I really loved the tiered “Singing a Song” lesson that was taught in our differentiation class on Thursday. When we got back into the class after working with our individual groups and I saw how it all came together, I was amazed. I had thought that each group was given a CD and a player just like our group, so I was completely surprised to learn we were the only group with those things. During our class discussion, I realized what Professor Peterson had done and I was completely impressed! She was so cleaver to think of such an engaging tiered lesson to demonstrate what she had been trying to get us to understand. I was truly amazed that the lesson seemed so perfect for the occasion. Now, the question is, “What do I, individually, need to know and understand in order to tier a lesson of my own." The answer is, from the class lesson I understand what I need to do, but what I need to understand is how do I differentiate in a kindergarten classroom.
I have observed a lot of kindergarten classrooms and it seems as though the teacher prepares centers for the students to move through each day. I imagine in order to differentiate in kindergarten, I would need to prepare different tasks at the different centers to meet the needs of the students. Maybe, I would differentiate one center and remain at that center to provide the differentiated lesson at that center. I’m not really sure how it would all come together. With such little students I wonder if a teacher, aide, or parent helper needs to direct their tasks? I’m not at all sure about this, maybe, I am taking too big of chunk here to think about, but I always try to think it out in my mind of how it works in my dream classroom. I need more information on how and what a kindergarten teacher should or could differentiate. In the mean time, I do know from participating in our class “Singing a Song” lesson, I could take a specific lesson and differentiate the content based on my students' readiness.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Week Six
Response #1 – From chapter seven of Fulfilling the Promise by Carol Ann Tomlinson I have identified four beliefs I will incorporate into my future classroom. First, “Students consistently want teachers who respect them, listen to them, show empathy toward them, help them work out their problems, and become human by sharing their own lives and ideas with their students.” I can’t imagine how any child could thrive let alone learn in an environment in which the teacher did not care for them in the ways listed in the quote. There is a saying that I do not know the author but it states, “Teacher, I won’t care how much you know, until I know how much you care.” I need to respect my students, listen to them, show empathy toward them and understand and help them with their problems in order for them to begin to want to learn. All the great knowledge I have to share with them is not going to be important until they know they are important to me.
Second, “Effective teachers clearly identify learning goals and link them with activities designed to ensure student mastery of the goals.” I learned in Dr. Ramirez’s social studies methods class how important this belief is. Using backward design, we have been taught to identify the “big idea” that needs to be taught and then work towards teaching it in a worthwhile authentic manner. We were warned from just finding a cute activity to have our student do, to really think of how we were going to teach important concepts.
Third, “Effective teachers emphasize hands-on learning, conceptual understanding, and links with the world beyond the classroom.” During my first field experience, I watched a fantastic teacher use hands-on activities to allow her students to develop conceptual understanding. I was amazed at how she moved the students along to the knowledge she wanted them to know. On another occasion while I was substitute teaching, a discouraged student wanted to know what the purpose of reading and writing poetry was – what did it matter to him? I responded by asking him if he liked to listen to music and if he ever thought of it as poetry. Although he did not jump up and down for joy over the assignment, he did seem to make a connection to the music he listened to. I want to allow my students the opportunity to build their knowledge using hands-on activities when I know it will enhance their learning. At the same time, I want to help my students understand how what is taught in school is important and connects to their lives in meaningful ways.
Finally, “Effective teachers know and understand their students in terms of abilities, achievement, learning preferences, and needs.” This is where I think differentiation comes in to play in the classroom. In order for me to be an effective teacher, not only do I need to understand my students, I need to provide activities to meet their needs, give adequate scaffolding, and use different teaching methods to incorporate all learning styles. Now, I am a little bit shaky on what differentiation is right now, but I trust that I will develop an understanding of it and what it means to me as a teacher and how I will be able to implement it.
Response #2 – I could relate well to the metaphors at the end of chapter seven and while reading I pondered how I could respond to each one. However, it wasn’t until I read the metaphor about learning to ride a bike that I really knew I had made a strong connection. I can vividly remember when I learned to ride a bike. My dad had taken the training wheels off my pink banana seat bike. He thought I was steady enough to make it without that extra support. During several attempts at a solo ride, my dad ran alongside holding onto the back seat handle. When he would let go, I would lose my balance and eventually crash. Dad was right there, cheering me on, telling me how much farther I had made it giving me confidence I could succeed. Finally after a great deal of practice, I could control the bike without falling – I was still somewhat wobbly, but I was making progress. Now, of course I can ride a bike and I love it.
So how does this connect to being a teacher? Well, with the hope of eventually becoming a teacher tucked deep within my heart, I have been making close observations of my own children’s teachers for years. I have been making note of the things I thought were great and the things I thought were not so great. While at the University for the past three years I have been learning from coursework, observing in classrooms, and teaching during field all to learn how to be a great teacher. Now the time is quickly approaching to put all this study and observation into practice – I am going to have to get on the “bicycle” and try it for myself. Inevitably, I will hit a rough patch in the road or a bump in the sidewalk and I will fall off the bike. But, I am determined to get up, brush myself off, and keep trying as I work towards becoming a great teacher.
Second, “Effective teachers clearly identify learning goals and link them with activities designed to ensure student mastery of the goals.” I learned in Dr. Ramirez’s social studies methods class how important this belief is. Using backward design, we have been taught to identify the “big idea” that needs to be taught and then work towards teaching it in a worthwhile authentic manner. We were warned from just finding a cute activity to have our student do, to really think of how we were going to teach important concepts.
Third, “Effective teachers emphasize hands-on learning, conceptual understanding, and links with the world beyond the classroom.” During my first field experience, I watched a fantastic teacher use hands-on activities to allow her students to develop conceptual understanding. I was amazed at how she moved the students along to the knowledge she wanted them to know. On another occasion while I was substitute teaching, a discouraged student wanted to know what the purpose of reading and writing poetry was – what did it matter to him? I responded by asking him if he liked to listen to music and if he ever thought of it as poetry. Although he did not jump up and down for joy over the assignment, he did seem to make a connection to the music he listened to. I want to allow my students the opportunity to build their knowledge using hands-on activities when I know it will enhance their learning. At the same time, I want to help my students understand how what is taught in school is important and connects to their lives in meaningful ways.
Finally, “Effective teachers know and understand their students in terms of abilities, achievement, learning preferences, and needs.” This is where I think differentiation comes in to play in the classroom. In order for me to be an effective teacher, not only do I need to understand my students, I need to provide activities to meet their needs, give adequate scaffolding, and use different teaching methods to incorporate all learning styles. Now, I am a little bit shaky on what differentiation is right now, but I trust that I will develop an understanding of it and what it means to me as a teacher and how I will be able to implement it.
Response #2 – I could relate well to the metaphors at the end of chapter seven and while reading I pondered how I could respond to each one. However, it wasn’t until I read the metaphor about learning to ride a bike that I really knew I had made a strong connection. I can vividly remember when I learned to ride a bike. My dad had taken the training wheels off my pink banana seat bike. He thought I was steady enough to make it without that extra support. During several attempts at a solo ride, my dad ran alongside holding onto the back seat handle. When he would let go, I would lose my balance and eventually crash. Dad was right there, cheering me on, telling me how much farther I had made it giving me confidence I could succeed. Finally after a great deal of practice, I could control the bike without falling – I was still somewhat wobbly, but I was making progress. Now, of course I can ride a bike and I love it.
So how does this connect to being a teacher? Well, with the hope of eventually becoming a teacher tucked deep within my heart, I have been making close observations of my own children’s teachers for years. I have been making note of the things I thought were great and the things I thought were not so great. While at the University for the past three years I have been learning from coursework, observing in classrooms, and teaching during field all to learn how to be a great teacher. Now the time is quickly approaching to put all this study and observation into practice – I am going to have to get on the “bicycle” and try it for myself. Inevitably, I will hit a rough patch in the road or a bump in the sidewalk and I will fall off the bike. But, I am determined to get up, brush myself off, and keep trying as I work towards becoming a great teacher.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Week Five
Question #1: One thing I liked in the section titled teaching curriculum that is important is the idea that “the brain is inefficient at rote memorization and seeks instead to make meaning of information.” I know personally from my own quest for knowledge that I have to understand a concept before I can ever begin to remember it. Once I am able to understand a concept, then I can remember it and use it in the future. Unfortunately, I am stumped if I can’t understand it. Rote memorization would never help. I greatly appreciate the professors who are willing to be patient with all my questions as I build an understanding of a new concept that I will be able to build upon once I “get” it. As a teacher, I realize I will need to be patient with my students and help them discover the meaning of information, not have them memorize random bits of information. Then they will be the “owner” of the information and will be able to use it to build upon in the future.
A second thing I liked in the section titled teaching curriculum that is important is the idea that “teachers need to help students master and retain essential information, organized knowledge around essential concepts, develop essential understandings, and competently utilize essential skills.” This is extremely significant to me and I thought of the rope spider web climbing thing at the Hogle Zoo. As an adult, I have tried to climb on that thing and I found it nearly impossible. This was very frustrating. At the time, I was thinking that if the ropes were just a little bit closer, I might be more successful. This climbing thing was riddled with holes which was a real problem because my feet kept falling through. As a teacher, I do not want my students to give up over a frustrating spider web of loosely woven information. I need to teach the essential curriculum in a way that connects to students’ prior knowledge and to other curriculum so that it weaves a well connected “fabric” to support the footing for the students.
Question #2: I found two quotes in the sixth chapter of Fulfilling the Promise by Carol Ann Tomlinson which were meaningful to me. The first quote was found on page 73 and it is “Take time to be human with your students and give them time to do likewise.” Tomlinson used this quote in suggesting that it is okay for teachers to share their experiences, the things they love, the places they visit, and the things that helped them succeed. I think this is very important as I believe it would be difficult to build a community of learners when the students knew very little about their teacher. I believe students would be excited to know their teacher leads a different life outside of school. A second way to think about this quote is to realize that as a teacher and as a person, I am not super human and I will make mistakes, and it is okay. In addition, students should realize that they too will make mistakes, and that is okay for them as well.
The second quote I found on page 81 and it is “It is likely that we underestimate what any student can accomplish, often establishing as performance ceilings goals that ought to be planks in the floor.” This reminds me of something my mother always said to me while growing up. “If you reach for the stars you might drag your feet in the treetops; but if you reach for the treetops you might drag your feet in the mud.” My mother instilled in me the desire to always reach high when setting my goals. She let me know that there was no reason to fear if I didn’t accomplish a lofty goal as long as I tried my best. Amazingly, when you set high goals and someone has confidence in your abilities, you are able to accomplish them a lot of the time. I believe that encouraging students to set high goals for themselves will help them see we have confidence in their abilities and they will be able to meet the mark. The opposite of this thought has damaging consequences. I think students would feel very badly about themselves if teachers set expectations low and didn’t have any confidence in their ability to succeed. So as a teacher, I will encourage my students to reach for the “stars” and I will provide the scaffolding they need in order to reach their dreams.
A second thing I liked in the section titled teaching curriculum that is important is the idea that “teachers need to help students master and retain essential information, organized knowledge around essential concepts, develop essential understandings, and competently utilize essential skills.” This is extremely significant to me and I thought of the rope spider web climbing thing at the Hogle Zoo. As an adult, I have tried to climb on that thing and I found it nearly impossible. This was very frustrating. At the time, I was thinking that if the ropes were just a little bit closer, I might be more successful. This climbing thing was riddled with holes which was a real problem because my feet kept falling through. As a teacher, I do not want my students to give up over a frustrating spider web of loosely woven information. I need to teach the essential curriculum in a way that connects to students’ prior knowledge and to other curriculum so that it weaves a well connected “fabric” to support the footing for the students.
Question #2: I found two quotes in the sixth chapter of Fulfilling the Promise by Carol Ann Tomlinson which were meaningful to me. The first quote was found on page 73 and it is “Take time to be human with your students and give them time to do likewise.” Tomlinson used this quote in suggesting that it is okay for teachers to share their experiences, the things they love, the places they visit, and the things that helped them succeed. I think this is very important as I believe it would be difficult to build a community of learners when the students knew very little about their teacher. I believe students would be excited to know their teacher leads a different life outside of school. A second way to think about this quote is to realize that as a teacher and as a person, I am not super human and I will make mistakes, and it is okay. In addition, students should realize that they too will make mistakes, and that is okay for them as well.
The second quote I found on page 81 and it is “It is likely that we underestimate what any student can accomplish, often establishing as performance ceilings goals that ought to be planks in the floor.” This reminds me of something my mother always said to me while growing up. “If you reach for the stars you might drag your feet in the treetops; but if you reach for the treetops you might drag your feet in the mud.” My mother instilled in me the desire to always reach high when setting my goals. She let me know that there was no reason to fear if I didn’t accomplish a lofty goal as long as I tried my best. Amazingly, when you set high goals and someone has confidence in your abilities, you are able to accomplish them a lot of the time. I believe that encouraging students to set high goals for themselves will help them see we have confidence in their abilities and they will be able to meet the mark. The opposite of this thought has damaging consequences. I think students would feel very badly about themselves if teachers set expectations low and didn’t have any confidence in their ability to succeed. So as a teacher, I will encourage my students to reach for the “stars” and I will provide the scaffolding they need in order to reach their dreams.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Week Four
While reading chapters 3 and 4 of Fulfilling the Promise of the differentiated Classroom by Carol Ann Tomlinson I found three quotes which were very meaningful to me and I would like to explain why they mattered to me. The first was a quote by Barbara Kingsolver, she states “the very least we ought to expect of ourselves is that we figure out what we hope for in this life. The most we can do, she continues, is to make sure we live inside our hopes, rather than admiring them for a distance.” This quote is very significant in my life as I have had the dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher since the day I walked my oldest child into her kindergarten class on the first day of school. Standing in the brightly decorated classroom I felt I had just entered a magical place; I knew this was the place I wanted to be. At the time, which was over sixteen years ago, I didn’t realize one day I would be on the verge of making my dream of becoming a teacher come true. Now that I stand on the edge, it is a bit scary as I realize I am about to live my dream instead of admiring great teachers from a distance. It is my greatest hope that I will be able to make my classroom a magical place that welcomes all that enter.
The second quote that I connected to was “To learn to see the world through your eyes clarifies my own vision.” It has been a long time since I was a child, yet it is always refreshing to get a child’s perspective on something that seems ordinary. One example of this occurred while on a family vacation; our Suburban broke down and required repair. The only car available for rent was a compact budget car. Once we were on our way down the road in the rental, we rolled down our windows to let in the beautiful fall weather. My youngest daughter was all excited to return to grandma’s house to tell her the exciting news of getting to roll the window down with a neat “twirly thing.” The handle to roll down a window was something that I had taken for granted, while my child had found it completely entertaining and amazing – a wonder she wanted to share with others. This experience helped me to see the world through her eyes of wonder. Children have a different perspective and when I have taken the time to see through their eyes, it always brings a smile to my soul.
The final quote I found is “learners watch to see if we will try to build ties with them, if we are willing to invest in them, if we are able to affirm them. They want to know if we’ll help them build a place where there contributions are significant, achieve a sense of power in a very large world, realized a purpose in their school lives and stretch them so they move toward their dreams.” This quote sums up what I believe are my responsibilities as a teacher. It is a huge responsibility. Many times I have contemplated the commitment I am going to need to make in order to meet the needs of my students. This thought process can sometimes be overwhelming; however, I realize that I have the ability to lift, motivate, and launch children on their path to success – I just need to take one day at a time.
The second quote that I connected to was “To learn to see the world through your eyes clarifies my own vision.” It has been a long time since I was a child, yet it is always refreshing to get a child’s perspective on something that seems ordinary. One example of this occurred while on a family vacation; our Suburban broke down and required repair. The only car available for rent was a compact budget car. Once we were on our way down the road in the rental, we rolled down our windows to let in the beautiful fall weather. My youngest daughter was all excited to return to grandma’s house to tell her the exciting news of getting to roll the window down with a neat “twirly thing.” The handle to roll down a window was something that I had taken for granted, while my child had found it completely entertaining and amazing – a wonder she wanted to share with others. This experience helped me to see the world through her eyes of wonder. Children have a different perspective and when I have taken the time to see through their eyes, it always brings a smile to my soul.
The final quote I found is “learners watch to see if we will try to build ties with them, if we are willing to invest in them, if we are able to affirm them. They want to know if we’ll help them build a place where there contributions are significant, achieve a sense of power in a very large world, realized a purpose in their school lives and stretch them so they move toward their dreams.” This quote sums up what I believe are my responsibilities as a teacher. It is a huge responsibility. Many times I have contemplated the commitment I am going to need to make in order to meet the needs of my students. This thought process can sometimes be overwhelming; however, I realize that I have the ability to lift, motivate, and launch children on their path to success – I just need to take one day at a time.
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