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After experiencing the EdubloggerCon ISTE 2011 Web 2.0 Smackdown , I knew I wanted to see this in our district during professional development. To add to that idea, I read a post by Patrick Larkin , Burlington High School Principal, about their flipping the Smackdown to the beginning of their Professional Development as a preview for their breakout sessions. Our Collaboration Coaches , are just the people to introduce this idea to. They are passionate learners, collaborators, and focus on creating student-centered classrooms. Our version of a Web 2.0 Smackdown Any participants could share whatever tools/resources connecting to lesson improvement, coaching skills, or tech integration. The process: Submit topic and link to your visuals before we meet (collected in a Google Form). On the day we meet, present for 2 minutes live or show a recorded "trailer" for us. After smackdown, we'll vote for one to learn more about. Tools and Resources Here's what th...

Several mentioned that even though they knew Bloom's Taxonomy , they hadn't put a Bloom's microscope to their lessons until designing PBL. Once they designed a PBL, they realized a rigor boost in Bloom's Taxonomy was needed. Some rights reserved by Mantid Man Bloom's Taxonomy and a Praying Mantis About ten years ago, I had a third grade student bring a praying mantis to our class, and we placed it in a terrarium. The students were fascinated with it. To capitalize on their interest, I introduced Bloom's Taxonomy for writing research questions about our praying mantis. I gave a simple explanation, then they worked together in small groups to write questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy . They also had some great insight about each level: Knowledge : These are facts that we could just look up and memorize. They used the least amount of "brain-power" on Bloom's Taxonomy.   What is a praying mantis? What does a praying mantis look...

Blogging is a fabulous way to connect with an authentic audience. Like everything else, there is a transition process for learning how. Some rights reserved by T Hall Foundations for Blogging Houses need a sturdy foundation to remain standing. Likewise, blogging needs a sturdy foundation of digital citizenship and quality commenting . Digital Citizenship Introducing your class to digital citizenship is the first step. They will learn most of this in the context of blogging. However, setting guidelines is important for safety and netiquette expectations. Resources Sqworl Commenting When it comes to learning about quality commenting , I turn to Linda Yollis . She teaches us to break commenting into two parts: the content and the editing. Here is a summary of some of their tips : Start with a compliment. Add new information, especially facts. Connect with a personal story of how it's relevant to you. End with a question. Proofread. Comment Prompt St...

In my last post, I reflected on a conversation that clarified PBL . When we crafted the Driving Question or Essential Question , the teachers became comfortable with their PBL. What is an Essential Question? The purpose of an essential question is to connect relevance of the main concept or big idea back to the learner. It focuses the learner on what's important. Essential questions are: Thought-provoking, higher level thinking questions, and complicated with more than one answer. Open-ended, interesting, engaging, and focused on the key concepts. What are Driving Questions? I view them as essential questions that drive the PBL, containing the purpose for learning it and the project in one question. I honestly use "Essential Question" as a synonym for " Driving Question " depending on my audience. To set driving questions aside from essential questions, I ask: What real audience could benefit from the solution or answer to the question? How ca...

I had the privilege of working with five different groups of educators on PBL this past summer. There were conversations in each of the trainings that I cherished. One of those conversation occurred with our elementary teachers. As small groups were brainstorming their PBL topic, I heard a conversation about focusing on counting money. As the conversation progressed, several key questions came up. How do you convert a theme to PBL? The teachers started their conversation by choosing a standard that needed time and depth, and couldn't be learned through a one or two day lesson. Then a few of them started talking about learning activities they could do, while others were grappling with converting it into a complex and open-ended driving question. Glogster These conversations helped them realize learning activities were fabulous differentiated instructional activities, but those activities did not make it PBL on its own. What made it PBL? PBL was a meaningful chal...

In what ways have "personal safety" and "citizenship" changed? How do we respond to those changes? Expectations of conduct When I was growing up, there were expectations my parents had of me for my personal safety and development: Ask permission before going somewhere. Don't talk to strangers. -- (With the exception of my parents/entrusted adult being aware of the conversation.) Ask for help when I need it. Be polite and use good manners. Help others when I can, and add to their lives. These are the same expectations I have of my own children for their interactions in our physical community and our digital communities. What resources are available to us?  Tap into resources to start the conversations and learning. Our district has curriculum from iSafe . Edublogs is an amazing resource for teachers. Not only will they educate us about Internet safety, but they also provide an authentic context for applying it in the real world. See their...

Talk about it all you want, and we'll talk about it. Use it, model it, demonstrate it, and we'll give it a try. It won't happen all at once, but it will happen. Effective Leaders understand Monkey See, Monkey Do Some rights reserved by Stuck in Customs Do you want the focus to shift from a teacher centered classroom to a student centered classroom? Then focus your staff developments by actually doing what you want to see in the classroom. If a student centered classroom is innovative, engaging, relevant, and motivating, then model it in your "classroom" which is your staff development. Offer options for them to pick and choose from: Give them a choice board or a menu to pick and choose their professional development trainings. Try FedEx-ing it : Work collaboratively on a PBL or a student-centered lesson. At the end of the training, you must "deliver it" and bring it back to the whole group.  Flip your Professional Development by gi...