IntenseDebate - Matt Townsley

13 years ago @ Learning is life. - Start the conversation · 0 replies · +1 points

"Whether it's #edchat or sitting around coffee, the venue for the dialoge isn't what's important." I think this is a really good point. Russ & I have been talking about professional learning communities (PLCs) a fair amount lately. I think that, when done well, these types of conversations grounded in practice should happen on a regular basis among trust-established colleagues sharing content or students in common. Teachers talking about their practice and how it impacts students. Good stuff. This post is worth reading over and over as a reminder.
My recent post How do you remediate?

13 years ago @ chrishubbs.com - Well, we joined. · 0 replies · +2 points

Welcome aboard!!

14 years ago @ Learning is life. - Taking responsibility ... · 1 reply · +2 points

This is a really good question. I think it depends on a few things...
1) if Student accidentally forgot his completed powerpoint at home and presented nonetheless, then it might lean towards taking responsibility.
2) If Student never completed his powerpoint and/or his incomplete powerpoint was at home, then he may have been taking the 'easy way' out by presenting w/o his visuals.

Did you get a chance to follow-up with Student? This is a great glimpse into classroom reality. Keep 'em coming, Russ!

14 years ago @ Learning is life. - Get yourself a Devil's... · 0 replies · +1 points

I found my checker and balancer....he writes at russgoerend.com :)

14 years ago @ Learning is life. - A slice of humble pie · 0 replies · +1 points

Well said, Russ. Your humility is inspiring.

14 years ago @ Learning is life. - The force is strong wi... · 0 replies · +1 points

Would it help to post a few links to more of the TPACK literature here? I can't seem to access any of the Michigan State websites today, but maybe others can? Or I could post a few later when the sites are up again?

14 years ago @ Learning is life. - The force is strong wi... · 0 replies · +2 points

I think that with such an emphasis on "21st century skills" and one-to-one student:computer initiatives, the discussions tend to focus on the TK side of things. "If only we could get our teachers blogging..." or "if only we could get our teachers to setup more wikis with their students." If those blogs and wikis are used to help students memorize facts or learn the "old way," then school will continue to be school, just with new tools. I tend to favor the PK approach. Commentary after commentary (Goodlad, Lortie, to name a few) from the days of yore suggests that the way we teach and interact with students matters most...and if that doesn't change, we'll continue to teach and students will continue to learn just as they did 100 years ago. More of my thoughts on pedagogy first are here: http://bit.ly/a4ugcn

14 years ago @ Learning is life. - Thoughts from the grad... · 7 replies · +1 points

I can relate to all of the anti-grades commentary going on in the comments here, but the reality is that most of us are required to report quarter and/or semester grades whether we like it or not. As public school teachers, we knew this when we signed our names on the dotted line. This surely doesn't preclude us from trying to "fix" the system, but aside from most likely a multiple year timeline and extensive action plan (not to mention a few administrators who are willing to risk their jobs), many of us will never see this huge shift in our districts. Bringing this conversation back to a more realistic and applicable one for Russ and the super-majority of the educators out there, are there legit and practical ways to...
1) provide more written/oral feedback and give fewer grades and/or
2) work towards tweaking the existing grading/reporting scheme (as Brad describes above) to better reflect the ideals mentioned in the comments above?

What do y'all think?

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