Useful
Links
International
Links
MindfulbyDesign is committed to supporting teachers, schools, businesses
and the wider community in becoming more Mindful through the Habits of Mind. By
providing a range of learning opportunities, collaborative networks and forums,
consultancy services and resources we aim to encourage the creation of
environments where Mindfulness is more likely to flourish. We offer schools and
educators in Australia and New Zealand
access to a comprehensive range of professional learning opportunities as one
way to achieve this. http://www.mindfulbydesign.com
PISA The Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), Directorate for Education has organized a periodic
study of the performance of students from its member nations. The Program for
International Student Assessment (PISA) is an internationally standardized
assessment that was jointly developed by participating countries and
administered to15-year-olds in schools. The focus of the survey is on how students use knowledge, that is, on
the application of knowledge rather than mere recall.
The
PISA Study
Reports: http://www.pisa.oecd.org/
TIMSS (Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study) is an
International Study of student performance in science and mathematics. Students
are tested in grades 4, 8 and 12. About 46 countries participate and the
distribution of countries is very different from that of the PISA studies. TIMSS tests the achievement of
curriculum content. The last study was given in 2003.
The
TIMS reports: http://timss.bc.edu
Finland consistently performs
well in the PISA Study. Here are two links to Finnish education sites.
http://www.virtual.finland.fi/education_research
http://www.oph.fi/english
Links
to the education department of the state of Victoria, Australia:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au
Links from the USA
The
U. S.
Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
The
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/index.jsp/
The
National Staff Development Council: http://www.nsdc.org/
The
Virginia Staff Development Council: http://www.vsdc-online.org/
Virginia’s Community of Learning:
http://www.virginialearning.org/index.cfm
The
Virginia Association
of Science Teachers: http://www.vast.org/