Changing Education Paradigms

I found the Ted Talk, Changing Education Paradigms to be very interesting and thought provoking. Sir Ken Robinson raises some interesting points about our education system. This video stressed that we are educating our students for the future with a system that was conceived in a different time period. We are using old methods toContinue reading “Changing Education Paradigms”

Common Core – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Implementation of the Common Core State Standards was rolled out slowly, and not all educators believed in it. Therefore, change was slow. It took a lot of time, effort, professional development and tears to move forward with implementation. Since then some states have dropped the CCSS altogether, some still have the CCSS, but have optedContinue reading “Common Core – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”

The Difference Between Formative and Summative Assessment

Whenever the word test or assessment is mentioned to a group of students stress and anxiety happen automatically. After reading the articles on formative and summative assessments I was able to distinguish the purpose behind them. Formative assessment is an on-going review on how your students are performing in class. It is teacher driven andContinue reading “The Difference Between Formative and Summative Assessment”

“Abstraction is only a sort of trickery and deflection of the mind if it doesn’t constitute the crowning stage of a series of previously concrete actions. The real cause of failure in formal education is therefore essentially the fact that one begins with language instead of beginning with real and material action.” -Jean Piaget, 1976

I had to read this quote several times to understand the meaning behind it and how it pertains to math (or learning in general). When you teach math, you build upon concepts and skills that are taught. The first sentence in this quote is basically saying if your student’s don’t have a strong foundation inContinue reading ““Abstraction is only a sort of trickery and deflection of the mind if it doesn’t constitute the crowning stage of a series of previously concrete actions. The real cause of failure in formal education is therefore essentially the fact that one begins with language instead of beginning with real and material action.” -Jean Piaget, 1976”