Abstract:
This chapter was all about parental involvement and how crucial it is during the middle school years. The problem is, however, that parent and community involvement seems to drop off as age increases. The rewards of parent and community involvement are excellent, including higher grades and test scores, improved teacher morale, higher student achievement, more positive attitudes, the list goes on and on. It is important that schools work out ways to get parents to respond to their students learning. One way is personalization. Schools need to show students that they and the parents are joint companions. Schools and parents should share the same goals and definitions for their students. Parent volunteer options in the school is another great way to get the parents involved. A school needs to establish itself as a community member and a community resource. Students can get involved through service learning project, and by participating in afters school programs that encourage involvement. Conferences are great way of giving student support, especially teacher led conferences where there are "no secrets"
Reflection:
We all really liked the idea of student led conferences. This way students feel like they are more involved in the conference and it is not a secret meeting between their parents and the teacher. Parents will feel more involved as well because they will see their students progress over the year as examples are shared. This also allows the communication between parents and students opens up, and also helps students understand that the teacher doesn't give grades, the student earns them.
Another important aspect of the chapter was service learning. Students shouldn't be removed from their communities just because they are in school. Teenagers often get a bad rep because of their age group, but by being visible in the community, they have a chance to change that perception. They also are becoming active community members as well as learners.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Turning Points: Chapter 8
Abstract: Chapter 8 is all about creating a healthy environment for learning. Students emotional and physical needs need to be fostered at school. One important aspect of a healthy environment is that students need to feel safe from hate and violence while they are learning. One way to accomplish this is to set up support teams that are made up of school and community mental health and relationship specialists, who will promote positive inter-relations and peer support. Peer mediation is another program which is on the rise in schools. Another important aspect of student health is that students get some physical activity during their day. Some schools have now begun programs that offer non competitive options for students who are body conscious. Another important aspect of creating a safe environment is to be culturally conscious of all student cultures. The book discourages against taking what they call the "holidays and heroes" approach in the classroom. All ethnic groups need to be respected and students need to feel comfortable asking questions.
Students who have feel safe and are healthy at school translates to students who excel academically and enjoy school. These students are far less likely to engage in at risk behaviors such as smoking, drinking, drugs or sex at early ages.
Reflection:
Promoting healthy individuals is an extremely important part of education, especially during adolescence, when students are most likely to start experimenting with at risk behaviors. The idea that many schools are starting to get rid of phys. ed is not good, especially considering the obesity rates the US is hitting. Physical health needs to be promoted in schools. It is also very important that emotional health be taken into consideration. Attitude directly influences how much learning takes place for a student and how much they enjoy school.
We all felt that the idea of peer mediation was a good idea of it was implemented effectively. Peer mediation gets students solving their own problems, so they do not always have to involve adults. Obviously, training needs to take place and this system cannot just be thrown into place expecting results. Like any new program in a school, it takes time.
Another important issue they bring up in the chapter is the importance of cultural education. A strong cultural education program can help eliminate stereotypes and cliques that are prevalent in many schools.When students feel threatened because of their race or other differences, it effects their learning.
Alyson
Students who have feel safe and are healthy at school translates to students who excel academically and enjoy school. These students are far less likely to engage in at risk behaviors such as smoking, drinking, drugs or sex at early ages.
Reflection:
Promoting healthy individuals is an extremely important part of education, especially during adolescence, when students are most likely to start experimenting with at risk behaviors. The idea that many schools are starting to get rid of phys. ed is not good, especially considering the obesity rates the US is hitting. Physical health needs to be promoted in schools. It is also very important that emotional health be taken into consideration. Attitude directly influences how much learning takes place for a student and how much they enjoy school.
We all felt that the idea of peer mediation was a good idea of it was implemented effectively. Peer mediation gets students solving their own problems, so they do not always have to involve adults. Obviously, training needs to take place and this system cannot just be thrown into place expecting results. Like any new program in a school, it takes time.
Another important issue they bring up in the chapter is the importance of cultural education. A strong cultural education program can help eliminate stereotypes and cliques that are prevalent in many schools.When students feel threatened because of their race or other differences, it effects their learning.
Alyson
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Turning Points Chapter 4
Abstract:
This chapter discussed the importance of instruction in the successful education of our youth: it covered things that did not work well for kids such as tracking and things that did such as differentiated classrooms. It also talked about the importance of reading in Middle Grades; students are expected to be fluent readers by the time they reach 6th grade. Unfortunately, they often need help in this endeavor from their teachers. The chapter discussed three types of instruction: Authentic, Differentiated and the WHERE method. We have used the WHERE method and Differentiated the most: WHERE is an organization technique based on transition and information while Differentiated is about knowing each student is different and using that knowledge to plan lessons with different types of strategies and giving students many choices for them to choose. Authentic Instruction is based on knowledge, inquiry and value beyond school. Some hints for organizing instruction are: knowing your students, centering the classroom around them, giving them control and choice, and connecting the content areas.
Reflection
We have read many of these ideas before, so it didn't really introduce anything new. Most interesting to Erin was the tracking, because although she realizes that tracking is utilized by many High Schools, she had never actually considered it being used in Middle Schools. It may be helpful for the Teachers to have different levels of ability, but it is damaging to the students. Teachers should embrace the diversity and use their students' differences instead as a helping tool to get additional learning across. Alyssa also was caught in this discussion: her ideas were that many minority students get left behind due to tracking because they are more likely to be in lower tracks than higher ones. Students in a lower track have a poorer self-image of herself than other students because they get an education of less quality and hence although tracking looks like a good deal on the surface, it is actually detrimental to our students. Alyson was drawn to the idea that drill-and-kill and traditional strategies just don't work anymore, so it is important that the teachers of tomorrow learn to engage their students and try new things, like the differentiated instruction which isn't only more engaging for students, but also because it is relevant and connected to the student's life. Michael's reflection was about the same as all of the above, but he also spent time talking about the "Focus on Reading" at the end of the chapter. He didn't feel that it flowed well with the rest of the chapter, and seemed more like it was just tacked on than the others. Still, reading is a very important part of all the classes in school and does need to be mentioned as important. Also, he was glad they talked about technology in this chapter and how important it is to the curriculum; technology can be a great form of differentiated instruction and can be sued as a tool to get to students that seem to be left out of regular teaching methods, and so the technology portion of the chapter was connected to the rest of it. It was also the Reading section that seemed out of place; everything else was cohesive and understandable. C'est fini.
This chapter discussed the importance of instruction in the successful education of our youth: it covered things that did not work well for kids such as tracking and things that did such as differentiated classrooms. It also talked about the importance of reading in Middle Grades; students are expected to be fluent readers by the time they reach 6th grade. Unfortunately, they often need help in this endeavor from their teachers. The chapter discussed three types of instruction: Authentic, Differentiated and the WHERE method. We have used the WHERE method and Differentiated the most: WHERE is an organization technique based on transition and information while Differentiated is about knowing each student is different and using that knowledge to plan lessons with different types of strategies and giving students many choices for them to choose. Authentic Instruction is based on knowledge, inquiry and value beyond school. Some hints for organizing instruction are: knowing your students, centering the classroom around them, giving them control and choice, and connecting the content areas.
Reflection
We have read many of these ideas before, so it didn't really introduce anything new. Most interesting to Erin was the tracking, because although she realizes that tracking is utilized by many High Schools, she had never actually considered it being used in Middle Schools. It may be helpful for the Teachers to have different levels of ability, but it is damaging to the students. Teachers should embrace the diversity and use their students' differences instead as a helping tool to get additional learning across. Alyssa also was caught in this discussion: her ideas were that many minority students get left behind due to tracking because they are more likely to be in lower tracks than higher ones. Students in a lower track have a poorer self-image of herself than other students because they get an education of less quality and hence although tracking looks like a good deal on the surface, it is actually detrimental to our students. Alyson was drawn to the idea that drill-and-kill and traditional strategies just don't work anymore, so it is important that the teachers of tomorrow learn to engage their students and try new things, like the differentiated instruction which isn't only more engaging for students, but also because it is relevant and connected to the student's life. Michael's reflection was about the same as all of the above, but he also spent time talking about the "Focus on Reading" at the end of the chapter. He didn't feel that it flowed well with the rest of the chapter, and seemed more like it was just tacked on than the others. Still, reading is a very important part of all the classes in school and does need to be mentioned as important. Also, he was glad they talked about technology in this chapter and how important it is to the curriculum; technology can be a great form of differentiated instruction and can be sued as a tool to get to students that seem to be left out of regular teaching methods, and so the technology portion of the chapter was connected to the rest of it. It was also the Reading section that seemed out of place; everything else was cohesive and understandable. C'est fini.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Turning Points: Chapter 3
Abstract:
This chapter was all about curriculum and assessment. When curriculum is strong, and the assessment is authentic, teaching and learning improve. The backward design method is essential to strong curriculum because it focuses on the underlying key curriculum. Standards need to be modified for a school. They should not just accept the state or local standards without exploring them further to analyze them. Focus should be put on the essential ideas of the standards, skills that should be covered, and how challenging and realistic each standard is. One of the weaknesses of standards is that they are vague and unclear, and teachers need to be aware of this. Essential questions should be formed to create unit concepts. These should be broad, interdisciplinary and relevant to students lives. Authentic assessments should be created to foster long term understanding. This assessment needs to be worked toward throughout the unit, and should have clear guidelines to help pave the way. Rubrics, portfolios, and performance indicators should all be considered.
Reflection:
One thing we all felt was very interesting was the push for each school to analyze the state and local standard and prioritize them. Normally, we hear how much must absolutely meet all the standards, and hear how stressed and overwhelmed teachers and students get in trying to reach these standards. We liked the fact the book actually admitted that some holes do exist in the standards, and that they need to be supported and supplemented. We felt it was important to sit down and scrutinize the standards to figure out what really needs to be expected and accomplished. Creating essential questions, clear goals and outlines, can all be an integral part of shaping the curriculum. The book also makes an important point that while standards shape curriculum, they shouldn't be the only thing used.
One thing we were kind of surprised about was the essential questions that they listed in the book on page 45. We were taught that essential questions should not be yes or no answers. We didn't think that a lot of the questions were legitimate essential questions, and lacked the depth which essential questions should have. Students should be able to write an essay response to each essential question, not just one word.
Posted by Alyson
This chapter was all about curriculum and assessment. When curriculum is strong, and the assessment is authentic, teaching and learning improve. The backward design method is essential to strong curriculum because it focuses on the underlying key curriculum. Standards need to be modified for a school. They should not just accept the state or local standards without exploring them further to analyze them. Focus should be put on the essential ideas of the standards, skills that should be covered, and how challenging and realistic each standard is. One of the weaknesses of standards is that they are vague and unclear, and teachers need to be aware of this. Essential questions should be formed to create unit concepts. These should be broad, interdisciplinary and relevant to students lives. Authentic assessments should be created to foster long term understanding. This assessment needs to be worked toward throughout the unit, and should have clear guidelines to help pave the way. Rubrics, portfolios, and performance indicators should all be considered.
Reflection:
One thing we all felt was very interesting was the push for each school to analyze the state and local standard and prioritize them. Normally, we hear how much must absolutely meet all the standards, and hear how stressed and overwhelmed teachers and students get in trying to reach these standards. We liked the fact the book actually admitted that some holes do exist in the standards, and that they need to be supported and supplemented. We felt it was important to sit down and scrutinize the standards to figure out what really needs to be expected and accomplished. Creating essential questions, clear goals and outlines, can all be an integral part of shaping the curriculum. The book also makes an important point that while standards shape curriculum, they shouldn't be the only thing used.
One thing we were kind of surprised about was the essential questions that they listed in the book on page 45. We were taught that essential questions should not be yes or no answers. We didn't think that a lot of the questions were legitimate essential questions, and lacked the depth which essential questions should have. Students should be able to write an essay response to each essential question, not just one word.
Posted by Alyson
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Turning Point 2000-Chapter 6
Abstract:
It is very clear that supportive relationships foster successful learning. Strong relationships with adults form critical pathways for student learning. By showing students our support for them we motivate the children to strive for a higher level of learning. Students most often become who you think they are. They will meet the expectations you set for them, whether those expectations are high of low. School size also dramatically affects students in a school. Smaller schools, or large school broken up into smaller teams allows for students to have more individualized attention from their core teachers. Creating smaller teams of core teachers is also a good thing for the teachers. Integration becomes easier, students are less likely to fall through the cracks, teachers have more time to plan together and individually, teachers do not have to chose. Teamwork improves students' education. Advisors also provide a support network for students during the school day. Advisory can work in several different ways, but when done correctly, every student in a school should have a trusted adult that he or she can go to.
Reflection:
We all agreed that relationships are key for a middle school to thrive and be successful. It is also important for the whole school to be on board in order to make teaming work. All the elements of teams must be implemented or the students will lose out. Teams need to be given time to plan together so they can develop meaningful and effective learning experiences for the students they are responsible for. Administration needs to be part of this process while still giving teachers the reins. Administration should help while still giving teachers the space that they need to meet their goals. We also agreed the if advisory is implemented correctly it can be an amazing opportunity for teachers to reach students who may seem unreachable, and for students to find a reliable adult whom they trust. Advisory provides a system to ensure that each student has found an adult to connect to.
It is very clear that supportive relationships foster successful learning. Strong relationships with adults form critical pathways for student learning. By showing students our support for them we motivate the children to strive for a higher level of learning. Students most often become who you think they are. They will meet the expectations you set for them, whether those expectations are high of low. School size also dramatically affects students in a school. Smaller schools, or large school broken up into smaller teams allows for students to have more individualized attention from their core teachers. Creating smaller teams of core teachers is also a good thing for the teachers. Integration becomes easier, students are less likely to fall through the cracks, teachers have more time to plan together and individually, teachers do not have to chose. Teamwork improves students' education. Advisors also provide a support network for students during the school day. Advisory can work in several different ways, but when done correctly, every student in a school should have a trusted adult that he or she can go to.
Reflection:
We all agreed that relationships are key for a middle school to thrive and be successful. It is also important for the whole school to be on board in order to make teaming work. All the elements of teams must be implemented or the students will lose out. Teams need to be given time to plan together so they can develop meaningful and effective learning experiences for the students they are responsible for. Administration needs to be part of this process while still giving teachers the reins. Administration should help while still giving teachers the space that they need to meet their goals. We also agreed the if advisory is implemented correctly it can be an amazing opportunity for teachers to reach students who may seem unreachable, and for students to find a reliable adult whom they trust. Advisory provides a system to ensure that each student has found an adult to connect to.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Turning Points: Chapter 2
Citation:
Jackson, Anthony W., and Gayle A. Davis. Turning Points 2000: Educating Adolescents in the 21st Century. Teachers College Press, 2000.
Abstract:
Chapter 2 clearly states the goal of Turning Points. The goal is that “middle grades schools should serve the oft-cited “whole child,” challenging students to think critically, to work industriously, and to contribute to their communities, to care about others, and to care about their own physical and mental health” (pg. 23). The vision of Turning Points is that well-served students will leave middle school as intellectually reflective people, good citizens, people in route to a life time of meaningful work, and caring, ethical and healthy people. The chapter introduces 7 recommendations, all designed to help middle school students succeed.
These recommendations are:
· to teach a curriculum of rigorous and relevant standards, based on differentiated instruction of how students learn best
· to have all staff members involved in decision making
· to create a community of prepared, life long learners
· to include parents and communities
· to continue to professionally develop teachers and hire staff trained specifically to teach adolescents
· to create a climate of intellectual development
· to provide a safe and healthy environment
While these recommendations do not have to be implemented in a particular order, together they all form a system which is integral to student success. The recommendations need to be co-existing in order to be successful.
Reflection:
We all felt that the recommendations Turning Points gave, could have been important to any school. Any school looking to improve student success, regardless of whether it is a middle school or not, could use these recommendations to vastly improve their school. We felt that it was really important that the recommendations be used in concurrence with one and other, because they are useless by themselves. Educators need to understand they can’t just implement one of these as a quick fix to improve their school. They have to implement the “system” mentioned above, which takes determination and hard work. A quote on page 26 is very important to understand. It states that “curriculum, assessment, and instruction are intertwined, each inevitably affecting the other two. Any effort to change the curriculum and assessment without changing instruction, or to change instruction without considering curriculum and assessment, will fail.” We feel this is an important aspect of teaching that educators need to be aware off. All to often do we try to change one aspect of our teaching or our schools, without really looking at the big picture.
*Alyson
Jackson, Anthony W., and Gayle A. Davis. Turning Points 2000: Educating Adolescents in the 21st Century. Teachers College Press, 2000.
Abstract:
Chapter 2 clearly states the goal of Turning Points. The goal is that “middle grades schools should serve the oft-cited “whole child,” challenging students to think critically, to work industriously, and to contribute to their communities, to care about others, and to care about their own physical and mental health” (pg. 23). The vision of Turning Points is that well-served students will leave middle school as intellectually reflective people, good citizens, people in route to a life time of meaningful work, and caring, ethical and healthy people. The chapter introduces 7 recommendations, all designed to help middle school students succeed.
These recommendations are:
· to teach a curriculum of rigorous and relevant standards, based on differentiated instruction of how students learn best
· to have all staff members involved in decision making
· to create a community of prepared, life long learners
· to include parents and communities
· to continue to professionally develop teachers and hire staff trained specifically to teach adolescents
· to create a climate of intellectual development
· to provide a safe and healthy environment
While these recommendations do not have to be implemented in a particular order, together they all form a system which is integral to student success. The recommendations need to be co-existing in order to be successful.
Reflection:
We all felt that the recommendations Turning Points gave, could have been important to any school. Any school looking to improve student success, regardless of whether it is a middle school or not, could use these recommendations to vastly improve their school. We felt that it was really important that the recommendations be used in concurrence with one and other, because they are useless by themselves. Educators need to understand they can’t just implement one of these as a quick fix to improve their school. They have to implement the “system” mentioned above, which takes determination and hard work. A quote on page 26 is very important to understand. It states that “curriculum, assessment, and instruction are intertwined, each inevitably affecting the other two. Any effort to change the curriculum and assessment without changing instruction, or to change instruction without considering curriculum and assessment, will fail.” We feel this is an important aspect of teaching that educators need to be aware off. All to often do we try to change one aspect of our teaching or our schools, without really looking at the big picture.
*Alyson
it works!
Hey guys..sorry it took me so long to get this thing up and running. My internet has been having issues!
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