Differentiation Reading #4 - Response to Jaremy's Journey

Wow! I am amazed. I had to check out Jaremy's blog and I found myself unable to stop reading. What a great committment he has made. I am sure Jaremy has moments of feeling inadequate. What a tough job. I am also surprised to read about Jaremy's lack of resources. It saddens me to think about children who are not given a fair opportunity to be educated. I believe Jaremy is being a great teacher to his students. He loves them. As I read his posts, I could tell he is influencing his students to achieve because of his love and concern for their well-being. I think he is doing exactly what will benefit his students.
The text talks about how the curriculum needs to be important, focused, engaging, demanding, and scaffolded. Jaremy sounds like he is trying to accomplish these needs in the curriculum as well as fulfilling the students needs of affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. He is truly doing the best he has with the resources that he has been given. I admire people like Jaremy. I would not be willing at this point in my life to commit to such a huge responsibilty. Maybe someday. Hats off to you Jaremy and I wish you the best in your adventure!

Differentiation Reading Assignment #3

I love any assignment that helps a teacher understand students better. One of my favorite parts of teaching is getting to know and love the students as individuals. I believe the students also love telling about themselves. I think that writing is an excellent way to get to know each student and it also provides an assessment for teachers. By looking at this writing I believe that there are many things a teacher can learn about the students abilities. I think by having the student be a topic of writing, they already have an interest in the subject. I believe these surveys on interest can be conducted throughout the year regarding different topics or subjects. For me, it is hard to be specific about how I will use these surveys. I believe that everything I do for my students will be a direct result of an observed need. I feel that these interest surveys need to be another way to inform instruction. This, to me is differentiation. I believe as teachers we use observation in order to meet the needs of the students. That is my job. I want every student to feel that his/her needs are important and that I will do the best I can to ensure that these needs are met.

Differentiation Reading #2 Fulfilling the Promise 1&2

There is some great information in the reading this week. I really liked the metaphor about Taming the Fox. The fox tells the prince that taming takes time, patience, and listening. There are two truths discovered in the tale which are, what is essential is invisible to the eye, and you become responsible forever for what you have tamed. Students need us to give them time, be patient, and listen to what they are saying and displaying in their actions. The book claims that if we take the risk of taming the fox, days in school are no longer monotonous, this facilitates change and growth. In this situation the teacher and the students all take on the role of educators and learners.

I specifically enjoyed chapter 2, the topic of addressing students needs. Figure 2.2is helpful by describing the needs of students. There are elements of students needs that we are trying to meet as educators. Students need affirmation. They need to feel that they are accepted. They need to feel like they matter and are a positive contributor to the learning community. Contribution is another need that must be met. Students must feel that they make a difference in their contributions to the class. That there presence in the class makes the community and educational experience better. Students need to feel they have power. They must understand that what they are learning is useful to them now. Students must see the purpose of school. They must see the significance in education. Students must see that the work they do makes a difference in the world. Also, students must be challenged. They need to know they are capapable of working hard and producing a quality product. Knowing these needs makes it easier for a teacher to validate all students. I know that there is no one way to meet the needs for all students. I know that I will constantly be learning how to meet the needs of my students.

Differentiation Reading Assignment #1

I was really excited as I read about morning meeting. I definitely want morning meeting to be a part of my daily schedule. All evidence provided in the reading gives positive support of the meetings. I have been in several classes and have been able to observe how the meeting works. There are so many ways to conduct the meeting. I want to learn more about how to create a meeting that is beneficial for all students. What I am especially interested in is observing how the class community is affected over time by holding the morning meeting. I also want to learn many different ways to conduct the meeting. I loved how the reading suggests that students become the conductors of the meeting. What a great way to teach students skills and responsibility. The reading was great. I have many thoughts and ideas that I want to examine. I am so excited for this class. I feel it will really help me become well prepared to teach.

WebQuest Learning

WEBQUEST ADVENTURES!!!!!

Let's discover something new together. Have any of you students ever heard of a WebQuest? This is a fun new way to learn and it is just like going on an adventure. One of the fun parts about this activity is that we get to use our computers. You will be presented with an adventure and will be traveling around the World Wide Web in search for information related to your assignment. Here you will discover things that will help you accomplish the task assigned in your adventure. A WebQuest is a fun new way to learn through exploration. The websites listed in the WebQuest will be teacher approved and ready for you to enjoy. Learning can be so much fun! To help you understand more about how WebQuest work I am making a list of websites to visit. They are listed on the top right of my blog. Check them out and be prepared to learn. Over and out.

Field Experience Week 3

Well, it is over now and I can't believe how fast the last three weeks went. Well, Kara and I finished up teaching our lessons yesterday. We taught a unit on Native Americans. It was interesting because we were placed in a extended day school in a core class. The core class is where math and language arts are taught. The teacher was able to meet our social studies needs by having us teach the students how to write a research paper on Native Americans. We were able to get a glimpse of what we will be learning in our language arts class next semester. We were also required to teach some language arts. I feel like I learned many new tricks and found some fun educational games I would like to use in my own class. I really am going to miss working with students. I am not real excited about writing the 1,000 page papers (or what seems like 1,000 pages) we are required to finish the semester, but I have a lot to write about so I better get started! See y'all on Monday!