MathMastery.com

Effective Teaching Blog
by Paul Mckinney

Fact or Opinion
Posted: 2010-04-15

Hello All-

My name is Paul McKinney and I am very pleased to be a regular contributor to this new and informative blog site.

First let me tell you a little bit about who I am and the experiences I bring to this site. I always find it important to identify with those I share ideas, opinions and most importantly research. This is my 42nd year in the field of education. Notice that I did not identify education as a profession.Along the way I will explain my reasoning for this statement.

I started teaching in 1968 in a very small community in upstate NY.And for the next 22+ years taught in the public schools around Central New York. I must say that my favorite teaching experience was when I taught Kindergarten for 5 years. I learned more about teaching from teaching these little munchkins, than I did from taking any methodology class in undergraduate or graduate school. I taught all grade levels through 5th grade, special education through high school, and was an Assistant Director of Special Education for 5 years in charge of Curriculum and Instruction representing nine different school districts. For the past 20 years, I have been consultant trainer for SRA, a Project Director of Project Follow Through, and owner and principal in two major staff development companies. I am presently Vice President and partner in Educational Resources, Inc. (ERI) (www.erigroup.us) And I am proud to say that for 40 of those years I have been associated with all of the powerful instructional programs that come under the "umbrella" called Direct Instruction. OK, there you have it. I also need you to know as I write on this blog, I promise to always delineate between fact and my opinion or experience.

Earlier, I made the statement that Education is still a field and not a profession. I say that after the accumulation of 42 years of working hard, reading lots, studying diligently, and observing always. We are in fact a fickle profession (OPINION). My experience is that as craftsmen, we tend to jump on various "bandwagons" on a regular and cyclical way. About every 5 years, some new fad comes down the highway and we all jump on it like this is going to be the end all be all.We work ourselves to the bone trying our best to make it work and whether it does or not, we are told to throw it away and jump on the next wagon. For me it's kind of like the old adage of the baby and the bath water. I truly believe (OPINION) that most of the fault is not the teacher. Teachers do what they are told to do and unfortunately in my experience, these decisions are made by those who are not well informed.

In order for us to rise to the level of professionalism a number of important critical shifts must occur (OPINION). We have to begin to behave as professionals.And this involves looking hard at the SCIENCE of teaching and learning. Ron Edmunds once was quoted as saying (FACT)...."we already know more than enough to teach all children if we choose to."Those are powerful yet true words...and they were spoken over 40 years ago.

So let's begin a journey together you and I....let's share some ideas, experiences, facts and opinions together in the weeks and months ahead.In order to do this I would ask three things of both you and myself:

Let's keep our egos in check.teachers tend to have big ones and they tend to get in the way sometimes of bringing clarity to the situation (OPINION).
If we make a statement of fact, let's be prepared to back it up. Let's make our motto..."Where's the Evidence" Let's be sure that what we share as fact as a wealth of empirical student achievement data to support it. We must stop experimenting on students.
And finally, when we find we just can't agree, let's end the debate by agreeing to disagree and move on.

Well, that is a start. I hope this sparks your interest and let's see where this all goes.... Next time I thought it would of interest to talk about "Academic Learning Time (ALT). And Why We Don't Reach All Students.....Until next time.....Paul

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Effective Teaching Blog
by Paul Mckinney

Fact or Opinion
Posted: 2010-04-15

Hello All-

My name is Paul McKinney and I am very pleased to be a regular contributor to this new and informative blog site.

MathMastery Blog
by Bev Norris

Welcome to the New MathMastery
Posted: 2010-04-15

The MathMastery team is excited about the launch of its new web site. On the site you will find a wealth of math and science content. Our blogs will be hosted Paul McKinney and his team from Education Resources Incorporated, Sky Lamont, a home schooling mom, and myself. In this first posting I want to introduce Paul and Sky and set the stage for future interactions one can expect.

Paul McKinney, Vice-President of Educational Resources, Inc. (ERI) was recently notified that he was unanimously selected by the Board of Directors of ADI to receive this year's Life Time Achievement Award. The award comes as a result of a 40-year commitment to Direct Instruction. Paul started his teaching career in 1968 in Phoenix, New York. He has spent his entire career, teaching, training, supervising and promoting effective teaching and D.I. In 1989, Paul left public education to form and become President of J/P Associates, Inc. Then again in 1999, along with his partners Dr. Molly Blakely and Ed Schaefer, formed Educational Resources, Inc. a professional staff development company. ERI presently partners with school districts across the United States and abroad. Paul holds a B.A. and an M. S in Early Childhood Education from the State University College at Oswego and a C.A.S from Syracuse University in Educational Administration. Paul will receive his award at the annual ADI conference in Eugene Oregon in late July.

MathMastery online subscribers already know Paul. He is the narrator on many of the math and science videos. Check out Changing the Sides of an Equation video in the Absolute Value and Problem Solving tutorial in the Equations, Roots and Exponents! See how many more times you can find Paul as a narrator on MathMastery. Send us your answer. The winner(s) will get three months free subscription to MyMasteryNetwork, MathMastery’s online math subscription.

I look forward to Paul’s contributions to the MathMastery blog on effective teach....

Homeschool Blog
by Skye Lamont

The Power of Positive Association
Posted: 2010-04-15

One of the basic challenges a homes schooling parent faces is resistance from their child/children towards their daily lessons. I'm sure there are a couple of parents out there right now who know exactly what I mean -the moaning, the sad faces, the snails crawl paces at which the kids do their activities - you know, the pain we parents go through.  

I'm a life coach, one thing I can tell you is that sometimes my adult clients act the same way. Take for instance a client who wants to lose weight. Making healthy eating choices and exercise are not always easy - or are they? It really depends on the perception they associate with having to do those activities. If they have positive associations, then their exercise routine flows even when they're pushing through tremendous resistance like lifting weights. If while lifting, they co....