Recap

     As teachers we learn how to multi-task.  While correcting papers, you're answering a students question, and while answering a student's question, you are listening in on behavior that is going on across the room, that behavior reminds you that you need to be pulling up the next lesson on the Smartboard, and it just goes on and on and on and on....There is little time (no time really) a teacher is not doing for their students.  Whether it be academic or personal a teacher is always going to be there for their students and always going to have their best interest in mind.  But sometimes as teachers we neglect our own best interests.  For as much as we do for other people it is also to remember that we are just as important to think about.  That is why it is so important to reflect upon what it is that you taught, if it went well, and what do you think the students gained from the lesson, if they gained anything at all?  Reflection is an important aspect and skill that every teacher should take with them.

     Reflecting back on this semester I have hit many highs and some lows.  At the beginning of the year we were told to write a post about what we believe our teaching beliefs are.  I said that some of my beliefs were: classroom environments are most effective when they are welcoming/inviting and student driven, and cross-curricular teaching is a practice of mine.  I still believe that I hold true to these beliefs and they are beliefs that I some day want to incorporate into my classroom.  However, I feel I have a better knowledge about these beliefs now that I have been in a sixth grade classroom for the past twelve weeks.  Practicum has taught me so much and I am so thankful for the experience.  My practicum re-enforced that the classroom needs to be a safe and welcoming environment.  The way my CT treats her students and the respect that she shows them reflects the way that they treat her.  The students may try to push her buttons every once in a while but they know that she will always be there for them.  With this common respect in the classroom so much learning goes on and it is amazing to see how far the students have come in a semester.  Another thing that I learned is how cross-curricular everything is.  Spelling words are used in all subjects, something that we read about in Reading relates to the science experiment that was done yesterday, and creating a cyber bullying poster in Guidance gets the students thinking about how they treat their friends in real life and on the internet.  Everything taught is related back to something that was already taught or will be taught.  It truly is amazing.  

     As an educator it is vital that I take the time to reflect upon my thoughts, ideas, lessons, and actions.  Without reflection how can we learn from our mistakes?  Or better how can we continue what went well and affected students in a positive way?  These blog posts have been a time for me to think back and reflect upon what I value, what kinds of strategies such as Think Alouds and Instructional Conversations can do for my classroom, and how I want to enter the teaching world when I become a full fledged licensed teacher.  There is so much excitement that comes with the future because I am able to reflect upon my past and I have appreciated every moment of it. 

Tech in the Classroom

     Technology is something that is becoming ever so prevalent in our classroom that it is becoming harder and harder to avoid.  Everything from the computer, to an iPad, students having phones by the age of six, Google, apps, new software updates, video games, etc. are being used in the classroom today.  Pencil and paper will soon be a thing of the past and teachers and education will all be "online".  Technology definitely has its upsides but I can't help but be a little skeptical and see the down sides of technology as well.

     The new thing for schools to be is one-to-one.  You may have heard of this before but incase you haven't one-to-one means that for every one child there is a technology device that they have to themselves.  Whether that be an iPad or a computer it doesn't matter, every child is able to get their hands on some kind of device.  This can be a major advantage for students and teachers.  Being one-to-one allows constant communication with the world.  Students are able to get their books online, they can research topics online, they can even create their own world online!  Another positive to being one-to-one is the possibility of schools taking up a turn it in system.  Students will no longer have to have a hard copy of their work but could instead turn it in online and the teacher can view it immediately.  Being connected to the internet gives children a whole new way of thinking about things.  They are constantly plugged into the world and can learn about anything they want.  If they have a question, ask the internet.  For a student to be connected to the internet the world is their oyster.  However, that is not always a positive thing.

     We have been talking about critical literacy in our class this semester and what it entails and how it is performed and accomplished.  Critical literacy involves a conversation and it involves the exchanging of thoughts and ideas and asking higher order thinking questions such as how or why?  Imagine trying to think critically alone with just the internet.  It is pretty difficult to accomplish this task.  Technology needs to be the basis of our instruction but not our entire instruction.  It is vital that we use technology as a tool but it is very important to not over use and abuse the internet that some people may.
     Technology is not going to become a thing of the past but is instead here to stay.  As teachers we need to constantly be learning about new and different kinds of technology so that we can better teach our students.  Technology is a wonderful resource and tool but it needs to be used properly.  Teaching our students how to properly use and not abuse technology is a constant struggle right now so that is why we must always try to stay one step ahead of the game....well at least be on pace.  

Instructional Conversations

     Instructional conversations are a great way to get students to be engaged and learn while still relaxed and open-minded.  I believe that instructional conversations are one of the best ways to teach students.  Instructional conversations are typically conducted as a whole group in the classroom about a specific piece of literature that is being worked on at the time.  For the purpose of my instructional conversation I will be conducting one in a small group of students about a specific piece of literature.  Goldenberg states, "An instructional conversation appears deceptively simple.  On the surface, it is simply an excellent discussion by a teacher and a group of students...It is about an idea or concept that has meaning and relevance for students."

     "Perhaps because they require balancing or juggling a number of potentially conflicting elements...successful instructional conversations seem to require considerable time and effort from teachers."  This is an important thing to note from Goldenberg.  Goldenberg talks a bit about how while instructional conversations are key element for the curriculum and for the classroom he talks about how instructional conversations come as a rarity.  "Learning to manage such inherent tensions requires repeated attempts to implement instructional conversations, coupled with video tapings, discussions and analysis of lessons."  This is a lot of work!  It is suggested by Goldenberg that teachers meet weekly to work on, assess and analyze instructional conversations in order to relieve some of the stress and work. Goldenberg talks about an important element to master in order for an instructional conversations to be successful is the teacher being able to manage the conversation and keep everyone engaged in a substantive and extended conversation.  The teacher needs to be able to weave individual participants' comments into a larger tapestry of meaning.

     It is so important for the teacher to acknowledge points of views that students have and encourage others to use their own voice as well.  Teachers are responsible for leading instructional and engaging conversations about relevant and intellectual concepts.  Keeping the conversation flowing and instructional even when some students can go off topic comes with challenge.  As a teacher being able to reel the off topic comments back with a "I never thought of it that way, does anyone else think that way or possibly differently?" or, "What can we make of this comment in relevance with our topic?" is a crucial and very necessary skill to have.  Otherwise, it stops being instructional and simply becomes a random conversation between classmates.

     "We have found that when students participate in discussion such as this, their writing about a complex concept such as friendship demonstrates greater sophistication and depth of understanding without sacrificing literal comprehension of the story they have read." -Goldenberg.  Instructional conversations really give way to higher order and deeper thinking.  Students begin to engage with one another stating and hearing different points of view on relevant subject matters through literature.  I cannot wait to conduction my instructional conversation and see what happens!

Think Aloud!!

     Have you ever tried to describe to someone what you were thinking and why you were thinking it and it didn't make any sense?  You got the look of "What in the world are you talking about?"  Think Aloud's are a great way to combat this confusion and look of disbelief.  We have been talking about Think Aloud's in our class and have been asked to conduct one.  The biggest take away that I got from the conversation is that it is a time for students to read a piece of literature, be told to stop, and then think out loud.  Sounds simple enough.
     I went to my classroom the other week and conducted a Think Aloud with my small group of readers.  They were reading the book Count Karlstein.  I explained to the students that we would be conducting a Think Aloud today and these are the steps that I am going to use.  I first off started talking to my students about when we think out loud it is as if we are making our thinking come alive!  I talked to them about how students sometimes use a strategy of visualization and how important that strategy is to a Think Aloud.  Morgan says, "Engaging students in creative role-play allows students "to experience the feelings of those in other places and times and learn from them."  The objective is to help students perceive events through the lens of others and relate those experiences to what they know."  I did a little exercise with them where I had them close their eyes and imagine that they were somewhere spectacular.  What did that place look like?  Have you been there before?  Were there people there?  What were you doing?  What did it smell like?  After the exercise we talked about the places that my students thought about.  I told them that that is exactly what we are going to be doing today.  We are going to be reading Count Karlstein and I am going to randomly stop you and I am going to ask you to think out loud.  I told them that I would model first by reading a section of the book, stop myself and I would make my thinking come to life!  Then I told them that I wanted to go around our circle and have them demonstrate to me while I was still engaging with prompting questions or comments, and then I made it known to them at the very end I was going to strictly observe and they were going to lead the Think Aloud.  Everything went exceptional until it came time for them to do the Think Aloud on their own.
     "We believe that exposing children to multicultural literature is important, but exposure without teacher guidance is not likely to lead to a deeper understanding of the world and the people in it, it is not easy to really walk in the shoes of others." -Morgan.  This is something that my lesson was lacking.  I really need to do a lesson devoted to me modeling what I wanted to happen and what I wanted the students to get out of the experience from doing the Think Aloud.  If I were to have had more time and more preparation I would have done an entire modeling lesson plan or just make sure that during the Think Aloud lesson that modeling was more of the main focus so the students were able to comprehend.  Morgan says, "Students need repeated practice over time exploring multiple perspectives with varied and multiple texts, both fiction and nonfiction."  With more planning time I would have definitely completed this task.  Like Morgan says it is hard to walk in others shoes which is why our students need so much practice with a Think Aloud.  Think Aloud's can create higher order/deeper thinking and can help students comprehension skills dramatically when they are able to indulge themselves in the literature.

Writing Assessment

     It is hard for me to reflect upon the writing assessment because I am not using my students writing but another class' writing samples.  The writing samples that I will be evaluating are sixth graders writing a persuasive essay.  This persuasive essay assignment was given to every sixth grader in the class.  The students started off with a worksheet to help gather their thoughts of what they wanted to write their persuasive essays about and how they would begin to construct their essay.  The worksheet included questions such as space to brainstorm ideas for your persuasive essay, who are you writing to, how will you begin your letter, how will you end your letter, what persuasive language will you use in your letter, and three reasons with explanations and/or facts to persuade the reader to want what the writer wants.  After the students completed the worksheet the began to write their persuasive essays.
     Some things that I thought went well for the students and what helped them most was the worksheet.  The worksheet was a great way to start with this assignment.  With young writers, inexperienced writers, or writers that have a challenging time with writing this worksheet helps those students get their thoughts organized.  It gives these students time to think and plan how they would like to go about writing their persuasive essay.  The worksheet not only helped the students figure out what they wanted to say but how to construct their essays.  When they should add things in to make their argument well written and what things may not be necessary at this time to add.
     From reading the students worksheets and the persuasive essays I can tell that the students have quite the personalities and an amazing sense of humor.  I can also tell that the students are passionate in their writing and what they are writing about and to me that is the most important thing you need when writing a persuasive essay.  If the students did not get to pick their topic to write about I wonder what their essays would have been like?  I wonder what kind of tone would have been?  Would I really find out anything about the individuals that were writing the essays.  Choice in an assignment such as this is also crucial.  I want to know what the students think, I want to know what the students know about their topic and I want to see persuasive language.  These students did an amazing job with this assignment and I can't wait to finish my official write-up.

Assessing Reading and Writing

     A big topic in the education field that I struggle with is assessment.  As teachers we don't seem to get very far into any conversation without this topic coming into play.  There are two kinds of assessments: summative and formative.  Summative assessments are the kind that occur after instruction when all is said and done.  Formative assessments are the kind that are ongoing and show us as teachers where our students have been, are now, and hopefully will be.  Subject areas such as Math, Science, and Social Studies are as cut and dry as you can possibly have when talking about assessment, but reading and writing...where do I even begin to instruct a student on their progress and worst of all give them a grade when it is all said and done?  When grading a paper or a story that a student has written what rubric do I follow?  What guidelines do I have set in advance for my students so they succeed in meeting my standards to receive an A?  Am I then "teaching to the test'?  Do I grade every paper the same?  Are there exceptions?  Can you even imagine grading poetry?!  It is exhausting to think about! Writing and summative assessments go together like oil and water.  They do not mix well.  They best way to assess writing, I believe, is through formative assessment and the writing process.
     Debbie Miller talks in detail about the importance of formative assessment with writing.  In Debbie Miller's book Teaching with Intention, Erma Bombeck makes this statement about formative assessment, "I see our children as kites.  You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground.  You run with them until you're both breathless...they crash...you add a longer tail...they hit the rooftop...you pluck them out of the spouting...you patch and comfort, adjust and teach.  You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they'll fly...Finally, they are airborne, but they need more string and you keep letting it out.  With each twist of the ball of twin, there is a sadness that goes with the joy because the kite becomes more distant and somehow you know it won't be long before this beautiful creature will snap the lifeline binding you together and soar as it was meant to soar - free and alone."  This is exactly how formative assessment and teaching is.  This is how I aspire to teach my students about writing.  I believe students need a lot of comfort, courage, reassurance, and respect when it comes to their writing.
     Debbie Miller offers plenty of examples of how we can use formative assessment with our students writing.  She talks about conferring, listening in, observing, examining student work samples, charting student thinking, reflecting, sharing and teaching.  Something in particular that I enjoyed reading about from Debbie Miller and Anderson was conferring or conferencing.  Conferencing with our students is huge to their development in writing.  Anderson talks about starting conferences off on a positive note.  I COULD NOT AGREE MORE!  They talk about in education the "positive-negative-positive sandwich".  Start things off on a positive note, then giving CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, then ending on a positive note.  Students receive information and feedback so much better when they feel like they are appreciated and respected and what better way to do so then have a one-on-one sit down with them to praise and critique their work.  Debbie Miller says, "When we pull up a chair and sit next to a child to talk with them about their learning, we learn valuable information about how individual children are processing what we've taught them.  And when we look at our conferences as a whole, we can use this information to consider the implications for small, needs-based groups and whole-group instruction."  I think this is how we should teach everything we do in school.  We would learn so much more about our students this way and how we as teachers can better instruct them.  However, there is a big "but" when it comes to conferencing...But where do we find time out of our already hectic days to conference with each of our students individually?  Is that even possible?  If so what does it look like?  How is it managed?  What is the rest of the class doing while the one-on-one conferences are going on?
     Assessment will always and forever be apart of the teaching world.  If assessments did not exist how would we know where we stand or how far our progress has come?  Assessments and I may not be the best of friends now, but I have a feeling we will learn to grow on each other.  I think it is very important for me to learn when to use what kind of assessment, and how to use the assessment to gain knowledge about my students and how I can better instruct my students.

Over the Shoulder Miscue Analysis

     Last year I was enrolled in the class Literature and Learning 1 and 2.  In this class one of our biggest assignments that we had to complete was what the teaching world calls a "Miscue Analysis".  A Miscue analysis is done when we try to gain more knowledge about our students as readers in our classroom.  A text is chosen that the student will read, as a teacher you have a written out script to follow along with while the student reads, the student is recorded while reading, then the student is suppose to give a retelling of what they just read to you.  Truth be told, this was one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences I have had in education so far.  It is hard for me to really rely on something like a miscue analysis to judge what kind of reader my student is.  I think this analysis does not account for a lot about how a reader learns to read and why they read the way they do.  Sometimes students can have a lot of syntax, semantic, or graphophonics miscues that may lead you to believe that a student cannot read but when they retell the story they just read to you it shows that they have comprehended the main ideas, listed characters, make connections, and can even make higher order thinking connections.  However, I do think miscue analysis' are necessary to see where a reader is at the time and it helps you discover strategies that are being used by the reader.  With all that said, and I believe that was a mouthful, I was very apprehensive to do an Over the Shoulder Miscue Analysis (OTSMA) for my Literature and Learning 3 class this semester.
     I was reassured by my teacher that this OTSMA would be far less painful than the initial miscue analysis that we had done the previous semester but I still had my doubts.  While this analysis was less in depth I was still worried that it wouldn't show me what my reader was capable of.  I did my best to change my attitude towards the analysis going into it and make it a positive experience.  I worked with a sixth grade student to perform this OTSMA.  At the time sixth grade was reading Phantom of the Tollbooth by Norton Juster so I had the student read to me for about fifteen minutes from that book.  One thing that I was skeptical about, and I think this is very important when performing the OTSMA is knowing the student as a reader before doing the analysis.  I had only been with my sixth grade class for a couple days and knew barely anything about them so I was naturally I was worried.  I got through the OTSMA with no qualms and surprisingly the student wasn't panic'd either so that helped me a lot.  With the Phantom of the Tollbooth it is hard to catch the puns that the author writes in but my student did a fairly good job at that.  My student is a proficient reader so he did not have many miscues.
     I think that it is very important to know your student as a reader when doing your miscue analysis.  Because I did not have much time with the student prior to doing the OTSMA it was hard for me to know where the student is and how I can I can better help them while doing the OTSMA.  This is something that I think that I can improve on.  Working with the student for more time prior to the OTSMA will help me help them.  Another thing that I believe that I can work on is being more familiar with the text before I work with a student.  Being more familiar will allow me to ask better questions during the OTSMA and it will help me ask better questions during the aided retelling part of the OTSMA.  One thing that I thought I did very well is encourage and reassure the student that what they are doing is for me and does not reflect on their reading abilities.  Sometimes students can feel a lot of stress and pressure to read perfectly when I tell them what I need them to do and they actually don’t read as well as they can because they are nervous.  I thought I did a really good job of reassuring the student and making them feel comfortable.  Another thing that I thought I did really well was engaging in the book with them by not only asking questions to help with my OTSMA but also engaging in conversation about the text with the student.  I am the type of person and I think that I am the type of teacher that really is all about reassuring that my students are important and intelligent.  I think tests can really overwhelm most students and if I can help alleviate some of that pressure by teaching them the correct tools to read and giving out positive attributes.