Final Eval...

I just finished up my last lesson for my field experience and received my final evaluation from my cooperating teacher. I was very pleased with my evaluation, Mrs. Dowell wrote that I have a natural gift for teaching, which was really encouraging. I thought my lessons all turned out well, but I did learn a lot.

10 min lesson

For some reason, I find it so easy to make my 10 minute lessons fun but when it comes to planning my lessons for actual teaching, I tend to just stick to notes and an activity. I try to make the activities as fun as possible but it seems that this can become just as monotonous as taking notes when you don't change it up enough. I was thinking about playing music for my lesson tomorrow--what do you think Christopher? :)

K.B.

Last lesson!

So it appears as if I have come full circle in my field experience--I will be teaching my last lesson on Thursday! I am teaching definition of function including the vertical line test and domain and range. I was thinking about having the students go through the alphabet in pairs and see which letters define a function. Would this be a good activity??? I'm having trouble thinking of ways to make this lesson fun--help Chris! :)

Teaching..The Real Deal

Tomorrow is my first day of real teaching to real students! haha. I will be teaching graphing using intercepts and I'm so nervous! I do not want to give the pre-test and post-test because I feel the students will be discouraged by the amount of quizzing in one class time. But I only put 2 questions on each and plan to explain that this is just for my class. I'm excited and I can't wait to get my first lesson under my belt! :)

Bullying Assessment & Eval

In class activity.....sorta like a DR-TA

Before listening, have students define bullying in their own words and fill in Cause and Effect graphic organizer as to what they think are causes of bullying and effects of bullying.
During listening, note statistics that interest them and continue to fill out Cause and Effect chart--make changes to what they have already predicted.
After listening, reflect on bullying and complete Cause and Effect chart and share with the class.

For evaluation, have students complete a 1 page journal entry on how bullying has influenced them if at all, and how they can be a part of the solution to the bullying problem. Share with a partner and have each partner give feedback to each other's ideas. Hand in to teacher and have teacher also give feedback! Completion and understanding points!!!

Kourtney & Chris

Field Placement (continued)

Yesterday, I went back to Minerva Middle School and even more awesome-er things happened. Mrs. Dowell gave me 3 folders full of resources such as useful websites, first day of school sheets, contact information sheets, and lots more! This is my first experience with a teacher who seems to want to help me in becoming a teacher. When I think about how much time I spend in my field experience a week, I realized how much of an impact it has on my teacher training. When I become a teacher, I hope I am able to utilize and be a resource to a teacher candidate and really help them to learn about the profession! I also went over standards and applying them to the classroom with Mrs. Dowell and her and another math teacher use the "chunking" method where they chunk together the most important standards and come up with a timeline for teaching each chunk. It was kind of overwhelming to see all the work they had to put in when putting together each chunk and all the resources needed for that chunk. However, Mrs. Dowell reassured me that once you've done it once, you have a template to refer to and it gets easier every year.....that is, until the goverment makes more changes! hahahaha. I can't wait to teach my lessons--but I am still nervous, too! One student asked me how tall I was and did not believe I was 20.... :( haha

Field Experience

I went to Minerva Middle School yesterday and LOVED it....as expected! My cooperating is AWESOME and I felt comfortable jumping right in and actually got to help a lot of students already. Mrs. Dowell's classroom is covered wall to wall with posters and student work. She has a bulletin board for "Random Acts of Kindness" that students are encouraged to post what good deeds they did throughout the week. Anyways, I'm super excited and can't wait to go back!

DRTA

I reallllly like my DR-TA! I found an article online about Fractals and Music and it was verrrry interesting! In my DR-TA, I have students listen to examples of fractal music and relate it to the music they listen to today. This is a great way to make math interesting and have the students realize the ubiquity of mathematics. :)

Screenrrrrrr

Here is my Screenr! http://screencast.com/t/N2M0YWVhNGMt

Literacy Quotes

"A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking." -Jerry Seinfeld

"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers." -Harry S. Truman

**Just a few I liked!

Show and Tell

I'm having some trouble thinking of something I could bring in for Show and Tell Friday.  We are supposed to bring in an item that we could use to teach in our content area... Here are some things I was thinking..Feedback is greatly apprecitated!

*basketball--volume of sphere, cross-sections, parabolas (bouncing)
*pie!--cut pie into pieces to show different degrees, diameter, etc.


Lame, but that's all I got. I need ideas Christopher! :)

Education Conference

I will be presenting at the Education Conference this Saturday. I think this is a great way to get more involved in the Education program and to put into practice what I have been learning in my classes. I have been assigned to the Emotional/Psychological component of adolescence and how this can be transformed into a constructive classroom perspective. So...when I think of this component, I think of one of the other main components of high school...DRAMA. Teens are emotionally charged which leads to a lot of social "drama" within the schools.  My senior year in high school, our new principal tried to address this problem saying, if we all love drama, why not be dramatic about school? Let's be emotionally charged about school and get the students to be as passionate about their learning as they are about who they are going to the dance with on friday. I need to think of an activity to present at the conference to show how this emotional component of teens can be made constructive in a classroom...any ideas Christopher? :)

Ethic of Excellence...BUT

Ron Berger's argument for creating a school culture is undoubtedly valid and inspiring. His ideas of assessment and creating a classroom environment are the epitome of what a great classroom should like.  I really like his use of portfolios for assessment and research projects.  I think one important element to creating a culture is letting the students feel comfortable enough to fail in order to gain better understanding. Ron Berger's theory of multiple drafts allows students to take risks and really dive into their learning without hesitation or fear of not handing in a perfect assignment. While I agree with several of Ron's ideas and his general theory of creating a culture, there is a reality that enters my mind when I think about standardization. Therefore, I can clearly see myself implementing these methods, BUT I am forced to think about how I will be able to balance this in a system that limits creativity.

Bloggggg Review

"There's Only One Way to Stop a Bully"

In brief summary, this blog included a Massachusetts new law for teachers to report bullying. Bullying consequences are now align with law enforcement and students with several accounts of bullying will be dealt with outside of the school and inside of the courtroom.  This is believed to help decrease the accounts of bullying in the schools and reiterate the "seriousness" of bullying and its effects.  Bullying occurs now more than ever due to internet usage and cell phones. The blog states, "Values of toleration and respect must be taught," emphasizing that these values are not necessarily instilled in all students and therefore, it must become a part of daily classroom procedure.

I actually like this idea for a new law, but I feel this does not address the "behind the scenes" bullying that goes on.  While it is difficult for teachers and administrators to catch all acts of bullying within a school, the real problem of bullying is not always evident and bullies will remain in the walls of the halls.  I believe this is a step in the right direction in order for students to understand how serious bullying can be and how it can affect students' lives in and out of school.

Daddio's 5 Favorite Books

I decided to ask my dad for a list of his 5 favorite books because he is a pretty intellectual guy and reads a lot. I may need to ask someone else for their list, too, because all I got was a whole bunch of history books! (I should have known...) At least I know where the "nerd" in me comes from! :)

I think I could use the self-improvement books a lot in my classroom. We all know it is important to reflect on the educational value of our teaching methods constantly and to always evaluate ourselves as teachers.  I think it is also good to evaluate ourselves as human beings because leading by example is one of the best ways to teach!

Favorite Books




1. Grant Memoirs and Selected Letters, author U.S. Grant - autobiography of Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant - he writes about his first-hand experiences as a General in the Civil War (1861-1865),



2. The Power of Positive Thinking, author Norman Vincent Peale- the book details how thinking positively can change a person's life for the better. The importance of living a reflective life and being thankful for all the gifts given to us by our creator, God.



3. 1776- author David McCullough- about the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence being written by Thomas Jefferson and the men that helped form our nation, David McCullough is my favorite historian and author, it has been said of him that he "paints with words",



4. The Winner's Manual - author Jim Tressel - about the Block O of Life and the philosophy that coach Tressel gives to his Ohio State Football players. It is about how to be a responsible football player, father, son and coach. Each player is provided their own Winner's Manual. Many ex-players cite how they still use the principles from the winner's manual in their lives after football.



5. A. Lincoln -author Ronald C. White Jr- very detailed accounting of Abraham Lincoln's life tracing his ancestors arrival to the United States and Lincoln's life from birth to death. A tremendous amount of research was done by the author to provide accurate information. It is not easy read in some aspects because of the in depth detail the author goes into throuhgout the book.

My First Post

Hi! This is my very first post--just trying it out! :)