My Mentor Relationship

I have been very lucky to be placed with my host teacher for two semesters in a row. We have developed a great professional relationship, as well as a friendship. I feel open to ask her any questions about teaching strategies, classroom management, etc. and I like to hear her teaching stories. We share our personal stories as well. I feel very privelaged to have a mentor such as my host teacher because it's very important to have someone there in these years of our lives to ask questions and learn things that we can't learn in a classroom.

Wiki

By completing this wiki I think it would be a good tool to use in the classroom because it's better than power points and also because you can share them with your students and they can view it from their home. When you do power points in the classroom, unless you email it to every student, they can't access that from their home. However, with the wiki you can write the website on the board and have the students copy it down and they can access the information from their homes. Also, their parents can view this and see what is happening in the classroom and what they are learning.
You can check out our wiki. I did the page on the Comparison and Contrast of PDS Schools to Non-PDS public schools. It has just basic information about PDS schools and what they are.

Post #3

For one of my reflections the prompt was what were our thoughts about Rubrics, whether we're given the rubric or we are giving the rubric. I really like when teachers give me a rubric to do with my assignment because I know what they are expecting of me. They may be good to use in middle school and high school also, that way the students know exactly what you expect from them. I think it would also make it a little easier to grade the students on whatever you're using a rubric for because you can just look for certain things in whatever you're grading.
However, I think that sometimes rubrics can be a bad thing because the students may see it as that is all they have to include in their assignment. For example, if I have my students write an essay and I'm looking for an introduction, body, and conclusion. They may only put a few sentences in each paragraph and say, "well you only said we had to have an intro, body, and conclusion." Therefore, to avoid this problem you have to be in detail of what you are expecting. For example: "You're going to write an essay that includes the following: Introduction: Your introduction should include at least 6-8 complete sentences. etc.." I think that rubrics for students are a good thing because you know what the teacher is expecting of you and it helps them do well.

My question was what are your thoughts on rubrics?

Post # 2

I'm not really familiar with the West Virginia 21st Century Standards. I may be using them and not realizing that I am. I would definitely like to learn more about these standards and exactly what they represent.
Last semester, the classroom that I was in used lots of technology everyday. It was a Reading 180 class and they were required to get on the computer and take tests to determine what grade level they were reading and how the teachers can best accommodate the assignments to their level. Also, while about 6 students were doing that, the other half of the class was either reading the book, "The Outsiders" or they were listening to it on audio by using individual CD players and headphones. I would like to incorporate more technology into my classrooms, or at least I would like to be in a classroom that used different kind of technology so that I could be exposed to different ways of using technology because I am not a real technical person and I learn better at seeing something first before using it on my own. I would like to see how different teachers use different technology resources in their classroom.
A great teacher, in my mind, is someone who cares about the students. They need to care about them on many levels. One level is they need to care about how the students best learn the material. They should be able to teach different ways for the different learners in the classroom. Another level is actually caring about the students themselves. If a student knows a teacher doesn't like them or doesn't care about them, then they will want to quit from the start. A great teacher doesn't just stick to one thing because that's the way they have been doing it for 5 years. The teacher should be open to change to help improve his or her classroom.
One question that I had was what is your interpretation of West Virginia's 21st Century Standards and have you used them in your PDS?

Post #1

I haven't really done any lesson planning yet, but two years ago when I was doing my observations in a classroom with my fiance's cousin in Virginia, she showed me how she had to do all of her lesson planning based on what was already "preplanned" out for her. I would like to do my lesson plans by allowing enough time for each activity, doing interesting activities with the class to maybe break up my lecture with some movement with the class.
In my observations I get to see how the students are reacting while the teacher is concentrating on teaching. Some students learn well by listening to the teacher talk, but most are very distracted by either their peers or by doodling or doing something else of their own. I would like to make my lessons enjoyable for the students, even if I am lecturing to them. You have to teach with enthusiasm and keep the students on their toes.
Learner centered teaching to me means that you have to keep the learner in mind when doing your lesson plans. You have to keep in mind the best ways that they learn and which ways they won't learn. Teaching an entire lesson by just lecture and no break or having them do anything will probably make the students get off track easier. You have to hold the attention of the students and base your teaching styles around the learner.
That day in class we went over how to "break down" a CSO and I felt that really helpful. What do you think would be the most important thing(s) to know when doing a lesson plan?

Instructional Technology Integration

What is the difference between Technology Use vs. Technology Integration?

Action Research Wonderings

This section of my blog shares my wonderings from my classroom experience.