1. Think about your hopes for this course. What do you want to learn? How do you expect to grow both professionally and personally from participating in this class?
I would like to learn more about classroom systems that implement technology software to give students practice as well as assess their learning. In my classroom, there are two Smart boards on either side of the rather large room. Each set of about 15 students has easy viewing capability for they just have to turn and look at their side's projection. Getting real hands-on practice with such technology is also a goal/hope of mine for the semester. Perhaps some students could help show me. I expect to grow professionally because I am taking part in meaningful academic dialogue with my colleagues.
2. Consider your fears about this course. What worries you about the class? What concerns do you have as you continue your inquiry work as a part of your final internship?
The only worry I have is a student of mine who seems to have difficulty being kind to other students. Her behavior is affecting her learning and the learning of those around her. Since my wondering/inquiry is about attention reminders for students who seem to lag on their assignments, we will try some Check In/Check Out monitoring strategies. With this student, and a handful of others, it may be a challenge to convince them such practices are worthwhile.
3. Last semester my wondering was, "How can I foster intrinsic motivation for learning and increase time-on-task for students who seem to lag on assigned work in the classroom?" The moment when the inquiry process made most sense to me was when my CT initiated the conversation and offered and idea right off the bat. This showed me that other teachers care about their students immediately and with magnitude, and they are always willing to share a student inquiry process with a fellow educator who is willing to put in the time and perform the classroom research. One change I made that related to my 1st/2nd grade practice was to shift from a highly verbose mathematical standpoint coming from 5th grade, to one of building student accountability and reinforcing thinking processes instead of finite answers through algorithms or textual analysis. For example, I feel like I made a change from being questioning and leading to one of more explicit, clear, and easily understood instruction. Giving directions to a class of 1st graders is challenging to do all the time throughout the day.
The most surprising learning moment happened when I noticed a positive correlation between student arrival time and levels of sustained motivation and engagement. Home life became something that is now a healthy obsession of mine as a teacher, as I started to wonder if each of our students was being cared for/fed/clothed/kept warm at Bricker Elementary (pseudonym). One thing my supervisor needs to know about "creating a space" for inquiry in my final internship placement is that most students have desirable home lives, and basic human needs become something that is inherent and maintained. Behaviors that seem disruptive may be caused by a need for expression by means of how much freedom they have in the classroom. Kagan structures are used, so my supervisor will see many ways to structure subject activities. One thing my course instructor needs to know to help me write-up and share my inquiry is that I will be asking questions about private school students, so some of the classroom practices that my CT perform may seem foreign at first.
I would like to learn more about classroom systems that implement technology software to give students practice as well as assess their learning. In my classroom, there are two Smart boards on either side of the rather large room. Each set of about 15 students has easy viewing capability for they just have to turn and look at their side's projection. Getting real hands-on practice with such technology is also a goal/hope of mine for the semester. Perhaps some students could help show me. I expect to grow professionally because I am taking part in meaningful academic dialogue with my colleagues.
2. Consider your fears about this course. What worries you about the class? What concerns do you have as you continue your inquiry work as a part of your final internship?
The only worry I have is a student of mine who seems to have difficulty being kind to other students. Her behavior is affecting her learning and the learning of those around her. Since my wondering/inquiry is about attention reminders for students who seem to lag on their assignments, we will try some Check In/Check Out monitoring strategies. With this student, and a handful of others, it may be a challenge to convince them such practices are worthwhile.
3. Last semester my wondering was, "How can I foster intrinsic motivation for learning and increase time-on-task for students who seem to lag on assigned work in the classroom?" The moment when the inquiry process made most sense to me was when my CT initiated the conversation and offered and idea right off the bat. This showed me that other teachers care about their students immediately and with magnitude, and they are always willing to share a student inquiry process with a fellow educator who is willing to put in the time and perform the classroom research. One change I made that related to my 1st/2nd grade practice was to shift from a highly verbose mathematical standpoint coming from 5th grade, to one of building student accountability and reinforcing thinking processes instead of finite answers through algorithms or textual analysis. For example, I feel like I made a change from being questioning and leading to one of more explicit, clear, and easily understood instruction. Giving directions to a class of 1st graders is challenging to do all the time throughout the day.
The most surprising learning moment happened when I noticed a positive correlation between student arrival time and levels of sustained motivation and engagement. Home life became something that is now a healthy obsession of mine as a teacher, as I started to wonder if each of our students was being cared for/fed/clothed/kept warm at Bricker Elementary (pseudonym). One thing my supervisor needs to know about "creating a space" for inquiry in my final internship placement is that most students have desirable home lives, and basic human needs become something that is inherent and maintained. Behaviors that seem disruptive may be caused by a need for expression by means of how much freedom they have in the classroom. Kagan structures are used, so my supervisor will see many ways to structure subject activities. One thing my course instructor needs to know to help me write-up and share my inquiry is that I will be asking questions about private school students, so some of the classroom practices that my CT perform may seem foreign at first.