Mr Lara's Blog

Self Assessment of Teaching Kindergarten May 8, 2010

Posted by steve19421945 in For APU students and APU assignments.
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Self Assessment Steve Lara Spring II:  From a Bilingual Kindergarten Class

EDUC 522

1. Students are involved in tasks that are broad in scope and challenging. Activities should span a range of experiences and be intellectually demanding.

Evidence: In Kindergarten we cover basic topics that form the start of their educational careers.  Kids that have not had preschool may need to learn to from a line and listening to instruction.  This grade level requires more repetition than older kids, but their attention spans are lower so you must move quickly to keep their attention.  One idea that works well at this age is to make the lesson a puppet show.  To introduce subtraction I tell the kids to watch out for a naughty little bear friend that likes to steal marbles.  I have the bear puppet hidden before the lesson starts then I show the kids the 3 marbles I have in a cup.  We count the marbles together then I pretend not to look while my puppet bear sneaks in and steals a marble while I ask the kids to watch out for the naughty bear thief.We check how many marbles were taken by counting how many marbles are left then compare that to how many marbles we started with.  I repeat the lesson with a diagram of the 3 – 1 =? marbles on paper and we fill in the answer according to the marbles left in the cup.  I repeat the same idea for larger number problems.  We practice routines such as getting in line or answering the question of the day as they first come into class then read a book every day.  We often chant a song to memorize something such as the alphabet.

Reflection: Repetition is needed at this age because of their short memories but too much

repetition can bore them.  For the subtraction lesson I use something they like such as puppets to hook them then repeat the same lesson format a couple of times with larger numbers so the idea that subtraction works for all numbers sticks in their brains.  They build on previous knowledge to solve increasingly complex problems.  They also relate physical objects (marbles) to written and spoken numbers and equations.  This presents the problems in visual, auditory and tactile form to differentiate instruction to take into account multiple intelligences theory.  Turning activities into routines uses repetition to teach as well, especially needed for things they will do often such as form a line or when they first come to class.  Turning the memorization of the alphabet into a song helps keep the repetition from getting boring.

2. Students, rather than the teacher, have control over the learning process. The teacher serves more as a guide and coach rather than as a supervisor or administrator.

Evidence: To learn the numbers students sing the numbers as I or a student points to numbers on the wall, then they are given a strip of paper and mixed up one inch squares of paper each with a number on it.  Students paste the numbers on the strip of paper in order.  Once students learn the tens they then add the twenties and so on. After they paste the numbers in order they sing the number names as they point to each number on their number strip.  They do the same with the alphabet.

Reflection: This system allows the students to progress to the next group of numbers only when they are ready, so they control the pace of their learning.  Once they learn the drill pattern of the lesson through repetition they are much more independent when going to the next level such as when going from the twenties to the thirties.  Number pasting and singing helps to incorporate multiple intelligences.

3. Students work collaboratively and cooperatively. Learning tasks should not be completed in isolation

Evidence: Students learn the colors, alphabet and numbers by chanting them together as another student points to each letter or number in order.  Students that finish early and show me they know the subject are allowed to help others.  Students who struggle are encouraged to ask friends that I say are helpers (they finished and know the material) for help before asking me.  Every new concept is introduced and practiced with the whole class before students practice it in smaller groups.  The morning routine includes the whole class chanting the alphabet, numbers, calendar days, high frequency words etc. all directed by one student without teacher help.

Reflection: This uses their interest in group singing to teach number, letter and color names.  The kids are encouraged to sing together so they sound better.  These kids generally cannot do independent work, but they do follow routines and use repetition to do some learning without the teacher.

4. Students practice and apply communication skills during learning. Learning tasks should promote discussion and interaction.

Evidence: One activity is when small groups work together to make the tallest block building.  They work together to find suitable blocks.  We played number bingo and I encouraged the kids to check who was winning by checking who had the most numbers marked on their card.  Kids practiced “M” words by cutting out pictures of things that began with M such as mountains and pasting them on an M poster.  Kids worked together to search magazines for suitable pictures.  One kid is assigned to paste what the others find.

Reflection: The kids work together by helping to build a tower.  When the tower gets too tall for one kid, they are asked to let a taller student help to put the block on top.  This encourages them to ask for help.  During number bingo students tell us who is winning after each number is called to encourage discussion.  When finding M words the kids discuss which pictures begin with M words then they can help decide where to paste it on the poster.

5. Students participate in varied learning tasks. This includes both variations in the format of the activities and in their objectives.

Evidence: The varied learning tasks we do include listening to stories, answering questions on them, predicting outcomes, finding patterns, tracing, writing letters and numbers, singing, as well as dancing to Alpha friends songs.  We draw the different states of water, guess what causes the changes, and then write a sentence telling what happened at each state, solid or liquid.

Reflection: Varying learning tasks is a great way to differentiate instruction so that the maximum variety of learning styles is addressed.  If they don’t learn by writing it then maybe drawing it will help.

6. Students have opportunities to address learning tasks in different ways. In this way, different approaches to a presented activity can be explored.

Evidence: Students learned about the weather from stories I read to them, I asked weather related questions on the story including clothing worn by the characters and activities for each type of weather.  Then students arranged human paper figures on a white board and dressed them for each weather type.  Shorts for hot weather etc.  Then students labeled a paper for each weather type and drew a boy or girl with appropriate clothes for each weather type.

Reflection: They learned about weather through listening to stories, discussion, arranging and sorting clothes on paper figures, drawing and writing.  This presented the material in varied forms, auditory, visual, verbal and tactile so a variety of learning styles were addressed.

7. Students apply higher order thinking skills through problem-solving tasks. Activities do more than ask students to recall rote facts, terms, and definitions.

Evidence: We read and discussed the story The Three Little Pigs. I read the story and we discussed questions about the main parts of the story.  I asked the kids to predict what would happen next after some parts of the story, and why the straw and stick houses fell but the brick house did not.  I also brought in examples of each type of material for students to handle.  Kids later put parts of the story in the correct sequence.

Reflection: The kids learned about cause and effect, story line, the material for a sturdy house, properties of a strong building material etc. but were not given the answers.  They had to think about what happened in the story to figure out why a brick house is stronger than a straw house.  The physical samples helped them compare the properties of the different materials.  They had to predict what was going the happen next so they could use higher order thinking such as deductive reasoning.  Other thinking skills used where comparing and evaluation of the building materials.

8. Students are encouraged to offer varied solutions to a given problem. Standard responses are not the only ones accepted; other answers can be acceptable.

Evidence: When I read stories to the kids, I ask them questions about the plot of the story.  What is the problem the characters in the story must solve?  Then before finishing the story I ask students to predict how the problem will be solved.  How can the Three Little Pigs save themselves from the wolf?  I let three or four students offer solutions if I can get that many to answer to let students see a variety of solutions to the same problem.

Reflection: They practice problem solving skills and learn to think for themselves instead of waiting for someone else or the book to give them an answer.  I let them know that some problems can have more than one answer so they don’t have to worry if they do not come up with the exact same answer as the book.  This skill improves with practice and gives them the confidence and creativity to try any answer that they think will work.

9. Students are encouraged to contribute personal ideas and experience to the learning task. There is validation of student contributions into the learning process.

Evidence: During show and tell, students share personal ideas and experiences when talking about a toy they bring to class or when writing about their favorite things during writing practice.  They write about favorite foods, pets or family.  Kids are praised for their efforts at learning and sharing their lives with the class.

Reflection: When kids talk or write about themselves they see their own importance.  When students see others are interested this encourages them to talk more freely and builds self esteem.  Kids enjoy sharing their lives if they feel welcome and secure and learn that learning is fun.

10. Students are intrinsically motivated by the prescribed learning tasks. Accomplishing the task is rewarding in itself, regardless of the technologies being used.

Evidence: Kids play games such as bingo and puppets because they are fun, so I incorporate learning games and puppets in lessons so the kids see the activity as a game and not a lesson they HAVE to do.  I used a bear thief puppet to introduce the idea of subtraction and they related to a naughty bear stealing marbles as subtraction of marbles.  I relate lessons to things I know the kids will like so they relate learning to fun and so they want to learn because it is fun.

Reflection: Kids should be entertained to maximize learning, so lessons should be fun so that kids will want to do them for the fun of it and learn at the same time.  I know kids could learn by having math rammed into them without fun but that bores kids and reduces their attention.  Kids learn less efficiently when bored because they don’t pay attention.  Kids will pay attention to a fun game or activity so I firmly believe in teaching through games, even computer games.  Computer games may seem frivolous but if kids love them then why not disguise learning something useful in a computer game?  I have a hard time finding educational games for kindergarten but I have seen some good looking games for older kids where the kids must solve the same problems that American pioneers had to when exploring and getting to California.  A game where kids must learn the numbers, colors or alphabet to win would be good for kindergarten.

Vodcast on Intrapersonal Intelligence or Self Smart May 2, 2010

Posted by steve19421945 in For APU students and APU assignments.
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This is my action packed video on Intrapersonal Intelligence or how well you know yourself.  Advice on how to improve video is welcome.

Revolution in the Classroom March 8, 2010

Posted by steve19421945 in For APU students and APU assignments.
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Watching the video “Revolution in the Classroom and in Social Lives” made me think of what high school was like for me as related to technology compared to today.  No one had cell phones and the VCR was something new.  A student who had a VCR offered to let the teacher use it to show us a movie and I remember the teacher being surprised that the student had one because they were so expensive.  I remember that videos were a fun way for me to learn something new.  Students would hang out at video game arcades instead of texting each other as they do now.

When I went to grade school I remember really looking forward to watching films at school, instead of listening to a lecture.  A movie would get my attention much better than someone talking to me would.  Did video technology improve my attention span or did students in general have better attention spans back then?  We would watch a video maybe once a week so most of the time our teacher would lecture.  Maybe the switch to a different and less used type of instruction (video) was what helped get my attention?

I think kids today are much more used to getting information quickly and easily compared to 20 years ago because video cell phone technology is much more available.  Kids are now addicted to having cell phones for texting so they feel they cannot live without it the way I thought I would die if I did not have TV.  Kids are so used to quick answers from the video internet on cell phones that not having a cell phone would seem like the dark ages.

What are the problems that technology creates in the classroom and with students?  I think the video “Revolution in the Classroom and in Social Lives” gave me some great ideas of the problems I will face as a teacher with technology in the classroom.  I will be challenged to keep student attention so I will have to look for what helps keep their attention and relate that to my lessons.

I think this means that I will have to learn the technology that they associate with fun and present my lessons using that technology.  I feel students like computer games so I would look for computer games that teach whatever my lesson is about in a way that tells a story and so draws them in like a good story does.

Goals of Teaching with Technology class EDUC 515 February 21, 2010

Posted by steve19421945 in For APU students and APU assignments.
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Steve Lara

My goals in EDUC 515 are to learn more ideas on how to use technology to become a more effective teacher.  I already had some ideas on how to do this from previous classes, but I want to learn a variety of teaching techniques because our students do not all learn the same way so I must provide a variety of instruction techniques to reach the maximum number of students.  I want to learn better ways to find free internet video and audio to make stimulating presentations and even games that teach the California standard curriculum in a way that students will want to learn.  I want more experience with finding educationally useful media by learning how to use I tunes and other programs to help me find the video that will capture student imaginations.

I want to learn how to use the program Audacity, something I know nothing about, and other programs to improve my ability to make video lessons that my students will enjoy learning from, and that teach the California standards for each grade level I may teach.  Kids usually find math and history to be particularly boring because they associate such lessons with reading textbooks.  I want to learn how to make students associate those subjects with playing computer games that are fun and interesting and even teach the California standards without the kids even knowing they are learning.  This way kids won’t associate learning with monotony.

To teach digitally I want to use websites that allow me to make online educational puzzle games that teach vocabulary and math.  I would present the website to the class connecting my laptop to a document camera projector so the whole class can play the same game with me as a referee.  I would also make my own movie presentations that teach the California standards using movie clips of famous movies from the internet with my own narration.  I would use popular current movies that some of the children have seen to improve the connection with their own experiences.

As children learn new technology then teachers should use that same technology to teach them as a way of connecting something students associate with fun to learning.  The implications are that teachers must keep up with new technologies the kids use.  Modern children play lots of video games so I like the idea of using well designed video games to teach them the California content standards for curriculum in a fun and memorable way.   The fun will motivate kids to want to play and the video game experience will make it memorable.  I can see games that teach math and almost any subject for that matter by relating the subject to a game story problem the player must solve to win the game.