Hi, week 5 complete! I like the idea of thinking outside the box, and as teachers we really have to if we want to reach every learner. SOmetimes I think that it becomes difficult to think outside of a box, when we are handed a teacher's edition with everything already planned. Student's may learn more and understand the standardized materials better, but where's the creativity that we grew up with? I love those times when I am NOT told exactly what to do, so I have room to think of something the students would enjoy doing. I have seen myself think outside of the box in this placement with certain students and lessons. I have a few students that I have to go through trial and error to figure out what they need or what will help them. One student continued to lose his pencil, so I taped a pencil with a string attached onto his desk and he hasn't asked for a new pencil yet. Me and my co-op have had to try a few reward systems, and we're not sure what's working the best yet, so we continue to think outside the box in that manner. For lessons, I know that students learn more if they can conect to the content, so I continue to look for interesting ideas to teach topics. I also have my students particpiate beyond raising their hand with body-movement and choral responses. Thinking outside of the box is more work, but I think the result is usually positive.
I agree with Kyra in that as teachers it is important to teach outside of the box in order to reach every learner. Unfortanetly, no matter how hard you try create the perfect way to teaching something, not every student learns in the same manner. Therefore, you may need to teach things multiple times different ways. Currently, in my placement my co-op and I have the struggling math students for math class. Every day for math we, along with a special educator and/or one of her paraprofessionals try our best to teach the day's lesson concept in different ways hoping that one of the ways we showed the concept helps the students.
Telling time and elapsed time is something my students really struggle with. Lucky for me, next week when I started my two full weeks of teaching I get the pleasure to teach the students time. Already knowing that my students are all at different places when it comes to time I was a bit worried about teaching next week's math lessons. Thankfully, my co-op, myself, and the special educator all plan math for the coming week the week before so all three of us brought time related activities, techniques, and ideas to the table. Some of the ideas we came up with are not necessarily the ways which one would normally teach math; however, with the group of students that we have we never know how they are going to pick up the conceps so we try as much as we can until they to.
I also agree with Kyra in regards to the barriers known as teacher mannuals that make it hard for us to think out of the box. Where I am currently they follow a manual for spelling, reading, health, and math which make things a bit difficult to think out of the box for lessons and activites. I however try my best to think out of the box for lesson ideas and activities every chance I get.
Lessons and lesson activities are not the only things within the classroom that thinking out of the box can apply to. Classroom management, discipline techniques, and even morning and afternoon routines are also things with which an educator can think out of the box for. For example, in my grade at my school we use a checkmark system for discipline; however, for one of my students this system just does not seem to work and the parents keeping begging us to try something different because they also know that it is not working for their child. So, my co-op and I had to brain storm a bunch of things that we could try to see if they would work for him rather than checkmarks. Now every week we try something different and once we have tried all of our ideas we are going to look back and see which if any of our ideas worked best for him and then we will try that as his new discipline system.
Lastly, I would just like to say that thinking outside of the box is something which I really enjoy doing becasue it lets me be creative with the (dry) curriculum. I personally consider myself to be a very creative and artsy person so I actually prefer to think out of the box for my lessons and activities rather than use a manual everyday. However, unfortunately there are times when I cannot think of out of the box things and I do have to stick to the teacher manual lessons which I do not like, but so is life.
As both of these ladies have addressed, thinking outside of the box can refer to many dimensions of education and the classroom. Personally, I try to change the manual lessons into a more active and engaging plan so students will be more motivated to succeed. Having creativity and resources to support that creativity to think outside the box transfers to your students as well. If you model abstract or different ways of doing everyday things, they will begin to realize that school is not cookie cutter, it can be unique and engaging!
I love that Ashley stated that thinking outside the box can target classroom management as well. Instead of having the same rules like no hitting, raise your hand, you can create the rules with your class when you are setting expectations in the beginning of the year. I think them taking ownership of the list puts more responsibility on the students. Does the more collaborative way teach your students more? Absolutely! I have established a rapport with my students by having a balance of fun and mutual respect. Thinking outside of the box helped me decide on ways to learn about my students. In the beginning of my placement, I would pick a student of the day for myself. I would then ask them about what they liked to do, hobbies, and so forth. I did this with all of my students until I could say I knew at least 1 thing about them. This small task didn't take much effort, but in the long run it helped me establish a relationship with each of my students.
Thinking outside of the box is an amazing tool, but sometimes in today's schools what is in that box is hardly let out. I try to make education fun and engaging with activities that get the students actively participating, but certain subjects or topics do not lend themselves to stray away from the cookie cutter way of teaching. When you teach new vocab words, there are only so many ways to do it. The way may have started out as an outrageous idea, but in time it has become the norm. It happens, think of new ideas (use your resources, whatever they may be!) and recycle the overused ideas for later classes or use. Don't reinvent the wheel, just improve it!
I really like your last statement, Kate and I feel that holds very true. We have so many resources at our disposal now with the internet and media that it is important to use these tools and adjust them to fit the needs of our students.
I think that moving beyond the teaching manual is so important. I have had the privalege of teaching Social Studies most of the semester so far. My school does not use a manual for Social Studies so I have been able to use the student textbook and my own ideas to create and teach a unit to the fourth graders. I like how Kate said that we should not invent the wheel. Some of the things that have worked best for my class are ideas I got from other teachers or on line. I am very excited for the end of this week when I will be teaching 4th grade economics using candy.
All of you have mentioned some really great approaches to thinking outside of the box to make learning engaging for students. It is so easy to get stuck doing the same things over and over with scripted manuals and programs but as was mentioned previously it is important to incorporate additional learning experiences that vary from the normal routine. I believe hands-on and authentic learning is important for students and unfortunately is one of the things that is missing from a lot of scripted programs. Thus, it is essential to incorporate these types of learning experiences as appropriate. Moreover, student-centered learning and inquiry are other important aspects that can be abandoned when faced with tight curriculum restraints. It is important to provide opportunities for higher level thinking and to allow students to problem solve on their own. I feel this learning process solidifies topics and provides a much more meaningful learning experience. Students feel ownership in their learning and a sense of leadership since they are in charge which can provide students with a deeper connection to their overall learning. In regards to the seminar presentation we attended, I feel it made us aware and exposed us to various teaching settings that we may not have thought about. It put those options on our radar and made us think about opportunities that are unique and cultural. With today's job market we have to remain open and flexible so the places discussed would be amazing experiences where we could grow and learn as educators. Overall, it is important in today's ever changing educational world to be able to use our resources to think outside of the box and view things from a different perspective.
I believe that in order for learning to be engaging and beneficial that teachers need to think outside of the box. I know that in my general education placement that I definitely had to think outside of the box when teaching the below level math class. The class consisted of fifteen students, in which three of the students pushed in from the learning support classroom. I taught two full units to this group of students, and had to provide a lot of differentiated instruction. The lessons were based on the curriculum provided in the Everyday Mathematics manual, but a lot of the worksheets and journal pages provided with the lessons were too difficult for these students. I adapted and modified a lot of the worksheets provided in the manual and created a lot of my own worksheets for the students that connected to the lessons and lesson objectives. I also did a lot of hands on activities and had the students use a lot of manipulatives with the lessons. For example, before I started teaching the unit on perimeter and area I had the students take brown bulletin board boarder and place it around a piece of green construction paper. Then I gave them pictures of dogs to glue on the green paper. I had them write Area=Grass and Perimeter=Fence on the green piece of paper to help them realize that perimeter is the outside and that area is the inside. I also gave the students pink triangles and rectangles with holes punched out around the outside for them to string through. I had them write (Pink, Perimeter, Plus) on the shapes to help them remember that they needed to add when trying to find the perimeter of a shape. The students were able to keep these manipulatives, and it really seemed to help them grasp the concepts of perimeter and area. I also adapted and modified the unit test for these students, and often had to read the directions for each problem and go through each problem step through step with them. It was a great opportunity to be able to work with these students, and definitely helped me think outside of the box and helped me think outside of the teaching manuals.
I also am up to trying different opportunities for teaching. I am very willing go to another state or country to teach for a few years. I would love to teach up in Canada, but a lot of the schools in Canada require French as a second language. I am still holding on to the dream of working in Canada though. I also have recently attended a job fair in Virginia, and have scheduled to attend a job fair in Delaware in April. With the economy and status of open teaching positions, I feel that more college education graduates have to be more open to applying to teaching jobs outside of their home state or area. I am definitely open to teaching almost anywhere, and am hopeful that I am able to find a job because of my willingness to go anywhere.
Overall, I feel that all most all teachers think outside of the box on a daily basis. Although, curriculum and manuals are provided, good teachers realize the variety of learners in their classroom and know that they need to adapt, expand, and modify the curriculum provided to them to meet the needs of all those learners. I also feel that college graduates need to think outside of the box in expanding their search for teaching jobs outside of their comfort zones.
Hi, week 5 complete!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of thinking outside the box, and as teachers we really have to if we want to reach every learner. SOmetimes I think that it becomes difficult to think outside of a box, when we are handed a teacher's edition with everything already planned. Student's may learn more and understand the standardized materials better, but where's the creativity that we grew up with? I love those times when I am NOT told exactly what to do, so I have room to think of something the students would enjoy doing.
I have seen myself think outside of the box in this placement with certain students and lessons. I have a few students that I have to go through trial and error to figure out what they need or what will help them. One student continued to lose his pencil, so I taped a pencil with a string attached onto his desk and he hasn't asked for a new pencil yet. Me and my co-op have had to try a few reward systems, and we're not sure what's working the best yet, so we continue to think outside the box in that manner. For lessons, I know that students learn more if they can conect to the content, so I continue to look for interesting ideas to teach topics. I also have my students particpiate beyond raising their hand with body-movement and choral responses. Thinking outside of the box is more work, but I think the result is usually positive.
I agree with Kyra in that as teachers it is important to teach outside of the box in order to reach every learner. Unfortanetly, no matter how hard you try create the perfect way to teaching something, not every student learns in the same manner. Therefore, you may need to teach things multiple times different ways. Currently, in my placement my co-op and I have the struggling math students for math class. Every day for math we, along with a special educator and/or one of her paraprofessionals try our best to teach the day's lesson concept in different ways hoping that one of the ways we showed the concept helps the students.
ReplyDeleteTelling time and elapsed time is something my students really struggle with. Lucky for me, next week when I started my two full weeks of teaching I get the pleasure to teach the students time. Already knowing that my students are all at different places when it comes to time I was a bit worried about teaching next week's math lessons. Thankfully, my co-op, myself, and the special educator all plan math for the coming week the week before so all three of us brought time related activities, techniques, and ideas to the table. Some of the ideas we came up with are not necessarily the ways which one would normally teach math; however, with the group of students that we have we never know how they are going to pick up the conceps so we try as much as we can until they to.
I also agree with Kyra in regards to the barriers known as teacher mannuals that make it hard for us to think out of the box. Where I am currently they follow a manual for spelling, reading, health, and math which make things a bit difficult to think out of the box for lessons and activites. I however try my best to think out of the box for lesson ideas and activities every chance I get.
Lessons and lesson activities are not the only things within the classroom that thinking out of the box can apply to. Classroom management, discipline techniques, and even morning and afternoon routines are also things with which an educator can think out of the box for. For example, in my grade at my school we use a checkmark system for discipline; however, for one of my students this system just does not seem to work and the parents keeping begging us to try something different because they also know that it is not working for their child. So, my co-op and I had to brain storm a bunch of things that we could try to see if they would work for him rather than checkmarks. Now every week we try something different and once we have tried all of our ideas we are going to look back and see which if any of our ideas worked best for him and then we will try that as his new discipline system.
Lastly, I would just like to say that thinking outside of the box is something which I really enjoy doing becasue it lets me be creative with the (dry) curriculum. I personally consider myself to be a very creative and artsy person so I actually prefer to think out of the box for my lessons and activities rather than use a manual everyday. However, unfortunately there are times when I cannot think of out of the box things and I do have to stick to the teacher manual lessons which I do not like, but so is life.
As both of these ladies have addressed, thinking outside of the box can refer to many dimensions of education and the classroom. Personally, I try to change the manual lessons into a more active and engaging plan so students will be more motivated to succeed. Having creativity and resources to support that creativity to think outside the box transfers to your students as well. If you model abstract or different ways of doing everyday things, they will begin to realize that school is not cookie cutter, it can be unique and engaging!
ReplyDeleteI love that Ashley stated that thinking outside the box can target classroom management as well. Instead of having the same rules like no hitting, raise your hand, you can create the rules with your class when you are setting expectations in the beginning of the year. I think them taking ownership of the list puts more responsibility on the students. Does the more collaborative way teach your students more? Absolutely! I have established a rapport with my students by having a balance of fun and mutual respect. Thinking outside of the box helped me decide on ways to learn about my students. In the beginning of my placement, I would pick a student of the day for myself. I would then ask them about what they liked to do, hobbies, and so forth. I did this with all of my students until I could say I knew at least 1 thing about them. This small task didn't take much effort, but in the long run it helped me establish a relationship with each of my students.
Thinking outside of the box is an amazing tool, but sometimes in today's schools what is in that box is hardly let out. I try to make education fun and engaging with activities that get the students actively participating, but certain subjects or topics do not lend themselves to stray away from the cookie cutter way of teaching. When you teach new vocab words, there are only so many ways to do it. The way may have started out as an outrageous idea, but in time it has become the norm. It happens, think of new ideas (use your resources, whatever they may be!) and recycle the overused ideas for later classes or use. Don't reinvent the wheel, just improve it!
I really like your last statement, Kate and I feel that holds very true. We have so many resources at our disposal now with the internet and media that it is important to use these tools and adjust them to fit the needs of our students.
DeleteI think that moving beyond the teaching manual is so important. I have had the privalege of teaching Social Studies most of the semester so far. My school does not use a manual for Social Studies so I have been able to use the student textbook and my own ideas to create and teach a unit to the fourth graders.
ReplyDeleteI like how Kate said that we should not invent the wheel. Some of the things that have worked best for my class are ideas I got from other teachers or on line. I am very excited for the end of this week when I will be teaching 4th grade economics using candy.
Lorin, that sounds like an awesome lesson how will you be incorporating the candy?
DeleteAll of you have mentioned some really great approaches to thinking outside of the box to make learning engaging for students. It is so easy to get stuck doing the same things over and over with scripted manuals and programs but as was mentioned previously it is important to incorporate additional learning experiences that vary from the normal routine. I believe hands-on and authentic learning is important for students and unfortunately is one of the things that is missing from a lot of scripted programs. Thus, it is essential to incorporate these types of learning experiences as appropriate.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, student-centered learning and inquiry are other important aspects that can be abandoned when faced with tight curriculum restraints. It is important to provide opportunities for higher level thinking and to allow students to problem solve on their own. I feel this learning process solidifies topics and provides a much more meaningful learning experience. Students feel ownership in their learning and a sense of leadership since they are in charge which can provide students with a deeper connection to their overall learning.
In regards to the seminar presentation we attended, I feel it made us aware and exposed us to various teaching settings that we may not have thought about. It put those options on our radar and made us think about opportunities that are unique and cultural. With today's job market we have to remain open and flexible so the places discussed would be amazing experiences where we could grow and learn as educators.
Overall, it is important in today's ever changing educational world to be able to use our resources to think outside of the box and view things from a different perspective.
I believe that in order for learning to be engaging and beneficial that teachers need to think outside of the box. I know that in my general education placement that I definitely had to think outside of the box when teaching the below level math class. The class consisted of fifteen students, in which three of the students pushed in from the learning support classroom. I taught two full units to this group of students, and had to provide a lot of differentiated instruction. The lessons were based on the curriculum provided in the Everyday Mathematics manual, but a lot of the worksheets and journal pages provided with the lessons were too difficult for these students. I adapted and modified a lot of the worksheets provided in the manual and created a lot of my own worksheets for the students that connected to the lessons and lesson objectives. I also did a lot of hands on activities and had the students use a lot of manipulatives with the lessons. For example, before I started teaching the unit on perimeter and area I had the students take brown bulletin board boarder and place it around a piece of green construction paper. Then I gave them pictures of dogs to glue on the green paper. I had them write Area=Grass and Perimeter=Fence on the green piece of paper to help them realize that perimeter is the outside and that area is the inside. I also gave the students pink triangles and rectangles with holes punched out around the outside for them to string through. I had them write (Pink, Perimeter, Plus) on the shapes to help them remember that they needed to add when trying to find the perimeter of a shape. The students were able to keep these manipulatives, and it really seemed to help them grasp the concepts of perimeter and area. I also adapted and modified the unit test for these students, and often had to read the directions for each problem and go through each problem step through step with them. It was a great opportunity to be able to work with these students, and definitely helped me think outside of the box and helped me think outside of the teaching manuals.
ReplyDeleteI also am up to trying different opportunities for teaching. I am very willing go to another state or country to teach for a few years. I would love to teach up in Canada, but a lot of the schools in Canada require French as a second language. I am still holding on to the dream of working in Canada though. I also have recently attended a job fair in Virginia, and have scheduled to attend a job fair in Delaware in April. With the economy and status of open teaching positions, I feel that more college education graduates have to be more open to applying to teaching jobs outside of their home state or area. I am definitely open to teaching almost anywhere, and am hopeful that I am able to find a job because of my willingness to go anywhere.
Overall, I feel that all most all teachers think outside of the box on a daily basis. Although, curriculum and manuals are provided, good teachers realize the variety of learners in their classroom and know that they need to adapt, expand, and modify the curriculum provided to them to meet the needs of all those learners. I also feel that college graduates need to think outside of the box in expanding their search for teaching jobs outside of their comfort zones.