Ears

"Ms. Tessa, can you tuck in my ears?"   


Winter can be hard for bundled up four year olds! :)

Montessori workshop - day two

On the second day of the Montessori workshop we focused on mathematics in the morning and science and history in the afternoon.

I love the Montessori mathematics curriculum!  Montessori starts by teaching quantity. Using teen beads and bead stairs and more, the children get lots of practice with counting. Then they are introduced to the symbols with teen boards.  The child is shown various numbers and told their name.  At this point the child has heard the number names before during all their counting practice and now they are starting to see symbols, another way to represent the numbers they have been practicing.  As the final step the child is shown the number and the correct beads together, thereby linking the quantity with the symbol.  At each step the child is allowed ample time to practice and learn the work.

The children go on to learn about "squared" and "cubed" using bead chains, decimal places using number cards and tangible materials, and then to addition and subtraction with the same materials.  Using individual units, the ten beads, and the 100s and 1000s wooden blocks (I need to be better at remembering the names of these materials!) the children get a very clear understanding of numbers, counting, and mathematics.  One of the workshop participants was amazed to see the "five cube chain" and learn that five cubed is just 5 x 5 x 5.  She had always thought that "cubed" meant multiplying the number by six because a cube has six sides.  Being able to see the tangible materials made the concept clear to her.

In the afternoon we talked about science and history.  The science curriculum includes the study of flowers, land and water, continents, and more.  She showed us many activities and tools that could be used and how to adapt them to different learning stages.

The Montessori history curriculum, she told us, is the study of the Earth's history and the passage of time.  They don't focus on human history (politics, wars, etc.) at this level.  She talked about demonstrating for students what a second feels like by asking them to jump or clap or perform some other task for one second. They do several repetitions with different actions to get the feeling of a second.  Then they discuss "collecting 60 seconds" to make a minute, repeating the activities for one minute each.  Then collecting 60 minutes into an hour, at which point she sets a timer for an hour and tells them to go off and do their work.  When the timer rings they regroup and discuss what they were able to get done in an hour.  Again, activities focused on making the intangible tangible.

She also showed us two cool materials she uses to discuss time and location.  The first is a months mat that shows the months, with a tangible item related to each one, in a circle around the sun, to reinforce the cyclical pattern of the months and seasons.



The second is a nesting box to show place.  The largest box represents the universe and then they come apart to show the galaxy, solar system, planet, continent, country, state, town (not in hers but should be!), school, and you.  The inner most piece is to represent the child. She used a small toy, but you could also use a photo or a mirror or some other representation.



Each box is painted in the theme of what it represents, such as stars, planets, flag, state bird, etc.

I don't want to rush summer vacation, but I'm excited to get into the classroom and see all of this with real students in real situations.  It almost sounds too good to be true,  but the instructor insists the students will get it.  I'm eager to explore the materials we have in our classroom as well.

As with any good workshop I came away with my initial questions answered, but so many more on my mind.  There are many things I'm going to ask my lead teacher and many other things I'm going to research on my own. A big one, that I will have to talk to the teacher about because it is teacher specific, is just how to keep track of it all!?  With so many presentations to make, most of them part of a series that scaffolds on a previous one, and each child working at their own pace, it seems like a challenge to keep track of who has been presented what, who has mastered and who is still working, and what presentation does each child need next.  I see a complex spreadsheet being necessary, but my teacher says she keeps it in a pretty little journal.  I'm going to have to study that!

We ended the day with a discussion on listening games, silence games, and the importance of supporting your fellow teachers.  It sounds like Montessori will be a wonderful place to work.

Montessori time

I'm excited to say I took a position as an assistant teacher at a local Montessori school.  I love the pace and philosophy of the Montessori curriculum and I'm excited to learn more about it.  This week I am at a Montessori Advanced Assistants course.  

Today's agenda covered the Montessori philosophy, the adult's role in the classroom, and a demonstration of practical life, sensorial, and language materials.  It was interesting to see all the different materials and learn how to present them, the Montessori version of a lesson.

One of the primary parts of the Montessori philosophy is the idea of allowing children uninterrupted work time.  Children are allowed to chose their activity and then work on it until they are done, without an adult interrupting with additional instruction or conversation.  This uninterrupted work time helps children develop their focus and extended attention span, something I think many of us are lacking! (I say as I type this blog, watch TV, and browse for a new audio book all at the same time!)  I think people these days have so much going on in their worlds that it's no surprise the rate of ADHD is on the rise, among kids and adults alike.  Montessori says to be respectful of a child's work time, a meditative time for the child.  

Another thing we discussed is the idea of modeling a complete lesson, from initial naming of the materials on the shelf ("this is the binomial cube") to proper transport, usage, cleanup, and replacement.  One participant said she can recognize Montessori graduates by their automatic completion of tasks, including returning materials to the appropriate places, something I've noticed most kids need frequent reminders about.  It is also important for the adult in any classroom environment to make it easy for a child to complete their task by having an organized and well prepared environment.

As part of the sensorial demonstration she showed us several triangle boxes consisting of flag triangular pieces that you use to create squares, rectangles, and more.  As I watched her modeling the presentation I started thinking about my time in 5th grade last fall and how so many of the students had trouble seeing the shapes within other shapes.  When calculating area and perimeter the teacher was asking them to break apart irregulars shapes and form them back into an easier shape to calculate. For example, you can "cut" a triangle off the end of a parallelagram and "move" it to the other side to create a rectangle. So many of the 5th grades struggled with seeing that, but children working with the Montessori materials in the primary years will have early exposure and will be able to understand the math concepts better when the time comes.

As I persue this Montessori path I'm going to have to work on my own attention span.  The instructor today emphasized the need for slow, distinct, and deliberate presentations.  She said to minimize discussion during presentations because if you are talking and do-ing at the same time, children, especially the very young ones, will tend to look at your face and not pay attention to your actions.  I had never thought of that, but it's so true.  Children do tend to look at your face while you talk, a habit that people seem to outgrow unfortunately.  I have the habit of narrating everything I do, which I believe is why my kids have very string vocabularies, however I'm going to have to work on quieting myself, focusing my efforts on clear, non-verbal modeling, and allowing the silence. 

Tomorrow we learn about math, science, and cultural studies.

Random fact: did you know that Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park, are Montessori grads?

It's official - I'm a teacher!

UVEI graduation was this evening.  After a long, hard-at-times year it is suddenly coming to an end.  Tonight was a shining example of the saying, "the days are long, but the years are short." 

Fall in fifth, spring in kindergarten.  Both had their pros and cons, and both were great.  I miss my fifth grade buddies and I know I will miss the kindergarteners as well.  They gave me a sweet book today in which each kiddo had drawn a picture of me and them and written a sentence about what they like to do with me or how they will miss me.  It was very sweet and made me feel very happy and loved.  I have two more days with them and then we’re out for the summer.

Tonight I graduated from UVEI and officially have my Elementary Teaching certification.  I’m certified to teacher K-8 in the great state of New Hampshire.  In the next week or so I’ll receive my license in the mail, then I’ll turn it around and get my VT license.  Then, maybe, I’ll get a job!

Hubby and the kids came to the ceremony tonight to continue their wonderful support of my new career.  I put them in charge of the camera and they did a great job! :)

This is my faculty coach speaking and my coaching group. It was a great group and I really enjoyed working and learning with them this year.

I got my teaching certificate and a family photo. It was a good evening!

We have two more days of school and then out for the summer.  I'm going to miss everyone and being in the classroom, but I'm also looking forward to some summer downtime!  

A reading success!

I'm running a reading group in my kindergarten this spring.  I have four kiddos, all reading at the D level (F&P score).  Two are very motivated to read, but the other two try to race each other through the books, paying little attention to the actual process of learning.  They race because they are competitive, but also in part because the books are boring to them.  One of my racers is a boy and I've been trying to find something that would appeal to him as our books about puppies don't seem to do it.  I selected a non-fiction book about tadpoles and frogs with him in mind, but he wasn't interested and the girls squealed in disgust, much to my amusement!  We started a unit this week on "day and night" so I introduced a new book to the group called "Night Workers," about people who work at night.  He loved it!  The cover picture is a road construction vehicle in a tunnel at night and he was hooked before even opening the book!

Yesterday I asked my mentor teacher if it would be ok to let him read the book in front of the class.  It's not something we normally do, but I knew it would make him feel motivated and it was relevant to our day/night unit.  In How People Learn, John Bransford notes that social opportunities have an effect on a learner’s motivation, saying “young learners are highly motivated to write stories and draw pictures that they can share with others.”  He was excited about the idea, practiced his reading with diligence, and read the entire book to the class with pride.  I was equally proud of him!

In my classroom I would take the opportunity to let all students read to the class, if they wanted too.   There are A level readers in class who run over to me after reading group time to read their new book to me.  They are working with the para in the room and are so proud when they learn a new book.  I know they would be equally excited to read to the class.  I think it would also give the class a chance to practice understanding differences between students and a chance to encourage and support their fellow classmates, whatever their learning levels are.  Perhaps each day or each week there could be time for a couple of students to read to the class.  I think it would be a win-win for everyone!

Getting closer...

Only 14 days until I graduate and can be an official teacher!  Only 13 days of school left!  Eeek!  The year has flown by.  I applied for my NH license yesterday.  All online and easy-peasy.  Now I'm gathering things for my VT license.  That is completely offline and a bit more of a process.  It will be worth it in the end though, when I'm a classroom teacher next year! 

I want to write a delightfully detailed post here, describing all that I have been doing and feeling these last few weeks... but unfortunately I am completely "written" out!  I'm working on ten "competency narratives" showing my beliefs, understandings, and experiences with the ten teacher internship competencies for my UVEI portfolio.  I recently finished my 60 page TCAP project, and I'm now working on cover letters, resumes, and interview portfolio.  Writing, writing, writing!  My kiddos complain of having to write two sentences and it's all I can do not to pull out the stacks (e-stacks, it's all in Google Docs!) of writing I've been doing lately!

I've read a few great books this spring, including How People Learn, Multiple Intelligences, Mindsets, and The Continuum of Literacy Learning.  Some more interesting than other.  In full disclosure, also The Goldfinch and Inferno. :)  Gotta have a little fun in there!

There is a lot going on at school as well.  Reading groups, math story problems, day and night studies, and more.   We should get a few more good days of education before the summer slide sets in! 

I will be back soon with deep thoughts and insightful comments, but for now every thought I have is going into my competency narratives and cover letters.  Writing, writing, writing.

The Over-Protected Kid

I recently read a great article in The Atlantic magazine (also online).  Hey! Parents, Leave Those Kids Alone, by Hanna Rosin, is all about the rise of the "over-protected kid" culture we now live in and what has been lost in childhood due to it.

As an educator and a parent I really connected with this article.  Rosin starts off at "The Land," an adventure playground that sounds much more theme-park like than it really is.  "The Land" is an acre-sized open space for kids to roam in North Wales, UK.  It has tire piles, pallets, a creek, mud, a fire-pit, and much more... all open and available for kids to explore.  I'm not sure if something like that exists in the lawsuit-happy USA, and if it did, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable leaving my kids.  "The Land" has a few adults who monitor the kids, interfering only in extreme situations, but generally staying out of the way and letting the kids roam free.  The reason being that "kids should face what to them seem like “really dangerous risks” and then conquer them alone."  This is what builds self-confidence and courage.

I agree with the idea.  I think kids are handed everything these days, being driven to playdates and sports practices, monitored 24/7.  I considered myself fairly laid-back as a parent, but even I find myself in irrational worry situations sometimes.  My kids, ages seven and eight, went on a "safari" around our neighborhood a few weeks ago.  They were super excited, packed up tons of stuff (bug collecting gear, a map, snacks, all the things they thought might be useful) and then went out.  I gave them firm boundaries, despite the fact that our neighborhood is quiet and safe.  The kids collected a few friends a long the way and had a great time, but I spent the entire two hours totally nervous when I couldn't see them from a window.  At one point they went inside a house to wait for friends to get ready and my heart started racing.  Oh no, I forgot to tell them not to go into houses!  I barely know that family (except they are elderly, raising grandkids, always very friendly when we see them outside, and have been known to bring over fresh-from-the-oven cookies to share) and now my kids are in their home!  Pure, irrational panic.  The kids were fine, of course, had a great time, and learned a few things about winter safaris.  In a different era that would have been a normal afternoon, not a parental milestone that took more courage for me than for them.

In the article Rosin also discusses the rise of playground safety standards, brought about largely by lawsuits in the 1970s.  Now playgrounds have very strict, very detailed, safety standards covering heights and angles of slides, spacing between bars, depth and type of padding below surfaces and much, much more.  Playgrounds have become so safe and sterile that children are bored by them.  Happening across an old playground is an exciting and novel experience for children.  I know of one playground that still has a merry-go-round, one that you can actually push and spin around, not a fancy musical one with slow moving horses.  Kids love it!  "Children are born with the instinct to take risks in play, because historically, learning to negotiate risk has been crucial to survival; in another era, they would have had to learn to run from some danger, defend themselves from others, be independent. Even today, growing up is a process of managing fears and learning to arrive at sound decisions. By engaging in risky play, children are effectively subjecting themselves to a form of exposure therapy, in which they force themselves to do the thing they’re afraid of in order to overcome their fear. But if they never go through that process, the fear can turn into a phobia."  Super-safe playground eliminate all risk, thereby eliminating opportunities for children to face their fears.

Are playgrounds safer now?  Do injury rates go down as playground safety standards go up?  Studies say no.  Because kids have this inborn need for risk they just use the playground structures in unintended, riskier way, like climbing on top of the covered slide, or walking across the top of the monkey-bars, in places where monkey bars are still allowed.  The "safer" the structures get, the more creative the kids get, or else they lose interest altogether, which is something we see on school playgrounds.  When kids go out for recess they are closely monitored by recess teachers enforcing strict rules such as no running in the structures, no climbing up the slides (something kids LOVE to do!), and no wrestling.  All intended to reduce injury at school, but also reducing risk and challenge for the kids.

I had recess duty one winter day and I saw a group of fifth grade boys wrestling in the snow.  I watched them for a few minutes and everyone seemed to be having fun, though one boy was frequently on the bottom.  At one point I went over, paused the game, and checked in with the bottom kid.  He was laughing and having a great time.  I walked away.  A few minutes later another recess teacher came over and separated the boys, reminding them of the "no wrestling" rule, a rule I wasn't aware of at the time.  I understand it from a school liability standpoint, by oh what a loss.  Fifth grade boys really need that opportunity to get their energy out, to run, and rough-house.  That's how they learn and grow, testing their strengths and weakness, testing their roles with dominance, testing their muscles, and just getting their physical energy out.  Instead they come in all wound up and bickering and we, as teacher, are supposed to push that aside and try to refocus them on academics.

I see the same thing in kindergarten each day.  The five year olds are bored of the play structure and instead find ways to bug each other, then bring the bickering back to the classroom.  There is no physical challenge for them at recess, no testing boundaries, no pushing themselves, no way for them to clearly work out the social dynamics they need to learn.  Instead they turn to teachers, asking the adults to work out every minor disagreement for them. 

A school in New Zealand agreed to participate in an experiment suspending all playground rules, "allowing the kids to run, climb trees, slide down a muddy hill, jump off swings, and play in a “loose-parts pit” that was like a mini adventure playground. The teachers feared chaos, but in fact what they got was less naughtiness and bullying—because the kids were too busy and engaged to want to cause trouble, the principal said."

Could we do that in this country?  Probably not, especially without written permission from the parents of every child.  Is it the ultimate answer to the problem, no, of course not, but I think it would be a start.  Suspend or perhaps just reduce the rules.  Of course that would require a change in liability, and a change in the parents' perspectives.  Change, Rosin says, will have to come from the parents.  She feels the culture is starting to slowly shift, with many parenting books appearing on shelves advocating a more relaxed, hands-off parenting style.  Change, I agree, will have to come from the parents, but as a parent I know it will be easier said than done. 

Digraphs

Last month I visited several other schools and classrooms.  I've done so both semesters, each time focusing on grades near my placement.  In the fall I visited 4/5/6 grade classrooms and last month I observed K/1 classrooms.  The purpose to is see how other classrooms are run, how other teachers do things, and to get more ideas about what type of school and classroom you'd like to have.  I love the idea and I'm so glad it's part of the UVEI program.

In one of the classrooms I observed the students were discussing the H brothers and practicing making their sounds.  The teacher had a neat chart to go with it and clearly the students were familiar with the story and enjoyed it.  I snapped a picture and brought it back to show my mentor teacher.  She loved the idea and asked if I'd make a poster for our classroom too.   Happily!

With inspiration from the first poster and a few I found on Pinterest, I made three digraph posters this weekend.  Three because I made one for her classroom, one for the other kindergarten teacher, and one for myself!

In this second picture the poster looks a little funny, but it's just because the top was curling up.  I didn't make fancy shaped edges.  I printed a copy of the H brothers story from Project Read and glued it to the back of the poster.  I laminated them at school this morning and now I'm looking forward to introducing this story and poster to my kindergarten class.

In my Internet wanderings I came across a few funny digraph YouTube videos as well.   A teacher put up a series of kid videos here and this is a totally silly video called We Are The H Brothers, with four grown men wearing Th/Ch/Sh/Wh t-shirts and doing very silly things.  There are a lot of resources out there these days!

 

TCAP

This year UVEI is participating in the New Hampshire IHE Teacher Common Assessment of Performance (TCAP) program, a pilot program to design a state-wide teacher assessment.  I believe other states are doing similar things, all with the hope, I think, that it will go nationwide in the near future.

I like the idea of a common assessment so teachers are assessed using the same standards across the board, much like students with the Common Core State Standards.  I'm not saying they have to teach the same things or the same way, but it makes sense to me that there would be common factors in the assessments, much like the standards that exist for other professions.

This TCAP pilot program is not a requirement for UVEI, but they gave us the option and encouraged anyone to try.  I decided it would be a good way to challenge myself, pushing my learning at UVEI further.  It has given me the opportunity to think deeply about my lesson process, from the initial examination of the class through to the assessments and lesson reflections.  The whole process is considered.

For my lesson series I started with the Bridges in Mathematics program, which we use at my current school.  We were approaching a series of lessons around story problems, so I decided to do my TCAP project with that.  I created a four-part lesson series based on the Bridges program and tailored to my particular class.  I did case studies of several students and considered how to address their needs, and those of the class as a whole, in my lesson plans.

A student created story problem.

I then taught, recorded, and reflected on my lessons.  The lessons included acting out story problems, using sea creature plastic figures to create story problems with manipulatives, drawing our own story problems, and then solving the problems the students created.  The four-part series ended up being five lessons in total because the class thoroughly enjoyed the final lesson, solving story problems their peers had created, and wanted to continue past our available time.  For the fifth lesson we reviewed the first four, reviewed story problem solving strategies, and then tackled some of the more challenging problems the students had created. 

Using strategies to solve a story problem.

While teaching the lessons I made observational assessments on a formative assessment checklist I maintained throughout the lesson series.  I also collected the story problems the students created and I had them each solve one story problem on paper so I could collect that as well.  I scored those two work samples against a rubric I created for this project. 

I'm now in the final writing stages of the TCAP project, making sure I've addressed all of the questions answered, thoroughly analyzed my video clips, checked and double-checked my writing, and then checked it all over again.  Then I will submit it to UVEI and see where it goes from there.

Then, on to the next writing piece!  No shortage of planning, reflecting, and writing in a teacher's busy day!

A literacy conference

I went to the Vermont Council on Reading's spring conference today at the beautiful Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa.  The topic this year was "Building Literate Lives Through Common Core Standards" and Gay Su Pinnell was the keynote speaker.  In her introduction the presenter said it would be her last conference keynote event, but she seems far too energetic for this to be her last speaking engagement ever, so I'm not sure what exactly they meant by that.  For her keynote she talked about how to encourage a love of learning and the importance of reading for meaning and understanding, not just for speed.  "Giving the gift of a literate life should be our goal for our students," she said. 

In the afternoon Q&A she talked about leveled reading and the importance of not broadcasting a child's F&P level.  There was a discussion around whether or not to share the specific level with parents (she says no) and the pros and cons of doing so.  The pros being that parents want to know and it's an easy way to mark progress.  The cons being that it is important not to rank children by reading level and you run the risk of making it a competition.  Parents often don't understand the importance of fluency, not just speed reading.  Pinnell talked about fluency as involving many parts, including phrasing, pausing, word stress, intonation, rate, and integration.  There's more to it than just comprehension.  She recommended a book titled "The Art of Slow Reading," by Tom Newkirk as a starting point for thoughtful consideration of text.   

In the mid part of the day we attended breakout sessions.  I went to one called "Asking Questions, Answering Questions, and Everything in Between: Making Learning Visible with the Common Core Standards (K-8)."  I think they are just throwing the term "common core standards" at the end of everything these days!  Very little of the conference dealt with the CCSS at all.  The parts I attended anyway, perhaps some of the other breakout sessions touched on it more.  My breakout session had an interesting sounding title, but in truth had very little to do with making learning visible.  She did however have interesting thoughts on promoting social change.  She touched briefly on learning walls and demonstrated an interesting, interactive version of Reader's Theater which she called "imagery theater."  Using the book "The Story of Ruby Bridges", she showed us a way to pause the story (after having read it through to the children at least once, possibly several times), have students volunteer to play roles from the story and act out a scene.  At a pivotal moment have your actors freeze while the rest of the class walks around them, discussing what is going on and presenting alternative options for how the story could continue.  It creates a powerful way for children to change the outcome of a story, to be the agents of change. 

I had the good fortune to carpool with a fellow UVEI intern, so we had time for lots of great discussions and idea sharing.  Add in the sunshine and our lunch-time walk and I'd say it was a great day!

“We read in bed because reading is halfway between life and dreaming, our own consciousness in someone else's mind.”
― Anna Quindlen, How Reading Changed My Life

Assessment mistake

Last week I taught my kindergarten class a science unit on force and motion. It wasn't a unit I created, but one that an intern in the other kindergarten created last year and the teachers liked, so I offered to teach it this year. On the third day we did a hands-on experiment where the students each got a chance to push little wooden cars through four different buckets, each containing a different substance: wet sand, dry sand, water, and air. At the end of the lesson I gave them an assessment showing the four items and told them to X the one that took the most force and circle the one that took the least force. I was going to give them clipboards and spread them around the room, but we ran out of time so I just had them sit at their seats. I repeated the simple (or so I thought) two-step instructions several times and even looked around the room for a quick place to write them down, but nothing was convenient so I just repeated them again.

The first two students handed in correct sheets, then a third student handed in a sheet with three circles and one X. Two more marks than needed and completely invalidating the assessment. I grabbed my one remaining blank copy and started to re-explain the directions. Before I got far though, other students started handing in their papers and I noticed every kid hand marked all four items with Xs or circles. All of them did it! I sighed, shook my head, and just started collecting them.

When I showed my mentor teacher she just laughed. She said, "I knew, as soon as you gave two step directions, things would not go well!" She had chosen, wisely, to let me learn that lesson all on my own. We both had a good laugh.

The next morning I made more copies of the assessment and pulled the kids aside one by one, telling them I had given them incorrect directions and asking them to redo the task. Many of them found it amusing that the teacher had made a mistake.

For the final assessment at the end of the unit I was careful to take them through the directions one step at a time. "First circle all the things you can push," pause, pause, pause, "Next put an X through the things that are moving," etc. My final assessments came out much better! :)

Pacing

I visited the Waldorf School this week as one of my grade level observations this semester. UVEI recommends visiting three schools/districts and observing classrooms at or around your current grade level placement. Last fall I visited three schools and observed in 4th, 5th, and 6th. This spring I'm visiting different schools and lower grades.

Of the many differences I noticed between the Waldorf School and the public schools I’ve been involved with, the pace was prominent. During my morning at the Waldorf School not once did I hear a teacher say to hurry up, which is something I feel we say constantly in kindergarten at my school. Our days feel so fast and I often feel like we are rushing the students from one activity to the next. Even snack is rushed so they can get their snow clothes on for recess. Lunch is rushed. The only thing not rushed is quiet time when we spend a half hour telling the kids to lay down and be quiet, but even that doesn’t feel calm.

Today we took the kids on a field trip and it was the epitome of rushed. We cleaned up early from free play in the morning, rushed through number corner and morning message, then hurried them through bathrooms and getting ready to go outside. We scurried to the bus and to our seats for the show. Then we sat and waited for half an hour before the show started, all the while telling the kids to sit down, sit still, be quiet. The show was nice, but very slow paced and some kids did better than others. When the lights came back on we sat for another 15 minutes telling the kids to be still and be quiet while we waited for our bus to be called. Once it was called we rushed down the stairs and out the door, only to find out it was the wrong bus, so we stood in the cold for another ten minutes waiting for our bus. Of course we were late getting back to school and therefore late for their already-rescheduled late lunch time. We zipped back up to the classroom, coats and boots off, lunch boxes in hand, and hurried down to the cafeteria for lunch. They had about ten minutes to eat before we had to rush them off again, already late to their special. One girl, who often gets stubborn and shuts down, was starting to protest the rushing and I ended up sitting with her in the cafeteria for an extra five minutes while she eagerly and actively ate her entire lunch. I made the executive decision that she needed a few minutes to breath and eat a healthy lunch more than she needed those five minutes of art class. I know I made the right decision too, because she kept it together for the rest of the day, which I doubt would have happened if I’d taken her lunch away and rushed her to class.

This was not a typical day, of course, and they aren’t usually that rushed, but they do move fast and we do spend a lot of time hurrying them from one place or activity to the next. I find the pace exhausting sometimes. At the Waldorf School, though, they moved slowly through the transitions. The teachers spoke in song (there was a lot of singing!) and the students were allowed time to complete their tasks. It was very nice and very calm.

That said, if you removed all academics from the public school schedule there’d be a lot less rushing as well. There must be a balance in there somewhere.

Solo week and play-dough

This week is my first solo week in kindergarten.  Yesterday was awesome and I was really looking forward to today.  I was up late last night making play-dough for a fun project around the Monsters Love Colors book.  I thought the kids would love it.  Unfortunately today did not go as well.  I think they were going easy on me yesterday and today they decided to test every single limit.  Every. Single. One!  Sigh.  So my play-dough is now sitting on the counter at school, next to the book and a big bag of googly eyes.  Maybe we'll get to it tomorrow.  Or maybe we'll have  snow day tomorrow.  You just never know with kindergarten in March.

In all fairness, the students did test every limit but I, being over tired from staying up late to make play-dough, did not respond as well as I should have.  There's always a lesson to learn.  I'm off to bed now so tomorrow WILL be a better day!

Expert versus Novice

When I started my fall placement I thought my mentor teacher was a genius.  He had so much information in his head and was so quickly able to pull facts relating to the content, the teaching pedagogy, the class, and the individual students.  He saw trends in student behavior and scores without even looking in his grade book.  One day he taught a lesson, modified it slightly for the next class, then skipped a whole portion and modified it drastically for the third class.  We were teaching in a departmentalized fifth grade, which gave me the opportunity to observe or teach the same lesson three times in a row and learn from each one.  I asked him why he had modified the lesson so much for the third class and he said, "They were just off today.  I could tell from the moment they walked into the room."  I, on the other hand, could not tell at all.  By the end of the class period I could definitely see it, but not at the beginning.  I was also unable to keep all the information in my head and resorted to many, many notes.  I sometimes wondered if I had brainpower to be a teacher and keep track of so much information, a problem I had never had in my previous careers. 

When I started my second placement I was again impressed with how much information the teacher seemed to have in her head, but I also noticed that I felt a little more confident and able to hold some of the same information.  Like maybe, given time, I too could manage it all.

Recently I started reading How People Learn, by the National Research Council, and it's all starting to make sense.  One of the chapters talks about experts versus novices and the different ways they attain, process, and retain knowledge.  They say that experts are able to see meaningful patterns in information and are able to organize knowledge into "big ideas" for more efficient storage.  Novices, on the other hand, don't have the background knowledge yet to see meaningful patterns, so novices are simply trying to retain all information with no meaningful way to store it.  Chris Jernstedt, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, agreed, saying "the amateur is taking in way too much information and needs help learning how to discriminate what is important."  (UVEI seminar, 10/29/2013)

In addition to knowing what information to store and how, experts also have more efficient retrieval of knowledge because it has been "conditionalized," meaning it includes not only the knowledge but also the contexts in which that knowledge would be useful.  Expert teachers know not only what information to store, but also why and how that information will be useful in the future. 

The book then takes it a step further to discuss adaptive expertise and the idea of meta-cognition, which the authors define as "the ability to monitor one's current level of understanding and decide when it is not adequate."   [How People Learn, p47]  Maybe that's the step that elevates one from good to great, the ability to monitor your own understanding and press further when you feel it's not enough. 

While I still believe my two mentor teachers are geniuses,  I now understand better the skills they have have developed over time as they moved from novice to expert teachers.  It took many years and lots of practice learning what information is important, what patterns to look for, how to group information into "big ideas" and how to effectively store and retrieve that information.  

"The ability to recognize the limits of one's current knowledge, then take steps to remedy the situation, is extremely important for learners of all ages."  [How People Learn, p47]

Inspiration everywhere

As an aspiring teacher I am always on the lookout for inspiration.  I have the usual places, of course, like books and Pinterest, but I also have a secret source at my disposal.  My kids!

We have a routine we call "highs and lows" that we do each night.  As I'm cuddling with the kids at the end of the day we take turns saying what our high points of the day were, what our low points were, and what we are looking forward to for the next day.  I had intended for it to be a dinnertime conversation starter, but they seem to prefer it being a bedtime routine.  We started it a few months ago and now they like it so much they usually start the conversation each night.  As I was laying with my daughter the other night, after I'd had my kindergarten class all to myself that day, I told her that my low point was that I had trouble getting their attention.  They all chattered and fooled around and I frequently had trouble regrouping them.  She thought for a moment then said, "Well, my teacher does a song," and she taught me a song.  She's in first grade and her ideas are spot on.  Or maybe I should say her teacher's ideas!  She taught me a song she called the "Are we ready?" song.  The next day, another solo day, I taught the kids a new song.  They loved it!   We have a version for sitting in group, preparing for a lesson, and we have another version for standing in line, preparing for the hallway.  We have practiced it a few times over the past few days and the kids are getting better each time.  It doesn't keep their attention forever, they are five years old afterall, but it does help me regroup, get their attention, and get my line straight and quiet.  One step in the right direction!

As a good teacher and learner I think you have to have your eyes, ears, and mind open at all time for new ideas.  Then be willing to give them a shot if they seem reasonable.  I'm thankful I tried this one.  The class also loved knowing that my six year old taught it to me.  I think they love hearing that even teachers are still learning new things every day.    

Nurturing in kindergarten

One big difference I'm finding in my current placement is the amount of nurturing the children still need.  There are so, so many students who just don't get the nurturing at home that they need and deserve.  I think the same is true for 5th graders as well, but it looks very different at that age. 

Last week one girl was having a really rough day that started before she even got to school.  By Number Corner time she was falling apart.  Among other things, the little girl was fidgeting with her hair, pulling the hair tie out and trying to put it back in, and generally distracting those around her.  Instead of being frustrated with her, my mentor teacher took a few minutes out of the lesson to fix the girl's hair.  She had the girl come up to the front and talked to the class about how much she loved braiding hair, while at the same time finger combing the girls hair and pulling it back into a nice braid. She had the girl go check her backpack for a barrette to pull the loose pieces out of her face.  The whole thing took maybe five minutes tops, but it left the girl feeling much calmer.  Her hair was out of her face and I think that little bit of contact and attention made a difference in her morning. 

I tried it myself later in the day with a girl who is always a problem at quiet time. She pops up like a little ground-hog at the slightest noise.  She regularly asks to go to the bathroom or get a drink or see the nurse.  She wiggles and fidgets and tries to engage with the other kids while they are resting.  She certainly isn't the only wiggly one at quiet time, but she is definitely a disruption.  That day I asked her to lie down next to where I was sitting.  I had a book to read, so I sat in one of the kindergarten chairs and rubbed her back while she was resting on the floor.  If she started wiggling or popped her head up I stopped rubbing her back.  I also had to stop sometimes to turn pages and make notes, but she stayed really calm during those times.  I think it was the best quiet time she's had since I started in this classroom.  I know she has a very difficult home life and she is one of many children in the home.  I wonder how often she has someone run her back or brush her hair or give her any of the myriad forms of nurturing that children need.

In 5th grade there were also children who clearly needed a little TLC.  Students who came to school in dirty clothes and unbrushed hair.  Not all of the children, but certainly some.  Unfortunately by that age they are less accepting of nurturing from others and it somehow seems less appropriate.  There were several children who I wanted to fix their hair or rub their back or just give them a hug.  Instead I stuck to brief shoulder and back pats and very positive language.  Was that right, I don't know.  My mentor teacher in that classroom was a man and not overly nurturing, but perhaps there are other upper elementary teachers who have figured out ways to provide nurturing to their students.  Obviously a teacher cannot replace good parenting, but it's sad to see the students go by day after day and not do anything.

Thinking about this little girl whose back I rubbed, I know she will come back to me every day now and ask me to do it again.  I probably will sometimes, but I'm also not sure how to balance that with all the other kids who could probably use the same attention.  One little boy laying near her was watching us and I felt a bit guilty because I know about his home life and I know he could use every bit as much nurturing as she could. 

Part of becoming a teacher, especially in the lower grades, is finding that balance between how much tenderness they need as children, and how much structure and discipline they need to become successful students.  Also, knowing when they need firm guidance and when they just need their hair braided.  There is certainly a lot of nuance in education!

PS. I don't mean to imply that braiding that girls hair changed her day entirely, just that it made a difference and was probably more effective then a discipline action at that point in time. 

PPS.  This is a cool article about a teacher who really cares about her students. 

Math Boxes

I was excited to see the introduction of math boxes in kindergarten this week. As a substitute last year I was always impressed with how well the students did with their math boxes. They seemed to know exactly what to do with each item, they took care of the items, they cooperated with their partners, and most importantly they were excited to do math! When my mentor teacher told me she was going to introduce math boxes this week I was excited to see that process.

When the time came she started by making a big deal about a special new thing she was going to show them.  She gathered them in a circle on the carpet and dramatically pulled a box out from behind her back.  They waited with baited breath.  She told them is was a box full of fun activities they could do with partners or on their own.  She said they would be available to the students at certain times during the day and maybe they could earn them as special treats.  They were thrilled.

Once they were all eager to know more, she opened the box and started taking out each individual item, stopping on each one to tell the students what it was called and what they could do with it.

 The first thing she pulled out was a counting strip. She showed them how they could use it to count forwards and backwards. She also showed them a card they could slide the strip into an use it to look at just one number at a time. Then she pulled out a small deck of cards they could use to identify numbers and count symbols.  One student suggested they play Go Fish with the cards and the teacher agreed that would be a good use of them.  Next was a deck of Garbage Cards, a game the students already know how to play.  She pointed out that the backs of the cards were colored different colors in each box, so it would be easier to keep track of which cards belonged in which box.   Next came the Five Strips, which can be put in order from one to one hundred, and can also be used to count by fives or tens.   The box also has a string of one hundred beads that she gave very little introduction.  Finally she showed a bundle of craft sticks with dots of them and two dice, both of which that can be used for adding, subtracting and comparing. 

After she introduced each item she partnered up the students and set them lose with a math box to explore.  While they worked she and I went from partner to partner to guide them with the tools, observe, and offer new suggestions for things to do.  This is a great opportunity for individual assessment!  I was able quickly notice several children who can count to 100 easily and others who made it pretty far but got stuck in certain areas.  I also had many opportunities to ask "how do you know?"  One girl told me there were 100 beads and when I asked how she knew she told me she had counted the red beads, noticed the groups of white were the same size and therefore must have the same number, then counted by fives to get 100.  Pretty good reasoning!

After 15 minutes of free exploration the teacher brought the class back together in the circle.  She had them sit with their partners and then we went around the room and had each group share something they had done with their boxes.  Many had done something she suggested, but several had done their own thing.  Everyone was eager to share what they had done.  I'd like to say they were also eager to hear what their classmates had done, but mostly they just wanted to talk. :)

A few days later I pulled out the math boxes again when we had an unexpected ten minutes at the end of the day.  I partnered up the students, but had one pair who were very unhappy with the partnership.  I considered rearranging, but then decided that part of kindergarten is learning to work well with others, so I sat with them for a few minutes while they negotiated and figured out how to work together.  They finally settled on a game they both wanted to play and carried on happily together.  Math boxes are as much about the math as about the teamwork and partnership.   

Mindsets

Have you heard about the idea of mindsets? Namely "fixed" or "growth" mindsets? I first read about it in an article UVEI gave me last August, then I saw a TED talk about it at a teacher in-service day this fall. Last week at UVEI we had a guest speaker who talked about mindsets a lot as well. I think the idea is fascinating, so I finally bought the book.

Carol Dweck, the author, defines a fixed mindset as "believing your qualities are carved in stone." The idea that you are born one way and can't change. You are smart, or artistic, or athletic. You are great or you are not. However, the "growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts." With a growth mindset you believe that "everyone can change and grow through application and experience."

I'm on page 39 and so far the book does thrill me, but the idea does. She's given tons of examples on fixed mindset versus growth mindset, and each example makes it sound like a fixed mindset is a horrible thing and that fixed mindset people are awful to be around. The book starts off as a grandiose self-help book, right from the subtitle of the book, "How we can learn to fulfill our potential." I hope it gets a little more substantial as it goes along, although it's not even until the very last chapter that she talks about how to change your mindset. She does promise it's possible.

When I first heard of the idea I thought, "of course I'm a growth mindset!" Obviously. I am confident that I can do anything I set my mind to, and the idea that we are capped mentally or physically and are completely unable to improve ourselves is ridiculous. It wasn't until David Grant, the speaker at my UVEI seminar, said that it's possible for a person to have different mindsets in different areas, or to be mostly one mindset, but sometimes the other that I started thinking, "hmmm..." Professionally I have no doubt that I have a growth mindset. I am confident that anything I strive for, I can achieve, and do well at. I have always done very well and been very highly regarded at every job I've had. Not to brag, but it's true. My biggest doubt usually is whether or not I'll be happy with the career I choose.

However, this weekend I got to thinking about the diet and exercise side of my brain. I see people who are more fit than I am and think, "I could look like that if I tried." But I don't try. "I could lose this weight (again!) if I just set my mind to it." But I don't set my mind to it. Instead I walk around in an fog and eat more cookies. I think I could lose weight and be more fit if I just decided to make it happen, but maybe there's a layer down in my subconscious that says otherwise. Maybe I do have a fixed mindset in this area. Maybe somewhere inside I'm thinking I'll probably just fail again and that would be embarrassing (ok, I've had that thought many times!) so why bother trying. As long as I'm busy with kids and work and life, then I have an excuse to not try.

I was talking to my son last weekend about mindsets and he immediately decided he was a growth mindset because he loved to learn new things. I didn't argue with him, but as I thought about it over the next few days I realized that he likes to try new things as long as they are within his comfort zone. New computer apps, new books, new Lego projects, bring it on! New food? Nope! New extracurricular activities? Rarely. Even at school he often gets stuck and frustrated when the teacher asks him to do things differently than how he already knows. Maybe this is because he has a fixed mindset, at least in some areas. He has always been smart and everyone tells him so. Alan and I have been working hard on praising his efforts, not his brains, but he's heard us bragging about him through the years. Everyone else does too. Even his classmates constantly tell him how smart he is. We found a note from a classmate back in first grade that said "Happy Valentine's Day. You really know math. You are really smart." That's the translation anyway, from first grade spelling. :) Even back in first grade his friends were complementing his intelligence. So now when his teacher asks him to look at something differently, to try something in a different way then how he's comfortable with, he balks and refuses.

Tonight we were playing Spit (a card game) and I asked if we could play one-handed, the way the game is supposed to be played. He loves playing Spit and always plays two-handed. He's pretty good at it, but when I suggested one-handed he shut down. We talked about mindsets a bit again and he said he didn't want to try one-handed because he wouldn't be any good at it. We talked about what would happen in that case, which of course is nothing. I said it would be challenging for both of us, we would take the game a little slower, and we would both improve our skills. He ended up in tears and refused to play the game. It made me hurt to see him so stuck.

Dweck says, in her article,

"we found that students with the two mindsets had radically different beliefs about effort. Those with a growth mindset had a very straightforward (and correct) idea of effort -- the idea that the harder you work, the more your ability will grow and that even geniuses have had to work hard for their accomplishments. In contrast, the students with the fixed mindset believed that if you worked hard it meant that you didn't have ability, and that things would just come naturally to you if you did. This means that every time something is hard for them and requires effort, it's both a threat and a bind. If they work hard at it that means they aren't good at it, but if they don't work hard they won't do well. Clearly, since just about every worthwhile pursuit involves effort over a long period of time, this is potentially crippling belief, not only in school but also in life."

This idea saddens me, but also encourages me to read all the way to chapter eight where Dweck talks about how to change mindsets. For now my husband and I are (and have been for some time) working on the idea of praising behaviors, not abilities. The same applies to discipline/criticism as well. Comment on the behavior, not the person. This idea is popular in the parenting world, unrelated to mindsets, but it aptly applies to both. When you notice and comment on the effort a person puts into a project, instead of just the outcome, you are rewarding them for trying hard, not for being smart. That is the goal, continued growth and effort for all of us!

I start full time in kindergarten tomorrow and I have this idea in my mind. What words and behaviors do students exhibit for fixed and growth mindsets? As a teacher and a diagnostician, what signs should I be looking for to tell which mindset my students have. David Grant said in his UVEI presentation that the percentage of people of fixed versus growth mindsets is equal, so I should expect that of the students in my kindergarten class about half will have a fixed mindset and the other half will have a growth mindset. How can we tell, and, more importantly, how do we teach differently towards both sets? I will be observing my students with this in mind and, of course continue reading Dweck's book, chapter seven is aimed at parents, teachers, and coaches!

First day in kindergarten

A drawing for me from one my new kindergarteners.

I had my first day in kindergarten today.  I met the teacher (again), the para, the principal, lots of other people, and, of course, the class!   One thing I love about young kids is how willing they are to welcome new people in.  They all wanted to sit by me and talk to me.  I also tied more shoes and opened more snack/lunch bags today then I did all semester in 5th grade.  There are pros and cons to that, of course.  There's nothing wrong with kids who can tie their own shoes! :)  

The school is in the same distract as my last placement, yet very different in terms of demographics, philosophies, and even physical structure.  This will offer me a very different experience and many more learning opportunities.  

Two more days at UVEI this week, then full-time in kindergarten next week!

Understanding By Design

This week at UVEI we are learning unit design, based on the Understanding By Design (UbD) methodology, by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. The three step process involves:

1. Desired results:  What are your established goals, enduring understandings, essential questions, etc. 
2. Assessment:  How will you assess the learning?  What are your performance tasks and other evidence?
3. Learning Plan:  What activities will you do in class to achieve the desired results?  

For the past two days we've had David Grant, one of the original planners behind UbD, as a guest speaker.  We've talked a lot about how people learn, mindsets, facets of understanding, and much more.   In between the lecture components we are also working on designing our own units to, hopefully, be taught this term.  

I'm working on a social studies unit my mentor teacher called "people in the neighborhood."  It seemed pretty straightforward when she suggested it last week, but as I delve into the details I'm uncovering plenty of questions.  For starters, I quickly found myself using the word "community" instead of "neighborhood."  I'll have to discuss the difference with her tomorrow and see what she intended.  Also, "neighborhood" could be very tightly defined, such as the streets around my house, or more broadly defined, such as the general area we live in, or more generically defined, such as a typical neighborhood.  I'm not sure what she had in mind.  I've also heard a lot about "community helpers" and I'm wondering if that's what she had in mind.  Also, has she taught this lesson in the past or will it be a new lesson?  Many things on my mind.  Fortunately UVEI has given us tomorrow to go to our schools, meet the class, and discuss the unit plan with our new mentor teachers. 

I enjoyed Christmas vacation, but I'm excited to get back to it, to meet the kindergarteners I'll be spending the rest of the year with! 

A new year, a new school, a new grade

Happy 2014!

It's hard to believe I'm half way through the year. My time in 5th grade is over... for now. Tomorrow I start in kindergarten at a whole new school.

Over vacation I worked on writing assessments of my understandings of four of the ten competencies for UVEI. I chose to do Learner Development, Learning Environments, Content Knowledge, and Planning for Instruction. Most were straightforward enough, but the Content Knowledge was challenging for me. The assessments ask what I believed about the competency before starting the program, what I learned during the program and during my placement that supported or changed my beliefs, what evidence to I have to support my beliefs, and what are my plans for my next placement. Challenging questions, especially if you don't have strong beliefs in an area. However, I got them done and my faculty coach deemed me competent in each one. That was good to hear!

This upcoming week I'll be at UVEI, learning about unit design. My new mentor teacher suggested I plan a social studies unit on "people in the neighborhood." I'll have to check the relevant Common Core standards, which I'm sure will be an early step in the unit design at UVEI. I think it will be a fun topic and I've already found lots of inspiration on Pinterest! Reminding myself that the lesson goal has to come first, before the fun.

One of the biggest challenges in writing my assessments is trying to find expert quotes. I've read tons of books, articles, and blogs, but to be able to recall and find relevant quotes is difficult. Also, many of the books I've read have been library books, or books I owned but have since passed along. I have to write six more assessments by the end of the school year, so maybe I can come up with a system or something to make it easier the next time around.