Kelly, Amanda, and I just taught our Integration Project lesson at Sequoia Elementary School this morning . We had a group of 14 3rd and 4th grade students to present to. Overall, I feel the lesson went generally well. In the ideal setting of launching the first lesson of this unit, we would have had time to explore the students background knowledge on various aspects in this lesson such as budgeting, windstorms, etc. The one other thing we all agreed we would do differently in our classes and when we implement the unit is to have groups of two and no more than three. We all noticed that especially in the groups of four it seemed that there was a student or two that was disengaged. Every effort was made to bring them back into the collaboration. Having groups of two, or no more than three, should solve this problem.
I am excited to implement our Integration Project during the school year. I loved Mr. Grigg's (Andrew's) idea to have Skype sessions with some of the experts, if they could not all be scheduled to come into the classroom. It also inspired me to dig into virtual field trips that would tie in to our unit that could possibly be substituted in where the field trips we had planned out were in the unit. I think this will be a unit where my students will really able to engage and apply their learning to the real world, while exploring some of the CTE standards.
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What a great interactive, collaborative, engaging activity we completed today! We worked with a team of three to four people to create a design for a school. We jigsaw read three articles first to help fuel us with some design parameters and creative ideas. Our group designed a school based on around an international/around-the-world theme. Our collaboration areas were given the name United Nations Collaboration Area. We had the Smithsonian for expert teaching. Our play area was themed on the seven wonders of the world. Our focal center piece was the Reflecting Pool, where students would individually reflect and do their megacognition. The next step was to carousel around the room viewing the different school designs. One team remained behind the explain the school's concept. We each were given five poker chips to "invest" in the schools we thought were the best design/concept. The winning school then rolled off for a TCSJ t-shirt. This activity was so engaging and applies to 21st Century design. I immediately thought that I need to find a way to work some form of this activity into my 3rd grade classroom. I think after reading some background information on what different schools are doing they would then be able to design their ideal classroom. I plan to have them carousel and "invest" as well. Thanks Andrew for an informative, collaborative, engaging project that inspired me! Tell about a time when you were aware that your knowledge and potential - or a student's-were misrepresented by a standardized test.
One of my favorite stories from our standardized testing, that our district requires our students to take, is from one of our Math RCD (Rigorous Curriculum Design) tests that I administered last year. The question asks the students to solve a rounding problem in the first part. The second part ask them to explain why rounding on a number line makes it easier. My student gave a very impassioned reply that it did not make it easier for her. She elaborated and supported her thinking, which is everything we are striving for them to do. I used my teacher judgement to give her full credit. I quite often do not feel that the tests mirror students' actual learning. While teaching a unit and performing numerous formative assessments, I feel I get a pretty clear picture of who has mastered the content. This does not always translate to the teacher written RCD tests. I am often left feeling frustrated by this and feel that other forms of assessment should be used to determine my students' mastery of the particular content. I will strive to follow our districts protocols, while getting involved to help make these changes in the years ahead. How can you foster the ability of the students or people around you to think "outside the box"?
Some people are natural think "outside the box" thinkers and creators. I consider myself to be a creative thinker when it comes to certain areas of my life and I tend to be more rigid in others. My creativity lends itself well to my teaching practice. I love to put creative spins on engaging lessons for my students. I have learned over the past five days of CURR341 that pushing oneself outside of one's comfort zone is a great way to get "outside the box" thinking generated. Brainstorming with students is a powerful way to get students thinking "outside the box". During brainstorming there are no right and wrong answers, only ideas. This gets a lot of creative juices flowing. In my personal life, due to some life circumstances, my thought processes can tend towards negativity and limitation when it comes to financial challenges. My husband has been the one who has taught me that when we go to the negative thinking it cuts off the flow of creative solutions. I have found this to be true over and over again. There are so many creative solutions available to us, if we only allow ourselves to be open to them. Pushing past one's comfort zones, brainstorming, and remaining positive in the face of adversity are the best tips I know for helping both my students and myself to think "outside the box". How do teachers evaluate growth?
The majority of teachers evaluate growth based solely on grades. Did they move from a B to an A? Did they move from below grade level (1) to approaching grade level (2) or at grade level (3)? Most of the time this is based some sort of standard based assessment. Thinking specifically of the grade I currently teach (3rd), there are a myriad of ways to evaluate students. Individual growth is one. Have they made significant improvement from where they began? I have my students memorize and recite a poem each month. This is to help them practice their speaking skills. There is a rubric for eye contact, voice projection, expression, as well as memorizing the content, This is helping to prepare them for college and career and aligns with 21st Century teaching. I admire how The Met has their teachers write narratives for each student. In what ways are teachers the amateurs and parents the experts?
Parents are the child's first teacher. In most instances, the parent has known the child from birth. The parents are intimately acquainted with their child. They know areas of challenge and areas of strength for their child. In most instances, the teacher is meeting the child when they walk through the door on the first day of school for the very first time. It takes time to establish connection and could take all year to uncover certain things. You have an expert resource right there in the parents. Several of my children's teachers asked for a parent letter the first week of school. I was asked to craft a letter describing my child's strengths, weaknesses, passions, and challenges. I now see what a valuable resource this must have been in getting to know my child quickly. Hopefully it allowed them to connect and tailor instruction to meet my child's individual needs. I now plan to do this for the coming school year. I am excited to see how it will work this coming school year. I have the built in experts right there, so I plan to access their insights to help me make it the best year possible for their child. As I reflect back over the first week of CURR341, I am astounded by all the new information that my brain has processed. I have definitely been stretched outside of my comfort zone and leaned in to some challenging new tasks. I feel that I have grown both as a student and as a teacher. As a student I am beginning to feel comfortable with the challenge of learning APA style and using EBSCO to find valuable resources for my Lit Review. As a teacher I have learned about the CTE's which were previously unknown to me. I have become more fully versed in 21st Century teaching. I have a renewed focus for making sure that my lessons and instruction focus on the four C's: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity.
Reading The Big Picture has been both eye-opening and reaffirming at the same time. I find myself saying "Yes!" quite often as I am reading. It is reaffirming in the sense that I seek to get to know each of my students on an individual level. I seek to make personal connections with them, as well as to uncover what motivates them and what their passions and interests are. The first week of school I have them do an activity where they are filling in all sorts of information about themselves. I walk around and connect with each child as they are doing this activity. It is a powerful way to make initial connections early on. The Big Picture has challenged me to go even further in my individual focus especially when it comes to the students who seem to be struggling either academically or behaviorally. I look forward to another week of stretching myself and growing both as a student and an educator. Why do so many students describe their educational experiences as boring?
Many instructors have not embraced 21st Century teaching. I would argue that this is especially true at the high school level. The 21st Century classroom should be fully embracing the four C's: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication. From firsthand experience as my own two children went through high school, I saw my bright, eager learners turn into children that dreaded going to school and found it to be boring. There was the rare instructor that ignited their passion and actually had them looking forward to class. Sadly, these teachers can be counted on one hand for both of my children. Many educators still embrace the old mode of lecturing and note-taking. High school is a time where kids need to fully be exploring their passions and interests so they can better prepare themselves for the steps needed in their career or college paths after high school. The Big Picture has resonated with me in a big way. While I am teaching kids much younger than high school, I already see the importance of personal, individual connections. I will make a concerted effort to bring the real world into my third grade classroom more and more each year. Learning should be fun and I will continue to have that as one of the driving forces in my lesson planning. Did you save any of the papers you wrote for school? Why or why not?
Most of the papers that I wrote for school were tossed in the trash as soon as the grade was received. The main reason for this is that there was no passion or connection behind the papers being written and/or the projects. The goal was to receive the A, not to acquire knowledge. I resonate with what Dennis Littky says about those at The Met saving their papers. They have pride of ownership and a connection to the personalized topic they chose to focus on. My Senior Project at Cal Poly still gives me nightmares. I was not passionately connected to the information that I was researching, I am using this negative past experience to help guide my decision making process in selecting a topic for my Literature Review. I want to make sure that it is a topic that I feel deeply passionate about and will feel motivated to learn and research more, just for the fun of it! I strongly believe learning should be engaging and fun! The article that I selected on EBSCO in regards to Career Readiness addresses the need for enhanced career and college readiness in the United States. A specific curriculum was developed to address this problem. Data was gathered from 163 9th grade students taking part in the study. In analyzing the data, it was discovered that career and professional school counselors should be involved in encouraging students along the entire process. They are well-positioned to be influential in motivating and assisting students towards career and college goals. I agree with the findings and assertions that this article makes. I saw first hand how influential a school counselor can be in the process when preparing to go to college. At the beginning of my daughter's senior year she had a very knowledgable counselor. This greatly helped my daughter as she was deciding which colleges to apply for. Unfortunately, if the school counselors do not have the appropriate training, background, or resources this can serve a s a detriment to the students they are serving as well. We experienced this firsthand when my daughter's first counselor left to another school site and the new counselor was not well-versed on the Common Ap. |