Classroom Instruction That Works

This presentation was done by the Instructional Technology Department from Leander ISD. There were so many things that were excellent about this session. Several years ago I purchased the Marzano book "Classroom Instruction that Works" and started reading through it. It seemed important, but I was having difficulty keeping up my reading motivation. When I saw this session listed I thought it was something I should know more about, but I wasn't sure how interesting it would be. I was wrong. First the presenters applied the techniques that they were learning during the session. They started by giving us a sheet and having us think ahead about what the various strategies meant to us. Then they divided us into groups and used effective cooperative grouping as a structure for helping us to think through and apply what they were sharing. The final thing that they did which I think is SO important for conferences was to have resources available online that we could refer back to. The web site that this post is linked to has extremely helpful examples of strategies for applying the Nine High Yield Instructional Stragegies that Marzano mentions in his book. They are:

• identifying similarities and differences
• summarizing and note taking
• reinforcing effort and providing recognition
• homework and practice
• nonlinguisitic representation
• cooperative learning
• setting objectives and providing feedback
• generating and testing hypothesis
• cues, questions and advance organizers

Their web site is a very rich resource!

TCEA Other Sessions

Here are the sessions that I hope to talk about in the next few postings:

• Nine High Yield Instructional Strategies (about Marzano)-one of the best I attended.
• Software: Photo Story, Captivating
  
• Motivational Speakers Rafe Esquith, Deneen Bowen
  
• Mark Prensky
  
• History of Canutillo gets an Oscar
  

Printer Cartridges

Finally I will start writing to you a bit about the TCEA conference I attended February 6-10. This is a way for me to sort through what I learned and also to share it with others (if there are others reading the blog!)

The first thing that I am going to mention is about Printer Cartridges. I have always wondered why Office Depot or Office Max felt that it was worth their time to collect used printer cartridges and actually give customers free reams of paper for it. I just knew that it wasn't just environmental concerns on their part, they had to be making money on it. So, I was interested to see a program called Texas Cash for Texas Kids which had a booth at the conference. This is a company that recycles (?) empty cartridges and has made it into a fundraiser for schools. They encourage schools to collect cartridges and then they will buy them. The schools benefit from the funding and also it gives schools and families a way to discard empty cartridges (and old cell phones).

I still don't know why they are valuable, but I would rather benefit schools than corporations, so it seems like a good idea. I am skeptical though that they are actually being refilled and resold. I wonder if there is a part of them that is valuable and these companies remove that piece and throw out the rest. hmmmm...

Hi

Just thought I'd say Hi in case anyone is reading. Tomorrow I hope to finally get to writing a few thoughts about the recent TCEA conference here in Texas. I am sure that most everyone has already processed their thoughts about that and are on to the next thing. I am a bit slow, but I think there will be value for me in going over what I learned there.

Open Mind Software

This is my final post about TRLD. I usually don't write entries that sound like sales pitches, but this one might.

I had time to talk to someone at the exhibition about a software called OpenMind 2. The thing that struck me was that it seemed to have many things that would be helpful in a school and it was affordably priced. It starts out looking like a graphic organizer, like Inspiration. However, from the graphic outline you can make a web page or a timeline, as well as a word text outline or a Powerpoint.

We spent a lot of time looking for a simple way for teachers to make web pages. I think this software might be used BOTH as a simple graphic organizer and for web page creation. It has ftp built in. I think it is worth looking at.

Donald Leu-New Literacies Research Team

Now for the best of TRLD in my opinion:

Every year I have gone to TRLD one of my favorite presentations has been done by Donald Leu. He is the head of a research group at the University of Connecticut that does research on the interaction of technology and reading. His training was in Elementary Education and reading. He is convinced that there are new literacies required to be successful in this age and that we are not addressing them at all in our schools. In his presentation he shows how many other nations are way ahead of us with including these new literacies into their instruction. There are 5 areas that educators need to be including in their literacy instruction, but most are not they are:

• Identifying Important Questions
• Locating Information
• Critically Evaluating Information
• Synthesizing Information
  
• Communicating Answers

These are all skills that we always have taught in schools using text, but they have changed in really important ways because of the amount and type of information available AND the ease with which students can communicate in other ways besides text (graphics, text messaging (a whole different language!), video, audio, etc...)

It is so true that our kids are bombarded constantly with messages that are not text. They really need to have the tools to evaluate what they are taking in and communicate back in the same way. Actually, they are already doing this, but not with the guidance of wise adults and often in risky ways.

He said that the most obvious example of how big the changes in reading comprehension and the need to communicate online is with older adults. He gave the example of his parents who really want to use the computer, but have NO idea how to search or how to think in the new ways that technology demands.

That reminds me of a recent posting by Mark Ahlness in his classroom blog. He is a third grade teacher and talked about a problem that his class was having one day when the server was down. They could access the Internet, but not their shared folders or the printer. One of his students really wanted to save and print her blog entry. Instead of giving up or thinking about floppy drives she suggested to her teacher that maybe she could publish her blog entry and then get on a computer that was connected directly to the printer (avoiding the server) and open her blog and print. Problem solving or what? The earlier that kids learn to think differently the more they will be able to do as technology keeps changing.

I agree with Donald Leu that it is an extremely important literacy and we need to take it seriously in schools. Check out the New Literacies page (linked above) for more information on what they are doing!

Conference Notes Published

I have linked above to my web site where I have published the two presentations that I have done recently at conferences. One of them is about my experience Blogging in Greece and talks about using blogging and reading in the classroom. The other presentation is called "A Guided Safari through Web 2.0 and talks about blogs, wikis and rss feeds.

Janice

Phonics vs. Whole Language Direct Teaching vs. Cooperative Learning

I was surprised that these different approaches are still seen as opposites! There is not just one good way to do something. Both phonics and whole language have their strengths and weaknesses and I don't think that either one should be done exclusively. The same with direct teaching and cooperative learning. They are both important approaches. You cannot teach EVERYTHING with cooperative learning. Some things are more effectively taught using a direct method. However, direct teaching can lead a teacher to taking full responsibility for learning and good cooperative learning places the responsibility where it belongs, with the student. Cooperative learning is also much more engaging when facilitated well.

The reason that I think this is STILL an issue with phonics is that many teachers today were taught using only whole language. They were successful at learning this way and have no idea how to approach teaching phonics. NCLB has pointed out five areas that successful teaching of reading include. They are phonics, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. So, teachers are being expected to teach phonics and really have no idea how to teach it comprehensively since they did not learn that way.

With direct teaching the issue is different. Many of us were only taught by direct teaching methods. When we got our first teaching jobs the teachers who mentored us used only direct teaching. Now teachers are encouraged to use coopertative grouping, but they have no clue how to facilitate it well. Cooperative learning can be done in a way that truly enhances learning or it can be done in a way that provides for a lot of wasted time in the classroom. Direct teaching is much easier.

All of these thoughts were brought about by a very popular session at TRLD by Pat Doran called "Phonics Steps to Reading Success". When I first sat down and began to listen I thought I was in a sales session. Much of the session was filled with stories glorifying Ms. Doran's program and promoting her materials. However, after listening it was clear that she really cared about non-readers. Her program is designed especially for the "secret club" of adults who are illiterate and struggling with survival in a reading world. Direct instruction and classroom managment recommendations (students sitting forward with hands still, no getting out of your seat, teacher-directed instruction) were clearly talked about.

What surprised me most was that the very full room of teachers seemed thoroughly supportive of her approach and excited by her suggestions!

TRLD
phonics
whole language
direct instruction
cooperative learning

TRLD Book and Brain Reading Method

Today was the last day of the TCEA conference. I want to write about it, but Liz asked me to write more about the TRLD conference which I have been thinking about. During the TCEA conference at slow moments I wrote a few entries about TRLD... so I will start with those and then add TCEA thoughts... I guess it is conference month.

One of the most interesting sessions at TRLD that I went to was called Brain and Book. Nancy Linden, the presenter, went through some VERY interesting ideas that introduced quickly what she usually does as a longer (several day) workshop.

She started by sharing how she was a special ed student and gave us a real feel for how difficult that was for her. Then she talked about the one thing that really made a difference for her and gave her the tool that she needed in order to make sense of things and to learn. Her method is based upon the patterns of symmetry and opposites. She explained that we learn best from patterns (rather than random information). We need lots of repetition (5-50 examples to learn something new). We learn as much from wrong answers as from right answers and that efficient brains sort information well. Good learners are able to batch tasks.

One way she showed to sort things into opposites was to think of everything in the world as either energy or matter. Energy is unseen, always new, abstract, etc… and is like the brain. Matter is seen, ages, literal and specific and is like a book. Her method teaches students to take tests and read by analyzing everything into two opposite categories. Book questions are when, where and how and are found in the book. They are details and are more literal. Brain questions are why, when, and how and involve inference. To answer them you need to put them in the frame in your brain.

She has a whole bunch of resources for sale. Her book on test taking strategies is called Book and Brain Reading and explains the ways to find the best answer rather than a good answer.

I found her presentation inspiring and interesting. Now that I look back on it though, I think it was too short to really absorb and talk about what she was presenting. It would be interesting to learn more from her.

Cindy Sheehan's Side of the Story

I sometimes think that Cindy Sheehan is being used and am a bit embarrassed for her. The way the paper covered her attendance at the State of the Union message was just another example. Then I read the article that I have linked with her side of the story. It made sense to me and I was shocked at the manipulation that is happening. What do you think?

politics

sheehan