http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Thu, 23 May 2013 06:31:51 PDT Thu, 23 May 2013 06:31:51 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=79860 This national clearinghouse was designed and developed by the Special Education Department at the University of South Florida, as part of a federal OSEP Special Projects grant.The clearinghouse contains 54 problem-based teaching cases on a variety of topics that are matched to CEC's standards of practice. The cases are true stories told by practicing teachers representing different regions of the US and numerous educational settings. Instructors may search for cases by title, topic, or CEC Accomplished Practices. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80426 In an inquiry-oriented classroom, the teacher is a co-explorer and guide who cultivates curiosity and challenges students to think and act like scientists as they explore intriguing questions. It takes time, practice, and sometimes, a shift in teaching strategies, to create a classroom where inquiry can flourish. This web site is part of a larger Online community of classrooms from 11,000 schools, representing more than 490,000 students track wildlife such as monarch butterflies across North America during the spring migration. The instructional approach integrates various disciplines in science, math, social studies, development of personal ethics, and language arts. Explicit strategies should help both novice and experienced teachers create a climate for inquiry, support productve discussions, generate questions, plan investigations and gather data, guide consideration of evidence, and critically review research reports. Established in 1991 with a grant from the Annenberg Foundation to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Project uses media and communications to improve math and science education. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=79928 A total of 364 mathematics and science lessons were observed using a structured observation protocol. Each lesson was rated on four components: the lesson design, implementation, math/science content addressed, and classroom culture. Observers rated several indicators within each component and then provided an overall "capsule" rating of the lesson along with a detailed rationale for the rating. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=403029 Carl Hoagland. Professor of Education (University of Missouri St. Louis), discusses his experience of implementing Virtual Classroom Visits in teacher preparation courses. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=86146 As you work through this guide, you and your students will use the skills of historians to peel away the layers of myth and misconception surrounding The First Thanksgiving and discover what might really have happened during the fall of 1621. Along the way, you and your students will explore the differences between history and the past, and challenge your own ideas about history. Be prepared; what you discover may surprise you! http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=367403 This highly interactive web site, "A Dancer's Journal: Learning to Perform the Dances of Martha Graham" is a multimedia exploration designed for students in grades 5-12.ARTSEDGEThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts2700 F Street, NWWashington, DC 20566 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=81120 This series provides an effective training program for K-12 Bilingual/ESL teachers that can be used in group trainings or by individuals. Several CD-ROMs portray the work of master teachers while others focus on the students, putting a compelling human face on the issues faced by English language learners and their teachers. The Peanut Butter and Jelly Lesson featured here would be useful for both bilingual/ESL and native English children. The resources are provided by CREDE, a federally funded research and development program focused on improving the education of students whose ability to reach their potential is challenged by language or cultural barriers, race, geographic location, or poverty. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80010 The Case Creator is a video-based case creation tool designed to provide teacher education faculty and students a way of sharing a common pedagogical experience through the use of real video embedded in a highly interactive interface. Case Creator extends work done on video-based teacher education instructional technologies with the main purpose of offering the teacher a new creative avenue to excite and motivate their student teachers. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=451585 This paper investigates the impact of web based lecture recordings on learning and attendance at lectures. Student opinions regarding the perceived value of the recordings were evaluated in the context of usage patterns and final marks, and compared with attendance data and student perceptions regarding the usefulness of lectures. The availability of recordings was NOT seen to impact lecture attendance, although students showed some tendency to listen to the recording for a missed lecture. Students who achieved a high mark tended to supplement lecture attendance with recording usage more than students who achieved a low mark, but they did so with greater variation. If students perceived that a learning experience was of value to their learning, they were more likely to use it. Individual case studies describing perceptions, usage patterns, and attendance records of selected students highlight the fact that there is great variation in successful learning patterns, and suggest that engagement is an important factor impacting learning. Although the use of recordings to supplement lectures was seen to enhance the learning of some students, its uptake and effectiveness was NOT uniform across the cohort. This observation highlights the need for a range of learning modes in engineering education, appealing to a diverse set of individual learning styles. ~ directly quoted from the abstract. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=562866 By law, assistive technology (often referred to as “AT”) MUST be considered during the IEP process for every child. AT varies in many forms and MOST students CAN benefit from some level of AT. AT may be low tech, medium tech or high tech. I remember way back, a very long time ago my kindergarten teacher requiring us to use “fat” pencils to write with. When you think about it this is a very common but yet very low tech AT idea. All students can benefit from AT ideas that aid them in any way to better comprehend what they are learning or better manipulate various tools for learning.What I am presenting here is an example of the SETT Framework developed by a team of educators for a class in AT. The SETT Framework model originated with Joy Zabala and is copyrighted (2001). I want to give credit to my collaborative team members that were part of developing this AT Consideration Project for Charlie, a make-believe student but in many ways represents a typical student we might see in our school and one that would require AT consideration. These are Cathy Ooterhoff, Denyel Ptacek, and Wendy Yerkes. This SETT AT Consideration Project was so well done that the instructor for the course asked us if we would give her permission to use it as a benchmark-model example for future courses. Of course we said, “Yes!” by all means.The SETT Framework stands for “Student”, “Environments”, “Tasks”, and “Tools”. This is a four-part model (SETT) that, according to Joy Zabala promotes collaborative decisions in assistive technology from its design for the student to its final evaluation of effectiveness. I believe you will find the SETT Framework Model an extremely useful tool while considering AT for your students with special needs.