I read Laura Pace's blog. Which was wonderful and gave me lots of good insight. There were two things that stuck out to me the very most. The first one was a very simple statement but it has huge effects. "The more aware you are about who you teach, the more you realize adaptations need to be made for what you teach. This is really the basis of differentiation. You won't even have to think of it as differentiation, it will just come natural. When you know your students you will know exactly what and how they need to be taught.
The second thing that I loved was the simple statement, " I am your partner in growth." This says so much to a student. I will be a teacher who admits when they are wrong and tries to fix things as I go. If things don't work I'll have to change them up. I will be learning far more than any of my students this year and they will be fully aware of this. I want them to know that I value learning and I want to learn as much as I can while teaching them as much as I can. We will ALL grow as individuals and as a class together. THANKS LAURA!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
blog post #4
I think that connecting the core to my own students personal lives will be fairly easy for me. In my own life I am constantly connecting what I'm learning to myself. This is how I remember things so I know how important it is and will make the time to do the same thing for my students. I also love the idea of teaching the important things in depth. If you just touch on a subject and don't get knee deep in it your students are not going to remember it anyway and you have wasted your time. I also think that it is impossible to cover everything! It is so important to teach your students how to find answers on their own and better yet ask good questions and learn how to wonder. I am a strong believer in "pretending I don't know everything" so my students can learn how to answer questions on their own and show me what they have discovered. They will remember the answers to these questions much better that way. I do worry about knowing what parts of the curriculum are necessary and which parts are just helpful tidbits. I know sometimes I am going to have to make the call and hopefully once I dig in and start teaching this will become easier for me.
My favorite quote in this reading was on page 63. "Students not only have more respect for classes that are demanding, but they also have more respect for themselves when they are in those classes." I LOVE THIS QUOTE! It is 100% correct. I also hate my hardest classes until the end of the semester when I realize that I did it. It makes me feel amazing to accomplish some of the things that I did.
1. Look for fresh ways to explore and present ideas. (p. 73)
I love this idea. I am all about making things different. There is always a way to get your students attention and help them enjoy learning. If you can't change what they are learning change HOW they are learning by presenting it with a cartoon or a children's book that makes it more interesting. If you can't even do that change up your assessment. Find interesting and fun ways for student's to show they understand. Let them use their interests. Art, Music, Dance, whatever. They are going to be much more excited about learning and sharing what they have learned.
2. "the trick in providing challenge, is to place tasks just a bit ahead of a learner's comfort zone." (p. 73-74)
In chapter 5 I loved where it said "because this is the first year I've ever given bright kids work that was challenging for them they need me for the first time." This was a huge epiphany for me. It is kind of a duh statement but its huge! You must make things challenging for every single student. Teach to them as individuals and as a group. You can't overwhelm your students by making things too hard. It must be "a bit" ahead of their comfort zone but it NEEDS to be ahead of their comfort zone so your student will actually need you! Teach ALL of them!
3. Stretch your students. (p. 78-79)
I love this idea. It gives me the perfect visual. Your students are not going to make huge strides in small amounts of time. This is not what teaching is about. Its about watching growth in your students knowledge a little bit at a time. Stretching cant be done quickly it takes time or it will snap! So pay attention and you will see this slow and constant stretching of your students minds.
4. "This is hard, but you can do hard things, and I am not willing to let you settle for less." (p. 82)
I am going to admit to my students that things are HARD! But they are SMART and they have me to assist them so how can they fail? I want them to know how intelligent they are and the potential that they possess. If I can be a teacher who had high expectations and believed in them how can they fail? They will feel so good about themselves when they accomplish things that they never thought they could. Every single student can do this and I will expect nothing less!
My favorite quote in this reading was on page 63. "Students not only have more respect for classes that are demanding, but they also have more respect for themselves when they are in those classes." I LOVE THIS QUOTE! It is 100% correct. I also hate my hardest classes until the end of the semester when I realize that I did it. It makes me feel amazing to accomplish some of the things that I did.
1. Look for fresh ways to explore and present ideas. (p. 73)
I love this idea. I am all about making things different. There is always a way to get your students attention and help them enjoy learning. If you can't change what they are learning change HOW they are learning by presenting it with a cartoon or a children's book that makes it more interesting. If you can't even do that change up your assessment. Find interesting and fun ways for student's to show they understand. Let them use their interests. Art, Music, Dance, whatever. They are going to be much more excited about learning and sharing what they have learned.
2. "the trick in providing challenge, is to place tasks just a bit ahead of a learner's comfort zone." (p. 73-74)
In chapter 5 I loved where it said "because this is the first year I've ever given bright kids work that was challenging for them they need me for the first time." This was a huge epiphany for me. It is kind of a duh statement but its huge! You must make things challenging for every single student. Teach to them as individuals and as a group. You can't overwhelm your students by making things too hard. It must be "a bit" ahead of their comfort zone but it NEEDS to be ahead of their comfort zone so your student will actually need you! Teach ALL of them!
3. Stretch your students. (p. 78-79)
I love this idea. It gives me the perfect visual. Your students are not going to make huge strides in small amounts of time. This is not what teaching is about. Its about watching growth in your students knowledge a little bit at a time. Stretching cant be done quickly it takes time or it will snap! So pay attention and you will see this slow and constant stretching of your students minds.
4. "This is hard, but you can do hard things, and I am not willing to let you settle for less." (p. 82)
I am going to admit to my students that things are HARD! But they are SMART and they have me to assist them so how can they fail? I want them to know how intelligent they are and the potential that they possess. If I can be a teacher who had high expectations and believed in them how can they fail? They will feel so good about themselves when they accomplish things that they never thought they could. Every single student can do this and I will expect nothing less!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
blog post #3
1. "Students whose interests are tapped and deepened in school are more likely to be engaged and to persist in learning." p. 3 I have always been a firm believer in this! If I can do things in the classroom my students are actually interested in they will love school. It doesn't even need to be the actual content, it can just be how they learn it or how they are assessed! Give them choices.
2. "I can't give myself to this place, to this work, to you until I believe in you. I can't believe in you until I know you believe in me." p. 9 This says EVERYTHING. My students will not begin to learn until there is mutual trust between us! I witnessed this very thing with my deaf-blind student. until he knew he could trust me and I showed him I believed in him he did not work for me! I must tell them what high expectations I have for them daily. I will tell them how intelligent they are and how impressed I am with them and guess what! they will be intelligent and impress me daily!
3. "Emotions trump learning." p. 15 My students will not begin to learn until they can connect emotionally with me or what they are learning! If the environment I have created is not safe and secure they will be too guarded to open up and try. They will be so focused on not standing out or being heard that they will hear nothing and learn nothing.
4. "Can you help me understand why I should care about this?" p. 18 This is so important! Every student wants to know WHY! not only does it verify for a student that there is a point to learning it, but if I can connect it to their own life they might actually have a chance at remembering it.
5. "I try to see things through your eyes." I know this sort of goes along with trust. But having compassion and understanding with your students is so important! One size does not fit all. If I can actually take the time to get to know my students on a personal level so I know what they are going through and have already been through it will be easy to see things from their side. Sometimes students need compassion and they are disciplined! I want to know them well enough to help them when they are literally crying out for someone.
2. "I can't give myself to this place, to this work, to you until I believe in you. I can't believe in you until I know you believe in me." p. 9 This says EVERYTHING. My students will not begin to learn until there is mutual trust between us! I witnessed this very thing with my deaf-blind student. until he knew he could trust me and I showed him I believed in him he did not work for me! I must tell them what high expectations I have for them daily. I will tell them how intelligent they are and how impressed I am with them and guess what! they will be intelligent and impress me daily!
3. "Emotions trump learning." p. 15 My students will not begin to learn until they can connect emotionally with me or what they are learning! If the environment I have created is not safe and secure they will be too guarded to open up and try. They will be so focused on not standing out or being heard that they will hear nothing and learn nothing.
4. "Can you help me understand why I should care about this?" p. 18 This is so important! Every student wants to know WHY! not only does it verify for a student that there is a point to learning it, but if I can connect it to their own life they might actually have a chance at remembering it.
5. "I try to see things through your eyes." I know this sort of goes along with trust. But having compassion and understanding with your students is so important! One size does not fit all. If I can actually take the time to get to know my students on a personal level so I know what they are going through and have already been through it will be easy to see things from their side. Sometimes students need compassion and they are disciplined! I want to know them well enough to help them when they are literally crying out for someone.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Blog post #2
1. Creating a Team/Community is what differentiation is all about. (This is why your teaching us about morning meetings!!!)
2. You can't just teach content. You have to teach content to human beings. which means you need to know who those human beings are!
3. We are brain CHANGERS!!!!! So change some brains!
4. Who, where, what, and how of teaching. The HOW is what we call differentiation. If one of these is diminished so is the learning.
5. Attach learning to their interests and it will increase their motivation. Not only that but they just might remember it!
6. Content, process, and products. There is always something that can be changed to suit your students. If you can't change What they need to learn aka content then change the activitiy (process) or their assessment (product). DUH!
2. You can't just teach content. You have to teach content to human beings. which means you need to know who those human beings are!
3. We are brain CHANGERS!!!!! So change some brains!
4. Who, where, what, and how of teaching. The HOW is what we call differentiation. If one of these is diminished so is the learning.
5. Attach learning to their interests and it will increase their motivation. Not only that but they just might remember it!
6. Content, process, and products. There is always something that can be changed to suit your students. If you can't change What they need to learn aka content then change the activitiy (process) or their assessment (product). DUH!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Blog post #1 Morning meetings
Morning meetings are something I have never given too much thought about. But just after reading about this classes experience, I'm sure many many other classes have had a similar experience, I want to give morning meetings a try. Morning meetings are one of the simplest ways to create a classroom community. This is one of the most important things to me as a teacher. I want every single student to feel welcome and happy in my classroom. So if having morning meetings can help my students feel this way I am on the wagon! I also think it is a fantastic warm up to ease them into the school day. I have never thought of it this way before but I definitely agree that it helps settle them down and get their wiggles out so they can actually focus on the tasks they need to do afterward. I also think there are huge benefits as a teacher. When your students start the day out happy so will you. If they begin the day eager to listen and learn you will be happy throughout the day. I also think morning meetings can teach your students responsibility and by seeing them handle this responsibility as a teacher you will trust them that much more and let them do more than you initially thought they could handle. I am definitely excited to learn more about morning meetings and I am very grateful that we are learning more about them in this class. I can't wait to find lots of fun ideas to use in my class and creating a safe and friendly environment for every single one of my students.
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