A Piece of My Mind

my ideas, thoughts, experiences, and lessons learned in education

Entries Tagged as 'Teaching'

Next EDU Gurus?

October 17, 2012 · No Comments · Classroom Tools, Learning, Teaching

I’m always open to hear new voices, yet I have this piece of doubt that creeps up in me every time I see some new “Top (insert number here) Educator” list. It seems pretty random and nothing really fresh more times than not.

YouTube shared its “Meet the YouTube Next EDU Gurus” video yesterday. I expected some corporate deal to be mixed in, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some great young faces who seem genuinely excited about the video medium to share their passion for their subjects. Take a look at the video then jump over to their individual channels and see what engaging content you can find.

 

Meet the YouTube Next EDU Gurus today: http://goo.gl/SKMRB

www.youtube.com/AmorSciendi

www.youtube.com/AsapSCIENCE

www.youtube.com/bozemanbiology

www.youtube.com/hughesdv

www.youtube.com/KemushiChan

www.youtube.com/Lexie527

www.youtube.com/mathapptician

www.youtube.com/powerm1985

www.youtube.com/profspop

www.youtube.com/SpanishIsYourAmigo

[Read more →]

Why School? Will Richardson tells you why.

September 29, 2012 · No Comments · Administration, Leadership, Learning, Pedagogy, Random Thoughts, Teaching

Below are my thoughts on Will Richardson’s new book Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. I have to say, this was a great read that I have already shared with my entire admin staff. We are reading it prior to a district visit with Will and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach October 2nd. Looking forward to the follow-up conversations this book will lead to. It steps on a few toes, but it does so lightly and appropriately.

The following is my review of the book I posted to both Amazon’s site and the iTunes Book Store.

I’ve read lots of “school needs to improve” books over the last decade or so. What happens is that they get bogged down in repeating the same problem with different verbiage over and over. It gets old and boring and I quit reading. Will went the right track with this text. He nails the issues at hand, offers a little commentary, and moves on. This is a quick, but insightful read for any person interested in making positive, proactive changes in their schools and classrooms. Keep in mind what you want for your own child as you read throughout. One of my favorite passages from the book:

“What doesn’t work any longer is our education system’s stubborn focus on delivering a curriculum that’s growing increasingly irrelevant to today’s kids, the outmoded standardized assessments we use in an attempt to measure our success, and the command-and-control thinking that is wielded over the entire process. All of that must be rethought.”

I would postulate that the group who contends “if it was good enough for me when I was in school, then it’s good enough for these kids” are the group causing all of the drop out issues we are facing today. The quote above describes the Industrial Revolution education systems that are still in use today in far too many places. It is that mindless, fact regurgitation system that bores kids and disconnects them from the love of learning new things they had as toddlers. Failure to adjust leads to failure to succeed.

Listening to politicians and big business has gotten us nowhere over the least several decades, unless you consider making the testing companies giant, rich automation factories. Take from this book and consider the part you can play in improving the education system. Quit letting others with their own special interests make the decisions for you.

[Read more →]

Beckville ISD Session Resources

August 2, 2012 · No Comments · Learning, PBL, Pedagogy, Presentations, Teaching

Click on the image below to find the Pearltree that holds the resources used during our session at Beckville on August 2.
Download the PDF of the presentation HERE.
Pearltree for blog post link

[Read more →]

You want standardization?

July 27, 2012 · No Comments · Leadership, Learning, PBL, Pedagogy, Politics, Random Thoughts, Teaching

Then try to #StandardizeThat

[Read more →]

World Peace….In the 4th Grade

June 21, 2012 · No Comments · Learning, PBL, Teaching

Cross posted on the WOISD PBL blog.

The video and the summary below shows just how far students can reach in their learning if just given the opportunity to not have to go by the book. Want to learn more when you’re finished with this post? Go to the World Peace Game site.

Summary form the YouTube page:

THE FILM

World Peace…and other 4th-grade achievements interweaves the story of John Hunter, a teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his students’ participation in an exercise called the World Peace Game. The game triggers an eight-week transformation of the children from students of a neighborhood public school to citizens of the world. The film reveals how a wise, loving teacher can unleash students’ full potential.
The film traces how Hunter’s unique teaching career emerges from his own diverse background. An African-American educated in the segregated schools of rural Virginia, where his mother was his 4th grade teacher, he was selected by his community to be one of seven students to integrate a previously all-white middle school. After graduation, he traveled extensively to China, Japan, and India, and his exposure to the Ghandian principles of non-violence led him to ask what he could do as a teacher to work toward a more peaceful world.
Hunter teaches the concept of peace not as a utopian dream but as an attainable goal to strive for, and he provides his students with the tools for this effort. The children learn to collaborate and communicate with each other as they work to resolve the Game’s conflicts. They learn how to compromise while accommodating different perspectives and interests. Most importantly, the students discover that they share a deep and abiding interest in taking care of each other. World Peace….and other 4th-grade achievements will inspire others by documenting the unheralded work of a true peacemaker.

THE GAME

The World Peace Game is a hands-on political simulation that gives players the opportunity to explore the connectedness of the global community through the lens of the economic, social, and environmental crises and the imminent threat of war. The goal of the game is to extricate each country from dangerous circumstances and achieve global prosperity with the least amount of military intervention. As “nation teams,” students will gain greater understanding of the critical impact of information and how it is used.
As their teams venture further into this interactive social setting laced with highly charged philosophical issues, the skills needed to identify ambiguity and bias in the information they receive will be enhanced and more specifically they will rapidly perceive that reactive behavior not only provokes antagonism, it can leave them alone and isolated in the face of powerful enemies. Beliefs and values will evolve or completely unravel as they begin to experience the positive impact and windows of opportunity that emerge through effective collaboration and refined communication.
In essence, as meaning is constructed out of chaos and new creative solutions are proposed, the World Peace Game players will learn to live and work comfortably at the frontiers of the unknown.

Learn more directly directly from John Hunter about why he does what he does:

Additional Links:

World Peace Game Site
Extended Trailer
John Hunter explains the World Peace Games

[Read more →]

BYOD Interview

February 14, 2012 · 1 Comment · Conferences, Leadership, Random Thoughts, Teaching

This is an interview I did with the Tech Forum folks while I visited them in Chicago recently.

[Read more →]

Some things really disappoint me

January 2, 2012 · 12 Comments · Administration, Leadership, Learning, Pedagogy, Random Thoughts, Teaching

Of all of the things to spend money on and be concerned about in EDUCATING our students, this is not one of them. I’m not faulting the school or the teacher. They’re only playing the game with which they are trapped in by the state.

“Highlights” from the article (emphasis mine):

Photographs of each teacher hang nearby. Next to them are the average test scores for each of their classes, color coded in green, blue and red marker for high, average and low. Picture a super-size spreadsheet.
Teachers also can get bonuses or pink slips based on how their students do.
“the data room” – is the new meeting place for teachers.

Really? You need a “data room” to keep teachers and students focused on goals? What goals? Passing a standardized test that has no actual bearing on success in life? That goal? Wow, our focus is sorely misplaced in Texas. Read the article. $6000 to “design the room.” Salary for someone to be the “improvement coordinator.”

And the goal is to pass a test.

A test that has no bearing on college success.

A test that does nothing to prepare our students for the real, working world.

A test that the state of Texas spends $100,000,000 (that’s 100 MILLION dollars) on each year to administer (not counting local costs) while woefully underfunding actual education and not funding enrollment growth (which grows so fast each year it’s like adding another Fort Worth ISD annually).

A test that steals 25% or our school calendar to administer (not counting prep and practice days).

A test that does nothing but prepare our kids to take more tests.

A test that kills the love of learning in students.

A test that kills the love of teaching in teachers.

A test that kills innovation.

A test that kills creativity.

A test.

This is not what I want for my children. This is not what I want for other children. This is not what I want for our staff.

At what point will the Texas Legislature realize that if they truly want to be “successful” like the world’s leader, Finland (read that link, it’s worth your time), they have to go the opposite direction. You know, the direction that includes critical thinking, problem solving, free exploration of a subject as opposed to rote memorization. The one that mandates equity among ALL students and schools. The one that focuses on building successful citizenry.

Yeah, that one. </rant>

[Read more →]

What drives the learning in your classroom?

December 13, 2011 · No Comments · History-SS, Learning, Teaching

One Boston educator has a different approach:


Flickr

 

[Read more →]

More iPad in the Classroom Ideas

April 25, 2011 · 1 Comment · Classroom Tools, Elementary, Learning, Secondary, Teaching

Tom Barret has a great slideshow worth passing along with “53 Interesting Ways to use an iPad in the Classroom.”

[Read more →]

National Writing Project Grows Lifelong Learners

April 7, 2011 · 2 Comments · Leadership, Learning, Literacy, Politics, Teaching

In 2005-6 I was in the midst of my graduate work at the University of Texas at Arlington. Working toward a Masters of Education with a Literacy Emphasis fit very well with my love of teaching reading and writing. In the spring of 2006, I was given the opportunity to be a part of the Bluebonnet Writing Project’s Summer Institute. I would earn 6 hours of Masters credit and become NWP certified at the same time. Little did I know how much more that time was worth than 6 hours of grad credit.

I was tasked with studying brain research, writing research, pedagogy research, and… you get the message. I was challenged to write in all different types of modes that would extend my skills and experiences. I collaborated with writers in my class as well as the global audience provided by the National Writing Project through their digital portals. I was able to sit and work in the presence of greatness from school districts all around Texas during those five or six weeks. My skills as a writing teacher grew to levels I never thought possible.Not only did I become a trainer consultant, but I became a technology liaison. Both have given me extended opportunities to network with educators from other states in an effort to improve professional development in both their states and ours. It is a connection that was born out of six weeks worth of work one summer, but it is one that will hopefully continue well into my teaching career.

How important was this training to me? Well, if you consider that I live 3 hours from UT-A and commuted, I’d say it was pretty darned important.

From that experience with the National Writing Project, I’ve become a lifelong learner. I realized the impact of networking with other professional educators to build my skills, learn new methods of instruction, and how to impact my students in great ways through literacy. Thousands of students and untold numbers of educators have been touched by the National Writing Project through just my experiences in the last five years.

What value can you place on the positive changes that have taken place due to the National Writing Project’s untiring devotion to training educators nationwide? These are changes that happen one year and disappear the next. These are lifelong changes that can be directly attributed to the work NWP and those who have been trained by them have done.These are changes that go beyond any multiple choice test and right into the lives of teachers and students on a daily basis long after the tests have been scored and filed away for another year.

Do the right thing. Continue to fund this project for its proven, positive results. You want to fund the best programs available for the taxpayers’ dollars? Fund the National Writing Project.

[Read more →]

Tags: