So, now that I am back to school after a wonderful spring break, I am editing my video and getting ready to post! I was just wondering what editing software people used? Did anyone find one that was easy to use or that they liked? Any input would be great -
Thanks!
Leslie
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
4/1/2010 Blog update on Inquiry Plan
I just wanted to update- I did my "hands on lesson" today and all went well! The kids love hands on lesson and of course working with candy! I will be interested to watch the video back to see how things went. I can't wait to post it so that everyone else can see it as well- I am interesting to see the results and how my plan is going to wrap up!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Blog post for week of 3/28-4/1
I hope that everyone is making progress with their inquiry plans- I want to update on my progress! I am videoing this week and I taught my first lesson of two for the plan- I am teaching fractions and today was the "desk lesson" - students at their desk and me at the board. The students were identifying and drawing (on their own packets) fractions as I taught and reviewed what 1/3, 1/2, etc... looks like. We also went over common mistakes in identification and labeling fractions. I must say that they were very well behaved- I have a great class this year and I didn't expect anything different. But, I also noticed that once they say the video camera, they were good as gold. I would say that they majority of the time the students were on task and engaged. I will be interested to see when I watch back to look at the percent of engagement and active learning or engagement. I am also curious to see how much more or less they will be engaged by the "hands on lesson" tomorrow- I will let you know how it goes!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Inquiry Plan - Blog post for week of 3/22-3/26
I wanted to post an update on what I have been doing this week in regards to carrying out my inquiry plan. This week, I have developed two math lessons. One is a "desk" lesson and the other is the "hands on" lesson. The lesson is on fractions, which is relevant to what they are currently learning in the general education classroom. I think that I have created two lessons that are very engaging, but the true test will be carry them out. Of course, I am looking to see which lesson is more engaging for my students. I am planning on taking anecdotal notes and observation as well as comparing work samples given at the end of each lesson to assess comprehension of the lesson. I plan on teaching the lessons next week! As I re-read through my plan and think about video purposes, I do have a question. I want to video to show each part of my plan, but of course, to stay within the 10 minutes. I was wondering should use 5 minutes of the video to show the "desk" lesson and 5 minutes to show the "hands on" lesson? I thought that I could use this as a comparison, to show everyone a piece from both lessons. Or, I could do it like I said in my plan and take both lessons, compare and use data to improve, re-teach the lesson that enagaged them the most, and video this ( the re-teach) lesson to show student engagement and implementation of the whole group? Anyone have any thoughts??? Thanks!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Task Five- Domain Three
The article that I read was Ten Steps to Better Student Engagement. I found this article interesting, there was a lot of information that was very familiar and then there was information that made me think and question: How does this information relate to the work that I do in my classroom? The article starts by raising a very valid point and goal I think for most teachers. How can I go home at the end of the day with more energy than what I started with? This really leads into the body of the text and how we can go about achieving active engagement that flows naturally and with student centered learning. The text then goes into the authors tips or ten steps that he thinks will help achieve better student engagement. To answer the question how do these relate to my work and my classroom, I try to frame my room around most of these ideas, such as: Creating an emotionally safe classroom, practicing journal writing to communicate with my students, creating a culture of explanation, self-awareness, making students think and answer, and increasing the quality of work!
How does this deepen your thinking about this domain? Through this article and others, along with the blogs, I think that it really made me think when the aspect of how to cultivate your engagement meter. A teacher that is really in tune with their students is creating an active-learning environment, in which students are on-task, thinking, questioning and answering 100% of the time. So in turn these teachers are able to assess the rate of student engagement more so than on-task behavior. This may take years to develop the skills and tools to create this type of environment, but it really had me thinking about my classroom and how I am positively working towards this type of environment. I think that it takes one step at a time and yes, years of practice. Which could be the frustrating piece to this puzzle. As teachers you want to achieve success here and now. But, I did find that I relate my framework to others who are working towards success in student engagement.
How could this fit into my inquiry plan? I think that this piece will fit nicely into my inquiry plan. I am all about finding out what and how is going to actively engage my students 100% of the time so that I am able to assess the engagement more so than the students ability to maintain being on-task. Of course though high quality lessons and activities that have meaning and purpose to each student no matter what learning style.
How does this deepen your thinking about this domain? Through this article and others, along with the blogs, I think that it really made me think when the aspect of how to cultivate your engagement meter. A teacher that is really in tune with their students is creating an active-learning environment, in which students are on-task, thinking, questioning and answering 100% of the time. So in turn these teachers are able to assess the rate of student engagement more so than on-task behavior. This may take years to develop the skills and tools to create this type of environment, but it really had me thinking about my classroom and how I am positively working towards this type of environment. I think that it takes one step at a time and yes, years of practice. Which could be the frustrating piece to this puzzle. As teachers you want to achieve success here and now. But, I did find that I relate my framework to others who are working towards success in student engagement.
How could this fit into my inquiry plan? I think that this piece will fit nicely into my inquiry plan. I am all about finding out what and how is going to actively engage my students 100% of the time so that I am able to assess the engagement more so than the students ability to maintain being on-task. Of course though high quality lessons and activities that have meaning and purpose to each student no matter what learning style.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Domain 3: Instruction
Hello everyone- I choose to take a closer look at Domain 3: Instruction. The heart of domain three is engaging students in learning. I choose this domain because I am always looking for new or better ways in which to engage my students in learning. This domain is comprised of components A-E. Component A: Communicating with students, Component B: Using questioning and discussion Techniques, and Component E: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness are the three components of this Domain that I feel most confident with. I think that all of these components tie into my instruction but I feel that he other two components, C: Engaging Students in Learning and D: Using Assessments in Instruction are the two components that I am always working to improve and what I would like to zero in on for the purposes of this assignment and to better my teachings.
I think that I have a good handle on engaging students and assessments but these are two areas that I am always looking for improvements in. I think that being a special education teacher that I really focus on communication with my students. I think that good communication is the framework for opening the lines for a positive learning environment. So, we spend a good deal of time at the beginning of the year establishing this. I have found through the open lines of communication and the ability to know my students on a more individual learning level (through IEP and specific goals) that it is very natural for questioning and discussion to take place in my classroom. A lot of what I do is repetition of skills and re-teaching key concepts. So, in turn a lot of discussion takes place in my classroom around ideas and skills and how we can better understand them.
This takes me to the two area that I want to zero in on, Engaging Students and using assessments. Like I said before I feel pretty confident in these areas but I am always looking to improve these two areas to better the quality of instruction that I am providing to my students. I am always looking for new ways to reach out to them so that they will and can understand the concepts that are being taught. I like how in the component it talks of engaging students and through active engagement that students can learn complex content. I think that this is so crucial because every student learns differently and I am trying endlessly to come up different ways and techniques that are going to best fit to my students learning styles. Activities and assignments are ways that are actively engaging our students and I think that it is so important to constantly provide them with activities that are challenging them to think deeper and engage them in that complex learning that I talked about earlier. It also focuses on grouping of students, instructional materials, and pacing. I think that if you have a concrete activity those three things will fall into place easily and you can have a very successful lesson for your students. So through this, I know I am wanting to zero in on these components to better develop activities and assessments to meet the ever changing needs of my students. I guess my question to others would be; Do you feel that these components (engaging students and using assessments) are two of areas that you are always looking to improve and build upon?
Finally, the last component is demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness. I feel that I do a pretty good job with flexibility. Being a special eduction teacher that is part of my everyday routine. Flexibility is key in special education and I find this to be OK- I don't mind the flexibility and find breaking up the routine refreshing and something that helps with the monotony that we can fall into. I think that if you have guidelines and lessons to follow ahead of time, that it is OK to be flexible and let learning happen. Some of the most engaging learning environments, I feel happen by chance!!
I think that I have a good handle on engaging students and assessments but these are two areas that I am always looking for improvements in. I think that being a special education teacher that I really focus on communication with my students. I think that good communication is the framework for opening the lines for a positive learning environment. So, we spend a good deal of time at the beginning of the year establishing this. I have found through the open lines of communication and the ability to know my students on a more individual learning level (through IEP and specific goals) that it is very natural for questioning and discussion to take place in my classroom. A lot of what I do is repetition of skills and re-teaching key concepts. So, in turn a lot of discussion takes place in my classroom around ideas and skills and how we can better understand them.
This takes me to the two area that I want to zero in on, Engaging Students and using assessments. Like I said before I feel pretty confident in these areas but I am always looking to improve these two areas to better the quality of instruction that I am providing to my students. I am always looking for new ways to reach out to them so that they will and can understand the concepts that are being taught. I like how in the component it talks of engaging students and through active engagement that students can learn complex content. I think that this is so crucial because every student learns differently and I am trying endlessly to come up different ways and techniques that are going to best fit to my students learning styles. Activities and assignments are ways that are actively engaging our students and I think that it is so important to constantly provide them with activities that are challenging them to think deeper and engage them in that complex learning that I talked about earlier. It also focuses on grouping of students, instructional materials, and pacing. I think that if you have a concrete activity those three things will fall into place easily and you can have a very successful lesson for your students. So through this, I know I am wanting to zero in on these components to better develop activities and assessments to meet the ever changing needs of my students. I guess my question to others would be; Do you feel that these components (engaging students and using assessments) are two of areas that you are always looking to improve and build upon?
Finally, the last component is demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness. I feel that I do a pretty good job with flexibility. Being a special eduction teacher that is part of my everyday routine. Flexibility is key in special education and I find this to be OK- I don't mind the flexibility and find breaking up the routine refreshing and something that helps with the monotony that we can fall into. I think that if you have guidelines and lessons to follow ahead of time, that it is OK to be flexible and let learning happen. Some of the most engaging learning environments, I feel happen by chance!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Module 2- Task 2: Enacting Curriculum
This is my Blog post for Task two: enacting curriculum-
What is the purpose of curriculum and what role as teachers do we have in this purpose? I think that curriculum has many purposes. Overall, we know that it is to provide students with content and purpose within their educational environment. The purpose of curriculum would be the aim that you are focusing on: intellectually, socially, personally. To gain a sense of basic skills, creativity, and a positive work ethic! As a teacher we wear many hats and have many roles in making curriculum purposeful. I want to ensure that my students are given the chance to encompass what curriculum is and the purpose behind it. My role as their teacher is to ensure that they are being taught the skills to gain a sense of who they are, as a student, a person, and someone who relates to the real world. How, what they learn in the educational setting is purposeful for who they are as members of society.
How much control do we have over curriculum? How much should we have? This varies from district to district. Some align the curriculum for you and you have to follow it, some give you the opportunity to look at the curriculum as a whole and align to the state standards in which you are responsible for teaching, some may even allow you to design the curriculum yourself. I think that there are probably more ways in which teachers have control over curriculum. The school that I work in, we are given the opportunity to meet as teams and take a look at the grade level curriculum that has been designed. We are given the opportunity to align it to the necessary standards and we are also given a lot of opportunities to come up with our own lessons that encompass the curriculum. Anything that we can add to enhance the curriculum for are students is encouraged. I think that the situation that I am in now the amount of control over curriculum is ideal. We are the ones who are teaching and we want to make sure that it is what actually engages our students to learn. Obviously, you need to make sure it is approved. But, I feel like it is a give and take and a team effort that includes teachers as the key parts in planning out what a curriculum should look like.
What does the curriculum that I have in my classroom look like on a day to day environment? The backward design approach is a good way to describe what the curriculum looks like in my classroom. Being a special education teacher, I really am focusing on differential learning and like the readings say just because a student can memorize facts does not mean they actually understanding the meaning behind or how to relate it to real world problems and experiences. The first thing that I do is get to know my students and their individual learning styles, I familiarize myself with their individual goals and needs, and I then align them to the standards expected at their level. Through this I am teaching, re-teaching, developing assessments and hands on activities that will engage my students to apply meaning to what they are learning and why it is so important to encourage the relation to real world experiences!
What is the purpose of curriculum and what role as teachers do we have in this purpose? I think that curriculum has many purposes. Overall, we know that it is to provide students with content and purpose within their educational environment. The purpose of curriculum would be the aim that you are focusing on: intellectually, socially, personally. To gain a sense of basic skills, creativity, and a positive work ethic! As a teacher we wear many hats and have many roles in making curriculum purposeful. I want to ensure that my students are given the chance to encompass what curriculum is and the purpose behind it. My role as their teacher is to ensure that they are being taught the skills to gain a sense of who they are, as a student, a person, and someone who relates to the real world. How, what they learn in the educational setting is purposeful for who they are as members of society.
How much control do we have over curriculum? How much should we have? This varies from district to district. Some align the curriculum for you and you have to follow it, some give you the opportunity to look at the curriculum as a whole and align to the state standards in which you are responsible for teaching, some may even allow you to design the curriculum yourself. I think that there are probably more ways in which teachers have control over curriculum. The school that I work in, we are given the opportunity to meet as teams and take a look at the grade level curriculum that has been designed. We are given the opportunity to align it to the necessary standards and we are also given a lot of opportunities to come up with our own lessons that encompass the curriculum. Anything that we can add to enhance the curriculum for are students is encouraged. I think that the situation that I am in now the amount of control over curriculum is ideal. We are the ones who are teaching and we want to make sure that it is what actually engages our students to learn. Obviously, you need to make sure it is approved. But, I feel like it is a give and take and a team effort that includes teachers as the key parts in planning out what a curriculum should look like.
What does the curriculum that I have in my classroom look like on a day to day environment? The backward design approach is a good way to describe what the curriculum looks like in my classroom. Being a special education teacher, I really am focusing on differential learning and like the readings say just because a student can memorize facts does not mean they actually understanding the meaning behind or how to relate it to real world problems and experiences. The first thing that I do is get to know my students and their individual learning styles, I familiarize myself with their individual goals and needs, and I then align them to the standards expected at their level. Through this I am teaching, re-teaching, developing assessments and hands on activities that will engage my students to apply meaning to what they are learning and why it is so important to encourage the relation to real world experiences!
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