Sunday, May 25, 2014
Class Make up
What do babies think?
The TED Talk was about how do we know what babies are thinking. Many years ago people believed that babies were very egocentric and we unable to put themselves in other shoes and take on someone’s perspective. Alison Gopnik conducted a study with 15-18 month old babies. They gave each baby one bowl of goldfish crackers and one bowl of raw broccoli. Then the researcher would pretend to either like the broccoli or the crackers while disliking the other. When she would ask the baby to give her some the baby would hand her the food she expressed that she liked even if it was t=not the food that the baby had liked and chosen. This occurred with the 18 month old babies, however the 15-month-old babies did not do this they handed the researcher what they liked which was typically the goldfish crackers.
This was a very interesting TED talk. Gopnik’s work draws on psychological, neuroscientific, and philosophical developments in child development research to understand how the human mind learns, how and why we love, our ability to innovate. This talk just reminded me that children are brilliant and it is important as an educator to remember this.
Will Richardson "Why School?"
At the beginning of this semester, I was asked to read an essay by Will Richardson entitled "Why School?" Why School discusses how technology and how people are learning are changing. This short book describes different types of learning and how the Internet now offers students a new mode of learning. We now have the ability to look up facts and dates quickly with the use of the Internet. The need to memorize these dates and facts are no longer needed. Will Richardson challenges us to ask why we need schools, and how they should be changed to meet the needs today’s learners.
With students having the ability and access to learn practically anything on YouTube or by communicating with other experts online, how does school need to change? I enjoyed this quote, “I believe there remains a great deal of value in the idea of school as a place our kids go to learn with others, to be inspired by caring adults to pursue mastery and expertise, and then to use that to change the world for the better. Communities built around schools are better for it. There is still much worth having a shared experience, a common narrative for learning. And, crucially, schools are a public trust, a function of our belief that every child deserves an education. It’s an ideal that still works” (Richardson, 2012). I thought out Common Core and how we are now asking students to not focus on the answer itself, but answer questions like, “How do you know?” “What strategy did you use to get your answer?” or “explain your thinking” Richardson mentioned that “The world cares about what you can do with what you know, Not what you know in and of itself.”
This also led me to think about how we as teachers will design our lesson plans now, not only to fit with Common Core, but also to foster these questions of, “How do you know?” “What strategy did you use to get your answer?” or “explain your thinking.” Then I thought about when I taught for the DoDEA in Guam and we used Backwards Design for lessons. I also had a closer look at Backwards Design in my curriculum writing class at USD. One important point I took away from writing lessons using Backwards design is that the answer to your questions you want you students to know at the end of the lesson should not have an answer that can be googled. If the question can be googled then it is not provocative and will not be remembered by the students’ long term.
Using Backwards Design and Common Core will help to push schools in the direction that needs to occur. There is still a need for school, but what it looks like needs to change based on technology and current job market. We are no longer working in factories and therefore, memorizing facts are not needed.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Stop Stealing Dreams Book response 3
What is School For? By Seth Godin Sections 36-46
I have read some more of Seth Godin’s Stop Stealing Dreams: What is School For? for my Learning and Technology class. Although Godin is a bit repetitive I am still enjoying this reading.
Section 36
Godin says “Think about the fact that school relentlessly downplays group work. It breaks tasks into the smallest possible measurable units. It does nothing to coordinate teaching across subjects.” I do not think this is true of all schools. I really believe that with the switch to Common Core that schools in general are trying to teach across subjects. As we see more and more charter schools popping up we will see a shift in how school is run. For example, in Montessori every subject is integrated into another.
Section 41
Godin is talking about making students care. He says, “ Can we teach kids to
care enough about their dreams that they’ll care enough to develop the judgment, skill, and attitude to make them come true?” I struggle with this very question. Teaching in a Montessori charter school we foster following the child and their interest, which essentially are their dreams. However, I am still not sure how to teach kids to care enough about their dreams and have an attitude to make them come true.
Section 42
I really like his comparison of school content and tests to the love of food. Godin poses this question, “ If culture is sufficient to establish what we eat and how we speak and ten thousand other societal norms, why isn’t it able to teach us goal setting and passion and curiosity and the ability to persuade? I wonder if it is not just the influence of culture around us, but the direct people in our lives. Like our parents, friends, close mentors, teachers, grandparents etc. that influence how were learn to be goal setters, and passion or lack there of. After I completed my undergraduate degree I got married and a few years later I had my daughter, while working full time as a teacher abroad in Guam. When we moved to San Diego I wanted to fulfill my goal of going back to school to get my masters. I set that goal many years prior, even before I was married. I can’t help but feel that I learned to be passionate about my job and set goals from my relationships with my parents, and close friends and mentors over my lifetime. So if what Godin says is true that society can’t teach us all these things then where do we learn them? Is it genetic? I just can’t believe that is the answer.
Monday, April 14, 2014
What is school for? Book reflection: Section 25-35
What is School For? By Seth Godin Sections 25-35
I am continuing to read Stop Stealing Dreams: What is
School For? For my Learning and Technology class. I am still enjoying this reading. Godin makes powerful arguments and has really
made me think.
In section 29 The other side of fear is passion really
resonated with me. Godin talks about how
there is only two tools for an educator.
The easy one is fear and the other is passion. “Passion can overcome fear – the fear of
losing, of failing, of being ridiculed”.
As Godin explains that individual passion is hard to fit into the
industrial model, like school. Passion
fuels dreams and creates change, but we are not creating passion in schools right now and by default
not fueling a change.
In section 31 Godin says “Our new civic and scientific and professional life, though, is all about
doubt. About questioning
the status quo, questioning marketing or political claims, and most of all,
questioning what’s next”. If we want our
students to question then our schooling model needs to resemble and foster this
ability.
I was
reminded of my trip to Tokyo of the last summer by the quote in section
34. “If a school is seen as a place for
encouragement and truth-telling, a place where students go to find their
passion and then achieve their goals, it is not a school we would generally
recognize, because our schools do none of this”. Japan’s public schools have taken how society
functions and mirrored school and school mirrors society. There seems to be a definite overlap, that
what they are teaching in school is relevant to the real world. Students take responsibility for cleaning the
schools, they don’t have any custodial staff, which you not see in the U.S.
public schools. Omoi is a term that is
learned early on in the Japanese culture.
It has to do with your passion and your drive. If you were to ask anyone what their omoi is
for their job they would tell you why they chose that job based on their
passion. When asked why do you go to
school many people not just educators would answer that it is for the purpose
for completion of a human being. This idea of completing a human being, is not
the idea that we would often hear in the U.S.
Often I hear people say we go to school to get a good job. This is what adults think, and this is what
our children think. They don’t go to
school for the love of learning they do it to train for a job. How in the world can we change this thought
and change our schools? I often grapple with this very thought. How can I make a change, especially when I am
just one person.
20% project reflection March 17th-23rd
As a tradition trained teacher I found this first year teaching Montessori very difficult. From learning new materials and curriculum, positive discipline and stepping back and becoming a guide for the students and not the source of information. I have also struggled with the fact that my charter school is in its second year of being open and each classroom has a large population of students that came from traditional public school, never had Montessori. As a lower elementary (1-3) teacher it has been difficult getting these students normalized. Montessori observed that when children are allowed freedom in an
environment suited to their needs, they blossom. After a period of
intense concentration, working with materials that fully engage their
interest, children appear to be refreshed and contented. Through
continued concentrated work of their own choice, children grow in inner
discipline and peace. She called this process "normalization" and cited
it as "the most important single result of our whole work" (The Absorbent Mind, 1949).
I thought with the struggles I have had this school year I thought that I could help my students by learning more of the materials, which lead to my 20% project. I thought the more I educated myself about the materials the more comfortable I would feel giving lessons with them. However, I am finding that it is not just feeling comfortable with the materials, but learning the progression of the materials has also helped.
I still struggle with my experience as a traditional teacher and making the switch to a Montessori teacher. Every morning from 8:45 - 11:45 is our work period. I am seeing what Maria Montessori would refer to as “False Fatigue.” it is generally around this time that noise levels tend to escalate in a Montessori environment. Usually there are several wanderers who are restless from their work. As Maria Montessori observed classrooms, she referred to this time as “False Fatigue.” To an outsider, this time may seem disorganized. The Montessori guide notices this phenomenon and remains calm. The students will feel this ease and the restlessness will subside and the students will continue their work until 11:00 a.m. I recognize that I am still working on staying calm and and allowing the students to get back on task, but it is really hard to do.
I know that overtime these problems will work themselves out. I am working hard to find resources online to help me feel more comfortable teaching in a Montessori environment.
I thought with the struggles I have had this school year I thought that I could help my students by learning more of the materials, which lead to my 20% project. I thought the more I educated myself about the materials the more comfortable I would feel giving lessons with them. However, I am finding that it is not just feeling comfortable with the materials, but learning the progression of the materials has also helped.
I still struggle with my experience as a traditional teacher and making the switch to a Montessori teacher. Every morning from 8:45 - 11:45 is our work period. I am seeing what Maria Montessori would refer to as “False Fatigue.” it is generally around this time that noise levels tend to escalate in a Montessori environment. Usually there are several wanderers who are restless from their work. As Maria Montessori observed classrooms, she referred to this time as “False Fatigue.” To an outsider, this time may seem disorganized. The Montessori guide notices this phenomenon and remains calm. The students will feel this ease and the restlessness will subside and the students will continue their work until 11:00 a.m. I recognize that I am still working on staying calm and and allowing the students to get back on task, but it is really hard to do.
I know that overtime these problems will work themselves out. I am working hard to find resources online to help me feel more comfortable teaching in a Montessori environment.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
The Purpose of the Five Great Lessons Explained: March 10-16
For my 20% project I was looking for some great resources for teaching the 5 Great lessons. This website gave a great background, but does not give any of the experiements that are suppose to go along with each great lesson. Since my 20% project was to learn how to use Montessori materials, that I do not know. I thought I would look for some resources and videos to help teach the 5 great lessons. However, I am finding that so much of the Montessori lessons are taught orally and handed down from a Master teacher to the teacher trainee. There is a lack of videos for the Great lessons.
Then I stumbled upon this great blog by another Montessori teacher. She lists all the experiments for each of the great lessons. She has broken it down into followup lessons, language cards, journal suggestions and even extensions for upper elementary, since the five great lessons are taught each year. Even though I have not heard the first great lesson and I am expected to teach the second great lesson after spring break. Hopefully, with this new resource I have a starting point on how to teach the second great lesson. Wish me luck!
http://missbarbara.net/timelineoflife.html
28 Common Core State Standards: A Montessori Perspective: March 3-March 9
Very interesting to hear one person's perspective about common core standards and Montessori perspective. Especially since many Montessori schools are charter schools and will still need to follow Common Core. Currently at my Montessori charter school we have been told that the Montessori materials address all the common core standards, but beyond that we have not had any staff development on teaching Common Core unlike many public school teachers have. Yet our school site is a test site for the new state standardized test . My third grade students will be taking the new test on a computer in May. This worries me especially since we are very limited on technology in our school. We only have one tablet per classroom. Our staff is now discussing what we want for technology for next year because our 3rd through 6th graders will have to take the state test on a computer and with little computer skills addressed at school how can we expect them to properly take the test.
Many Montessori-ans believe that computers are not necessary in the classroom. This is our current debate now. Do we allow more computer usage in our classrooms, where there is virtually no usage at the current moment?
Many Montessori-ans believe that computers are not necessary in the classroom. This is our current debate now. Do we allow more computer usage in our classrooms, where there is virtually no usage at the current moment?
What is School For? Book Review Section 1-24
What is School For? By Seth Godin Sections 1-24
I begun to read Stop Stealing Dreams: What is School For?
For my Learning and Technology class.
This book was recommended to challenge my perspective on schooling. This book is written as a manifesto. If you
would like a free copy do to http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/docs/stopstealingdreamsscreen.pdf
I would highly recommend to parents, teachers and
administrators to read.
So far I am enjoying this reading. Godin is doing a good job of convincing me of
the problems of public education.
Although, I was pretty convinced prior to this reading his examples have
helped me solidify my understanding of the real problems we are having with
public schools. Godwin presents
questions throughout his manifesto, this helps the reader to explore their own
situation and formulate their own opinions.
This book has been sectioned off into sections, written
similar to blog posts and a stream of Godin’s thoughts. This post I will reflect on sections
1-24. The main message of this book is
all summed up in the title, what is school for? Why was school created? And how it has evolved
over time the main point Godin was addressing.
When the common school was created by Mann it’s purpose was to educate
children to work in factories, however our economy has changed and longer are
these the jobs our children will have, but school has not changed enough to
reflect this change in the job market.
Before education was not developed to motivate kids, it was invented to
churn out adults who worked well within the system.
A question raised in Section 4 is “What
is school for” and proposes four things. One particularly interesting to
me was “the pursuit of knowledge for its
own sake” I found this interesting because I currently work at a Montessori
charter school and we have many parents that have moved their children to our school
from public school because their children didn’t love school and it wasn’t
working for various reasons. However, I
found many of my parents saying that their child love coming to school now. I wonder if this has to do with the
Montessori philosophy and following the child and a course that each child has
choice. Very rarely are there whole
class lessons and everyone is working on something different. In a Montessori environment we are
encouraging this love of learning and not churning out students to work as
obedient factory workers. More and more
Montessori schools are popping up and it may be in response to this
standardized public school education.
Which leads me to my next point in section 17 about
reinventing school. I was reflecting on
the major points that Godin discusses about how school can be rethought. This is his list:
1. Homework during the day, lectures at night
2. Open book, open note, all the time
3. Access to any course, anywhere in the world
4. Precise, focused instruction instead of
mass, generalized instruction
5. The end of multiple-choice exams
6. Experience instead of test scores as a
measure of achievement
7. The end of compliance as an outcome
8. Cooperation instead of isolation
9. Amplification of outlying students,
teachers, and ideas.
10. Transformation of the role of the teacher
11. Lifelong learning, earlier work
12. Death of the nearly famous college
I thought
about my school and our curriculum and how we are doing many of these items
already. We are not giving homework, we
are not test driven, the only test we do a few reading and math assessments and
state standardized test, but we are not administering chapter or benchmark
tests. We have focused instruction
instead of mass generalized instruction (big time!) Since we are not test-driven we are more
concerned with experience and a love of learning. Lastly, transforming the role of the teacher,
I do not lecture and I am not the source of the information. I am a guide for my students and assist in
helping them find the answer and to seek out learning and information. Although we follow the Montessori philosophy
we are still have to adhere to Common Core and state standardized tests since
we are a publically funded. Because of
this we still need to reinvent public school.
Monday, March 31, 2014
App Slam
Description: Earth Viewer shows what the continents and oceans looked like 250 million years ago. It also allows you to explore what the climate was like back when our planet formed.
Plan to Use: I think this would be a great extension app for the timeline of life that we learn about in 1-3 classroom. Students study the different eras and the periods leading up to man. When they go to upper elementary 4-6th grade they will learn about the timeline of man. Earth viewer would give students a real visual of how the earth and the oceans looked during the different eras. I would really like to try this.
SAMR - I think this app falls into the augmentation on the SAMR model. It would act as a tool substitute with functional improvement. This app would still provide the timeline in a different format with additional information. This would gives student the opportunity to see what the continents and oceans looked like at different times, which the timeline of life can't provide.
Feb. 24th - March 2nd Integrating Technology into a Montessori Classroom
Article found at: http://www.questia.com/library/1P3-343001451/integrating-technology-into-the-montessori-elementary
Integrating Technology into the Montessori Elementary Classroom
Article excerpt
NEW IDEAS
A third-year student in the early elementary, one of the first to arrive this chilly Tuesday morning, comes quietly into her classroom at the Montessori School of Denver. She's used to the routine: she hangs up her coat and backpack, puts her lunch in the refrigerator, takes her clipboard and pencil out of her cubby, then makes her way over to retrieve her work record to see what she has on her "to-do" list today.
The work records are on a table, neatly arranged by year. The work record itself is a piece of paper on which a table of subjects is printed, headed under the days of the week, created in Microsoft Excel. The child's name has been automatically printed onto the work record using a database. Her specials for the week, including Spanish, Music, Art, PE, and a typing tutorial program are also automatically inserted under the correct day from a database. Highlights, placed by the teachers, show that she needs to complete her "Geography/History" from yesterday. The child also notes that her request to have math highlighted was gladly honored; she has wanted to work with the checkerboard to improve her skills. The highlights serve as an organizational tool for the teachers and students during individual worktime. There is room for choice within the subjects, but the highlights help to direct children to areas in which they need to focus.
The day before, her teachers had carefully noted on their forms which lessons or projects she had completed. She has been working on creating a new card for the classroom's "Famous Places" card set. Yesterday, she completed her research of Mesa Verde using the encyclopedias in the classroom and from an Internet search on Yahooligans, a children's search engine that finds age-appropriate, validated websites. Today, she will begin typing her research, being careful to format the font and size so that it looks like the rest of the cards in the set. Perhaps today, she also will have time to search the National Geographic collection in the room for a good picture of Mesa Verde. If she doesn't find one there, she knows that her teacher can have a picture scanned from the many books in the classroom. Another option will be to find a picture online. She feels comfortable downloading a picture into her Word document and resizing it to the 4-x-6" size needed.
In order to begin, she first goes to the computer where she saved her work yesterday in a folder with her name as a title. This particular computer, one of five in the classroom, has a small, yellow square taped to the front of it. Corresponding to the square is a yellow sign-up sheet on the table. She writes her name on the sheet, then begins. Other students who are interested in working on this computer come up quietly as the morning progresses and place their names on the bottom of the list.
Some need to use the typing tutor. Others need to use the Internet for research. Some children need to type a story or poem. Still others are interested in the math software that has been installed on this computer for the week. One child signs up in order to type his spelling words for practice.
By the time her teacher rings the small bell for morning meeting, the child has nearly completed her typing. Having worked with a typing tutor program for 3 years, she is now able to type around 10 words per minute with accuracy. She is excited to be nearly finished with this project. Once the final card is ready, her teacher will have it laminated, then will place it with the other cards in the set. Children test each other on facts from the Famous Places Cards and are often inspired to create their own.
Before the day begins, her teacher has two quick mini-lessons to show the class. In conjunction with their study of Africa, she has found two websites from PBS that will further their understanding of the continent.
One website allows the students to explore the inside of a pyramid. …
Response: I found this very interesting. At my charter school we are very limited on technology. Each classroom has one tablet. We have been talking with administration and our organization to consider to get more technology in the classrooms. As a traditional trained teacher I feel that their are many benefits to technology and this article solidified that it is possible to incorporate technology into a Montessori classroom. Maria Montessori said “What purpose would education serve in our days unless it helped humans to a knowledge of the environment to which they have to adapt themselves? Maria Montessori saw children as global citizens who need to learn real-world concepts, and in a Montessori classroom, children are actively engaged in real-world learning. Technology has the potential to play an important role in this dynamic approach when computers are used as a tool to reinforce skills – to be relatable to the life skills children are developing. Students could use these tools to enhance research and presentation, and to reinforce skills learned within the classroom. At the elementary level, students could learn to create PowerPoint presentations and videos to support the communication of their research. An example at the primary level may include using the computer to watch an educational video showing how seeds grow, reinforcing scientific concepts and inspiring the children on gardening day. I hope our school will elect to bring in more technologgy for next school year.
A third-year student in the early elementary, one of the first to arrive this chilly Tuesday morning, comes quietly into her classroom at the Montessori School of Denver. She's used to the routine: she hangs up her coat and backpack, puts her lunch in the refrigerator, takes her clipboard and pencil out of her cubby, then makes her way over to retrieve her work record to see what she has on her "to-do" list today.
The work records are on a table, neatly arranged by year. The work record itself is a piece of paper on which a table of subjects is printed, headed under the days of the week, created in Microsoft Excel. The child's name has been automatically printed onto the work record using a database. Her specials for the week, including Spanish, Music, Art, PE, and a typing tutorial program are also automatically inserted under the correct day from a database. Highlights, placed by the teachers, show that she needs to complete her "Geography/History" from yesterday. The child also notes that her request to have math highlighted was gladly honored; she has wanted to work with the checkerboard to improve her skills. The highlights serve as an organizational tool for the teachers and students during individual worktime. There is room for choice within the subjects, but the highlights help to direct children to areas in which they need to focus.
The day before, her teachers had carefully noted on their forms which lessons or projects she had completed. She has been working on creating a new card for the classroom's "Famous Places" card set. Yesterday, she completed her research of Mesa Verde using the encyclopedias in the classroom and from an Internet search on Yahooligans, a children's search engine that finds age-appropriate, validated websites. Today, she will begin typing her research, being careful to format the font and size so that it looks like the rest of the cards in the set. Perhaps today, she also will have time to search the National Geographic collection in the room for a good picture of Mesa Verde. If she doesn't find one there, she knows that her teacher can have a picture scanned from the many books in the classroom. Another option will be to find a picture online. She feels comfortable downloading a picture into her Word document and resizing it to the 4-x-6" size needed.
In order to begin, she first goes to the computer where she saved her work yesterday in a folder with her name as a title. This particular computer, one of five in the classroom, has a small, yellow square taped to the front of it. Corresponding to the square is a yellow sign-up sheet on the table. She writes her name on the sheet, then begins. Other students who are interested in working on this computer come up quietly as the morning progresses and place their names on the bottom of the list.
Some need to use the typing tutor. Others need to use the Internet for research. Some children need to type a story or poem. Still others are interested in the math software that has been installed on this computer for the week. One child signs up in order to type his spelling words for practice.
By the time her teacher rings the small bell for morning meeting, the child has nearly completed her typing. Having worked with a typing tutor program for 3 years, she is now able to type around 10 words per minute with accuracy. She is excited to be nearly finished with this project. Once the final card is ready, her teacher will have it laminated, then will place it with the other cards in the set. Children test each other on facts from the Famous Places Cards and are often inspired to create their own.
Before the day begins, her teacher has two quick mini-lessons to show the class. In conjunction with their study of Africa, she has found two websites from PBS that will further their understanding of the continent.
One website allows the students to explore the inside of a pyramid. …
Response: I found this very interesting. At my charter school we are very limited on technology. Each classroom has one tablet. We have been talking with administration and our organization to consider to get more technology in the classrooms. As a traditional trained teacher I feel that their are many benefits to technology and this article solidified that it is possible to incorporate technology into a Montessori classroom. Maria Montessori said “What purpose would education serve in our days unless it helped humans to a knowledge of the environment to which they have to adapt themselves? Maria Montessori saw children as global citizens who need to learn real-world concepts, and in a Montessori classroom, children are actively engaged in real-world learning. Technology has the potential to play an important role in this dynamic approach when computers are used as a tool to reinforce skills – to be relatable to the life skills children are developing. Students could use these tools to enhance research and presentation, and to reinforce skills learned within the classroom. At the elementary level, students could learn to create PowerPoint presentations and videos to support the communication of their research. An example at the primary level may include using the computer to watch an educational video showing how seeds grow, reinforcing scientific concepts and inspiring the children on gardening day. I hope our school will elect to bring in more technologgy for next school year.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Feb. 17th Free Montessori Materials
I found this great website to print free Montessori Materials!
http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/Free_Montessori_Downloads.html
I am learning there are a lot of great resources for Montessori materials :)
http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/Free_Montessori_Downloads.html
I am learning there are a lot of great resources for Montessori materials :)
Montessori Math Lesson Feb. 10, 2014 - Division Board
I used this video from YouTube to learn how to teach the Division Board. My third graders are ready to move on to Division and was not sure how to teach this material. After watching this video I pulled two small groups of third graders and presented this material as shown in the video. Students picked up really quick on how to use it since it is similar to the addition, subtraction and multiplication boards. I was very pleased that it was easy to utilize this video and learn the material quickly and effectively. I can't wait to find more resources on Montessori materials!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)