August 11, 2011

Five Hallmarks of Good Homework

“The best homework tasks exhibit five characteristics. First, the task has a clear academic purpose, such as practice, checking for understanding, or applying knowledge or skills. Second, the task efficiently demonstrates student learning. Third, the task promotes ownership by offering choices and being personally relevant. Fourth, the task instills a sense of competence—the student can success fully complete it without help. Last, the task is aesthetically pleasing—it appears enjoyable and interesting” (Vatterott, 2009).

This important article by Cathy Vatterott was originally published in 2010 and many of us read it then – but it serves as an important reminder of what quality homework should look like as we move into the 2011-2012 school year. Additionally, as referenced in Objective #2 of our continuous improvement plan, homework and grading practices will be an integral component of our professional dialogue this school year – hopefully, the key points in this article can be a springboard for some of our thinking and conversations!

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How Social Media made me a better Administrator

“I am by no means a tech savvy person, just a man who was fortunate enough to be shown, and take advantage of, the power of social media. My hope is that other educators, including administrators read this blog post and are inspired to embrace social media. Technology is a major 21st century skill that we expect our students to have; it can only be modeled by us as their leaders- start today!!!” (Burkhead, 2011).

On the heels of the words from Ian Jukes and Will Richardson at the ILE Conference last week, out students are more connected than ever. It is our hope through this blog and the twitter account, that we, as a Curriculum and Instruction team, can help you stay connected with a variety of educators throughout the world. I felt this blog post best summed up the transition into the Social Media world. Hopefully, it provides you and your admin team some ideas to ponder.

Click here to read full article: How Social Media made me a better Administrator

Publishers, Participants All

As the Innovative Learning Environments(ILE)conference concludes, I am challenged in my thinking and current educational practice. How do we synthesize five days worth of "cutting edge" new ideas into a few that can be applied this school year?

We want our work to prepare Hilliard students for their futures--not a world that does not exist anymore. In order to accomplish this goal, educators will need to collaborate with our colleagues about our craft in ways that will often feel uncomfortable to us.

Friday's ILE keynote speaker, Will Richardson, offers practical steps to weave social media tools into the learning process. He reveals that ..."almost 75% of teens regularly use social networking sites and that the vast majority publish updates, photos, videos, and more..." He challenges educators to use social media as a learning platform; undoubtedly, the future workplaces of our students will require the use of these skills.

Click here to read full article: Publishers, Participants All

Debunking Five Myths About Project-Based Learning

“Many teachers and administrators, not to mention the general public, might have the wrong impression of PBL. Maybe stereotypical views of what a “project” is, or they’ve seen poor examples of it in the past. Or they can’t imagine how it could fit in today’s landscape of standards and testing.” John Larmer, Director of Product Development at the Buck Institute, plays “mythbuster” and refutes five misconceptions about PBL by providing readers with “fact checks” to both explain and defend PBL.


After Larry Rosen’s presentation at Administrative Retreat, the conversation in the secondary smaller group session shifted to the value of PBL. Some administrators questioned whether PBL just focuses on the soft skills of collaboration and creativity or whether direct instruction is also included in the plan. The author of this article explains that PBL is standards based and provides opportunities for students to gain content knowledge, as well as key academic skills. Since we will continue to offer additional training sessions for PBL and encourage teachers to continue to develop units, I urge you to read this. Teachers will need our support as they take the “leap of faith” and challenge themselves to upgrade their instructional practices.


Click here to read full article: Debunking Five Myths About Project-Based Learning