Blog #2 Differentiation

1. In the "morning meeting" readings you were exposed to several teachers who do morning meeting in their classrooms. Please find one of them, list his or her name, and explain what they do or believe about morning meeting.

Mr. Saunders began morning meetings since the beginning of the school year. He followed the general guidelines of Greeting, Sharing, Group Activity, and Morning Message. I suspect he began the sharing part of morning meetings with everyone sharing their response to a general topic or question. After several months, Mr. Saunders sharers were asked to speak clearly on a focused topic, and have the classmates respond with on-topic questions or comments. At first, the questions were not eliciting more than a yes, or no response, so Mr. Saunders decided to help the sharers become more vibrant when presenting their topic.

First, he would check in with the sharers ahead of time. During this time, he would ask open-ended questions so the sharer could sharpen their presentation and add a little intrigue to their topic. With others, he would help the sharer tone down their presentation and stay focused and succinct.

Next, he would check-in with the sharers on the morning of their time to share and excitedly ask if they were ready. He would also give positive encouragement, such as: “You can do it” or “I can’t wait to hear you share!”

By briefing the student sharers ahead of time, Mr. Saunders helped these students elicit more detail, vividness, and even suspense in their presentations. This, in turn made the questions more interesting to all in the class.

Mr. Saunders feels very strongly about morning meetings and has taken the time to help the students increase their level of enjoyment and learning when sharing with their classmates.

2. In both part I of Differentiation in Practice and chapter 1 inFulfilling the Promise, you find a short list of curricular elements that teachers can adjust and a short list of student traits or characteristics teachers can respond to. One of the books lists 4 of these, while the other lists only 3. What do you think changed in Tomlinson's thinking to add a 4th curricular element and a 4th trait to her original list?

All student traits should constantly be assessed by the teacher (readiness, interest, andlearning profile) but Tomlinson also realized the most influential trait is affect. The way the student feels about themselves, their work and their classroom are aspects which are vital to the student being receptive to learning. The student’s emotions (or feelings) are deeply connected to the student’s cognition. When they feel comfortable capable, and safe they will find their potential for learning is increased.

Likewise, Tomilnson’s list of classroom elements: content, process, and product were not complete without including learning environment. The operation and tone of the classroom affects everything. A positive mood in the classroom, where seriousness about work balanced with celebration of successes increases the potential for responsive thinking. All the other elements could be found in a classroom, but if the mood is negative, this will affect the student’s emotions and subsequently close the gateway to helping each student become more fully engaged and be a successful learner.

3. In the introduction to The First Six Weeks of School you read about the importance of establishing a friendly, predictable, and orderly classroom as a "prerequisite for children's academic achievement." Is "friendly" as important as "predictable" and "orderly"? Why or why not? (Please refer to ideas you find in the introduction to The First Six Weeks of School.

The three components shared in the book: friendly, predictable, and orderly are all pieces of academic achievement. When you are missing one (such as friendly), then this puzzle is not complete. This idea is shared widely among educators where they have seen first-hand how friendliness is a valuable aim towards a productive learning school year.

Students must know each other’s names and need to feel they belong. They will define their commonality and differences. When students participate in group-building activities, they create a trust and bonding where friendships can thrive. Also, when students feel they are part of a bigger community, they are more likely to help other friends to progress towards a common goal. Each student in the class should be thought of as a friend. During the first six weeks, students are given examples of how friends treat each other in this classroom. Teachers may need to convey that friendly greetings and invitations to eat lunch with others are noted and appreciated. Alternatively, the students may also need a reminder that sneering responses are not tolerated or appreciated.

Predictability and Orderly are both important components in a classroom as well, but they are not more important than Friendly. When you can teach students in a positive learning environment where the mood is friendly, then each student’s academics will increase. The best case scenario will be to apply all aspects to a classroom for the benefit of the teacher and especially the students. Success in this area will provide a promise of a fantastic school year.

Differentiation Post #1 ( Hi Dr. Peterson ) smiley face

1. What grade (and in which school) will you be teaching?

As of right now it will be 5th grade. I am excited for the experience I will gain since my years of experience actually involve K-2. I do love the curriculum of US History though...

2. What is your favorite children's book? There are so many!!!

Goodnight moon was one of the first I read to my children where they would read along with me.

3. If you watch TV, what shows do you most enjoy?

I watch TV as a family so we watch: American Idol (sometimes), Amazing Race, and Undercover Boss

BRADY BUNCH @ 5:30 every weeknight on KBYU!!!

4. What movie affected you enough that you'd be willing to see it again?

I have always loved Scarlet Pimpernell with Jane Seymore.

Many family movies we watch alot. Tangled is the most recent that we liked.

5. What are you really good at?

I enjoy getting to know people. Everyone has something positive about them!! Some are overflowing! (especially many teachers I have been blessed to be a student of).

6. What is a talent you wish you had?

Finding enough time in the day to spend time with my family and still get homework done and sleep 8 hrs :)

7. Tell me your background in sports and/or athletics.

I have played sports all my life especially since I had no sisters and four brothers.

We played catch and basketball out in my yard every summer.

When I was in 9th grade, I tried out for the volleyball team and made it. I was hooked.

I still play volleyball when I can (I just played it with an unorganized group last night since I knew it would be the last night in a long time where I wouldn't have homework looming )

Learning how to be a team player and build others is one of the most valued experiences I attribute to playing sports.

I even want my classroom "THEME" to be sports. I saw a bulletin board that had lots of cut out soccer balls heading into a goal with the title: "Aiming for our 5th grade goals." I am going to use that too!!

8. Tell me your background in visual arts, dance & drama.

I took a little dance in elementary school, and really felt too self-conscious in my youth to participate in drama. I can sketch okay, but although I don't participate much in these arenas, I truly appreciate all three.

9. What is your musical background? (Lessons? Singing? Instrument? Read music? Enjoy listening to music? What kinds?)

I LOVE music. I play the piano, and all of my brothers played instruments, including trumpet, saxophone, and trombone. All my close friends are singers, and I can sing a small range in tune, but it is not a performing soloist voice.

I love listening to ALL kinds of music.

My 4 daughters and I have been listening to musical soundtracks, such as Disney's AIDA (music by Elton John), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, and Wicked.

10. What would you be doing this summer, if you were not going to be an intern?

Be with my four beautiful daughters in the day and night.

I LOVE my children and one of many reasons I have chosen this profession is so that I will be home in the summers when they are. This last year truly has been a sacrifice and I hope they will see the benefit of my time spent studying in the future.

11. What would you like me to know about you that I haven't asked?

After class today, I was very excited to learn everything! Maybe it's because I am so close to actually having my own class that I am looking at every piece of information and how I can utilize it in my future classroom.

Thanks for your positive influence!

My Beliefs

I feel that technology advances daily, and if I, as a teacher don't keep up with it, I will be doing myself and my students a HUGE disservice. Many teachers don't feel comfortable using technology in their classrooms, mainly because it will take too much time preparing and besides, they have taught the material enough years that it has become perfected.

This is unfortunate. I do not want to look past using technology. Thank goodness my husband is religiously interested in everything up and coming. I learn alot from him, or at least get a general interest in the new technology and he is more than willing to have my computer be a guinea pig.

The main concern for me is to make sure I use the technology in a way that will enhance a topic, and not just use it because I can. If writing 2 x 2 = 4 on the white board will suffice, I don't think I should waste extra time setting up my computer and projector to show the exact same thing. On the other hand, there are many computer games that students could "play" and end up practicing their times tables while playing an internet game... see www.prongo.com

I already am frequently asked to help out others who are having difficulty working on a computer. This is the best way to learn, since I am not remotely as stressed out as the person with the question. I can calmly assess the situation and work towards a solution. It is usually solved by the person themselves, once they talk through what's not working.

I see myself being the "go to" person (just like you, Doc Waters) to help out other teachers trying to use technology in the classroom. If it gets more teachers to be willing to try it out, then it will be worth it.

Yay for technology!

Lessons Learned

When we showed our digital story, the electrical plug on the cart which had the projector hooked up to it was very faulty. We had tested it while the kids were out to recess, but the projector only worked on that first test run.
After trying just a few troubleshooting tips, I decided to just use my laptop as the screen, and have a more intimate showing while the kids sat in the back of the classroom on the floor. My University Supervisor commented that you can never count on technology...which has helped me to learn at least two lessons.
Lesson 1: Don't base your whole lesson on technology only...always have a backup plan.
Lesson 2: Don't panic when technology doesn't work. If you need to, write down possible troubleshooting techniques (in case you panic and can't think straight in the heat of the moment). Most of the time there is a back door approach that can get you up and running just the same.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Before taking this class, I felt like I had so many strengths and very little, if any weaknesses in using technology. I have been teaching classes for Microsoft Office products and Word Perfect products for over 10 years. Because of my experience, I was allowed to test out of the technology class needed to be taken before this one. The first week in class was very eye opening. One of my weaknesses is thinking I know enough... this will never be true. btw, This week has been a whirlwind of unplanned personal time as I have needed to support my sweet mother-in-law who lives in SLC (yes, I said sweet. She is truly a gem.) is dying of Leukemia and has already lived past her 2 month time limit. Also, my 16 year old nephew (same side of the family) was in a snowboarding accident over the weekend where he was taken to Primary Children's Hospital due to two compressed vertibrate fractures. He is not paralyzed, thank goodness, but we are very close to him and I honestly totally forgot about reading so much before posting these three blogs... Having mentioned this, I didn't finish all the reading and viewing on this assignment but here is my attempt at completing this PDP assignment. Please consider giving me some credit for trying.

MY Strengths:
I am willing to try out new programs and learn something new. I have learned that most computer programs are designed to be similar to others....in where to save, how to find the main info, etc. For example, WordPerfect and Word were created to fulfill a need, and thus till have many features the same. Because of this, the user-friendly attempts in each program I have been introduced has been

I love to have the spirit of discovery. Many times I find myself nervous to test out a new computer program, but I plug through it just the same, since I always am glad that I did. My husband is the king of trying out new technology, and it has somewhat rubbed off on me.

I'm not afraid to search for help online, or using the help feature in any program.


MY Weakenesses:
As I mentioned above, I sometimes am complacent in certain programs to think I know enough about how to use that particular program. It has been eye opening to realize there are so many options the developers have put into programs that many end users never even find out about.

I need to make sure the technology I use will actually make the lesson plan better, rather than just look cool. (I am all about using cool technology which is not a weakness, but can be used incorrectly and not enhance a specific subject).

My Field Experience Learning Project Reflection

Park View Elementary School has an enrollment of 551 students. Demographic information includes: 10% American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Black. The remaining 90% is White. Almost 40% of the students qualify for free lunch. In Mrs. Ewell’s (our cooperating teacher) 4th grade classroom, there were 30 students. The classroom setup had five hexagonal-shaped tables with six students at each table.

Mrs. Ewell was pleasant and welcoming from the very beginning. She was flexible and allowed for adjusting her schedule so we could be observed when Susan Stone, the UVU University Supervisor came two different times. She included us in discussions about the student’s progress and helped us to feel we were part of the classroom. We were also allowed freedoms while teaching to utilize classroom management as we saw fit.
I don’t know exactly how Mrs. Ewell feels about the technology piece we (Jessica G. and I) created because there was a lot going on during the time we showed our digital story and she was taking care of other matters (in another classroom). The digital story was about Mountain Men and Tall Tales. This was our “hook” for a writers workshop lesson where the students would be writing their own tall tale during the last part of the lesson time.
The lesson we created was integrating social studies into the writing time scheduled for the students. Mrs. Ewell would always comment how prepared we were and that she appreciated that from us. I feel she was happy with how this lesson went and the children were very good about staying on task. The creative tall tales which were read in front of the class were fantastic! One of my favorites was about a man who could blow cheese out of his nose. This character helped out a small community from starving. What great creative minds!
The training session had to be brief due to time constraints. The day before the training session, I was permitted to install Photo Story 3 (free version) to her computer desktop. During recess break the next day, we had her sit down at the computer and actually create a digital story together with us. She selected many class pictures taken during the field trip to the Utah State Capital just days earlier. As we walked her through each step, Mrs. Ewell could see first hand how user-friendly and intuitive this software is. We had her explore in the music section and she created a fun, exciting song and attached it to her Digital Story. Later, I sent her an email with a link to the USOE folk music website. This is where we selected the songs we used on our own Digital Story. Within a few minutes she played her digital story and it looked very impressive. Her smile told us she enjoyed it too.
Being a part of this service-learning project has been a good experience. I am a believer in improving anywhere you are. Helping the teaching community utilize and understand how much more technology can enrich everyone’s life can always be a positive endeavor.
I feel my cooperating teacher gained new knowledge of this PhotoStory Program, it’s capabilities, and her ability to create one without taking up too much of her time. She was already somewhat savvy with uploading pictures from her camera to the computer. So, learning this program was naturally the next step. It was great timing for her.
I always gain enjoyment when I have been able to share some of my knowledge with someone who wants to do something easier or better. It’s even better when they realize it was beneficial to welcome change and learn something new. When you try to help others, it is important that you teach in a helpful and not condescending way. That way the person will accept the new knowledge and not feel pressured.
I feel that this assignment was definitely worth it because I don’t think any student teacher would feel confident enough to present a digital story the first time they taught in an authentic learning environment. I appreciate the opportunity and because I feel it was a success, I plan to incorporate more technology all throughout my teaching career.

Field Experience #12-Presenting the Digital Story in the Classroom

What:

This past week we were observed on Monday and we presented our Digital Story to kick off the Mountain Man Unit. Our teacher asked us to teach social studies during writers workshop time. The cart that was plugged into the wall and to the projector had faulty wiring and it was VERY frustrating to keep the cord at just the correct angle to make sure power would be continual. After a few minutes of troubleshooting, I made an executive decision to not use the projector. Moving the laptop to a back corner of the classroom, I asked the students to come sit on the floor and get to where they could see my laptop. They were extra quiet since the speakers on the laptop could only get so loud. We were also able to easily have a short discussion right after the digital story finished. It was a more comfortable setting.

So, after enjoying the digital story, we read a Tall Tale about Paul Bunyan and then asked the students to create their own tall tale. I feel the students were more focused on the assignment than usual because they had connected to the digital story more than they would have been connected to the assignment without showing the story.

Now What:

In any digital story I share in the future, I will remember to have the students not watch it from their desks. It was much more memorable and made a greater impact when the students were sitting close to the screen and sitting comfortably on the floor. (Although, I know for many adults "sitting comfortably on the floor" is an oxymoron. lol ) I was very proud of this digital story and shared it with close friends and family. Thanks for providing this experience.