Week 7 Already!?

I cannot believe this is the last blog of February! This semester has flown by! This week we went to Washington Elementary and had a Tech Smackdown day. My experience of Washington has been priceless, it gives me the opportunity to see an experienced teacher in the classroom and see how they teach. Each week I develop more and more of how I want to do things in my own classroom. Then today I attended my 2nd graders George Washington program. It was awesome to see the kids so excited to sing about what they had learned about George Washington!

Tech Smackdown day was another awesome highlight to this week. We sat (with mexican food) and shared our favorite tech tools that could be beneficial in our future classroom. One of the tools I researched was Formative, a tool for formative assessment that allows you to see your students screen as they work. I really like this tool because you can identify students who are struggling immediately and you can also keep students accountable because you know if they are working or not. I will definitely use this tool in my future classroom along with several of the other tools shared. This connects to NCPTS in so many ways! Standard 4H teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned, because this a unique way to formatively assess your students prior to a big assessment. It also connects to Standard 5A teachers analyze student learning, because as you watch students respond you can get a glimpse of their thinking process while answering their question then you can see how to intervene if the student is struggling.

 

 

Week 2 at Washington...

This week was our second week spending one class time at Washington Elementary School. I am loving it! It's been so valuable to see things such as our differentiation discussions in action, because it is one thing to talk about it among classmates but to see another teacher actually doing it is a great experience. I have learned so much about various ways to subtly differentiate so the students needs are met but students are not singled out. That is always a worry of mine is how to differentiate without making students feel different or singled out. I will be able to use some of the methods I am observing in my future classroom. This connects to standard 2A teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults because students should get the supports they need to learn without feeling different. It also connects to standard 2C teachers treat students as individuals because we should maintain high standards for all students but understand our students will need different ways to reach those standards.

One way this happened in the classroom this week was through hot dots.  I did not know much about this so I decided to research it a bit further. Hot dots are grade and subject specific multiple choice questions. The student simply reads the question then selects the answer using the Hot Dots pen. The pen then speaks and lights up to let the student know immediately if their answer was wrong or correct. Students can self-pace theirselves while working on areas they struggle on. Such a great tool I will definitely use to differentiate in my future classroom! Here is a link if you want to learn more: https://www.educationalinsights.com/category/our-brands/all-hot-dots/hot-dots.do

Welcome to Week 5...

It's finally week 5 and we are more than 25% into this course! That is unbelievable! As I reflect back I have learned so much already about new tools, resources, and strategies to place into my own classroom. This week one of the big focuses is on our Today's Learner project and the approach that students need is exactly what we have been working on with our units. They need to be creative, collaborative, and so much more. As a future teacher I try to envision what this will look like in my classroom. A lot of what I envision aligns with Standard 1 of NCPTS, Teachers demonstrate leadership. Specifically, 1A Teachers lead in their classroom because as part of this I will need to submerge myself into the mindset of what I am expecting from my students, I will need to think critically, make deep connections among the content, and work collaboratively with my colleagues. Also, standard 1D Teachers advocate for schools and students because many of these ideas will be new to our school system and to our students, such as the flipped classroom. However, if that is how your student's needs will be best met then the teacher must be the advocate. The in-flipped classroom is definitely something I would like to include in my future classroom to allow my students to apply their knowledge inside my classroom with my guidance.

This week in my outside research, I looked into a method of formative assessment called "3-2-1".  You simply have your student write down 3 questions they still have, 2 things they learned, and 1 thing they found interesting. One method of delivery could be a google form so answers are automatic and quick. By having students complete this you are requiring them to review the entire lesson and pick out pieces that align with the questions. You can also see where they struggled, what they understood, and what they liked to determine your next steps.

Broadening my Horizons....

Last week, we talked about teaching according to the "big picture". However, this week I feel like I'm truly starting to apply this as I begin to develop my generalizations and guiding questions for my unit.  As I sat and analyzed my unit, I began to think that it was too broad and that the questions I was developing were following that same pattern. But isn't that the point? If I am to truly teach according to the "big picture" then I shouldn't ask my students specific questions because then they will never make deep connections within the content. Asking specific questions would almost be like limiting my students rather than letting endless growth transpire! All of this links perfectly with NCPTS Standard 3C, teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content and Standard 4E, teachers help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills because we are encouraging them to make deep connections between all subjects rather than just scraping the surface of individual content areas.

This week during my outside research, I learned about in-flipped classrooms. We all know that flipped classrooms are when learning happens outside the classroom and applying that learning inside the classroom. Well for an in-flipped classroom you let both of those things happen inside the classroom. One set of students watches a pre-recorded video of the teacher's instruction and the other half of students gets to work one on one with the teacher. This would allow for the teacher to more easily differentiate learning for students and to provide personalized supports. This would be an interesting method to try in my own future classroom to see how students responded. Here is the link to the article if you're interested in learning more about in-flipped classrooms: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipping-the-non-flippable-classes-jon-bergmann