Exercise and the brain

http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/special_feature/brain_gains/allison_answers_1.html


Interesting piece on exercise in math class.

reading comprehension

http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/archives.html

Another great site - CNN and other articles in full text and abridged version. Great for classroom work and discussion - and also differentiated by level.

Let me know if anyone tries this in the classroom.

New slant to the traditional Bloom

David A. Sousa in his Book titled How the Brain Learns (2006) addresses the issue of revamping the traditional Bloom's taxonomy (knowledge, understanding, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation). The taxonomy has survived the test of time - with some minor modifications. Anderson et al (2001) revised the concept slightly in the following way
remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
The labels have been changed to verbs, and the model is no longer strictly linear. Children move around the taxonomy as they learn.
The authors speak about - using the taxonomy - by differentiating between complexity and difficulty.
Complexity refers to tasks that are at different levels of Bloom's taxonomy - creating a model of effective Government is more complex than naming the levels of Government. As you move up the taxonomy - the work becomes more complex.
Difficulty refers to the amount of effort a learner must expend within a given level of complexity. An activity within a level of the taxonomy can become increasingly difficult without becoming more complex. Name the provinces is less difficult than name the provinces and their capitals.
What does this mean????? Rather than focus purely on level of difficulty - the focus should be on complexity. All students - those with learning challenges and those needing to be challenged and everyone in between - should receive work at higher levels of complexity NOT only difficulty. In other words, all students should have opportunities to move up the taxonomy including those who struggle. All students should be provided with opportunities to analyze, synthesize and create.
Interesting for teachers!!!! Do most lessons within a given unit include opportunties for students to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create. Let's bring the Taxonomy back to life!!!!

Registration for McGill courses open

The site for McGill/BJEC summer courses is now online. Please go to the link below - on the right side you will see BJEC courses. All documents should be downloades and mailed or brought to McGill - addressed to to Dean Thomson

Dean ThomsonUndergraduate Program Coordinator
McGill UniversityEducational & Counselling Psychology3700 McTavish Room 614Montreal, QC H3A 1Y2
dean.thomson@mcgill.ca
tel: fax:
514-398-4248514-398-6968

This is the site address
http://www.mcgill.ca/edu-ecp/onlinecourses/