Link to an article about Finland and it schools turn around

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/12/27/learning_from_finland/?sudsredirect=true

Comparative Education

As I read all the articles this week I kept saying to myself  "wow".  The world of education has changed so much from when I was in school and the students of today and tomorrow deserve all that we can offer them. They live in a world where techonology changes very day and where the world changes very moment. It is important to make sure that the education they recieve fits this.
They need a global perspective that enables them to see more than just what is in front of them. They need to see the whole world and how it effects all of us. It is important that they see relevance in waht they are learning. That relevance is key to keeping them engaged. This generation of learners are fast thinkers who need constant stimualtion. This is because the world has, so much more stimulation then before. It is important to bring techonolgy into the classroom that can connect them to the whole world.

Responds to the Chapter 2

Boy does this chapter make you think! Aren't we all Mr. Eldridge sitting there trying to figure out how we are going to do something that we are being asked to do. Student are technology savvy. They know how to use the technology and it engages them. It is important that we find ways to use it and that we have the support we need to be successful. Professional development is key in anything a teacher is asked t o do if they have a toolbox filled and someone their to ask questions they can transform student learning,

Blog Links to those blogs I am followinf

http://blog.teachersfirst.com/thinkteach/

http://theedublogger.com/

 Creating lifelong learners http://www.needleworkspictures.com/ocr/blog/

 High Techpections http://elemenous.typepad.com/weblog/

Definition of Curriculum

The following bullets are two definitions I found in my search of curriculum. One is rather simple and the other adds  a little more clarity to the first definition.

• course of study: an integrated course of academic studies;

• means the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives.

I struggle with a definition myself for curriculum. I  definitely think it is the sequence of content covered to help students meet the learning results. But it is hard to go beyond that, should a curriculum include resources to use and instructional strategies. It is hard to implement a learning result without much to go with it. This year I was handed a course guide for a class I did not design and all it had was the learning results I was to cover over the course of the year. I have found it  extremely challenging. It is hard to understand what needs to be covered and what content students should have from learning result. I have started to develop a sequence of content that I hope meets the stated learning results that I need to cover. But it would have been nice to have an actual curriculum. It is important to have that planned sequence of events and know that this sequence will take you where you and your students need to go. 

Initial Thoughts

I have some experience with curriculum planning and development at the elementary level. We implemented a Reading 1st grant at the elementary school I worked at prior to coming to Mt. Abram. It really made us look closely at the sequence of instruction and how we taught literacy. As we did this we had professional development provided to help implement the new curriculum. It made me see how important the professional development can be.
Here at Mt. Abram I am currently designing my own curriculum. When I took over the position this fall I was left with a course guide and not much else. It has been an experience thinking on my feet. But I know realize how important it is to know where you want your students to end up. I have definitely started looking at the sequence of the material I need to cover and how it all fits together.