Aaaaagh! That stinks. I just posted about how hard it was for me to find time to post and then the post got an error and when I backed up to what I typed... It was gone. Well, it wasn't the pinnacle of wisdom anyway. Some ideas on what I'll need to do to make the upcoming research project work, a desire to Camtasia what I do around here, and a real need for reflective time to staple down what data matters and how it can be used to improve instruction. A very good discussion with Walter about communicating expectations with students - a need for posters and other clear evidence that we have standards for good writing, expectations for reading advancement identified by specific tasks (hierarchical), requirements that students demonstrate proficiency with the Enlgish language (grammar and usage), and the insistence that students be able to gather reliable information and present it in various modes using relevant technologies. But those posters need to be in regular English, not the way that I talk. Which is funny, because when I listen to real authors, I realize how meagre my own lexicon is. Even meagre is a horrible substitute for some just-right John Fowles-ish word that means exactly a watery, shallow and weak as a result of too little substance rather than mass. Still, the message to kids should be simple and reflect the rubric by which they will be judged. I think we can do that, and also tag question types based on that rubric so that we can react to weaknesses in groups or individuals based on at-the-moment needs. Over time, we could develop lessons that are targeted for specific shortcomings and use data to determine which lessons are most effective for that particular area of need. But alone? While I teach?
Anyway, I've gotta post grades. Hope this post doesn't delete, but since I'm gonna copy to clipboard, I bet it won't.
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