Free Webinar: Using tablets for instruction

Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Time: 2:00pm ET
Duration: 1 hour

Attend this webinar

Mobile Learning technology is quickly changing how we look at classroom education. Tablet computers like the iPads and Android devices offer many advantages over traditional computers or laptops, but are we using them effectively? Attend this webinar to discover how many schools and districts are successfully using iPads and Kineos in their classrooms to improve student performance and increase learning time.

Learn how to:

• Use tablets to engage struggling learners. 
  
• Increase learning time with increased mobility
  
• Begin the year with clear goals on tablet use to drive instruction and improve test scores
  
• Sync student usage with online reporting
  
• Provide strong professional development and implementation strategies

All attendees receive a Free Mobile Learning Checklist to help you plan your implementation.

K-5 Geometric Measurement Progression released

Another progression has recently been released. This one covers all of the content related to Geometric Measurement in Grades K-5.
Check it out now.

K-6 Geometry Progression released

The newest Common Core progression has been released. 
Curious about

• the Geometry content at your grade level?
• how the Geometry content in your grade level builds on that of previous grade levels?
• how the Geometry content in your grade level builds a foundation for the in the next grade level?

Check out this excellent resource now.

Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform

A summary paper, Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform, was recently released. The paper pulls together research findings from the six background papers, each of which includes a brief overview of research findings, examples of current programs and policies, and implications for the future, offering a more in-depth look at specific themes surrounding student engagement, including: 

• why motivation is important and how it might be defined and measured; 
• whether rewarding students can result in higher motivation; 
• whether students can be motivated by goal-setting; 
• the role of parental involvement, family background, and culture; 
• strategies schools might use to motivate students; and
• nontraditional approaches to motivating otherwise unenthusiastic students. 

The appendix outlines four major dimensions of motivation and how they are defined by major scholars in the field.

Timed Tests and the Development of Math Anxiety

Mathematics education is in crisis: A third of all schoolchildren end up in remedial math courses, and the level of interest in the subject is at an all-time low. This is a result, in part, of schools in the United States heading down a fast-moving track in which the purpose of math has been reduced to the ranking of children and their schools. Math has become a performance subject. Children of all ages are more likely to tell you that the reason for learning math is to show whether they “get it” instead of whether they appreciate the beauty of the subject or the way it piques their interest. The damage starts early in this country, with school districts requiring young children to take timed math tests from the age of 5. This is despite research that has shown that timed tests are the direct cause of the early onset of math anxiety.

Timed math tests have been popular in the United States for years. Unfortunately, some of the wording in the Common Core State Standards may point to an increased use of timed tests. From the 2nd grade on, the common standards give math “fluency” as a goal. Many test writers, teachers, and administrators erroneously equate fluency with timed testing.

What does fluency under the CCSS-M really mean? Read more to find out...