tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86690242011-12-14T18:53:09.386-08:00About Brain Feed: Rogue teachers get social, using collective intelligence to look critically at educational issues. Involves change, innovation, forward thinking, and each other.Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-15276079233578073242011-04-04T09:13:00.000-07:002011-04-04T09:19:08.284-07:00

 "Will these technologies really help us look for true educational reform?"  Rick Van Eck discusses disruptive technologies, their components, and how systems thinking could destroy educational institutions before building.  An interesting idea - in what ways will the educational system transform itself given the technological era and cognition?  What value will the national educational reform

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-63449012889077520912007-01-29T20:58:00.000-08:002007-01-29T21:07:49.522-08:00

I'm not crazy! Tonight in a technology meeting, another very savvy teacher asked the same question I've been pondering...how do technology, literacy strategies, peer coaching and all of the programs that surround teaching them synthesize into a cohesive teaching and learning environment? It's interesting that this is a question on other people's minds, and I'd love to hear musings....

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-48971915632928883262007-01-22T18:54:00.000-08:002007-01-22T20:40:45.651-08:00

Lesson learned. Again. A student got in trouble at the end of the day. During the next morning's interaction she's got her nose in the air and her eyes rolling on fire, away from me. What's the problem? Is she still angry about getting in trouble? What is this attitude being flipped at me? I don't have time for this. Again. I wasn't the one to choose poor behavior. And I don't need

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-90198186349947656332006-12-29T20:02:00.001-08:002006-12-29T20:02:36.894-08:00

This video discusses the effects of national oppression on Black women, and their image and understanding of themselves.

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-66430602746984621482006-11-25T22:19:00.000-08:002006-11-25T22:55:02.156-08:00

I'm working on a new technology class, and am wanting to weave technology, literacy and mathematics cognitive strategies. It brings me back to the same question - how do separate programs work together to create a cohesive learning experience? The interesting connector is the math book I've just begun, "Comprehending Math" by Arthur Hyde. It brings together language and mathematics strategies

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1159536727080507702006-09-29T06:14:00.000-07:002006-11-12T11:25:56.915-08:00

I'm trying a poetry unit that was a complete success with a previous class, and it's a complete bomb. So frustrating, but the difference in students are reminding me of the difference in schools (even within the same district). We might have the same programs, but the difference in personalities and backgrounds of its staff combined with different school ethnographies create unique issues

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1157512574901713502006-09-05T19:56:00.000-07:002006-11-12T11:25:56.586-08:00

First day of school. We teachers never prepare more for any other day. It's the stage-setting, the premier of the school year. I can never get to sleep the night before. It's over in a heartbeat. And then comes the rush of exhaustion built up from days of preparing. Teaching is like starting a business, its routines, network connections, and procedures, every year.

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1152583259532612492006-07-10T18:27:00.000-07:002006-11-12T11:25:56.129-08:00

Wow - what a week! Working at UW with a highly motivated group of librarians learning about technology integration, resources and general geekiness (and I've got the t-shirt to prove it!). Led by head geek, Steve G. (the best college professor and elementary teacher I've ever encountered both professionally and personally - hey Steve, if you're reading this, can I use your last name?), we

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1146545963183163852006-05-01T21:53:00.000-07:002006-11-12T11:25:55.222-08:00

Over-thought given to this entire issue? Don't know. Right when the epiphany came for me, I ran over to my principal, and told him I had the meaning to life as we know it for teachers. Connecting the dots (if dots represent different programs handed to us via district administrators) is really a matter of human interactions. There it is - making programs work together to create a cohesive

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1143357002615944962006-03-25T22:50:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:54.875-08:00

I'm thinking that the disconnect lies in the theory administration holds: that they need to focus on a few of the many programs the district supports or else teachers will somehow implode from the stress of being overwhelmed. On the other hand, teachers already feel the pressure to focus on all of the programs the district supports as well as to make sure that their students meet standard.

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1141796673878677292006-03-07T21:27:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:54.473-08:00

Preaching to the choir here. In thinking about technology integration with core content area, isn't it really a matter of developing the habit of technology use or the habit of thinking about technology tools and how they help us understand things?For example, even though I have a website with my students' homework posted on it, and even though at curriculum night and conferences I tell parents

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1141580858288369492006-03-05T09:36:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:54.127-08:00

I've been thinking about this all wrong. I thought that there had to be a physical, tangible connection made by the district between literacy and technology, and have been looking for what that connection could be.Now, I think that the connection needs to be human. In order to stimulate creativity in teachers to use technology in a way that enhances student literacy, there needs to be a human

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1139810105896361712006-02-12T21:54:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:53.767-08:00

With regards to Regie Routman’s “Reading Essentials” (Heinemann, 2003) and the Edmonds School District Literacy Project, how can we think of teacher development in terms of stages of learning? What stages does the teacher go through in learning how to integrate technology with core curriculum? How and, more importantly, when does the learning of technology fit with the understandings of how to

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1138684204105781412006-01-30T21:02:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:53.524-08:00

So far, in talking with different educational professionals, the two coaching programs seem to be running parallel to each other. There really isn't a point in teaching reading comprehension so far in what we've learned, where technology integration looks to be a strong support. Reading comprehension is done in the head, and between two people (preferrably the teacher and the student). Have

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1137308742876365022006-01-14T22:46:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:53.197-08:00

I was thinking about where technology fits in education's system and about Regie Routman's book, "Reading Essentials" (Heinemann, 2003). If you look at Routman's "Optimal Learning Model Across the Curriclum" (inside cover), technology fits with guided practice and independent practice.Our school is currently studying reading conference strategies in literacy, which specifically deals, as far as

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1134367109407881512005-12-11T21:52:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:52.865-08:00

It seems (from a secondhand view) like the literacy coaching program focuses mainly on literacy strategies, whereas the technology coaching program focuses mainly on coaching skills.Questions gathered during the journey:How can Literacy Coaching and Peer Coaching programs work together at the school level to develop teacher collaboration?How can school walk-throughs serve our literacy, math, and

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1134366735665721982005-12-11T21:45:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:52.551-08:00

Somebody put the essential elements of literacy into a one-page synopsis. I'm not sure whether it was the elements of literacy coaching or the elements of literacy. Elements of LiteracyCognitive Strategies Surface structure systems Deep structure systemsHelping Students understand text structures Narrative text Expository textResources and materials: practicing the craft in a wide variety of

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1134319519184274942005-12-11T08:32:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:51.977-08:00

Where do the two coaching programs link together? It seems to be woven within the components. Maintaining both visions together. When working with literacy, discuss how technology can help / enhance. When working with technology, discuss where the literacy components are, and are they best served through that particular piece of technology.Only force the discussion when the vision fits. When

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1134281996412607922005-12-10T21:55:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:51.414-08:00

What's important is educational outcomes rather than organizational outcomes. In looking at two separate coaching programs within one school, the question is how do they fit together?Then the questions flow for the principal and the teachers. How is one coach and one principal going to change practice in an ongoing way? MDE’s experience w/ peer coaching leads us to assume:Coaching is a highly

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1134110159989671912005-12-08T22:17:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:50.755-08:00

Our job as teachers (or at least part of it) is to provide students the tools to support learning. It seems like the smart thing to do is to provide students with the most efficient tools and projects structured for complex learning. Smart tools, smart kids. The question of whether or not students need computers in the classroom is obsolete, replaced by the question of how to most efficiently

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1132289588968990672005-11-17T19:26:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:50.087-08:00

I happened across a CD created by John Bransford (How People Learn). Bransford discusses assessment literacy - the hottest buzz in ed biz. His assertion is that another type of assessment, a "preparation for future learning approach" helps make student thinking visible, which in turn helps teachers. If teachers know what students do or do not know, we can change our instruction to help students

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1132122087296614122005-11-15T21:25:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:49.776-08:00

A friend and I got together and brainstormed setting up a research process to answer the question: How can Literacy Coaching and Peer Coaching programs work together at the school level to develop teacher collaboration? Our thoughts were fast, random, and far reaching. Luckily I had the computer to keep up with our thoughts instead of my usual method of writing on napkins at Starbucks. Our

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1131777181191034962005-11-11T22:06:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:49.486-08:00

We're looking at bringing together two different projects in our school: the Collaborative Literacy Project and Peer Coaching. The important beginnings to this is to understand the learning environment in our school, which was the impetus for the previous post defining elements of cohesive schools.The next step is to look at each of the different programs and their elements. This way, we can

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1131348980869445342005-11-06T22:34:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:49.165-08:00

So what strategies connect programs and pull together the school into a cohesive unit? Belief / InvestmentWhen we have to be more efficient, we look to "cut the fluff" out of our programs. We keep the programs (or parts of programs) that we believe to be essential. The important piece of education today lies in filtering what is essential. We figure out what is worth keeping through research.

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1131255795296002372005-11-05T21:42:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:48.835-08:00

When teachers and principals see how different strategies are important to the success of their own class, they are more likely to adopt the strategy. We've been focusing on building a common vision, but without common strategies and subgoals to work toward on our journey, a common vision is useless. Having the entire school invest in the importance and practice of a common behavioral management

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8669024.post-1131254365338679592005-11-05T20:52:00.000-08:002006-11-12T11:25:48.501-08:00

Sitting in a meeting, and listening to teachers talk about what is working in the school, moving through the plethora of committees and committee information, my mind wanders to wondering why our school works while others have serious difficulties. This brings me back to the same issue of what builds cohesion in a school? The staff continues talking about the Critical Friends Group, Understanding

Maria Muzzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707685036310281848noreply@blogger.com0