Cooperative Learning

Today's cooperative learning stations were a great success. Setting up a station at the SmartBoard presenting a problem and set of insturctions to a group allowed students to work together to determine the details or issues of the problem at hand and collectively decide which tools and strategies would be used to solve the problem. This could easily be adapted to virtually any curriculum strand/content area by re-writing the problem and/or providing an adapted set of tools. The SmartBoard and online downloads even allow students to disect a frog virtually!

In order for this teaching method to be effective students would have to practice cooperative learning in small groups as a class and get used to problem solving together. The instructor would moderate these cooperative learning sessions to ensure that they are respectful and productive and to encourage and monitor effective communication. Once students are adept in that type of environment, they could be lead to a more independent use of cooperative learning through stations where an instructor is less present. If the stations are planned well and the technology is tested before class the possibilities are endless.

Tidal Forces

I've included a video below to give you a closer look at tidal forces which we touched on during a class on water systems. This video clearly depicts how the sun and moon affect earth's water systems today and for many years to come!

Circles

We've been working on circles including formulas for circumference, radius, diameter and area. I know some of you have expressed having some difficulty picturing these formulas. This is completely understandable and you are not alone! Take a look at the video below for a visual representation to assist with Geometry and Spacial Sense.

Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book"

In our last class we made it to the halfway point (to the end of Chapter 5) in "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. Hopefully you have all been enjoying hearing the book read aloud to you by both myself and Mr. Gaiman. I know there were a few of you who expressed some interest in hearing more from the author himself, so here are some links to get you on your way.

Neil Gaiman did some question and answer sessions during his latest book tour. Click here to watch the videos.

If you'd like to know more about the man behind the book, take a look at the author's official biography here.

Last but surely not least, if you have any questions for Mr. Gaiman, he has kindly included a Frequently Asked Questions section on his website where you can review questions he has already answered or pose a new question if you don't see what you are looking for.

Take a look around the site as a whole while you are checking out the links above to see other works by Neil Gaiman including "Coraline" and "M is for Magic". Be careful what you read though, you wouldn't want to spoil the ending!