MiddleWeb

Do-It-Yourself Socratic Seminars

You can get young minds cogitating about philosophy and other deep subjects with Angela Bunyi's Top Teaching blog entry:"Higher Order Comprehension: The Power of Socratic Seminar." With her minute-by-minute guidelines and suggestions for successful student-led discussion, Bunyi provides all you need to get started, including a great source for "discussable" videos complete with transcripts. All in 55 minutes or less.

 

Interrobang: Kids Solve Big Problems Together Online

If you don't keep up with punctuation news, you may not have heard about the new mark, now being adding to some digital fonts and keyboards. The Interrobang is a question mark overstruck by an exclamation point, the equivalent of ?! It's also the clever name of an online, collaborative problem-solving game developed by Microsoft Partners in Learning in partnership with Learn & Serve America and the Smithsonian. Students competed in three leagues (EL, MS, HS), "taking on missions that engaged them in real-world problems, from bullying to biodiversity." At this site you can look at the results via a user-friendly display and learn how to get involved in future versions. [Update: a new Interrobang event is now online (Dec. 2010). Check it out.

 

Free Social Media for Teachers

This article at the Mashable website has been heavily "tweeted" since it appeared a few weeks ago. The geekiest teachers among us probably won't be surprised to see EduBlogs and Edmodo among the seven tools that teachers can use to engage students in virtual activities and develop and store their own work. But for the rest of you, peruse the info about EDU 2.0, Kidblog, and the various Tube sites (even some schools using YouTube) to see what might be useful in your classroom. PS: the comments are full of other suggestions.

 

Periodic Table: The Movie(s)

As the Internet Scout notes, "there are many ways to parse out the information found within the periodic table of elements." But imagine creating a video about each and every one. That's what the slightly wacky scientists at England's University of Nottingham have done, creating explosions and other colorful displays whenever possible. Start with hydrogen and see for yourself. You may have to help students a bit with the British accent and pronunciation (al-you-min-e-um) or turn on the closed captions. If you like these clips, there are plenty more on other topics - even a blooper reel. Stand-up Chemists. Who knew.

 

The New P.E. – Fitness, Not Competition

This collection of videos and stories about new approaches to physical education first appeared in 2008 and has been enormously popular at the Edutopia website, judging from the large number of comments. It's a tremendous resource for any K-12 school where there's a need to align PE with contemporary learning goals, including leadership, collaboration and problem-solving. It's high time we shared it.

 

AVID: College Readiness for All

More and more middle schools are launching AVID programs -- Advancement via Individual Determination - as a structured way to help their students focus on the goal of college completion. This news story profiles an AVID program in Glendale CA that emphasizes rigor, boosts students' critical-thinking skills, and offers college field trips to students who may be the first in their families to consider higher education. You'll find more at the AVID website, including details of a national conference set for Dec. 9-11 with the theme "Delivering the Dream: College Readiness for All."

 

Google Tools Aid Class Collaboration

Colorado middle school teacher Alison Saylor "went viral" last month after a local TV station highlighted her use of Google Apps for Education to create a virtual workplace for her students. "They can use word processors, spreadsheets and graphic tools to create projects which are done entirely online," reported 9NEWS. Eighth-grader Alex Brown created an imaginary company, including conceptual graphic designs, a business plan, an architectural layout and a payroll spreadsheet using the free software. Because the Google Apps are web-based, it's easy for students to share with teachers and each other. "It's good to get feedback from people our own age cause they think like we do," says Alex. ALSO SEE this NING teacher group exploring Google Apps.

 

"Studio Days" Promote Creative Thinking

During most days at North Oldham Middle, students study the typical mix of subjects in a typical format where the teacher leads and students follow. But every third day, says this story in the Louisville (KY) Courier Journal, students head for a "studio class," where they pursue interests they've chosen, tying together skills and knowledge from related arts classes to design and carry out their own projects. Students who are used to being told what to do must think for themselves. "It's not easy for them," says a teacher, "but it's the best kind of learning."

 

Middle School Emphasizes Digital Games

It's exciting to design a charter school that emphasizes teaching with digital games. But who's going to teach there? "When we were creating the program, we knew that it was going to be something that we were going to have to take the responsibility in educating our teachers about," says Arana Shapiro, the learning director at Quest to Learn, a 6-12 charter in New York City. Professional development is a continuing challenge at Q2L, according to this story from Education Week's Digital Directions (link above). But there's plenty of interest in this futuristic approach to learning, including a recent video profile produced by the New York Times. ALSO visit the school website here

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Get More Girls Interested in STEM Careers

The number of women entering careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics has actually declined since the 1980s, with women holding barely 25 percent of jobs in STEM areas today. In this story at T.H.E. Journal, Bridget McCrea shares ideas about getting more girls interested -- and keeping them engaged through the middle and high school years, when many drift toward other pursuits. Also: visit the new STEM advocacy site Change the Equation for ideas about attracting students and improving teaching.

 

YA Novels Renew Excitement about Learning

Middle grades instructional coach Elena Aguilar suggests that shared novels and storytelling can help reignite excitement about learning and build community among students returning to school.

As a teacher, on the first day of school, I wanted my students to know that in my class we would read a lot and we'd read great literature, literature that would help us understand our world better, and ourselves. In the first weeks of school, I also needed to build community in my classroom, define routines and procedures, and particularly in middle school, get kids re-anchored in the purpose and pleasure of learning. I used stories to accomplish all of these objectives...

In her Edutopia blog, Aguilar recommends three favorite books that work well at the beginning of the year. See her suggestions and other story ideas from her readers.

The Power of Positive Relationships

Some educators discount relationship-building in middle grades and high schools as "fluff," writes Tara Brown in the August issue of Middle Ground, the NMSA magazine. But for "middle grades kids who are trying to gain some independence and figure out which way is up, relationships with classmates and teachers are crucial to success." Brown offers seven relationship-based strategies "that can transform your classroom into a positive learning environment."

Student Engagement: Fires in the Mind

Fires in the Mind, the latest of several books written by Kathleen Cushman to bring more transparency to adolescent thinking, reports on an project that involved tweens in a deep exploration of the question: "How do you get good at something?" This review by sixth grade teacher Kathie Marshall shares highlights from the book (which would make a good faculty study in middle schools). Marshall, who provides links to dedicated teacher resources at the FITM website, says: "No matter what stage we're at as educators, I believe every teacher can mine this book for many helpful nuggets to support student mastery." 

Inner Life of the Cell

We picked up this video clip illustrating the life of a cell from the Fires in the Mind website, where it was passed along as one example of teaching tools that can really grab the attention of students and create excitement around learning. "Fires" site minder Kathleen Cushman wrote: "A seventh-grade teacher said that 'The Inner Life of a Cell' -- a fantastic eight-minute animation from Harvard University -- had her students riveted with its mix of science and art." You'll see why.

American Creativity on the Decline?

Ashley Merryman and Po Bronson, authors of the 2009 book "Nurture Shock," recently penned a Newsweek cover story called "The Creativity Crisis." They cite new evidence that American creativity is on the decline, but they also suggest that we can turn things around. In this interview with the Public School Insights blog, Merryman talks about some of the possible causes of decline, both societal and school-related. But what's really important, she says, is that "we know ways to increase kids' creativity. So leave what caused the decline to the scientists. What we can do is implement the things already known to increase creativity."

Teaching Secrets: Cultural Competency

What is the most effective path for working with students who come from backgrounds different than your own? Middle grades instructional coach Elena Aguilar offers her ideas in this recent Teacher Magazine article titled "When the Kids Don't Share Your Culture." Aguilar's 13 tips will be of interest not only to new teachers but to all who work with children in multi-cultural classrooms.

Learning with Games

If you're interested in the possibilities of games and learning, find time over the summer to check out this 10-minute interview with Katie Salen, a professor of design and technology interested in how play can empower kids to learn. Salen offers her rationale for investing classroom time to engage students in games (digital or old-fashioned) -- both as players and designers. She also has ideas about using games to help with assessments of learning. Salen is the founder of the Institute of Play, which operates a NYC public charter school built around gaming.

Some Districts Giving Up Middle School Ideals?

A recent story in the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported on some nearby Illinois school districts that are "reverting to the junior-high model, rather than the middle-school model, in an effort to save money." Others, the newspaper says, are adopting hybrid models but abandoning enrichment programs, smaller class sizes and team teaching that were signatures of the middle school concept. The switch will allow districts to eliminate teaching positions in the face of state budget shortfalls. Says one district business manager: "Educationally that's a mistake, but financially this is a requirement. The state has no idea the damage they are doing to these kids."

Foster Enthusiasm for Reading

How can you get your students to want to read? Convince them of the importance of reading in their lives. Reading Reasons supports middle-level teachers with 40 classroom-tested mini-lessons that will foster enthusiasm for reading throughout the school year. Click here to preview Chapter 1 online!

Thanks to Stenhouse Publishers for their support of MiddleWeb and middle grades educators.

Oil Spill Crisis: Kids at Work

Many middle school students are deeply concerned about the Gulf oil spill crisis and are becoming acutely aware of the need to become environmental activists. Edutopia, the excellent education site supported by the George Lucas Foundation, has put together this page of resources  , highlighting many ways that young people are (or can) get involved with scientists and others committed to protecting the environment. Lots of ideas for the next school year -- or summer programs.