Alternate Materials: Engaging the Reluctant Reader
When it comes down to it, whether our kids are reading "the classics" or Sports Illustrated for Kids shouldn't be our greatest concern. Really, the question is whether they are reading at all. And if we can find materials to engage them, they will!
0 Comments Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Speaking Out Against Graduation Exams
Educators and school board members alike are speaking out against the proposed graduation exam requirements in Pennsylvania. With the number of benchmark assessments on the rise across the country, there are many who feel that assessments are the only way to hold both teachers and students accountable for their learning. But in Pennsylvania, they disagree.
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Calculators in the Classroom
Since the invention of the calculator forty years ago, educators have debated the value of such tools in the classroom.
3 Comments Posted Thursday, December 13, 2007
Building our Children’s Brains
Carol S. Dweck identifies two different mindsets in students: the fixed mindset, which believes that success stems from ability, and the growth mindset, which believes success comes from growth. Dweck's research has shown that students who are spoken to with a growth mindset are the students for whom growth is more likely, and success greater.
0 Comments Posted Thursday, December 06, 2007
Another Vote against Oral Reading Measures
Teachers have long used oral reading measures as a standard of reading assessment. Meanwhile, opponents have launched a variety of criticisms, pointing to the social stigma associated with reading out loud and claiming too great a focus on "sounding right." But new research from the University of Maryland presents fresh, concrete data against oral reading measures and in favor of silent reading comprehension in student assessment.
1 Comments Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007
Never Underestimate the Importance of Informal Assessment
Documenting student reading behavior has always been a challenge, and with the stress now on formal reading assessments, it's important to remember that reading is a distinctly personal process--and to remember that we're not teaching reading; we're teaching children.
3 Comments Posted Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Problem Solving: More than Meets the Eye
Math teachers have long struggled to find methods to help students focus not just on getting the right answers, but on how to solve problems. In fact, problem-solving skills are becoming more and more of a hot topic in math instruction. So how exactly do you teach a child to think through the elements of solving any given problem?
0 Comments Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007
Are Students Inheriting a Fear of Math?
Math anxiety is a common problem. It's a large part of the reason students fail to take important upper-level math courses. But maybe talking to our students about their math fears isn't all we need to be doing. Maybe some of that fear is inherited, passed down from parents with their own math anxieties. Maybe it's time for the schools to address the math anxieties of the parents as well.
1 Comments Posted Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Good Educational Technology: What Does That Mean?
Hardware, software, professional development. All make up what we refer to as educational technology. But is one component more important than another? Is one more often ignored? What does it mean for schools to have "good educational technology"?
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Preschoolers on the Computer
A common question for most parents is, "When is my child old enough?" We wonder when our children are old enough for potty training, for a "big" bed, for any number of first steps. But in a time when technology seems to rule our home lives as well as our work lives, many parents are stopping to ask, "When is my child old enough to use the computer?"
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Reading is NOT a Content Area
Ask a reading teacher, particularly one at the secondary level, to tell you the worst thing a content area teacher can say about reading. You're sure to get the same answer time and time again: "I don't teach reading!" Often such teachers insist that they teach math, science, or social studies, but they certainly don't teach reading. It's time that secondary teachers, in particular, have a change of heart about reading. Reading is not a content area.
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Balanced Math Instruction?
For years there has been a heated debate in the reading community: phonics instruction or whole language instruction? The surge of back-to-basics instruction has repeatedly conflicted with the views of educators who look at reading within a larger frame of reference. While teachers all seemed to agree that comprehension was the ultimate goal, they openly disagreed on the instructional path to get there. Many reading educators now agree on a "balanced" program of literacy, one that builds foundation skills while simultaneously engaging students with meaningful texts and opening discussions about meaning-making.
0 Comments Posted Thursday, September 13, 2007