In my last entry I commented that what they [students] needed were options. As teachers we need lots of options as well. We can not create all the options. We need to collaborate, share and communicate. We need to do this together. We need to be members of the learning community. We can not work in isolation. We need to model how knowledge is created, a sharing and building of ideas in community. Whether we talk face-to-face or through the…
I’ve been thinking. Whether we are intellectually gifted or just struggling along, we all learn. We just all do not learn the same way. Everyone single one of us approaches a learning situation with different knowledge, experiences and strategies. We do not learn and grow at the same rate, or acquire the same depth of understanding. But, we all learn. So how does the classroom teacher prepare to facilitate the learning of the 100 plus unique individuals they meet each…
We are under a mandate to make sure ALL our students achieve high academic standards. What this means in most places is doing more of the same. We increase class time, cut out electives, and have some kids double up on Math and English. If it wasn’t working the first time why should more of the same be any better? I am oversimplifying. I know individual teachers who are striving to offer a more differentiated learning experience, schools who are…
The current educational system is descendant from the Industrial Revolution, and the vast wave of immigrants that arrived during that time. It was designed around the wonderful new invention; the factory. Its purpose to provide a basic education to the masses to help them assimilate to this new land and provide the much needed work force to support the development of new industries. The factory style educational system led to the compartmentalization of information so that it could be passed…
Why do I blog? Who do I blog for? I was asked these questions while attending the MassCUE Technology Leaders Symposium. I didn’t have a ready answer. It required some reflection. Here is the short answer. I started blogging just to try it out. As a K12 technology integration specialist I need to experiment with and read up on the new tools and technologies out there. I need to be aware of how to use them, it is my role…
It is getting to that time of year again when it feels like school is coming to an end. I know there are still three months to go, but with MCAS testing, and schools looking at staffing needs for next year, well the end is in sight. This is the time of year I start looking over my successes and failures. What units went well, what topics seemed to drag on? Was there a unit I dreaded teaching and one…
I have been a classroom science teacher for almost 20 years. When I began in the mid 80s the classroom learning experience was vastly different then today. Back at the beginning of my teaching career I though it was pretty cool how I could take different sheets of colored ditto masters and create colored diagrams for my kids. I could run an 8 mm projector, the slide strip machine, opaque projector and the VCR. I used a text book, dittos…