The Texas Education Agency posted “released tests” from last Spring’s STAAR administration this week. I was surprised by this question from the 6th grade assessment: Does that diagram really help students better understand the question? Are 6th graders looking at that picture and thinking, “Ooooh! I got it! It’s leaking water!”? Better yet, we haven’t stored water in barrels like… Read more →
A recent conversation at work centered around the power of teachers. We all know how much influence educators have on developing minds. We all carry vivid memories of our most loved and most despised teachers. Here’s an amusing example of this influence. Think about your online passwords. Think about the security questions you use to recover them. The questions are… Read more →
I enjoy the Oscars, yeah, I’m one of those. But when these actors gush about how all of them are doing “GROUNDBREAKING” work. Well, come on! So let’s gush about some of my colleagues who are doing groundbreaking work! My campus journalism teacher who sends kids out to take campus photos, then gives them immediate feedback and sends them back… Read more →
Here is a Differentiated Instruction strategy my PLC is sharing with the campus as part of our staff development day this week. Each PLC on campus is putting together some sort of static display describing how DI has impacted their classroom this year. We will than have time to visit the displays and learn from our peers. The 8th-Grade Math PLC… Read more →
Here are some interesting articles on arithmetic algorithms. I’ve always been intrigued by those who argue for some sort of golden algorithm. For example, the best, and only way to multiply two digits by two digits is to start with a leading zero on the second line of multiplication. These algorithms didn’t spring from Zeus’ head fully formed. My elementary… Read more →
This came from a friend on social media. A great blog entry about a teacher who monitors her students’ social interactions in a subtle, but effective way. There’s so much to discuss in this article. I like the perspective of a parent asking for tutoring (for the parent) even though the kid “gets it.” I love that many folks read… Read more →
There has been a running debate on our campus about the importance of memorizing multiplication tables. Pro: The state test doesn’t allow calculators, so students need to multiply without a calculator. It’s the math equivalent to English/Language Arts teachers’ alphabet: the building blocks necessary to accomplish bigger things. Automaticity increases performance on multi-step problems. If students have to stop to… Read more →
Two interesting reads: To See Increases in Student Achievement in 1:1/BYOD Classrooms, Teachers Must be Given Curriculum with Technology Activities Baked in, from The Journal asserts that research shows that technology devices in the classroom will not improve student performance unless the technology is inherent in the curriculum — not just an add-on. Success requires “60 percent to 75 percent… Read more →
A recurring theme in Dan Meyer’s blog is capturing the educational opportunities that technology brings to our classrooms. There is a subset of American teachers who are technology reactionaries. They point out that the classrooms of their youth functioned without computers, iPods, LCD projectors, and PowerPoint presentations. Back then, someone turned the knob to advance the filmstrip when they heard… Read more →
In our campus leadership meeting this month, we discussed how to sustain transformation. Our campus has championed some big changes in attitude and practice as we’ve worked to implement PLCs at Work in the model of Solution Tree. We read the article Sustaining Improvement Efforts Over the Long Run by Craig Jerald and listed some of the keys to keep… Read more →
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