Identifying Similarities and Differences, Homework and Practice, and Generating and Testing Hypotheses

Identifying Similarities and Differences really is a great way to look at our work and world in general.  To often we are caught looking at our work or issues in todays world from one point of view.  By looking at things that are similar and different we must look from multiple views.  To do this there are many different advanced organizers that can assist.  The most classic is a Venn Diagram.  From there there are endless ways to go.  When it comes to Homework and Practice, there is a great debate happening in our schools.  Do you grade homework, how much do you give, is it valid, and then the parents chime in on this one as well.  This is so tough as one does not always know about what the family situation is.  Often the parents tell the answers just to get it done with and keep the teachers happy.  This does not really give the students any practice at home. Some do not even have a support system at home.  And for some this actually works and the kids really gain from the practice.  Personally I send it and in our district we send no more than 20 min for our 2nd graders.  I do not grade it for the reasons above.   Generating and Testing Hypotheses was our last approach this week and I feel one of the most fun and hands on way to learn.  A student has to use their mind to guess what is going to happen.  There could be tons of outcomes!  Some are right and some are wrong, but no matter which, there is a lesson to be learned.  Testing is the fun part of this one especially in science!  When testing is done, don't forget the questions of Why were you right, or Why were you wrong.


Overall reviewing all of these tactics has been great and an in-depth look is always beneficial.  But what really took the cake with these was finding the technology to accompany them.  That is what I will take away most from this and our readings.  Knowing how to support these learning techniques is HUGE!

Project based learning and More

     The progression to teaching with a project based unit is very structured.  In the end though it always comes back to success.  To quickly run through it; access prior knowledge, investigate, expand knowledge, apply, contribute, and celebrate success.  It seems so cut and dry when it is on paper, but this process really takes a lot of time.  Each step must be successfully completed before we can move on to the next step.  What I feel is great with project based learning is that no matter what the needs of your students they can be met at the various stages.  If other students are able to move on early, that is ok.  We just must all have the completed project by the time it is due.  Some students can take longer on certain stages than others and that is ok.  That is what is so great about this type of learning.
     After watching the video on Institutions vs collaboration, I still have the question that opens the speech the best,  How do groups get anything done?  How do you put a group together so there is success instead of chaos?  The idea that one must get resources together to have success is great and I am glad there was a touch on cost.  In the real world this does cost, but in schools, we only have what is in our classroom.  We must make do with what we have.  I am also glad that the speaker talked to negative effects that institutionalizing these types of groups can be.  There can be negative groups out there, groups that base groups based on other groups, groups who base their beliefs on the negative rather than positive.  And with all of these people trying to create "support" style groups or protect the sources of their group or information, collaboration begins to take a negative turn.  When we get very large groups together, we inevitably get a negative vibe.  This goes for many and most things.  There is always someone offended or opposing.  No matter what we do with institutionalized collaboration--funded especially, we find that controversy. That in my thought, is really just to bad.
     When looking back at cooperative learning and reinforcing efforts I love that we talk about is in such depth.  I am tired of hearing teacher knock students down and wonder why they do not succeed.  Many teachers think they can say what they want whether it be positive or negative and there be little effect on that student.  That is just not the case.  When we get back to a positive reinforcement it also helps portray respect.  This will go both ways, depending on how well it is done.  The cooperative learning aspect of it is great when it comes to students reinforcing students.  When group work works, success is had and it takes a teacher to start it on the right foot.  When done correctly both of these will prove to help success in any classroom.

Graphic Organizers and more

     After reading the article about retention of information and advanced organizers, I found that it made complete sense.  The summarizing of it came in 1 key sentence, which ended the article.  "This procedure would also render unnecessary much of the rote memorization to which students resort because they are required to learn the details of a discipline before having available a sufficient number of key subsuming concepts."  The idea that these organizers and methods of teaching would end the need for rote memorization is exactly what I feel education needs.  Memorization is only the repetition of facts and does not necessarily mean the  students have learned anything.
      After reviewing web pages that will assist with concept mapping, I found that Bubbl.us is a great way to create, print or export an organizer.  It is a very easy to use organizer and does not take much time to get use to the methods to create with it.  EducationOasis and Exploratree are also sites that can help one create a new organizer.  What I especially like about these two sites is that the user can pick the organizer they need from a large list.  They are even labeled in a way so the user can know what they want to do with their information and can easily pick a great organizer to accomplish their task.
     Overall the use of organizers is a great way to put thoughts and ideas into an order in which it is understandable and reviewable after finishing and coming back to it another time.  This is a great way to get information down and organize it.  It is what is the most successful way for myself to organize thoughts and I am sure is the same way for many others. 

Feedback and Rubrics

     After reading the article "Feedback that Fits," I found myself looking at what I do in my classroom and what other teachers are doing around me.  The idea that feedback can be destructive I thought was a great point in the article and I am glad that there is research done to prove this.  I have seen a fellow teacher be very destructive and maybe a pass along of that information may help.  I also found it very interesting that 2 key points came up that I have thought for a while.  The timing of feed back along with the amount.  Too often as adults we try to fix multiple issues at once.  With kids this is very difficult.  It is important to start small when learning and relearning.  It is also important that we not give to strong of feedback when the timing is not right.  Our students must be willing to take what we as teachers have to say and learn from it.  Without that willingness our feedback could be destructive.
     There really is a lot that goes into feedback and it is important to understand the whole of it.  When it comes to the work it is vital that there are clear and obtainable objectives.  Without these students will be unable to meet or understand them.  Once the work is done feedback must be given quickly and appropriately.  There needs to be a healthy mix of positive and constructive feedback.  Far to often teachers try to fix all of a students short fallings at once.  True change takes time.  It is therefore also super important for teachers to recognize their students achievements.  Without doing this the students will be unlikely to listen to any constructive feedback.  
    There are tools that will help teachers complete this process with success.  The key lies in rubrics.  Rubrics will make objectives very clear and students can have a paper copy of them.  The student also know how they will be graded when doing the project.  There are many tools on the net to create these and have tips on how to ensure a successful rubric.  With these available I am sure that I will find myself using them more and more and I am also sure that the students will have success based on this!