TLC & Ed Careers Core

Cailotto, LHS

Week of April 6, 2020

1. Log into turnitin.com. Go to DISCUSSION tab and submit your written response to journal prompt for this week. Please also reply to at least one classmate’s response.

2. Read and annotate Article #3 (included).

Week of April 13, 2020

1. Log into turnitin.com. Go to DISCUSSION tab and submit your written response to journal prompt for this week. Please also reply to at least one classmate’s response.

2. Use annotations to type up two paragraphs related to Article #3: summary paragraph and reflection or analysis paragraph. Be sure to provide the MLA citation for work cited and submit to turnitin.com.

Week of April 20

1. Log into turnitin.com. Go to DISCUSSION tab and submit your written response to journal prompt for this week. Please also reply to at least one classmate’s response.

2. Read and annotate Article #4 (included).

Week of April 27

1. Log into turnitin.com. Go to DISCUSSION tab and submit your written response to journal prompt for this week. Please also reply to at least one classmate’s response.

2. Use annotations to type up two paragraphs related to Article #3: summary paragraph and reflection or analysis paragraph. Be sure to provide the MLA citation for work cited and submit to turnitin.com.

TLC & Ed Careers Core Article #3

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/49750/a-better-way-to-study-through-self-testing-and-distributed-practice

A Better Way to Study Through Self-Testing and Distributed Practice

Claudia Wallis, The Hechinger Report

Nov 22, 2017

(iStock/seb_ra)

As I prepared to write this column, I relied on some pretty typical study techniques. First, as I’ve done since my student days, I generously highlighted key information in my background reading. Along the way, I took notes, many of them verbatim, which is a snap with digital copying and pasting. (Gotta love that command-C, command-V.) Then I reread my notes and highlights. Sound familiar? Students everywhere embrace these techniques and yet, as it turns out, they are not particularly good ways to absorb new material. At least not if that’s all you do.

Researchers have devoted decades to studying how to study. The research literature is frankly overwhelming. Luckily for all of us, the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest published a review article a few years ago that remains the most comprehensive guide out there. Its 47 pages hold valuable lessons for learners of any age and any subject — especially now, with end-of-semester exams looming.

The authors examined ten different study techniques, including highlighting, rereading, taking practice tests, writing summaries, explaining the content to yourself or another person and using mnemonic devices. They drew on the results of nearly 400 prior studies. Then, in an act of boldness not often seen in academic research, they actually awarded ratings: high, low or moderate utility.

The study strategies that missed the top rating weren’t necessarily ineffective, explains the lead author John Dunlosky, a psychology professor at Kent State University, but they lacked sufficient evidence of efficacy, or were proven useful only in certain areas of study or with certain types of students. “We were trying to find strategies that have a broad impact across all domains for all students,” Dunlosky says, “so it was a pretty tough rating scale.”

In fact, only two techniques got the top rating: practice testing and “distributed practice,” which means scheduling study activities over a period of time — the opposite of cramming.Sponsored

Practice testing can take many forms: flashcards, answering questions at the end of a textbook chapter, tackling review quizzes online. Research shows it works well for students from preschool through graduate and professional education. Practice tests are especially effective when they require “free recall” of learned content, as opposed to what researchers call “recognition tasks” such as true-or-false questions or multiple-

choice. And that’s regardless of which format the final exam will follow.

Testing yourself works because you have to make the effort to pull information from your memory — something we don’t do when we merely review our notes or reread the textbook.

“We know that the act of retrieval is an extremely potent learning experience,” says cognitive psychologist Thomas Toppino, who chairs the department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Villanova University. “We have tons of evidence about the relative effectiveness of retrieval as opposed to restudying.”

As for distributed practice vs. cramming, Dunlosky and his fellow authors write that “cramming is better than not studying at all,” but if you are going to devote four or five hours to studying for your biology mid-term, you would you be far better off spacing them out over a several days or weeks. “You get much more bang for your buck if you space,” Dunlosky told me.

The reasons for this are not fully understood, but probably have to do with a process called memory consolidation. As we revisit information over time, the memory becomes more stable and less easily disrupted. Neuroscientists believe this partly reflects the transfer of the memory from the hippocampus in the mid-brain to areas in the cerebral cortex. Revisiting the content at different times on different days also means it may become attached to more cues — an idea called “encoding variability.” So, if you are sitting in the library with the sun pouring through the windows as you study the Krebs Cycle, and then you study it again a few days later with a classmate over snacks in your kitchen, you’ve attached that content to a range of associated memories that may help you retain it.

Combining self-testing with distributed practice is especially powerful. “Never test yourself immediately after you study,” Toppino says. “You’re going to grossly overestimate how well you know the information if you test yourself right away.”

Even better is to get some sleep between your study sessions. Memory consolidation is known to occur during sleep. A 2016 study by Toppino and several colleagues in France has shown that if you interpose sleep between two study sessions, you'll remember more — and in a much more lasting way — than if you study for the same amount of time without a sleep break. In addition, when you come back and review material after sleeping, you’ll master it more quickly. In Toppino’s study, which involved learning Swahili words, the longer students slept, the faster they mastered the vocabulary words in their post-sleep study session and the better they remembered them one week later.

While much of this information has been known to researchers for years, it doesn’t seem to filter down to students or their teachers. A report released last year by the National Council on Teacher Quality found, shockingly, that 85 percent of the textbooks used to train teachers in how students learn had less than a page on validated strategies; 59 percent of the 48 education psychology textbooks surveyed offered not one sentence.

Students themselves are often misinformed or just plain disorganized. To take advantage of distributed practice and sleep, you’ve got to plan ahead and schedule your studying. As for self-testing, Toppino laments, “there’s a strong tendency for people to think that testing is for evaluation” and yet they miss the point that it is also for assessing their own knowledge gaps and where to focus their efforts.

Other study strategies besides the top two in Dunlosky’s paper can be useful. For example, there’s fairly good evidence to support “self-explanation” and something called “elaborative interrogation,” in which you ask yourself why the facts and concepts you’re learning are true. There’s even a place for highlighting. “The killer is that for many students the strategy they bring to the table to learn the content they've highlighted is

just rereading it over and over again,” Dunlosky says. “They need to do more engaging things.”

Turns out that he’s a fond of highlighting as I am: “I still have my favorite highlighter,” he told me. “I would never give it up.”SPONSORED

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for our newsletter.SEE COMMENTS

TLC & Ed Careers Core Article #4

https://www.teachersoftomorrow.org/blog/insights/should-i-be-a-teacherEDUCATION INSIGHTS

Should I Be A Teacher? Here Are 24 Awe-Inspiring Reasons To Consider It

January 31, 2017

Talk to all teachers you know and only a few will tell you that being a teacher is something they regret doing. Common reason is that they find fulfillment in influencing students and helping them in shaping the future. While it may not be the same for each and every educator, there would always be good reasons to become one.

If you’ve been asking yourself “Should I become a teacher“ or “why become a teacher” this post is for you.

We’ve put together 24 amazing reasons that make teaching a self-fulfilling career. To make our reasoning more valuable, we’ve compiled opinions and recommendations from education’s top experts and influencers.

“Experts answer “What’s the single most important reason to become a teacher?” #education”

Reasons to Become a Teacher1. No two days are the same.Most jobseekers cringe at the idea of having to do the exact same things every day. The great thing about teaching is that it offers a lot of variety. Each school year, you get to teach new sets of students with varying characters, experiences, and ideas. As their teacher, you can incorporate new topics, upgrade your teaching style, and design new lessons to spruce and liven up the classroom.

2. You’ll get to learn as well as teach.A topic is better learned when you’re starting to teach it. During classes, your students will ask questions. Most of the time, they are amusing and interesting that you have to dig deeper and get a better understanding of the subject area in question. For example, if you’re a science teacher, you can also be a science student every school year. In the process, you’d have the opportunity to integrate new research, technology, and other science breakthroughs into your lessons.

3. Teaching makes a difference, with visible results.Experienced teachers always marvel about the priceless joys from seeing progress of their students. Through time, they gain new knowledge, deeper interest on the subject, and learn what fires their passion most. Your role as a teacher is to mold the future by influencing students’ views and understanding. Also, you’d help them develop behavior, adopt creativity, view the world in a positive approach, and find the potential they need to lead a productive life.

4. Sharing is good.The more you teach, the more chances you have to give back to the community and contribute to the influencing the minds of future leaders, game-changers, innovators, and movers. Especially if you’re leading by example, you can be sure your students will turn out to be their best selves

5. Teachers can work all over the world.Another major advantage of being a certified educator is that you can teach virtually anywhere – coast to coast and in any type of school. The great news for aspiring teachers is that America is in huge need for teachers, and aims to hire all qualified teachers it can find.

7. You’ll benefit from flexible hours.Teaching is considered as one of the most secure careers to date, thanks to high levels of immigration. Right now, schools are growing persistently. As a result, the government is exerting more efforts to meet teacher supply now and in the last 3 years. As long as you have gone through the required steps into teaching, retaining your position is fairly easy. Also, teaching is a valuable skill that you can easily take with you even if you leave the country.

8. You’ll have job security.Being in a highly social job is also a bonus for most teachers. Apart from numerous students, you’ll also get to work as part of the team. Teachers also have the opportunity to become an essential part of the community, while participating in good causes or simply interacting with parents and community members.

9. Get independence.A teacher is the pillar of every classroom. This means you’ll be the one to decide on what’s best for your students and how you intend to design your lesson plans. While it is necessary to follow the outline of your curriculum, you still get the freedom to infuse your own personality as you ace your way to teaching.

10. At the same time, you’ll get to reach out to the society.Teaching is more than just receiving a paycheck. It’s a satisfying career knowing that you’ll get the honor to make a difference in students’ lives. You’re interacting with students and community members from all walks of life, therefore, you’ll get better understanding of current society and activate the creativity in you.

11. You’ll have more than just a job.Most of the time, teachers enjoy great summer vacation, not to mention holiday breaks and spring vacations. If you’re a teacher with kids, this is a great advantage since you’ll get to spend quality time with them since they’ll be in vacation too. Alternatively, you’ll get extra time to work as a summer school teacher. You can also travel or pursue things that you enjoy doing

12. Influence the next generation.

Students look up to their teachers, especially if the latter is able to establish strong relationship with the former. Teachers are responsible not only for educational enrichment. You constantly connect with your pupils and commit on reaching out to them in all levels.

Based on Pew Research Polls, teachers are some of the most important occupations in the community.

13. You’ll have longer vacations.Students look up to their teachers, especially if the latter is able to establish strong relationship with the former. Teachers are responsible not only for educational enrichment. You constantly connect with your pupils, shape their minds, and create new candidates for the next generation.

14. Ensures that your vocabulary, fashion and music tastes remain current and relevant.Kids are pretty good at catching up with the ins and outs of fashion, music, as well as spoken language, especially now that social media is dominating the way we interact. By being constantly around them, you’re sure to adapt the behavior without even realizing i

15. You are constantly learning new skills.Just because you’re a teacher doesn’t mean that your learning stops there. Aside from teaching in your subject area of specialization, you also learn how to coach sport events, run school clubs, do crafts and arts, and even student counselling.

16. You build positive relationships with students, colleagues, parents and the wider community.Teachers are being look up to not only by students, but also by people surrounding them. Since they do a good job in shaping the future and molding the minds of youth, they effortlessly create positive relationships as they continue to interact and influence younger generation.

17. You become a role model. People look to you for advice and guidance and that feels pretty good.Doing a noble job makes you an idol of the crowd. Not only students, colleagues and parents value your insights and that gives you a sense of pride.

18. The children teach you as much as you teach them.You may be the teacher, but that doesn’t mean that it’s only you who does the teaching. As every teaching day approaches, there will always be moments where you can learn just from an innocent comment from the kids.

19. There is constant laughter.

There is no doubt that learning is fun. It is for students, and for teachers too! Playful remarks from you and your students usually keep the class alive.

20. The “thank-yous” mean a lot.

Gifts and freebies when you’re a teacher are inevitable. Still, the verbal gratitude from parents and students whom you’ve influenced positively is plain priceless.

21. You build positive relationships with students, colleagues, parents and the wider community.Teaching stimulates relationships with everyone you come face to face with. Apart from sharing knowledge, you are also inspiring the youth to work for their aspirations or their dream career.

22. You get to meet colleagues with a passion for teaching equal to yours. They might become friends for life.When you become a teacher, it is nearly impossible to not gain new friends. The great thing about this is that you share the same commitment to the craft. This allows you to gain new ideas, share passion, and relate with people having the same profession as yours.

23. Teaching becomes your life.It is not simply a job with plenty of vacation days – and you wouldn’t change it for the world.

24. The youth needs you.Based on a 2015 survey by Chronicle of Education, only 4 percent of college freshmen have desire to major in education. Compared to year 2000 (11%), individuals wanting to become future educators are significantly decreasing. Likewise, a recent study published by Learning Policy Institute states that enrollments were down to 35% since 2001. In the future, research sees a total of 112,000 teacher vacancies by 2018. These figures only prove that teachers are extremely sought-after now and in the years to come.

Source: Learning Policy Institute

Illustration above shows projected teacher supply versus demand up to year 2025.

Subject areas where teacher demands are the highest.

Become a Teacher TodayIndisputably, teaching is a career to love and be proud of. There will be days of frustration, but the benefits outweigh them at the end of the day. If these advantages excite the educator in you, teaching could be the career you’re looking for.

Make a difference, discover potentials, and inspire others by getting a stable career in education. Ask about teacher certification programs available in your state. Or learn how to ace your teacher interview.

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