Thursday, February 16, 2017
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
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Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI've already learned so much through our experience at Washington, and I can tell it's going to be such a great time for us! I'm really looking forward to learning more as the semester continues. It's amazing to me to witness the teachers be so comfortable and differentiate easily. I cannot wait to get into that same position. Students, like everyone, are diverse and unique, so of course teaching must be individualized in order to be effective. Hot dots sounds like a fun way to answer questions! I've never heard of it, either. Thanks for providing that link!
Colleen, I totally agree with you that differentiation is my biggest worry. How will we differentiate for each student? How will we make sure they don't feel left out? How will we make sure they don't feel stupid for not understanding something? Those are all questions I have as well. However, I think we have been able to observe some different ways in Mrs. Skeiths classroom together. One way is by her WIN groups. I think that will be a great time for us to be able to work with students based on their needs and where they are at learning wise. Hot dots was definitely a great activity that students could do and the more advanced students could read harder cards and the ones that need more help were able to read easier stories! Thank you for providing us more information about hot dots!
ReplyDeleteCool! I had never heard of this tool. Will have to research this more.
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