Philosophy Without A Home

Image via Wikipedia I overheard someone say they thought it was amazing that teachers would give up a Saturday to go to a home grown professional development. I don’t think so. I thought, cool free conference, free breakfast, and free lunch. Having never been to an unconference I wasn’t sure what to expect. My wife asked me if I wasn’t going to dress a bit better as I was walking out the door. I would have looked pretty silly in a suit and tie . After the free breakfast, (courtesy of Lenovo I think) we all got together in the auditorium to create the schedule. If you want to lead something or learn something put the idea on a piece of paper and put the paper on the big board, the only requirement is if you create the session you must show up. I didn’t create a session, it kind of caught me by surprise (why I don’t know). With the schedule made we were off. My first session was the future of the book. When will publishers get the idea that the e-book needs t

I went to the Algebra-Geometry professional development at the high school. The district has decided to go with a traditional textbook from Pearson, “Algebra Foundations” and Geometry Foundations”, that has been updated with a lot of 21st century razzle dazzle. Karla and a few of our math teachers have taken the time to go through the entire series with a fine toothed comb. They have created a binder and web site to help teachers quickly identify the necessary content that meets current and future standards. They also created alternative Solve it activities to better introduce some of the sections. The textbook is designed using the principals of Understanding by Design, Grant Wiggins was a consultant. Each chapter has Big Ideas and Essential Questions. At the beginning of each chapter are seven 21st century additions. Video introduction Real students introduce the chapter and explain how it is applicable to the real world. Math vocabulary The vocabulary is recorded so stud