Rant and Rave

One of the only things I really have to rant and rave about is my own stupidity. After our discussion with Dr. Zimmerman about our portfolio I went through the list we got from her to check and make sure I had everything I needed. When I started to go through my portfolio I realized that I am totally disorganized! I have so many things labeled close to the same thing it was hard to tell one from the other! Seriously, I had to open every one of my documents to search for the thing I needed and it took forever. I really need to go through every thing and label it the same as the portfolio and organize it in the folders that they should go in.
This thing isn't a rant or rave but it makes me sad that for student teaching our classes will be with the grade we are teaching and disctrict... I know it's probably convienient for the program, but I want to be with my cohort! I almost felt like an abandoned child when Dr. Zimmerman said that. But we'll make it through, the end is so close it sight, I can almost taste it!

HELPFUL!

These tools are so helpful and I feel like I can use a lot of them in my own classroom. I want to point out a couple of them that really stood out to me and how I could use them in my own classroom.

1. The Conversation Roundtable P. 121

This organizer really makes the focus clear about what is going on. For example, it says in the middle question "What kind of people are these characters?" Then it lists 4 characters that go around the circle. This could be easily adapted for differentiation because you could have different pages for different students such as the 4 as it suggests in the book or you could add or reduce the number of characters you have students study.

2. Developing Clarity About Learning Goals P. 124-126

I think that this is such a great idea to have students map out what they are to know, understand and be able to do. What a genius idea to have students have a copy with your lesson plan of what you are trying to convey to students and have them on the same page. I like this for a participatory teaching method as well to make up a unit with your class. I like that this example had several examples and I like how it breaks down into a tree like form. I'll say one of the branches of the tree. Know-sonnets, Understand-Periods of rebirth or renaissance may occur more than once, Do-Write and present documented research in a variety of formats.

I think that this is very helpful as a pre-service teacher to have this tree organizer with the know, understand and be able to do to plan a unit. There are several different branches in a unit and it would be great to have a short description of what is going on all on one page like this. Also, with a differentiation view, the number of branches could change due to the different tasks students do in the unit.

3. RAFT P.135

Role

Audience

Format

Topic

I like this activity for students to get an organizer for their writing. It is often hard for students to keep in mind who they are writing to or their target audience. I like the examples it gives in the book like, R- A natural resource, A- Our class, F- A speech, T- What people need to know about using this well and why that matters anyhow.

Lastly, I found that the rubrics were very helpful in setting up my own idea of a rubric for my future class, even my student teaching. The pages are 144-148 and they give good examples of explicitly stating what is expected, which is helpful to me when thinking of getting a rubric or directions together. I like that they give different examples and it really shows the versatility with using the exemplary, developed, emerging, and undeveloped grouping. That was clear to me and I could see myself using that in a class.

I think I may be a little crazy for saying this, but I like that there aren't black lines for these organizers. I like that I could make different pages for different needs of my future students such as adding more or reducing the task at hand. I like that these ideas are all clear and they have been shown by example in the tool box pages 120- 162. I can see myself using some part or the whole idea of a lot of these strategies and I am glad that I can have this as a resource in my future teaching career.

Chapter 7

The simple, hard truth about teaching is...
that every day isn't going to be a break through success with each student,
that there are factors outside of your students lives, and yours that influence how your day goes,
that every day isn't always going to be a good one,
and being a teacher that is dedicated to differentiation takes a lot of time.
I hope that as I become a teacher of my own classroom that I can take the time to be a dedicated differentiated teacher. I know that every day isn't always going to be success, but the hard work and determination will make the successful days that much better.
Today I am making it a goal to work on a couple of the research findings of Stronge each month as I am a teacher until I can be a little bit of all of them. Here are some that stuck out to me first.

Students consistently want teachers who respect them, listen to them, show empathy towards them, help them work out problems, and become human by sharing their own lives and ideas with their students.

Caring teachers who create relationships with their students enhance student learning.

Effective teachers emphasize hands-on learning, conceptual understanding, and links with the work beyond the classroom.

Effective teachers reteach material to students who need additional help.

Student engagement is higher when they take part in authentic activities link to the content under study.

I like how this chapter wrapped up nicely reminding us that in "The Little Prince" we are not sure who is the teacher and who is the learner. We have been talking a lot this semester in several classes that we aren't always "in-charge" of a classroom, we are the facilitator of the learning that goes on in the classroom. I love this line "our best lesson plans evaporate in the face of a riveting question from a child whose age is not a quarter of our own." Isn't that so true? I remember in the first semester of field we were studying ancient civilizations and the students were in groups studying different areas. The group who was doing Ancient Rome really took off with it and had quality work. They found out extra things that I hadn't specified and when they would find something interesting they would say "Mrs. Ames, look what we just found!" Even though their end of unit project was totally different, it was awesome to see their faces light up with excitement. I hope that when I am a teacher, I can differentiate in a way that students will light up and really take off. With the metaphor of the teacher whose mom cooked really good gravy, I hope that I can put that type of love into my classroom gravy by starting with working on a little bit at a time the research of Stronge. I hope my ceiling never has a roof, as the hallmark states: students never have a way out, but only a way up.

Chapters 5 And 6

These chapters were loaded with a lot of great, useful information. I really love how this author does a great job explaining things in such a clear way. "The agreement responds with a pledge to bring investment, invitation, opportunity, persistence and time for reflection , place, and interactions that will bind together teacher and learner. It sets the tone for what is possible. The agreement is the first step, a step of immense consequence, but it is the beginning."
I think that as teachers, we need to answer students' plea to "please invest in me." Every student has the need for investment and it is our duty to invest. It is silly to say that there isn't enough time or that there isn't enough pay because, personally, I have benefited from teachers who personally invested in me, teaching me, not teaching subjects. That was so powerful to my interests, just like in the book of algebra and German. I totally see how teachers can make or break someones interests. In order to be fair to students and their interests it is important to support every students skills, and interests. I think that teachers should share interests, however, they shouldn't bias students by just teaching the subjects, they should teach the STUDENTS. Along with invitation, teachers need to invite students to be apart of new things, to try a new skill and be creative. Teachers should invite students to share their interests with the class and invite students to work with each other. It is amazing how much more willing I am to do something, if I am invited (socially or academically). Isn't that how we work as a society? We get invited to a friends house, or we get invited to show how we solved a problem. Giving students an opportunity to show what they know and what they are good at is a great way to create a great community of learners. Investing, inviting and giving opportunities is a great way to get to know your students so you can differentiate them accordingly. Being persistent is a must for a teacher as well. I see this as a big shouting sign "DON'T GIVE UP!" Even though there are bad days and good days, I feel that it is important to let each student know that you aren't giving up on them. I want to say "nope, not in this class." in terms of my persistence of not giving up. It is a differentiated process, and I hope that I can be the teacher who never gives up.
"All children can learn" does not mean "all children are the same." I like how this quote encompasses differentiation. We know that all children can learn, now, let's find how they do it. Further in the quote it talks about how diversity is not only on the outside, it's not the INSIDE too! Hello, I never thought about it like that, but it is so true. We are all so different, inside and outside. It is the job of the teacher to help students to work in their ZPD and make sure that we are always pushing our students to learn more. It is true that students will be on all different levels of development and it is our job to help students keep achieving more and not letting them stay stagnant in one place. I hope to never give my students a crutch or an excuse to never achieve more.

Chapters 3 and 4

Chapters 3 and 4
"I want to be a leader in creating a place where each of you becomes more keenly aware of the possibilities in yourself, the people around you, and the power of knowledge." This quote helped me really catch the vision of differentiation because it sums up the end result of differentiating. I like the three things that it focuses on, possibilities in your self, the people around you and the power of knowledge. I personally believe that if students and teachers have to ability to be aware of the great things they can accomplish we will all be amazed at the products we can come up with. I think that as humans we are very resistant to the idea of "letting go" and just being creative. I don't mean just in a craft or in the arts, I mean being creative in solving a math problem or a reading strategy. It is hard to put your self out there, however, if you are aware of your possibilities, you would know that they are endless! Next, being aware of the people around you is a very good skill to have in differentiation, again with the teachers and the students. I like to think of this like networking in a sense. I know that in the Elementary Education program that we have naturally networked and I expect to network in a school that I teach at. There are strengths and weaknesses in each person and classroom. Being able to maximize the strengths in a class will be very beneficial to differentiating a classroom. From a pre-service teachers point of view, I could see myself having different students show their strategies of solving a math problem because one could be a more strait forward answer while another student has a more abstract approach. Knowing what the people around you are capable of is a great strength in a class, however, I would have to do a lot of scaffolding to introduce this because it's not that John is better at math then me, it is more like, I bet John could explain that better to me. Third, which is my personal philosophy is the power of knowledge. I know that my life is better because I have obtained and education. I know that if student catch the vision of learning they will be able to have more success in their lives and have a higher quality of life. I feel that when students take a hold of their education and really own it, they will know that power that it holds. I think that it is our job as teachers to help students understand why education is so powerful and great.
The Teacher Responds Cog had a lot of great ideas in it. I won't list them all but here are some that I liked the best.

• I have respect for who you are and who you can become
• I want to know you
• I love to find new paths to success
• you have specific roles that make us all successful

I found that chapter 4 had some great management strategies. I like that the author of this book has real life senarios and doesn't paint an unrealistic picture. Starting with the classroom enviornment and paying attention to the details. Just like in the Oprah video, she was so focused on the details and that it showed she cared. I would like to incorporate that into my own classroom. Making room for all kinds of learners is very important to me. I have been thinking about having centers in my classroom and I know that I need to incorporate hands-on, written, and spoken approaches along with many others. The last thing that really caught my attention in regards to having a classroom of my own was celebrating success. I feel that it is so important to make everyone feel successful. I want students to feel accomplishment and to feel the class behind them in celebration. I think of this as the "hearts" in Hearts and Wishes.

A Reflection on Pre-assessments

Nancy,

I wanted to show you a picture of our dog. His name is Scout and he is 5 months old.

I LOVE HIM!

Portia

Fulfilling The Promise

The Student Profile Survey and the Student Interest Survey have very valuable information. I think they could both be used for either grade and they both provide different things. I'll first start with the Student Profile Survey which is T.1 in the Toolbox of our book. It is simple and the students don't have to do a lot of writing, they simply have to put what is "like me" and what is "not like me." Not to be fooled of its simplicity it gives valuable information and I would use this information for grouping my students for sure. If students are more likely to wiggle while they are learning I would implement movement activities as part of their differentiation plan. If students like to work with words, numbers or objects I will make those available. Also in group work it is helpful to know who likes to work in a group, who likes to see the whole picture and so forth. It would be helpful to know which students are into detail because I may not want all of the students who are into detail in one group. This is a very good assessment for grouping and I can picture my self doing this in the first week of school. Next is figure T.2 in our book and it is the Student Interest Survey. This survey is similar to the one that we did for you at the beginning of the semester. I think that this survey is very helpful in getting to know our students individually. This survey is more complex and the students write more on this survey. I like that there is room for comments from the students and that they have to explain why they like doing something out of school. Two of my favorite questions are When have you felt really proud of yourself? Please explain why you felt that way. and What are some things you would like to learn about? Both of these questions I think really help students know that we care about them and also shows that we have interest in their thoughts. If I were to add something to this survey it would be along the lines of what you asked us, what are some of your emotional strengths and weaknesses. I am not sure that I would immediately insert that type of question, I would have to think about it. I also see myself doing this survey the first week of school. I think both of these assessments should be done in class because they open up different avenues for learning. I find it helpful that they give directions along with the assessments because if we were to ever recreate this, we could have some much needed guidance.

File of Inventories

I found the Index of Assessments and Pre-assessment grid helpful, I would use this grid for getting different Ideas and keeping things interesting. Also, this gives us a great resource for finding the right diagnosis for students when trying to solve what is best for their education. There are good ideas, and I think we should all adapt our own grid of ideas to go to that work for us.

In my last field experience we used The attitude and interest survey and it didn't work very well for me. We did something similar with Garfield faces that were happy, sort of happy, sort of sad and sad. When I did this inventory with the student I was working with for my case study he would interpret the questions like this, "well, if it is a Star Wars book, then I would like it, so I'll circle the happy face." I found that to be totally bias. If I didn't know that he was thinking Star Wars books only when circling the happy face I would assume that he in general liked reading all types of books. So the solution I thought of was putting a place for comments after the question so the student could say "I only like Star Wars books" instead of the miscommunication that could happen. However, I think that this would be great for younger grades because it is so visual, maybe they should be administered in small groups so you can hear comments like the one above.

You Become Responsible For Ever...

... for what you have tamed. Reading Taming the Fox, a metaphor for differentiation, helped me see the perspective and whole picture of differentiation. The first time I read the metaphor I didn't realize that the prince was the teacher and the fox was the student. I had to read the passage again to get the real message: The teacher is both a student and a teacher, the student is both a teacher and a student. That is some great insight. I took a second to think back on experiences of field and there are definite daily instances that I can remember students teaching me something. I think that this is what a "community" of learners is all about. Linking a classroom community with our experiences in the Elementary Education program, we "Tame the Fox" every day whether it be through discussion or presentation of part of the content we are continually students and teachers. The trick now is to LET that be part of our own classroom. I hope that I can make that scaffold for students in a way that they will be able to tame the fox in my own classroom. I think that a big part of starting off right is connecting with students starting with Maslow's Hierarchy. Students need to feel connected and safe to open their minds to education. We as educators become "responsible for ever" for their education and differentiating is a big part. I found it helpful that the book went over different ethnic back round scenarios with DuShawn and Bianca. The elements on the Student Seeks cog are the same (affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge) except there are different "spins" such as DuShawn and Bianca. In their cultural circles for example, helpfulness is valued and in their school setting, independence is valued. It is essential for each student to feel those five traits elements they seek, it is our job to find the different "spins" or differentiation students' need for success. I think that interests are are good way, but not the only way to differentiate students. I think that for some students that are having a hard time connecting with education, interests could be some thing to spark their fire.

"Talent is what you bring...Effort is what you give."

Nancy,

I couldn't get my picture to come up on my profile, so here is one in my post.

Thanks

Portia

There are many things that caught my interest and appeal in these readings. There are A LOT of ideas that were great. Some of my favorite in the Morning Meeting readings is that students get to hear their name said every day in an educational setting. I can remember days in elementary school that the teacher didn't even say "hi" to me, morning meetings resolve that quickly. I like that morning meetings promote emotional intelligence by using greetings, sharing personal thoughts, wonderings and events. In this technological age, I have found that even some adults have a hard time with a simple greeting. Morning meeting greetings give students the tools, practice and an avenue to try and be successful at greetings. Simple as greetings may be, it could some day land students the future job or personal success they seek because of their ability to greet. I like that the morning meeting informational packet had real life teachers using the program and the way they presented the idea of morning meetings to parents. I found that the reasoning and the tone the teachers used for the send home letters or back to school night speeches were very helpful in helping parents catch the importance.
After reading the Differentiation in Practice I felt more at ease with the practice of differentiation. I also caught the vision of why it is so important to implement differentiation in the classroom setting. Reading the different scenarios in part one of the students in Ms. Johnson’s class felt real life to me. It wasn't a fantasy setting and I felt like I could relate to the students she described to students I have had the opportunity to work with in field. I see how there are a lot of components of differentiation but the philosophies are simple: Who we teach, What we teach, Where we teach, and How we teach. The part of responsive teaching really “spoke” to me as I was reading because they helped me focus on what differentiation really is. I like how the book states that "curriculum gives students 'legs'" I never thought of curriculum in that sense, however it is so true that curriculum is knowledge and understanding for our students. Getting to know the environment in which you teach is essential. It even states that a learning environment can "make or break" your students' ability to learn. Knowing the different components of when teaching the whole class is appropriate or in smaller groups was something for me to think about because I am not totally sure how to know when to do which. I like that the book stated, “Teachers make sure that differentiation is always ‘a way up’ and never ‘a way out’.” That line made knowing what your students are using and confusing come to life for me. I know what using and confusing is, however, making instruction a way up for students by knowing what they are using and confusing is differentiation. By informal or formal assessment as teachers we know where students’ ZPD is and we can make instruction accordingly. Of course, just like the scenarios in this book, every one is different. It is our job to find a way up for our students to learn and not a way out. Finally, the quote from the baseball coach "Talent is what you bring...Effort is what you give." If everyone is trying their best, giving their best effort, learning is happening. I think it is important to have appropriate expectations for students so that they know that you expect them to give effort.

From This Post Forth

From this post forth this blog is for Dr. P's class DIFFERENTIATION.