In Everett School, there is not much diversity. Students learn about other cultures in their classes, but the truth is that there is not very much diversity in the school. In the two kindergarten classes that I have been observing, all but four children are white.
In Mrs. Simala’s classroom, the children are encouraged to work with each other frequently. The students are often working in different groups depending on which subject they are involved in. This is of course late in the year, but the children are very good at staying on task in the classroom. The students are young so it takes a little prying on the teacher’s part, but the more advanced students have shown the ability to help the students who may be struggling.
Both the morning and afternoon sessions have children with special needs. In both classes there is one student with extreme needs. They both have an aid that shadows them throughout the entire day. This aid is able to help with the other students when it is needed. In the morning class, there are a lot of students who are behind in a lot of the subjects. Those students have already started getting extra help during class and some have even started sessions after school. Mrs. Simala stated to me that it is unusual for students to have an IEP so early in their school career and she has multiple students who will be receiving them. I guess people try to wait and see if the student will get the concepts with time, but these particular students will fall too far behind if action is not taken.
Mrs. Simala works with a lot of the faculty everyday. As stated earlier there is a teacher’s assistant in both classes. Also, reading specialists come into the classroom two or three days of the week and work in small groups with the children. Mrs. Simala prepares the children for their sessions with the reading specialists with the knowledge of what they will be learning. This collaboration between the faculty occurs mostly at meetings.
Families are very involved at Everett School. Parents are frequently involved in the classroom, often assisting Mrs. Simala in small group lessons. This is a great benefit of working in a community like Lake Forest where you actually have the luxury of parents who are willing and able to help.
In a recent discussion with Mrs. Simala about her students with special needs, she showed me some charts which tracked students’ progress. These charts showed students scores on reading tests. In these tests, the students are shown words and their assignment is to read them out loud. The chart that I was shown displayed the individual students’ score along with the range and average scores of the rest of the class. There were scores from the beginning of the year and from their more recent assessments. She also showed me some charts marking the improvement of her past students. She did this to display to parents the benefits of students receiving extra help. Apparently there have been a lot of parents who do not want any extra help for their children. Mrs. Simala wanted to track the improvement of those who did and did not receive extra assistance so parents could see the benefits.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Blogs, Wikis, and Nings... What?
At least these are normal names, right?
From my understanding, blogs are websites in which people can respond to your postings. These posting will only show up on a specific postings page and others cannot edit your posts. A wiki is similar except viewers can edit your actual posts. So what you post may change very soon after. I think that a ning is intended for people to post questions about a particular interest. In education nings, a teacher could ask a question and other teachers could respond with their expertise.
In education, these could all have their place. A class blog would be a great way to inform your students and parents about what is happening in your classroom.
A wiki would be a great way for your students to work on group projects together. This way they could be interacting and working together from home. With different family schedules, this is a pretty good alternative to meeting in person.
A ning is a great tool for a teacher and the student. As a teacher, it is a great way to get advice from someone who may have more expertise than you. It would also be a great way for students to ask questions when they are home for the day. On the ning, students and you could respond to these questions.
From my understanding, blogs are websites in which people can respond to your postings. These posting will only show up on a specific postings page and others cannot edit your posts. A wiki is similar except viewers can edit your actual posts. So what you post may change very soon after. I think that a ning is intended for people to post questions about a particular interest. In education nings, a teacher could ask a question and other teachers could respond with their expertise.
In education, these could all have their place. A class blog would be a great way to inform your students and parents about what is happening in your classroom.
A wiki would be a great way for your students to work on group projects together. This way they could be interacting and working together from home. With different family schedules, this is a pretty good alternative to meeting in person.
A ning is a great tool for a teacher and the student. As a teacher, it is a great way to get advice from someone who may have more expertise than you. It would also be a great way for students to ask questions when they are home for the day. On the ning, students and you could respond to these questions.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
ELE300- Journal #1
I was able to start my observations this week at Everett Elementary in Lake Forest, Illinois. I have been placed in a Kindergarten class. There are two half-day sessions, but I only observed the second half on Thursday. I will be observing both classes on Wednesdays in the future.
When I walked into the classroom, it was the first time I met my cooperating teacher Lyndsey Simala. The first thing she said was, "Oh I am sorry it is such a mess in here. Organization is not my strong suit." But it was not exactly messy in the classroom. Actually, it was very well organized in the classroom. I truly saw this when the children came into the room. They all had organized cubbies to put their clothes in. The students also knew to head to their assigned desks and grab their work out of their pouches on their chairs. When it was time to do group work, all of the students knew where they should sit and with whom they should be sitting.
The students were very aware of where all their resources may be. They had a great sense of belonging in Mrs. Simala's classroom. What I saw on Thursday was probably a result of the students being in the classroom for five months at that point. I'm sure with Kindergartners it is hard for them to become acclimated to their new setting. That is why it is probably most important to have routines for the students to become comfortable.
I think part of the reason that the students are so comfortable in Mrs. Simala's classroom is because of her tone with the children. She has a very calm tone that lets the kids know that she is here to help them. She has rituals that allow her to maintain her calm demeanor. When it is time to switch stations, Mrs. Simala will announce that there is one minute left of a certain activity. She will then turn the timer on, and when the buzzer goes off all of the students switch stations. She will also do the routine of, "If you can hear me clap your hands." This way, the students on the other side of the room will notice the other children clapping and they will turn and listen.
I noticed many things around the classroom that were mentioned in our text. There were words all around the classroom that have been used in different lessons from the year. This was called the word wall. Also, the students names on located on their desks, and their cubbies which gives them a sense of belonging and community. They have displays from all of the different lessons they have learned, and they also have a mini library full of books that relate to their current curriculum.
When I walked into the classroom, it was the first time I met my cooperating teacher Lyndsey Simala. The first thing she said was, "Oh I am sorry it is such a mess in here. Organization is not my strong suit." But it was not exactly messy in the classroom. Actually, it was very well organized in the classroom. I truly saw this when the children came into the room. They all had organized cubbies to put their clothes in. The students also knew to head to their assigned desks and grab their work out of their pouches on their chairs. When it was time to do group work, all of the students knew where they should sit and with whom they should be sitting.
The students were very aware of where all their resources may be. They had a great sense of belonging in Mrs. Simala's classroom. What I saw on Thursday was probably a result of the students being in the classroom for five months at that point. I'm sure with Kindergartners it is hard for them to become acclimated to their new setting. That is why it is probably most important to have routines for the students to become comfortable.
I think part of the reason that the students are so comfortable in Mrs. Simala's classroom is because of her tone with the children. She has a very calm tone that lets the kids know that she is here to help them. She has rituals that allow her to maintain her calm demeanor. When it is time to switch stations, Mrs. Simala will announce that there is one minute left of a certain activity. She will then turn the timer on, and when the buzzer goes off all of the students switch stations. She will also do the routine of, "If you can hear me clap your hands." This way, the students on the other side of the room will notice the other children clapping and they will turn and listen.
I noticed many things around the classroom that were mentioned in our text. There were words all around the classroom that have been used in different lessons from the year. This was called the word wall. Also, the students names on located on their desks, and their cubbies which gives them a sense of belonging and community. They have displays from all of the different lessons they have learned, and they also have a mini library full of books that relate to their current curriculum.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
NETS-T
As a teacher, I believe that having a class blog would help you meet the National Educational Technology Standards for teachers. By developing a blog and sharing it with your students and parents, it would show that you are indeed fluent in technology. This all fits under the Model-Age Work and Learning standard. Blogs would allow you to collaborate with your students and their parents, from one spot. This way, if there are questions from students or parents, they can ask you through the blog. Another great possibility is that their questions could be answered just by looking at the blog. This would require you to be very thorough with the posts and links, which would also demonstrate your capabilities.
Through this blog, you could have links to lesson plans and power points. This is a great way for parents to know what is happening in their child's classroom. In addition to lesson plans and PowerPoint's, the assignments can be posted. I feel like this is still and example of Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, but nonetheless, it would be very helpful for parents and students alike. I know that I seemed to forget about my assignments as soon as a left school, and I'm sure my mother would have appreciated something like this to check.
Whether this is through the blog, or in a parent-teacher conference, Excel is a great way to show the students overall performance. I believe that this would fit under the Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments standard. Excel allows you to show the students grades, but it also allows you to do so much more. With Excel, you can record students progress in all of the different types of assignments. You can also attach charts showing students progress and performance versus the class average or class high. You can keep scores anonymous or have code names if you were to post these things on the blog.
I think it is very important to Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility in front of your classroom. A very important aspect that should be taught to students is citing all of your resources. In documents that you use for class, you can always add a bibliography at the end. It is very important to show the kids that it is okay to research, in fact it is encouraged, but you need to give credit where it is due. In PowerPoint presentations, you can always mention where you found some information and that will help the students when they are asked to do the work on their own. In addition to mentioning your resources, the bibliography staples the idea of copyright and plagiarism into their minds.
Through this blog, you could have links to lesson plans and power points. This is a great way for parents to know what is happening in their child's classroom. In addition to lesson plans and PowerPoint's, the assignments can be posted. I feel like this is still and example of Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, but nonetheless, it would be very helpful for parents and students alike. I know that I seemed to forget about my assignments as soon as a left school, and I'm sure my mother would have appreciated something like this to check.
Whether this is through the blog, or in a parent-teacher conference, Excel is a great way to show the students overall performance. I believe that this would fit under the Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments standard. Excel allows you to show the students grades, but it also allows you to do so much more. With Excel, you can record students progress in all of the different types of assignments. You can also attach charts showing students progress and performance versus the class average or class high. You can keep scores anonymous or have code names if you were to post these things on the blog.
I think it is very important to Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility in front of your classroom. A very important aspect that should be taught to students is citing all of your resources. In documents that you use for class, you can always add a bibliography at the end. It is very important to show the kids that it is okay to research, in fact it is encouraged, but you need to give credit where it is due. In PowerPoint presentations, you can always mention where you found some information and that will help the students when they are asked to do the work on their own. In addition to mentioning your resources, the bibliography staples the idea of copyright and plagiarism into their minds.
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