprise that when we incarcerate teenagers of today in traditional classroom settings, they react with predictable disinterest and flunk their literacy tests. They are skilled in making sense not of a body of known content, but of contexts that are continually changing.”

Is Google Making Us Stupid?
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google


Mailbag Followup:

Hey guys,

Just to follow-up on some of your questions from the podcast…our schedule is six 50-minute classes.  We are a team of four with 115-120 kids with an “advanced” class for each core subject (makes scheduling tricky).  As far as the flex class, all the details have yet to be flushed out.  Here is what we have been told.  We will have a three week focus (the first being LA/Math) made up of our unintentional non-learners.  We talked about offering “other activities” for those are do not need to extra time.  Some ideas we came up with include club activities (chess, gaming, etc.) as well as simple SSR time, open gym, etc.  Our building uses the Honor Level Discipline System and the move to this flex schedule nullifies a daily reward (a 10-minute break between second & third periods).  I suggested (I also teach leadership) a bi-weekly assembly that is fun for kids (mock-olympic style games, game shows, skits, etc.) to replace this daily reward since our honor level system required students to be compliant for 7-10 days before they get their privileges back.  Anyway, students would have a choice of activities to participate in (including some on different halls with their friends they don’t typically get to spend much time with during the day) if they are….???….caught up on homework, not failing any classes, ???  We really haven’t figured that part out yet.


Did I miss anything?

Ron

Ideas: 

  1. The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference 500 service learning projects that you could implement with kids.

  2. There’s one school in Ohio (and if I can remember their name I’ll post it) that had their teachers take their personal interests create a class centered around it and then they tied it in with their state standards and went to the board with it as a curriculum.  The kids thought it was just fun time when they were learning skills.  I thought it was a creative way to tie in standards and student interests.  Students could sign up for the classes and then take them for the 3-4 weeks the class ran and then they would let kids sign up for another round of classes.  The teachers wouldn’t have to redo the class every time since there are probably a number of kids who want the class, but can’t get in every class they want in each rotation. 

  3. Academic assemblies:  Hold Olympic style events for academic subjects:  use Keynote/Powerpoint to create content questions team classrooms can answer as a challenge, do a “Password” style game where pairs of students sit opposite of each other and the teacher flashes a term from the unit on the screen where only one of the pair can see it (Dave Wilkie’s idea), create multiple choice style questions and give the students A-B-C-D-E answer cards they hold up.  Kids can create a drama series based on current content. 

  4. Mass Study Hall: Actually this becomes a “self-select”. Teachers are available for additional support. Kids who are not in need of “catch-up” report to a large common area. See DuFour’s Research.

Add your ideas to the Comments!
Summer Reading lists

Shawn’s:

  1. Education Next (Summer ’08)
  2. Regina Silsby’s Phantom Militia by Thomas J. Brodeur
  3. “Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning!” by Marc Prensky
  4. Not Quite Burned Out but Crispy Around the Edges by Sharon M. Draper
  5. Web Literacy for Educators by Alan November (Opening lines:  “Long, long ago, there was a magical invention called paper . . . “)
  6. Lighting Fires by Joseph Tsujimoto
  7. Embattled Courage by Linderman (a re-read)
  8. Middle Grades Education: A Reference Handbook by Dr. Pat Williams-Boyd (re-reading sections)
  9. Service Learning in the Middle School: Building a Culture of Service by Fertman, White and White
  10. Energizers – Calisthenics for the Mind by Carl Olson
  11. Promoting a Successful Transition to Middle School by Akos, Queen, and Lineberry
  12. Scoring Rubrics in the Classroom: Using Performance Criteria for Assessing and Improving Student Performance by Arter and McTighe
  13. History Makers by Myra Zarnowski 


Troy’s List:

  1. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
  2. Getting Things  Done by David Allen( a re-read)
  3. Getting to Got It! by Betty K. Garner
  4. “Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning!“by Marc Prensky
  5. Transformative Assessment by W. James Popham
  6. The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nick Carr
  7. Fair is not always equal by Rick Wormeli
  8. What Works in the Classroom by Marzano
  9. Classroom Assessment & Grading That Works by Marzano
  10. A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink




Podcast, UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson

Podcast #38 The Mail Bag Grab Bag: Eclectic discussions this week on Middle Level Education!

News & Events

1.  Start planning for October’s Month of the Young Adolescent!
2.  Innovative Practices Across the Curriculum, June 24 in Minnesota. 
3.  Institute for Middle Level Leadership.  July 13-16 & 20-23
4.  Best Practices for Student Success.  July 28 & August 6 
5.  NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1 
6.  Summer Teacher-to-Teacher professional development program registration is open. (free)
7.  Michigan Joint Education Conference, June 25 in Holt, MI.  Integrated Education Conference. 


Reader/Listener Mailbag:
*some parts of the email below were deleted for privacy sake.

Fellow Teachers

There is a disturbing trend happening in school technology education in New Jersey. From my experience as a middle school computer teacher, it appears that school districts think technology can be thrown-in as an add-on to academic subjects like Language Arts or Math. I’m seeing the addition of laptop carts as a way to integrate technology into the classroom, but having more hardware and software at student’s fingertips does not provide proficiency any more than additional textbooks on a classroom shelf. My previous school district decided that teachers can be trained to add computer skills into their curriculum allowing the elimination of computer rotation in exploratory arts. While I agree that computers are a wonderful tool for student learning, and laptops provide flexibility and limited time-wasting, the technology that they represent is extremely content laden unto itself. Technology education in not an ACADEMIC ACCESSORY any more than teaching is a FALL-BACK PROFESSION.

When I began teaching computer technology, I was too naive to realize that many teachers viewed specials as a chance for their prep time and for kids to relax their brains for REAL education later in the school day. Therefore, I included things such as tech-specific vocabulary, quizzes, tests, hands-on projects, independent research and collaborative learning. I held kids accountable for CONTENT, and I handled my grades 5 through 8 as if they were any other academic class. I did my best to connect the dots, from simple to complex, word processing to page layout,  bitmap painting to multi-layered vectors and pixels, single-use programs to software suites and acronyms of WWW to GIF, TIFF and JPEG. And we were just scratching the surface. Podcasts, Blogs, Websites and Video were to come as we partnered together, students and teacher, and grew the program to another level. How can all of this possibly be integrated into the already overburdened schedule of academic teachers whose main function is to please administrators with student proficiency demonstrated on standardized testing?

Shortsightedness is described as “lacking imagination or insight.” The bigger picture was very clear to me. As we provide the opportunity for students to grow in their hands-on skills, and we continue ongoing training for teachers to be on-level with their students, integration of technology in the classroom comes through the assignment of projects that utilize these very skills. The Social Studies teacher wouldn’t expect me to teach the kids about ancient Mesopotamia, so why would I expect them to teach paragraph vs. line breaks, document formatting, or picture editing techniques?

Technology in NJ, as of 2007, is now subject to scrutiny at the 8th grade level by the state. We as teachers needed to assess students and show an acceptable level of proficiency, and my guess is that some type of structured test is to come. Is now the time to cut back our training and content? Aren’t we going in the wrong direction, or am I just missing the point?

Thanks
Ron
New Jersey

First….thanks for the shout-out to the hard working folks down here in Lacey, WA.  Out of curiosity, why?  I hope it has to do with the great many listeners you get from our area.  (Ed. Note:  It does.)

I just finished listening to podcast #37 and I had a couple of thoughts (and maybe future topics).  I was wondering if you could talk about creative scheduling to meet the needs of students that don’t learn.  For instance, in our school next year, we are implementing a seventh period flex-class (30 minutes) everyday except our early-release Wednesdays.  The time is dedicated to reaching non-learners, but not necessarily the intentional non-learners.  There are built-in incentives to push kids to take more responsibility for their learning, etc.  What are some other things that have been tried?

Personally, I am an eighth grade math teacher (Pre-Alg & Alg) in a building that has a teaming model.  I feel that I am at a crossroads in my teaching because our principals have taken away many of the “fun things” that kids look forward to during the school year and in many ways have changed us into a results-oriented staff.  While I endorse the standards movement, I wonder how you (and your audience) feel about the move to focus on the content standards instead of the process standards. 

Our building also got rid of football and baseball several years ago due to a double-levy failure and 1 part of the fallout is our buildings losing some of their spirit and personality.  What have you seen done to pump-up the spirit level in your buildings?

Ron
Lacey, WA

Shawn & Troy had lots to say about the letters. Now we need your input.

  • How do you feel about technology? should it be integrated or taught separately?
  • How do we address content standards and process standards?
  • How do you integrate technology into your class? Why?
  • What would you like to do in integrating technology? What is holding you back?
  • How do we address students needing extra opportunities for learning?

Your thoughts? Please add to the comments or drop us an email.

advisory, Podcast, UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson,

MSM #37 Advisory Resources and Tape

News & Events

1.  Start planning for October’s Month of the Young Adolescent!
2.  Innovative Practices Across the Curriculum, June 24 in Minnesota. 
3.  Institute for Middle Level Leadership.  July 13-16 & 20-23
4.  Best Practices for Student Success.  July 28 & August 6 
5.  NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1 
6.  Summer Teacher-to-Teacher professional development program registration is open. (free)

MiddleTalk question:  Where can I find some resources on teambuilding to incorporate into Advisory on a teacher’s paycheck? 

There are a number of stock resources that can be used for advisory.  Some of the best are strategies that you can apply to content. 


Video Taping of Teacher called to question:
District Superintendent Carol Whitehead revealed Friday in a two-page letter to district employees that the district used a video camera to record Powers’ classroom between May 10 and June 11 last year. A district lawyer just last month denied a surveillance camera was used.
It was done to determine who was entering and leaving the classroom on weekends, she said, adding that it is the 18,500-student district’s “paramount duty to protect students,” Whitehead said.
Powers was placed on leave in June and fired in November for helping students publish an underground newspaper despite a warning not to do so. She was reinstated in April to a teaching post at Henry M. Jackson High School after reaching a settlement with the district.
http://heraldnet.com/article/20080528/NEWS01/396823946

Internet2
With an average speed of 100 gigabits per second, Internet2 supports even the most bandwidth-heavy research projects and group collaborations, such as high-definition video conferencing, telemedicine, and tele-immersion, or shared virtual reality.
Participation in the Internet2 network was expanded to include K-12 schools a decade ago. As of last year, nearly 4,300 K-12 school districts were connected to the network, and this number has been climbing slowly but steadily each year, said Greg Wood, director of communications for the Internet2 initiative.
 http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53893;_hbguid=f6e3cf57-d645-46ee-8e62-f0c89d8551a2

Arizona Presses e-Learning
Backers of “e-learning” in Arizona are trying to maintain their state government’s momentum in helping provide digital curricula to schools across the state, even as the state’s economic headwinds stiffen.
Although advocates of e-learning in Arizona—including state officials and groups representing school boards, technology, and e-learning businesses—say the state needs to make heavy investments in helping its rural schools have robust access to the Internet, they have instead focused on crafting policies and on limited experiments that will keep the initiative advancing during the expected lean years ahead.

One, an amendment tacked on to a bill on student bullying would would have given school districts greater flexibility in issuing bonds for the purchase of instructional technology, rather than funding it only through state allocations for curriculum materials, including printed textbooks, as is now done.

The amendment also would have required school districts to forego textbooks if they invest state money in digital curricula and laptops for every student, unless the digital curricula failed to meet state standards. But the Senate narrowly rejected that amendment last week.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/06/11/41digital.html


Hurdles Remain for ELL students
Ong Vue’s very first day of school came when she was 15 and was enrolled in 9th grade at Luther Burbank High School after arriving here as a refugee from Thailand.

The Hmong teenager says her family couldn’t afford to send her to school in Thailand. When she started at Luther Burbank, she spoke Thai and Hmong, but no English.

Four years later, Ms. Vue is a senior at the 1,970-student school and has passed the math section of California’s high school exit exam. She plans to attend community college in the fall, and hopes to become an elementary school teacher.

Despite her clear academic progress, Ms. Vue’s showing on standardized tests has been a handicap in her school’s quest to meet the yardstick for adequate yearly progress, or AYP, under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/06/04/39sacramento_ep.h27.html


NMSA08, Podcast, Tech, UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson,

Podcast 36 Plagarize This!

Podcast #36

News & Events

1. Start planning for October’s Month of the Young Adolescent!
2. Innovative Practices Across the Curriculum, June 24 in Minnesota.
3. Institute for Middle Level Leadership. July 13-16 & 20-23
4. Best Practices for Student Success. July 28 & August 6
5. NMSA Annual Conference, October 30 – November 1
6. Summer Teacher-to-Teacher professional development program registration is open. (free)
7. Transition Practices Research (RMLE Online)
Interesting quotes: “The fact that discipline problems increase upon school transitions suggest that this new school environment poses a challenge to students during early adolescence.”
“The ideal middle school environment engages young adolescents by helping them feel capable of meeting academic challenges, offers them choice and control over their learning, and makes them feel safe and secure in their learning environment (Roeser, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2000). Interventions such as the Coping Power Program—a prevention/intervention program implemented the year prior to and immediately following the middle school transition—can help adolescents meet the new demands associated with transition (Lochman & Wells, 2002).”

Alan November’s Books


YouTube lawsuit test copyright law:

“This would have a profound impact on education, where the benefits of Web 2.0 [technologies] are only just beginning to be realized. These sites offer myriad educational opportunities to reinforce key 21st-century skills, and their diversity offers educators a wide range of choices to include in their lessons and/or practice.”

From eschoolnews.com


Plagarism allegations jolt school
School District 203’s superintendent moved to reassign Naperville Central High School Principal Jim Caudill next school year, while student Steve Su is being asked to return his valedictorian’s medal, after each plagiarized portions of speeches they gave during commencement events last week, the district announced Thursday.


Student Demo uses for Google Phone OS
What do you want your cell phone to be able to do? Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Hal Abelson put that question to about 20 computer-science students this semester when he gave them one assignment: Design a software program for cell phones that use Google Inc.’s upcoming Android mobile operating system.


The 23 Things Wrap up.

Social Bookmarking
18. Learn about tagging and social bookmarking.
19. Set up your account and experience del.icio.us.
20. Revisit RSS and subscribe to new feeds.

Online Video
21. Explore online video sharing sites.
22. Embed and download video from video sharing sites.

Click the link below to listen.

Download: (Note: Please use this link and not the one below)