Fifth Grade Curriculum

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Science Standards Flawed with Inquiry Based Learning

Submitted by admin on Wed, 02/01/2012 - 9:20am

"'The State of State Science Standards,' a Thomas B. Fordham Institute report, ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia with grades on an A to F scale. California and Washington, D.C., received the only two A's."

"The report identifies four areas where science standards are flawed... Science educators, curriculum developers and standard writers have focused excessive attention on "inquiry-based learning" — attempting to help students learn through "discovery" instead of direct instruction of specific content."

Free Direct Instruction Book

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 4:33pm

For a free and readable book on Direct Instruction, go to:

http://education-consumers.org/ClearTeaching.htm

Written by Shep Barbash and commissioned by Education Consumers, Clear Teaching is a short manual on Direct Instruction and Zig Engelmann. On the page are links to other documents such as a trainers list and various other DI resources.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Submitted by admin on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 10:38am

The Corvallis School District has put out a short FAQ on Section 504 of the Disabilities Act.

Microsoft .doc format
http://www.csd509j.net/district_information/departments_and_services/spe...

If you can't read it in above format, see the attachment in PDF.

Research tests learning styles

Submitted by admin on Mon, 08/29/2011 - 8:00am

http://thetartan.org/2011/8/29/scitech/psych

"The researchers’ review highlighted a conflict in the current approaches to early science schooling. Educators on one side argue for a more hands-off methodology. They claim that preschoolers go through a natural flow in scientific cognitive development — a flow that should not be interrupted by explicit teaching. Another approach stresses exactly the opposite philosophy — that, essentially, early intervention via direct instruction can help children develop a rudimentary understanding of the complex concepts involved in scientific reasoning."