Troubled Teens Explore Their Artistic Side

Program for juvenile offenders fosters creativity, literacy, and freedom of expression through hip-hop.
http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=849

Hip-Hop Helps Teach Everything from English to Algebra

Like many 16-year-olds, Amir Ali spends a lot of time after school talking with friends about sports, girls, and music — specifically, hip-hop music. But last year, during his sophomore year at Lynwood High School, in Lynwood, California, Ali noticed a drastic shift in these spirited afternoon after-school conversations.

http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=848

Students learning math lessons using hip-hop

check out this project based learning …
http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=847

$3.5 Billion in Title I School Improvement Grants

.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the final requirements for $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement grants to turn around the nation’s lowest performing schools. The applications are now available.

http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=841

What Makes A Teacher Qualified

NPR: American schools have been trying for decades to improve teacher quality, with mixed results. Over the next year, we will explore those efforts, and look at the latest crop of teachers entering the profession.

http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=838

Mental Imagery Aids Perceptual Learning

Perceptual learning — learning by repeated exposure to a stimulus — can occur by mental imagery as much as by the real thing. http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=839

Free Packets: student participation, teacher development

If you want to get some new ideas, without spending any money, then check out two packets for K12 teachers. One focuses on service learning and the other provides strategies to improve student participation.

http://www.educationreporting.com/index2.php

Bring reality to your classroom and having fun too

I have two gems to share with you today …..

1. Making math real: “How can four friends share six cookies equally?”
http://www.educationreporting.com/viewArticleDetails.php?id=817

2. Five star teacher blog: from toys to tools – how to use cell phones in class.
http://www.educationreporting.com/index.php#blogs

Jack

The invisible key is relevance …….

I’m displaying 15 links below to provide lesson relevance and skill building for K12 teachers…

….. no worries about your political party these days ….. seems everyone has gripes about the Feds “improving education” and what they do … or don’t do ….. been dat way ever since the Dept. of Ed got created.

….. with K12 ed our kids suffer the losses as nothing gets done to produce, enforce, and fund sutainable K12 improvements ….. as more and more double sided rhetoric gets stimulated.

… unfortunately our government – like any large corporation, or even school district, that’s outta control – has become bloated with 1) powerful folks voting their own agendas instead of what serves a sensible solution, 2) domineering special interests groups wanting to take control, and 3) disturbing political agenda groups twisting facts and figures….it gonna be a while to see what’s capitulated.

No doubt, there is a bumpy road ahead for K12 education while teachers are left to steer the course and dig the trenches. Well, the Los Angeles school district has taken matters – a link to that news is below – into their own hands ….let’s see what they’re gonna have articulated.

Click here to read the newsletter.

The project learning and service learning RSS feed is updated with new resources;
http://www.educationreporting.com/greenschool.xml

Jack

Teaching and innovation – the right mix – with evidence

I’m combing the web to bring you the nuggets that juice up teaching skills to electrify lesson and jolt critical thinkin’ opportunities ….

…. no worries about your time …. it won’t take hours to read thiese and grab some insights.

1. Segway inventor Dean Kamen highlights the flaws in American science education as he discusses how to use innovation in class rooms. Click Here.

2. The strong performance of Cleveland’s schools using innovation schools are compared to other public schools citywide. Click Here.

3. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina four years ago brought with it many changes for this city, but perhaps its most enduring mark may be the new charter school system that came cascading in during the storm’s aftermath.  Click Here.

You can get thousands of free learning games resources here http://www.educationreporting.com/Education_Games.xml

Jack