Welcome All Learners!
I believe that learning is a lifelong journey. I conduct workshops and training sessions helping learners of all ages develop their skills in critical thinking, reading, and communication. This site is an ongoing presentation of the conversations along my learning path. So join me.
Together We Are Smarter!
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Many teachers coming to the Midwest Literacy Institute are asking about best places to stay in the area. Thankfully, the West Des Moines area has a bounty of great places, many within a walk of our location.
I've included a Google map listing hotel addresses and phone numbers (the Green Arrow on the map is where the Institute will be held):
If you haven't registered yet, reserve your seat today
Chalk Talk Friday represents conversations and brilliance I've discovered traversing my way through the Blogosphere. From professional to personal development, these are the posts and links have in some way touched my head or my heart.
Here are this week's great finds:
I should probably wait -- but I can't. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I'm sooo excited, I have to at least mention a new project and some exciting news for attendees of the Midwest Literacy Institute.
We're getting set to launch the Maiers (Online) Interactive Learning Environment (ILE), a subscription-based area where I'll be sharing strategies of learning, lesson plans and million-dollar conversations -- all in a gradual release format.
Included in the ILE:
We'll be launching with in-depth tools and strategies of the 7 Power Thinking Tools. Plus, there will be forums and wikis for teachers and literacy coaches for peer-to-peer conversations.
Here's the best part: Registered attendees of the Midwest Literacy Institute (June 23-27) receive FREE access to the ILE for 3 months (a $81 value). That's $81 of professional development training and materials on top of the week-long Teacher Bootcamp that our Institutes have become affectionately known for.
Click Here to Register for the Midwest Institute (Des Moines Area)
With just three weeks before the Institute, make sure you register to take advantage of this great opportunity. And not to worry, if you're part of a group coming - each and every one of your group will receive individual access for three months.
The ILE will be launched the second week of June, so if you're not coming to Des Moines this summer, you can still take part in our online Literacy Workshops. More to come...
Image via Wikipedia
Earlier this week, Sheryl at 21st Century Learning Collaborative threw out to her Twitter community the following challenge:
On TLN we are playing a game- Six-Word Memoirs- if you were writing a mini-memoir of your teaching life, what would your six words be?
The response has been both charming and inspirational. I have added mine and shared some words of wisdom from others:
angelamaiers-Putting learners first, powerful teaching follows.
mikesansone - I am an honest,giving, loving man.
snbeach- A Networked learner: learning never stops.
Stephieand - mind often moved faster than time.
robletcher - "Meet kids where they are...here."
henrythiele - Made the world a better place
LParisi - Someday I'll get there. Still learning.
scottmerrick - hmmmmm, "blessed to be amongst young minds"
mcleod - Began clueless. Starting to catch on.
jonbecker - "Still learning; still finding my voice."
paulrwood - Another day to make a difference
montgorp - "lets get rid of the walls"
alicebarr - Always flexible while learning, "Semper Gumby"!
featheredflower - Constant Collaborative Creative Cooperative Collective Change
smeech - Techology Isn't Future, It is Present!
csessums - Went native. Discovered meaning with others.
mrscienceteach - Get them laughing, keep them learning
samandjt - No such thing as too challenging"
Stuart Ciske - When learning stops, minds stop expanding.
beil - "Thirty-four years long, still going strong!"
SheilaT - "Inspired students to achieve and believe"
BarbGoldammer - students first, mentors, mentoring, love math
BarbGoldammer - "Teacher believed in me...pay forward"
CPence - Smarter and wiser but remain optimistic.
gmudge - Taught heart, body, mind and soul.
traymur - "teach for tomorrows not for yesterdays"
traymur - "learn to teach teach to learn"
wsigele - Life's too short to spend angry
tabor330 - Needed an excuse to read books
coordinatortwo - Sit back and hold on tight
Want more?...Follow the whole conversation with the Summize Search on Six Word Memoirs.
These are sooo good-please add your voice below! Remember, your teaching life in ONLY SIX WORDS!
For a long time - and I mean like 150 years - education and literacy have been built on hierarchical principles.
The belief system has been,
How's that been working for us?
When we look at how many 12th graders leave our classrooms and are asked to navigate any content area, in any field -- how many are operating at the highest levels of critical literacy?
About 6%.
Truth is, we are always (and have always been) in a state of reading to learn AND learning to read. Think about it. I could always learn something from Barney Rubble on my Fruity Pebbles cereal box.
Look at my current situation as an example.
I've been a teacher for two decades. Less than a year ago, I began to blog. A whole new learning and decoding process for me.
Just about two months ago, I started to Twitter. Here, I thought I was so tech-savvy with a successful blog - Pow! New language, new code. But that's okay. Lifelong learning is a simultaneous process.
As information changes, as media changes -- sometimes we're learning to read (new text, new tools, new code) and sometimes we're reading to learn. So in reality - there is no hierarchy that exists.
There is a series of skills and competencies, a set of behaviors and habits that simultaneously happen.
We can break this down by using the Four Resources Model.
Code Breaking
Meaning Making
Text Use
Text Critic
In future posts, I'll be breaking down each resource and how this model can (and should) be used, not only in reading instruction, but across content areas.
Earlier, I offered my review on John Medina's Brain Rules. Now master-prezenter, Garr Reynolds, gives his take:
If you're reading via RSS or email, click on "view" above to see the presentation.
Chalk Talk Friday represents conversations and brilliance I've discovered traversing my way through the Blogosphere. From professional to personal development, these are the posts and links have in some way touched my head or my heart.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Enjoy these links (and share your own on your blog!)
With the summer quickly approaching, my focus shifts almost exclusively to our Literacy Institutes.
The Mississippi River Bend session (June 9-11) is already sold out and the Des Moines Institute (June 23-27) is close to 70% capacity with just 33 days left to register (and I'd suggest sooner rather than later - register online).
Of course, if you miss the Des Moines event, you'll just have to come to Hawaii (either Honolulu or Maui) in July.
Here is the Des Moines Literacy Institute flyer if you want to print it out and share it. Group discounts apply (which is probably why seats are going chunks at a time).
Who says history is boring? With a little help from Twitter and Skype (and our resident social mediatician), history came alive for these fourth graders.
The brainchild of teacher Chad Lehman (@imcguy), a friend found on my Twitter pals, his state project was designed for his class to interact with peers in other states:
Rather than use "traditional" research tools like books and websites, I thought it would be interesting to try and find a contact in each state for information...students on both ends of the interview had a blast, certainly learned something, and also found out that there is a world much bigger than the one they live in.
My daughter's fourth grade class participated as the "Iowa Gang"
By using 21st century tools, we can break down classroom walls. And when walls come down, together we are smarter. How are you using 21st century to connect classrooms and brainchildren?
Related Posts:
- Skype Saves the Day
- Twitter: Cutting to the Quick Conversation
It's just been one of those weeks, you know the ones, when nothing goes as planned and the unexpected becomes something you are expected to handle. A good friend of mine sent me this three minute pick me up. Enjoy it now or tuck it away for a time you need to just remember that it is good to be alive!
Angela Maiers
Maiers Educational Svcs, Inc
Des Moines, IA
Ph:515-554-2004
Fx: 801-772-8257
Teachers need to be great learners to lead great learners. I believe that learning is a lifelong journey, an ongoing exploration and way of life. I challenge myself and others to always be striving to find and share big ideas in every million dollar conversation.
Chip Heath: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Irene C. Fountas: Guiding Readers and Writers: Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy
Kathy Collins: Growing Readers: Units Of Study In The Primary Classroom
Jim Collins: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
