Blog 6

-If I got a call and was asked what I thought five things should be done to change education I would have the following ideas:


Reduce class sizes
Open more schools
Change the "accountability" of the teachers in the classroom
Use standardized testing only to help determine how the standards are being met
Funding more evenly distributed


-I have really enjoyed reading Ravitch this summer. She respects teachers and understands how hard of a profession it is. Throwing money into the education system, closing schools, and using scores from standardized testing to distribute funding isn't the answer.  There will be no easy fix for the education system.  She explains the importance of keeping an open mind and reflecting.


-I'm going to be there for my students and teach the standards to the best of my ability that allows for constructivism and creativity with learning.  I will have open communication with the students, parents, fellow teachers, and facility.  I will show them that I care and will try to make the best of every situation and stay positive and energetic.


-I would love to teach Kindergarten and the focus of my research over the summer was teaching literacy to English language students.  On the website http://www.readwritethink.org/ I found a lesson that invites students to make their own comic strip to respond to literature.  The organizer used allows students to focus on backgrounds, character, and props.  (Comic Strip Planning Sheet). On the website http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/language_arts.html, I found a lesson that helps students learn rhymes by writing a poem.  This lesson involves blues-based music.  You could sing the following song after giving a brief mini-lesson on the history of blues and rock and roll.

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time.

You ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.

You then would discuss what is to have the blues.  Point out that some of these can be funny or silly things.  Make a second list of other things that could describe the blues(sad..) Then the students would write their own blues poem.

Teaching & Technology

Dr. Robert’s Presentation

I really enjoyed Dr. Robert's presentation on media exposure for children and young adults.  I wasn't surprised to see that the amount of media exposure students are getting is increasing along with the different media's being used.  I found it interesting that the students who had the greatest media exposures were also the ones that were doing the poorest in school.  It seems to be a cycle for some students.  Students that are having difficulty in school need an outlet and playing on the computer, listening to music, or watching television seems to be the perfect distraction for them.  Dr. Robert's presentation really showed me how important it is to encourage my future students to love reading books and find creative outlet's for them that do not involve technology.  I thought that the best teaching methods involved using technology to increase their engagement and make learning more fun for them but after this presentation I realized that many students need activities that do not focus around technology and allow for other creative outlets to form to help them express themselves.  

NY Times article “More Pupils Are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality”

Online education courses will help students gain skills they will need in college since online courses are becoming increasingly common but for students at the K-12 level need the face-to-face interactions to help form social skills and learn how to think critical and develop research skills.  Online courses for kids is being cheap and taking all imagination and creativity out of what education should be for them and if class sizes are getting to large then we should stop closing down schools and letting teachers go.  I think that offering online courses for high school students that need an extra class for graduation is fine but not in the elementary grades.    

Technology Resources for the Teacher

It’s important as a teacher to make sure that I am knowledgeable about the technological resources that are available and to stay up to date on software such as Microsoft Windows, Office, PowerPoint, and etc.. but be able to make the technology that you have in your classroom as up to date as possible and provide your students as much exposure to it as possible.  The four websites that support student learning in the classroom most effectively and that I was unfamiliar with were:

http://teachertube.com- I will use this site in the future to observe other teachers teach and to learn new strategies and lessons plans.  

http://www.chatzy.com/- I think this would be fun for students do while in the classroom and when they are working in groups on a research assignment.  This would also be a great way for me to see which students have contributed what and monitor how there research is going.

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/- Designing rubrics can be a tedious task and I think this will make my life much easier in the future and help me design a rubric that measures the students performance, behavior, and quality of work.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com-  I liked this site because it seems to offer a wide range of resources and ideas to use in the classroom such as creating posters, helping students create blogs, and how to incorporate FB in your lessons.  

I responded to the blogs of Melina, Sarah U., Sheri, Alex, Allison, and Tanya.

Teaching math is teaching literacy

• The value of interdisciplinary teaching of math and literacy helps develop cognitive skills such as predicting, questioning, inferring and practice with writing and reading.  

-I would have students' get in their small groups for math and have each group answer a different math problem. The group would need to work together to find the answer. Each student in the group would need to write out how they got the answer using complete sentences. Each group would then need to share with the class how they found the answer and if the answer makes sense.

From Reading to Math: How Best practices in Literacy Can Make You a Better Math Teacher, Grades k-5 by Maggie Siena 2009 Math Solutions.

This book explains how teaching math is a lot like teaching literacy because in both cases marks on paper carry specific meanings that need to be decoded. Students need to decode words, draw on context, and vocabulary and fluency is the key to success in literacy as well as breaking the written mathematic code. By teaching students to use powerful cognitive tools such as predicting, questioning, inferring, and synthesizing to comprehend the mathematics they are learning, teachers can help their students deepen their mathematical understanding. Teachers should provide print rich environments, daily practice in reading and writing, and integration of literacy activities, workshop models, direct instruction, small group work, guided reading, and independent practice in reading and writing lessons that are relevant, challenging, and engaging to students. Students benefit from recording and by talking with them about how they decide to do it which helps them understand reading materials and mathematics. Reading aloud is a highly successful instructional method that encourages a love of reading and we encourage our students to be curious, tolerant, staying open minded, and to be critical thinkers by having them observe our own thinking processes and by sharing thoughts about their learning. Effective teachers also us appropriate grouping or partnerships, texts that delight a student or push them further, specific strategy instruction and they know their students. Effective teachers should bring all these qualities in teaching math and reading and should be positive role models, reflect, and help students enjoy reading and mathematics. Have student tap into prior knowledge, question, inferring and visualize, summarize, synthesize, and monitor and repair understanding. It's important to teach reading comprehension when teaching math.

CCSS Literacy and Math Tools: An Interim Report on Implementation and Sustainability during the Pilot Year by Rebecca Reumann-Moore, Ph.D., Nancy Lawrence, Ph.D., Felicia Sanders, Ph.D., Kate Shaw, Ph.D., Jolley Bruce Christman, Ph.D. March 4, 2011 Research For Action.

This document discuses the finding of two types of instructional tools designed to support teachers' integration in literacy and math. The five categories discussed are: Literacy and math theories of action, strategy for the development and implementation of literacy and math tools, toll implementation and use, sustainability, and recommendations. The research method used were teacher surveys, interviews with teachers, interviews with principals and district administrators, classroom observations, and professional development observations. In order to teach both literacy and math require teachers to change the way they teach and allow students to present their work to the class, and encourage students to discuss the mathematical problems and processes used. The tools used from LDC and the Shell Centre both helped develop problem solving strategies by following the LDC templates and encouraging students to defend, present, and explain their math answers in writing which helped develop their reading and writing skills.

Mind the Gap

1.

"I kept asking myself why I was losing confidence in these reforms.  My answer:  I have a right to change my mind.  Fair enough.  But why, I kept wondering, why had I changed my mind?  What was the compelling evidence that prompted me to reevaluate the policies I had endorsed many times over the previous decade?  Why did I now doubt ideas I once had advocated?"

-This quote helped me to identify with the author and made me respect her opinions. This showed me that she is able to reflect and grow.  She is able to look within herself and look at the reforms that may have made her question her believes and determine if they are valid. 

“Schools that failed to perform would be closed, just as a corporation would close a branch office that continually produced poor returns.  Having been immersed in a world of true believers, I was influenced by their ideas.”

-I liked how the author was able to recognize that her opinions may have changed because she was being influenced by the people she surrounded herself with.  It’s important to remember that you don’t have to share the same opinions or beliefs as your peers and research topics on your own.  

2.
-A well-educated person should be able to reflect and listen to other points of view.  One should research subject matter and not come to conclusions quickly. I believe that it is important to educate yourself about the important issues in your community and be proactive.  

3.
I think it is important that as we continue on with our education and career’s we reflect on our believes, how we view other teachers, and how we treat our students.  It is important that we don’t get to wrapped up in ourselves and to remember why we became teachers in the first place.  Let’s help to fix the education system and not just complain about it.

4.
One gap in my subject area is how to make learning to read fun for all students.

website: http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/

article: Encouraging Recreational Reading in the Elementary Grades by Pat Blaisdell, Jennifer De Young, Sandy Hutchinson, and Susan Pedersen.  

book: Teaching Every Child to Read:  Innovative and Practical Strategies for K-8 Educators and Caretakers by Rita Dunn, Elizabeth Brett.

-It is going to be important to work closely with parents and encourage them to help their children learn to read and write. I found this website that I think clearly shows how they can do this and will help me provide the parents with strategies and advice.

5.
Chang, Mido. (2008) Teacher Instructional Practices and Language Minority Students: A Longitudinal Model.  Journal of Educational Research, v102 n2 p83-97 Nov-Dec 2008.

-Reading this article I learned that students’ need to reach a level at which they can freely communicate themselves before being forced to participate in a small group discussion so not to make them feel inferior.  This article helped me because when I assign students in their small groups I will need to make sure I put them with people they work well with.  

Ross, Sarah G. Begeny John C. IMPROVING LATINO, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS' READING FLUENCY: THE EFFECTS OF SMALL-GROUP AND ONE-ON-ONE INTERVENTION. 2011 Wiley Periodical, Inc.

-I learned from reading this article that small groups can be more beneficial then 1/1 instruction and small groups help to keep the students motivated and engaged.  This helped me with my research because it showed me that having small groups in my classroom will be beneficial.  

-As I continue on with my research I will find other research articles from these authors.

I responded to the blogs of Christina Baronian, Jocelyn Brodeur, and Sarah Fredricks.

Content Knowledge Reflection

• My outside of school experiences have deepened my subject area content knowledge. My father greatly encouraged me to stay in school and work toward long time goals.  This gave me a reason to continue on with my education and developed my passion in reading and creative writing. This interest in reading has improved my understanding of creative writing.  My travels have also improved my understanding of cultures and geography. In order to pay my way through college I worked five years in an early childhood program, The Growing Room, and this has helped me understand age appropriate learning and how to help students with special needs. My interaction with people has helped my communications skills, however, it is difficult to know how these skills will help my teaching career.  

• Responding to the class discussion of Ball's "The Subject Matter Preparation of Teacher." My initial judgements have not changed.  I believe that we all agree better subject matter preparation is beneficial for student learning.  I believe that doing this will help answer the student question, "Why should I learn this?"  The combinations of the two articles that we have read about subject matter preparation has helped my understanding of each paper.  In my opinion I believe that we can use this as a filter for the two papers, both are interesting although this one, I found to be much more interesting, perhaps because it was more focused on enlightening the reader than impressing the reader.  However, the usefulness of the paper are questionable.  Where are the specific possibilities for improvement such as online interaction groups for teachers with similar problems and interest or suggestions for summer college seminars that focus on subject matter understanding and how to make it interesting for students so they want to learn it?

• I'm still developing and pursuing my line of inquiry.  My question is how to teach English learners literacy in small groups and to find the advantages and disadvantages of teaching them literacy in the small groups.  I have learned that teaching in smalls groups is not always the most effective way of teaching depending on the students' culture.  I would like to learn more of when and when not to use small groups.  

Why getting the MAT is important to me

I am getting my Masters of Arts in Teaching because basically it would provide me with more freedom to pursue an education career that would be fulfilling. Without an advanced degree it is more likely that my career might stagnate. I don't have to have a degree to do things but with a MAT I will have more freedom to do what I love.

My expectations coming into the Master of Arts in Teaching program is to strengthen my abilities in how to engage and help students develop their minds, teach them content in a way that they understand why it is important for them to learn it, and for them to enjoy learning it.

The areas that I would like to improve on are my abilities to communicate effectively, how to teach facts so that my students' know why they are important, and how my student's can be creative in applying the facts that they learned.

The things that I have learned during the first course of the Master of Arts in Teaching program, Introduction to Inquiry, is to fully understand the course content and an effort needs to be made to continue to grow in my understanding of what I teach. Never stop improving and questioning and the best examples are from teachers that have made mistakes and how they learned from them and I will learn this by reading research articles and through the group discussions that will be had during the course. I will also do this by attending seminars and conferences, talking with other teachers, continue attending college courses when time permits, and reading educational journals.

As I proceed through this program I would hope to see further examples of what students problems in understanding are and the best ways to address them.

What I want to know is not only what works but what didn't work.

Beginning of Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

My subject area will be focusing on teaching literacy to English learners in small groups.

5 possible content and pedagogical content knowledge guiding questions:

1. What are the best teaching strategies for English learners in small groups?

2.  What are the advantages/disadvantages for teaching English learners in small groups?

3.  What are the latest techniques and tools (including technology) for teaching English learners how to read in small groups?

4.  What techniques (including technological tools) are available for teaching spelling in small groups to English learners?  Are they effective and based off research?

5.  What is known about how English learners learn to write? What does research show about the best ways to teach writing in small groups?