I am a firm believer that math should relate to the real world and that students should never ask when they will use it. Students need to get out of their seats and see how this math will be used!
To get students interested in math I will use a lot of real life exercises and try my best to get them outside. If they can visualize how something works and then bring it back to the classroom it will be so much more powerful than me presenting it on the board. I also want to connect my lessons to their other classes. My senior year of high school I was amazed how all of my classes related, and it was so cool; it made me more interested in learning the material.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Chapter 9: When Things go Wrong
As a future educator, reading this quote makes me want to do a little something for each and every student. "Students who don't feel noticed at school have a powerful temptation to stop going, especially if they think they can manage to pass their courses anyway" (pg. 165).
We need to make school seem interesting and important for students. We can do this by trying to relate to each student. By giving positive reinforcement to the student who rarely does something correct, it can give them motivation to do better, and give them a reason to stay in school. Keeping school interesting is important for some students who are on the verge of skipping. Reading this quote really reminds me of "Freedom Writers" and how Ms. Gruwell changed the culture of the classroom and made students interested in school.
We need to make school seem interesting and important for students. We can do this by trying to relate to each student. By giving positive reinforcement to the student who rarely does something correct, it can give them motivation to do better, and give them a reason to stay in school. Keeping school interesting is important for some students who are on the verge of skipping. Reading this quote really reminds me of "Freedom Writers" and how Ms. Gruwell changed the culture of the classroom and made students interested in school.
Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers who are still Learning English
On page 154, I disagree, for the most part, with the comment, " Don't worry about a noisy classroom--we need to talk!" This is acceptable sometimes, and other times inappropriate. It can be distracting to certain students while at the same time be productive to others--it is a tough situation to manage.
For teenagers who are still learning English they are going to want to talk a lot to their peers. There are sometimes when it is acceptable, although having a noisy classroom can be very distracting depending on the situation. If it is during a lesson, I do not want a noisy classroom. It is acceptable to have some students whispering as long as it is relevant to the lesson. Other times, such as class work time, may be an acceptable time to have a "noisy classroom" depending on what they are talking about and that it isn't bothering people.
For teenagers who are still learning English they are going to want to talk a lot to their peers. There are sometimes when it is acceptable, although having a noisy classroom can be very distracting depending on the situation. If it is during a lesson, I do not want a noisy classroom. It is acceptable to have some students whispering as long as it is relevant to the lesson. Other times, such as class work time, may be an acceptable time to have a "noisy classroom" depending on what they are talking about and that it isn't bothering people.
Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material
I strongly agree with the the section in this chapter titled, "Don't stick to textbooks." Some teachers stick directly to the textbook, while others try and diversify the instruction and use different topics.
I want to be the teacher that does very little with the textbooks. As a student I was not a big fan of textbooks, because 1. they were a pain to carry around, and 2. they were intimidating. I had a hard time looking at the text from a math book and making something from it. I will probably only use my math textbook to get math problems from it. Using different ideas from outside the textbook are good for students because they won't think it's the typical nonsense from the book.
I want to be the teacher that does very little with the textbooks. As a student I was not a big fan of textbooks, because 1. they were a pain to carry around, and 2. they were intimidating. I had a hard time looking at the text from a math book and making something from it. I will probably only use my math textbook to get math problems from it. Using different ideas from outside the textbook are good for students because they won't think it's the typical nonsense from the book.
Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom
I agree with Hilary who talked about wanting to do her hobbies. On page 100 she said, "I felt like school was keeping me from learning. I wanted to read books I chose and do my own art, but you didn't have time." This is something that is a big challenge that us teachers need to try and work with.
Every future student I will teach will have hobbies that they love to do. I need to find a way to incorporate their hobbies into the content. In Hilary's case, she probably didn't have any teachers that were willing to work with her art and reading hobbies. I feel like I could somehow make it work for her to use art and reading in my math class. It might not be easy to do, but I would definitely try it if it meant that she would get more from my class.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group
I agree with the statement by Mahogany on page 92: "I like being able to do different activities because we all learn different." This follows a lot of what we have been talking about and have been reading in Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner.
This is so important in the classroom because, to me, it doesn't make any sense to present information to students who are strictly visual learners in the form of audio. If we do this to students we are basically setting them up for failure. It is our job as teachers to accommodate for students (to a certain extent). The most common situation I see is when a student is a kinesthetic learner but they are not given the opportunity to learn in that form. They are instructed to stay in their seats and stay still.
This is so important in the classroom because, to me, it doesn't make any sense to present information to students who are strictly visual learners in the form of audio. If we do this to students we are basically setting them up for failure. It is our job as teachers to accommodate for students (to a certain extent). The most common situation I see is when a student is a kinesthetic learner but they are not given the opportunity to learn in that form. They are instructed to stay in their seats and stay still.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success
Chapter four referred to pushing students equally and trying to get them all to succeed. This excerpt, on page 66 states: "Call on students equally in class. Push everybody to improve, and acknowledge signs of improvement right away."
I completely agree with this statement, as we should not only push the advances students. Many times teachers look past the students who are not doing so well because they think they don't have a shot. I want to be the teacher that is going to push each student to their own individual maximum. Some students will be more inclined to learn than others but that does not mean we should only focus on the ones who really want to learn a lot.
I completely agree with this statement, as we should not only push the advances students. Many times teachers look past the students who are not doing so well because they think they don't have a shot. I want to be the teacher that is going to push each student to their own individual maximum. Some students will be more inclined to learn than others but that does not mean we should only focus on the ones who really want to learn a lot.
Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior
One of the parts of chapter three that jumped out at me dealt with not calling on students who aren't paying attention. They suggested that if a student isn't paying attention, you shouldn't call on him because it will make them feel bad and stop paying attention even more.
I do not agree with this because I believe if a student isn't paying attention in class they should be called out on it. I have used this technique in the classroom already and have found it useful. If a student is talking I will call on them and tell them to walk me through the example problem on the board. This should condition them to know if they don't want to be called on they should pay attention and not talk.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Inspiration
The original idea for this concept map is to figure out a new way to manage late work. I would use this in my classroom because it can give students an example of how they can work around a problem, such as late homework, in their own life. The only modification I would suggest making for the students is to personalize it for their own life. This is only if they have a problem with late homework assignments. This model would be substitution because students are using this model to help find a better way to manage their time so they they do not have any more late homework.
The original idea for the second concept map is how to prepare a proper presentation. Both of these concept maps are on the same web page next to each other about 2/3 of the way down. I would use this in my classroom during the time before I present students with their first presentation project. In their first lesson is a Nearpod presentation, so this would be a great opportunity to introduce the map. I would not make any modifications to the map, as it is nicely constructed the way it is. Lastly this represents modification on the SAMR model because it is explaining how to make a presentation reach the type II capabilities.
The original idea for the second concept map is how to prepare a proper presentation. Both of these concept maps are on the same web page next to each other about 2/3 of the way down. I would use this in my classroom during the time before I present students with their first presentation project. In their first lesson is a Nearpod presentation, so this would be a great opportunity to introduce the map. I would not make any modifications to the map, as it is nicely constructed the way it is. Lastly this represents modification on the SAMR model because it is explaining how to make a presentation reach the type II capabilities.
Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness
I don't necessarily agree that teachers should not choose favorites in the classroom. I do agree, however, that teachers should never SHOW that they have favorites in the classroom. This is important in keeping students' trust and respect.
It is important that we do not single out students who we like, who we don't like, or who we don't have any particular feelings for. As teachers we need to keep ALL of this information in our heads. That doesn't mean that we can't go to other teachers and say one students is doing exceptionally well, or say a student is giving me a hard time; what can I do to fix this. We need to keep things professional, as it can make students uncomfortable and put them in awkward situations with their peers.
It is important that we do not single out students who we like, who we don't like, or who we don't have any particular feelings for. As teachers we need to keep ALL of this information in our heads. That doesn't mean that we can't go to other teachers and say one students is doing exceptionally well, or say a student is giving me a hard time; what can I do to fix this. We need to keep things professional, as it can make students uncomfortable and put them in awkward situations with their peers.
Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well
I agreed with the paragraph on page four that talked about giving students a questionnaire. It suggested that we give students a questionnaire on the first day to find out a little bit about each student. Having the teacher know a little bit about each students can be very beneficial to their learning if it is done correctly.
This makes so much sense to me. When I think about having students in my future classroom I think about how I can best accommodate for all of their needs. Why not ask them! It is the simplest solution to a problem that seems so complex. While it might seem very hard to make it possible for every student to learn in their preferred way, we can certainly try.
This makes so much sense to me. When I think about having students in my future classroom I think about how I can best accommodate for all of their needs. Why not ask them! It is the simplest solution to a problem that seems so complex. While it might seem very hard to make it possible for every student to learn in their preferred way, we can certainly try.
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