I recently completed student teaching observation for my Classroom Management course. While I was interacting with the students, I was reminded of how many questions can be prompted by the unintentional. The ninth grade Language Arts class was absolutely flabbergasted. Oddly enough, they had read a poem about poetry and it had lead to confusion. The assignment was just one paragraph of a dozen sentences with some literary analysis. They could not get past the fact that the answer to the question: what is the genre?, was the same as the answer to the question: what is the theme? The teacher had made the assignment very clear and had even provided an outline that gave the students what each line of the paragraph should contain.
She could not have been more direct, but the students were still certain that they were wrong. It could not be the same answer, it had to be a trick.
I assured them(when they asked) that it was not a trick, the answer to both questions was poetry. The teacher verified and they all slowly had that look that comprehension was dawning.
I think that that would be the best purpose for a teacher's blog; giving students some additional information about assignments. Explaining to students the purpose behind assignments. Providing extra structure or context in a blog format gives easy access when the student is working, maybe later at night than they should, and they are questioning themselves. They should already have the framework, but if the project is flexible it might be just enough to confuse them.
If you could use the blog to also provide information on what past students had done for different projects, they could have a resource that gives them some guidance on what they should have for their output.
The teachers blog could serve as an area to explain the purpose of curriculum as it lines up with standards; making the format a resource for the students and parents.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Blog Assignment 7
The question for this lesson's blog assignment made me think of a show that I had seen on the Discovery Channel a few years ago. A paleontologist had put forth the theory that many of the species that are identified as separate species are actually younger members of a species previously identified. This had annoyed a whole group of other paleontologists that had made their name off of "discovering" a unique dinosaur - that might not be so unique, just younger.
I don't really follow current paleontology news, so I don't know if he ever proved this theory.
BUT - the point of me mentioning this is the idea behind his proposed theory. His idea was that these were adolescent dinosaurs. They looked almost like their adult counterparts, but had a change that was noticeable to an area that was prominent. For example, the horn configuration would mature into a slightly different form, so that the adults could visually identify that this was a "teenage" dinosaur. That way, if they did anything annoying or stupid, the adults from the same group would see that they were just teenagers and would not kill them.
Pretty extreme, but it kept popping into my mind as I considered if teens should be held to adult consequences since they do not possess adult reasoning capacity. Even in nature, 60 million years ago, there were possible provisions made for the teenage brain.
Because teenagers tend to think from their amygdala, I think that there are some basic points that teachers need to embrace. First, you should never assume that a teenager understands the full ramifications of their actions. Second, you should remember that you are guiding them during a period in time when their brains are still under construction. The implications are clear, if you are teaching teenagers, you need to include exercises that build reasoning skills.
I think that teachers and adults need to also help reframe teenage thinking. One of my teenage daughter's friends recently had an issue with a teacher. When the friend was explaining the issue(to us), he was almost volatile, because he was sure that he was right and the teacher was wrong on a question on the test he had just taken. The teacher did not want to listen to his explanation, probably because he was being excessively argumentative. The possibility that he had crossed into the land of obnoxious had apparently not occurred to him.
When I tried to explain to him that he was overreacting in how he approached the teacher he could not understand my point. I had to try again the next day to explain. He might have very well been correct about the test question, but he did not need to be aggressive with the teacher when he was arguing the point. He had all but yelled at the teacher because he was certain that he was right and the teacher was wrong. He never even considered that he was actually challenging the teacher in a manner that was inappropriate. Lesson to teachers dealing with teenagers, they get it but they don't.
I don't really follow current paleontology news, so I don't know if he ever proved this theory.
BUT - the point of me mentioning this is the idea behind his proposed theory. His idea was that these were adolescent dinosaurs. They looked almost like their adult counterparts, but had a change that was noticeable to an area that was prominent. For example, the horn configuration would mature into a slightly different form, so that the adults could visually identify that this was a "teenage" dinosaur. That way, if they did anything annoying or stupid, the adults from the same group would see that they were just teenagers and would not kill them.
Pretty extreme, but it kept popping into my mind as I considered if teens should be held to adult consequences since they do not possess adult reasoning capacity. Even in nature, 60 million years ago, there were possible provisions made for the teenage brain.
Because teenagers tend to think from their amygdala, I think that there are some basic points that teachers need to embrace. First, you should never assume that a teenager understands the full ramifications of their actions. Second, you should remember that you are guiding them during a period in time when their brains are still under construction. The implications are clear, if you are teaching teenagers, you need to include exercises that build reasoning skills.
I think that teachers and adults need to also help reframe teenage thinking. One of my teenage daughter's friends recently had an issue with a teacher. When the friend was explaining the issue(to us), he was almost volatile, because he was sure that he was right and the teacher was wrong on a question on the test he had just taken. The teacher did not want to listen to his explanation, probably because he was being excessively argumentative. The possibility that he had crossed into the land of obnoxious had apparently not occurred to him.
When I tried to explain to him that he was overreacting in how he approached the teacher he could not understand my point. I had to try again the next day to explain. He might have very well been correct about the test question, but he did not need to be aggressive with the teacher when he was arguing the point. He had all but yelled at the teacher because he was certain that he was right and the teacher was wrong. He never even considered that he was actually challenging the teacher in a manner that was inappropriate. Lesson to teachers dealing with teenagers, they get it but they don't.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Lesson 6
Every time I hear the phrase Mozart Effect, it makes me think of The Incredibles, a fantastic movie from Pixar. In the movie, Kari, friend of Violet, has been left in charge of Jack Jack. When Helen, aka Mrs. Incredible, finds out that Kari is watching her baby she immediately calls to check in (and also make arrangements to replace Kari - who seems to be a questionable choice). Kari reassures her that she can handle "anything this baby can dish out" and she is going to play Mozart, because Mozart "makes babies smarter."
So our popular culture embraces the idea of playing music for babies, even if the study itself is misunderstood. It was clear(in the video) that the study never made shady claims or far-fetched promises, but our society can be a little prone toward short-attention span thinking. When I reviewed some of the information under the University of Oregon lab resources tab, I found that researchers have established all sorts of connections to music and other types of processing. Northwestern looked into beat synchronization and how it predicts speech encoding and reading readiness. Michigan State researched how the children that did well with musical rhythm also did well with syntax. Vanderbilt University is researching the why of the Michigan State study. So the connection between music and other functions of speech and reading exist, even if we do not fully understand why. Whatever else these connections may imply, music can have a powerful effect on the brain.
Oddly enough, my oldest child, a Junior in high school, recently encountered a great example of how teachers can use music in the classroom in a highly effective manner. Her AP Lit class was just starting F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby. Every day when they walked into class, the students were greeted with 20s and 30s era jazz. Most of the kids had never heard anything like it, but all of them responded with positive feedback. The book gives you a really vivid picture of life in that era, and her teacher used the music to enhance that image. Her teacher gave the students another avenue to understand that era. It may have been nearly a century ago, but the music made it very tangible for the kids in the class.
I think that the biggest takeaway from both videos is that you can use options in your classroom that can benefit your students in ways we are only just beginning to understand. Whether it is playing math games or using music, students may be receiving benefits beyond just life context or stress reduction. As a teacher, it seems like an easy enough trick to incorporate bits and pieces into your lessons. You can use some simple estimation games or use different types of music to highlight your point while also giving student's brains something stimulating.
So our popular culture embraces the idea of playing music for babies, even if the study itself is misunderstood. It was clear(in the video) that the study never made shady claims or far-fetched promises, but our society can be a little prone toward short-attention span thinking. When I reviewed some of the information under the University of Oregon lab resources tab, I found that researchers have established all sorts of connections to music and other types of processing. Northwestern looked into beat synchronization and how it predicts speech encoding and reading readiness. Michigan State researched how the children that did well with musical rhythm also did well with syntax. Vanderbilt University is researching the why of the Michigan State study. So the connection between music and other functions of speech and reading exist, even if we do not fully understand why. Whatever else these connections may imply, music can have a powerful effect on the brain.
Oddly enough, my oldest child, a Junior in high school, recently encountered a great example of how teachers can use music in the classroom in a highly effective manner. Her AP Lit class was just starting F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby. Every day when they walked into class, the students were greeted with 20s and 30s era jazz. Most of the kids had never heard anything like it, but all of them responded with positive feedback. The book gives you a really vivid picture of life in that era, and her teacher used the music to enhance that image. Her teacher gave the students another avenue to understand that era. It may have been nearly a century ago, but the music made it very tangible for the kids in the class.
I think that the biggest takeaway from both videos is that you can use options in your classroom that can benefit your students in ways we are only just beginning to understand. Whether it is playing math games or using music, students may be receiving benefits beyond just life context or stress reduction. As a teacher, it seems like an easy enough trick to incorporate bits and pieces into your lessons. You can use some simple estimation games or use different types of music to highlight your point while also giving student's brains something stimulating.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Lesson 5
Teachers interact with their students for several hours, every day, Monday through Friday. That interaction is important for the obvious, teaching whichever lessons pertain to the age group you are working with at any given time. But the videos share that there are additional skills that kids are picking up during the social interaction that is taking place during each school day. The language video made it very clear that children will build bigger, better, more complex language if they are hearing language at a higher level. Teachers might be tempted to speak in the most basic language, to make certain that their instructions are understood. After viewing the video, it is clear that this would be a big mistake. The research indicates that children have both larger vocabulary and more advanced language structure when they are spoken to in a more complex manner.
So, as a teacher, you are tasked with challenging your students by speaking to them at the next higher level - as compared to where there are currently, at the very least.
There were a lot of tips in the reading video as well. The use of word games and rhyming can be influential in developing skills. I found news that was actually a bit disturbing to me in the resources tab. According to a recent study (by Scholastic) the percentage of kids that read for fun is plummeting. This number, however, the resource page implied, could be affected if the kids are exposed to more reading time at school. For whatever reason, reading time at school had a link to kids then reading at home for fun. So lesson three (after speaking at a higher level, playing word games) is to program some reading into the day. The video cited reading as one of the best ways to improve language skills.
So for teachers, there is one more thing to remember when teaching - but it is easy - speak to kids at the level that you want them to climb up to, not the level that they are currently occupying. And, if you have a spare minute or two - put a book in front of them.
So, as a teacher, you are tasked with challenging your students by speaking to them at the next higher level - as compared to where there are currently, at the very least.
There were a lot of tips in the reading video as well. The use of word games and rhyming can be influential in developing skills. I found news that was actually a bit disturbing to me in the resources tab. According to a recent study (by Scholastic) the percentage of kids that read for fun is plummeting. This number, however, the resource page implied, could be affected if the kids are exposed to more reading time at school. For whatever reason, reading time at school had a link to kids then reading at home for fun. So lesson three (after speaking at a higher level, playing word games) is to program some reading into the day. The video cited reading as one of the best ways to improve language skills.
So for teachers, there is one more thing to remember when teaching - but it is easy - speak to kids at the level that you want them to climb up to, not the level that they are currently occupying. And, if you have a spare minute or two - put a book in front of them.
Friday, February 13, 2015
What does it mean to be a relational teacher? If you had asked me when I was younger, I think I would have had the mistaken belief that being relational as a teacher meant being a friend to your students. Having lived life long enough to have some experience in working with kids, and adults for that matter, I think that it is more complicated than that.
On some level, it is a kind of friendship. But, you would make a mistake to equate it to the friendship of a peer.
My first job at a management level, where I needed to be responsible for my own department, taught me that you absolutely have to connect with people; but you should take care in how you go about this. I had to go out of the office quite a bit, and decided that since we were all adults, I could trust my unit to behave and follow procedure. What can I say - naïve. The hardest working members of the team became incredibly frustrated because those that were not as hard working abused the situation. I did not assert myself enough to stop this before it created a serious problem. I had made the mistake of acting like a peer, not the manager. I had connected with every team member, but not in the way that stated that I was the manager and I would lay down the law . . . Whoops!
I think that a relational teacher is the same sort of thing. You get to know your students. You invest time in trying to find out what is important to them and what you can do to help them knock down barriers. You care, but as the teacher. You are the guide, not the buddy.
I think that first and foremost, you create a friendly and safe environment. Greet the kids at the door, let them know you are happy that they are there. Set the expectation that while there are no dumb questions, there are boundaries -- like they have to respect each other.
I think that you also build them up with small group activities, where they not only learn together, but learn from one another. I also would tend to ask the kids what they liked as the year progressed, steering the class with input from the students.
The one thing that I have learned from coaching is that kids, especially the teenagers, will let you know exactly what they think - so bottom line is to pay attention, value the feedback, apply lessons learned along the way.
On some level, it is a kind of friendship. But, you would make a mistake to equate it to the friendship of a peer.
My first job at a management level, where I needed to be responsible for my own department, taught me that you absolutely have to connect with people; but you should take care in how you go about this. I had to go out of the office quite a bit, and decided that since we were all adults, I could trust my unit to behave and follow procedure. What can I say - naïve. The hardest working members of the team became incredibly frustrated because those that were not as hard working abused the situation. I did not assert myself enough to stop this before it created a serious problem. I had made the mistake of acting like a peer, not the manager. I had connected with every team member, but not in the way that stated that I was the manager and I would lay down the law . . . Whoops!
I think that a relational teacher is the same sort of thing. You get to know your students. You invest time in trying to find out what is important to them and what you can do to help them knock down barriers. You care, but as the teacher. You are the guide, not the buddy.
I think that first and foremost, you create a friendly and safe environment. Greet the kids at the door, let them know you are happy that they are there. Set the expectation that while there are no dumb questions, there are boundaries -- like they have to respect each other.
I think that you also build them up with small group activities, where they not only learn together, but learn from one another. I also would tend to ask the kids what they liked as the year progressed, steering the class with input from the students.
The one thing that I have learned from coaching is that kids, especially the teenagers, will let you know exactly what they think - so bottom line is to pay attention, value the feedback, apply lessons learned along the way.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Discussion 3
While this week's information on detecting possible problems was really important, I think that I was most interested in the information on ADHD.
When I was growing up, my cousin Rob was really active; really, really active. And my Aunt Carole was always having to go to the emergency room because he was into everything. He was one of those kids that had to touch everything, experience everything through physical contact. Fortunately, none of the accidents were ever serious enough to be more than stressful for Aunt Carole and stitches for Rob. He is now a fully functioning adult with no issues.
I think that if Rob were in school today, he would have been marched to the doctor and prescribed Ritalin. While I understand that some medical treatments and intervention are crucial, I worry that it is too easy to prescribe a pill. I really liked having some information on how to just shift position in class to the front or actually communicate in the hopes of not just turning to pills.
I can only imagine if Rob had been raised in a household that was burdened with excessive stress. His hippocampus would be shrinking while everyone failed to meet the need for positive stimulation.
As a future teacher, I think that the information on nurturing was enlightening. The study from the University of Oregon about parenting skills can easily translate over to the classroom. Using positive language helps not only to maintain positive stimulation, but it models for kids how they should then behave. Aunt Carole would get frustrated, but I don't recall that she ever yelled when Rob had once again used a bicycle, or any other available object, to defy gravity. Maybe that is why he is totally "normal" today.
When I was growing up, my cousin Rob was really active; really, really active. And my Aunt Carole was always having to go to the emergency room because he was into everything. He was one of those kids that had to touch everything, experience everything through physical contact. Fortunately, none of the accidents were ever serious enough to be more than stressful for Aunt Carole and stitches for Rob. He is now a fully functioning adult with no issues.
I think that if Rob were in school today, he would have been marched to the doctor and prescribed Ritalin. While I understand that some medical treatments and intervention are crucial, I worry that it is too easy to prescribe a pill. I really liked having some information on how to just shift position in class to the front or actually communicate in the hopes of not just turning to pills.
I can only imagine if Rob had been raised in a household that was burdened with excessive stress. His hippocampus would be shrinking while everyone failed to meet the need for positive stimulation.
As a future teacher, I think that the information on nurturing was enlightening. The study from the University of Oregon about parenting skills can easily translate over to the classroom. Using positive language helps not only to maintain positive stimulation, but it models for kids how they should then behave. Aunt Carole would get frustrated, but I don't recall that she ever yelled when Rob had once again used a bicycle, or any other available object, to defy gravity. Maybe that is why he is totally "normal" today.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Blog Assignment 2
I watched the videos and was pretty amazed at the impact of absence of sensory data to the brain. I had heard of cochlear implants previously and just thought that modern medicine had worked wonders and isn't that great. To find out that if children don't receive the implant prior to 3.5 years it might mean the difference in hearing versus not hearing was pretty stunning.
As a future teacher, the information in the videos makes me wonder what the procedure is for intervention. If I notice anything about future students that sends up a red flag about a vision or hearing problem, I would assume that I would contact the school nurse as a starting point. But, while noticing and citing a potential problem is crucial, I would hope any school that I would work for would give guidance on how to proceed.
I would think that the parents are a logical contact step, but a lot of information that I have read in just the past couple of weeks reminds that not every kid has mom or dad.
I know from personal experience that the school nurse screens for any number of issues, so I can't help but think that this is the correct resource? Hopefully? This is tying into another class about classroom organization - that pretty much states you need to have everything prepared before day one and know your procedures if you want to function smoothly.
Once again, all of the material that we reviewed was very interesting. I am, however, a little unnerved about the kitten experiment. I know it is for medical advancement, but cannot imagine being in the lab and having to suture some tiny kitten's eye shut. Teaching sounds so much better than lab technician right about now.
As a future teacher, the information in the videos makes me wonder what the procedure is for intervention. If I notice anything about future students that sends up a red flag about a vision or hearing problem, I would assume that I would contact the school nurse as a starting point. But, while noticing and citing a potential problem is crucial, I would hope any school that I would work for would give guidance on how to proceed.
I would think that the parents are a logical contact step, but a lot of information that I have read in just the past couple of weeks reminds that not every kid has mom or dad.
I know from personal experience that the school nurse screens for any number of issues, so I can't help but think that this is the correct resource? Hopefully? This is tying into another class about classroom organization - that pretty much states you need to have everything prepared before day one and know your procedures if you want to function smoothly.
Once again, all of the material that we reviewed was very interesting. I am, however, a little unnerved about the kitten experiment. I know it is for medical advancement, but cannot imagine being in the lab and having to suture some tiny kitten's eye shut. Teaching sounds so much better than lab technician right about now.
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