Featured 3-31-2014: Next Generation Science Standards

Through a collaborative, state-led process, new K–12 science standards, Next Generation Science Standards for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Workforce, have been developed.

 

Rich in content and practice, the Next Generation Science Standards are logically arranged across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education. 

 

The process for developing the science standards included having the scientific and educational research communities identify core ideas in science and integrate them across grade levels.

 

 

The scientific practices in the NGSS include critical thinking and communication skills that students need for real-world success. In the standards, these science practices are intertwined with content.

 

 See Paul Andersen introduce his video series on the Next Generation Science Standards.

 

The Next Generation Science Standards are based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education developed by the National Research Council. The writing process began in the summer of 2011, and the final version of the NGSS was released in April of last year.

 

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 4-24-2013 Common Core Toolkit [Curriculum]

Gerald Aungst, Supervisor of Gifted and Elementary Mathematics at School District of Cheltenham Township in Pennsylvania, is developing a Common Core Toolkit for Principals.

Since January, Aungst has been presenting a monthly four-part package of resources and activities principals can use for their own, as well as their staff's, professional development.

The parts of each package are:

1. Think: A warm up article, blog post, or video to set the stage for a faculty discussion.

2. Share: Two activities principals can use with staff members during the month in faculty or team meetings.

3. Test Drive: A key instructional practice that teachers can try out in their classrooms without expectations.

4. Explore: Links to other resources with more information for those who want to dig deeper.

Though these Common Core Toolkit for Principals packages are mainly directed towards the particular needs of Aungst's own district, others might find them useful.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 4/8/2013 Association of Teachers of Mathematics [Math]

Established in 1950, the Association of Teachers of Mathematics strives  to encourage the development of mathematics education that it is more closely related to the needs of the learner.

Based in the UK, the Association of Teachers of Mathematics has about 4000 members, most of whom are primary and secondary school teachers. Through the ATM all those concerned with mathematics education for all age ranges have the opportunity to come together.

The Association of Teachers of Mathematics aims to support the teaching and learning of mathematics by:

• Encouraging increased understanding and enjoyment of mathematics.

• Encouraging increased understanding of how people learn mathematics.

• Encouraging the sharing and evaluation of teaching and learning strategies and practices.

• Promoting the exploration of new ideas and possibilities.

• Initiating and contributing to discussion of and developments in mathematics education at all levels.

The ATM produces policy statements and publishes responses to national and government initiatives. A number of ‘Working Groups’ examine particular areas of mathematics education to develop policy, resources, and action.

Membership in the Association of Teachers of Mathematics is open to students and teachers at nursery, infant, primary, secondary, and higher levels, numeracy consultants, and others. ATM speaks "for creativity, thought, and the enjoyment of the struggle in calculation, reasoning and discovery..."

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Featured: 3/7/2013 Math for America [Math]

Math for America is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve mathematics and science education in US public secondary schools by building a contingent of highly qualified STEM teachers and leaders.



Math for America teachers try to be models for other teachers. In this way, members of the corps hope not only to change the lives of their students, but also change the teaching profession itself.



Math for America rewards and supports new and experienced teachers and school leaders through fellowship programs based on three key principles:

• To teach math and science effectively, one needs a strong knowledge of their subject area, solid pedagogical skills, and a desire and ability to interact with young people.
• Generous incentives make it possible to recruit mathematically qualified individuals into teaching and to retain outstanding STEM teachers.
• By providing strong support services, including continuing education, mentoring and professional development, it is possible to inspire a commitment to a long-term career as a mathematics or science teacher.

Watch a video: Math for America 30 Second Spot

Math for America was founded in New York City in 2004. Now with nearly 600 corps members across its programs, it also operates in Berkeley, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Utah, and Washington, DC.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Extra: Great Lessons

A teacher since 1987, Tom Sherrington is currently headteacher at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford in Essex, UK. He writes a blog called headguruteacher.

He believes teachers need to focus on extraordinary, one-off lessons, but on things that we do every day and supports this with two related ideas:

• It is the spirit of an idea that is important, not the letter.  It isn’t about sticking to the rules. When good practice is embedded it is organic and doesn’t feel like a stuck-on activity plucked from a toolkit.
• In improving as teachers, we are not collecting tools, we [are] seeking to change our habits… the things we do automatically every day.

Sherrington is currently producing a series of short posts called Great Lessons that focus on aspects of routine practice "– because lessons can be routinely outstanding."

They can be read here:

1. Great Lessons 1: Probing (JAN 22, 2013)
2. Great Lessons 2: Rigour (JAN 27, 2013)
3. Great Lessons 3: Challenge ( JAN 31, 2013)
4. Great Lessons 4: Differentiation (FEB 3, 2013)
5. Great Lessons 5: Journeys (FEB 8, 2013)
6. Great Lessons 6: Explaining (FEB 13, 2013)

Featured: 1/28/2013 GETideas.org [Community]

Education leaders can develop their professional learning networks at GETideas.org.



The people at GETideas.org see it "as a professional idea generator – a place where education leaders can be inspired to make change happen in their school, district, or university." Their goal is to facilitate the exchange of ideas toward solving education challenges.

Benefits of participation in the GETideas.org community:

• Professional development customized to the needs of education leaders.
• Trusted, timely news about hot topics and events in education aggregated in one place.
• Profiles of exemplar educational institutions.
• Thematically curated collections of information on topics important to education leaders.
• Rich multimedia content provided by respected thought leaders.
• Opportunities to engage with forward-thinking leaders during real-time events focused on best practices in education.

The GETideas.org online community of practice is geared toward system-level education leaders at all levels. They can identify resources that will help them inform professional practices, network with other leaders, and share their ideas for improving education.

Visit the GETideasYouTube channel

GETIdeas.org is a Corporate Social Responsibility project of Cisco.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Catch of the Day - Science Education Resource Center - 6/1/2011

The goal of The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) of Carleton College is to improve science education through projects supporting educators.

SERC is especially knowledgeable in effective instructional methods, geoscience education, organizing communities, workshop leadership, digital libraries, website development, and evaluation of programs and websites. SERC works with teachers at all educational levels and in many disciplines.

SERC hosts three portals leading to resource for science educators:

• Teach the Earth - Resources for geoscience educators (previous post)
• K12 Science - Resources for K-12 science teachers
• Pedagogy in Action - Educators sharing their expertise

The content available through SERC has evolved through collaboration with numerous projects and individuals. Individuals are encouraged to contribute activities, review modules, and take advantage of editorial or fellow positions when available.

SERC is primarily funded by National Science Foundation grants.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Catch of the Day - NRICH Mathematics- 5/2/2011

NRICH is a group of teachers specializing in the use of RICH mathematical thinking. The NRICH project offers advice and support to both teachers and learners (ages 5-19) of mathematics.

The NRICH website contains a wealth of rich tasks and guidance. NRICH wants teachers to have a thorough understanding of what is meant by "rich tasks" and what that suggests about classroom practice.

NRICH provides mathematics teachers:

• Free enrichment material that can help inspire and engage learners and embed RICH tasks into everyday practice.
• On-line and face-to-face support at both Primary and Secondary levels to promote RICH thinking in classrooms.
• Professional development courses and workshops in rich mathematics.
• Help in thinking strategically about "next steps" and progression in problem solving.

There are free, interesting mathematical games, problems, and articles for mathematics learners. Students are encouraged to share their solutions to NRICH mathematical problems in a safe online space where they can meet others with similar interests.

Some of the resources available free on the NRICH website are curriculum mapping documents; articles, news, and research/journal items; professional development; and games.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Online Text-to-Speech Solutions

In an educational setting, there can be a number of reasons to convert written words into spoken words. Naturally, the most obvious use would be to assist and support visually impaired students. Readers who struggle can be helped by reading along along with an audio version of the content.

Students can be provided MP3 files of class notes, study guides, review materials, or any other textual material which they can then listen to on their iPods or other MP3 players.

Text-to-Speech technology is improving constantly. The old monotone, mechanical speech patterns have been replaced by spoken content that sometimes sounds nearly natural.

I've provided links to a number of online text-to-speech services. Some are quite good, ReadTheWords and YAKiToMe! are my first choices. Some are free, some charge a fee, and others have both limited free and paid plans which offer more. Most will allow you to embed a player into your own blog, wiki, or web page or direct link to their site.

Visit each and find the one which best suits your needs.




Zamzar


BlindSpeak

HearWho.com

iSpeech

PediaPhon

ReadTheWords.com

SpokenText

YAKiToMe!

Here's an example of this post read by Tom from ReadTheWords ...

Here's an example of this post read by Audrey from YAKiToMe!...
Text-to-Speech Solutions

Shiny New Toys

Image by bensheldon via Flickr

I recently saw this post in my Twitter feed -

Need something new for a 5th grade teacher who has done a lot with tech - moodle, wikis, glogster, animoto, mixbook - ideas

I don't know the teacher being referred to or anything about that teacher's classroom practices. I am not judging that individual teacher in any way.

However, the suggestion of this post is the kind of thing that sometimes frightens and concerns me about the infusion of technology into the 21st century classroom.

There are people I have met in the course of my work who are completely and absolutely enamored with the technology. They have lost focus on the pedagogy and it has become all about the tech. They can't wait to get to the next shiny, new thing in the Web 2.0 toy box.

The post precipitates the question, "Has the teacher who has 'done a lot with tech' also done a lot with math, English, science, and social studies?" I hope the answer is yes.

Furthermore, are this teacher's students benefiting demonstrably from all of this immersion in technology? Is it sound and cogent? Is all this tech enhancing the learning process in this classroom?

We need to be thoughtful and cautious in all this experimenting we do in the classroom with our sparkly toys. We need to keep our eye on the prize, stay focused, do no harm to those we are pledged to teach.