How can curriculum mapping assist you? Do you have one? Does your school/district curriculum map? Where would/will you start in creating a useful curriculum map for your classroom?
I have found that without a detailed curriculum map this (my first real) semester, it was difficult to know what pace to set in the classroom. I think I wound up wasting time in certain areas that I could have sped up, and spending too little time in other areas where my kids needed more help. Of course, this would improve with experience, but definitely having a well defined map of where I want to be at any given time during the semester would be extremely useful. In fact, I have already put forth much more effort and made, at least a tentative, map of where I need to be by certain times.
The school district publishes guidelines as to how many days they expect each unit to take. So, they do have a map somewhat. How closely it reflects the actual amount of time you need, greater or less than, is up for debate.
I have already started making a map for next semester and plan to have one every semester I teach from now on. I started by simply trying to fit in all the required curriculum pieces, including tests and quizzes, just to get a rough estimation of the time frame needed. I will modify it as I go, considering where I and the rest of my department are with the units.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Blog #10 Webinar 11
Do you differentiate instruction? Why? Why not? What is the importance of differentiating instruction? What impact does it have on student learning?
I try to differentiate instruction, but feel like I rarely succeed in doing so. The biggest problem for me is time honestly. I feel like even though some of my students might need differentiation, I just do not have the time to give it to them. Unless, of course, they come in before of after school for individual help, then I will go over topics in as many different ways as possible with them, until they understand it. As far as time limitations go, this semester I was maybe one lecture behind my content leaders, but wound up having to do an entire unit in essentially 1 day (plus a shortened day for review). This goes back to one of my biggest problems in general: when I see the students just not getting it, do I stop progressing and spend the extra time to get it, even though it puts us behind for the rest of the curriculum? On a similar note, when I have some students literally smacking their heads because the material is too easy (it really is), but a good percentage of the class is behind, do you cater to the slower kids or the faster? Its a really really difficult question and one that I have not gotten a perfect answer too (maybe there isn't one).
Clearly, we need to attempt differentiation in order for the greatest percentage of our kids to succeed. I hope and try to encourage kids to come in for tutoring if they are struggling, since that is the best time that I can 1 on 1 differentiate instruction directly aimed to the problem they are having. When kids do come in and get that extra help, especially 1 on 1, you can really see a difference in their understanding. I had a few students this semester, one in particular, that managed to drastically turn their grades around by simply making a commitment to tutoring. This made a huge difference, as I was able to specifically target their needs. Clearly differentiation can have a huge impact the education of students.
I try to differentiate instruction, but feel like I rarely succeed in doing so. The biggest problem for me is time honestly. I feel like even though some of my students might need differentiation, I just do not have the time to give it to them. Unless, of course, they come in before of after school for individual help, then I will go over topics in as many different ways as possible with them, until they understand it. As far as time limitations go, this semester I was maybe one lecture behind my content leaders, but wound up having to do an entire unit in essentially 1 day (plus a shortened day for review). This goes back to one of my biggest problems in general: when I see the students just not getting it, do I stop progressing and spend the extra time to get it, even though it puts us behind for the rest of the curriculum? On a similar note, when I have some students literally smacking their heads because the material is too easy (it really is), but a good percentage of the class is behind, do you cater to the slower kids or the faster? Its a really really difficult question and one that I have not gotten a perfect answer too (maybe there isn't one).
Clearly, we need to attempt differentiation in order for the greatest percentage of our kids to succeed. I hope and try to encourage kids to come in for tutoring if they are struggling, since that is the best time that I can 1 on 1 differentiate instruction directly aimed to the problem they are having. When kids do come in and get that extra help, especially 1 on 1, you can really see a difference in their understanding. I had a few students this semester, one in particular, that managed to drastically turn their grades around by simply making a commitment to tutoring. This made a huge difference, as I was able to specifically target their needs. Clearly differentiation can have a huge impact the education of students.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Blog #9 Webinar 10
Prompt #9
When working with ELD students, what are your challenges? Strengths? What could be done to increase your skills in this area?
The biggest challenge for me when working with ELL students is first and foremost identifying what they need. So many of my kids are from families where English is not necessarily the first language, but it is very difficult for me to distinguish between the kids who genuinely need help and those who do not. The problem I think comes from the difference between conversational skills in language and academic or technical proficiency. I think, with very few obvious exceptions, that all of my kids demonstrate a very high level of conversational English skills. This unfortunately has the tendency to make me feel like they understand everything I say and everything they read academically as well, which is not true a lot of the time. So, yeah, I think identifying what they need is my biggest challenge. My strength is that I am patient and willing to work with a kid as long as it takes once I figure out what the problem is and what they need as a solution. I do try to give multiple viewpoints whenever I am explaining something, I try to relate what I am saying to real world objects or applications, and I try to give feedback as quickly as possible. I encourage them to continue trying and reward and offer positive feedback when they succeed. I think the main thing that will increase my skills in this area is just more experience. The first year or two (or three!) of teaching, we are so swamped with everything it is difficult to see all the little details happening around us. I can only try to be there for my kids as much as possible and try to continue to get better and more comfortable with teaching and hope the rest will come from there.
When working with ELD students, what are your challenges? Strengths? What could be done to increase your skills in this area?
The biggest challenge for me when working with ELL students is first and foremost identifying what they need. So many of my kids are from families where English is not necessarily the first language, but it is very difficult for me to distinguish between the kids who genuinely need help and those who do not. The problem I think comes from the difference between conversational skills in language and academic or technical proficiency. I think, with very few obvious exceptions, that all of my kids demonstrate a very high level of conversational English skills. This unfortunately has the tendency to make me feel like they understand everything I say and everything they read academically as well, which is not true a lot of the time. So, yeah, I think identifying what they need is my biggest challenge. My strength is that I am patient and willing to work with a kid as long as it takes once I figure out what the problem is and what they need as a solution. I do try to give multiple viewpoints whenever I am explaining something, I try to relate what I am saying to real world objects or applications, and I try to give feedback as quickly as possible. I encourage them to continue trying and reward and offer positive feedback when they succeed. I think the main thing that will increase my skills in this area is just more experience. The first year or two (or three!) of teaching, we are so swamped with everything it is difficult to see all the little details happening around us. I can only try to be there for my kids as much as possible and try to continue to get better and more comfortable with teaching and hope the rest will come from there.
Blog #8 Webinar 9
Prompt #8
When using technology with your students, what are your challenges? Strengths? What could be done to increase your usage of technology in the classroom?
Well, in my classroom, we do not really have access to any technology. The only piece of tech that I have been given is the overhead projector, which I do use constantly. I do not even have a document cam (which I really need to try to get!) I would love to incorporate more technology into my math classes. I really want to bring more of my engineering background to play when teaching math. I would like to get into some deeper types of problems that require computer modeling to solve. However, with the materials that I have this is basically impossible. I do not even have a class set of scientific calculators. My challenges with the overhead projector are basically related to engagement. I feel like, when the students are just watching me use it and do problems like filling in the blanks etc. they can get a glassy eyed look to them. It is non-interactive. I do try to incorporate stops where they have to do examples, work with partners, etc. but I am just not sure how effective the overhead projector is overall. I remember when we had to actually take notes, not just fill in the blanks like we do today. This required the student to be focused on what they were writing and what the teacher was saying. There was less time to be bored.
When using technology with your students, what are your challenges? Strengths? What could be done to increase your usage of technology in the classroom?
Well, in my classroom, we do not really have access to any technology. The only piece of tech that I have been given is the overhead projector, which I do use constantly. I do not even have a document cam (which I really need to try to get!) I would love to incorporate more technology into my math classes. I really want to bring more of my engineering background to play when teaching math. I would like to get into some deeper types of problems that require computer modeling to solve. However, with the materials that I have this is basically impossible. I do not even have a class set of scientific calculators. My challenges with the overhead projector are basically related to engagement. I feel like, when the students are just watching me use it and do problems like filling in the blanks etc. they can get a glassy eyed look to them. It is non-interactive. I do try to incorporate stops where they have to do examples, work with partners, etc. but I am just not sure how effective the overhead projector is overall. I remember when we had to actually take notes, not just fill in the blanks like we do today. This required the student to be focused on what they were writing and what the teacher was saying. There was less time to be bored.
Blog #7 Webinar 8
Prompt #7
How prepared do you feel in effectively teaching your students in reading? Is this one of your strengths? A weakness?
Have you started to plan to the Common Core Standards? If you have, how is that going? If you haven't, why not? What support do you need?
I do not feel prepared at all to effectively teach students how to read. I mean, what would possibly have prepared me to do so? I have never taught reading or writing. My background is in math, science, and engineering. I passed the math AEPA, not reading or English. I realize that reading is a fundamental skill, and I will do my best to help kids in whatever way they need, but seriously I have no idea how to teach someone to read. So yeah, I guess its a weakness. I can tell you that I do not walk into my math class planning on how to teach kids how to read. I have to assume a fundamental level of reading, just as I have to assume a fundamental level of math. I simply do not have time! Now, of course, after school or before, if a kid comes to me with reading problems, I will try to help them, but frankly I am not sure how. It has not really come up I guess. Reading is important in a math class obviously. If you cannot read the problems, you are not going to be able to understand them and come up with the right solution. I try to go over the necessary vocabulary, but I can tell the kids have major problems remembering the terms. I want to try to find ways of teaching them to better comprehend the words behind the math, but so far have struggled to do so.
Yes, as a department, we have not only started to plan to the Common Core Standards, but we have also started to implement them in our classrooms. It is going decently so far. I think as teachers we struggle the most with trying to increase the rigor of the problems and presenting the Depth of Knowledge level 4 problems to kids, when we ask them basic questions and they do not seem to have even been in your class since day 1. It is a bit frustrating just given the time constraints that we have. I mean, there is a certain amount of curriculum we are expected to teach over the course of the semester and it feels like we are behind constantly. To ask us to try to implement these higher order problems, when the kids don't get the basic concepts is tough to fit into the time schedule. Of course, hopefully, after a few years the kids coming up will have been exposed to this kind of learning and will, hopefully, be better prepared for it.
How prepared do you feel in effectively teaching your students in reading? Is this one of your strengths? A weakness?
Have you started to plan to the Common Core Standards? If you have, how is that going? If you haven't, why not? What support do you need?
I do not feel prepared at all to effectively teach students how to read. I mean, what would possibly have prepared me to do so? I have never taught reading or writing. My background is in math, science, and engineering. I passed the math AEPA, not reading or English. I realize that reading is a fundamental skill, and I will do my best to help kids in whatever way they need, but seriously I have no idea how to teach someone to read. So yeah, I guess its a weakness. I can tell you that I do not walk into my math class planning on how to teach kids how to read. I have to assume a fundamental level of reading, just as I have to assume a fundamental level of math. I simply do not have time! Now, of course, after school or before, if a kid comes to me with reading problems, I will try to help them, but frankly I am not sure how. It has not really come up I guess. Reading is important in a math class obviously. If you cannot read the problems, you are not going to be able to understand them and come up with the right solution. I try to go over the necessary vocabulary, but I can tell the kids have major problems remembering the terms. I want to try to find ways of teaching them to better comprehend the words behind the math, but so far have struggled to do so.
Yes, as a department, we have not only started to plan to the Common Core Standards, but we have also started to implement them in our classrooms. It is going decently so far. I think as teachers we struggle the most with trying to increase the rigor of the problems and presenting the Depth of Knowledge level 4 problems to kids, when we ask them basic questions and they do not seem to have even been in your class since day 1. It is a bit frustrating just given the time constraints that we have. I mean, there is a certain amount of curriculum we are expected to teach over the course of the semester and it feels like we are behind constantly. To ask us to try to implement these higher order problems, when the kids don't get the basic concepts is tough to fit into the time schedule. Of course, hopefully, after a few years the kids coming up will have been exposed to this kind of learning and will, hopefully, be better prepared for it.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Blog #6 Webinar 7
Go to educationworld.com and read one article about classroom management. Reflect on that article and how it relates to your classroom management. What are your struggles? What are your successes?
I found a very interesting article with 20 tips for classroom management based on rewards and consequences. Some of the ideas I would really like to try include: using a stopwatch to record the time it takes that students are out of hand, you give them a certain amount of time at the beginning of class, if they exceed that time, they spend that much time in class for lunch. Another idea is a reward idea: you give them say 30 min at the start of the semester. Every time they get out of line you start timing and subtract that many minutes for the 30 min. At the end of the semester what time they have left they get to choose a fun activity for them for that amount of time. I also really like the idea of handing out a set number of bathroom/break passes at the start of the semester. The kids can only use the bathroom when they have a pass to give you. If they use them all they are out of chances. You could also include some reward incentive for kids that do good work. You could give them more passes as a reward.
Honestly, my classroom management needs a lot of work. It is at the point where I am quite frankly wondering if teaching (at least at this level) is the right choice for me. I do well in my classes that are "good". The students in these classrooms seem to have at least a basic understanding what it means to be a student and a human being haha. They are respectful and will do the work assigned them. If they do get chatty, a simple reminder is enough. For my block class though, and now somewhat for my 4th period (which is a very full classroom and is right after lunch), I have much more severe problems. There are kids in there that will simply not follow any direction or do any work unless I am personally standing right over them. Both these classes get so loud that sometimes I am unable to hear questions from students that genuinely need and want help. This tends to infuriate me. I know I should not lose my temper, and believe me I try to varying success, but sometimes I just blow up. I hate it when I do. I regret it immediately because bottom line it is my fault. I am not consistent enough with my consequences. Mostly, I dont want to have to babysit. I want to teach. I am coming to realize that, at this level at least, they might be the same thing.
My three strike rule seems to work ok, when I can enforce it consistently. I start to lose control because I do not want to make a scene every single time a kid talks. Unfortunately, then it starts to snowball, until I have no choice but to start yelling. They can't hear me otherwise! I really want to work on that consistency. Without it, I cannot control the class and therefore cannot teach effectively.
I found a very interesting article with 20 tips for classroom management based on rewards and consequences. Some of the ideas I would really like to try include: using a stopwatch to record the time it takes that students are out of hand, you give them a certain amount of time at the beginning of class, if they exceed that time, they spend that much time in class for lunch. Another idea is a reward idea: you give them say 30 min at the start of the semester. Every time they get out of line you start timing and subtract that many minutes for the 30 min. At the end of the semester what time they have left they get to choose a fun activity for them for that amount of time. I also really like the idea of handing out a set number of bathroom/break passes at the start of the semester. The kids can only use the bathroom when they have a pass to give you. If they use them all they are out of chances. You could also include some reward incentive for kids that do good work. You could give them more passes as a reward.
Honestly, my classroom management needs a lot of work. It is at the point where I am quite frankly wondering if teaching (at least at this level) is the right choice for me. I do well in my classes that are "good". The students in these classrooms seem to have at least a basic understanding what it means to be a student and a human being haha. They are respectful and will do the work assigned them. If they do get chatty, a simple reminder is enough. For my block class though, and now somewhat for my 4th period (which is a very full classroom and is right after lunch), I have much more severe problems. There are kids in there that will simply not follow any direction or do any work unless I am personally standing right over them. Both these classes get so loud that sometimes I am unable to hear questions from students that genuinely need and want help. This tends to infuriate me. I know I should not lose my temper, and believe me I try to varying success, but sometimes I just blow up. I hate it when I do. I regret it immediately because bottom line it is my fault. I am not consistent enough with my consequences. Mostly, I dont want to have to babysit. I want to teach. I am coming to realize that, at this level at least, they might be the same thing.
My three strike rule seems to work ok, when I can enforce it consistently. I start to lose control because I do not want to make a scene every single time a kid talks. Unfortunately, then it starts to snowball, until I have no choice but to start yelling. They can't hear me otherwise! I really want to work on that consistency. Without it, I cannot control the class and therefore cannot teach effectively.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Blog #5 Webinar 6
Prompt #5: "Reflect on your use of assessment in the classroom. On a scale of 1-10, ten being the highest, how would you rate yourself. What are your plans for becoming a "10" if you are not there already? How are you using assessment in the classroom to guide your instruction? Describe how assessment results are used to differentiate instruction within your class."
I would rate myself at about an 8 on my use of assessment. I regularly check my students understanding via walking around and checking the "you do" portion of the lecture. I also regularly ask questions to check for students understanding. I walk around and listen to conversations when asking them to reflect on what they know. I also give a lot of quizzes (3 per unit) in preparation for the unit exams. So, I think I do a lot for assessment. I have a slight problem figuring out how to use the assessments though lol. Problem is, how do you know when you need to go back and do more or when you can go forward? I mean its tempting to say "no student left behind!", but that seems kind of unrealistic given the amount of curriculum that you need to cover. So, do you move on when 50% get it? 70%? 80%? This is what I struggle with. Sure, when I see even my A students not getting something, its easy to say yeah they need more, but what if most of the kids are like "OK we get it", but some are like "HUH?" I am hoping to refine my use of assessment in the future. Getting to know the students needs individually, being able to anticipate the problem areas before hand (which comes from teaching more than one year), and tailoring instruction toward the problem areas before hand. It is difficult as a first year teacher to anticipate where the students are going to need the most help. Sometimes, I am basically wasting time going over stuff that is too basic, other times I fly through stuff that seems easy to me, but the students don't get.
Obviously, if the majority of students are lost, I will go over the material again. I will also use assessment on an individual basis by targeting the students that I know might me struggling during my 'walking around time'. I do need to develop a better understanding of when and where the students might need more help, but that I feel comes with time and practice. I taught a Computer Aided Design course when I got my Master's Degree. The first year, I struggled with figuring out what the students would need from me. By the third year however, I knew every question the students were going to ask, before they asked it. I could therefore, pre-attack those questions during instruction and focus on the topics the students most needed help on.
I would rate myself at about an 8 on my use of assessment. I regularly check my students understanding via walking around and checking the "you do" portion of the lecture. I also regularly ask questions to check for students understanding. I walk around and listen to conversations when asking them to reflect on what they know. I also give a lot of quizzes (3 per unit) in preparation for the unit exams. So, I think I do a lot for assessment. I have a slight problem figuring out how to use the assessments though lol. Problem is, how do you know when you need to go back and do more or when you can go forward? I mean its tempting to say "no student left behind!", but that seems kind of unrealistic given the amount of curriculum that you need to cover. So, do you move on when 50% get it? 70%? 80%? This is what I struggle with. Sure, when I see even my A students not getting something, its easy to say yeah they need more, but what if most of the kids are like "OK we get it", but some are like "HUH?" I am hoping to refine my use of assessment in the future. Getting to know the students needs individually, being able to anticipate the problem areas before hand (which comes from teaching more than one year), and tailoring instruction toward the problem areas before hand. It is difficult as a first year teacher to anticipate where the students are going to need the most help. Sometimes, I am basically wasting time going over stuff that is too basic, other times I fly through stuff that seems easy to me, but the students don't get.
Obviously, if the majority of students are lost, I will go over the material again. I will also use assessment on an individual basis by targeting the students that I know might me struggling during my 'walking around time'. I do need to develop a better understanding of when and where the students might need more help, but that I feel comes with time and practice. I taught a Computer Aided Design course when I got my Master's Degree. The first year, I struggled with figuring out what the students would need from me. By the third year however, I knew every question the students were going to ask, before they asked it. I could therefore, pre-attack those questions during instruction and focus on the topics the students most needed help on.
Blog #4 Webinar 5
Prompt #4: “Reflect on your time in the classroom to this point. How are you feeling emotionally, physically? Do you feel that you are getting through to your most difficult students? What strategies are working? What strategies are not? What are your next steps with student engagement within your classroom?”
Emotionally, I am feeling pretty drained to tell the truth. I didn’t realize how little of being a teacher is actually teaching lol. I don’t really want to be a baby sitter to tell the truth. It really depresses me how little some of these kids care. Not when they don’t understand, but when they just honestly do not care that they are failing. It sucks. I am here to help and hopefully inspire. I really want to be able to engender a love of science and math, but I am finding that very difficult. I guess there are those few kids that you may be able to reach and that might make all the difference. It saddening that there are so many though that have no desire to be reached. I guess I am feeling sad mostly about my block class. These are the kids who need me the most, but their attitude in that class is abysmal. Hopefully, I can get some of them to pass at least. I can’t help but feel that it is my fault. Maybe with a more experienced teacher more of them might get the help they need. Physically I am doing well. I feel much better honestly. It is good for me to be moving around a lot. I spent a lot of time sitting at a desk in front of a computer J
No, I don’t feel that I am getting through to the most difficult students. These would be in my 5-6 block. They are quite frankly more than I am equipped to deal with right now. I have had a teacher’s aide that knows these kids tell me that I have been dealt a really tough hand. That these are the worst of the worst. I don’t feel that it is that bad honestly, but I still can’t get them to do or care about anything. It’s really hard. Nothing has worked long term. The only time I have gotten them to actually work was when I really come down hard on them. Like NO talking whatsoever. This seems to only last a day or two though, and then they are right back to not doing anything. I have tried and will keep trying various methods to keep them accountable for the time they spend in my class. It is hard though when they just don’t care if they are failing. They expect it. Hopefully, I can turn it around and get some of them to pass at least. I have tried to get them engaged, but they seem totally incapable of doing independent work or group work. I am going to be implementing a hopefully much more consistent discipline strategy this week. We will see how it goes.
Blog #3 Webinar 4
Prompt #3: Regular Education - “What are you doing to meet the needs of your special education students? If you do not have special education students, how are you meeting the needs of your low students? Have you met with your school’s pre-referral group about these students?”
In my block class, where I have the most SPED students, I have various accommodations in place. They get extra time, not only on quizzes and tests, but with instruction and practice. I basically give them twice as much practice than my regular students. They also have extra time to take quizzes and tests. I essentially give them as much time as they need. I give them substantial review for all quizzes and tests as well. I try to give example problems that basically mirror the problems they will see on the assessments. I also give them open notes and open study guides for the assessments. One thing I do not do however, is modify the assessments. As far as I know, they will be responsible for the same EOCAs as all the other students. Therefore, I want to expose them to the same level of questions that my regular students get.
I have not met with any specific group about my SPED students. I have had a few IEP meetings and in general have been working with a couple colleagues concerning how to approach SPED instruction. There are a couple of math teachers who deal with a lot of SPED students. I try to reach out to them for advice as much as I can.
Blog #2 Webinar 3
Prompt #2: In a profession as challenging as teaching, honest self-reflection is key. That means that we must regularly examine what has worked and what hasn't in the classroom…” This year, what has worked and what hasn’t in your classroom. What will you do differently?
I think the main thing that did not work for me this year, especially in my block class, was just being too inconsistent with classroom management. I am too nice at heart honestly. I don’t really want to be a strict disciplinarian. I would rather let stuff slide and hope it correct itself than make an example of the behavior right then and there. In retrospect, this is the main thing I need to focus on in the future. In my opinion, you must first establish a respectful environment that is conducive to learning before you can teach anything. I am planning on implementing a no nonsense three strike policy. Any infraction results in a strike. Two strikes and you my get your seat moved if it is possible. Three strikes and you are out of class. Also, I plan on keeping records of these infractions, so that I have ammunition if in the future I need to justify writing a referral or whatever.
What has worked for me a bit has been some of the engagement strategies I have tried. I did a stations exercise that I thought went very well, at least in my integrated classes. The students took to the group activities and seemed to work well together. Many of them were engaged in good conversations and were helping each other out, which was nice to see. I think in the future, I really want to plan out more of these types of activities. Hopefully, in the coming years, I might actually get more time to do so J
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Blog #1 Webinar 2
Prompt #1: “Write about 2 things that are going well in your classroom that you are proud of. Write about 2 things in your classroom that you wish to improve. What steps will you take to improve these items?”
The main thing that is going well for me is my management in my integrated classes. I feel like I have improved drastically since I was thrown into the deep end, so to speak, as a long term sub last year. For the most part I have my period 2,3,4 classes under control which is nice. The second thing that I am happy with is that I have quite a few students that I have really been able to help getting the material. I am pretty well committed to giving them a lot of opportunities for tutoring, and for the students that take advantage of it, it has really paid off.
One of the main things I want to improve is my classroom management especially for my block class. I have tried many different steps to improve it ranging from changing the seating charts, assigned seats for each rotation, very strict but fair consequences, etc. Nothing has really worked to my satisfaction for longer than one or two days. I am trying to just be more consistent. I tend to let them get away with stuff and that comes back to bite me. The second thing I really want to improve on is engagement strategies. I feel like my students are bored most of the time. I was very encouraged by a group activity we had this last week. Hopefully, I can do more stuff like that.
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