Education, Teaching & Language A reader featuring all the latest news, research & resources for teachers. Inside Online group ESL lessons: what I've learned (1) off2class.com Photo: off2class.com Also Online group ESL lessons: what I've learned (1) off2class.com 15 Words And Phrases You're Probably Saying Incorrectly businessinsider.com Language Variation englishcentral.com 15 Words And Phrases You're Probably Saying Incorrectly businessinsider.com / Christina Sterbenz Some people mumble. Whatever the reason, we've bastardized parts of the English language. The 15 word and phrases below often come out incorrectly. 1. If you say "for all intensive purposes," you mean "for all these very thorough purposes." On the other hand, "for all intents and purposes" means "for all the reasons I did this and all the outcomes." 2. This phrase should imply you cut a new bud (off a plant), not bit someone in the backside. 3. 4. While both terms have become acceptable, "by accident" is technically correct. 5. 6. 7.
Home - TESOL Class Free Resources and Tools for "Authentic" Assessment The key to innovations in assessment and curriculum planning are trust, transparency, and collaboration -- and providing the professional development and training teachers need to succeed. Credit: Tom LeGoff Note: The School of the Future is part of a network of New York schools that develops and uses its own assessment techniques, referred to as DYOs. The school also uses Tasks on Demand, or unannounced assessments that do not provide supports for the students, in order to measure their learning at regular intervals. Resources On This Page: Do Your Own (DYO) Assessment Examples, Rubrics, Data, and Data Analysis Examples of criteria used in authentic assessment Back to Top Skills Spirals and Tracking Sheets Ideas for moving curriculum into a circular pattern and tracking performance to expose students to a wide variety of topics over and over again as the material gets more challenging SOF's Instuctional Tools for Teachers Tools for Developing a High School Humanities Project -- Persepolis
How to Write an Academic Essay: 12 Essential Tips [Download This Guide] Text Version: You probably know your academic essay needs an introduction, a body of supporting information, and a conclusion that summarizes the evidence you’ve provided. But how can you take these basics and make your work stand out from the rest? Use these tips to make your academic essay writing the best it can be. Make time Unless you’re writing a timed essay, you should have plenty of advance notice for when your work is due. Research first, write second Good research forms the foundation of academic essays. Develop a thesis statement Among academic essay writing tips, this one is king. Plan, outline, and organize If you need to free-write a rough draft to get a handle on your ideas, by all means do so, but remember, the best academic essay writing has structure and clarity. Avoid irrelevant details Before you write the first word, revisit your research and highlight specific information to support your thesis. Assume your audience has no knowledge of your topic
Deeper Learning: Why Cross-Curricular Teaching is Essential It is time that teachers and administrators realize that public education has reached a dam in the river. We have gone about as far as we can go with isolated instruction and learning. While it may have served the purpose for the older generations, it does not meet the deeper learning needs of students today and tomorrow. Deep learning is like taking a long drought from a well of knowledge as opposed to only sipping from many different wells. Requirements Undaunted, educators are committed to providing students full access to the well of deep-learning knowledge that will unlock their potential. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In order for all this to happen in a sustainable way in our schools, deeper learning requires that groups of teachers pool their talents, resources, time, and efforts to maximize coherence, relevance, and connections among the content areas. Cross-Curricular Teams There are three general phases of teacher collaboration and interdisciplinary teaching: Aligned Cooperative Conceptual
Deeper Learning: Performance Assessment and Authentic Audience In a conversation with a veteran educator -- a man with years of experience teaching English and acting as a headmaster -- I was confronted with a prejudice so ingrained in my teaching that I was almost embarrassed to admit it. He said, "You know, when I ask a student to write a paper and turn it in to me, that's ridiculous; I'm the worst audience they could have." I was intrigued. He went on, "Who am I to assume that someone will want to write their best work, something truly personal and creative, for me? A single-person audience is a pretty lame audience, let alone the fact that I'm a middle-aged white guy." That hit me like a rolled-up newspaper. As I absorbed this veteran educator’s words, I realized that not only was I wrong in my assumption that I (or any teacher) is a meanigful audience, but also that my assumptions about how grading and assessment work were so far removed from modern research that I might as well have been a 21st-century doctor treating humours. This matters. 1. 2.
Framework - Authentic Task Design 10 design elements are suggested for the design of authentic tasks in web-based learning environments: Authentic tasks have real-world relevance Activities match as nearly as possible the real-world tasks of professionals in practice rather than decontextualised or classroom-based tasks. Authentic tasks are ill-defined, requiring students to define the tasks and sub-tasks needed to complete the activity Problems inherent in the tasks are ill-defined and open to multiple interpretations rather than easily solved by the application of existing algorithms. Learners must identify their own unique tasks and sub-tasks in order to complete the major task. Authentic tasks comprise complex tasks to be investigated by students over a sustained period of time Tasks are completed in days, weeks and months rather than minutes or hours, requiring significant investment of time and intellectual resources.
Authentic Tasks Authentic Tasks Characteristics of Authentic Tasks Types of Authentic Tasks Authentic Task: An assignment given to students designed to assess their ability to apply standard-driven knowledge and skills to real-world challenges In other words, a task we ask students to perform is considered authentic when 1) students are asked to construct their own responses rather than select from ones presented and 2) the task replicates challenges faced in the real world. (Of course, other definitions abound.) If I were teaching you how to play golf, I would not determine whether you had met my standards by giving you a multiple-choice test. However, these tasks are not just assessments. Another way that authentic assessment is commonly distinguished from traditional assessment is in terms of their defining attributes. Traditional ------------------------------------------- Authentic Selecting a Response ----------------------------------- Performing a Task Also, see
Tips for Online Forum Discussion Summaries Photo by Flnz Ask an online tutor what they like most about their job, and be prepared for a lengthy answer. They will probably wax lyrical about things like having contact with people from all over the world. The chance to share and learn alongside a great range of individuals. The cut and thrust of considered online debate with interesting and informed peers. The level of support that an online group can generate for each other. Ask your online tutor what they like least about the job, and you invariably get the same two-word answer: forum summaries! We all know that providing summaries of often complex and lengthy forum discussions on an online academic course is a Good Thing. a forum summary does just that — it summarises. Of course the downside of forum summaries is that they can be very time consuming to produce. Here are a few tips to help you with forum summaries: Tip 1: Do it! Make sure you summarise all discussions. Tip 2: Use students’ names Tip 3: Don’t use students’ names