Research Project
Briefly tell us about your Research Project. Why did you choose this topic? Are there any research resources which you would recommend to the class?
January 20, 2007
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Briefly tell us about your Research Project. Why did you choose this topic? Are there any research resources which you would recommend to the class?
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Good Morning!
Thanks to Joe, I am going to research the benefits of combining LA/SS. The reason I choose this topic is because I feel like I can positively support this decision and justify it through numerous resources. Many teachers are afraid and nervous about the change and want to fight the system. The point is, it is in play and everybody must stay positive and look at the “beneficial” aspects of such an implementation. At this point, I have no particular resources to offer. I am at the very beginning stages of completing the initial part of the assignment. If anyone has a suggestion, I am all ears. GO BEARS!!!
Dana
Good for you Dana! Go with your gut! I think I am going to use the topic of how fluency is effected by differentiation. Our district is really trying to incorporate differentiation into the classrooms. I am experimenting somewhat with this currently by using literacy/content stations while implementing Guided Reading. Many teachers within our building as well as on my team are reluctant to ‘experiment’ with new initiative. I’d rather try something on my own to see what works for me before it is ‘required’. I’ve found that if the ‘powers that be’ find out I’m doing something, they are apt to leave me alone or go along with whatever I’d doing. 11 minutes to go! GO BEARS!
Wow, they did it! Now I can get back to work! We have been implementing a social skills program into our EDSC program, with the intent of making it district wide at some point. I think I’m going to look into the benefits of social skills training for ED students. I’d like to create a curricula for the program, and see if we can’t make it work even better-especially if it does go district wide.
Hi Becki!
The Bears rock. I think experimenting before anything is implemented is a good idea. It shows that you are a team player and are willing to try new things. Guided reading is a lot of work, but well worth it in the long run. Let me know if you need anything. Also, I am reading Fair Isn’t Always Equal by Rick Wormeli, and it discussses differentiation in the classroom. It would be a good book for you to look at–an easy read too.
I don’t know if this is going to be easy or difficult, but I think I am going to go with peer review. Our school is pushing this, along with reading strategies, as a way of making the teachers stronger. They say it won’t be used for assessment or evaluation (which is a fear of some teachers). I am not sure of the angle quite yet, but the positive and negative outcomes of peer review sounds like a good idea at my current stage.
And Becki, There is a great book called “Differentiation: Simplified,Realistic, and Effective- How to challenge advanced potentials in mixed-ability classrooms.” By Bertie Kingore.
On a spearate note, I think it’s funny how we all “name-drop” to show we read other peoples’ posts.
hahaha happy homework!
I’ll be researching how to make high school algebra more accessible to 7th graders. We are in the process of updating our curriculum map for 7th grade algebra. The one used by the district is not specific enough. What we are doing should work well with the Understanding by Design model, I hope.
Let’s see, who should I name-drop?
Da Bears!
DA BEARS!!!!!!!! Hello everyone! I think all your ideas sound really good. I am going to try to adapt an all day kindergarten literacy curriculum. The push for all day kindergarten in growing rapidly and I feel like this is a great place to start. Literacy is one of the main components in kindergarten so I thought if I set up a curriculum for an all day program it might be beneficial in the future. I would love to see kindergarten go full day for so many reasons. Now that the kindergarten standards have been set I don’t have enough time in my day. I just want my little guys to be SUPER SMART! HEE HEE!
Peace!
I am planning to talk about horizontal and vertical alignment of the world language curriculum in our district. This is a pertinent topic for us right now and the fact that we are a unit district allows for a lot of collaboration. The plan is, regardless of what language a student chooses, that he or she will have the same abilities in all the four skills of speaking, reading, writing and listening, and will have had the same types of experiences to get him or her to this point. ABSCHICKEN! :)))))))
My research project is going to involve creating a thematic U.S. History curiculum for District 158. After a number of years teaching history chronologically, I have come to the realization that the only beifit that this type of curriculum has is that it is easy to teach. Students are failing to make connections between the past and present under the traditional chronological curriculum. It is no wonder that history is one of the most hated classes among high school students. I have looked at a few thematic curriculum models online and am even more intrigued. I would like to find some research that looks at the benefits of a thematic curriculum over the traditional chronological curriculum.
I had a hard time deciding on a topic. When I think of educational reform going on in my school what comes to mind is curriculum alignment across the four high schools in my district. In addition, there has been talk about trying to increase test scores.
Reading strategies are one of the main things that our school is focusing on. They believe that an increase in literacy can result in greater comprehension and in turn raise test scores, which our nation is very focused on. So in short, I think my paper is going to be about reading strategies that can be used in the science classroom and how they can help students achieve greater learning, and in turn result in higher test scores.
If anyone has any suggestions of a different angle that I can take, I will not object to hearing your suggestions. J