Oct. 1

It was oddly surprising to me to hear on of our professors say "you wont be able to teach the entire core". I guess that was something that I should have realized before, but it had never occurred to me. Chapter five solidified and clarified the statement made by my professor. There is no way to teach the entire core, but it is essential to teach what the students need to know. Looking at the core and understanding the amount of standardized testing that my students will be subjected to makes me a little stressed. I sometimes fear that I will be so focused on filling my students with all this information that others tell me they need to know that I will loose sight of their learning. I will become some one who "teaches" a concept, not someone who helps my student "learn" a concept. I am empowered to realize that as a teacher I have the power (whithin reason) to teach what I feel my students need to know in a way that is meaningful to them. Shoving my students full of information will benefit them nothing and will waste their time.

I really enjoyed reading the second chapter and reviewing some of the basic principles of differentiation. I love hearing about teachers who make this style of teaching apart of their method and make it work! I especially liked reading about the teacher who incorporated a community building sharing activity into a science lesson. Building a community in your classroom is so fundamental, but it can become overlooked. I think it would be a great idea to incorporate that community building across the curriculum. As teachers we need to realize that we are not just teaching a bunch of kids all at the same level, but that we are teaching a group of individuals who are all on different levels. We need to accommodate and create the best learning environment for all students. This is what differentiation is all about. That does not mean allowing not insisting on progression. It was good to remember that differentiation not only means getting to know your students needs, but that it is also requiring students to push themselves to new levels.

Sept. 24

This section of reading has opened my eyes even wider to what my attitude needs to be in order to have a differentiated classroom. In the last chapters it seems that the focus has been to really understand what the student is thinking and feeling. In these chapters I really enjoyed how it focused on what the teacher should be thinking and feeling in order to best provide the needs of the students. As teachers our attitudes and encouragement effects students greatly. It is important that we realize how essential it is for us to be aware of the many points that are mentioned in the first chapter. Validating students and encouraging them in the ways listed needs to become a habitual part of our instruction.

I also really liked more specifically in the second chapter how in depth the study of how the environment affects the student. We have studied the effects of environment a lot, but it is always good to review them. It was also beneficial for me to read about how many teachers are making their classroom environments the most beneficial for their students.

Sept. 17th

* I originally posted this last night, but I wanted to add a couple things. Please let me know if you would rather I didn't do this so that you can get an adequate understanding if the posting assignment was done on time. Sorry, I really didn't think about it when I opened the window, but realized there was no turning back because the update time would have already changed on this post.

I believe inventories and pre-assessments to be a key part of understanding what your students know and how they feel. Because there are so many different types of assessments I believe that every teacher can find on that will fit their personal style and purpose of teaching.

I really liked the idea of having pictures included in the inventories instead of having a rating scale. I feel that children at any age would benefit from having a scale that includes pictures instead of only numbers because pictures are easier to understand. I feel it's easier to understand and interpret numbered rating scales for people of all ages. We can relate better to pictures.

I also found it useful to have a set characteristics and have the students sort them into whether they are like them or not. I fell this would help students really evaluate themselves on the level decided by the teacher. This may also help students learn as much about themselves as the teacher does because they may not have thought about these traits before.

Many of the specific subject pre-assessments were focused of investigation, which I believe to be very important. When you ask students to define or explain a topic to the best of their knowledge it provides a pure understanding of what they know and how they understand it. This gives teachers an understanding of the students knowledge as well as the student's learning profile. A couple of these types of pre-assessments also had a section where the student could draw the concept. This is an important part of the assessments because it allows the students an additional means of expression giving the teacher clearer data.

I would love to conduct some type of inventory like this with my student teaching class. Because I haven't been in the classroom with them these last few months it will be important for me to know and understand them as individuals so I can focus my instruction. I would like to do an inventory that would have a section where they can tell me what they want me to know about them. I feel this will help us catch up a little for the time I have not been with my students in their classroom. I feel that allowing them to express themselves openly will also make them feel more comfortable when I ask them more specific questions about their learning.

It is crucial that we understand our students so we know how to teach them. I believe that assessments and inventories play only a very small part in gathering this information. The most important thing that we can do to accomplish this goal of knowing our students is to observe and get to know them. We must establish an environment where students can be themselves and receive the instruction they need to succeed.

Sept. 9 Reading

I miss read the sylabus and didn't realize that I needed to post about yesterdays reading. I know understand that every reading needs to be posted about, so it wont happen again. I also realize that I will probably recieve no points for this post, but because I really enjoyed the reading I would like to reflect on it anyway.

What stood out to me the most in these two chapters was how the students perspective was so plainly explained. I feel that so many times I get overwhelmed with what is expected of me and what I am feeling that I don't take the time to think about what the students are feeling. I had a real "ah ha" moment when it said that to the studnets the teacher is asking them to "come play. come learn what I have designated as important" and that we expect the students so comply willingly with out any hesitation. I love how when we differetiate we try to understand students and learn from them. Just like in the little prince metaphore we are there working together to learn. It was interesting to me that the fox kind of teaches the prince how to tame him. The fox is not just some dumb animal with no understanding of its world. It is the fox's idea to be tamed and he defines how he needs to be tamed. This is the same with our studnets. They may come in with an attitude that is completely complyiant or they may not. We as teacjers need to work with them to ensure that everyone knows why certian things are being taught and that teachers are learning from the students how they can be best "tamed".

I also really liked the table on page 16 that explains the seperate aspects of the cog metephore through simple statements. I feel that to really understand and practive differentiation a teacher should look at this model offten through out the year. I belivce that reviewing this(and similar models that are found later in the book)offten, differentiation can become integrated into how I teach each student.

Differentiation: Morning meeting readings

When reading the morning meeting information packet several things appealed to me. Since first learning about morning meetings I have always had a desire to use them in my future classroom and these reading reaffirmed that desire. I especially enjoyed reading the student responses about morning meetings. It was inspiring to read about students who are so excited about a certain aspect of school. It was apparent in their responses how much value they saw in morning meetings. the students were empowered. This student empowerment is something that is very important to me. I can see how having a morning meeting fostered this student empowerment. The students in this article were able to express themselves and their views in a safe and friendly environment. They had an opportunity to find and express themselves. I want this atmosphere and growth in my future classroom that is fueled by a good morning meeting routine.

I also found the article found in the packet about eliminating back-biting and other problems to foster a good classroom community very appealing. I think what appealed to me most about this article was the teacher centered approach that was taken to address this issue. The attitude of the classroom really starts with the attitude of the teacher. We as teachers need to constantly evaluate ourselves to make sure we are the type of person we expect our students to be. I also am a big fan of lists. I can definitely see myself creating a list of negative behaviors in my classroom that I can help change. By creating a list I feel I will be able to focus on what is important and be more aware of students who are not participating in that behavior.