Please vote (along with your regular posting, in the comments section of this prompt) on the following options for the next class.
In trying to be fair about the possible situation next class, I came up with these ideas. Please vote for one of the plans by 8 p.m. Sunday evening ( June 12) and I will go with the majority and post the results by 10 p.m Sunday.
Plan A: We have class, no matter what the hockey situation.
Plan B: We cancel class, and reschedule the August 8 class.
Plan C: We cancel class, but I will e-mail everyone several journal articles to be read and summarized for the next class (June 20) discussion. (Bring summaries to class.) You will also do a one page (single spaced) write-up of your visit to a school, to be posted on this blog before the June 20 class. In this write-up, you will share your overall impressions (don't name the school or teacher), comment on as many interesting items as you like from the handout. We will combine the next couple of class's topics and will likely stay the full time till 9:20 p.m. on June 20 and 27.
Again, please vote on Plan A, B, or C by Sunday 8 p.m. If it is Plan C I will e-mail the articles with a detailed explanation.
Obviously, if the Canucks win today and Friday (!), we have class June 13 as per usual.
I am for plan A or B... I cant attend on Monday anyway, but I am fine with rescheduling the August 8th class as a second choice
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePlan B or C - we'll have a game Monday no matter what now
ReplyDeleteWhen we were given the books, our group immediately began forming open-ended questions about the story. Soon after, we were asked to describe the story and describe how it was written. It was surprising because I think our whole group was stumped, though we had initially skipped this step thinking it wasn't crucial.
ReplyDeleteUpon going back and doing this step, it was really interesting and kind of fun to discuss the story with my group. We came up with many personal connections, and many more open-ended questions just through conversation about the story. Most of the questions we came up with during this conversation were more interesting, in depth, and connected with ourselves (the readers). It was fun to do this activity and have a realization such as this. I would have my students in the future discuss texts, and openly. I enjoyed this aspect, rather than retelling the story or summarizing. It was fun to do in groups as well as our discussion was perhaps a bit broader in scope than it would be as an individual writing task. I also enjoy the open-ended questions. They are a great way to get students involved in the topic at hand. They want to talk about what THEY think, not what you want to know. They become responsible for their thoughts, and they become individuals in the class, rather than one of many repeating the same answers. It's a good way to begin in depth conversations, assess for prior knowledge or what they've learned, and a good tool to indicate what further direction to take the topic.
I also enjoyed centre time greatly :) It was so nice to actively participate as children do! What I found interesting was how diverse even a group of teachers could be. Some stayed at the same centres the whole time, some switched, some went to active stations, some went to quiet stations. I noticed during directed play, some students still chose to do their own quiet activity.
I'm conflicted with regards to directed play, however. I've read many articles which encourage undirected play, even advocating against providing direct representational toys (ie. plastic fruit in the house centre rather than colourful blocks). However, the directed play I observed sparked creativity and teamwork among the students. It was interesting to see what students came up with. I could see this being stressful for some children though. After so much direction (rules, paying attention, sitting still, listening to stories, drawing certain pictures, etc) it might be frustrating and just too much to have center time controlled as well. But I've also witnessed other groups who can't handle free play either because it is too overwhelming, or it's simply become boring. In this case directed play would be beneficial. It could even be a good opportunity to push children across their zone of proximal development and challenge them beyond their current ability.
I think over all it depends on the group, and it depends on how their day is going. A foundation of teaching is to know your students and work with them, rather than against them. I suppose directed vs undirected, or mixed vs unmixed play is up to the discretion of the teacher (or really... the students).
Blocks, bouncy balls, colouring and teddy bears in a university class? Who would have thought it would be so fun and educational (of course!). Needless to say, I thought this class was awesome! It was really interesting to see how people were interacting at the different stations and the differences between the two groups of “students” and “teachers”. It never really occurred to me to get children to play having an objective in mind, so this was a new concept for me; something that I found can be really engaging and more imaginative than I would have thought! I think it’s a good idea to change the stations up every once in a while so that sometimes there are mixed toys, sometimes not, sometimes have an objective, sometimes not…you get the idea. This provides the kids with varied play time experiences which are beneficial in that they open the mind to new things.
ReplyDeleteIn the text they talk about grouping in different ways, saying that there are debates about how this affects children’s learning. I could understand this if the teacher was grouping in the same way all the time but isn’t more common these days to mix things up anyway? One thing that I don’t understand is what teacher diversity has to do with grouping. The sex, race, etc., of the teacher should have nothing to do with how children are grouped, who does “better” in which group or class or anything like that. I can see how group size might affect their learning or in certain cases the diversity among children. But what happens when children go to small schools where there may only be one race, sex or religion, do they not still learn from each other and from the teacher about whatever it is they’re learning about? Anyway, I should stop talking about this before I get all flustered. There were a lot of other awesome points and tips for working with children, some that seemed common knowledge and some that I’ve never heard and will probably try out.
I vote plan B!
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ReplyDeletePOST THREE June 6th/11
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting talking about the role of questioning in class today. I believe using effective questioning is one of the key components of being a successful teacher. Teachers need to know how to effectively question students in order to further knowledge and push for understanding. At the beginning of my practicum I did not appreciate and fully understand the value of using open ended questions. However, immediately I realized that closed ended questioning fostered limited thinking as well only catered to a certain group of students. After my experience in the classroom, I see the value in open ended questioning as well as the value in wait time. So many times, if I forced myself to wait and be comfortable with silence in doing so, more and more students would ask questions. Therefore wait time is an important part of questioning and should be practiced. Counting to five slowly in your head before asking students seemed to work well for me. As well, in addition to using open ended questioning and wait time, it is very important to pair initial questions with neutral language and evaluative language. When a student answers a question, regardless of the type, a teacher should practice pushing the student to think further and analyze their answers without judgement from the teacher. For example, I might ask a student, “please say more about that” or “tell me more about that” or “that is really interesting, please let us know why you think that way” In this way, the students must defend their answers, which pushes their own thinking. In using these responses it shows our students that we care about their ideas.
The time we spent “playing” at the stations really forced me to think about the role of centres in the classroom. I appreciate that we were made aware of the differences between structured play and free play as well as mixed material play and uniform play. Experiencing play as the student and the teacher reinforced the importance of play as well fostering effective play in the classroom. In looked at the variety of play structures it was interesting to see the various responses in the class. In my own classroom, I might experiment with a various forms of play and observe to see which format best supports each individual in the classroom. Upon doing so, I would then offer choice and varied experiences in order to appeal to the diverse learners in the classroom. I feel as though after doing this exercise, that it is very important to establish a rapport with students in order to best understand which format of play will foster growth.
I vote Plan B
I like the idea of paring students together based on abilities. What is important about doing this is that you teach the higher ability students how to properly facilitate learning for the lower ability students. Setting clear expectations about the roles of each student can ensure success in these pairings. The teacher may have to model ways to help others by providing strategies for finding answers. If students are not prompted to what they need to do during this time it is very easy for one student to dominate and not provide any strategies of help for the lower ability students. Another consideration is that these pairings need to be very strategic. It can be very disheartening for students who need the extra help to know that they are placed in a group because they are struggling. A way in which this can be more enjoyable for the student is by placing them with a student that they look up to and enjoy spending time with as this will make it seem less like a forced pairing.
ReplyDeleteMulti age grouping is an idea that I am still struggling with. Although in theory multiage grouping is beneficial because the older students can help younger students improve academically and develop social skills, I did not have this experience in my practicum class. I was in a split grade 3,4, 5 Montessori class. Montessori’s philosophy very much so believes that having multi- aged and siblings in the same class is beneficial for student learning and social development. What I observed in the classroom was a lot of competition and bullying. The older grade students were highly admired by the younger students, but unfortunately the older students took advantage of this in negative ways. Furthermore, they were very competitive with each other so instead of learning being about the process, it was all about the end result to the majority of these students. Again, I think this is something that needs to be heavily scaffolded by the teacher in order to be successful.
I like the activity we did in groups coming up with open-ended questions for the books we were given. Being able to create open-ended questions, as a teacher is essential because close-ended questions are not going to provide your class with any deep discussion or initiate critical or investigative thinking. I also think being able to come up with and identifying what kinds of questions are closed and open ended is an important skill for students to have. An activity I have observed was a teacher giving a grade 4 class a bunch of different questions and pairs of students worked with one question to decide what kind of questions it is. All questions given out to the class were placed on a line that provides a visual for how open or closed a question is. Students needed to justify why they placed the questions they had on a certain part of the line between an open or closed question. I think this teaches the value and process in learning when we answer and use more open ended questions with each other.
Also, i vote plan B
Questioning:
ReplyDeleteAs some might have been able to tell I am a firm believer of using open ended questions within a classroom. When beginning my practicum I thought questioning was primarily used for testing situations whether it is during a formal test or to assess the students; however, I quickly learned that it works all day, every day for most situations that teachers deal with. As I shared in class I often use open ended questions when dealing with management situation throughout the day. For example, instead of telling children what they should be doing or just rambling off instructions I often ask them what I think their responsibility is. This allows the student time to reflect on what their actions are in that moment and gives them a chance to get themselves on the right track without necessarily getting into trouble. I also allow them to think of their own criteria for behaviour. As Mac Naughton and Williams (2011, p. 154) mention “skilful open-ended questioning encourages children to explore possibilities...” which means that children take responsibility for their thoughts and actions. I feel that often with closed ended questions children are just memorizing the correct responses or answers and they do not necessarily fully understand and they do not own their answers or thoughts. Considering that two-thirds of the time closed ended questions are being asked I feel that it is important for teachers to recognize the differences in questioning in order to become more conscious about asking appropriate questions.
Grouping:
Collaborating is such a large part of a classroom today which makes the topic of grouping one that should not be overlooked. Throughout practicum each day there would be plenty of chances for students to work with other classmates to get through tasks. As a student teacher I was aware that grouping can affect students learning but often times it is difficult to create the perfect group for the students. One thing that was particularly difficult was pairing up my student who had Autism with other classmates. This student was particularly difficult to work with as a result of his disability. Although this was a grade six and seven classroom I would imagine that a primary teacher could have the same challenges. Roe (2001, as cited in Mac Naughton & Williams, 2011) did mention that discussing and practicing social skills and the ability to recognize social cues can help a child with disabilities fit in. I did find that at times this worked but these conversations about social skills occurred constantly throughout each day. I learned that if you take the time to learn about your students and their individual learning abilities creating groups will become much easier.
I can't make it to Monday's class as I will be at Rogers Arena! :) but I vote Plan B
Positioning People: How necessary is adult proximity for children to learn/ student’s controlling their own activity
ReplyDeleteI was particularly taken with the section in chapter 12 that discussed minimally invasive education. A research project showed that children were able to teach themselves computer skills with absolutely no teacher presence. This makes me think two things: one, that children’s natural capacity to learn is high and primarily self-directed and secondly, that student’s need to control their own activity in order for their engagement to be sustained (as mentioned in the chapter.) I would like to know more about this study and other’s like it; I wonder how much/ if the students taught each other within the study.
So, what is really gained and lost by teacher proximity in early learning settings? I don’t feel like I can answer the question yet; but I’ll be looking for the answer for in my practice.
Modeling: What works for children/ do adults behave similarly?
“Children tend to model more precisely when they do not understand the overall reason for what an adult is demonstrating to them. When they do understand they are more likely to add their own flourishes to what they reproduce.”
This quote from chapter 11 was interesting, and I wonder how much it speaks to how older children and adults model, as well. Isn’t it true that if we ‘know’ the point of something, to repeat it ‘as-is’ is boring to us; we feel we need to add our own flair and embellishments? I think the quote really pin-points an interesting facet of meaning-making, and also speaks to the human need to be creative: to faithfully repeat an action towards uncovering a mystery/ unknown is an endeavor we deem worthy; while to faithfully repeat an action towards an exposed goal is not! If the goal is exposed, we are bored into becoming creative by loading the copy with embellishments and additions.
My Vote:
I vote for option B.
I think that the grouping of students often happens randomly, and I am not sure that this is the most beneficial way (for students or teachers) to group. I think that occasionally it may be a nice treat for students to be able to silently submit a request of one person they would like to sit with, but it should not happen all the time. By silently, I mean folding a piece of paper with their name and the name of who they would like to sit with inside of it, and not talking while doing so. I believe that when allowing requests, it has to be done silently so as to avoid having any hurt feelings for those who did not get picked, and I also think that the teacher should intervene if an unproductive pairing is requested. Pairing based on skill level, or strengths in different subject areas, and avoiding obvious friends, would be my usual approach I think. This is because it gives students a chance to interact with students that they otherwise would not, and it allows them all to offer help to the others when they are more adept in a particular subject than the others in their group. I think that by grouping this way, and rotating the groups monthly, it will create a greater chance for community to be built in the class. Class communities are something that I feel strongly about.
ReplyDeleteOpen-ended questions are important in classroom discussions, because otherwise a teacher may lead the students to conclusions without allowing them time to think and learn for themselves. This type of question is far more beneficial than asking leading questions, and I think a good way to use open-ended questions is through Think, Pair, Sharing. A teacher can pose a question to the students and ask that they think about their answers individually first, and then get into pairs to discuss their answers. Once the pairs have had ample time to discuss, larger groups are formed to discuss the question, or the class as a whole can discuss it together. This relieves the pressure from the more timid students and allows everyone to have a chance to share their ideas.
I vote for Plan B please!
I vote for plan B :).. Thanks Sue!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to ‘free play activities’ I have always liked the idea of letting children choose their own activities, making sure to provide them whatever materials they may or may not need, and letting them take the activity wherever their imaginations take them. Now, after having experienced the structured play from last class, I can see the merits of giving a prompt or goal for the children to work towards during their activity time. Though, it should be pointed out to the children that the prompt or suggested goals of the teacher are not necessarily a must-be-achieved task. When we were being instructed on what we (the ‘children’) were to ‘produce’ during our turn at centre time, I actually felt a surprising jolt of performance anxiety. Because I knew that I was going to be observed and possibly judged on my work (did I use enough materials, does it look like it should, is my example not what the teacher(s) was looking for); I chose an activity that I was familiar with and felt safe doing. While I was able to loose myself in the fun of the activity at first, I soon felt nervous again when our classmates began filtering through the room, and I was aware of their quiet murmurs as I was observed. I must admit, that I had a good deal of empathy for some of the children I work with who are anxious to please and fearful of judgment by teachers/adults in positions of authority. I really like the idea of giving less explicit direction to children on how to accomplish a goal (suggest making a set of ramps for the cars and leaving materials for them to experiment with, rather then listing everything that is there for them to use to make said ramps) and offer help or suggestions when it seems as though the children require it; letting them explore to find an answer, rather then steering them on a more direct path to the teacher’s desired outcome.
ReplyDeleteI find that when adults are positioned through the classroom to help facilitate children in helpful ways, it is rather like them being in the right place at the right time. One classroom that volunteer in (which is ‘a bit of a handful’) often has three to four adults in it any given afternoon who are not the teacher. Two of the ladies work with children with special needs, there is a parent volunteer and then there is myself. The teacher tends to have specific areas in the classroom that each of us are to ‘patrol’ while the students are working, to help those who are having problems and to assist others return to task. It is interesting to note the physical location of the people (not simply by the child, but by features of the classroom) can determine what kind of interaction or assistance the adult will render. If the adult is by the communal rainbow table, the children tend to be seeking approval (having their work corrected/marked, showing their art work or telling about their day) where as the space by either of the doors tends facilitate behaviour corrections and redirection of attention (reminding students to keep on task, not to socialize on the way to/from the restroom, or scolding for dangerous behaviours). It is interesting to think that the design and layout of a classroom determines not only what kind of activity goes on in that area (as we learned previously), but also what kind of adult assistance/interaction takes place there as well. As teachers; should we be aware of the social-dynamic layout of the classroom when placing people strategically, or should the placement be based more on need of involvement/assistance of the child individually?
I like option C, but am also open to option B if need-be.
I like plan c. I do not want a class on Aug 8, my family has planned a camping trip.
ReplyDeleteI vote plan C!
ReplyDeletePlan B
ReplyDeleteI vote Plan C - but that's because I will not be in town for Aug 8. Looking forward to the readings! Will post my stuff later. thanks! celina.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience in classrooms, mostly kindergarten, centers were always free playtime. There were educational activities, and I believe that it was beneficial for the children’s social development. However, after last class, my perspectives have shifted. I love the idea of having projects and goal-oriented center time. I was in the first group, where we played with no goals; I was happy, but I found the emphasis was on the social aspect, and that I was not being intellectually stimulated. When the second group had their chance, I felt a dramatic shift in the energy and purpose of the room. This group seemed to have more energy, excitement, determination, and creativity; they were reasoning, problem solving, and cooperating. It seemed that they got more out of the centre time, then the first group. When I get my own classroom, I think that for the first month my centers will be more relaxed. Children are adjusting to the room, and I think that by allowing them to have free play will build social connections and make them comfortable. I will then introduce tasks and challenges for children to complete. I believe that bringing focus and purpose into center time, will provide children with more opportunities to develop intellectually.
ReplyDeleteWhen discussing grouping in the classroom, I remember many people being against ability-based grouping. (I am not 100% clear on this memory; if my mind is misleading me, sorry.) Although this should not be the only form of grouping, I believe that it is helpful. During my practicum, I found for math the students were either high achievers or low achievers. For some activities, I did pair a high and low student together for partner work, but for extra instructions I would divide the class into groups based on ability. This was the only way I could spend time with the students who needed the extra instruction. I would give the high groups the assignment, extra work, and a math game to play when they finished. Then I went to work with the students that needed the help. The small group and more one-on-one time allowed me to explain the lesson again (if needed), give them more hands on instruction, and I could monitor their independent practice. I only did this once a week, so I did not get into the habit of neglecting the other children; but that one lesson helped me guide the other students in the areas they needed.
I know there is an issue of labeling in the classroom, and a few individuals in my discussion were concerned about children being labeled “the dumb group”; however, I think this comes down to how the teacher presents this to the class. I had no tolerance for it; every time I heard a comment, I stopped the group, and talked to them about how everyone is different, and that we all cannot be the best at everything, etc. . There were only a few comments, and they stopped after a couple of weeks.
I enjoyed the reading a loud activity and finding open ended questions to go along with the story book. I think asking "what would you do" questions incorporates the reader to be active and to be further engaged in the book. I also think the "think-pair-share" activity is also a great literacy tool. It is not only allows reflecting upon the book but also making connections. Hence I think the way a teacher groups children is important. If a teacher is always grouping children that always play together, then the children are not being exposed to variation in ideas and personalities. I also like the idea of grouping children of different achievement levels is a useful way of grouping. I think it may challenge the two types of students in different ways and motivate the children equally. However, teachers should be monitoring the groups to take note of what is working and not. I believe that one way of grouping may work for a certain group of students but not for another group of students.
ReplyDeleteI felt like when the activities were more open based with an end goal, it expressed more creativity and peer discussions. I felt like the "children" were on topic and focused on achieving the end goal. When we were given a simple task, there was random conversations or none at all. Hence I like the idea of being able to express your creativity while achieving and end goal as it allows for collaboration and discussion among the group of students. Overall, I think this was a great activity. I never saw it in this view. I think the activity taking side by side and allowing us to compare it right away opened up my perspective about grouping and the activities that coincide with it.
Plan B
I really enjoyed reading about the importance and positive effects of listening in the classroom in last week’s readings. Listening intently to what a child has to say is something that I feel has not been happening as much as it should be. There is one quote in the text that I find very true but disheartening as it states that “Many adults are poor listeners who are ‘preoccupied, distracted, and forgetful nearly 75 per cent of the time’” (p. 116). Even though many adults, and teachers specifically, are very busy and may not have time to listen intently to a certain child, I still feel it’s important to let the child know that what they have to say is very much valued. In my own experience, I even find myself acknowledging what a child has to say by simply nodding or smiling from time to time without really listening or understanding what they are trying to say. In other words, I was listening but not actually hearing. This is something that I have actively tried to monitor since I am now aware of the learning experiences that children may miss out on without such intent listening. For example, after learning that children’s ability to tell stories is important for their development of pre-reading skills (p 122), I now know that listening seriously to children’s stories is something that I could and should do more often if I want to strengthen and enhance their language and pre-reading skills.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite part of class last week was definitely being able to play with all the fun materials at center time. Seeing all the different toys and materials that we were able to play with was actually very exciting and it made me feel like a kid again. Some of the objects I had not seen in a long time and brought back some great memories for me like the ‘I Spy’ books. One of the things that I found interesting was when we were encouraged to play with a certain objective in mind like building a race track and making silhouettes. Most of my experiences in classrooms have been in Kindergarden classes and their center time is usually just free play. I always thought that center time and free play were synonymous; times when the children can move around to different stations and play with whatever they feel like playing with. This is why learning about using center time as a means to play with a certain objective really opened my eyes to new ways of looking at things. When discussing the play centers activity questions with my group, we all agreed that having both free play and play with an objective in mind were equally engaging so I feel that incorporating both types of play in the classroom would be beneficial for all children. Also, when I had to chance to be the teacher and watch my classmates play during their center time, I felt that was a great opportunity to ask the children some open-ended questions. Many times I feel that some teachers use center time as a time to stand back or work on other things and not really engage with the children as they play. In my opinion, since open-ended questions are successful in promoting children’s imagination and creativity, incorporating them at a time like center time when the children are putting their imaginations to work, would be hugely beneficial for both teachers and students.
I vote for Plan B!
After reading the assigned chapters, the one that made me think the most was the one on listening. I feel like this would be the most difficult to implement into the early learning classroom. I know from my PDP experience that children love to talk about what is going on in their lives, but I found it almost impossible to pay attention to every student when there were thirty students in the classroom. I remember coming into the classroom in the morning and the students would all try to talk to me while I was preparing for the day. I found myself half listening to what they were saying because I was distracted by what I needed to get done in order to be ready for the day. It wasn’t that I did not want to listen to them, but there was just so much to do. I believe that with time and experience the prep time will be reduced, however, in the mean time I am wondering how I can listen to the students in a meaningful way. I know that incorporating discussion times during the day can be a platform for students to be able to express themselves, however, introverted students will find it difficult to speak up in front of a crowd. This brings up another issue for me. The extroverted students in the classroom generally monopolize conversations and discussions, which often leaves the introverted students feeling left out. What to do? Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteI found the centres activity interesting because previous to this activity I had not given them a lot of thought. It was my understanding that play centres were an important learning tool for students, therefore, I had intended on incorporating them into my early childhood classroom. However, when I was given the opportunity to experience a play centre first hand I came to understand their role on a deeper level. First, I played the role of the student and I found it difficult to decide what to play with and who to play with. I found that having so many choices made it difficult to settle into one activity. As a student, I think I would have preferred being in the second group, rather than the first group, because the latter group had a purpose to their play. I am not he kind of person who likes a lot of choices. Going to a restaurant is a challenge for me because I hate deciding what to order. Once I have made a decision, I find myself wondering if there was something else on the menu that would have tasted better. I think it’s possible that there are students out there who feel the same way; therefore, I will remember to incorporate more structured centre time in my future classroom.
Option B please
ReplyDeleteI felt this week’s week 5 readings were more straightforward and offered less points of discussion than past week’s readings. I do believe that the topic of grouping is something that often receives less attention, especially as you rush to place children into groups for an activity. You can become so involved in getting the activity started that the groups are just thrown together. I think that it is really important, especially when groups are being used to promote learning, that the groups are structured to benefit all of the children within a group. Also using a variety of mixed age and same age groupings, as well as mixed sex and same sex groupings can allow children to experience group work from different perspectives.
I thought that the play activity was quite interesting as well. The debate of how much structure to provide to children to allow freedom but not overwhelm them with choice is quite complex. Generally speaking, I like to give children choice whenever possible, and when I plan play I provide no structures or suggestions (as long as it stays safe and respectful). For example if I take kids outside to our undercover area at daycare, I will often have some kids go over to the play house, a couple to the sand table and the rest will often organize themselves in an area to play a group game (Usually freeze tag). Sometimes they decide on who will be it and many times they will ask me to be it. But I believe that this decision making promotes the children’s personal expression, doing whatever comes to their mind and allows them to experiment with the world they live in. I believe that through this, children can learn a lot about themselves and objects around them. I hope and feel that this also supports the development of children’s imagination, as they are not placed within any constraints. Many of the kindergarten and grade one children at my daycare have no idea what to draw when handed a blank piece of paper or build when given some blocks. So there needs to be some structure or guidance towards ideas that can be provided in the beginning, but I try to reduce that quickly and allow the children to do their own thing.
There are so many different factors to consider when grouping that, as you mentioned Christina, it often seems to end up being random and unorganized which I also disagree with. I think it comes down to the object of your reasons for grouping but that it has to be done carefully and with a lot of thought. One thing I struggle with however is pushing students outside of their comfort zones. There are students who will whine or complain about being grouped with certain people. I feel compelled to group these types of students with people they wouldn’t normally interact with in order to challenge their social skills; however, I fear that this will negatively impact the student on the other end. If the student who is uncomfortable vocalizes their displeasure in being grouped with another student, the other student will feel hurt and be embarrassed. I find this to be a risk even in classrooms where kindness and equality are a key part of the classroom environment.
ReplyDeleteI vote plan B or C. Go Canucks Go!
ReplyDeleteI vote C!!
ReplyDeleteIt was great to work on creating open ended questions for the book that was read to us. I believe that it is very helpful to work on these things in class to help us understand the type of questions to ask children after or during reading a book to them. I like the idea of reading part of the book and asking the children open ended questions about what has happened so far, and about what they believe will happen in the rest of the book. I have volunteered in classrooms where the teacher breaks down the book into three or four parts, gets the children to ask and answer questions about the book and what they think will happen next. The teacher then lets the children write about what they think will happen and reads the rest of the book later that day, or the following day. I think this is a good way for a teacher to find out if the children understand the book and to see what they believe will happen. It is so important for teachers to ask students open-ended questions to get them thinking more about their answers.
I really enjoyed the "play centers" activity that we did. I think that it was beneficial to play both the part of the student and the teacher. I liked having the option of free play, however I think that free play would have been exciting with mixed toys. I was a student during the structured play. I liked that the toys were mixed but did not like having structured play areas. I like the thought of being able to mix toys and make your own decisions about how to play with them. I understand that during certain times it would be more beneficial to have a structured set up for toys to get the students to work on things that have to do with the curriculum and topics that they are studying. Overall, I believe that both mixed and unmixed toys settings have good uses at different times during a school day.
Oops!
ReplyDeleteI lost track of time working on my blog post! I missed the 8pm deadline for the vote; my vote would be for option C, as I have made other plans already presuming we wouldn't have class on the 8th.
Sue it seems like option C could still be possible for those who choose it, even if you end up going with option B? That might be preferable if others like myself already have plans.
Okay back to my blog entry...
I'll post it when I feel it's done. :)
-Mark
I am fascinated by children's play. I will discuss in depth an experience I have had facilitating a very special kind of friendship group.
ReplyDeleteWhen the VSB offered a several-day workshop on how to run an 'Active Friends' playgroup I was the first to sign up. This past year I have facilitated a playgroup every Wednesday for a grade one boy who has autism and three of his friends. I have learned so much about learning through play, social skills, and group dynamics through this year's experience. The three friends I chose were selected very carefully. This process took two weeks of careful observation, then letters home to the parents explaining the nature and purpose of the group (it had to be important as these boys all missed math on Wednesdays to participate in the play group). Each friend demonstrated strong and healthy social skills at the beginning of the year (i.e. played well in different settings with a variety of peers; able to resolve little disagreeements; able to accept losing at games; etc.). Aditionally one student was selected specifically for his natural leadership and a second was selected for his natural caring and nurturing qualities.
I put so much into this planning and selection process because of the unique goal for this play group: one 'target child' who is isolated and without friends at school would be 'taught' friendship skills not by an adult (me), but by peers during in the context of real play!
It's a truly brilliant idea (not mine! Good 'Active Friends' to learn more).
Once these specific friends were selected, I trained them to basically speak out loud the tacit 'social rules' that dictate their friendly play. This prepared them to teach these rules in the context of play with the later addition to the group, a boy from their class who was always isolated.
For example they were trained to explain why it is that they dont want to play with someone who doesn't take turns. Or that pushing them out of the way to be first on the trampoline makes them not want to play on the trampoline at all.
With these friends 'trained', I established the structure of the group. (They begin with a little cheer they made themselves, then have snack, then go through a choosing process for three activities, and end with another cheer.) The rather revolutionary quality of this friendship group is that my role is strictly background. I am not the teacher, the peers are! I have little signs that tip the peers to say or do one or another thing, but for 45 minutes I have no direct interactions with the boy who has autism, neither do I steer the course of their conversation or influence their choice of activities. The friends run the group entirely!
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(...part 2, continued from previous post)
ReplyDeleteThe changes that have occurred in our ‘target child’ are remarkable. First of all, I have learned that kids know way more than we give them credit for. The trained friends quickly understood what this was all about and were able to manage all sorts of behaviours including tantrums! Secondly I saw first hand how powerful peer influence can be. I may tell the ‘target child’ a hundred times why turn taking is fair and necessary. But only when his peers told him right in context why they, “aren’t going to play with you anymore if you keep cheating,” did the message hit home. (The first couple of times there were tantrums. The boys had been trained to simply go play in a different part of the room and occasionally invite the target child back. They kept having fun, which eventually drew the isolated child back into the circle! Within two or three play group meetings he had learned how to take turns!)
Thirdly, I learned that “boys will be boys.” Or rather, kids will be kids. Once they realized that I really meant it when I said I was not leading or directing their play, these kids acted as if I was wallpaper! They were telling silly ‘potty’ jokes and acting totally free in their play, unlike the play I tend to witness when I am in “teaching mode”. I learned so much more about these boys watching them play ‘freely’ than I would have surmised from my previous observations. (For example the ‘leader’ boy always presents as very mature and ‘good’ in class. However once he was free to completely goof off he really would lead them in some of their more ridiculous antics; the sorts of things we as teachers associate with the more troublesome students!). This was a window into that hidden social world of children that as teachers we often forget even exists in all its vivid colour and dimension.
I have learned so much from this. There is real value in selecting members of a group carefully with the very specific primary goal of the group in mind paid off very well (the ‘leader’ and ‘nurturer’ really did play those roles to the benefit of the whole group). And I have learned there is a certain social authority kids have with their peers that simply cannot be replicated by adults. The negative power of ‘peer pressure’ can actually be harnessed to teach social skills and play skills to kids who are isolated and at the margins of our class. This insight and discovery will play an enormous role in my classroom. And I have been reminded again of the very complex and very real, authentic, valid social world of kids. It is easy to forget about this as teachers, since our role usually excludes us from their world. They guard and hide the real dynamics from us. I feel privileged to have witnessed their ‘unedited’ play by structuring a time where I was present but entirely non-directive. I would like to work this into my classroom dynamic somehow, though I have not yet thought of a way.
Plenty of time to learn plenty more!
-Mark Northey
When I was the student in our activity on Monday it was like a light bulb went off. I now understand why in my practicum when students were completing activities they were focused on such as drawing or coloring it would take them so much longer to transition into the next activity than usual. When we were told time was up I was upset. I wanted to finish the picture I was coloring. Although we were told it was time to stop, not everyone moved. After noticing everyone else has moved back to the tables we started to talk about why we were still there. I found this interesting. I felt like I wasn’t finished my picture and I needed to finish it, I knew it didn’t matter but I had invested into it and wanted to finish. I learned a valuable lesson from this activity. When I ask students to complete an activity like this again, I will provide them with a number of time notifications to ensure they are ready when it is time to transition.
ReplyDeleteI think questioning is a huge part of teaching and assessment. The types of questions you ask determine the way a lesson goes, and it gives you opportunity to check for understanding. In my practicum I would plan my questions into my lessons. I found this provided me a foundation to ensure I reached the points I wanted to highlight. After class I began wondering if when I am asking a question and have no set answer in mind but am looking for key terms or ideas, does that mean my question is open ended or closed ended?
Questioning is a critical tool for teaching as opened ended questions expand the student’s understanding of the world around them; as it “encourages children to explore possibilities, imagine and create” (page 154). However, I feel that open ended questions are also essential in assisting children to further understand the complexities that are encompassed within the stories that they read. Consequently, I thoroughly enjoyed the activity that we did in class where we read a few pages from a book and developed open ended questions in reference to the reading; as it allowed me to practice constructing questions that may initiate a child’s reflection of their relation to the story. Similar to how the text suggests that questioning can “encourage children to empathize with other children’s feelings” (page 160), asking open ended questions, such as “How would you feel if you were this character?” or “What would you do differently if you were the character?”, while reading a story leads the children to put themselves in the characters shoes and personally connect themselves to what they are reading. From my experience of working with children, asking open ended questions while reading a story or after reading the book effectively promotes an interest in literacy; as through these questions they discover that a book possesses much more than a simple story line that they may not initially be able to relate to.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, engaging with a book through a discussion of the deeper topics or issues that this book may address, by asking open ended questions, may encourage children to share personal experiences and assist them in understanding issues that they experience every day.
Another important consideration that an educator needs to address within their classroom is the notion of grouping and the means to which they decide to form the groups. Prior to reading this chapter, I had not considered the importance of taking time to consider how groups in the classroom are to be constructed. Furthermore, I was also unaware of the various benefits posed by the different types of groups; such as mixed ability grouping “enhances literacy learning…as children without language delay may provide additional modeling opportunities” (Page 105). Upon reflection, I’ve realized that many of the teachers that I’ve encountered simply pick groups based on convenience; for example, by grouping children based on who is sitting near to each other or by alphabetical order. However after reading this chapter, I feel that by randomly picking groups without any consideration may be detrimental to a child’s learning; as children with different abilities or cultures may not receive the opportunity to learn from each other. Although it is important for teachers to pick groups, I also feel that informal groups are also extremely beneficial to children’s learning. From my experience, when children receive the opportunity to choose groups and work with people they are comfortable with, they are extremely productive when accomplishing a project or task. Finally, I think that using groups in the classroom, whether using informal groups or structured formal group, is important because it allows the children to problem solve together, learn from each other, and contribute to the development of each other’s perspectives; which poses as more of a benefit than having the teacher talk at the students all day.
After reading the chapter on positioning people, I realized how important it is for teachers to position for meaning-making while they are teaching. Teachers have to consciously plan how they will position themselves and actively engage the students through listening, commenting, questioning and enriching conversations with children for meaning-making to be possible. Positioning for meaning-making can increase engagement and extend or enrich the experience. This reminds me of a time when I observed a lesson while I was volunteering in a kindergarten and grade one class. The teacher was teaching a math lesson on measurement. The lesson required her to present a demonstration using the water table. The teacher was worried that if she was not positioned properly with the water table that the students might not be able to view the demonstration and the students might try to huddle around the water table as well as pushing or shoving to view the demonstration causing a classroom management problem. Therefore, she planned carefully in advance where she would stand with the water table and where the students would sit so that the students would be able to view her demonstration without anyone blocking the view. She also ensured that she positioned herself in a way that she could view all her students so that she could engage them in the activity through listening, commenting and questioning as she was teaching the lesson. I felt that the lesson was extremely effective and learned a lot from the experience.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the play centre activity we did in class. When I was the student, I was in the group with the structured play (play with objective in mind). I actually found the structured play quite difficult as I felt that I really wanted to just do free play. As the teacher was describing to us what we have to do for certain activities, I felt quite overwhelmed that there were certain activities that I did not want to participate in as I felt that it was a lot of work. I just wanted to play freely and I chose an activity that felt easy, familiar and safe. When I was the teacher, I observed the students in the free play. There was a group that started mixing the toys and came up with lots of creative ideas to play with the different toys. They were able to mix the toys and came up with an objective for their play. It was very interesting. A lot of kindergarten classrooms that I have been to, the students usually just play freely. After the play centre activity, I realized how important it is to facilitate learning in children’s play. Children can learn to become more creative, imaginative, learn about group work, cooperation, sharing and etc. I also realized that some children might be better at free play and some might be better at structured play. For me, I personally enjoyed the free play more because it gives me more creative freedom. However, for some children, free play might be overwhelming for them as they might be unsure of what to do with the toys and giving them guidance in structured play might actually help them to play in a creative and imaginative way.
It was interesting to observe the differences between “free play with unmixed toys” vs. “purposeful play with mixed toys” during our activity in this class. The first activity gave the students more freedom in regards to the functions of the objects, i.e. if a student had a ball she/he could have the options of doing many different things with that ball, i.e.: bouncing the ball, throwing it back and forth, playing soccer, basketball, and so on. It also felt like in this first half the students had more freedom changing stations throughout the activity. Students who are naturally creative and/ or students who like moving and trying different things will really enjoy this free play activity. However, children who have more difficulties using their imagination may benefit from some guidance during this activity. The purposeful play activity gave the students the opportunity to work in groups towards a common goal, getting the students to practice and develop very important social skills. The students stayed within their groups throughout the activity, as each member had a different job in the group. The students appreciated having toys of different categories in their stations, which allowed them to create more diversified play scenarios.
ReplyDeleteIt was also interesting to have the literacy circle discussion in our class. When promoting literacy it is important to motivate the students to read certain books by asking them questions about it and getting them to make predictions. If the students are attracted by the theme of the book and are excited to discover what is going to happen in the story, they are more likely to read and comprehend the story. Conversely, children who are forced to read a certain book that they are not interested in without any teacher’s guidance may not be as motivated to read the book. The open-ended questions are also a good way for the teacher to assess the background knowledge of the students. This is particularly important when taking EAL students (who come from different cultures) into consideration. For instance, if a child just arrived in Canada and has never seen a hockey game before, this child will not comprehend a book that talks about a child’s devotion to the Toronto Maple Leafs team.
According to our educational system, children in schools should and are grouped to their age because they are believed to be developmentally at the same level. Homogenous groups are created so that students are grouped to be at similar intellect and cognitive abilities. And we often see this kind of grouping in classrooms, but I feel that grouping students like this inhibits them from growing and learning from each other. Instead, a heterogeneous grouping may be more beneficial because an expert
ReplyDeleteor a more knowledgeable student on the topic can guide or enlighten rest of the group. Mixed grouping should include at least some expert and some reluctant learner that can benefit from the group dynamics. I should mention that in such groups, each student should be assigned a specific task to ensure that everyone is participating.
The section about questioning also really interested me from this week's reading. I must say that open-ended questions that embrace creativity and the imagination do start to disappear by the higher intermediate grades. Which is unfortunate, because it's important for students to express their ideas and thoughts in the classroom to allow them to grow and to let them think outside of the box. Open-ended questions can promote critical thinking and alternative views. These type of questions can be used to discuss books, especially when getting the children to relate the stories to their own lives, making the literature a lot more meaningful to them once connections are made. Asking students about upcoming events after reading a passage, can allow students to predict and provide their reasoning for thoughts to promote reasoning and logic skills.
My thoughts on class are that I really enjoyed hearing the range of open ended questions that everyone came up with for their books. I am conscious of asking open-ended questions, but I do find that sometimes my questioning seems to follow a pattern. Hearing other ideas helps me extend my own questioning in directions I might not have thought of before.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed centre time! It is really fun to experience centres as the student – getting to choose who and what to play with. I enjoyed being able to play outside and the freedom to make choices. So often in class we are directed what to do; it was liberating to be in charge of our own explorations. I am on the fence about the two different centre experiences we demonstrated in class – I think both work and have their own merits. I was in the free play group and we got really creative making our own games with our own rules. However, I could see the extensive problem solving in the second group and the play was definitely more focused. I think I would try to incorporate both in my classroom.
It was interesting to participate in the play activity and to see the "role" that everyone took on. Some people dived right in while others stood back and did more observing. Some were drawing to more active based play while others preferred more solitary, quiet play. There are those who think that play does not have a place in the classroom after kindergarten, however, I still believe that it is a valuable part of any class. Children learn many skills through play, one of the most important being social skills. It is always so sad to see children who are scheduled to death outside of school and as a result have no idea what to do with free time. They will often say they have nothing to do or dont know what to do. Play is so important and really needs to be more valued.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed working with a group and looking through the various books that we had. It was interesting to hear all the thoughts and ideas from others and work together to summarize the story and come up with questions regarding our books.