TIMEDLEARNING

SERIOUSLY COOL

posted by kushli @ 7:15 PM 0 comments

Move into their Personal Space, QUIETLY

Classroom Management
Credit Points for
not yelling
not reacting
not cutting off satisfaction of their needs

MAXIMISE THE LEARNING OF THE HIGHER ORDER

RANGE OF PERSONAL GIFTS
CALM = easy victims for bullies
AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH - children step back then come around the sides

The Art of War CLASSIC - chinese writer, very old book-
good for c. management

begin with the students

Milleniells GEN Y
diverse

but general characteristics

posted by kushli @ 6:42 PM 0 comments

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR OUR SCHOOLS

posted by kushli @ 4:05 PM 0 comments

PRIORITY CHILDREN AND THE PLANET

posted by kushli @ 3:55 PM 0 comments

National Curiculum

POLITICAL AGENDA or Priority for the children and the nation??

Judith Wheeldon(former head of two Syd private schools) writes of her concerns of the proposed national curriculum by the Australian Labour Party.

I think that the her positive overview of a K-12 curriculum is good because it encompasses all the stages of the young human's development - however this is not an article to explore the details of the how. Her concern for a lack in true scientific thinking prowess in our population and thus the populations' ability to make informed judgements on critical issues such as health and environment citing alternative medicine and the very real environmental problem of water are very astute - this concern supports one of the five major areas of curriculum priority = science. However it is our adult population who are voting and making choices - conscious or otherwise in relation to health and environmental living that address the 'inconvenient truths' - AL Gore.

How can a political agenda be truly supportive of the highest good of our children? Education is going to be a hot political topic because of the long term of the Liberal Government and its unashamed support of private schools in all its funding priorities - building, subsidies, equipment etc.

Parents of children going to State Public Schools have felt the lack of resources for some time now and are very aware of the Liberal Government's biases. The Labour Government in addressing education and advocating National Curriculum with funding given to schools who implement their guidelines.

These parents are a large portion of the voting population. The competition in the job market is very real and the separation between the service class and the educated class is well addressed in Richard Florida's discussion about the creative economy and the prejudice to a better education for the wealthy which encourages the loss of talent from poorer families migrants etc. who have no benefit of a 'good' education.

Wheeldon points out that the Labour Government have omitted the Creative Arts in its Curriculum priorities, I think this an excellent observation, it seems the policy writers have not an understanding of the wealth of applicable creative thinking and scientific integration the arts manifest . I think her article addresses the whole agenda of politics by innuendo - I believe the LOCAL to GLOBAL argument is not considered in politics. It is STATE or COUNTRY and arguments that do not address Global Community or Local Geographic Community are seriously lacking. Narrowing our vision to a competitive player in the world (OECD) does not address the bigger problems we face as a planet.

Though Wheeldon's article is very insightful and clearly objective, the content is limited in itself by the priorities of our National Agenda and the focus of the "political" arena .

The 'voting' population is uninformed and very susceptible to propaganda, and largley influenced by popular media. Our overall lack of scientific thinking - as cited, and ability to "get" the global picture make us potential pawns in our own unconscious future.

posted by kushli @ 3:06 PM 0 comments

JIGSAW

Overview of the Technique

History of the Jigsaw Classroom

Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps

Tips on Implementation

Books and Articles Related to the Jigsaw Technique

Chapter 1 of Aronson's Book "Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion After Columbine"

Links on Cooperative Learning and School Violence

About Elliot Aronson and This Web Site


Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps

The jigsaw classrom is very simple to use. If you're a teacher, just follow these steps:

1. Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.

2. Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most mature student in the group.

3. Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. For example, if you want history students to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, you might divide a short biography of her into stand-alone segments on: (1) Her childhood, (2) Her family life with Franklin and their children, (3) Her life after Franklin contracted polio, (4) Her work in the White House as First Lady, and (5) Her life and work after Franklin's death.

4. Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to their own segment.

5. Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to memorize it.

6. Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their jigsaw group.

7. Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.

8. Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to ask questions for clarification.

9. Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually, it's best for the group leader to handle this task. Leaders can be trained by whispering an instruction on how to intervene, until the leader gets the hang of it.

10. At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.

posted by kushli @ 7:02 PM 0 comments

DATES

SATURDAYS
10/2/07 getting started- CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
3/3/07
24/3/07
5/5/07
26/7/07
16/6/07

SEMESTER 2
28/7/07
25/8/07
15/9/07
27/10/07
10/11/07
24/11/07

posted by kushli @ 6:43 PM 0 comments

MISSION STATEMENT

ADELAIDE DECLARATION ON NATIONAL GOALS FOR SCHOOLING

posted by kushli @ 3:25 PM 0 comments