This blog will serve as a place to reflect on several topics covered in our Teacher Support Specialist course! We will be covering a multitude of topics including mentoring, induction teachers, differentiated instruction, coaching and conferencing, brain based learning, designing for engagement, building relationships and teamwork, and teacher reflection just to name a few topics! Feel free to post and reply to your colleagues as often as you would like!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Differentiation!
After attending the Differentiating Instruction session, what information will you incorporate in your planning and instruction and what information will you share with others?
The reference chart we received for Bloom's Taxonomy is probably the most immediately applicable resource I came away with from yesterday's meeting. In fact, I received enough copies to do a tiny little redelivery that afternoon and pass them out to my grade level. We do love being the first to receive something new! It is so nice to be able to come up with a question or activity in the spur of the moment, which is when the real learning usually happens. Students tend to think differently than we do in many cases (thanks to their age and Gardener styles) and see connections or questions we could not have anticipated. Right when they speak up is the perfect time to grab that curiosity or insight and move it on up the Bloom's ladder. This resource makes that possible.
My last posting disappeared into cyber land so I'm going to try again... I appreciate having the opportunity to listen to presentations and be around others with new/different ideas. It is too easy to slip into a rut if you don't constantly listen and search out new ideas. Getting into a rut does not help you or the students. You get bored; they get bored. It is wonderful to receive a fresh copy of Bloom's. Mine was so old and tattered I couldn't hardly read it any more! I've always tried to use the Bloom verbs when working on my objectives in hopes of increasing student involvement. Student involvement always raises new questions and exposes everyone to different perspectives. What better way to study material than to have active rather than passive participation. The concept of exit/entrance cards is great! Currently, I check my students' Do Now's to make sure they grasp a concept, but this strategy gives me more leeway. Also, I really like the concept of the individual whiteboards. I've heard of people using them, but have never seen it in practice. Watching the video allowed me to understand the concept better. I think these can be used in all classes, and could possibly save time (and paper). I think my colleagues will agree. Choice boards are also something I have done on a limited scope. The information presented allows me to see how I can expand this and make it more productive. I can't wait to implement this!
I enjoyed hearing Jeani Rottle's presentation on Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom. It was nice to be refreshed on Bloom's Verbs, and Multiple Intelligences. I really liked how the two were combined to create "The Ultimate Combo". I plan to use that page a lot in my planning next year. I really like Jeani Rottle's class rules! Short and easy (for Kindergartner's!) to remember. Something I will definitely use next year. I use choice boards occasionally. I'd like to share this idea with others on my grade level, and I'd like to see all of us putting our brains together to create meaningful and exciting choice boards. There's so much to share, and I can't wait to implement some of the great ideas I got from the workshop!
Jeani Rottle's presentation was very informative. This was a wealth of knowledge that any mentor/mentee would find invaluable. I appreciated the posters of Bloom's verbs for planning instruction using higher-order thinking. Posting this in your class where it is visible will keep them in mind when just asking students questions. It is easy to become complacent and just ask for knowledge based answers. By posting this list of verbs we can be reminded to push our students to the next level. I use choice boards a little differently than Jeani. I include choices or tiers in a project to allow students to present their knowledge of a standard in individual ways. Their choices allow them to express their strenghts while illustrating what they have learned about the topic. Differentiation is something most of us automatically do but the resources we received in this workshop is great when we are stuck for new ideas.
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ReplyDeleteThe reference chart we received for Bloom's Taxonomy is probably the most immediately applicable resource I came away with from yesterday's meeting. In fact, I received enough copies to do a tiny little redelivery that afternoon and pass them out to my grade level. We do love being the first to receive something new! It is so nice to be able to come up with a question or activity in the spur of the moment, which is when the real learning usually happens. Students tend to think differently than we do in many cases (thanks to their age and Gardener styles) and see connections or questions we could not have anticipated. Right when they speak up is the perfect time to grab that curiosity or insight and move it on up the Bloom's ladder. This resource makes that possible.
ReplyDeleteMy last posting disappeared into cyber land so I'm going to try again...
ReplyDeleteI appreciate having the opportunity to listen to presentations and be around others with new/different ideas. It is too easy to slip into a rut if you don't constantly listen and search out new ideas. Getting into a rut does not help you or the students. You get bored; they get bored.
It is wonderful to receive a fresh copy of Bloom's. Mine was so old and tattered I couldn't hardly read it any more! I've always tried to use the Bloom verbs when working on my objectives in hopes of increasing student involvement. Student involvement always raises new questions and exposes everyone to different perspectives. What better way to study material than to have active rather than passive participation.
The concept of exit/entrance cards is great! Currently, I check my students' Do Now's to make sure they grasp a concept, but this strategy gives me more leeway. Also, I really like the concept of the individual whiteboards. I've heard of people using them, but have never seen it in practice. Watching the video allowed me to understand the concept better. I think these can be used in all classes, and could possibly save time (and paper). I think my colleagues will agree.
Choice boards are also something I have done on a limited scope. The information presented allows me to see how I can expand this and make it more productive. I can't wait to implement this!
I enjoyed hearing Jeani Rottle's presentation on Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom. It was nice to be refreshed on Bloom's Verbs, and Multiple Intelligences. I really liked how the two were combined to create "The Ultimate Combo". I plan to use that page a lot in my planning next year.
ReplyDeleteI really like Jeani Rottle's class rules! Short and easy (for Kindergartner's!) to remember. Something I will definitely use next year.
I use choice boards occasionally. I'd like to share this idea with others on my grade level, and I'd like to see all of us putting our brains together to create meaningful and exciting choice boards.
There's so much to share, and I can't wait to implement some of the great ideas I got from the workshop!
Jeani Rottle's presentation was very informative. This was a wealth of knowledge that any mentor/mentee would find invaluable. I appreciated the posters of Bloom's verbs for planning instruction using higher-order thinking. Posting this in your class where it is visible will keep them in mind when just asking students questions. It is easy to become complacent and just ask for knowledge based answers. By posting this list of verbs we can be reminded to push our students to the next level.
ReplyDeleteI use choice boards a little differently than Jeani. I include choices or tiers in a project to allow students to present their knowledge of a standard in individual ways. Their choices allow them to express their strenghts while illustrating what they have learned about the topic.
Differentiation is something most of us automatically do but the resources we received in this workshop is great when we are stuck for new ideas.