| News about teaching and education excellence |  |
- What can writing letters to the president teach students?
 Having students write letters to President Barack Obama, expressing their hopes and concerns ahead of his second inauguration on Jan. 21, makes them part of a longstanding U.S. tradition, educator Suzie Boss writes in this blog post. Letters to the Next President, co-sponsored by the National Writing Project and Google, offers a starting point for a presidential-themed writing project, Boss writes. She also suggests students share their letters on a classroom blog or submit them to a local newspaper. Edutopia.org/Suzie Boss's blog
(11/29)     
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When you walk into a successful math classroom, what should you see, hear, and feel? Math Sense helps teachers self-assess, distills the key components of a good lesson, and offers ideas for improving classroom spaces, discourse, and engagement. Preview the entire book! |
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| Focus on Practice |  |  |
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- Getting technology right in school
When it comes to using technology in the classroom, there is a right way and a wrong way, writes high-school English teacher Nicholas Provenzano. In this blog post, he writes that the wrong way is to consider how to build a lesson around technology. Instead, he writes, educators should build their lesson plans and then consider how technology could be added to help reach learning goals. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education
(11/29)
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Ideas for using cellphones in classroom lessons: Teacher Jennifer Carey in this blog post offers four ideas for classroom lessons that include the use of cellphones. Among them are to conduct in-class polls or quizzes, use social-networking and other tools to conduct online conversations during lessons, along with using the phones as e-readers and as a means for organizing research. KQED.org/Mind/Shift blog
(11/29)
| Schools Today | | |
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- Teacher evaluations vary widely by state
New systems to evaluate teachers are being implemented in about 30 states, but so far most differ on the skills they are assessing. While Los Angeles schools will evaluate teachers based on 61 indicators, Louisiana is using just five. Two common indicators that have appeared on evaluations nationwide, however, are "classroom climate" and "teacher interaction with students." The Hechinger Report
(11/29)
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Teachers support quality evaluation systems, NBCT says: National Board Certified Teacher Marisol Castillo has undergone evaluations that helped her to grow and improve professionally, she writes in this blog post. However, she writes that not all teachers are so lucky, and she addresses the results of a recent survey on evaluations. "My experience with evaluation has been positive because the schools in which I’ve worked have done a good job supporting my growth," she writes. CNN/Schools of Thought blog
(11/29)
| Developing Leaders | | |
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- Pa. STEM summit expands with help from nonprofit partnership
Teachers from the Norwin School District in Pennsylvania will gather in February with representatives from area businesses -- as well as international corporations such as Google and Westinghouse -- for a second annual summit devoted to science, technology, engineering and math education. Educators from across the state are expected to attend the event to learn about hands-on lessons and projects they can use in their classrooms. The expanded summit is being organized through a partnership with Asset STEM Education, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit group funded by Bayer. Norwin Star (Pittsburgh)
(11/28)
| Policy News | | |
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- Plan to close Chicago schools is delayed
Lawmakers in Illinois have given Chicago Public Schools four more months to produce a list of schools it recommends for closure. The original deadline was set for Saturday. Supporters say the closures are necessary because of the large number of underused schools in the city. However, the proposal was described as a "mess" by Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. "It's a huge round of closings without a plan," she said. Chicago Sun-Times
(11/29)
| NBPTS Update | | |
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edTPA partners with National Board in the effort to improve teacher training
Stanford, AACTE and TPAC join the National Board in the development of instructional guidelines for integrating the National Board's repository into college teacher preparation programs. Read more.
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