Subject: FellowBlast! Volume 2, Issue 7
From: Steve Sibol <[email-masked]>
To: Steve Sibol <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:20:08 -0400

SimpleSend eNewsletter

                  FellowBlast!
                  Volume 2, Issue 7
                  October 14, 2007 

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                  TEACHER TIPS: A teacher's guide to freebies and high school lesson plans on racial understanding

                  PRAXIS POINT: The Best Way to Teach Thinking

                  A USEFUL MATH RESOURCE: Q & A with the Fellow who founded JMAP

                  FELLOWSHARE SPOTLIGHT: Thinking strategies and changing standards into lesson plans

                  OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: Apply for a mathematics grant; Four more days to Shop for Class

                  ATTENTION COHORT 12 FELLOWS: AmeriCorps deadline is tomorrow, October 15

                  INSPIRE FUTURE FELLOWS: Write a subway slogan for 2008!

                  EDUCATION IN THE NEWS: Housing for teachers, a new approach to teacher mentors, and the President's stance on possible NCLB revisions 

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                  FELLOWSHARE SPOTLIGHT

                  1. Thinking strategies used by proficient learners

                  2. Changing standards into lesson plans  

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                  OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

                  Connecting Mathematics to Other Subject Areas Grants: For 2008-2009, grants up to $3,000 will be awarded to National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) members currently teaching mathematics in grades nine through twelve. The purpose of this grant is to purchase classroom materials (books, visual displays, computer programs or displays, slide shows, videotapes, or other appropriate medium) or create lessons that connect mathematics to other fields. Proposals must address the following: the plan for developing and evaluating materials, the connectivity to other disciplines, and anticipated impact on student learning. To read the full guidelines, follow this link. 

                  Deadline: November 2, 2007

                  Four more days to Shop for Class: You have until Friday, October 19 to support the library at your school and others around the city by doing something you probably already do: shopping. The Fund for Public Schools has partnered with retailers like Borders, Macy's, Super Runners, and more who will donate a portion of their proceeds to improve New York City's public school libraries by providing books, technology, and critical renovations to thousands of students across the city. To read more about the program and see a complete list of participating retailers, click here. 

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                  ATTENTION COHORT 12 FELLOWS: AMERICORPS DEADLINE IS TOMORROW

                  The deadline to enroll in the AmeriCorps Education Awards Program is tomorrow, October 15. We encourage each of you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. You may download the materials from your personal status page and return them via fax. Please review the enrollment packet carefully to avoid making any errors that might delay processing of your materials. These materials must be returned no later than 5:00 p.m. tomorrow.

                  If you have further questions, please contact AmeriCorps at [email-masked] or (718) 935-3935. Their fax number is (718) 935-5427. 

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                  SUBWAY SLOGANS 2008 

                  How did you hear about the Fellows program? What inspired you to apply? For many applicants and current Fellows, our long running subway ad campaign influenced their decision to change their lives and become an NYC public school teacher. We'd like to invite all Fellows to contribute ideas for this year's campaign and help recruit another amazing cohort of Fellows. Popular slogans from last year include: 

                  "Mind the achievement gap"

                  "Don't think you can change the world? Spark the minds that will."

                  "There are a million kids in NYC who could use your talents. Think outside the cubicle."

                  Submissions must be in the format of previous ads with an emphasis on the teaching profession and high-need subjects like math, science, or bilingual education. Submissions are due by October 22. Click here for more details and guidelines on submitting your slogans. 

                  Please e-mail your slogan(s) to [email-masked]. 

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                  EDUCATION IN THE NEWS

                  1) "City will help with pension plans for building housing for teachers" New York Times, October 5, 2007

                  For the first time in years, New York City is helping to finance apartment buildings designed to provide relatively low-cost housing for a single profession: teachers and educators.

                  2) "New York  Shifts Strategy on Mentoring New Teachers" EdWeek.org, October 4, 2007

                  A New York City mentoring program once hailed as possibly the largest overhaul of teacher induction in the country has been dismantled amid district officials' push to give schools more say over their own affairs. In its place, New York's schools will individually shape help for new teachers, using a combination of dedicated and general resources.

                  3) "Bush declares his openness to revising education law" Washington Post, October 10, 2007

                  Under pressure from the right and the left, President Bush said yesterday that he is open to reformulating his signature No Child Left Behind education law but stressed that he remains unwilling to surrender on its core elements of testing and accountability. 

                   
                 TEACHER TIPS

                  A Teacher's Guide to Freebies
                  On her TeacherMagazine.org blog, "New Terrain", Jessica Shyu dishes about her favorite freebies. 

                  "Free Stuff"
                  September 30, 2007 

                  According to the August 22-29, 2007 poll taken on Teacher Magazine, more than 65 percent of the 155 educators voluntarily polled said they spent $250 or more on classroom supplies in a year. I remember the first time in my life while in college I realized teachers had to spend their own money for supplies for their students. And that they would spend a lot of it. I was dumbfounded, angered, and thought this must be an anomaly and surely they must get tax breaks like my small-business owning parents. 

                  And then, two years after my initial discovery, I became a teacher and traded my chronic shoe-buying habit for an equally pricey storybook-worksheet-flashcard-buying habit. I also realized during that time that the generous tax break was $200 a year. I was lucky that my school was part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and had a warehouse of basic classroom supplies available. The $800 I spent my first year could have and should have been far more like many other educators. Like everyone else, I wanted and needed specific books for my students-- not the sun-bleached, dog-eared paperbacks that were published before even I was born that revolved around the titillating adventures of Joe and his dog Buff. 

                  Anyway, the point is, teaching is costly, and it doesn't pay too much. And when your weekends are spent catching up on grading, cooking dinner for the whole week, and finally getting some sleep, you probably don't have too much time to troll for freebies online. So here is a quick start of a list of freebies out there. (Check the comments on Shyu's blog for more advice.) 

                  A list of links to free DVDs, science posters, and lots more. Definitely check this out. 

                  Free Clorox Multimedia Kit and a free canister of those handy disinfecting wipes! 

                  Barnes and Noble's 20 percent discount for books in the classroom increases to 25 percent for a week four times a year. It's not available online, so use at the store. Borders and other major bookstores also have discounts. Make sure you bring your teacher ID or pay stub when you apply for the discount card.

                  Office-supply stories like Staples and OfficeMax have reward programs for teachers. 

                  Free pair of Drillmasters' marching band shoes for directors of marching bands.

                  Starfall was one of my favorite free phonics sites as a new teacher. It's interactive and has low-level, non-fiction stories as well as a number of useful activities. 

                  And because our lives can't revolve only around the classroom, here are more ways to get free stuff in your personal life, such as free 411 information access, free books, and free samples. 

                  Also, check out TLN's Teaching Secrets. All the secrets divulged are delicious, but scroll halfway down to read tips on "scavenger hunting" for your classroom! 

                  For quick tips and cheap ideas on fostering organization skills in middle schoolers, read TLN's latest piece. 

                  More resources submitted by Shyu's readers:

                  This free oil poster graphically shows the development of oil, our dependency, and how much we have left. It's a great graphic to convey the concept to students.

                  At donorschoose.org, public school teachers can submit proposals for anything for their classrooms, school yards, or class trips. 

                  Tolerance.org puts out great resources for use in the classroom, including kits with DVDs, posters, workbooks, etc.

                   Fellows talk back! What are your favorite freebies? Tell us at [email-masked]. 

                  High school lesson plans on race

                  Four lesson plans on building racial understanding can be downloaded for free at http://www.racebridges.net/schools?mw1. 

                  Field-tested in Chicago schools, the 45-minute lessons focus on:

                  - Examining issues of identity and having students commit to making personal changes in behavior.
                  - Using personal stories to reflect on the Thanksgiving holiday and America's acceptance of difference.
                  - Exploring the meanings of "race" and "racism" and thinking about how students might personally work to overcome their own biases.
                  - Enhancing a sense of community in the classroom and promoting a broader sense of community.

                  Spotted in PEN Weekly NewsBlast, September 7, 2007

                  Fellows talk back! How do you build racial understanding in your classroom? Tell us at [email-masked].

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                  PRAXIS POINT

                  Ensuring that our students build critical thinking skills is an essential but challenging element of good teaching. This week, The Marshall Memo excerpts a Teacher's College Record article that examines a variety of strategies that can be used to teach thinking in the classroom. 

                  The Best Way to Teach Thinking

                   "What is good thinking and how is it developed?" asks Israeli education professor Yoram Harpaz in this thoughtful and well-written article on teaching thinking in Teachers College Record. "The recognition that people do not think as well as they could is a basic starting point for the field of teaching thinking," he says. Over the years, three approaches have been developed to improve thinking: the skills approach, the dispositions approach, and the knowledge approach. Harpaz analyzes each and makes the case for the one he believes is the most effective.

                   . The skills approach - This approach challenges traditional education, which focuses on the transmission of a body of knowledge, arguing that that knowledge is expanding and changing so rapidly that generic thinking skills will be essential in the years ahead. The skills approach aims to impart a toolbox of thinking skills that can be used quickly and precisely in any setting. 

                  Advocates and programs include: De Bono (CoRT), Ennis (Taxonomy of critical thinking), Beyer (Direct teaching of thinking), Perkins (Thinking frames), Perkins & Swartz (Graphic organizers), Sternberg (Intelligence implied), Treffinger, Isaksen & Dorval (Creative problem solving), Johnson & Blair (Informal logic), Chaffee (Thinking critically), Whimbey & Lochhead (Problem solving), and Fuerstein (Instrumental enrichment). 

                   . The dispositions approach - This approach agrees that it's hopeless to try to cram an ever-expanding and ever-changing body of knowledge into students' heads but disagrees that learning a set of generic thinking skills is the answer. According to the dispositions approach, the foundational element of good thinking is thinking dispositions and a disposition to think - for example, open-mindedness, empathy, persistence, managing impulsivity, and responsibility. Advocates of this approach say that dispositions are "energy suppliers" that link skills and actions and are best cultivated through example and discussion of values in real-life situations. The following joke parodies a conventional school in contrast to a thinking-dispositions school: 

                  Teacher to pupil: "What are you doing?" 
                  Pupil to teacher: "I'm thinking." 
                  Teacher to pupil: "Well, stop it, and get on with your work." (Barber, 1997) 

                  Advocates and programs embodying the dispositions approach include: Lipman (Philosophy for children), Perkins (Dispositions theory of thinking), Tishman (Thinking dispositions), Costa (Habits of mind), Bron (Theory of rationality), Langer (Mindfulness), Barrel (Thoughtfulness), Facione (Critical thinking and dispositions), Passmore (Critical thinking as a character trait), Siegel (The spirit of the critical thinker), Sternberg (Successful intelligence), Goleman (Emotional intelligence), and Lipman (Philosophy for children).

                   . The understanding approach - This approach rejects the dichotomy between teaching knowledge and teaching thinking, between teaching what to think and teaching how to think. "The quality of our thinking," says Harpaz, "depends on our knowing the topic or, more precisely, on our understanding of it." The understanding approach stresses the importance of going beyond rote memorization of inert knowledge and striving for deep understanding of what is being learned. Deep understanding can't be transmitted directly from the teacher to the student; it has to be constructed in the student's mind through an active process of unpacking the big ideas and enduring understandings of a topic and exploring and applying them. 

                  Advocates and programs include: Perkins (Understanding performances), Gardner (Understanding in the disciplines), Wiske (Teaching for understanding), Wiggins and McTighe (Understanding by design), Paul (Critical thinking in the strong sense), McPeck (The reflective critical thinker), Brown (Community of learners), Smith (Understanding as good thinking), Brooks & Brooks (Constructivist instruction), Lipman (Philosophy for children), and Harpaz (Community of thinking). 

                  Harpaz sums up the basic differences between the three approaches: "The skills approach is directed by a utopian image of the good thinker as an efficient thinker.The dispositions approach is directed by a utopian image of the good thinker as a wise thinker.The understanding approach is directed by a utopian image of the good thinker as a learned thinker." How is faulty or bad thinking regarded by each approach? The skills approach sees it as lacking in skill or applying thinking skills incorrectly. The dispositions approach sees it as based on weaknesses or character flaws. The understanding approach sees it as based on misunderstandings. The best metaphor for the skills approach is a toolbox; the metaphor for the dispositions approach is deep currents, "invisible and with a definite direction, sweeping our intellectual behaviors"; the metaphor for the understanding approach is a closely-woven net - "good thinking is the ability to play with ideas and manipulate them in the net in which they are bound." If efficient thinking is the goal of the skills approach, wise thinking is the goal of the dispositions approach and learned thinking is the goal of the understanding approach.

                  It's impossible to pursue all three approaches, says Harpaz. "Practically (and logically), combining the three is not possible," he writes, "because a teacher cannot teach simultaneously according to the three patterns of teaching thinking." So which is best? The understanding approach, he believes, is the place to begin - but the skills and dispositions approaches can find a place under its umbrella. "The understanding approach," he concludes, "must impart and cultivate both of these in the framework of its own aims and means. Skills must be imparted in an authentic context in which learners/researchers experience them as essential for developing their understanding; dispositions must be cultivated through embodying them in ongoing behavior, dealing with them in adequate opportunities, and experiencing intellectual activity that invites them."

                  "Approaches to Teaching Thinking: Toward a Conceptual Mapping of the Field" by Yoram Harpaz in Teachers College Record, August 2007 (Vol. 109, #8, p. 1845-1874) 

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                  Q & A: THE JEFFERSON MATH PROJECT 

                  During his rookie year as a math teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School, Cohort 6 Fellow Steven Sibol was struck by the disparity between his teaching practices and the State's assessment practices. So following his first Math A Regents exam in January 2004, he teamed up with another Fellow, Steve Watson, to compile and categorize exam questions in order to provide New York City math teachers with the resources to simplify the integration of exam questions into their curriculum.

                  The result was the Jefferson Math Project (JMAP), a non-profit initiative that debuted as a website in March 2005 with 611 Math A Regents questions sorted by topic and downloadable in one book. Today, JMAP has expanded to include a database of 1,603 Math A/B questions sorted by topic, Prentice Hall textbook chapter, standard, date, and type. Endorsed by Chancellor Joel Klein, JMAP produced CD-ROMs for every high school math teacher in the city during 2005, and Sibol conducted workshops as part of the NYCTF Math Immersion program that same year.  

                  Sibol, who serves as the editor and publisher, talks about JMAP's evolution, how you can utilize it, and what's next. You can access these great resources yourself at www.jmap.org. 

                  How has JMAP evolved since its launch?
                  JMAP's next advance used the technology available with the Worksheet Builder software to develop worksheets with the Regents questions in random order, [which has become] JMAP's most popular resource. The website's next major expansion was Interdisciplinary JMAP, providing easy access to Regents exams in subjects other than math. Additionally, worksheets were developed with applied mathematics questions from Regents exams in the sciences and social studies, providing math teachers with extensive cross-curriculum resources.
                   
                  The latest iteration of JMAP (the ninth) looks both to the past and forward. Looking back, the website now provides access to Math Regents Exams dating from 1948. Looking forward, JMAP 1603 includes resources for the new Integrated Algebra curriculum as well as the Math Regents exams and the worksheets by topic in PowerPoint slides. This gives teachers an easier format to present JMAP in the classroom using the latest projector technology.  

                  What is the best way for teachers to utilize JMAP?
                  JMAP provides such a variety of resources (pacing calendars, lesson plans, books, worksheets, exams, etc.), that there are many best ways to utilize JMAP, depending upon a teacher's style. Teachers may visit the website early in the school year and download a book containing all the questions sorted by topic. The teacher may reference this JMAP book to ensure his lesson planning covers the topics on the exams. Alternatively, the teacher might copy the book to distribute to students. Other teachers may visit the website daily to download the same questions one topic at a time as worksheets. Similar options are available to teachers who want the Regents questions sorted according to the chapters in the Prentice Hall textbooks. Students may find these same resources useful to review for a Regents exam. JMAP's lesson plans summarize some of the big ideas for each topic in Word format so teacher's can edit the lesson plans to their specific classroom needs.

                  Regents week is a particularly busy time for the Website.  Teachers can access instructions published by the New York State Education Department on how to administer, proctor and grade Regents exams. JMAP also publishes preliminary scans of the Regents exams with answer keys so students can quickly determine how they performed on exams the previous day.

                  How have your teaching methods been influenced by your work with JMAP? 
                  A study of JMAP's distribution of 1,603 Regents exam questions among 139 different topics reveals the relative importance of the topics. One can also note trends in the type of questions asked on a certain topic. No other resource provides this level of detail and in such a timely fashion as JMAP.

                  How will you continue to expand the site? 
                  Every January, June, and August brings an expansion of JMAP's database of Regents questions. JMAP's immediate focus will continue to be on developing resources to assist New York math teachers in the transition from the Math A/B curriculum to the Integrated Algebra/Geometry/Algebra 2 and Trigonometry curriculum. My experience writing questions for the new Integrated Algebra Regents exam will prove useful in this effort. JMAP is also working with the NYC DOE's Office of Curriculum and Professional Development in securing permission from Prentice Hall to integrate JMAP into its new software, ExamView.