Jen+S

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CONSTRUCTIVIST CONVERSATION 10/21

** Paul McCartney: Vegetables **

One morning in Los Angeles, "Beatles Breakfast Show" DJ Chris Carter asked listeners the following question: "What Beach Boys' song does Paul McCartney appear on, eating a carrot?" Dozens of callers phoned in with wrong answers before someone finally called in and correctly replied, "Vegetables!" The caller? Sir Paul McCartney, of course. His prize? A radio phone and a bag of goodies, all signed by... Sir Paul McCartney.

[McCartney asked the DJ to play "Here Today" (a song from his album //Tug Of War// dedicated to John Lennon), told the DJs to keep up the good work, and suggested that his prizes be given away to someone else.]

[Trivia: In 2003, the //Times// published three lists of the ten best pop-music albums. No title appeared on all three lists; three appeared on two lists, leaving twenty-seven top-ten albums. The //Washington Post// ran four lists of the ten best pop albums. Total number of albums named? Thirty-eight.]

10/14

Ideas from other teachers: Acting out a play with more difficult language to help students grasp concepts, especially ELLs (Chris P) When students use inappropriate language, let them know it is not appropriate for this setting and ask them to come up with a different word to express what they are trying to say (Wayne)


 * 10/7**

Ideas from other teachers: Challenging class to come up with a list on their own, postive, upbeat, interested in subject matter (Spencer) Use of historical video (Bryan) Open lesson with imagery, biography about historical figures, humor (Ryan M.) Read aloud to class, energetic (Katie) Creation of own poems (Trista)


 * 9/30**

Ideas from other teachers: Engaging, fun, hands-on, bodily-kinesthetic problem solving (Kristine) Use of gestures and mnemonics to remember a list, video clip song (Kim) Group work to apply the lesson (Gwen)

- assessment is important in identifying students' strengths/weaknesses & effectiveness of teachers/instruction - 3 step process: diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments - portfolios are a great way to assess student involvement - grading on a curve vs. raw points - test design is important - initiating, ongoing, and culminating activites - place-based education = field trips - sample blank lesson plan template on pages 162-163 - lesson plan's basic elements: descriptive data, goals & objectives, standards, rationale, procedure, assignments, materials & equipment, assessment, reflection and revision
 * //Interdisciplinary Thematic Units//**
 * Chapter 4** (Ryan)
 * Chapter 5** (Me)


 * 9/23**

Ideas from other teachers: Enthusiam about science, use of humor, having live animals in the classroom and assigning students to take care of these animals as a responsibility task. (Wayne) Calm and articulate voice, approachable (Stephanie)

- ITUs involve other content areas besides your own - use of technology in the classroom is important - lessons need to be hands-on and active - involve the community - use a solidifying theme word to describe what the unit is about - must work together with other teachers from different content areas - can involve students in the design (ie. naming the unit) - scope vs. depth - how much do you want to cover and and how deep do you want to explore it - important to meet state standards, no child left behind - need to develop an objective for your unit - "students will be able to..." - how will the students demonstrate this, level of thinking - include standards and assessments - education vs. institutional objectives - proficiency objectives
 * //Interdisciplinary Thematic Units//**
 * Chapter 1** (Wayne)
 * Chapter 2** (Stephanie)
 * Chapter 3** (Bryan)

** INTASC #4. Multiple Instructional Strategies - ** The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills. ** INTASC #9. Reflective Practice: Professional Growth - ** The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.

** 9/9 **

** Bloom’s and **** Anderson **** ’s Revised Taxonomy ** ** INTASC #3. Diverse Learners - ** The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners. ** INTASC #8. Assessment - ** The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner. **Surface/Deep Learning SKA & Lesson Planning** [] The emergence of vocationalism caused a revision of the taxonomy to encompass the verb of understand rather than just knowledge. When you are creating a lesson plan, its important to think about what level you want to focus on and whether it is surface or deep learning. Surface learning is not going to aid people in remembering what they have learning, which deep learning is going to improve memory because it focuses on meaning. You must also think about what you are trying to achieve in terms of skills, knowledge, and attitude when planning lessons. Incorporating all three is essential because understanding of something can’t exist without the skills, knowledge, and most importantly an attitude to do so.

**Intro to Assessment and Bloom** [] What is learning? Help you figure out what level your students are learning at; what do they think, feel, and can they do the task at hand. Students cannot obtain the higher levels of thinking without going up the ladder starting at the bottom. The six levels are: Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Many students will have trouble even getting past the comprehension stage, so as teachers we must design lesson plans that incorporate teaching them the skills they need to comprehend what they are learning and apply it to what they already know. Once we can get students thinking deeply about what they have learned, they will them be able to move towards the highest levels of thinking and retention.

**Bloom’s Taxonomy** [] The visual of the pyramid helps to understand that you cannot have one level of learning without the others that are beneath it, but the video would have benefited from an auditory explanation as well to encompass more learning styles. **Vella’s 12 Principles of Good Teaching** [] Assessment Safety – does it feel safe to dicuss ideas and become involved? Sound relationships Sequence and reinforcement Praxis – teaching theory and practice together Respect Ideas, Feelings, Actions Immediacy – important to respond as quickly as possible Roles – boundaries Teamwork Engagement Accountability This list demonstrates the importance of group skills, hands-on learning, and involvement in the classroom. Students will need these skills for learning both in and out of the classroom, which is why teachers must set a good example using these principles.


 * 8/30**

** INTASC #4. Multiple Instructional Strategies - ** The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills.

** Discovery ** ** Learning ** ** Center **  []  The purpose is for the student to play an active role in his or her own learning. Students work in small random groups, each person in the group has a different role, and they focus intensely on studying and applying what they have learned in class. Even though this is a college-level classroom, I believe that setting up a high or middle science classroom for this kind of group work will be just as successful, because it will get the students involved in their own learning. Science classes are often set up to be more of a lecture format, with group work only during labs, but the benefit of group work during different kinds of lessons (equations, categorizing, experimentation) is that students will have the opportunity to teach one another and to ask questions that they may not feel comfortable asking in a group of 30 students during a lecture. In the video they were working out chemistry equations on the board, which seems so beneficial to me because students are able to write it out and work it through aloud together. Also, giving each person in the group a different role means that each person has a role in contributing to the whole of the group and the group could not function with participation from all members. ** Power Teaching Week 2 ** Lesson 6 input []  Rule #4 – Make smart choices.  Having students think through possible scenarios will give them more smart choices to act on when the situation actually occurs, and teaches them moral reasoning about what is right and wrong.  Do not correct or chastise students when they have an audience. One on one have them reflect on what their choices were in the situation, and ask them what some smart choices would have been. Develop their moral reasoning; help them see the difference between right and wrong actions.

Lesson 7 input []  Rule #5 – Keep your dear teacher happy!  It’s a no argument rule, can be used in a number of different situations.

Lesson 8 input []

 Class, yes – get your students’ attention, variety is important!  Use this same teacher-student dialogue to teach linked concepts and review class material  Practice classroom rules to turn the concepts into behavior

8/26

To Sir With Love

** INTASC #5. Motivation and Management - ** The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation. To Sir With Love Walking into the classroom, the new teacher looked professional and serious but didn’t seem so sure of himself anymore when he hit up the teacher’s lounge. They told him that students consider new teachers to be “lambs for the slaughter”, which is not something you want to hear on your first day, especially when you have no background/experience in teaching at all! Try to stay away from negative energy that other teachers may bring to your teaching experience. When he walks into the classroom, he doesn’t have the students’ attention right from the start and loses control quickly. He should have had an effective plan for classroom management that started from the moment that he walked into the classroom.

Power Teaching (in Discussion)