Approaches to Learning: Using Competitions to Engage an Online or In-person Learners
Competitions are assignments that guide students through a preliminary exploration, data collection, analysis, reflection, and revision in a repeating cycle. This process leans on the scientific method and helps students practice character skills such as persistence, curiosity, critical thinking, and self-direction. For my own purposes, I will differentiate team challenges from competitions in that competitions […]
Claim, Evidence, Reasoning Series: Using Debates to Teach Evidence-based Reasoning
An exciting way to engage your students in their online or in-person class is to use a topic that sparks discussion, research, and the desire to sleuth out additional information. In this 1.5 hr. workshop, teachers will participate in an asynchronous debate (such as a posted homework assignment) and synchronous debate for use during an […]
Approaches to Learning: Using Puzzles and Pattern Recognition to Teach Content
In this 1.5 hr. workshop, teachers will work individually and then as a team to identify a pattern in puzzle pieces that are tell the story of a theorem, function, or process. Once the pattern is defined, participants will use the pattern to predict what comes before or what comes next in the series. Testing […]
Approaches to Learning: Using Team Challenges to Foster Collaboration
Whether for STEM, foreign language, arts, or humanities, applying information is one of the most effective ways for a student to increase their level of understanding and for a teacher to assess mastery of knowledge and skills. Team challenges include any activity that asks a cooperative group to use what they have learned to accomplish […]
Standards-based Grading Series: Offering Choice Menus for Differentiated Assessment
Participants will be given an example of a choice menu to see how this assessment tool can be used within an online or in-person class. Assessment menus allow greater autonomy in a class as students choose the type of assignment that appeals to them or allows them to utilize their strengths. Although students may complete […]
Approaches to Learning: Using Stop-animation Videos to Learn Concepts
Stop-animation videos are short movies made with a series of photos taken from the same position and a handful of items that can be moved about to create a story. In this 1.5 hr. workshop, you will create your own stop-animation video of processes or phenomena, to cover main ideas or convey detailed information. Through […]
Math-infused Science: Data Modeling Activities for Ecology Lincoln’s and Simpson’s Indices
Using manipulatives found in our homes, we will simulate two common field science experiments: Lincoln’s Index for measuring abundance and Simpson’s Index for measuring biodiversity. Participants in this 1.5 hr. workshop will gather evidence and make calculations that can be used to describe the health of and changes in an ecosystem. Each activity will be […]
Approaches to Learning: Helping Students Give Kind and Useful Critical Feedback
One of the tools of student-centered teaching is the peer review process. In this technique, students gather in small groups and present their work to one another. The audience of peers is asked to use their knowledge and experience to give critical feedback to the presenter so they can improve their work before it is […]
Using DataClassroom to Improve IB Scores on the IA
6-7pm ET, Thursday, June 17, 2021 In this free 1-hour workshop, Kristen Dotti from Catalyst Learning Curricula will show teachers easy ways to integrate graphing and data analysis skills into their lesson plans with the user-friendly features of DataClassroom.
Standards-based Grading Series: Writing Easy-to-Use Rubrics
In this 1.5 hr. workshop, participants will practice writing rubrics with the intent of assessing the attainment of specific content and skills standards. We will explore how rubrics can be designed for ease of use and consistent interpretation. I will challenge the participants to make rubrics that are flexible enough to allow accurate assessment of […]