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....