Thank God for Edutopia! Not many organizations care to delve deeply into REAL change in schools. But I would love to stretch this conversation farther into two areas: (1) elementary classrooms and (2) practices, rather than programs. Several references here mention the difficulty of getting students from "here" to "there." I believe a collaborative metamorphosis will occur when it begins in elementary school, teacher by teacher. My contention remains: "it's the teacher, not the program." When teachers gradually release their control, classrooms become, not only communities, but exciting places to spend the day. Been there; done that! However, teachers need models to move away from that sage on the stage tradition. I've tried to locate Web videos of "knee-to-knee, eye-to-eye" examples of students deeply engaged in model-worthy conversations (WITHOUT THE TEACHER'S PRESENCE AND CONTROL). I have traversed the Web from one end to the other. Yes, youtube has a few examples (mostly from countries outside the US) and they have a couple of examples in which the children have assigned roles, which certainly would not exemplify interaction in the real world. So HELP! HAS ANYONE FOUND WEB EXAMPLES OF STUDENTS DEEPLY ENGAGED IN EXCITING, MEANINGFUL, REAL CONVERSATIONS IN WHICH THE TEACHER IS NOT CALLING THE SHOTS?

I recently found a fantastic on-line learning site:
learner.org
It offers online classes for teachers BUT you don't have to take a class to watch the video.
I have watched one science lesson and two math series in their entirety. I was truly inspired. (Mathematics: the missing link) and Insights into Algebra). Some of the science series look good as well. I can't recommend them enough. They show master teachers in their classrooms, creating wonderful learning environments where the student is really challenged, engaged and inquiring.
Check it out.

I've also done one FOSS science lesson and I've heard good things about their other materials as well. They have instructional videos that have clips of teachers using their materials in their classrooms.

thanks a lot! great site! I'm so glad I came across it:) so many wonderful pieces of advice! exactly what I need, striving for perfection as a teacher:) just adore reading interesting articles, have used to download great books on the topic from http://www.picktorrent.com
, but always search for smth new. thanks! as for collaboration of teacher and students, really, in the real world it's extremely rare( still we must not give up!

The Teachers' Gratitude

What's gratifying to the teacher takes years to be revealed;http://www.charmingirl-china.com/
It's more emotional than material;
psychological than financial.
It's the instant realization of enlightment;
the constant birthing of freedom.

Thank you so much! This site has great content. Keep it up.