Blog Post #5

What did you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps? Project Based Learning Part 1: Experience of a 3rd Grade Teacher:
Anthony provided some great and valuable information in this video. When utilizing Project Based Learning in the classroom, teachers should create projects that are driven by content, include the interests of students, and are catered to an authentic audience. When teachers allow their students freedom of choice when it comes to picking their own projects, the students will be more self-motivated. This freedom to select a topic they will actually be interested in will help to facilitate a greater desire to learn. Anthony also pointed out the most important part of Project Based Learning: giving students the opportunity to reflect and revise. A great way for teachers to go about this would be to use peer review, allowing students to reflect on their own work, and others, and then revising it based on the suggestions and corrections made by their peers.

Project Based Learning Part 2: Experience of a 3rd Grade Teacher
During this video, Anthony also shed some light on the fact that teachers need to be aware that not every project is going to yield outstanding and perfect results. There is on such thing as a perfect project, and teachers need to keep this thought in mind as they plan what project for their students to complete. Back-up plans should always be at the ready, just in case the moment arises when a project does not turn out as well as one might have hoped. The main point I received from Anthony in this video is to not, intentionally or unintentionally, put limits on students. Limits placed on students have the potential to drastically hinder a student's learning capabilities. If students don't have limits placed upon them, then their potential to learn, and to have fun doing it, it limitless. When teachers create a positive learning environment, students will have a greater chance of being successful. When students are successful, they are proud of their work and will have a higher self-confidence.

iCurio
iCurio is a great tool that allows students to safely and efficiently search the web for educational material. Web pages and all of their content, videos and pictures alike, are curated and are monitored to ensure their material is appropriate for students.

Discovery Education
Discovery Education is a science and social studies database. Teachers can utilize this database to create interactive lessons for their students. Students can remember material more efficiently when teachers use visual aids and if teachers are able to teach with these interactive lessons. Discovery Education will definitely be a tool that I would implement in my classroom.

The Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers Part 1
The best tip from Anthony and Dr. Strange was that teachers absolutely and without a doubt have to be interested in learning. Students are not the only ones who are learning in the classroom, learning is also a major part of a teacher's life. If a teacher has no interest in expanding their knowledge banks, and learning new techniques in how to best approach their students, then those teachers should find a new profession. As a teacher, I plan to have my students "think outside the box". When students think outside the box, they go beyond the norm and branch out into deeper waters. Questions will be asked that would stimulate the teacher's desire to learn, thus expanding his or her own knowledge bank. Another great tip from Anthony and Dr. Strange was thinking of your desired outcome when planning a project for your students, but as stated earlier, without limiting the students. No one wants to put a damper on a student's learning.

Don't Teach Tech - Use It
I have always felt the best way to teach students is through hands-on experience. This can definitely be seen through "Don't Teach Tech - Use It". In our constantly changing educational world, and the "real world", technology is all around us. Just about everyone in our society, even young children, know how to use some form of technology. The time has come for technology to be necessary in the classroom. However, teachers need to use the technology in their classrooms, not teach it. I feel that it's simple as that. When it's included in the classroom and included in the lessons, the daily exposure will be a great way to teach the technology to their students.

Additional Thought About Lessons
Anthony made the comment that lessons are at least "four layers thick": year, unit, breaking it down, and daily. Lessons are formed based on Standards and have to be completed within the school year. Those lessons have to be planned accordingly and be easily broken down into units of time to complete the lessons within, and then broken into days within the unit lesson. Having this "four layer" formula is essential for any teacher.

Project #7 "This Is My Sentence" Video and "This Is My Passion" Video

"This Is My Sentence" Video


"This Is My Passion" Video"

C4T #1

Learning Out Loud - Jennifer Brokofsky

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."- John Cotton Dana is the welcoming quote to Jennifer Brokofsky's blog Learning Out Loud. From my time exploring her blog, it is evident that Ms. Brokofsky holds this quote dear to her heart, especially as an educator. Each of Ms. Brokofsky's posts are filled with information and invaluable learning tools and techniques that would benefit any teacher of any grade. I feel Ms. Brokofsky to be an outstanding example of how a teacher should constantly explore new and innovative ways to reach his or her students in an attempt to make their learning as successful as possible.

"Building a Culture of Wonder: Inquiry in Primary Education"

Jennifer was right on target at the beginning of her post "Building a Culture of Wonder: Inquiry in Primary Education". From the moment children learn to speak, "why?" tends to be the #1 question on the tip of their tongue. Why this? Why that? It's more than obvious that children are filled with curiosity, wonder, and imagination, so why not harness that passionate pursuit of knowledge in the classroom? Ms. Brokofsky does just that through her "Wonder Wall". The "wonder wall" is "a place where group questions can be modeled, recorded, shared, and encouraged". Basically, if a student has a question, he or she can place it on the "wonder wall" to be answered at some point by either him or herself, or another student. Through the implementation of other accompanying "wonder" themes such as the "Wonder of the Week", "Wonder Words", and "Wonder Centers", this desire to learn is nurtured, encouraged, and praised on a daily basis, ultimately encouraging the students' desires to learn.

What Do I Take From This?: While I'm not a teacher yet, I can definitely imagine all the questions that a teacher must be asked throughout the course of the day, especially by the much younger kids. I thought the "Wonder Wall" and it's parts to be a great way to channel that inquisitive energy. What better way to get children learning than by fueling that desire to learn? If students don't ask questions, they'll never get answers. The "Wonder Wall" would be a great way to utilize inquiry based lessons into all lessons I would teach.

My Comment to Jennifer Brokofsky's Post "Building a Culture of Wonder: Inquiry in Primary Education" I commented on Jennifer Brokofsky's blog post "Building a Culture of Wonder: Inquiry in Primary Education". In my comment, I introduced myself and I expressed to Ms. Brokofsky how I loved the idea of a "Wonder Wall". I told her how I feel that anything that can increase a student's desire to learn and encourage that learning is always something to be treasured. I also told her that using "Wonder Words" to get minds in gear, along with having a center dedicated to piquing student's curiosity, sounded like the makings of a classroom that facilitates an active learning environment that would help to instill a desire to learn. I'm hoping to get a response from her soon!

Jennifer Brokofsky's Response to My Comment on "Building a Culture of Wonder: Inquiry in Primary Education": I did not receive a reply from Ms. Brokofsky to my comment left on her blog post, but I am still hoping to see any other replies to comments she might have.

"Three Act Math Movies: Candy Colours"

The post "Three Act Math Movies: Candy Colours" provided teachers a method of introduction for their students to the mathematical concept of Equality. The "Three Act MathVideo Design" was by Jennifer Brokofsky and Ryan Banow. This lesson design was constructed for Grade 2, but can also be expanded upon for Grade 4. The math problem is in a series of acts: Act 1 - The Problem, Act 2 - Classroom Connections, and Act 3 - The Solution. Act 1 and Act 3 are represented by a video demonstration by children with a brief explanation accompanying it, with Act 2 revolving around the classroom students' attempt to solve the problem. Act 1, "The Problem", begins with "two children are trying to share candies equally. However, they only like to eat certain colours". After watching the two accompanying videos, Ms. Brokofsky provides "key questions" that should be asked. Act 2, "Classroom Connections", begins with Ms. Brokofsky once again providing the "key questions" that should pop into the students' minds. She also provides a list of materials that students may need to to solve the problem "hands-on", while also giving possible equations to go about solving the problem. Act 3, "The Solution", begins with a video showing the solution to the math problem.

What Do I Take From This?: I have always valued "hands-on" types of learning. When a teacher can put a physical representation of a problem in to the hands of his or her students, those students can better understand the problem presented to them. I would implement this design plan to my classroom, not only giving students the candies to actually "see" the math happen, but I would also play the videos relating to the problem as well. While this is a great method for teaching equality in mathematical terms, can go beyond the academic world as well. Teaching children to also be kind to others and to share with others are also important skills that should be taught as well.

My Comment to Ms. Brokofsky's Post "Three Act Math Movies: Candy Colours": I commented on Ms. Brokofsky's post "Three Act Math Movies: Candy Colours". Once again, I introduced myself and also stated that I had commented on another one of her posts. I explained to her how I feel that students can learn very much through "hands-on" activities, especially when those activities require them to learn more than just "the facts". I also told Ms. Brokofsky that teaching children to learn and work collaboratively with one another should be a must in the classroom. If students are unable to work together when they are young, the cooperative skills will be sorely lacking when they get older.

Ms. Brokofsky's Response to My Comment on "Three Act Math Movies: Candy Colours": I have not received a reply to my comment on Ms. Brokofsky's post "Three Act Math Movies: Candy Colours.

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Assignment #4

Just bear with me for a moment and imagine this situation: You're standing in front of your elementary students, finished up with whatever your topic happened to be for that particular portion of the day. You look around at those bright eyes staring back at you and you're feeling accomplished that you managed to get through the segment with little, to no, interruptions. Even little Johnny managed to go the entire 30 minutes, it seems, without stealing everyone's attention. As you're wrapping up, you ask if anyone has any questions. Silence is your response. Not a hand is raised and you're feeling of accomplishment is dwindling fast. Bright eyes are fading and it looks like Johnny is getting antsy...

Sadly, I've seen this happen numerous times when completing my classroom observations. No teacher ever wants to experience that sort of ear-ringing silence from his or her students, but sometimes it just happens. That type of response doesn't necessarily mean he or she is a "bad teacher", it just means he or she didn't ask the question in "the right way". Ben Jason shares some very valid points in his blog post The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom. One might think that asking questions is just as easy as that, just asking the questions, but there is a lot more to it than just that. This bit of information from Johnson's blog, to me, was probably the most important piece of information a teacher can have in her "toolbox" so to speak. A good question has to be specific, and be able to assess a student's understanding. Whatever question a teacher, or I, will ask in the future to students needs to be thought provoking, engaging, and go beyond a simple "yes or no" answer. As Joanne Chesley says rather matter-of-factly in her video Asking Better Questions, questions need to be "open-ended". In a nutshell, how you ask the question is how you are asking your students to respond.

So we've established that how we ask a question ultimately determines how a student will respond, but, how do we get the response we're looking for? Again, it's all in the how. Questioning Styles and Strategies by ThoughtfulClassroom gives the best description of "how" that I've ever seen. Within this video are absolutely marvelous techniques to go about assessing just how much your students are comprehending, or taking-in, from your lesson. In Hannah Compton's fifth-grade class, the students are currently reading Bridge to Terabithia. I remember reading the book when I was younger, and I hate to say it, but I just couldn't bring myself to really be interested in what I was reading. However, after watching this video, and if I was in the fifth-grade again, I wouldn't mind picking it up and giving it another go. Not only was the instructor asking great open-ended questions that promoted higher-thinking, but he was also coupling those questions with techniques and strategies to make sure that all students were fully engaged. Using techniques such as "think-pair-share", "value-feedback", and "extending responses", the students were actively participating in the discussion and honestly looked to be enjoying it. To me, this was a great example of how learning can be fun for students as well! Being able to participate in the discussion by giving their views and opinions, while receiving positive feedback from the instructor, was wonderful to witness. I could practically see their "wheels turning". Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom even recommends that if a question is a really great question, then keep it!

Giving valuable and helpful responses is also important when asking students questions. Asking Questions to Improve Learning tells us that whenever we respond to a student, that response should "keep the students thinking". Our response(s) should keep their thought processes going, keeping that momentum in top notch. As long as teachers, current or future, go about asking their students questions and giving responses in the "right way", then I feel that the students' success in the classroom will be more easily attainable than ever. Even little Johnny, I bet, won't be able to resist participating with the rest of the class.

Blog Assignment #3

At some point in our academic careers, we're all faced with the defining moment of peer editing. Not everyone takes to it very well, maybe even like "fish out of water". Others, I'm sure, may absolutely enjoy peer editing and wish it would have happened more often. I certainly remember in my younger elementary years that this activity was one that many of my classmates considered to be wonderful, and fun, and any other colorful adjective that one could put here. I, on the other hand, did not find this collaborative activity to be enjoyable, not completely anyway. I never did mind being the one to receive the critique, I was the one that never wanted to give the critique. I recall one instance where we were assigned to write a short story. Once we were finished, we passed our paper to our neighbor, and he or she then critiqued what we wrote. This certainly sounds simple enough. While I did enjoy reading other's work, I was afraid of being too nit-picky or domineering in what I thought should be changed. Don't get me wrong, if there happened to be a grammatical error, a misspelling, or some other thing incorrect in the basic elements of my work, I would definitely want to know about it. The real issue that always bothered me was that whatever changes I would recommend to my peer would somehow devalue their work. What I felt, or what you might feel, should be changed about a piece might not be shared or even liked by the writer. I was worried that my opinions on how I felt the assignment could "be better", or what should be changed, would offend that person and I would somehow inadvertently offend them, resulting in one less friend on the playground. Yes, my teacher did tell us the "do's and don'ts" of peer editing and that was all fine and dandy. Now that we're all big boys and girls, I still can't help but to have this same sort of thought process when thinking of critiquing my peer's works.

Like Paige Ellis shared on her blog, I too, was once unsure of just how far I should go when critiquing. Even though I may want the little things pointed out in my work, that doesn't mean this person wants their work dissected in the same way. Paraphrasing what Dr. Strange said in a reply to Ms. Ellis, he says to her that we're going to be future teachers and need to practice. When I eventually become a teacher, I'll have to make that decision when I grade and critique my student's work. Ultimately, being nit-picky is a requirement of being a teacher. We are responsible for building up our students and making them in to better individuals, academically and as growing persons. BUT, there is a right way and a wrong way to going about doing it. Both videos Peer Editing by Youtube user nrpatric, and Writing Peer Review (Peer Critique) TOP 10 Mistakes" by Tim Bedley, along with Adriana Zardini's slide show Tutorial Peer Editing, all go about showing you how to do it correctly, and importantly, keeping your friend on the playground. Zardini and nrpatric give us three great steps to peer editing: compliments, suggestions, and corrections. As long as we can do all three without being what the student's in Tim Bedley's video call "Picky Patty" and without being a lackadaisical "Whatever William", peer critiquing or editing can be a fun and great learning process that students can benefit from greatly. Even though being picky was cast in a negative light, if done in a positive and correct manner, it can do more good than harm.