Tips by Tony

These are just a few of the articles I found interesting last two weeks. (Note: I’ve been swamped at work with a comprehensive website re-design, and outside of work with preparations for two upcoming events. So, for the next month or so, there won’t be many original articles…just the weekly roundups and Twitter archives. Still, you should be able to find a wealth of information in those two weekly posts.)

• Assess the Teacher – Thoughts on self-assessment and reflection

  Jerrid Kruse makes the case for self-assessment.

  For example, a poor teacher could be teaching highly motivated students in a very affluent district. Furthermore, this teacher’s students might be doing very well on his/her tests, but the tests might be simple recall of information rather than probing students’ real understanding of ideas. Therefore, we must look at ourselves in action so that we can accurately judge our efforts in the classroom.

• Why All Teachers should be Bloggers, too

  Why teacher blogs may be better than teacher web pages/websites to provide information to students.

  The beauty of them is that they are so flexible that you will continue to find new and interesting ways to use them. Blogs are a powerful technology that can be used in a variety of ways to make your classroom management more efficient.

• Instant Answers

  Since answers to textbook questions, copies of exams, and just about any other bit of information can be found with a quick web search, why do we continue to ask the same types of questions?

  Education in an age of ubiquitous connectivity should be more about using and creating knowledge rather than memorizing little bits of easily obtained data (and placing them in the right boxes on the test).

• 21st Century Education: Blog for Engagement

  How blogging is a new medium for an old skill set, and how it can engage students in new ways.

  What better way to teach writing than for students to write about their interests? Since it will be read by other individuals that have similar interests, students have to be aware of spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as using an appropriate vocabulary…Students will take a stronger ownership to their work and put in the extra time simply because they know that people, other than their teacher, will also be critiquing the level and content of their writing.

• Who Should Coach? Three Essential Traits for Professional Development Coaches

  An article about what it takes to be a good professional development coach, with some good nuggets on effective professional development strategies.

  The goal with any major professional development initiative should not be to produce robots who follow formulas to plan teaching. The goal should be to help teachers understand what works and why it works, to deepen teacher thinking about teaching and to increase teacher intentionality. A good coach aids colleagues’ thinking, often using questions to support teacher thinking rather than short-circuiting thinking by always giving answers. Questioning helps others discover insights for themselves.

Blogs I’ve Subscribed To

• [I removed the link to the USHistorySite because it looks like they've been hacked, along with both of their sister sites. Malicious code has been inserted into the pages that will attempt to steal your information. If you're asked for your Twitter account login in a popup, do not give it out. If you already did, you may want to change your password...]
• johnaugust.com – A site run by screenwriter John August. John writes about the craft of screenwriting, film making, and writing in general.

Who/What I’m Following on Twitter

Added in the last week: @mandylindgren, @dobrien917, @teachertuesday, @TronTrainer, @LouCimetta, @candycohn, @SandraFoyt, @MakeWayforBooks, @zjreyes, @pmacoun, @jcmeister, @mwartoft, @sheasmith, @gregorysnyder, @Markoni1, @jkosman, @jruss621, @coolcatteacher, @tomaswk

Related posts:

1. Monday Morning Roundup (5/4/2009)
2. Monday Morning Roundup (8/24/2009)
3. Monday Morning Roundup (8/31/2009)
4. Monday Morning Roundup (6/8/2009)
5. Monday Morning Roundup (5/18/2009)
6. Monday Morning Roundup (08/10/2009)
7. Monday Morning Roundup (07/27/2009)
8. Monday Morning Roundup (5/11/2009)
9. Monday Morning Roundup (08/17/2009)
10. Monday Morning Roundup (10/19/2009)