Monday, July 7, 2008

Thursday, July 14, 2008

6 comments:

Hannah said...

This morning was great. We interviewed several students on different things they like and dislike about school. It was very interesting to listen to them all. They had many things in common but there were some differences also. We also had Tammy come in and talk to the class about things she does in her classroom. I just think, “Man, I would have loved to have her class.” It just sound like so much fun. While compare what she does and what some of the students were saying if more teachers did this kind of teaching and interacting in class I think we would have a better population of students. Students wouldn’t get burnt out with education and maybe would continue into further education. Students would love to come to school and teachers, too.

This afternoon we focused on tiering, curriculum compacting, and classroom management. I think that some of this may work at the Kindergarten level, but at this point it is farther on the continuum then some other things so I going to focus on those and integrate more and more as time goes on. Classroom management however is a big piece if you don’t have classroom management then students will have a hard time learning.

cindy said...

Today was very interesting. We took time to ask 3 levels of students about their learning, their teachers and things they like or dislike about school. It seemed that there were a few similarities in all ages and all kids. First, they all like to be able to make choices. They also like being the ones to choose thier partners. (Some would even prefer to work alone vs. with a partner they don't get to choose!) They all seemed to understand their learning styles and liked teachers that taught to their learning style. What a bright group of students!

At lunch I visited with a friend of mine who also teaches. It was kind of fun to have a lunch conversation about DI. It was good because it forced her to revisit her teaching and see if/how she uses DI in her classroom. She was surprised how many things she is currently doing that are DI! I liked that I got to visit with her after the student interviews. I think I was able to ask better questions since we had gone through that with the students.
It was also interesting to visit with her because she teaches 5th grade so our grade levels are quite different. She is also changing grade levels and will be teaching 6th grade math. This led to questions about how she will do DI in math. The change in building will also leave her with much less technology than she had last year. This is a concern for her as she felt that a lot of her DI came via technology.

I also think I have a better understanding of tiering and curriculum compacting after this afternoon. It was fun to do some examples so we could see how they work.

Dawn78 said...

Today we began with interviews of elementary students. we have agreed on questions the day before. It was very interesting. The kids were very honest and straightforward. Next, were middle school students who were just as honest. Overwhelmingly, I felt the message from the students was they like option an choices. They want to be valued as learners.

Later in the morning we heard from a high school teacher (Tammi) and her students. Tammi was inspiring in her energy. She and her studnts were just great. She really knows about kids and learning. Her layered curriculum sound a lot like DI. i could really tell the kids were working at higher levels. I hope my daughters get to be her students!

Marcia M. said...

Today's class was great! We listened to and asked questions of several students from elementary, middle school and high school. They were straight forward and courageous with what they had to say. I listened closely and have several ideas to incorporate into my classroom this new year.
A biology teacher from the high school,and some of her students, presented layered curriculum to us. It was very exciting to listen to them explain how they had learned and grown this year. The teacher was very energized, too, and said layering her curriculum had put the joy back into her teaching.
This afternoon we learned about tiered lessons, compacted curriculum and classroom management. Lots of innovative ideas were shared with us. Many really good ideas to implement into my classroom.
My head is swirling with all these new ideas. I need to process them and decide where to start this fall. I definitely intend to use as much of this information as I can. This has been a great class with lots of sharing of ideas and thoughts. Thank you for reading. Marcia M.

Mindee said...

I really enjoyed talking and listening to the students this morning. It was nice to have a selection from elementary, middle school, and high school. It was interesting to hear that they all do share a lot in common. The fact that they all said they like having the option of making their choices on doing different types of assignments was reassuring. It didn’t surprise me that most of the time they wanted to choose who they worked with, making sure that they were working with students who like to work and get the job done. I found what distracted their learning very interesting. It didn’t surprise me that they don’t favor kids that choose to misbehave or take away from their learning. That is one of the rules in my classroom. “All students have the right to learn. If you infringe on that right, you have a problem. If you want to take away from your own learning, your choice, but never ever infringe on another student’s learning.” The time element and them needing more or being rushed is definitely something I will keep in mind when teaching in my classroom. I think we were working with some really great kids!

I always enjoy listening to Tammy tell about her teaching. She has such a passion for her job. She has always been a role model for me. We have so much fun bouncing ideas and sharing with each other. I can’t believe the kids that came in on their time to share. That really speaks to me! It is nice to see that kind of teaching/learning happening at the high school level.

I enjoyed the strategies this afternoon. I think tiering and curriculum compacting both look workable. We ended the day with a BIGGIE, classroom management. No matter what you teach and your teaching style, you will get nowhere without classroom management. It is the key to successful teaching!

P.S. I am so glad that Hannah brought her phonics phone. I have to get some of those! Fun! Fun! Fun! Thanks for letting me play.

Angel Renninger said...

This is our final day to reflect and I just want to let everyone know how thankful I am that we have some really great teachers in our school system! I have learned so much from taking this class. Not only from all the information from Denise but from all of my classmates also. I really enjoyed having our interviews today. Getting the student perspective was really interesting. I would have never thought they would place so much emphasis on choosing their own groups. I figured they would like to be with friends but didn’t think about how they would pick people that have similar learning as themselves. It was also great to hear from Tammy and the students from the high school. I think if I was in high school again I would definitely sign up for her class. She had me the minute she started talking – so high energy she made even science sound like fun!