Blog #8: What I Learned From Classmates

I looked at Jana's blog and she posted a really good quote from the book: "The more willing we are to take the risks, the better the lives of our students are likely to become, and the greater the fulfillment we are likely to feel at the end of the day."
I really like this quote because it gives me the motivation to feel like I really can be an effective teacher if I'm willing to put in the effort and try new things. If I try something new and it doesn't work there are always other things I can try without giving up on my students and assuming they can't learn it.

I also looked at Lance's blog. One thing that he wrote about was deciding what groups students will be in before class. Sometimes teachers just decide on groups at the moment they need the kids in groups. When you do this, students might not be in the best possible group for them. You might put 2 friends in a group that like to talk a lot to each other or you might put a student a group where they feel behind and stupid so they won't feel comfortable saying anything. Sometimes it's okay to put students in random groups, but I think the teacher should be very aware of who is in each group, how they work together, and if students will learn the best in that group.

Blog #7: Differentiation Strategies

I can picture myself using a lot of the strategies presented in class but the one I would try first is Learning Menus. I loved the examples the group showed us in class and I think the kids would have so much fun with them. It seems like a very simple way to differentiate the assignments. It would be a very good strategy to use for Social Studies. For example, if I was teaching about World War 2, I could come up with a variety of assignments, some that all of the class would do, and some that they could pick two or three from a list. If I wanted my students to learn about the holocaust, I could have one of my choices be to learn about Ann Frank write a letter to her comparing her life with theirs. Another choice might be to learn about a holocaust survivor and do a project about that. All students would be learning about the holocaust but they would be approaching the topic differently and learning about different aspects of it. In the end, each student could present their projects, so they would be teaching the other students about the parts they had learned. Students would be able to choose projects that helped them learn best whether through writing, drawing, putting on a play, etc.

Blog #6: Differenting Readiness or Interest?

I think that it's important to use both in that classroom. I think if the topic seems like it might be something that is tough for the kids to get, differentiation for readiness would be a good idea. Students need to be scaffolded up so the task doesn't seem so daunting and intimidating. I think that differentiating for interest can be done anytime that it fits. For example, if you are giving a writing assignment you could give the students a list of topics to write about. They are still writing and all doing the same assignment, but they are able to choose something they are interested in to write about. Sometimes you can differentiate for both. For example, using the Think-Tac-Toe model. Students are able to choose 3 choices out of 9. Some choices are less complex than others. Some choices allow students to work with partners, other choices are individual. I think by switching it up the kids will learn best. Sometimes by differentiating for readiness, other times for interest, and sometimes for both.