Notes+of+our+Discussions

=Notes of our discussions on education theory=

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2011
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 * 20 Best Blogs in Instructional Technology**
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 * Intel Teach Elements**
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Teacher Evaluations
Washington DC approach: []

How Does IMPACT Work?
Washington DC public schools created a method called IMPACT... through this method teachers receive ratings based on the following: IMPACT ratings for other school-based staff are based on criteria specific to their jobs. For example, instructional coaches are evaluated based on how well they support teachers, while custodians are evaluated based on building maintenance and safety. Impact Guidebook
 * 1) **Student Achievement** – We believe that a teacher’s most important responsibility is to ensure that her or his students learn and grow. This is why we hold educators accountable for the growth their students make on our state assessment, the DC CAS, or on other assessments if they don’t teach a DC CAS grade or subject.
 * 2) **Instructional Expertise** – This is assessed through five formal observations each year – three by teachers’ administrators and two by independent, expert practitioners called master educators. Feedback and guidance for growth are provided in five post-observation conferences.
 * 3) **Collaboration** – Education is very much a team effort, which is why IMPACT also measures the extent to which educators work together on behalf of students.
 * 4) **Professionalism** – Teachers are also held accountable for key professional requirements, including following all school policies and procedures, and interacting with colleagues, students, families, and community members in a respectful manner.

July 2010
=Second Language Acquisition Theory= [] Second language acquisition theory seeks to quantify how and by what processes individuals acquire a second language. The predominant theory of second language acquisition was developed by the University of Southern California’s Steven Krashen. Krashen is a specialist in language development and acquisition, and his influential theory is widely accepted in the language learning community.

__Five Components of Second Language Acquisition Theory__ There are five main components of Krashen’s theory. Each of the components relates to a different aspect of the language learning process. The five components are as follows:
 * The Acquisition Learning Hypothesis
 * The Monitor Hypothesis
 * The Natural Order Hypothesis
 * The Input Hypothesis
 * The Affective Filter Hypothesis

__The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis__ This hypothesis actually fuses two fundamental theories of how individuals learn languages. Krashen has concluded that there are two systems of language acquisition that are independent but related: the acquired system and the learned system.
 * The acquired system relates to the unconscious aspect of language acquisition. When people learn their first language by speaking the language naturally in daily interaction with others who speak their native language, this acquired system is at work. In this system, speakers are less concerned with the structure of their utterances than with the act of communicating meaning. Krashen privileges the acquired system over the learned system.
 * The learned system relates to formal instruction where students engage in formal study to acquire knowledge about the target language. For example, studying the rules of syntax is part of the learned system.

__The Monitor Hypothesis__ The monitor hypothesis seeks to elucidate how the acquired system is affected by the learned system. When second language learners monitor their speech, they are applying their understanding of learned grammar to edit, plan, and initiate their communication. This action can only occur when speakers have ample time to think about the form and structure of their sentences. The amount of monitoring occurs on a continuum. Some language learners over-monitor and some use very little of their learned knowledge and are said to under-monitor. Ideally, speakers strike a balance and monitor at a level where they use their knowledge but are not overly inhibited by it. __The Natural Order__ __Hypothesis__ This hypothesis argues that there is a natural order to the way second language learners acquire their target language. Research suggests that this natural order seems to transcend age, the learner's native language, the target language, and the conditions under which the second language is being learned. The order that the learners follow has four steps:
 * 1) They produce single [|words].
 * 2) They string words together based on meaning and not syntax.
 * 3) They begin to identify elements that begin and end [|sentences].
 * 4) They begin to identify different elements within sentences and can rearrange them to produce questions.

__The Input Hypothesis__ This hypothesis seeks to explain how second languages are acquired. In its most basic form, the input hypothesis argues that learners progress along the natural order only when they encounter second language input that is one step beyond where they are in the natural order. Therefore, if a learner is at step one from the above list, they will only proceed along the natural order when they encounter input that is at the second step.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis
This hypothesis describes external factors that can act as a filter that impedes acquisition. These factors include motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety. For example, if a learner has very low motivation, very low self-confidence, and a high level of anxiety, the affective filter comes into place and inhibits the learner from acquiring the new language. Students who are motivated, confident, and relaxed about learning the target language have much more success acquiring a second language than those who are trying to learn with the affective filter in place.

__A Final Point on Grammar__ According to second language acquisition theory, the role of (/grammar-rules/effective-grammar-instruction.html grammar) in language acquisition is useful only when the learner is interested in learning grammar. Otherwise, Krashen argues that studying grammar equates to language appreciation and does not positively influence language acquisition.

=Second Language Acquisition Stages= [] [] []

The student is developing survival vocabulary, following demonstrated directions, playing simple games, and becoming comfortable with classroom activities, the teacher and his or her classmates. He or she begins to understand what is being spoken to them, acquire a passive vocabulary (words that students recognizes, but cannot use yet), and respond to things non verbally. When communicating with a student at this stage a person could use gestures and body language, visuals, pictures or other realia. Do not expect or force a student to speak until he or she is ready, but focus on listening skills and try to interact with them in a way to illicit non-verbal responses.
 * Stage I, Pre-Production (Silent/Receptive Stage)**

The student understands the main idea of what is communicated, but may not understand every word. He or she will begin to respond in small word groupings and answer yes / no and cognitively undemanding questions that require the repetition of no more than one word (i.e. would you like the red crayon or the blue crayon? "blue"). Mispronounced words are to be expected and there is no need for correction provided the listener can understand what is being said. New vocabulary needs to be introduced at this time while continuing to practice previously learned vocabulary. The student must hear the word in context before he or she will feel comfortable using it themselves.
 * Stage II, Early Production**

During this stage there is a shift of emphasis from reception to production. The student begins using simple sentences, improving pronunciation and intonation, and demonstrating and expanding vocabulary. He or she engages in relatively familiar language and tasks (developing initial reading skills, decoding and literal comprehension, writing for personal purposes - reading and writing for operational purposes - writing answers to lower level questions). Those around the learner should encourage any attempt to speak in the second language (L2), and be careful not to discourage or make fun of attempts made. Again, if the speaker is understandable there is no need to correct them on pronunciation. Communicative language functions generally include: 1. greetings/leave-takings, 2. requesting information/assistance, 3. giving information/assistance, 4. describing, and 5. expressing feelings.
 * Stage III - Speech Emergence**

At this level the student is developing academic vocabulary, and little information other than teacher and textbook is provided. He or she is beginning to think in the new language instead of translating from the native language. They begin to use longer sentences and more elaborate speech patterns though they may continue to make errors in the use of new vocabulary and complex grammatical structures. At this stage the student understands academic presentations accompanied by visuals and demonstrations, participates in hands-on science activities, makes models, maps charts, graphs, solves computational and word math problems assisted by manipulatives and illustrations, participates in academic discussions, can make brief oral presentations, can use higher order comprehension skills, understands written texts through discussions, illustrations and visuals, writes simple science reports and answers higher level questions.
 * Stage IV - Intermediate Fluency**

At this stage the student understands most (but not all) academic presentations without visuals or demonstrations, makes formal oral presentations, uses higher level reading comprehension skills including inferential and critical reading, reads for information, writes compositions, essays and research projects, solves math word problems without illustrations, and writes answers to higher level questions - can take standardized achievement tests successfully. This is the time to provide some grammar instruction and to present new information and language, including extensive vocabulary development.
 * Stage V - Advanced Fluency**



Passive vs. active vocabulary
Even if we learn a word, it takes a lot of practice and context connections for us to learn it well. A rough grouping of words we understand when we hear them encompasses our "passive" vocabulary, whereas our "active" vocabulary is made up of words that come to our mind immediately when we have to use them in a sentence, as we speak. In this case, we often have to come up with a word in the timeframe of milliseconds, so one has to know it well, often in combinations with other words in phrases, where it is commonly used.


 * Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)** are those that are cognitively-undemanding and include known ideas, vocabulary and syntax. They are the aspects of communication that are used daily in routine communicative exchanges (e.g., while dressing, eating, bathing, playing, etc.). BICS skills represent the informal aspects of social talk as well as skills that do not require a high degree of cognition (e.g., naming objects and actions, referring to non-existence, disappearance, rejection, and negation, and so forth). Students demonstrating BICS might recognize new combinations of known words or phrases and produce single words or short phrases. When students begin to acquire a second language, they are typically able to develop BICS within **2-3 years**.

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALPS) is the language of academic subjects that involves more abstract (as opposed to concrete) vocabulary and concepts. It takes **five to seven years** to acquire. At this level of language proficiency the student demonstrates the ability to draw complex meanings in oral and/or written language, without paralinguistic cues, and the information is context reduced.
 * Cognitive-Academic Language Proficiency Skills (CALPS):**

=Sequential Second Language Acquisition Checklist=

=**How many words should someone know?**=

The effects of vocabulary size on language comprehension
Francis and Kucera[|[11]] studied texts totaling one million words and found that if one knows the words with the highest frequency, they will quickly know most of the words in a text: By knowing the 2000 words with the highest frequency, one would know 80% of the words in those texts. The numbers look even better than this if we want to cover the words we come across in an informally spoken context. Then the 2000 most common words would cover 96% of the vocabulary.[|[12]] These numbers should be encouraging to beginning language learners, especially because the numbers in the table are for word [|lemmas] and knowing that many word families would give even higher coverage.
 * ~ Vocabulary Size ||~ Written Text Coverage ||
 * 1000 words || 72.0% ||
 * 2000 || 79.7 ||
 * 3000 || 84.0 ||
 * 4000 || 86.8 ||
 * 5000 || 88.7 ||
 * 6000 || 89.9 ||
 * 15,851 || 97.8 ||

**Value of Wiki's in education**

 * http://www.edutopia.org/whats-next-2008-wiki-technology

The SIOP Model: Sheltered Instruction for Academic Achievement
[|http://www.cal.org/siop/resources/faqs.html#2] [|SIOP lessons] are characterized by two sets of objectives that support and complement each other: content and language objectives. Content objectives are usually drawn from state standards for the content areas. They can be recognized by verbs related to knowledge of the content area, such as //**identify, analyze, rank, construct, graph, divide, solve, visualize, design**//. Teachers are often familiar with how to write content objectives before they learn about the SIOP Model.

//[CONTENT for Armenian school is about culture, history, geography, art, music, etc ]//

Language objectives, on the other hand, address the language needed to engage with the academic content, perform classroom tasks, and achieve the content objectives. They are related to the language skills. Listening, speaking, reading, and writing (for example: //**read, write, listen, list, tell, discuss, journal, record, persuade, debate, draft**//), key vocabulary, language functions or ways students use language in the lesson, grammar or language structures, and language learning strategies.

//[LANGUAGE for Armenian school is about listening, speaking, reading and writing]// media type="youtube" key="HyqUHWV0XuU" height="385" width="640"

**The Teaching of Language Arts to Limited English Proficient/ English Language Learners: Learning Standards for English as a Second Language**
[|TESOL Revises PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards (March 2006)][|Parent Guide to the ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students: Introduction and Common Questions] [|Learning Standards for English as a Second Language]

English as a Second Language Achievement Test
[] []

Scaffolding media type="youtube" key="lmJoOjLQM3U" height="385" width="480"

First Order and Second Order Changes

 * First-order change assumes innovation is assimilated into existing beliefs and perceptions, and is rejected when it does not fit into the current framework.
 * Second-order change addresses the existing framework of perceptions and beliefs, or paradigm, as part of the change process.

media type="youtube" key="iv7crrER_S4" height="385" width="480"
 * Robert Marzano** is widely recognized as an expert in both critical thinking and curriculum design. He is deputy director of training and development at the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory in Aurora, Colorado. He has taught at both the university and high school levels, and has written numerous articles, books, and training materials in the areas of language arts, effective schooling, and thinking skills.

**What Is a "Professional Learning Community"?**
[] media type="youtube" key="vEgmHHeCl4U" height="547" width="705"

SMART Goals
There are lots of Goal/Objective setting tips and tricks out there. SMART is a good set of requirements because it forces us to think about our goal/objective in more tangible ways. SMART forces us to more clearly define our goals/objectives which in helps us better plan and execute on how to attain them. []

**S** example: A general goal would be, "Get in shape." But a specific goal would say, "Join a health club and workout 3 days a week."
 * pecific** - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six "W" questions:
 * Who: Who is involved?
 * What: What do I want to accomplish?
 * Where: Identify a location.
 * When: Establish a time frame.
 * Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
 * Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

**M** To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as......How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
 * easurable** - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.

**A** You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.
 * ttainable** - When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

**R** Your goal is probably realistic if you truly //believe// that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
 * ealistic** - To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both //willing// and //able// to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.

**T** **T** can also stand for **Tangible** - A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.
 * imely** - A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? "Someday" won't work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, "by May 1st", then you've set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

**May 2010**
May 26, 2010

@http://www.educationworld.com/

January 2010
[] This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.

**December 2009**
[] This song is a joint effort by Enguerner (Frank and Rob Petizian) and Aramik (Aram) Moosakhanian. Music was written by Aram Moosakhanian and lyrics are by Avig Diermenjian. It a tribute to Armenian children all over the world and will be featured in the upcoming 2nd childrens album by Enguerner. (Dennis)

http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/awards.htm - creative teaching styles, ideas, etc. HM 120309

November 2009
[] - H. Gardner's course in Mind, Brain, and Education - first of its kind. Finally, someone openly talks about the need to study the human mind from different perspectives, collaboratively!! ...........JE

[] - The Armenians HM 110609

[] - I'm Armenia HM 110609

[] - Yerevan/Capital of Armenia HM 110609

[] - Armenian History/Main events HM 110609

[] Slidshow of Armenia

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Student-Centered.html - Methods of student-centered teaching HM 112009

October 2009
[] - 21st century learning, some food for thought Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/learn.jsp (National Science Foundation link on studies done in the area of language learning, -Barbara) http://nadabs.tripod.com/acquisition/ (more on language learning... -Barbara)

How to Deal with Teenage Learning Fatigue This article is an excerpt from Raleigh T. Philp's book [|'Tweens and Teens: A Brain-Compatible Approach in Reaching Middle and High School Students]//.// [] (berj 10/22/09)

media type="custom" key="4614862" You have to see this video. It was created by a 4th grade spanish class and acted out on Saturday Night Live. I think it is a great type of project for our AS students to try once they get the flip cams. They can create scripts of their own, collect props and costumes, create the setting. I would LOVE to see what our upper grade students come up with!!! They could be the actors or involve their parents and teachers. : ) http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/la-policia-mexicana/945804 Barbara

Howard Gardner - Multiple Intelligences and education []



(from the intel CD, module 1, lesson 1... good graphic explaining project based learning, and helpful comparison to problem based learning and inquiry based learning... remember, this intel cd course is built for project based learning, so they favor that approach of the three)

[|__http://www.karentimberlake.com/student-centered_classoom.htm__] - very usefull tips on how to conduct student-centered learning class and at the same time assess students and address weak areas …..JE

I thought we might want to create a video library with info for Armenia. A resource for teachers... Berj has started the link Armenia Resources and, perhaps, we can add to it? What do you think? Here is another vodeo: [] .........JE

[]# - Teaching language the fun way. I know I keep adding websites for Spanish learning, but I thought it could be usefull to take something that already works and apply it to teaching Armenian language. Speaking of proverbs, here is another one: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Chinese proverbs .............JE

[] I received this link from my brother and thought it an idea someone on the CC committee might want to try to teach geography of Armenia in some way, sped up and set to an Armenian techno rock music...Barbara

[] This video was created by Tom Woodward of Henrico County schools in Virginia. Tom used the work of Karl Fisch from Colorado who created a PPT using various quotes and statistics from "flat world" thinking. [not sure enough can be said about how different the world is today vs when we were students in a classroom - berj]

“If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be research.” Albert Einstein “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” Albert Einstein “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” Albert Einstein “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” Chinese Proverbs [|http://thinkexist.com]

[] – teaching time and more by singing (in Spanish)

[] - suggested activities for elementary grades

[] - tips for behavior problem solving

=September 2009=

This is a great video done by Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? []media type="youtube" key="iG9CE55wbtY" height="344" width="425"

[] (good webpage on Engaging Learners)

Amazing the timelessness of these topics in education... specifically Student Centered Learning, Student Engagement, and Preparing students for tomorrow [21st Century Learning] media type="youtube" key="opXKmwg8VQM" height="344" width="425"

Don't focus too much on the narration in this clip, rather take notice what a **classroom of yesterday** **looks like** as compared to a **classroom of tomorrow**. media type="youtube" key="l72UFXqa8ZU" height="385" width="640"

(from the intel CD, module 1, lesson 3... this Project Characteristics checklist and sample one for Maria and Abe describes a little bit of what makes a good project based lesson... this might work for us... i'm going to look for other websites that have examples of project based learning units...)

(from the intel CD, module 1, lesson 1... really good graphic explaining project based learning, and helpful comparison to problem based learning and inquiry based learning... remember, this intel cd course is built for project based learning, so they favor that approach of the three)

(from the intel CD, module 1, lesson 1, how great!... project based learning can be all we are looking for, engaging, modern and student centric)

(from the intel CD, module 1, lesson 1 describes the basics of project based learning... this is exactly on point of engagement)

=August 2009=

Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally [] (how do you think this theory of cognitive learning impacts our goals and objectives?)

Ted Talks on YouTube: [|Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?] (great video on appreciating Gardner's inteligences)

What happens when galaxies collide? (Ask an Astronomer) [] (simple series of videos that use graphics, video, and very, very brief instruction modules)

Personal Learning Network [] (i met this woman at a trade conference and she was very impressive in understanding AND using all the new and progressive web tools out there in her classroom. At some point I intend to have her join us for a conference call. Here is her wiki where she talks alot about personal learning networks, [|click here to understand a PLN])