Monterey Bay Aquarium
JVL
Today's Document
DEAR READER
shark vs the universe
Peter Solarz
sheepfilms
titsay
Love Begins
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
Janaina Medeiros
Cosmic Funnies
almost home
Cosimo Galluzzi
#extradirty
Jules of Nature
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
will byers stan first human second
RMH
Show & Tell
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@wiredlearning
"We use sophisticated algorithms, based on graph theory, to determine the best route through a city or town helping us capture all the images we need to make Google Maps comprehensive, in the shortest amount of time," Google said. "Though these algorithms are complex, in simple terms, it's equivalent to solving the problem of drawing a house without lifting your pen and never going over the same segment twice."
This is a must-read.
Dorsi said money isn’t what makes a school whole again. “You can’t just plop down resources and expect that culture to be rebuilt." He repeated himself. “It’s the culture that was lost.”
(via @gothamschools)
Lovely addition to these vintage ads for libraries and reading.
Interesting commentary from Andy Rotherham here:
In New York City, like many school districts, giftedness is decided by a standardized test that measures verbal and non-verbal facility. Score at the 90th percentile and you make the cut for some programs, but at the 97th percentile students become eligible for the highly competitive citywide options for gifted students. The problem isn’t the test, per se, it’s the false precision that comes with it.
Giving Good Praise to Girls: What Messages Stick
“Of all the subjects on earth, people think math is the most fixed,” Dweck said. “It’s a gift, you either have it or you don’t. And that it’s most indicative of your intelligence.” This attitude presents an especially sticky problem to educators working to boost girls’ interest and passion for science, technology, engineering and math – STEM subjects. For many boys, believing math is a fixed ability doesn’t hamper achievement — they just assume they have it, Dweck said. But girls don’t seem to possess that same confidence, and in their efforts to achieve perfection, Dweck’s research shows they shy away from subjects where they might fail.
“We have research showing that women who believe math is an acquired set of skills, not a gift you have or don’t have, fare very well,” Dweck said. “Even when they have a period of difficulty and even when they’re in an environment that they say is full of negative stereotyping.” This research suggests parents and educators should rethink what implicit and explicit messages are being sent to young girls about achievement.
Interesting to think about math as a subject where students are more likely to get stuck by having a fixed mindset. How many of you reading this have ever said "I'm not a math person!" one time or another?
Here’s How Little Math Americans Actually Use at Work
Less than a quarter of employees do any calculations more complicated than basic fractions, and blue-collar workers generally do more advanced math than their white-collar friends.
Read more. [Data: Michael Handel]
People are using math in their jobs and in their lives more than they realize. The point of learning math is less about needing to apply algebraic equations or to graph functions or to prove theorems in the workplace. It's about learning to solve problems quantitatively. Estimating. Taking measurements. Seeing the relationships between things and how one affects the other. It's about the reasoning skills you learn more than the algorithms you memorize.
GREAT promo video here for Donors Choose. That moment when the student started crying... Wow.
Who's playin'?
Here we go, Common Core. I have to admit, these DoK (Depth of Knowledge) levels are pretty awesome. I like the focus on increasing “cognitive rigor” to emphasize critical thinking instead of just fact learning. I’m scared for the shift away from fiction to make room for more nonfiction (in an English classroom). However, all of the examples I’ve seen for math, science, and social studies classrooms are fantastic, in my opinion.
This is great. Webb's Depth of Knowledge chart (link to PDF). Reflects Common Core shift toward higher level reading and writing skills.
I'm in the middle of reading Steven Strogatz's new book The Joy of X. I love what he says about math word problems here:
"...word problems give us practice in thinking not just about numbers, but about relationships between numbers ... Understandably, a lot of us have trouble with it; relationships are much more abstract than numbers. But they are also much more powerful. They express the inner logic of the world around us. Cause and effect, supply and demand, input and output, dose and response -- all involve pairs of numbers and the relationships between them. Word problems initiate us into this way of thinking."
I recommend this book!
Marc Tucker always hits the nail right on the head:
It is true that the future will be full of jobs that do not exist now and challenges we cannot even imagine yet, never mind anticipate accurately. But, whatever those challenges turn out to be, I can guarantee you that they will not be met by people without strong quantitative skills, people who cannot construct a sound argument, people who know little of history or geography or economics, people who cannot write well.
Connecticut's 2012 TOY on the heroes of Newtown:
I'm sure that in each case, every one of these educators would claim that there was nothing heroic in their acts, that they were only doing what they could to keep their children from harm. They would perhaps say that they did what anyone with the genuine heart of a teacher, or a parent or a first responder would do.
Perhaps part of their legacy will be a societal re-examination of the significance of educators and a better appreciation for our sense of duty to our students and our profession. Across the country, our educators commit countless deeds of kindness and altruism for the good of their students, colleagues, schools and communities. They expect nothing in return but to know that they have made a difference.
In other countries, the respect afforded the teaching profession bolsters their societies and helps to sustain it in so many ways. We should find ways to emulate these values and perceptions. We can honor the memories of the deceased by honoring the teachers who perform their noble duties daily. We can collectively elevate the status of education in our society and better support our teachers, students and schools.
A Sunday morning cartoon by Barbara Smaller. For more from this week’s issue: http://nyr.kr/Tocfjm
From the annals of motivation... ;-)
Students who felt competent; were intrinsically motivated; used skills like summarizing, explaining, and making connections to other materials; and avoided rote learning showed more growth in math achievement than those who didn't. In contrast, students' intelligence had no relation to growth in math achievement. [emphasis mine]
"Our study suggests that students' competencies to learn in math involve factors that can be nurtured by education," explained Murayama. "Educational programs focusing on students' motivation and study skills could be an important way to advance their competency in math as well as in other subjects."
(Via @larryferlazzo)
How children learn can teach us much
Scientists are continuously learning from the rapid way children learn during the first few years of life. Brain research into the way infants and toddlers learn is helping shed light on the nature of learning and human development.
Andrew Meltzoff’s research as co-director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences focuses on early cognition and personality and brain development. His books, “The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us about the Mind” and “Words, Thoughts and Theories,” explore some of the institute’s research and findings.
Meltzoff described the complex learning that occurs in the early years of life, or first 5 years, as almost magical. “The first 2,000 days are incredibly important for the rest of their lives,” he said.
photo via flickr:CC | Pratham Books
This research is so important -- and fascinating!
Amazing time lapse of the Space Shuttle's trip through the streets of L.A.
(Another great find by Larry Ferlazzo!)
Trailer for Brooklyn Castle. A documentary about the championship chess team at I.S. 318 in Brooklyn. One of the best education film's I've seen!
