I have never considered myself to be a techie, but after my school brought Will Richardson in to present, I discovered that I was using technology a lot more than my co-workers. I currently have a facebook page, twitter account, and I am a member of personal learning networks. I have been using the internet to make connections in my own hobby for years. I am a cichlidoit, a tropical fish enthusiast for those who do not have this addiction. I am a moderator on monsterfishkeepers.com and a…
Here in Jasmin Ramzinsky’s 3rd grade class at Parkside Elementary School in Austin is why education can be turned around on a time by simply challenging students to assume more control of their own learning.
How do they do this? By being encouraged to ask good questions about the content they are studying and then pursuing what International Baccalaureate calls “purposeful…
I’ve blogged about the successful use of thinking skills in promoting reading comprehension and the huge increase I saw in reading levels here: Reading Levels Jump 5 Months in just 2.5 Months!
Just finished rebuilding my website which contains ebooks, teaching units of work and other resources for teachers resulting from long experience of education. Too many to reproduce on this site.You are most welcome to visit. www.julieboyd.com.au
Added by Julie Boyd on April 28, 2011 at 6:00pm —
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I've often wondered why - when faced with the prospect of professional or personal change - people often defer to the worst-case scenario or predominantly envision why something won't work.
Now, while I don't pretend to be an expert on all of humanity, I do believe that it is primarily a way to prevent ourselves from looking foolish. There are few things in life more aversive than the idea that you didn't think it through or were, in some way, naive about…
Daniel Pink writes in his book that the way that the world has been ruled for the past 50 or so plus years is not the world of the future. Currently the world is shifting away from Left Brain dominated society to a society that will hold the six senses in higher regard. These six senses: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning, are the skills that the future highly demanded careers will need. He does not say that the IQ based left brain thinkers will no longer exist, but…
In a potential (albeit double-edged) victory for teachers, they may gain the power to nullify charter conversions resulting from California’s Parent Trigger law. The law has been in limbo, as the State Board of Education tried to resolve conflicts and ambiguities in its original wording. A final version probably won’t be completed…
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER: www.nieer.org) has just published its annual “State of Preschool” survey, which shows that overall funding for pre-kindergarten programs…
It is 4.15 pm now in Malaysia.I just had an interesting visitor from USA Embassy officer.The officer is Malaysian and he is contemplating to put my school into consideration to benefit from USA EMBASSY charitable educational programmes.Previously, the embassy had only taken middle schools and high schools under its wings.So,now they are thinking of candidate schools from elementary level.The embassy focuses on English Language Educational programmes by sponsoring teachers and students for…
Hello, I am a principal in an elementary school in Malaysia.My school is a private school.We started the school in 2009 with 30 students from Year 1 (7 years old) to Year 3 (9 year old).In 2010,we had a drastic increase from 30 to 80 students.Presently, we have 120 students.We have also opened classes for 10-11 years old.It is arguable whether it is relevant for me to be here and to learn from overseas school administrators. I've studied cases from schools in North America and almost every woes… Continue
Added by Sarenawati Jaafar on April 27, 2011 at 1:09am —
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Those who have ever attempted to create a Problem Based Learning (PBL) lesson know how difficult it is to come up with a complex, multi-staged problem that directs the students toward learning the subject matter (objective), without explicitly stating it. Have you tried it out?
Without directions, most students get lost. I remember being in university classes at the end of the term and someone would always raise their hand in class and ask “When is the exam? Where? What’s on it?” and… Continue
Studies show one in three children struggle with handwriting. I’d guess more, seeing it first hand as a teacher. Sound bad? Consider another study shows that one in five parents say they last penned a letter more than a year ago.
Let’s look at the facts. Students handwrite badly, and don’t use it much when they grow up (think about yourself. How often do you write a long hand letter?). Really, why is handwriting important in this day of keyboards, PDAs, smart phones,…
I was introduced to the 'Six Thinking Hats' as an Assistant Principal with PSD. A group of administrators had been reading the book and shared their learning through a really fun bag of hats - each hat in the bag a different color. Each hat represented collaboration in the task of looking at an existing landscape or an initiative from different perspectives. I was particularly intrigued by the black hat.As an administrator, the black hat can be the most challenging to work with - especially…See More
