Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted!  Lord - obviously my life is a lot busier than I thought, and I thought it was pretty busy. Alright, let's get to it. Last year I did an entire series on hybrid professional development centered around teaching mathematics with technology and the Common Core, with specific use of Sketchpad as the technology tool (series listed at the bottom of this post).  It was a really exciting experience for me, and one that I have to say has sort of become my mantra - long term, supportive PD that provides time, practice, support, and collaboration using both a face-to-face and online component. Time is a key factor here - long-term, slow integration of technology into instructional practice where the focus is on how knowledge of the technology, the content being taught, and teaching strategies work together to provide learning experiences that help students.  For those of you in the know, this is TPACK - Technological, Pedagog...

I have been writing a piece about dynamic geometry® software, and have had a really difficult time conveying the power of dynamic mathematics environments in the static environment of the written word. Let me clarify what I mean by dynamic geometry software - I do NOT mean software that is just for geometry.  Dynamic geometry means the ability to take all sorts of mathematics visualizations (shapes, graphs, plots, functions) and drag and manipulate them to create infinite examples. These dynamic movements follow mathematical behaviors and allows for exploration, discovery of relationships and properties and allow students to interact directly with the mathematics because the mathematics is visual and tangible. Dynamic geometry software is specifically mentioned in the Common Core Standards of Mathematical Practice because of it's ability to be a tool that promotes reasoning, questioning, making conjectures, persevering, modeling, and communicating. Naturally, I have a strong bia...

I am feeling like a proud parent after my final face-to-face meeting with my two teacher cohorts.  After 6 months together, this final meeting was all about them sharing what they each have been doing in their classrooms with Sketchpad and Sketchpad LessonLink and focusing on Common Core Standards while integrating technology into math instruction. Just like a parent, I merely started them on the path and guided as needed. They, through personal motivation and interest as well as with the support and guidance from each other, have personalized what they have learned, adapted it to fit their needs, and shown change not only in skills but in confidence about teaching the Common Core Standards, teaching with technology, and listening to their students and helping students deepen mathematical understanding. From my most recent post , my final lesson was: Lesson Six: Provide the opportunity for sharing, presentation and peer feedback to model the professionalism, collaboration, a...

I have been trying to avoid taking a stand on the flipped classroom, because in all honesty, I can see advantages if it's done right . But...here's where I am a bit of a pessimist, mainly because I have been in the math and technology education field for over 22 years now - I don't think it's going to be done right MOST OF THE TIME!  I think it's just a flipped model of the same old thing - lecture and practice: we've just flipped where those things happen and patted ourselves on the back that we are 'integrating technology'.   A lecture is still a lecture and not all that engaging no matter if it's in person or on a computer. Hopefully I am wrong - but I don't think I am. Image courtesy of images.google.com 'flipped classroom' I have had the advantage of seeing K-12 education from various perspectives (teacher, administrator, consultant, teacher trainer, and vendor), and in my very diverse set of experiences, have seen the '...

I am in the midst of the fourth online unit with my two teacher cohorts, part of the long-term Sketchpad PD we have been engaged in since December 2011. So far, we have had four face-to-face get-togethers and four online units, which have varied in their length. I have been sharing what I have noticed these past several months as well as the planning I have done based on the feedback and interactions from the online units(see the series listings at the end of this post). What has really struck me, this month in particular, is the focus of all the participants on their students.  I know it seems obvious that a teacher would focus on their students, but what I mean is the actual thought behind what they are teaching, how they are teaching, and how that impacts student understanding. This long-term PD has  focused on technology activities, the math content, the pedagogy, and the Common Core standards, and how all of these components fit together to help students learn and, mo...

http://bostinno.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/05/community1.jpg My first thoughts are that it is NEVER a good idea to start something new with teachers, especially an online learning environment, right before the holidays!  Of course, I did not have a choice in the matter, so we are going to plug on, but unfortunately I think the fact that everyone is definitely in vacation mode is hindering some of the online community development that should be happening at this point. In my previous posts related to the hybrid PD I am working on for the next several months, Planning for Hybrid PD , Follow-up Day 1 , and Follow-up Day 2 , I reflected on what I planned to do in the face-to-face and gave some insight about what actually happened.  It has now been two weeks since my two cohorts have started their first online component and I wanted to share some thoughts on how that is progressing so far. I have posted a couple of course announcements (these automatically go to all parti...