Technology Integration

Two Tech tools I used and how they went:

I began using Ipads and Educreations with my students a couple weeks ago.  First, I incorporated 2nd grade vocabulary from the basal into an Educreation activity that was described in detail on my previous blog.  This past week the students used the Ipad camera and Educreations to modify a story from their basal called, "Helping Out".  They took pictures that showed "helping out" around ORE. Next they organized the pictures and wrote a sentence for each page.  They had to incorporate the weekly vocab. words within the sentences as well.  Lastly, they practiced and recorded their voices reading the story.  The project took much longer than I had anticipated but the end product was really well done.  I emailed them to their classroom teachers and they loved them.  Some showed them to the whole class while others posted them on their schoology page.  These activities are engaged the students and providing higher level technology integration into my groups.  Overall, I am engaged and happy with how I am accomplishing my goal so far and so are the kids.

The next Tech activity I did was with the 3rd and 4th graders who attend Adventure Reading, our new after school program.  The lead teachers and I had the students read a book and then use the app, Animoto, to share the elements of the story.  The students would take a picture of the page in the book that the setting was found on. Then the students would add a text frame telling what the setting was.  From there they would move to the Title, characters, problem, and solution.  Once finished, they would put the slides in order and add a sound track and video design.  What a fun activity.  The kids loved it and wanted to make more than the one that was planned for the day.  The only problem was that the app was not a full version so the kids had to pick four pictures to use instead of adding all the elements.  As a result, the story review was only half done.  It seems to happen often with technology...what is planned is sometimes difficult to make happen because of glitches that get in the way.

Blogging Community January Strategy

Keeping in line with trying out new technology tools, the past couple of weeks I have been using ITalk to record my student's reading.  First we talked about what makes a good reader:  rate, accuracy, and expression.  Then I had them practicing reading a story working on the three areas.  When they were ready, they recorded themselves reading the story.  When they finished they got to play the recording back.  I asked them if they had ever heard themselves reading and all said no.  They were very interested in how they sounded.  I had them talk about their rate, accuracy, and expression along with what they did well and where they could improve.  I monitored their progress before we started and will again right before winter break.  I am looking forward to seeing if will help them grow faster toward the grade level benchmarks.

Reflections on Technology Tool

                                                Technology Integration Tool - Educreations 

What I did and student engagement:

I began using Ipads and Educreations with my students a couple weeks ago.  First, I incorporated 2nd grade vocabulary from the basal into an Educreation activity that was described in detail on my previous blog.  This past week the students used the Ipad camera and Educreations to modify a story from their basal called, "Helping Out".  They took pictures that showed "helping out" around ORE. Next they organized the pictures and wrote a sentence for each page.  They had to incorporate the weekly vocab. words within the sentences as well.  Lastly, they practiced and recorded their voices reading the story.  The project took much longer than I had anticipated but the end product was really well done.  I emailed them to their classroom teachers and they loved them.  Some showed them to the whole class while others posted them on their schoology page.  These activities are engaged the students and providing higher level technology integration into my groups.  Overall, I am engaged and happy with how I am accomplishing my goal so far and so are the kids.

Implementation fears:  I didn't have any fears per say, more just working through the unknown with the kids.  There is always a learning curve when trying something new.  Through trial and error, I learned how to use the app efficiently and figured out ways to keep the kids engaged while working with each smaller groups.

Enhancing by way of SAMR model:  Redefinition - new tasks that were previously inconceivable.  Redefinition was my goal and my goal was accomplished.  Yes, kids could recreate stories in the past, but they couldn't take current photos, words, and their voice and put it all together to create a techno book.  As a result of this, I have a couple girls wanting to make their own book.  When I give them some free time on the Ipads, they ask if they can work on their book.  I am pleasantly surprised by their interest level.

Do differently:  Next time I have the kids do vocab words or a story, I will have them take the pictures, write a sentence and then they will type the sentences into the video.  Last time I wrote the sentences with their help.   Also, I would like to get more Ipads so they each could have their own to make a video instead of having to share.  I will have to ask a grade level if I can borrow from their carts. 

The next Tech activity I did was with the 3rd and 4th graders who attend Adventure Reading, our new after school program.  The lead teachers and I had the students read a book and then use Animoto to share the elements of the story.  The students would take a picture of the page in the book that the setting was found on. Then the students would add a text frame telling what the setting was.  From there they would move to the Title, characters, problem, and solution.  Once finished, they would put the slides in order and add a sound track and video design.  What a fun activity.  The kids loved it and wanted to make more than the one that was planned for the day.  The only problem was that the app was not a full version so the kids had to pick four pictures to use instead of adding all the elements.  As a result, the story review was only half done.  It seems to happen often with technology...what is planned is sometimes difficult to make happen because of glitches that get in the way.

Marzano's Instructional Strategies

3-5 strategies that I am going to implement in the coming weeks that have been inspired by Robert Marzano's book, What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action, include:

• Identifying similarities and differences - This is the strategy that gives the biggest gains according to Marzano's research.  I will be using this strategy with my K students when we are learning the letters and sounds.  We will talk about which letters look similar and which look different.  I will have them sort them in several different ways in order to enforce the strategy. 
• Summarizing and note taking - This strategy will be used primarily with my 2nd graders when we are reading stories from their basal.  For every fictional story we read, we verbally go through the 5 finger retell; however, I don't have them write or take notes.  I am going to add the note taking piece using a mind map strategy.  They will summarize the story using words on a mind map.
• Non linguistic representations -  In 1st grade I am going to focus on the students generating mental images representing the content of their stories.  I am going to read them their stories and have them create a movie in their minds.  Then, I am going to have them practice reading stories working on fluency so they can create the movie for themselves and each other.

The previous strategies were implemented over the past couple of weeks.  I chose these specific strategies as they were to have the biggest impact on achievement according to Robert Marzano's research found in the book, What Works in Schools:  Translating Research into Action. 

• The first activity I did with my five struggling kindergartners only. They have been working on the letters and sounds since the beginning of the year and they still haven't met the mid year benchmark.  Mainly it is because they do not practice at home; however, it could also have to do with them not being able to remember the names and shapes together.  Thus, we spent time taking letters that looked alike and talked about how they are similar (m, n, w, h and b, d, g, q,).  We would also talk about which letters were different and why (K, G, Y).  I also would match letters that they knew and ones they didn't know and we would compare and contrast those letter.  Of course, the success and challenges always come down to the working memory of the student.  All of the work lies in the hopes that the conversations would stick in their working memory and they would remember from one day to another.
• The next activity was changed and done with the 3rd and 4th graders who attend Adventure Reading, our new after school program.  The lead teachers and I had the students read a book and then use Animoto to share the elements of the story.  The students would take a picture of the page in the book that the setting was found on. Then the students would add a text frame telling what the setting was.  From there they would move to the Title, characters, problem, and solution.  Once finished, they would put the slides in order and add a sound track and video design.  What a fun activity.  The kids loved it and wanted to make more than the one that was planned for the day.  The only problem was that the app was not a full version so the kids had to pick four pictures to use instead of adding all the elements.  As a result, the story review was only half done.  It seems to happen often with technology...what is planned is sometimes difficult to make happen because of glitches that get in the way.
• Lastly, I read Christmas themed stories to the kids and they sat back and made a movie in their mind.  They loved imagining what the story was like rather than looking at the picture pages.  Later in the week I had them read the stories for themselves.  Some stories were harder than others for them to read.  I attempted to find easier stories as they are 1st graders.  Surprisingly enough, they were able to work it out.  They had fun and weren't frustrated at some of the big words they encountered.  Because they had heard the story and made their own pictures, they were better able to predict what was coming next. 

My biggest challenges to implementing new strategies is always the time element.  I have the kids for 20 minutes so it is tricky to get a complete lesson in during that time.  Often I have to stretch it over many days.  I like trying new strategies but I also have to cover the material I need to which helps them become more proficient readers. 

Blogging Community Dec. Strategy

This past month I have been integrating technology more into my small groups.  In 2nd grade I had the students use Educreations to rewrite the book, Helping Out, which is in their basal.  They went around the school taking pictures of people and themselves helping out.  They titled their new story, Helping Out at ORE.  They took the pictures, wrote a sentence on each page making sure to include some of the weekly vocab. words, and recorded their voices reading the story.  They really enjoyed using the technology and were engaged throughout the entire process.  I really had a good time integrating a new app into group as well. 

Marzano's Teacher Level-Factors

Marzano’s Teacher Level-Factors:

Before I read the chapter, I had no idea what I was supposed to brainstorm about involving Teacher level-Factors.  I wasn’t even sure what the chapter would be about.  For some reason I had a brain lapse and wasn’t connecting the Marzano readings together.  Now I realize that we are reading about how to bring about effective education for learners.  This part is about teacher level-factors, what they are and how they will influence education.  They include:

Instructional strategies

Classroom management

Classroom curriculum design

These three areas are the key factors that Marzano has found must be present and strong in order for all students to be engaged and learning effectively in the classroom.  This past year we have been learning about effective instruction strategies that will engage students and keep them learning at a high level.  Management is a key area that gives students’ “guide rails” to cross the bridges of learning.  If they have nothing to guide them over the bridge, they lose their way and risk falling into the ravine.  Teachers must provide those guide rails for students.  Classroom curriculum design has been focused on when we have been creating backwards designs for our units.  We have learned about starting with the enduring understanding we want all students to gain and going back to asking the essential questions.  We have also been collecting research on different topics that will guide us in having curricular designs that are rooted in best practices.   It is clear to me that my educational program has been designed with these three factors as the driving force behind all learning.  Marzano ‘s research shows how teachers are the most influential people in the lives of a student.  Students achieve more or less depending on the practices of the teacher.  Yes, the school has some influence over the achievement but research has found that the school has less of an impact than the teacher.  What a heavy weight to bear.  One that I must take very seriously as I move forward in my teaching career.

Building Capacity for Presence

 
Building a capacity to live a present lifestyle has been an ongoing focus of mine ever since I became aware of the spiritual practice.  For me, being present is rooted in a kind of spirit awakening that enables me to live a more authentic life.  My desire and commitment to being present is practiced in all areas of my life.  My whole being desires to live in a state of being present.  The features of presence can include but are not limited to:  critical self-reflection, purposeful, spirit-filled, open, empathic, together-focused, self/other-accepting, love centered, relational risk taking, and imaginative relationship building.  Of course, these are very lofty features that can be life transforming as well as difficult to integrate into the whole being.  I seem to cycle these features throughout my personal and professional life.  Sometimes I find myself easily shedding my layers that bind me and other times I need to be broken open in order to be transformed anew.

Within my profession over the past year, I feel like I have both shed and broken open new awakenings as I have ventured through my educational program.  I have been so present in my classroom with my kids.  I am noticing new heights of personal engagement as well as student engagement.  By putting into practice new strategies that meet kids where they are at, I have been able to be more purposeful, open, and imaginative in my teaching.  I feel so connected with the students.  When they come into my room I look at them all and practice bringing all of my presence to them.  I am engaging with them as little humans instead of just teaching them curriculum.  This has been a shedding of layers for me.  There are other areas in the school setting I have had to be broken open in order to even begin being present.  I have really struggled with trying to be in control and making things happen instead of letting them unfold.  I react to situations to quickly which gets me into trouble.  By reacting, I am not being present to the situation; rather, I am trying to control it and manipulate the outcome.  Nowhere in the features of being present does it mention control and manipulation; yet, one feature that is mentioned is critical self-reflection.  Reflection is definitely something I am willing and open to practice.  By being aware of and willing to work on the areas that reveal themselves to me throughout my life, I will continue to strive towards developing a deeper state of presence.     

 

 

 

 

Technology and SAMR Model

One of my goals this year is to integrate technology into weekly instruction to support teaching and learning.

      *I began using Ipads and Educreations with my students a couple weeks ago.  First, I incorporated 2nd grade vocabulary from the basal into an Educreation activity that was described in detail on my previous blog.  This past week the students used the Ipad camera and Educreations to modify a story from their basal called, "Helping Out".  They took pictures that showed "helping out" around ORE. Next they organized the pictures and wrote a sentence for each page.  They had to incorporate the weekly vocab. words within the sentences as well.  Lastly, they practiced and recorded their voices reading the story.  The project took much longer than I had anticipated but the end product was really well done.  I emailed them to their classroom teachers and they loved them.  Some showed them to the whole class while others posted them on their schoology page.  These activities are engaged the students and providing higher level technology integration into my groups.  Redefinition was my goal and my goal was accomplished.  Yes, kids could recreate stories in the past, but they couldn't take current photos, words, and their voice and put it all together to create a techno book.  As a result of this, I have a couple girls wanting to make their own book.  When I give them some free time on the Ipads, they ask if they can work on their book.  I am pleasantly surprised by their interest level.  Overall, I am engaged and happy with how I am accomplishing my goal so far and so are the kids.

Technology Goals

The district that I work in is committed to the implementation of Technology in the classroom.  All students have a device from grades 5-12.  In the elementary level, the students have a set of Ipads to share within each grade level.  In Title 1, I have three Ipads to use with my students and I share these with another Title 1 teacher for part of the day.  Each year, I need to write goals and submit them to my principal.  This year, I needed to include a technology goal as well.  I have been reading and watching videos about 21st Century Learning with a focus on the 4 C's.  My technology goal this year is centered around creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication.  By using technology in learning, students become engaged in ways they can't when using textbooks to perform paper/pencil tasks.  There is so much more available to them when able to explore the world in a single click, and to engage in collaborative learning by brainstorming and using technology in creative ways.  I am keeping in mind that my goal is to get to modification and redefinition. Here are two goals for the 13-14 school year:  

1.  Improve my knowledge and skills in order to integrate technology into my instruction.

     *I have started working on this goal by watching videos and reading on how to incorporate technology into the classroom curriculum.  I have gotten some great ideas that will move my integration from

substitution (last year) to modification and redefinition.

2.  Integrate technology into weekly instruction to support teaching and learning.

      *I began using Ipads and Educreations with my students last week.  I took vocabulary words from their 2nd grade basal story and passed them out to each group of two students.  Then, they walked around the school and took pictures of what they thought represented their vocab. words.  For example, one group had the word enormous so they went outside and took a picture of the school because they said it was enormous.  They had so much fun deciding on what they would photograph and how it related to their word. We talked about freedom to explore and to make decisions on their own.  They kept looking to me for approval.  They were not use to the freedom to think outside the box and to actually have fun with the learning.  We also talked about categorizing and sorting pictures.  One word was turnip and they said there wasn't one in the building.  That led to a discussion about ways you could categorize pictures like shape, color, food, texture.  We are going to keep expanding on this learning.  This week the students are going to modify a story in their basal called, "Helping Out".  They will first take pictures that show "helping out" around ORE. Then to integrate writing, they will write on the picture pages and and use their own voice to read the story.  I can hardly wait to see how this will turn out.  They are excited and so am I.

Blogging Community November Strategies

A celebration that I had this past week was with two kindergarten boys that I see.  I have been working on my AR plan during their group time.  I am working on getting them up, running around, crawling, throwing balls, etc... in order to engage them in gender specific learning strategies.  I did a letter check on them when I started mid October and they each knew 1 letter.  On Friday I did a check and they knew 14 and 16 letters.  After less than two weeks of the change in instruction, I would say that it has been making a difference so far.

Marzano's, What works in Schools - Translating Research Into Action....Reflection

What do I think are “The Worst of Times” in education today:

                -standardized testing and just plain testing

                -so much responsibility on teachers to do and be everything for kids

                -reduced federal/state funding of schools

                -support from families – volunteering, etc… because life is moving so fast at home

                -student experiences/educational gaps – some come with so much/some come with

                  nothing

                -pressure and anxiety on students to be high achievers in order to go to college

                -people who refuse to change because they’ve ALWAYS done it a certain way

                -inability to let staff/administration go if they aren’t doing their job

                -lack of professional development when new initiatives are introduced

What do I think are “The Best of Times” in education today:

                -well prepared teachers coming out of college

                -advances in technology and integration into education

                -so much research being performed on best practices, curriculum , etc…

                -opportunities for students to go on to post-secondary education

                -Some testing- better identify students in need of targeted interventions…ability to know

                  benchmarks/growth

Marzano starts off his article sharing what he sees as the worst of times over the last 60 years in education.  Much of what he shares focuses on how education does not affect a student’s achievement.  This was thought to be primarily due to the strong influence of a student’s home life.  Researchers wrote how failure in school was not the fault of schools at all.  At the turn of the century, new research was coming out that directly opposed these findings.  In fact, research began to show that students from all backgrounds could be very successful if the school was a highly effective school.  Excuses for why kids were failing were finally being exposed by new research.  Now, it is becoming well known that highly effective schools can have considerable impact on the growth and achievement of students regardless of their personal backgrounds.   This impact can be categorized into three general factors, 1) school-level factors, 2) teacher-level factors, and 3) student-level factors.  Looking at my above worst of time thoughts, most of them fit into once of the three areas, but they are all excuses as to why it is difficult being in education today.  They are not rooted in any kind of research, especially Marzano’s research.  According to Marzano, by having a highly effective school, none of my ideas play any part into student achievement.  My thoughts on the best of times can also fall into the three general factors for effective schools.  They are all based on the student, teacher, or school. 

I do agree with Marzano’s research that finds all students can be successful when being educated in a highly effective school.  I look forward to reading more about what characteristics these schools have in common.  I also see that my school and I need work on being more effective in educating students.  This year we went from being a reward school to a celebration school.  All three factors that affect student achievement need to be reflected upon for our school to gain back a reward status.  Are we strong in the five areas Marzano describes for schools?  Are we strong in the three areas for teachers? And how much do we use the three factors for students as excuses for not being a reward school?  I look forward to reading and reflecting more on the ideas that Marzano shares in his book.  I especially am interested in the interventions he mentions early in the first chapter.  Not only does the school I work at have some areas that need to be investigated, but I also have some learning to do in order for the school and my classroom to be a highly effective place to learn and grow. 

Technology Integration

This topic is one that our district has been focused heavily on these past couple years.  We have had many in services and short trainings on integrating the use of ipads, tablets, web tools, etc...into our daily classroom.  Last spring we created lessons using the SAMR Model.  We have moved and will continue to move to a one on one pupil to device based technology plan.  Striving to integrate technology into the day in the life of a student is happening no matter what apprehensions we have as teachers.  The 21st Century classroom is here and I need to move into this type of learning.  Some of my apprehensions revolve around teaching small groups of students for 20 minutes.  My integration is going to have to look a bit different due to the time element.  So far I am sitting at the substitution phase of SAMR.  I just received 3 Ipads last year, not enough for each student.  Students have to share which will lend itself nice to collaboration.  Yet, the students want their own to use and sometimes show challenging behavior when they have to share.  When I have engaged them with the ipads they are absolutely glued to the screen.  They love the ability to move freely navigating the Ipads.  I have noticed some of them talking to one another about where they are and I have noticed how they help each other out when they don't know how to do something on the Ipads..  I am going to be planning a Techno-Read month for our Adventure Read after school program next week.  Classroom teachers have some great ideas on how to use technology to move into modification and redefinition.  One teacher knows a lot about Animoto so we will be planning comprehension around the making of videos.  I look forward to learning from them so I can best integrate the practices into my small groups.

Fall Conference Reflection

On Sunday, I was most inspired and enthused by the literacy discussion my group had in the morning.  The articles focused on ideas for classroom integration across the content, ideas for interventions, and the importance of creating a literacy influenced classroom environment.  A couple new ideas I found helpful that were shared were to have student sharing times following guided reading groups and an inner and outer circle sharing of story comprehension.  I am going to be trying these out when our after school Adventure Reading Club starts in November. 

The Lasallian principles that we have discovered so far in our learning community were clearly present at the fall conference.  These three conepts are:

Associtation - This concept was evident by bringing people together to collaborate around a specific goal or concept and to co-construct learning.

Generativity -  During our small group meetings, we were building the capacity of each person to contribute to a collaborative community by showing care and appreciation for the ongoing sharing of each member.

Adaptation - Using the 21st Century skills of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication, the groups were undergoing authentic learning from one another.

Backward Design Sharing

Backward design is a planning process which starts with an essential question that is guided by common core standards.  The process unfolds with engaging lessons and ends with enduring understanding.  What I love the most about BD is the focus on an essential question that ends with an enduring understanding.  Even though my teaching includes many small groups for 20 minutes at a time, I have begun to always ask the question, "What is essential and what is the enduring understanding?"  If I can't answer these questions, I revamp what I am planning so my lessons are aligned with the BD process.  I also feel more confident in knowing my lessons include the common core.  If an administrator would come into my classroom and ask me to see my plans, I could show them my BD units and how the core is woven throughout the learning.  It has not only changed my focus at school but I use it in my personal life with my family.  My husband is a religion teacher and he likes to process his lessons with me.  I have begun to ask him what his overall essential question is and what understanding he wants the kids to come away with from class.  He is not a professional teacher but I encourage him to use Bloom's Taxonomy with his questioning and learning activities he plans.  At first he just gave me the sideways glance but now he is having fun revamping his style of teaching with the kids.  Slowly, as I incorporate my own learning into my teaching, my overall focus and direction will be clear and to the point, rather than full of fluffy activities that fill time but leave the students with no more understandings than when they started the unit.

One question I have for somebody who teaches small groups for short amounts of time like I do, how do you create backwards design units when you teach skills like letter names/sounds, phonics, or sight words?

Another question I have is how do you include all of the common core standards into BD units when they may not fit any of your created units?  I included many in my reading BD units but some of the standards didn't fall into any design units.

Action Research Abstract

How will implementing gender-specific strategies in kindergarten for a boys only and girls only group affect their growth in pre-reading skills?
 

The question guiding my research is: How will implementing gender-specific strategies in kindergarten for a boys only and girls only group affect their growth in pre-reading skills?  After performing a review of literature on gender differences, I found that boys and girls are wired differently and would benefit from understanding what makes than different and how those differences could be addressed in the classroom.  Children need to be learning to their potentials.  They are misunderstood which affects their achievement.  They could be learning more effectively by matching gender preferences to the teacher’s lesson planning.  By making changes in my teaching I can begin to help students feel understood and can teach to their learning style.  I hope to accomplish implementing my gender different small group lessons by dividing up the students into a boys only group and a girls only group.  From there I will plan more active lessons for boys by allowing them to be louder, using a louder voice when teaching, more competitive games, and allowing them to be more "rough".   Lessons for girls will consist of more cooperative seat work, using a quieter voice, and less competitive games with more collaborative conversational games.  To collect my data on the given changes I am using student surveys, a  teacher journal to write field notes on a daily bases, fall and winter data from FAST - our new “AIMESweb” data collection tool, and NWEA data.

My data collection has not started at this time as I began with kids only one week ago.  Title 1 gets a late start in our school as service is data driven.  I plan to begin my data collection in early November to be complete in late December.  I am finding that I may be restricted in changing the groups up.  My time isn't as flexible as I hoped; thus, I may need to plan a new question and plan new ways to gather data.  I must settle into my schedule before I will know exactly how this is going to work out. 

I have been observing their gender differences "unofficially" for the past two weeks and I am definitely seeing some gender differences amongst my groups.  I am beginning to make some changes and catching myself when I fall into the gender "traps" which mostly include disapproval of boys and how they learn best.  As a result of my interest, I would love to see how gender specific practices could be implemented in other settings throughout the school day.

 

 

 

Differentiation in a Title 1 classroom

Differentiation through flexible grouping was an area that I read more about and investigated how I do or could implement the practice in my already differentiated small groups.  Being a Title 1 teacher already lends itself well to differentiated groups.  I teach pull out groups that are designed strictly around data.  Within the students who fall in the lower 30% of the grade, I have found that there are still several ways to break the groups down further by skill or ability.  This fall I focused even more on grouping these students into differentiated skill groups.  After identifying who would receive Title 1, I met with the other teacher and we divided the groups down into very specific skill levels.  This is allowing us to meet the needs of the students by where they are at in the hopes of closing the gaps quickly.  This has been a challenge in the past as students grow at different paces; thus, the groups need to be very fluid and flexible.  So far this is working really well with our small groups.  The students who have lower skill levels are being led with skills right where they are at.  The students who are just below the cut are getting very different skills and should pop out of service much faster that the lower groups.  Once they transition back to class either new students will take their places or the lower groups will be divide again in even more specific skill groups.  Flexibility is the essence to this classroom practice.

Children’s Principles of Learning - Title 1

Community Building:

1.      Welcoming:  One of the most important principles is being welcoming and inviting to the students.  When kids come to Title 1, they are often nervous because they have to leave their rooms.  Greeting them with a big smile, friendly voice, and fun attitude will help them feel comfortable and safe in the group.  They also are students who struggle more than their classmates.  If they feel welcomed into the small group, they will forget about their struggles and enjoy learning in a different way.

2.      Relationships:  Tied very closely to welcoming is building relationships.  When attempting to build a bond with children, being welcoming, inviting, and friendly will immediately connect teacher and student together.  Kids are very trusting and vulnerable.  By showing them care, taking an interest in their lives, and giving them love, they will thrive both emotionally and academically.

3.      Communication:  Communicating with students is extremely important so they see that they have a hand in their academic journey.  By setting goals, they can choose their outcome.  It is the teacher’s job to move them through the process.  Throughout the process progress monitoring must be done so the students can see the results of their efforts.  Monitoring also guides the teacher in what and how they will assist the student in reaching their goals.

4.      Small Group Safety:  Unlike the classroom setting, students who work in small groups need an elevated level of safety.  They need to know that they are safe to make mistakes.  The best way to grow as a learner is by learning from mistakes. 

Educational Practices:

5.      Identification/Ongoing Progress monitoring:  Before servicing students in K-4 in Title 1, there must first be a through identification process.  Throughout September, January, and April month two assessments are given.  NWEA-MAPS and FAST CBM’s are given to every student to find out where they are at academically and how fluent they can read.  A teacher’s needs assessment is also given out to find out how the students are doing in the classroom.

6.      Content: Throughout kindergarten through second grade, Title 1 reading focuses on the same content areas as the classroom but in a remedial way.  The skills most important to focus on are letter names, sounds with manipulation, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.  If these areas are taught in a small group setting, students will see improvement in their learning with the goal to reach grade level performance.

7.      Small Group Instruction:  Struggling students may fly under the radar in the classroom.  Some students master the art of coping.  Thus, it is not always clear whether have the skills needed for reading or comprehending.  By participating in a small group, the needs of each student can be clearly met and they can grow and learn from one another as well as the teacher.

The above principles are the most important practices that I honor on a daily bases when coordinating a high functioning Title 1 Reading Intervention program.  The principles are essential to put into place when starting from the beginning of servicing students (community building and identification), to the daily servicing over long periods of time (safety, communication, content, and instruction).  These principles can be used in the general education setting as well, but are primarily geared for special services. 

Grit and persistence

Persistence is a quality that is so important to possess not only in teaching but in life.  For me, persistence means to keep pursuing my personal beliefs, goals, and dreams even when life throws road blocks in my way.  Just as water finds a way to flow through and around whatever is in its way, I too need to find a way to pursue that which I perceive to be my beliefs, goals, and dreams.  I have moments in life when I have wanted to quit or shut the process down.  I usually end up moving forward and finding a way to make it happen.  Grit, which is another word for persistence, is a new word that is gaining ground in my life.  I had never heard about or thought about grit before a week ago.  Now, I am intrigued to think about how I live a life having grit and what that means for me.  By becoming more clear about grit, I can better wrap it into my teaching and provide key reminders to my students when they get stuck in a fixed mindset.  I can hardly wait to add "yet" to their phrases of doubt and negativity.  I always have challenged my students to be positive and strong but now I can add new words to their thinking.  My students, struggling readers, must have grit and persistence in order to keep working at something that is so difficult for them on a day to day basis.

Glanz's Virtues in relation to my life

After finishing my survey on virtues in leadership, empathy was on the top of my list while courage and enthusiasm took a close second.  I can empathy playing out in my life in several ways.  In my teaching, this is the area that can actually trip me up in my servicing of at risk students.  I take too many on in my groups.  Best intervention is 3-4 students and I take 6-7 so students aren't left out.  I see every student as my son, who struggled in school.  I wouldn't have wanted him to have been left out of a group, so I don't want to say no to these kids.  I also want to help everyone and I am a rescuer.  I want to fix all the everything that I perceive as a wrong in where ever I am.  I then get resentful because I have no down time and have a hard time getting done what I have to get done.  This is seen in my personal as well as my work life.

AGAPE - Empathy can be seen in Genderativity and Presence.  By creating a classroom of trust and welcoming and helping kids understand how to be kind to each other and themselves are places empathy can be seen.  Without empathy, AGAPE would be missing the G and the P and you would only have a bunch of vowels.  Just like teaching, without empathy, you would just have a bunch of people not caring or interacting with one another with care or concern.

ROL on Gender Differences

My summer reading on my research topic, Gender Differences, was amazing to me.  I absolutely was transformed while reading my research.  By understanding the differences between boys and girls has re-framed my understanding of children.  I truly did not know most of what I read.  Teachers should know that each gender has differences in the areas of vision, hearing, behavior, learning, brain development, and biology/physiology.  Since school has been back in session, I am amazed at how much more patient and understanding I am with both genders.  I use to get into power struggles with kids who were behavior problems....mostly boys.  Recently, I have had several opportunities to help teachers with boys who were having trouble in the classroom.  Now, I understand what they need.  I bring them in my room for movement.  I get them out of their head and help them focus on something fun.  I give them tactile things to play with before talking about what is going on and what needs to happen.  I may not completely resolve the situation but I am not getting frustrated or experiencing feelings of defeat.  By having these few experiences, I know my groups are going to go well when they start.  I will be able to provide just what each gender needs in order to feel more successful and accepted.  What can teachers do?  Becoming educated in the field of gender differences is the best way to implement changes in the classroom.  Since I have been sharing with my coworkers some of my findings, they have come to me with stories of when they had greater understanding of what was going on with the student.  They were excited and so was I.  Nothing but good can come from better understanding and accepting differences in kids.

Praxis = reflection of beliefs in action

School is coming right around the corner.  Here are six practices that I worked on this summer that will impact my teaching this year.  I will put them into place, observe what happens, and will reflect on the outcomes.  First is school-wide welcoming throughout the beginning of the school and continuing throughout the rest of the year.

I will be greeting students and parents at the door of the school every morning - this year I'm going to take pictures of the kids and write their names on the pictures.  This will help me learn who each and everyone is in the school as well as build a healthy community where kids safe and acknowledged.  One of the road blocks to taking pictures is stopping the kids long enough to get the picture.  I ended up not doing that.  Instead the art teacher came up with a photo booth for open house.  We took pictures of kids with silly mustaches, big lips, glasses, bow ties, or hats on sticks.  It was a great way to greet the kids back to school and it was a lot of fun.  It was an easy way to go up and talk to kids on open house.  We will put them up in the "stage" glass case as the year progresses.  Lots of good feedback on this activity.  Second, I will do ccommunity building games n my classroom, I will do a variety of short community building games every day before or during group time.  This will help the kids feel comfortable and have fun with the group.  I anticipate that I will accomplish these games but I will have to pick ones that I can do quickly.  I only have a small amount of time with each group and I am expected to use most of the time for reading intervention.  Thirdly, I am going to attempt group transition welcoming.  I would like to give myself a 5 min transition time this year between groups so I can have one group out before another group enters my room.  I would like to greet them at the classroom door.  The road block to this is that I loose group time.  I can add more than 2 groups by not taking the 5 minute buffer.  I have to wonder if it's worth it or not.  Fourth, I will be implementing the research I performed on gender differences.  I will be teaching my small groups using strategies to better reach boys in a boys only group.  I will do the same with my girl group.  For students who will not be involved in single gender groups, I will integrate my gender differences within each group.  I have had a chance to do some researched interventions with students who either were removed from the room or were having a hard time transitioning into the classrooms after summer break.  I have been bringing the boys into my room for movement on my balls, picking out stuffed animals to hold, and reading them books.  It has gone well.  The hurdles to this research is whether I can really make it happen and if my teachers will allow me to group the way I want to group the kids.  Fifth, Essential questions:  After having completed 10 backward design plans, I will plan my 2nd grade groups using the designs. By reviewing and implementing these plans, I will leave the students with enduring understandings.  I'm not sure what interventions I am going to do with my 2nd grade students at this point. I may need to intervene with alternative interventions once I get my data back from testing.  Lastly, I am working on more effective lleadership. By being a lone nut most of the time, I often will take on leadership positions at school.  This year I will work on getting the first follower in on the planning and then we will work to bring along the rest of the followers.  The first leadership position will be an all staff training on FAST, which is a screener using curriculum based measures along with ongoing progress monitoring.  During the early part of workshop week, I will enlist each grade level rep to help with bringing their other grade level teachers along.  The training has already been done and it went very well.  Next week testing begins so I will continue to get a chance to hep the teachers in a leadership role.  As you can see, this is a comprehensive list of actions I will take this year from my summer learning.

Readers' workshop ideas and practices

Creating meaning in a readers' workshop

Sheryl V Taylor; Dennis W Nesheim

Principal Leadership; Oct 2001; 2, 2; Wilson Education Abstracts

Pg. 47

Ideas from the article and my connections:

-Emerging readers can go back and to their early literacy days and reflect on the experience because they didn’t learn to read during those times.  By examining that time period, they can identify their current feelings and attitudes about reading. 

-I love the idea that students who are older but still are emergent readers can read low level books that are just right for them to younger emergent readers.  They typically don’t read these books because they fear being mocked by their peers.  With this strategy, they can “save face” by using the excuse that they are being paired with younger students.  Essentially they are “helping” the younger students when if fact they are benefiting as well.   This is a strategy that I can use with my 3^rd and 4^th graders.  I can have them practice reading low level books so they can read them with my kindergarten students.

-Readers workshops are student focused which is rooted in the constructivist learning theory.  Students are given time to read books of their choice with a chance to share about what they have read. 

-Readers workshops have a structure to them.  Students must practice using reading strategies while reading their self-selected books.  Mini-lessons are also a major part of the readers’ workshop.  During the mini-lesson, the teacher addresses the needs of the student either alone or in a small group.  They also spend time setting goals. 

-Students can build community with other readers by interacting with text during book shares.  Connections can be made by using story maps, Venn diagrams, graphic organizers, and diaries.

The Seven Structures of Best Practice Teaching

By following the seven structures of best practice teaching, classroom learning will have a huge effect on student's overall learning and growth.  Here are some strategies that stand out to me.

-All best practices are student centered, replacing teacher to student learning.  The teacher must take a less predominant role which; thus, there needs to be a balance between student-centered activities and teacher directed lessons.  Set aside time for student centered learning and make teacher directed learning more meaningful.

-During reading by using text coding, marking up the text can be the most simple, practical, and widespread thinking tool that real-life readers use.  Symbols can be used to help student notice their responses quickly.  The insert system, INSET TEXT CODES, looks like this:

check mark = confirms what you thought

x = contradicts what you thought

? = raises a question

?? = confuses you

* = seems important

! = is new or interesting

-Classroom Workshop:  When focusing on literacy, the most important strategy is the reading-writing workshop.  Students choose their own topics that they want to write and read about.  Instead of the teacher telling about reading and writing, the students actually DO their own reading and writing.  Workshops are about providing choice. 

AR/Classroom application:   These practices are all strategies that can be implemented into the classroom to get results for an action research project.  I like the one-on-one conferencing with students where I listen and ask questions.  I could put this practice into place in the fall in my 3^rd grade classes.  They could choose their own books, write in academic journals, and reflect on and set goals for learning.  I could track each student’s growth and learning by using reflective assessment.  I could also survey them before and after to see how they found the practices of choosing books and directing their own learning.

Praxis

Will providing phonological awareness intervention to Kindergarten students improve literacy skills?

According to research found in in the article, Development of Phonological Awareness, phonological awareness is critical for learning to read in alphabetic languages like English. Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize, discriminate, and manipulate the sounds in words.  This exact research led me to perform an action research project in my classroom that involved kindergarten students who had not reached proficiency in the area of phonological awareness.  I found this project to be of utmost importance due to the research I read in the article, The Importance of Phonemic Awareness in Learning to Read, which states that phonemic awareness is a critical skill for learning to read.  Phonemic awareness is a prerequisite for learning to read, and if the young reader fails to acquire it, they will struggle with reading throughout their years of educational learning.  Consequently, I set out to see if I could bring my kindergarten students up to benchmark before the year concluded.  I found this intervention plan to be effective and I will definitely continue the practice next fall. 

“Where attention goes, there energy goes!”

As I have journeyed through my life, I have outwardly observed my inner-self become more intentional about why and how I live my life.  I have created positive energy flow by finding the positive in my life.  I have been purposeful about living simply and have resisted the urge to surround myself with constant distractions.  These actions fall in line with the principle of intention. In order for me to stay committed to living simply, I have had to give my constant attention to the practice.  There are so many things in life that challenge the ability to live simply; yet, by being focused and committed I have been able to stay on course.  This ability to attend falls in line with the principle of attention. 

The principle of intention is purposeful action in life that is generated from the mind, body, and/or spirit.  Likewise, the principle of attention gives the ability to direct or focus the energy that is generated mentally physically and/or spiritually. When personal energy is focused it affects others by causing their energy to be focused in the same ways.  A perfect example is found in the saying, “What you give out is what you get back.”  Upon reading both chapters on intention and attention, it is obvious to see how the two connect to one another.  One of my favorite bible quotes was used as an example of intention brought about by attention, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”  Years ago I helped plan and speak at a youth retreat with the treasure theme.  The focus was on living a Godly life in order to bring about good.  This has always been my focus/attention as I have traveled through the past 20 years.   I believe evil or negativity challenges us or distracts us from being grounded in who we are.  The author says, “Many leaders suffer from intermittent attention deficit disorder because the world around them conspires to distract their attention and to rob them of focus and because things come at leaders from all directions.”  These distractions are the forces of evil/negativity that work against what is good and positive.  By being surrounded by positive people, who have the similar intentions and focus, we can live a three dimensional life full of depth.  In turn, we will not only be affective but will affect others in authentic life-giving ways.

Blog 2 for week of June 1-7

(This is a copy of my blog from last week with additional infomation as a follow up on the bottom.  I added articles that I read throughout this past year that back up my adaptations that have taken place.  I added ways I have and will continue on in my adaptation cycle.)

ADAPTATIONS

According to the Wikipedia site, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation, “the definition of an adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection.   All adaptations help organisms survive in their ecological niches.^[14] These adaptive traits may be structural, behavioral or physiological.”  Adaptations can be easily understood in biology; yet, there are other areas in life that the same conceptual understandings can be applied to better acknowledge the evolutionary process.  The cycle of a teacher (organism) as learner (evolving) brings about enlightenment that transcends the classroom into communities (ecological niches).   This enlightenment has been brought about by the exploration of theory, concepts, strategies, reflections, and collaboration.  The adaptive traits that have been impacted include structural (the foundation of enquiry and discovery), behavioral (what can be seen or manipulated in teaching and learning), and physiological (how learning is carried out in the living system).  

The first trait that has been impacted in my educational evolution is structural.  How I think about learning is being completely transformed.  Prior to my quest for higher education, I thought about teaching in a simple way.  I am the teacher, you are the learner, and I will impart my knowledge onto you.  You will learn facts and tell it back to me either through a worksheet or test.  My evolution started when I walked through the doors of higher education.  I started by reading and reflecting on the Principles of Learning and the Lasallian Mission.  I was opened up to the world of learning for myself rather than for an outside force; gone was performing tasks in order to get a grade.  Finally I was free to read, reflect, practice, and question.   I continue to find my own thirst for knowledge influencing my pace of discovery.   The next trait that has been evolving is behavioral.  How I see and manipulate my learning is undergoing a transformation.   Changing my language to more of a constructivist approach, writing a review of literature which promotes research, pondering praise vs. encouragement, and analyzing action research data are all the actions behind my transformation.   Learning cannot stop with just reflecting, the process must include the act of changing in order to evolve into something deeper.  Others must witness the change in behavior.  For example, moving from “Good Job” to “tell me about it” is a transformation that can be witnessed.   The last adaptive trait that is being impacted is physiological.  How a range of actions impact my learning in my classroom has been evolving.  By implementing best practices in reading, by integrating “high yield” instructional strategies, and by using the backward design approach to planning I have found my students growing and developing deeper connections.  Different from my past, now I am looking for ways to facilitate student learning by exploring concepts in order to build essential understanding.  I think about where the students are at and start there rather than using standards as the starting point.  Also, by having a newfound global understanding of units that we have been studying for years, I have transformed my reading groups from reciting facts to higher level thinking.  

Clearly, the cycle of adaptation in teaching is enlightening.  The cycle starts with discovering new theories of learning, moves to seeing and manipulating learning, and ends by impacting the learning cycle of others.  This evolutionary process is happing to me as I journey through higher education.  The process has and will continue to allow me to bring adaptations to my own teaching and learning.

Resources to keep the cycle of ADAPTATION alive and well:

Environment/Relationships:  Reading and reflecting on The Principles of Openness, Unique Gifts and Talents, Gratitude, and Intention have had been key influences in my adaptation cycle this past year. I started by trying to build trust and connections with our staff at staff meetings.  Staff members were put into community groups focusing on building trust and openness.  Meetings were transformed into Community Gatherings.  In my classroom I focused on finding gratitude within my days teaching and I was intentional with welcoming the kids. I worked tirelessly on my attitude towards the students I found more difficult to connect with.  Another area of high interest was the praise vs encouragement reading and discussions we had.  Lastly, reading What are Rituals? and reflecting/remembered from my own education has helped me identify the areas I found to be important to me.  Writing my own principles of learning is something I know will be carried on in my classroom because they are rooted in my past.

Instruction (how I teach):  Reading Look Before you Leap about the constructivism theory of learning is helping me to transform my classroom by my words and actions. 

Discipline/Content Area, This will be a slow process but one I have already begun as shown above. The readings What is a Matter of Understanding and Concept Based Teaching and Learning both are providing me with background understanding in order to develop lessons using the Backward Design approach.  I have one exploratory learning design complete and I plan on finishing 4 more throughout the next 6 months.  I also spent the year reading about best practices in reading focusing on Phonemic Awareness.  I have also implemented sight word teaching in my daily routine.

Assessment:  Many ideas can be found in 25 Quick Formative Assessments several of which I have implemented this year.  I also have begun to explain to the students what it is I’m looking for when I do perform formative assessments.  These ideas came from the concept based teaching and learning along with backward design. 

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