Sunday, September 29, 2013
Blog Post #6 What Questions Do We Ask? How Do We Ask?
Like Ben Johnson, Joanne Chesley, and many others, I find the way teachers engage their class with questions very disturbing. One must find a better way to ask questions in order to be a better teacher. How can this be done? There are multiple ways.
Use Open-Ended Questions
Many teachers will ask their students closed-ended questions, or questions that can easily be answered by guessing "yes" or "no". For example a teacher may ask the class "Are flowers plants?". But students don't really have to think about answering this question, all they have to do is figure out yes or no. Students will learn better if they are forced to really think about what is being discussed. So, a better way to ask the same question would be "What is a flower? What would you categorize it as?".
Keep the entire class engaged and listening
In Ben Johnson's blog "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom" he mentions how only 1/3 of the class is likely to be thinking about the answer to any given question which is asked for anyone to answer. He continues to say that the other 2/3 of the class either doesn't care or feels that they are not smart so don't have to answer. This method is often used in any type or level class. Like Johnson, I feel that this is not the best way to ask students questions. So what is the best way? Johnson suggests to ask a specific student a question. In order to keep all students focus these questions should be asked randomly and the teacher should only call on a student after 3 seconds so that every one has a chance to think. I have to disagree slightly with Johnson here. Like he mentions after a teacher calls on a student most of the class sighs and is glad that they were not the one called. Only 1/3 of the class will still be listening for the answer. But what about thinking? I feel that the best way to solve this problem is to ask a question of the entire class, and wait long enough for every student to write down an answer. Then the teacher can call on one or more students to answer the question. This is what is done in the fifth grade class featured in the video "Questioning Styles and Strategies". Because every student had to answer the question they will be interested enough to listen for the answer since they'll want to know if they were right.
Student Questions
After the students answer all of the teacher's questions are they done? No! Since the students will have been thinking of responses maybe they also thought of more questions. When students ask their own questions it shows that they were really listening and trying to understand the topic. This is discussed in Dr. Maryellen Weimer's blog "Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom". He starts off talking about how teachers need to think about how to ask a question and when to ask. This is interesting, but what really caught my attention was his third point: to "preserve good questions". This is something that was done in my 6th grade Hebrew School class. My teacher would often write down any good ideas or questions that my classmates or I had. As a 12-year-old I was always excited when my thoughts or questions were good enough to be written down on the board or even better in the teacher's notebook. This always encouraged me to think harder and always participate in class discussions. Unfortunately, none of my school teachers did this. Many teachers would say "That is a good question. The answer is...". That did not give the same effect. It always seemed like they were just saying that so that students wouldn't be afraid to ask a question in class. While this is important, it does not necessarily make students want to think and participate. If all teachers would use this method of saving very good questions or general thoughts then through positive motivation more students will think and participate in class discussions.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Why Podcast? How do we do a podcast?
"1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook"
I really liked Langwitches' idea of having the first graders make their own audiobook of the Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs in the Dark. This is a fantastic way of making reading fun and personal. In addition, those students who may have trouble understanding a word are able to hear a classmate read it to him or her. There is also the availability of a dictionary on the computer. This allows for faster reading and better understanding.I really While reading Langwitches' post I did notice that small groups would work on this project with the teacher. What were the other students doing during this class time? Were they making good use of the limited class time allowed? Also how can you keep all students active in this project? I'm not sure just focusing on one group of students for a class period is the best way. Won't other students be lost and not sure what to do during class? There may be part of the lesson that was not on the post and I did not see. Overall I am fascinated with the idea of having students make their own audiobook and hope to one day use this in my own classroom!
"Flat Stanley Podcast"
"Crafty Moms Share: Virtual Flat Stanley." Crafty Moms Share: Virtual Flat Stanley. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013..
I am completely amazed at how these first graders wanted to make their own podcast and stories of their personal Flat Stanleys. I really like the idea having each student find a place to go to, figure out how to get there and back, and what they did there. This gives reading a very creative and personal feel. Every child will have a different dream place and favorite activity. Through this activity students are able to express their unique creativity through their Flat Stanley story. I also like how senses were brought into the project. I know that even as a college students I don't think about what is felt or smelled in my writing. This is a very important aspect of any creative writing, at all levels. In addition to the creative aspect of this project, students learned how to research at a young age. From experience, I know that learning how to properly research different material for a class takes a lot of practice! In fact I started to really learn how to research in 3rd grade and am still learning now as as sophomore in college. The teacher's idea of having each student look up a place and activities to do there. This will give students an advantage later in their school careers. Whether they are asked to give a report in a 6th grade geography class about the Amazon Rainforest or about Mid-evil England in an English class in high school. This is a fantastic way to modernize Flat Stanley and let children's creativity flourish!
I really liked Langwitches' idea of having the first graders make their own audiobook of the Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs in the Dark. This is a fantastic way of making reading fun and personal. In addition, those students who may have trouble understanding a word are able to hear a classmate read it to him or her. There is also the availability of a dictionary on the computer. This allows for faster reading and better understanding.I really While reading Langwitches' post I did notice that small groups would work on this project with the teacher. What were the other students doing during this class time? Were they making good use of the limited class time allowed? Also how can you keep all students active in this project? I'm not sure just focusing on one group of students for a class period is the best way. Won't other students be lost and not sure what to do during class? There may be part of the lesson that was not on the post and I did not see. Overall I am fascinated with the idea of having students make their own audiobook and hope to one day use this in my own classroom!
"Flat Stanley Podcast"
"Crafty Moms Share: Virtual Flat Stanley." Crafty Moms Share: Virtual Flat Stanley. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.
I am completely amazed at how these first graders wanted to make their own podcast and stories of their personal Flat Stanleys. I really like the idea having each student find a place to go to, figure out how to get there and back, and what they did there. This gives reading a very creative and personal feel. Every child will have a different dream place and favorite activity. Through this activity students are able to express their unique creativity through their Flat Stanley story. I also like how senses were brought into the project. I know that even as a college students I don't think about what is felt or smelled in my writing. This is a very important aspect of any creative writing, at all levels. In addition to the creative aspect of this project, students learned how to research at a young age. From experience, I know that learning how to properly research different material for a class takes a lot of practice! In fact I started to really learn how to research in 3rd grade and am still learning now as as sophomore in college. The teacher's idea of having each student look up a place and activities to do there. This will give students an advantage later in their school careers. Whether they are asked to give a report in a 6th grade geography class about the Amazon Rainforest or about Mid-evil England in an English class in high school. This is a fantastic way to modernize Flat Stanley and let children's creativity flourish!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?
Peer editing is a very useful tool in any stage of the education system. Unfortunatly, it is also often feared and not done properly. Students of all ages should learn proper peer editing techniques, such as those stated in the video What is Peer Editing?. This video simply explains the simple steps neccesary for peer editing. This video, along with the powerpoint Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial , show the steps to properly peer edit in a very basic fashion. They state the steps with a basic expanation. This is very useful for students that need a basic explanation, especially older students.
But what about students that need clear examples? Many younger students, and even older students, need to see what not to do. That is where the video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes is useful. This video shows young students helping each other review their writing. The children each make a major peer editing mistake. The video also shows the effect bad peer editing has on the other student(s). For me, this video is the most useful in learning how to better peer edit.
While peer editing may often seem one sided, that the only student who benefits is the one whose paper was reviewed, this is the complete opposite. The act of reading someone else's paper critically greatly benefits the reader too! When looking for any mistakes, limitations, or execptional writing the reader can see mistakes to avoid or ways to improve his or her own writing. After reading my peers' posts I can see that I need to better explain my points and avoid simple spelling and gramatical mistakes by simply proofreading.
Through these videos and assignments I have learned how important peer editing is. I used to feel that it was a waste, especially if you are paired with someone who does not care or understand. But now I see how beneficial it is for students especially if everyone in the group is dedicated (or even if you are in a bad group work situation).
But what about students that need clear examples? Many younger students, and even older students, need to see what not to do. That is where the video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes is useful. This video shows young students helping each other review their writing. The children each make a major peer editing mistake. The video also shows the effect bad peer editing has on the other student(s). For me, this video is the most useful in learning how to better peer edit.
While peer editing may often seem one sided, that the only student who benefits is the one whose paper was reviewed, this is the complete opposite. The act of reading someone else's paper critically greatly benefits the reader too! When looking for any mistakes, limitations, or execptional writing the reader can see mistakes to avoid or ways to improve his or her own writing. After reading my peers' posts I can see that I need to better explain my points and avoid simple spelling and gramatical mistakes by simply proofreading.
Through these videos and assignments I have learned how important peer editing is. I used to feel that it was a waste, especially if you are paired with someone who does not care or understand. But now I see how beneficial it is for students especially if everyone in the group is dedicated (or even if you are in a bad group work situation).
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Blog Post 2: What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?
"Mr. Dancealot" Video
This video shows how lecture teaching does not lead to any actual learning. In the video the teacher stood behind his desk and lectured the entire semester, without once actually properly demonstrating the dance steps to his students. While he did try to show his class the steps he did so behind his desk where nobody could see his feet. In addition, he would not allow students to be active participants in class. The teacher quickly stopped students who tried to ask each other about the class or who tried to follow along with the dance steps. While this video may seem a bit extreme to some it does show some very crucial aspects of the education system as needing improvement. The main problem that is shown in this video is how the standard lecture class does not work. In the video while Mr. Dancealot was teaching students had no way of engaging in the class. While some people may argue that students should ask questions during the lecture as a way of engaging, this does not work. Many teachers do not like to be interrupted with questions and so will not answer any during class. In my own experience some teachers feel like questions are only asked as a means to get them off track so that the lesson will not be finished. Because of this false belief many students are forced to just listen and wonder. A second problem shown in the video is students being so bored that they fell asleep. This is also caused by lack of student involvement. Students need to be active participants in class. Humans are only able to listen attentively for about twenty minutes; no student can just sit and pay attention to the teacher for an entire class. The primary problem with Mr. Dancealot's lack of student involvement is that nobody can learn. When it came time for the final not a single student could dance. It would not matter how many facts Mr. Dancealot gave them, such as the test being open book and open note, students learn by doing. This is the same for any age student. Overall, Mr. Dancealot truly failed to teach his students and give them any useful information or skill.
"Flipping the Classroom--4th Grade STEM
Alyssa Sherman
Ms. Manofo states in her video several reasons why flipping is being implemented in her school. At first glance her ideas sound fantastic; every child will get the most out of his or her education. However, while the idea of teaching students their lesions the night before class seems like a great idea, there are some major flaws that cannot be overlooked.
First and most importantly how can students learn new information, especially in math, if they cannot ask questions while learning? In the video Ms. Manofo says that the idea behind flipping is so that students can come to class prepared having already done some problems. But what if a student does not understand? It is crucial, especially in math, for students to ask questions as soon as they do not understand something. How can a student do any practice problems if he or she does not understand how to solve the problem? While some students may feel more prepared for class after already hearing the lessons, this will not work for everyone.
A second flaw of the flipping system, as mentioned in the video, is that not every student has a home computer. While students would be allowed to use a school computer in the morning, this plan is not very effective. Students in this situation would have a major disadvantage since they cannot do their homework the night before. Also, the main idea of flipping is to have students prepared for class lessons; this cannot be done when not every student can hear the lesson and prepare the night before.
While the idea of flipping does have its bad sides, there are some benefits that were mentioned in the video. Students would have the opportunity to see and hear the lesson ahead of class. This would allow students to come to class ready to work, and, hopefully, with questions. This would allow for better use of class time. Another benefit of flipping is that students could watch the lesson as many times as necessary for them to understand. This would allow students to learn at their own pace.
Ms. Manofo makes some very excellent points in her video about the benefits of flipping, but she does not mention some crucial aspect of this plan. For this system to work some changes need to be made in the plan. However, the idea of flipping could be very beneficial to students overall.
"Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Haley Marrs
Vicki Davis is an outstanding IT director and teacher in rural Georgia who has used digital citizenship to teach her students about technology. As stated in the video, Davis likes to call herself a “teacherprenuer” because she customizes her curriculum according to the students she has in the classroom, based on their strengths and interests. Davis is focused on teaching her students to learn how to learn, teaching them new software, how to blog and communicate effectively using online resources and how to generally be comfortable with technology as a whole.
She mentions several times that she is teaching her students to learn how to learn. This is evident in the video where you see the students individually interacting with technology and she is watching and participating herself by asking questions to challenge their thinking and skills. Davis has her curriculum and introduces it to her students then it is expected of the students learn how to complete the request at hand. In this particular case these high school students are learning about terraforming, which is a new term to them, and she expects them to look it up and learn to learn. This reminds me of a popular motto by Dr. Strange, “Never tell, always ask”. This is an effective way of teaching because the student has to seek the answer rather than just being told. This allows the teacher to motivate the students to think, just as I did when I personally had to Google the term terraforming for this video.
Not only does Mrs. Davis have these students searching for information but they also have the opportunity to teach one another and in this case they have taught the teacher. Davis justifies teachers do not always have to be educated on what they want their students to learn because it is a chance for the student to be a teacher, as this empowers them and they can share with each other. As you see in the video, the students have an opportunity to stand in front of the class and teach their peers which promotes networking skills. These students are blogging with people from around the world and really collaborating with them to learn about other cultures and ways of learning. She has proven herself to be effective by empowering them to embark outside of this rural Southern community by connecting them to the world.
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-teachers-vicki-davis-video
The Network Student: Network Student Video
Kayla Szymanski
What a simple, yet powerful video. Kevin Roberts did a great job at compiling the reasons why PLN's are such vital parts of our students educational growth. The question is asked after watching this video, why do students even need teachers anymore in the 21st century? Even though students can basically teach themselves using tools offered by PLN's today there are a few things that teachers can also offer that are beneficial as well.
Teachers are the ones who help students build their PLN's and help the students take advantage of these great learning opportunities. Without the teacher showing their students these tools they would never know they existed. Also teachers can offer their guidance when the students get stuck on a particular problem. It is so much easier when you can just ask questions and get results back, this is the teachers job.
The teachers also show the students how to communicate properly and ask respectfully for help from experts. If the students did not have teachers to show them what grammar mistakes they were making the world would be one huge error. Teachers are still needed in the 21st century even though there are plenty of teaching tools free on the web. This is why it is so crucial for teachers of the 21st century to be computer and technologically literate.
And lastly the teacher shows the students how to sort out good information and propaganda while they learn on their personal network system. Also the teacher must show the student how to turn a web search into a fun excited way to learn. Students can be self taught all day long, but they need that encouragement to keep going. This is almost the same instance as the last blog post we did. The children were teaching themselves English and other things way above there time, but yet they still needed encouragement every now and then to keep going. It is a proven and tested fact, teachers will be around in the 21st century and even after that.
"Teaching in the 21st Century"
Katy Mehrer
: What does it mean to teach in the 21st century? Teaching in the 21st century, according to the video “Teaching in the 21st Century”, was talking about how computers have such an impact on children of today. I don’t believe that to be completely true; however, I do feel like it is important for children to learn about computers and how to use them. What I don’t agree on is them having to use them in elementary school. Google has been a big part of looking things up for kids, but I believe that most kids that are using these tools are the children in upper schooling. Most kids learn from themselves with using computers. Teaching in the 21st century is a lot like it was in the 20th century. When I was in school, we still had computer labs, and different things to do with computers. I don’t believe it is a must do to teach with computers. I know quite a few things about computers. That is why we have computer classes in college. If you would like to know more about computers, than take a class. That is my opinion on the 21st century teaching
This video shows how lecture teaching does not lead to any actual learning. In the video the teacher stood behind his desk and lectured the entire semester, without once actually properly demonstrating the dance steps to his students. While he did try to show his class the steps he did so behind his desk where nobody could see his feet. In addition, he would not allow students to be active participants in class. The teacher quickly stopped students who tried to ask each other about the class or who tried to follow along with the dance steps. While this video may seem a bit extreme to some it does show some very crucial aspects of the education system as needing improvement. The main problem that is shown in this video is how the standard lecture class does not work. In the video while Mr. Dancealot was teaching students had no way of engaging in the class. While some people may argue that students should ask questions during the lecture as a way of engaging, this does not work. Many teachers do not like to be interrupted with questions and so will not answer any during class. In my own experience some teachers feel like questions are only asked as a means to get them off track so that the lesson will not be finished. Because of this false belief many students are forced to just listen and wonder. A second problem shown in the video is students being so bored that they fell asleep. This is also caused by lack of student involvement. Students need to be active participants in class. Humans are only able to listen attentively for about twenty minutes; no student can just sit and pay attention to the teacher for an entire class. The primary problem with Mr. Dancealot's lack of student involvement is that nobody can learn. When it came time for the final not a single student could dance. It would not matter how many facts Mr. Dancealot gave them, such as the test being open book and open note, students learn by doing. This is the same for any age student. Overall, Mr. Dancealot truly failed to teach his students and give them any useful information or skill.
"Flipping the Classroom--4th Grade STEM
Alyssa Sherman
Ms. Manofo states in her video several reasons why flipping is being implemented in her school. At first glance her ideas sound fantastic; every child will get the most out of his or her education. However, while the idea of teaching students their lesions the night before class seems like a great idea, there are some major flaws that cannot be overlooked.
First and most importantly how can students learn new information, especially in math, if they cannot ask questions while learning? In the video Ms. Manofo says that the idea behind flipping is so that students can come to class prepared having already done some problems. But what if a student does not understand? It is crucial, especially in math, for students to ask questions as soon as they do not understand something. How can a student do any practice problems if he or she does not understand how to solve the problem? While some students may feel more prepared for class after already hearing the lessons, this will not work for everyone.
A second flaw of the flipping system, as mentioned in the video, is that not every student has a home computer. While students would be allowed to use a school computer in the morning, this plan is not very effective. Students in this situation would have a major disadvantage since they cannot do their homework the night before. Also, the main idea of flipping is to have students prepared for class lessons; this cannot be done when not every student can hear the lesson and prepare the night before.
While the idea of flipping does have its bad sides, there are some benefits that were mentioned in the video. Students would have the opportunity to see and hear the lesson ahead of class. This would allow students to come to class ready to work, and, hopefully, with questions. This would allow for better use of class time. Another benefit of flipping is that students could watch the lesson as many times as necessary for them to understand. This would allow students to learn at their own pace.
Ms. Manofo makes some very excellent points in her video about the benefits of flipping, but she does not mention some crucial aspect of this plan. For this system to work some changes need to be made in the plan. However, the idea of flipping could be very beneficial to students overall.
"Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Haley Marrs
Vicki Davis is an outstanding IT director and teacher in rural Georgia who has used digital citizenship to teach her students about technology. As stated in the video, Davis likes to call herself a “teacherprenuer” because she customizes her curriculum according to the students she has in the classroom, based on their strengths and interests. Davis is focused on teaching her students to learn how to learn, teaching them new software, how to blog and communicate effectively using online resources and how to generally be comfortable with technology as a whole.
She mentions several times that she is teaching her students to learn how to learn. This is evident in the video where you see the students individually interacting with technology and she is watching and participating herself by asking questions to challenge their thinking and skills. Davis has her curriculum and introduces it to her students then it is expected of the students learn how to complete the request at hand. In this particular case these high school students are learning about terraforming, which is a new term to them, and she expects them to look it up and learn to learn. This reminds me of a popular motto by Dr. Strange, “Never tell, always ask”. This is an effective way of teaching because the student has to seek the answer rather than just being told. This allows the teacher to motivate the students to think, just as I did when I personally had to Google the term terraforming for this video.
Not only does Mrs. Davis have these students searching for information but they also have the opportunity to teach one another and in this case they have taught the teacher. Davis justifies teachers do not always have to be educated on what they want their students to learn because it is a chance for the student to be a teacher, as this empowers them and they can share with each other. As you see in the video, the students have an opportunity to stand in front of the class and teach their peers which promotes networking skills. These students are blogging with people from around the world and really collaborating with them to learn about other cultures and ways of learning. She has proven herself to be effective by empowering them to embark outside of this rural Southern community by connecting them to the world.
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-teachers-vicki-davis-video
The Network Student: Network Student Video
Kayla Szymanski
What a simple, yet powerful video. Kevin Roberts did a great job at compiling the reasons why PLN's are such vital parts of our students educational growth. The question is asked after watching this video, why do students even need teachers anymore in the 21st century? Even though students can basically teach themselves using tools offered by PLN's today there are a few things that teachers can also offer that are beneficial as well.
Teachers are the ones who help students build their PLN's and help the students take advantage of these great learning opportunities. Without the teacher showing their students these tools they would never know they existed. Also teachers can offer their guidance when the students get stuck on a particular problem. It is so much easier when you can just ask questions and get results back, this is the teachers job.
The teachers also show the students how to communicate properly and ask respectfully for help from experts. If the students did not have teachers to show them what grammar mistakes they were making the world would be one huge error. Teachers are still needed in the 21st century even though there are plenty of teaching tools free on the web. This is why it is so crucial for teachers of the 21st century to be computer and technologically literate.
And lastly the teacher shows the students how to sort out good information and propaganda while they learn on their personal network system. Also the teacher must show the student how to turn a web search into a fun excited way to learn. Students can be self taught all day long, but they need that encouragement to keep going. This is almost the same instance as the last blog post we did. The children were teaching themselves English and other things way above there time, but yet they still needed encouragement every now and then to keep going. It is a proven and tested fact, teachers will be around in the 21st century and even after that.
"Teaching in the 21st Century"
Katy Mehrer
: What does it mean to teach in the 21st century? Teaching in the 21st century, according to the video “Teaching in the 21st Century”, was talking about how computers have such an impact on children of today. I don’t believe that to be completely true; however, I do feel like it is important for children to learn about computers and how to use them. What I don’t agree on is them having to use them in elementary school. Google has been a big part of looking things up for kids, but I believe that most kids that are using these tools are the children in upper schooling. Most kids learn from themselves with using computers. Teaching in the 21st century is a lot like it was in the 20th century. When I was in school, we still had computer labs, and different things to do with computers. I don’t believe it is a must do to teach with computers. I know quite a few things about computers. That is why we have computer classes in college. If you would like to know more about computers, than take a class. That is my opinion on the 21st century teaching
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