The two ideas I found most important in this chapter are 1.) students are more likely to take notes when they don't feel challenged in a way that they will be graded on the notes they take and 2.) students must first realize that notes can be useful to them before they appreciate the importance of notetaking. It is proven that when students know that someone else will grade or judge what they are doing, they are less likely to want to do whatever it is they will be graded or judged on. This is true with notes also. If a student knows that the teacher is going to take up their notes and give them a grade on them or fuss at them for not doing them right, they are not going to want to take notes at all. Teachers have to let students know that they want them to take notes during lectures, but for their on good, not to be viewed by anyone else. This is not to say that teachers shouldn't check notes. Teachers should check notes just to make sure students are listening, not to give students a grade on them. Secondly, students trully have to see the benefits that notes can have before they feel it is important to take notes at all. I know as a student, I don't take notes unless I know the information will be on a test or I really need it. This is also true for elementary students, they do not want to do something if it is not going to benefit them.
Another thing that stood out to be in the chapter was the section on notetaking in mathematics. In this section it talks about how the teacher tells his class to take out a sheet of paper, everyone will be taking notes. This gives the entire class a anxious and uneasy feeling, until the teacher says "I will tell you what you need to write", and he proceeds to give them a heads up on the information he thinks they need to write down. This is a great procudure to use when students are just beginning to learn how to take notes. Teachers can sort of guide them on what they do and do not need to write down, and then gradually they can listen on their own for what is important enough to write down in their notes and what is not so important. When I read this I was thinking how I wished one of my teachers in elementary school would have done this, because I would be a much better notetaker now. When I was in school I was not taught how to take notes at all.
Questions:
1.) Why isn't teaching notetaking skills emphasized more in elementary and middle school? If it was students would be doing better in highschool classes..
2.) In the book it shows how to do an assessment on notes, why would we want to assess students on notes if they are taking them for themselves? It seems like this would put more stress on students if they are being graded on notes.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Vocabulary
The chapter on vocabulary was about how a solid foundation in vocabulary is crucial in every subject, especially when students get to the secondary level in school. The text breaks vocabulary words down into three categories; general, specialized and technical. General vocabulary words are just that, words used in general in everyday life. Specialized vocabulary is vocabulary specific to certain things, events, places, etc. Technical vocabulary is words used in a technical sense, words used in subjects such as math and science. Two ideas that I found extremely important from the chapter is, first, students who struggle in comprehension due to lack of vocabulary in secondary settings need different strategies to help them than what you would use when teaching vocabulary for the first time. For example, it says in the text, a high school student who is reading on a fourth grade level due to problems in vocabulary can not be helped by using vocabulary teaching strategies you would use on the fourth grade level as remediation for that student. Other enriching strategies are needed to help this student. I found this very interesting because my first thought would be, if the student is reading on a fourth grade level, I would start with fourth grade strategies and instruction to help this student, but the book says that is not successful. The second idea that I found extremely important from this chapter is that students must make personal connections with vocabulary words for them to successfully fully understand the word or concept. A student must relate the word to personal experience for the word to make sense and also to actually remember the meaning of the word, as Dr. Boyce would say the student must "make the word their own." This holds true for any age group, not just secondary students. One thing that stood out to me when reading this chapter was the vocabulary journal mentioned in the section vocabulary in math. It gives the example of geometric terms in math. For example the the term was triangle, the student would find a picture of a triangle in a real life scene such as a road sign. They would cut out a picture of the triangle and glue it to the page and then they would give a summary of the term in their own words, then diagrams, formulas and theorems concerned with the term. I think this was a great idea because while creating the pages it helps remember the words and their meaning, but then they will also have it to flip back to quickly if they need to refresh their memory. The vocabulary journal is an awesome idea for any subject area.
Questions:
1. If a high school student is reading on a fourth grade level, why is it not a good idea to used fourth grade vocabulary strategies to help them? The book did not explain completely
2. Why are vocabulary tests still given in classroom if they are proven not effective?
Questions:
1. If a high school student is reading on a fourth grade level, why is it not a good idea to used fourth grade vocabulary strategies to help them? The book did not explain completely
2. Why are vocabulary tests still given in classroom if they are proven not effective?
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Reflection on Chapter 1 and 8 & the Think Center
Ch. 1
From chapter one what I found to be most important was the different strategies that were talked about, such as think-pair-share, learning stations, jigsaw, reciprocal teaching and reflective teaching. I learned about all of them in intermediate block, and I think they are all great! My favorite would have to be reciprocal teaching. It stood out to me the most. I think it is really an effective strategy to use in the classroom. When using all four steps it gives students a deeper understanding of what is being taught, when they have to question, clarify, summarize and then predict, it leaves them with no excuse not to understand, and if they don't reciprocal teaching prompts them to do whatever it they can to get a better understanding of it. When I was in the sixth grade class at Petal this week, I actually seen reciprocal teaching being done in small groups when an article the students were reading about space. It was pretty neat! The only questions I have after reading chapter one is with jigsaw, when we did jigsaw in intermediate group we all learned a section from the chapter and taught it to the class. It did not seem that way when they explained it in the book, Is there many ways to do jigsaw? If so, do they all work?
Ch. 8
Chapter eight was also very helpful. From this chapter, what I found most important was the section on "Why is Writing Neglected in Many Content Area Classes?" After reading this short section, I could not believe how true it is. Other content area teachers believe that writing should be left up to the English or Language Arts teacher. This is not true at all, it is ineviteble that we use writing in all subjects, even math when trying to figure out multiple step problems, and then going back to explain them. After reading this chapter, I was left with the question, How can we get other content area teachers to use writing to learn strategies in thier classrooms? How do you make them see that writing is very important in all subjects, not just Language Arts?
Think Center
I enjoyed our time at the think center, I learned tons of helpful information. I love how we were required to question ourselves to get the answer and how we actively used metacognition. The technology in there was amazing!! I think the technology that we learned about this week could help students in all subject areas, but espcially in writing to learn.
From chapter one what I found to be most important was the different strategies that were talked about, such as think-pair-share, learning stations, jigsaw, reciprocal teaching and reflective teaching. I learned about all of them in intermediate block, and I think they are all great! My favorite would have to be reciprocal teaching. It stood out to me the most. I think it is really an effective strategy to use in the classroom. When using all four steps it gives students a deeper understanding of what is being taught, when they have to question, clarify, summarize and then predict, it leaves them with no excuse not to understand, and if they don't reciprocal teaching prompts them to do whatever it they can to get a better understanding of it. When I was in the sixth grade class at Petal this week, I actually seen reciprocal teaching being done in small groups when an article the students were reading about space. It was pretty neat! The only questions I have after reading chapter one is with jigsaw, when we did jigsaw in intermediate group we all learned a section from the chapter and taught it to the class. It did not seem that way when they explained it in the book, Is there many ways to do jigsaw? If so, do they all work?
Ch. 8
Chapter eight was also very helpful. From this chapter, what I found most important was the section on "Why is Writing Neglected in Many Content Area Classes?" After reading this short section, I could not believe how true it is. Other content area teachers believe that writing should be left up to the English or Language Arts teacher. This is not true at all, it is ineviteble that we use writing in all subjects, even math when trying to figure out multiple step problems, and then going back to explain them. After reading this chapter, I was left with the question, How can we get other content area teachers to use writing to learn strategies in thier classrooms? How do you make them see that writing is very important in all subjects, not just Language Arts?
Think Center
I enjoyed our time at the think center, I learned tons of helpful information. I love how we were required to question ourselves to get the answer and how we actively used metacognition. The technology in there was amazing!! I think the technology that we learned about this week could help students in all subject areas, but espcially in writing to learn.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Post 3
Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom
What I found most important in the article on Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom was that the students are involved in solving their own problems, whether is be school related, or just a problem they may have. I think that is a very important skill for them to practice because they will use it their entire life. While reading this article the quote "Invite them to be inspired by each other and build off of each others ideas" stood out to me. This step in the design thinking process can teach the students a life long valuable lesson. It teaches them to work together, and it also teaches the students that it is okay to listen to one another and build off ideas from others. Sometimes students can be very narrow minded, as well as teachers, and this lets them open up to the views of others. Ones question that remains for me after reading the article: What if you have a student or students that do not want to work in a group or with another person? Some students only want to work on their own. The design thinking process involves much group work, so what do you do with a student such as this?
Making a case and a place for effective content area literacy instruction in the elementary grades
What I found most important from this article was that content area literacy is being introduced as young as kindergarten. I think this is a great thing, because it is a win win situation. In kindergarten, students are just learning to read, so it is a great time to introduce to informational texts to them. By the time these students get to high school and are having to read difficult chemistry textbooks, it won't be a problem for them because they will have been reading informational texts for many years. Also, in the reading something that stood out to me was the "fourth grade slump" and how there is in many students a sudden drop in reading scores from third to fourth grade. So my question is why is their such a increase in the content difficulty from third to fourth grade? Why is it not gradually increasing from 1st to 4th?
What I found most important in the article on Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom was that the students are involved in solving their own problems, whether is be school related, or just a problem they may have. I think that is a very important skill for them to practice because they will use it their entire life. While reading this article the quote "Invite them to be inspired by each other and build off of each others ideas" stood out to me. This step in the design thinking process can teach the students a life long valuable lesson. It teaches them to work together, and it also teaches the students that it is okay to listen to one another and build off ideas from others. Sometimes students can be very narrow minded, as well as teachers, and this lets them open up to the views of others. Ones question that remains for me after reading the article: What if you have a student or students that do not want to work in a group or with another person? Some students only want to work on their own. The design thinking process involves much group work, so what do you do with a student such as this?
Making a case and a place for effective content area literacy instruction in the elementary grades
What I found most important from this article was that content area literacy is being introduced as young as kindergarten. I think this is a great thing, because it is a win win situation. In kindergarten, students are just learning to read, so it is a great time to introduce to informational texts to them. By the time these students get to high school and are having to read difficult chemistry textbooks, it won't be a problem for them because they will have been reading informational texts for many years. Also, in the reading something that stood out to me was the "fourth grade slump" and how there is in many students a sudden drop in reading scores from third to fourth grade. So my question is why is their such a increase in the content difficulty from third to fourth grade? Why is it not gradually increasing from 1st to 4th?
Friday, January 27, 2012
Post 2
I really enjoyed reading Crystal's blog. I also am really excited about dealing with adolescants, because in my experiences in this program so far, I have only worked with younger students. I want to see what it is like working with students in their teen years. I enjoy when we go to the middle school for observations. I also, like Crystal, and excited to be corresponding with the students up north in Pennsylvania. That will be interesting communicating with them. I also really enjoyed reading Donya's blog about her son with dyslexia and ADHD. Donya, like myself, is a dual major, and I think it is great that she will be able to help her students with learning disbilities, such as dyslexia and ADHD, as well as her son.
An idea that I found important from the article we read was the biopoem. I found this very interesting because I had never heard of it before. This strategy teaches students to make inferences about what a statement implies. This is a very important concept for students to grasp because being able to infer is a huge part of reading comprehension. The most important idea I found in the article is just writing to learn in general. From what I have seen in classrooms, writing is not used very much, and there is no emphasis placed on it. Also, while reading the article, the listen-stop-and-write strategy stood out to me. This is a strategy used where teachers will teach for a period of time, and then give students a period of time to reflect and take notes on what they just heard, and formulate any questions they might have about what they just heard. I think this is a great strategy and students would really benefit from it, I know as a student it helps when I can think about something after I listen, information makes more sense when you have a little while to process it. A few questions i have after reading this article are: Why is there not any emphasis on writing to learn in the classroom? Is it because the instruction time is limited? I was also confused as to what they meant by assessment to writing to learn? Was it saying it should be assessed, or not?
An idea that I found important from the article we read was the biopoem. I found this very interesting because I had never heard of it before. This strategy teaches students to make inferences about what a statement implies. This is a very important concept for students to grasp because being able to infer is a huge part of reading comprehension. The most important idea I found in the article is just writing to learn in general. From what I have seen in classrooms, writing is not used very much, and there is no emphasis placed on it. Also, while reading the article, the listen-stop-and-write strategy stood out to me. This is a strategy used where teachers will teach for a period of time, and then give students a period of time to reflect and take notes on what they just heard, and formulate any questions they might have about what they just heard. I think this is a great strategy and students would really benefit from it, I know as a student it helps when I can think about something after I listen, information makes more sense when you have a little while to process it. A few questions i have after reading this article are: Why is there not any emphasis on writing to learn in the classroom? Is it because the instruction time is limited? I was also confused as to what they meant by assessment to writing to learn? Was it saying it should be assessed, or not?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Hi everyone! I probably already know all of you, but my name is Amanda Smith and I am a senior. I am a dual elementary and special education major. I chose this major because I feel that teaching is a very rewarding career, as we all know the salary is not rewarding, but the reactions that you get from your students are. My ideal grade to teach would be somewhere around 4th or maybe even 5th grade, but I believe I would be most happy teaching inclusion at the middle school grades. I am very excited to teach English and Social Studies, while I am a little nervous teaching the math content area. I feel a little uncomfortable teaching students in an area that I don’t feel highly skilled in myself. I am from Poplarville, Mississippi and still live there most of the time. It’s a tiny little town about 30 miles south of Hattiesburg. I have a very small family, and I am very close to my parents and grandparents. I have one younger brother who is 18 and a senior in high school this year. My boyfriend Blake, is 24 years old, and is a coaching major here at USM. I have a great best friend, Kerrie, she has helped me get through a lot, and would be lost without her. I never really know what to say when asked interesting facts about myself, I don’t have that many. One thing that I find interesting is that I was a nursing major at first, and I even did a semester in nursing school and nursing clinical. I hated it the entire time I was in it, and that is what brought me here. I didn’t really know if I was going to like this field either. I ended up loving it once I got into the education classes and clinical in the schools. I have pet, a very mean grey cat, but I love her anyway. My hobbies right now consist of school and spending time with friends and family. That is about all I have time for at the moment. Although lately I do not have much time to read other than books for school, I enjoy reading the Pretty Little Liars series books, even though it’s horrible to say I love them because they are scandalous. I have many favorite movies, but the one that comes to mind right now is Fried Green Tomatoes, It is a very touching classic movie, and I will always cry every time I watch it. I enjoy a variety of music.
Syllabus
The one thing that stood out to me while reading the syllabus was that it was another literacy class, and I enjoyed and learned a lot from Dr. Boyce in 407 so I hope I enjoy this class as well. After reading the syllabus I think this class will be focused on using a variety of ways to teach literacy and language, and I hope to learn just that. I am excited to find out more about the Elizabethtown Project, I think that it will be fun to collaborate with people from up there, and see their views on things. I got a little worried when I seen how big of an online component is in this course, because I always have internet issues at home, of course. I always work through it anyways though. As of right now I do not have any questions or concerns. I am very excited about the class.
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