Final Blog: conclusion
Willingham's book was all about reaching all students and understanding how they learn and retain information. Willingham expresses that learners are diverse and we need to accept them and cater to them as a teacher. I really valued his ideas and have utilized his tips often in my classroom. I can't say my ideas of diversity have changed much from reading his helpful book but my practice and outlook on teaching has improved. I feel so much more confident as a teacher after reading this literature. I understand that teaching takes a lot of time and practice and that practice is never over! I learned a lot about how the mind works and how we use our memories. I think this knowledge that I now have will benefit me as a teacher and my students.
Alex Pergolizzi
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The end has come...
Blog 8_the wrap up_Stacey LaFountain
Throughout reading this book I have had a few moments were I think "Oh that's why my teacher did that in school". As teachers we are throwing information out there that we think is important for students to learn. The more information we throw out there the harder school gets for our students. As teachers, we want students to learn everything we are teaching, however the reality is that they are not going to learn everything. I know from my experience that practicing the same thing over and over and over again when I was in school seemed boring to when I felt I had learned the topic but that is what you need as a student. You need to have your students practice the material so that they will truly understand it. This book had so many good ideas for a teacher and how to implement them into the classroom. It will help me in my teaching and in learning how to help my students learn to the best of my ability.
Throughout reading this book I have had a few moments were I think "Oh that's why my teacher did that in school". As teachers we are throwing information out there that we think is important for students to learn. The more information we throw out there the harder school gets for our students. As teachers, we want students to learn everything we are teaching, however the reality is that they are not going to learn everything. I know from my experience that practicing the same thing over and over and over again when I was in school seemed boring to when I felt I had learned the topic but that is what you need as a student. You need to have your students practice the material so that they will truly understand it. This book had so many good ideas for a teacher and how to implement them into the classroom. It will help me in my teaching and in learning how to help my students learn to the best of my ability.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Final Look Back
Blog 8_The Final Look Back_Melissa Lochner
While reading our book, I felt like there were so many ah-ha moments that I will take away. This will definitely be a book that I will pick up in the future for ideas on how to better my classroom. Something I'm sure I knew before but never really thought of was the fact that students can only remember so much. As teachers we have to think about all the information we are feeding the students and what we are requiring them to use right away or in the future. Something that I was surprised by was the fact that when we are trying to have students remember something and we use a hook for them to relate to, we may be pulling their attention in the wrong direction and loose them for the rest of the lesson. I will be able to incorporate this book into my knowledge of teaching by getting to know how my students thinking process in the beginning of the year and vary my lessons accordingly. I feel like the biggest thing I personally took away from this book was to always try to improve on my teaching techniques and skills. I should never feel fully comfortable with what I'm doing because there is always so much more then can be improved.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tha tha thats all folks!
Blog 8
The wrap up
Natalie Gregorski
When reflecting about the main themes and take home messages of this book I really don't see it as being wholely focus on diversity. It talked about how everyone learns different and what peoples tendencies are but I really think it was largely based on scientific information. If I got anything out of this book it is that you can impact your own learning and so can my students. Not only do I need to focus my attention on students but also on myself as an educator. I always need to remember to sharpen my skills and add to my teaching tool box.
The wrap up
Natalie Gregorski
When reflecting about the main themes and take home messages of this book I really don't see it as being wholely focus on diversity. It talked about how everyone learns different and what peoples tendencies are but I really think it was largely based on scientific information. If I got anything out of this book it is that you can impact your own learning and so can my students. Not only do I need to focus my attention on students but also on myself as an educator. I always need to remember to sharpen my skills and add to my teaching tool box.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Teachers are students too!!
Blog 7
Chapter 9
Vocabulary Vitalizer & Essence Extractor
Natalie Gregorski
Vocab.
1) Practice -Repetition of an activity to improve skill; The ongoing pursuit of a craft or profession (http://en.wiktionary.org/)
2) Constructive Critisism -
Constructive criticism aims to show that the intent or purpose of something is better served by an alternative approach. In this case, the target of criticism is not necessarily deemed wrong, and its purpose is respected; rather, it is claimed that the same goal could be better achieved via a different route. (Wikipedia)
3) Procedures- series of actions or operations which have to be executed in the same manner in order to always obtain the same result under the same circumstances (for example, emergency procedures) Wikipedia
4) Cognitive Skill -Cognition is the scientific term for "the process of thought" to knowing. Usage of the term varies in different disciplines; for example in psychology and cognitive science, it usually refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions
5) pedagoical content knowledge - not just background knowledge but methods of teaching the content to the students in a variety of ways.
Essence Extractor
"Teaching like any complex skill. must be practiced to be improved" (pg. 189)
Chapter 9
Vocabulary Vitalizer & Essence Extractor
Natalie Gregorski
Vocab.
1) Practice -Repetition of an activity to improve skill; The ongoing pursuit of a craft or profession (http://en.wiktionary.org/)
2) Constructive Critisism -
Constructive criticism aims to show that the intent or purpose of something is better served by an alternative approach. In this case, the target of criticism is not necessarily deemed wrong, and its purpose is respected; rather, it is claimed that the same goal could be better achieved via a different route. (Wikipedia)
3) Procedures- series of actions or operations which have to be executed in the same manner in order to always obtain the same result under the same circumstances (for example, emergency procedures) Wikipedia
4) Cognitive Skill -Cognition is the scientific term for "the process of thought" to knowing. Usage of the term varies in different disciplines; for example in psychology and cognitive science, it usually refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions
5) pedagoical content knowledge - not just background knowledge but methods of teaching the content to the students in a variety of ways.
Essence Extractor
"Teaching like any complex skill. must be practiced to be improved" (pg. 189)
Baby Steps to improving teaching...
Blog 7 chapter 9- Alex Pergolizzi
Literary luminator
1. "Your best bet for improving your teaching is to practice teaching...Experience means you are simply engaged in the activity. Practice means you are trying to improve your performance." (p. 192) We gain experience just by being in the classroom and producing lesson plans and executing them. But is that it? Of course not, as teachers we try to improve our methods and to do this we must practice. I like that Willingham shows the reader that just the experience of teaching is not enough. A teacher simply can't get comfortable with having 20 years experience and that's it, one must always strive for improvement.
2. "It is usually quite informative to see your class through someone else's eyes...You should recognize that working on your teaching will be a threat to your ego." (p. 194-195) I thought these quotes went really well together because when another teacher or supervisor observes my classroom I know that I get nervous and somewhat dread the "post-conference." However, I do enjoy getting constructive criticism and discussing ways to improve my classroom. I can see how it would be a little threat to your ego when you thought your lesson was amazing and then the observer really lets you know what went on while you were busy teaching.
3. "...They refer to it as a mental place where we juggle several things at once and where, if we try to juggle too many things, one or more things will be dropped." (p. 191) This is important for all educators to remember. Teachers don't just balance teaching they are dealing with school issues, student issues, family issues and probably tons of other things too! It is important to simplify things because if not, something important may slip through the cracks without intention.
Essence Extractor
Experience does not make the teacher, practice & improvement does.
Literary luminator
1. "Your best bet for improving your teaching is to practice teaching...Experience means you are simply engaged in the activity. Practice means you are trying to improve your performance." (p. 192) We gain experience just by being in the classroom and producing lesson plans and executing them. But is that it? Of course not, as teachers we try to improve our methods and to do this we must practice. I like that Willingham shows the reader that just the experience of teaching is not enough. A teacher simply can't get comfortable with having 20 years experience and that's it, one must always strive for improvement.
2. "It is usually quite informative to see your class through someone else's eyes...You should recognize that working on your teaching will be a threat to your ego." (p. 194-195) I thought these quotes went really well together because when another teacher or supervisor observes my classroom I know that I get nervous and somewhat dread the "post-conference." However, I do enjoy getting constructive criticism and discussing ways to improve my classroom. I can see how it would be a little threat to your ego when you thought your lesson was amazing and then the observer really lets you know what went on while you were busy teaching.
3. "...They refer to it as a mental place where we juggle several things at once and where, if we try to juggle too many things, one or more things will be dropped." (p. 191) This is important for all educators to remember. Teachers don't just balance teaching they are dealing with school issues, student issues, family issues and probably tons of other things too! It is important to simplify things because if not, something important may slip through the cracks without intention.
Essence Extractor
Experience does not make the teacher, practice & improvement does.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Busy busy busy
Blog 7, Chapter 9, Creative Connector and Idea Illustrator - Stacey LaFountain
"Your best bet for improving your teaching is to practice teaching" (p. 191)
This is something that our teachers tried to drill into our heads while in undergrad. In order to really improve your self you have to practice. This is also something that the book talked about. If you do not continue to practice then you are not going to become better at what you do.
"A great deal of data show that teachers improve during their first five years in the field, as measured by student learning. After five years, however, the curve gets flat, and a teacher with twenty years of experience is (on average) no better or worse than a teacher with ten". (p. 192)
To me this quote goes along with the top quote. I recently was subbing in my old elementary school. Some of my teachers are still working so I went to say hello to them. They teach in the same manor as they did when I was 10 and in their class. Not to say that their way of teaching is wrong or bad. I feel that if a teacher is willing to try things in new ways they will continue to improve.
"Make notes that include what you intended to do and how you thought it went". (p. 202)
During my student teaching the teachers that I worked with loved reflecting on how the lessons went. This section about keeping a diary reminded me of that. I did find that it was very helpful to reflect on how the lesson when and what went well and what didn't. This was a good stepping stone as to how to plan future lessons with the same class.
This picture is almost identical to the one in our book. It shows up in this last chapter as well as in previous chapters. Again, it shows how all three of these different things (environment, working memory and long-term memory) work together.
Another part of this chapter talked about how you need to have teachers who know what they are teaching and truly understand the material. This math problem reminded me about how important not only understand previous units are but also that teachers really understand and know their material before the present it to students.
This picture represents the fact that teachers have to work hard and also that they need to practice. If there is continuous practice they teachers will go beyond just teaching the basics and help students to experience teaching in a different way.
"Your best bet for improving your teaching is to practice teaching" (p. 191)
This is something that our teachers tried to drill into our heads while in undergrad. In order to really improve your self you have to practice. This is also something that the book talked about. If you do not continue to practice then you are not going to become better at what you do.
"A great deal of data show that teachers improve during their first five years in the field, as measured by student learning. After five years, however, the curve gets flat, and a teacher with twenty years of experience is (on average) no better or worse than a teacher with ten". (p. 192)
To me this quote goes along with the top quote. I recently was subbing in my old elementary school. Some of my teachers are still working so I went to say hello to them. They teach in the same manor as they did when I was 10 and in their class. Not to say that their way of teaching is wrong or bad. I feel that if a teacher is willing to try things in new ways they will continue to improve.
"Make notes that include what you intended to do and how you thought it went". (p. 202)
During my student teaching the teachers that I worked with loved reflecting on how the lessons went. This section about keeping a diary reminded me of that. I did find that it was very helpful to reflect on how the lesson when and what went well and what didn't. This was a good stepping stone as to how to plan future lessons with the same class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)