0

Eric.ed.gov – Establishing a Strong Foundation: District and School Supports for Classroom Implementation of the MDC Framework

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of high-quality formative assessment tools to support teachers’ incorporation of the Core Common State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Lessons from the first generation of standards-based reforms suggest that intense attention to high quality instructional tasks, use of formative assessments embedded in those tasks, and professional development (PD) that attends to both content knowledge and instruction are essential considerations if teachers are to meet the demands of the CCSS. Experts from the Shell Centre have developed a set of formative assessment lessons (FALs) for high school mathematics teachers to facilitate CCSS-based student mathematics learning and provide teachers with feedback about student understanding and mastery. The tools are designed to target the “instructional core”… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Talking Science in an ESL Pre-K: Theory-Building with Realia

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: What is realia and theory-building? Tim Kinard and Jesse Gainer explain that when students explore using “realia,” they are not just being exposed to abstract concepts or text on a page, they are using “real-life” objects to build understandings of the natural world while they builds vocabulary about it. Handling and discussing real-world objects (acorns, pine cones, flowers, bones, antlers, dirt), in both the first language of the students, as well as a second language learned in school, builds vocabulary quickly as students engage in meaningful communication with scaffolds bridging first and second languages. The use of “realia” and other visuals are one way to provide ESL students opportunities for meaningful communication in English. Creating strategic partnerships that pair ELLs with native English speakers is another effective… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Conditions for Scale and Sustainability. Brief Four

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Math experts developed Formative Assessment Lessons that teachers can incorporate throughout the year’s curriculum. Both tools target the “instructional core.” A study by Research for Action (RFA) examining the first year of piloting the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Math Design Collaborative (MDC) tools (2010-11) found evidence of initial success in tool use indicated by teachers’ perceptions that the tools positively influenced teacher practice. In the second year of the Initiative (2011-12), tool use grew within and across sites. The focus of the research has expanded accordingly to include an analysis of how the tools are being introduced to additional classrooms, schools and districts, and what strategies are most effective in sustaining and strengthening tool use. This brief focuses on efforts to scale up and sustain broader… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Purposeful Movement: The Integration of Physical Activity into a Mathematics Unit

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Classroom physical activity (PA) has been linked to a multitude of health and academic benefits. However, due to barriers such as lack of time and resources many teachers are not implementing classroom PA to the degree they would like to. One innovative solution is to integrate classroom PA into academic concepts. Based on self-determination theory, this pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of a teacher-developed purposeful movement teaching strategy on PA, on-task behavior and academic achievement. Two third grade classrooms participated in this pilot study, one acting as the comparison and the other working with the school Physical Education teacher to develop the active lessons. The evaluation consisted of accelerometers, direct observation, academic assessments and a write and draw activity to assess student perceptions. Significant improvements were found… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Meaningful Mathematics: Networking Theories on Multiple Representations and Quantitative Reasoning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper articulates a stance on the study of students’ meaningful mathematics understanding with multiple representations. We integrate Thompson’s theory of quantitative reasoning and Dreyfus’ theory of multiple representations in our approach to frame and conduct empirical investigations of the study of meaningful understanding of function. We provide empirical data to support our approach to examining representational fluency and functional thinking from this networked stance. Our research articulates how the coordination of theories can be productive in informing the design, conduct, and analysis of contexts aimed to understand students’ meaningful math learning with a focus on functional thinking. [For the complete proceedings, see ED606556.] Link til kilde