Ron Kordyban, BA, BEd, Med, is an Educational Developer and Teaching Fellow at Bond University. His specialization is in facilitating professional development for academics using interactive and Web 2.0 tools and resources.
He has over 20 years experience in teaching different subjects at various levels primary through tertiary, including training teachers and running PD workshops. His research interests include mobile learning, computer adaptive assessment and technologically friendly pedagogy.
At QUEDREX this year, Ron will be running a presentation, Let’s talk about Flipping the Classroom- a growing teaching philosophy which aims to turn education upside down.
Flipping the classroom involves moving much of the content delivery portion of teaching out of the classroom. It incorporates existing free web based resources to take advantage of existing online content, as well as the ability to create your own content resources which students can view on their own. That frees in class time to focus on problem solving, debates, discussions and other application based activities.
It also helps accommodate the learner diversity typical of most classrooms. In a world where content overload is available at the click of a button, it seems to make sense to adopt an blended learning approach which turns the role of the teacher away from being a ‘sage on the stage’ to a ‘guide on the side’.
Learn more about flipping the classroom and what it can do for you and your students at QUEDREX. For more information and session time check out the website www.quedrex.com.au
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Five Compelling Reasons You Should Attend QUEDREX
Peter Price, the Classroom Professor has written the following post to help answer some lingering questions you may have about attending the event next month.
QUEDREX, the Queensland Education Resources Expo, is in its fifth year, and the 2012 expo looks like being the biggest and best so far. Why should a teacher give up time on a weekend to attend?
1. Save money on essential classroom resources.
Vendors from around Australia will have some of their best prices on offer at QUEDREX. There simply isn’t a better opportunity to try out new resources for your classroom and buy them at unbeatable prices.
2. Receive professional development credit and pick up great teaching ideas at the same time.
Over the two days of QUEDREX, there will be a large variety of workshops and seminars, conducted by experts in Australian education on a wide variety of topics. There really is something for every teacher, and each one can be counted towards Professional Development hours, part of teachers’ responsibilities for retaining their QCT registration. Make sure you go to the QUEDREX Information Booth before leaving, to sign up for your certificate of attendance.
3. Recharge your professional batteries in the company of like-minded educators.
Outside school, QUEDREX would have to be one of the easiest ways to mix with hundreds of people who care as much as you do about education. Many vendors with products on display were themselves classroom teachers at some stage, having developed products after seeing needs in classrooms. In fact, quite a few vendors are still teachers, and so can talk to you expertly about what works in real classrooms with real students.
4. Refresh your knowledge of what is current in education resourcing.
No teacher wants to become stale or jaded about their profession. At QUEDREX, you can easily get a feel for the way classroom resources are going, the latest technology, the newest ideas for teaching your subject. Vendors will be displaying their very latest products to keep your classroom and your resources “cutting edge”.
5. Take advantage of an expo not available anywhere else.
Other cities have other conferences and expos that cost hundreds of dollars to attend, but only Brisbane has a free Resources Expo designed just for educators. Rather than a conference with a lot of sessions you don’t want to attend, QUEDREX has one main purpose: to show you the best of what is available to help you in your own classroom.
QUEDREX, the Queensland Education Resources Expo, is in its fifth year, and the 2012 expo looks like being the biggest and best so far. Why should a teacher give up time on a weekend to attend?
1. Save money on essential classroom resources.
Vendors from around Australia will have some of their best prices on offer at QUEDREX. There simply isn’t a better opportunity to try out new resources for your classroom and buy them at unbeatable prices.
2. Receive professional development credit and pick up great teaching ideas at the same time.
Over the two days of QUEDREX, there will be a large variety of workshops and seminars, conducted by experts in Australian education on a wide variety of topics. There really is something for every teacher, and each one can be counted towards Professional Development hours, part of teachers’ responsibilities for retaining their QCT registration. Make sure you go to the QUEDREX Information Booth before leaving, to sign up for your certificate of attendance.
3. Recharge your professional batteries in the company of like-minded educators.
Outside school, QUEDREX would have to be one of the easiest ways to mix with hundreds of people who care as much as you do about education. Many vendors with products on display were themselves classroom teachers at some stage, having developed products after seeing needs in classrooms. In fact, quite a few vendors are still teachers, and so can talk to you expertly about what works in real classrooms with real students.
4. Refresh your knowledge of what is current in education resourcing.
No teacher wants to become stale or jaded about their profession. At QUEDREX, you can easily get a feel for the way classroom resources are going, the latest technology, the newest ideas for teaching your subject. Vendors will be displaying their very latest products to keep your classroom and your resources “cutting edge”.
5. Take advantage of an expo not available anywhere else.
Other cities have other conferences and expos that cost hundreds of dollars to attend, but only Brisbane has a free Resources Expo designed just for educators. Rather than a conference with a lot of sessions you don’t want to attend, QUEDREX has one main purpose: to show you the best of what is available to help you in your own classroom.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Four Steps to Decimals Without Tears
Why do students find decimal fractions so difficult?
In classrooms all over Queensland there are students who just don’t “get” decimals, who struggle to complete any question in which there is a decimal point.
Here are 4 simple yet vital steps to reversing this situation, which will work in any classroom:
1. Connect Decimals to Common Fractions.
Don’t start teaching about decimals until students really understand what a fraction is, and can confidently use fraction language and written notation for a variety of fraction sizes (denominators).
2. Use Proportional Models for Decimals to Show How Small They Are.
The best model we have found is the “cut up one block”, based on the 1cm cube. Find a way to show slices, chips and mini-cubes (1 mm), and students will immediately see how small decimals really are.
3. Carefully Sequence Instruction From Tenths to Thousandths.
Start slowly by showing how a one block can be made into 10 pieces, called “tenths”. Gradually build understanding of regrouping, skip counting and the rest, then add hundredths, then thousandths.
4. Rinse and Repeat.
Well, not exactly. But students need to keep moving on to using decimals in measurement, probability, geometry and so on, putting their knowledge of these vital fractions to good use in later maths classes.
At QUEDREX, Classroom Professor is re-releasing the award-winning program Hi-Flyer Decimals, revised and extended for use with an interactive whiteboard.
Visit our stand at the Queensland Education Resources Expo on the 8th and 9th of September for 25% off normal online prices.
In classrooms all over Queensland there are students who just don’t “get” decimals, who struggle to complete any question in which there is a decimal point.
Here are 4 simple yet vital steps to reversing this situation, which will work in any classroom:
1. Connect Decimals to Common Fractions.
Don’t start teaching about decimals until students really understand what a fraction is, and can confidently use fraction language and written notation for a variety of fraction sizes (denominators).
2. Use Proportional Models for Decimals to Show How Small They Are.
The best model we have found is the “cut up one block”, based on the 1cm cube. Find a way to show slices, chips and mini-cubes (1 mm), and students will immediately see how small decimals really are.
3. Carefully Sequence Instruction From Tenths to Thousandths.
Start slowly by showing how a one block can be made into 10 pieces, called “tenths”. Gradually build understanding of regrouping, skip counting and the rest, then add hundredths, then thousandths.
4. Rinse and Repeat.
Well, not exactly. But students need to keep moving on to using decimals in measurement, probability, geometry and so on, putting their knowledge of these vital fractions to good use in later maths classes.
At QUEDREX, Classroom Professor is re-releasing the award-winning program Hi-Flyer Decimals, revised and extended for use with an interactive whiteboard.
Visit our stand at the Queensland Education Resources Expo on the 8th and 9th of September for 25% off normal online prices.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
No-Bull Approach to Number Facts
Since handheld calculators first appeared on students’ desks in the 1970s, there has been a push to relegate memorisation of times tables to the history books.
Would you say this is producing better maths results? No, I thought not.
Frankly, replacing number fact recall with mindless button pushing on calculators has been a disaster wherever this experiment has been tried. Kids in many classrooms today simply don’t have a clue what a fact like “3 times 6” equals, and this fundamental lack of basic mathematical knowledge is holding them back from making further progress in maths.
I’m certain you know that maths fluency (and NAPLAN numeracy scores) rest on a solid foundation of knowing all the basic +/- facts to 20, and x/÷ to 100. And to achieve that for all your students, you are going to have to use a system.
Four-step process for generating fool-proof memorisation of number facts:
1. Teach strategies for visualising and thinking smartly about sets of facts that go together (doubles, rainbow facts, etc.)
2. Use carefully sequenced sets of practice exercises, done at least 4 days a week, to target one strategy at a time, building up to knowing all the facts
3. Extend strategies to larger examples like 60+70
4. Set expectations high, refuse to allow calculators to replace memorisation
At QUEDREX, Classroom Professor is launching 20 eBooks for teaching all basic facts in Years 2-6.
Visit our stand at the Queensland Education Resources Expo on the 8th and 9th of September for 25% off normal online prices. For further event details and venue information please visit the QUEDREX website.
Would you say this is producing better maths results? No, I thought not.
Frankly, replacing number fact recall with mindless button pushing on calculators has been a disaster wherever this experiment has been tried. Kids in many classrooms today simply don’t have a clue what a fact like “3 times 6” equals, and this fundamental lack of basic mathematical knowledge is holding them back from making further progress in maths.
I’m certain you know that maths fluency (and NAPLAN numeracy scores) rest on a solid foundation of knowing all the basic +/- facts to 20, and x/÷ to 100. And to achieve that for all your students, you are going to have to use a system.
Four-step process for generating fool-proof memorisation of number facts:
1. Teach strategies for visualising and thinking smartly about sets of facts that go together (doubles, rainbow facts, etc.)
2. Use carefully sequenced sets of practice exercises, done at least 4 days a week, to target one strategy at a time, building up to knowing all the facts
3. Extend strategies to larger examples like 60+70
4. Set expectations high, refuse to allow calculators to replace memorisation
At QUEDREX, Classroom Professor is launching 20 eBooks for teaching all basic facts in Years 2-6.
Visit our stand at the Queensland Education Resources Expo on the 8th and 9th of September for 25% off normal online prices. For further event details and venue information please visit the QUEDREX website.
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