Teaching should be a dance - rhythm and movement is all important. The rhythm of the lesson is the design of the progression of the information being taught. The movement is the pace of the lesson and how it is presented.
While I was exploring the websites we were analyzing, I came upon this fantastic article from Edutopia..Teacherpreneurs. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-teacherpreneurs-spread-good-ideas-suzie-boss. Such an interesting article because it really acknowledges the creativity and dedication of some teachers who are not afraid to teach new stuff - to take risks and try new things with their classes. There are probably not a ton of this kind of teacher out there, and we sure could use more. It also honors the intelligence and gumption of so many educators who are as creative, if not more creative, than many counterparts in the business world. This is an article worth reading!
Today I created my mindmap - first I did one on ARCS and realized I needed to do it on using SITE with my classes, so I got the opportunity to create two mindmaps. They are are really effective for organizing ideas and thoughts and I would love to use them more in my classes. Unfortunately, the programs are expensive.
I also enjoyed checking out the websites. I am inspired to create websites for my units in US History. I am going to check and see if Haiku (our learning management system) has the capability to have a Weebly site attached to my lesson pages. I have been having difficulties liking Weebly, but I think we figured out that it may be a Mac thing and I should check out solutions. The Weebly site on China was fantastic. I am inspired!
Ruth Clark's writing on teaching concepts was interesting. It is important to teach concepts rather than definitions. It might make teaching languages easier. Just a thought! I know that i need to be broader in my delivery of historical information - concepts are way more tenable, understandable, and relevant that rote learning. I have known that forever, but I have to constantly remind myself to stop expecting my students to understand some of the obscure knowledge they are asked to learn, much of it without real context.