My first week as Mrs. Hoover's Student Teacher

This past week has been wonderful! Check out my Mid-Winter convention blog to read about my Farm Show trip! (https://karliewrites.blogspot.com/2018/01/late-nights-call-for-sleepy-students.html)

Wednesday was my first day in the classroom - I have my own desk right next to Mrs. Hoover's and we have been working on my assignments since I wasn't teaching last week. I also starting working on a fundraiser that we will be starting on Monday. The ag department is going to sell hoagies and I am going to run the fundraiser for Mrs. Hoover.

I also realized how important it is to really give students my full attention. No matter what I am doing when a student talks to me, I try to make sure I am looking at them and really listening. I want to make sure that I keep working on this as the semester continues. I also got to go to my first staff meeting! Administration explained students' senior projects and distributed the rubrics. So that was that.

Overall, I think that this week was a success and I cannot wait to keep working with Mrs. Hoover and her students! I can tell that this is going to be a really good student teaching experience for me! Next week, I am excited and ready to tackle my first class!! 

Weekley Investment #10 - Classroom Management

The last weekly investment of the semester is on classroom management!

My summer reading talked a lot about classroom management, rules, and expectations. If you missed in my previous blogs, this book was "What Great Teachers do Differently: 17 Things that Matter Most" by Todd Whitaker. Whitaker emphasizes that a teacher's classroom management sets the stage for student learning. He also says that great teachers focus on expectations while other teachers focus on the rules. The least effective teachers focus on the consequence of breaking the rules.

The best teachers, according to Whitaker, establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses. For example, they may have three guidelines:
 - Be repectful
 - Be prepared
 - Be on time.
These teachers expect good behavior and generally that's what they get. "Great teachers focus on the behavior they expect of their students, not on the consequences for misbehavior." 

Some teachers focus on rules. While rules have their place and "school" and "rules" generally go together, they have their drawbacks. Rules mostly focus on undesirable behaviors. Stating what not to do, may actually lead to students doing just what you did not want them to do. Most people, especially our most challenging students, are typically contrary by nature. When someone says not to do something, you may not have even been thinking to do that thing until they said not to.

Consequences are yet another battle. "Rules outline the boundary between the acceptable and the unacceptable." Everyone is familiar with consequences. Take sports for example. Referees do not just point out the rule that was violated, they also assign a penalty. The purpose of consequences is to discourage people from breaking the rules. Whitaker points out that consequences frequently do just the opposite. He says that students are experts at cost-benefit analysis. "If I skip one hour of class, I'll have to go to two hours of detention. Is it worth it? How many of my buddies will be in detention?" Whitaker points out that the fear of the unknown can sometimes be a more powerful deterrent than a list of predetermined consequences.

I really enjoyed Todd Whitaker's book and his reasons for classroom expectations and consequences. In later chapters he also discusses meaning what you say. He reminds teacher that if they are saying the same thing over and over that they may be the problem. Remember to allow yourself time to think about inappropriate behavior before acting on it - and when you act on it, mean it.

Other reminders:
                            - You do not ever win an argument with a student.
                            - Treat students and parents with respect.
                            - Practice the "golden rule"
                            - Do not yell at students (unless in a true emergency.)
                            - Use your "bag of tricks"
                            - Remember the teacher is the variable.

"When a student misbehaves, great teachers have one goal: to keep that behavior from happening again."

Weekly Investment 8 - Differentiated Learning

This week in class we learned about individualized learning and it was reinforced with this week's readings. Individualized techniques we learned about are:

• Supervised Study
• Independent Study
• Experiments
• Notebooks
• Sheets
• Information
• Assignment
• Skill

This types of learning strategies are to help students in an individual way and maybe not as personalized.

What intrigued me most about the reading though was learning about differentiated learning and how it compares to individual learning. All throughout the semester we have been learning about variability in the classroom. After learning more about differentiated learning, I feel as though there are many similarities.  While individualized learning begins with one student's needs, differentiated learning starts with multiple students or groups.

In most classrooms, especially agriscience classrooms, you have students across the spectrum and students that are reading and learning on different levels. For differentiated learning, students are divided into groups for activities; however, students are not always in the same group with the same people, and they do different types of activities. Teachers must design their lessons around students' needs, which creates a lot more work on their end. This is because each group is tasked with completing an activity in a way that best suits them. This means not only is the teacher taking the time to make sure special activities are planned, but they are also taking the time to understand how their students learn and separating them into groups based on that.

I don't foresee myself using this type of learning all the time, but I can see myself figuring out how to work this into my curriculum and using as part of my variability in my classroom!

References:

(n.d.) Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/individualized-instruction-vs-differentiated-instruction

EduGains. (2015). Reach every student through differentiated instruction.  Retrieved from http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesDI/Brochures/DIBrochureOct08.pdf 

Weekly Investment 7 - Rubrics? What?

I hate assessments, but I LOVE rubrics. I can complete most assignments well if I have a rubric. Why? Because I know EXACTLY what my instructor is looking for if their rubric is clear. If their rubric is clear, I would almost just take the rubric over the instructions for the assignment. It tells me what I need to know and what I am being graded on. People of all ages want clear and accurate directions that are easy to follow - A.K.A. a Rubric.

I also feel that rubrics create consistency for the teacher. It takes opinion out of the equation and helps the teacher/instructor to stay on task when grading many of the same assignments. As much as a rubric gives the student guidance, it also gives the teacher guidance - when teaching the material and when grading.

What I did not know before this reading was the different types of rubrics and I learned some things I would think to use a rubric for - like class participation. ASCD has a published book all about rubric, but also has some nice guidelines online. Is the rubric holistic or analytic; general or task-specific? It lays this information out in a nice table seen here:

I personally like task-specific and analytic rubrics, but I think there is a place for all of them. For example, if you are writing a rubric for a whole unit, it may need to be more general than for a specific assignment. General rubrics can be handed to students at the beginning of an assignment, while task-specific rubrics function more as "scoring direction."

While I see myself using task-specific rubrics more often, I can now see the need for a general rubric. "Rubrics help teachers teach…rubrics help students learn." I said earlier that rubrics can help teachers stay consistent and this doesn't just go with grading - but also in the classroom. Furthermore, it helps students to look ahead and see what you may be building up to, which will help them to organize their learning in your classroom. I am interested in taking some more time to look into this and maybe read the full book!

 References: 

Brookhart, S. (n.d.). Chapter 1. What are Rubrics and Why are they Important?Retrieved October 8, 2017, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112001/chapters/What-Are-Rubrics-and-Why-Are-They-Important%C2%A2.aspx. 

Stoughton, A.L. & Myers, B.E. (2008) Creating and working with rubrics. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06900.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
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Are we preparing students for the 21st Century?

This week's readings had a lot to do with problem solving and the problem solving approach. There was also a reading on "How are students reaching 21st century goals?" Since we ended up talking a lot about problem solving in class last week, I wanted to touch more on it for my weekly investment.

Our reading focused on Projects vs. Project Based Learning. I found this very interesting because I can recall many times in high school and college where I have been giving a project that contributed little to nothing to what I was learning. However, I can only recall a handful of times where I was given a project that was beneficial to my learning. It is easy to fall into the hole where you give students projects to break up lecture, but are they really learning from it? Project based learning is when students learn the material from completing the project. The project requires critical thinking that revolves around an open ended question, allows student voice, and includes processes for reflection and revision.

When we are using projects in the classroom to help teach students versus teaching students to help them complete the project, I think they get a lot more value out of it. I am not saying that you are not teaching them some of the material, but you may not be teaching them all of the material - and may the project helps them to connect the dots of what they have been learning.

We also talk about the 4 C's in class last week: Communication, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Creativity. I found an article from Oxford University Press about how these 4 C's prepare students for the 21st century. Although, the article is geared towards English classrooms, I think it lays out 5 good steps to help in any classrooms.

These 5 steps are:
1. Let your students lead the learning.
2. Create an inquiry-based classroom environment.
3. Encourage collaboration.
4. Develop critical thinking skills.
5. Encourage creativity.

In summary, students learn best when they are empowered and if you have empowered them to lead the classroom they need to be able to ask questions. A classroom that promotes sharing, is simultaneously promoting speaking and listening skills. When we are taking students beyond comprehension and challenging them with real world problems we are developing their critical thinking skills. And finally, students need to be able to express what they have learned in a creative way.

Hmmm..... this all sounds a lot like the 3 circle model in action. ????
  


References

ELT, O.U. (2013, October 9). 5 Ways to prepare your students for the 21st Century. Retrieved October 1, 2017, from https://oupeltglobalblog.com/2013/10/09/5-ways-to-prepare-your-students-for-the-21st-century/

Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2010). The main course, not dessert: How are students reaching 21st century goals? With 21stcentury project based learning. Retrieved from http://bie.org/object/document/main_course_not_dessert
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Listening to Students - Weekly Investment #5

This week, Kate Simonds, "I'm Seventeen" TED Talk really hit me hard. It honestly gave me goosebumps. This is what we, agricultural educators, are really about - and I am glad that I am going to be able to be a part of students being about to reach their potential and make their own decisions.

It is really important that we as teachers listen to our students, even though this can be hard for us sometimes. Why is hard? Well, as teachers, we are over achievers with a lot of ideas. Sometimes its hard to step back and let our students take over, make decisions, and make mistakes. I know I am guilty of hearing outrageous ideas from students, and shrugging them off. What I should be doing is asking the right questions to help them through their thought process to build on their idea - show interest and listen to what they are saying, not just hear it.

I think that Kate made some very good arguments in her TED Talk. One was that students have some really great ideas, and adults are solving our country's problems so why are we not asking the students for help. I am only 25 and I know and can tell that my ability to be creative and come up with good ideas is on the decline. It was so easy for me in high school to make a really creative project and really easily. Now, it takes a lot of work, thought, and pinterest.

I found a graphic I really liked that can help us with the process of listening to students.

Jackie Gerstein listed some listening skills for the educator that included keeping an open mind, remaining empathetic, using nonverbal cues that demonstrate that you are focused on the speaker, and to summarize what the speaker said. Seems pretty typical? This is what we do as adults when we talk to our peers, right? Like Kate said - she had to gain respect when she walked on to the TED Talk stage because she was seventeen, when most adults already had gained it before they spoke. She also says to ask students open-ended questions and ask them how they can relate back to what they are learning (metacognition). I think that even though these seem like pretty simple ideas, we need to keep them in mind. 

Jackie Gerstein also discussed what happens in our classrooms when we listen to students. As a teacher you create a safe environment, better you relationship with your students, create a positive culture, and and let the learners seem themselves as active partners in their own education (autonomy). 

This really helps me to think about and be more conscience when I am listening and responding to students. I hope to be the teacher that listens to all of my students idea - no matter how outlandish and respond to them sincerely and with questions that will help them to connect to their learning. I hope that as a teacher I can give students purpose to their education. 

References: 

Gerstein, J. (2015, November 19). Student Voice Comes With Teachers as Listeners. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/student-voice-comes-with-teachers-as-listeners/

T. (2015, February 09). I'm 17 | Kate Simonds | TEDxBoise. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkOQhXhsIE

Bloom-ing into Writing Objectives (Weekly Investment #4)

When I started my first unit plan, I really struggled with writing objectives. After completing the reading, it really interested me and I wanted to dive into the use of Bloom's Taxonomy when writing objectives.

First of all, "Bloom's taxonomy is the classification of different objectives and skills that educators set for their students." Even though these six levels of learning were originally proposed in 1956, the terminology has been updated recently, as needed. Here are the six levels ("Teaching Innovation"):

1. Knowledge
2. Comprehension
3. Application
4. Analysis
5. Synthesis
6. Evaluation ("Writing Objectives")

Blooms taxonomy really helps us understand how learning takes place. For example, you cannot understand a concept before you have knowledge of it. Likewise, you cannon apply said concept before you have comprehended it. And so on, and forth until we reach the top of the pyramid. In every class we do not always have to start at the bottom of the pyramid. Lower level classes very well may, but when I am crafting objectives for higher level or advanced classes, students generally have the knowledge and possibly even comprehend, and need to work on applying and analyzing the skills. It is important to note that students may need refreshers in this information, but the majority of your lessons for a unit will probably not be "information dumping" for more advanced classes. ("Teaching Innovation")

When looking at objectives you can take some key things into mind when considering what level of Bloom's Taxonomy my objective is on. Phrases like "what is",  "how is" , or "where is" typically relate to Knowledge; while phrases like "how would you compare…" typically refer to Comprehension. Moving up Bloom's taxonomy to Application, questions about how to build, construct, develop and organize will help to test the student. Analysis you need to have students  categorize, classify, and discover; if students have reached Synthesis they can solve, design, and develop. Finally, you Evaluate. Can students defend or criticize their findings? ("Writing Objectives") Looking at this and how this questions are proposed have really helped me to understand objectives and goals in the classroom. 

These readings have really helped me to submerge myself into Bloom's and understand it a little better moving forward and while designing my lessons. While all students reach each of these levels at different times or points of instruction, I really need to take into consideration the students in class who may be way ahead. This means, having some extra things for them to work on so that they are bored and they are continuing to grow and push themselves. Even though, at some point in the not-so far away past, I thought that learning "how kids learn" was not all that important. Since I have started this journey, my thinking has thankfully changed and I have come realize how important it is to understand these theories at a deeper level instead of just on the surface. 

References

Teaching Innovation & Pedagogical Support. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://tips.uark.edu/using-blooms-taxonomy/

Whittington, M.S. (2005). Writing objectives in secondary agriculture courses that challenge students to think. Agriculture Education Magazine. Retrieved from  http://www.naae.org/profdevelopment/magazine/archive_issues/Volume77/v77i5.pdf

Writing Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://teaching.uncc.edu/best-practice/goals-objectives/writing-objectives

Unit Plans - Weekly Investment #3

So the unit plan. I experienced writing my first unit plan this weekend (and wrote it again when I did not save and my computer froze and lost it 😒) I knew it would be challenging, but it really helped me to understand the importance of planning. Even though I thought I had given myself plenty of time, I would have liked a little more to research more, make sure I was ordering things correctly, etc.

I found a site that helped me to organize all of my thoughts a little better and condensed them in to two essential questions they suggested using:
                         1. What do I want my students to be able to do at the end of the unit?
                         2. How will I know if they will be able to do it? ("10 guidelines")
Dr. Rice re-enforced these questions in class last week as well. Every time I was not sure what to do, I asked myself these questions to help keep my thoughts from wondering and staying off task.

While I am sure my unit plan will have plenty of feedback, I hope I am on the right track!

References

10 Guidelines for Planning Units. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/10-guidelines-planning-units/

Making a difference with Variability

No matter what classroom you happen to be in, student always learn in various ways and have many intelligences. "Strategies for Great Teaching and Learning" says "Intelligence is the ability to resolve a genuine problem, then produce or service that adds value to oneself and others".  The book emphasizes that because of these varying intelligences, engaging-moments or e-moments are vital. E-moments will help to connect combinations of different intelligences and modalities.

I think that this hard to lose sight of for sake of our own learning strategies and like and dislikes. I believe that it is always important to re-center and put yourself in the mindset of an intelligence that is not your own. For example, if you are a great visual learner and use a lot of visuals in your classroom, but you do not like group work, remember you have students who are just the opposite and learn best from working with others.

For those reasons I think that it is important that as a teacher I need to make a proactive step to be variable in my classroom and not retroactive. I do not need to create two lesson plans, I need to make a lesson plan that is holistic. Check out this video that helps put that into perspective:

So as Todd Rose explained, we need to uphold and embrace the diversity in the classroom and remember that not everyone wears the same size shoe! It’s at this point at a teacher when you will be able to reach the most students in your classroom and be able to engage and motivate the most student. By designing classrooms that meet the needs of the so-called average student, we are not helping nearly as much as we think we are. As Rose said, the average learner is a "myth".

This topic is really scary to me, because I feel like I am not going to be prepared in less than 4 months to tackle this task. Will I be inclusive enough? Will I fall into the hole of the "average learner" perspective? I suppose those are the questions I need to be asking myself as I continue through this journey!

References

Reardon, M. & Derner, S. (2004) Strategies for great teaching. Chicago, Illinois: Zephyr Press

Todd Rose: Variability Matters. (2012, January 30). Retrieved September 04, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WClnVjCEVM#action=share

Variability Matters. (n.d.). Retrieved September 04, 2017, from

http://qedfoundation.org/variability-matters/

The Passionate Organizer

There is no secret that there are many methods to teaching and ways to handle your classroom and that students will learn from many different types of educators. However, there are some types of teaching and classroom management that may be more powerful and effective than others.

No one wants to have a teacher that is disorganized, dull, and seems more un-interested in the topics they are teaching than the students that are learning them. Students want someone in front of the classroom that is organized, has clear objectives and expectations, and is passionate about the topic and the students. It's good for teachers to blend teaching methods, such as, power points, marker/chalk board, group work, questioning, etc. This is great for both the teacher and the students' sake.

According to Maryellen Weimer's article there are six keys to classroom excellence:

1. Interest and explanation - Be interested in your topic, know what the students understand, and create connections.
2. Concern and respect for students and student learning - "Good teaching has nothing to do with making things hard. It has nothing to do with frightening students. It is everything to do with benevolence and humility."
3. Appropriate assessment and feedback - Avoid assessments type that force students to memorize material and then regurgitate it for an exam.
4. Clear goals and intellectual challenge - Create high expectations for your students and make them clear to your students.
5. Independence, control and active engagement - Don't "treat all learners as if they were exactly the same" by creating projects and tasks that allow creativity and student control.
6. Learning from students -  Be willing to change and take what your students say and use it to reevaluate your teaching methods and classroom management.

It's always important to make sure you are working to reach every student and as many different learning styles as you can - while still using your own skill set. One saying that I keep running across in my classes, reading, and research is "your students don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." I think that it is important to make sure you are constantly making connections and bonds with students to continue to build a relationship. In the Agriculture Education spectrum, I think that we also need to remember with those connections we do not just have students for 1 or 2 years typically - we hope to have them for 4 years in a high school setting. If we do not build that relationship, then we lose the students.

I am someone who has always loved school and learning, loves to be organized, and if anything, I care too much about others. I will need to work on my enthusiasm. Though, I may be really interested and excited about a topic, I do not do a very good job of outwardly expressing it (so tips are welcome!).

Photo Credit: Harry Wong, 

                                                                                                            "Unit A - The Effective Teacher"

References

Weimer, Maryellen. “Effective Teaching Strategies: Six Keys to Classroom Excellence.” Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning, 20 July 2009, www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/effective-teaching-strategies-six-keys-to-classroom-excellence/.