As Title II of the Broadband Data Improvement Act, The Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act was signed into law in 2008. This legislation adds statutory language to existing FCC rules for implementing CIPA. As a result, the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act has an impact for districts and schools with respect to their ERate compliance. Continue reading
For the past three years, we’ve been serving up the best in professional development and practical teaching strategies. We’ve grown a following and I’m proud of the work we’ve done.
However, over the past months, Inside the School has changed its focus from teacher and staff professional development to consulting with K-12 districts. It’s not a huge change, but it does represent a shift in our focus, audience, and services.
Our readers will notice a shift from classroom issues to district issues, from small-scale change to large-scale change. Instead of discussing student assessment, we’re working to improve teacher and principal effectiveness. Instead of writing better lesson plans, we’re working to align district curricula with the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The issues are similar, but on a bigger scale. We’re focusing or efforts on six service areas: teacher and principal effectiveness, the CCSS, school turnarounds, charter schools, organizational efficiency, and school climate. Continue reading
The other day when I bumped into a friend, I was greeted with this inquiry: “What are you reading?” As I was wondering how she knew I was reading anything, it occurred to me that a lifelong learner is always reading something. It just so happened that I was carrying around a novel that was recommended to me but just not doing anything for me, so we lodged into a spirited debate about whether or not I ought to feel compelled to finish a novel once I’ve started it. I learn by leaps and bounds when I engage people in discussions about dilemmas that don’t necessarily have a right or a wrong answer!
What else besides reading, discussing, and questioning can a lifelong learner do? Continue reading
I went to a bookstore with a friend over the weekend and saw a magnet with this wording on it: What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
It’s an interesting question, from a learning standpoint: how much does our students’ fear of failure play into whether or not they complete assignments, try on tests, or even come to class?
My daughter is a figure skater. She’s good; she’ll never be a household name, but she and I are perfectly happy with that. A couple of her friends might be skaters you’ll watch on T.V. someday, though. These elite skaters who perform triple jumps and level-four spins all have one thing in common: they fall all the time. One of my daughter’s friends said that if she’s falling, she’s learning. My daughter’s coach says that the kids who don’t learn to fall don’t learn to jump. Continue reading
Dan is a veteran math teacher who has been on your school’s staff since before the building existed. He’s well educated, a great teacher, and the students love him. Dan’s been teaching math since before you were born and counts half the school board among his former students.
I ran into a former student at the gas station the other day. Paying for gas took me a good half an hour, but I really enjoyed talking to Brandon and seeing him as a well adjusted, married father who is working hard to support his family. What I didn’t want to hear was this: I bet you don’t miss us bad kids, hey, Ms. Trim? Continue reading
I’m the poorly organized student’s mom. Let me tell you: the poorly organized student needs all the help she can get. Don’t get me wrong: I think the poorly organized student needs to be responsible for her homework. She needs to write down assignments in her student planner. She needs to put completed homework in her folder and take it to school. She needs to clean out that locker and she needs to stop leaving socks all over the living room. Continue reading
In this post, I continue the dialogue we started last week about ways to use flashcards to foster higher-order thinking from students. Specifically, I explore another activity you may be able to adapt to your classroom and discuss how using digital flashcards presents your students with new, effective methods for assessing their own knowledge.
Flashcards force students to distill the “essence”
The act of creating flashcards forces students to (1) determine which idea is worth creating a flashcard for and (2) determine how to break that idea into term/definition so it fits into the flashcard format. These two steps drive students to distill concepts and ideas to their essence. Distilling complicated concepts to their essence is an indicator of deep understanding. Continue reading
As educators, we know flashcards have been around for ages. Our students use them. At one point or another during our school careers, we’ve used them, and many of us continue to use them as we continue to learn.
Often, flashcards are associated with rote memorization. And accurately so. A common use of flashcards is to help recall vocabulary and key terms. But flashcards can also help students develop higher-order thinking skills such as critical analysis and synthesis, and they can provide students with the foundational knowledge upon which deeper understanding is gained. Continue reading
A is for Attitude. Build a strong bridge between your feelings and your actions with an upbeat attitude and an opened mind. Hang out with positive people who will help lift you up. B is for Behavior. Manage yourself and … Continue reading
