Category: Educational Research
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Reflections on CMU’s High Impact Teaching Academy
Last fall, I joined CMU’s High Impact Teaching Academy with the specific goal of rethinking the approach to teaching my methods course, ENG 315: “Writing in the Elementary and Middle Schools.” While I am unable to present my final project in person this week, I did want to share three components of my refined approach:…
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Q/A from “Technology and Education” Session
A number of undergraduate students presented today at Central Michigan University’s first annual conference on English studies, “Movement, Mobility, and Migration.” One particular session at the end of the day had a great Q/A, and I tried to capture some notes here from the “Technology and Education” forum. A few of the ideas that we…
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Crafting Digital Writing
So pleased to announce that Crafting Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres was officially released today by Heinemann. Here is the text from the back cover: “We have an opportunity to help this generation define itself on its own terms. The question is no longer whether or not we should use technology to teach writing;…
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Preparing for IRA 2013
This week, I travel to San Antonio for the International Reading Association’s Annual Convention. This is my first trip to IRA, and I was fortunate enough to be invited by Julie Coiro to help facilitate the pre-conference institute entitled, “Using New Technologies to Engage Readers and Encourage Student Voices.” My portion of the institute will…
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Is There (Finally) a New Paradigm for “Teacher Accountability?”
Two compelling events happened yesterday, each raising the possibility of a new paradigm for teacher accountability and each important in its own way. First, Bill Gates published an op-ed in the Washington Post, “A fairer way to evaluate teachers.” Here is the heart of the piece: This is one reason there is a backlash against…
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A Few Thoughts for Pre-Service Teachers on Standards and Standardized Tests
This week, a colleague invited me to share some brief thoughts about standards and standardized testing with her preservice teachers in a private discussion forum for her class. I composed this quickly, but I hope that it has something to say for those of us who are interested in teaching writing, authentic writing, and substantive…
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What Have We Learned from Digital Learning Day
The tweets have slowed to a trickle. The webcasts are all archived. And the proclamations about the power of digital learning are a distant memory in our multi-tasked lives. Digital Learning Day 2013 is in the books. The post that follows is, really, in two distinct parts. First, I summarize my cynical vision of what…
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Open Letter to Educators: (Re)Defining Digital Learning Day
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Dear Educator: Tomorrow (well, technically today by the time I am done writing this) is the second annual Digital Learning Day. Cool. I’m all for digital learning, as the title of my blog implies. But, as we prepare for the onslaught of tweets, blog posts, videos, webinars, and other celebrations, it is worth exploring the definition…
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Social Network “Fail” Leads to A Renewed Approach to ENG 315
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Another semester began this week, and I have been updating my syllabus and wiki site for ENG 315. Last semester, I was quite surprised and delighted by the number of you who asked me about my Wikispaces to Edmodo shift. Well, we learn from our failures, right? This is one that taught me a great…