Regular updates and musings on curriculum and technology in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, PA.
eMints - A Refreshing Approach to Teaching and Learning
The structure of this presentation was a “model lesson.” Part of the University of Missouri. Mission is to help teachers learn how to use technology in the most powerful way.
eMints web site
Most powerful element:Students engaged in learning
Instructional Model:
Lesson (4th grade): M&Ms in space - the lesson is transforming the classrooms. It is about the student’s thinking - not about the stuff.
Engineering Design Webquest - Students learn about gravity and design a M&M dispenser that can be used in space.
Focuses on key 21st century skills
Essential question: How can we use the Engineering Design Process to solve a problem? How would you desing an M7M dispenser to work in outer space? There were other questions, but I didn’t catch all of those.
The lesson would normally take about 10 days.
Norms: work collaboratively; everyone participates; be a learner; roles of group members (leaders, recorder, reporter, materials manager)
Room for differentiation and student choice throughout the lesson.
She shared how some of this information was new to her...shared that with the class, demonstrating how she is also a learner.
Video shared; students generated their questions while they watched the video. Having students generate questions allows the teacher to assess students prior knowledge and really tailor the project to where the students are in their learning around this topic. The questions are then used to guide the research process.
The teacher narrows the questions down around the topic of eating. A part of the eMints PD program is to guide students in asking their own questions and guiding teachers to ask questions that don’t have a defined answer.
Research phase: Since this is 4th grade, the teacher defines the sites the students are to use. As students get older, this should be modified for better instruction in information literacy. Student research the questions that they have asked. It is interesting to see how this is a phase of instruction that is “up in the air.” It is not something specific that the teacher can totally control.
The next phase focuses on the M&Ms. Students approach the M&Ms from an inquiry mode, gathering and sharing the qualities of the candy.
The next phase is to introduce the Engineering Design Process. These types of projects can assist in STEM efforts.
What about the state tests? While you are not teaching discreet facts, much of the content that is important to know for state tests are included in the lesson.
NECC 2008
Coming soon....blogging from the National Educational Computing Conference.
Learning to Change - Changing to Learn
There seems to be a new piece of media available on the internet pertaining to 21st century learning every week. Here is one that I most recently found. There are a number of well-known educational voices here sharing their thoughts around new ideas of teaching and learning. What do you think?
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Interactive Whiteboards
It has been great hearing the excitement and enthusiasm building for the Advancing Plan. I thought today I’d pass along two links to websites that focus on using the interactive whiteboard in the classroom. These are two excellent sites to visit if you want to start thinking about how best to use this technology. You can also speak with any of the teachers currently using the technology. Seek out and connect with those teachers in your building for more ideas!
Teaching with a SmartBoard - Links for lesson ideas and SmartBoard Notebook files.
Smartboard Lessons Podcasts - Podcasts on using the SmartBoard!
A short portion of our June workshops will get you started feeling comfortable with the software. More hands-on work with the interactive whiteboard will be coming during the August in-service days.
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The Future is Now…according to the Rutgers University English Department
There are lots of interesting points in this short presentation:
- “...the nature of communication has totally changed.”
- “English, as the site that excels in human expression, and in the study of human culture related to expression—we should be the place that’s at the very cutting edge of education for students in these areas.”
- “We now live in a world where we don’t simply go to the web to draw information down, but that people are actively participating in and contributing to the knowledge and information that is on the web.”
- Because we now live in this read/write world, it’s essential that the English Department provide our students with training in how to live in this world.”
- Collaboratories - “...spaces where students can work on multimedia composition. Because to compose, and to compose successfully in the 21st century, you have to not only excel at verbal expression and written expression, but you also have to excel in the use and manipulation of images. That is what it means to compose.”
- Writing in the 21st century - “It’s multiply authored. It’s multiply produced. That’s where English is going.”
What are your thoughts?
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