Journal #4 - Domain #4 - Teaching and Instruction

Using a variety of presentation strategies will prevent students and teachers from becoming stagnant in the classroom. My cooperating teacher, Ms. Clarke uses an array of presentation strategies, such as books, worksheets, manipulatives, visual and audio aids.
Ms. Clarke also uses a variety of grouping. She has often addressed the whole class, asked an open-ended question and then told the children to share their answer with the person next to them. This is a great way for everyone to be heard and an opportunity for children to help each other. Ms. Clarke also puts the children in small groups, especially for reading. The children seem to enjoy reading in small groups. I have had the opportunity to sit in with several of these small group-reading sessions. When the children begin in their groups they decide how they are going to run the session, for example how many pages each person will read and which direction the rotation will go. Usually they decide to each read one page and rotate in a clockwise direction. As each child reads the others follow along in their books. During these small group reading times Ms. Clarke will do some one-on-one reading time to do reading assessments or join in with a group.
In math I have observed Ms. Clarke use cubes and geometric shaped tiles to help the students understand and visualize fractions. The students had fun using this manipulative and then transferring their findings onto a worksheet. Ms. Clarke also uses small wipe boards for quick math assessments. Each child has their own wipe board where they work on a problem and then holds it up for her to see their answer. Using this strategy she is able to quickly scan the answers and either moves on or does more problems to clarify. Mostly, worksheets and tests are used to assess formal math progress.
Ms. Clarke does use a variety of technology in the classroom. The students share laptops with another classroom. Each child is assigned a number and each computer is labeled with that number. The children do a good deal of writing on their computers. During the observations I have made the children seem quite comfortable using Word to create their documents. She also uses a document camera a great deal. The document camera is a device that allows the user to put a document, or basically anything under the camera and it will project it onto the screen. The children also use the document camera when they are sharing their work with the class. I had the opportunity to use it when I did my lesson for the class. It is really cool! In addition to the computers and document camera Ms. Clarke had each child bring in blank videotape. She set up a recording camera and each child taped another child as they presented an oral book report. I liked how she gave the children the chance to use the technology rather than taping the children herself.
Teaching the curriculum is not a choice the teacher has however, how they achieve the curriculum goals in many cases is up to the teacher. As educators we must be creative with how we teach a diverse population of children. We need to ask a lot of questions and listen carefully to answers so we can meet children at their zone of proximal development. If there is no variety in the way lessons are taught or if the information is too easy or difficult we will loose the child’s interest and motivation.

Journal #3 Domain #3 Teaching and the Curriculum

Carefully planning the day is key to every successful classroom. Ms. Clarke, my cooperating teacher, has every moment of the day planned. She told me that there is always more she would like to do with the children but time is always limited.
When I asked Ms. Clarke about how she plans the schedule she shared her planner with me. She told me that certain things on the schedule are out of her control. For example P.E. is at 8:30, Art is at 1:25 and lunch is at 11:30 these are fixed times she has to work around. Then there is math at 10:30 and reading at 9:00 these times are determined by the fourth grade team of teachers as the children go to different teachers according to ability. That leaves four time slots for that day for the teacher to fill with other subjects such as spelling, independent reading, science or social studies. Ms. Clarke generally looks at the week as a whole knowing some subjects are daily like reading and math and some are weekly or a few times a week like music or P.E. In the classroom I am observing in there is a clear schedule of the day displayed in the front of the room where everyone can see, this makes transitions easier as the children know what is next on the schedule. What Ms. Clarke teaches is state or district curriculum so; she tries to keep it interesting and age appropriate for the class of fourth graders. For example for Valentines Day she had the children write a poem about their favorite chocolate. Then they cut out a piece of cardboard in the shape of a Hershey Kiss, covered it with foil which worked as a frame for their poem that was typed and printed from the computer.
The teacher must prepare and plan for each lesson. She must ask herself “what do I need to follow through on this particular lesson”. Some lessons require copies to be made for each student, other lessons may require that she brings in a roll of foil and still other lessons may require the students to bring in something. The class I am observing in did a project where each child had to bring in a photo of themselves as babies. Each lesson is different and may require a different type of planning. When planning a lesson the teacher also decides what the desired outcome is going to be. What was the purpose of the lesson? Ms. Clarke is good at making the objective clear, for example in math she tells the students what they will learn on that particular day before they start the lesson.
Ms. Clarke arrives prior to the students each morning; there is also a rotating schedule for the teachers to cover before the bell outside supervision. In addition the teachers rotate bus duty at the end of the day when the teachers supervise students lining up and boarding the busses. During the regular day she follows the same schedule as the students, however when they go to their specials classes this gives her the opportunity to meet with other staff, respond to email, make copies, grade papers, plan or perform one of the other tasks she needs to do; this time goes fast.
I have learned that the curriculum dictates what is to be taught. It is up to the teacher to come up with creative and interesting ways to present the curriculum. The teacher should also use assessments to find out what the student know prior the start of a lesson. This allows the teacher to have a better understanding of where to begin or what to emphasize in the lesson. Assessments are needed during the lesson, so the teacher knows if the students are grasping the lesson. And following the lesson assessments are needed to find out if the lesson was effective or if their needs to be additional time spent on that particular lesson. How lessons flow through the day is also important; that is why when I begin teaching I will have a schedule displayed in the front of the room. I believe this eases anxiety and helps children transition from one activity to the next.

Photo Editing Sites

I searched online for photo editing sites. I looked at five of them. Aviary, Splashup, and Pzap required me to install one thing or another to my computer so, I quickly passed on those sites. I experimented with Fotoflexer, Pixlr and Picnik. I was successful in uploading a photo to all these sites, however at Fotoflexer the photo kept cutting off the top of the photo during the upload. It was a cool site as I was able to experiment with some of the applications but since the photo didn’t upload correctly I moved on to the next site. Pixlr was a good site. My photo uploaded correctly and I was able to manipulate it with the different applications. It was a lot like the Photoshop program we used in class. The icons for the different applications were all symbols, which made it difficult to know the function of each icon. I eventually settled into Picnik where I was able to easily upload my photos and manipulate them with the different applications. The icons for the different applications were labeled with words making it very user friendly. For me, someone with no experience in the area of photo editing Picnik was the best. Once I become more advanced in photo editing or want to do more precise editing I will give Pixlr another try.

BLOGS & WIKIS & NINGS - OH MY!

The way we communicate is changing at an amazing pace. Only a few years ago if you heard someone say Blog, Wiki or Ning you would think they were speaking another language. Today they are common ways of communicating. Educators, social groups, individuals and businesses use Blogs, Wikis and Nings, all are ways of communicating however, each is unique in its own way.
Blogs are created as a way of sharing news, and information. A person logs in and posts what he/she chooses to post and maintains the blog, the reader is only able to comment on postings. Wikis are set up for total group interaction. Everyone is able to go on the Wiki page and edit the information. A Ning is a social network where a group of invited people can interact with one another as well as link their blogs.
As up and coming educators we need to be aware of these unique ways to communicate with students, parents and collogues. I will make an effort to incorporate Blogs, Wikis and Nings into the learning experience for my students and myself.

Journal #2-Domain #2 and #5 – Teaching and Students / Teaching and the Profession

The racial/ethnic make up of Hoffman School in Glenview where I am observing is primarily white, with 74.3% White, 1.1 Black, 12.8 Hispanic, 10.7 Asian/Pacific Islander and 1.1 Multiracial/Ethnic. Diversity is valued at Hoffman; they recently celebrated “International Night”. International Night is a time when students and families come together to celebrate diversity and share culture with their Hoffman School family. Parents volunteer work with students to share food, dance and other customs during this celebratory night.
In Ms. Clark’s class where I am observing, and from what I have seen at the school in general, the students are inclusive and respectful of one another. The children do not cluster along racial lines. They are taught to respect differences. Once a week a teacher comes to the room to teach a life skills lesson. The lessons I have observed have included, how tone and volume in talk can be disrespectful, valuing differences and “the ripple effect” of your actions. These little lessons are taught throughout the school and it sets a good tone for the school and will help the children in life long after they move on to Jr. High and High School.
The classroom I observe in has a child with learning and behavioral disabilities. He has an aid that helps him through his day. The students are part of a program called TREE where the children move from 3rd to 4th to 5th grade with the same children. They are in 4th grade so they have been together for since 3rd grade they are accepting and caring toward Peter, he is an important part of their class. He goes to a resource room for certain subjects where he is helped in an appropriate manner for his learning level and style. I am excited to start observing in the resource room in a few weeks for an Exceptional Child class I am taking.
Teachers in District 34 are required to participate in meetings for four hours per month. Two hours are fixed for all teachers in the district called “tight” meetings. The remaining two hours are called “loose”, they are flexible, to be decided by the teaching team. Regular classroom teachers also meet with resource teachers and other members of an IEP team to discuss plan for children with disabilities.
Ms. Clarke logs scores from assignments and tests on a chart. This allows her to look at and analyze each child’s progress. Along with regular classroom duties and meetings the teachers at Hoffman rotate outside morning duty and afternoon bus duty.
I believe a sense of belonging and ownership for class is extremely important. Hoffman school does an excellent job of this as was demonstrated on International Night. This event is similar to the ideas in the book Teach Our Children Well where the author suggests the different ways to cook rice or bread as, there were many different ethnic foods presented at the celebration. Sharing diversity and embracing differences is a great way to say, “you and I are different and that is what I like about you.”
Planning and preparing for success is as important as delivering information to the children. Building a rapport with students and students building a rapport with each other don’t just happen. Teachers need to have a plan on how they are going to build a rapport with the children. They also need to plan how they will help students build a rapport with each other. Whether it is “student-of-the-month”, class meetings or life skills lessons it needs to be thought out and planned. If planning and execution are done well the students will feel a sense of belonging and everything will run smoother as students will respect each other and themselves.

ISTE / NET*S

THOUGHTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION (ISTE) NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS (NETS*T) and PERFORMANCE INDICTATORS for TEACHERS
Today’s students are different learners than when I was in school. Technology is part of their life before they enter a classroom. Technology is integrated into our world today, so as educators, we need to understand and pass along technological tools so our children will be competitive in the global job market.
One-Way I would love to meet the standard of “Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility” would be to do a video feed to a classroom in another country. What a great way to promote global awareness, cultural differences and friendships. If time differences would not allow, perhaps a new version of pen pals using e-mail to connect with someone in another part of the world.
Using Excel appears to be the best way to organize information. Especially with logging grades, tracking progress and graphing information. I will definitely use excel for a grade book which is in line with ISTE standard, “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments”. Excel is also a helpful tool to use during parent-teacher conferences or anytime you need to share data information with a student or parent.
As far as “Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity” I would encourage children to choose technology to work for them. For example, give a technology book report. I would let the child choose from several options to relate their book report information. These choices might be to create a movie, do a Power Point presentation or write an essay in Word. Then for their next book report they would have to choose a different way to use technology to present their book report. This would show children that there are many different ways to communicate information using technology.
The National Educational Technology Standards are like guidelines for teachers to follow; using the standards will assist teachers in preparing our children for the technology filled future.

Journal Entry #1

Nancy Widlowski
Journal Entry #1
Teaching and the Environment
Hoffman School – Grade 4


The classroom I am observing in has many challenges. There are three doorways in the room, one from outside, one from the hallway and a double door joining the classroom next door. These doorways take up a substantial amount of space, as they all need to be accessible.
The children are arranged in three groups of six and one group of five. They sit at
tables, so their materials need to be kept on the table or in their “crate” in the hallway. In addition textbooks are stored on shelves or carts in the room. Each child is assigned a number and numbers are placed on textbooks and computers. So, when Ms. Clarke tells the children to get their science books, the children go to the cart with the science books and take the number that they were assigned. At first glance the room appears a bit cluttered however, every space is used in a productive way. The children know where to retrieve their mail, where to sign in for lunch, and get books among other things.
Ms. Clarke has definitely made the effort to create a child-oriented space for her students. Their world region projects hang from a thin wire that stretches from one end of the room to the other. Their names are on the “helper board”, lunch sign-in, birthday board as well as a mail slot for each student. There is a “places I have been” board where children bring in photos of a place they have vacationed. Recently, the children brought in a baby picture of themselves; the photos are posted on a board with a number next to each photo. The children are going to have a contest to see who can identify the most babies.
There are a number of technology items in the room. Ms. Clarke uses the Document Camera a great deal. This tool allows her to project onto screen worksheets as well as other things she wants to share with the class. The children also use the Document Camera when they are sharing their work with the class. There is a Smart board in the room however, I have never seen Ms. Clarke us it; I would love to see the Smart board in action. Computers are shared with the neighboring classroom, when the children use them they go next door and get the computer that corresponds with their assigned number. The children also had the opportunity to use a video recorder to tape each other’s oral book reports.
When transitioning from one activity to the next Ms. Clarke makes an announcement of the transition. There is also a daily schedule on the front board with a schedule of each activity/subject and the time that activity/subject will begin.
Teaching in the environment plays an enormous role in how effective the teacher is and how comfortable the children feel in their classroom. Displaying student’s names, photos and works in the classroom make the room their space; the children feel a sense of ownership and belonging. There will never be another space just like “their space” as it will change next year when a new group of students create a space that belongs to them. Physical space always appears to be a great challenge to teachers; there is never enough room. Creativity is key to making the space you as a teacher have, work to your advantage. Making things portable, such as the “portable word wall “ suggested in Teach Our Children Well. Or, a space that can quickly be created, for example moving some desks/tables and roll rug to create a “magic carpet area” for reading. Space will always be an issue, we as teachers must take the challenge of creating a welcoming and effective learning environment in whatever space we have to work with.

Frostie Dancing To Shake Your Tail Feather! Bird Loves Ray Charles!

Technology class first blog

My name is Nancy. I have successfully created my first blog. I will be posting homework here, so unless you want to read my homework you will most likely not be back to my blog.