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Enter the Fortress of Solid Learning
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Oct. 2009, Vol. 9, Issue 2
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Castle
Learning's Style of Scaffolding & Meta-Cognition
Our "New Features" section of this Newsletter is full of great news for the classroom. Staff
Trainers have returned from school visits with stories about how teachers are
bowled over by our consistent effort to improve an already useful Castle Learning experience. We're thrilled by teachers dubbing us
as "The Ever New & Fresh"- or "Constantly Responsive to Our Needs"- Castle Learning Online.
Our Newsletter also includes another White Paper, "Scaffolding, Meta-Cognition & Castle Learning Online." There are 18 in all, each
of which explores how Castle Learning
is addressing current issues that schools face today. Please check out CastleSoftware.com > More > White Papers. While used to define a
teacher and student's classroom experience, our team transforms scaffolding
and meta-cognition into a corporate thought process to help improve our
services to you. We experience our
own scaffolding when we listen to your feedback to make Castle Learning even
more effective for your students.
In the same spirit, our corporate version of meta-cognition fills
any potential gap with new and relevant content and features. What else would you have
expected from a company with an educator president and most of its team having
some experience in the classroom?
Keep making suggestions for change and write to me at Profbill@CastleLearning.com.
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Newest Features
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The Scarlet Letter Added to English
A new unit has been added to the English course. "Literature: The Scarlet Letter" is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of love, adultery, revenge, and redemption. Set in 17th century Puritan New England, The Scarlet Letter was first published in 1850.
This
is the twelfth set in a series of literature short answer questions. The unit
contains 25 sections, corresponding to the 24 chapters of the book plus a
section of general end-of-novel questions. Questions focus on the narrative
events, themes, vocabulary, characterizations, literary elements, and symbolism
employed in this complex novel.
American artist T. H. Matteson, (1813-1884) painted this oil, "The Scarlet Letter," depicting the central characters in 1860.
Two Intermediate English Literature Units Added
Two new units have recently
been added to Intermediate English. Instruction and notes for using Literature:
A Raisin in the Sun
and Literature: Where the Red Fern Grows are available at the Info Center on the Teacher Home Page.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
A new
Intermediate English unit, Literature: A Raisin in the Sun, is
based on the complete two-act stage play written by Lorraine Hansberry. This is the second
in a series of literature short-answer questions for  Intermediate English. The unit contains 6 sections, corresponding to the 6 scenes of the play. Questions focus on plot points, literary elements, vocabulary in
context, inferences, and characterizations.
Lorraine
Hansberry (1930-1965) was the first female African American playwright to be
produced on Broadway. Her writing was influenced by her family's move to an
all white Chicago neighborhood and her father's successful legal battle against
housing discrimination.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson
RawlsLiterature: Where the Red Fern Grows is
based on Wilson
Rawls' novel of a boy and his hunting dogs growing up in the Ozark
Mountains of Oklahoma during the Great Depression. The unit contains 12 sections, covering the 20 chapters of
the novel. In addition to plot points, inferences, and characterizations, the
questions place particular emphasis on the literary elements and vocabulary in
the context of the novel.
Wilson
Rawls (1913-1984) was inspired to become a writer when as a boy he read The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Where the Red Fern Grows was first published
in 1961 and was made into a movie in 1983.
Critical Listening Passages Added
Not only are these passages linked to multiple-choice questions, they are also
linked to constructed or extended response questions! The constructed response
questions include graphic organizers and critical thinking questions that
require students to write extended answers based on what they heard in the
passage.
To add Listening Selections to a Short Answer assignment in Intermediate English: on the question
criteria page, select the Critical Listening Selections unit and then choose a
desired section (genre). Make sure the Listening attribute is checked. To add
Listening Selections to a Constructed Response assignment: on the Add Questions
page, select the unit Critical Listening Selections. Then use Browse and Select
to add the desired questions.
All questions are clearly labeled with the name of the accompanying passage.
Note that teachers can see the text of the passages when creating and editing
assignments, but student do not see the text. Teachers can also click the audio
link to hear the selection read aloud.
Note: The audio used by these questions requires the Adobe Flash Player browser
plug-in to play the audio files. Your browser may prompt you to install this
the first time you access a question that includes audio. In a computer
laboratory setting, the use of headphones is advisable, though speakers can be
used. Also, the audio files are also large (500K or more). Check with
your network technician to make sure your network can download files of this
size.
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The Mail Bag
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Reminder to Technical Administrators
The 2009-10 school year is well underway. Thanks to all of you who have
submitted their student enrollment data! However, if your school or school
district has not yet sent in the student enrollment list for 2009-10, please do
so immediately. The sooner the uploading process is completed, the sooner
teachers and students can begin using Castle Learning. Please CLICK HERE to view a PDF with instructions for sending
electronic files to Castle Learning OnlineTechnical Support. If you have any
questions, please call at 1-800-345-7606 Extension 2 or email to support@CastleLearning.com.
Qs & As
QUESTION: I submitted my student enrollment data at the beginning of the
school year, but new students have transferred in. I also have some new
teachers who need accounts. Can I create new accounts for them, or do I
have to send their names to Castle Learning Technical Support?
ANSWER: The initial upload of student accounts at the beginning of the
school year is a great way to bring students on board quickly. However, all
schools experience some fluctuations in enrollment throughout the school year.
For this reason, Castle Learning Online offers a full range of account
management features.
Administrator account holders can add new user accounts of all types (student,
teacher and other administrators); edit existing accounts to accommodate
name changes; and deactivate accounts for teachers or administrators who
have left. For customers with multiple schools, administrator account holders
with district rights can even move accounts from one school to another to
accommodate personnel transfers within a district. The Accounts link on
the Administrator Home page is the gateway to the account management features.
How to create a new account:
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From the Administrator Home page, click Accounts.
- Make a note of the established login patterns for users
(student, teacher and admin patterns usually differ).
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Click Add New User, above and to the right of the Accounts
list.
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An Add Account window pops up with an empty account
profile.
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Enter the first and last names of the user at the prompts.
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Enter the login ID according to the pattern for your
school. For example, "any-TomSmith".
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You may enter a password. If left blank, the user can choose
a password at the time of first sign-in. Note: You must enter a password if this is an administrator account.
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Select the User type from the drop-down menu: Student,
Teacher, or Administrator.
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Optional fields include the salutation (recommended for
teachers and administrators), email address, and grade level (recommended for
students).
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Click Save to save the changes.
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You may continue adding accounts as needed. Click Cancel
or Back when finished.
Be sure to give the user the
new login ID and the password, if any, with instructions for signing in at www.CastleLearning.com.
If this is a new student account created without a
password, the student will choose a password the first time s/he signs in. Enter
the login ID at the prompt, skip the password field, and click Sign-in, then
follow the steps to choose a new password.
If this is a new teacher account created without a password, enter the
login ID and the default teacher password found on the Administrator
Preferences page and click Sign-in, then follow the steps to choose a new
password.
QUESTION: What kind
of help is available for students who forget their login IDs or passwords?
ANSWER: Students who have previously set an email address into their
account profile can later make use of the auto-emailing
mechanism. If you need a reminder of your ID and password, click the "Forgot
your ID or Password?" link on the Castle Learning Online sign-in page. On the Forgot page, enter your email address at
the prompt and click Email My ID and Password To Me. Check your email later for
a message containing your login ID and password.
There is an easy way to tell
whether you have set up an email address in your account profile. Look in the
upper right corner of the Home page, just under your name. The email address
currently recorded in your profile appears here. If you have not set up an
email address, click the link to set one. You can also access your full account
profile by clicking the Profile link further down the Home page.
Note that the auto-emailing
mechanism works for teacher accounts as well as for students, but NOT for
administrator accounts.
A new password retrieval system has also been implemented this year for
student accounts. This feature works for students who have previously set up a
question-and-answer in their account profile AND who remember their login ID,
but need a reminder of their password. To retrieve the password instantly,
click the "Forgot your ID or Password?" link on the Castle Learning Online
sign-in page. On the Forgot page,
enter your ID and click Retrieve Password Question. Then enter the response to
the
question and click Retrieve Password to display your password.
To set up the question-and-answer
retrieval mechanism, click the Profile link on the Home page. At the prompts, enter your Password
retrieval question and Password retrieval answer and Submit the changes.
Remember, the question and answer should only make sense to you!
Note that the question-and-answer
retrieval mechanism only works for student accounts, NOT for teacher or
administrator accounts.
If students are not able to
successfully sign into their accounts, they can ask their teacher to look up
their login ID and clear their passwords, or have a parent call Castle Learning
Technical Support at 1-800-345-7606 Extension 2.
YOUR QUESTIONS: How can we help you? Email your own questions to Castle Learning OnlineTechnical Support at support@CastleLearning.com or 1-800-345-7606 Extension 2.
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IN THIS ISSUE
Newest Features
English:
The Scarlet Letter
Intermediate English:
A Raisin in the Sun,
Where the Red
Fern Grows
Intermediate English:
Critical Listening
Passages
The Mail Bag
Important Notice to
Technical Administrators
Answers to Your
Timely Questions
Recent Additions
4th Grade Spelling
with Audio
Print Vocabulary
In the News
"Castle" Schools
Recognized Nationally
White Paper
Scaffolding,
Meta-cognition and
Castle Learning
Visit our website for
More White Papers
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MEET US
AT THESE
CONFERENCES!
We'd like to
hear about your experiences using
Castle Learning
Online.
Selected
Conference
Schedule
OCTOBER
PA
Elementary &
Secondary School
Principals
State
College, PA
Oct. 4-6,
2009
PA Council
on Social Studies
Johnstown, PA
Oct. 8-10
NYS
Association of
Foreign Language
Teachers
Buffalo, NY
Oct. 9-11,
2009
NY Association of
Math Supervisors
Tarrytown, NY
10/17/09
Long Island Science Education Leadership Association
E. Meadow,
NY
Oct. 21,
2009
ACET
Conference (Compensatory Ed)
Fall Conference
www.acetx.org
Dallas, TX
Oct. 21-23,
2009
NYS English
Council www.nysec.com
Albany, NY
Oct 22-23,
2009
NYS Middle
Schools Association
Watkins
Glenn, NY
Oct. 22-24, 2009
Suffolk
County
Science Teachers
Association
Islandia, NY
Oct. 22, 2009/3-6
pm
Texas ASCD
Assn. School
Curriculum Directors
www.txascd.org
Dallas-Frio,
TX
Oct. 25-27,
2009
Central NY School
Library Systems
Conference
Oct. 27, 2009
Long Island
Tech Summit
(was Western
Suffolk BOCES
/ w ES and
Nassau BOCES)
Oct. 28,
2009
NC Council
of
Teachers
of Mathematics
www.ncctm.com
Greensboro,
NC
Oct. 29-30,
2009
TEPSA Texas
Elementary Principals
& Supervisors Assn
Fall Summit
www.tepsa.org
Fort Worth,
TX
Oct. 29-30,
2009
Texas Council
for Social
Studies
Conference
www.txcss.org
Dallas, TX
Oct. 30-31,
Nov. 1, 2009
NOVEMBER
NYS Science
Teachers Association
of NY
Rochester, NY
Nov. 1-3,
2009
PA Council
of
Teachers of Math
Pittsburgh,
PA
Nov. 4-6,
2009
SAANYS
Annual Conference
Saratoga
Springs, NY
Nov. 8-9,
2009
NC Catholic Schools
Fall Education
Convention
Raleigh, NC
Nov. 9-10,
2009
SCOPE
Education Services
Islandia, NY
Nov. 9, 2009
Texas State
Reading Assn.
www.tsra.us
Arlington,
TX
Nov. 12-14,
2009
NYS
Association of
Math Teachers
Buffalo, NY
Nov. 13-14,
2009
NYC
Association of
Math Teachers
New York, NY
Nov. 13-14,
2009
NC Science Teachers
Association
www.ncsta.com
Greensboro,
NC
Nov. 19,
2009
NYS
Association
of Technology
Educators
Rochester,
NY
Nov. 22-24,
2009
PA
Association for
Supervisors &
Curriculum
Development
Hershey, PA
Nov. 23-25,
2009
FEBRUARY
PA
Educational
Technology Conference
Hershey, PA
Feb 21-24, 2010
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Recent Additions
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Teachers: 4th Grade Spelling Words with Audio Now Available
Spelling words with audio are now available for 4th
grade (Elementary English, Intermediate difficulty level)! Students listen to a
brief instruction telling them what word to spell, along with a sentence that
uses the word as an example. Then they enter their responses in a short answer
field that is automatically scored. Hints and reasons give good clues and
explanations of common spelling rules. Students may replay the instructions as
many times as needed. This is a great way for students to practice their
spelling skills!
To add 4th grade spelling words with audio to an assignment in
Elementary English: on the question criteria page, select the unit Spelling and the section Spelling with Audio-Grade 4. Be sure
that the Intermediate difficulty
level is checked as well as the Listening
attribute.
Note: This feature requires audio software capable of playing MP3 files as well
as speakers or headphone. Check your browser software for compatibility. In a
computer laboratory setting, the use of headphones is advisable.
Teachers: Print
Vocabulary for Assignment
The Display/Print Vocabulary option on the Edit Assignment page now allows the
teacher to select the vocabulary terms to include in their Vocabulary
Worksheets. Use the checkboxes next to each term to specify those to include.
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In the News
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5 Castle Learning Participants Named
To List of America's Best 100 High Schools
Five
Castle Learning Online participants
have been awarded Gold Medals and named to the list of Best 100 High Schools in America by U.S. News
& World Report. All located in New
York, the Gold Medal winners and
their rankings are: Buffalo-City Honors High School, #35 (William A. Kresse,
Principal); Great Neck South High School, #49 (Susan Elliott, Principal); Blind
Brook High School, Rye, #87 (Scott Bersin, Principal); Pittsford-Sutherland
High School, #75 (Liz Konar, Principal); and Pittsford-Mendon High School, #91,
(Karl Thielking, Principal).
According to U.S. News & World Report, the
rankings are based on the key principles that a great high school must serve
all its students well, not just those who are bound for college. The schools must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show that the school is
successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.
The rankings are prepared by School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education data
research business run by Standard & Poor's. The organization analyzed
21,069 public high schools for US News and World Report recognitions.
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In the News
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Formerly 'Low Performing' School
Makes List of America's Best
A
Castle Learning Online participating
school, South
Robeson High School (SRHS), Rowland, NC, received a Bronze award from U.S. News & World Report. The award represents a dramatic turnaround for the school that had been
designated as "low performing" by the state of North Carolina.
The
results at SRHS are due to the vision and the commitment of lead administrator
Principal DeRay Cole (pictured at right) and his staff.
Cole said the goal is to provide total quality education and increase student learning for all 532 students in grades 9-12 in the rural school.
"Castle
Learning Online played a key part in the academic improvement of the students and
making the teachers better educators," said Cole, who was named Robeson County
Principal of the Year. Castle Learning Online is a review,
testing and assessment Internet-based resource that provides students with unlimited opportunities to review core subjects and their teachers with instant
analysis of their progress.
Receiving
accolades in the prestigious national ranking has become a source of pride at
the home of the "Mighty Mustangs." Principal Cole saluted the enthusiastic
support of parents,
guardians, businesses, the school community and the students
themselves for a
great year.
The president of Castle Software, Inc.
responded to the news. "We
offer hearty congratulations to South Robeson High School and all the Castle Learning Online participating
schools who were recognized by US News & World Reports," said President
Bill Ingui. He
added that "the educators at these schools are valiant in their efforts to
guide each student to greater achievement and we at Castle Learning are honored
to play a part in their endeavors."
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Castle Learning Online White Paper
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Scaffolding,
Meta-cognition
& Castle Learning Online
Prepared by Bill Ingui
President and Retired Educator
It
is a teacher's dream to observe students taking on the responsibility of
learning, with the jump-start basic knowledge that has been delivered in the
classroom. When a student views
their future in terms of current knowledge and can redirect the learning based
on self-evaluation of their weaknesses and strengths, the teacher has a partner
in the course content, a "youth educator" who gets it that learning is not a
"fill me with knowledge" experience.
Teachers who promote the goal of the self-learner are most likely
engaged in scaffolding and meta-cognition.
Educational
scaffolding can be viewed as a
student's ability to build on prior knowledge, where teachers provide
instruction that is at a challenge level just beyond what the learner can do
alone. It is temporary and slowly
withdrawn at each level, until the student can complete assignments / tasks
independently. The student
self-regulates their learning and the teacher reduces their support. The concept of meta-cognition describes the resulting independence brought about
by scaffolding, defined as the process
of considering and regulating one's own learning. Meta-cognition activities
include assessing or reviewing one's current and previous knowledge,
identifying gaps in that knowledge, planning gap-filling strategies,
determining the relevance of new information, and potentially revising beliefs
on the subject. The student has
become an ally to the teacher when they can diagnose their strengths and
weaknesses and then chart a plan to learn new concepts, skills and ideas. They have dramatically increased the
probability that they will excel when faced with standard's-based expectations.
Castle
Learning Online gives
students control over how they learn. They can create their own assignments and evaluate the results, select a
unit and sub-unit of study in subjects from grades 3-12,
answer questions, receive hints for incorrect choices and defined vocabulary, and work at their own pace with an
opportunity to retry the question.
Instant feedback includes a full sentence reason for correct choices. Assessment reports evaluate strengths and weaknesses, and
even supply definition / vocabulary study sheets to hone their knowledge on terms
giving them trouble.
The formula for meta-cognition
brings into play a student's ability to regulate one's own learning. Teachers have told us exactly how they
see student involvement become a meaningful self-learning tool -
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Students can self-pace their work, planning their
gap-filling strategies, where "my high end achievers
can move at a pace that doesn't bore them, while struggling students don't feel
rushed or overwhelmed by getting 'left behind' because the pace of the rest of
the students is too quick for them."
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With Castle
Learning Online, "my students tell me they learn from the
program because on the second attempt to answer a question, the 'hint' helps
them learn."
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Tech-savvy students see Castle Learning Online as a "great way to
review content before exams because they enjoy working on the computer" and teachers remark that "remediation
students who take the time to look at the solution and self-correct will
benefit."
Students are driven by
success and plow into Castle Learning
Online in a way that assures they learn because they want to learn. A teacher, who understands scaffolding in how they approach their
learners, can give students the opportunity to frame their education by using
a meta-cognition
learning style, discerning their weaknesses and strengths and then redirecting their learning.
A Note from Professor Bill: This white paper is one is a series that we hope you'll find valuable. Visit the our website for MORE WHITE PAPERS.
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Contact Information
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Castle Software, Inc., 626 Layport Dr., Ste. 100, Sebastian, FL 32958
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