Make. Write. Remix. Share

Make. Write. Remix. Share.

Photo Credit:  vmperella via Flickr

Paul Oh, Senior Programming Associate for the National Writing Project, lauds in his post the potential for programmable books, multimedia poetry, DIY clubs, and the like to inspire the human condition and promote creativity.  This blog serves largely as an advertisement for a project taking place this summer in which the NWP is working alongside the MacArthur Foundation to create a program called Educator Innovator.  The program provides dozens of opportunities for educators around the country to work on webinars for innovation or collaborate on making and learning from innovative MOOC gaming.  The program is free and open to anyone.

The summer will be supported by a concept called  Connected Learning, in which participants may connect based on interests, passion, peer mentorship, peer collaboration, or partnerships.  The program is actually a smaller part of a larger project, called The Summer of Making and Connecting, which includes a youth component called Maker Party 2013.  In this program, students come together to become creators of the web, rather than just consumers of it.

The entire project basically includes educators and students working together to, as Oh puts it, "imagine the possible."  The program opens pathways to collaboration and creativity and sets the stage for a summer of fun, which may just lead to a future of innovation.  The implications for the classroom are yet undetermined, but it is likely that the evolution of the 21st century focus on teamwork and creative collaboration will use these events as a springboard for future endeavors.  

Virtual Schooling: Where are We Now? Where are We Headed?

Virtual Schooling:  Where are We Now?  Where are We Headed?

Photo Credit:  iStockphoto

The blogger Andrew Miller is a self-professed advocate of virtual schooling.  He posits that students who may not have thrived in a traditional classroom can gain essential college-readiness skills and thrive in a virtual setting.  For some, Miller argues, the virtual classroom can be a life saver.  However, Miller also cautions that advocates for virtual schooling can also do as much harm as good if they fall into a mold of cranking out as many students as possible with a high student to teacher ratio.  

Miller goes on to cite statistics revealing the growing popularity of distance learning, indicating that the movement is on the rise and that virtual classrooms are cropping up in the majority of U.S. states.  Two of the more common reasons for the rise in virtual education are the potential for credit recovery for students whose traditional experiences ended in failure, along with a broader range of subjects and greater access to learning opportunities.  

One potential drawback to online education, says Miller, is the quality of online courses.  He has personally witnessed online classes which lack the rigor and engagement needed for student success.  Rather, they resemble the more traditional methods of "sit and get" learning which plague many traditional classrooms as well.  To combat this, Miller suggests that teacher training and professional development be extended to teachers of distance classes, and that standards for instruction exist to ensure rigor.

Miller laments that, too often, blended learning is perceived as simply offering technology in an otherwise traditional setting.  This misunderstanding is partially responsible for the failure to add rigor and relevance, and for the online learning opportunity to underachieve in its goal to engage students and provide meaningful instruction.  The solution to this lies in a shift to competency-based pathways, says Miller, in which the required "seat time" espoused by the Carnegie model is eschewed in favor of a competency-based model which affords more individualized instruction and pacing.  

Finally, Miller points out that, in order to ensure the success of virtual learning, we must avoid replicating a "broken system," and instead ensure that the virtual model include both quality and innovation.  As a traditional classroom teacher whose attempts to integrate technology into my teaching, and as a current distance learner in this cohort, I can't help but be excited by the idea that a model for distance learning which includes rigor and relevance might one day impact my traditional on-site instruction.

Lessons From the Field: Teaching Foundational Life Skills Through Baseball

Lessons from the Field: Teaching Foundational Life Skills Through Baseball

I'm a baseball nut.  I played baseball when I was younger, from age 6 until college, and I continue to follow my beloved Tigers.  Baseball is one of the few sports I'll watch on TV even when my team isn't playing.  I'm fascinated by the strategy, the clean lines, the black-and-whiteness of ball vs. strike, fair vs. foul, safe vs. out.  So this blog post by Kevin Christofora intrigued me.  It explains nicely how the game I love can be used to teach young people important life skills.

Christofora begins by explaining how mistakes are a part of life.  In a game where a .300 batting average (30% success rate) can lead to a spot in the Hall of Fame, mistakes are more commonplace than success.  The author explains how, in life, the preparation for a big opportunity and the effort put forth can make the difference.  Even in failure, preparation and effort help to mold a persona that will eventually lead to success.

Further, Christofora talks about winning as being much more than just "beating the other team."  Rather, he points to self-respect, as well as respect for teammates, coaches, and opponents, as keys to success.  In life as in baseball, much can be learned from the people we work with, the teachers we learn from, and the competitors we square off against on the field, in the workplace, and in the classroom.

Recognizing a goal, putting forth a sincere effort to reach that goal, and respecting the people we encounter along the way, are keys to success in baseball and in life.  Kevin Christofora draws some interesting if predictable parallels between the two.

Teach with Your iPhone: Apps to Use in the Classroom

Teach with Your iPhone:  Apps to Use in the Classroom

Photo Credit:  macsd via Flickr

So much has been made about the implications that technology has in the classroom, and much of that buzz seems to readily accept the idea that students have 1:1 access to devices and technology.  Edutopia blogger Monica Burns is a huge advocate for 1:1 devices, but in this post she identifies several iPhone apps that can be used by individual teachers to simply change up their routine and engage students in a different way.

One such app, says Burns, is called Mastery Connect, which keeps the Common Core State Standards at the teacher's fingertips, so that lessons designed can be easily aligned for greater student learning.  Another cool app the author recommends is the Pick a Student app, which takes the guesswork out of calling on students during discussions.  It's often awkward for teachers to work so hard to avoid calling on the same student repeatedly while neglecting others.  This app allows the teacher to enter in a class list, and by pushing a button, a name from the list pops up to be called on next.  Its randomness keeps students on their toes and engaged in the discussion.

For practicing with standardized tests, Burns suggests using a Timer app, such as Sand Timer or Traffic Light, which allow teachers and students to work within the confines of a time limit without the intimidation of a countdown clock.  For readers, the Book Leveler app allows teachers to scan the bar code of a book to determine its reading level, text complexity, and appropriateness for given student.

The Groovy Grade app seems like little more than a calculator, but it allows teachers to input the number of questions on an assessment and, when divided into the number of correct answers, the percentage and grade are provided.  A Word Press app allows teachers to update their blog, add homework assignments, or send messages to students as simply as sending an e-mail.

DocScan HD sounds like a wonderfully useful tool.  It allows the user to simply snap a picture of a meeting agenda or memo or important document, and then it converts it to a PDF file or JPG file.  And My Script Calculator allows the user to write their problems on the phone's screen so that it can convert it into numbers and solve the problem.  Very cool.  

Until every student has a device in his/her hands, true 1:1 technology-based learning will be a challenge.  But with cool apps like those mentioned here by Burns, the engagement of technology can be shared with students and the teaching of individual teachers improved with a single iPhone.  A pretty powerful tool.

Zombie-Based Learning: Braaaaaaains!

Zombie-Based Learning:  Braaaaaaains!

And so it begins...Zombie-Based Learning! by David Hunter

I am new to project-based learning.  As an AP teacher, I guess I never really felt that a project-based approach would work to prepare my students for a standardized test, the sole tool by which my success is measured.  Instead, I looked for other ways to be creative and incorporate technology into my instruction without sacrificing the rigor and specific content required to prepare students for the AP examination.  Until now.

I was recently accepted to a summer intensive program called iChallengeU, a project-based learning program sponsored by my county's ISD.  As a participant, I have had to participate in several days of training and implementation.  It has been eye-opening, and this blog by educational consultant Andrew Miller serves as reinforcement that school can be fun, that learning through project-based curriculum can and does include rigor, and that students can prepare for standardized testing by participating in a project-based classroom.

Using David Hunter's geography curriculum, popularized by an affiliate of NPR, Miller expands the idea of a zombie themed-project to include math, language arts, and science.  In Hunter's classroom, students complete 70 lessons which require them to consider how to duck the invasion of zombies, how to secure supplies, and how to rebuild society.  

Miller suggests that ELA classes could also study graphic texts, comics, and film.  Science classes could pursue the theory that zombies are real, the result of a virus that causes the undead to live.  And math classes could use exponential data to determine where a zombie invasion would occur and the rate at which it might spread through populated areas.  

This kind of engagement would be powerful, and Miller insists that the learning could be tied to standards and serve as an entry point to engage students in meaningful learning and discovery.  As I move forward in my pursuit of project-based ideas, the zombie apocalypse notwithstanding, I hope to come across equally stimulating ideas to engage my students while maintaining the rigor and relevance needed to succeed on the AP exams.

The Common Core: Haven't We Been Here Before?

The Common Core:  Haven't We Been Here Before?

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Dr. Allen Mendler, an author and educator, writes in this blog for Edutopia about the uncertainty of testing and standards as the measurement for determining student success.  Dr. Mendler equates the Common Core with the professional football NFL draft, arguing that it is impossible to accurately predict future success based on a set of standards applied at a given point in the player's (or student's) career.

Dr. Mendler claims that the Common Core State Standards are just the latest iteration of standards-based instruction, replacing A Nation at Risk and No Child Left Behind.  Adding that standards will do little to ensure student achievement, Mendler points instead to the social ills that plague society in which schools lack the resources to deliver adequate instruction.  Further, Mendler says that using such standards to evaluate teachers is simply the wrong idea.

The difference-maker, says Mendler, is three-fold.  It includes pairing at-risk students with those who are high achieving, creating a culture of high expectations, and training teachers to be both knowledgeable and caring.  High-achieving school districts have these qualities already established, inherent in their systems, but for those who lag behind, an entire paradigm shift is needed, and standards like the CCSS may not be the answer.

However, Mendler does not write off the Common Core as flawed.  In fact, he argues that the standards themselves are a thorough collection of skills or traits that students should be able to master in order to be considered career and college ready.  It is the misuse of the standards as a teacher evaluation tool that has Mendler concerned.  Another major flaw with the standards is their vague language.  While the CCSS points to specific skills desired in career and college ready students, they do not tell teacher what or how to teach.  Instead, they leave it largely up to the educator to determine what content to teach, and the ease with which almost any content can be aligned to the standards is appalling.  Numerous books and websites promise that their materials are aligned to the Core, but in fact they often have conflicting information.

For better results, Dr. Mendler suggests that less attention be paid to creating standardized tests and promoting student performance on those tests, and that more attention be given to creating a culture of learning which values dedicated teachers and provides the resources which make students want to come to school.

Engaged Teaching: "Do Now" Activities for Your Lessons

Engaged Teaching:  "Do Now" Activities for Your Lessons

Photo Credit:  Veer

Edutopia blogger Maurice Ellis, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University, follows up on an earlier blog in which he reviewed the book titled The Five Dimensions of Engaged Teaching by Laura Weaver and Mark Wilding.  Ellis summarizes some useful techniques that teachers can use right away in their effort to deliver the Common Core.

For younger grades, the author suggests beginning each day with a "golden moment of silence" to quiet the mind and body.  This almost zen approach calms younger students (older, too?) before engaging them in the tasks of learning.  Another technique, mentioned here by Ellis but also appropriate for middle and high school students, is a "shared agreements" policy, in which students collaborate on things like classroom rules, culture of behavior, and acceptable standards.  The buy-in created from such a policy would strengthen cohesiveness in a classroom of any age student.

In the middle grades, the authors recommend a "transitions circle," in which students would engage in discussion about the difficulties of transitioning to middle school.  This format gives each student a voice in a non-threatening environment, and promotes healthy discussion of the challenges shared by all of the students as they grow older.  Another idea from Weaver and Wilding's book is "personalizing global issues."  Students could take issues like global warming and connect to their own world, establishing the relevancy and delivering on a call to action to improve things.  

Finally, for high school students, the authors provide ideas for book-ending the class period with an inspirational quote or passage at the beginning and a "pair-share" or "dyad" at the end.  The opening quote might set the tone for the lesson plan and help students connect to the subject being taught.  Especially in literature, thematic inspiration is only a keystroke away.  The "pair-share" or "dyad" allows students to write down 2 things they learned that day, or ask 2 questions about  which they would like to know more.  It's a formative type of assessment that checks for understanding while holding the student accountable for that day's material.  

School should be a safe place for the exchange of ideas in a cooperative environment.  This blog post, and the book by Weaver and Wilding gives a number of ideas that can help teachers to create such an environment and to foster healthy collaboration in a non-threatening way.  

Complex Texts: Guiding Readers One Step at a Time

Complex Texts:  Guiding Readers One Step at a Time

Photo Credit:  Veer

A staple of the Common Core is the idea of text complexity.  Writers of curriculum must constantly consider whether the text chosen for a particular age or grade level or subject is appropriate and within the acceptable range of complexity.

In this post, Maria Walther, a 1st grade teacher, author, and Literacy Consultant gives some ideas for making sure the text complexity is appropriate.  While focused mainly on young elementary age readers, the ideas Walther shares are applicable to middle or high school students as well.

First, Walther suggests that we get to know the reader.  The better we know our students, claims Walther, the better we will be able to scaffold reading activities and introduce increasingly complex texts.  There are two good ways to do this, the author says, including a reading interest inventory and a running log.  The interest inventory will help us to match readers to texts and subjects which appeal to them, thus increasing engagement and interest.  By keeping a reading log, the teacher can readily design activities for guided reading lessons.  These may focus on anything from self-monitoring to decoding to vocabulary development.  

Second, Walther says teachers must get to know their books.  It is essential that teachers get to know the books  they select for guided reading lessons before the activity commences.  Categorizing books which are useful for self-monitoring, for example, allows the teacher to focus on that skill, whereas other books may be better suited to lessons on fluency, vocabulary study, decoding, or comprehension.  Knowledge of the books we teach seems obvious, but understanding the usefulness of various texts to achieve learning objectives is critical.

Finally, the author insists that we learn about successful frameworks for teaching guided reading.  She cites Jan Richardson's book The Next Step in Guided Reading as a wonderful resource featuring a 3-pronged approach to guided reading that includes also word study and guided writing.  Walther implores her reader to continue to learn, to have professional conversations, and to embrace the methodologies that will help us to help students become better readers.  

The idea that matching students up with  texts that interest them, that being familiar with the texts we select, and that staying on the cutting edge of methodology in guided  reading can allow us to deliver the Common Core while producing a generation of readers of difficult text is empowering.  

Using e-Portfolios in the Classroom

Using e-Portfolios in the Classroom

Photo Courtesy of The Unquiet Library via Flickr

The discussion about student portfolios and the benefits of storing student work has been a topic of conversation among teachers for a long while.  Most would agree that the opportunity for students to warehouse their work, whether it be art, writing, or whatever, is valuable.  First, it allows students to do some reflection on their own progress and process as the portfolio continues to grow.  In addition, keeping a portfolio allows for a variety of formative assessments to be perused and studied ahead of a more formal, summative assessment.  Meta-cognitive journal writing about a student's own growth as an artist affords a more critical eye and puts some distance between the original piece and the reflection.

One of the major problems, however, has been managing space.  Keeping a file folder (or several) and then orchestrating the passing of those folders from teacher to  teacher and from year to year has proved cumbersome at best, nightmarish at worst.  Enter the E-Portfolio.

Mary Beth Mertz writes in her blog for Edutopia that storing student work in the cloud allows wider access to the work, beyond the student and teacher.  The move to paperless also makes it easier to organize and store student work digitally rather than in hard copy form.  Mertz points out that, with all of the options for E-Portfolios available, it can be difficult to select the best one.  So she provides a quick overview of many of the more common applications available online today.

Before sharing the list of options, Mertz suggests that educators first consider a handful of driving questions, such as, "Will students be able to share and critique one another's work?" or "Can the teacher provide feedback to the student privately?"  These and other questions will help to narrow the options to find a portfolio application that meets the educator's needs the best.

Among the suggested portfolios are:  Wikispaces, Google Sites, Dropbox, Evernote, and Project Foundry.  Mertz offers a brief explanation of the format and benefits of each application.  Admittedly, the myriad choices available can be overwhelming to some, and finding a compatible format for multi-year portfolios is something each school or grade level or subject must agree upon.  

But the benefits are undeniable.  For the proponents of portfolios, the ease of use, accessibility, and tidy storage solutions offered by E-Portfolios make it simple to store student work in order to reflect or showcase later on.

The Persistent Appeal of Technology in Learning

The Persistent Appeal of Technology in Learning

Photo Credit: iStockphoto

Framed by the story of Frankenstein, in which a scientist invents a somewhat human creation by stitching together parts of actual humans, blogger Terry Heick illustrates the irony that Education loves Technology.  Because human beings love technology, and because educators are human beings, it reasons that teachers would try to find ways to incorporate the technology they use in their everyday lives into their teaching.  "No matter what their titles, educators and related decision-makers are human  beings first, and the devices and potential that fascinate them at home also catch their eye for use in the classroom," says Heick.

Heick points out three goals of technology, and he pairs them with three goals of education in an effort to show the marriage between the two elements.

First, technology's function of "Reach" allows education to use it on a broad "Scale."  The sheer accessibility that students have to information, and the myriad tools available to teachers, allow them to tailor their delivery mechanisms to meet the varying needs of their students.

Second, the bells and whistles that technology can provide lead to engagement and enthusiasm on the part of learners.  The various apps that can make learning fun have educational implications that rival the high degree of interest provided by technology in the first place.  If it's a video, or if it makes a sound, or if it requires interaction, or if it simulates, it catches our interest.  That kind of interest can be harnessed to fully engage students in a learning activity, far more so than lecture or note-taking.

Finally, just as the interface of any tablet or smartphone can be individualized for personal use, so to can this level of individualization be used to impact student learning.  Education has finally embraced the idea that all students can learn, but not in the say way and not on the same day.  Technology provides a degree of individualization that textbooks or traditional learning tools cannot.  From differentiating instruction to regulating pace of learning, the implications for technology in education are innumerable.  

Heick finishes by pointing out that technology can provide the spark, the jump start, which takes "the standards, PLC data, research-based strategies, literacy efforts, digital media, assessments, socioeconomic realities, project-based learning, and curriculum maps-- and fuse it all into a manageable and able machine that will take off on its own, every piece functioning as it should, the entire, impossibly complex system operating as a single, well-oiled entity."

Just like Frankenstein.  

The list in Heick's conclusion, from standards to curriculum maps, is what overwhelms me in my own position.  As head of the English Dept., a passionate and able group of seven, it falls to us to design a curriculum that is balanced, aligned, relevant, rigorous, and most importantly leads to higher student achievement.  If technology can aide in that goal, all the better.

3 Reasons Why Digital Detox is So Enticing

3 Reasons Why Digital Detox is so Enticing

Photo Courtesy of:  Shutterstock

I can honestly say I've never posted a picture of my mealtime food on Facebook or Instagram.  However, I can also honestly say that I've seen it done dozens of times.  What is the attraction of sharing our food, or our mundane activities such as watching the latest episode of Arrested Development, with quasi-total strangers?  I don't get it.  In this post, blogger Sam Hailes ponders 3 attractive reasons to give up our obsession with electronic connectedness.

Hailes likens quitting the Internet to quitting smoking in terms of its difficulty.  Still, he cites a recent event in the UK where as many as 600,000 people deleted their Facebook accounts, the first step in a total digital detox.  Another example Hailes provides is a restaurant which provides a 5% discount to patrons who give up their phones for the duration of their meals.  Brilliant.

The first reason for digital detox, according to Hailes, is the sheer size of the Internet and the breadth of information available.  It's overwhelming, he says, as nearly 450 million blogs are currently available in English alone.  With so much information, it's difficult to determine what sources are legitimate, which are scams, and which ones are outright dangerous.

Second, Hailes points to clogged brains resulting from the multitude of tasks and resources with which users are bombarded each day.  At some point, he says, we just have to shut it down.  Those of us who are guilty of having as many as ten tabs open at a time find little room for anything else.  And the portability of our devices means that those tabs, those social media sites, those e-mails, follow us wherever we go.  Our brains get clogged.

Finally, the author argues that the distractions caused by our devices and our electronic connection are very limiting.  When we are able to do so many things at once and with relative speed, it's difficult to do any one of them well.  Hailes ends his post with a call to action, a challenge to see if you (readers) have what it takes to turn off, power down, and detox from the digital distractions that clog our brains and prevent us from paying attention to the things that really matter, such as personal relationships or physical activity.

I'd like to say more, but I've been so moved by this post that I'm going to log off now and go for a walk. I'll see you on the other side.

Do BYOD Programs Encourage Bullying?

Do BYOD Programs Encourage Bullying?

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Time was, one of central arguments in support of school uniforms was that they create an atmosphere of "sameness," where students would not be ridiculed or bullied for having less-than-fashionable clothing or for being unable to afford the newest trends.  Seems like that argument can now be extended to electronic devices.  Some schools that are not able to afford 1:1 devices are encouraging students to bring their own.  While this kind of policy would put tablets, phones, laptops, or e-readers in the hands of students, and students who bring their own devices to school would be more comfortable by using their own personal devices, it does beg the question of equality.  

According to Albert Roberts, a high school teacher from the UK, "By allowing people to bring in their own devices, employers and schools create a greater consistency between how employees and students normally access information and learn, and the standards set within the workplace and the classroom."  Roberts goes on to explain that schools, particularly those with lower budgets, can free up their ICT programs to be more flexible with internal networks and setting up class projects.  However, this uniformity comes at a cost.  

In addition to potential security breaches and network security being compromised, the specter of bullying remains a threat.  Out of date devices or devices which lack the proper appeal may cause students to belittle others, and students whose devices don't measure up may feel ashamed.  This kind of bullying and the perceived gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" are exactly the thing schools are  trying to avoid today.

One suggestion offered by Roberts is a shared purchasing scheme, where the school would buy a number of devices at discounted rates, and then issue them to low-income students for use at school.  Roberts acknowledges that this doesn't solve the gap between BYOD and school equipment, but he posits this idea as just one possible alternative.  Ultimately, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.  Schools need to have specific policies in place to regulate the use of BYOD equipment for academic purposes, and they need to create an atmosphere of cooperation and acceptance relative to the use of those devices.

Bringing Web Tools to Gatsby's Party: A Digital Path into a Jazz Age Classic

Bringing Web Tools to Gatsby's Party: A Digital Path into a Jazz Age Classic


(L-r) CAREY MULLIGAN as Daisy Buchanan and JOEL EDGERTON as Tom Buchanan in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama “THE GREAT GATSBY,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures © 2013 Bazmark Film III Pty Limited

At my school, the English 10 (sophomore) curriculum includes a study of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This year, with the much-anticipated release of the Baz Luhrmann film version of the novel, a greater emphasis was placed on the study of Fitzgerald's book, and we recently took the entire sophomore class on a "field trip" to view the film at a local cinema. Connecting the book to the movie was a rewarding experience which offered ample opportunity for discussion and comparative journaling.

Orlando, Florida teacher Lee Ann Spillane, however, points out that viewing the movie does not make students better readers of the prose, and so she offers several ideas in this blog about how to incorporate technology into the teaching of the classic 20th century novel.

Spillane begins by explaining the ways in which she teaches her students to "play with the text." By using Wordle to artfully arrange text in a word cloud, Spillane argues that her students are satisfying the Common Core standard of "analyzing the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone." Another, similar application is Tagxedo. The importance and frequency of words in a selection of text are represented by a larger font, and, according to the author, arrangement of text appeals to our sense of play and our creativity.
Another technology Spillane uses in teaching Gatsby is the "find" feature on Google Books. By pressing "control" + "f", students can type in text and search for patterns in text and locate the frequency of specific words. For example, the word "green" appears in Gatsby 13 times, while the word "white" appears 29 times. Fitzgerald's use of colors like green, to represent the longing Gatsby for feels Daisy when he views the green light at the end of her dock, or like white to represent Daisy's innocence and naivete, can come to the fore of a discussion using this feature.

"When we use Google Books to trace patterns in text," says Spillane, "students begin to wonder, to hypothesize, or as Brian Cambourne says, to 'approximate' what real critics do (Allen and Gonzalez 1998, 132). I can hear it in their voices and see it as they creep closer to the monitors to get a better look at the latest search results." This level of engagement is refreshing, especially when teaching a book like The Great Gatsby, with which students often find it difficult to navigate the vocabulary and syntax of Fitzgerald's prose.

The Arbitrary Albatross: Standardized Testing and Teacher Evaluation

The Arbitrary Albatross: Standardized Testing and Teacher Evaluation


Photo credit: wfryer via flickr

Author and teacher Aaron Pribble reignites the discussion over the legitimacy of using standardized test scores to evaluate teacher performance.  Like most teachers, Pribble is opposed to the idea, and he blogs about his rationale in The Arbitrary Albatross:  Standardized Testing and Teacher Evaluation.

Pribble begins by pointing to the lack of precision offered by the results of a single test.  According to Pribble, "student results from standardized tests should not be used to evaluate teachers because the data are imprecise and the effects are pernicious.  Including such measures is both unfair to teachers and detrimental to student learning."  Pribble points to two primary flaws in standardized testing:  individual and environmental factors affecting student performance; and random variation that may cause a fluctuation in scores not related to teacher efficacy.  Both, the author argues, are unfair.  For example, environmental factors such as a student's socioeconomic standing, motivation, or family issues may adversely affect a student's scores.  Further, the performance on a one-time test may be negatively affected by things beyond the teacher's control, such as the amount of sleep a student receives, illness, or other emotional issues.

Pribble also points out that high-stakes testing can lead to cheating or at least a "teaching to the test" mentality. As an example, he points to the Atlanta Cheating Scandal, arguing that connecting teacher evaluations or pay to the results in, "a perverse incentive to manipulate the system."  In addition, Pribble claims that standardized tests do not lend nicely to higher-order thinking; rather, they encourage rote recall of facts and statistics that do not produce the rigor that most good teachers require in their classrooms.  Bubble sheet testing does not a scholar make.

The author ends with a suggestion for reform, a call to action that includes student input and responsibility for learning, and an evaluation of a student's work over  a period of time (think: portfolio).  By video-taping lessons, evaluating a range of student performances, and engaging peer feedback, the administration can gain a much better insight into a teacher's efficacy than by looking at scores on a single standardized test.

The Impact of Shakespeare

The Impact of Shakespeare on Teachers and Students

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"Rediscover Shakespeare and rediscover enthusiasm for the written word."  This call to action by blogger Heather Wolpert-Gawron challenges teachers to re-envision Shakespeare in a way that brings his writing to life for any age.

Beginning with an admission that Shakespeare's writing is sexier than E.L. James and more violent than Quentin Tarantino, Wolpert-Gawron speaks to the timelessness of Shakespeare's themes and the appeal his work might have on a modern audience.

She points to her own love affair with The Bard and cites lines from Henry IV which helped her to find herself and make better choices in her life.  The author went on to study Shakespeare in London, even earning a role in a production of Macbeth before an emergency appendectomy sidelined her on the eve of the performance.  She blames the legendary curse of uttering the play's title on set as her own mistake.

Wolpert-Gawron laments the fact that Shakespeare has a "bad rap" in high schools, and the claim that his writing is best reserved for older students.  She argues instead that Shakespeare's words open doors to literature for students of all age, and that those words are more accessible than we give them credit for.  Later, the author reveals the connection between Shakespeare's plays and other content areas, such as science, history, and math/business.

I have taught Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream during my career, and each play had a brilliant message, ironic plot twists, well-drawn characters, and clever word play.  The genius of Shakespeare is undeniable, and the potential of changing his plays to suit a modern audience is something Shakespeare would have embraced, I think.  My high school performed A Midsummer Night's Dream last fall, and the story's setting was updated to the 1960s.  A clever and unique interpretation that totally worked.  And therein lies the point.  Wolpert-Gawron says that we need to rediscover Shakespeare and make his writing relevant and exciting for 21st century students.

Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall:  How Can I Be a Better Teacher Next Fall?

Image Credit:  iStockphoto

This blog post by Dr. Richard Curwin, the author captures nicely the thoughts that run through every teacher's mind this time of year.  For me, it was just yesterday that I was furiously scratching notes to myself on how I'd handle next year differently.  I had made an interesting connection between two of the books I teach, and so I couldn't wait to make that connection in a lesson next year.  Further, I'm currently learning about Project-Based Learning, and I'm excited to make my curriculum more relevant without sacrificing rigor.

In this post, Dr. Curwin reflects on these ideas and more as he reflects on his own experience as a teacher and challenges teachers to espouse a six-step sequence.  First, he suggests that teachers must be willing to change, to embrace the need for change or improvement.  Next, he recommends making a list--a master list-- of four things:  a) Major things you will definitely do; b) Minor changes you will will make; c) Major things you will never do; and d) Minor things you will never do.  It is interesting how Dr. Curwin focuses in this post  on the things one will not do as well as the promises for change.

Dr. Curwin's writings also challenge teachers to put themselves out there for constructive criticism.  He suggests having students write essays, or role-play the teacher (you) in an effort to point out the effectiveness (or lack thereof) in their instruction.  This, of course, can be intimidating and yet effective in making change that matters to students.  Finally, Dr. Curwin recommends a 5 x 7 note card on which students write things that helped them learn on one side, things that hindered their learning on the other.  From this, a teacher can finalize the Master List for improvement in the fall.

The idea of ending one school year on a positive note, but looking with anticipation toward the next, of constantly seeking self-improvement, of finding ways to do things better and to engage students in a more authentic way is not new.  This post just reminded me that, even when I think I've nailed it, feedback from my students may send me in a fresh direction.

The Digital Lives of Teens: Code-Switching

The Digital Lives of Teens:  Code Switching

As recently as three years ago, the high school where I teach adopted a very strict, very specific policy regarding use of cell phones and iPods in class.  Simply put, those items were banned from classroom use.  We had more than one occurrence of students texting test questions to one another, and one student even used her camera phone to take a snapshot of a test page and send it to a classmate.  Now that smart phones and iPods have wireless capabilities, the integrity of classroom assessments and other materials is even more compromised.  Students, for example, could take digital images of their notes and open them during a test, the 21st century version of crib notes.

So what do we do with a generation of learners whose connectedness and affinity for all things electronic?  How can we harness that style of learning and use it for the greater good?  The idea of code switching, moving rapidly from text-centered, lecture/discussion classrooms in school to social media, smart phone texting outside, can lead to difficulties like "coping fatigue, confusion, missteps and distractions," according to NPR blog host Gene Demby.  The blog cites examples such as a student hopping quickly from one source of digital media to the next at home, such as texting, watching You Tube, and Facebooking, but in class struggles to stay focused on a singular activity, even when that activity requires the use of a tablet or laptop.  Violation of school policy is tempting and almost unavoidable when technology is used for academic work.  Some classes are beginning to allow smart phones and tablets or e-readers to do labs or other activities, even while the school explicitly forbids use of such devices.  The dilemma is how to foster the use of technology in a focused, engaging manner while protecting the integrity of classroom assessments.  

Some suggestions for managing this dilemma including a migration to project-based assessments which require collaboration and allow students a choice in their own learning.  A movement away from traditional summative assessments seems to lay on the horizon, and the code switching that helps to define the current generation of students may become mainstream in the classrooms of tomorrow.  

10 Technology Skills That Will No Longer Help You Get A Job

I found this article interesting because, in a world where the workplace is rapidly changing, the jobs that are available today may not exist tomorrow.  It seems like just a few short years ago, skills with programs like Adobe Flash, Windows XP, as well as PC Support and Systems Management were in high demand.  Now, according to author Brian Hall, the jobs once held by people with these skills are becoming obsolete.  A survey of 1,100 tech-hiring professionals, created by DICE, reveals that many tech skills are becoming out-dated, and specific technologies are evolving at a rapid pace.  Hall points out that skills such as software support or search engine optimization are falling by the wayside, citing "the explosion of smartphones, apps, and real-time location information," especially social media recommendation, as the reason for a decline in the importance of search results.  The evolution of the workplace in the past fifty years has been so dramatic that this realization begs the question of what the next fifty years might hold.  By the time a student completes a four-year degree or an extended training program, the skill/degree may no longer be in demand.  Simultaneously frightening and exciting.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog for EDU 653.  I am looking forward to expanding this blog as I expand my understanding of the Read/Write Web.  Welcome, everybody!