Book Trailer Project

Blog Post #6

What do we need to

know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?

What does it take for children to actively participate in project based learning? Well, if you want students to interact you must ask questions!

       "According to research, engaging students in the learning process increases their attention, focus, and motivates them to practice higher level critical thinking skills. Engaging students also helps promote meaningful learning experiences. Instructors who adopt a student-centered approach to instruction increase opportunities for student engagement, which then helps everyone more successfully achieve the course’s learning objectives."

     When I was younger, and still to this day, I have always assumed that my teacher "knows the answer." In a better meaning, I have always looked up to my teachers. If there was a question that I did not know I expected them to know the answer. However, after doing my research and observations teachers do not know everything. NO ONE IS PERFECT. We all make mistakes. Without mistakes what would we grow from? As teachers, it,s important that we understand the question or what is being asked and engage the opportunity to learn from the subject if we have not already. It's also important that we engage students in the questions they're asking as well. If we want our students to look up to us as teachers we must actively engage learning by asking questions. How are you going to do so? How am I going to do so? 

After doing research this is a few of the main points I have came across that I plan to use as a future teacher:

     First, when you are preparing for class set aside specific questions that you would like to ask your students. You may even want to set aside questions that the students could possibly ask you. You always want to be prepared, especially for the "what if's." By doing these preparations you are increasing encouragement and student participation in active learning. 

AVOID ASKING STUDENTS "LEADING QUESTIONS!" What's a leading question? A leading question is a phrase that suggests its own answer and it will discourage the student from thinking on their own. THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT! 

     Most importantly, when a student is providing a answer do not interrupt. You may think that you know what the student is about to say and you may want to intrude, but wait! You do not know what the student is going to say until they finish speaking. Some students may provide a longer more thought out answer than other students. Be an active and positive listener! You expect your students to listen to you, so you must listen to them. 

     When you're giving students instruction only ask one question at a time. You want to do so, because students may get confused on what question you want them to respond to. Students may also confuse the subject matter. 

WHEN THE STUDENT IS SPEAKING TO YOU DO NOT LOOK DOWN AT YOUR NOTES! PAY FULL ATTENTION! STUDENTS LEARN FROM YOU!
 

      When a student answers the question be sure to show that student that you're interested. It does not matter if the student got the answer right or wrong. You can do so by: by nodding your head to their responses, looking at them, and using positive facial expressions. Just be sure that whatever gesture you decide to do, shows that you're actively listening.

Blog Post #5

How Can iCurio and Discovery Ed Be Used Effectively in Your Instruction?

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is....

"Make a step daily and keep motivated"

My Passion Is....

"To help students succeed"

Project # 3 Presentation

Blog Post #4

Why Podcasts? How do we do a podcast? 

Podcast? What’s that?

            Have you ever thought of doing a podcast? Do you even know what a podcast is? A podcast is a digital recording of someone talking and giving instruction; you can even make your own podcasts. They're downloadable through the internet and iTunes. You can also listen to podcasts through your mp3 player. If you have never recorded a podcast they are not hard to do. In fact, podcast are very simple to record and listen to. It’s a wonderful way to learn and even teach with. Podcast have an ease of access and they are convenient. A podcast could help you with a lesson or perhaps anything that you are having trouble learning. For instance, you can go to iTunes and search different podcasts for the specific lesson or taught information. 

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting

            "Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting" discussed children learning the Hebrew language and other vocabulary. The children used the SMARTBoard and podcast to make definitions of Hebrew words. It was very useful and allowed the students to explore the Hebrew language and see how a podcast works. It is said that a child is required to hear a word 70 times before it is committed to memory. The word must be used in a context that refers to the definition for it to actually be understood.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

"Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom," by Joe Dale was a very creative and useful clip. He thoroughly described the benefits podcasting offers to a classroom. Podcasting doesn't just have to be used in the classroom it can also be used at home. What if the student is sick and misses a few days of class? Podcasting is a wonderful technique that students can use to offer distance learning techniques. Parents can also use podcasting as a source of information. They can see what their children are learning in the classroom and they can get involved in their child’s education. Podcasting is a great source to help and promote creativity and innovation. I would recommend Joe's post to a lot of teachers, and I would encourage them to promote this clip to their class if they do in fact use podcasting.

Judy Scharf Podcast Collection

"Judy Scharf Podcast Collection" is a post that explains in great detail what a podcast is and how to create your very own podcast. A podcast is very similar to a “radio style” talk show. A podcast can include not only a person’s voice, but it also can include music and specific sounds. Podcast is a term that came from iPod and broadcast. You can listen to a podcast almost anywhere. You can use your mp3, iPod, iTunes, and YouTube. You can search and download podcasts from iTunes. Podcasts are shareable pieces of information and are viewable with millions of people through the internet. You can make your own podcasts, which she refers you to a link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hrBbczS9I0. Judy also refers you to all the required items to make a podcast, such as a microphone, software, and a computer. 

C4T #1

For my first C4T assignment I was assigned to comment on Mark Hardeman’s blogs. The two blogs that I commented on were “Embedding our Graduateprofile” and “How Can Marshmallows Help Build Teams?” Marks blogs were very interesting and gave me numerous ideas for my future classroom!

The first blog that I commented on was “Embedding our Graduateprofile.” Mark discussed the school that he taught and how it was undergoing an accreditation process. One of the protocols that were used was “Excellent by Design,” this protocol was used to help drive the process. The process was successful and the school wide planning ethic greatly improved. He also discussed what attributes the school community wanted their students to illustrate. Towards the end of the post Mark talked about how the ACS graduates should be: Thinkers (Critical, Creative, Reflective, and Independent), Responsible (Organized, Risk-takers, Open-Minded, Respectful of self, others and the world), Well-Rounded (Balanced, Inquisitive, Adaptable, Knowledgeable, Effective Communicator), and Leaders (Diligent, Motivated, Confident, Principled, Collaborative). Each student was asked to collect evidence of leadership, thinking skills, responsibility and demonstrate how they are well rounded students.

v  Allows to both students and parents to be aware of the schools mission

v  Areas of improvement will be more identified.

v  Helps create a support with the faculty

v  Creates a redefined focus

v  Consistent SLC theme

My response to Mark Hardeman's post was: “Hey Mark, my name is Amanda Weller and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I really enjoyed reading the accomplishments that your school has undergone. Knowing that the school staff came together to make the school a better place is very exciting and encouraging. I would love to know how well the school has progressed. Wonderful blog posts! I hope everything has worked out for the best!”

The second post that I commented on was “How Can Marshmallows Help Build Teams?” Mark discussed how using the Marshmallow Challenge can help improve teams. Mark got the idea of this challenge from Tom Wujek. The Marshmallow challenge was incorporated in one of the schools staff meetings and the results were successful. The main points that goes along with the Marshmallow Challenge are manage your time, team building, it is okay to take risks, learn from our mistakes, set reachable goals, group size matters, high stakes can lead to decreased performance on creative tasks, and have fun. The challenge was thought out very thoroughly through the school staff and was created for fun learning!

My response to Mark Hardeman's post was: “Hey Mark, my name is Amanda Weller and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in EDM 310. The Marshmallow challenge sounds like a wonderful idea to get your classroom in gear! It served a wonderful purpose and gave me several ideas for my future classroom. I think that the Marshmallow Challenge could be highly effective! Great post!”

Blog Post #3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

Editing My Group Members

When it comes to editing my group Raphael members, Lisa Smith, Heather Smith, and Briann Smith, I chose to edit them through Google docs. I would rather do peer editing privately rather than publicity. If I did find something wrong with their work I would rather tell them in private to help improve their grades and blog. I think that my group members would be more appreciative of me then to wait until after their blog is posted. I do think that there are pros and cons of both, depending on the person or group. I do think that it’s something that should be discussed among group members. No one is perfect, no matter if you have a 4.0. Sometimes we need our work to be reviewed, even more than once or by multiple people.

 Peer Editing

After I viewed the slide show, “Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial,” and watched the videos, “What is Peer Editing” and “Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes.” I realized several different aspects of peer editing that I did not know. Yes, I have edited and critiqued several of my peer’s papers before, but there are several things that I did pick up on that taught me how to critique with a positive attitude.

The two videos and the slide show made me understand the meaning of peer editing.  More importantly, it broke down each individual part of peer editing and taught me the meaning of what a peer is, what editing is, and the reasoning behind peer editing.  Where would we be without peer editing? What would our success rates be? No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, and I think it is important for everyone to understand the steps that create peer editing.

First, when you are reviewing your peers work make sure that you compliment their work. They may have several errors or no errors, but do not intrude with a negative attitude. How would you feel if someone wrote something negative on your work? You need to make sure that you compliment their work in a positive manner.

The second step of peer editing consist of making suggestions. You can make suggestions about anything that you want too, but make sure that you do the suggestion with a positive reflection.

Now all that is left of peer editing is making corrections. When you make corrections you are looking for errors in spelling, grammar, capitalization, quotes, and punctuation. Always remember to stay positive! It is okay to make a suggestion or add a comment to someone else’s work but just respond in a way that you would want someone to respond to your work. It’s your job as the editor to let the person know when he or she has made a mistake or left something out and its okay to critique.

I found the video “Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes” to be very humorous and it made me realize things that I do as an editor. The mistakes that are made during peer editing were very well described by the students in this video. The mistakes that were talked about by the children were: Picky Patty, Social Sammy, Whatever William, Jean the Generalizer, Mean Margaret, Loud Larry, Pushy Paula, Off-Task Oliver, Speedy Sandy, and Defensive Dave. I could see where all of these mistakes could happen. I would definitely recommend this video for peer editors because it points out things that we do as an editor and may not even realize it. I hope that every peer editor gets a chance to view this video! You do not want to be Mean Margaret!