How Do My Student’s Learn?

This is my sixth year of teaching, and I am still extremely intrigued and amused with how my student’s learn.  This year is probably one of my favorite classes that I’ve every taught, and it fascinates me on how each and everyone of them learn.  Do they all learn directly from me?  Do they learn from their peers?  Do they learn from the SMART board? Do they learn simply by having their chrome books in front of them?  Do they learn from all the homework they have?  Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that the answer to all of those questions is yes.

My students do not simply learn from me.  I can stand up from and teach a lesson and drill an idea into them, but they will not always learn from that scenario.  There are days where they will grasp that and days where they will be bored out of their minds (hopefully not, but let’s be honest with ourselves, it happens).  My students learn from a wide array of opportunities and advancements that they have each an everyday.

Let’s pick student A, we will call her Amanda.  Amanda is sitting in a math lesson, and we are currently learning about Area of Parallelograms.  Amanda struggles in math, and is not doing very well with understanding what I’m teaching up front.  Her next door neighbor, student B, we will call him Bradley, is very advanced in math and is able to assist, swoop in, and teach that student in a different one on one way that she would not have gotten simply from just listening to me.  She is learning from a peer.

Another day, student C, Cassandra, is exploring the web and is very interested in ancient Egypt.  We are learning about ancient Egypt in History, and our book does not have enough information for Cassandra.  Cassandra loves to explore and expand her mind, and she is learning so much new information that would not have been in her textbook, but instead was valuable information from the internet.  Again, not from me, not form a peer, but from a positive resource that she has an opportunity to use.

My students are learning everyday, and it make me happy to know that they are willing to help one another, use their resources given to them to discover new learning experiences, and engage in specific lessons when they want to.  Learning is all subjective, but with the right mindset and positive outlook, it can happen in so many different ways.

Thankful For My Job!

This week I’m going to share how truly thankful I am for my career.  Being the week of Thanksgiving, I thought it was fitting to include what I was thankful for, and what I’m extremely appreciative of.

Let me start about talking about my current class.  My class of sixth graders is lively, extremely attentive, and want to be at school everyday.  No matter what I do, they are willing to try new things and encourage each other through out the process.  My appreciation for my class is overwhelmingly huge, and I am teaching my favorite class to date.

I am also thankful for my wonderful teaching partners.  Each day, I walk on campus and am confident that my 3 other teaching partners are supportive, ready to help in need, and available to meet after school for guidance.  I don’t know what I would do without them, and again I’m overly appreciative for them.

Lastly, I am thankful for my school, staff, and support staff.  There is always so much going on on my campus, and I enjoy coming to school everyday as much as my students do daily.  From the close relationships, willingness to help, and support given everyday, I am truly thankful for my campus and all that are a part of it.

I am thankful.

Am I a Traditional Teacher?

What makes a teacher a teacher?  Is it educating a group of students?  Is it knowing how to grade papers and enter grades?  Is it communicating and discussing with parents on how to better help their child?  Is it seating students together is rows or groups?  Is it using all new technology to learn? Well, all of these are common practices of a traditional or progressive teacher, but am I more traditional or progressive?

I am going to start with a list of my own personal views of traditional practices and then a list of some progressive practices:

Traditional:

-desks in a row

-chalkboard/whiteboard

-teaching from the book

-writing sentences over and over

-cursive handwriting

-Memorizing

-Spelling Words

Progressive:

-Spelling is Vocabulary

-Kids can pick their desks

-Tables instead of desks

-Research based learning

-Project based Learning

-Chromebooks

-On hands lessons/activities

Looking at my lists, you can probably tell that most teachers might already do a little bit of both, or change things up sporadically.  Some teachers have routines, and some differentiate based on their group of students.  No two teachers are the same.  We all teacher differently.  I would say I am using some traditional methods and ideas, but am a progressive teacher always thinking ahead and what I could’ve done differently to benefit my students.  It is all relative to what we are teaching, who we are teaching, and why we are teaching.  I teach for the kids, and I will do anything possible to make it fun, engaging, and meaningful at all times.  Whether that means I am traditional (because so many of my teachers were just like that, growing up) or progressive, I am still a teacher.  If you are teacher, thank you for all that you do to help kids.  If you are a student, please know that teachers are not doing “old school” projects or ways of teaching to bore you, but they are trying to teach you the best way they can.

C.o.P (Another Acronym)

Call of Plan?

Creative Opportunity Practice?

Compliant Order Program?

As teachers, we go everyday with acronyms.  Old acronyms, new acronyms, and ridiculous acronyms that we continue to laugh about on a daily basis.

PLC- Professional Learning Communities

IEP- Individualized Educational Plan

CAASP- California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress

NCLB- No Child Left Behind

Okay, I will stop there, but in education, I think it is safe to say (and agree on) that there are too many acronyms.  Although all of these acronyms are useful and to the point of different services, committees, and methods of teaching, there is one that sticks in a broader sense, and that is C.o.P.

C.o.P. stands for Community of Practice and has a lot of meaning behind it.  Let’s break it down.  What is a community?  Well, when I think of community I think of a group of individuals that work or come together for the greater good, sharing common interests or goals, and support one another (or that what it should be).  Practice would refer to putting these common interesting and goals into action on a regular basis.  So a C.o.P. would represent these groups of individuals comping together to work, share, and putting their plans into action for the greater good.

These communities of practice can be teachers comping together to better learn and understand new technology for their classroom with a common interest in mind.  This can also be engineers meeting as one to form new plans and beneficial outcome for a common interest.  This might also be musicians, with similar tastes, that join together to grow together and support one another in their field.

Communities of Practice are important to implement, be a part of, and have.  As teachers, we are among many different communities of practice, and we don’t even realize it at times. We need to continue realizing that when we work together, help each other, and find others to relate to or reflect with, we can become stronger and more united, which is a successful outcome.  With our nation currently divided, I encourage you to find your tribe.  Find the people that will always encourage you, make you laugh, help you grown, and forever support you.

Communities or Potential, Communities of Positive,  Communities or Practice.

 

Learning is Everywhere

I started off the week a little nervous and anxious thinking I was going to be away from my classroom, away from the class that I’m taking, and away from cell/internet service for a week.  No, I did not go on a week vacation for myself, but instead a weeklong outdoor field trip with our 6th Graders.  I was intrigued on how my students were going to learn outside of the classroom, without their textbooks, without their chrome books, and without their phones.  

Each year, our 6th graders get to attend a week long camp, Camp KEEP (Kern Environmental Education Program).  I, being the teacher, also get to go.  I was probably more interested this year, wondering how they were going to learn with out technology (SMART boards, chromebooks, computer labs, doc cams, etc.) right in front of them.  Instead, they learned so much valuable information on each day, on their various hikes, with different naturalists, outside.  Yes, outside of the classroom.  Papert talks of educational ideas and states, “It consists of new understandings of specific subject domains and in new understandings of the process of learning itself.  It consists of a new and much more ambitious setting of the sights of educational aspiration” (Papert 1993, P. 187).  My students got a hands on learning experience this week studying different ecosystems, becoming biologist, learning about tide pools and estuaries.  They became scientists without knowing, and gained enormous amounts of knowledge.  

Etienne Wenger in talking about practices and the way remember states, “because our forms or participation change, our perspectives change, and we experience life in new ways” (Wenger 1998, P. 88).  This week, my students made new friendships, discovered new areas of their education, created memories, and will forever remember Camp KEEP.  However, what they remember in the years to come will continue to change.  Their memories of this week will eventually fade, and the important parts and big pictures of Camp KEEP itself will remain.  These kids were not at a desk.  I was not at the front of the classroom.  The school bells were not going off.  Nature took over this week and educated my students like never before.  Learning is everywhere; socially, mentally, and physically.