Chapter 9: Involving Parents and Communities

I really like the statistics in the beginning of the chapter. Students are more likely to achieve in school if the student's family is able to create a home environment that encourages learning, express high (but realistic) expectations of children's achievements, and become involved in children's education at school and in the community. Doing these things benefits students by increasing their grades and test scores, better attendance, and higher graduation rates. Some key aspects for effective parent-school relations are establishing continuity between home and school, monitoring students' work (both the parent and the teacher), directing children toward constructive learning outside the school, and assisting directly in school's effort to improve.

Chapter 8: A Safe and Healthy School Envirnment

Creating a safe and healthy environment in school will ensure students themselves are safe and comfortable. Managing your classroom and discipline important for creating that environment. The criteria mentioned in the book included clarifying the consequences of misbehavior, having all staff members assume responsibility,and increasing consistency and follow-through. I especially think the follow-through is important because I have had so many teachers not follow through on their disciplines and therefore students would walk all over them and not take them seriously. Another thing I found interesting in this section was the peer mediation. This process brings in a third person perspective. I see this working in a middle school more so than an elementary or secondary school. I also see this working more if the "mediator" were a member of staff or administration.

Chapter 5: Designing Instruction to Improve Teaching and Learning

This was a hefty chapter about designing instruction. What sticked out to me in this chapter was the three models for organizing instruction: authentic instruction, WHERE, and differentiated instruction. For authentic instruction, I liked the criteria the book described such as constructing their knowledge, engaging in cognitive work that requires them to rely on knowledge, and accomplishing value beyond the classroom. I feel that no matter what authentic form of assessment or instruction you have, if students can do these three things, then they fully understand the material. The WHERE design tool is something I'm sure everyone who's done Practicum. The system has guidelines such as: Where are we heading? Hook the students, Explore the subject and equip the students, Rethink our work and ideas, Evaluate results. Differentiated instruction is another form of instruction that we learned in Practicum. This caters the lessons to students' specific needs and backgrounds. As the book says, it maybe difficult for teachers to have the time, skill, tools, and resources needed to use the model correctly.

In my opinion, the WHERE design is a very effective way to design lessons.

Becoming a "Wiz" at Brain Based Teaching

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME job guys! I really enjoyed the entire presentation and all the stations. I learned a lot from each exercise. With the memory station, I saw that repetition may not be the only way to memorize something. The facts on the cards were really helpful and resourceful! The activity for the assessment portion was so creative and really got the point across. The point being to let students know what they are going to be assessed on and to use portfolios once and a while rather than tests. Emotions are important to know when dealing with middle schoolers. I liked the idea about having students putting like sticky-notes or post-its with different colors to show that the teacher and other students will know who's having a good day or bad day. The atmosphere section of the presentation gave me some great idea about how I will set up my classroom. I really thought the idea of playing music will make students more comfortable in my classroom.

Again, fantastic job guys! The food, the games, the lessons were all excellent!

Chapter 8: Effective Assessment

I think it's really important for teachers to set clear goals for students when it comes to assessing students. Students need to know what is going to be on the test beforehand and set goals for themselves when figuring out what they want to get for a grade. Using different formats for the assessment should get students engaged and excited about showing the teacher all the knowledge they gained. Using forms of assessment such as debates, movie presentations, journals, etc. rather than an exam will have students wanted to be tested. The author also talks about how teachers should grade assessments and assignments. Using spot-checking style of reviewing homework can save a teacher a lot of time. This would be something I would use in my classroom when check math homework.

Chapter 7: Differentiated Instruction- Fitting the Lesson to the Learner

Differentiated instruction is so important in any level of education. I liked the section about taking risks. Teaching is about experience and taking risks with the lessons and seeing what works then making mental notes for the next class. Doing something outside the curriculum like assigning a writing assignment in math may be different for students but you won't know their reaction unless you try it. Being able to collaborate and make decisions with other teachers or students is a great skill to have when planning a differentiated lesson. Seeing if students respond positively or negatively to differentiated instructing is essential. It requires a lot of reflection on the students' behalf and the teacher's.

Chapter 6: Accountability for High Standards

I liked this chapter because it was about making students accountable for their actions. I think this is a great thing to introduce to students at the middle level because this is an important skill to have for the future. I like the idea of having students teach themselves, like using Jigsaw or scaffolding assignments. This makes them accountable for their own knowledge. I also liked the idea in the book about having students revise old assignments for "extra credit" rather than having students do another assignment. It's also important for teacher to tailor their lessons to their students learning styles. They must hold themselves accountable if there are not enough options in a lesson or if some of the students don't understand because of the lesson. This is really important for teachers to realize.