Blog #8

I was searching blogs and I read Janelle's from blog #5.  I was interested in what she was saying about differentiating interest of the students.  I liked how she was able to make a connections of how this would make teaching more fun for the teachers too.  In order to differentiate interest the teacher needs to know each students interests.  During the process of learning what interests the students in your classroom have, one can learn much about how they might teach the rest of the students in the classroom.  A teacher may also learn more about personal teaching style which will open eyes to new opportunities as a differentiated teacher.

As I was searching more I looked at Malorey's blog #4.  I did not see anything about Vertabrates Graphs when I was reading the text.  I tend to read some things and forget most of what I read anyway, but I liked how she explained them as being able to use them in order to give students a choice.  The option is a great way to differentiate interest and process.  Students can choose what they want to place in the empty spots and write about them.  I also learned that a teacher can use these graphs for many different subjects, including math and science.  I need to learn more about how they are used exactly in the classroom, but I feel vertabrate graphs are a good way to differentiate process and differentiate assessments.

Blog #7

Part 1: Other than the strategy you presented in class this week, which strategy can you most picture yourself actually using in your teaching?

I can see myself using learning menus.  I feel they can be a great way of differentiating units by readiness and interests.  Interests are somewhat limited for the areas of writing where they aren't given a choice, but then the interests can be given in the other parts of the learning menu.  I feel it is a good way to plan and keep track of learning as the unit is being taught.

Part 2: Why? Explain this, and give me an idea of a concept or topic you are familiar with, and what it might look like to teach it with this strategy.

I think it is a creative way of presenting content and seeing the results of students writing about different topics as review, assessment, or just plain fun time writing.  I would like to see this idea used for math journals.  It could be fun to see how the menu could be incorporated into math as a learning tool.  I would have each show their discoveries about the content for the unit, I would also have them tell me how they could investigate the problems further and come up with different answers or methods of reaching the answers.  This method would show analytical thinking and they could have fun doing it.  I think we could name my math menu and use it as the journal completely.

Blog #6

 How will you figure out if you should differentiate something for readiness or interest?

I believe that a teacher should differentiate for both readiness and interest in the classroom.  I mean to say that a teacher should understand each and every student to the point that he or she may know a student's readiness to learn each objective and show understanding about what is being taught.  If the student is ready to learn, they will have interest to learn a subject.  If the student has interest in the subject, they will be ready to learn and will do what they need to do to have a good learning experience.  Our goal as teachers is to show interest in the subject we are teaching and also the students we are teaching.  If we are able to model our interest and show trust in our students' abilities, I feel that learning will be produced and differentiated by the students themselves with little work from the teacher.  I think that by fueling interest, students will fuel their own readiness even if they don't feel they are unable to do it.  The effort is shown and effective learning is taking place in the classroom with each student in the classroom.

Blog #5

Communication in the Classroom

• Make sure there is an identity as a group
• invent ways to get to know your students better
• Share feelings about teaching
• have classroom community communication
• Make communication easy for the classmates
• have different strategies for communication in the classroom
• tell the students how you feel about class each day (good or bad)
• invest time and energy to make the class effective
• model for the students the kind of thinking you want them to do
• make the class excellent
• learn your students complete profiles
• know strengths and weaknesses
• support growth in weaker areas
• discover new interests
• create a profile sheet for each student
• have students review and extend the sheet as the year progresses
• create a phrase that has meaning to a student and helps them to understand the task and that it should be done the best way they know how
• praise students when they do something well, but make it something other than "good job", maybe something like "pat your brain.
• ask students if their windshields are clear, this is a question that helps the teacher to know if the students are understanding what is being taught or if they need some help
• use words that elaborate on an idea: verify, amplify,diversify.  These words can be a measure for the student's own thinking.
• lose your peace and quiet for excitement with the students
• set up goal setting conferences to show students progression and help them strive for something they want to do each time.
• use dialogue journals for teacher student conversation
• incorporate talk groups into the lesson to talk about the content and discuss further the lessons

Blog #4

A-1) Based on Principal Allan's presentation on Wednesday, what are your current thoughts about morning meetings and their potential to build a caring, trusting community in a classroom? What are you thinking in terms of trying morning meeting, yourself, when you are a teacher?

I loved the class time we had with Principal Allen.  I felt that she really loved what she was doing with morning meetings.  I was able to see that the benefits do out weigh the time issues.  I want to take on the morning meeting as something I do everyday.  I feel I will have a difficult time doing it in the time allotted.  I want to see how it will work in my classroom.  I know that the sharing will cause my classroom to be united and feel comfortable with anything that may come up in their lives.  If a child is comfortable in the classroom, I feel that it is the best environment to learn in.  I will definitely do morning meetings in some form or another in my future classroom.

B-2) Based on the scenarios and ideas for maximizing growth and capacity of learners in a classroom discussed in chapter 4, discuss two "new" ideas you have for doing that, yourself. You may want to "borrow" ideas from the chapter, or they may inspire you to think up something on your own. Share two ideas you hope to "try."

I don't think that morning meetings are discussed  much in the book.  I want to use the morning meeting as a tool for growth.  I feel this is exactly what the morning meeting is designed to do.  It creates a capacity for learning that would not be there otherwise.  If a child feels like he or she is not able to learn, how will he or she learn?  Morning meetings will give the students what they need to grow.  It seems a little repetitive, but I also believe that having a child tear down the walls they have built up will allow for them to build up new walls of learning. 

I also believe in working on something and not giving up.  I can see that many students become frustrated from different things in the classroom.  It could be a math problem, or a book report that is causing some difficulty.  I know that there are ways of getting the work done without having the answers given to them.  I will be ready to show my students different ways of accomplishing the difficult.  I will help them to understand that they are able to do the work and get the correct answers by themselves.  It will take more work on my part to be ready for the frustrated child looking to give up, but I will be ready with a different method of doing the task at hand.  I will require best efforts and hard work to get the correct answer, and I know that my students will feel the accomplishment when they complete the task and know they were able to do it.  I guarantee that student won't feel they are unable to accomplish another difficult task in the future, or a least they may have a different battle plan to attack the issue.

PS, sorry I must not have gotten the memo on the early delivery time.  I have it scheduled  every week with a reminder for me to do it.  I didn't pay attention to anything else.

Blog #3

Blog #2

In differentiated classrooms, teachers continually assess student readiness, interest, learning profile, and affect.  Teachers then use what they learn to modify content, process, product, and the learning environment to ensure maximum learning for each member of the class.  (page 6 Linking Students Traits and Classroom Elements)


I believe that this sums up the whole meaning of being a differentiated teacher.  If a teacher can recognize the needs of each and every one of his or her students, then the teacher has a basis and a model already set up for teaching those students.  I like how it says that teachers continually asses the aspects of differentiation.  Students are going to change many aspects of learning throughout the time the teacher is with them in the classroom.  This may mean that readiness to learn is improved, or that a student's interest is skewed or enlightened by what the teacher may have said during a lesson.  It is interesting that a student can change a view in different ways.  Students who are not interested in what is being taught, may want to learn more about what is being said.  Also students who have questions before the instruction, may no longer have questions after the content becomes clearer to them.  These are things that need to be assessed each and everyday of the teacher's career.  If a students needs are met by a teacher who is understanding of the learning that is taking place, or learning that may not be taking place, these students will continue to learn in some way.  They will continue to have a maximum learning by having all the needs met as they learn, not after the teacher thinks they should have learned something that was taught.  It is clear to me what I need to do, but I can see that being a differentiated teacher is a daunting task as well.  It is something I do not see myself mastering right out of the gates.  I can see that teachers need to learn to develop the skills to be an effective differentiated teacher.  I hope I can take the task on and be successful with all the students I will teach in my classroom.   There are so many different elements of being a differentiated teacher, I can see why it is so difficult to do.  Effort = success, as a teacher!  Success = differentiation!  Thus, differentiation = effort! 

Blog #1

1. What are your favorite things to do when you aren't in school or doing homework?

 

I really enjoy being with my family.  I am with the youngest boy everyday after school, but the other ones are with my wife at her school where she teaches so I don't see them as much.  It is fun to have them around.  I really enjoy the warm weather months because I golf some when I can.  I do many things around the house when I am motivated to actually do them.

 

2. When have you been really proud of yourself? Please explain why you felt that way.

 

I felt really proud of myself after the first semester of being in the education program.  It was challenging, yet I was able to get on the Dean's List.  I had not been back to school for many years and it was fun to jump right in and learn about how I could be a teacher.

 

3. What are you really good at in school? How do you know?

 

I think I am really good at doing things in a group.  I seem to be a people person and I seem to also get along well with those who are learning the same thing as I am.  I am good with hands on, but I don't seem to be very good under pressure.

 

4. What background, talent, skill and interest do you have in each of these:

 

a) music- I have been in a church choir, and I do enjoy singing the parts I may know.

 

b) visual arts- I do not have any talents with this category.  I wish I was able to draw, but I have never been able to grasp the concept.

 

c) dance- My wife when we were dating almost left me because I was so horrible at dance.  I love to watch it, but I have no rhythm.

 

d) theater- In high school I was in musical productions and participated in some of the musicals and drama productions that were put on.  I had small parts and screwed even them up a couple of times.  I got too nervous.

 

5. What is hard for you? What makes it hard?

 

I think failure itself is hard for me.  I strive to be the best that I can be and aim for perfection.  It is difficult to see something slip through my fingers when it was at my grasp.  I have a difficult time remembering people's names.  I think there is a mental block creating a gap there in my mind.  I don't know why it is so difficult for me.

 

6. What is your favorite children's book, and why is it your favorite?

 

I think this is one thing I have had stripped from me in life.  I very seldom had a book read to me when I was young.  I do like fantasy very much.  I remember my grandfather reading Where the Wild Things Are to me when I was younger.  I have always liked it, still haven't seen the movie.

 

7. What is your favorite TV show, when you can spare the time to watch?

 

I really like to watch Castle on Mondays.  We usually don't have the time to watch it until Tuesday on Hulu, but I think the show is funny and witty.  It is fun to see the interaction between the writer and the detective.  They like each other, yet they don't want to admit it.  He is kind of like a child and I am a child at heart, so it hits home. 

 

8. What movie could you watch again and again?

 

Dumb and Dumber was a classic, but I think I may get sick of it after awhile.  I like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  I can sit and watch the battle for middle earth over and over again. 

 

9. What are some things you really care about?

 

I care about my family more than anything.  I care for my religion (LDS), I am glad I am where i am in my life even though it hasn't gone the way I would have wanted things to go.  I wish I cared for my body more than what I do, I want to lose about thirty pounds.  I am making arrangements to do so!

 

10. What will set you apart as a teacher?

 

I will be a teacher who cares, and wants my students to succeed.  they will all become my project as I try to facilitate learning within them.  I know I can teach them and help my students know the importance of learning.  I will make learning fun and engaging to all who enter my classroom.  I will show the people around me that learning can be obtained in many different ways for many different students.  I will rock as a teacher!

 

11. What else should I know about you as a person and a student that could help me be a better teacher? What would you like me to know about you that I haven't asked about?

 

I am ready for a challenge, I will attempt to be the best I can be and I will not give up.  I am an interactive person.  this sometimes makes it difficult for others to get a word in.  I like to comment and share my opinion.  I hope the class will not get sick of me raising my hand.  I would like to know if I teachers are ever going to be looked upon as a professional like the lawyers and doctors of the world.  I don't think people understand that teachers are the ones who teach those people, but are we appreciated enough?