Projects
Choose a project to make up for a class that you may have missed.
If you missed two classes, choose two projects (3 classes, 3 projects).
If you have another idea for a project, share it, and we will put it up for an option!
1 Growth Mindset
Carol Dweck states that in a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities. Share your thinking on the Growth Mindset and how you will incorporate these ideas into your classroom. Reflection Sheet |
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2. Neuroscience in the classroom
Insights drawn from neuroscience not only provide educators with a scientific basis for understanding some of the best practices in teaching, but also offer a new lens through which to look at the problems teachers grapple with every day. By gaining insights into how the brain works—and how students actually learn—teachers will be able to create their own solutions to the classroom challenges they face and improve their practice.
Spend time exploring this interactive (and free) learning tool. Share your thinking on Neuroscience in Education and how you will incorporate these ideas into your classroom. Reflection Sheet |
3. Changing education paradigms and allowing for creativity
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Sir Ken Robinson Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. Spend time viewing these videos and stopping by his website.. Share your thinking on Neuroscience in Education and how you will incorporate these ideas into your classroom. Reflection Sheet
4. universal design for learning
CAST was the creator of Universal Design For Learning. They have created a number of teacher tools to support the variability of learning in your classroom. Choose a tool and produce a product to share with your colleagues.
UDL Studio: Allows anyone to make universally designed educational materials with levels of learning supports. UDL Exchange: Enables educators to create, mix, and share instructional resources based on UDL and aligned to the Common Core Standards. UDL Curriculum Tool Kit: Empowers curriculum developers and researchers author and publish educational materials that are flexible and responsive to the needs of all learners. UDL Lesson Builder: Helps educators to design lessons/units of study to meet the diverse learning challenges, skills, and background of students in today's classrooms. iSolve It Math Puzzles: Innovative, research-based games that teach essential math reasoning and problem-solving skills. |
UDL BookBuilder: Enables educators to develop their own digital books to support reading instruction literacy learning.
UDL Curriculum Self-Check: Helps educators build options and flexibility into each element of the curriculum in order to reach and engage all students. Choose and complete one of these tools to use and and apply to your classroom. |
5. teaching every student
Teaching Every Student: Explains and exemplifies Universal Design for Learning and its classroom applications. Also provides activities, model lessons, and toolkits to support educators.
When you visit TES, you get:
Reflection Sheet |
6. UDL Online Modules
Welcome to the CAST UDL online modules
These two online modules introduce the theory, principles and application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to teacher candidates and in-service teachers. They provide higher education faculty with a multimedia, interactive online-learning environment that can be embedded in instructional methods courses. They are designed to be flexible enough to be used as part of an online, hybrid or face-to-face course. It is suggested that you create an interactive community of practice using a blog, wiki or other type of interactive web 2.0 media. Share your thinking on Universal Design for Learning and how you will incorporate these ideas into your classroom. |
7. Common Core and Universal Design for Learning
UDL & the Common Core State StandardsThe Common Core State Standards Initiative [1] (CCSS) is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices [2] (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers [3](CCSSO). Grounded in evidence and research, and internationally benchmarked, these rigorous education standards establish a set of shared goals and expectations for what K–12 students should understand and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics in order to be prepared for success in college and the workplace. For more information about the CCSS visit http://www.corestandards.org [4].
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is included in the application to students with disabilities section of the CCSS. Although this reference to UDL may give the impression that UDL is just for students with disabilities, all students can benefit from applying UDL to curriculum design and instructional practice.
The CCSS can be considered the "What" in education, i.e., the goals and expectations. It is the destination we wish our students to reach. In light of that, UDL can be considered the "How" in education, i.e., the curriculum and instructional framework teachers use to plan their lessons. In other words, UDL and the CCSS are complementary: the UDL framework provides educators with the means to maximize student attainment of the CCSS.
The "What" & "Why" of the Common Core State StandardsEngage NY’s video library is an innovative set of resources that explains the instructional shifts embedded in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), teacher and leadership evaluation issues, and data driven instruction practices. Several videos illustrate Common Core-aligned teaching episodes. For example, view this video [5] which illustrates a Kindergarten class working with manipulatives to decompose numbers 11–19 (K NBT.1) or watch thisvideo [6] to see 5th graders quoting and explaining text and comparing two different types of texts with similar themes (RL 5.1 and 5.9). Videos range in length from short, 5-minute clips to longer views of lessons up to 40 minutes. For more information, go to theEngageNY [7] web site.
Several videos explain the purpose and history of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). View this video [8] (2:43 minutes) from the Hunt Institute [9] to see an overview of the CCCSS and how they prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed for college and careers. Another video [10] (3 minutes) produced by the Council of Great City Schools[11] uses a staircase analogy to explain how the CCSS can help students achieve at high levels.
Wide-spread adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has given rise to some controversy and anxieties among educators fueling the flames of misperception, confusion, and rumor. Read this issue [12] of Education Leadership to learn more about the myths vs. the facts surrounding the CCSS.
The "How"—Applying UDL to reach the CCSSThe National UDL Task Force [13] created a UDL and Common Core FAQs [14] brief to help educators, parents and advocates learn more about how UDL and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) align with each other. The brief explains why UDL is mentioned in the CCSS and which parts of the CCSS directly align with UDL and which do not. It offers a description of how teachers can use the UDL framework and CCSS together to support the development of clear, effective instructional goals.
In these Teaching Channel [15] videos, teacher and UDL expert Dr. Katie Novak explains why sharing the Common Core State Standards with learners is important. Although she doesn’t mention UDL specifically in the video, UDL is the foundation for Novak’s teaching strategies. Watch the Exploring Imagery Through Beowulf [16] video to see how she offers multiple means of representation. Specifically, she varies the display of information, clarifies vocabulary, highlights critical features, and guides visualization. In addition, she presents multiple means of engagement by fostering collaboration in small group activities. In this video [17], Novak shares the language of the Common Core with her students. She also demonstrates multiple means of engagement by recruiting student interest, highlighting appropriate goals and expectations to sustain effort and persistence, and supports self-regulation and self-assessment.
CAST’s UDL Exchange [18] includes embedded UDL lesson planning supports that guide teachers in proactively creating curriculum resources and lessons to maximize learning for all learners. This tool is designed to allow teachers to align all lessons, resources and collections with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). You can also search by subject, grade level, and topic for lessons created by others that are aligned to specific CCSS.
To illustrate how the UDL framework can be used to design lessons based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), CAST created a model lesson in UDL Exchange [19] that integrates the UDL guidelines and the Literacy by Design Collaborative [20] (LDC) framework. The LDC modules were developed to offer strategies for the English language arts standards of the CCSS. Another resource, a UDL-LDC module [21] on the U.S. Declaration of Independence, is available in UDL Studio—a CAST tool for creating UDL learning environments. Using both the UDL and LDC frameworks in the design of lessons helps educators design instruction that meets writing and literacy goals (the what) and provides scaffolds and supports (the how) to benefit all learners. CAST’s LDC-UDL Crosswalk [22] explains the intersection of UDL and LDC and includes resources for studying the U.S. Declaration of Independence, including descriptions for a set of ten lessons, hand-outs to support the writing process, options of reading supports and documents, and a current event that can be considered in light of what was learned about the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
The UDL principles and practice video library hosted by the National Center on UDL can be used to illustrate how to apply the UDL guidelines to lessons that address specific Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Go to the UDL-CSSS Video Crosswalk [23] to view these videos and read overviews of highlighted UDL principles, UDL guidelines, and CCSS.
Share your thinking on the Common Core and Universal Design for Learning. Share how you will incorporate these ideas into your classroom.
Reflection Sheet
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is included in the application to students with disabilities section of the CCSS. Although this reference to UDL may give the impression that UDL is just for students with disabilities, all students can benefit from applying UDL to curriculum design and instructional practice.
The CCSS can be considered the "What" in education, i.e., the goals and expectations. It is the destination we wish our students to reach. In light of that, UDL can be considered the "How" in education, i.e., the curriculum and instructional framework teachers use to plan their lessons. In other words, UDL and the CCSS are complementary: the UDL framework provides educators with the means to maximize student attainment of the CCSS.
The "What" & "Why" of the Common Core State StandardsEngage NY’s video library is an innovative set of resources that explains the instructional shifts embedded in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), teacher and leadership evaluation issues, and data driven instruction practices. Several videos illustrate Common Core-aligned teaching episodes. For example, view this video [5] which illustrates a Kindergarten class working with manipulatives to decompose numbers 11–19 (K NBT.1) or watch thisvideo [6] to see 5th graders quoting and explaining text and comparing two different types of texts with similar themes (RL 5.1 and 5.9). Videos range in length from short, 5-minute clips to longer views of lessons up to 40 minutes. For more information, go to theEngageNY [7] web site.
Several videos explain the purpose and history of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). View this video [8] (2:43 minutes) from the Hunt Institute [9] to see an overview of the CCCSS and how they prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed for college and careers. Another video [10] (3 minutes) produced by the Council of Great City Schools[11] uses a staircase analogy to explain how the CCSS can help students achieve at high levels.
Wide-spread adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has given rise to some controversy and anxieties among educators fueling the flames of misperception, confusion, and rumor. Read this issue [12] of Education Leadership to learn more about the myths vs. the facts surrounding the CCSS.
The "How"—Applying UDL to reach the CCSSThe National UDL Task Force [13] created a UDL and Common Core FAQs [14] brief to help educators, parents and advocates learn more about how UDL and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) align with each other. The brief explains why UDL is mentioned in the CCSS and which parts of the CCSS directly align with UDL and which do not. It offers a description of how teachers can use the UDL framework and CCSS together to support the development of clear, effective instructional goals.
In these Teaching Channel [15] videos, teacher and UDL expert Dr. Katie Novak explains why sharing the Common Core State Standards with learners is important. Although she doesn’t mention UDL specifically in the video, UDL is the foundation for Novak’s teaching strategies. Watch the Exploring Imagery Through Beowulf [16] video to see how she offers multiple means of representation. Specifically, she varies the display of information, clarifies vocabulary, highlights critical features, and guides visualization. In addition, she presents multiple means of engagement by fostering collaboration in small group activities. In this video [17], Novak shares the language of the Common Core with her students. She also demonstrates multiple means of engagement by recruiting student interest, highlighting appropriate goals and expectations to sustain effort and persistence, and supports self-regulation and self-assessment.
CAST’s UDL Exchange [18] includes embedded UDL lesson planning supports that guide teachers in proactively creating curriculum resources and lessons to maximize learning for all learners. This tool is designed to allow teachers to align all lessons, resources and collections with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). You can also search by subject, grade level, and topic for lessons created by others that are aligned to specific CCSS.
To illustrate how the UDL framework can be used to design lessons based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), CAST created a model lesson in UDL Exchange [19] that integrates the UDL guidelines and the Literacy by Design Collaborative [20] (LDC) framework. The LDC modules were developed to offer strategies for the English language arts standards of the CCSS. Another resource, a UDL-LDC module [21] on the U.S. Declaration of Independence, is available in UDL Studio—a CAST tool for creating UDL learning environments. Using both the UDL and LDC frameworks in the design of lessons helps educators design instruction that meets writing and literacy goals (the what) and provides scaffolds and supports (the how) to benefit all learners. CAST’s LDC-UDL Crosswalk [22] explains the intersection of UDL and LDC and includes resources for studying the U.S. Declaration of Independence, including descriptions for a set of ten lessons, hand-outs to support the writing process, options of reading supports and documents, and a current event that can be considered in light of what was learned about the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
The UDL principles and practice video library hosted by the National Center on UDL can be used to illustrate how to apply the UDL guidelines to lessons that address specific Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Go to the UDL-CSSS Video Crosswalk [23] to view these videos and read overviews of highlighted UDL principles, UDL guidelines, and CCSS.
Share your thinking on the Common Core and Universal Design for Learning. Share how you will incorporate these ideas into your classroom.
Reflection Sheet
8. Grit
Consider Grit. How do we cultivate Grit and Self-Control?
The Duckworth Lab focuses on two traits that predict success in life: grit and self-control. Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals. Self-control is the voluntary regulation of behavioral, emotional, and attentional impulses in the presence of momentarily gratifying temptations or diversions. On average, individuals who are gritty are more self-controlled, but the correlation between these two traits is not perfect: some individuals are paragons of grit but not self-control, and some exceptionally well-regulated individuals are not especially gritty. While we haven’t fully worked out how these two traits are related, it seems that an important distinction has to do with timescale: As Galton (1892) suggested, the inclination to pursue especially challenging aims over months, years, and even decades is distinct from the capacity to resist “the hourly temptations,” pursuits which bring momentary pleasure but are immediately regretted.Read articles and complete the grit assessment. Spend time thinking about how grit and self-control can be cultivated in your classroom. Share your implementation plan.
Reflection Sheet
The Duckworth Lab focuses on two traits that predict success in life: grit and self-control. Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals. Self-control is the voluntary regulation of behavioral, emotional, and attentional impulses in the presence of momentarily gratifying temptations or diversions. On average, individuals who are gritty are more self-controlled, but the correlation between these two traits is not perfect: some individuals are paragons of grit but not self-control, and some exceptionally well-regulated individuals are not especially gritty. While we haven’t fully worked out how these two traits are related, it seems that an important distinction has to do with timescale: As Galton (1892) suggested, the inclination to pursue especially challenging aims over months, years, and even decades is distinct from the capacity to resist “the hourly temptations,” pursuits which bring momentary pleasure but are immediately regretted.Read articles and complete the grit assessment. Spend time thinking about how grit and self-control can be cultivated in your classroom. Share your implementation plan.
Reflection Sheet
9. Give and take
Give and Take is about why some people rise to the top of the success ladder while others sink to the bottom. For generations, we’ve assumed that excellence is achieved by people who are hardworking, talented, and lucky. This three-legged stool explains much of success, but it’s missing a fourth leg. In a rapidly changing world, our styles of interacting with other people are increasingly important drivers of success. Combining a decade of cutting-edge research with fascinating stories, the book opens up a fresh way of thinking about success and illuminates new choices people can make to achieve it.
Take the assessment style test and view the video. How does this apply to your teaching practice? How would you employ these ideas in your profession? Reflection Sheet |
10. This I believe
This I Believe Essay-Writing GuidelinesWe invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this is—it requires such intimacy that no one else can do it for you. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:
Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs. Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace. |
11. Nonviolent crisis intervention training
CPI offers nonviolent crisis intervention training designed to teach best practices for managing difficult situations and disruptive behaviors. Students learn how to identify at-risk individuals and use nonverbal and verbal techniques to defuse hostile or belligerent behavior. They also learn how to control their fear and anxiety in a crisis or avoid injury when a crisis becomes physical.
Provide a COPY of your training certification.
Provide a COPY of your training certification.