Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Greetings!

Good morning! Today, we are going to focus on elevating the level of teaching innovation through our work with lesson plan makeovers. Please comment on the agenda or any other issue surrounding issues impacting instruction and assessment in Cy-Fair.

Bloom and LoTi Review
H.E.A.T.
Extreme Makeover (EM) Model
EM - Elementary Lesson Plans
21st Century Rubric
Next Steps

As you explore the connections between teaching and learning and effective technology use, I wanted to provide you with specific links to support your journey into the Land of Extreme Makeovers.

LoTi Tools:
Partnership for the 21st Century
Gaggle
ePals
Gliffy
Graphing Tools
Rubric Building Tools
Survey Tools
Graphic Organizer Tools
Web-based Projects
Google Earth

LoTi Resources:
Questioning Toolbox
Random Numbers
Creative Action
LoTi Schools Bookmarks
National Library of Math Manipulatives
Interactivate
Illuminations
Scorecard
Thinkfinity
WebQuest
LoTi Lounge
PHeT Simulations
Blogger
Wikispaces

Friday, August 24, 2007

Mental Health

Please take a moment right now and complete the survey.

CMS Mental Health Survey

Thursday, August 16, 2007

LoTi Mentor Certification Day 3 - Shelbyville, KY - August 16th, 2007

Good Morning and welcome to Day 3 of our LoTi Mentor Certification Institute. Provided below is today's agenda.

H.E.A.T. Walkthroughs - HS/MS Levels
LoTi Sniff Test Review
Focus Strategies & Engaging Questions
Certification Task #4
EBAM
Certification Task #5
ABC Middle School School: Case Study
Certification Task #8
LoTi Project Schools
LoTi Mentor Submission Date/Process
LoTi Skill Sets & Resources
5 C’s of Instructional Leadership
Evaluation

Have a great day!

Chris

Link:

LoTi Classroom Teacher Online Course
Login: loti1
Password: loti1

LoTi Mentor Certification Days 1 & 2 - Shelbyville, KY - Reflections

==================
On Tuesday, August 14th, Lora and Terry spent most of the day with you "LoTizing" video clips and related learning activities. Please consider the following points:

1.Having students apply what they have learned to a new authentic situation involves more than just depositing the information into a webpage, blog, wiki, or multimedia presentation; it requires students applying the pertinent concepts or skills to a situation that directly impacts the learner, his/her immediate surroundings, and/or the larger community. If this is not the case, then you most likely have either a LoTi 2 or 3 learning experience.

2. The easiest way to discriminate between LoTi 2 and 3 is the presence of (1) Higher Order Thinking Skills (Bloom's Taxonomy) or (2) one or more Complex Thinking Strategies. If a learning experience is teacher-directed and engages students exclusively at the Knowledge/Comprehension levels, then it is almost assuredly a LoTi 2 lesson. Conversely, if a learning experience is teacher-directed and engages students at the Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and/or Evaluation level or enables students to exercise one or more complex thinking strategies (i.e., Problem-solving, Creative Problem-solving, Decision-making, Investigation, Experimental Inquiry, Reasoning, Personal Reflection), then it is almost assuredly a LoTi 3 lesson.

3. Reaching consensus about the "learner-centeredness" of a classroom experience is sometimes difficult. The easiest way to achieve some type of consensus is to first divide the learning experience into three components: Content, Process, and Product. If you detect that a minimum of two out of three of these components is "learner-centered" then we call the entire experience a learner-centered activity. Conversely, if you detect that a minimum of two out of three of the components is "teacher-centered" then we call the entire experience a teacher-centered activity.

3. Whenever possible, use the LoTi "Sniff" Test to help approximate the LoTi of any lesson plan, web-project, or instructional unit.

4. A truly differentiated classroom has LoTi 0-4 occurring on a daily basis.

5. The appropriate or target LoTi should always be commensurate with the content standards being addresssed and at the desired level of student cognition.

==================
On Wednesday, August 15th, we focused on several areas impacting instruction, assessment, and technology use in the classroom such as how to model a LoTi 3 investigation (remember the Reaction Time for Middle School) as well as how to conduct a Lesson Plan Analysis on a sample web-based project (i.e., WebQuest - And They Came to the Streets that were Paved with Gold).

We also reviewed the procedures for your staff to complete the DETAILS for the 21st Century Questionnaire and then completed Certification Task #2 (Individualized Professional Development Plans) for a sample teacher.

I introduced another concept called H.E.A.T. to help us think about ways of implementing LoTi and 21st Century Skills/Themes in the classroom. Based on the Partnership for the 21st Century, these 21st Century Skills/Themes include:

21st Century Learning Skills
Information and Communication Skills
- Information and Media Literacy
- Communication Skills

Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
- Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking
- Problem-solving
- Creativity and Intellectual Curiosity

Interpersonal and Self-Directional Skills
- Interpersonal and Collaborative Skills
- Self-direction
- Accountability and Adaptability
- Social Responsibility

21st Century Themes
Global Awareness

Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy

Civic Literacy

Health and Wellness Awareness

I used a lava lamp as a metaphor to represent the different levels of LoTi in the classroom. What causes one lesson to be at a higher LoTi level than another relates directly to the amount of HEAT generated.

HEAT
- Higher order thinking
- Engaged learning
- Authenticity
- Technology tools

Keep in mind that the H.E.A.T. acronym represents four of the dimensions from the larger scoring guide that we use to evaluate lesson plans and instructional units. The reasons for addressing only four dimensions are threefold: (1) KISS principle, (2) reduce the amount of staff anxiety-already too many competing priorities going on in the classroom, and (3) hit the critical elements first.

We ended the day with conducting a H.E.A.T. observation of a middle school math classroom (Archimedes Screw) and a kindergarten classroom (Weather Prediction).

May the LoTi Be With You Always!

Chris

Interesting Links:

Survey Monkey
Zoo Tycoon
Explore Learning - Gizmos
National Budget Simulation
Baby Name Wizard

I look forward to your comments.

Chris

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

LoTi Mentor Certification Day 2 - Shelbyville, KY - August 15, 2007

Greetings and welcome to Day 2 of the LoTi Mentor Certification Institute. Provided below is today's agenda.

Certification Task #1 - Review
21st Century Learning
H.E.A.T.
LoTi Sniff Test
DETAILS for the 21st Century Questionnaire
Certification Task #2
Extreme Technology Makeover - WebQuest Edition
Certification Task #3 - Review
LoTi 3 Case Study - Elementary School
LoTi 3 Case Study - Middle School
LoTi 3 Case Study - High School
Complex Thinking Strategies - Hollywood version
H.E.A.T. Classroom Walkthroughs

Please leave a comment about any questions from yesterday's program or today's agenda.

May the LoTi Be With You!

Chris

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

LHS Mission Statement Survey

Click on the link below to take the LHS Mission Statement survey.

Click Here to take the Mission Statement survey

21st Century Skills & Themes

21st Century Skills:
Information and Communication Skills
- Information and Media Literacy
- Communication Skills

Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
- Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking
- Problem-solving
- Creativity and Intellectual Curiosity

Interpersonal and Self-Directional Skills
- Interpersonal and Collaborative Skills
- Self-direction
- Accountability and Adaptability
- Social Responsibility

21st Century Themes:
Global Awareness

Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy

Civic Literacy

Health and Wellness Awareness

Monday, August 13, 2007

LHS Day 1 Reflection

Thank you again for your energy and effort toward raising the temperature of school climate at Levelland High School. During the course of the day, we conducted a series of self-assessments (e.g., thinking styles, PIG personality profile) to help better understand our individual strengths, discussed and modeled the 5 characteristics of 212º Climate (i.e., Authenticy, Faith, Belief, Perseverance, and Kindness), and participated in a series of team building simulation designed to promote decision-making, problem-solving, and communications. We finished the day by developing a Mission Statement surrounding the 5 characteristics of 212º Climate

Sample Mission Statements:

The Focus of Levelland High School is to encourage students to become productive citizens by providing educational opportunities that promote positive attitudes and strong beliefs.

Levelland High School endeavors to create a positive learning environment focusing on those characteristics vital to success in school and life beyond high school. Administrators will foster a positive attitude throughout the LISD campus. Teachers will show kindness towards the students while continuing to believe in every student's potential. Through this process, the high degree of academic excellence as well as success outside the classroom will be maintained and preserved.

The mission of Levelland High School is to engage all students in their quest to achieve both personal and educational goals. By fostering teamwork, student success will be inevitable.

All stakeholders at Levelland High School will demonstrate an attitude that supports a positive and engaging learning environment, one committed to communicating high expectations for learning and achieving. We believe in every student's ability and unique potential to succeed and the importance of life-long learning. Teachers and students will persevere in the process of identifying appropriate learning methods and styles. With the support and kindness of each other as well as the community, this endeavor will be an ongoing mission.

Levelland High School will create the leadership needed to produce excellent attitudes and a belief that all students can succeed. By engaging, focusing, and relating to the students, a positive relationshp among all stakeholders will ensue based on the kindness and integrity of both students and staff.

Our mission at Levelland High School is to develop successful students through a positive and kind attitude along with a strong belief in the importance of education. Our students will focus and persevere above and beyond acceptable standards and succeed in life.

It is the mission of Levelland High School to foster a climate of success by promoting a positive attitude based on kindness in and out of the classroom and a belief that all students can achieve their dreams and goals through focus and perseverance.

The LHS community will approach learning using an optimistic viewpoint with the belief that all students will be successful in each area of life while aspiring to give their personal best and show their generosity of spirit. The staff will achieve this goal by providing a learning environment that promotes students using real-world applications.

Every student will have a positive attitude, demonstrate kindness toward each other, and focus on learning & success. As educators, we must empower each student to believe in themselves and have perseverance to reach their dreams and overcome obstacles.

The attitude and beliefs that we give needs to focus on teaching our students perseverance and kindness.

Mission Statement Links:

Sample Mission Statements
About Mission Statements

Good Morning!

Welcome to today's program focusing on 212º Climate at Levelland High School. Provided below is a link to the Thinking Styles website. Please complete the following steps:

1. Access the web link below.
Thinking Styles Inventory

2. Complete the Thinking Styles Inventory

3. Review your results page.
Interpret Your Results

4. Check off the highest intensity level for each category (e.g., Functions of Thinking Styles) on your "About Me... handout.

5. Add a Comment to this Blog as to how this Thinking Styles Inventory relates to how you interact with others on campus.

6. Enter your School Climate Score Card results based on our earlier School Climate Survey.
Click Here to access Levelland High School Cimate Survey

Good Luck!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

LoTi Mentor Certification Day 1 - Shelbyville, KY - August 14th, 2007

Today, we will begin Day 1 of the LoTi Mentor Certification Institute at the Shelbyville, Board of Education. The agenda will consist of the following events:

LoTi Mentor Certification
Issues with Technology Use
Extreme Technology Makeover
Think about Bloom
LoTi Framework
LoTi Classroom Observations
Certification Task #1
Lesson Plan Analysis
Certification Task #3

Let me know of any concerns or questions you have with the agenda or the institute itself. Your comments are greatly appreciated. By the way, check out some of the links below:

21st Century Resources:
LoTi Connection
Partnership for the 21st Century
Questioning Toolbox
LoTi Schools Bookmarks
Thinkfinity
WebQuest
LoTi Lounge

Lora

Thursday, August 9, 2007

LoT Orientation

During the course of the day, I have adjusted the agenda to address the areas of responsibility and grade levels of our participants. Provided below is the "after-lunch" agenda.

• Issues with Technology Use
• Bloom Workout
• Extreme Technology Makeover
• LoTi Look-Fors & Sniff Test
• LoTi Implementation Strategies (Seagull Simulation)
Take the LoTi DETAILS survey
• LoTi Implementation Cycle
• LoTi Project Schools
• LoTi Observation
• H.E.A.T.
Lesson Plan Submission*

I would like you to submit your completed lesson plan to me directly at: chris@learning-quest.com. I will give you feedback based on the H.E.A.T. rubric and email back to you my comments.

21st Century Resources:
LoTi Connection
Partnership for the 21st Century
Questioning Toolbox
LoTi Schools Bookmarks
Thinkfinity
WebQuest

Have Fun!

Chris
chris@learning-quest.com