My Blog

Video Response

gigianne — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:37:28 +0000

What do the students know?

I felt that the videos reflected a pretty standard level of knowledge of basic concepts. They were all able to identify at least one of the properties with some guidance. While the terminology might have been a little off for most of the students they were able to articulate their knowledge in a manner that enabled the viewer to get an idea of what their thinking patterns were.

What do the students not know?

I was most surprised by the students confusion with triangles. Each of the students had some misconceptions about their properties. I would imagine that these students are representative of the norms in our classrooms. After I watched these I decided to do a little research of my own and asked my students some questions about triangles. They came up with very similar responses, although none of them knew what the 3-d name for a triangle, and struggled with all 3 d terminology except cube.

Ideas for teaching:

I felt like the videos gave examples of how to determine a students mind set about shapes as well as how they view shapes. I think triangles should be presented in all forms early on to reduce confusion about what direction it ‘faces’. Overall, these showed students in a wide range of understanding, and gave me a better idea of what to expect when entering the world of geometry in my classroom.

Diagnostic Reflection

gigianne — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:51:12 +0000

When I first heard about this assignment, I thought, “Cool. This is going to be a challenge. Proof of whether or not I can actually show that my students are growing.” Now, however, I’m feeling less confident with it. My cooperating teacher helped me pick an area to work on and suggested what students she thought would benefit from my help. My issue is that I’m observing in a classroom where every single student is on grade level. The three I chose are the closest thing I have to struggling, but in any other classroom I doubt this would be the case. So. I planned my lessons as I went, trying to cater to their needs. I feel like my lessons are good, and that they went well, but I can’t help but feel like I haven’t gotten the experience from this lesson that Dr. Polly intended. My feeling is that perhaps if I had realized my situation more fully I would have gone to him and asked to alter the project towards dealing with higher achieving kids, of which half of my class is. Maybe then I would be more excited and challenged by my work. I’m not saying that I haven’t had to do a TON of work for this project, or that it’s been easy, but I think the hardest thing has been trying to find ways that my students aren’t getting it. I teach my lesson and by the end of it they perform every task perfectly. I wish I could say that I thought it was my brilliant teaching, but the truth is I think maybe it’s just that they’re on the brink of understanding and the extra help is bringing them to full fruition. Anyway, it’s been a success so far, but a very very stressful load on my shoulders!

Fractions

gigianne — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:38:23 +0000

I hate fractions. I know that as a teacher I shouldn’t make statements like that. I feel perfectly capable of teaching fractions, I just hate them. After reading this chapter, I was reminded of the landmine that they are. Fractions are simply full of rules and procedures that just make math more confusing than it needs to be. While reading, I had no problem recognizing almost all of the error patterns easily. They were all mistakes that I made when I was learning fractions. My teachers never gave me manipulatives, never gave me alternatives, and when I struggled they just rattled off the rules again. There are so many rules I couldn’t remember ALL of them ALL of the time. Luckily, my mother was artistic and couldn’t help me with fractions herself without the aid of pictures and her own version of paper strips. I wouldn’t have ever gotten through without them. I know now that fractions, no matter how bright your students are, should be taught from the ground up. Manipulatives, pictures, whatever my students need, I will be giving them…once they already know the rule, because they discovered them on their own, is when we’ll discuss them.

Ten is the Magic Number

gigianne — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:16:20 +0000

I felt that this article was incredibly true. I agreed with the ideas presented and the strategies that are recommended seem to be totally effective. This year, I am placed in a second grade classroom and I am seeing everyday how my students struggle with the concept of ten as the magic number. My CT uses the ten frame occasionally, but I don’t think the students really understand that they should be visualizing it all the time. In the article the teacher discussed how she used the ten frame to help students grasp their making ten facts. My CT also used the ten frame for this purpose, but instead of using it to discover the facts, she had them memorize the facts and then demonstrate them on the ten frame. I think this is what leads to them still not being able to compute their teens facts. I feel like she did this totally backwards and the students are winding up trying to memorize facts instead of understanding the number system. On the flip side, some students are doing the mental math… when working with my diagnostic project students I asked a girl how she had arrived at her solution and she explained how she made ten in her head and then added on. It was pretty awesome, especially coming from a student that is low performing and veeeery quiet!

#1

gigianne — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:41:19 +0000

I still have math anxiety. I know that I’m not supposed to after having completed half of my math teaching education, but I do. I have conflicting feelings about Math CAMMP now that I’m in the school system. This summer, I thought it was amazing. The methods seemed purposeful and fool proof, but now I don’t see how it really comes into play when you have to follow a curriculum. My CT has a book that was created by the state that outlines what she needs to teach and when. There is no way she can just ignore it and do CAMMP instead. No way. I can see how it could be used as a remediation tool or as a supplement, but realistically what I learned this summer was great in theory and less great in practice. I feel like I would have been better prepared for this school year if we had focused on the various NC curriculums that are being utilized in our local schools. I feel like I don’t know the standards as well as I should. I feel some serious math anxiety. Hopefully, but January 11 when my student teaching begins I will be over this, or at least feel a bit better about it.

How can technology benefit student learning?

gigianne — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:35:57 +0000

I think that technology is one of the best tools for engaging students. It provides so many ways to reach all the different kinds of learners. By incorporating videos,internet webquests, and other online tools like Google Earth we, as teachers, are able to give our students a wider base of experience. Even if they will never go to Africa they can see videos online of kids their own age and how they live. Technology can be an amazing enhancement to a classroom, especially with students who are able to work on their own. It also opens doors for students that need alternative teaching methods in order to learn. I think technology can benefit student learning in tons of ways, but I still think that teachers need to ensure that students are creating their own ideas and not google-ing everything.

Movie response

gigianne — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:21:05 +0000

I think the comment that stuck out to me from this video was Gardner stating that if it made his life easier, he would probably use it. I had this exact conversation with my mom recently. I was talking about how great the internet is for doing research. I was telling her how I couldn’t imagine having to go to the library to find something OR having to handwrite my long papers. Ugh. She told me about how she used to pay someone in college type her papers on a typewriter once she had finished writing them. I just can’t relate to that. But, while I think technology is great for higher education, I think that it has the possibility of creating very LAZY students. I am sure teachers hear, “I have a computer for that” more and more. It leaves me feeling unsettled as to whether or not it’s a good idea to stray from the good ole way of books and paper. Are we creating laziness in our students? What will it mean if our students are so dependent on technology?

What issues related to internet use exist in schools? How can you address them as a teacher?

gigianne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:08:09 +0000

I think that one of the biggest issues with Internet use in schools is cyber bullying. Kids seem to think that if they aren’t physically hurting someone it doesn’t count as bullying. This is so untrue. I think we all know how cruel kids can be mostly because as kids we were either the bullied or the bully-er. Seeing as how I was one of the bullied I feel really strongly about this issue. Cyber bullying is more likely done at home, but can occur in schools as well and it seems like it’s hard to punish. Kids are sneaky, but we’re the teachers! I think that keeping an open line of communication is key as well as being observant of any cliquish behavior that seems harmful. I really think this is an issue that is only going to become more and more prevalent as technology use increases. Awareness is the most crucial step in controlling it. And, I think that students need to be reminded of their inappropriate actions.

Ethics and Copyright

gigianne — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:30:09 +0000

My Top 10 List:

1. The CMSNET system has a contract to be signed by students, holding them responsible for their actions. Teachers should be held to the same standard, as well as be responsible for teaching their students that the Internet is a privilege. If students break their contract they should be suspended from future use and required to complete alternate assignments.

2. Lessons on plagarism should be taught in order to teach students about appropriate use of materials and copyright laws.

3. Youth internet safety should be treated with the same amount of importance as student safety while in school. Students need to be made aware of the dangers that are out there. That being said, the internet is a wealth of information that shouldn’t be neglected because of potential harm. Students should learn warning signs.

4. School web security should be updated on a rolling bases to control potential threats.

5. Cyberbullying should be a punishable offense in schools if the event occurred on school grounds or at school functions. Schools and parents should work together to prevent students from participating in this harmful act.

6. Copyright rules are plentiful and the policy should be: when in doubt, check it out.

7. Most music is copyrighted and needs to be approved before use.

8. Teachers are responsible for their students understanding copyright laws and how they apply to them.

9. Teachers need to monitor technology use of students constantly!

10. Most schools rules are laid out and easy to understand. Teachers and students need to learn them thoroughly and early on in the school year to prevent transgressions.

Case Study

gigianne — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:01:37 +0000

Respond to one of the special education cases that you read. What do you know from the case? What issues arose? What suggestions would you suggest?

I read the “He’s Just a Goofy Guy” case study, and found it to be very interesting. I think that it presents two kids that do extremely well in a regular classroom and should most likely be moved into one full time. I think they would continue to benefit from some special instruction, but I believe the goal should be to get them in a regular class as soon as possible. It seems to me that Jake’s coordination problems are just clumsiness. I can say this because I am an extremely clumsy person(just ask the ladies that sit near me in class…I drop everything and cannot seem to get it together, even sitting down poses a problem). I think Ms. Armstrong would need to accept that he had some cognitive shortcomings, but agree that the overall success that he could achieve in her classroom would be worth a bit of disorganization! I think that there is a bit of friction between the two teachers on the issue and if Ms. Armstrong isn’t willing to compromise Ms. Moss should try to find a teacher who wouldn’t be so bothered by a “goofy guy”. Also, it might not hurt Ms. Armstrong to lighten up a bit, it’s first grade, not the army!!