Marzano Summary

After reading Marzano's chapter entitled Instructional Strategies from his book What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action,  we had an assignment to choose 3-5 strategies to implement into our teaching.  Below are 3 instructional strategies that I chose to implement :
1.  Setting objectives
       What I did:
Before beginning a new unit of study or a new topic/concept I was strategic in my explanation on why we were going to be learning what we were learning.  As a class we discussed and posted what we would be learning and why.  We made up a chart that we posted in our room and we were able to refer back to it often.  After awhile, the students were referring back to it on their own when
       Why I felt the need to implement it:
I think that it is important for the children to know why we need to learn.  I think that by setting objectives and talking about them first, it gives the students a goal or a purpose to learn.  Furthermore, by setting objectives I think that it helps them make connections to their own lives.
       How it went:
It was nice to have a "big idea" in mind throughout the lessons and I think that the children were able to clearly see an end goal (or objective) and make personal connections throughout the unit.
       Successes/Challenges:
We were able to have a big idea the whole time (success).
We referred back to it often (success).
It would be difficult to do this for everything that we are learning (challenge).
2.  Identifying Similarities & Differences (through Graphic Organizers)
        What I did:
While reading several versions of the classic tale The Gingerbread Boy, we created a Venn Diagram comparing the stories.  We used a graphic organizer (which Marzano notes gives students a 22% academic gain) to compare and contrast stories (which Marzano notes gives students a 45% academic gain.)   
        Why I felt the need to implement it:
According to Marzano, by identifying similarities and differences students can make a 45% gain in student achievement.   I decided to do this through the use of a graphic organizer to help students see connections between stories.
        How it went:
It was easier for the students to remember the characters in each story as well as making comparisons between the stories.  They referred back to them when they were retelling the stories in pairs.
        Successes/Challenges:
The students seemed to be able to make connections between the stories easier when we used a Venn Diagram. 
3.  Homework
        What I did: 
For kindergarten, there is not much homework assigned.  Our grade level however, sends home a generic homework packet with the students each week targeting the kindergarten curriculum in general.  To streamline the homework, I decided to make the homework packet reinforce the specific content that we had been working at in school during each week. 
        Why I felt the need to implement it:
After reading Marzano's chapter, it prompted me to take a closer look at homework.  According to Marzano, by assigning homework students can make a 28% gain in academics.  That was a huge number compared to all of the other suggested strategies. 
        How it went:
I figure out what I was going to teach each week and compiled a packet of activities/games/worksheets that corresponded with the content that I was planning on teaching.  I did not take any specific record keeping, but I did notice that their work at school was increasing in quality and content.
        Successes/Challenges:
Since I haven't been strict on homework coming back, I had a difficult time with enough students returning the packets.  I think that if I were to do this next year, I would make my intentions clear that I wanted the packet to be returned so I could see what families were actually doing the homework. 

Technology Implementation Refelction

One of our assignments for class this last semester was to integrate more technology into our teaching.  I choose to utilize the SMART Board and the iPad during our Literacy Work Station time. 
SMART Board~
Last spring I bought some interactive Cd's from Lakshore that help students practice specific kindergarten skills.  The SMART Board was a station that the kids could choose to work at with a partner or independently.  This worked well because I have been modeling how to use our classroom "baby" all year.  Like I stated in an earlier post, the kids were very on-task and engaged, not to mention motivated to use the SMART Board.  I think that they felt a sense of responsibility and ownership for their learning while at the SMART Board Station. I also enjoyed this time because I could easily monitor their work and could see the learning that was taking place.  Furthermore, I was still able to work with my small groups in the back of the room and there was little to no interruptions of my small group time from the children working at the SMART Board Station.
iPads~    
During this time, I also utilized my teacher iPad.  Originally, I wanted to use both of my iPads (my personal one and my teacher one) but since I was still collecting data on my personal iPad for my AR project, I only made one available to my students and they had to use it with a partner.  This worked well as I was able to teach the kids what games were available.  They were also very on-task and engaged while using the iPad.  I think that by making them share not only taught them how to share, but it also taught them how to problem solve.  When surveyed, the students were most excited to use the iPad during station time. 

December "Glow & Grow"

Glow:
Classroom community!  The particular group of kids that I have this year are AMAZING!!!  Not quite sure if it is because I just got lucky or if it is because of different strategies that I've implemented this year.  Either way, it's awesome!  This past summer I attended a 3 credit course in St. Cloud on Community Building and if you ever get the opportunity to take the course you will be glad you did (the facilitators name is Jerry Sparby-he's SO, SO, SO GOOD!) Anyway, I came away with a great set of community building activities & games that have been added to my tool box! Click HERE and feel free to use them for your class!


Grow:
An area where I feel like I could grow in, is Guided Reading.  I currently meet with my GR groups 2-3 times each week.  We meet for about 15 minutes and I get to 3-4 groups each day.  Lately, I have not been very motivated/excited for this time.  Usually we do some type of word work then we read our leveled readers.  I'd love for you to share ideas on how to make it more fun for the kids (and the teacher too!)
Tell me about your Guided Reading time?  
When do you begin?  
How long do your groups meet for?  
How often do you meet with your groups?
How do you choose the text for them to read?

Technology Reflection

What have you noticed about the students’ engagement?
Since integrating even more technology into my classroom, I have found that there is more student engagement and excitement.  During Work Station time the children have the opportunity to use the SMART Board to work on various literacy skills while I am in the back pulling children for small group instruction.  It has been working great.  For the most part, the children have been very on-task and engaged while at that particular station. 

How scary is it for you to implement something new?
This isn't something entirely new that I've implemented in my teaching.  However, it is new to this group of children and they seem to enjoy the responsibility very much.  The part that is the most scary is if something were to happen to the SMART Board, it is an expensive piece of technology and to give full control and responsibility to a 5 year old can be a bit scary.  I think that I've done enough pre-teaching and modeling on how to treat the board like a "baby", so my students are very careful around our classroom "Baby".  

What might you do differently next time to achieve better results? 
The only thing that I would change is to implement this earlier in the year. This particular group of kids is very responsible and they are doing a good job with learning from this piece of technology. It surely frees up some of my time so that I am able to pull small groups more often and for longer periods of time.

November "Glow" & "Grow"

Ooops...I wrote this as a draft a while ago, but forgot to publish!  :o

Glow:  I am so excited that my Literacy Work Station time has been so successful!  My group of Little's is one AMAZING group of kids!  They all work so well together.  This year I've changed things up a little bit: 1.) I provide more choice for the kids.  2.) The stations are differentiated and open-ended.  3.) I change up partnerships every week vs. once a quarter.  I can't quite pin-point if it is one specific change or a combination, but my Little's are more engaged and on task this year. 

Grow:  One area where I have found some frustration is during Writer's Workshop.  I love W.W. and have seen a TON of growth in their writing since the beginning of the year, however, what do I do with a couple of students who are not showing their potential during this time?  If I sit with them to help them stretch words out, and encourage them they do a good job, but when I turn my attention and conference with others, these same students just sit there.  How can I help them become more independent during this time?  Please help as any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Technology Integration

What tool/s will you integrate into your curriculum?

I plan to allow more student control over the iPad & SMART Board in my classroom. 

iPads:

During station time, I will allow my students to use my 2 iPads to practice different concepts (letter naming, letter formation, letter sounds, listening to reading etc.) This is not something completely new; however, I will be allowing the students to use my personal iPad along with my “Teacher” iPad since we don’t have a classroom set yet. 

SMART Board:

I will also start a “SMART Board” rotation where the kids can use the SMART Board during station time.  I have several interactive games that I bought from Lakeshore Learning that will help my students with literacy.

Discuss your goals for the implementation and rationale for how the tool will enhance and transform the learning.

My goal is that my students become independent with these forms of technology.  I foresee that they will be engaged and on task throughout the time that they are able to use them, as this is a way that I can gradually release responsibility to my students.  I look forward to see what happens!

Technology Goals

According to Project Red (http://www.projectred.org/about/research-overview/findings.html#seven) “Schools must incorporate technology into daily teaching to realize the benefits. The daily use of technology in core classes correlates highly to the desirable education success measures (ESMs). Daily technology use is a top-five indicator of better discipline, better attendance, and increased college attendance.”
Some things that I need to learn how to do to honor this key finding is to allow students the opportunity to use technology on a daily basis.  I am fortunate enough to have a SMART Board and document camera in my classroom, along with an iPad.  We do use the SMART Board and document camera daily, however, the iPad is not utilized by each student every day.  I think that I could try to get more kids using the iPad more often.


My goals for the remainder of the year are to utilize the iPad more. I have many apps that are appropriate for what we are learning in class.  The problem is, I use the iPad for data collection during the time that I would be able to implement this goal. 

Marzano's What Works in Schools

For this weeks assignment we were to read Chapter 1 from Marzano's What Works in Schools and answer some questions that are outlined below.

My Notes:

• Marzano believes that effective schools provide interventions for students that are designed to overcome student background that might hinder their learning (p. 8).
• Research indicates that schools, when run effectively, make a big difference in student achievement (p. 7). 
• Effective schools do make a difference in student achievement (p. 6).
• 3 general factors influence student academic achievement 

1. school level
2. teacher level
3. student level

Do you agree with him? Disagree? Why?
     I do agree that there are 3 general factors that influence student academic achievement.  The old adage: "it takes a village to raise a child" comes into mind.  With today's society, children coming from various backgrounds (single parent families, double income families, multiple family housing, ethnicity, etc.) I think that it is not just the responsibility of the teacher, it also takes the family/parents/care-givers and individual student assertion to accomplish goals.
     I also fully agree with interventions.  When students are not meeting grade-level goals, it is important to find different ways to help them accomplish them by providing tiered support.
     Another point that I agree with is that individual schools within a district should have more power, as opposed to district-wide sanctions.  I'm lucky that I'm part of a small district where we only have 1 elementary, 1 middle & 1 high school.  I've seen districts where they have multiple schools at each level and try to enforce the same rules for everyone...it just doesn't work!
     One part that I'm not at all experienced with is students coming from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.  Like I stated, I teach in a small community where there is not a lot of diversity.  I have a class of 20 Caucasian students, so I'm not familiar with designing interventions for students with varying backgrounds, something that I think would be difficult.

Technology In The Classroom

•What would it mean for your students if you were able to integrate more technology? 
I consider myself very fortunate that I have the technology that I do have.  Each classroom in my school has a SMART Board, document camera and at least 1 iPad.  Our school is working toward getting a small-group set (4-6) of iPads for each classroom. We also have access to check out an iPad cart, which will accommodate all 20 students in my room.   I am also very fortunate that my students have "technology" time as a specialist class every Friday.  The idea is that students get trained on technology language and terminology as this will help them in the future for computerized testing.
I think that integrating technology into my classroom has changed my teaching drastically  My lessons have become more interactive and student centered.  I also think that by having a SMART Board, my students pay more attention as it touches yet another modality of learning and helps those who learn visually as well as tactile.  At first it was difficult to get used to using and it was a "trial and error" as I had never been formally trained.  The one downfall is that if something goes wrong (electronically/computer), I seem to rely on it too much because it is so interactive.  

•What have you observed about children when it comes to engaging with technology as a learning tool? 
I have learned that having access to technology is very engaging for children.  They all want to participate, especially when we use the iPads.  Since there is such variety with apps, I think that students don't get "bored" as easily.  I have noticed that there are virtually no behavior problems when we are using technology while learning.

•What philosophical or practical ideas do you have about integrating technology in a way that gets students to the Modification and Redefinition levels of the SAMR Model?
My motto in Kindergarten is "baby steps". About 1/2 of the children in my class have access to some form of technology, some more than others, so starting slow is important.  I think to get my kindergartners to the modification and redefinition levels of the SAMR model would be possible, but would be difficult and not necessarily on my priority list.  I do think that my students would be capable of creating their own blogs to share with their families their learning experiences.  However, at the same time I think that it would be a lot of time on my end... time that could possibly be used more wisely.

"Glow & Grow" Blog Plan

The conversations about blogging at the conference was one of the more exciting aspects of the Fall Conference, perhaps it's because I take a huge interest in blogging and I love browsing other peoples' blogs for information and good ideas!  Our group came up with a great idea about blogging that I'm really excited about.  We decided to check in once a month for a "Glow & Grow".  We will be checking in with one another by the 15th of each month to give a positive feedback (the glow) and to give constructive feedback (the grow).

Fall Conference Reflection

Q:  How were you inspired by the fall conference sharing?

A:  The Fall Conference was interesting as I wasn’t quite sure how it would all work out.  I was a bit apprehensive going into the conference, but quickly found myself engaged.  When I was most engaged was when I met up with others from my grade level to discuss blogging.  I felt least engaged toward the end of the day as I was getting tired of sitting and my mind began to wonder about the upcoming week.

Q:  What ideas did you gain that you will take back to your classroom?

A:  I am excited to learn how my “bloggy” friends are doing with their Action Research in their own classrooms.  Many of them are implementing Daily 5 into their teaching and I am interested in learning more techniques before jumping into it myself. I will learn more about this as the year goes on and I am able to gain knowledge about this through reading their blogs.

Q:  Consider the Lasallian principles of AGAPE. Which aspects were supported through the sharing and how?

A:  I think that the conference allowed many opportunities for the Lasallian principles of AGAPE through the sharing and collaborating with others who teach at the same level.  Association, generativity, adaptive, presence and engagement were all present at the conference. 

 

For association, we were all able to collaborate and cooperate with others from different learning communities to better our techniques.

For generativity, we were all able to contribute in a non-threatening and safe environment.  I felt that we were valued as a learner.

For adaptation, I was able to expand my thinking beyond myself and listen to others. I had to adapt to a new environment and new people in the small group break-out sessions.

For presence, I think that it all depended on the person and what their attitude is before entering the conference.   Some people were very open, friendly and welcoming and truly wanted to learn from others while others didn’t seem very present.

For engagement, I think that is it very similar to presence in the fact that some people seemed to enjoy their time and make the most out of the conference while others were there just because they had to be there.  I was lucky that I joined a blogging group who welcomed me and seemed to be very present and engaged in our conversations.

BD Sharing Process

I am surprised at how much I enjoyed teaching my Backwards Design Unit.  Actually to be completely honest, when I was writing my lesson plan I wasn't thinking about the BIG idea as much as I was thinking how BIG of a pain in the butt that this was going to be.  However, my students (and I) had so much fun!  My big idea that I wanted my students to learn was the difference between fiction books and non-fiction books.  This was the first time that I've fully designed any lesson around a specific common core standard.  I decided to teach them about spiders (since all of my students believe in celebrating Halloween-and it’s quickly approaching I thought it would be a good fit!) See more of what we did in class by clicking HERE.

I checked out many, many, many books from the library (mostly non-fiction) coupled with my own “spider” library (mostly fiction) and was able to teach the difference between the two.  I have to admit that I learned a lot of interesting facts about spiders that I didn't know a week ago!  Maybe that was a good thing as my Little’s had a lot of questions about spiders that I didn't know the answers to.  We had wonderful journey learning together in a fun and exciting way that was mostly student driven!  It has opened my eyes on how to make learning even more fun.  I know that they learned the difference between fiction and non-fiction because they would specifically ask me to read a non-fiction book for our read aloud just so they could learn more interesting facts about spiders.  Through this process I learned a lot of different things about my children, for example, before we began our unit we completed a K-W-L chart about what we know about spiders.  Some of the children gave me facts and some gave me their opinions, which leads me to another BD lesson-one that I wasn't planning on until later in the year.  However, next week we will be learning about bats and the big idea will be learning the difference between fact and opinion. 

I have to say that I’m pretty proud about our love for non-fiction books in our classroom since teaching this unit.

After completing my BD unit, my questions are:

• how long should a BD unit typically take?
• how many different "Big Ideas" should be in a unit?

AR Sharing Process

Achieving quality small group instruction time 

through the management of literacy centers.

My review of literature focused on the concepts of literacy centers and small group instruction.  Ideally, I want to gain more quality time instructing small groups while the rest of my class is independently engaged in various literacy concepts.  However, at the kindergarten level it can be difficult for children to remain focused and independent during this time.  The question guiding my research is: How can I keep the rest of the class responsibly engaged in meaningful learning while I am working with small groups? 

Through my research on managing literacy centers, some of the things I have learned are: the importance of building a caring classroom community, creating a safe and welcoming environment, providing children with choice, allowing time for children to make personal connections, making expectations fair and attainable, and allowing time at the end to share.  These are just a few of the important features to think about when implementing literacy centers, however, my research has listed a plethora of other ideas to help making literacy centers successful.  As a result of the review of literature, I have made several changes on how I implement literacy centers in my classroom.  I have taken time and will continue to build a kind, caring and compassionate classroom community.  I have created little “learning centers” in my classroom where my students will spend their time learning independently in a safe and welcoming space.  I have set up the learning areas in an organized manner where the children have 6-8 activities to choose from, which offers various modalities of learning (visual, kinesthetic, auditory etc.)  I am in the process of giving the children time to explore the materials connect personally with each other and the activities at each center.  I have made my expectations very clear for each student and my students have made their learning goals evident.  The one area that I have been struggling with is allowing time at the end of center time to share.  This is an area where I need to focus more on to get the full benefit of implementing literacy centers.  My students have been building their center stamina and have been learning how to handle conflicts when they arise.

Throughout the next few weeks I will do a better job at allowing time at the end of literacy centers for the children to share so they can examine and discuss what they are learning at each of their centers.  This will give each of us the opportunity to celebrate one another’s work and accomplishments.  This will also give me time to informally assess what knowledge the children are acquiring.

As a result of the beginning phase of implementing my action research, my questions are as follows:

• What tools can I use to gauge how students are engaged?
• What tools can I use to gauge how my students are making their learning meaningful?

Differentiation

Since differentiation was my first AR topic and I read most of the Differentiation articles for my AR paper, I was already beginning to implement my new learning. One of the things that I’ve learned through my action research is that differentiation is not making lessons different for every child, but keeping learning open ended. I am applying this to my Literacy Work Station time in my classroom. It is an hour of the day where my kids are at various areas of the classroom learning ideas centered on literacy. To keep my activities open-ended I have introduced activities that don’t have definite answers and the activities can be on-going. I’ve created activities (and used some activities from TPT) that are open-ended. For example, at the Alphabet Station I have provided an alphabet hunt where the letters of the alphabet are hidden around the room and the children grab a clip-board and walk around the room to find the letters. Depending on their ability and interest, some students might just find the letters and write them randomly on their paper, others might trace letters that are on a laminated paper, others might find the beginning sounds that correspond with the letter while others are finding the letters and recording them in alphabetical order. This is just an example of one out of the six-eight activities that would be found at the Alphabet Station. I’ve noticed that most of the kids are choosing the route that best applies to their learning ability. For those that are having more of a difficult time choosing how they want to record their answers it gives me the opportunity to teach them how self-monitor to figure out how they learn best.


I also learned that choice is an integral part of making differentiation successful. Instead of telling my kids what they need to learn at a specific Work Station, I have been introducing a new activity and just placing it in the station for them as a choice to work with. At each work station I have 6-8 different activities that they can choose to work on. This last week I noticed that the majority of the kids are choosing to work with the new activity that I introduce first. Not all of the kids are choosing to work with the new activity though, and I believe that they may want to finish a previous activity; or they are not ready to try the new one or they are just not interested in the new activity. Either way, they are still practicing the concept at the specific station and I am okay with that because they are making the learning meaningful to them.

Children's Principles of Learning

After reviewing my Principles for Children’s Learning, I haven’t made a lot of changes, but now they are more of a reminder of how children learn best.  As I read through these principles that I created about a year ago I was thinking about last year’s class and how I was able to honor these principles.  I’m now also thinking about this year’s class and trying to figure out if these principles are all applicable, attainable and important.  For the most part, the principles themselves haven’t changed, but the excitement that is created within myself while reading these has increased dramatically.  Last year I felt the stress of achieving and honoring all of them while teaching two ½ day sections of kindergarten.  This year I am teaching just one class of all day/every day kindergarten and I feel less stress when thinking about how I will honor these principles for this year’s class. 

I feel that the Principles for Children’s Learning (below) that I created last fall are important because with my teaching experience, these are best practices on how children learn best.  I honor these principles by modeling them in my teaching. 

Principles for Children’s Learning

Principle 1: Needs Assessment

● Children will know what they are learning and why they are learning it.

● Children will try despite obstacles that they may encounter.

● Children will be taught concepts through a differentiated learning approach.

● Children will learn in at their own level and when it is appropriate for them.

● Children will guide their own learning (to an extent) through discovery and hands-on learning approaches.

● Children will create a “Hopes & Dreams” list in which they will work towards an end goal.

Principle 2: Safety

● Children will feel safe, welcome and wanted in the environment at all times.

● Children will feel safe to approach the teacher and other staff members when they need help or have questions.

● Children will feel secure enough to take risks and try things that may be new to them & try again if they fail the first times.

● Children will feel a sense of affirmation when sharing thoughts, opinions, feelings & ideas with others.

● Children will feel safe knowing that there is a reason “why” they are learning a particular concept.

Principle 3: Sound Relationships

● Children & teachers will have a mutual respect for one another.

● Children will participate in whole group & small group discussions to encourage community & healthy relationships.

● Children will learn C.A.R.E.S Values (Cooperation, Assertion, Respect, Empathy, and Self- Control) to enhance sound relationships.

● Children will participate in making classroom rules (aka- “Hopes & Dreams”)

● Children will feel safe knowing that their teacher & peers, respect affirm and listen carefully to them.

Principle 4: Sequence and Reinforcement

● Children will learn at a pace that is appropriate for their development.

● Children will have their academic & social needs met by differentiation.

● Children will do their work according to their learning level and be held accountable for their learning.

● Children will see a posted schedule of the day’s events each day.

● Children will participate in differentiated Literacy Work Stations as a means for understanding and comprehension of taught concepts.

Principle 5: Praxis

● Children will try new skills and apply them to their daily work.

● Children will reflect on the skill that they are currently working on and will be held accountable.

● Children will practice what they have learned by playing/working at various Literacy

Work Stations.

● Children will apply concepts and skills to their daily work.

● Children will have learning materials and learning tasks in an appropriate sequence and at an adequate pace.

Principle 6: Respect for Learners

● Children will help decide their path of learning.

● Children will help make decisions on how they learn according and what they will learn about (tactile, kinesthetic, etc.)

● Children will have a choice of varied learning activities at each Literacy Work Station.

(Differentiation)

Principle 7: Ideas, Feelings & Actions

● Children will be able to express their ideas freely.

● Children will be able to express their feelings freely.

● Children will be able to move about and meet their own needs when appropriate.

Principle 8: Immediacy

● Children’s learning will be reinforced when appropriate.

● Children will get feedback in an appropriate time manner.

Principle 9: Clear Roles

● Children will know what their role is as a learner & community member in the classroom.

● Children will be teachers as learners and learners as teachers.

Principle 10: Teamwork

● Children will learn skills associated with teamwork.

● Children will be encouraged to work with peers that they get along with (and don’t always get along with-to learn this concept.)

● Children will be respectful to their peers and adults.

● Children will learn at Literacy Work Stations, Small-group & Whole-group times all while showing teamwork and being included.

● Children will work together in a safe manner.

Principle 11: Engagement

● Children will be actively engaged in their learning.

● Children will learn with and from one another.

● Children will be on-task while they are in the learning environment.

Principle 12: Accountability

● Children will be held accountable for their learning by providing good work.

● Children will be held accountable for their actions and words -appropriateness is a must!

Principle 13: Enjoyment

● Children will enjoy participating & contributing in the classroom.

● Children will enjoy coming to school and being part of a caring classroom community member.

● Children will enjoy learning new concepts.

● Children will enjoy meeting new people and learning about their background & experiences.

Principle 14: Positive Reinforcement

● Children will be given verbal positive reinforcement when they are performing well.

● Children will have an internal feeling that they are a part of a caring classroom environment.

Persistence

Perseverance, what does it mean to you?  Perseverance to me means determination, willpower, purpose, courage and strength of mind.  In short it means getting the job done with/without challenges and obstacles.  Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology from the University of Pennsylvania defines it as “grit”.  Check here to read more about Perseverance and her “grit” theory.  Being a kindergarten teacher, I use perseverance everyday in my classroom.   Ultimately I have a job to do and it looks very different with each student that I have.  With some students, getting the job done is very easy as those are the students who love school and learning comes easily to them.  The test is then to keep them challenged.  On the other hand, getting the job done is a little more difficult because some students have difficulty learning and it doesn’t always come easy for them.  The challenge then is to make that learning happen and foster a love of learning deep within those students to motivate them.  In kindergarten, the area where I need to encourage and teach the most perseverance is writing.  Often children enter kindergarten with poor or little fine motor skills.  They think that when they pick up a pencil that they should just be able to write words.  Unfortunately, for some, making mistakes is extremely painful (and it can literally take months to teach them this).  I try to teach perseverance by modeling and explaining that even I make mistakes.  I model what it looks like to make a mistake.  I model what it looks like to “brush it off” and try again.  I model how to have self-control when I make a mistake.  I model how to have perseverance even when I’m frustrated.  Only when they truly understand that in kindergarten mistakes are made all the time....that is how we learn. 

My Virtues

During our last class session we discussed our top virtues.  We read a chapter about virtues and then did an inventory to discover our own top virtues.  I am amazed at how accurate these tests can be.  After completing the inventory, I found myself pretty consistent across the board.  The area that I scored the highest was Empathy.  When I read more about the virtue of empathy I feel it did a pretty good job describing me.  An empathetic person is sensitive, caring, appreciative, compassionate and connects well with people.  The next areas that I scored high in were enthusiasm, imagination and humility.  The area where I scored the lowest was courage.  I am not very good at being aggressive and standing up for myself or others.  I don’t like to stand out in a crowd and I’m not always as vocal as I should be.

If you’ve been following my older posts, you’ve probably read the word AGAPE.  Again, the acronym stands for Association, Generativity, Adaptation, Presence, & Engagement.  During our last weekend class we focused on Presence.  Presence and the virtue of empathy go together very nicely.  Some key words for presence are purposeful, empathetic, love-centered, and relationship building.  Some examples of what they look like in action are: community building, coaching, authentic learning, inviting environment, and respectful listeners.  Presence is building a purposeful and meaningful life through critical self-reflection.  Its implications for me as a SMU learner are critical self-reflection in an environment where risk-taking is encouraged.  Its implications for my students are teaching each other strategies and how to adapt. 

One of the last activities that we did in class was a community building activity to share our complements with others.  We each got a piece of paper and had to write our name at the top.  We then taped it to our back and walked around.  We would write kind words to others on their backs.  The really neat thing to see are the comments that others wrote on my paper correspond very closely with my top virtues.  Thanks friends for brightening my day!

My Summer Research Reflection

What did you learn in your summer reading and writing of the ROL that EVERY teacher should know regarding the topic?  

My topic that I choose to research this summer was implementation of literacy centers in a kindergarten classroom.  One thing that I think every teachers should know regarding the topic of literacy centers in a kindergarten classroom is that teachers do NOT need to change out the activities every week.  Instead, teachers should keep their activities in literacy centers open ended.

How is your topic important to others who teach in your level/concept area?

Literacy centers (aka- literacy work stations or LWS) are great to implement in a kindergarten classroom because it offers students a learning environment in which they are actively engaged, involved and on-task, while guiding their own learning and discovery.

How has it or will it impact or shape what you have already done and will be doing in the upcoming weeks?  

My research this summer has opened my eyes on how to begin to implement literacy centers in my classroom.  Research says start sssslllloooowwww and to form a community of learners.  In the past, I've always wanted to just jump into the academics right away, but I've learned that if I want my students to be successful during their center time, I need to be very explicit in directions and instructions and give them plenty of time to explore the areas and materials before expecting them to learn with them.

My "Non-Negotiables" In Teaching

Question 1/Week 1 (blog entry for ETL this week): Consider your summer learning and summer planning for this upcoming school year, write a list of 5-10 “non-negotiables” of ideas/concepts/practice that you learned that you will NEVER sacrifice in your classroom – they are THAT important! Why have you chosen these?

As the new school year quickly approaches I have an obligation to reflect upon the “non-negotiables” of my teaching. My “non-negotiables” are a list of my beliefs where I will dedicate my time and attention during each school day.

Responsive Classroom~ This summer I did some research on Responsive Classroom. I think that gathering my students in a central area for a Morning Meeting is essential to creating a positive classroom community. It brings all members of the classroom closer together as a classroom family where we are able to share about the activities of the day. Furthermore, by incorporating all of the components of the Responsive Classroom, I am building in time for Community Building.

Community Building~ This “non-negotiable” is a biggie! I took a class this summer that was based on building classroom community. I enjoyed this immensely as it reminded me of some of my own principles of teaching. I’ve always been a strong believer of creating a community of learners amongst the students of my classroom, but have always started the year out good, but by the end of the year my effort to build classroom community seems to always dwindle. I am going to be very purposeful and intentional this year in creating a community of learners, this is high on my priority list.

Differentiated Instruction~ My research this summer focused on differentiated instruction, specifically during Center Time. I have always believed that children learn in different ways and in different modalities, however, it can sometimes be difficult to meet the countless needs in a classroom. This year I am going to continue to differentiate my instruction as to meet the various needs of my students. I plan to differentiate most of my instruction during Center Time so I can meet with small groups to further meet individual student needs.

Center Time~ This is a time of our day that I think is vitally important. With increasing time spent on assessing and preparing students to take mandated tests, I think that center time often gets overlooked. Center time is a remarkable opportunity for children to collaborate, learn from one another, become independent learners, make choices to guide their learning, learn responsibility and to take control of their learning. Furthermore, Center Time offers children opportunities of active engagement, communication with others and hands-on learning. While the rest of my class in participating in Center Time, it allows me to meet with small groups so I can further differentiate student learning while meeting state and grade-level standards.

Essential Questions/Backwards Design~ This is somewhat of a new approach to planning for me. During the last couple of weeks I have been working hard on creating units based on Backwards Design. I have been busy creating essential questions that encompass the “big ideas” that I want my students to walk away from a unit with. I am still in the process of tweaking them to make them more kid-friendly for my students and this will be a practice that I will continue to focus on during my teaching career.

Play Time~ This is a topic that seems to be controversial lately in education. I have learned that it is extremely important to include various forms of play in school. It gives children the opportunity to learn and be themselves. Play helps children simulate real-life experiences in a child centered way while providing a line of communication with peers. Friendships form when children communicate with each other. Integrating play helps children make connections with one another.

Question 2/Week 2 (blog entry for ETL week 2): How have you planned to overtly “teach” with these “non-negotiables” in mind? What impact will these “non-negotiables” have on you as a teacher? …on your students? …on their learning? …on your classroom? …on our school and/or colleagues? Explain.

I plan to be very explicit in planning my lessons with my “non-negotiables” in mind. I will be intentional in building in the time into our daily schedule to practice my “non-negotiables” and will pay attention to how it is affecting my students.

Myself~ For me, I think that by pursuing these “non-negotiables” I will become a more confident and empowered teacher. In addition, I will be providing my students with the tools that they need to become lifelong learners by not disregarding my plan to incorporate my “non-negotiables”.

Students~ For my students, I think that they will learn to appreciate being a part of our classroom community and will enjoy coming to school each day. I think that one of the most important jobs that a Kindergarten teacher has is to instill a love of learning in students, after all, this is just the beginning of their education and if I can help them like school, they will become more successful.

Colleagues~ I think that I could become a leader amongst my colleagues. Currently, most teachers in my grade-level do not place a high emphasis on “choice time” or “play” in their classroom; this could change if they see the impact that it will have on relationships in our classroom. Also, almost my whole team has been trained in RC, so I think that they will be very helpful in answering any questions that I may have while implementing the approach into my classroom.

Question 3/Week 3 (blog entry for ETL week 3): What questions do you still have? What are you anticipating as roadblocks? How will you mediate these roadblocks? What successes do you anticipate? Why?

This year I am going back to teaching All-Day/Everyday Kindergarten and am excited to have the luxury of time on my side. I am thrilled to get to know my students really well and not to have to manage two classess of Kindergarteners. As of right now, I don’t feel like I have a lot of roadblocks, however it all depends on the make-up of my class. There could potentially be some behavior problems that will offset my plans a bit, but that just might take a little extra time and effort to work through those! I anticipate an exceptional year ahead with a lot of fun and learning...just so, so, so excited!!!