Week+4+Journal

=__Week 4 Journal__ =  ====Since my time with my first two team members is quickly coming to a close, I have been reflecting on how things have gone. In one class, I feel I have made an impact mostly on the teacher. When I began in this first classroom, the teacher was a little reluctant to change how she was doing things, and I thought maybe I would have a lot of difficulty during this first rotation. This teacher does a great job teaching science, and in actuality, I have learned a lot from her over the years. To my surprise, she completely "gave in" to suggestions I had for her, and as a result, I think she has been more effective in reaching her students. She has modified the way she presents some material, incorporating the use of technology to enhance and enrich her lessons. We have found that by simply getting out a video camera, kids are literally lining up, to explain what they are doing in class, and what they have learned! (Granted, their explanations are not always 100% correct, but they are attempting it, with confidence!) I have enjoyed being in this classroom, and feel a sense of accomplishment. We have plans to possibly produce some podcasts with her students during her next unit!====

====With being at the coaches meeting yesterday, I felt a little frazzled today! It's amazing how much you miss by being out for just one day. I hate missing school! Today in science, the students began to use excel to create a spreadsheet about different types of energy production. This is the first time students have been asked to use this program, and the first time we have shown students how to use a flash drive to save their data. It is our hope that they will be able to complete this project tomorrow by producing a nice graph of the information. One frustration with this has been that their are simply not enough computers to go around! The two E.L.A. teachers also need to use them to finish the Urbana Project they are working on. On one hand, it is nice to say we have this problem! It means the students are using the computers for various things. But, scheduling is going to be a nightmare!====

====In reflecting on the readings from this week, I realize that I need to incorporate more constructivism into my classroom. I sometimes get caught up in making sure we "cover" so much material, when in fact, I think I would have more success if I would allow students to explore and make their own meaning. A perfect example is what my S.S. students are doing in class right now. I have been using the book __[|Differentiating Instruction with Menus: Social Studies],__ by Laurie E. Westphal. We have been studying Ancient Egypt for the last few weeks, and our textbook is not a very good resource, so we have been supplementing with other sources. I found an assignment in this book that I liked and decided to try it out. I could have chosen an easier assignment, or modified this one, but decided to use it as is. When I passed out the assignment, the kids got so excited! They discussed with their friends which assignments they wanted to do, and many came rushing up to me to ask questions about working together, due dates, etc. I hadn't expected so much enthusiasm. As I have watched the kids work through these projects, and provided them with the means to research (put laptops in their hands), I began to realize how important it is for them to have these options and choices in their classwork. While the assignment is not perfect (I need to rethink it for my I.E.P. students, they need more structure), I think it has been exciting for my students, and they have enjoyed being in class. I have received a few projects that have gone way beyond what I envisioned, and that was incredible! I definitely want to do more of this! One frustration I had this week was in using the computers. It has been difficult to get the computers during certain class periods because we share a class set of laptops bewteen 5 teachers. Some class periods are completely off limits because the computers are being used for [|Study Island], and then you have to manage sharing with other classes. While it has been a challenge, I have enjoyed seeing kids search, and find information that means something to them! I will use this type of assignment in the future.==== ====I watched a collegue use a formative assessment yesterday that intrigued me. She had the kids do a "write chat." Her students have been studying alternative energies, and she had them circulate around the classroom, adding drawings, flow charts, definitions, and questions to large posters for each kind of energy. It was easy to see what the kids know and don't know. I really liked how she did it, and plan to use it in my own classroom.====

Fritzi, Check out this link at NSTA: Uncovering Student Ideas in Science There are currently four volumes with a fifth coming out soon. I really want to talk to you about these materials. Also, thanks for the link to Study Island. Everyone references it -- I guess I'm wondering what you think of it. Is it just an electronic version of test prep? Kathy Kathy, I don't get to really see what is done during Study Island time, since it is proctored by the math teachers in our school. But yes, it looks to me like online test prep. It covers individual indicators for each benchmark, in each standard. To be honest...I have no use for this. Most students do not take it seriously, and therefore I don't feel it is very effective. The math teachers could use the extra 25 minutes a day much more productively...but everything in our district is geared toward raising our student's OAT scores. The goal is for them to raise by 7% this year. Not sure this program is the answer. Fritzi