Thursday, January 24, 2008

Day 1 -Predictions

This is our weather blog.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

LoTi Administrator Institute Day 2 - Dickinson ISD- January 23, 2008

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

LoTi/H.E.A.T./Bloom - Review
• Current Research
• Individualized Professional Development Plans
Extreme Makeovers
• LoTi Implementation Cycle
• Assess – • LoTi Walk-Throughs (H.E.A.T.)
Plan - ABC Middle School: Case Study
Implement - LoTi 3 Professional Development Intervention 1
Implement - LoTi 3 Professional Development Intervention 2
Sustain - LoTi Walk-Throughs (H.E.A.T.)
• Next Steps Action Plan
Summary & Reflection

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

May the LoTi Be With You!

Chris

LoTi Administrator Institute Day 1 - Dickinson ISD-Reflection

Since most of the day was spent conducting H.E.A.T. and LoTi analyses of video clips, I wanted to provide you with some additional suggestions when conducting classroom walkthroughs or reviewing student products.

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.

6. When contemplating H.E.A.T. (Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, Authenticity, Technology use), consider the following: If the Technology use does not bump up the Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, or Authenticity, then chances are that the Technology use is an "add-on" and therefore, not needed for task completion.

6. We also spent time reviewing 21st Century Skills and Themes. Provided below is a summary as articulated by the Partnership for the 21st Century.

21st Century Skills:

Information, Media, and Technology Skills
- Information Literacy
- Media Literacy
- ICT Literacy

Learning and Innovation Skills
- Creativity and Innovation Skills
- Critical Thinking and Problem-solving Skills
- Communication and Collaboration Skills

Life and Career Skills
- Flexibility & Adaptability
- Innovative & Self-Direction
- Social & Cross-Cultural Skills
- Productivity & Accountability
Leadership & Responsibility

21st Century Themes:

Global Awareness

Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy

Civic Literacy

Health Literacy

Provided below are links to some of yesterday's videoclips and LoTi Resources.

Classroom Videos
Mabry online
Edutopia
Apple Learning Interchange 2007
Educational Technology Clearinghouse
Modeling Middle School Mathematics

LoTi Resources
Gaggle
ePals
Gliffy
Graphing Tools
Rubric Building Tools
Survey Tools
Graphic Organizer Tools
Web-based Projects
Google Earth
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

I look forward to your comments.

Chris

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

LoTi Administrator Institute Day 1 - Dickinson ISD- January 22, 2008

Provided below is the LoTi Administrator Institute agenda for Day 1.

21st Century Learning Revisited
• Thinking Skills
• 21st Century Lesson Makeover
LoTi Framework
• Clinical Observations
• Summary & Reflection

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

May the LoTi Be With You!

Chris Moersch
LoTi Project Director

Becky Cook
National LoTi Certified Trainer

Thursday, January 10, 2008

LoTi Math Workshop - January 10th, 2007 - Reflection

Thank you for the great day discussing the importance of H.E.A.T. (Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, Authenticity, and Technology use) and the role of differentiated instruction in middle school math learning stations. We also spent time submitting math lesson plans online for review by LoTi National Trainers and reviewing the online LoTi Classroom Teacher 101 course. Please keep current with the weekly activities including the posting of your reflections. We want everyone to have a great experience with the world of online learning.

A large section of the day was devoted to the creation of learning stations for our middle school math classrooms. Provided below is a summary of notes and resources relating to learning stations.

Differentiation Strategies:
• Learning Stations/Centers
• Adjusting Questions
• Tiered Instruction
• Compacted Curriculum
• Flexible Grouping
• Anchor Activities
• Exit Cards
• Graphic Organizers
• Learning Contracts
• Personal Agendas
• Interest-based Investigations

Learning Stations versus Learning Centers:
Centers are areas in the classroom where students refine a skill or extend a concept (e.g., Math center, Anchor activity center). Stations are different places in the math classroom where students work on tasks simultaneously, and whose activities are linked - Carol Ann Tomlinson

Learning Stations in a Sample Math Classroom:
• Whole class warm-up
• Review station assignments made based on pre-assessment
• Pull a group to the teacher’s station for a structured focus lesson.
• Other students work at their stations. You move around to monitor their progress when students at the teacher’s station are working in pairs or independently.
• Whole class closure activity.

Learning Stations - Management Issues
• Remember - “Math Stations” is a strategy for differentiating instruction. Students only need to go to stations that will help them in mastering the math “Big Idea.”
• Have an anchor activity center already in place for students who finish their station work, or who don’t need to work at a station that day.

Learning Station - Teacher Exchanges
Math Learning Centers
Classroom Centers Chatboard - Really Cool!

Secondary Science/Math Centers
• Technology Centers for the Integrated Technology Classroom

Learning Station Videos
Literacy Stations

May the LoTi Be With You Always!

Chris Moersch

LoTi Math Workshop - January 10th, 2007

Good morning! Today, we are going to focus on the use of differentiated instruction and specifically, the use of learning stations to address Transient Populations entering McGinnis Middle School.

Please comment on the agenda or any other issue surrounding math instruction at McGinnis Middle School.

Website of the Month
H.E.A.T. Revisited
Lesson Plan Submissions
Differentiated Instruction - Learning Stations
Extreme Differentiation
online LoTi Classroom Teacher Course - January 7th, 2008
Next Steps

Pre-Assessments for Learning Stations
Learning Styles Test
Thinking Styles Inventory
Multiple Intelligences Inventory

Math Assessments for Learning Stations
Discovery Island Assessment
TAKS Assessment

Technology Resources for Learning Stations
National Library of Math Manipulatives
Interactivate
Illuminations
Thinkfinity
WebQuest
Blogger
Wikispaces
Gaggle
ePals
Gliffy
Graphing Tools
Rubric Building Tools
Survey Tools
Graphic Organizer Tools
Web-based Projects
Google Earth

Let me know what you think about today's agenda.

Thanks,

Chris Moersch

Saturday, January 5, 2008

January 4th, 2008 LoTi Inservice - Reflection

Today, we had the opportunity to reflect on the recent 2nd Benchmark Assessment data, create 3rd Benchmark Pacing Guides, and revisit the amount of H.E.A.T. in sample learning experiences. What causes one lesson to be at a higher level of engagement than another relates directly to the amount of HEAT generated.

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

We ended the day with conducting a brief walkthrough of the online LoTi Classroom Teacher course as well as the online Lesson Plan template inside the LoTi Lounge website.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

May the LoTi Be With You Always!

Chris

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Welcome back!

Happy New Year! I trust your winter break was relaxing and enjoyable from friends and family. Welcome back to Carson Middle School. Today's agenda will consist of the following events:

2nd Benchmark Assessment Data
3rd Benchmark Pacing Guide
- Select Calendar under the "more" option (located in upper left corner of the screen)
- Enter User ID: (Either carsonmiddle6, carsonmiddle7, or carsonmiddle8
- Enter Password: carsonmiddle

- Click the check box for your content area only (Make sure the other check boxes are unchecked)
- Create 3rd Benchmark Pacing Guide for your content area and grade level
Lunch
H.E.A.T. Revisited
Lesson Plan Template
Summary & Reflection

Let me know of any concerns or questions you have with the agenda. 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
enGauge 21st Century Skills
Questioning Toolbox
LoTi Schools Bookmarks
Thinkfinity
WebQuest
LoTi Lounge
Bubbl.us


Chris