Class 10: AERA 2008 First Impressions

The American Education Research Association (AERA) 2008 conference was held in New York, New York this year. This was my first time to attend the conference and it was an eye opening experience. An estimated 16,000 people were present at the conference and the sessions were spread out among four hotels. It gave me a feel for how big this organization really is. I am going to explain more about the sessions I attended and my site seeing in NYC in upcoming blogs. Stay tuned!

Class 9: Modality Principle

I have applied the modality principle to instructional videos that I create for my students. I use primarily spoken instruction along with screen capture video. I highlight key points or vocabulary as on screen text using the call out feature in the video editing software. I am careful to keep text to a minimum. What is your experience with incorporating written text, speech, and graphics?

Class 8: Reading Strategies Needed in All Disciplines

Recently, I attended a workshop on reading strategies for CTE teachers. There is a big initiative in my department for CTE teachers to be trained in using reading comprehension strategies. Some strategies that we have learned about incorporating in to instruction include doing KWLS, ven diagrams, graphic organizers, or writing a minute paper. The motivation behind having teachers attend two days of all day training (once in the fall and once in the spring) and bringing in a speaker from NY is that the state is going to be looking at the test scores of CTE students to see if they are passing. If it can be shown that CTE students do well on the test, then there will be a reason to keep the student in the course rather than replacing the course with an English course. At least that is the thought… Regardless, it is always beneficial to incorporate reading strategies in every disciple. I like using graphic organizers for new vocabulary words and working with context clues.

Class 7: "I Teach" Conference

I presented at the “I Teach” conference recently. The title of my session was called, “Staying Afloat as a Floating Teacher”. Its purpose was to inform soon to be teachers of practical ways to survive and thrive if they find themselves in the position of a floating teacher. Some key points were to maintain open communication, set boundaries, understand the limitations, and to get organized. Overall, it was a great time of conversation, thoughtful questions, and cheering on the next generation of educators.

Class 6: dishwashers reflect culture

One of my teacher friends told me something that I had never heard before about dishwashers being a cultural thing in the US. She was talking with several students about how they use their home dishwashers and found that the uses varied among ethnic groups. One group hand washed their dishes and placed them in the dishwasher only to dry. Another group loaded their dirty dishes in the dishwasher and ran the wash cycle. Still another group said even though they have a dishwasher, they have not used it.

I was amazed when I heard all the different perspectives such a simple thing as a dishwasher. Apparently, the way you use your dishwasher says a lot about where you come from. So how do you use yours?