The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers. What Makes Good Teachers Great - ASCD Annual Conference 2012 Laura Varlas “In medicine, lives are lost in the slim margins between good and great,” surgeon and Harvard medical professor Atul Gawande told conference attendees at the second general session of ASCD’s Annual Conference. Gawande, who has written several articles and best-selling books, including The Checklist Manifesto, has spent his career mining the nuances that separate competence from excellence. During his talk, he investigated a core dilemma common to helping professionals in fields like teaching and medicine: despite expertise, “we all get different results.” To illustrate this point, among the clinics specializing in caring for patients with cystic fibrosis, there is a 13-year difference in life expectancy rates between patients at the very best clinics and those at good clinics. On the surface, Gawande saw no difference between these clinics. “Genius doesn’t make you great; how you work in a system does,” he observed. That’s a narrow road to success, Gawande argues.
heyjude.wordpress AusVELS - Home The Heliotropic Effect in Leadership and Coaching Recently I attended a workshop at Positive 12 led by Kim Cameron Professor of Management at University of Michigan. In his presentation he referred to the ‘Heliotropic Effect’ You might remember this from science classes – perhaps not. It is the tendency of living things to move towards sources of light and positive energy. (Click the link later in this newsletter to listen to an interview with Professor Cameron). New developments in social network analysis are now revealing the ‘positive energisers’ in organisations and conversely the ‘energy drainers’ - who is attracted to who and who avoids who. Those positive energisers in general: are stronger performers, bring out better performance in those around them get their ideas acted upon more often attract good people to work with them So what is it that makes interactions with these people so energising and so impactful in the teams and organisations for which they work? Have a positively energising month! John Campbell Director
What students want Teacher Notes Years ago I was asked to take part in a community group looking to address the gap in activities for young adults after school in our town. I was quite impressed with the group that was assembled but I noticed a glaring exclusion. I raised my hand and was recognized by the chairperson. A lot of times when we are making important educational decisions we have a tendency to leave out the voices of the students (and parents).
TPACK iPad Project In Schools (TIPS) | Dr Jenny Lane – Edith Cowan University Reading Stronger, Faster, Better: 5 Activities for Teaching Reading Strategies How do you teach students to become better readers, especially with academic texts? As a teacher, you can arm students with specific reading strategies that will help students navigate and comprehend any given text. Below are 5 essential strategies and ways to use them in your classroom. 1ScanningOne of the most essential reading skills is scanning for specific information. By training students to scan the page to look for key words, they learn to group specific letters together and quickly identify words, thus improving their fluency over time. Model and practice these skills with your students regularly and watch over time how they will be reading stronger, better, and faster!
Webinar with Alan November and Dr. Eric Mazur This is a very special episode of our podcast series. It’s an archived recording of our first of what we hope will be many live webinars complete with audience Q&A at the end. In this conversation, Alan talks again to Dr. Eric Mazur, Area Dean of Applied Physics at Harvard University and 2011 Building Learning Communities Conference keynote speaker. Alan and Dr. Mazur revisit his work on flipped learning along with peer instruction that is guided by the questions and misconceptions students bring to class each day. Dr. Loaded: 0% Progress: 0%
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Welcome to Rob Vingerhoets The 25 most difficult questions - StumbleUpon If you are one of those executive types unhappy at your present post and embarking on a New Year's resolution to find a new one, here's a helping hand. The job interview is considered to be the most critical aspect of every expedition that brings you face-to- face with the future boss. One must prepare for it with the same tenacity and quickness as one does for a fencing tournament or a chess match. This article has been excerpted from "PARTING COMPANY: How to Survive the Loss of a Job and Find Another Successfully" by William J. Morin is chairman and Cabrera is president of New York-based Drake Beam Morin, nation's major outplacement firm, which has opened offices in Philadelphia. 1. Since this is often the opening question in an interview, be extracareful that you don't run off at the mouth. 2. You should be able to discuss products or services, revenues, reputation, image, goals, problems, management style, people, history and philosophy. Give your answer a positive tone. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Alphabet Matching Matching upper case and lower case Teachers can use the following activity to ask students to help the "Mama animals" (uppercase letters) find their "babies" (lowercase letters). This game includes matching the uppercase mothers with their lowercase babies. See example > (4.2MB PDF)* This link provides a template for a prinatble "Superhero" upper and lower case letter match game. See example > This file includes uppercase and lowercase letters in a matching game that parents can use with their child at home. See example > (56K PDF)* This link provides templates for printing cards to use for writing uppercase and lowercase letters. See example > Letter formation: using sand, play dough, flour The website below provides teachers with downloadable mats with the alphabet letters for helping children use play dough to for learning letter formation. See example > Letter bingo Bingo is a simple game that children enjoy and can be used to help them learn about the upper and lower-case letters. Letter books