Here is the lesson I did on geometric shapes. We were focusing mainly on triangle, but reviewed what we discussed in the previous lesson.
I found using my iPhone and the Vimeo iPhone app to be really difficult. Too many errors. However I had a hard time making it work any other way. This was more complicated than I expected. I recently downloaded the iOS 5 and hadn't seen any problems yet. Error after error I was able to upload the video to YouTube, but Vimeo wasn't having it. An hour and a half later, after uninstalling the Vimeo app and shutting my phone down, reinstalling the app it is apparently working. It started working, and after 2 hours was 51% uploaded - then it timed out. I started again, similar thing. at this point it was almost midnight and I work at 7:30. Today I work both jobs, so when I get home I will try again. For now I've attached it on youtube.
Speaking of, Barry, my doc put me on Nortriptyline for headaches. Over the past month I'm down to less than one headache/week. The med did not help me sleep, as my doc thought it might. Now I'm on trazodone for sleep and it's working alright. I only started over break, so I'm curious once I get back to a regular sleep schedule how it will work!
Here is the embedded video.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
CMP- Research & Interview
Essential Question: As you proceed with the following research, do you feel the CMP program is more direct instruction, or more inquiry based instruction?
The Connected Mathematics Project is considered an inquiry-based method as it centers around the problem that students need to solve, rather than the strategy.
How does the CMP Instructional Model (Launch -> Explore -> Summarize) compare to the more traditional direct instruction -> guided practice -> independent work model?
The Launch -> Explore -> Summarize model puts a lot more of the foot work in the students hand. The question is asked, then the students work to try and find ways to solve the problem - this can be independently or in groups - then the students come back to the board with their ideas and summarize the best ways found to solve the problem. In the traditional model, the teacher provides the strategies during direct instruction, then allows students to see how the strategy is applied (and scaffolding is used) during guided practice, and finally students work alone to solve problems using the given and practiced strategies.
I was able to watch a lesson using the CMP model here: http://www.mmmproject.org/ls/mainframeS.htm
The teacher launches the lesson by allowing the students to look for as many squares as possible within a given paper using the dots. The teacher refers a lot to making connections with past material, at times using their journals to look back at what they've already learned (to answer the question, can the square be slanted?). The students work in partners and small groups to discuss ideas with each other. Using this tactic, students were able help each other and direct each other towards the right idea. Different students could bring different things to the table and share knowledge. This lesson was a lot more of students helping and teaching students.
There would have been benefit to accessing a Smart Board in order to show this lesson, but I recognize those aren't available everywhere. As the students help each other, sometimes they are misinforming each other; this is a concern, and I think that there are times when a more solid definition or a more formal explanation are necessary for some students to catch on.
In this teacher's classroom, she has students who are eager to learn and it seems as though they have fairly high levels of self efficacy; there aren't any students complaining that it's too hard or that they don't know how to do it - students are working together and figuring it out.
The Connected Mathematics Project is considered an inquiry-based method as it centers around the problem that students need to solve, rather than the strategy.
How does the CMP Instructional Model (Launch -> Explore -> Summarize) compare to the more traditional direct instruction -> guided practice -> independent work model?
The Launch -> Explore -> Summarize model puts a lot more of the foot work in the students hand. The question is asked, then the students work to try and find ways to solve the problem - this can be independently or in groups - then the students come back to the board with their ideas and summarize the best ways found to solve the problem. In the traditional model, the teacher provides the strategies during direct instruction, then allows students to see how the strategy is applied (and scaffolding is used) during guided practice, and finally students work alone to solve problems using the given and practiced strategies.
I was able to watch a lesson using the CMP model here: http://www.mmmproject.org/ls/mainframeS.htm
The teacher launches the lesson by allowing the students to look for as many squares as possible within a given paper using the dots. The teacher refers a lot to making connections with past material, at times using their journals to look back at what they've already learned (to answer the question, can the square be slanted?). The students work in partners and small groups to discuss ideas with each other. Using this tactic, students were able help each other and direct each other towards the right idea. Different students could bring different things to the table and share knowledge. This lesson was a lot more of students helping and teaching students.
There would have been benefit to accessing a Smart Board in order to show this lesson, but I recognize those aren't available everywhere. As the students help each other, sometimes they are misinforming each other; this is a concern, and I think that there are times when a more solid definition or a more formal explanation are necessary for some students to catch on.
In this teacher's classroom, she has students who are eager to learn and it seems as though they have fairly high levels of self efficacy; there aren't any students complaining that it's too hard or that they don't know how to do it - students are working together and figuring it out.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Closure and Anticipatory Set
What is the purpose of the Closure component in a lesson plan?
The closure component of a lesson plan can have several purposes. The closure piece wraps up any loose-ends of the lesson and reviews what the students have learned today. I think that the anticipatory set and the closure are a lot like the introduction and conclusion of a story. I remember my high school language arts teacher saying it like this: First, you tell them what you're going to tell them, then you tell them, then you tell them what you told them. We are doing much the same with this - we preface the lesson and give them a heads up for what is coming, then we wind-up the lesson, re-covering what we've told them, as well as gearing them up for the next day, all the while checking in and making sure students are relatively up to speed. This is also a time to clarify anything that might have been confusing to students.
While I was googling, I found this succinct "Purposes of Closure". They clarified that the closing piece of a lesson could cover a couple of these purposes, but not necessarily all of them.
• Reviewing the key points of the lesson.
• Giving students opportunities to draw conclusions from the lesson.
• Describing when the students can use this new information.
• Previewing future lessons.
• Demonstrating student’s problem-solving process.
• Exhibiting student learning.
• Creating a smooth transition from one lesson to the next lesson.
Strategies and Examples:
Journaling or quickwrites are one way to close up a lesson, which allows students to independently reflect on what they've covered that day. I've also seen a 3-2-1 prompt given, where the students write three things they've learned or discovered, two things they found interesting, and one question they may still have.
Another example is having students do the same thing on an index card to be turned in, or solve a few sample problems as their ticket out of class.
A pair and share time could be taken for students to discuss with each other what they have learned.
What is the purpose of an Anticipatory Set in a typical lesson plan?
The anticipatory set in a lesson plan pulls into play prior knowledge that the students hold about the relevant subject. This is a lead-in time to prepare students for what they are about to learn, and to hopefully grab their attention. This would also be a time to introduce the learning objectives written in kid-friendly language.
Examples of this might be journaling in their notebook what they remember about fractions/decimals/percents, or it may be a prompt asking where we see these symbols in our world. Many of the examples that I found through google were short one or two sentence phrases just reminding students what they talked about in a previous lesson or what will be coming up in the next lesson.
http://k6educators.about.com/od/lessonplanheadquarters/g/anticipatoryset.htm
edc448uri.wikispaces.com/file/view/40_ways_to_leave_a_lesson.pdf
The closure component of a lesson plan can have several purposes. The closure piece wraps up any loose-ends of the lesson and reviews what the students have learned today. I think that the anticipatory set and the closure are a lot like the introduction and conclusion of a story. I remember my high school language arts teacher saying it like this: First, you tell them what you're going to tell them, then you tell them, then you tell them what you told them. We are doing much the same with this - we preface the lesson and give them a heads up for what is coming, then we wind-up the lesson, re-covering what we've told them, as well as gearing them up for the next day, all the while checking in and making sure students are relatively up to speed. This is also a time to clarify anything that might have been confusing to students.
While I was googling, I found this succinct "Purposes of Closure". They clarified that the closing piece of a lesson could cover a couple of these purposes, but not necessarily all of them.
• Reviewing the key points of the lesson.
• Giving students opportunities to draw conclusions from the lesson.
• Describing when the students can use this new information.
• Previewing future lessons.
• Demonstrating student’s problem-solving process.
• Exhibiting student learning.
• Creating a smooth transition from one lesson to the next lesson.
Strategies and Examples:
Journaling or quickwrites are one way to close up a lesson, which allows students to independently reflect on what they've covered that day. I've also seen a 3-2-1 prompt given, where the students write three things they've learned or discovered, two things they found interesting, and one question they may still have.
Another example is having students do the same thing on an index card to be turned in, or solve a few sample problems as their ticket out of class.
A pair and share time could be taken for students to discuss with each other what they have learned.
What is the purpose of an Anticipatory Set in a typical lesson plan?
The anticipatory set in a lesson plan pulls into play prior knowledge that the students hold about the relevant subject. This is a lead-in time to prepare students for what they are about to learn, and to hopefully grab their attention. This would also be a time to introduce the learning objectives written in kid-friendly language.
Examples of this might be journaling in their notebook what they remember about fractions/decimals/percents, or it may be a prompt asking where we see these symbols in our world. Many of the examples that I found through google were short one or two sentence phrases just reminding students what they talked about in a previous lesson or what will be coming up in the next lesson.
http://k6educators.about.com/od/lessonplanheadquarters/g/anticipatoryset.htm
edc448uri.wikispaces.com/file/view/40_ways_to_leave_a_lesson.pdf
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Practicum- sharing a Lesson
I have not yet started a practicum, however I am an aid in a special education classroom, so I am able to reflect on what I've seen from the teacher I work under.
The teacher most often follows the Language! program, and she did a study in idioms. Her objectives were something along the line of understand the meaning of an idiom and it's uses. She found a book that had a page of idioms, and read through them with the students. She then had them draw a picture to describe the idiom meaning of the word.
While in theory this sounds great, it was difficult even for me to figure out how to draw something that was a "piece of cake" that wasn't an actual piece of cake! Many of the idioms were fairly obscure, and I hadn't heard of them. In part because of the disability level of students in the class, the students really struggled with idioms such as "pass the hat" and they weren't broken down to the level they needed to be.
She checked for understanding by looking at their drawings, but their artwork is at a pretty low (scribbly) level that it's hard to distinguish.
As the lesson went along, I would have stopped it and adjusted it on the spot. The student with autism was going to really struggle with this, and I would have found a new approach, or perhaps a different activity. If I were to teach the lesson, I would have the students draw the literal meaning of the phrase "apple of my eye" and then DISCUSS the idiom meaning.
The teacher most often follows the Language! program, and she did a study in idioms. Her objectives were something along the line of understand the meaning of an idiom and it's uses. She found a book that had a page of idioms, and read through them with the students. She then had them draw a picture to describe the idiom meaning of the word.
While in theory this sounds great, it was difficult even for me to figure out how to draw something that was a "piece of cake" that wasn't an actual piece of cake! Many of the idioms were fairly obscure, and I hadn't heard of them. In part because of the disability level of students in the class, the students really struggled with idioms such as "pass the hat" and they weren't broken down to the level they needed to be.
She checked for understanding by looking at their drawings, but their artwork is at a pretty low (scribbly) level that it's hard to distinguish.
As the lesson went along, I would have stopped it and adjusted it on the spot. The student with autism was going to really struggle with this, and I would have found a new approach, or perhaps a different activity. If I were to teach the lesson, I would have the students draw the literal meaning of the phrase "apple of my eye" and then DISCUSS the idiom meaning.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Warm-Ups in Math Education
I think Math Warm-Ups are great tools to reinforce skills that were learned previously; it can be a form of assessment to measure retention of material and understanding. Some times that time from one day to the next can be crucial; students who did not get enough sleep may not have stored what they learned in their long term memory and truly may not remember what had been taught the day before. Giving students who did retain the material the quick practice and review sets them up for the rest of the day. Creating that basic foundation of mathematical concepts is important for them to move on and be successful in math.
Students can also gain a sense of accomplishment and success if they are able to conquer the first part of their day. Sometimes providing that success for students can encourage them to not give up. Completing a short simple warm up can give them confidence and put them in a great spot for the rest of the period to learn.
Warm-ups can also be used to introduce new content or material.
Students can also gain a sense of accomplishment and success if they are able to conquer the first part of their day. Sometimes providing that success for students can encourage them to not give up. Completing a short simple warm up can give them confidence and put them in a great spot for the rest of the period to learn.
Warm-ups can also be used to introduce new content or material.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Appropriate Use of Technology
In grades 6-8, all students will work flexibly with fractions, decimals, and percents to solve problems.
7.NS.1. Apply and extend previous understandings of addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers; represent addition and subtraction on a horizontal or vertical number line diagram.
The “Fraction Game” at the Illuminations website allows students to practice working with relationships among fractions and ways of combining fractions. I believe it is effective in showing relationships between fractions as it gives a great visual for students. Looking at this particular game, technology does not necessarily give students more because you could effectively do the same thing using manipulatives which may be more useful for some students. The benefit of the online game is that the app can give assistance and correct answers. The classroom I work in has several fraction games that would reinforce the same idea. In teaching this lesson I would likely use many tools including this online game, but also bringing out many other tools and visual examples to allow students many ways to access the content.
7.NS.1. Apply and extend previous understandings of addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers; represent addition and subtraction on a horizontal or vertical number line diagram.
The “Fraction Game” at the Illuminations website allows students to practice working with relationships among fractions and ways of combining fractions. I believe it is effective in showing relationships between fractions as it gives a great visual for students. Looking at this particular game, technology does not necessarily give students more because you could effectively do the same thing using manipulatives which may be more useful for some students. The benefit of the online game is that the app can give assistance and correct answers. The classroom I work in has several fraction games that would reinforce the same idea. In teaching this lesson I would likely use many tools including this online game, but also bringing out many other tools and visual examples to allow students many ways to access the content.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Standards, Standards everywhere
Looking at the three separate sets of standards, it was interesting understanding how the three blend together. I believe with many of the standards, in order to complete one of the National Standards, you end up teaching many of the other standards seen. All of these standards fall into the big picture of teaching numbers and operations. While the verbage is different, the end result is the same. If the student were to complete the goals of one standard, they would inevitably be accomplishing the goals of another, as much of numbers and operations is intertwined. Using the standards that my partner and I are working on, it would be impossible for “students (to)… work flexibly with fractions, decimals, and percents to solve problems” without being able to apply and extend previous understandings of addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers; represent addition and subtraction on a horizontal or vertical number line diagram.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Best Practices
Best practices in education
Project based learning: While there are appropriate times for lecture, I think that students get a lot more out of project based learning. As they complete a hands on project, they are able to learn by doing. Just adding numbers up may be a struggle, but creating a grocery store flyer may give students access to the knowledge in another way.
Peer tutoring: Peer tutoring benefits both the tutor and the learner, as the concepts are reinforced both ways. Students often respond better to their peers, and their peers may find a way to present the information that may just click for the student being tutored. Peer tutoring also fosters positive student to student relationships.
Response to intervention: As the school I work in is in the fourth year of sanctions, they are trying everything possible to bring our students up. The school has adopted the RTI model in an effort to increase the performance and learning of students. While there are some classes that are best blended, having low and high kids in a math class (particularly if the gap is large) may not be best for students. With the response to intervention, these students are tiered and are given on-going assessment to see their areas that they have mastered, and those that still need work. RTI also has a strong preference for research based instruction.
reference: http://www.nea.org/tools/16963.htm
Best practices in instruction
Integrating technology in the classroom: I think this is crucial, especially in math. The video of Wolfram only reinforced this idea. Students live in a world of technology, and utilizing the many programs available allows increased individualization of instruction.
Parental Involvement: Our district has hired a parent volunteer coordinator, and the number of parents involved in the schools has skyrocketed. As parents become more involved in the learning process, their students benefit.
"Sacred morning" time for reading and mathematics: This is another practice implemented in our middle school. The math and language arts periods are first thing in the morning, and the class periods are longer than the other periods. Math and language arts are 1 hr each, one right after another. They do switch classrooms, unlike the example given (which was an elementary school) in order to be taking classes from the highly qualified teachers. I think this longer amount of time with the best teachers in the school provides students with great opportunities to learn.
Reference: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/bestprac/bpc_instruction.html
Project based learning: While there are appropriate times for lecture, I think that students get a lot more out of project based learning. As they complete a hands on project, they are able to learn by doing. Just adding numbers up may be a struggle, but creating a grocery store flyer may give students access to the knowledge in another way.
Peer tutoring: Peer tutoring benefits both the tutor and the learner, as the concepts are reinforced both ways. Students often respond better to their peers, and their peers may find a way to present the information that may just click for the student being tutored. Peer tutoring also fosters positive student to student relationships.
Response to intervention: As the school I work in is in the fourth year of sanctions, they are trying everything possible to bring our students up. The school has adopted the RTI model in an effort to increase the performance and learning of students. While there are some classes that are best blended, having low and high kids in a math class (particularly if the gap is large) may not be best for students. With the response to intervention, these students are tiered and are given on-going assessment to see their areas that they have mastered, and those that still need work. RTI also has a strong preference for research based instruction.
reference: http://www.nea.org/tools/16963.htm
Best practices in instruction
Integrating technology in the classroom: I think this is crucial, especially in math. The video of Wolfram only reinforced this idea. Students live in a world of technology, and utilizing the many programs available allows increased individualization of instruction.
Parental Involvement: Our district has hired a parent volunteer coordinator, and the number of parents involved in the schools has skyrocketed. As parents become more involved in the learning process, their students benefit.
"Sacred morning" time for reading and mathematics: This is another practice implemented in our middle school. The math and language arts periods are first thing in the morning, and the class periods are longer than the other periods. Math and language arts are 1 hr each, one right after another. They do switch classrooms, unlike the example given (which was an elementary school) in order to be taking classes from the highly qualified teachers. I think this longer amount of time with the best teachers in the school provides students with great opportunities to learn.
Reference: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/bestprac/bpc_instruction.html
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
About Me
My name is Beth and I am a student at Willamette University. I am currently working towards my Master of Arts in Teaching degree, along with a Special Education (SpEd) endorsement. I will be authorized to teach 3rd-8th grade in self-contained classrooms, and middle school language arts and math. My SpEd endorsement will cover kindergarten-12th grade. I hope to teach in a Special Education classroom at the grade school level, but will really be happy anywhere in the field. Currently I work in a local middle school in a special education classroom as an instructional assistant.
As far as hobbies and interests, right now I am most interested in using my crockpot to prepare meals in advance as I juggle this crazy life. When I do manage to find free time I enjoy taking my kayak out on the Willamette, cycling around the area, growing things in my garden (especially weeds), and playing with my dog. I'm terribly sorry to see the sun go.
As far as hobbies and interests, right now I am most interested in using my crockpot to prepare meals in advance as I juggle this crazy life. When I do manage to find free time I enjoy taking my kayak out on the Willamette, cycling around the area, growing things in my garden (especially weeds), and playing with my dog. I'm terribly sorry to see the sun go.
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