Monday, September 22, 2014

9-22-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

“Book Recommendations For Teachers — Part One”

Book Recommendations For Teachers — Part One is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. In Part One of this three-part series, education writer and parent Melinda D. Anderson shares her book recommendations for teachers, as do educator/authors Kelly Gallagher, Cathy Vatterott and Vicki Davis. Here are some excerpts:

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h

Research Studies Of The Week

I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature. By the way, you mi

6 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h hide // save

YESTERDAY

New Feature: Five Most Popular Posts Of The Week

© 2010 Paul Townsend, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Today, I’m unveiling what I think will be a new weekly feature sharing the top five most popular posts of the week. These are the posts appearing this blog that received the most “hits” in the preceding seven days (though they have originally been published on an earlier date). Let me know if you find it useful…. Here they are: 1. An ESL Teacher’

9 by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

More Resources On The World’s Different Cultures

© 2009 William Murphy, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Here are new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures: Around The World In 8 Hospital Meals is from NPR. Hungry Planet: What The World Eats is a TIME slideshow. Global Parenting Habits That Haven’t Caught On In The U.S. is from NPR.

8 by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

9-21-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “‘The Marshmallow Test’: An Interview With Walter Mischel”‘The Marshmallow Test’: An Interview With Walter Mischel is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. I interview Walter Mischel, the creator of the famous Marshmallow Test to measure self-control and its long-term effects. Here are some excerpts: I’m adding it to Th

1 by mike simpson / 8h

9-22-14 Jersey Jazzman - The Hidden Voices of New Jersey's Teachers of Color

Jersey Jazzman:

The Hidden Voices of New Jersey's Teachers of Color

I was going to write about the meeting I and other New Jersey teacher-bloggers had with Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the new president of the National Education Association, last weekend. But Marie Corfield -- see here and here -- and Ani McHugh have done such a good job documenting the event that I really don't think I can add much of value.Instead, let me address something about this meeting that's com

77 by Duke / 15h

9-20-14 Jersey Jazzman NJ Ed News Round-up Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekThe Fine, Reformy Whines of @ConorPWilliams & @campbell_brownAs Paul Krugman recently opined: when you can't win an argument on the merits, whine about "tone":I’m far from convinced by everything that gets done today in the name of education reform. But Rhee’s and Brown’s examples are indicative of a troubling pattern for reform opponents

1 by mike simpson / 9h

9-22-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

About the radio show

Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar

LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST

on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio.

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111.

You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.

Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.

AIR and Fordham Institute Grade Standards; Common Core Wins!

This is the story of two organizations that took diverging roads to grading state standards: American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Fordham Institute. Let’s start with AIR. In a report released September 2014, AIR has “internationally benchmarked” state education standards. Now, this is not to be confused with the famed-yet-elusive “international benchmarking” of the Common […]

2 by deutsch29 / 12h

9-21-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: About the radio showJoin Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursd

1 by mike simpson / 3h

9-22-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks:

AIR and Fordham Institute Grade Standards; Common Core Wins!

deutsch29 posted: "This is the story of two organizations that took diverging roads to grading state standards: American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Fordham Institute. Let's start with AIR. In a report released September 2014, AIR has "internationally benchmarke" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on deutsch29

by Rene Diedrich / 10h hide // save

What’s Next IF Deasy is Out? Speculation Abounds

http://www.citywatchla.com/8br-hidden/7568-what-s-next-if-deasy-is-out-speculation-abounds What's Next IF Deasy is Out? Speculation Abounds INSIDE LA EDUCATION-The possibility that LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy will no longer be at the helm of the nation's second largest school district – whether by choice or by force – is looming ever larger as the deadline for his annual evaluation appro

by Rene Diedrich / 11h

Hey Matt Hill! How Reliable Is That Air Investigation?

www.hemlockontherocks.com

1 by Rene Diedrich / 13h

BASSETT Unified School District BULLIES Not Yet Conquered! The Battle Rages On...

You CAN influence history (influencing a Board of Education to address rampant bullying in district) in some very real ways..1 - Watch this video to see bullying in action. ("BUSD Board Meeting 9/26/13 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq89UBzzUgs) Note that the bully (Vice-President Joe Medina, who becomes verbally abusive DURING an audience member's presentation) is NOT STOPPED by 'security'

2 by Rene Diedrich / 14h

9-21-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks: Stuart G. of EXAMINER itemizes the outrage and recent News on LAUSDLAUSD is in all the headlines and it's all negative!None of it is about the schools, the students or their education.Everything is about what takes places at the downtown headquarters, the Superintendent, the school board, and the downtown administrators. The headlines below don’t even include MiSIS and its is

by mike simpson / 6min

9-22-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Bloomberg Is Still An Arrogant Ass

Bloomberg sure does think well of himself:Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg just wrapped up a panel discussion with macro legend Ray Dalio. ...His fellow panelist Dalio added that culture is an important factor to consider when picking a place to work. He went on to say something about how there’s no correlation between money and happiness. Bloomberg swooped in: “Just remember: Happines

by reality-based edu... / 1min

Cuomo Reneges On Deal To Working Families Party

Gee, here's a surprise:ALBANY—Late last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo sat next to Senate co-leaders Jeff Klein and Dean Skelos at a press conference and announced they had reached a "handshake agreement" on an multi-million dollar item in next year's budget to fund anti-terror efforts. Left unsaid was the fact that such an agreement would become void if the Senate comes under new Democrati

by reality-based edu... / 2h

9-21-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Common Core Headlines Spell Trouble For Common CoreCommon Core advocates are trying to save Common Core from an untimely death but recent news headlines suggest they continue to lose that battle:Panel starts reviewing Common Core standards in NCMissouri leaders named in Common Core lawsuit: Foes seek to stop payments to test-making consortiumGreen Bay Catholic Diocese Backs

by mike simpson / 7h

Los Angeles Schools’ iPad Purchase Costs Millions and Runs Into Major Snags | janresseger

Los Angeles Schools’ iPad Purchase Costs Millions and Runs Into Major Snags | janresseger:

Los Angeles Schools’ iPad Purchase Costs Millions and Runs Into Major Snags

Posted on September 22, 2014 by janresseger

Educational technology is often imagined as the answer—how we’re going to launch our children into the future. If all our kids just had computers—or iPads— we would be sure to have moved into the twenty-first century. None of that old-fashioned stuff that used to fill the school day.

This past week, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)—the nation’s second largest school district with 650,000 students—received a report it had commissioned from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), to evaluate the first phase of its purchase and distribution of iPads for all students. In what is a 95 page report, AIR concludes that getting the technology, getting the iPads to work, getting the iPads used, and getting them used to teach to the Common Core Standards are very different things.

The Los Angeles iPad purchase is a $1.3 billion effort that has been controversial for several reasons. First the school district used restricted capital improvement and construction bond money to purchase the iPads and curriculum. A second issue is that Superintendent John Deasy has been shown to have had close ties to Apple, maker of the iPads, and Pearson, creator of the curriculum installed on the machines. Some speculate that the project has turned Deasy into a liability for the district and that he will soon be out of a job.

To begin its 95 page report, AIR supplies a succinct explanation of the aims of the iPad purchase as well as a short description of steps the Los Angeles Unified Schools took to train its staff to begin implementation:

“The Common Core Technology Project (CCTP) is the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)’s signature investment in technology, with plans to deliver technology devices to every teacher and student in the district. The CCTP aims to transform learning throughout the district by providing interactive and engaging learning environments, supporting implementation of the Common Core State Standards with digital curriculum materials and assessment, and closing the ‘Digital Divide’ by ensuring that all students have access to 21st century technology.

American Institutes for Research (AIR) is conducting an external evaluation of the project…. It addresses the period from August 2013 through June 2014. In August 2013, the district deployed iPads to an initial wave of 47 ‘Phase 1′ schools. The devices were preloaded with curriculum content designed by Pearson Education to be aligned with the Common Core State Standards. External vendors (Pearson and Apple) and LAUSD staff provided two-to three-day professional development sessions in summer 2013, as well as in-school training for teachers throughout the year. LAUSD hired 14 Virtual Learning Complex Facilitators to prepare leadership teams at each school to support the integration of Common Core Technology Resources in alignment with Common Core State Standards. The district also assigned 14 Microcomputer Support Assistants to provide technical support focusing on configuration of devices, wireless connectivity, and hardware or software malfunctions.”

AIR identifies technical glitches and set-up of the devices as a major problem during this first phase of the roll-out: “The challenges of deployment on this scale meant that project staff not Los Angeles Schools’ iPad Purchase Costs Millions and Runs Into Major Snags | janresseger:

Teach For America’s soft-power education reform strategy | The Hechinger Report

Teach For America’s soft-power education reform strategy | The Hechinger Report:

Teach For America’s soft-power education reform strategy

Is Mississippi’s next big movement taking shape in the classrooms of the Delta?

By Jackie Mader

CLEVELAND, Miss. — Babak Mostaghimi never expected to settle down in the rural Mississippi Delta. A native of Virginia, he graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2006 with a high-paying job offer as a defense contractor at a consulting firm. On a whim, Mostaghimi also applied to Teach For America (TFA), a 24-year-old program that recruits mostly young, successful college graduates to teach in low-income, underperforming schools.

Mostaghimi realized that it might be his only opportunity to work with kids, a longtime passion. He accepted the offer.

Babak Mostaghimi, pictured at Town Hall in Duncan. Mostaghimi works with residents of Duncan through a grassroots coalition organized in hopes of improving education and community health in the region. (Photo by Aubrey Edwards/Next City)

His friends and family were appalled, he said: “They were like, ‘You just turned down that paycheck for a teaching job in rural Mississippi?’” After two years of teaching in the Magnolia State followed by two years of graduate school at Harvard, Mostaghimi returned to the Delta, one of the poorest regions of the country, where access to healthcare, healthy foods and good schools is lacking.

“I realized as a teacher, I could have a great impact, but very temporary impact,” Mostaghimi said. “Because there’s systemic problems … there’s a bigger problem here that needs fixing.”

Mostaghimi, 30, now lives on a modest tree-lined street in the town of Cleveland with his wife and toddler, and works as director of community, family and school engagement for the Jackson-based Center for Education Innovation, a nonprofit that focuses on community engagement and education reform. Part of his job is to listen to the concerns and ideas of residents in Duncan, Shelby, and Alligator, a string of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it towns off Highway 61 in a stretch of lush Delta land between Cleveland and Clarksdale. He’s helped the three communities form a coalition, apply for grants and start neighborhood initiatives to combat issues from health and exercise to littering.

He’s part of a small but growing group of Teach For America alumni in Mississippi who were so influenced by their exposure to the state’s daunting education challenges they’ve decided to stay and try to create broader, systemic change.

Today, the alumni who have stayed number 160 out of the 2,000 young teachers who have cycled through the Mississippi Delta region since TFA began sending teachers to schools thereTeach For America’s soft-power education reform strategy | The Hechinger Report:

Education researchers don’t check for errors — dearth of replication studies

Education theories come and go. Experts seem to advocate for polar opposites, from student discovery to direct teacher instruction, from typing to cursive hand-writing, and from memorizing times tables to using calculators. Who can blame a school system for not knowing what works? One big problem is that education scholars don’t bother to replicate each other’s studies. And you can’t figure out wh

by Jill Barshay / 41min