So, CATE (the California Association of Teachers of English) just came to an end.  The hotel was lovely.  All ran smoothly.  We were greeted with smiles aplenty, and everything ran on time.  Sheridan Blau, Kelly Gallagher, Carol Booth Olson, Taylor Mali, Jim Burke.  They all presented there.

But despite it all, CATE is clearly a conference (along with others) that is struggling for breath amidst budget cuts.(...)
Read the rest of The Death of Teacher Conferences or I Can’t Believe I Miss My Canvas Bag (479 words)

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Post tags: achievement gap, blog, cate, collaboration, Curriculum, curriculum design, curriculum development, fundraising, podcasting, professional development, technology, test, test prep, TLN, Writers Project

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I recently heard Judy Willis (of “syn-naps” fame) speak at a conference.  In her pre-teaching life, she was a neurologist and she brings her knowledge to the classroom and to her lectures.  (See my recently published article in Teacher Magazine, “My Brilliant Second-Career”).  Willis mentioned that she had just gotten back from Dubai where her charge was to teach new teaching program students about brain development and how it relates to education.

Questions she tackled with these candidates were:

How do children and adolescents learn?

What actually happens in the brain in order to hear and retain information?

What are proven strategies that help information to become embedded into long-term memory?

(...)
Read the rest of Starting from scratch in teacher training (169 words)

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Post tags: 2008, achievement gap, ascd community, blog, collaboration, credential, critical thinking, Curriculum, curriculum design, curriculum development, integration, metacognition, Title I, TLN, tween, UCI, Writers Project, writing

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OK, so my first period’s “Advanced” group went up 40% between their 1st district assessment and their 2nd. Another period went up 37%.  Even my Honors class went from 81% Advanced to 97% Advanced, with only 1 student found in the Proficient category.  So why don’t I believe that my metal should be judged on test scores?  Because I have one class, my 7th Grade ELA class that went down; and through careful reflection I’ve been analyzing why.

And these whys are the elements of teaching that are beyond my control. (...)
Read the rest of Here’s why test scores shouldn’t be the only criteria… (740 words)

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Post tags: achievement gap, assessments, blog, classroom management, collaboration, commentary, common language, curriculum design, curriculum development, ELA, k-12, k12, Language Arts, merit pay, middle school, performance pay, school accountability, school funding, standardized testing

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Science Daily is reporting that there has been a shift in how students are thinking as a result of their use of technology.  They believe it possibly lowers critical thinking skills and analysis.  Additionally, they wonder just how much schools should be catering to this change.

The important thing to remember is that when we talk about differentiation, we have to include all forms of teaching, from traditional pencil and paper to the use of technology.  But if we were to ignore the evolution that is occurring, that of the transition our brains our making as a result of society’s onslaught of daily technology, we would not be doing our job.

(...)
Read the rest of Is EdTech changing how students think or is it addressing the changes in student thinking? (437 words)

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Post tags: achievement gap, ASCD Brief, assessments, blog, collaboration, critical thinking, Curriculum, curriculum design, curriculum development, Ed Tech, education, education policy, internet literacy, k-12, k12, Language Arts, life long learners, metacognition, sesame street, teaching, technology, Title I, TLN, tween, UCI, Writers Project, writing

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That’s a little of what my relationship is like with my new Interactive Whiteboard.

I wouldn’t give it up for the world.  I have come to depend on the tools it provides me.  I love it.

But I am consistently re-calibrating, re-starting, re-booting, and it so far won’t read the kids remotes.  I have come to intimately know the board representative.  We have each other’s cell phone numbers and my husband is starting to raise an eyebrow.  I have also had tremendous support from our Director of Technology and the few other district pilot teachers.   

But the bottom line is that the board has become a daily joy even while I have daily frustrations.  And like that puppy that you automatically fall in love with because of the joy it brings you the minute it comes into your room, I am going to do everything I can to make it work.

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Post tags: blog, collaboration, computers, critical thinking, curriculum design, curriculum development, data, Ed Tech, education, ELA, integration, interactive whiteboards, internet literacy, k-12, k12, Title I, TLN, Writers Project, writing

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Yes, it seems The Sandman himself has gone and won the Newbery Award.  So congrats from Tweenteacher!  For a complete list of winners, click here.

I’ve been following Gaiman on Twitter for a little while and it’s great to track when and how he was given the news.  It was a literary narrative onto itself.  

So congratulations to The Graveyard Book and to the best-looking, leather-jacket wearing Newbery winner ever!

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Post tags: blog, classroom library, gaiman, newbery, Title I, TLN, UCI, Writers Project

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Here’s a great metacognitive lesson that integrates poetry.  Or is it a poetry lesson that is metacognitive?  (Shrug)  I believe that good writing and great structure can be taught through mimicking great authors.  Using this philosophy as my guide, my 8th graders mimicked the poetic style of Jay Leeming in “Man Writes Poem,”  a piece first introduced to me at the UCI Writing Project this summer.(...)
Read the rest of Metacognitive Poetry: Writing About Thinking While Writing Lesson (215 words)

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Post tags: assessments, blog, collaboration, common language, critical thinking, Curriculum, curriculum design, curriculum development, differentiation, Ed Tech, education, education policy, ELA, Language Arts, Title I, tween, UCI, Writers Project, writing

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Post tags: 2008, achievement gap, blog, critical thinking, Curriculum, curriculum design, curriculum development, Ed Tech, education, How To, k-12, k12, Language Arts, metacognition, middle school, teaching, Title I, TLN, UCI, Writers Project, writing

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I recently watched John Merrow’s interview with Michelle Rhee on the NewsHour.  Michelle seems like a real mixed blessing for education. On one hand, she’s willing to clean house, and education does seriously need it.  On the other hand, however, and much like the sweeping policies of NCLB, she’s a bit of an all-or-nothing authority.  (She’s also known as a Chancellor, which gives me a mental picture of a Lilliputian bearing a sash and gold medal, so sometimes it’s hard to shake the image even while listening to her policies.) (...)
Read the rest of NewsHour with Jim Leher: Michelle Rhee (601 words)

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Post tags: 100% accountability, 2008, achievement gap, assessments, blog, k-12, k12, Language Arts, middle school, NCLB, newshour, obama, rhee, school accountability, school funding, standardized testing, teaching, Title I, TLN, tween, Writers Project, writing

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Many of us use these terms interchangably, yet there are differences.  After our meeting last night, the crowd nodded knowingly.  I joined them in a brief nod or two as well.  I must admit, however, that I faked it.

I have posed the question to my wonderful colleagues at The Teacher Leaders Network and have gotten some great answers, but a blog’s purpose is not only for readers to comment but to also advise; so here I am, asking for your take on this great debate:

What’s the difference between skills and strategies?

© heather for tweenteacher.com, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: achievement gap, blog, common language, curriculum development, Ed Tech, education, education policy, ELA, Language Arts, technology, TLN, tween, UCI, Writers Project

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OK, so as I write this I’m watching Sesame Street with my 2 year old.  This big-feathered muppet just announced that the Word on the Street is, get this…Struggle.  I kid you not.  I guess times are tough even on Sesame Street.  (...)
Read the rest of Sesame Street: Word on the Street (214 words)

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Post tags: 100% accountability, 2008, blog, character, Character Education, Childrens Television, education, education policy, ELA, k-12, k12, madoff, middle school, school accountability, school funding, sesame street, teaching, TLN, tween, UCI, Writers Project

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We can no longer afford to spend time on classes whose most valuable contribution is that they are traditional.  How can we be debating the necessity of more time devoted to greater wide-spread technology use and internet literacy, and still be spending time teaching the antiquated subject of cursive?

We see headlines about music programs cut, PE programs cut, standards struggling to be met with the time allotted, and yet, there’s still a debate about teaching cursive?

Look, my husband took cursive for five years and I still can’t read his notes on the fridge.  On the other hand, when we lived in separate cities, we wooed through yahoo.

If Evelyn Waugh were alive today, he would not be picking up a pen to “correspond.”  He would get a Twitter account.

Practicing cursive does not a good writer make.  But it does take time from other forms of necessary learning. 

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Post tags: blog, Curriculum, Ed Tech, education policy, ELA, k-12, k12, middle school, Title I, TLN

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On Christmas Eve, my 2 year-old son and I were driving home to meet my husband, when our Honda CR-V was hit by another car.  It was pretty bad.  But it could have been much worse, for which we are very thankful.

While much of the gratitude that I initially felt is slowly being replaced by the growls of frustrations involved with getting on with life, I have, nevertheless, reflected on the actual accident, and realize that even at the time of the crash, there was a teachable moment.(...)
Read the rest of God bless us, everyone… (639 words)

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Post tags: blog, character, Character Education, k-12, k12, middle school, tween, UCI

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OK, so we preach about differentiating our lessons.  We preach about differentiating our students.  We preach about differentiating our assessments.  But what about differentiating the requirements of our new teacher programs?

(...)
Read the rest of Differentiating New Teacher Support Programs (792 words)

© heather for tweenteacher.com, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog, btsa, Curriculum, howard gardner, Language Arts, middle school, new teachers, TLN, UCI

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