M7U2A3 - Reflection on Subject Specific Strategies

In my time as a teacher I have primarily focused on language arts and social studies. These five teaching strategies have either used or have found interesting.


Class Discussions / Asking Questions

One of the methods I have personally found to work the best when teaching young ESL learners is to engage the students in class discussions. While this may seem like a very simple strategy but I have found it very effective when an honest effort is put forth by the teacher or instructor to listen to the students and follow up their comments with leading questions or responses. This can be a great method to get the student talking and express their opinions and it also allows students to learn from each other rather than listening to the teacher ramble on. Gauging the students mood and attentiveness to the discussion and knowing when to move on is key.


Group Work

Group work, projects, and discussions can be an effective teaching strategy and lends itself to teaching the students skills other than the primary subject material. Many professions (actually pretty much all) require their employees to work together. Students learn how to share differing perspectives, hold others accountable, take complex tasks and break them down among group members, and develop stronger communication skills.

While I find this to be a particularly effective strategy for older students I think that it can be difficult to manage with less mature or younger students. Teacher guidance and supervision is necessary. Scheduling regular updates with the teacher so he/she can evaluate progress and if the group work is being done in class the teacher can walk around the room to supervise.


Flipping the Classroom

Flipping the classroom is a concept that I have found very interesting but never had the chance implement myself. I think it would be a strategy that would be very effective with more complex subjects such as science, history, literature, or math.

Having the students work on concepts that they find more complicated at home on their own time gives the students time to think about and work on a particular concept. The class time can then be spent applying their knowledge on projects or group work where they can be  observed by the teacher. This strategy of teaching puts responsibility of the education in the hands of the student. Because of this it can teach them many valuable skills such as time time management.


Lecturing

For many of us who have gone through the university experience we have no doubt had positive and negative experience with lecturing professors. With the right speaker, a lecture can inspire the listener and promote further learning, or it can put you to sleep. While I firmly believe lecturing has a place in education it is definitely not in the elementary classroom. One way communication with young students in the passive role hiders their learning when they could be working with the material themselves.


Integrating Technology and Media

The importance of digital literacy in today's world is something that is undeniable. The added benefit of having the students improve their comfort level with various programs and devises along with learning the material is one bonus. As was mentioned above technology can be a very effective tool to individualize lesson for students. It can also be used to present material in a much more engaging way that can inspire students or make them appreciate a subject. Visually presenting material can attract the attention of student who may shut out a verbal lecture.

Collaboration through technology is one of the benefits that I feel sometimes gets overlooked. There is enormous potential for group work and projects through platforms such as Google Docs  and other various Web 2.0 programs. By podcasting, blogging, creating video, and utilizing social networking and wikis students can expose themselves to many opportunities that may have previously been impossible.




Sources:

https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7081.pdf

http://www.cirtl.net/

http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/benefits.html

https://www.boundless.com/education/textbooks/boundless-education-textbook/technology-in-the-classroom-6/edtech-25/advantages-of-using-technology-in-the-classroom-77-13007/

Module 6: Unit 4: Activity 3 - Teacher Evaluation Systems

Evaluations in any profession is an important method for showing effectiveness and areas for improvement. For teachers this is especially important. Staying effective and fresh for students is just as important as their knowledge on the subjects they teach. Despite the importance of evaluations they are not the most enjoyable experiences. But, they are helpful. Often others can see things we are doing wrong that we can't ourselves.

That all being said, I have learned that self evaluation can be very effective in improving your classroom habits. By video taping yourself and watching it later you can notice which students you interact with the most and which you are neglecting. Also it gives you a chance to see how the students are responding to your lessons when you are outside the moment. 

The role of students in evaluating teachers is one that can't be ignored. While some argue the value of the opinions of very young children in the effectiveness of a teacher the Amanda Ripley article, Why Kids Should Grade Teachers show that even kindergartners can provide effective feedback of the survey questions are created appropriately. There is, however, the problem of a bias students might have towards a teacher who challenges the students with difficult material, a lot of homework, or tough grading. Students may be tempted to seek what they see as revenge on a teacher. For this reason I feel that even though student evaluations of teachers can be insightful and helpful, they should only be a part of series of evaluation methods.

M6:U3:A4 - Tackling the Grading Dilemma

As Rebecca Alber alludes to in her opening of Tactics for Tackling the Grading Dilemma, grading is one of those tasks that seeks to never end and can be hard to ever get caught up in or on top of. As the title of the article suggests she offers some suggestions to become more proficient in this task including, peer assessment, self evaluation, a one-in-four strategy, stamping, and student journals. For the most part I have used all of these tactics and found that they have their benefits and drawbacks.

As Ms. Alber mentions, I have found great success in peer-assessment. Not only does it remove the onus on the teacher to personally remark on each assignment but it also teaches students certain analysis skills that they can take with them and apply to future assignments. While this is something that works best with older, more mature students, if the assignments are simple enough (such as with a spelling test) it can also be applied to younger students. I find that by using peer or self assessment it can also create somewhat of a mood of community when the students all feel they have a role in the class and are tasked with an important responsibility.

The 'one-in-four rule' is something that I feel works with younger students as the effort they put in might be a bit more important than the result. However, as students become more sophisticated with their output I think it is important that they receive feedback that helps them improve in the future. This method may be necessary if the teacher is dealing with hundreds of assignments at a time.

Having a system of stamps, stickers, or even phrases that hold a meaning works well for minor assignments that can be assessed quickly. The students should know that level system that is involved (that a gold sticker is better than a silver, for example) and it can motivate them to but more effort into their work.

Having an ongoing student journal that the teacher can collect at anytime and mark multiple assignment at once can be extremely helpful. It can show each student's progress and gives the teacher more variables to look at. Having each students update their work on an online blog also can be great for teachers accessibility. It can also create more transparency and also for more dialog between student and teacher. It is also easily view able by parents so it keeps them in the loop.

Technology has also made grading easier for the teacher. Platforms such as Schoology and ClassDojo help teachers not only create assessments that are gradable through automation but can also compile grades and save teachers time in a number of different ways. This can free them up to create better content for the class.


Sources:
http://www.edutopia.org/grading-dilemma-strategies-tactics

Module 6: Unit2: Activity 4: High Expectations and Providing Intervention

In my classroom I try to make sure the students know what is expected of them. The most basic tasks for the lesson are always somewhere on the board for all to see. As the teacher I constantly try to bring the lesson back to these goals to make sure that it something everyone leaves remembering. That being said this is the base, minimum that I expect students to get out of my class. Often there are topics and lessons that branch off from the main idea that I see as giving a fuller, more well rounded understanding. I guess I don' t really communicate this to my students as they are usually in grades 1 to 4 and i don't involve them to deeply in my full intentions. Perhaps I will try to in the future.

While I don;t necessarily share my expectations concerning the material with my students, i do when it come to their performance in class. I expect them to try their best within the context of the lesson, take risks and participate frequently in class, only use English, and treat others in the class with respect. I don't really project these as class rules but I positively reinforce this kind of behaviour and it doesn't take long for it to become common place in the classroom.

Response to Intervention, or RTI, is an approach that provides lessons with different levels to helping learners at different stages. This methods help the students progress even if they have difficulty with the material and need special attention. It helps students who are struggling reach the same level of understanding as the rest of the class. Recognizing that a student is in need of extra help early before half the year is over and it is a huge problem is probably one of the most important factors in helping struggling students. Having the class work as a team and realize that they need to work together to succeed would be a great way for the struggling students to get the extra help that they need and for other students to learn valuable social lessons.

Sources:

http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/what/whatisrti

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/response-to-intervention-secondary-school-philip-caposey

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/intervention-rti-benefits-ben-johnson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkK1bT8ls0M

Module 6: Unit 2: Activity 3: Use of Specific Feedback and Praise

A Prezi on the use of specific praise and feedback in the classroom.

Module 5: Unit 5: Activity 3

Writing lesson plans and units plans is definitely an exercise that is a useful and necessary when having both a long term and short term goals for a class of students. The most obvious reason for a lesson plan is that it gives you structure for your class and helps it run in a smooth manner. It can be a challenge to plan specific activities an goals long term, especially regarding young students, as there can be a number of variable that may come up and throw a wrench into precise planning. That being said foresight it needed to make sure the class has a goal to work towards.

For my activities done for this lesson it was a little hard for me to plan for the class that I wanted because I have not had much experience teaching grade five students for an extended period of time. I had doubts whether the activities and expectations I had for them were accurate.

Regarding the the Teach Now unit it was interesting to learn about the concept of Common Core Standards as I would to know more. Unpacking a standard is definitely a skill I need to work on and was interesting to learn . If I had to point out some criticism it would be that a lot of the activities were quite repetitive and it sometimes felt like I was trying to find new ways to say the something.

It should be interesting to move on to the next module and learn about student assessment.

Module 5: Unit 5: Activity 1 - Unit Plan

This is a social studies unit which focuses somewhat on history. It is the hope that the students will not only learn topics and era's of history covered in these lessons but will take away knowledge that will relate to daily realities in the the real word. These concepts could be stretched to multiple lesson each but for the purpose of this activity I will focus on one lesson for each topic.

The standards were taken from the New York State Learning Standards for Social Studies. Follow the link for access to the lessons.