Resources that I have found helpful along the way:
TED Talks - lesson plan for teachers
http://ed.ted.com
I have found that students are quite engaged with TED Talks on a variety of subjects. I usually search Youtube for what I am looking for but the education site is also a great place to start.
Daniel Pink’s book Drive.
http://www.danpink.com/books/drive/
I found that this book really got me thinking about education and how we motivate and engage kids. I know Daniel Pink is usually associated as a writer for business but the overlap for education is a great read for teachers.
Mindshift
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/
A site that discusses how to engage students with technology in the classroom. Although the articles and insights go beyond technology.
The Art of the Changing Brain by James E. Zull
Takeaways- quotes from the text that I found thought provoking. I really enjoyed this book. It should be a must read for any teacher/ school that is thinking of switching to SBLs.
“This is why we need metaphors.Without reference to physical objects and events, there is no meaning (6).
“It is a change in the learner from receiver to a producer…...We can move from passive to active and become creators of knowledge” (33).
“At the other extreme, school can ignore the back of the cortex. We may stress creativity without requiring facts. We may encourage talk without substance. We may promote students who have little knowledge. We may deny students quiet time. We may model what our Michelles become” (45).
“The single most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teacher him accordingly,” David Ausubel (91).
The more I read there more I see that background knowledge maybe the most important factor in what kids learn.
“College students don’t have time to think. In fact, we probably reward the ones who think the least” (155).
“The teacher has a large number of facts enmeshed in his lectures, but the students are only getting isolated facts. And recent research suggests that the more things we have in working memory, the harder it is for us to focus on what is important” (184).
The depth vs. breathe argument in what and how much we should teach.
Fair Isn’t Always Equal by Rick Wormeli
This book really helped me put into perspective the differences and purposes of formatives vs summatives.
“Is the real world differentiated? Absolutely… In the real world, we gravitate toward careers with tasks for which we have some proclivity. We don’t spend an entire day working in our weak areas” (7).
“Assessment is never saved for the end off a unit. It’s ongoing and emphasizes formative over summative feedback” (39)
“We can emphasize formative checkpoints over summative ones, again focusing on what we do enroute to mastery, not just post-learning punishment or rewards” (110).
“Differentiated instruction teachers do what’s fair and developmentally appropriate for the students they teach…..They respond to the students in front of them rather than the generic middle or high school student. Because instruction in inseparable from assessment, differentiating teachers’ grading policies are also responsive to the individuals they teach. They agree that one-size-fits-all instruction and assessment approaches inevitably don’t” (195)
TED Talks - lesson plan for teachers
http://ed.ted.com
I have found that students are quite engaged with TED Talks on a variety of subjects. I usually search Youtube for what I am looking for but the education site is also a great place to start.
Daniel Pink’s book Drive.
http://www.danpink.com/books/drive/
I found that this book really got me thinking about education and how we motivate and engage kids. I know Daniel Pink is usually associated as a writer for business but the overlap for education is a great read for teachers.
Mindshift
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/
A site that discusses how to engage students with technology in the classroom. Although the articles and insights go beyond technology.
The Art of the Changing Brain by James E. Zull
Takeaways- quotes from the text that I found thought provoking. I really enjoyed this book. It should be a must read for any teacher/ school that is thinking of switching to SBLs.
“This is why we need metaphors.Without reference to physical objects and events, there is no meaning (6).
“It is a change in the learner from receiver to a producer…...We can move from passive to active and become creators of knowledge” (33).
“At the other extreme, school can ignore the back of the cortex. We may stress creativity without requiring facts. We may encourage talk without substance. We may promote students who have little knowledge. We may deny students quiet time. We may model what our Michelles become” (45).
“The single most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teacher him accordingly,” David Ausubel (91).
The more I read there more I see that background knowledge maybe the most important factor in what kids learn.
“College students don’t have time to think. In fact, we probably reward the ones who think the least” (155).
“The teacher has a large number of facts enmeshed in his lectures, but the students are only getting isolated facts. And recent research suggests that the more things we have in working memory, the harder it is for us to focus on what is important” (184).
The depth vs. breathe argument in what and how much we should teach.
Fair Isn’t Always Equal by Rick Wormeli
This book really helped me put into perspective the differences and purposes of formatives vs summatives.
“Is the real world differentiated? Absolutely… In the real world, we gravitate toward careers with tasks for which we have some proclivity. We don’t spend an entire day working in our weak areas” (7).
“Assessment is never saved for the end off a unit. It’s ongoing and emphasizes formative over summative feedback” (39)
“We can emphasize formative checkpoints over summative ones, again focusing on what we do enroute to mastery, not just post-learning punishment or rewards” (110).
“Differentiated instruction teachers do what’s fair and developmentally appropriate for the students they teach…..They respond to the students in front of them rather than the generic middle or high school student. Because instruction in inseparable from assessment, differentiating teachers’ grading policies are also responsive to the individuals they teach. They agree that one-size-fits-all instruction and assessment approaches inevitably don’t” (195)