Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Threshold Concepts


Pritchard, J. (2012, October 11). Threshold concepts. Retrieved from http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseteachingblog/2012/10/11/threshold-concepts/

            The page provides a definition of threshold concepts as a novel opportunity of providing insight and understanding to information. The author list five characteristics of a threshold concept: “transformative, irreversible, integrative, bounded (has boundaries which connect to other concepts), and troublesome.” Links are available to more explanation of its development and understanding.

Depth of Knowledge


Vimeo. (2011, March 14). Depth of knowledge with karin hess (full version) [video file]. Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/21111138

            The most clear explanation of the DOK concept in alignment with Bloom’s taxonomy.

Depth of Knowledge = Complexity of Thinking: what kind of mental processing needs to occur with the activity? = ways you interact with content (Norman Webb)

Bloom’s Taxonomy = Type of Thinking (Benjamin Bloom)

Try this before taking your next course


Landsberger, J. (n.d.). Study guides and strategies: Learning to learn (metacognition). Retrieved from http://www.studygs.net/metacognition.htm

            Learning to learn series begins with the participant taking a directed reflection on personal learning style. The results are meant to help the participant gain an understanding of the best way to learn and so plan the learning activities to help with future studying strategies.

The 4 School Curricula


Ebert, E. S. II, Ebert, C., and Bentley, M. L.  (2013, July 19). Curriculum definition. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/curriculum-definition/?page=2

             The article provides a history of curricula from the medieval to modern times, the purpose of a curriculum, and a description of the four curricula present in a school. The four curricula are explicit curriculum – the knowledge and skills to be taught and learned; implicit curriculum – lessons based on school culture as influenced by demographics and unspoken expectations and perspectives of adults and students; null curriculum – lessons not included such as evolution, gender identity, alternate lifestyles, and family dynamics; and extra-curriculum – lessons learned from participation or non-participation in committees and organizations beyond the classroom.

Listen.


YouTube. (2007, May 14) Evelyn Glennie: How to truly listen [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3V6zNER4g

 
            Percussionist Evelyn Glennie inspires the audience into the art of listening, using various percussion instruments to show how mechanical listening contrasts with mindful listening.

Passion



             The author writes that teachers bring "passion" to the topic they present and to the format of the presentation - with the student's perspective in mind. "Find out what each child is innately passionately about. Be an instructor that exudes passion for the topic, and infect your students with that excitement. .. With patience." She cautions that doing so means becoming vulnerable to learning alongside the student so that students also risk being as vulnerable to learning for themselves.

Constructionism


Papert, S. (1980s). Constructionism v. instructionism. [Transcript of speech delivered by video]. Retrieved from http://www.papert.org/articles/const_inst/const_inst1.html

 
            In this transcript of a speech given through a video presentation to educators at a conference in Japan, Papert defines constructionism and instructionism as “two approaches to educational innovation,” describes how students apply mathematics with computer technology to learn mathematical concepts, and encourages audience to “become engaged in inventing the future of learning.”


“Instructionism is the theory that says, "To get better education, we must improve instruction. And if we're going to use computers, we'll make the computers do the instruction." (Part 1, para. 3)
 
“Well, teaching is important, but learning is much more important. And Constructionism means "Giving children good things to do so that they can learn by doing much better than they could before." Now, I think that the new technologies are very, very rich in providing new things for children to do so that they can learn mathematics as part of something real.” (Part 1, para. 4)

Behaviorism abbreviated


Lowry, B., McPhail, E., Patterson, D., & Reese, C. (2012, November 20). Behaviorism. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/elementaryedgroup3/behaviorism-15257760

and

Pickering, S. (2010, November 24). Behaviorism: A learning theory. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/samanthapickering/behaviorism-5882407


            Student-created PowerPoint slides give brief overview of theorists’ concepts about behaviorism: Pavlov, Skinner, and Bandura; describes positive and negative reinforcement and gives ideas on how teachers can apply them.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013


Loertscher, D. V., & Koechlin, C. (2012).  Theory and research as the foundational elements of a learning commons. Teacher Librarian 39(3): 48-51. Retrieved from http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk//launch.aspx?eid=c6559c6d-0532-401b-ac7b-45caa6628163

The article provides information from organizations and researchers in support of the learning commons. The research provided is based on guiding principles: [1] A sense of urgency to utilize technology to make a difference, [2] The learning commons is a "giant collaborative," [3] "The redesign of learning experiences toward higher-level thinking and creativity is essential," [4] "Virtual space can have a profound effect on learning," [5] "Personal learning networks and envrionments are grwoing as essential elements in learning and global competitiveness.'

Monday, December 9, 2013

Co-Teaching Strategies

Chambers, Julia
CO-Collaboration strategies

Cook, L., & Friend, M. (2004, April). Co‐Teaching: Principles, Practices, and Pragmatics, Paper presented
at the quarterly meeting of the New Mexico Public Education Department Special Education
Meeting, Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved from http://capone.mtsu.edu/tsbrown/coteachingdetailsofModels.pdf

This paper offers a great description of 6 approaches to co-teaching, with excellent descriptions of each approach. Examples include:

  • Teach one, one observe
  • Teach one, one drift
  • Parallel teaching
  • Station teaching
  • Differentiated/Supplemental teaching
  • Team teaching
Each approach has short, accessible descriptions followed by in-depth details on such things as when to use this approach, amount of planning required, and classroom examples.

Evaluation: This is definitely a must-read article for anyone new to collaboration. It opens up possibilities and ideas and gives the teacher librarian more tools to draw from when working with different types of personalities and different types of instruction.

NYC iSchool: A Model for 21st Century Learning

Besich, Lauren

NYC iSchool. (2013, December 2). NYC iSchool: A model for 21st century learning [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/ipU1E2u-gGQ

 IL

 

Summary: NYC iSchool is a selective high school in NYC rooted in 21st century teaching and learning.  They break the mold of traditional high schools through real-world relevant learning experiences, student choice and responsibility, collaboration, technology integration, problem-based learning, and areas of focus. 

Evaluation: PLEASE, if you watch anything else for this class, watch this!  It is remarkable to see a school shed the traditions of the 20th century, and redefine the high school experience of the 21st century.  I get so excited watching this video and exploring their website (http://www.nycischool.org/home).  NYC iSchool has done a remarkable job creating a student-driven environment focused on problem solving, inquiry, individualization, collaboration, and choice.  I wonder how I would have turned out if I went to NYC iSchool.  I wonder if they are hiring a librarian?

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Rubrics: Reasons Not to Use Them

Chambers, Julia

CA

McCuster, S. (2013, April 21). 5 ways to blow the top off rubrics. Free Technology for Teachers. [Weblog post]. Retrieved from http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/04/5-ways-to-blow-top-off-of-rubrics.html#.UqVUkNIcaSo

Shawn McCuster's guest post makes a strong argument for limiting rubrics, used by teachers to support grading consistency and used by students to ensure they are meeting the goal objectives. McCuster's argument suggests that rubrics limit students' creativity, innovation, and excitement in learning. Students rely too heavily on checking off the key objectives listed on the rubric so they may get an A and miss opportunities to discover, innovate, and reinvent the learning. What's more, rubrics tend to ignore such factors as student creativity and innovation, which are often at the core of project-based learning.

Evaluation: McCuster raises several important points about using rubrics in assessing students learning. However, rubrics can be designed to meet the lesson content objectives and 21st century skills, such as creativity, use of new technology (taking risks), and following their passion or interests in the pursuit of the unit objectives. I think that a rubric could be created to incorporate many of the 21st century skills and used as a portion of every standard grading assessment.

3 Big Shifts That Our Schools Need to Make

Shannon Greene

CA

S McLeod. (2013, October 23). 3 big shifts, 8 building blocks, and some guiding questions.
[Web log comment]. Retrieved fromhttp://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/resources/3-big-shifts-8-building-blocks-and-some-guiding-questions

Summary: A summary of concrete changes in emphasis that schools could make now to positively impact the learning environment. The 3 big shifts are from low-level thinking to high-level thinking, from analog to digital, and from teacher-directed to student-directed. The 8 building blocks contain subjects such as project- and inquiry-based learning environment; authentic, real-world work; and online communities of interest that supplement and augment more-traditional learning communities.

Evaluation: Excellent and succinct, this article, particularly the 3 big shifts and 8 building blocks, includes many of the subjects discussed in the curriculum of 250 Instructional Design class. The guiding questions would be useful for both professional development and strategic planning discussions as well as daily curriculum planning guides.


Assessment Infographic

Chambers, Julia

Ferriman, J.  (2013, August 8). Building meaningful assessments[infographic]. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.learndash.com/building-meaningful-assessments-infographic/

This infographic, which was developed by publishing house McGraw-Hill Education, presents the four key areas to consider when building out an assessment for any type of curriculum or program. The four areas to consider are: assessment type (diagnostic, formative, summative, and three others), question types (multiple-choice, written/constructed, performance tasks), delivery methods (paper/pencil, online – oddly, there is not a delivery method for measuring presentations questions), and scoring methods (human, artificial intelligence).  The infographic notes that standards, such as the Common Core, are driving the way students are assessed in the US, but globalization and technology advancements are growing influencing factors.


Evaluation: The infographic nicely sums up the four areas that influence assessments today. The intro stresses the goal of assessments – to help teachers improve instruction, to make sure students are learning, and to help administrators determine how to allocate funds. The introduction stresses that the assessment types and question types, delivery and scoring are all interchangeable, depending on the situation. I appreciated the overview, because I didn’t know all of these areas were important to assessments.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Media 21: A Strong Example of Embedded Librarianship

Besich, Lauren


Hamilton, B. J. (2012). Embedded librarianship in a high school library Library
Technology Reports, 48(2), 21-26.

CO- Embedded Librarianship

Summary:  This article provides a strong example of what embedded librarianship looks like.  Since 2009, teacher librarian Buffy Hamilton, and English teacher Susan Lester have collaborated on a course titled Media 21, in which students used participatory tools (Web 2.0 tools) to support their inquiry process.  Hamilton summarized how she collaborated with Lester to integrate social networks and new media into students’ inquiry-based projects.  Integrating Web 2.0 tools like Wordpress, Symbaloo, Wikis, Netvibes, NoodleBib, and Scopp.it helped students control and manage their learning (2009).  Her collaboration with Lester was possible because they shared similar philosophies on teaching and learning, and both parties were willing and open to share responsibilities.

Evaluation: As I stated in the previous article about embedded librarianship, this topic really excites me, and I think this example of embedded librarianship is one every school in our nation should strive for.  Buffy Hamilton, the SLMS, is involved in the teaching and assessment processes, and did a great job integrating technology into the unit.  The students even created their own PLEs using Symbaloo.  Read this article for some collaboration inspiration!

A K-12 Model for Embedded Librarianship

Besich, Lauren


Henry, R. (2013). THE EMBEDDED LIBRARIAN FOR K-12 SCHOOLS. Library Media Connection, 31(4), 22-23.  Retrieved from http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=84557819&site=ehost-live

CO- Embedded Librarianship

Summary: This brief article outlines embedded librarianship, examples of success in the academic setting, and how it can be adapted to the K-12 setting.  Without the budget and staff of an academic library, K-12 librarians should start small.  Librarians need to familiarize themselves with what is being taught and when, so they can suggest materials for use.  Making themselves available helps them become team players, and advertising their services through any means possible builds awareness among staff members.  There are five phases to embedded librarianship, the first being the introductory stage where librarians introduce themselves, attend meetings, and target people to build relationships with. 

Evaluation:  I love reading about embedded librarianship because I believe it has the power to transform our schools.  While Robin Henry’s article is brief, she offers great advice about why and how to become an embedded librarian.  She takes on a “do what you can, with what you have, and with who wants to” approach.  Successful embedded librarianship will take time to fully implement, but as teachers and administrators catch wind of the positive experiences students and participating teachers are having, they, too, will be converted.  Embedded librarianship allows for a more natural integration of information literacy, which is the fourth phase of embedded librarianship, and it will steer the curriculum towards inquiry learning, which is a big part of the Common Core State Standards.  One day, I would like to see schools that employ five or six librarians—enough for each to focus on a specific department or grade level—much like academic libraries already do

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Where is Creativity in Common Core?


Besich, Lauren 

Ohler, J. (2013). The Uncommon Core. Educational Leadership, 70(5), 42-46. Retrieved from http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=85177950&site=ehost-live

CA- Effects of Common Core
IL- Media Literacy

Summary: Jason Ohler advocates creativity in the classroom. and laments its absence from the Common Core State Standards.  He believes that artistic skill should be adopted as the 4th R, and integrated into the standards, not just considered a content area.  Through teaching the grammar of new media, and explicitly teaching how to innovate, students will build critical thinking and creativity skills together, something that is naturally done anyway.  When students become innovators to not only solve problems, but to find problems, they will be better prepared to face the 21st century—something high test scores don’t necessarily do.

Evaluation: I think Ohler brings up some good points about creativity and innovation’s absence from the Common Core State Standards.  From a library perspective, the teacher librarian can be the voice to encourage creativity and innovation through collaborating with teachers.  When libraries are transformed into learning commons, more innovation, creativity, and critical thinking can take place.  What possibilities emerge when a learning commons creates a makerspace where students and teachers gather to create using various technologies from pliers and wrenches, to 3D printers?  The learning commons is the perfect place to facilitate innovation.    

Monday, December 2, 2013

Inquiry's path to deep learning

Greene, Shannon
ET

Stripling, B. (2008) Inquiry-based teaching and learning—The role of the Library Media Specialist. School Library Media Activities Monthly XXV (1). Retrieved from http://www.teachingbooks.net/content/InquiringMindsWantToKnow-Stripling.pdf


Summary: This article emphasizes the importance of inquiry in a constructivist view of learning. The author defines the difference between inquiry and information literacy and illustrates the additional domains required to bring inquiry into the realm of information literacy: attitudes, responsibilities and reflection. Descriptions of the importance of inquiry are followed by an exploration of the necessary skills and how inquiry “differs across content areas” including science and math; history and social science; and language arts and literature. Finally, the role of the library media specialist in support of inquiry based learning is outlined and specific strategies are enumerated for collaboration, teaching, collection development and leadership/professional development.

Evaluation: The emphasis on reflection as part of the inquiry model is especially appropriate for our discussions of integrating the “Big Think”ubiquitously into lesson planning. I also appreciated the author’s detailed description of inquiry in different content areas. Her inferences are well reasoned and provide a convenient summary of the distinctive methodologies employed in the different fields of learning

Sunday, December 1, 2013

ESL teachers and librarians



Greene, Shannon
CO
Naidoo, J. (2005). Informational Empowerment: Using Informational Books to Connect the Library Media Center Program with Sheltered Instruction. School Libraries Worldwide, 11(2), 132-152. 

Summary:
This article focusing on the use of informational trade books to increase collaboration between library media specialists and English as Second Language (ESL) teachers was published in School Libraries Worldwide. Dr. Naidoo's experience as a school library media specialist in a suburban Alabama elementary school that saw an increase from less than 5% of its population being English Language Learner (ELL) students to almost 1/3 of its students being ELL students inspired him to conduct his own literature review of the benefits of cooperation between ESL teachers and librarians. His article focuses on two areas of collaboration: 1) how library media specialists can provide informational trade books to ESL teachers to supplement textbooks and improve ELL students’ content and language acquisition and 2) alignment of TESOL’s ESL standards and the ALA / ISLMA Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning. 

Evaluation: His work was helpful to me because I am finding, that most of the discussions of collaboration don’t specifically note how ESL teachers and librarians’ can best work together. The school I work in has over 50% of our students are native Spanish speakers. His in depth investigation of how librarians can assist ESL teachers is also very significant as he gives realistic examples, discusses how the strategies improve student achievement,  and defines how these methodologies correlate to students achieving the standards.

Krashen--Free voluntary reading


Jennifer Brickey

ET—Educational Theory
CO--Overcoming Barriers

Krashen, S. (2013) Free voluntary reading. University of California, Los Angeles, CA.

Long-time supporter, first-time attendee: Krashen inspired me to start a reading campaign at Oxnard High School (OHS). Several years ago before I began my career as a teacher, OHS enlisted Silent Sustained Reading (SSR). The year the school participated in the SSR program, the school experienced a drastic increase in test scores. This anecdote supports Krashen’s stance of the impact reading for pleasure—that exposing students, especially those learning a new language, helps to build vocabulary, increase language acquisition, and improves test scores. As Krashen put it, getting the students to read the easy stuff makes accessing more difficult texts a less arduous task since the student has an established relationship with reading. When I think about all the English Language Learners that will have to take the CCSS standardized tests, Krashen's view exposes the desperate need to provide access to materials to those ELLs and those living in poverty in order to assist them with demands of the new standards. In the end, it would seem that the most cost effective and useful way of improving test scores and preparing students for the transition to the CCSS would be to make reading for pleasure a ritual.

Although I heard his lecture at Camarillo Public Library, this YouTube video helps one understand Krashen’s theory on second language acquisition. 

Link to Stephen Krashen's site: http://www.sdkrashen.com








API will soon lose its clout as shorthand for defining school success

Jennifer Brickey

CA—Curriculum and Assessment

Fensterwald, J. (2013). API will soon lost its clout as shorthand for defining school
success.
Retrieved from
http://edsource.org/today/2013/api-will-soon-lose-its-clout-as-shorthand-for-defining-school-success/40620#.UpuWUqWx18s

Fensterwald explains how for more than a decade the Academic Performance Index (API) has served as the primary measurement that determines a school’s success. This measurement, which is based solely on standardized test scores, has been a major determinate for parents to judge whether or not a school is best for their children. For schools, API drives curriculum and, consequently, the money that often supports the various programs in place. However, with the transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) API’s usefulness and appropriateness has come into question. “As a result, for the first time since API was created in 1999, the State Board is likely to vote to suspend it next year” (Fensterwald, 2013). Discussion has also swirled around suspending API for even longer depending on the CCSS implementation.

Although this piece was helpful in gaining an understanding for what will happen regarding API, I found that it raised more questions than provided answers. The document addresses other means of measurement such as graduation rate. Yet, there is an overall assumption policymakers profess---that everything a student learns can be measured. States like New York have begun institutionalizing the new Smarter Balance assessments and with it have experienced a backlash from educators and parents, which

suggests we need to reevaluate just how we measure students’ success.