kmairs

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I think our role as a teacher in the 21st century is to educate students to be literate in all content areas. It is also crucial for our students to be able to adapt to new ideas and environments. It is our responsibility as teachers to introduce the students to these new ideas to better prepare them for life after school. As we kind of talked breifly in class about the idea of giving students a laptop to better introduce them to technology, but it is only teaching them from the consumerist standpoint. It is hard to really say what students need to know with technology in order to be fully prepared for the 21st century. I think this is part of our role as teachers is to discover what is important for students to understand. I still dont really think I myself know but atleast we our aware of these issues as future teachers and we can fully address them as we continue on into our career as an educator.=====

4-3-11
Sorry this is so late! Discussion to me is not easy. I have looked at it from a students perspective for so long it is hard to jump into it as a teacher. Some of my teachers from the past created an environment for good discussion and made it look so easy and simplistic. However, when I have attempted this I feel completly inadequate. It is really difficult because every time I plan my lessons I do a run through in my head of how class will work the next day. I think it is important to plan discussion yet at the same time allow students to discuss what is important and relevant to them in order to make a good connection. I often feel I want to direct the conversation where I want it to go. I have found myself not allowing that awkward silence and always making a comment after a student does. THis is something I didnt realize was really hindering my class discussions. It wasnt until Rachel talked about that silence an allowing students to collect thier thoughts. I do believe disscussion in the classroom is a very critical learning technique. Especially based off of what we have talked about in other classes with classrooms evolving into more technological environments and so much of our communication is done through technology. There are still things that can't be taught through emails, blogs, texting, ect. and that is body language and gaining a respect and appreciation for others opinions and ideas. Also, if a student feels very passionate about a topic sometimes it is harder to show through a blog post. I believe there are importance to both, but disscusion in a classroom is very beneficial to the students. It is also something that has to be planned and our role as teachers in disscusion is to act as a guide. It is ok to allow students to enjoy thier own journeys and at times be the spectator and learn from them. This is something I feel I still struggle with and will continue to always alter my approuch on how to create the perfect discussion.



02/27/11 Reflection

Last week I taught a lesson in my english class. I am currently having them work on a persuasive essay and I wasn't quite sure how to get them started. So I was searching online and found a persuasive essay online about child labor. It was a great example and I thought it was something I could somehow get them to relate to. I started off by asking the students if they had jobs or chores? If they wanted a "real" job? I was pleasantly surprised at how many students eagerly wanted to share. Literally everyone in class wanted to talk about themselves. This is not only a great way to get students involved and participating in the lesson. It is also a great way for us as teachers to get to know our students in a more personal level. By using inquiry in our teaching it allows for a more personal setting which is ultimatly what I think students want. Thinking back I really like all of my teachers who I was able to engage in conversation and was actively involved in the classroom. I have been a pretty quiet student all my life but in the classes I liked I remember always wanting to participate somewhat. This is what we need to do as teachers. I must say this far into my student teaching I really have not jived well with my mentor teacher. I have very poor modeling from her and little to none engagement with her students. This however has turned into a really positive experience. I have been able to see both ends of the spectrum. Last week when I taught my lesson, my teacher wasn't there. She had a sub and I still taught and I was able to see the contrast between when I teach and when she is there. The students act so differently. And even seemed happy to be there. I had them all actively engaged. This all being said, I think it is extremely critical to create lessons and units that are all inquiry based. It is very important to have the student feel as if they can relate to what is being taught to them by using prior knowledge. I know I have always learned best when put in these kinds of classrooms and have seen the results.

02-13-11 Unit Memo: I am planning a unit for the Meridian school district for 6th grade. I will be teaching the literary elements unit. This is what I have thus far.

Resources: Tuck Everlasting ? Maybe Or a selection of Short stories which is what my mentor teacher does.

Learning Goals and Standards: Standard #2 Comprehension and Interpretation Goal 2.1 Acquire Strategies and skills fro Comprehending Text Goal 2.2 Acquire skills to comprehend expository text Goal 2.3 Acquire Skills to Comprehend Literary Text

4 Questions: 1. Who is telling this story and why does it matter? 2.If this story took place somewhere else would it affect or change your interpretation in any way? 3. What do you think is gained if you could live forever? What do you think is lost? 4.What do you think the conflict is? These obviously need more revision. I havn't actaully read this book so it is hard to get ideas but I have seen the movie and am interested in reading the book. If it is possible. Might change.

Final Project: So far this is what i've got. I would have my students write and argumentative essay. My guiding question for them would be. Would you drink from the fountain and live forever? Why or why not? If so what time period in history would you choose to live in if you could?

01-30-11 First Post

I think we are learning new things everyday of our lives. To have to sit here and define learning is really hard. It is such broad topic. When we learn something I think we are building on prior knowledge. For a basic example you learn your A,B,C's first and then expand upon this as you get older. This process never ends. It is also a matter of learning to use different skills, and abilities within our minds and to expand them. We also learn by many different forms and in unison for instance the A,B,C's again how did we learn them as youngsters? We would sing them, we wrote them down many many times. We also place magnets on the fridge and walls. There are many different ways to learn and continue to learn and it all begins with the basics.

I dont really know that anyone knows they have learned something until much later. Whenever I am trying to do something new and realize I am using some prior knowledge and then I reflect on where I learned that prior knowledge. This happens very often in class I am taking I have used skills or knowledge that had been gained from previous classes. Also as we had talked about pretty often in class and in all the presentations when we are somewhat uncomfortable. I really felt these were times I really knew I was learning something new.

As far as measuring Learning this is all a matter of who is perceiving it. I think we are always learning something new whether we think we are or not. I dont believe there is any test out there that can truely measure how much learning has taken place in a classroom. For one I am a horrilbe test taker. I can bomb a test even if i know the material simply because of test anxiety. But if I am put in a relaxed situation or everyday life I am perfectly able to take those skills I have learned and apply them to life or whatever task I am doing. I think this apply with many individuals.

Building upon what I talked about in the previous paragraph with the whole understanding vs. Learning idea. Many students can A's a test and not be able to use those facts and knowledge in future life. I think understanding and learning need to work hand in hand with one another.