The Register reports that DARPA (Defense Advance Research Projects Agency) is currently researching how to create robots that are “like some self-aware computer systems capable of “meta-reasoning” and “introspection…”  Their goal is to “Provide machines with an ability to reason about their own reasoning.”

Um, is anybody else seeing the irony of these objectives?  We are funding the creation of synthetic brains that are able to reflect and have insight, yet we are still unwilling as an educational system to support, teach, or assess our children towards these same goals.

Our current student assessment system doesn’t even acknowledge the importance of thinking, but bubbling, on the other hand, ranks really high up there in the skills that students desperately need to know.

The students of today will, theoretically, be the scientists of our future generations; yet they will not have had the cranium training that their garbage disposals will be privy to.  

Perhaps we should just start training our Tech-Com human resistance now.  

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Post tags: curriculum design, curriculum development, ELA, Language Arts, metacognition, Title I, TLN, tween, UCI, Writers Project, writing

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I’m a little frustrated at the message this sends to those of use who have invested in this career.  I mean, I know that we need to recruit new teachers, but a talented person with great ability in their field does not necessarily a good teacher make. Remember, teaching is about two skills that must be mastered: that of content and that of communication.(...)
Read the rest of Am I So Past My Prime? (198 words)

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Post tags: alternative credetials, credential, Ed Tech, ELA, employment, free, fundraising, Language Arts, learning, life long learners, merit pay, middle school, performance pay, teaching, TLN, Writers Project, writing

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A couple of colleagues brought some concerns to my attention and I thought I’d put it out here for some input.  (...)
Read the rest of “I Statements” in Expository Writing (194 words)

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Post tags: curriculum design, curriculum development, Ed Tech, essay, k-12, k12, Language Arts, metacognition, middle school, new teachers, peer teaching, teaching, technology, Title I, TLN, 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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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?

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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 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)

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Post tags: blog, btsa, Curriculum, howard gardner, Language Arts, middle school, new teachers, TLN, UCI

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It was fascinating seeing my own students through a different lens.  Groups of students came in front of my panel, some in suits, and some in the tuxes they perform in for orchestra, to present their websites.  The theme this year was “Actions and Legacies: Individuals in History.”  We saw websites about everything from Rockefeller to Ho Chi Minh.

The students for the most part used either Google or Synthesite to develop their free websites, which in regards to a competition is a little bit of a concern in that many competitors use more elaborate, paid-for sites that look far sexier.  But our kids did what they could with what they could and the sites, for the most part, look good.  And considering that they probably taught themselves how to create the site, the students should be commended.

We evaluated everyone’s site based on the visuals and the content.  In general, there were notes that we gave that were universal.  For one thing, the use of visuals to highlight specific points was an important concept the students needed to understand.  Without multi-media, for instance, a website might just as well be an essay.  It’s the visuals, the links, and the multimedia aspect of them that make them websites.  Timelines, for instance, that combine both primary sources and links, are a great opportunity for visual impact.

In regards to content, there seemed to be an overarching lack of commentary.  For middle schoolers, writing personal response can be hard.  But what we’re trying to emphasize is that just delivering the facts is not an analysis.  And if we’re looking to teach high-level thinking, there must be present that next step of information delivery – the evaluation.

Many of the students delivered the facts, but added no judgment.  They were missing the higher levels of Bloom’s.  They neglected the commentary.

When teaching history, it is vital that a teacher not just teach the facts, but give guidance in pulling back the lens and evaluating the bigger pictures.  How did this figure fit into history and amongst their contemporaries?  What is the impact that they made on those who followed them?  What is your opinion of their contributions given your expertise in their accomplishments?

Commentary comes in many different ways, but including it is the difference between information regurgitation and true, deep comprehension.

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Post tags: blog, Character Education, commentary, competition, CUE, digital natives, history day, internet literacy, k-12, k12, Language Arts, online, teaching, Title I, tween, UCI, Writers Project

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I thought I’d share a little of what I’m doing in the classroom with XWikiWorkspaces.  So, going off the frustrating fact that my district is blog-o-phobic, I was wracking my brain in how to teach internet literacy while still catering to the fact that I can’t blog beyond the boundaries of the district firewall.  (...)
Read the rest of XWikiWorkspaces (370 words)

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The Illinois News-Gazette recently reported an increase in second career teachers.  But, really, aren’t we all second-career teachers?  I mean, unless we bopped from high school to a BA to an education program and landed directly into the teaching field, surely we “were” something else in our lives before teaching…and surely this past civilian life contributed to who we are now in the classroom.(...)
Read the rest of Second-Career Teachers…Aren’t we All? (1,343 words)

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Post tags: alternative credetials, blog, differentiation, education policy, employment, k-12, k12, Language Arts, life long learners, middle school, second-career, writing

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Anyway, had I not stuck with it, I would never had heard a wincing grammatical error by the Pashma Lakshmi of the dance floor, Carrie Ann Inaba. 

The scenario: Susan Lucci, in yet another stunningly stiff and impassionate contribution to the ballroom, is told by the judges that her paso doble is wonderful.  Everyone’s looking to help Susan “break out of her shell” so they all congratulate her for what, I don’t know, and at the end of it, Carrie Ann demands that Lucci turn around to the camera, own her success, and announce to the millions sitting at home, “I did GOOD!”

In my world, there’s a pause and Tom Bergeron (cool guy, funny, smart, I used to watch him on Fox’s Breakfast Show co-starring with Bob the puppet) whispers, “Well…I did well.”  Maybe, it’s even cued by the producers in his earpiece.  But no...

…in Susan Lucci’s grandiose vapidity, she turns to the camera, glazed smile of pride on her face, and declares to the world, “I did GOOD!”

Carrie Ann Inaba gave Susan Lucci an 8, but I give Carrie Ann a 0.  And I don’t think Susan Lucci did very well, either. 

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Post tags: Curriculum, ELA, internet literacy, Language Arts, learning, technology, writing

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So I just finished reading Neal Shusterman’s The Schwa Was Here.  I know, I know.  For all you librarians out there, you’re probably saying: “What?  It took you THIS long to read it?  Jeesh, what kind of tweenteacher are you?”  Well, somehow I missed it when it first hit the scene.(...)
Read the rest of Book Review (sorta): Thoughts on Neal Shusterman’s The Schwa Was Here (480 words)

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Post tags: blog, book review, classroom library, Curriculum, Ed Tech, education, ELA, k-12, k12, Language Arts, writing

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You know when you enjoy a book so much you begin to slow down towards the end just to make the sweetness last?  Well, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book is one of those.  NG writes with a rhythm in his words that seduces you.  Coupled with an amazingly simple and brilliant plot, his latest foray into young adult horror will leave you holding your breath through the entire story until that final page allows for your exhale.  (...)
Read the rest of Book Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (797 words)

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Post tags: book review, classroom library, Curriculum, education, ELA, gaiman, Golden Lines, hooks, k-12, k12, Language Arts, learning, life long learners, middle school, Title I, tween, voice, Writers Project

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