What stood out for me in Ch. 3 was technique 13 - Name the Steps! "Champion teachers help their students learn complex skills by breaking them down into manageable steps and often, giving each step a name so that it can be easily recalled." I know sometimes, I moved so fast because I assumed my kids "got it." In hindsight, I could have done a much better job of breaking down and naming the steps so my students could connect to the information. I also appreciated technique 17 - Ratio. Specifically, how he talked about teaching "habits of discussion first." This idea relates directly to our efforts in using sentence frames. I know that many of our teachers implement technique 20 - Exit Ticket! which is a great way to wrap up a lesson. So often we are short on time and the closure of a lesson is often missed; however, it's vital to assess whether or not our students leave our classrooms with an understanding of the concept. Embed some of these techniques from Chapter 3 into your lesson planning so you're not simply teaching "off the cuff."
Chapter 4 focuses on Engaging Students in Your Lessons, which as you know, has been an important focus of many of our workshops. "The idea, of course, is that you want everybody to pay attention and develop a system that ensures that all students think it's possible that they are about to be called on, regardless of whether they have raised their hand, and therefore think they must therefore prepare to answer." He comments that Cold Call should be an engagement strategy, not a discipline strategy. I've very often fallen into this trap by calling on students to see if they're paying attention, not whether or not they are truly engaged. "If you cold call for a few minutes of your class almost every day, students will come to expect it and change their behavior in advance. Check out some of the video clips - interesting! How many of you use technique 23 - Call and Response? What are your thoughts?
Chapter 8 focuses on Improving Your Pacing. When you maximize pacing, your teaching engages and interests students by giving them a sense of progress. Change the Pace helps create the illusion of speed - don't stay on a specific topic for more than 10 minutes. The attention span of our middle school kids is short - keep them on their toes by fluctuating between kinesthetic and passive activities, especially with block scheduling. I reflect back to when I first started teaching - my poor students had to listen to me blabbering for at least 30 minutes as I introduced a science topic. I'm sure they were completely bored out of their minds after the first 10 minutes! Brighten Lines focuses on book-ending your lessons with expectations, which is important in ensuring your students will have a clear understanding about what they are supposed to be able to do at the end of your lesson. As you know, it's all about maximizing instructional time- Every Minute Matters!
Chapter 9 focuses on Challenging Students To Think Critically. With questioning, "script them in advance as part of your lesson planning process." It takes prep time but will pay off in the long run and you'll be able to build on it for years to come! Make sure they are Simple to Complex. With better planning comes better pacing, sincere student engagement, and consequently, better student achievement.
Thanks, folks! I look forward to reading your comments! You're the best!
I really believe in the concept of "Changing the Pace" and shifting gears throughout a class period. Changing the pace throughout a single period makes the class period go by much faster which gives students the feeling that every second is valuable. I think that it's also important to emphasize that there is urgent need to follow along with each pace change...the idea should not be that slowing down means the information is more important and speeding up means the material is less important. Enthusiasm should be consistent throughout the changing pace and students should be encouraged to stay consistently engaged. Slower students will pick up the pace if they are forced to spend at least part of the time each class period moving at a pace that is out of their comfort-zone. Similarly, students that often rush through their work and finish quickly, will improve in areas like test-taking, by learning to slow down during certain activities.
ReplyDeleteThe common theme in all four chapters is: how engaging is or can your lesson be? Common to both the "Hook," and Chapter 9's tips on how to lead a discussion, I most often start whole class discussions by something I call "Share and Care." "Share and Care" means you begin with a personal story that interests the students. They actaully ARE intersted in knowing little tidbits about us; we're a little "larger than life" to them. Then, I open up the discussion to their comments and questions, and I am actually interested in learning about them, too. This varies by grade, however. I've found over the years that 6th graders' stories are a little naive and self-centered, but 7th grader stories have the right mix of self-realization and awareness of audience. They often have a sense of humor, too.
ReplyDeleteOther things I identified with in these chapters were "Call and Response," which I actually utilize a lot, for everything from words that are difficult to pronounce to questions like "when is this homework due?" I relate this to our AIP (Music Center) work, specifically the arts standard: choral reading/response.
Finally, I loved the phrase, "they (teachers) traffic in recipes," (p. 78). Everything we do is steps: lesson plans, self-grading rubrics, instructions to TAs, student teachers, even colleagues, and, above all, the teaching we do by breaking things down into (usually) chronological chunks.
Chapter 3 breaks down the progression of a lesson. I knwo when I "hook" them with a story or an example of the end product, students become engaged. The skill I need to work on is the final "You" step. If I would have students begin the "You" step in class rather than for homework, I would know if they truly understand the steps needed. I also liked the reminder that we own our classrooms and should move where we please so that students don't feel like they can escape if they sit in the back.
ReplyDeleteLastly, chapter 3 reminds us of the need for repetition. Until I get all students to earn a B or better, then I need to reteach.
In chapter 4, I liked the idea of making suggestions during wait time. I often tell my students to keep their hands down since some students overparticpate. Chapter 8--Yes, 10 minutes max on one task. You can stay on the same subject, lesson..but it's time to teach it a new way or add an additonal step.
Lastly, chapter 9. We have to stop doing the "lion's share of the work." Let the students do the work once we have modeled the first few examples. Teach the first few sonnets; let small groups teach the rest.
Annette Verge
I like the "Changing the Pace" aspect of the chapter. I also know that I need to allow a longer wait time for the students to respond to my questions. Lastly, I like the idea of going back to students who could not answer the question the first time and reasking the question and having them answer. I think this will make sure that they are paying attention and learning.
ReplyDeleteMy personal experience has shown that students are at more ease when they follow a well planed and explained routine. This will serve the goal of ch. 3, where steps are laid out. When the routine is well planned, it takes the engagement of students (ch. 4) into account as well. In regard to Ch. 4, one of the proven ways to achieve the change of pace is to take advantage of peer/group teaching/learning. This could happen in both; heterogenious as well as in homogenious groups. Follow this act to challenge students (ch. 8) as well.
ReplyDeleteCh.8 – ‘Look Forward’
ReplyDeleteToo often my agendas contain the basics in terms of what academia has come to identify the individual components of the lesson. Posted standards and objections are as dry and unfeeling to the students as they frequently are too myself. The traditional language of lesson plans and goals typically hinges upon pedagogical language such as effective domain goals, etc., which is great for us as teachers, but can often be difficult to translate into exciting classroom goals for students to ‘look forward’ to. Using the look forward tool can help better translate our goals into goals that are exciting and applicable to the students themselves and at the same time, help better inspire us to add that little bit of fascination into our lessons that the students love to see!
"Wait time" matters!----from Yakun:)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'd like to share about pacing the lesson, besides changing gears, and breaking the lesson into 10-minute blocks etc, is that it is extremely important to give more "wait time" than you think is sufficent. As a teacher, we are often afriad of a silent response after we ask a question. And then before many students get a chance to answer the question, we'll start to talk, which actually interrupts many students' thinking process.
This is because middle school students, especially EL students, take longer to process the teacher's question consisted of lots of academic languages. What I find useful is that, when asking a verbal question, I will get the most correct responses in quality and quantity, when I speak slowly, act out/stand close to/point to cues in the classroom, and then count 10 seconds while scanning every student in the classroom, repeating the same question if needed.
This way, not only every student gets sufficient time to think and then act, also with the cues you give out to students, comprehension and engagement levels will raise at the same time.
Name the Steps in Chapter Three made a strong impression on me. We have to remember that our lessons feel simple to us, but many students can't keep up with our pace. Breaking down an idea into component parts in a visual format, helps the students who understand know why they are getting it, and can guide the students who struggle.
ReplyDeleteThen there is the issue of repetition. "Students need to practice over and over," from Page 74. I agree completely with the statement that some students learn the skill for good the third time they do it, some of them learn it the tenth time, very few learn it the first or second. Many students, including those who struggle complain, "We've done this before," but repetition is still a key component in the learning process.
I'm a writer, and I hate to blog! Go figure. But no writer is worth her salt if she cannot work through writer's blog, oops, I mean block, so here goes.
ReplyDeleteChapter 3.
I appreciated the part about circulating and breaking the plane. For third quarter I have rearraged my desk configuration slightly to increase individual access. I've always focused on this to some extent, but it's good to be reminded. I get the sense that we are more of a community now, as well as hiding has become nearly impossible.
Chapter 4
I love the call and response strategy. It really gets everybody involved with oral language and raises the energy level in a good way.
Chapter 8
I have used countdowns for years and never knew they were something that is recommended. I'm learning to vary my tone of voice when I do them; I want to stay away from one that makes things seem impatient and hectic and use a friendly, matter of fact approach. I also love how countdowns can energize them to finish up, clean up, or listen up. I vary the amount of time I count down - sometimes I might say "two minutes" and announce the thirty or fifteen second increments only.
Chapter 9
I have to be careful that I don't yak so much that I pull what they call a bait and switch. Careful question planning (which I need to learn to do) will prevent that and also will allow for sufficient wait time. Planning questions is a good goal for me.
I have found that pairing students has helped increase their critical thinking skills as they formulate their answer/opinion together for their team's response.
There was a lot of "good stuff" in these chapters, but I will focus my comments to Ch.3: structuring and delivering your lessons. I found that as I try to improve a lesson the I/We/You techniques really does help the flow and impact of a lesson. Starting with a "hook" helps the engagement of students and well as increase interest. Then "Name the Steps" helps break down the teaching and lesson. Modeling is also very important in math. I also found that although the lesson might have gone great in my mind, it is only when I circulate that I can truly see the level of work and engagement.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 4 I focused on the Call and Response technique (#23). In the past I have been opposed to this method where everyone calls out the answer at the same time. It seems like the students were never in unison, thus making it just annoying. Some students wouldn’t respond or not voice their answer loud enough. The thing I learned that I wasn’t doing before was giving a certain cue word to trigger everyone’s response. Also, I have to be patient, the fact is it will take a few times to get the class in unison. Three advantages of the Call and Response are academic review and reinforcement, high-energy fun, and behavioral reinforcement. You can use this in 5 different ways as well; repeat, report, reinforce, review, and solve. It might seem like a disaster at first but once the class gets the hang of responding all together it’s never a problem after that! Give it a shot!
ReplyDeleteThe Ratio technique in Chapter 3 really hit home with me. I've been incorporating a similar strategy since the beginning of this year. My attempt has been to get every student involved in the class discussions every day (and reduce my own "talk" time). Students have become accustomed to this questioning style and, although they still raise their hands to be called on, they now know that I will bop around the room and ask questions of everyone. One area I'm still grappling with is ensuring that all students are given the opportunity to tackle questions that require high-level thought. I find that I tend to ask lower-level questions to students who struggle with the content. In my desire to protect students and not highlight to the whole class that they are struggling, I may also be selling them short by assuming that they'll fail. Something for me to work on!
ReplyDeleteone thing that helps to "make your paper look like mine is to have large,laminated paper examples. they are one of the few cheap items at Lakshore.
ReplyDeletei have always had issues with "circulate" i find that when i do that discipline issues occur on the other side of the class. also, some students actually get louder when i am around.
i spend a great deal of energy on "first=step" doing many practice problems and checking the second lines. i need to find some clever ways to do more "whys and hows".
i guess my biggest worry is "take a stand" i have tried many variations of this technique and find that it can embarrass students. it also allows a lot of students to go through the motions.
I'm struck by how many of the strategies in these chapters parallel musical ideas and ways of expression. Call and Response particularly is and has been used for centuries by musicians and was borrowed from church service technique. It is a great way for people to grasp and internalize a concept quickly.
ReplyDeleteTo piggyback on what Mr. Keller said, repetition is key. To be able to accomplish a task is one thing. To develop e deep understanding and useful knowledge of a concept takes repetition to gain facility and confidence. This is an idea that all performers know and we have long denied in the name of "New practices". It's significant to note that as our use of new strategies has increased, our educational standing in the world has diminished.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about technique #12, The Hook! The short introductory moment that captures what's interesting and engaging about the materialand puts it out front. Pg.#75. Isn't this the same Hook that was introduced by Lee Cantor "AAertive Discipline" back in the 70's/80's? This technique can be used for every student. Middle School Students love stories told by their teachers. If done correctly you can really engage your students into the lesson you plan to teach. Many times stories that teachers use to hook the students lead to a connection with the students own personal life. The hook envolves every student in your classroom, your lesson becomes more energetic, students get more motivated, independent creative thinking will start to take place. The hook does not need to be used for every lesson it is a great techniques to use for those classes which need lots of motivation!
ReplyDeleteI get motivated when I find techniques in these textbooks that I already use in the classroom. It reinforces to me that I might be doing some good things in the classroom. I think that teaching is such an art and that it is natural to doubt our style or technique to gets kids to learn. I do like to focus on some kind of hook. This is especially relevant when I am introducing a new topic. I try to make the hook entertaining for the kids. I want it to be fun for both me and the kids. Furthermore, I like kids (especially 6th graders) to write down notes exactly the way I have them. (BOARD = PAPER) I don’t feel that sixth graders are ready to be taking their own notes. I’m not sure if this skill is well developed until probably late high school.
ReplyDeleteAs for stuff to improve, I would like to circulate around the classroom better. I always go up and down the aisles in the beginning of class to check homework. But, I’ve noticed myself sometimes camping out in front of the classroom and forgetting to circulate. Lastly, I like the idea of catchy titles to the agenda. I’m all for anything that can entertain kids and can motivate them. The students always look at the agenda when they walk into my room. If something is mysterious about one of the items, they seemed to be more tuned into the class that day. The element of mystery and surprise is nice and also fun for me.
In terms of Chaper 3, I particularly like the idea making sure to check for understanding. Having a question or two prepared in advance to help summarize or clarify the main idea of the day's lesson can really help in checking for understanding at the end of the lesson. I like that engaging in a simple brief whole-class discussion, or having the students write or talk about what they learned at the end of the lesson can be easily added in to the day's lesson, without a whole lot of additional planning. I also see how it is important to start with an objective, so that your objective can be broken down into steps. Forming this initial objective can help to make the incremental steps clearer and more logical or in context. In Chapter 4, I like the idea of switching up the context of response, so that students have to be ready at any moment. Cold Call, Pepper, Call and Response, and Head to Head provide some basic designs for this. I particularly like the idea of incorporating movement into the response. I've noticed that incorporating simple movements into response can be motivating on its own. In terms of Chapter 8, one of my most beneficial tools in my kit is the countdown. I vary the time based on the direction, but usually get full compliance using a countdown. This helps communicate the importance that every minute does matter in the classroom. In Chapter 9, Simple to Complex is something I want to practice. I need to remember to follow up with students both after they answer incorrectly or correctly, to have the greatest impact on both particiaption and critical thinking.
ReplyDeleteIn Ch. 3, the most applicable techniques for my classroom are #s 17 (the ratio) & #19 (at bats). Both are extremely useful & especially important in a special education classroom. The ratio focuses on pushing more and more of the cognitive work out to students. This is done through sentence/thought completion prompting and questions. At bats are just that, giving the students opportunities to participate and apply the skills they have to incorporate muscle memory & learning. JS
ReplyDeleteSo many great ideas here! Knowning that I used to do so many of these is bittersweet i.e. exit tickets, breaking down the steps, etc. I'm glad I know how to do them and see their value, but I feel so pressed for time that I've let some of the good stuff go. Exit tickets would be so easy to resume though. It's good to see it again.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading these chapters, I am going to try to use “Changing the pace” shifting gears in my lessons. Quite often, I find my self running out of time during a lesson and I’m hoping that “Changing the pace” will allow me to squeeze more into a lesson while still having the students engaged. The authors emphasize that enthusiasm should be high and consistent through out the changing of pace. I am a little concerned about how the slower students will handle the change in the pace of the lesson because it is going to get them out of the comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI found in Ch. 3 important information I have been using. I learned different ways to do what I already do. I like the I/We/You techniques # 12, 13, & 14. I always try and get the students interested in the lesson first "The Hook". Then I teach them "The Steps" on how to do their work whether it be Lang. Arts, Math, Scienc, or Soc. St. I use the "Board=Paper" a lot. I always need to first show them what I am expecting them to do. Then they do it. Reading this book helps me to see that the strategies I have used for years are ones the book recommends. Teaching students with Moderate to Severe disabilities along with developmental delays requires the use of a lot of these strategies. If any one has never been in my class to observe I invite each and every one of you to come see what I do and meet my students. I have subed in different Gen. Ed. classes before and have had a taste for what you do over the past 14 yrs.
ReplyDeleteI would like to focus my discussion on chapter 3 since I spend a great deal of my prep time concerned with how to most effectively structure and deliver lessons to my students. In Chapter 3, the author presents several effective techniques for structuring and delivering lessons. I often use the technique Board = Paper and have found it very useful in any class or lesson. I have also found Break It Down to be a useful technique for teaching steps for math processes. A major part of this that I have been missing, though, is Name the Steps. I have not yet become proficient at making the steps memorable so that the students remember them the next time we see the same type of problem. This is something that I want to work on for the future. My students often completely forget the steps to solve the various types of problems they encounter in 7th grade math and I think to myself, “C'mon I have showed you all how to do this multiple times, why can't you remember?!” Perhaps, the process needs to be made more memorable. In fact, those few lessons in which I use an acronym or something similar the students have been much better at recalling the steps. It is just taking the time to look up or create something catchy that can stick in the students' minds. Its that extra effort to not only present the material but somehow, some way get it to stick! I can always work on this aspect of my teaching.
ReplyDeleteThe "Name the Steps" strategy introduced in chapter 3 really stuck with me, as it seems to have stuck with many others here! Having a plan for attacking difficult concepts, problems, or ideas is so helpful. It can take something that might seem overly difficult/ abstract to students and make it more manageable, like chunking a big project. I think one challenge with this is that it can be difficult to identify the steps that we go through to get to an endpoint when they have become so automatic to us.
ReplyDeleteA few things stuck out to me more than others in these chapters... In Chapter 3, "The Hook" was the most applicable to me, I feel. As a teacher of predominantly English learners, I have to understand that ALL of these student come into my classroom every day with FAR less background knowledge than their grade-level peers. Much in our curriculum is assumed as "understood foundations" needed to move on to our lessons. As a SDAIE teacher, or teacher with even a handful of ELs, it is the teachers' job 1 to figure out what will "hook" these students in order to fill in as many contextual gaps as needed, and to engage students enough to put in the hard work expected of them in my classroom. The "hook" is where we can help scaffold and build background knowledge for our ELs so they can access curriculum as close to their peers as possible.
ReplyDeleteAnother topic that stood out for me was in Chapter 9, when discussing students' critical thinking skills. This is extremely important to me. I feel many teachers misconstrue a student's lack of English proficiency as a lack of intelligence. This is completely not true. Is it more challenging to get a less proficient speaker to be able to correctly synthesize some information in your classroom? Absolutely. Is it impossible? No. This is where the art of teaching comes in. Every student can be a deep thinker, on a complex topic, if given enough support to do so. We can't just hand a 2 page article in English to a level 3 EL and be surprised when the summary or repsonse to that text is very basic and not as complex as a native English speaker. But, when given correct scaffolding and "hooks" along the way, this is totally achievable with our English learners.
In chapter 4, the idea of the "cold call" to me is important when I teach, especially when we are doing multi-step equations. It keeps students on their toes and makes sure they are paying attention. It is a way to scaffold the learning. This is not the only technique that i use but it is one that I feel is very important.
ReplyDeleteThe other idea that stuck me was the idea of repetition (some call it drill and kill) but in math I believe that some things are learned by doing and doing. Many students just need more practice to get to mastery.
I really think much of it comes down to specificity. Are we really designing very specific lessons with very specific measurable outcomes, or are we phoning it in? Every year, I find at least one thing that I can make more specific for my students. I find things that I think, through my own filters and perceptions, make sense and don't need to be addressed, that I miss because "it makes sense to me." But, as we all know, we all learn differently. This is obvious, right? But that's not how I teach. I teach how I learned, so very often I have to remind myself of that and force myself to adjust. My lessons include a variety of scaffolds that force me to address different learning styles and to differentiate. I also like the idea of "Exit Tickets." I don't use them, but I do ask for at least two kids to share something they learned at the end of the class period. I think closure or resolution is important and it also says that there was a point to the lesson. If we just do the same thing every day and there really isn't a "lesson," then I think we're just wasting the students' time. I imagine one might just have "free time" in that case, when the "lesson" is over. I've seen it happen. What it tells a student is that school is unimportant. There really is no "lesson." There's nothing specific that they're learning, and they pick up on that. The students will take advantage and even resent the teacher.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I think engaging your students, pacing, and challenging our students to think critically comes down to effective lesson planning. Sure, it takes more time, but that is our job. It's important to ask a variety of questions of students and help them develop their critical thinking processes. Even learning to think is a step-by-step endeavor that we can't take for granted. I feel like there is some disagreement among teachers about scaffolding too much and "babying" students, but it's about balance. It may take several years, as a teacher, to develop a good program, and even then it should still be evolving, but that's what it takes.
I don't know what I would do without my "calling cards" (similar to cold call). I use them almost every day. They are color coded by class and as soon as I pick them up, students know that this is not a time to raise their hands. I try to get through the entire deck each period, but it doesn't always happen. Other days I make sure to shuffle them, so that students don't know in which order they will be called. When I use the cards to call on a student, I don't accept "I don't know" for an answer. I tell them to continue working on the problem, and that I will come back to them. I make sure to revisit them often until they come up with an answer. This way, students know that they are responsible for being a contributing member of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading chapters 3, 4, 8, and 9, I decided that I would try out at least one strategy for the book to help me and my students during class.
ReplyDeleteChapter 3: I really liked “The Hook” from chapter 3, trying to capture your students’ interest in a topic is hard (well, I guess for science its a little easier… you know, chemical reactions, volcanoes, earthquakes and such), but well worth the effort. I always try to “hook” my students in to the unit by giving them some sort of interesting information that we will eventually learn about or that is related to the unit. For example, this last unit we covered was on Earth (Plate Tectonics, Earth’s Interior, Continental Drift, and Sea Floor Spreading), in order to catch my students attention, on the first day I talked a little bit about earthquakes and volcanoes and told the students that in order to learn about those topics, we have to have some background knowledge, which is what his unit is about.
Chapter 4: I use two of the techniques: “Timing the Name” and “Wait Time” together.
When ever I cold call on someone or use my flashcards, I ask the question first, give them some wait time and then call out their name. I love these strategies. I used to have a few students raising their hands to answer questions and now by giving my students a few more seconds, I have more than half the class.
Chapter 5: I a really trying to work on my “Change the Pace” strategy which states that a teacher should change the format of their lesson every 10-15 minutes. This is a little hard when you have notes, so I’m still trying to figure this one out, but I’m trying.
Chapter 8: Reading chapter 8 made me realize that I can still ask my students longer and more challenging questions by breaking them into smaller pieces and then combining those pieces into an awesome higher thinking level question…
I really like the "Exit Ticket" Strategy and I have been using that technique throughout the year. I call it the "ticket out the door". I wish I had invented it, but I found out about it at a workshop that I went to years ago. It is a good way to bring closure to most lessons. When I tell the kids they have a ticket out the door, they all get focused and anticipate what I will give them. It is a great way for me to assess whether or not the kids understood the lesson and what I may or may not have to review for the next class period. What sometimes ends up happening is that a couple of kids will totally get the wrong answer and I can use it for an opportunity to quickly reteach the concept.
ReplyDeleteI've learned to love the "Change the Pace" method. I think most of our teachers can attest to the attention span, or lack thereof, of most middle school students. At least in my class, they can chalk it up to "it all sounded Japanese to me". However, I have noticed that changing the activity at hand from discussion, lecture, partner work, etc. keeps the students on their toes. Added bonus being that they are more aware that they have to focus on the task at hand and get what they need to do done before we move onto the next activity.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Exit Ticket strategy, I'm still trying to make it work for my class. I often have some students who are simply not able to complete the task before the bell rings. They feel that they are beign punished for not finishing. I think that I need to continue to remind them that it is not in fact a punishment, but is a reminder to them and myself what needs more time to be reviewed or gone over.
An exit ticket activity is important because it sends the message that no time in the classroom is really free time, which also means students are accountable for their time.
DeleteChapter 3
ReplyDeleteThe "Board=Paper" technique brings out the importance and pitfalls of note-taking. Note-taking cannot be left to chance, so use each set of notes as a graphic organizer that all students do the same way. A problem here is how to store notes for the future.
Chapter 4
I use "Cold Call." Tell students early in the semester that they WILL BE called to engage, and hands raised may be ignored (eliminating student verbal comments about being called on or about perceived disrespect).
Chapter 8
"Every Minute Matters" showed me that I need to look for or anticipate wasted time and elininate it. It fits with my idea that, like a musician, students master content by having the time to practice and do.
Chapter 9
"Stock Questions" made me aware that I don't have and don't use them. And I need to. Such questions would help me to prepare and to cover textbook standards adequately without my excuses for not doing so.
I have also used the Exit Ticket strategy, but I have a question - do you give feedback to the whole class or to students individually or does it vary? I find it very difficult to give individual feedback for each student, but this seems like it would be the most effective thing to do to follow up.
ReplyDeleteThe other strategy that I was interested in from this section was Call and Response. Other than vocabulary, how do teachers use this at CCMS? It seems like a good strategy, but I'd like to get some feedback from others first. Thanks!
For chapter three for the most part I agree with the techniques . . . they have been around for a long time. I saw a lot of the same steps as in the science 5 E model (explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate, extend). ..wither way you title the techniques they both are processes that helps ensure desired results. For the most part I use it because it is really effective for science. I usually show a discrepant event (demo that challenges the way students see the world) then I go from there. At the end I usually have them apply their new found knowledge to a different experiment. The only part that I disliked is the negative use of inquiry. . . when done correctly it is extremely effective on engagement and learning aspects (it can be scaffold in a way that allows for students success). I did also appreciate the multiple different checking for understanding techniques like I use a lot of repetition and I tweak the way I present the question a little different each time (it allows me to see what the students really know), exit tickets, I have students standing, moving, showing me signs with their hands etc so I can find out where they are with their understanding.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter four reminded me of the earlier chapters that we need to call our class as a whole to have responsibility engaging their responses at any time in class. I like the various ways that they would have students participate both random and called on. I will try to do more everybody writes and have them write and share with a neighbor responses to a question. .. then I can randomly collect it occasionally to also verify that students are engaged and knowing what is going on.
In chapter eight I know I normally go fast with pacing and I agree that every minute matters. . . I do want to work on more this year with being more explicit during transitions and having students help one another, breaking up class a little more as to keep focus and attention.
In chapter nine I liked the push to think more critically. . . I use to pre write my questions a lot more and I think I need to go back to that to make sure that my line of questions are scaffold from simple to complex.
After reading the chapters, one thing in particular grabbed my attention. “The Hook” in chapter 3 made me think about what I currently do to capture students interest when introducing a topic. I sometimes do demonstrations and challenge students to figure out the demo which leads into the lesson. I also use introductory “trailers” which are power points slides with music that are related to the content they are about to learn (similar to a trailer of a movie trying to hook an audience to see a movie). A lot of the slides contain questions that they will be learning the answers to during the upcoming unit. It really does engage students. I currently have two trailers for two units. I recognize how important it is to capture their attention at the beginning of the lesson to help them better grasp the over all concepts. It can also use the trailer through out or at the trailers I have used really work for me, I plan on trying to incorporate more of them into my lessons.
ReplyDelete