The unexpected math behind Van Gogh's "Starry Night" - Natalya St. Clair A few lesson plans exist for teaching visual arts and self-similarity (objects that have the same pattern) that could be used after showing this lesson. Shodor has some free lesson plans for students in grades 4 through 8. High school students can learn recursion algorithms to create the Koch curve using Scratch for free. Educational technologist Dylan Ryder has also written about creating fractals. A beautiful app worth checking out is Starry Night Interactive App by media artist Petros Vrellis. Download it to your tablet and create your own version of Starry Night. Really interested in mathematics? Turbulence, unlike painting, is mostly a time-dependent phenomenon, and after some time, breaks statistical self-similarity that Kolmogorov predicted in the 1960s. In fluid mechanics, since we can't often solve the equation for flow patterns, we develop a system of scaling between the physical properties. AcknowledgementsNatalya St.
The Qualitative Formative Assessment Toolkit: Document Learning with Mobile Technology What is qualitative formative assessment? Some call it anecdotal or informal assessment. However, such designations imply passivity -- as if certain things were captured accidentally. For my purposes, qualitative formative assessment is the ongoing awareness, understanding, and support of learning that is difficult or impossible to quantify. Carly Schuler stated that the learner needs to be mobile, not the technology. These approaches form the Qualitative Formative Assessment Toolkit (QFAT). 1. Cameras are powerful tools for capturing moments and documenting learning. 2. Learners spend time using technology as part of their learning, but not all software or applications have a "save" button, especially in moments that may be more interesting than a final export. Here is how to make one on various operating systems: iOS (Home + Sleep) Mac (Command + Shift + 3) Chromebook (Control + Window Switcher) Android (Volume Down + Power for 2 seconds) Windows (PrntScren and then Ctrl + V) 3. 4.
Strengthening Lessons with a Student Work Protocol As the chill in the air gets chillier, and your stacks of student work pile up like fallen leaves, why not pause, take a breath, and take a moment to look at that student work in a new way. Sure, you need to look at the work to assess student progress, provide feedback, and celebrate student successes, but you can also use it to assess, refine, and celebrate your own work. The EQuiP Student Work Protocol is one way to do just that. In part one of our series with Achieve.org, we introduced you to their work with EQuIP (Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products), an initiative designed to identify high-quality materials aligned to the Common Core. We took a close look at EQuIP’s rubrics and process for evaluating lessons for Common Core alignment, and saw the power of teachers viewing and discussing a lesson together. In this video, you’ll learn five steps for examining a single instructional task within a lesson or unit in order to assess Common Core alignment.
Student Engagement: Resource Roundup Facebook Edutopia on Facebook Twitter Edutopia on Twitter Google+ Pinterest Edutopia on Pinterest WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation Tips and Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged Igniting Student Engagement: A Roadmap for Learning, by John McCarthy (2015) McCarthy discusses key strategies to ensure student engagement including being authentic, introducing units with meaningful launch events, and letting students know what outcomes to expect. Back to Top Engagement Through Projects Integrated Learning: One Project, Several Disciplines, by Edutopia Staff (2015) For any project within a vocational major, High Tech High encourages teachers and students to include relevant content from other subject areas to enhance real-world connections. Engagement Through Technology Engagement Through Social and Emotional Learning Getting (and Keeping) Students Engaged Create experiences so students invest in their learning.
Three lessons from the science of how to teach writing | Education By The Numbers What’s the best way to teach writing? The experts have many answers — and they often contradict each other. In contrast to the thousands of studies on effective methods for teaching reading and mathematics, there are relatively few rigorous studies on writing instruction. Steve Graham, a professor of education at Arizona State University, has made a career out of monitoring research studies on teaching writing, to figure out which methods actually work. This article also appeared here. Graham’s review of the research doesn’t resolve the age-old debate of whether students learn writing best naturally — just by doing it — or through explicit writing instruction. But there are effective practices where the research is unequivocal. Here are three: 1. To teach kids to write well, you need to ask them to write a lot. Several studies found unexpected bonuses from extra writing time. However, surveys of U.S. teachers reveal that after third grade, very little time is spent writing in classrooms.
Tools for Teaching: How to Transform Direct Instruction Summer is the time to look over those unit plans. As you reflect and rethink lessons, here's something to consider: How can you turn direct instruction into experiences where students instead discover? We all know that designing learning activities takes time and brainpower -- both often limited during the mad rush of the school year. (And when we are short on time, we teachers too often turn to direct instruction.) So for those of us who philosophically see ourselves more as "a guide on the side," rather than "a sage on the stage," it's in our pedagogical DNA to sacrifice some of summer and continue to develop such constructivist, student-centered lessons. For new teachers, I'd like to help you get started: Let's first take this direct instruction on the topic of imagery: The teacher begins by presenting students with a definition for imagery and gives an example of it. Now, let's transform that scenario into a lesson of student-centered discovery: Rationale I hear and I forget.
Teaching Your Students How to Have a Conversation I was recently in a third grade classroom and was struck by the presence of rules that were posted for how to have a conversation. The poster said, "Each person must contribute to the discussion but take turns talking. Ask each other, 'Would you like to add to my idea?' or 'Can you tell us what you are thinking?' Having visited many middle and high schools, I think these same rules could -- and probably should -- be posted there as well. Maybe you have also observed how common it is nowadays for students to not know how to have a conversation. 8 Tips for Speaking and Listening While it is impossible to know all of the reasons, there is no doubt that learning to listen and talk is an extremely important way to broaden knowledge, enhance understanding and build community. 1. Make a point of having one-to-two minute interactions, one-on-one, at least a few times each week with students who struggle conversationally. "Really?"" 2. 3. "What happened to make you feel that way?"" 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
How Student Centered Is Your Classroom? In the education world, the term student-centered classroom is one we hear a lot. And many educators would agree that when it comes to 21st-century learning, having a student-centered classroom is certainly a best practice. Whether you instruct first grade or university students, take some time to think about where you are with creating a learning space where your students have ample voice, engage frequently with each other, and are given opportunities to make choices. Guiding Questions Use these questions to reflect on the learning environment you design for students: In what ways do students feel respected, feel valued, and feel part of the whole group? Balancing Teacher Roles So let's talk about that last question, and specifically, direct instruction versus facilitation. Facilitation: open-ended questioning, problem posing, Socratic seminar, and guided inquiry Direct instruction: demonstration, modeling, and lecturing Coaching: providing feedback, conferencing, and guided practice
Creating Essential Questions Essential Questions created by Pat Clifford and Sharon Friesen Essential Questions develop foundational understandings. They provide the fundamental organizing principles that bound an inquiry and guide the development of meaningful, authentic tasks. Essential questions have several key components: They arise from people’s attempts, throughout human history, to learn more about the world(s) we live in. Essential questions probably intrigued the ancients as much as they puzzle people living today.Essential questions are so compelling that people have raised them in many different ways.
Why Your Students Can’t Stay Seated, Organized, or Focused (And What To Do About It) I have a treat for you today! One hot topic in the education world today is executive functioning. Anne-Marie Morey reached out to me to write a post about how to help students that are distracted and disorganized. So, your students forget to turn their homework in too? Mine certainly do. Maybe you also have students who can’t sit still? It’s not like your students aren’t capable. Despite your best efforts, your students just don’t seem to be getting anywhere. You might be wondering, “What am I doing wrong?” If your disorganized, distracted students aren’t making sufficient progress, chances are good they struggle with executive function deficits. The normal tricks of the trade aren’t going to cut it. But first, let’s answer a crucial question with a frequently-misunderstood answer. What is executive function, anyway? Executive function is the ability to set a goal and achieve it. Actually, it’s pretty darn complex. In fact, all of us use nearly a dozen sub-skills to set and achieve goals! 1.
Engaging English Language Learners in Academic Conversations In this new series, created in partnership with Oakland Unified School District, we delve into three classrooms where English Language Learners (ELLs) are engaged in academic conversations. From talk moves to participation protocols, these teachers share clear structures that encourage students to talk and learn from each other. Inspired by Jeff Zweirs and Marie Crawford’s book Academic Conversations, teachers at OUSD are working on building the oral language skills of all students. It’s clear that academic discussions benefit all students, with particular benefits for ELLs. As Nicole Knight, OUSD’s Executive Director of the English Language Learner and Multilingual Achievement Office says in her blog, “Academic discussion helps all students to develop their reasoning, understand multiple perspectives, and deepen understanding of content.” From these videos, we learn five tips for engaging students in academic conversations: 1. 2. 3. 4. Watch an overview video of this series.
Get Your Students to Stay Seated, Organized, and Focused Today is part two of a fantastic set of posts from Anne-Marie Morey of the Bay Tree Blog. I absolutely love the monkey thought idea from part one, I’ve immediately put that one to use! If you missed part one, you can read it here. If you enjoy this content in any shape or form, please consider sharing it! The message Anne-Marie shares is invaluable and could help numerous people. In part one, I covered how important it is to provide an environment that promotes attention, teachchildren to self-monitor, and helping students manage their time. 4. The skills required for strong executive functioning are like a battery — they run out! If your students start off strong, but their attention wanes, try to: Reduce the amount of work required for a given task (e.g. five math problems instead of ten).Break larger projects into smaller pieces.Build in frequent breaks. On my podcast for educators, Pamm Scribner, executive function specialist, reveals how she uses brain breaks. 5. 6. Warmly,