Education Links 3/15/16

What Kind of Group Work Encourages the Most Original Thinking?

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/03/14/what-kind-of-group-work-encourages-the-most-original-thinking/ 

How To Support The Increasingly Diverse Student Populations Present in Your Classrooms

http://edtechreview.in/voices/interviews/2330-student-diversity-in-the-classroom?utm_content=bufferb56aa&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

Competency Based Learning: How Flipped Mastery Makes CBL Possible

http://jonbergmann.com/flippedmasterycbl/

Are You Ready for Your IEP Meeting?

http://www.smartkidswithld.org/are-you-ready-for-your-iep-meeting/ 

Simplifying Childhood May Protect Against Mental Health Issues

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/tracy-gillett/children-mental-health_b_9400848.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-parents 

Designing Useful STEM Classroom Assessments

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/03/14/designing-useful-stem-classroom-assessments.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-FB 

Four Positives From Personalized Learning

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2016/03/10/four-personalized-learning-gbt/ 

The overselling of ed tech

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/03/13/the-overselling-of-ed-tech/ 

 If you haven’t given much thought to the kind of intellectual life we might want schools to foster, then it might sound exciting to “personalize” or “customize” learning.  But as I argued not long ago, we shouldn’t confuse personalized learning with personal learning.  The first involves adjusting the difficulty level of prefabricated skills-based exercises based on students’ test scores, and it requires the purchase of software.  The second involves working with each student to create projects of intellectual discovery that reflect his or her unique needs and interests, and it requires the presence of a caring teacher who knows each child well.

Valerie Strauss