Level Up Learning

Want to hold a PD that’s entirely participant-driven, relevant, and potentially life-changing?  Kate and Dave explore the EdCamp model, including the basics of how to hold an EdCamp, tips and strategies, and provide you with resources for holding your first EdCamp. EdCamp Hampton Roads website: bit.ly/EdCampHREdCamp foundation: http://www.edcamp.org/

Kate and Dave talk to Kelly Dee, music teacher specialist, about ways that every teacher can incorporate more arts into their classroom, both to help motivate students and increase student achievement. Baker, M. (2007). “Music moves brain to pay attention, Stanford study finds.” Stanford Medicine: News Center. Retrieved from https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2007/07/music-moves-brain-to-pay-attention-stanford-study-finds.html Marzano, R.J. (2007). The Art and science of teaching. Alexandra, VA: ASCD. Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK23BhEQVyU

Whether you loved or hated NCLB, certain changes are coming as we move into teaching and learning under the Every Students Succeeds Act.  Kate and Dave summarize the two acts and outline what’s different, and what’s going to stay the same.  A must-listen for all educators and parents. Korte, G. (2015). “The Every Student Succeeds Act vs. No Child Left Behind: What’s changed?” USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/12/10/every-student-succeeds-act-vs-no-child-left-behind-whats-changed/77088780/ “Every Student Succeeds Act: Comparison of the No Child Left Behind Act to the Every Student Succeeds Act.” (2015). ASCD. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/policy/ESEA_ComparisonChart_FINAL.pdf

There is a finite amount of time we have with students, and yet an ever-increasing expanse of curriculum.  Dave and Kate look at how we can use the idea of Power Standards to determine which standards get the majority of our emphasis using the work of several prominent curriculum theorists: Doug Reeves, Larry Ainsworth, Fenwick English, Grant Wiggins, and Jay McTighe.   Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power standards: Identifying the standards that matter the most. Engelwood, CO: Lead + Learn Press. Ainsworth, L. (2010). Rigorous curriculum design: How to create curricular units of study that align standards, instruction, and assessment. Englewood, Colorado: Lead + Learn Press. English, F.W. (2010). Deciding what to teach and what to test: Developing, aligning, and leading the curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Sitting all day isn’t good for anyone--and it can have serious impacts for our students.  Dave and Kate explore the consequences of too much sitting for young people, and how more people are turning to standing desks or stability balls--but are these things actually correlated with greater student achievement? Research: Armstrong, T. (2012). “New evidence that standing is better than sitting in classroom.” Peninsula Press. Retrieved from http://institute4learning.com/blog/2012/09/21/new-evidence-that-standing-is-better-than-sitting-in-the-classroom/ Davis, E. (2015). “Want kids to pay attention in class? Give them standing desks.” VITAL RECORD: News from Texas A&M Health Science Center. Retrieved from https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/want-kids-to-pay-attention-in-class-give-them-standing-desks/ Fedewa, A.L., & Erwin, H.E. (2011). “Stability balls and students with attention and hyperactivity concerns: Implications for on-task and in-seat behavior.” The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. Retrieved from http://ajot.aota.org/article.aspx?articleid=1851485Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. New York: Routledge. Jensen, E. “Chapter Four: Movement and learning.” (on ASCD website). Teaching with the Brain in Mind (2nd edition). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104013/chapters/Movement-and-Learning.aspx. let’smove.gov (n.d.) “Learn the facts.” Retrieved from http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity Mitchell, R.L. (2014). “Standing desks: Effective in the fight against childhood obesity.” VITAL RECORD: News from Texas A&M Health Science Center. Retrieved from https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/standing-desks-effective-in-the-fight-against-childhood-obesity/ Mitchell, R.L. (2016). “New study indicates students’ cognitive functioning improves when using standing desks.” VITAL RECORD: News from Texas A&M Health Science Center. Retrieved from https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/new-study-indicates-students-cognitive-functioning-improves-when-using-standing-desks/ Strauss, V. (2014). “Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today.” The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/07/08/why-so-many-kids-cant-sit-still-in-school-today/

Join us as Kate and Dave explore what makes formative assessment a powerful strategy, how we involve students in their own formative assessment, and how to use formative assessment to actually drive instruction.  Dr. Caggiano, co-author of the book Formative Assessment Leadership, joins us to tackle this topic.   Research: Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement.  New York:  Routledge. Sanzo, K.L., Myran, S., & Caggiano, J. (2015).  Formative assessment leadership. New York: Routledge. Music Credit:Nicolai Heidlas Musichttps://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlaswww.facebook.com/pages/Nicolai-He…/524209294358693

We worry about our students failing their assessments--but are our assessments failing our students?  Kate and Dave discuss the importance of valid and reliable formative and summative assessments with Dr. Cynthia Cooper, Executive Director of Research, Planning, and Evaluation--who points out why we need better tests in education. Research:  Gareis, C.R. & Grant, L.W. (2008).  Teacher-made assessments: How to connect curriculum, instruction, and student learning.  Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

There are so many factors to professional development...how do we know if it’s been successful?  Happy participants?  More knowledgeable participants?  How about the effect the PD actually has on students?  In this podcast, Kate and Dave look at Guskey’s five critical levels of professional development evaluation. Guskey, T.R. (2000).  Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, Inc.

Tired of professional development that doesn’t seem to make a difference in instruction? Join Kate and Dave as they discuss how the principles of andragogy, or adult-learning, can be used to create PD that actually makes changes for our schools and students. Research:   “The mirage: Confronting the hard truth about our quest for teacher development” (2015). Retrieved from http://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP_Mirage_Executive_Summary_2015.pdf Sinek, S. (2009).  “How great leaders inspire action.” TEDxPuget Sound.  Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=enPappas, C. (2013). “The adult learning theory--andragogy.” eLearning Industry. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of-malcolm-knowles.

If you’re on social media at all, then you probably saw news summaries claiming that a recent World Health Organization reports says bacon and red meat cause cancer.  Kate and Dave use number sense to look at the validity of this claim, as well as discuss the concrete-representational-abstract model of mathematics pedagogy that can lead to greater mathematical understandings for our students. Research:   Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). “Colorectal cancer risk by age.” Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/statistics/age.htm “Bruner’s stages of representation” (2015).  Retrieved from http://bruners-stages.wikispaces.com/Bruner%27s+Stages+of+Representation

You hear a lot about shortages of workers to fill science, technology, engineering, and mathematics jobs...but is there actually a shortage?  Kate and Dave explore the research into why there might or might not be a STEM shortage, and why we need STEM in our schools regardless. Research:   Carnevale, A.P. & Cheah, B. (2015). “From hard times to better times: College majors, unemployment, and earnings.” Charette, R.N. (2013). “The STEM crisis is a myth.” IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/education/the-stem-crisis-is-a-myth.  Oh, J. (2014).  “Best for last series: STEM education, what’s the big deal?” The Think Tank. Retrieved from: http://thinktank.uchicago.edu/blog/2014/2/26/best-for-last-series-stem-education-whats-the-big-deal “Science and engineering indicators 2014” (February 2014). National Science Foundation | National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/chapter-3/c3h.htm Teitelbaum, M.S. (2014). “The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage.”  The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/the-myth-of-the-science-and-engineering-shortage/284359/ Woodruff, K. (2013). “A history of STEM – Reigniting the challenge with NGSS and CCSS.” Endeavor: NASA’s Science Teaching Certificate Project. Retrieved from http://www.us-satellite.net/STEMblog/?p=31 https://www.curiositymachine.org/

It’s that time of year again, when educators and students find themselves down for the count.  What’s the difference between a cold and the flu?  How come we feel terrible when we get them?  As educators, how can we best avoid illness during the winter months?   Resources “Clinical signs and symptoms of influenza” (2009, July 1).  Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/clinical.htm. DeNoon, D.J. (2012, November 14). “Does Tamiflu work? Questions continue.” WebMD. Retrived from http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20121114/does-tamiflu-work-questions-continue “Diseases and conditions: Common cold” (2012, June 7). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/in-depth/cold-remedies/art-20046403?pg=2 Hatfield, H. (2014).  11 surprising sneezing facts.  WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/11-surprising-sneezing-facts “How does the body fight off a virus?” (2013, April 19).  BBC Science.  Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/22028517 “How long do bacteria and viruses live outside the body?” (2014, October 9).  NHS choices.  Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/how-long-do-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-body.aspx Main, E. (2009, October 26).  “This or that: Kill germs with bleach or disinfectant?” Rodale News. Retrieved from http://www.rodalenews.com/spreading-flu?page=0,0 “Preventing Seasonal Flu Illness” (2014, September 25).  WebMD. Retrived from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/preventing.htm Ruvinsky, J. (2007).  “Why we get fevers: How heat helps your immune system fight off infections.” Discover.  Retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com/2007/mar/why-we-get-fevers Toon, J. (2011, January 24).  “How T-cells recognize the bad guys.” Futurity. Retrieved from http://www.futurity.org/how-t-cells-recognize-the-bad-guys/ “Understanding pneumonia” (2014).  American Lung Association.  Retrieved from http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/pneumonia/understanding-pneumonia.html “When to call the doctor about the flu.” (2014,August 13).  WebMD. (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/preventing.htm

Google Apps for Education, or GAFE, is growing in popularity across the country. In this episode, Kate and Dave explore the connection between Google and the four C’s (Collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking). Google for Education Training Websitehttps://www.google.com/edu/training/ “An Educator’s Guide to the “Four Cs”” NEA: National Education Association.  Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/tools/52217.htm  

Tired of hearing that a method is “research-based” and therefore you need to incorporate it into your classroom?  Kate and Dave look at 4 reasons why educational research isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be: generalizability of the results, extraneous variables and the confusion over correlation and causation, the fallibility of brain research, and the use of student achievement data to determine effectiveness. Cook, T.D. & Campbell, D.T. (1979). Quasi-Experimentation: Design & Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Company. “Extraneous and confounding variables and systematic vs. non-systematic error” (n.d.) Psychology World. Retrieved from http://web.mst.edu/~psyworld/extraneous.htm. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement.  New York:  Routledge. Marzano, R.J. & Pickering, D.J. (2007). “The case for and against homework.” ASCD: Educational Leadership.  Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar07/vol64/num06/The-Case-For-and-Against-Homework.aspx Watson, S (2008). “How fMRI works.” How Stuff Works.com. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/fmri4.htm    

Using Understanding by Design to plan a curriculum can be a powerful process--when done correctly.  Kate and Dave explore the three stages of the Understanding by Design process, including how we decide what to teach and assess.

Quality teachers matter, but to get quality teachers, we need to retain teachers.  In this podcast, Kate and Dave look at 6 things that cause new teachers to leave the profession, and what we can do as school leaders to keep our best and brightest. Research:   Carroll, T.G., Foster, E. (2010). “Who will teach? Experience matters.” IES National Center for Education Statistics.  Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28 Gordon, S.P., and Maxey, S. (2000).  How to help beginning teachers succeed: 2nd edition. Alexandria, VA.ASCD: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) (n.d.). Fast facts.  Retrieved from http://nctaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NCTAF-Who-Will-Teach-Experience-Matters-2010-Report.pdf

Kate and Dave look at a growth mindset, unpacking the definition, examining how it’s used in schools, and looking at why it’s maybe not as effective as its proponents think it should be.

Kate and Dave use the work of Grant Wiggins and Denise Wilbur to explore Essential Questions in detail.  What are the most common mistakes--and how do we avoid them?  How can Essential Questions lead to higher-level learning, and are they worth the time it can take to craft quality questions?

The SAMR model was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura in the late 1980s, early 1990s, and it’s original point was to help educators understand HOW to design learning experiences with technology that have the greatest effect on student learning.

PBIS--Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports--is about more than just rewarding good behavior.   Kate and Dave interview Katie Barbosa, Climate and Culture Coordinator for HCS, to figure out how PBIS works and whether it’s right for your school.