Topics

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-silk-road-history-s-first-world-wide-web-shannon-harris-castelo#review

How Poverty Affects Children [|Part I]
[|Part II]

Power
[|Death by Powerpoint]

The Adaptive Teenage Brain
This article is not in our resources, but you may find this recent article about teenage brains interesting and insightful. //The resulting account of the adolescent brain—call it the adaptive-adolescent story—casts the teen less as a rough draft than as an exquisitely sensitive, highly adaptable creature wired almost perfectly for the job of moving from the safety of home into the complicated world outside.// Dobbs, D. (2011, October). The new science of the teenage brain. //National Geographic//, Retrieved from @http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs-text [] [|Extra year at the Middle School Level?]

=School Climate= [|Is Your School Climate Positive or Toxic?] [|The School Climate Challenge] [|The Challenge of Assessing School Climate] [|The Power of a Great Education] [|The Effects of School-wide Positive Support on Middle Schools]

=Homework= 4R's A few questions to consider: If the last people being considered when homework is assigned are the students, something is amiss and someone needs to initiate the conversation. Taking a cue from Cushman, I would be very interested to know what students want to see when it comes to homework. Consider the following pieces of advice from students with whom Cushman worked: Smith, S. (2011). So much homework. //The Connected Principals//, Retrieved from http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/4533
 * Readying themselves for new learning
 * Repetition and application of knowledge and skills
 * Reviewing material learned earlier, and
 * Revising their work.
 * Is the homework assigned personally relevant to the needs of the learner?
 * Is everyone in the class getting the same homework regardless of their individual strengths and needs?
 * Is homework being assigned because of a policy / parental pressure / because it has always been assigned?
 * Is homework only consolidation or learning or preparation for upcoming lessons, or could it be service-oriented and ongoing?
 * Make sure we know what purpose the homework serves. Write it at the top of the assignment, so we remember it!
 * Use our homework! Look at it, answer our questions, and show us why it matters.
 * Don’t take off points for wrong answers on homework. It’s practice!
 * Cooperate with other teachers so our total homework load is reasonable.
 * Give us time to start our homework in class, so you can help if we have trouble.
 * When appropriate, assign different tasks to match what each of us needs.
 * Match homework to the time we have available. Let us know how long you expect us to spend on it, and don’t penalize us if we can’t finish.
 * Don’t give us homework every day. Having several days to do it helps us learn to manage our time.
 * Create places in school for sustained academic support: tutoring time, study halls, hours when you are always available for help. (Fires in the Mind)

Cost of Testing - Time and Money -
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Professional Licensing [|Exams for Teachers?] New York Magazine - [|Approval Matrix Archive] [|November 26, 2012]

Learning On-line []

October 2012
Metacogition [|Teaching Metacogniton]

Teacher Predictions?? John Gurdon, Nobel Prize Winner In Physiology Or Medicine, Wasn't The Best Science Student John Gurdon, nobel prize winner in physiology or medicine, wasn't the best science student. (2012, October o9). //The Huffington Post//. Retrieved from

[|Is Algebra Necessary?] Hacker, A. (2012, July 28). Is algebra necessary?. //The New York Times Sunday Review//, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all Rebuttal [|N Ways ot Apply Algebra] Honner, P. (2012, October 09). N ways to apply algebra with The New York Times. //The New York Times - The Learning Network//. Retrieved from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/n-ways-to-apply-algebra-with-the-new-york-times/?smid=fb-share [|MSNBC]

September 2012
Great Expectatons Cooper, E., & McDermott, V. (2012, August 29). [Web log message]. Retrieved from []

[|Learning Isn't Always Painless]
Weimer, M. (2012, August 13). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/learning-isnt-always-painless/

Character traits more important than intelligence?
Mangan, K. (2012, August 5). Traits of the 'Get It Done' personality: Laser focus, resilience, and true grit. //The Chronicle of Higher Education//, Retrieved from []

Why do boys tend to outperform girls in math? One study proposes it’s because boys are more impulsive:
LiveScience.com. (2012, July 28). Girls' math skills may fall short of boys' because of male impulsiveness. //Huff Post Education//. Retrieved from []

Longer School Years
Rich, M. (2012, August 5). To increase learning time, some schools add days to academic year. //The New York Times//. Retrieved from []- Michaud, A. (2012, July 03). //Michaud: Summer is educations weak link//. Retrieved from []

Longer School Days

=[|Chicago Public School]to hire 477 teachers for longer school day=

Ahmed-Ullah, N. S., & Mack, K. (2012, Jyly 25). Chicago public school to hire 477 teachers for longer school day. //Chicago Tribune//. Retrieved from []

[|Is Algebra Necessary?]
Hacker, A. (2012, July 28). Is algebra necessary?. //The New York Times Sunday Review//, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

[|PA Website] Information on the OSTC Program
[|Listing of Low Achieving Schools] ===PDE's [|Press Release] on The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program=== PA's [|Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program] More than 242,000 students eligible to participate in pennsylvania's new sholarship tax credit program. (2012, July 30). //PR Newswire//. Retrieved from []

[|Pennsylvania ready to put scholarship program for failing schools to the test]. Gallagher, J. (2012, July 26). Pennsylvania ready to put scholarship program for failing sshools to test. //Yahoo! News//. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-ready-put-scholarship-program-failing-schools-test-190900477.html

[|Curriculum Reform and the Common Core Standards]

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949:

Michigan, school district sued for failing to teach kids to read.
In the first case of its kind, the American Civil Liberties Union is charging that the state of Michigan and a Detroit area school district have failed to adequately educate children, violating their "right to learn to read" under an obscure state law. Layton, L. (2012, July 11). Michigan, school district sued for failing to teach kids to read. //The Seattle Times//. Retrieved from []

Teacher Evaluations
[|Don't exempt charters from evaluations]. Editorial on the recent teacher evalulation legislation. Editor. (2012, July 10). Don't exempt charters from evaluations. //The Times-Tribune//. Retrieved from http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/don-t-exempt-charters-from-evaluations-1.1341077

[|House Bill (1980) 1901 Passed] - Hall, S. H. (2012, July 03). //Districts prepare for evaluations, new exams//. Retrieved from http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/districts-prepare-for-evaluations-new-exams-1.1338326

[|Pennsylvania legistlation proposes to tie teacher evaluations to students' test scores.] [|House Bill (1980) 1901 Teacher Evaluation Legislation] The proposed mandate would develop a system of teacher evaluation based 50% on student performance on standardized tests and the rate of growth in student achievement. Also factored in would be building-level data, such as a school's graduation and attendance rates, and students' participation in advanced courses. The other half would be determined by a comprehensive rubric based on teacher observation by administrators. What are your thoughts on this proposed legislation?

June 2012
[|Lesson Sharing Website by AFT] Do you use online lesson plan sites? Which ones?

[|Movement Against Standardized Testing] What is your position on standardized testing? What about accountability? Are there any other ways or methods to demonstrate student achievement/growth?

March 2012
[|Education Reform a matter of National Security] warns the Task Force, chaired by **Joel I. Klein**, former head of New York City public schools, and **Condoleezza Rice**, former U.S. secretary of state. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)–Task Force report on U. S. Education Reform and National Security - Full Report:

[|PiDay 3.14]

February 2012

 * President Obama's Speech to Governors - [|Spend more on education]**
 * Fostering Parent Involvement -** [|Family Check-up] - A family-centered, school based intervention model

January 2012
[|The Geometry of Pasta] [|Pasta Geometry Visualization]
 * Food For Thought**


 * Mentoring**
 * [|National Mentoring Month - January]**
 * [|Mentoring]A Success Story**

[|Girls and Math] [|Girls and Science]
 * Busting Stereotypes**

[|Lasting Gain]
 * Teacher Accountability**

[|Using humor to teach language.]
 * English**


 * Bullying**

[|Tablets will transform the classroom (Opinion)]
 * Technology**

[|Mobile Devices Maximize Learning?]

[|Why students should take computer science classes]. = =

= =

Does NCLB ignore the effects of poverty on educational achievement?
[|The Unaddressed Link Between Poverty and Education]

LADD, H. F. and FISKE, E. B (2011) [|www.nytimes.com]. Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?
Here is an excellent commentary on the need for involved parents in the learning process.
 * Home School Connection**

Friedman, T. L. (2011, November 26). Good parent teachers' best tool. //The ScrantonTimes-Tribune,// p. A 13.


 * November 2011**

November 13-19, 2011
90th Anniversary of American Education Week

American [|Education Week]
[|American Legion and Education Week]

11/9/11
[|Education Nation] - NAEP Reading Scores - An Education Debt [|Fix This: Education] - Bloomberg Roundtable

[|Are teachers overpaid?]?
Jason Richwine and Andrew Biggs, researchers at the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, two leading conservative think tanks, argue in [|a new report] that the country's 3.2 million teachers may be overpaid by over 50 percent or more, given their salary, benefits, job security, and intellectual ability.

11/7/11
Teaching [|"Digital Natives."] Are you familiar with this term? Are you a "Digital Native" or a "Digital Immigrant?" Here is the article that coined the term: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants By Marc Prensky From//On the Horizon //(MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001) © 2001 Marc Prensky

11/1/11
[|Restoring the Dream - Fixing Education] //Do you argee with the idea presented that today's teachers are not as "good" as teachers a generation ago??// The program analyzed the education systems in South Korea and Finland. Although, diametrically opposed in approaches and philopsophies, these countries' students rank as the world's elite. The program looked at the Melinda and Bill Gate Foundation and Grants

Gates Foundation Grant - focuses on effective teachers. NYState based its rubric on Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (FFT) NYS Rubric: Local Connection: The program also examined the [|Khan Academy].


 * October 2011**

10/17/2011 - RTII and Progress Monitoring (Pa calls it Response to Instruction and Intervention)
[|National Center on Response to Intervention]
 * [|Resources] Progress Monitoring Tools

July 27, 2024
You may register directly on-line by visiting www.pattan.net and entering the Registration On-line page.

10/3/2011 [|Sesame Street and STEM] During its 42nd season, Sesame Street will focus not only on the ABC's but the 123's, too.

 * [|Daily Tech]
 * [|USAToday]
 * [|Lime Life]

=9/26/2011 [|Education Nation]= = = =9/23/2011 NCLB Waivers- Update= [|President Obama offers to lift parts of NCLB] [|Pennsylvania Undecided] = = =NCLB - Waivers= [|This article notes Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's proposal to "override" NCLB proficiency requirements]. Guidelines will be established and available next month inviting states to apply for the waivers. For a waiver to be approved, states would need to show that they were adopting higher standards under which high school students were “college- and career-ready” at graduation, **were working to improve teacher effectiveness and evaluation systems based on student test scores and other measures**, were overhauling the lowest-performing schools, and were adopting locally designed school accountability systems to replace No Child’s pass-fail system.
 * September 2011**

The //[|Take Away]//transcripts of an interview with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Keystone Exams Cut Scores
[|Article on establishment of Keystone Exam Cut Scores] Districts re-aligning curriculum to meet Keystone Exam expectations. [|SAS Keystone Exams]

=Teacher Training - What is the key?:= University of Calgary (2011, June 24). Building a better math teacher. //ScienceDaily//. Retrieved
 * ==[|Building a Better Math Teacher] Science Daily==

"We can build a better math teacher" says Davis. "But it's more about engaging with one another to deconstruct concepts than about learning more advanced math or engaging in problem solving."

Science 24 June 2011: Vol. 332 no. 6037 pp. 1506-1507 DOI: 10.1126/science.1193541
 * ==[|Mathematics Teachers' Subtle, Complex Disciplinary Knowledge]==


 * ==[|US Middle School Math Teachers Ill-Prepared, Study Finds]==
 * ==[|Want Better Math Teachers? Then Train Them Better]==

**Math Teacher Training - HLN**
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 * Brain Growth

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 * Computers as teachers

School Improvement

 * [|Perry's Principles - CNN]
 * CNN series on the challenges and solutions needed to improve education.


 * What can we learn from the "Best Schools?"
 * [|Newsweek's listing>]
 * [|CNN Interview]

= Gender Bias and Mathematics =
 * =[|Believing Stereotype Undermines Girls' Math Performance: Elementary School Women Teachers Transfer Their Fear of Doing Math to Girls, Study Finds]=
 * [[file:Gender bias.pdf]]

Research and reviews of literature indicate that girls, as early as elementary grades, consider mathematics to be for boys. How, as teachers, can we promote equal confidence in both boys and girls as they relate to math?

Math in the News
[]
 * Tessalations:**
 * [|Voronoi Diagram]**
 * **[|Yacht Design]**


 * Math in the media**
 * Number Systems**
 * **Fibonacci on Jeapordy**
 * []
 * Pascal's Triangle
 * []

[|Perry's Principles - CNN]
 * CNN series on the challenges and solutions needed to improve education.

What can we learn from the "Best Schools?"
 * [|Newsweek's listing>]
 * [|CNN Interview]