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.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
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!
Friday, November 8, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, November 1, 2013
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:
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.
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
- school level
- teacher level
- 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.
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.
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