Episodes
Friday Apr 17, 2015
Episode 51: Rigor Made Easy with Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Friday Apr 17, 2015
Friday Apr 17, 2015
My guest today is Dr. Barbara Blackburn. She is an educational consultant who has made Rigor in the classroom one of her signature topics. She is the author of 15 books and numerous articles on educational topics to name just a few there is Rigor in the Classroom, Rigor is Not a Four-Letter Word, Rigor for Special Needs Students, and, our focus today, Rigor Made Easy.
She has taught early childhood, elementary, middle, high school and college students. She is a national speaker who can often be found presenting to workshops for school personnel.
Rigor is a word that sends shivers through many typically because it has been misinterpreted or introduced in a manner which connects it to thoughts of more of everything. In Rigor Made Easy, Barbara addresses Myths about rigor…such as Myth#1… Lots of Homework Is a Sign of Rigor and Myth#2…Rigor Means Doing More.
During our talk we discuss a few of the myths as well as several key elements of Rigor Made Easy. The book is divided into seven chapters, the first one is called Understanding Rigor and the other six are:
2. Raise the level of Content
3. Increase Complexity
4. Give appropriate Support and Guidance
5. Open Your Focus
6. Raise Expectations
7. Challenges and Adventures
Barbara’s writing style is easy to read and understand. You will find yourself ready to reassess your lesson plans so that you can address her thoughts about Rigor in your classroom and school, tomorrow.
This is an awesome discussion that lends itself to helping kids get to greater understanding of content and learning processes.
Check out the links below to find out more about Barbara and to connect with her:
Website- http://www.barbarablackburnonline.com/
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraRBlackburn
Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/barbblackburn/
Blog- http://rigorineducation.blogspot.com/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/BarbBlackburn
YouTube- https://youtu.be/4LZ6na9V1Wc
Or simply call… (609) 474-4677
Enjoy!
Length: 60 minutes
Wednesday Feb 25, 2015
Episode 47: Talking Education With Ron Walker
Wednesday Feb 25, 2015
Wednesday Feb 25, 2015
Ron has been an educator for over39 years. He has been a teacher, administrator, and consultant. He is the president of Walker Educational Consulting and is also the director/operator of the SAGE Academy in Gainesville, GA (A school that targets the needs of at risk children).
I’ll never forget the first time I met Ron…I was the new principal of a high poverty, high risk high school. He had been hired as an educational consultant. He told the faculty what they needed to hear not what they wanted to hear. He is always like that, but not just with teachers and administrators. With the political arena he pulls no punches, as well.
He has a heart for working with the most challenging kids and schools. He is a master of connecting the dots and helping teachers be successful. He pushes all to do their best and to do what is right.
Listen to him talk about what he sees as the real power of change that educators can make.
He is a wealth of information and he will make you think about why you do what you do.
His small private school, The SAGE Academy, is funded completely through his ventures.
Contact Ron on Facebook at SAGE-Academy
or
contact him through his email address
ronwalker62@aol.com
Enjoy!
Length: 48:31
Monday Feb 02, 2015
Episode 45: Laura Robb-Vocabulary is Comprehension
Monday Feb 02, 2015
Monday Feb 02, 2015
Today I am talking with Laura Robb. She is a teacher, speaker, author, and coach.
She has taught for over 43 years and continues to teach each year in middle grades classrooms.
She has published 18 books primarily focused on reading, writing, and comprehension.
You will often find her speaking across the country and working with classroom teachers to learn how to address the needs of kids in reading, writing and text comprehension.
Laura is concerned about teachers who are “stressed out” with attempts to measure classroom success by using standardized, high stakes tests. The money and time that is spent on these tests could be better spent on training teachers to use better instructional practices.
Laura says, “One of the joys of teaching is that every child is unique.”
Our talk is primarily focused on one of her most recent works, “Vocabulary is Comprehension: Getting to the Root of Text Complexity”.
This work is filled with understandable lessons on how to connect vocabulary building and development with complex text comprehension.
Any teacher could easily take this book read sections and immediately begin to use its lessons in her plans for the week.
Some instructional works are cumbersome with their own language and information. The teacher would need a translator first before even getting close to thinking about using the information…not this book! It is easy to understand and use!
Take a look at her Big 10 and then turn to any of the lessons associated with them and you will be able to start making a difference in a child’s understanding of the text and content.
I strongly encourage you to take this information to heart and to use her book to help change your lessons to help the kids “get it!”
By the way…also, check out her foundation. She and her son are focused on getting books into the hands of children with none.
Enjoy!!!
www.teacher.scholastic.com/products/classroombooks/laurarobb
www.facebook.com/laura.robb.372
Length: 1:00:19
Wednesday Sep 17, 2014
Episode 33: Six Apps for the Classroom with David Lockhart
Wednesday Sep 17, 2014
Wednesday Sep 17, 2014
David is a high school teacher at North Atlanta High. This summer we met at the Georgia Virtual School Symposium in Athens, Georgia where I had the chance to attend his awesome class titled,
…30 Apps in 30 Minutes.
David has always had an interest in Tech… he says, “I found something that I was good at…”
In our interview we focus on four points…
1) His 6 favorite apps
2) The cost of apps (In a word…cheap!)
3) Engaging!
4) Ease of use…
David advises…in looking for apps, “Find what works in your classroom…and then find an app that will help you. If it doesn't work…then adjust.”
Most importantly…David comments, “Don’t be afraid!”
He has amazing advice for apps to use and why as well as how to find the best apps.
I know that you will find this episode brain food!
Here are the 6 Apps that we talk about and their websites.
1) TouchCast http://www.touchcast.com/
2)
Google Drive https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2424384?hl=en
3) Symbaloo http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcK1fiV
4) Weebly https://education.weebly.com/
5) Tackk https://tackk.com
6) 81dash http://81dash.com/
Follow David on Twitter @ld112265
And read his blog at www.edtechspeeddating.com
Seasame Street Song, “There’s An App for That! Find it at www.sesamestreet.org or on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkxDIr0y2U
Enjoy!
Length 30:37
Monday Sep 08, 2014
Episode 32: Planning-A Key to Better Teaching
Monday Sep 08, 2014
Monday Sep 08, 2014
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
This is so true in every facet of our lives and especially in the world of teaching.
Too often colleagues will act as if no planning is necessary. They will fly by the seat of their pants…...doing whatever hits them at the moment. This is a terrible way to work with kids. The better teacher needs to take time to purposefully plan and the best plan is developed with the big idea in mind.
As Stephen Covey said, “Start with the end in mind.” What is it that you want the kids to know? To get to this takes time to develop unit plans that are used to guide the teacher in working with the kids. These plans should contain at least the following six elements:
1. Essential Question (What is the point/purpose of this unit?)
2. Content Vocabulary (What words are necessary for understanding the subject?)
3. Formative Assessment (How do you know that the kids understand or get it?)
4. Engagement (What activities will you use to engage the kids in the lessons?)
5. Connections (How will you connect the topic to the real world?)
6. Use of Time (Are there any special considerations?)
It takes time to create lessons that engage kids and move them to learn and grow academically. The better teacher understands that planning and preparing leads to success in the classroom.
Bear Bryant once said, “It’s not the will to win that matters-everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
Some excellent resources for developing plans and understanding why you should plan with the end in mind have been developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in Understanding By Design and Essential Questions.
(Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe)
Here is a link to an overview of UbD at grantwiggins.org
Here is a link to an overview of UbD at JayMctighe.com
Here are links to YouTube clips of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe explaining Understanding By Design.
Here is a link to the excerpt from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Example of a Frayer Model for learning words...
Example of a Unit Plan
Time to start planning…
Enjoy!
Length 35:09