Monthly Archives: January 2016

8 Pathways to Every Student’s Success

14 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by in Student-Centered Learning

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CuriosityIn the article below and others that follow it, Developmental Psychologist Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell offers tools on how to help children develop the following life skills: curiosity, sociability, resilience, self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity, and empathy.  Since these skills are needed for a lifetime, I think this information may be helpful to adults as well.

Source: 8 Pathways to Every Student’s Success

The State of the Union\’s Education | EdSurge News

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Teacher Education, Teachers' Page

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The State of the Union\’s Education | EdSurge News:

Summary of President Obama’s statements on education in his last State of the Union address, which he gave last night:

  1. Endorsed early childhood education for disadvantaged families through updated  “No Child Left Behind” act
  2. Credited STEM curriculum for offering opportunities to “high-paying jobs” and for helping to increase the high school graduation rate
  3. Stressed need for more “hands-on” computer science and math courses so new workers could be “job ready” on Day One
  4. Pushed to reduce percentage of income required to pay back student loans (currently at 10%)
  5. Sponsors legislation that would allow “responsible students” to attend two years of community college for free as well as increase the number for community colleges

Click on the link below to access a more detailed summary of his talk and, for those of you who want full access to his talk, to its transcript.

NOTE:  The EdSurge website offers several other useful resources for teachers, including education product reviews, research, and job postings.

State of Union Address 01/12/16

State of Union Address 01/12/16

Source: The State of the Union\’s Education | EdSurge News

Why So Many Students Struggle in School

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in My Blogs

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Not surprisingly, people learn best when they
  • are ready to take on the challenge
  • want to develop the new skill, understand something, or gain new knowledge
  • understand what they need to do to get there
  • believe they can “do it” with effort and perseverence
  • feel good about the challenge before them (isn’t too hard or too easy)
  • enjoy themselves while they are learning
  • progress in their knowledge/ability at a steady pace
  • apply their knowledge or use their new skill
  • trust the source of information
  • feel confident that they can, through effort, succeed
Unfortunately, most schools today emphasize and reward verbal-linguistic (reading/writing), logical-analytical (math and science) and interpersonal (social) skills.  The minority of students who excel in these areas (IF they also have great short-term recall skills) are disproportionately praised and recognized because they seem to have “all the right answers” in class and do well on multiple choice and other tests.  Sadly, they and most of society see these students as “gifted” and “smart” people.  Not what they truly are: able to do better than their peers in these areas. This view is reinforced through the competitive, test-taking model of instruction that often ignores other measures of “knowing” that are just as valuable to our quality of life.
The “unsung talents” I’m referring to include: creative (artistic) people who are good at brainstorming and seeing “new ways” to do things, persons who work well independently (intrapersonal), the people who make our lives easier and more enjoyable (kinesthetic, musical), those who seek to save us from harming ourselves and other entities (naturalists, existentialists) and combination of these forces that we depend upon for our lives and quality of life.
For this reason, I say:  “No more teaching to the test; instead, let’s see all students’ best!”

Edmodo in L2 Learning and Teaching

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Free and Low-Cost Teacher Resources, Teachers' Page

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Teachers and “wanna-bes” won’t be sorry if they take time out to read this article about a free, on-line website for giving assignments and sharing resources with other teachers.

But the REAL benefit for this site’s followers is what its “host” site, “Resources for English Language Teaching,” offers.  Now THIS is a must-see! 🙂

Source: Edmodo in L2 Learning and Teaching