I investigated a lesson plan called "Baseball, Race, and Ethnicity: Rounding the Bases" (as well as perused some of the other resources). The Library of Congress definitley hooks up teachers with materials ~ time frame, lesson outlines, everything. In terms of being digitally friendly, this website is very efficient. Most of the materials are merely hyperlinks to primary sources, all in one convenient location.
I love the emphasis on using primary sources. Further, the objectives are clearly stated, rigorous, and well-varied. For example, students are asked to analyze primary images, concoct an argument using their investigations, explore the role of race in this historical context, and "employ search strategies" in order to get information from historical sources.
One downside ~ did not appear to have any resources for math classrooms. But especially in terms of social studies, this looks like a good website.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Current Trends in Education
Seeing everything that is being accomplished from the standpoint of using technology in the classroom, I have definitely come to question the current goals of our educational system. I think about my day-to-day life as a teacher ~ what matters the most to the people for which I work. Everything in education has become a numbers game. We NEED to get our attendance numbers up so our enrollment is high enough to justify all of our positions. We NEED to meet a mandated AYP score on this specific test, else we want our school to shutdown.
Now I am not calling for a cessation of accountability. Even with the current system we have, I'm sure using innovative and new-age classroom techniques will increase student aptitude as it pertains to standardized testing. But even when officials from the school district come, they constantly wonder what I am doing in order to increase student scores on the state test in Algebra I (mind you, I teach sophomores through seniors). First, why is it that we have to push our kids to pass this specific test with formatting and questioning that is dry and repetitive from year to year? What does this prove? Second, why is it that most appear to believe that the only way we can get students to succeed on these exams is to drill and kill them on exam material, making sure they are familiar with the testing format? Doesn't that just become passing a test for the test's sake?
I understand the value and importance of backwards planning, knowing where your students need to be by the end of the year, how it will look like when they get there, and then and only then how you are going to get them there. What is our end goal though? It seems to me that the focus is on getting our kids to pass these tests. But what about creating life-long learners? Independent learners? Sure, some kids that run through the drill and kill style geared towards a test are able to pass that test. But where does that leave them?
Times have changed and so must the "traditional" classroom. With fluid information pertaining to every subject constantly available to every student in this nation, with millions of students around the world exploring the same exact topics covered in any Baltimore City school on any given day, why is it we are so stuck on our single school buildings (or one side of a school building lately) in our single subject hallways in our individual rooms, getting 20 or so kids to pass one paper test? And we wonder why children are disinterested in their education, or feel defeated or fed up when the same thing stops working. We always hear a cry to differentiate for our children, meeting their needs where they are, making them productive members of society; doing that for well over 100 students each day is impossible for one person to do singlehandedly. Why not use the community that surrounds us on the internet in order to make our classrooms more dynamic. Students will be more interested if they are put in charge of their own learning (gradual release of responsibility however; teachers will be there to help them get started if they struggle, monitor progress/understanding, tailor assignments to student needs, etc.). Show them how to access their own learning. Let them connect to people outside of their classroom. Equip both our classroms and teachers with the tools and training needed to allow our students to learn in today's world, using all of the technology that precedes us and can be used at our disposal.
Now I am not calling for a cessation of accountability. Even with the current system we have, I'm sure using innovative and new-age classroom techniques will increase student aptitude as it pertains to standardized testing. But even when officials from the school district come, they constantly wonder what I am doing in order to increase student scores on the state test in Algebra I (mind you, I teach sophomores through seniors). First, why is it that we have to push our kids to pass this specific test with formatting and questioning that is dry and repetitive from year to year? What does this prove? Second, why is it that most appear to believe that the only way we can get students to succeed on these exams is to drill and kill them on exam material, making sure they are familiar with the testing format? Doesn't that just become passing a test for the test's sake?
I understand the value and importance of backwards planning, knowing where your students need to be by the end of the year, how it will look like when they get there, and then and only then how you are going to get them there. What is our end goal though? It seems to me that the focus is on getting our kids to pass these tests. But what about creating life-long learners? Independent learners? Sure, some kids that run through the drill and kill style geared towards a test are able to pass that test. But where does that leave them?
Times have changed and so must the "traditional" classroom. With fluid information pertaining to every subject constantly available to every student in this nation, with millions of students around the world exploring the same exact topics covered in any Baltimore City school on any given day, why is it we are so stuck on our single school buildings (or one side of a school building lately) in our single subject hallways in our individual rooms, getting 20 or so kids to pass one paper test? And we wonder why children are disinterested in their education, or feel defeated or fed up when the same thing stops working. We always hear a cry to differentiate for our children, meeting their needs where they are, making them productive members of society; doing that for well over 100 students each day is impossible for one person to do singlehandedly. Why not use the community that surrounds us on the internet in order to make our classrooms more dynamic. Students will be more interested if they are put in charge of their own learning (gradual release of responsibility however; teachers will be there to help them get started if they struggle, monitor progress/understanding, tailor assignments to student needs, etc.). Show them how to access their own learning. Let them connect to people outside of their classroom. Equip both our classroms and teachers with the tools and training needed to allow our students to learn in today's world, using all of the technology that precedes us and can be used at our disposal.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Google Applications
http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/educators/activities/Search_GoogleGame_kwatkins.pdf
Wading through the 6-12 resources, I was disappointed to see no resources specific to mathematics. I decided to explore a resource touted as assisting kids with using google as a search engine. This reminds me of a final project I assigned to my Honors Precalculus class last year ~ students were given a prompt and a rubric and were supposed to write an essay relating to one topic they learned about during the year, specifically exploring a real world application of the given topic. We spent almost a week and a half in the computer lab (including "final exam" days) where students were to work on this THREE page paper. Students were able to carry over some of the research skills they were able to pick up in English IV, but most of them could not navigate through a Google search page! I constantly heard my students calling out "Mr. Bartha, this is too much! I can't find anything on this subject." When I was looking over some of my students' shoulders I constantly found search items such as "trigonometry" or "precalculus." No wonder they were unable to find pertinent information! When I solicited the assistance of our school's librarian, he went into a long lecture to the students about "Boolean" and "non-Boolean" search engines. Needless to say, my kids still did not know how to use the basic features of the Google search engine by the end of their project.
The lesson plan I selected was the most applicable to my discipline (math) that I could find (I had to search general resources). Yes, this lesson plan is very basic, but with what it is trying to teach, it does not need to be fancy. If anything, this resource emphasizes and reminds educators that we cannot assume that our students know the skills that we take for granted (without any kind of diagnostic, of course). This PowerPoint presentation runs through the basic features of Google search nicely, and a lot of the general information works on most search engines. Students need to hone the basic skill of sorting through google searches by categorizing searches, excluding searches, making searches more specific, etc. The features are basic, but they are worthless unless students know how to use them! In fact, most people I know (students aside) would not be aware of all of the modified searches one can perform on a search engine. This lesson plan will assist students wade past that frustrating point when they search for a school topic and receive over a million hits. Rather than guess and check and click through hundreds and hundreds of web pages before they find the right one (and let's not kid ourselves, most would merely click through every one until they find information that is appropriate to the assignment), why not allow the computer to do the busy work that is already in the system? Let's get in the heart of research assignments. Too many times we are stymied by the tools that we are using rather than gaining valuable real-life experience using the correct web pages.
This lesson plan probably would not require an entire class period; however, a quick workshop style lesson before an interdisciplinary research assignment would be its most appropriate use and would save your students a tremendous amount of time.
Wading through the 6-12 resources, I was disappointed to see no resources specific to mathematics. I decided to explore a resource touted as assisting kids with using google as a search engine. This reminds me of a final project I assigned to my Honors Precalculus class last year ~ students were given a prompt and a rubric and were supposed to write an essay relating to one topic they learned about during the year, specifically exploring a real world application of the given topic. We spent almost a week and a half in the computer lab (including "final exam" days) where students were to work on this THREE page paper. Students were able to carry over some of the research skills they were able to pick up in English IV, but most of them could not navigate through a Google search page! I constantly heard my students calling out "Mr. Bartha, this is too much! I can't find anything on this subject." When I was looking over some of my students' shoulders I constantly found search items such as "trigonometry" or "precalculus." No wonder they were unable to find pertinent information! When I solicited the assistance of our school's librarian, he went into a long lecture to the students about "Boolean" and "non-Boolean" search engines. Needless to say, my kids still did not know how to use the basic features of the Google search engine by the end of their project.
The lesson plan I selected was the most applicable to my discipline (math) that I could find (I had to search general resources). Yes, this lesson plan is very basic, but with what it is trying to teach, it does not need to be fancy. If anything, this resource emphasizes and reminds educators that we cannot assume that our students know the skills that we take for granted (without any kind of diagnostic, of course). This PowerPoint presentation runs through the basic features of Google search nicely, and a lot of the general information works on most search engines. Students need to hone the basic skill of sorting through google searches by categorizing searches, excluding searches, making searches more specific, etc. The features are basic, but they are worthless unless students know how to use them! In fact, most people I know (students aside) would not be aware of all of the modified searches one can perform on a search engine. This lesson plan will assist students wade past that frustrating point when they search for a school topic and receive over a million hits. Rather than guess and check and click through hundreds and hundreds of web pages before they find the right one (and let's not kid ourselves, most would merely click through every one until they find information that is appropriate to the assignment), why not allow the computer to do the busy work that is already in the system? Let's get in the heart of research assignments. Too many times we are stymied by the tools that we are using rather than gaining valuable real-life experience using the correct web pages.
This lesson plan probably would not require an entire class period; however, a quick workshop style lesson before an interdisciplinary research assignment would be its most appropriate use and would save your students a tremendous amount of time.
Experiences Using Twitter Thus Far
I've never even though about using Twitter before this class ~ I saw Twitter as a social network and hey, I'm already glued to my facebook. The experience of following the "hashtag ed talk" or #edchat for those Twitter folks has been interesting. I was expecting to find a lot of philosophical debates about eduation. Some of the discussion I have seen on edchat, however, has been used to share resources. Twitter appears to be a quick and easy way for people to share ideas or tools that they like to use by simply typing the given information/link into twitter and ending the tweet with #edchat. I am a little confused at how to set up a "column" so that the edchat features show up regularly on my own twitter or in my profile. But searching #edchat is rather easy in itself, and I have been able to navigate through a lot of older edchat posts as well.
In addition to these resources / questions that are shared / answers, there is no lack of interesting articles or discussion going on about not only technology in education, but education in general. I normally peruse education articles as they appear in the Times or on msn.com, but this hastag tool of twitter can provide me with these articles in a mere search. I have found some of the other sites (say, blogger) to be easier to navigate, however. Like most things, however, I will attribute this trouble with twitter as a learning curve I must overcome in this short time period. As my experience grows, I do plan on entering in on the Twitter discussion as well!
In addition to these resources / questions that are shared / answers, there is no lack of interesting articles or discussion going on about not only technology in education, but education in general. I normally peruse education articles as they appear in the Times or on msn.com, but this hastag tool of twitter can provide me with these articles in a mere search. I have found some of the other sites (say, blogger) to be easier to navigate, however. Like most things, however, I will attribute this trouble with twitter as a learning curve I must overcome in this short time period. As my experience grows, I do plan on entering in on the Twitter discussion as well!
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
:) Even if you do not agree with his point of view, you must concede that the video is surprisingly funny. I was not laughing at first, but I particularly found his comments about Shakespeare having an English teacher as both comical and insightful.
I think I may be jaded in this debate as a teacher of mathematics. I will concede that rote memorization and any "drill and kill" type exercises, when done regularly or too often, are not necessarily the best ways to teach children. Often times as educators we are taught so hard to keep the end in mind that we do lose sight of creativity. Buttressed by the recent movement to stress student achievement as it is imbued in test scores, often times teachers stress about and teach directly to state tests.
To begin, I agree to some extent that the American education system does stifle creativity in that it constrains what "success" looks like. Rather than play to multiple intelligences, a number of educational leaders decide what students need to complete in order to show that they have learned the appropriate amount of skills to move onto the next subject. Backing up a bit, let's look at an example of high school mathematics. In the state of Maryland, students are only tested in the area of Algebra I, but must pass the specific HSA Algebra exam. Having examined the test's trend over the past decade, it is clear as day that the test makers use and reuse either the exact same questions or questions that are very similar. When something that is so rote and contrived is stressed as the apex of a particular subject, something goes wrong. Teachers begin to teach students "how to pass the HSA" rather than how to think algebraically. Gone is most creative forms of algebraic reasoning and in is drills that stress the HSA. I know, I know, accountability and all that. But we won't go there now.
And sure, you could say that teachers could just allow students to explore the material in creative ways so that the material could be "over learned" (students skills will exceed that in the HSA). But given where our students currently are and the long laundry list of topics tested on the HSA exam...
In essence I do agree with Ken Robinson that schools do stymie creativity, but I am not sure I can see his specific vision on how school time should be spent. In order to both maximize our student's critical thinking skills and in order to prepare them for any future profession/life they want to lead, I do believe there is a base of skills all students should be equipped with. It is no "wonder" that in examining most of the world's educational systems that Sir Robinson found the same emphasis on core skills such as math. Maybe I don't have an "appreciation" for the arts, but I do not want my kid spending time everyday dancing AND drawing AND singing when there are plenty of more "academic" skills he or she could be spending time on. I do think it is overly simplistic to say that's what after school programs are for, however (what about students in under resourced areas?). However, I do believe that is (in a perfect world) when more "creative" things should be done. In a perfect world too every kid would want to engage in these activities in order to engage different intelligences.
Cross-disciplinary education would solve this problem (in particular, with time allotments). What about those student who are very good at expressing themselves through dance? There should be academic assignments tied to core subjects that allows students to both hone their academic skills (whether they be Language Arts, Social Studies, etc.) and their more "creative" skills (art, dance, etc.)
:) Even if you do not agree with his point of view, you must concede that the video is surprisingly funny. I was not laughing at first, but I particularly found his comments about Shakespeare having an English teacher as both comical and insightful.
I think I may be jaded in this debate as a teacher of mathematics. I will concede that rote memorization and any "drill and kill" type exercises, when done regularly or too often, are not necessarily the best ways to teach children. Often times as educators we are taught so hard to keep the end in mind that we do lose sight of creativity. Buttressed by the recent movement to stress student achievement as it is imbued in test scores, often times teachers stress about and teach directly to state tests.
To begin, I agree to some extent that the American education system does stifle creativity in that it constrains what "success" looks like. Rather than play to multiple intelligences, a number of educational leaders decide what students need to complete in order to show that they have learned the appropriate amount of skills to move onto the next subject. Backing up a bit, let's look at an example of high school mathematics. In the state of Maryland, students are only tested in the area of Algebra I, but must pass the specific HSA Algebra exam. Having examined the test's trend over the past decade, it is clear as day that the test makers use and reuse either the exact same questions or questions that are very similar. When something that is so rote and contrived is stressed as the apex of a particular subject, something goes wrong. Teachers begin to teach students "how to pass the HSA" rather than how to think algebraically. Gone is most creative forms of algebraic reasoning and in is drills that stress the HSA. I know, I know, accountability and all that. But we won't go there now.
And sure, you could say that teachers could just allow students to explore the material in creative ways so that the material could be "over learned" (students skills will exceed that in the HSA). But given where our students currently are and the long laundry list of topics tested on the HSA exam...
In essence I do agree with Ken Robinson that schools do stymie creativity, but I am not sure I can see his specific vision on how school time should be spent. In order to both maximize our student's critical thinking skills and in order to prepare them for any future profession/life they want to lead, I do believe there is a base of skills all students should be equipped with. It is no "wonder" that in examining most of the world's educational systems that Sir Robinson found the same emphasis on core skills such as math. Maybe I don't have an "appreciation" for the arts, but I do not want my kid spending time everyday dancing AND drawing AND singing when there are plenty of more "academic" skills he or she could be spending time on. I do think it is overly simplistic to say that's what after school programs are for, however (what about students in under resourced areas?). However, I do believe that is (in a perfect world) when more "creative" things should be done. In a perfect world too every kid would want to engage in these activities in order to engage different intelligences.
Cross-disciplinary education would solve this problem (in particular, with time allotments). What about those student who are very good at expressing themselves through dance? There should be academic assignments tied to core subjects that allows students to both hone their academic skills (whether they be Language Arts, Social Studies, etc.) and their more "creative" skills (art, dance, etc.)
First Impressions of Class
Well, we are three classes into the intercession and I have to say that my first impressions are/were pretty accurate. Given the description of the class, I had a feeling that it would be different than most classes I have taken. The idea of doing everything electronically is quite agreeable with me as I like to think that I am environmentally conscious; not needing to print everything out is one less stress in my life (and realistically, we are in the 21st century eh? If we have the electronic resources and skills at our disposal to preserve our world's limited resources, why not?). I may be a bit of a hippie, having gone to college in the Pacific Northwest, but hey, I love the environment.
In terms of the content, I was very skeptical as a math teacher at how this class would be applicable to my own content area. I have been pleasantly surprised at some of my more recent explorations, however. One big resource that was not necessarily mentioned in class, but is "electronic community" - oriented is the use of list serves. Definitely not an island in the scheme of things, I have enjoyed joining particular list serves, one for general high school math teachers and one for calculus teachers, and obtaining years and years of expertise in the comfort of my own email box. I have come to realize that there are sooooo many blogs where mathematicians and even high school math students are discussing their work and helping each other out (in fact, another math teacher in my hallway flirted with the idea of having her kids upkeep a class blog the whole semester summarizing each day's work; seemingly impossible to her, I may have realized how easy this could be).
Lastly, I had a feeling this class would be a bit overwhelming...after all, having to cover a semester's worth of material in three weeks is a bit of an "information overload." But making our classrooms more oriented towards the growing electronic communities out there is of paramount importance. Particularly in Baltimore City, too many children get caught up in the smaller world of their city, even more specifically their neighborhoods, and either lose sight of or never had sight of a vision of being a citizen of the world. Why work with the limited resources you have in your community (you should use these after all, but why not go beyond that) when there is a plethora of resources just a click away?
In terms of the content, I was very skeptical as a math teacher at how this class would be applicable to my own content area. I have been pleasantly surprised at some of my more recent explorations, however. One big resource that was not necessarily mentioned in class, but is "electronic community" - oriented is the use of list serves. Definitely not an island in the scheme of things, I have enjoyed joining particular list serves, one for general high school math teachers and one for calculus teachers, and obtaining years and years of expertise in the comfort of my own email box. I have come to realize that there are sooooo many blogs where mathematicians and even high school math students are discussing their work and helping each other out (in fact, another math teacher in my hallway flirted with the idea of having her kids upkeep a class blog the whole semester summarizing each day's work; seemingly impossible to her, I may have realized how easy this could be).
Lastly, I had a feeling this class would be a bit overwhelming...after all, having to cover a semester's worth of material in three weeks is a bit of an "information overload." But making our classrooms more oriented towards the growing electronic communities out there is of paramount importance. Particularly in Baltimore City, too many children get caught up in the smaller world of their city, even more specifically their neighborhoods, and either lose sight of or never had sight of a vision of being a citizen of the world. Why work with the limited resources you have in your community (you should use these after all, but why not go beyond that) when there is a plethora of resources just a click away?
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