Methods Once More

Although I am looking forward to the next month off, I wouldn't mind taking this class over again! I feel as if there is so much more to learn, if not just go over again. This has been such a learning experience, I don't want it to end. I know I have many more classes to take, important ones, but I feel as if Methods is a class that should keep going throughout my education here. It is such an important class but only lasts one semester long. I do feel I gave it my all and got out of it all that I could. It is up to me now to continue to practice what I have learned. I guess my next Methods class will be actual time in an elementary classroom working firsthand with other teachers.

Three Pluses and a Wish for My Experience So Far

Three Pluses:

1. I feel as if I have really grasped how to create lesson plans and unit plans using a variety of teaching methods.
2. I have broken out of my shell and now feel as if I am on the path to becoming a really good teacher.
3. I have learned how important collaboration is and how much I get out of it.

One Wish:

I wish that I continue to grow throughout my life as much as I have this semester.

Helping Hands

This has been quit an adventure. Going back to school in my mid-thirties with two young boys and a part-time job. I have had to rely on a lot of people. My parents have been incredibly supportive, babysitting whenever they can(even though they live 40 minutes away!) My husband has endured my new "stressed out" personality with total support and love. My friends have jumped in whenever they can, watching my kids or just calming me down. My new friends at school have been incredible as well. What a support system we have created. Since many of us have had many classes together, we have gotten to know each other pretty well. I don't think I would have made it this far if it weren't for them. It is always nice to hear you are not the only one feeling stressed out, neglectful of your kids or doubtful of your abilities. This has been a terrific experience and I am grateful for everyone who has supported me through it.

Technology in the Classroom

Just like anything, the more you are exposed to technology, the less scary it becomes. I am having so much fun learning new ways to bring technology into the classroom. I got to see firsthand how much kids love and appreciate it! I know that it will be a challenge. I see how busy teachers are and how it is not always practical for them to use technology but that is because it has not been made easy for them. There has to be support from the school you are working at. There needs to be classes so that using technology does not feel like such a big production. I want to keep expanding my knowledge in this area. I can't wait to sign up for the Whiteboard classes at my College. Maybe,in the future, I can be the one to show others!

What a Difference a Semester Makes!

Each semester has been a learning experience for me. Yet, this last semester, I feel as if I have had a huge growth spurt! I was so excited to begin my Masters to finally "be in it." Now, I feel I am there. Not only have I learned to create Unit Plans and Lesson Plans but I am now volunteering once a week in a classroom and am signed up for substitute teaching. This last class, Methods, has given me such a boost in my self-confidence as a teacher. I have a very long way to go but feel as if I am on the right track.

Student Teaching, What an Experience!

So for my Methods class this semester, I was able to teach three lesson plans that I created. I chose a second grade classroom at my son's elementary school. My cooperating teachers name is Mr. Pellegrino and he has been teaching for 28 years! What an experience. I was so nervous before I started and now I just want more! It is such a great feeling to have the kids excited about learning and how I, as a teacher, am presenting it to them. They were especially excited about a Webquest that I created on Animal Classification. I was worried that it would have many glitches, but the students are so advanced on computers already that it was flawless. I also did a lesson for the Social Interaction Model. It was really great to see the students get so into it. They really appreciated moving around and getting into groups. They also took the rules I presented to heart. As I walked around, they were showing such teamwork, even complimenting each other on their tasks. This is definitely something I will take with me into my own classroom!

What an Experience

Well, I taught my first lesson to a classroom of 2nd graders and it went great! I taught a lesson on Animal Classification through Direct Instruction. My anticaptory set was a hit with the students. I used the whiteboard to play a game of "What Animal Am I?" and they were so into it. It really showed me how much they love to do anything out of the ordinary and with interaction. My lesson was also well received, and each child was able to name all seven classifications taught by the time I was finished. The next day, we took them to the computer lab for my Animal Classification Webquest. I was a little nervous that they would have problems navigating around but it went so well. It was also the quietest I have ever heard the class! The kids took time to go through each link I provided and really enjoyed it. I am happy I ended the quest with many games to play to show what they learned. They were so excited that the computer teacher said she would save it for them to go through again the next day. I definitely feel better to have gotten my first lesson out of the way because now I am more excited about the next one than nervous. I think the kids can feel my enthusiasm and it rubs off on them. My cooperating teacher is VERY animated and I have been able to see how they respond to him over the past couple of weeks. It has been an incredible learning experience. He is also very big into creating healthy self-esteem for the kids and to promote empathy in his classroom. Even though I have my own seven year old, I never realized how many questions second graders like to ask!! Some pertained to the topic and some did not! One girl raised her hand and asked if I liked her haircut. Well, I have really enjoyed myself this week and feel I have grown immensely. I finally feel "in it" and am so excited for more.

Why Direct Instruction is Not Enough!

Direct Instruction is great for presenting basic information and skills. Yet after the student acquires this information, they must go on to more advanced learning. Indirect Instruction personalizes understanding through student-based learning. The student learns through problem solving and social interaction, they are active in their constructing of new knowledge. It is the teachers role to guide the student through discovery, experience and modeling. It was so nice to watch the video from LICM where the kids eyes just lit up as they discovered new things for themselves. You could actually see them processing it all by the looks on their faces! I know that when I was in school as a young kid, most of my classes were basically DI. It was that rare occasion that we did something different and were hands on in our learning that I came alive. I remember well how excited we would all become when the teacher would say"today we are going to do something special." It is so wonderful now that it is now the norm in schools to mix DI with Indirect Instruction and many different strategies of teaching.

Teachers Teach as They are Taught!

When reading The Practice Implications of Constructivism by Wesley A. Hoover, I was particularly struck by this passage, "It is also useful to remember the educator's maxim, Teachers teach as they are taught, not as they are told to teach. Thus, trainers in constructivist professional development sessions model learning activities that teachers can apply in their own classrooms. It is not enough for trainers to describe new ways of teaching and expect teachers to translate from talk to action; it is more effective to engage teachers in activities that will lead to new actions in classrooms." This is how our Methods of Instruction classroom is set up. We are constantly doing things in new and different ways, individually and in groups. Each method we learn we have to explore in all the different ways that our students will learn from us...it really is exciting!

Vertebrate & Invertebrate Animals

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Vertebrate & Invertebrate Animals

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Glogster

It's All Coming Together...My Reflections Thus Far

WE ARE ABOUT FIVE WEEKS INTO OUR METHODS CLASS AND I AM SO EXCITED WITH MY PROGRESS. WHEN I TOOK MY FIRST CLASS WITH DR. SMIRNOVA, CURRICULUM PLANNING, I WAS CONSTANTLY PANICKED. NOT ONLY WAS IT MY FIRST EDUCATION CLASS BUT MY FIRST CLASS HEAVY IN TECHNOLOGY. NOW, IN MY THIRD CLASS WITH DR. SMIRNOVA, I FEEL SLIGHTLY MORE RELAXED. I AM DEFINITELY MORE COMFORTABLE ON THE COMPUTER AND EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE LEARNED IN PREVIOUS CLASSES IS NOW COMING TOGETHER. AS MY FRIEND SALLY SAYS IN HER BLOG, MY EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE OF EDUCATION "THIS PAST MONTH HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST IN DEPTH LEARNING EXPERIENCES THUS FAR IN MY EDUCATION COURSES." (http://sally8971.blogspot.com/) WE HAVE REVIEWED MODELS, STRATEGIES AND METHODS TO WHERE WE HAVE REACHED AUTOMATICITY AND ARE NOW DELVING IN DEEPER TO THE DIFFERENT INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES STARTING WITH DIRECT INSTRUCTION. DIRECT INSTRUCTION USES TEACHER EXPLANATION, DEMONSTRATION AND MODELING. IT WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL WHEN OUR CLASS WAS BROKEN INTO GROUPS, EACH REQUIRED TO TEACH A LESSON ON A DIFFERENT ELEMENT OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION. WORKING WITH MY PARTNERS JESSICA AND DAWN WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF ON COLLABORATION, SOMETHING I HOPE TO DO WITH MY PEERS WHEN I BECOME A TEACHER. AS VYGOTSKY SAID "TEACHERS SHOULD BE ONE STEP AHEAD OF STUDENT'S LEARNING" THIS IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR A TEACHER TO PLAN. WE ARE LEARNING THE PROPER WAY TO WRITE LESSON PLANS NOW. THIS WEEK WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN A LESSON PLAN TO EVALUATE. IT IS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAN JUST WRITING YOUR OWN. YOU REALLY HAVE TO LOOK HARD AND KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR! IT IS STILL A BIT CONFUSING BUT I AM HOPING THAT BY THE NEXT "REFLECTION BLOG" I WILL BE SAYING HOW WELL I GET IT.

I Do It, We Do It, You Do It!

In class this week, we have been going over Direct Instruction, a teacher-centered strategy that utilizes teacher explanation, demonstration and modeling. The lesson is broken down into three sections: anticipatory set, development and closure. I really enjoyed Dr. Smirnova's breakdown of the development section. First there is "I do it" where the teacher directly teaches. this is where you present new material by presenting demonstrating and modeling. Next is "We do it together" where you provide the students with guided practice, which is very controlled. Finally there is "You do it" which is independent practice. This is done once the task has been mastered. This template makes development very easy to understand and easier to plan. We will be using this method this week to teach a lesson, so we will see!

Automaticity...Like Riding a Bike!

Automaticity is the ability to do things without occupying the mind with the low-level details required, allowing it to become an automatic response pattern or habit. It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice.

Some examples of automaticity would be riding a bike or driving a car, things that we are able to do without thinking about it. This is the point we want our students to reach through direct instruction. Teachers will first break a new subject up into sub skills, bridging new knowledge to old. The next step would be to present lots of examples and then to model. Finally, providing prompts and cues and lots of repetition and practice, the student will hopefully reach automaticity with that new subject.

Understanding Models, Strategies and Methods

Models, Strategies and Methods are always confusing to me until I see them presented in a diagram. I have reviewed them again and this is my understanding. Teachers use Models to select the Strategies, Methods and Skills to deliver curriculum. This includes information-processing, behavioral, social interaction and personal. Within each model, teachers are encouraged to use several strategies to meet their goals and to involve all types of learners. The different strategies include direct, indirect, interactive, experiential and independent study. Methods are more specific and involve such practices as lectures, case studies, cooperative learning, learning contacts and more. All of these methods may be in a variety of different strategies. Using all three is how a teacher selects the instructional practice to use. I should probably just keep a diagram in my wallet!

Learning to Change and Changing to Learn

The video Learning to Change and Changing to Learn from my Methods class was very interesting. It stated that in one survey taken of the most ineffective jobs, teaching ranked among the lowest, right below coal mining! One of the reasons is that teachers aren't embracing technology. Today's kids are brought up emailing, twittering, texting, and using social networking sites. They are immersed in a world of technology until they reach the classroom and then it is all about standardized tests and things that stifle creativity. Teachers have to accept that technology is not a choice, that it is here to stay! We need to be able to open the door to what is available online, to shift their academic experience and get them ready for a tech-savvy world. We need to teach students how to find information online, to validate it, to be able to collaborate with it and to problem solve with it.

A Class of Bloggers!

Well, I was checking out everyone's blogs and was really impressed. I don't think I saw one that I didn't learn from. Most people introduced their blog saying it was the first one they have ever done....we sure have come a long way.

All Good Things Come to an End

Well, five weeks have past and class is wrapping up. This has been a very intense five weeks. It was my first online class as well as being scrunched into a summer time-line! Did I learn a lot, absolutely. Googledocs, igoogle, Prezi, Jing, Glogster, Screenshots, Letterpop, these are all things that I am taking with me. I also got a chance to improve my collaboration skills. My group members, Sally, Pam, and Canaan were wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better team, Generation Text! It was a pleasure to work with them for the past 5 weeks and even nicer to have each other for support. I definitely have a different perspective on technology in the classroom. The generation of young kids today need it. It is up to us as teachers to find a way to bring it into the classroom. There are a myriad of ways, it just takes practice and planning. I, for one, am excited to think about how my future classroom will be, a 21st century classroom!

WOW, I Had Fun!

Here is a link to my WOW project.

I did my presentation on collaborative tools in the classroom. It's ironic, I came into this course not ready to embrace technology but had a ball with this assignment. I realized that I can figure anything out. Watch enough tutorials and there is no way you can fail. I had lots of fun with sites such as Cosketch, The Cutest Blog on the Block, glogster and more. It is so refreshing not to be intimidated anymore! That is not to say that figuring out some things didn't take me hours but I did it in the end.

Glogster...What Fun!

For one of my class projects, I had to investigate collaborative tools in the classroom. One of the tools was Glogster, which is basically an online poster web page. I can't tell you how much I wish this was around when I was a teenager. Not that I didn't enjoy it now(I did!) but to be a teen and have access to such cool tools!! You can't tell by my picture but the butterflies actually fly. There is so much that can be done. I can see using this in the classroom in many ways. What wonderful ways there are today for kids to get creative!

A link to my first Glog.
http://hedderheather.glogster.com/heather-stellas-first-glog/

Who Doesn't Love to Draw??

This is from a cool site called Cosketch. It is a free online collaborative whiteboard. Students can use it to sketch, brainstorm, collaborate on an idea or even draw on downloadable maps! I might not be the best artist but I sure had fun.

Kidspiration Was My Inspiration!

For my class project, I had to use a mind-mapping tool to help students organize information for a lesson I am teaching. The lesson is on Pioneer days. I used Kidspiration, downloading it for a free 30 day trial. It was very easy to use. I went to the social studies section and chose a diagram for "A Time From the Past". The diagram was set up pretty basic but was so easy to change. I was able to add new text, pictures, arrows, cells for more information and much more. It was a breeze to figure out. I would use this to help my students organize their information and to be able to see it in specific categories. This would be something that I could pass out at the beginning of the lesson to help students to visualize what is to come or I could hand it out at the end of a lesson with blanks for them to fill in. I have much more exploring to do on Kidspiration but am now able to see all the amazing tools that there are to help you teach. The graphics alone will help to pull the students in and it is a great way to keep them organized.

A Newsletter Home...How Simple!

My son's first grade teacher this year did not like parent participation in her classroom. The other teachers, however, embraced it by having parents in to help with reading groups. I found this incredibly useful but respected his teacher's decision. Yet, she never sent home newsletters or anything of the sort except for an occasional note. I would have to piece all of his assignments together and interrogate my 7 year old just to figure out what they were doing. After doing this assignment with my group, to create a newsletter that we would use in our classroom, I know for sure that this is what I will do as a future teacher. Collaboration is so important between a teacher and parents. Kids do not stop learning when they leave the classroom and it would be nice to have everyone on the same page. It is also important that parents know what is going on to guide their kids in the right direction. I can understand where twenty sets of parents involving themselves in your classroom would not be productive but a simple weekly or annual newsletter to keep parents informed and involved would make all the difference. Something weekly could even have their homework assignments on it, projects coming up, clubs to sign up for, all things that would help a parent keep their kids on track. As I said before, I will definitely use this in my classroom. Just to develop the perfect template that can be used over an over, would be so simple. I love it.

I Give Engrade an "A"

Today, I signed up for the free program at engrade.com, a software application that helps teachers keep student records and track their progress. How simple it was! I just love how easy and organized everything is becoming. This is definitely something I will use as a teacher. Instead of having that big-black book with a million erase marks tearing it up, it can be neatly organized online. There is a section for everything such as grades, attendance, comments and even a calendar. I thought it was interesting that there was even a option to have the lowest grade dropped. Because I am not in a classroom yet, I'm not really sure how I would improve the software. I'm sure, once I am able to use it for real, things will need adjusting but I like the idea. I can't imagine, in this day and age, not taking advantage of these options.

Here is a link to my engrade classroom.

Quote of the Week

A teacher's purpose is not to create students in his own image, but to develop students who can create their own image. ~Author Unknown

4-Stage Model for Self-Evaluation...how to involve students step-by-step!

In the article STUDENT SELF-EVALUATION: WHAT RESEARCH SAYS AND WHAT PRACTICE SHOWS
by Carol Rolheiser and John A. Ross, I was particularly interested in the section about 4-Stage Model for Self-Evaluation. The 4 stages are a way to teach students to self-evaluate. First, the student is to define the criteria that will be used to judge his/her work. Here it is important to involve the students in the process. Next, the student must apply the criteria to his/her own work. It is important that the teacher give examples of how this is done. Stage three is the most important, the teacher must give the student feedback on his/her self-evaluation. Let them know that they are doing it right. It's not just some form to fill out but a way to challenge yourself. Finally, the teacher is to help the student develop goals and an action plan. This is so that the student can look back at his/her work to see what could have been done differently and how to do better in the future. I think this is really important in having each student take responsibility for his/her own work. So many times, kids can get by when working with others or by guessing well on tests but this ensures that each student knows what is expected of them and what they need to do to get it done.

A Good Teacher Incorporates All!

It is very important for all teachers to be familiar with all the different teaching strategies. The four main ones are Social, Information Processing, Personal and Behavioral . A teacher might lean towards one model but a good teacher will incorporate all models to reach each child. This will help me greatly when planning lesson plans. Did I meet all models, how can I change it?

9 Rules for Good Technology

I loved the paper by Stephen Downes, 9 Rules for Good Technology. He starts by saying that technology employed in the classroom must be "widespread and easy to use. A learning simulation, a conferencing tool, a student record keeper - these tools ought all to be as easy to use as a television, a telephone and a notebook". Basically, we need technology, just not stupid technology! We need technology that does not distract from teaching and learning.

His 9 rules are as follows:

1. Good technology is always available.
2. Good technology is always available.
3. Good technology is always connected.
4. Good technology is standardized.
5. Good technology is simple.
6. Good technology doesn't require parts.
7. Good technology is personalized.
8. Good technology is modular.
9. Good technology does what you want it to do.

I love this because I am enjoying all the different technologies that we are learning about but they do seem daunting to implement. When you think about the average classroom, it is a nightmare to think about wheeling in the one overhead that everyone shares, the millions of wires to connect, the dinosaur computers, systems failing and everything else that can go wrong. But what Mr. Downes proposes is "technology which works mostly by itself, which does not require a Master's degree to operate, and which does not distract from teaching and learning". This is our goal.

LoTi in the Classroom

What an amazing classroom. Now this is a teacher who has embraced technology! As the student said in the video, this allows each child to decide not if they are going to do an assignment but how and when to do it. Not only does this inspire learning and creativity but also responsibility. By allowing the student to view all that is expected but leaving it up that individual on how and when to do it, this is preparing him for what life is like after graduation. The different features such as Note Taking, that keeps track of where information is found, is brilliant! The fact the student could email scientists all over the world and even Skype with them is so rewarding. I really do wish this was my classroom when I was younger. I guess it just gives me incentive for when I become a teacher. Yet, as amazing as it all sounds, it would require computers for all students in the classroom. When will this be a reality? I hope soon.

A Slideshow No More

Well, it almost didn't happen. I was able to create my first slide show on Picasso.com but getting it onto my blog was another story. I tried a million different ways and finally it worked in the most unobvious way! Yet, there it is on the right hand side of my blog!

NETS in the classroom...you BETS!

Teachers must model creative and innovative thinking. We are an example for our students, if we don't embrace it, why would they? As teachers, it is up to us to keep changing and growing yet that is hard to do when the school you are teaching in does not as well. There needs to be a continual self-renewal of the teaching profession which has the school behind it 100%. This means training, seminars, more technology available, everything we need to compete in the 21st century. I have a friend who is a teacher. When I told her of the emphasis put on technology in all my classes, she told me not to worry about it, that no one had time to really use it anyway. The sad part is that she is a fantastic teacher, she just doesn't have any support from her school to do anything differently. Schools and communities need to realize that we are innovative professionals preparing our students for a global and digital society, we all need to get on the same page.

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Motion-Clock-3

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Quote of the Day

"We must prepare young people for living in a world of powerful images, words and sounds."

Unesco, 1982

Catching Up to Literacy in the 21st Century!

Well, it is no longer enough just to be able to read the printed word, we now need to be able to interpret the images of a multimedia culture and express ourselves in many different media forms. So it is up to us to prepare our young students for this new century. The problem is that our young students are more tech savvy than us old teachers are! We have to arm ourselves with the proper knowledge to teach this new form of "literacy." It used to be the teachers job to teach students facts but now anyone can find any information needed with the click of a button. What students need today is to learn how to find what they need to know when they need to know it-- and to have the higher order thinking skills to analyze and evaluate whether the information they find is useful for what they want to know. After viewing the many videos posted by Dr. Smirnova, I really see the importance of engaging our students in technology. How can I do that when I am scared to turn on my computer?? It is up to us as educators to educate ourselves on a daily basis and to keep up if not ahead of the students that we want to teach. It is sad to think that America is falling behind in so many things but especially in technology and in education.

Exploring Webex

My classmates and I had our first meeting on Webex. I would like to say that it was smooth sailing but anything new takes a while to get used to. Last semester we used Illuminate Live but now the University has switched over to Webex and we are the first to use it. I have to say, after our in-class meeting on how to use the site, I walked out a bit nervous. Yet, when our group met online for the first time, it went relatively smooth. The problems that we did encounter were major echoes and just not knowing how to conduct a lot of work on the site. That said, I am ready to tackle it and see where we can go with it. I have to remember that the more I do with technology, the easier it will become.

Why Do You Do What You Do??

I love this website, WDYDWYD, and have really enjoyed seeing what my classmates have posted.
I decided to post a picture of my kids with their future graduation dates because they are why I do everything!

Quote of the Day

“I think we’re in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven’t seen since Greek civilization.” Andrea Lunsford, a professor of writing at Stanford University.

For Lunsford, technology isn’t killing our ability to write, it’s reviving it—and pushing our literacy in bold new directions.

Literacy and Technology

Well, this is my first online class and I am very excited. Yet, I will admit, I am a bit nervous too! I have taken one class with Dr. Smirnova already so I know that I will learn a lot when it comes to technology! What will be really interesting is how she will tie it in with literacy.

My First Step Into A Classroom

Is this really the end of only my FIRST semester of Graduate school?? I feel like it has been so long but maybe that is because I have learned so much. We had our last class and my Unit Plan is DONE! I am incredibly excited and proud of my accomplishments this semester. I am also excited that I had my first experience in a classroom since going to MSMC.

I did my observation in a 3rd grade classroom with Mrs. D. Immediately upon meeting her, I knew that I liked her, and am not the only one....her kids love her. Her classroom has a very relaxed atmosphere. The walls are very cheery and display everything from her students artwork, their achievements to their pictures. Mrs. D's classroom is set up as three long rows parallel to the whiteboard. In the back is her reading area with a smart board, next to the computer area where she luckily has three computers. She said that normally, every year, she sets her desks up into groups of four. The first two weeks of the school year are spent figuring out the kids and then rearranging the groups to contain different level learners, splitting the chatty kids up and finding the right mix. This year she said that for the first time, that went out the window because all of her kids are chatty and she couldn't find a way to get them to stop so she went to rows.

Mrs. D's work table is set up on the side of her three rows of desks. The students come in and immediately drop off their homework, ask questions and then go to their desks to start the assignment on the board. Throughout the day, you will find her sitting there while the student crowd around her for help or just to talk.

The 3rd grade class was made up of 19 students: 7 boys and 12 girls! She said that she is a general education teacher so she does not have any special needs students in her class and that most of her students are on the same learning level. I did notice that when certain students finished early, she enlisted them to help other students. She did tell me that she had a student in the beginning of the year who was out of control and violent towards her and the other students. She had to have someone come in and observe and then they took him out of her classroom. He ended up going to a special program at Boces, where she sends over his lesson plans on a weekly basis but never sees him anymore.

She has a very relaxed classroom where kids are allowed to roam, yet when things got too noisy, she would either ring her bell or say"Hand on your head if you hear my voice." She taught mostly with direct instruction while I was there but had some very creative learning games for her students to do when they had free time. Though her classroom had a lot more freedom than I am used to seeing, it really seemed to works with her students. They were excited to learn and even more so to show her that they were learning. Even the shy girl seemed to feel comfortable enough and was able to contribute. I must have heard her name mentioned well over 1,000 times during my ten hours of observing!

I am very excited to be in this program and have had some wonderful instruction so far. I truly look forward to my next semester(even though it is the summer) and will be honored to one day call myself a teacher.

Quote of the Week

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."

-William A. Ward

One Week To Go!

"GO WEST PIONEERS"

Well, we have been working hard on our Unit Plans with days left to go. I feel that I have come a long way considering I had never even seen a Unit Plan as of two months ago! I feel pretty confident that I have created a pretty good Unit Plan on pioneer life but am still a little unsure if it is properly aligned in all the right places with the standards. It has been a lot of work and thought I am sure it gets easier, I can only imagine how busy I will be my first year of teaching! Well, this has been an excited process and I can't wait to have a finished project.

New To Voki

This week in class, I had to micro-teach on anticipatory sets. To do this, I created a sort of cartoon called a Voki. The idea was a little intimidating at first but I ended up having so much fun! Voki.com is a great site to use for teaching. What an amazing way to get students excited about an upcoming lesson! There are so many different ways to change your Voki or you could use the same character every time for your students. I am so glad that I had to do this because it has opened my eyes to different ways of doing things. I'm not as intimidated by technology as I used to be. Now if I could just figure out how to post my Voki on this blog!!

For now, here is the link: http://gowestpioneers.pbworks.com/Starting-a-Unit#view=page

As Oprah says... I've Had My Aha Moment!!

For weeks, we have been learning about Bruner's Triangle of Knowledge and Bloom's Triangle of Objectives. In class this week, Dr. Smirnova showed us how to make the connection between the two. Bruner's triangle shows how learning occurs. Bloom's triangle helps teachers plan, touching all levels. When you teach, you want to align the two! She also showed us how Bruner's levels all line up with the different theories we have been learning such as Meta-cognition aligns with the Social-Cognitive Theory. I feel as if we have been taking in so much important information that it was hard to get it straight. But now as I see it all line up together, it makes sense. I have made the connection...aha!

Higher Order Thinking

We have been learning about Bloom's Taxonomy and higher order thinking. We all remember sitting in a classroom, day in and day out, being lectured to for weeks followed by a test that we would stay up cramming for. What we don't remember, most likely, is what we learned. That is because we were only engaged in lower-order thinking. Higher order thinking is when students combine facts and ideas and synthesise, generalize, explain, hypothesize or arrive at some conclusion or interpretation. It is up to the teacher to create activities or environments that allow the students an opportunity to engage in higher-order thinking. Studying Bloom's levels of taxonomy really help me to understand what is needed when creating a unit plan and his list of action verbs will be carried around with me always!!

Quote of the Day

“Educational procedures are intended to develop the more desirable rather than the more customary types of behavior.” Benjamin Bloom

Content Analysis and our Unit Plans

Content: information that can be taught.
Analysis: the process of breaking down a whole into parts, pieces , elements or components.

Content Analysis is the process of classifying information, concepts and tasks and to align them with learning outcomes. With that, you will make an inventory of information, specify the knowledge type(declarative, structural or procedural), prioritize and sequence topics, learning experiences and tasks, construct instructional events and design performance assessments. It covers questions such as "What is most important to know?" and "What skills are required to learn that content?". It is generally presented in the form of an outline that can be used in instruction. This is very helpful in our pursuit to create a unit plan. Right now, we are working on Information Processing Analysis or a Subject Matter Outline. I like this process because it is allowing me to see my plan come together. Organization is the key to everything and this is what I will work off of for the rest of my unit plan.

Building a Better Teacher

There was a fascinating article in The New York Times Magazine section this weekend called "Building a Better Teacher" by Elizabeth Green. The article discussed training teachers in the techniques developed by successful teachers and developing teachers’ knowledge of how students may misunderstand new ideas. Doug Lemov, a one-time principal and now education consultant with Uncommon Schools, believes that getting students to pay attention is not only crucial but also a skill as specialized, intricate and learnable as playing guitar. Lemov has a new book coming out called "Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College". In it, he discusses the many techniques that he found successful with teachers such as the "Strong Voice" technique devised to make sure students remain attentive or the "Cold Call' technique which holds students accountable for listening. I found the entire article so interesting and have already pre-ordered a copy of his book on Amazon. Here is a link to the article which also provides many more interesting links to videos of the techniques in action...www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html .

Language Arts, Math, Arts, Technology......

So many standards to incorporate! As of two weeks ago, I was really confused but after our last class, standards are making more sense to me! In all of our lessons, we must incorporate New York and National Standards for different areas of study. All standards have key ideas which are the final results of what students will learn and performance indicators , which are things you can do to prove the key ideas were achieved. Yet it is one thing to understand and another to apply it a unit plan which is what we will be starting next week! Wish me luck!

Why Do we Need Standards for Curriculum??

Standards do many things such as keep everyone on the same page. What if Jenny, a fourth grader, had to pick up and move to another state. If we did not have standards we have to follow, her new school could be teaching something completely different at a completely different level. Standards were introduced to make sure we are all learning the same thing at the same grade level, that students and teachers are on the same page and give focus for the teacher. Standards also allow us to show students achievement and help teachers to plan and collect data. Today, curriculum must be aligned with National and State standards and must be balanced. I am very interested in learning how to do this. There seem to be so many different standards that it is very confusing. Hopefully, in the weeks to come, this will become a little more natural for me.

Assessment: The Gift of Feedback

Tonight, we talked about the importance of assessment. Today's student's are so concerned with grades...grades...grades. They are conditioned not to learn for learning but to learn for a grade. Assessment should be a tool for supporting a student in learning. It should also be used as a teacher's way of modifying how to teach tomorrow. Authentic Assessment is an ongoing assessment. Not everything is graded but all is used towards progression of the students learning. There is pre-assessment where you find out what the student already knows. Formative assessment comes in the forms of quizzes,concept maps or projects(among other things), that acts as a way of keeping track and checking up. Then there is summative assessment which could be a final/cumulative project to see what the student has learned. Most importantly, assessment should not scare the students away from learning but be seen as a tool to help them. In addition, teachers should use many different forms of assessment as a way to know their students and to better teach them.

No Snow Day Here!!

Well, even two feet of snow cannot keep us from learning!! Since we were all unable to make it to school this week, Dr, Smirnova decided to conduct class online. Very apprehensive at first, I fixed a cup of coffee and sat down ready to be thoroughly lost. For the first 1/2, I admit that I was. First, I kept logging in at the wrong spot, yet after a little help from a classmate, I found my way to the class. My next problem was figuring out how to participate. Since I missed the first part, I am assuming I missed an overview. But I have to say, once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I did miss Nicholas's lesson. I'm really interested in how he was able to conduct it online and did he have practice before? I almost hope we have one more snow day so that I can try another online class!

Cognative Learning Theories

I thoroughly enjoyed our group presentations this week and learned a lot about all of the theories. Each group did a fantastic job and I walked away with a lot of information. Though all of the theories contrast in some way, it is important that the teacher understands each theory and how useful they are. Whether it is producing behavior changes in a desired direction or developing capacity and skills for the student to learn better, all play a small part. A teacher may lean toward a particular theory but can take a little from all of the theories to help find different solutions to teaching.

"Quote of the Week"

"Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand."

Chinese proverb

What a Group!

This week,we had to get in our groups and come up with a lesson plan for our assigned Cognative Learning Theory and then present it to the class. The theories discussed were Behavioral, Cognative, Multiple Intellegences and ours which was the Brain-based theory. First we had to open up Gmail accounts so that we could communicate throughout the week with each other. This was interesting, to say the least. First blog...first Gmail account! I found it to be a little confusing and felt myself wanting to just pick up the phone half of the time. Yet, I did like that as the documents were updated it happened instantaneously for all. I think it will take some time to get used to but, that being said, I still prefer to meet in person. As a group, I feel we did a fantastic job. We got the classes attention by starting off with introductions and a group exercise. Our content was informative and we had handouts for future reference and of a current example on brain-based teaching. To assess our group, we presented a quiz at the end followed by examples of brain food for all to eat. The one major flaw in our presentation would be that we well exceeded our 7 minute time frame! In the future, I will be more aware of that and try to keep my information as concise as possible.

Planning is Everything!

Pedagogy:
1. The art and science of how something is taught and how students learn it.
2. Assisting students through interaction and activity in the ongoing academic event of the classroom.
3. The study of being a teacher.
4. The principles and methods of instruction.

How exciting...the study of being a teacher. Although this is my first semester in Education, one one the most important aspects of being a teacher seems to be planning. Planning is everything. It ensures that your students are being taught in the best way possible and and it gives you, their teacher, the confidence to be your best. We are now learning about lesson and unit plans and what is needed to execute the best plan. First, you need to establish goals and objectives of the plan, basically what you want your students to know and be able to do upon completion. Next is figuring out how to obtain your goals, with step by step instructions. You will need to come up with a list of activities and materials you will need for the lesson and finish with an assessment of pupil learning and your own teaching procedures. It would then be nice to finish with a closing activity that can show the student how the lesson relates to them and their world.

I am really excited to learn more on planning. I am the sort of person who makes lists for everything I do and take great pleasure in crossing things off. It will require a lot of work but knowing that I will be going into the classroom each and every day with a plan will really give me the confidence I need to teach.

Educational Philosophies in the Classroom

In class, last week, we learned about the many different educational philosophies and why they are important. The philosophies that we studied were perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, existentialism and reconstructionism. All of these philosophies are a set of beliefs that influence how and what students are taught. The first two, perennialism and essentialism are teacher-centered philosophies where the teacher has more of the power to choose the curriculum and to plan the school day and classroom activities. The last three are student-centered philosophies where the teacher and student work together to create a curriculum best suited for that child.

To learn of these theories in class, Dr. Smirnova broke us up into groups to practice a technique called the jigsaw puzzle, a cooperative learning technique where everyone plays a part and when we come together , the whole picture is formed.

This is how it works:

1. We will create 5 base groups of 5.
2. Each of your team members will get a topic (a philosophical trend) to explore, prepare materials to teach the rest of the group on.
3. When coming to class you will get in the expert groups -- people responsible for the specific trend to share what you will found out and how you will teach your groups about the topic. (5-10 min)
4. Return to your base group and teach your members about the topic. Make sure you taught well and check how well your peers understood the concepts you taught them about.
5. Summarize what you learned by generalizing the content and sharing your insights about it.
6. Take a test, quiz or self-check on the topic.
7. Celebrate Learning!

I loved this method! In class, I was paired with three other girls and we were each assigned a philosophy, mine was reconstructionism. First, I met with my expert group, from whom I got a few ideas that I hadn't thought of and was then ready to present. In our groups, it was interesting because we all presented our philosophy in different ways with different handouts. Sally started the group, suggesting that we all listen first before filling out our graphs. This was a great suggestion which we all followed. In the end, I felt very informed on all of the philosophies plus I had plenty of handouts to refer back to later. I will definitely use the Jigsaw method when I have a classroom of my own. It is a wonderful way to learn, get to know your peers and feel comfortable in the classroom.

Through the many exercises, I feel that the philosophies I identify with most are essentialism and progressivism with a touch of reconstructionism. I believe that the core subject are very important with a strong emphasis on the basic skills such as reading , writing and arithmetic. Yet, I like the hands on approach with progressivism that focuses on the students needs. What I enjoy about reconstructionism is community based learning where the world is brought into the classroom.

Learning How to Teach

Well, this is a first. As of last week, I was proud just to know how to email and now I have a blog! I have started this blog for my very first class in education. It is called Curricular Planning and Development for Childhood Education and my professor is Dr. Ludmila Smirnova. I am a little intimidated because of all the technology that is intertwined with the class but I know I have to embrace it sometime so it might as well be now.

Class was very interesting this week. Since this is my first education class, I really didn't know what to expect and anything new is exciting. We had our first "micro teacher" who taught the first five minutes of class. She handled it very well, putting us all at ease who must follow her. Dr. Smirnova also talked about different types of curriculum following up on our reading of Curriculum Index by Leslie Owen Wilson. It was very interesting to see curriculum not only as written but as "anything and everything that teaches a lesson"(Wilson). There is curriculum that is written as formal instruction. Then there is curriculum learned from a child's family, peers,church and neighborhood in their daily lives. The surprising one to me was the null curriculum which refers to what is left out of our written or formal curriculum. There are many other forms of curriculum, all adding to the important social and emotional lessons our children learn everyday. It is important for me, as a future teacher, to learn all the ways in which my students are influenced. I will be interested in learning what I, as a teacher, can do when some of the outside curriculum learned is negative.

Next we are learning about educational philosophies behind every school system and which philosophies are best used to educate our students. I'll let you know....