Authentic assessments are assignments that are or mimic real-world problems, and require students to apply the stuff they should have learned to solving them. I’m using projects like the draining of a bottle and carpet friction experiments to assess if my students truly understand why they do algebra and calculus, and are able to apply the techniques they’ve learned.

Formative assessment happens during learning, usually in the classroom. Students do something, like an assignment, and get immediate feedback on what they did. A teacher walking around from student to student or group to group, following what the students are doing and helping students identify which concepts they’re not getting, is a typical example of formative assessment.

Authentic Assessment In contrast, authentic assessment (AA) springs from the following reasoning and practice: 1. A school's mission is to develop productive citizens. 2. To be a productive citizen, an individual must be capable of performing meaningful tasks in the real world. 3. Therefore, schools must help students become proficient at performing the tasks they will encounter when they graduate. 4. To determine if it is successful, the school must then ask students to perform meaningful tasks that replicate real world challenges to see if students are capable of doing so. Thus, in AA, assessment drives the curriculum.  That is, teachers first determine the tasks that students will perform to demonstrate their mastery, and then a curriculum is developed that will enable students to perform those tasks well, which would include the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills.  This has been referred to as planning backwards (e.g., McDonald, 1992). If I were a golf instructor and I taught the skills required to perform well, I would not assess my students' performance by giving them a multiple choice test.  I would put them out on the golf course and ask them to perform.  Although this is obvious with athletic skills, it is also true for academic subjects.  We can teach students how to do math, do history and do science, not just know them.  Then, to assess what our students had learned, we can ask students to perform tasks that "replicate the challenges" faced by those using mathematics, doing history or conducting scientific investigation.

A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills -- Jon Mueller

Thus, it is recommended (e.g., Wiggins, 1998) that multiple and varied assessments be used so that 1) a sufficient number of samples are obtained (multiple), and 2) a sufficient variety of measures are used (varied). Variety of measurement can be accomplished by assessing the students through different measures that allows you to see them apply what they have learned in different ways and from different perspectives. Typically, you will be more confident in the students' grasp of the material if they can do so.

For example, when presented with a real-world problem to solve, students are learning in the process of developing a solution, teachers are facilitating the process, and the students' solutions to the problem becomes an assessment of how well the students can meaningfully apply the concepts.

Authentic Assessment Toolbox

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT ¢Situated in real-life experiences or scenarios ¢Based on multiple forms of measurement, including observation and documentation ¢Considers the life experiences, culture, personality, and dispositions of children ¢Occurs over time in multiple contexts ¢Informs practice ¢Must include teacher reflection to be effective (Ratcliff, 2001/2002) ¢May feel overwhelming to teachers unless naturally integrated into daily life of classroom ¢Children are still learning during assessment times ¢Standardized test data should inform authentic assessment data and visa versa

Authentic assessment is a powerful tool for early childhood educators to analyze information gathered during everyday classroom activities and routines in order to understand each unique child’s development. Consistent and comprehensive reflection on observation notes, photos, artistic creations, emergent writing, and dictations provides teachers with meaningful insight about each child and about the group as a whole. With this insight, teachers can plan activities and experiences that are responsive to children’s interests and needs. Teachers can share their understanding of each child’s growth with his or her family, while also gaining important insight from them in return.

Using authentic assessment to ground teachers’ understanding of children’s development in a collection of evidence that strives for objectivity and that is visible and accessible by others can help early childhood teachers to reduce implicit biases.

HP: Have you gotten backlash from art history purists? HW: Not that I’m aware of; they’re probably working on other things! Of course, there are occasional Internet comments that are unflattering. Someone might, for example, think something about the piece should have been done differently, or, less kindly, accuse me of copying something from somewhere. But to head any purist’s critique off at the pass, I’d refer them to the brilliant video series, “Everything Is A Remix.”

Have you ever looked at a classical work of art and thought you just couldn’t relate to the subject matter? Enter Hillary White, an imaginative illustrator who isn’t afraid to merge Raphael — the Renaissance painter — with Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. We’ve fallen hard for White’s hilarious series of “Pop Reinterpretations“ introducing works by Da Vinci, Goya and Bosch to the likes of Spiderman, R2D2 and Lady Gaga.

Remixing Pedagogy: How Teachers ExperienceRemix as a Tool for Teaching English LanguageArts

As always, almost everything anyone does to get a living out of the arts won’t work – the Internet doesn’t change that. What it does change is how many ways there are to make things, and to get them into other people’s hands and minds. It changes how many people can participate in culture and satisfy their creative urges.”

In music, and the arts more generally, collaboration has always been a boon to creativity, and the communications revolution has bolstered this in new ways. Specifically, it has allowed remix and mash-up culture to flourish like never before,

The World Wide Web was made public domain only a few months after MOSAIC was released.

We need to transition from consumption to creation of digital content, from students as consumers to students as creators of digital content. When students create digital content that they value, they are much more likely to be engaged. With greater engagement, they commit themselves more fully to learning so their learning is deeper and more enduring.

Construction is equal parts inspiration and perspiration. Construction calls on creativity as well as persistence, flexibility, and revision. Construction asks our students and teachers to focus on the power and patience employed during work process…and not just the final resultant work product. Construction also brings in the role of groups of learners in the process of learning and as a result includes elements of social and cognitive constructivism. Learners are encouraged to be creative as they build and revise content. They should look to see if it meets their needs and how representative it is to other elements of online information. But, most importantly, they are to use the expertise of other students and the teacher in the classroom.

Working online is a fluid experience which calls for flexible learners.

The goal of inquiry-based teaching is to “stimulate children’s innate curiosity and capacity for investigating” (Forbes, 2010, p.132).  

Early Learning STEM LessonsUnit 2:Building Structures and Exploring ShapesThis unit was developed by the Bremerton School District in partnership with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and funded through grantsfrom the Boeing Company and EPA Region 10 to support Early Learning STEM Education.The Early Learning STEM units are designed for educators, teachers, and childcare providers touse with children between the ages of 3-5

is all about change. The season is changing. The weather (in most places) is changing. Change is all around us and it's deliciously intoxicating. Though many people think of the New Year as a time for change, a time to make resolutions, I've always thought of fall as a great time to change things up. I guess this comes from the fact that, as a kid, fall is the new (school) year. After years and years of getting used to the idea that things would be new in September, I've kind of gotten used to thinking of fall as a time for new beginnings, and that's one of the most wonderful things about this time of year

FALL SCIENCE ACTIVITIES AND STEM CHALLENGES

This season marks three years ago that we tried an awesome Pumpkin-Cano Science Experiment! It also lead to an Erupting Apple Volcano! Baking soda science is one of the best science experiments for the beginner or young scientist! You can build so many themes around this basic science activity. This year we are checking out erupting mini pumpkin volcanos fall science activity! 

This lesson marries Music and STEM creating STEAM for kindergarten! I used the song "5 Little Pumpkins" for a music component by having the kids learn the words and actions that go along with it. Then I tied it to one of our learning centre activities. In this learning centre kids had to build a structure to hold at least 5 little pumpkins. The kids had a lot of fun and came up with many very interesting designs.

Indian Corn Math and Art Thanksgiving Project

Fun, Hands-On Apple STEAM Activities for Preschoolers

Among the skills that can be developed and enhanced in preK and kindergarten classes are four that have been identified as critical to the success of 21st century workers: creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. These can all be integrated into STEAM-related projects, along with other key skills such as analyzing information.

1. Problem-Based The first puzzle piece in creating an amazing STEAM unit is to select a problem for students to solve. A problem-based project creates a setting for processing skills, such as collaboration, analyzing, and modeling, to take place. This can also help create a context for learning. Examples of problem-based STEAM scenarios: For Elementary Students: How can we create an outdoor “green” MakerSpace that will connect to our existing playground and be able to withstand our city’s year-round weather conditions?

One study found that during unstructured free play, four- and five-year-old children spent almost half of their time engaged in math-related activity. Play often involves math language and thinking, even though math isn’t the focus of their activity. Children talk about things like, “How much is a lot?” and “How little is little?” They often use their body to show size, such as stretching their arms to show how big a pumpkin is or holding fingers close together to show that something was “a little bit sc a r y.”This early play with math ideas and concepts lay the foundation for the development of more complex math and science skills later on

Math is number and operations, measurement, patterns, geometry and spatial sense. From birth until age five, children explore everyday mathematics, including informal knowledge of “more” and “less,” shape, size, sequencing, volume, and distance. Math is a tool children use every day!

Music is also linked to STEAM skills such as pattern recognition and numeration. Research shows that early experience with creative arts supports cognitive development and increases self-esteem

Active and self-guided discovery is core to the arts and to STEAM learning. Children engage in painting, pretend play, music, and drawing. Art is sensory exploration.

Engineering applies science, math, and technology to solving problems. Engineering is using materials, designing, crafting, and building – it helps us understand how and why things work.

the “T” in technology also stands for any type of man-made object. Technology includes simple tools such as pulleys, wheels, levers, scissors, and ramps. They support children’s cognitive development, because as children play with these tools, they observe and learn from the underlying cause and effect.These simpler technologies allow children to understand how tools help us accomplish tasks.

The findings from this study suggest that students learn online reading comprehension skills best from other students, within the context of challenging activities designed by the teacher. Increased levels of challenge appeared to prompt students to try multiple approaches to making sense of complex information and encouraged them to think deeply about solving problems."

In short, online reading is online research. Second, online reading also becomes tightly integrated with writing, as we communicate with others to learn more about the questions we explore and as we communicate our own interpretations. A third difference that exists is that new technologies . . . are used online. Additional skills are required to use each of these technologies effectively. . . ."Finally, and perhaps most importantly, online reading may require even greater amounts of higher-level thinking than offline reading. In a context in which anyone may publish anything, higher-level thinking skills such as critical evaluation of source material and understanding an author's point of view become especially important online."

has found that good reading in print doesn’t necessarily translate to good reading on-screen. The students do not only differ in their abilities and preferences; they also need different sorts of training to excel at each medium. The online world, she argues, may require students to exercise much greater self-control than a physical book. 'In reading on paper, you may have to monitor yourself once, to actually pick up the book,' she says. 'On the Internet, that monitoring and self-regulation cycle happens again and again.'"

he found that several things had changed. On screen, people tended to browse and scan, to look for keywords, and to read in a less linear, more selective fashion. On the page, they tended to concentrate more on following the text. Skimming, Liu concluded, had become the new reading: the more we read online, the more likely we were to move quickly, without stopping to ponder any one thought. . . .

Online reading is the process of extracting meaning from a text that is in a digital format. Also called digital reading. Most researchers agree that the experience of reading online (whether on a PC or a mobile device) is fundamentally different from the experience of reading print materials. As discussed below, however, the nature and quality of these different experiences (as well as the particular skills required for proficiency) are still being debated and explored.

found that 43% of Americans and 48% of those between the ages of 18 and 29 read lengthy texts, such as newspapers or books, digitally—a number expected to increase exponentially (Stephens, 2014). These figures raise the fundamental question of how the use of such digital reading materials might potentially alter perceptions of what it means to read and the comprehension that results, for better or for worse.

Having knowledge and understanding of the various texts and tools available is important for using them intentionally. Being literate means making choices and using texts and tools in ways that match purpose. It also means thinking about texts and tools in new ways. Do learners seek out texts that consider multiple perspectives and broaden their understanding of the world? Do learners critically analyze a variety of information and ideas from a variety of sources? Do learners choose texts and tools to consume, create, and share ideas that match their need and audience? Do learners create new ideas using knowledge and insights gained? Do learners analyze the credibility of information, authorial intent, and its appropriateness in meeting their needs? Do learners use information and the ideas of others to solve problems and make decisions as informed citizens? Do learners strive to see limitations and overlaps between multiple streams of information? Do learners gain new perspectives because of the texts they interact with? Do learners use tools to deepen understandings, to share ideas, and to build on others’ thinking? Do learners develop new skills strategies to meet the challenge of new texts and tools?

The internet is one of the primary information sources of the modern era, making it a necessity for learners to understand how to participate and navigate the networked world. Building and utilizing connections between people, ideas, and information provides opportunities for them to be critical consumers of information, builds agency in their own work, and prepares them for the global world beyond the classroom. Do learners select, evaluate, and use digital tools and resources that match the work they are doing? Are learners critical, savvy producers and consumers? Do learners build and utilize a network of groups and individuals that reflect varying views as they analyze, create, and remix texts? Do learners analyze information for authorial intent, positioning, and how language, visuals, and audio are being used? Do learners find relevant and reliable sources that meet their needs? Do learners take risks and try new things with tools available to them? Do learners, independently and collaboratively, persist in solving problems as they arise in their work? Do learners use a variety of tools effectively and efficiently? Do learners select and use appropriate tools and modalities for audience and purpose? Do learners take responsibility for communicating their ideas in a variety of ways with different modalities and clear intentions?

L o w e r c a s e t h e o r i e s e x p l o r e a s p e c i f i c a r e a o f n e w literacies and/or a new technology, such as the social communicative transactions occurring with text mes-saging (e.g., Lewis & Fabos, 2005 ). Lowercase perspec-tives also include those that explore a focused disciplinary base, such as the semiotics of multimodal-ity in online media (e.g., Kress, 2003 ); a distinctive con-ceptual approach, such as new literacy studies (Street, 1 9 9 5 , 2 0 0 3 ) ; o r o n l i n e l i t e r a c i e s w i t h i n a s p e c i f i c d e v e l -opmental level (e.g., Alvermann, Hutchins, & McDevitt, 2012 ; Marsh, 2011

. These lowercase theories are better able to keep up with the rapidly changing nature of lit-eracy in a deictic world because they are closer to the specific types of changes that are taking place

How can adequate theory be developed when the object that we seek to study is itself ephemeral, continuously being redefined by a changing context? Recently, a dual-level theory of New Literacies has been proposed to re-spond to this problem (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Castek, & Henry, 2013 ). It conceptualizes new literacies on two levels: uppercase (New Literacies) and lowercase (new literacies). We used both levels of New Literacies theory to frame this study

Is there an achievement gap for online reading ability based on in-come inequality that is independent of the achievement gap in traditional, off line reading?

). Despite attempts at policy remedies, a sub-stantial gap based on income inequality continues to exist in students’ reading achievement levels (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2011b , 2013 ), and evidence indicates that it is growing, over time (Reardon, 2013 ).

What Is an Essential Question?

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Kindergarten Mathematics AssessmentKindergarten Summative Assessment Page 89The Kindergarten PortfolioThe tasks included in this section are meant as culminating events that are given atthe end of the academic year.As students progress through the enormous changes that a year in Kindergarten impliesit is of great importance that their struggles, progress and successes be well-documented. Research tells us that students at this age make enormous, uneven stridesin both social and academic development. This fact alone demands that schools keepaccurate records of students’ work and convey these documents to subsequent teachers

54 different examples of formative assessment.

Printable Apple Taste Test & Coloring Page

Fun facts about apples Apple trees are 4 or 5 years old before they actually have apples. Apple are members of the rose family. The first apple tree in the United States was planted by the pilgrims when they came to the United States from Europe. It takes about 36 apples to make 1 gallon of apple cider. Apple trees can live to be about 100 years old. China grows more apples than any other country in the world. Apples have to be picked by hand when it is time to harvest them. Apples are amazing!

The criteria you put in your assessment will guide students toward the content and skills you want them to learn. You might even want to get their input before you finalize the project’s assessment.Be sure that your assessment gives students lots of leeway in how they investigate and share their projects. Every project should turn out differently. As Chris Lehmann says, “If you assign a project and you get back 30 of the exact same thing, that’s not a project, that’s a recipe.”

Below is a checklist to help you refine your question. You might not be able to check off all the items, but the more the merrier! ‼️ The question is appealing to students.🗜 The question is concise. 💦 The question has no easy answer. 😍 The question taps into students’ interests and passions. 💤 The question does not sound like a test question. 💗 The question leads to more questions. 🔀 There is more than one answer to the question. 🔰 The topic is personal or local.🏡 Students can relate to the question in their daily lives.🤔  Students will have choices for end products. 💬 There is an authentic audience for the project.🕵️‍♀️ The question requires serious investigation. ℹ️ Students will learn important skills and content.💥 The project will somehow make a difference in the world.

📐 Solve a Problem: There’s a real-world predicament with multiple solutions.How can we stop phantom traffic jams?How can we beautify the vacant lot across the street for $200?What’s the best way to stop the flu at our school?Design a better lunch menu for our school.Design a safe and sturdy bridge to replace one in our city.🎓 Educational: The purpose of the project is to teach others.How can we teach second graders about helpful insects.Create a campaign to teach senior citizens how to use an iPad.What do the students at our school need to know about being respectful?👍 Convince Others: Students persuade a specified audience to do something or change their opinions.Create a public service announcement (PSA) that persuades teens to drink more water.Drive yourself to define a question and then Prove It to your classmates.Convince grocery shoppers to return their shopping carts.How can we convince our principal that we should have a party in December?🌏 Broad Theme: The project tackles big ideas.What does it mean to read?How does conflict lead to change?How does math influence art?How do writers persuade others?How are good and evil depicted in different cultures?💬 Opinion: Students need to consider all sides of an issue in order to form and justify their opinions.Should pets be allowed to attend class?Why has a woman never been a U.S. president?What makes a good astronaut?🚥 Divergent: Students make predictions about alternative timelines and scenarios.What if Rosa Parks gave up her seat?What if the world ran out of oil tomorrow?How might your city change if the climate became an average of 10°F warmer?What if the USA switched to the metric system?🚀 Scenario-Based: Students take on a fictional role with a mission to accomplish.You’re a NASA engineer, and you are in charge of building a moon base. What are the ten most important things to include and why?Imagine that you are King George. What would you have done differently to keep American part of England?You are the CEO of a company that is designing a new social media app. Present a business plan to your investors that explains how your company will make money.You’ve been hired to revamp your local shopping mall. Come up with a plan to increase business.How would you spend $1,000,000 to help your community?🚧 Scaffolded Around Framing Words: BIE has a tool to help you develop driving questions called a Tubric. It provides possible framing words, actions, audience, and purpose. If you’d rather not take the time to construct a tube, you could use Rhoni McFarlane’s Developing Inquiry Questions chart, Amy Mayer’s Scaffold for Writing a Driving Question, or TeachThought's PBL Cheat Sheet.How can I create a campaign to reduce bullying in my school? (from Rhoni McFarlane)How can we find a solution to reduce the litter in our school permanently? (also from Rhoni McFarlane)How can we as first graders create geocaching sites to promote physical fitness in our neighborhood? (from Washington Discovery Academy)

Driving questions pose simply stated real world dilemmas. They pose predicaments that students find interesting and actually want to answer. The question drives students to discuss, inquire, and investigate the topic. It should push them toward a production or solution. In the process of investigating the question and sharing their answers, students learn important content and skills.  

it’s not surprising that we have a variety of other terms for a question or statement that is the project’s driving force. These terms include essential question, challenge, prime question, WILD HOG question, focus question, and smart question. I’ll stick with driving question, but do know that sometimes the driving question is not interrogative. It might be a statement, but I’ll still refer to is as a question.

Projects begin with a driving question—an open-ended question that sets the stage for the project by creating interest and curiosity.

Here are a few guidelines for parents to consider: In terms of social interaction, a child who is kindergarten-ready should be able to play and work well with others and know how to cooperate and share (both with physical objects and with ideas). While some children are slow to warm to others, particularly if they don't have siblings, it's best if they are at least willing to participate in group activities such as singing, rhyming, and talking. For the most part, a child who is in kindergarten will be expected to listen to the teacher and to other children, be able to pay attention and follow directions, and have some level of self-control, particularly in a group setting.

understanding of other cultures, and other people seems to be more critical than ever. In addition to learning about other countries and cultures, children need to learn early about the ways in which countries and people are connected. This includes an understanding of history and economics. It's not that children will learn all about world history or even all about the history of their own country and certainly not that they will learn all about economic theory. However, they can begin to learn some basics. We can think of this learning as "social science readiness."

Usually, before kindergarten, most children can use words they've learned from conversations with others or by being read to. Throughout the academic year, your child's speech will become more structured and understandable, and reading and writing skills will emerge and advance. As the school year goes on, children should be able to understand basic sentence structure and punctuation. They will learn, for example, that the first word in a sentence is capitalized and that sentences end in periods, question marks, or exclamation points. Most kindergarteners learn to print letters in both lower- and uppercase. During kindergarten, children also learn to use question words, such as who, what, when, where, why and how, as well as how to make words plural by adding an 's' or "es". They also learn how to use common nouns and prepositions. By the end of kindergarten, most children can learn to read age-appropriate books by themselves, and your child might like to have you listen while he or she reads out loud at home.

In kindergarten math, children learn the names of numbers and how to count them in sequence. They begin to become familiar with numbers 11-19. They should also be able to count objects and begin an introduction to geometry by learning to recognize and name shapes such as triangles, rectangles, circles, and squares. Kindergartens begin to learn the concepts of addition and subtraction, respectively, as "putting together and adding to" and "taking apart and taking from," according to the Common Core State Math Standards.

What can you expect your child to learn about science by the end of kindergarten? In general, they will learn some basics of the physical sciences, Earth sciences, life sciences, and scientific principles of investigation and experimentation. Children are encouraged to develop their curiosity about the world around them and to make observations. As they are introduced to science, children develop organized and analytical thinking as well as problem-solving skills.

1. PersistingHave students identify characteristics of persistence shown by individuals in well-known events, or imagine what might have occurred if more or less persistence was shown in a given scenario.2. Managing ImpulsivityModel the use of patience in the classroom, including wait time during discussion, or using helpful sentence stems that reflect intentional choice (such as "After reviewing all of the possible solutions . . . ").3. Listening to Others with Understanding and EmpathyIdentify the most common "listening set-asides" in conversation so that students can begin to recognize common "errors" that occur in everyday communication. These errors might include comparing, judging, placating or giving advice instead of really listening and understanding a message.4. Thinking FlexiblyUse RAFT assignments (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) where students must consider a situation, letter, speech or poem from a perspective other than their own, or that of the original speakers.5. Thinking About Our Thinking (Metacognition)Ask students to map out their own thinking process. This can be done simply at first, e.g., diagramming the relationship between a want and a need, a gesture and a need to gesture. Then make it increasingly complex -- mapping out how characters from books or thinkers in history might have arrived at certain starting or stopping points in thought.6. Striving for Accuracy and PrecisionUse "three before me," a strategy that insists on any important assignment being checked by at least three other people before being handed in.7. Questioning and Posing ProblemsCreate a "parking lot" area in the classroom -- stocked with post-it notes -- where students can post questions that may not fit into the pace or format of a given class. Then highlight the better questions periodically, or use them as jumping off points for discussion or even lesson planning.8. Applying Past Knowledge to New SituationsUse question stems like "What do you remember about . . . ?", "When have you ever seen anything like this?" or "Tell me what you know about . . . " Whether you consider this activating schema, prior knowledge, or simply getting students more comfortable and in tune with what they already know, it can be a huge boost to the learning process.9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and PrecisionRemind students to avoid the vagueness and abstraction -- and imprecision -- of terms like always, never, all, everybody, teachers, celebrities, technology, they, we, should and must. Post these kinds of words or phrases where students can be reminded of them -- and know to avoid them. And hopefully know why they should avoid them.10. Gathering Data Through All SensesPlayfully allow students to "cite" sources from sensory data in addition to traditional textual sources. Also consider including the compelling use of such data in a rubric for formal assessment.11. Creating, Imagining and InnovatingOffer persistent sources of inspiring thought, design, art or multimedia through writing prompts, discussion points or simply as a daily class closure. This models not only creativity, but also expertise, and is readily available on YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.12. Responding with Wonderment and AweDon't just allow opportunities for student choice in topics, formats or learning pathways -- insist on it. Refuse to move the class forward until they are bringing their own passions into the learning experience.13. Taking Responsible RisksCreate an environment where failure is analyzed, not punished.14. Finding HumorPoint out humor where it is not immediately apparent, especially in stories and examples from your own life. This can help establish the "relativity" of "things," which supports more accurate analysis. Humor makes everything better.15. Thinking InterdependentlyUsing digital and social media imposes at least a topical need for interdependence from the beginning. The more thinking is published and shared, the more opportunity there will be for cognitive interdependence, though even opportunities aren't guarantees that it will happen.16. Learning ContinuouslyIntermittently revisit old ideas, writing and projects to identify areas for development, improvement or revision. This is especially natural in digital domains, where content is more fluid -- updated, shared, hyperlinked, curated, reformatted into more or less visual terms, then shared again.

The Habits of Mind by Art Costa and Bena Kallick don't simply represent fragments of practice to "add on" to what you already do, but rather new ways to think about how people learn.

the Habits of Mind that (often predictably) lead to success or failure in the mastery of given standards. In fact, it is not in the standards or assessments, but rather these personal habits where success or failure -- in academic terms -- actually begin.

Habits of Mind are dispositions that are skillfully and mindfully employed by characteristically intelligent, successful people when they are confronted with problems, the solutions to which are not immediately apparent. When we draw upon these mental resources, the results are more powerful, of higher quality, and of greater significance than if we fail to employ those habits.

What Are Habits of Mind? According to Kallick and Costa, the Habits of Mind are less about behavior and more about intent. A “Habit of Mind” means having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known. When humans experience dichotomies, are confused by dilemmas, or come face to face with uncertainties–our most effective actions require drawing forth certain patterns of intellectual behavior. When we draw upon these intellectual resources, the results that are produced through are more powerful, of higher quality and greater significance than if we fail to employ those patterns of intellectual behaviors.

HABITS OF MIND

Expectations for instruction, assessment, and student work are called Performance Standards. These incorporate Content Standards and define the level of work that demonstrates achievement of the standards. Performance standards isolate and identify skills needed for problem-solving, reasoning, communicating, and making connections with other information. They provide all constituents with the evidences that students have met the content standards, helping teachers define what level of work is satisfactory.

Broad statements that describe specific content areas that groups of students should learn at each grade level are called Content Standards. They define the knowledge within each discipline.

Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages through verbal or nonverbal means, including speech, or oral communication; writing and graphical representations (such as infographics, maps, and charts); and signs, signals, and behavior.

To break it down, in any communication there is a sender and a receiver, a message, and interpretations of meaning on both ends. The receiver gives feedback to the sender of the message, both during the message's conveyance and afterward. Feedback signals can be verbal or nonverbal, such as nodding in agreement or looking away and sighing or other myriad gestures. There's also the context of the message, the environment it's given in, and potential for interference during its sending or receipt. 

Impacts of TPACK:Impact on the Teacher: It is important for the teacher to be completely up to date and knowledgeable with the curriculum and the components of TPCK to effectively incorporate it into their lessons.Impacts on the Students: Students of the millennium work better through technology and quite often find the content and direct teaching quite stale. Therefore by adding the technology component to the already existing PCK model the students become more engaged in their learning.

TPACK is an essential part of the education system today as it incorporates the growing demand on the use of technology in the classroom as well as continuing the focus on the content and how we teach it. Therefore it sets up education for the future as well as setting up the students for their future.

The SAMR model considers four levels of integration: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. The TPACK model addresses the interaction of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge and how they relate to teaching in a technology-enhanced learning environment.

The SAMR model was created by Ruben Puentedura, and provides some context for assessing the quality of the technology task that we integrate into learning. 

Filtering instructional planning through the TPACK model should serve to eliminate frivolous or irrelevant use of technology, and inspire teachers to make deeper connections to all aspects of effective instruction.

Academically Oriented Connected learning recognizes the importance of academic success for intellectual growth and as an avenue towards economic and political opportunity. When academic studies and institutions draw from and connect to young people’s peer culture, communities and interest-driven pursuits, learners flourish and realize their true potential.

Openly Networked Connected learning environments link learning in school, home and community because learners achieve best when their learning is reinforced and supported in multiple settings. Online platforms can make learning resources abundant, accessible and visible across all learner settings.

Peer Supported Connected learning thrives in a socially meaningful and knowledge-rich ecology of ongoing participation, self-expression and recognition. In their everyday exchanges with peers and friends, young people fluidly contribute, share and give feedback. Powered with possibilities made available by today’s social media, this peer culture can produce learning that’s engaging and powerful.

While wealthy families are embracing the potential of new technologies for learning, and investing more and more in out-of-school and connected learning, less privileged kids are being left behind

Connected learning is when someone is pursuing a personal interest with the support of peers, mentors and caring adults, and in ways that open up opportunities for them. It is a fundamentally different mode of learning than education centered on fixed subjects, one-to-many instruction, and standardized testing. The research is clear. Young people learn best when actively engaged, creating, and solving problems they care about, and supported by peers who appreciate and recognize their accomplishments.

Principles of Connected Learning

when the topic is personally interesting and relevant, learners achieve much higher-order learning outcomes. Connected learning views interests and passions that are developed in a social context as essential elements.

Connected learning is when someone is pursuing a personal interest with the support of peers, mentors and caring adults, and in ways that open up opportunities for them. I

Instead, TPACK is the basis of effective teaching with technology, requiring an understanding of the representation of concepts using technologies; pedagogical techniques that use technologies in constructive ways to teach content; knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help redress some of the problems that students face; knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and theories of epistemology; and knowledge of how technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge to develop new epistemologies or strengthen old ones. By simultaneously integrating knowledge of technology, pedagogy and content, expert teachers bring TPACK into play any time they teach. Each situation presented to teachers is a unique combination of these three factors, and accordingly, there is no single technological solution that applies for every teacher, every course, or every view of teaching. Rather, solutions lie in the ability of a teacher to flexibly navigate the spaces defined by the three elements of content, pedagogy, and technology and the complex interactions among these elements in specific contexts.

TPACK is an emergent form of knowledge that goes beyond all three “core” components (content, pedagogy, and technology). Technological pedagogical content knowledge is an understanding that emerges from interactions among content, pedagogy, and technology knowledge.

Thus, TPK requires a forward-looking, creative, and open-minded seeking of technology use, not for its own sake but for the sake of advancing student learning and understanding.

An understanding of the affordances of technology and how they can be leveraged differently according to changes in context and purposes is an important part of understanding TPK.

TPK is an understanding of how teaching and learning can change when particular technologies are used in particular ways. This includes knowing the pedagogical affordances and constraints of a range of technological tools as they relate to disciplinarily and developmentally appropriate pedagogical designs and strategies. To build TPK, a deeper understanding of the constraints and affordances of technologies and the disciplinary contexts within which they function is needed.

TCK, then, is an understanding of the manner in which technology and content influence and constrain one another. Teachers need to master more than the subject matter they teach; they must also have a deep understanding of the manner in which the subject matter (or the kinds of representations that can be constructed) can be changed by the application of particular technologies. Teachers need to understand which specific technologies are best suited for addressing subject-matter learning in their domains and how the content dictates or perhaps even changes the technology—or vice versa.

FITness goes beyond traditional notions of computer literacy to require that persons understand information technology broadly enough to apply it productively at work and in their everyday lives, to recognize when information technology can assist or impede the achievement of a goal, and to continually adapt to changes in information technology. FITness, therefore, requires a deeper, more essential understanding and mastery of information technology for information processing, communication, and problem solving than does the traditional definition of computer literacy. Acquiring TK in this manner enables a person to accomplish a variety of different tasks using information technology and to develop different ways of accomplishing a given task

PCK is consistent with and similar to Shulman’s idea of knowledge of pedagogy that is applicable to the teaching of specific content. Central to Shulman’s conceptualization of PCK is the notion of the transformation of the subject matter for teaching. Specifically, according to Shulman (1986), this transformation occurs as the teacher interprets the subject matter, finds multiple ways to represent it, and adapts and tailors the instructional materials to alternative conceptions and students’ prior knowledge. PCK covers the core business of teaching, learning, curriculum, assessment and reporting, such as the conditions that promote learning and the links among curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy.

Pedagogical knowledge (PK) is teachers’ deep knowledge about the processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning. They encompass, among other things, overall educational purposes, values, and aims. This generic form of knowledge applies to understanding how students learn, general classroom management skills, lesson planning, and student assessment. It includes knowledge about techniques or methods used in the classroom; the nature of the target audience; and strategies for evaluating student understanding. A teacher with deep pedagogical knowledge understands how students construct knowledge and acquire skills and how they develop habits of mind and positive dispositions toward learning. As such, pedagogical knowledge requires an understanding of cognitive, social, and developmental theories of learning and how they apply to students in the classroom.

Content knowledge (CK) is teachers’ knowledge about the subject matter to be learned or taught.

Equally important to the model are the interactions between and among these bodies of knowledge, represented as PCK, TCK (technological content knowledge), TPK (technological pedagogicalknowledge), and TPACK. Figure 1. The TPACK framework and its knowledge components.

At the heart of good teaching with technology are three core components: content, pedagogy, and technology, plus the relationships among and between them.

An approach is needed that treats teaching as an interaction between what teachers know and how they apply what they know in the unique circumstances or contexts within their classrooms. There is no “one best way” to integrate technology into curriculum. Rather, integration efforts should be creatively designed or structured for particular subject matter ideas in specific classroom contexts. Honoring the idea that teaching with technology is a complex, ill-structured task, we propose that understanding approaches to successful technology integration requires educators to develop new ways of comprehending and accommodating this complexity.

effective teaching depends on flexible access to rich, well-organized and integrated knowledge from different domains (Glaser, 1984; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Shulman, 1986, 1987), including knowledge of student thinking and learning, knowledge of subject matter, and increasingly, knowledge of technology

Most traditional pedagogical technologies are characterized by specificity (a pencil is for writing, while a microscope is for viewing small objects); stability (pencils, pendulums, and chalkboards have not changed a great deal over time); and transparency of function (the inner workings of the pencil or the pendulum are simple and directly related to their function) (Simon, 1969).

Thus, effective teaching depends on flexible access to rich, well-organized and integrated knowledge from different domains (Glaser, 1984; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Shulman, 1986, 1987), including knowledge of student thinking and learning, knowledge of subject matter, and increasingly, knowledge of technology.

In the revised taxonomy, knowledge is at the basis of these six cognitive processes, but its authors created a separate taxonomy of the types of knowledge used in cognition: Factual Knowledge Knowledge of terminology Knowledge of specific details and elements Conceptual Knowledge Knowledge of classifications and categories Knowledge of principles and generalizations Knowledge of theories, models, and structures Procedural Knowledge Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures Metacognitive Knowledge Strategic Knowledge Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge Self-knowledge

The authors of the revised taxonomy underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their categories and subcategories (rather than the nouns of the original taxonomy). These “action words” describe the cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge: Remember Recognizing Recalling Understand Interpreting Exemplifying Classifying Summarizing Inferring Comparing Explaining Apply Executing Implementing Analyze Differentiating Organizing Attributing Evaluate Checking Critiquing Create Generating Planning Producing

consisted of six major categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The categories after Knowledge were presented as “skills and abilities,” with the understanding that knowledge was the necessary precondition for putting these skills and abilities into practice. While each category contained subcategories, all lying along a continuum from simple to complex and concrete to abstract, the taxonomy is popularly remembered according to the six main categories.

The last stage of the SAMR model is Redefinition and represents the pinnacle of how technology can transform a student’s experience. In this case, you ask yourself if the technology tools allow educators to redefine a traditional task in a way that would not be possible without the tech, creating a novel experience.

At this stage, technology is directly substituted for a more traditional one. It is a simple, bare-bones, direct replacement.

Contributed By H. L. Assistant Principal Share SAMR Model: A Practical Guide for EdTech Integration Posted in Pro Tips | October 30, 2017 Share The SAMR Model is a framework created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura that categorizes four different degrees of classroom technology integration. The letters "SAMR" stand for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The SAMR model was created to share a common language across disciplines as teachers strive to help students visualize complex concepts. Image Modified from Original by Lefflerd’s on Wikimedia Commons While it’s often visualized as a ladder or staircase as above, this can be misleading because Substitution (the bottom of the ladder) is sometimes the best choice for a particular lesson. This is why it’s better to think of the SAMR model more as a spectrum. On one end technology is used as a one-to-one replacement for traditional tools, and on the other end technology enables experiences that were previously impossible without it. Click here to learn how to transform static resources, particularly PDFs, into engaging content in 3 easy steps   Regardless of how you visualize it, the SAMR framework can be a simple and effective way to assess how you are incorporating technology into your instruction. The SAMR Model Explained (with Examples) The SAMR model is made up of four steps—Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. Substitution and Augmentation are considered "Enhancement" steps, while Modification and Redefinition are termed "Transformation" steps. Think of the difference between seasoning an old family recipe (Enhancement) and creating an entirely new, original dish (Transformation). Susan Oxnevad referred to this movement across the spectrum as "teaching above the line." Substitution At this stage, technology is directly substituted for a more traditional one. It is a simple, bare-bones, direct replacement. For example, if you are teaching a government lesson on the Constitution, you might use an electronic or web-based version of the document instead of a hard copy. Students might also answer questions about the Constitution using a Microsoft Word instead of filling out a worksheet. Substitution might also include a student using Keynote, PowerPoint, Prezi, Slides, or a similar program to present information about an article or amendment to the class. In this step, you ask yourself what we stand to gain by replacing traditional tools with technology. Invariably, some situations will be better served with pen and paper.

Augmentation The technology is again directly substituted for a traditional one, but with significant enhancements to the student experience. In other words, you ask yourself if the technology increases or augments a student's productivity and potential in some way.

beginning to move from enhancement to transformation on the model. Instead of replacement or enhancement, this is an actual change to the design of the lesson and its learning outcome. The key question here—does the technology significantly alter the task?

a group of students might collaborate in a cloud-based workspace to propose a modern definition of equal protection under the law and solicit feedback on their proposals from classmates.

The SAMR model is made up of four steps—Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. Substitution and Augmentation are considered "Enhancement" steps, while Modification and Redefinition are termed "Transformation" steps. Think of the difference between seasoning an old family recipe (Enhancement) and creating an entirely new, original dish (Transformation).

The SAMR Model is a framework created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura that categorizes four different degrees of classroom technology integration. The letters "SAMR" stand for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The SAMR model was created to share a common language across disciplines as teachers strive to help students visualize complex concepts.

The image depicted in these sculptures originally was for the teaching of the Biblical story of creation to natives in the early colonial period

L’arte sa nuotare, meaning art knows how to swim, is about two ways one can live life, like eros and love or life and death. We can choose to be stuck with fear due to the crisis or we can choose to take it as an opportunity to overcome our limitations while being confidence in the future and in our potential. So, even though it seems like we are all underwater it is time to learn how to swim! Renaissance art in Florence is still strong and hides today’s art that is alive and contemporary, so by using icons of the past with diving masks the theme presents a mix between the past and the contemporary world. There is no need to deny the past in order to look at the present, but at least acknowledge it.

In literary theory, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothing. It is a coherent set of signs that transmits some kind of informative message.[1] This set of signs is considered in terms of the informative message's content, rather than in terms of its physical form or the medium in which it is represented.

Teaching the Holocaust to Grade Six and Above Students in grades six and above demonstrate the ability to empathize with individual eyewitness accounts and to attempt to understand the complexities of Holocaust history, including the scope and scale of the events. While elementary age students are able to empathize with individual accounts, they often have difficulty placing them in a larger historical context. Such developmental differences have traditionally shaped social studies curricula throughout the country. In most states, students are not introduced to European history and geography—the context of the Holocaust—before middle school. Elementary school can be an ideal place to begin discussing the value of diversity and the danger of bias and prejudice. These critical themes can be addressed through local and national historical events and can be reinforced during later study of the Holocaust.

According to Common Sense Media, digital citizenship addresses the following concepts:  Thinking, acting, and being online  Thinking critically  Acting responsibly  Being safe  Discerning the truth

According to the Technology in Early Childhood Center, digital citizenship is a term for the skills children need to choose high-quality, developmentally-appropriate technology—and use it safely.

Digitally literate women and men form the foundations for the inclusive, knowledge societies we need for the twenty-first century

The more I read and research, the more fundamental I see digital citizenship being to what we do as educators. However, I also get more and more curious about where this type of learning fits in with the Ontario curriculum. In my research, I came across a document by the Ministry of Education entitled A Shifting Landscape: Pedagogy, Technology, and the New Terrain of Innovation in a Digital World, that reads:

10 Social Media Rules for Teachers

Rather than engaging one-on-one with a device or program, whole classrooms can create projects online using a range of software. One teacher uses computers to create digital stories with his students. Each child contributes ideas and adds images to the text, or takes turns attaching audio files as narrators.  The final product belongs to everyone – and can be shared online with parents and administrators. This approach takes the early childhood training principle of fair play and effective teamwork to the next level, demonstrating to toddlers that by collaborating well they can create something lasting and quite impressive!

One teacher decided to use technology to build on a lesson plan where toddlers construct a copy of their own house using play blocks of different shapes. To enhance the lesson, the educator used Google Earth to bring up images of her students’ houses as references for their models. Students had fun manipulating the tool, and it actually helped them complete the task more effectively.

Educators should strive to integrate technological tools where they complement and enhance an existing, carefully conceived lesson plan. These tools aren’t a substitute for thinking through learning goals, and making sure students understand key concepts. Nor does randomly adding a digital device to your classroom add up to effective technological integration – the tool must be built into your plan, have a clear purpose, and be accessible to all students.

A link to the blank backward design template is provided here (https://jaymctighe.com/resources/downloads/), and it is referred to as UbD Template 2.0.

Once the learning goals, or desired results, have been identified, instructors will have an easier time developing assessments and instruction around grounded learning outcomes.

Therefore, it can be stated that teachers often focus more on teaching rather than learning. This perspective can lead to the misconception that learning is the activity when, in fact, learning is derived from a careful consideration of the meaning of the activity.

backward design approach has instructors consider the learning goals of the course first. These learning goals embody the knowledge and skills instructors want their students to have learned when they leave the course. Once the learning goals have been established, the second stage involves consideration of assessment. The backward design framework suggests that instructors should consider these overarching learning goals and how students will be assessed prior to consideration of how to teach the content. For this reason, backward design is considered a much more intentional approach to course design than traditional methods of design.

The meaning of literacy has also be-come deictic because we live in an age of rapidly changing information and com-munication technologies, each of which requires new literacies (Leu, 1997, 2000). Thus, to have been literate yesterday, in a world defined primarily by relatively static book technologies, does not ensure that one is fully literate today

Digital Health:

One of the supporting principles of Manitoba’s Continuum Model for Literacy with ICT is the gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student.[14] According to this principle, teachers act as facilitators and guides who provide scaffolding to help students develop higher-level critical and creative thinking and deeper understanding relating to ICT as they gradually become more autonomous users of networked technology.[15] This principle fits well into effective programs for digital literacy and digital citizenship that: are holistic, building links between school, home and the community and taking into account both online and offline opportunities for engagement and empowerment; are evidence-based; are proactive, as opposed to reactive; position digital technology as a right and a responsibility; reinforce positive and pro-social uses of technology; provide a wide range of tools and resources; focus not just on safety, but also on the whole range of digital literacy skills and competencies; are built upon traditional aspects of character and moral education as well as a broader interpretation of civics education; are child-centred and youth-led – building on the reality of young people’s lives and providing real and authentic experiences; foster a gradual release of responsibility towards independent practice by youth – working with youth in building resilience, finding solutions and promoting positive engagement with technology; and position adults as supportive mentors and facilitators.

it’s increasingly important for young people to be able to view media critically and be prepared to be engaged digital citizens who contribute to their communities in a positive way. To do so, they need the full range of skills we associate with media and digital literacy to be able to know and exercise the rights they hold as consumers, as members of online communities, as citizens of a state and as human beings.

5. How we respond and behave when using digital media is influenced by the architecture of the platforms, which reflects the biases and assumptions of their creators.

4. Digital media experiences are real, but don’t always feel real.

3. Digital media have unknown and unexpected audiences.

2. Digital media are persistent, searchable and shareable.

1. Digital media are networked.

As Douglas Belshaw puts it, “Digital literacies are transient: they change over time, may involve using different tools or developing different habits of mind, and almost always depend upon the context in which an individual finds herself.”[8] Given how quickly and frequently our media world is evolving, developing and maintaining one’s digital literacy is a lifelong process. T

Digital literacy is more than technological know-how: it includes a wide variety of ethical, social and reflective practices that are embedded in work, learning, leisure and daily life.

Digital Literacy Model This model[5] illustrates the many interrelated elements that fall under the digital literacy umbrella. These range from basic access, awareness and training to inform citizens and build consumer and user confidence to highly sophisticated and more complex creative and critical literacies and outcomes.[6] There is a logical progression from the more fundamental skills towards the higher, more transformative levels, but doing so is not necessarily a sequential process: much depends on the needs of individual users.

In order to be literate in today’s media-rich environments, young people need to develop knowledge, values and a whole range of critical thinking, communication and information management skills for the digital age. As increasing numbers of businesses, services and even democratic processes migrate online, citizens who lack digital literacy skills risk being disadvantaged when it comes to accessing healthcare, government services and opportunities for employment, education and civic participation.[2] Nor is digital literacy confined to the parts of the curriculum that traditionally deal with technology: “Digital literacy is as much a key part of learning about history and learning how to study history, and learning about science and learning how to study science, as it is about learning about ICT and learning the skills of using ICT. Indeed, possessing digital literacy is an important set of life skills to complement and extend the skills and knowledge already taught in school.”[3]

without guidance they remain amateur users of information and communications technology (ICT), which raises concerns about a generation of youth who are not fully digitally literate, yet are deeply immersed in cyberspace. Therefore, “it is not… enough to assume that young people automatically have all of the skills, knowledge and understanding that they need to apply to their use of technology. All young people need to be supported to thrive in digital cultures; they need help making sense of a rapidly changing world of technology which gives them access to vast amounts of information, which is infused with commercial agendas and which for many reasons can be difficult to interpret.”[1]

live in an interactive, “on demand” digital culture where they are used to accessing media whenever and wherever they want. Instant-messaging, photo sharing, texting, social networking, video-streaming and mobile Internet use are all examples where youth have led the charge in new ways of engaging online.

That makes digital writing a potentially powerful lever for social good, allowing students to "actively participate in civic society and contribute to a vibrant, informed, and engaged community," as the ALA notes. It also makes digital writing a potentially dangerous tool—decisions about when and what to share online can have repercussions for a student's safety, privacy, and reputation.