Which is greater- 1/3 or 1/8? I need the butterfly!

Here is a hilarious, but also sad video made by my friend Amy Lehew, who heads up K-5 Mathematics for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Students in 3rd-5th grade struggle with comparing fractions and at times these algorithms or tricks only further confuses them.

Want some good fractions resources?

One of my favorite new books- Beyond Pizzas and Pies. This book provides strategies and research related to students’ misconceptions of fractions– essential for elementary school students!

Technology IMPACT week

We’re in the second half of IMPACT technology integration week in Kannapolis City Schools.

If you are interested in checking out resources and what we’ve been up to visit us here.

Considering Blended Learning– Implications for College Courses

Sitting 2 days after graduation listening to Chuck Dziuban, a Professor from the University of Central Florida talking about directions for teaching college courses with a focus on blended and online learning environments. Very intriguing thoughts and comments….

A couple of things to consider….

1) higher education institutions are pushing for online courses due to overcrowded on-campus face-to-face classes, and lack of money to build new buildings.

2) When we move courses online there are things to consider- student engagement, web 2.0 technologies, maintaining rigor. Note: these aren’t new but still worth considering.

3) College students today are very into technology and engagement- how do we do this in online courses and keep them interested?

4) System dynamics (Jay Forester, MIT) talks about- a) how adding a factor to a system changes the system and how the impacts on the system are counter-intuitive. Lastly, there are side effects that will surprise us. Adding an online, blended course to a traditional face-to-face teacher education program will surely have side effects.

5) Online courses are more work for both faculty and students…does more work mean more rigor?

6) College students learning how to teach face-to-face classrooms in elementary, middle, and secondary schools. Can initial licensure programs effectively prepare college students to be effective?

Research says-
1) students dislike faculty ambivalence- they want clear expectations
2) students want evidence of faculty engagement- largely feedback
3) students like convenience of online courses
4) students enjoy being able to connect, communicate online- wikis, blogs AS LONG as conversation is meaningful.

More information here

NCLB to be Rewritten in May

CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – EDUCATION

House Chairman Sees Action on ‘No Child’ Rewrite in May

By Lauren Smith, CQ Staff

The House Education and the Workforce panel will be ready to write an overhaul of federal education law as early as next month, its chairman said Thursday.

“This is our first of many opportunities to consider specific reforms to help fix what is broken in current law,” said John Kline, R-Minn., during his panel’s first hearing to discuss specific changes in the elementary and secondary education law (PL 107-110) known as No Child Left Behind. “We have a growing consensus in this committee that NCLB is failing in many ways and needs to be corrected and we need to move forward on legislation.”

Kline called current education programs a “bureaucratic maze” and said a top priority in rewriting the law will be to remove obstacles that prevent school systems from using funds the way they consider most effective. Increasing flexibility for states and school districts, while also creating a new accountability system to hold states and schools districts responsible for student achievement, should be a pillar of the new law, he said.

Kline underscored the importance of obtaining up-to-date data to guide decision-making at the state and district levels.

The committee’s top Democrat, George Miller of California, largely agreed that there is growing consensus among committee members that will allow legislation to move. “This hearing signals that a majority on this committee is ready to move forward in a meaningful way on the reauthorization,” he said.

The federal role in education, Miller said, should be to set high standards while providing local school districts the flexibility to reach those goals.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has set a goal of having a bill on the floor in that chamber by late spring. Bipartisan negotiations are continuing.

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Source: CQ Today Online News

Design of Focal Units on the Common Core for Math in North Carolina is Underway

I had a great day yesterday up in Raleigh at the North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction. We have started the design of curricular units and professional development around critical areas of focus in the K-5 Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. The units, which we are calling, Focal Units on the Common Core State Standards, will center on the following main concepts:

Kindergarten- Composing, decomposing ten
1^st Grade- Making 10s, Base Ten System
2^nd Grade- Adding and Subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers
3^rd Grade- Area and Perimeter, Array models of multiplication
4^th Grade- Whole number operations, focusing on multi-digit multiplication and division
5^th Grade- multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals

While the design of a curricular unit will only provide a small resource to teachers, the intent is to give teachers across the state a resource, and an example of standards-based instruction- cognitively demanding tasks, high-level questions about students’ mathematical thinking, and instructional activities that are allow to meet the needs of a range of learners.

For those with standards-based curricula already, this will serve as another unit of resources.

Professional development about these units and grade-level specific PD will be offered in August in 3 locations across the state. Unfortunately, due to limited funding, PD will only last one day, with potential for follow-up via online support during the 2011-2012 school year.

All materials for the unit and professional development will be available via the web.

All Common Core resources can be found here at my website.

Common Core Assessment Consortia

I just got back from a day in Raleigh with Technical Outreach for Public Schools (TOPS), the group in NC that oversees the creation of our End-of-Grade tests.

Here is the low down of the Common Core assessments for North Carolina:

2011-2012: some districts are teaching K-2 Common Core, Gr 3-12 will teach the 2003 NCSCOS

2012-2013:  Gr 3-12 will be tested on the Common Core, test created by NC and TOPS

2013-2014: same as 2012-2013

2014-2015: 1st year of test created by Smarter Balanced assessment consortia

Dreams…

Repost from a former student…

Ron Clark’s Rule #51 Live so that you will never have regrets. If there is something you want to do, do it! Never let fear, doubt, or other obstacles stand in your way. If there is something you want fight for it with all of your heart. If there is something you want to do, go for it and don’t stop until you make it happen. If there is something you want to be do whatever is necessary in order to live out that dream.

Educators- what do you dream about? What do you desire? What do your students dream about? Keep pursuing yours, and creating opportunities for your students to pursue their dreams!

Online, computer-based testing…. interesting views

Published in Education Week an article about the  move towards online testing… I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the way that the Common Core National Standards begin to be assessed in a few years…

New Year’s Resolutions for Teachers

As 2011 gets underway, both K-12 schools and universities will be in full-swing this week.

What are your “resolutions” for teaching?

Here are some ideas:

1) Be more intentional to get to know your students. What interests them, what subjects/topics do they enjoy? Which ones do they not enjoy as much.

2) Exhibit more “fearless curiosity” in your classroom. Is there an idea that you have been wanting to try in your classroom…take a chance…plan it and see how it goes with your kids. An example might be having your students use a Web 2.0 tool to make a scrapbook, Presentation, or a Poster about a topic that they are learning about. Maybe, it’s having students do a hands-on science investigations, or investigate a real-life math concept?

3) Continue to be a lifelong learner. Find some online resources or books that will help you become a more effective teacher. Here are some ideas: Clif’s Notes, Around the Corner.

4) Find balance. Remember work isn’t everything. Take time to step back and enjoy your job, family, and friends!

 

Preparing for new Common Core State Standards in Math

We’re hitting the ground running in North Carolina preparing to start teaching the Common Core State Standards. Numerous districts have made plans to start teaching the Math standards in Grades K-2 next year.

Here is my site where I’m posting resources.