50 Lessons I wish I had learned earlier | Family on Bikes Welcome to our blog! Here you'll find bits and pieces of wisdom learned from cycling 17,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina together as a family. Hope it inspires you to live your dream! My book about our journey, Changing Gears, is now released! Read a preview here Now that I’m old and gray (but not quite in my rocker yet!) You’re stronger than you think you are.Mistakes teach you important lessons. What lies before us and behind us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us.Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.It’s not about getting a chance, it’s about taking a chance.If it were easy everyone would do it.Be vulnerable.A problem is a chance for you to learn.Regardless of the situation, life goes on. If you enjoyed these inspirational quotes and feel they would be beneficial for others, we would appreciate it if you would take a moment to share it with your friends via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or email. Interested in our journey?
Ten Takeaway Tips for Teaching Critical Thinking Suggestions from educators at KIPP King Collegiate High School on how to help develop and assess critical-thinking skills in your students. Ideally, teaching kids how to think critically becomes an integral part of your approach, no matter what subject you teach. But if you're just getting started, here are some concrete ways you can begin leveraging your students' critical-thinking skills in the classroom and beyond. 1. Questioning is at the heart of critical thinking, so you want to create an environment where intellectual curiosity is fostered and questions are encouraged. In the beginning stages, you may be doing most of the asking to show your students the types of questions that will lead to higher-level thinking and understanding. 2. Pose a provocative question to build an argument around and help your students break it down. 3. 4. "It all comes back to modeling," says Kellan McNulty, who teaches AP world history and AP U.S. history at KIPP King Collegiate. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Teaching the Gifted and Talented: 33 Websites Where You Can Find Good Resources I wish the Internet was available to me as a kid in elementary school. In New York City, where I attended kindergarten through sixth grade, they called the gifted and talented class "SP". I remember being put into a class to learn French, but very little else. SITES 26 Livebinders for Gifted Teachers- by Teach a Gifted Kid bloggerADHD and Children Who Are Gifted Byrdseed Gifted Classroom Ideas- blog followed by 4,000 peopleCharacters of Intellectually Advanced Young PeopleThe Center for Gifted Studies- The Center for Talented Youth- for pre-collegiate students; through Johns Hopkins UniversityCommon Myths About Gifted Students Council for Exceptional ChildrenCrossover Children: LD and Gifted Gifted But Learning Disabled: A Puzzling Paradox Gifted Exchange-"blog about gifted children, schooling, parenting, education news and changing American education for the better."
Digital Differentiation Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences that address the diverse learning needs of all students and help them develop 21st Century Skills. At it's most basic level, digital tools can be used to help students find, understand and use information. When combined with student-driven learning experiences fueled by Essential Questions offering flexible learning paths, it can be the ticket to success. Here is a closer look at three components of effectively using technology as a tool for digital differentiation. Note: The interactive graphics you see below have been updated. The goal is to design student-driven learning experiences that are fueled by standards-based Essential Questions and facilitated by digital tools to provide students with flexible learning paths. Essential Questions: Student-driven learning experiences should be driven by standards-based Essential Questions. Teacher Facilitated Learning Experiences:
The Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules For Living May 6, 2011 | 42 Comments » | Topics: Life, List At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama apparently issued eighteen rules for living. Since word travels slowly in the digital age these have only just reached me. Here they are. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. via OwenKelly Hot Stories From Around The Web Other Awesome Stories
Tips for Writing Instructional Objectives - Bloom's Taxonomy Job Aids I am so delighted to see this post that includes Bloom's Taxonomy Wheels by ZaidLearn. I always find that it's far easier to design materials using these wheels than it is to see the verbs/products in lists. Many instructional designers can benefit from these job aids when trying to find the right action verbs for their objectives. Here are some wheels for the cognitive domain. Source: Source: Source: Bloom’s digital taxonomy. Have fun, designers! Tomlinson - Differentiation Central
Apps for Grading Assessments Using rubrics and providing student's feedback via the iPad has not been an area that has received a great deal of attention. This is, however, starting to change. I have recently spoken to a number of teachers who have developed apps that will allows teachers to use the iPad as a viable way of assessing student work. Some of these apps actually do more than just mark work. Check out the list and see if any would work for you and your students. Easy Assessment: $1.99 Easy Assessment is the app teachers have been waiting for. Formative Feedback: $1.99 AU This is another great app design by an Australian teacher - Paul Hamilton. Stick Pick: $2.99 AU Stick Pick is the first app of its kind to uniquely link question stems to the cognitive or linguistic needs of each individual learner. Essay Grader: $6.49 AU Provide your students with exceptional feedback, and reduce your grading time with Essay Grader for iPad.
» Handbook for Life: 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity By Leo Babauta This is something I’ve been wanting to write for some time — a Handbook for Life. Now, is there any handbook that can be a guide to every single person? Of course not. This is just a list of tips that I think will help many people in life — some of them common-sense tips that we often forget about. Consider this guide a reminder. It’ll also become apparent from the links in this handbook that I’ve written about this stuff before. How to use this handbook This handbook is not meant to be a step-by-step guide, nor should you adopt all the tips below. Pick and choose the tips that will be most useful to you. 52 Tips for Happiness and Productivity Try rising early. Integrating the 16 Habits of Mind In outcomes-based learning environments, we generally see three elements in play: 1) learning objectives or targets are created from given standards; 2) instruction of some kind is given; and then 3) learning results are assessed. These assessments offer data to inform the revision of further planned instruction. Rinse and repeat. But lost in this clinical sequence are the Habits of Mind that (often predictably) lead to success or failure in the mastery of given standards. In fact, it is not in the standards or assessments, but rather these personal habits where success or failure -- in academic terms -- actually begin. Below are all 16 Habits of Mind, each with a tip, strategy or resource to understand and begin implementation in your classroom. The habits themselves aren't new at all, and significant work has already been done in the areas of these "thinking habits." And a renewed urgency for their integration. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Ask students to map out their own thinking process. 6. 7. 8.
Gifted Students - How To Information Lessons Using Socratic Questioning for Gifted Students Socratic questioning is crucial to developing strong critical thinking skills, according to non-profit organization The Critical Thinking Society. The method is defined by a facilitator guiding students to evaluate their biases and reaching conclusions through a series of open-ended questions. Establishing a fair classroom environment in which all gifted students are able to speak and be heard is critical to the success of using the method. Strategies for Teaching Expository Writing to Gifted Students Gifted students typically master language arts skills earlier in life than their counterparts. How to Manage a Gifted Student When a person thinks of gifted children, advanced intellect is usually the first thing that comes to mind. How to Adapt a Lesson for a Gifted Student Testing for Gifted Students in Kindergarten High Achiever Vs. How to Motivate Teachers of Gifted Students How to Teach Children With a Natural Talent Cognitive Vs.
5 Great Free iPad Translation apps Using iPad for reading is something we all enjoy doing; but what about when reading articles in a foreign language ? It is highly probably that you will come across vocabulary you don't know. Of course you might guess the meaning of words from the context in which they are used but this can never replace a clear and definite explanation of a dictionary.To help you find translations of the new words you come across, I compiled a list of some of the best free iPad translator apps. 1- Free Translator This is a great iOS app that allows users to translate any text into 37 different languages. 2- SpeakText Free Speak and translate text document and web pages, copy and paste, key in, this awesome app will amaze you. 3- iTranslate Whether you are learning a new language , traveling through other countries or just need to translate an enail, with iTranslate you are never again lost in translation. 4- Google Translate 5- Interpret 6- Word Lens This app lets you see the world in your own language.