February 27, 2008

Below is our newsletter for the week. Remember, we are not the end-all, be-all! We are just teachers sharing our thoughts and ideas with you. Feel free to modify strategies you receive from us to fit you and your classroom.

Facebook Fans

Inspiring Teachers now has its own page. If you love what we do here, please become a fan and join our group! To find us, do a search from your main facebook page (top right corner) for Inspiring Teachers. Our page and group will show up. You can become a fan of our page and share it with others. I'm posting events (places where I'll be) and other information there as well.

Also, please write on our wall and share some of the creative and inspiring things you are doing in your classroom! Let's get a collection of awesome ideas going for other teachers to read and use. I'd love to hear from all of you who are active on Facebook! If you don't have a page, it is so easy to join. Click on the link below and follow the directions.

Click Here to go to Facebook.com

Did you know that our brains acquire and retain more information when we are forced to figure out information or the answer to a puzzling problem ourselves? Capitalize on this and have students research central questions for the current unit of study. Part of this learning would include teaching the information uncovered to the rest of the class.  The Learning Pyramid shows that 90% of learning is retained when directly applied or when teaching others.  Wow!  What a statement that makes! When we teach our students how to learn, to be able to find information for themselves, we are in effect teaching them how to be lifelong learners. 

Does this mean that as teachers we sit back and do nothing?  Of course not!  We are the facilitators in this process.  Our students need to be taught HOW to ask the right questions and HOW to find the information.  They also need to be taught how to process and use that same information.  Students need to be taught how to find sources of information. More importantly, in this day and age of Wikipedia and other online sources, we need to teach students how to discern whether the source they are using is reliable. What clues will help them determine reliability of the information found online?

Additionally, we need to teach students how to take notes from these sources. Many secondary teachers assume students have been taught how to take notes in middle school. Middle school teachers often assume that students were taught note taking skills in elementary school. However, most elementary teachers expect the middle and high school teachers to teach this information. So where are students really learning how to take quality notes from their reading? Whether you think your students have this skill or not, it never hurts to review it before beginning any kind of project.

Once students have found their source and taken notes, it is vital to teach the skills of synthesizing the information into an organized presentation. Haphazardly throwing facts together does not show student learning. It simply shows that the student is able to locate information and spit it back out. How can you teach your students to present the information in such a way that shows a deep understanding?

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll cover one step at a time in this process.

1) What kind of question do I ask?

2) Where do I go to find the information? (primary & secondary sources)

3) How do I determine whether the information is valid and reliable?

4) How do I pull out the most important and relevant information to answer my question?

5) How do I organize this information?

6) How can I apply this information in a meaningful way or show my understanding of this information?

7) How can I best teach others this information?

Once you've taught your students these important skills, utilize them each six weeks in a project related to your unit of study.  Let your students discover the knowledge for themselves and share their findings with others.  I think you'll find that you have a classroom full of motivated and excited students who want to learn!

Don't forget about experiments, learning centers, scavenger hunts, web quests, and other simple projects that may not be as time-consuming.  Even finding the answer to a simple question promotes active learning on the part of a student.  No child is too young or too old to learn these skills!

In her own unique and witty style Coleen Armstrong exposes the realities of teaching often left unsaid and ignored, and weaves them with words of comfort, encouragement, and advice. The Truth About Teaching expresses the heartwarming, sometimes tragic, and often humorous thoughts and stories of this 31 year veteran teacher's experiences in the classroom. This book is a testimony to the fact that reassurance comes from the knowledge you are not alone. Click HERE to learn more about this book. Also available as an eBook