Ah, the end has come.
There were a number of very useful aspects of this chapter. First and foremost, I will make use Table 7.1 which outlines the estimated amount of time required for middle-school students to respond to different types of test questions. Secondly, I will be sure to heed the authors' advice to test frequently and in a consistent fashion. During novice teaching, my own unit and my cooperating teacher's units tended to take longer than expected. This resulted in almost weekly rescheduling of assessments. In future, I will rework assessments to address what was covered, even if that means I only print the quiz the day before. Flexibility on my part is fine, but I sensed the kids needed more predictability to keep themselves organized. Finally, I appreciated all the pointers on how to construct the different types of assessment items and to evaluate your overall assessment structure. I may copy and laminate these pages as I expect to wear them out over the next few year.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Chapter 6
In this chapter on preparing an instructional plan, there were two concepts in the text that were especially enlightening. First, the chapter reiterated the need for teachers of any content area to see themselves as first and foremost "a teacher of literacy and of thinking, social, and learning skills"(p. 227, Kellough, 2008). With that in mind, it only makes sense that teachers should use indirect instruction or the access mode of delivery as frequently as is practical.
Secondly, the section on learning modalities helped me understand that some of my most at-risk students may be to mismatch between their modality preference and that which is chosen by their instructor. By attending to their need for integrated tactile, kinaesthetic, and visual input, their chances for engagement and learning increase. I will keep that in mind when completing the Chapter 6 reading assignment.
Finally, I appreciated the different overt behavior descriptors that indicate use of the different intelligences in the chapter 6 Panopto. These will come in handy as I design my unit, too.
Secondly, the section on learning modalities helped me understand that some of my most at-risk students may be to mismatch between their modality preference and that which is chosen by their instructor. By attending to their need for integrated tactile, kinaesthetic, and visual input, their chances for engagement and learning increase. I will keep that in mind when completing the Chapter 6 reading assignment.
Finally, I appreciated the different overt behavior descriptors that indicate use of the different intelligences in the chapter 6 Panopto. These will come in handy as I design my unit, too.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Chapter 5
This chapter is the most in-depth discussion of curriculum that I have ever read in my three years at Bradley. While I have been privy to many, many discussions about the various taxonomies, state/national standards, and creating instructional plans, this is the first real time I've had to consider the expectations of the school and district.
When novice teaching, I was given a copy of the Science textbooks and the course schedule and was given the choice as to which topics I would like to cover. I didn't consider whether or not I would be teaching in the context of an integrated curriculum. As it happens, it was a Level 2 integrated curriculum with little to no student input (at least in 5th and 6th grade Science) and topics were covered in subject-specific chunks. It was during my final week that I discovered, while observing in other classrooms that there were extensive connections between the non-fiction reading materials used in Language Arts and the topics under study in Science. When a student remarked about a connection he saw between Science and Language Arts content, my cooperating teacher remarked in all seriousness that it was a lucky coincidence. By the end of my time at Quest, the students and faculty were making their way to Level 3 as an interdisciplinary project on the 50 states was being launched.
On a final note, I plan to refer back to the descriptions and examples provided of the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains, as I found the text to be concise and abundantly clear.
When novice teaching, I was given a copy of the Science textbooks and the course schedule and was given the choice as to which topics I would like to cover. I didn't consider whether or not I would be teaching in the context of an integrated curriculum. As it happens, it was a Level 2 integrated curriculum with little to no student input (at least in 5th and 6th grade Science) and topics were covered in subject-specific chunks. It was during my final week that I discovered, while observing in other classrooms that there were extensive connections between the non-fiction reading materials used in Language Arts and the topics under study in Science. When a student remarked about a connection he saw between Science and Language Arts content, my cooperating teacher remarked in all seriousness that it was a lucky coincidence. By the end of my time at Quest, the students and faculty were making their way to Level 3 as an interdisciplinary project on the 50 states was being launched.
On a final note, I plan to refer back to the descriptions and examples provided of the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains, as I found the text to be concise and abundantly clear.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Chapter 4
Planning and managing the classroom environment is a monumental task, yet an essential part of the effective teaching puzzle. There are subsets of students that will challenge even the best prepared teachers, but, with a plan in hand, a teacher has the freedom to act rather than react.
I appreciated the large number of tips offered in the text for what to do and what not to do to create such an environment. I expect I will add the brown-bag lunch, the student interest questionnaire, the personal space dividers, and the three-before-me procedures to my repertoire. There was, however, one aspect of dealing with disruptions to learning (p.138-9) that I found a bit confusing. On the one hand, a teacher's "third effort" is to implement a consequence as outlined in the classroom management plan. This would imply a direct intervention is required. I cannot imagine doing this without interrupting a lesson, a clear no-no according to the final paragraph on page 139. Do you carry on direct instruction with more of the same subtle indirect/direct measures until a convenient moment? I had a rather boisterous group in Novice Teaching and I could have really used some guidance on how best to manage persistent low-level distracting behavior that clearly detracted from the learning of the offending student and his or her close neighbours.
I appreciated the large number of tips offered in the text for what to do and what not to do to create such an environment. I expect I will add the brown-bag lunch, the student interest questionnaire, the personal space dividers, and the three-before-me procedures to my repertoire. There was, however, one aspect of dealing with disruptions to learning (p.138-9) that I found a bit confusing. On the one hand, a teacher's "third effort" is to implement a consequence as outlined in the classroom management plan. This would imply a direct intervention is required. I cannot imagine doing this without interrupting a lesson, a clear no-no according to the final paragraph on page 139. Do you carry on direct instruction with more of the same subtle indirect/direct measures until a convenient moment? I had a rather boisterous group in Novice Teaching and I could have really used some guidance on how best to manage persistent low-level distracting behavior that clearly detracted from the learning of the offending student and his or her close neighbours.
As for the teacher-caused misbehavior, I noted making premature judgements as something I am prone to do. In addition, I have passed back student work before assigning students a task and have had my own share of 'stuttered starts.' Ah, there is so much to learn.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Chapter 3
My essential take-away from this chapter was that the essence of effective learning is the ability to think. Teachers must be observant of intelligent behavior if they are to be certain that their efforts having the desired effect. Any given subject matter is but a means to this end. Regardless of the content area we are teaching, it is the role of the teacher to advance the thinking of their charges such that they can carry forth in their learning after the bell rings. I noticed that the book mentions the divergent-thinking questions, but not the inductive variety. How curious.
The reading assignment is showing me how, without adequate preparation, a teacher might wallow in the lowest level of questioning. They are simple to formulate, almost guaranteed to generate a quick response, and have a right or wrong answer, avoiding any unpleasant debate.
As for my own questioning skills, I know that I need to improve upon giving adequate think time. I have a bad habit of filling silences which, according to the text, could have unintended consequence of inducing confusion. I bet I even answer my own questions, though I can't recall a specific incident at the moment. I find the idea of a question-driven curriculum exciting.
Finally, I have trouble imagining it, however. If the curriculum is driven by the students, how does a teacher ensure that all required curriculum content is covered?
The reading assignment is showing me how, without adequate preparation, a teacher might wallow in the lowest level of questioning. They are simple to formulate, almost guaranteed to generate a quick response, and have a right or wrong answer, avoiding any unpleasant debate.
As for my own questioning skills, I know that I need to improve upon giving adequate think time. I have a bad habit of filling silences which, according to the text, could have unintended consequence of inducing confusion. I bet I even answer my own questions, though I can't recall a specific incident at the moment. I find the idea of a question-driven curriculum exciting.
Finally, I have trouble imagining it, however. If the curriculum is driven by the students, how does a teacher ensure that all required curriculum content is covered?
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Chapter 2
The main idea conveyed in this chapter is that a teachers responsibilities extend well beyond the school hours. To be effective, a teacher must be well prepared, resourceful, decisive, reflective, fair, accountable, level-headed, optimistic, collaborative, personable, interesting, interested, and, when appropriate, funny. The list is extensive, yet valid. When I think back about some of my favorite teachers, I can attribute much of my enduring affection to the items in this list.
I very much appreciated the section on accepting and sharing instructional accountability. I would like to learn more about how portfolios can be used to develop shared accountability. One thing I sensed during my time at Quest was that many students resented the teacher's position of power. It would be ideal to be able to say to a student, "You don't seem to be achieving your goal. What can I do to help? What can your parents/guardian do?" as opposed to, "You got a D on your test. Now you have to come to after school tutoring."
I very much appreciated the section on accepting and sharing instructional accountability. I would like to learn more about how portfolios can be used to develop shared accountability. One thing I sensed during my time at Quest was that many students resented the teacher's position of power. It would be ideal to be able to say to a student, "You don't seem to be achieving your goal. What can I do to help? What can your parents/guardian do?" as opposed to, "You got a D on your test. Now you have to come to after school tutoring."
Monday, 2 January 2012
Chapter 1
After reading chapter one I can comfortably say that my 1980's middle school was a middle school in name only. Classes changed every 50 minutes or so. Subjects were taught as isolated entities and the few electives available could be divided into two categories: artistic or domestic. If you had interests in both wood shop and drama you were out of luck. Classroom instruction was entirely lecture-style and athletics were competitive to an almost aggressive degree. I survived, but I can only imagine how much better my experience might have been in a true middle school model.
I experienced year-round education at Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Center. The alternative schedule appeared to work well for students, especially those who were more at risk for regressing during a longer summer break. I would be interested to see the model in action with older students.
I just completed Novice Teaching at Quest Charter Academy. They currently offer grades 5-8. Teachers are arranged into collaborative teaching teams by grade level and block scheduling exists for Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies. From my experience, macroperiods can seem awfully long if the teacher does not include enough hands-on or inquiry-type learning opportunities for the students. From a middle-school student's perspective, taking notes is equivalent to not 'doing' anything in class. I see their point.
I experienced year-round education at Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Center. The alternative schedule appeared to work well for students, especially those who were more at risk for regressing during a longer summer break. I would be interested to see the model in action with older students.
I just completed Novice Teaching at Quest Charter Academy. They currently offer grades 5-8. Teachers are arranged into collaborative teaching teams by grade level and block scheduling exists for Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies. From my experience, macroperiods can seem awfully long if the teacher does not include enough hands-on or inquiry-type learning opportunities for the students. From a middle-school student's perspective, taking notes is equivalent to not 'doing' anything in class. I see their point.
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