Retain Good Teachers

Advice for new teachers here

Student Digital Portfolios for assessment and learning

Really enjoyed this blog post on Assessment using Student blog-portfolio's: http://plpnetwork.com/2013/05/30/digital-porfolios-thinking-assessment/

It is unfortunate that many schools don't have the capabilities to do this (not enough ipads, laptops, computers in classroom, bandwidth, wi-fi, money, etc.) but I do like the idea. I have used forums and such for independent novel studies and interactive class activities in the past, but I would love to use blog portfolio's for students. It would be interesting for them as well to have and be able to look back on.

The post explains:

Verbal explanations
I have always used formative assessment in my classroom, but our digital portfolios give me much richer information than our paper portfolios ever did. Because my young students are still beginning writers, it is often difficult for them to explain their learning through writing. They can, however, explain their learning verbally. There are lots of apps (including my current iPad favorites Educreations and Draw & Tell) that record voice over an image. These digital artifacts allow me to understand a child’s thinking in a much deeper way.

The beauty of digital portfolios is that as the children and I are constantly assessing their learning in a formative and summative way, the students are also demonstrating their growing knowledge for a wide audience and learning about digital citizenship and appropriate online behavior. What great by-products of the assessment process! 

Please check out the entire article here: http://plpnetwork.com/2013/05/30/digital-porfolios-thinking-assessment/

Project of Heart Tiles

Source: millies.actieforum.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I love this idea. It would be a nice way to have the entire class design pieces and bring them togther to decorate a board or wall. It remind me of something I have going on in my class in upcoming weeks.

I am doing the Project of Heart tiles in my class. CHeck out the website for more info on  Project of heart

I took some photo examples at the BCTF AGM over Spring Break of some of the tiles already done.


 

Blooming Orange

The Blooming Orange

I've always been interested in new ways to view and think about Bloom's Taxonomy and the folks at Learning Today have created a poster worth sharing. To help teachers get thinking about ways to apply Bloom's higher-order thinking skills in the classroom, they've put a spin on the traditional hierarchy and  limited the number of verbs in each section to create The Blooming Orange.

They've popped Bloom's verbage into the segments of an orange and intentionally depicted it as a circle to illustrate the fact that often these skills do not occur in isolation, they often occur simultaneously. This Blooming Orange presents itself as a teacher-friendly tool for planning and possibly an easier way for everyone to think about Bloom's. Be sure to click on the link below to visit the Learning Today blog and print a copy of this poster to hang  in your classroom.

Via:Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners

PS - for new teachers and TTOCs these are some great buzz words to understand. I find educators often USE these things but don't necessarily know how to LABEL them. In interviews and professional conversations, a new teachers ability to understand and use these words will go a long way.

Culture of Learning: Fooling Around in the Bathroom

Loved this story from a principal in our district: 

It is not rare to walk down the hallway and hear strange noises coming from the boys bathroom in an elementary school. Sometimes you hear giggles, or doors slamming, or screams as the boys play tag, toss around paper towel, or slam the doors on the stalls. And although my school is not immune to this type of behaviour I must admit that I am very pleased that our students do a pretty good job of respecting their school, and this includes their bathrooms.Last week I was heading down the hallway on my way outside about 10 minutes into the outside play portion of lunch. As I walked past the boys bathroom I could see that there were two boys standing at the sinks. I paused…it was quiet. I heard a whisper. I looked again, they hadn’t moved.
 

Read the rest of this story here: http://principalofthematter.com