Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 97

• Get out the vote!

  By ljd42 on November 1, 2010

  If you’re 18 or over, be sure to vote tomorrow! There’s a lot at stake. If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.

• 224 Boston St. restaurant

  By ljd42 on October 31, 2010

  Barbara and I used to go to 224 a lot, but we haven’t been there very often in recent years. This is partly because of a couple of meals that were only OK (but overpriced), and partly because Ashmont Grill… Read More ›

• Why do we have to learn proofs?

  By ljd42 on October 28, 2010

  Yes, some students enjoy writing proofs. They accept the task as a challenging puzzle, one that provides an agreeable sense of completion once you’ve successfully threaded a path from the given information to the conclusion. I was one of those… Read More ›

• Model railroad pix

  By ljd42 on October 25, 2010

  I know, it’s been six months. Several of my sophomores persuaded me to post photos of my model railroad (in progress). So I did so (linked from my home page), but they’re photographically not very good. In particular, they’re too… Read More ›

• After a long hiatus…

  By ljd42 on October 24, 2010

  …I am once again resuming posting in my blog…

• Closer connections with students?

  By ljd42 on April 28, 2010

  In our department meeting today, we had a guest speaker from the Wellness Department* who talked with us about building closer connections with students, an atmosphere of trust, and greater engagement by our students. All good things, certainly. Part of… Read More ›

• Gaslight

  By ljd42 on April 27, 2010

  Barbara and I just got back from our first time at Gaslight Brasserie du Coin, and it won’t be our last. Mostly excellent food, excellent service, and free parking — in the South End! — what more could one ask… Read More ›

• Betty Webb

  By ljd42 on April 25, 2010

  Do read Betty Webb’s fascinating and informative “Desert” mysteries about the world of fundamental polygamists in the southwest. So far I’ve read Desert Wives, Desert Noir, and (most recently) Desert Lost, all of which I can recommend. Please note that the… Read More ›

• “When am I ever going to use this?” (a new response to an old question)

  By ljd42 on April 23, 2010

  

  Bored math students often ask, “When am I ever going to use this stuff?” Even math students who are not bored often articulate the same question, albeit in a more polite phrasing, such as “Can you give us an example… Read More ›

• Bruno, Chief of Police

  By ljd42 on April 22, 2010

  You’ve heard Martin Walker on NPR. His peaceful mystery — Bruno, Chief of Police — is well worth reading if you want to bathe in a mixture of French politics, small-town French life, and a host of interesting characters. Despite some… Read More ›

• Baltimore

  By ljd42 on April 21, 2010

  

  For April vacation we decided to visit Baltimore — partly because we wanted to see the city, partly because we knew a couple of people there, and partly because it was an excuse to ride on the high-speed Acela Express…. Read More ›

• Dirty Blonde

  By ljd42 on April 19, 2010

  In my previous reviews of two of Lisa Scottoline’s legal thrillers (Daddy’s Girl and Lady Killer) I wrote about Scottoline’s treatment of the world of Italian Catholic working-class South Philadelphia, families, law, and justice. Dirty Blonde (notice a theme here… Read More ›

• More thoughts on grading

  By ljd42 on April 18, 2010

  What are grades supposed to represent? What is the appropriate connection between assessments (whether formative or summative) and grades? I’ve recently been reading some interesting discussions about these questions in several math teachers’ blogs (including those of Matt Townsley, Karl Fisch,… Read More ›

• Alice I Have Been and Dreamchild

  By ljd42 on April 17, 2010

  I suppose you would have to label it historical fiction, as the novel Alice I Have Been is actually a fictionalized autobiography or memoir. Like all historical fiction, it is faithful to the letter and the spirit of the known… Read More ›

• Friday cat blogging

  By ljd42 on April 16, 2010

  

  Sasha just loves going to the vet:

• Sixteenth in the state

  By ljd42 on April 15, 2010

  No, Weston teachers do not have the highest salaries in the state. According to today’s Boston Globe, Weston ranks only 16th in the state in average teacher salaries! At $73,338, we can be compared to a high of $79,444 (Old… Read More ›

• This coupon is valid for how many days?

  By ljd42 on April 14, 2010

  

• Professional Learning Communities

  By ljd42 on April 13, 2010

  Apparently this is becoming more and more common in Massachusetts. Our students got a four-day weekend in January, but the faculty only had a three-day weekend, in order to schedule a day of professional development. Not that that’s a bad… Read More ›

• Open enrollment

  By ljd42 on April 12, 2010

  In recent days I’ve talked with several colleagues and a couple of students concerning overrides into honors-level math classes. All high schools have to face the question of what to do when a student and his or her math teacher… Read More ›

• Welcome back.

  By ljd42 on April 11, 2010

  Yikes! I see that it’s been almost three months since my last post. There’s no particular reason for this — I just got overtaken by events. So… welcome back, and I’ll try to resume regular blogging right now. I have… Read More ›

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