Some Excellent TED Talks and Books on Forming Better Habits January 7, 2015 Setting up new goals and resolutions have become a common thing with the start of each new year. However, working towards the achievements of these goals can sometimes turn into a frustrating endeavour especially when the goals are not realistic enough. For a successful accomplishment of ones goals, behavioural psychology has the answer: form better and lasting habits. Habits have the power to direct our actions and create neurological pathways that make it easy for our brains to easily transmit, receive and process information. To help you learn more about the strength of habits in helping you develop a growth mind-set and subsequently live a healthier and happier life, we are sharing with you this collection of some wonderful books and TED Talks. Books: TED Talks: 1- Try something new for 30 days, by Matt Cutts 2- Why some people find exercise harder than others, by Emily Balcetis 3- Why we all need to practice emotional first aid, by Guy Winch
20 Things You Can Do In (About) 10 Minutes For A Smoother Running Classroom When the school year begins, teachers spend a lot of time getting the classroom ready, planning lessons, and getting to know his/her students. The following list includes 20 ideas that you may not have thought of that can help produce a successful classroom. Each item takes no longer than an hour and can make a big difference throughout the year. 1. Traditional classrooms are normally arranged in a linear format with all the desks facing one direction. If your room allows it, arrange the desks in small groups with no obvious front. 2. To get the day off on the right foot, start with an inspirational quote or quiet meditation. 3. With a class size of 16 or more, chances are one or two students will be absent at least a couple times a week. When a student comes back, they go to the board and take the assignments they missed. 4. When the school year begins, take a few minutes out of your day to sit with your students and design the class rules. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
8 Strategies Robert Marzano & John Hattie Agree On Robert Marzano and John Hattie have both reviewed research into what teaching strategies make the biggest difference to students’ results. While they used different methods and terminology, they agreed on these 8 powerful strategies. Strategy 1: A Clear Focus for the Lesson John Hattie highlights how important it is for you (and your students) to be clear about what you want them to learn in each lesson. Hattie states that lesson goals: Clearly state what you want your students to learnCan focus on surface or deep learning (or both)Must be challenging for the students relative to their current mastery of the topicMay be grouped (i.e. a single lesson may have more than one goal)Need to be shared with the students Marzano also found that posing questions at the start of a lesson is an effective way to focus students: For example: How do you add mixed fractions with different denominators? Hattie suggests using questions a slightly different way: What are today’s lesson goals?
Who Controls The Flow Of Information In Your Classroom? - Who Controls The Flow Of Information In Your Classroom? Flow As A Litmus Test For Quality Teaching by Lee Carroll, PhD I’ve been thinking about Teacher Appraisals for years, when finally it hit me like a flash—why can’t they be super-simple? What Are They Worth? First, are teacher appraisals worth doing at all? Is There A Progressive Method Out There? As Head of Department, I’ve been a champion of peer-appraisals for some time. Although there are a few cutting-edge administrators out there, many hew to the top-down way of assessing teachers and never tried teacher-to-teacher. My Discovery Now I’ve discovered something even easier. This year we’ve agreed to use Charlotte Danielson’s state-of-the-art Framework for Teacher Appraisals. Yet in conducting these rigorous reviews, I’ve noticed something. The trait that tells it all for me is—FLOWS. What Is ‘Outflow’? First let me define—outflow indicates the direction of communication. How Did The Teacher Support Student-Initiative? –Albert Einstein
Elige Educar — 9 ideas para evaluar de forma entretenida Evaluar es uno de los trabajos más desafiantes y complejos que realizan los profesores en la sala de clases. Es un proceso importante porque a partir de éste se pueden tomar decisiones respecto de los aprendizajes que los alumnos están construyendo y a la vez, permite mirar la efectividad de las estrategias que se utilizan para ello. Considerando la evaluación formativa como un proceso vital para que los alumnos logren aprendizajes significativos, es que quisimos compartirles esta nota del sitio Edutopia que entrega diversos tips para hacer de este proceso algo más atractivo para los estudiantes y también para los docentes ¡Esperamos que sean de ayuda!
Evaluer un enseignement utilisant le jeu La ludopédagogie c'est l'idée d'utiliser le jeu pour former. Mais, est-il possible d'évaluer sa ludopédagogie ? Voici une proposition de modèle, qui s’appuie notamment sur les travaux initiaux de Freitas et Oliver (2006). De manière synthétique, le tableau suivant résume le modèle évaluatif CEPAJe que nous proposons : Ce modèle est une grille à double entrée. Si vous utilisez du jeu dans vos cours, formations, activités et souhaitez nous dire si ce modèle CEPAJe répond à vos besoins nous sommes à votre écoute ! En attendant vos retours éventuels, voici différents liens : Télécharger une version PDF de la grille CEPAJe Lire l'article scientifique What Do Students Think Of Your Class? Bring TeachThought Professional Development to your School! What Do Students Think Of Your Class? by Terry Heick Google is the company that has become its own verb. Google it. They’re also challenging Apple with their Android mobile operating system (though to be fair, they’re unlikely to catch them anytime soon), not to mention their aggressive entry into new digital markets, from Google Fiber to the Chromebook. They make more money than they could ever spend, and can seemingly do what they please from their Mountain View, California headquarters, where billion dollar patent lawsuits barely cause a ripple. Google is all of those things on a functional level, but in terms of identity it’s slightly less precise as they sort out their identity moving forward. What this all of this mess means to your classroom could be significant. Classroom ‘Identity’ Just as product and service have a kind of identity (often referred to as a “brand”), so does your classroom–whether you plan for it or not.
When someone says teachers don't deserve a raise, show them this letter This heartfelt eye-opening letter first appeared on Amy Murray’s Blog, miss night’s marbles and really shows you what teachers go through for our children every single day. Dear Parent: I know. You’re worried. Every day, your child comes home with a story about THAT kid. The one who is always hitting, shoving, pinching, scratching, maybe even biting other children. You’re worried that THAT child is detracting from your child’s learning experience. Your child, this year, in this classroom, at this age, is not THAT child. I know, and I am worried, too. You see, I worry all the time. But I know, you want to talk about THAT child. I want to talk about THAT child, too, but there are so many things I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you that she was adopted from an orphanage at 18 months. I can’t tell you that he is on an elimination diet for possible food allergies, and that he is therefore hungry ALL. I can’t tell you that I’m starting to worry that grandma drinks… That’s okay, you say. Teacher
Comment préparer nos élèves à affronter l’incertitude ? | Situations Motivantes M’étant inscrite au MOOC “L’avenir de la décision : connaître et agir en complexité“ où j’ai le bonheur d’entendre Edgar Morin, qui vous le savez est pour moi central dans ma réflexion pédagogique, j’ai choisi de partager ici avec vous tous l’activité « Fil rouge » originellement prévue sur un forum interne au MOOC. La consigne est la suivante : « Identifiez une situation complexe dans votre environnement : il peut s’agir d’une situation complexe que vous rencontrez dans votre univers professionnel, extra-professionnel, ou d’un problème de société plus large sur lequel vous avez néanmoins une certaine visibilité et une capacité d’action. Et mon message celui-ci : « En tant qu’enseignante, tout particulièrement préoccupée par les moyens d’aider les élèves les plus fragiles à réussir, je suis depuis longtemps guidée par la pensée d’Edgar Morin. Merci pour vos contributions ! À vous, les commentaire sont ouverts ! Rappel de la situation complexe : Quels sont mes objectifs ? WordPress:
Rigor Made Easy: 3 Ways to Go Deeper with Students Frequent contributor Barbara Blackburn shares three activities to get below the surface of learning and encourage deeper thinking from middle graders. By Barbara R. Blackburn Raising the level of rigor in your classroom does not have to be difficult or a separate lesson. Increasing Rigor Through Riddles First, let’s look at a way to increase the rigor of vocabulary. To increase the rigor, ask students to write a riddle about the word or concept. Prices go up. Increasing Rigor Through Problem-Solving When we start a lesson, we typically tell students what we will learn about that day. Three Alike is a game in which the teacher provides three examples to the students, and then asks the group to guess what he or she will be teaching about today. Once students are adept at Three Alike, you can increase the rigor again by playing the Red Herring Game. Once students are familiar with both games, you can shift the ownership to them. Increasing Rigor Through Various Points of View