Thursday, September 20, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Nine Ways the Common Core Will Change Classroom Practice
In his article Robert Rothman breaks down nine very important
differences the Common Core has from the old state standards. The first four
are centered around mathematics while the fifth through ninth are based on
changes in English language arts. The first is that the Common Core Standards
are going to focus on fewer topics, but address each topic in greater depth.
The second difference that the Common Core will introduce new topics that
builds on each other in each grade. The third difference is that they clarify
that each bit of mathematical knowledge is equal; there is not one that is most
important. The fourth difference is that teachers must allow their students the
opportunity to demonstrate the mathematical content that they have learned. The
fifth difference is that they want to place a larger emphasis on nonfiction;
half of the reading in elementary school should be nonfiction and seventy-five
percent in high school should be nonfiction. The sixth difference is that
students will be required to use evidence in their work rather than relying on
their opinions of personal feelings. The seventh difference is that they must
increase their level of difficulty on reading each year; teachers must select
materials appropriate to their grade level. The eighth difference is that small
group and whole –class discussion must be emphasized more because students must
demonstrate speaking and listening skills. The last major change the common
core will make is that students must be able to understand texts from other
areas like history, science, and other technical subjects. These are big
changes all at once, but most schools have the help of the state of private
organizations
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
New technology welcomes students in Western Springs
This article written by Arcadia Kust is about a school that
used technology to get their students in learning. The firth grade students at
John Laidlaw Elementary School are now using Chromebooks in the classroom. This
is a laptop that uses Google Chrome and Google Documents. The use of these new
laptops has gotten students more excited and motivate about school work because
it allows them to share more with other and receive more feedback from their
instructors. Using Google documents students con write an essay on their
computer at home, work on it in the classroom, have their instructor look at it,
get their peers feedback, and even have students at other schools observe their
work. The fifth grade is not the only one getting help from technology at this
school though. The kindergarten through second graders have iPads to work with
and the third and fourth graders use Macbooks. One of the teachers says in the
article that by use of technology she has students who use to be reluctant
writer come up for her asking what else can they do.
Four Ways to Teach the Common Core with Public Media
Matthew Green wrote this article about how educators can use
the media in their classroom to meet Common Core State Standards (CCSS). KQED
and PBS Learning Media are two aids that are given to help teachers engage
students in content that is compelling and directly meets up with the
standards. This article points out four different ways that an educator can use
media to address some standards. The first is to emphasize informational text.
The CCSS puts a big emphasis on students reading nonfiction and information
texts. One way to incorporate media into this is to use updated radio and
TV-based news coverage. The second is to focus on the argument. The CCSS requires
students to read an argument in a text and also to write their own argument
that supports a specific claim in a text. The article suggests that a teacher use
video clips or audio from Prison break, a new TV series that is about the
troubled prison system in California. The third way to use media to teach the
common core is to push for media literacy. The CCSS stressed the need for
students to be digitally confident and media savvy. One great way the article
suggests a student do this is to examine the different way that the media has
been used in the 2012 election, and how that has shaped the opinion of the public.
The final way is to encourage
students to use the Internet to collaborate together and exchange their own
ideas. The CCSS wants students to be a part of these online communities and to
express their ideas with others without the restriction of their geographical
location. Twitter and other social networks can be a great way for students to interact
with other students they would not normally come in contact with.
Out-Of-School Settings Create Climate for New Skills
The article written by Nora Fleming talks about how
out-of-school programs are using mobile gaming to reinforce lessons from
schools and learning labs that help students create their own multimedia projects
with the aid of digital tools. Ultimately these are new ways that technology
helps students to keep learning when they are outside of the school doors. These programs are ways to get children
to be more engaged by helping them learn in new ways using digital and media
skills rather than simply teaching. They are calling this new trend “connected
learning.” The purpose of connected learning to incorporate kids passion into
learning so that learning will become their passion. Children in this day and
age need to have a bridge between the gap in what they are learning and the new
experience in learning that are offered. This new system is so new that most
are calling it a leap of faith to get started, but sometimes an educator must
be willing to take a risk for their students.
Educators Evaluate ‘Flipped Classrooms’
In this article Katie Ash gets stories of teachers who are
using a new approach to teaching called the “flipped classroom.” This is where
teachers using videos, that can be sent home or played in class, to do most of
the lecturing. This leaves the time in class to help students do hands-on
activities and one-on-one work from teacher to student. Some teachers think
that this is not an innovative way to engages students into learning more though,
they believe that this is just a newer way of still using a lecture approach.
The lecture is just at home and not in the classroom this time. One teacher
uses the videos as a final aid for students. He first uses a guided inquiry
method of teaching, then gets the students to complete lab work, and finally
after then have learned all they can on their own he will introduce the video.
Another way teachers are changing from a traditional classroom setting is by
using a “mastery based” flipped classroom. This means that rather than students
learning everything at once, they will be going through materials at their own
pace. They watch the video, complete quizzes, perform labs, and even take tests
when they are ready as opposed to with the entire class. These “flipped
classrooms” are really just methods teachers are trying to use so that students
who are not engaging in the classroom have a better chance of not being left
behind. In the article one of the teachers interviewed stated, “It’s not going
to make a bad teacher a good teacher.” Meaning that if a teacher thinks that
flipping their classroom will make them automatically better is wrong, this is
just another aid for them to use.
As K-12 classrooms go high-tech, colleges get more virtual
This article written by Sevil Omer and Devin Coldewey is centered
around the major impact technology has made on grade schools as well as
college. The grade school teachers are beginning to use more and more
technology in their classrooms. While most teacher feel that technology is
helpful n the classroom, many of them would like to see more whiteboards and
tablets, and not outdated PCs. Cost is mainly the factor that is limiting most
teachers from having the technology that they need. Although, some schools are
requiring that all underclassman purchase iPads for this school year. Other
schools are using video technologies to link multiple classrooms together so
their students get higher-level courses that may not have been available to
them without technology. There are
still some teachers who are skeptical about the use of technology though. They
do not want this to be another aid in getting students to memorize and
regurgitate information; they want it to be used as a way to create knowledge
for them. When it comes to college, technology is becoming a way for students
to learn in the comfort at home. Many believe that in the years to come
students will spend less time on campus than they do taking online classes.
School officials have argued over if this will be good for students, because a
student can learn so much from mixing and mingling with those on campus that
they would normally not be in a setting with. But no matter what a persons
personal stance on technology in classroom is, they say that traditional
lecture-and-test classrooms are on the way out the door.
Eight problems with Common Core Standards
This article written by Marion Brady goes into great detail
about what is wrong with the Common Core Standards in the United States. This
veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer, and author does not hesitate
one bit on speaking out on how the Common Core is not something that will work
and that it was poorly created. She states that it was put together with
insufficient feedback from qualified educators, that there wasn’t enough
research done, and that they did not conduce experimental programs before
switching to these standards. Brady makes a list of eight problems with the
Common Core. Her eight beliefs against the common core are:
1)
The standards shouldn’t be attached to a
specific subject in school.
2)
Since the future isn’t discernible, we shouldn’t
make a static strategy because it will end in failure.
3)
Children need to know much more than what only
what is covered by the traditional core subjects.
4)
The level of childhood poverty is being ignored
and that is a main reason for poor student performance
5)
The Common Core allows for no innovation.
6)
The Common Core is set up with the thoughts of
national standardized tests in mind.
7)
American values are not in synch with the idea
of standardized minds.
8)
The Common Core is made with the thought of
college and careers in mind, when the young people should be exploring humanness.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Intro
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