How are Apps Affecting Student Learning?

This must-read article explains how digital media is affecting American youth.  Kathy Davis got the opportunity to work with Howard Gardner, best known for his theory of multiple intelligences.  Their project focused on apps.  Davis and Gardner authored the book, The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy and Imagination in a Digital World. Many students do not take the necessary "downtime" to reflect, take a walk, think about what happened and what might happen next. What was noted, however, is the increased creativity in the visual arts, but which declined in language arts. 


Is the 'App Mentality' Killing Students' Creativity?  Frank DiMaria 6.16.15. THE Journal, Transforming Education through Technology

We're Not Ready to Teach ELLs Effectively

We know large numbers of immigrant students from many countries are coming to the U.S., yet we are ill-prepared to teach them effectively.  A number of reasons come to mind & this article doesn't include them all.  Bi-lingual teachers spend a lot of time preparing lessons in the students' native language.   The Council of the Great City Schools have started a project with experts and educational publishers to develop better instructional materials.  It's being tested this spring but won't be ready for wider distribution until 2016. 
This article was produced by The Hechinger Report, a non-profit news organization focusing on inequality and innovation in education.  This topic is extremely important because ELLs are expected to meet the rigor of Common Core expectations just like native speaking students. 


Note: Reproduction of this story is not permitted.


For teachers of English learners, Common Core means double the work. Margaret Ramirez. 6.16.15. The Hechinger Report

Read Aloud Project for K-2nd Graders

Kindergarten teacher, Jamie Landahl, tells us about how she has used the Read Aloud Project in her school, North Las Vegas Duncan Elementary School.  The project is appropriate for children in K-2nd grades.  The project focuses on building student comprehension and vocabulary by enhancing read alouds with activities.  The following article describes the method which involves 30 minutes a day for a week.  Results?  Amazing....She describes her kids as coming to Kindergarten not knowing how to hold a pencil.  At the end of the year, her students answered questions and were able to write complete sentences.  Excellent article.


Program challenges, improves listening comprehension in Kindergarten through second-graders.  Sandy Lopez.  6.14.15.  Las Vegas Review-Journal
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/education/program-challenges-improves-listening-comprehension-kindergarten-through-second

Forming Positive Relationships With Students-- Easy Things You Can Do

Student learning in your classroom depends on relationships you have made with your students.  All the strategies in the world will not be effective unless your students believe in you.  Establishing good rapport is easier than you might believe.  The following article is excellent and if you do them you'll find an amazing difference.




4 easy ways to form positive relationships with students. Josh Strumppenhorst. 6.9.15. eSchoolNews

 

Four- Brain Engagement Using Technology

Author, Joli Barker, gives us excellent tips to engage students in deeper reading of complex text. Her premise is that active minds need to adapt, negotiate, problem solve and produce. She urges teachers to allow students to explore in four-brain based areas.  Each are is explained and examples are given.
Excellent!


Tech Tip Engage students in deeper learner.  Joli Barker. 6.2.15.  SmartBlog on Education
http://smartblogs.com/education/2015/06/02/tech-tip-engage-students-in-deeper-learning/?utm_source=brief

Excellent Virtual Field Trips For Your Students

I've posted a few articles on field trips and I know you value the experiences for your students.  While there are countless examples - actual and virtual - it may be difficult for you to make excellent choices.  Meris Stansbury, associate editor of  eSchool News gives you a list of 10 wonderful virtual field trips that will help build useful lessons that engage students to learn more.  I particularly like those that contribute to the 21st Century Skill, "global awareness."  So many of our students understand the world around them but are ignorant of other lands and world issues.
Explore these virtual sites and I'm sure you'll find several that fit into your curriculum.


Ten of the best virtual field trips.  Meris Stansbury, 4.7.13. eSchoolNews
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/04/07/ten-of-the-best-virtual-field-trips/?

How to Give Feedback to Students More Effectively

We hope that the feedback we give to students will help them in the future with similar assignments.  What ;happens when you don't see that occurring?  Perhaps it is the way you give feedback in the first place.  The author of the following article, Taylor Meredith, saw that happening with her students.  After reading John Hattie's & Dylan Wiliam's work, Ms. Meredith changed her method completely. She learned that relationships with students were the key for  student feedback.  Excellent article and well worth your time.


Starting Student Feedback Loops.  Taylor Meredith. 5.16.15.  edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/starting-student-feedback-loops-taylor-meredith

Field Trips - One Teacher's Excellent Ideas

Amanda Wall has taken many of her students on overnight trips.  She shares 6 of her lessons as examples for you to see how field trips are worth the preparation and lead to more in-depth learning.  Ms. Wall offers 6 tips for successful academic field trips that you could yourself in planning class trips.


6 Tips to Boost Learning on Class Field Trips.  Amanda Wall. 4.29.13. MiddleWeb, featured in Stenhouse Newslinks. 5.15.15
http://www.middleweb.com/7285/academic-field-trips/

Common Core Math - We Need to Learn Along With Our Students

The new math is a huge change from the way teachers have taught in the past.  Memorization, calculation, and procedures are no longer the "end-all."  What is required is inquiry, communication, connections, and visual ideas. Author, Jo Boaler says,  "We need students who can ask good questions, map our pathways, reason about complex solutions, set up models and communicate in different forms."  Read this article to better understand what Common Core math standards is all about.
Memorizers are the lowest achievers and other Common Core math surprises.  Jo Boaler. 5.7.15.  The Hechinger Report
http://hechingerreport.org/memorizers-are-the-lowest-achievers-and-other-common-core-math-surprises/

What Do Preschoolers Need to be a Success Student?

Research has shown for some time that babies and toddlers benefit immensely from words spoken, heard, and tried themselves.  However, many low income parents do not provide these essential conversations and their children have a great deal of difficulty when they enter school.  The following article points out that if a child is behind in third grade, he/she has a high risk of not finishing high school.  We as teachers must do everything we can to engage parents in filling this need.  Many parents find this very difficult to do even though they love their child.  Often they are not instructed how to help or otherwise their time is spent providing the basic needs for the family.


What Do All Babies Need Yet Aren't Getting Equally, Melissa Fay Greene.  October, Reader's Digest.
http://www.rd.com/advice/parenting/babies-need-words/


                                                             

Use Virtual Field Trips to Enhance Your Curriculum

It is impossible to personally visit many significant sites in the world such as the Louvre, Smithsonian, or Washington D.C. sites.  Other sites close to home may be too expensive to finance bus transportation and supervision.  Realizing the significance of the digital age, many sites have produced virtual field trips that can add immeasurable information to your students in math, reading, science, and social studies curriculums.  Some virtual tours have prepared lessons that you can use.  If not, use the Field Trip model shown in the other field trip blog entry that can tailor a lesson to fit your purposes and those of a variety of learners in your class.  Read this article for ideas you might use.


Virtual Field Trips Spice Up Learning.  Barbara R. Blackburn. 4.26.15. MiddleWeb
http://www.middleweb.com/22188/virtual-field-trips-spice-up-learning/

Using Technology Responsibly

In our connected world it is important for teachers and students to respect the power of technology in revealing the character, habits, and opinions of themselves and others.  In Facebook, the most visited social media site, we need to understand the consequences of posting items/images that we might regret.  Lesson:  Think before you post....   Excellent article that everyone should read and consider.


Tech Tip:  Can we be people of character in a connected world?  Mike Ribble. 4.21.15.
http://smartblogs.com/education/2015/04/21/tech-tip-can-we-be-people-of-character-in-a-connected-world/?utm_source=brief

How to Help Kinesthetic Learners

We assume most students learn using auditory/visual systems, yet many students require manipulation and movement.  In the early years, most children are physically active and teachers respond to this by providing teaching strategies that require movement and manipulation.  Older students may have that kinesthetic tendency so teachers should provide movement, touch, and physical connection.  Not only will kinesthetic learners benefit, but so will all learners in the class.
Read this wonderful article for more ideas.  Share your experiences in Comments below.


Keeping your classroom moving.  Hanptali Hoff. 4.23.15. SmartBlog on Education.
http://smartblogs.com/education/2015/04/23/keeping-your-classroom-moving/?utm_source=brief

Exit Tickets: What a Great Assessment Tool!

Most teachers use some type of assessment to gauge the effectiveness of their lessons and to discover what their students are learning.  Author, Rhonda Stewart, has some excellent examples of exit tools that you can use - on paper and also online.  Ms. Stewart offers prompts for students to select and respond.  Paper samples are reproducible for you, the reader.  Online exit ticket examples are also shown, a tool Ms. Stewart recently discovered.  This is an excellent article that should help you with instruction.


Using Exit Tickets as an Assessment Tool.  Rhonda Stewart. 3.13.15.  Scholastic - Top Teaching Blog
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2015/03/using-exit-tickets-assessment-tool

A Look at Today's Math Classroom

Math teachers everywhere are making major instructional shifts to fit the challenges of Common Core math.  The article below from the Teaching Channel features examples of classrooms engaging in this process.  What excitement kids have in these classrooms!  Enjoy and see what you can do in your classroom.


What Does Math Look Like in today's Classroom?  Gretchen Vierstra. 3/10.15.  TeachingChannel - Tchers' Voice
https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2015/03/10/math-in-todays-classroom/

How Are We Teaching Students to Remember?

We spent a great deal of effort to lesson planning and its execution in class: key vocabulary, important facts, and class discussion followed by testing.  Students then perform very well.  However, according to our author, Naphtali Hoff, several days later, there is empty silence when the teacher asks a related question.  What happened?  This is what the following article is about---how to teach retention of important information in the curriculum.  Yes, in this digital age, "Googling" is a handy answer, but do we want today's learners to use this crutch all the time?  Of course not!  Read how you can teach your students how to develop long term memory.  Excellent article and not to be missed. 
Our readers would love to read your Comments.  So please share your thoughts.


Put retention in the plan.  Naphtali Hoff.  3.9. 15.  SmartBlog on Education - Leadership
http://smartblogs.com/education/2015/03/09/put-retention-in-the-plan/?utm_source=brief

Build Trust and Confidence With Your Students

From the land down-under, Australian teacher Emma Waters reflects on the writings of poets, Tao Te Ching and the 14th Century poet Hafiz to see how their words might apply in a 21st Century school classroom.  She offers 7 excellent ideas for creating a productive classroom environment which is based on trust and confidence.  Excellent.


Why it is important to be a centered (centred) leader. Emma Waters. 3.9.15.  Britannica - Digital Learning: Australia

Relationship Building Among Teachers & Students of Different Cultures

Positive relations between students and their teachers are a "must" in order for good learning to take place.  The first order of business for us as teachers is to 'listen' rather than 'do'. As the author, Jose Vilson so aptly points out, we have a lot on our plates that are action orientated with little time left for listening and reflecting.  Mr. Vilson points out 3 essential strategies that are needed to work successfully with culturally and/or racially diverse classrooms.  Excellent!


Empowering Educators Through Cultural Competence.  Jose Vilson.  3.10.15.  edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/empowering-educators-through-cultural-competence-jose-vilson

Technology to Motivate Struggling Learners

All of us are more apt to learn something when we are motivated to do so.  So many struggling readers are presented with the same print media that has proven extremely difficult for them.  How great it is if we presented these learners with material that they enjoy and can learn from.  That's what this article is about.  Read how technology can be a great motivator.


A New Approach to Designing Educational Technology - Is the biggest learning disability an emotional one?  Chris Berdik. 3.4.15.  Slate

How Can We Stimulate a Child's Curiosity?

So often school is about hard work, getting assignments done, and acquiring knowledge.  But curious students fare better in careers and life than hard workers.  Read this article about the research behind curiosity.  The author, Marilyn Price-Mitchell offers 10 ways to stimulate a student's curiosity.  We can all be alert to these signals and active steps.
Share your ideas about how you have encouraged curiosity in your students in the Comments section below.


Curiosity:  The Force Within a Hungry Mind. Marilyn Price-Mitchell  2.17.15. edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-curiosity-hungry-mind-marilyn-price-Mitchell