I really enjoyed the lesson that my group taught today. We did a coding lesson called Rosie's Runtime and we also used Ozobots. The students loved it! The kids had fun and so did I. It was a little hard teaching to a group of kids that are not your own students. Even though they were not our own students, they were very respectful and followed directions well. I really liked how we could see right away which students were understanding the lesson and which students needed our help a little more. I feel that I could quickly assess who was understanding and could work on his or her own, and who needed me to jump in and give them a hand. I really liked how the students jumped in and tried it out, even if they were a little apprehensive at first. I would have liked to have been able to do the lesson at the beginning of the day. It was a little hard towards the end of the lesson because all of the students started to get picked up. We were not able to properly close the lesson, but I think that we were able to explain to the students that what they were doing is coding and that coding is telling a computer each step it needs to take to complete a task.
I am planning to use this lesson next year with my Kindergarten class. I am glad that I have had a chance to try it out with students and I can see how it is supposed to work and now I can make some modifications to use it with my students. I think that when I use it next year I will start with fewer dots and we will add more as we practice. I will then add in the bones and the puddles when I see that most of my students have mastered getting Rosie to her doghouse. I loved that my group worked together so well and we had fun!!
0 Comments
I enjoyed seeing all of the different school designs today. It was so fun to see everyone's layout, designs, and hear the pitches. I liked that there were so many different interpretations and ideas shown.
I have to say that my group has really worked very hard and we have completed our project! Tomorrow we are going to be practicing our presentation and trying out our lesson with each other for fine tuning. I love all of the new ideas for integrating technology and 21st century skills that I have gotten! I'm embarrassed to admit, but I have finally learned how to use Google Docs and Google Slides. I'm very excited about using them in my classroom and teaching my students how to use them too. I am also excited about exploring coding more and getting my Kinder students started on some beginning coding APPs next year! Chapter 8 1/2, question 1
What effect does testing have on learning? I believe that the effect that testing has on learning is often negative. I believe that many students "cram" and just memorize for most tests. I do not believe that this is the most effective way to learn. To me, memorization is not mastery. Yes, some things that we learn must be memorized, but I feel that we overuse memorization in school. I want my students to truly understand what we are learning and be able to explain it to someone else. I feel that when I can watch and hear a student explain a concept or something that I have taught to another student or to the class, I know that the student has mastered the concept. When they show a true understanding, then I feel that they have really learned something. I know that I have "crammed" for many tests in my life. I cannot remember the information that I studied so hard for, because I did not truly learn the information. It was also often for things that did not interest me, I just had to learn it to pass the class. This saddens me to think of all of the time and energy that I alone have wasted. Now to think about the Nation and all of the students who have been and currently are in that same boat, it is really disgusting. Another effect that I feel testing has on learning is to create anxiety in our students. When we are full of anxiety, we are not open to learning and our brains cannot fully take in all of the information. It is also extremely bad for our overall health. Isn't our health what is truly important? When we are healthy and less anxious, we are more likely to take in knowledge and desire more. Chapter 9, question 5 What are you going to do to change the world? I am going to begin changing the world by having conversations with my students about what truly interests them. I am going to ask the parents of my students to write something about their child that they feel is very important, interesting, or just something they want me to know. I am going to talk to my colleagues about what they feel needs to change at our school. I want to talk to my principal about the idea of doing exhibitions to determine if a student has truly understood what has been taught. I want to create a desire to learn and keep learning in my students. I also want to get their families involved in their education and get them to realize that they are an extremely important part of their child's education. I also want to start to get myself to think outside of the box. I think that after so many years of teaching we get comfortable and sometimes complacent. I like comfort, but realize that change is a must. I am always eager and ready to try new things in my classroom and I now have some ideas of my own to try out. It is pretty exciting. Chapter 7, question 5
In what ways are teachers the amateurs and parents the experts? I truly feel that when it comes to knowing the students and their interests, teachers are the amateurs and parents are the experts. When you stop and think about it, a student comes to us at the beginning of the year as a perfect stranger. If we already have met the student or know the family from previous children, then they are not a complete stranger, but we still do not know that child. Parents have been with the child since day one and have hopefully spend a lot of time really getting to know what makes their child tick. I know that this is not always the case, but in a general sense, this is what I believe it means to say that they parents are the experts. Parents are also the experts in how their child learn best, what their child's interests are, what motivates him or her, what stresses their child, needs the child may have, etc... I also believe that the parents may have some other expertise that they can bring to the classroom. Parents can bring in information on their culture, beliefs, hobbies, and possibly even their job. Parents could come in and be guest speakers during career or cultural days. Parents could come in and help with our English Learners if they speak the same language. The list goes on and on. I think that it is the job of the school to let parents know that we see them as experts and want their help in educating their children. I wish more parents would see school as a community that needs their help and values their input. Chapter 8, question 4 Dewey writes, "[In] the traditional method the child must say something that he has merely learned. There is all the difference in the world between having something to say, and having to say something." What does this quote mean to you? To me, this quote talks directly to the idea of the students learning through interests, pursuing passions, and doing exhibitions rather than tests. We can ask students to regurgitate information because we think it is important or someone else has deemed it important for students to know, or we can ask students to tell us about something that interests them. When we are passionate about something, we have an intrinsic drive, or sheer need to learn more. When we ask students to tell us about something that truly interests them, they have a lot to say and they are not just having to tell us something. I know that in my Kindergarten class, I can get my students to tell me about what we are learning, but when I ask them about something that they are interested in, it is often hard to get them to take a break from talking. I believe that if we were to spend more time facilitating exploration of interests, we would find that students would have a lot to say and not just be saying something. Today I feel very accomplished. My group and I stayed for quite a while after class and got most of our project done. We have some finalizations and our lesson plan left. I am enjoyting the group that I am in and have met some really great people in this class. The other two ladies that are in my group are easy to work with and are very involved in our project. Going into the group project, I didn't know what to expect. I was apprehensive about working with two other people I have never met. Luckily we quickly got to know each other and found that we have many common interests and feelings. I want to thank both, Carolynn and Tina for all of their great input into our project. We are doing a coding lesson, which is something that I have never done with my class, but it sounds so fun and I want to learn more about it. I feel that it is something that is an extremely important 21st century skill for students to learn, as early as Kindergarten. I am going to look more into early education coding activities and apps so that I can start planning lessons for my students next year.
Chapter 5, question 1
Imagine you've found out that a kid you know is really interested in astronomy (or cooking, or video games, or fashion, or baseball, or music, or police work, or whatever). How would you help her go into depth in this area? What might she learn by exploring her interest more deeply? If I found out that a student was really interested in cooking, for example, I would show her how to find recipes that she might like to try out. I would show her sites such as Pinterest that she could pin recipes to that she would like to try and she could organize them by type of recipe or appetizers, main courses, desserts, etc... I would also encourage her to try out the recipes and see how she liked them. I would then ask her if she felt that she might like to make changes to the recipes to improve them and how the changes might make the recipes taste or come out. I would have her figure out the measurements if she were to double or triple the recipe and how many that recipe would feed. I would have her create a menu and write about why she chose the items she did to go on that menu. I might even see if she would have an interest in starting a business and that could take on a whole different area of interest and exploration. By allowing her to explore her interests more deeply she may learn that this is truly something that she is passionate about, or she could begin to explore it and find out that she likes certain aspects or that she likes to bake only or that maybe she wants to go to culinary school and become a master chef. She could also find that she likes to cook for a hobby, but something else has caught her interest and she would like to explore that avenue more deeply. Without having that opportunity to explore her interest more in depth, she may never find out how she truly feels about cooking and possibly miss out on an opportunity to deepen her love for it and create a career out of it. Chapter 6, question 5 What would it take for you to want to be a mentor to a high school student two days a week at your workplace? I would love to be a mentor to a high school student. I would want the student to be excited about coming to my classroom and I would like the student to be able to start looking into lessons that he or she might feel passionate about that he or she could teach to my students. if he or she has a passion for physical education, then I would want that student to develop some activity to do with my students to teach them a new skill or game to play at recess. If the student felt passionate about music or art, then I would like him or her to find a lesson or some lessons to work with my students on. My school partners with a nearby high school and the students that are in the Child Development class come to my school once a week to work in classrooms for about an hour. Unfortunately they come at very odd times, when it is hard for them to really get in and work with children. I wish the program was a designed differently. Most of the time when the students come in, they are not very motivated, are not closely monitored by their teacher, and have taken the class because it is an easy A for them. Many have come once or twice and then drop from the class without letting us know at our site. I have had to change my centers at the last minute on many occasions because the helpers did not come and no one informed me that they would not be there. I would like to see the students come in for longer chunks of time so that i could have them really get in and work with the students. I would also like to be able to get to know them and learn about some of their interests so that I could help guide them as well. Chapter 3, question 5
Do you and your colleagues share the same philosophy or vision about your school or workplace? Why or why not? How does this influence the way you work together and think about your work? I have to say that I feel lucky to be at the school that I am at. We truly function as a family. We are all very supportive of each other. Every member of the staff works together and respects each other. We work collaboratively in grade level groups and in cross grade level groups. Our school philosophy is that everyone matters. We have different staff members greet the students at the gate as they come in each morning. As students are lined up to enter the classrooms we greet them, usually by name. We encourage the students to work collaboratively and we show respect to the students. We have taken on 3 rules for the school. They are: Be Safe; Be Respectful; Be Responsible. We teach the students that these 3 rules are not just for students, but for everyone on our campus. We believe that it is the goal of the entire school to educate the students, so we meet with other grade levels to find out what needs there are and how we can work to fill those needs. We also have taken on the growth mindset and encourage students to never give up. We could make some changes and I would like to see and advisory system at my school. We have something like it, but not quite to the level that Dennis Littky describes. Chapter 4, question 7 What changes would have to happen to make a truly personalized school possible? Where would you begin? I think that one of the biggest changes that would need to happen to make a truly personalized school possible would be to create smaller schools and smaller class sizes. The sheer numbers of students that are in classes creates an almost impossible fete. I try very hard to get to know each one of my students, but when I have a class of 27 Kindergarteners, it is extremely hard to find time to talk to each individual child in a truly meaningful way. I would love to have class sizes in the teens. Each child would get more individualized time with me and I would be able to personalize his or her education much more effectively. I would be able to get to know my students on a more personal level and be able to gear activities that truly interest them. I also think that getting parent involvement would be an area to start with. Having parent involvement in the education of their children is essential to personalizing the child's education. Parents are truly the first teachers and they are the ones who know their children the best. When parents are actively involved in their child's education, the children are usually much more successful. Creating a family friendly school setting is something that I think greatly benefits personalized schools. These are the two main areas that I think would be where we should begin to create a personalized school. Today we had the chance to shadow a student that we have never met. I was not too sure what to expect when I got to the site I went to. When I asked the student that I shadowed if she would mind if I joined her for the rest of the day, she quickly said sure, but was a little shy after that. We were playing P.E. first, which happened to be capture the flag. I have to admit that I have never played that game before, and unfortunately I wasn't completely prepared to be playing P.E. I joined in and actually had fun. During the warm ups, the student I was shadowing really didn't want to run, but as the warm ups continued, she started to participate more. Before the game started I was able to ask her some questions and I found out that she just finished second grade, that she really likes math, and loves to sing. After asking her about herself, she became much more engaged and friendly. During the P.E. game, she played quite a bit and would look over to where I was to make sure that I saw her. Once the P.E. time was up, she promptly came over and grabbed ahold of my hand and walked me to her next class. I was amazed that she felt comfortable enough to do that. Kids in my class always want to hold my hand when we are going from one place to another, but I was surprised that a student that I had just met would want to do that. It was heartwarming. As we were walking to the next class, she asked me what grade I teach and we had a little conversation about Kindergarten, in which she said she missed it.
When we got to the next activity, the kids were working on a S.T.E.M. project. They were to use straws, tape, rubber bands, and paperclips to create a marble run. The kids were calling it a roller coaster. My student instantly began to tell me how she was going to put the straws together to create a track for the marble. we were the only girls in the group, so I could tell that she may have been a little less involved because of that. She did make a great track that ended up helping the marble make it into the cup. The space in the classroom was very tight during the S.T.E.M. project. I would have liked to see the students a little more spread out and able to move about more. My student kept in her seat and really couldn't move too much. The boys around her were more active and took up quite a bit of space. I have a feeling that she probably is a more quiet student and is used to keeping in her space. I would have liked to see her in a smaller group for a comparison and to see if she would take on more of a leader role or if she is content to work on her ideas and then add them to what the others are doing, I also would have really liked to spend more time with my student to be able to ask her more questions and get to know her personality more. It was very hard to talk, especially during P.E. This is my first curriculum class for the Master's Degree program and I have to admit that I was apprehensive this morning. I am feeling much better now. I have been teaching for 18 years and have not been in a class, other than professional development, since I got my credential. I have completed 4 of my elective courses and have enjoyed them, but am somewhat worried about the research classes. Reading the research and synthesizing it is something that I think will take some extra work on my part. I am looking forward to meeting new people and working together. I feel that education truly needs to change and would like to learn more about how we can go about making some changes. I like where things have gone with project based learning and encouraging students to collaborate and have discussions. I have noticed that my way of teaching has changed and I like the changes that have been made. I like having discussions with my students and getting to see their way of thinking. I teach Kindergarten and I would say that in the last 4 years or so, we have required the students to answer in complete sentences and include why they believe their answers are valid. When we began doing this, many teachers in my district were apprehensive and thought the students could not do it. I believed that my students could and would do it, so I went ahead and tried it out. It was AMAZING to hear their answers and to see their faces light up as they explained their reasoning to me. Children, even at a very young age, have some wonderful insights and views about things. I think that if we can build upon this and let their interests help guide our teaching, we will get students who are more eager and excited about school.
Chapter 1 question 1 What are your "real goals of education"? My real goals of education are to develop a love of learning in my students. I want them to be driven to learn more, become lifelong learners and to be resourceful. I want my students to be reflective and know where to look for answers and to always ask questions. I want my students to be confident, caring, and hard working human beings who are a productive part of society. I also want them to be able to work collaboratively as well as independently. I want them to have strong foundational skills in reading, writing, and math when they leave my class. I also want them to have self-respect, respect for others, and empathy. Chapter 2 question How should we be preparing kids for the real world? What is the real world, anyway? Can you identify some real-world skills or knowledge that every child should learn or know? We should be preparing students for the real world by finding out what their interests are and building upon them. We should be creating more project based learning experiences where students are working collaboratively to achieve a goal. Every child should know how to be a valuable part of a team. They should be resourceful and be able to find answers to questions that they have. Every child needs to learn to read, write, speak in complete sentences, do basic mathematical calculations and be able to apply their skills to all curricular areas. Students should learn how to keep a budget, manage their time wisely, and understand that there are many responsibilities in the "real world." They should be compassionate and have empathy toward one another. They also should know that they are important, that they matter, and that they can and do make a difference. What is the real world? It is what we all are living in. The real world encompasses school, home, and community. It includes the students and everyone that they may come in contact with throughout their lives. I believe the real world is what you are experiencing at that moment in your life. If you are a student, that is the real world you are experiencing. If you are out in the workforce, that is the real world you are experiencing. We need to prepare students for their futures, whatever that may be. |