A week of review is how I felt about this past week. On Monday and Tuesday both the honors and the regular classes took their MAP tests on the computers down in the computer lab in the library. It was interesting to see how a majority of the students went up in their score. In fact, many went up by 7-16 points in their score, which is amazing! On Wednesday in both the Honors and the regular the students did a review, the Honor's in 10.5-10.8 and the regular in chapter 8. On Thursday, the Honors took their 10.5-10.8 Quiz. While with the regulars, I went over their chapter 8 study guide. On Friday, Honors charted and went over their quiz as the regular classes took their chapter 8 test. I didn't get to teach anything new this week, but it was a week of finishing up both of their chapters and testing.
Last week I set two goals. One goal was to vary my lessons with different technology. I didn't have much chance to teach anything new this week, but I felt as if the kids got a chance to use multiple facets of technology. The students used computers on their own to take the MAP test. On Wednesday with Honors we simply went over the study guide, cut-and-dry on the white board. On Friday, I used the ELMO. With the regulars on Wednesday we played a review activity. I created an activity via the Smart Board, where the students threw a Koosh ball at the Smart Board to try to open up a review question. Once the question was opened the class worked individually to solve the problem. I would randomly draw a numbered stick to see which student would give their answer and description of how they solved the problem. On Thursday we went over the study guide by simply answering each question on the white board. Hopefully, I will continue to use different types of technology as my placement continues. My second goal was to start on my electronic portfolio. Due to problems with my video, I never got a chance to start on my portfolio, but I plan to start this week.
My first goal for this week is to be able to set up some times to be able to go visit some of the other math teachers at my school and watch how they run their classrooms. I hopefully will be able to set up some times to go observe a couple other teachers during the last week or two of my placement. I am interesting how some of them run their classrooms and how they integrate technology in their classrooms. My second goal is to finish up by action research project this week/weekend.
Teachers understand the role of the community in education. Teachers should develop and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues, parents/guardians, and the community to support student learning and well-being. Just this week I got to talk on the phone with one of my student's mother. It was interesting to get her take on some of the assignment and what we've been doing in class. I also have been in contact with some parents on and off throughout my placement via e-mail. I have remained in contact with the teachers on the team I am working on. Everyday the team meets and collaborates on what we are doing in the classroom, students that are struggling, school/community news, etc. The school makes it a point to keep the community involved and to reach out to them for help. In fact, currently they are busy setting up people in the community to come in and talk about their careers. I've learned the importance of staying involved with as many resources and people as possible throughout this placement. It is necessary to share ideas and thoughts. It will make the classroom more interesting and the learning increase.
Just a couple of weeks ago we had a team meeting with one of my students parents to try to get their student to be tested for disabilities. We met for nearly an hour and each teacher got to talk about how this student acted in general in their classroom. It just showed how important it is for the teachers to communicate and be aware of how certain students need help. I've been lucky to have a paraprofessional in my classroom when their are students with disabilities. She is in contact with their parents weekly and so what she and I observes gets noted and she relays onto them.
When I have my own classroom I will need to communicate with parents on my own. I know first of all, I would like to have a webpage open for parents and students to read classroom updates and homework assignments. E-mail and phone calls seem to be the majority of contact with the occasional parent-teacher conferences or meetings. I hope to be able to keep a good relationship with all my student's parents and keep them updated with what is happening in our classroom, both good and bad.
As far as Schmidt chapter 7, I loved "great teachers like the ones at the heart of the Ochoa project recognize the unlimited potential of their communities as textbook and laboratory. Uptown, downtown, huddled with the city officials, or distributing food at a local shelter, students have the opportunity to confront complex issues int he flesh. Even the simplest community outing can provide a treasure-trove of shared experiences to dissect and discuss back in the classroom." Looking back at my high school biology class. Days we spent planting in our community or days we went out and cleaned up our community are days that I remember vividly and are a lasting memory. I don't remember what chapter 8 in my biology book was about, but I remember learning about how a flower grows and then putting it into action! Hopefully, I can create some community projects to leave lasting memories in my student's minds.
Tammi, you are so right about the importance of using the community and doing the hands-on stuff as opposed to all book work. I too remember the times where we actually did activities that were relevant to the concepts, but the facts I memorized were probably gone soon after taking the test.
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