Description
This week's focus was on creating an effective learning environment through classroom management and engaging lessons.
Analysis
The first step to having an effective learning environment is to manage the time spent learning. There are many ways that time can be lost during instruction. In order to make the most of the time given for instruction, teachers must prevent wasted time, starting late, ending early, and interruptions (Slavin, 2012). Teachers can also make the most of instruction by setting routine procedures, maintain a steady pace, and minimize discipline problems (Slavin, 2012). A key way to manage classroom behavior is set clear expectations starting at the beginning of the year. The best way to manage student behavior is to prevent misbehavior (Slavin, 2012). Other ways to manage behavior include nonverbal cues, praising correct behavior, verbal reminders, repeated reminders, and consequences (Slavin, 2012). Teachers should begin with the least amount of intervention and work up to consequences based on student behavior (Slavin, 2012).
Reflection
This chapter was a great reminder/refresher for me. I am currently between school years and it was nice to reflect back on the things I am doing well and the things I need to work on next year. I believe that I do a good job of implementing routine procedures at the beginning of the year. I have started involving students in creating behavior expectations for our class. I believe that this has had a positive effect on encouraging students to meet the expectations because they had a voice in creating them. Reading through this chapter made me realize I need to be more consistent with consequences. Being honest with myself, I tend to be harsher with the consequences when I am stressed or upset. This is not fair to the students nor is it a good way to manage the behavior of my students. I have made progress with this using the 1-2-3 Magic method. This method takes the emotions out of discipline. Implementing this method has helped me to keep my emotions out of disciplining and to be fair to all students.
Reference:
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice
(10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Reflection Post 6
Description
This week's focus was on grouping, differentiation, and technology within in the classroom.
Analysis
Slavin shared the QAIT model which means that for a lesson to be effective, there must be quality of instruction, appropriate levels of instruction, incentive, and time (2012). All four of these parts must be present in a lesson to make sure all students are engaged, motivated and have the best chance to learn. Slavin also discussed the multiple methods of grouping students. Between class grouping tends to have a negative affect in the long run on the students involved. This is due to a lack of higher academic role models and the negative stereotypes that surround the lower classes. The best scenario is to have within-class grouping that allow students to be exposed to other students of all academic levels and to be moved between groups based on concepts being covered.
Differentiation is the changing of "content, level, pace, and products of instructions to accommodate the different needs of diverse students," (Slavin, 2012, pp. 259). Differentiation allows for a teacher to reach all students despite learning styles and academic levels.
Technology can be used by teachers to track data or teach lessons. Students can use technology to research topics, type papers, or participate in learning websites.
Reflection
I found this chapter to be very informative. I have never thought that making classes based on ability level was a smart idea and this chapter reinforced my opinion. I use flexible grouping in both reading and math. My math groups change frequently based on the concepts being covered. I reevaluate my reading groups in the middle of the year to see if they are still beneficial for all students. Differentiation is a constant challenge for me. If I'm being honest, there doesn't always seem to be enough time to differentiation as much as I would like. Reading is easy to differentiation due to reading groups, but even then it is only by level. Math gets differentiated more by products and levels. When reflecting on my teaching practice, I do not differentiate pace but that is mostly due to the time crunch caused by standardized testing. I use technology daily in my classroom. I have a SMARTboard which I should be using an interactive tool instead of a projector. I would like to use the SMARTboard more interactively with my students. My students students use a program to practice fact fluency daily. We also use chromebooks to research different topics in Science and Social Studies.
Reference:
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
This week's focus was on grouping, differentiation, and technology within in the classroom.
Analysis
Slavin shared the QAIT model which means that for a lesson to be effective, there must be quality of instruction, appropriate levels of instruction, incentive, and time (2012). All four of these parts must be present in a lesson to make sure all students are engaged, motivated and have the best chance to learn. Slavin also discussed the multiple methods of grouping students. Between class grouping tends to have a negative affect in the long run on the students involved. This is due to a lack of higher academic role models and the negative stereotypes that surround the lower classes. The best scenario is to have within-class grouping that allow students to be exposed to other students of all academic levels and to be moved between groups based on concepts being covered.
Differentiation is the changing of "content, level, pace, and products of instructions to accommodate the different needs of diverse students," (Slavin, 2012, pp. 259). Differentiation allows for a teacher to reach all students despite learning styles and academic levels.
Technology can be used by teachers to track data or teach lessons. Students can use technology to research topics, type papers, or participate in learning websites.
Reflection
I found this chapter to be very informative. I have never thought that making classes based on ability level was a smart idea and this chapter reinforced my opinion. I use flexible grouping in both reading and math. My math groups change frequently based on the concepts being covered. I reevaluate my reading groups in the middle of the year to see if they are still beneficial for all students. Differentiation is a constant challenge for me. If I'm being honest, there doesn't always seem to be enough time to differentiation as much as I would like. Reading is easy to differentiation due to reading groups, but even then it is only by level. Math gets differentiated more by products and levels. When reflecting on my teaching practice, I do not differentiate pace but that is mostly due to the time crunch caused by standardized testing. I use technology daily in my classroom. I have a SMARTboard which I should be using an interactive tool instead of a projector. I would like to use the SMARTboard more interactively with my students. My students students use a program to practice fact fluency daily. We also use chromebooks to research different topics in Science and Social Studies.
Reference:
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Reflection Post 5
Description
This week's reading focused on student centered lessons and the constructivist theory.
Analysis
The constructivist theories of learning basically state that students must build their own knowledge (Slavin, 2012). This approach means that students will be responsible for their own learning and teachers will take on more of a guiding role than an actual teaching role. Student centered classroom can take on many forms. One main form is cooperative learning in which students discuss and work together to solve a problem (Slavin, 2012). Cooperative learning can take the form of many widely used classroom strategies such as jigsawing, group work, and partner work. These are all methods that allow students to work and learn together on a certain concept or skill. For cooperative learning to be successful, groups that work well together must be rewarded in some way and there must be individual accountability (Slavin, 2012).
Reflection
This chapter reinforced my use of several teaching strategies while reminding me of methods to make them more successful. I use group work frequently but mainly in the form all students working together on one assignment. I have used the jigsaw method before but not recently. This chapter has inspired me to try and incorporate it more often during the next school year because it helps to maintain that individual accountability that Slavin discussed. I have always tried my best to set clear expectations for cooperative learning groups, but after reading this chapter, I have decided to include students on developing the expectations. I will of course have non-negotiables, but I think groups will be more successful over all when the students feel some responsibility for them.
Reference:
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
This week's reading focused on student centered lessons and the constructivist theory.
Analysis
The constructivist theories of learning basically state that students must build their own knowledge (Slavin, 2012). This approach means that students will be responsible for their own learning and teachers will take on more of a guiding role than an actual teaching role. Student centered classroom can take on many forms. One main form is cooperative learning in which students discuss and work together to solve a problem (Slavin, 2012). Cooperative learning can take the form of many widely used classroom strategies such as jigsawing, group work, and partner work. These are all methods that allow students to work and learn together on a certain concept or skill. For cooperative learning to be successful, groups that work well together must be rewarded in some way and there must be individual accountability (Slavin, 2012).
Reflection
This chapter reinforced my use of several teaching strategies while reminding me of methods to make them more successful. I use group work frequently but mainly in the form all students working together on one assignment. I have used the jigsaw method before but not recently. This chapter has inspired me to try and incorporate it more often during the next school year because it helps to maintain that individual accountability that Slavin discussed. I have always tried my best to set clear expectations for cooperative learning groups, but after reading this chapter, I have decided to include students on developing the expectations. I will of course have non-negotiables, but I think groups will be more successful over all when the students feel some responsibility for them.
Reference:
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Reflection Post 4
Description
This week's focus was on what makes a lesson effective for student learning.
Analysis
I found the reading this week to be very interesting. The goal of teaching is to of course be effective in having our students learn the concepts that are being taught. This is not something that just happens by chance, but requires planning and use of different strategies. Slavin laid out the template for a lesson to be effective. The lesson should begin with reviewing previous skills, then the lesson should move into the new material which should be presented in a logical order. Through out the lesson the teacher should ask students questions to check for understanding. The lesson should finish with a form of independent practice (2012). It was made clear that the independent practice portion of the lesson should be short. Researched showed that the most effective teachers only used 16 minutes of independent time compared to 25 minutes used by less effective teachers (2012, pp. 200). Slavin also explained that whole-group and small-group discussions are valuable ways to get students to use the information that they are taught (2012).
Reflection
Most of this chapter was a review of strategies that I commonly use in my own classroom. I use Socratic seminars a lot in Science and Social Studies. These are student led discussions concerning different topics. The most recent one my students participated was over the differences in wants and needs between the United States and Kenya based on the cultures of the countries. This was a great way for my students to apply their knowledge of wants and needs. One interesting fact I took away from this week was concerning the length of independent practice. My math lessons immediately came to mind and I began to reflect on the amount of time my students spend working independently. Most days my students spend 20-25 minutes on this area. This chapter helped me to see that I need to lessen that time and allocate that time to a different part of my lesson.
Reference
This week's focus was on what makes a lesson effective for student learning.
Analysis
I found the reading this week to be very interesting. The goal of teaching is to of course be effective in having our students learn the concepts that are being taught. This is not something that just happens by chance, but requires planning and use of different strategies. Slavin laid out the template for a lesson to be effective. The lesson should begin with reviewing previous skills, then the lesson should move into the new material which should be presented in a logical order. Through out the lesson the teacher should ask students questions to check for understanding. The lesson should finish with a form of independent practice (2012). It was made clear that the independent practice portion of the lesson should be short. Researched showed that the most effective teachers only used 16 minutes of independent time compared to 25 minutes used by less effective teachers (2012, pp. 200). Slavin also explained that whole-group and small-group discussions are valuable ways to get students to use the information that they are taught (2012).
Reflection
Most of this chapter was a review of strategies that I commonly use in my own classroom. I use Socratic seminars a lot in Science and Social Studies. These are student led discussions concerning different topics. The most recent one my students participated was over the differences in wants and needs between the United States and Kenya based on the cultures of the countries. This was a great way for my students to apply their knowledge of wants and needs. One interesting fact I took away from this week was concerning the length of independent practice. My math lessons immediately came to mind and I began to reflect on the amount of time my students spend working independently. Most days my students spend 20-25 minutes on this area. This chapter helped me to see that I need to lessen that time and allocate that time to a different part of my lesson.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice
(10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Reflection Post 3
Description
This week's focus was on cognitive theories of learning. This includes information on how the brain works and what causes a person to either remember or forget information.
Analysis
One theory that was discussed was retroactive inhibition. This is a theory that states children forget information when they are introduced to new information that is similar to the old information (Slavin, 2012). To prevent this from occurring, teachers should use different strategies to teach similar concepts. Primacy and recency effects was another interesting theory discussed. Slavin discussed how primacy effect is that the information at the beginning of a lesson is learned easily and recency effect is that the information at the end of lesson is learned more easily (2012). Applying this in classroom means that teachers should place the most important information at either the beginning or end of their lesson so that there is a greater chance of students remembering it.
Reflection
This chapter was very interesting to me. I have never given much thought to what actually causes a student to remember or forget concepts. The theory of retroactive inhibition really stood out to me because I saw this happen in my classroom this year and now I am able to put a name on what occurred. When teaching multiplication strategies, my students grasped the concept fairly quickly and did well applying them. However, when I began to introduce division strategies (in a similar fashion to the multiplication strategies), my students began to mix up multiplication and division. I realize now that because I used similar teaching strategies with concepts that are related, I set my students up for failure in a sense. I know next year that I need to keep these subjects separated.
I also liked learning about the theories of primacy and recency effects. I often plan my lessons with the most important part of the concept in the middle. After reading this chapter, I will reevaluate the way I plan my lessons and make sure that I begin and end my lesson with the information my students really need to remember.
This week's focus was on cognitive theories of learning. This includes information on how the brain works and what causes a person to either remember or forget information.
Analysis
One theory that was discussed was retroactive inhibition. This is a theory that states children forget information when they are introduced to new information that is similar to the old information (Slavin, 2012). To prevent this from occurring, teachers should use different strategies to teach similar concepts. Primacy and recency effects was another interesting theory discussed. Slavin discussed how primacy effect is that the information at the beginning of a lesson is learned easily and recency effect is that the information at the end of lesson is learned more easily (2012). Applying this in classroom means that teachers should place the most important information at either the beginning or end of their lesson so that there is a greater chance of students remembering it.
Reflection
This chapter was very interesting to me. I have never given much thought to what actually causes a student to remember or forget concepts. The theory of retroactive inhibition really stood out to me because I saw this happen in my classroom this year and now I am able to put a name on what occurred. When teaching multiplication strategies, my students grasped the concept fairly quickly and did well applying them. However, when I began to introduce division strategies (in a similar fashion to the multiplication strategies), my students began to mix up multiplication and division. I realize now that because I used similar teaching strategies with concepts that are related, I set my students up for failure in a sense. I know next year that I need to keep these subjects separated.
I also liked learning about the theories of primacy and recency effects. I often plan my lessons with the most important part of the concept in the middle. After reading this chapter, I will reevaluate the way I plan my lessons and make sure that I begin and end my lesson with the information my students really need to remember.
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