Thursday, April 8, 2010
Becoming a "Wiz" at BRAIN-BASED Teaching
This presentation was packed full of information. You guys did a great job presenting it all so quickly in an orderly fashion. The opening video was very funny, and was effective in gaining my attention into the lesson. There was tons and tons of great energy through out your entire presentation, I think this clearly shows your excitement and passion to teach. This lesson included everything; it had a short video, digital media usage with the power point, supplement handout which we were able to take notes on, and lastly you had us up moving around and interacting in groups with our peers. The handout you provided us with were very helpful, especially since there was just so much information being delivered in a short time period. Over all a great presentation where I feel I learned a lot of knew information and ideas about how the different areas of the brain work. I must say the two things that I will not forget about this presentation, and therefore will take with me are; the analogies you guys came up with for the hypothalamus and amygdala (that really was a fun and engaging way to talk about parts of the brain), and the acronym you made for the word RAINY.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A Whole New Mind
I was already introduced to this book in another one of the courses I'm taking at UMF this semester with Professor Evans. We have been completing various tasks from the book, a couple different assignments for each principle that is discussed throughout the book. In fewer words, I was excited to hear what you guys to say after reading the book. The video was an excellent way to start the presentation; I was definitely focused on watching the trailer of that video. You did a nice job implementing technology into your lesson by creating a wiki page; it demonstrated a well organized flow for the lesson. To go along with your hook, you guys did a nice job getting students engaged by having them move around the room for your opening activity. Overall I enjoyed the various activities you had us participate in for each principle presented in the book, but I especially enjoyed the activity where we tried to identify the facial expressions during the "empathy" section of the lesson. A couple of the suggestions that came to mind while I was involved in your lesson were that you could have possibly had us design something creative as a group during the "design" portion of the lesson. Also, I would have liked to have had a couple handouts that outlined the essential ideas from the text, or maybe have even read specific sections from the book.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Student Oriented Curriculum
First off, you three did a great job with this assignment and presentation. I really liked the way you opened up your lesson by having us get up and move around the classroom. Also, you guys did a nice job getting all students involved by asking each of us questions at one time or another. The jig saw activity was very engaging, and I feel proved to be a very effective way of presenting the important ideas of the book to us. I know in our "mini-group" there were some very useful and informative resources given to us which were helpful, but I would have maybe liked to read a little more of the actual text from the book. The only suggestion I could think would maybe make this lesson a little stronger would be to have us do a couple team building activities. In order to create a working collaborative team, all people involved must be able to work together. Lastly, I thought you guys couldn't have ended the lesson any better. By having us pick one bullet point and then explain why and how we would implement this in our own classroom was a terrific way to bring the lesson to a close. It left me thinking about how I could actually use what I learned from your lesson and use it in a real life situation.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
This We Believe
Pages 1-7
The opening pages of this book presented multiple ideas and goals that have proven to create successful middle schools. Students at this age level are all at different stages of development in their lives, and each child is going to be experiencing this time in their life differently. That being said, educators must realize the importance of teaching to the students by addressing their needs first. This chapter discussed the importance of not only teaching how to create a healthy lifestyle, but the importance of leading by example and demonstrating a healthy lifestyle. Middle school educators must also remember the role that society plays on their school community as well. Students at this age are clearly more influenced by their peers than they are from their adult figures, and society begins to influence how adolescents act in a variety of ways. The author concluded the first seven pages by presenting the National Middle School Association's mission statement.
Pages 9-19
Middle school educators must realize the role they play and young adolescences lives. All teachers and staff who work in the school community must present themselves as positive role models who demonstrate enthusiasm through their actions. This chapter describes the role a principle must be play in the school community in order to create effective collaborate teaching style, which in the end promotes effective learning. Training to become a certified middle school educator is always changing and requires a significant amount of work. Any person who has a desire to teach children at this age level must have a passion for teaching. Teachers must be motivated and prepared to gain the interest of the students. Throughout this chapter, the author clearly stresses the importance of creating a successful learning environment in order to have an effective middle school. A school community should support and promote learning by first providing a safe learning atmosphere for all students.
Pages 19-34
One of the most difficult tasks that a teacher is faced with is how to design curriculum that is going to truly help students understand content. Students in middle school are distracted by so many other things going on in their lives; most kids are only in school because they have to be. Children at this age are developing at different rates and this can make it difficult for middle school teachers to create lessons that will engage the interest of all of their students. This chapter presents a couple ideas that should help generate curriculum that will engage students, the author says that lessons should be relevant, challenging, exploratory, and most importantly prepare students for the 21st century. Another aspect this chapter focused on was how effective collaboration can be. All middle school educators should design integrated content curriculum and teach as one big community. Once teachers are able to build relationships with their students, they will get to know their specific needs better and as a result will be better able to teach to their needs.
Pages 35-51
The main focus of these pages was a clear outline of how to actually implement the ideas and suggestions of the National Middle School Association education system. The author described how each different position in the school community has their own role, and in order to create an effective learning environment for middle school students all people involved in the school system must do their part. It is the responsibility of the entire school community all the way up to the director of education at the state level. All educators in the learning community must evaluate their performances often if they want to create successful changes when needed. This chapter also discussed that educator must look to colleagues for advice, and should strive to create collaborative team teaching within their schools.
The opening pages of this book presented multiple ideas and goals that have proven to create successful middle schools. Students at this age level are all at different stages of development in their lives, and each child is going to be experiencing this time in their life differently. That being said, educators must realize the importance of teaching to the students by addressing their needs first. This chapter discussed the importance of not only teaching how to create a healthy lifestyle, but the importance of leading by example and demonstrating a healthy lifestyle. Middle school educators must also remember the role that society plays on their school community as well. Students at this age are clearly more influenced by their peers than they are from their adult figures, and society begins to influence how adolescents act in a variety of ways. The author concluded the first seven pages by presenting the National Middle School Association's mission statement.
Pages 9-19
Middle school educators must realize the role they play and young adolescences lives. All teachers and staff who work in the school community must present themselves as positive role models who demonstrate enthusiasm through their actions. This chapter describes the role a principle must be play in the school community in order to create effective collaborate teaching style, which in the end promotes effective learning. Training to become a certified middle school educator is always changing and requires a significant amount of work. Any person who has a desire to teach children at this age level must have a passion for teaching. Teachers must be motivated and prepared to gain the interest of the students. Throughout this chapter, the author clearly stresses the importance of creating a successful learning environment in order to have an effective middle school. A school community should support and promote learning by first providing a safe learning atmosphere for all students.
Pages 19-34
One of the most difficult tasks that a teacher is faced with is how to design curriculum that is going to truly help students understand content. Students in middle school are distracted by so many other things going on in their lives; most kids are only in school because they have to be. Children at this age are developing at different rates and this can make it difficult for middle school teachers to create lessons that will engage the interest of all of their students. This chapter presents a couple ideas that should help generate curriculum that will engage students, the author says that lessons should be relevant, challenging, exploratory, and most importantly prepare students for the 21st century. Another aspect this chapter focused on was how effective collaboration can be. All middle school educators should design integrated content curriculum and teach as one big community. Once teachers are able to build relationships with their students, they will get to know their specific needs better and as a result will be better able to teach to their needs.
Pages 35-51
The main focus of these pages was a clear outline of how to actually implement the ideas and suggestions of the National Middle School Association education system. The author described how each different position in the school community has their own role, and in order to create an effective learning environment for middle school students all people involved in the school system must do their part. It is the responsibility of the entire school community all the way up to the director of education at the state level. All educators in the learning community must evaluate their performances often if they want to create successful changes when needed. This chapter also discussed that educator must look to colleagues for advice, and should strive to create collaborative team teaching within their schools.
Chapter 2: Motivating Young Adolescents
Abstract:
Chapter two discusses the need to motivate students. Students must see what is in it for them or they could care less. The author presents a variety of techniques that may be used to motivate students' but stresses on the importance of knowing your students'. All educators must get to know their students and use students specific interests when designing curriculum. One helpful suggestion the author presented was to ask questions to parents in order to gain useful information about students that could possibly help when tailoring lesson plans. Effective communication must always be used when interacting with peers, students, and mentors. The author wrote briefly about creating a safe environment. Educators must do their best effort to create a learning environment for every student to be successful in, and the first step in doing that is making the environment safe for middle school students. In the beginning of the chapter, the author presented a series of questions which he later answered throughout the chapter. Those questions were: Are you interested with knowing & being with your students? Have you created a classroom where students feel safe enough to share their emotions? Are your lessons vivid? Are you enthusiastic about your subject? Do you build suspense by giving them something to look forward to? Do your lessons take into account the varied learning styles of students? Can all students succeed in your classroom? Is the material relevant to your students' lives? Do your lessons maintain momentum? Do you clearly communicate instructions and expectations? Do your students know why they are learning certain concepts and skills? Are assessments authentic? Do the students play a role in the teaching and learning? Do your students have proof of your belief in their ability to learn?
Reflection:
This topic, how to motivate young adolescents, is one that I feel will be one of the greatest challenges I will face as a teacher. I can remember the teachers who use to catch my attention and motivated me to learn what ever it was they were teaching, and I remember the teachers who could not have bored me any more than they did. I want to be a teacher where all students look forward to coming to my class each day. No matter how well I prepare content notes, power point slide shows, video blurbs, or lecture diagrams, I must find a way to get the students engaged in the material being presented. I liked the hints and suggestions that the author displayed throughout this chapter, I can't say for sure if i will ever actually use them in my classroom, but they could serve as a great reference at some point.
Chapter two discusses the need to motivate students. Students must see what is in it for them or they could care less. The author presents a variety of techniques that may be used to motivate students' but stresses on the importance of knowing your students'. All educators must get to know their students and use students specific interests when designing curriculum. One helpful suggestion the author presented was to ask questions to parents in order to gain useful information about students that could possibly help when tailoring lesson plans. Effective communication must always be used when interacting with peers, students, and mentors. The author wrote briefly about creating a safe environment. Educators must do their best effort to create a learning environment for every student to be successful in, and the first step in doing that is making the environment safe for middle school students. In the beginning of the chapter, the author presented a series of questions which he later answered throughout the chapter. Those questions were: Are you interested with knowing & being with your students? Have you created a classroom where students feel safe enough to share their emotions? Are your lessons vivid? Are you enthusiastic about your subject? Do you build suspense by giving them something to look forward to? Do your lessons take into account the varied learning styles of students? Can all students succeed in your classroom? Is the material relevant to your students' lives? Do your lessons maintain momentum? Do you clearly communicate instructions and expectations? Do your students know why they are learning certain concepts and skills? Are assessments authentic? Do the students play a role in the teaching and learning? Do your students have proof of your belief in their ability to learn?
Reflection:
This topic, how to motivate young adolescents, is one that I feel will be one of the greatest challenges I will face as a teacher. I can remember the teachers who use to catch my attention and motivated me to learn what ever it was they were teaching, and I remember the teachers who could not have bored me any more than they did. I want to be a teacher where all students look forward to coming to my class each day. No matter how well I prepare content notes, power point slide shows, video blurbs, or lecture diagrams, I must find a way to get the students engaged in the material being presented. I liked the hints and suggestions that the author displayed throughout this chapter, I can't say for sure if i will ever actually use them in my classroom, but they could serve as a great reference at some point.
Chapter 1: Stoking the Fires Within
Abstract:
Chapter one presents the opening of this book by stating: teaching a privilege. All teachers should take pride in their profession and strive to inspire students. In order to become a successful and effective educator, one must present themselves as a positive role model which begins by having a positive attitude. The author clearly points out the fact that students have a difficult time separating the teacher from his/her attitude, "the teacher is the attitude." Presenting a positive attitude and showing enthusiasm in what they are teaching are both essential qualities which all educators should acquire. This chapter comes to a close by presenting a problem that many teachers possess; the inability to be a good listener. Many educators spend so much time teaching and explaining their thoughts on a daily bases they forget how important is it for teachers to be good listeners. One way to become a good listener is to develop relationships with the students. Teachers should create relationships with all students in order to become better listener's, and over all better educators.
Reflection:
I feel like I couldn't agree more with the author in this chapter. Teachers who display a passion for what they do and truly motivate others to learn are in my opinion far better educators. It is important that we as teachers never forget how much we influence each and every student that we interact with. We must present a positive attitude to all aspects of our job, and always remember that we are there for the them not ourselves. I look forward to developing relationships with my students because I remember how much more enjoyable my class experiences were with teachers who took the initiative in getting to know me.
Chapter one presents the opening of this book by stating: teaching a privilege. All teachers should take pride in their profession and strive to inspire students. In order to become a successful and effective educator, one must present themselves as a positive role model which begins by having a positive attitude. The author clearly points out the fact that students have a difficult time separating the teacher from his/her attitude, "the teacher is the attitude." Presenting a positive attitude and showing enthusiasm in what they are teaching are both essential qualities which all educators should acquire. This chapter comes to a close by presenting a problem that many teachers possess; the inability to be a good listener. Many educators spend so much time teaching and explaining their thoughts on a daily bases they forget how important is it for teachers to be good listeners. One way to become a good listener is to develop relationships with the students. Teachers should create relationships with all students in order to become better listener's, and over all better educators.
Reflection:
I feel like I couldn't agree more with the author in this chapter. Teachers who display a passion for what they do and truly motivate others to learn are in my opinion far better educators. It is important that we as teachers never forget how much we influence each and every student that we interact with. We must present a positive attitude to all aspects of our job, and always remember that we are there for the them not ourselves. I look forward to developing relationships with my students because I remember how much more enjoyable my class experiences were with teachers who took the initiative in getting to know me.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Chapter 1: Stoking the Fires Within Synthesis
Abstract:
The main theme of this opening chapter is centered on how a person’s attitude affects one’s ability to do their job to the greatest potential. This chapter is directed specifically towards education and how a teachers attitude influences the attitudes of their students, but it has a tone that speaks to all professions and what it takes to be the best. The author clearly presents that the starting point is to look at one’s self. The author presented a quote by, William Arthur Ward, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." The author then states, "We all know people who seem to have retired on the job." This was very true of our class. Reflections written by my classmates stated that they remember how much more motivated they were to learn when the teacher presented material with enthusiasm and passion. Throughout this chapter the author continually talks about the importance of being a positive role model and how all educators should lead by example. We as teachers must model good behavior and explicitly show a positive attitude towards all students through mutual respect. One commonality between our classmates was the importance of developing relationships with our students. We agreed with the author, and stated how we enjoyed teachers who took the initiative in getting to know us and our needs. The author closes out the chapter by highlighting the need to develop good relationships; and one important factor in relationships is communication. Teachers are always the ones talking and become very good at it, we must always remember that is it just as important to be a good listener.
Reflection:
After reading the rest of the classes responses to the chapter I felt a little different about it myself. When I first read the chapter I couldn't help but focus on his title and opening thoughts about how we must motivate ourselves as teachers before we can become an effective educator. After looking over this chapter again I can clearly see that the author’s main idea is about having a positive attitude. A positive attitude about everything in life, but more importantly about teachers presenting themselves as positive role models and that starts with having a positive attitude. The opportunity that teachers have is incredible; they interact each and every day with young adolescents who are searching for their own identity and place in society. We as teachers must never let down our guard, no matter what. We must present ourselves as confident and positive role models, those who are there for the student’s needs and not that of our own.
The main theme of this opening chapter is centered on how a person’s attitude affects one’s ability to do their job to the greatest potential. This chapter is directed specifically towards education and how a teachers attitude influences the attitudes of their students, but it has a tone that speaks to all professions and what it takes to be the best. The author clearly presents that the starting point is to look at one’s self. The author presented a quote by, William Arthur Ward, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." The author then states, "We all know people who seem to have retired on the job." This was very true of our class. Reflections written by my classmates stated that they remember how much more motivated they were to learn when the teacher presented material with enthusiasm and passion. Throughout this chapter the author continually talks about the importance of being a positive role model and how all educators should lead by example. We as teachers must model good behavior and explicitly show a positive attitude towards all students through mutual respect. One commonality between our classmates was the importance of developing relationships with our students. We agreed with the author, and stated how we enjoyed teachers who took the initiative in getting to know us and our needs. The author closes out the chapter by highlighting the need to develop good relationships; and one important factor in relationships is communication. Teachers are always the ones talking and become very good at it, we must always remember that is it just as important to be a good listener.
Reflection:
After reading the rest of the classes responses to the chapter I felt a little different about it myself. When I first read the chapter I couldn't help but focus on his title and opening thoughts about how we must motivate ourselves as teachers before we can become an effective educator. After looking over this chapter again I can clearly see that the author’s main idea is about having a positive attitude. A positive attitude about everything in life, but more importantly about teachers presenting themselves as positive role models and that starts with having a positive attitude. The opportunity that teachers have is incredible; they interact each and every day with young adolescents who are searching for their own identity and place in society. We as teachers must never let down our guard, no matter what. We must present ourselves as confident and positive role models, those who are there for the student’s needs and not that of our own.
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