Learning Connections/Curriculum

The Learning Connections section is the meat of L&L, the reason the magazine came into being these 35 years ago. It is where teachers share their successful classroom projects, either as ready-to-use activities you can pop into your curriculum or as ideas for you to adapt to meet the needs of your students and school system.

Which ideas worked for you? Which didn't? What work did you have to do to integrate them into your classroom?

Features

The feature well is the lifeblood of L&L. It is where practitioners can talk about the big issues currently affecting teachers in the classroom, teacher educators, ed tech advocates and students.

Which of L&L's features spoke to you? Which made you write off an angry response taking the author to task for their cavalier attitude or lack of information about your particular situation--or at least think about writing a letter? Which made you sing their praise in the teacher's lounge, either online or offline?

Which did you copy to show to your principal, teachers or elected officials? Which did you assign to your students? Which did your students bring to you?

Refresh your memory about the recent features here: http://bestofll-links.blogspot.com/2008/02/feature-links.html

Point/Counterpoint

The L&L staff was excited to introduce the Point/Counterpoint a few years back.

How do you like the column? Which topics stuck out as the best? Which sparked conversation among your colleagues? Which issues did you also grapple with in your setting? How did the discussion help make a decision?

And, do you remember any of the responses to the topics? Which made you go back and read the topics you missed?

Find Links to all Point-Counterpoint columns here: http://bestofll-links.blogspot.com/2008/02/point-counterpoint-links.html (Again, this is a long one.)

Issue Oriented

I'd like to start with the first column in the magazine: Issue Oriented by Anita McAnear.

Which of Anita's columns really spoke to you? Which did you include in course packets, refer back to, or copy for your colleagues?

And, what exactly made your favorite columns so special? Was it the way she connected current issues with technology-based pedagogy? Was it a nugget that will continue to resonate with classroom teachers for at least the next few years? Or was it simply that her take on a complex idea helped you better understand it and apply it in your own teaching?

Think about your favorites, then nominate them in the comments section. Feel free to comment on others' selections, whether you agree or not.

Read links here: http://bestofll-links.blogspot.com/2008/02/issue-oriented-links.html (Beware, this is a very long post. I also link to the main L&L page in the left nav.)

I'll be asking for nominations from all sections of the magazine, so feel free to capture other great articles in a sticky note on your computer or in the comments section here. I'll move them to the appropriate blog post later.

Thanks to all!