Where do math and technology fit with play-based learning? As the EdTech Coach at ISZL, Switzerland I decided to explore this question further. Arming myself with the new resource book Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years (Edited by Chip Donohue), I embarked on an 3 month journey exploring the benefits of different new tech…
Is coding the new literacy for 21st Century Schools? If so, how can it enhance a transdisciplinary program of inquiry? This past December I initiated our school’s first ever Hour of Code, the global event that introduces coding through games and activities, both online and offline. The Early Years to Grade 5 classes who participated…
Last month our school received a new shipment of BlueBots…the 2015 version of the former BeeBots. These bots have only just been released and provide the added feature of being programmable via an iPad (using BlueTooth). The bots also have a transparent cover, allowing children to see the computer inside as it works. Otherwise, it…
This week, as a belated #hourofcode (which we hosted in December), the Early Years 1 classes explored BeeBots for the first time. BeeBots is basically a programmable robot where arrows and a ‘GO’ button tell the BeeBot where to move. Introductory Video from Youtube: What is it? How does it work? The class teacher decided to take…
Term 3 Panic Attack So it’s now mid-April and 3/4 of my Grade 4 students still do not know their times tables. Sure there has been some improvement since the start of the year. All of our math lessons took place in small group rotations and scaffolded ability-based instruction. Throughout the year we’ve inquired into…
Innovative Schools Project (Yayasan Emmanuel) This past Saturday, 6 teachers from SWA visited SDN 13 Pondok Labu Primary School in South Jakarta. We arrived around 8am with time to spare before our 70 participants arrived.The room was much smaller than we’d anticipated, making the rotations plan a bit of a challenge! Still, once everyone arrived,…
Mathematical Thinking & Teaching Inspired by Marilyn Burns Re-Building 100s Chart In preparation for 2-3 digit addition/subtraction operations, it became evident early in the first week of school that grade 4s needed a major refresher of 0-100 numbers. The 1000s project completed in week 2 gave way for investigations into number patterns and number bonds…
Planning for the Grade 8s In the first week of school, Mr. Brian invited our grade fours to be clients for his Grade 8 DT project: Kite Building. We were thrilled to have an opportunity to collaborate with Grade 8s! Last week students had a chance to design their ‘dream kite’! For homework, students explored…
Student Reflections & Sharing This week students finished their 1000s project and presented their findings with the class.Everyone completed a rubric & a group reflection(see below) on their project that explained the thinking behind their maths and also the challenges they faced throughout. Students then gave their first presentation to the class, and had classes…
Day 3 of school, day 2 of 1000s Project… [Continued from previous post] Today students brought in what materials they were able to collect for their 1000s project. Most remembered and one group actually went over 1000 when they counted out their flowers and leaves! ORGANIZING their MATERIALS 1) Students had the opportunity to meet…
Innovative Learning 