Posts Tagged ‘differentiated instruction’
Sunday, July 18th, 2010
I did it.
I bought an iPad. A 32GB wi-fi iPad.
Those of you who read my initial post about the iPad are probably scowling or pointing your fingers and saying, “I told you so.”
What can I say? You were right. I am mercurial. That’s what comes from being a Gemini.
And my Kindle died. TWICE. In TWO weeks. So I bought an iPad.
Yes.
But enough about me…let’s get back to the iPad. Seriously, cue the Purcell trumpets. If I were typing this on my iPad, I actually COULD cue the Purcell trumpets via iTunes.
Tags: assessment design, assessment design california, assessment design la jolla, blogs, consulting, curriculum design, differentiated instruction, educational blogs, educational technology, instructional seminars, iPad, lesson plans
Posted in General | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
I have been thinking a lot about snowflakes lately, which is strange because I live in California and it is spring. However, my kindergartner is completely fascinated by snowflakes, mostly because each one is unique, like no other in the universe. And not to sound trite, but so are students. Unique. Like no other in the universe. Recently I spoke at a career panel and was asked by a sixth grade girl, “Why do you like teaching?” I stopped and thought about why I liked being a teacher. What did teaching mean to me? As I looked out over the sea of young women sitting there, I knew my answer. I like the puzzle of teaching to the unique. I thrive on figuring out how to make EVERY child learn what is just right for them. I gauge my success as a teacher upon how effectively I succeed at this. I believe that it is this constant need to advocate for every learner that makes this profession so very interesting. Let’s face it–it requires flexibility, creativity and plain old mental Olympics to achieve this in the classroom.
Tags: Achievement gap in the United States, assessment design, assessment design california, assessment design la jolla, blogs, Bloom's Taxonomy, Children's literature, curriculum, curriculum design, differentiated instruction, differentiation, education, Educational consulting, instructional seminars, K through 12, learning, lesson plans, Literature, Products and Services, quick tips, Reading, Student, Teacher
Posted in Seminars, Tips for Teachers | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
After the launch of the infamous and much heralded iPad last week, I set to my humble blog in order to comment on some reasons I felt that the current functionality of the iPad was not compelling enough for widespread educational use at this moment. I discovered quickly that there are two highly outspoken groups…those that firmly believe that the iPad is a waste of time and those that believe that it is the answer to a lone educator’s prayers (if only it could do parent-teacher conferences). Thank you to all that chose to enter the discussion and weigh in on this exciting topic. I was delighted to find such passionate educators on both sides of the iPad divide…if only we could get this excited about differentiated instruction and communicating with parents, perhaps we wouldn’t need large, unwieldy government standardized testing programs (you know who you are, Nickleby!)
Tags: Add new tag, assessment design, assessment design california, assessment design la jolla, blogs, consulting, curriculum design, differentiated instruction, education, educational blogs, Educational consulting, educational technology, government, John Reynolds Gardiner, learning, Literature, Post-it note, Products and Services, Reading, Standardized test, Stone Fox, Teacher
Posted in technology, Tips for Teachers | 1 Comment »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
At the beginning of this blog series, I talked about what I believe makes a reader passionate about books. In a follow-up, I challenged YOU to come up with the books that made you feel passionate about reading when you were a child. Thank you to all that participated in the discussion. Here is the list:
Betsy-Tacy Series, Maud Hart Lovelace
Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowlings
The Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
Running Out of Time, Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Trixie Belden Series by Kathryn Kenny.
This is a preview of
Ready to Read Part I: A list for the reluctant reader
.
Read the full post (462 words, 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)
Tags: Add new tag, Arts, assessment design, assessment design california, Bridge to Terabithia, Children, Children's literature, consulting, curriculum, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, differentiated instruction, educational blogs, Educational consulting, Gone Away Lake, Lemony Snicket, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Literature, New York Times, Reading
Posted in Think Tank | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
I am always fascinated when researchers discover something new about the way humans learn. I was especially interested in an article published in the New York Times yesterday, outlining new insights into math development in preschoolers. The research shows that humans are born with a simple “number instinct”–that is even at a young age, children can distinguish between “more and less” concepts easily. Infants can even distinguish between one and two, even to three in some cases. What research is showing is that with experiences in linking physical quantities with higher abstract symbolic representation “7″ and the word (seven), the brain of preschooler can master these concepts. This numeric “trinity” is critical for mathematics success in kindergarten. Furthermore, students must cement these concepts so that they become automatic in order to find rapid success with addition and subtraction. Imagine the frustration of a 5-6 year old in trying to figure out a simple addition/subtraction problem without this type of rapid connection. When you think about it, is actually not that surprising that preschoolers can deal with larger numbers. After all, Sesame Street has spent thirty years building sound/letter relationship understanding in preschoolers. It is not a leap to see how a sound and abstract letter representation is close to a number/quantity relationship outlined above.
Tags: assessment, assessment design, assessment design california, assessment design la jolla, Cognitively Guided Instruction, consulting, curriculum design, differentiated instruction, education, educational blogs, Educational consulting, educational training, Everyday Mathematics, instructional seminars, learning, Math, Mathematics, New York Times, Sesame Street, University of Chicago
Posted in Think Tank | No Comments »
