Blog Archives

April 27, 2015

4/27/2015

Are you on Twitter? If not… Twitter is a great resource for sharing CoT ideas and resources. Check out#rcstfm (Our Think from the Middle website) or #8CulChat (a professional learning community dedicated to discussing Ritchhart’s new book, Creating Cultures of Thinking, and led by local Oakland Schools’ teachers)

Environment: Check out this article http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/14/this-is-what-a-student-designed-school-looks-like/ about what a student-designed school looks like. The article is about a pilot school (The Independent Project) that eight students helped to develop in 2010 and is still going strong.

Time & Opportunities: Ever wonder what happens to your brain when you have a brilliant idea? Check out this infographic from Vivian Giang from http://www.edutopia.org/

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April 20, 2015

4/20/2015

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As a follow up to our April 14 staff meeting, a copy of "Creating Environments That Bring Out the Best in Learners (p. 259 & 260 from Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools by Ron Ritchhart) and a copy of Profile of a Modern Teacher were placed in your mailbox. Consider these things as you re-envision your classroom environment for the 2015-16 school year.
8 Things to Look for in Today’s Classroom by George Couros (found on
http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/5027) includes several of the 8 Cultural Forces such as Time, Opportunities, andInteractions.
What type of questions do you ask in your classroom? Ron Ritchhart has found that most classrooms involve a majority of review and procedural questions, while CoT (culture of thinking) classrooms include generative, constructive and facilitativequestions. Check out the list of questions types here:http://ronritchhart.com/COT_Resources_files/A%20Typology%20of%20Classroom%20Questions.pdf
Thought of the week:
"I never teach my pupils. I only provide the conditions in which they can learn." Albert Einstein

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April 13, 2015

4/13/2015

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Great quote to think about as we start the fourth quarter: “A mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions” – Oliver Wendell Homes, Sr.
Language- The Blooms Taxonomy Question Stem list is a great tool to use when lesson planning or reflecting on a lesson. How many of the “stems” do you use from levels 4, 5 and 6? This list fits nicely with the “Wheel of Wonder” we received a few years ago. This list is from www.teachthought.com
Opportunities & Language- From www.edutopia.org , What Does Transformational Teaching Look Like? lists several aspects of transformational teaching (versus informational teaching).

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LIT BIT

April 27, 2015

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