NECC - Wed 7/2, part 1

The Real World of Math: Delivering Authentic, Integrated Math Instruction
Scott Loomis

I went to this lecture because we are putting on content seminars at TIES and I am in charge of the one for math. If you've been a loyal reader (I still don't think I have any of those)you will remember that I was a social studies guy in my previous life in Massiveurban Publicschool System, so math instruction is not my forte but I'll be doing so that day.

Moving on. I think Scott Loomis has some terrific ideas for instruction. He employed true integration - the use of technology where the focus is on the lesson, not the technology.

• I had never known about using Text Box Objects but I like that for creating an interactive classroom worksheet if you don't have an interactive whiteboard. Only problem - not available on the Macintosh version (not even 2008).
• I like the idea of using PowerPoint for virtual manipulatives - very creative.
• Create worksheet activities (drill & practice) in Excel that employ the "If" function to aid in self-checking.
• Using the charting feature to have students analyze data sets. They learn graphing in Kindergarten so why to we still make them create their own charts on paper when tha's not the lesson. The lesson is to analyze data, let the technology do the tedious pwrk so you can get the the more advanced thinking. This is exactly to what I was referring in the last post with my "hand axe" example. We can take the learning further because we have access to technology that speeds up learning and enhances what we do.

This was a practical session with good ideas that can go directly into the classroom. THUMBS UP!


Using Real World Problems to Scaffold Decision-Making Skills
AKA – Kids as Deciders

Ahhh Bernie Dodge. King of the WebQuest, master of QuestGarden, ed tech guru from San Diego State U. If my co-worker wasn't married, she'd probably try to have an affair with him. Maybe that was sharing too much.

Let me summarize first: The process of investigating and then deciding holds an ocean of higher-order thinking. We typically do not develop this well in students. We need to teach to tests and regiment our classrooms to manage discipline which, in turn, strips decision-making from the students. He lays out some very tangible steps for what to teach. TWO SNAPS OF APPROVAL (you may notice I have roving rating systems)

I don't want to say that information is plagiarized because it's not. It reorganized. you may remember my rant about why I hate educational theory - it reorganizes old ideas with new jargon. Bernie doesn't quite do this - I don't think of him as ripping anyone off because he is creating a new perspective from previous research. Maybe I'm rationalizing because I think he is a terrific educator and theoran and feel bad criticizing him. I met him and like him, too.

The similarities noted between his presentation and other theories I've absorbed over the years:

• Problem-based learning (PBL) and Wiggins/McTighe's Understanding by Design (UBD) - His decision-making process focuses on the end product - the decision made to solve a problem. This is PBL - start with a problem and find a solution. The quest to the solution is the learning process. UBD reverse-engineers classroom lessons based on a pre-determined final product.
• Fred Newmann's Authentic Assessment - real world connection between the students and their own environments. This is also the same in PBL. Students are taught to look at an issue that they are familiar with, it generates interest and ownership because they see the problem and consequences in their own lives. This isn't a fault of Dr. Dodge's presentation, it's just good teaching practice.
• He also referenced an idea by Richard DeCharms called Pawns vs. Origins. The main idea is that students see themselves as pawns with the world happening to and around them rather than themselves as interacting with and influencing the world, or originators of ideas. This reminded me of he workshop Tuesday about Seven Habits and Seven Deadly Sins. One of Covey's chapters is "Be Proactive". Essentially, "don't let the world happen to you, plan for it and make changes happen."

As I write, I find this to be less of a criticism of Bernie Dodge and more of a diatribe of my irritation with educational theory. He is doing exactly what all researchers do - taking previous research and building upon it to find another understanding. I'm just glad that isn't a part of my chosen path. I like the application of the theories, that's the fun of education. Keep up the good work, theorans, and thank the maker for people like you so it doesn't have to be me.