First of all, after reading this chapter, I have come to a conclusion. There are many different types of writing, and different purposes for writing that will shape the content and formality. What students really need to be able to do is adjust their writing to fit the purpose. This means that they will need practice doing all kinds of writing, both formal and informal, school related and personal. Students should also be able to do writing using both pen and paper, and digitally.
One part of this chapter that stood out to me on a personal level what the part about how many students don't feel that they have received adequate preparation for writing at a college level. I can definitely relate to that because I felt the same way when I entered college out of high school. I was completely overwhelmed when I did my first research paper in college. It was the first time I have ever been asked to do one, and the teacher expected us to already have an idea of how to do it. There should have been a whole course dedicated to teaching how to cite resources, and how to research, but we were thrown into it with very little direction.
And the ever so popular, and often forgotten, OUTLINE, for the five paragraph essay. Why didn't I see that before college? I'm sure some people did, but I was completely lost when I saw that for the first time.
Lastly, and I touched on this in my first paragraph, but I think allowing students to do different types of writing in class will eliminate the common hatred for writing. Until college, the only writing experiences I had were writing essays and paragraphs, summaries and reflections. We never got to write anything that was fun, something that was for our eyes only, or something where we didn't have to worry about spelling, punctuation, or level or formality. It is exhausting trying to write a paper without using I or you, so no wonder it was no fun. I also think students should be presented with several different strategies for writing and planning. People think differently, so asking everyone to follow the same planning format is ridiculous. Like for me, an outline is not helpful. I like to just freewrite first, and pull certain ideas from it to reorganize into a proper paper. And this is usually how I ended up with my final products, but I was always forced to do an outline which just ended up being extra work, and something I couldn't do until my paper was completely written. That really defeats the purpose, and has soured my experiences with writing.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Promethean and SmartBoard technology experience
The word NONE basically sums up my experience with these technologies. At least any hands on experience. I have seen the SmartBoards used in most of my classes, but not in a way that would help me if I were to have to use one. I have only heard about the wonders of the Promethean boards. Apparently they can clean your house and make you a sandwich, but I have never seen one in use, and I honestly don't know what the difference between this and a SmartBoard is, or even if there is one. I would absolutely love to learn how to use these things, and I can definitely see how they could be very valuable tools in the classroom, but right now I really know basically nothing.
Ch. 7 blog: Activating Prior Knowledge and Increasing Motivation
Motivation is probably more important, and integral in our everyday lives than many people may even realize. I mean, think about it, everything you do every day comes from some form of motivation. Why do we do the thing we do, particularly the thing we don't enjoy? Because it will benefit us in some way. Maybe not directly, but we stand to gain something from everything we do, otherwise we wouldn't do it. Now, think about your students. If they don't feel like they will receive any personal gain or benefits from learning, they won't try. Some students are motivated by getting good grades, but other students who experience failure regularly will need some other reason to be motivated.
Prior knowledge ties closely to motivation, in my opinion. If a student has absolutely no prior knowledge about something the teacher is talking about, and they can't make any personal connection with the topic, they are unlikely to care about it. Teachers must become familiar with what their students already know, or they must find ways to make new topics relevant to students by using literature, analogies, or anything really. Even in my personal experiences, I am less likely to become engaged in a topic that I know little to nothing about. When teachers attempt to make the topic relevant to me, or give me concrete reasons as to how this topic could be useful to me, something will click and I will become motivated.
I really liked how the book went into detail about methods teachers can use to activate prior knowledge, and examples of how the methods can be used. My personal favorites to use are the anticipation guides and the K-W-L charts. Anticipation guides are a good way to find out from every student what their level of prior knowledge is, and it is a great basis for planning lessons. The K-W-L chart is valuable in that you can do an on-the-spot, classwide assessment of prior knowledge, and it lends itself to being very flexible. We are always told that as teachers we have to be flexible, so a K-W-L chart fits well into an efficient classroom. Also, from previous experience, student really enjoy these KWL charts.
Prior knowledge ties closely to motivation, in my opinion. If a student has absolutely no prior knowledge about something the teacher is talking about, and they can't make any personal connection with the topic, they are unlikely to care about it. Teachers must become familiar with what their students already know, or they must find ways to make new topics relevant to students by using literature, analogies, or anything really. Even in my personal experiences, I am less likely to become engaged in a topic that I know little to nothing about. When teachers attempt to make the topic relevant to me, or give me concrete reasons as to how this topic could be useful to me, something will click and I will become motivated.
I really liked how the book went into detail about methods teachers can use to activate prior knowledge, and examples of how the methods can be used. My personal favorites to use are the anticipation guides and the K-W-L charts. Anticipation guides are a good way to find out from every student what their level of prior knowledge is, and it is a great basis for planning lessons. The K-W-L chart is valuable in that you can do an on-the-spot, classwide assessment of prior knowledge, and it lends itself to being very flexible. We are always told that as teachers we have to be flexible, so a K-W-L chart fits well into an efficient classroom. Also, from previous experience, student really enjoy these KWL charts.
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