Category: MSM

Middle School Matters podcast related information

advisory, MSM, PodcastBy Troy Patterson, ,

Podcast 69 – Current Cursive, Current Events, & Leftovers from Last Week.

Today’s Quiz:
http://712educators.about.com/library/quizzes/blteacher_personality.htm

Events and Happenings:

  1. Book sale!  NMSA is having a clearance sale until March 31st.
  2. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009.
  3. NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  This video spotlight focuses on the building of the technology demonstration classrooms at last year’s Denver Annual Conference.
  4. Educational Technology Leadership Conference, June 24th at Holt High School, Holt, MI. Register for the event now and hurry to get your presentation proposals in before the deadline!
  5. Any information on the Ontario Middle Level Association?  Their site has gone dark and we hope this does not mean the demise of the Association.
  6. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis,  IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.
    • ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends:MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus with satellite access for Twittering, Facebooking, and other 21st Century technology access for less than $100.00.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  (Some of you thought I was going to say something else!)  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  7. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  8. Free Professional Development through Webinars! NMSA is offering previously recorded webinars for free from their website.
  9. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  10. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  This week’s discussion is on the uses of Moodle for Teachers.  Archived content is available.
  11. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life
    • There is a conference being held by ISTE in Second Life, wander over to the auditorium behind the Headquarters to check it out.
  12. From the Twitterverse:

Shout-outs:

iTunes shoutouts:  AK Jenny, Tsutherland, and Wirededucator!  Thanks for posting reviews on iTunes for us.   WeFollow:  Thanks to all the folks following us on Twitter & WeFollow.  We’re number one in the middle school category.

From our Listeners:

Vo-tech was always a place where less academic students found refuge and a career path, turning them into productive mechanics, electricians, hair dressers, and such.  Things are changing nowadays, though, and, in some instances, the door is closing on the traditional vo-tech student. Take New Jersey where 27,766 students are enrolled in 21 county-run vocational school […]
Readable handwriting still matters when computers stop working — but folks who get down on their knees before cursive ought to consider this:

Research shows that the fastest and most legible handwriters avoid cursive. Highest-speed, highest-legibility handwriters join some, not all, letters — making the easiest joins, skipping the rest — and tend to use print-like forms of those letters whose printed and cursive forms “disagree.”

Even signatures don’t legally require cursive, and never have. (Don’t take my word for this: note the legal material in the “signatures” area of the FAQ list on my web-site, HandwritingThatWorks.com )

Kate Gladstone
Founder and CEO, Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works handwriting instruction/improvement service
Director, the World Handwriting Contest

Web Sightings:

  1. www.zombo.com Absurd, but fun.  Just sit, watch, and enjoy.
  2. http://www.nextvista.org/ – An online library of free videos for learners everywhere – find resources to help you learn just about anything, meet people who make a difference in their communities, and even discover new parts of the world. And Next Vista for Learning wants to post your educational videos online, too. Everyone has an insight to share and yours may be just what some student or teacher somewhere needs!

Advisory Ideas:

  • Don’t Judge a Bag by Its Cover…stuff gift bags with unknown items, students select one, discuss why
  • Life Raft…students stand on top of shower curtain and flip it over without anyone stepping off
  • Tinker Toys…create exact same structure while seated back to back

News:

Going in circles puts students on path to better choices

So maybe there was a little drama between you and another ninth-grader, you know, some problem.

You could get suspended for that at a lot of schools, three days or until your mom or dad comes in and has a conference with the principal or somebody like that.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/41350367.html

Joining the national trend, metro-area schools are using yoga to help students relax and focus

http://www.twincities.com/ci_11901500?nclick_check=1

D.C. Schools Chief Turns To Rookie Teacher Corps

Michele Rhee, the District of Columbia’s public schools chancellor, has done a lot to shake up schools in the nation’s capital. In other words, Rhee is looking for a “new breed” of teachers, mostly 20-somethings fresh out of college, who may not have majored in education but are drawn to teaching; so Rhee is intent on attracting young teachers who aren’t vested in some of the provisions of teachers’ union contract.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102021880

Fix the 9th Grade Problem in PreK

The achievement gap is a deep-seated, long-standing, hard-to-solve issue that isn’t going away unless we use a strategic approach to solve it, Vanderbilt University Professor Joseph Murphy told ASCDers in his session entitled “Leadership Lessons for Closing the Achievement Gap.” His recent research points to some “big-picture conclusions,” including that tackling the problem in high school is often too late.
http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2009/03/fix-the-9th-grade-problem-in-prek.html

It’s OK. You Can Let Go.

It’s OK. You Can Let Go.

MSM, Podcast, UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson

Podcast #68- Stars…Sparkly Moments…Social Networking…Sitings!

Events and Happenings:

  1. Book sale!  NMSA is having a clearance sale until March 31st.
  2. Book sale Part 2!  AudibleKids is having a kids book sale this weekend.  Go to kids.audible.com for free downloads.  (Note:  Saw this on Fox and Friends while channel surfing this morning.  The site is being bombarded so I can’t do much verification on this.  Caveat Emptor.)
  3. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009.
  4. NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  This video spotlight focuses on the building of the technology demonstration classrooms at last year’s Denver Annual Conference.
  5. Educational Technology Leadership Conference, June 24th at Holt High School, Holt, MI. Register for the event now and hurry to get your presentation proposals in before the deadline!
  6. Any information on the Ontario Middle Level Association?  Their site has gone dark and we hope this does not mean the demise of the Association.
  7. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis,  IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.
    • ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus with satellite access for Twittering, Facebooking, and other 21st Century technology access for less than $100.00.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  (Some of you thought I was going to say something else!)  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  8. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  9. Free Professional Development through Webinars! NMSA is offering previously recorded webinars for free from their website.
  10. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  11. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  This week’s discussion is on the uses of Podcasting for Teachers.  Archived content is available.
  12. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life
    • Land of Lincoln is hosting a talk by Ioseph Mikoyan on Civil War Artillery.  The event will be held in the army camp on Lincoln on Saturday, March 21, at 5pm slt.  Joe is a member of a real life artillery reenactment group, with a wealth of knowledge about artillery practices during the War.  This will be sure to be a fascinating lecture, complete with period slides in illustration.
  13. From the Twitterverse:
  • From GardenGlen’s blog:  Promethean users, I just discovered that free OmniDazzle (Macintosh) http://url.ie/1b8p works w/ #INSPIRE flipcharts, I like “Comic” so far
  • From edupreneur:  “Earlier this month, we released the findings of our first online survey of education communicators.  The results were both informative and interesting.  The full results can be found here — blog.educommunicators.com/2009/01/12/the-results-are-in-2008-educommunicators-online-survey.aspx The highlights include:
    * Educommunicators are interested in sharing best practices and exploring ways to effectively use new media
    * Email is still the most effective way to communicate
    * Finding the right message remains our primary challenge in our daily practice
    * We’re looking for ongoing information on the issues and tools affecting our jobs
    The primary question, now, if what do we do with these results?  How do we use these findings to help build a better online community, a place where marketing and communications professionals in the education community can find real value and can make a real contribution?  These are questions I and the Educommunicators board have been wrangling with for the past week or so.
    Based on these findings and the insights individual Educommunicator members have provided me over the past few months, Educommunicators is committed to moving forward the following goals in 2009:
    * Establishing an email list (or a Google group) that allow us to easily circulate information across the group and encourage our hundreds of members across the nation to share and contribute on topics and issues important to them
    * Collecting best practices.  Now is the time to send along your case studies, your stories, and your experiences so we can begin collecting a database for all to learn from.
    * Strengthening relationships with other organizations, particularly NSPRA and EWA, to help supplement the services and information they are providing their members
    * Providing primers and tools on effectively using new media, conducting media relations, and enhancing community relations as part of our jobs
    One of the first steps will be to take the contact info for all of those engaged through Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sources and combine them into one comprehensive e-mailing list.  If you know of others who should be on that list, please share their contact information.
    As you know, Educommunicators is a social networking experiment.  Its success depends on the involvement and interaction of our members.  We need you to participate.  We need you to share.  We need you to be part of the solution.  Over the next month, we will build the email list to begin this discussion.  In the meantime, please send along your case studies, examples of good work, campaigns, websites, and anything else you think members will benefit from.  It will then fall to the Educommunicators board to ensure they are properly shared and used to build a foundation for improving our craft and improving our industry.
    Email anything and everything to info@educommunicators.com.  And if you’d like to take more of an active role (more active than providing your individual insights) we can use your talents.  Just offer them up.”
  • karlyb citation generator – http://www.bibomatic.com/
  • LeoLaporte Liked “Is the social stream the new email? » VentureBeat” http://ff.im/-1DIFX
  • edupreneur Reforming Education: Part 2 Teachers. Heady stuff for a Fri, but important. http://tinyurl.com/dfkdqf (via @DowntoEarthMama)

Educating the Whole Child Petition:  http://www.wholechildeducation.org/getinvolved/thewholechild/
Followup to last week’s Moodle discussion on Classroom 2.0.  http://www.mguhlin.org/2009/03/moodle-questions-during-classroom-20.html

Shout-outs:

Those who visited iTunes to get our stars back:
TWilliamson15
MikeTeacher
SherrieR
… and the three others who remain nameless.  (Their choice, not ours.  No witness protection programs involved because the know us.  Really.)

Web Sightings:

Shawn’s New Favorite Website:  Let Me Google That For You.  Ever have that colleague that pops into your room asking you a question they could have gone to Google for themselves?  This website is your new best friend.
Faux Smoking:  The New Smarties Fad! (Here’s an example of a Tiny Url:  http://tinyurl.com/de7lhu)

Missed the MACUL conference?  See the keynotes online.  Here’s one:  Friday Keynote.

From MACUL:  Steve Dembo has a great presentation on Social Networking Policies .  His presentation is posted on the Discovery Educators Network site.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/storymap/
http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/index.cfm

Because Shawn can’t remember what he tells Troy to try:  www.evernote.com.  (*NOTE: Troy told Shawn about this).

Advisory Ideas:

advisory, MSM, NMSA08, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson, ,

Podcast #67: Cursing the Cursive?

Breaking News:  The Ohio Middle School Association is now the Ohio Middle Level Associaiton!  OMLA President explains . . .

The Middle School Matters Calendar:

  1. Happy Pi Day!
  2. Book sale!  NMSA is having a clearance sale until March 31st.
  3. North Carolina Middle School Association’s Annual Conference will be March 16-17 in Pinehurst, NC.  Keynote speakers include Bill McBride and Rick Wormeli.  Ron Williamson from Eastern Michigan University will also be speaking at the conference this year.
  4. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009.
  5. NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  This video spotlight focuses on the building of the technology demonstration classrooms at last year’s Denver Annual Conference.
  6. Educational Technology Leadership Conference, June 24th at Holt High School, Holt, MI. Register for the event now and hurry to get your presentation proposals in before the deadline!
  7. Any information on the Ontario Middle Level Association?  Their site has gone dark and we hope this does not mean the demise of the Association.
  8. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis,  IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.
    • ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus with satellite access for Twittering, Facebooking, and other 21st Century technology access for less than $100.00.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  (Some of you thought I was going to say something else!)  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  9. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  10. Free Professional Development through Webinars! NMSA is offering previously recorded webinars for free from their website.
  11. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  12. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  This week’s discussion is on the uses of Moodle for Teachers.  Archived content is available.
  13. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life
  14. From the Twitterverse:

Vote on iTunes!

Letters from our Listeners:

Hey guys

In a conversation with another teacher in a K-8 building, I mentioned that cursive may no longer be relevant in our schools. Now I’m sure this statement flies directly in the face of readin’, ritin’, rithmatic’ purists whose cursive alphabet adorns the space just above the blackboard in a typical elementary classroom.  And I’m not suggesting that we abandon the teaching of cursive letterforms. But I gave some thought as to when I actually use this practice, and I realized that I never use cursive unless writing a signature. Everything I ever write can be successfully accomplished by either printing or typing. As a matter of fact, I see a growing practice of electronic signatures being used in lieu of any writing at all. This is more prevalent due to documents making their way to intended destinations via email, electronic forms, etc.

This raises a question about how much time we dedicate to the practice of pen to paper versus fingers to keyboard. I facilitate a professional development workshop for teachers that describes the use of good typography as a tool to better reading engagement and comprehension. As a former graphic designer before becoming a teacher, I had to know the “hook” factor of type on a page. If kids (or adults) don’t like the way it looks, they are less likely to read at all. And if they do read, they are less engaged, with less comprehension of the text, when improper type practices are followed. Therefore, the proper use of font, style, placement, and spacing have been shown through research to impact the effectiveness of the message.

My point is this: word processing, keyboards, and digital technologies are not going away. We are moving more quickly every day to a world of electronic communication. Just take a look at the Amazon Kindle or the Apple iPhone as examples. Even text to speech software has now reached an over 95% level of accuracy. And none of these trends point to the use of cursive. So do we abandon the analog form of pen on paper for the tapping of keys with our fingers, or in some cases, thumbs? It certainly won’t be anytime soon. But we do need to consider dedicating more time to teaching students necessary skills with technology, such as proper keyboarding within work processing, that is certainly critical to their future achievement. Now is the time to embrace and support our K-8 technology teachers and not give any credence to the alarming trend of cutting or limiting their programs.

Keep up the good work, and I appreciate your open-mindedness to the “bigger picture” in education.

Ron

News:

High schools may be in for big change

Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to radically transform the way Indiana teens are taught by converting all of the state’s high schools to a hands-on, high-tech approach by the time he leaves office. In every class at a New Tech high school, students work in groups to solve challenges and work on projects rather than learning through lectures. A teacher may present only one or two lessons a week.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090310/NEWS04/903100357/1013/NEWS04

Algebra-for-All Policy Found to Raise Rates Of Failure in Chicago

Findings from a study involving 160,000 Chicago high school students offer a cautionary tale of what can happen, in practice, when school systems require students to take algebra at a particular grade level.Findings from a study involving 160,000 Chicago high school students offer a cautionary tale of what can happen, in practice, when school systems require students to take algebra at a particular grade level. The Chicago school district was at the forefront of that movement in 1997 when it instituted a mandate for 9th grade algebra as part of an overall effort to ensure that its high school students would be “college ready” upon graduation. “It’s not surprising that you’re going to see an increase in [failure] rates if you raise the instructional requirements and you don’t raise the supports,” said Michael Lach, the director of the school system’s office of high school teaching.
The researchers calculate that, for a school that saw an increase of 20 percentage points in algebra enrollment due to the requirement, for example, the percentage of 9th graders failing math would increase by 3 percentage points for students in the lowest-ability quartile, 3.5 percentage points for students in the next quartile, and 8.9 percent for students in the quartile of students who were labeled to be of “average” ability.

Whether similar sorts of algebra mandates­—or efforts to teach algebra at even younger ages—would have the same impact in other locations, however, is unclear, said Leland S. Cogan, a senior researcher at the Center for Research on Math and Science Education at Michigan State University in Lansing.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/03/11/24algebra.h28.html?tmp=671127371

Poverty and Potential:  Out-of-School Factors and School Success

David C. Berliner , Regents’ Professor Arizona State University

The U.S. has set as a national goal the narrowing of the achievement gap between lower income and middle-class students, and that between racial and ethnic groups. This is a key purpose of the No Child Left Behind act, which relies primarily on assessment to promote changes within schools to accomplish that goal. However, out-of-school factors (OSFs) play a powerful role in generating existing achievement gaps, and if these factors are not attended to with equal vigor, our national aspirations will be thwarted.

Therefore, it is recommended that efforts be made to:

  • Reduce the rate of low birth weight children among African Americans,
  • Reduce drug and alcohol abuse,
  • Reduce pollutants in our cites and move people away from toxic sites,
  • Provide universal and free medical care for all citizens,
  • Insure that no one suffers from food insecurity,
  • Reduce the rates of family violence in low-income households,
  • Improve mental health services among the poor,
  • More equitably distribute low-income housing throughout communities,
  • Reduce both the mobility and absenteeism rates of children,
  • Provide high-quality preschools for all children, and
  • Provide summer programs for the poor to reduce summer losses in their academic achievement.
http://epicpolicy.org/files/PB-Berliner-NON-SCHOOL.pdf

NMSA08

Motivating Underachieving Students
Instruction in Support of Success with Every Child
Mike Muir
3:45-5:00
Meaningful Engaged Learning

http://www.mcmel.org/workshops/

Click on Workshops for presentation

9 Essential Elements of Meaningful Engaged Learning:
4 Categories:
Relationship – the single most important place to start.
“I won’t learn from a teacher who doesn’t like me!”

Don’t judge them too quickly.
Don’t think of kids as bright, dumb, etc but rather Hard to Teach & Easy to Teach
This can change by class too. A student who is easy to teach for one teacher may be hard to teach in another class.

We should judge the success of our schools not on the easy to teach students, but on the hard to teach students.

What gets in the way of hard to teach students?

Enthusiasm & Humor:
Treat them “As If”
They are smart
You like them
You must be the grown up. Even if they don’t “deserve” the as if……

1.Relationships
2.Feedback – Helping students succeed
1.Unimportant to kids
2.The most influential
3.Assessment FOR learning
3.Hands-on Active Work
1.Our brains were not designed to be in school, our brains were designed to experience things (Patterns & Schema).
Schema – “Eating in Fancy Restaurant” we know how this works and how it is different from fast food, etc. Allows for efficiency. We don’t have to remember everything, but just a few details.
2.More hands on can lead to more reading not less. The reading becomes more meaningful.
4.Variety and
1.Think of Multiple Intelligences. Which two do most people have has a strength?
Bodily/Kinestic, Visual/Spacial
Which two are most commonly taught? Verbal/Linguistic & Mathematical/Logical
Bodily-Kinestic – Parts of Speech – Do the gesture whenever we get to a specific part of speech (eg. pat their head whenever they got to a noun).
5.Motivation:
1.Take responsibility
2.Should do it
3.It’s their job
4.

Why would they want to? This is an important question.
Learning is like whales feeding. Everything goes in and we keep what we want. Party analogy of having a good conversation and not hearing the background noise until something specific catches your ear.
5.Our Mistake: “Just in case education”
Tie Into Student Interests
Making it Interesting.
Adjectives in a bag. Something is in a bag. The kids pair up and only that pair can look at it. The students then use the sense only to write descriptive words to get the rest of the class to guess.
6.How can Extrinsic Motivation be as powerful as Instrinsic Motivation?
Avoid Bribery Rewards.
There are good extrinsic motivations. We do things for a variety of reasons, some of them are extrinsic. (eg. paychecks)
Bribery (rewards) has temporary desire effect.Shuts down learning. Leads to people doing the minimum, goal shifts to reward (killing the interest).
Random rewards are good. Pizza example. Done after the fact and they don’t know that it is happening. Don’t make it a pattern.  Bad for cognitive effect but OK for behavior.
7.Give students Choice (Autonomous Supportve Strategies)
This can be external motivation that is as powerful as instrinsic
Not “Do What you want” but limited to choices.

8.Meaning
1.What are two most frequently asked questions?
1.Why do we have to learn this?
2.When are we ever going to use this?
9.Context (Rigor & Revelence)
Velcro Brain
Drama
Metaphors & Examples
Bloom’s Taxonomy Revised
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Psychology says that we need to start at the upper level of Bloom’s. You need to create in order to remember, understand, etc.
10.Learn in Context & Real World
Isolated Islands of Learning (kids do better taking tests in the class that the learned it).
Paragraph example:
Warning: Simple but not easy.
TV Repair man example. (The repair costs $100. The buyer asks what was wrong. Replaces a .05 screw. The guy complains. The repairmen explains, the screw costs .05 cents. Knowing which screw was $95.95)

MSM, TechBy Shawn McGirr

Animoto: Vote Early, Vote Often

We’ve talked about Animoto on the podcast a little and I saw a presentation using it so I decided to delve into it further.  Here’s three short videos I made using the Animoto website.  I kept a lot of it the same as I made small changes to show off the variences they talk about when referring to remixing video multiple times to get different products.  Which one do you like?  Cast a vote in the comments section.

1.  Middle School Matters #1

2.  Middle School Matters #2

3.  Middle School Matters #3

MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson, ,

Podcast #65: “Somewhere, A Place For Us . . . “: What Grade Are You?

Items, Events, and Other:

  1. Book sale!  Clearance prices!
  2. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009.
  3. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis,  IN Conference.
  4. NMSA ’08 Technology Focus Video.
  5. The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission calendar:
    1. “March 4, 2009 Coolidge Auditorium, Jefferson Building
      Library of Congress
      Join the Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington, and Lincoln scholars Harold Holzer, James McPherson and Douglas Wilson as we commemorate Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

      Full details of the symposium can be found here.
      _______________
    2. ALBC Commemorative Coin:
      The ALBC Commemorative Coin is on sale now. Available for order on the U.S. Mint Web site, the pure silver coin is available as a proof coin (which has a mirror-like background) and as an uncirculated coin (featuring a more satiny background).
      For the first 30 days after the coin goes on sale (beginning Feb. 12, 2009), they can be purchased for $37.95 (proof) and $31.95 (uncirculated) each. A $10.00 surcharge on each coin, which is included in the cost quoted, benefits the ALBC.  After the first 30 days, the coin’s regular price of $41.95 will take effect.
      For details and to purchase the coin, visit the Mint’s website here.

      _______________

    3. Visit the ALBC Calendar detailing all Lincoln events throughout 2009 —
      http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org/calendar/default.aspxisit the ALBC Calendar detailing all Lincoln events throughout 2009″

  6. Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference March 12 & 13 at White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township.  Mr. Ron Clark will be keynoting.
  7. North Carolina Middle School Association’s Annual Conference will be March 16-17 in Pinehurst, NC.  Keynote speakers include Bill McBride and Rick Wormeli.  Ron Williamson from Eastern Michigan University will also be speaking at the conference this year.    
  8. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  9. Free Professional Development through Webinars! NMSA is offering previously recorded webinars for free from their website.
  10. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  11. NECC is coming this summer!  Here’s an excuse to travel to Washington D.C.
  12. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  This week’s discussion is on the uses of Ning in the classroom.  Archived content is available.
  13. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life
  14. From the Twitterverse:

Websites:

  1. Twiddla :  Its like Elluminate, just without all the expense. (Thanks to Jenny for the heads up on this one!)
  2. Forward Thinking Museum : A  virtual museum worth checking out.

“Letters from our Listeners”:

Shawn and Troy

I’ve spent some time in 5-8, 6-8 and K-8 school environments. Sometimes 5th graders were self-contained while older students moved from teacher to teacher. In other circumstances, 5th grade was used as a transition with single-teacher classrooms and locker access during passing time. I’m currently in a New Jersey K-8 school with no passing time, no lockers and 6-8th graders changing classes.

Knowing all too well the challenges of adolescent behavior and academic performance, I wonder what thoughts you had on the appropriate breakdown of grade levels for elementary vs. middle school. At what grade level should middle school begin (beside the legal requirements for teacher certifications)? Can a single administrator effectively manage a staff who work with students from kindergarten age to their teens, or should different principals handle different grade ranges? What impact does the proximity of 7th and 8th graders to elementary aged students have on academics and/or behavior? How about 5th and 6th graders? In my search for answers on this topic, I found a study done by Duke University in 2007 entitled “Should Sixth Grade be in Elementary or Middle School? An Analysis of Grade Configuration and  Student Behavior.”

Is there such a thing as either an elementary or middle school mentality? Can a teacher have both? Can a principal?
What are your thoughts on this topic?

NMSA Teacher Preparation Standards.

News:

Public Schools Outperform Private Schools in Math Instruction

In another “Freakonomics”-style study that turns conventional wisdom about public- versus private-school education on its head, a team of University of Illinois education professors has found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, thanks to two key factors: certified math teachers, and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum.“According to our results, schools that hired more certified teachers and had a curriculum that de-emphasized learning by rote tended to do better on standardized math tests,” Lubienski said. “And public schools had more of both.”

Of the five factors, school size and parental involvement “didn’t seem to matter all that much,” Lubienski said, citing a weak correlation between the two factors as “mixed or marginally significant predictors” of student achievement.

They also discovered that smaller class sizes, which are more prevalent in private schools than in public schools, significantly correlate with achievement.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090226093423.htm

Bridging the Character Education Achievement Gap

Throughout his now-famous “Last Lecture,” the late Carnegie Mellon University professor of computer science Randy Pausch talked about what he called the “head fake.” It is the idea that learning and education work best when they work on the personal and general levels simultaneously.
We miss one of the most important aspects of character education, the cognitive head fake, when our obsession with advanced coursework becomes myopic and overshadows the strength both areas could have if working to complement each other in high schools.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/02/26/23sutton-com.h28.html?tmp=804479676

Bridging the Character Education Achievement Gap

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/02/26/23sutton-com.h28.html?tmp=804479676

As James Traub, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, has noted: “[T]he issue is not whether we will have character education, but instead, what kind we will have and what relationship it will bear to the ongoing campaign to improve children’s academic skills.” Indeed, character education’s very survival depends on its quantifiably improving students’ academic skills.

A new character education model should be developed around principles that encourage college-level critical thinking and service to community. It should include the following elements:

1. We should teach dialogue and deliberation through Socratic seminars and consensus-building, so that students learn how to communicate with each other in a democratic setting and the ability to judge ideas on the strength of evidentiary support, not misinformed opinion.

2. We should teach core values and beliefs, so that students identify universal truths they are willing to speak for and work from that will guide the decisions they make as leaders and citizens of their communities.

3. We should teach historical models of leadership, so that students will understand that all great leaders are merely standing on the shoulders of others, and that the values of integrity and compassion don’t come easily. Figures taught could range from Gandhi and Lincoln, to the Bible’s King David, to the explorer Ernest Shackleton.

4. We should provide thoughtful teaching of inequity and inequality as they relate to race, gender, and class, so that students can learn how to speak to one another about diversity in a way that creates progress and does not reinforce stereotypes or systems of power and privilege. Students should be introduced to the writings of authors such as Peggy McIntosh, Cornel West, and James A. Banks.

5. We should teach democratic citizenship and leadership, so that students can learn how to use democratic systems to empower and give voice to all participants in a society to make communities more equal and just. Students should be introduced to scholars such as Walter Parker and historical documents such as the Federalist Papers and Washington’s Newburgh Address.

6. Since moral reasoning is integral to these pursuits, students should be taught to think their way through ethical and moral dilemmas and how to make choices that benefit all and that foster the strength of character to persevere through failures. Lawrence Kohlberg’s “stages of moral development” is a great place to start.

7. We should teach ethical and collaborative decision making and problem-solving, to empower students to change dysfunctional systems and communities. This should teach them that problem-solving is not the sole responsibility of one leader or group, but of a whole community working together.

8. We should give students opportunities for practical application of these precepts and practices, so they can test their new knowledge within the community and attempt to make positive improvements. These opportunities could be through schoolwide community-service projects, school philanthropy projects, and various other school improvement projects that encourage all students to participate.

advisory, MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson, , ,

MSM Podcast #63 This discussion is anything but Academic

Items, Events, Calendar, Eclectic Stuff (truc et chose)

  1. Book sale!  Clearance prices!
  2. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009. Robert Balfanz will be keynoting.  He has done a bunch of research on 6th grade transition factors that has been cited by NMSA.

    • “Robert Balfanz is a research scientist at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University and associate director of the Talent Development Middle and High School Project, which is currently working with more than fifty high-poverty secondary schools to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive whole-school reforms. His work focuses on translating research findings into effective reforms for high-poverty secondary schools.

      Balfanz has published widely on secondary school reform, high school dropouts, and instructional interventions in high-poverty schools. Recent work includes Locating the Dropout Crisis, with co-author Nettie Legters, in which the numbers and locations of high schools with high dropout rates are identified.  He is currently the lead investigator on a middle school-dropout-prevention project in collaboration with the Philadelphia Education Fund, which is supported by the William Penn Foundation.

      Balfanz received his PhD in education from the University of Chicago.”

  3. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video
  4. Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference March 12 & 13 at White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township.  Mr. Ron Clark will be keynoting. Approximately 20 days left for the early registration discount.
  5. Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference will be February 19-20 in Sandusky, OH.  Keynote speakers this year include Mr. Mark McLeod and Mr. Ty Sells.
  6. North Carolina Middle School Association‘s Annual Conference will be March 16-17 in Pinehurst, NC.  Keynote speakers include Bill McBride and Rick Wormeli.  Ron Williamson from Eastern Michigan University will also be speaking at the conference this year.    
  7. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  8. Teacher Preparation Symposium information at NMSA.
  9. Free Professional Development through Webinars! NMSA is offering previously recorded webinars for free from their website.
  10. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  11. NECC is coming this summer!  Here’s an excuse to travel to Washington D.C.
  12. If Mr. Berckemeyer dawdles on getting us the Kindles, soon we’ll want these from Plastic Logic.  “Did you bring pencil, eraser, and epaper with you to class today?”
  13. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  “The topic this Saturday (February 7th) is “Using Tags” with special guest Jennifer Dorman, author of the blog “Cliotech”, will join us to talk about using tags to save links and resources in Diigo and why it is so important to do so. More information and log-on details at http://live.classroom20.com.”  Archived content is available.
  14. From the Twitterverse:
  15. Second Life:
    • 1/31 Basic Skills Workshop:  Appearance (ISTE Island 3)
    • 2/10   ISTE Speaker Series (TBA) (Watch the board on the island for the Thursday Socials)
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life

Shout outs:

  1. Paul Nichols, a great for twitterverse links.
  2. Gardenglen
  3. Scott Merrick
  4. The Library of Congress

10 Bad Signs for Good Teachers…

Teachers are trained to watch for signs: signs that the students are learning something, that the students aren’t learning anything, that the students are onto something, that the students are up to something. There are some signs that teachers have not been taught to watch for: signs that could spell disaster. Here is a list of 10 such bad signs – if you happen to see one of them, beware!

1. The principal smiles at you. This is a very bad sign. It means the principal is up to something, and that something somehow involves you. It could mean the principal is about to ask you to volunteer to be the new coach for the girls’ soccer team, or to write his two-hour speech for the Mothers’ Club, or to accept three new students from the local home for delinquent children. If the principal not only smiles but asks, “How are you doing?” that’s even worse. And if he or she then adds, “Could I please see you in my office for a minute at your convenience?” – run for your life!
2. Things are going well for you in the classroom. Many inexperienced teachers take this for a good sign, but more seasoned educators know it means things are going to go bad for you-very bad and very soon. Maybe you are about to change to another class, or smitten by a rare tropical disease, or your classroom is about to be invaded by a herd of wild plastic-eating termites. I know several teachers who believe in this bad omen so firmly that they have peace only when things are going horribly in the classroom.
3. Your classroom is completely equipped with audio-visual aids. If you walk into your room and see a record player, an overhead projector, a tape recorder, and a movie projector-that’s bad. It’s a sure sign that none work-because if they did, they would have been “borrowed” long before this. Just in case you test the equipment and discover that everything does work (you realize, of course, that the chances of this happening are one in a million), that’s still a bad sign. It means that you have just been put in charge of maintaining all the audio-visual equipment for the entire school.
4. Your students tell you that you’re their favorite teacher. If this happens, brace yourself. It means the kids want something. That something could be something relatively small: “Let’s not talk about colons and semicolons today. Let’s talk about football.” Or your students could be bargaining for something bigger: “Let’s not have any homework this year, okay?”
5. You are prepared for all your classes for the coming week. Any teacher who does this is only asking for trouble. You cannot tempt Fate so blatantly without expecting dire consequences. And what could some of those consequences be? Maybe you will be struck with the five-day flu on Sunday evening, or there will be a battery of psychological tests this entire week.
6. You have all your report cards finished a day ahead of schedule. This sign, closely related to #5, simply means that the administration has just introduced a new kind of report card, and the old kind (127 of which you have just finished filling out) is now obsolete.
7. Your students do poorly on your test. This is a bad sign- or at least the administration interprets it as a bad sign-which makes it so for you. It means you are an incompetent teacher who ought to be booted out of the classroom as soon as possible. If your students do poorly on a test sh-h-h!-don’t tell anyone, not even your students. Destroy the tests, give a retest, and hope and pray that the kids do better-but not too much better. (See the next sign.)
8. Your students do very well on your test. This too is a bad sign. in fact, it’s a worse sign than #7. It can only mean one of three things: 1) the test was too easy; 2) you are a stupid teacher; or 3) the kids cheated.
9. You have a few free minutes to yourself after school. If this happens, one of the following events is bound to occur: 1) another teacher will report you to the principal for not having enough to do; 2) some kid will come in and ask if he or she could talk to you for a minute and stay 2 hours; or 3) the principal will ask if you could give the janitor a hand with cleaning the bathrooms after school.
10. You receive positive feedback from a parent. Although this sign rarely occurs, it portends trouble. You can be sure that if one parent is praising you, another one is already initiating legal proceedings to have you removed from the classroom. When all is said and done, it’s a better sign to receive no parental feedback than any kind at all.

WebSpotlight:

http://www.nmsa.org/Advocacy/AdvocacyToolstoUse/FundamentalsPresentation/tabid/793/Default.aspx

News:

Powerhouse School District Reaches Beyond the Elite

After decades of grooming a handful of high school students in an exclusive research class to succeed in the elite national Intel Science Talent Search, school administrators this year, for the first time, required every seventh grader to do original research. With similar goals in mind, the district has added honor societies in English, art and music — for a total of seven — to recognize students whose overall grades may keep them out of the National Honor Society. Since 2003, it has expanded its menu of Advanced Placement courses to 25 subjects and opened them to students who previously would not have qualified. And it instituted a policy prohibiting students from being cut from the orchestra, band and most sports, adding “junior varsity 2” teams to accommodate extra players. The district’s unusual focus on these average students in recent years has pleased many but has also drawn criticism that A.P. classes have become less rigorous, students have been coddled, and music groups and sports teams saddled with marginal players.

Students in A.P. classes say that some teachers, now required to accept students who did not pass a qualifying exam or get a teacher’s recommendation, have been known to weed out the weak with heavy reading loads, daily pop quizzes, and zeros on biology labs.

Joe Barrett, 17, a senior, said his United States history teacher went to the opposite extreme in the 2007-8 school year, presenting “elaborate PowerPoints with music videos to keep people interested.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/nyregion/06middle.html?_r=1

Palo Alto superintendent: Achievement gap can’t be eliminated

When it comes to closing the achievement gap, Palo Alto schools Superintendent Kevin Skelly says educators are deluding themselves. And he dares to say what’s become almost unspeakable publicly:

“It’s just not possible for the average kid who comes to this country in seventh or eighth grade, or even third grade, without a word of English and parents with little formal education, to match the achievement levels of kids whose mom has a Ph.D. in English from Stanford and can afford to stay home and spend time supplementing the education of her kids.”

Yet totally eliminating the gap would be “the triumph of hope over experience,” said Skelly, who came from San Diego 19 months ago to take the helm of Palo Alto’s 17 schools. When educators set that lofty goal, “we’re not being honest, and it’s to our detriment,” he said.
http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_11613034?source=rss

‘Capturing Kids Hearts’ is goal of more West Michigan school districts

by Beth Loechler | The Grand Rapids Press

Bobbie Fletcher, a science teacher at Chandler Woods Charter Academy in Belmont, is part of a growing trend at area districts where teachers and other school staff put an emphasis on “Capturing Kids’ Hearts.”

Fletcher believes that even the greatest teachers won’t get through to students unless they establish a personal connection with each and every one.

“It’s not just what we teach, it’s how we teach,” she said.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/02/bobbie_fletcher_a_science_teac.html

Academic debates fall short on Twitter

http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3601/on-twitter-academic-debates-fall-short
Remember how we were always told that the three things to remember in Real Estate were location, location, location?  Well evidently in the Twitterverse its more about timing than anything when it comes to having an academic discussion on a topic.

advisory, MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

Podcast #62 Twitter This! Once Upon A Podcast . . .

Items, Events, Calendar, Eclectic Stuff (truc et chose)

  1. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009. Robert Balfanz will be keynoting.  He has done a bunch of research on 6th grade transition factors that has been cited by NMSA.

    • “Robert Balfanz is a research scientist at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University and associate director of the Talent Development Middle and High School Project, which is currently working with more than fifty high-poverty secondary schools to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive whole-school reforms. His work focuses on translating research findings into effective reforms for high-poverty secondary schools.

      Balfanz has published widely on secondary school reform, high school dropouts, and instructional interventions in high-poverty schools. Recent work includes Locating the Dropout Crisis, with co-author Nettie Legters, in which the numbers and locations of high schools with high dropout rates are identified.  He is currently the lead investigator on a middle school-dropout-prevention project in collaboration with the Philadelphia Education Fund, which is supported by the William Penn Foundation.

      Balfanz received his PhD in education from the University of Chicago.”

  2. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video
  3. Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference March 12 & 13 at White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township.  Mr. Ron Clark will be keynoting. Approximately 20 days left for the early registration discount.
  4. Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference will be February 19-20 in Sandusky, OH.  Keynote speakers this year include Mr. Mark McLeod and Mr. Ty Sells.
  5. North Carolina Middle School Association‘s Annual Conference will be March 16-17 in Greensboro, NC.  Keynote speakers include Bill McBride and Rick Wormeli.  Ron Williamson from Eastern Michigan University will also be speaking at the conference this year.    
  6. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  7. Teacher Preparation Symposium information at NMSA.
  8. NMSA is accepting presentation proposals to their Annual Conference in Indianapolis next year.  The deadline has been extended to February 8, 2009.  Applications can be made online.
  9. Interested in a Science Quiz show online and in a virtual game show environment?  Try The Second Question.
  10. NECC is coming this summer!  Here’s an excuse to travel to Washington D.C.
  11. If Mr. Berckemeyer dawdles on getting us the Kindles, soon we’ll want these from Plastic Logic.  “Did you bring pencil, eraser, and epaper with you to class today?”
  12. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  “The topic this Saturday (January 31) is “Classroom Blogging” with guest speaker Kathy Cassidy, author of blog “Primary Preoccupation”. Kathy will discuss classroom blogging platforms, the pros/cons of blogging platforms and how she uses her classroom blog with her students. Our Newbie Question of the Week will be: “What is a blog and how do I find good blogs to read?”  Information on how to watch or join in at http://live.classroom20.com.
  13. Second Life notices:

Shout outs:

  1. Paul Nichols, thanks for letting us know you’re listening!
  2. Ron Miller, thanks for the email.
  3. Jenny McAvoy-Anteau, congrats on your SL presentation!

Follow us on Twitter.

Web Spotlight:

Once Upon a School
This site is an online initiative developed in response to author and philanthropist Dave Eggers’ 2008 TED Prize wish to inspire and collect the stories of private citizens engaged in their local public schools. Each year, three individuals are granted the TED Prize, which provides winners with a wish to change the world, $100,000 in seed money, and the support of the TED community in making the wish come true. Dave looked to the community to build a website that would collect these stories. 826 National, Hot Studio, and Carbon Five stepped up and created Once Upon a School.
Check out some of the Stories for ideas.
http://www.onceuponaschool.org/

News:

Challenging Assumptions About Online Predators

Sunday, January 25, 2009; Page F01- The Washington Post
The study, released by Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, finds that it’s far more likely that children will be bullied by their peers than approached by an adult predator online.

Alas, there’s no easy fix for the risks that children face on the Web, according to the group that authored the report. The Berkman Center’s Internet Safety Technical Task Force reviewed 40 technologies designed to protect children online, but none won an endorsement.

Parents’ concerns about Internet predators are sometimes overblown, said Parry Aftab of WiredSafety.org, but it’s nearly impossible to tell how overblown they are; when quizzed about online activity, kids don’t usually tell the truth if their parents are around, she said.

“One stupid little form just needs a checkbox,” Aftab said. Without better data, “we might as well hang up our hats and go fishing.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/24/AR2009012400182.html?hpid=topnews

Is Technology Producing A Decline In Critical Thinking And Analysis?

As technology has played a bigger role in our lives, our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declined, while our visual skills have improved, according to research by Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Children’s Digital Media Center, Los Angeles.Learners have changed as a result of their exposure to technology, says Greenfield, who analyzed more than 50 studies on learning and technology, including research on multi-tasking and the use of computers, the Internet and video games.
“No one medium is good for everything,” Greenfield said. “If we want to develop a variety of skills, we need a balanced media diet. Each medium has costs and benefits in terms of what skills each develops.”

“By using more visual media, students will process information better,” she said. “However, most visual media are real-time media that do not allow time for reflection, analysis or imagination — those do not get developed by real-time media such as television or video games. Technology is not a panacea in education, because of the skills that are being lost.

“Studies show that reading develops imagination, induction, reflection and critical thinking, as well as vocabulary,” Greenfield said. “Reading for pleasure is the key to developing these skills. Students today have more visual literacy and less print literacy. Many students do not read for pleasure and have not for decades.”

These and other studies show that multi-tasking “prevents people from getting a deeper understanding of information,” Greenfield said.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128092341.htm

Gates Foundation to show excellent teaching

Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates says his foundation hopes to post online videos of exemplary teachers plying their craft as a way to inspire other educators and help students learn. “It is amazing how big a difference a great teacher makes versus an ineffective one. Research shows there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school,” he wrote.
“Whenever I talk to teachers, it is clear that they want to be great, but they need better tools so they can measure their progress and keep improving. So our new strategy focuses on learning why some teachers are so much more effective than others and how best practices can be spread throughout the education system so the average quality goes up.”
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=56948

Listeners who Write:

Fellow technology advocates

I love technology. There is no doubt. With my iPhone in hand, Macbook in lap, and hardware graveyard in my attic, no one would accuse me of supporting the luddite movement any time soon. My belief in the use of technology in education is sacrosanct.

Therefore, when a book came to my attention entitled “The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future,” I was compelled to digest the studies and inevitable conclusions within its pages. In summary, author Mark Bauerlein makes the point that our youth, who have vastly more available to them than previous generations thanks to technology, are an ill-informed and time-wasting group of individuals whose cavalier digital lifestyle threatens the very core of our american heritage.

Compelling statistical data from various studies seem to show that the vast digital resources available to our youth are wasted on video games, chat, uploads and downloads, texting and social networking instead of thoughtful reading and study or civic responsibilities.

At the very least, this book is an eye-opening tale of how careful we must be in the facilitation of technology to our students in school and children at home. I recommend it as a alternate perspective to the belief that students always benefit from their immersion in all things digital.

Happy reading!

MSM, NMSA08, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

Podcast #61 Middle School Good News Week!

Today’s Quiz:
Teaacher: Can anyone give me the name of a liquid that won’t freeze?
Teacher: Does anyone know which month has 28 days?
Why was the head teacher worried?
Teacher: I told you to stand at the end of the line?
Teacher: I said to draw a cow eating some grass but you’ve only drawn the cow?
Teacher: Why are you standing on your head?
Teacher: That’s quite a cough you have there, what are you taking for it?
*For answers, listen to the podcast.

Items, Events, Calendar, Eclectic Stuff (truc et chose)

  1. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009. Robert Balfanz will be keynoting.  He has done a bunch of research on 6th grade transition factors that has been cited by NMSA.

    • “Robert Balfanz is a research scientist at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University and associate director of the Talent Development Middle and High School Project, which is currently working with more than fifty high-poverty secondary schools to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive whole-school reforms. His work focuses on translating research findings into effective reforms for high-poverty secondary schools.

      Balfanz has published widely on secondary school reform, high school dropouts, and instructional interventions in high-poverty schools. Recent work includes Locating the Dropout Crisis, with co-author Nettie Legters, in which the numbers and locations of high schools with high dropout rates are identified.  He is currently the lead investigator on a middle school-dropout-prevention project in collaboration with the Philadelphia Education Fund, which is supported by the William Penn Foundation.

      Balfanz received his PhD in education from the University of Chicago.”

  2. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video
  3. Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference March 12 & 13 at White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township.  Mr. Ron Clark will be keynoting. Approximately 20 days left for the early registration discount.
  4. Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference will be February 19-20 in Sandusky, OH.  Keynote speakers this year include Mr. Mark McLeod and Mr. Ty Sells.
  5. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  6. Teacher Preparation Symposium information at NMSA.
  7. NMSA is accepting presentation proposals to their Annual Conference in Indianapolis next year.
  8. Interested in a Science Quiz show online and in a virtual game show environment?  Try The Second Question.
  9. NECC is coming this summer!  Here’s an excuse to travel to Washington D.C.
  10. If Mr. Berckemeyer dawdles on getting us the Kindles, soon we’ll want these from Plastic Logic.  “Did you bring pencil, eraser, and epaper with you to class today?”
  11. Saturday, January 17th, 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm GMT: “Google Forms.” The Newbie Question of the Week will be: “What is a feedreader and why do I need one?” Information on how to watch or join in at http://live.classroom20.com.
  12. Thing To Try This Week:  Create a flash mob of faculty at the corner of one of your hallways.  Ideas for the flash mob can be posted here at www.middleschoolmatters.com.
  13. From Steve Hargadon’s Classroom 2.0:  “Looking for Lincoln: Changing Views of History, Changing Views of Race” with speaker Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

    The time for this event is 8:00pm Eastern (USA) / 5:00pm Pacific (USA). A link for international times is HERE.
    PBS Teachers® and Classroom 2.0 are partnering on a series of free monthly webinars designed to help preK-12 educators learn new ways to integrate online instructional resources in the classroom and engage students in curriculum lessons. The webinar series features leading education experts, authors, and PBS producers who will discuss timely and relevant curriculum-related topics, and share their knowledge and ideas on using digital media to create rich learning experiences for students
    Dr. Gates will discuss how Americans’ understanding of President Lincoln and African American history and culture continues to evolve, and ways to approach this topic with students. Dr. Gates is the host of the documentary “Looking for Lincoln,” which premieres in February. The program addresses the controversies surrounding Lincoln about race, equality, religion, politics, and depression by carefully interpreting the evidence from those who knew him and those who study him today.
    A recorded version of the event will be available soon afterwards at http://live.classroom20.com in the archive section.

  14. Second Life notices:
    • 1/25 ISTE Island Tours
    • 1/27 ISTE Seminar:  Virtual Renaissance & Education – Virtual Harlem’s role as a learning community.
    • 1/29 Data Visualization around the Campfire on ISTE island.
    • 1/31 Basic Skills Workshop:  Appearance (ISTE Island 3)
    • 2/3   ISTE Speaker Series (TBA)

News:
Hernando School Board says administrators should get raise, despite what they say

BROOKSVILLE — Four out of five School Board members agreed Tuesday that Hernando County administrators deserve a raise this year.

But at least 16 principals and other senior officials are saying just the opposite, that hard times are not the time for senior staff to be taking extra public money.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article969147.ece

Suit filed over longer middle school day
The Pinellas teachers union filed a lawsuit Tuesday hoping to force the School District to abandon a seven-period middle school schedule that the union claims violates the teachers’ contract.  District officials have maintained for months that reverting to the old schedule would be too disruptive for about 22,000 middle school students and that some would be forced to drop electives they need to get into special high school programs. The standoff began in June, when the School Board voted to lengthen the school day by 14 minutes and add an additional period as a means of cutting $2.2-million from the budget. Officials said the change also would make room for elective courses aimed at getting students more engaged in academics before they reach high school.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article969259.ece

Standards Help Minn. Vie With Top Nations
Thirteen years ago, Minnesota was a state with no academic standards in mathematics and science and what some observers said was a mixed record in grounding students in crucial academic content, such as number skills and algebra.  As one of only two U.S. states to participate in a prominent international measurement of academic skill, Minnesota is scoring at or near the level of many of the highest-performing countries on that exam, and its scores in some categories have jumped significantly since it first took part in 1995.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/21/18minnesota.h28.html?tmp=472824768

Web Spotlight:

Flashcards

  1. Find data to study or add your own data.
  2. Study and play with data online as flashcards, hangman game, crossword puzzle, matching, word search, or word scramble.
  3. Study anytime/anywhere by printing data or exporting flash cards to your cell phone, PDA, or iPod.

http://www.studystack.com/

Journal Article:
An Early Warning System:  by promptly reacting to student distress signals, schools can redirect potential dropouts onto the path to graduation.

  • A final grade of F in mathematics.
  • A final grade of F in English.
  • Attendance below 80 percent for the year.
  • A final “unsatisfactory” behavior mark in at least one class.

Solutions:

  • Whole-school interventions:  Weekly or monthly attendance parties, one individual who intervenes at the first absence, placing or creating a school culture that rewards intrinsically or extrinsically good attendance.
  • Targeted interventions
  • Intensive interventions

http://www.jhsph.edu/preventyouthviolence/Test/An_early_warning_system.pdf

advisory, MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson, ,

Podcast #60: Team Building, Online, and Socratic Circles (NMSA08)

Math Problem:
If your father gets $300 and gives your mother half, what does she have?
Why did the student tell his parents that low grades in January weren’t a problem?
What did Paul Revere say at the end of his ride?
The plural of man is men. What is the plural of child?
What is a synonym?  (It’s like the Rats of Nymh … The Sin O’Nym … ?)

Items, Events, Calendar, Eclectic Stuff (truc et chose)

  1. NMSA’s Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009. Robert Balfanz will be keynoting.  He has done a bunch of research on 6th grade transition factors that has been cited by NMSA.
  2. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video
  3. Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference March 12 & 13 at White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township.  Mr. Ron Clark will be keynoting.
  4. Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference will be February 19-20 in Sandusky, OH.  Keynote speakers this year include Mr. Mark McLeod and Mr. Ty Sells.
  5. MIT Vocab Contest!:  Have your students produce a video defining standard SAT vocabulary words.  For every 5 videos uploaded one iTunes download will be awarded up to 1000 downloads per the event in total.  In other words, get ‘am in early and often if you’re looking for the iTunes motivator.  Only 1000 available for the entire WORLD!  Oh, and check out the website.
  6. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June.  See the flyer at their website for details.
  7. NMSA is accepting presentation proposals to their Annual Conference in Indianapolis next year.
  8. Interested in a Science Quiz show online and in a virtual game show environment?  Try The Second Question.
  9. NECC is coming this summer!  Here’s an excuse to travel to Washington D.C.
  10. If Mr. Berckemeyer dawdles on getting us the Kindles, soon we’ll want these from Plastic Logic.  “Did you bring pencil, eraser, and epaper with you to class today?”
  11. Saturday, January 17th, 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm GMT: “Google Forms.” The Newbie Question of the Week will be: “What is a feedreader and why do I need one?” Information on how to watch or join in at http://live.classroom20.com.
  12. Second Life notices:
    • 1/22 ISTE Island Social:  Data Visualization- using graphs in SL to visualize data.
    • 1/25 ISTE Island Tours.  Travel with ISTE and see the SL world.

Web Spotlight
http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

News:
Pasco schools say virtual ed’s a real budget breaker
As Pasco schools look to the future of education, online courses for kindergarten through eighth grade rate high on the priority list. “I’m not being funded to do it. I’m just being told I have to do it,” said Fiorentino, who is leading a statewide effort to get a reprieve. “We just can’t afford doing it this year.” She said her staff has estimated the startup costs for the program — including such things as curriculum development and infrastructure — could run as high as $1-million. Although over time it would be expected to become self-sufficient, the school’s initial price tag looks too steep when the district can’t even afford employee raises, she added.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article967362.ece

Hard times cut state cyber school enrollments
The state’s 11 cyber charter schools — online, at-home alternatives to traditional public schools — are the latest victims of the recession. Facing the threat of layoffs or mortgage foreclosures, some parents are sending their children back to brick-and-mortar public schools because a stay-at-home spouse had to get a job, said Joe Lyons, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School in Norristown, second-largest in the state.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_606700.html

Davis sixth-grader’s science experiment breaks new ground
By Niesha Lofing

University of California, Davis, scientists are redirecting their research after a professor’s son discovered that a major agricultural pest prefers pistachios over other nuts.

The sixth-grader’s experiment showed that female navel orangeworms preferred to lay their eggs in pistachios rather than almonds or walnuts, and researchers now are trying to use the information to better control the pests, according to the California Farm Bureau.

http://www.sacbee.com/education/story/1530953.html

Economy brings reprieve to teacher shortage
http://www.sltrib.com/education/ci_11408218?source=rss

Fair Isn’t Always Equal
http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=8982&r=sb090112b&REFERER=
First Chapter Free

Net threat to minors less than feared.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10142096-238.html?tag=mncol

Unexpected Twist: Fiction Reading Is Up
Survey Shows Reversal Of Longstanding Trend
For the first time since the NEA began surveying American reading habits in 1982 — and less than five years after it issued its famously gloomy “Reading at Risk” report — the percentage of American adults who report reading “novels, short stories, poems or plays” has risen instead of declining: from 46.7 percent in 2002 to 50.2 percent in 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102337.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Socratic Circles presentation (Ballroom 3)
Mary Dooms, Marge Strand of Lake Zurich Middle School South, Lake Zurich, Illinois
email:  marge.strand@lz95.org  and  mary.dooms@lz95.org
Book:  Socratic Circles by Matt Copeland
Overview
Rooted in Socrates’ philosophy that critical thinking and reason skills ar enhanced when the learneer begins to question.
Questioning continues the though process while answers stop it.
Purpose
Develop critical thinking skills
Construct meaning
Deepen understanding
Shift responsibility for group discussion from the teacher to the student
Practice reading strategies
Build vocabulary
Improve verbal and written expression
Enhance listening skills
Practice civility and respect.
Socratic Circle Process Overview
Step One:  Text selection is read and critically annotated.
Step Two:  Students question reading based on:
Fact
Interpretation
Evaluation
Step Three:  Students meet in two concentric circles.
Inner circle discusses text.
Outer circle observes dialogue.
Step Four:  Concentric circles are reversed.
Debrief:  What did you notice here?
What was the best question asked here?
What was the best answer here?
Step Five:  Written reflection pieces are completed.
Keys to a successful circle
Teacher preparation – assume nothing!
Select the reading/media for analysis
Determine the essential question(s)
Determine the behaviors to be assessed (rubric here)
Find a good video of a Socratic circle to teach them how to behave and how to make it work.
Who looks engaged and who looks on task?
Who looks at others?
Prepare the students
Model process of annotating text and developing insightful questions.
Discuss assessment criteria and expectations using Looks Like/Sounds Like T-Chart (Frayer Model)
Inner Circle Engaged/On Task
Looks Like
Eyes focused on speaker
Leaning In
Pens moving
Pages turning to refer to text
Sounds like
“Based on what you said, I’m not thinking …”
“I had trouble understanding why …”
“I agree/disagree with what you say because …”
Put it on chart paper and pull it out during the year.
Teach the behaviors that allow them to engage in conversation with each other respectfully.
Inner Circle Encourages Participation – Let’s complete a T-chart
Looks Like:
Turn towards the person
nonverbal cues
Hand touching arm of another student
Eyes on a non-participant as verbal invitation to participate is given
Gentle smile of encouragement
Sounds Like:
“Looks like Joe has something to say …”
Do you want to add something?
Outer Circle Observation Mode
Looks Like:
Pens moving on paper
Eyes on group
Leaning in
Sounds Like
Pens moving across the page
Silent voices.
Outer Circle Feedback Mode
Looks Like
Eyes on ourter circle speaker
Patiently witing turn by sitting still.
Sounds Like:
“When Ben asked the question …., the discussion shifted from … to …”
“Claire’s pen tapping was a bit much.”
“The group compared … to, and that made the reading easier to understand. ”
A Socratic Circle on the novel The Book Theif:  A group of 7th graders meet to gain a deeper understanding of the book.  (Emmit Till:  the book)
Always stop it short of completely talking about the topic.
Lets run a Socratic Circle
… on the Pledge of Allegiance.
Handout:
The Pledge of Allegiance:  “I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
This pledge is something that we say every day in school.  Yet, it is something we do not analyze very often.  Consider the following:
Choice of words
What exactly is being said?
Why is there controversy about saying this in school?
Do students have the right not to say the pledge?
Wy would someone object to saying the pledge?
Mock Circle Debriefing
Observations and feedback from the outer circle
Audience critique (+/-)
Assessments
Rubric
Scorecard
Reflection on Content form
Reflection on Performance form
Socratic Circle Feedback form.
Suggestion
Use Kagan gambit chips to engage in conversation and regulate the number of times a student participates
Examples for the Teaching Process
Pledge of Allegiance
“Born in the U.S.A.” lyrics
The Gettysburg Address

MSM, PodcastBy Troy Patterson, , , ,

Podcast 58 Natives are Restless, Immigrants are Coming, and Scholars are To-Be-Defined!

Items, Events, Calendar, Eclectic Stuff (truc et chose)

  1. Alightlearning is looking for votes and support for a software venture that will incorporate technology and education.  They are competing for a $10,000 grant to start-up their venture.  Generalized information is available on the website.
  2. NMSA ’09 Invitation Video
  3. Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference March 12 & 13 at White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township.
  4. Ohio Middle School Association‘s Annual Conference will be February 19-20 in Sandusky, OH.
  5. MIT Vocab Contest!:  Have your students produce a video defining standard SAT vocabulary words.  For every 5 videos uploaded one iTunes download will be awarded up to 1000 downloads per the event in total.  In other words, get ‘am in early and often if you’re looking for the iTunes motivator.  Only 1000 available for the entire WORLD!  Oh, and check out the website.
  6. NMSA is looking for nominations for the Board To nominate yourself (or Troy) click here or go to the NMSA’s main page.
  7. NMSA is accepting presentation proposals to their Annual Conference in Indianapolis next year.
  8. Interested in a Science Quiz show online and in a virtual game show environment?  Try The Second Question.
  9. NECC is coming this summer!

Web Spotlight:
Created for middle school teachers: A direct path to selective online resources for instruction and professional development from the National Science Digital Library. Enter each subject pathway below to browse a list of topics and take an in-depth look at teachable concepts in science and mathematics.
http://msteacher.org/

Letters from our listeners:

Happy New Year to you both

I’d like to consider a differing perspective on the terminology “digital native” vs. “digital immigrant.”

I feel that these categories are as restrictive as other stereotypes which we as educators battle to abolish. We make assumptions that children who grow up with technology are native to it. Yes, they do experience the use of computers, cell phones, DVD’s, wide-screen TV’s with cable and digital downloads, the internet, SMS and AIM at a very young age. But the connotation is that they somehow have an advantage over those of us who as children had B&W television with VHF/UHF-only programming, dial phones hard-wired to the wall, LED calculators, VHS tapes, cassettes, and even computers with a whopping 128k of RAM.

Children are native to whatever they experience as they age. They will embrace the ubiquitous technology with as much fervor as some of us did with our 8-track tapes and AM radios. Does this make them more likely to be successful in its use? Perhaps it gives them a better start. But they are using things that have no context. As teachers, we are well aware of how important context is to what kids learn. We, the so called “immigrants” are not really immigrants at all. If anything, we are the philosophers and archivists of knowledge. We have the context that kids lack because we lived the technology as it changed and grew. For example, ask the average middle school student today about how the Macintosh OS relates to Windows in a historical perspective. They have little clue and don’t even see its relevance. But wasn’t WW I relevant to WW II? Are the military personnel who didn’t grow up with the option of Cruise missiles considered immigrants?

I’m not saying that kids today don’t have a different perspective than many of us in our 30’s, 40’s, or even 50’s. But if anything, we are perhaps the true natives. We lived off the land of tubes to transistors and circuit boards. We evolved in our usage of computers and microwaves, and we had keen perspective  to evaluate, compare and contrast, and contribute to further development. It seems that, at the very least, we need one other category to better describe the generational rift.

Consider the title “digital scholar.” Many of us are walking encyclopedias and history books of technology. We felt, tasted, and touched the evolution, the revolution, and the contribution. We have an altogether different appreciation for what the digital age has given us, and as scholars, we have an obligation to share as much as we can with today’s youth. Because only armed with this context can they bring things forward and make the tough decisions ahead. These digital natives will need to determine the difference between “can we” and “should we.” Let us hope they choose wisely.

Thanks for all your hard work with this podcast.

In the News:

SCSU to help teachers create ‘culturally relevant’ classrooms
Her philosophy is that teachers can instruct students more effectively if they understand their cultural backgrounds.
“People have got to understand the culture in which these kids come from,” said state Sen. John Matthews, D-Bowman. Matthews, a former educator, says teachers who are able to grasp students’ backgrounds can motivate them to learn.
http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2008/12/29/news/13385212.txt

Kansas Schools Emphasize Technology, Training
“Technology has changed a great deal since the old purple mimeograph, filmstrip projector and overhead projector that I started with 30 years ago,” Turnbull said. “We thought yellow highlighting markers were a cool tool then.”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/12/26/215019kspnpittsburgtechnology_ap.html?tmp=47036604

The dying art of cursive
Handwriting was reinstated into the Sunshine State standards in 2006, after educators became concerned that it was slipping away from classrooms. According to state guidelines, third-graders must begin learning cursive, fourth-graders must have legible writing, and fifth-graders must be fluent in the script.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20081229/NEWS13/812290311/1006/NEWS01

Kids not ready for kindergarten cost Minnesota schools $113 million a year
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/36860224.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciatkEP7DhUsI

Schwarzenegger seeks education cuts
California schools could eliminate a week of instruction and increase class sizes next year under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new plan for solving the state’s budget crisis.
Matosantos said the state’s plunging economy could have forced far deeper cuts in education than the ones Schwarzenegger proposed.
http://www.sacbee.com/arnold/story/1510332.html