Tag Archives: Classroom Management

New Insights Turn Preconceptions into Misconceptions

For the past two school years, I have been blessed to develop a curriculum and teach an elementary STEAM program for students in grades K-6.  Out of my love for STEAM Education, I decided to pursue an endorsement in STEM for my Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate.  I will be able to take the needed courses online through Wilkes University! This past week I began one of the required courses, Inquiry-Based Learning.  After reading and watching videos of inquiry-based learning in action, I have come to the realization that my understanding of Inquiry-Based education was rather narrow and shallow.  I am looking forward to deepening my understanding during this semester.

This week we read a summary of the main points from the book How students learn: History in the classroom published by Donovan and Bransford.  The first point in this summary was that “(s)tudents come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom” (Topic A). I feel that this quote summarizes my feelings as I reflect on my own preconceptions of Inquiry-Based learning and gain new insights.

One of my preconceptions coming into this graduate course is that Inquiry-Based Learning is used only in science classrooms.  During my undergraduate studies, I believe I was exposed to Inquiry-Based Learning during my science methods course.  That would have been 13 years ago now, so I am a bit fuzzy on the details.  During this undergraduate course, however, we were introduced to the 5 E Model where the teacher develops a unit based on student interests that consists of 5 lessons: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate.  I developed a unit based around the question “What Makes Day and Night?” for a class of Pre-Kindergarten students.  Based on this past experience, I felt that inquiry-based learning was for use solely in science classrooms.

After viewing The Teaching Channel Inquiry-Based Teaching Series that showcasesInquiry-Based Learning in action at Urban Academy in New York City, I have developed new insights (Newell, 2012).  In these videos, they demonstrated inquiry being used in both History and Literature classes.  Watching these videos opened my eyes to the fact that inquiry can take place in a variety of content areas, not just science, and that inquiry can take many different forms.

As part of our reading this week we read a list of Statements About Inquiry.  One statement that spoke to me was “Inquiry teaching is not chaotic — It is a carefully choreographed activity” (Topic B). I often think teachers do not attempt to integrate inquiry-based learning into their classrooms out of fear that it will lead to chaos.  In the Capacity Building Series, Secretariat Special Edition #32 published by The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of the Ontario Ministry of Education it states: “It is a misconception that inquiry-based pedagogy means letting go of the class and allowing students to self-direct all aspects of their learning” (p. 5).  I will admit that I too had a preconception that Inquiry-Based Learning was a class management nightmare waiting to happen.  Thankfully, I have gained new insights this week and I can now label my preconception as a misconception!  I am hopeful that this course will give me the skill-set I need to implement Inquiry-Based Learning in the classroom!

Some of burning questions, that remain in my mind are:   Where does the 5 E Model fit in with Inquiry-Based Learning?  Does the 5 E Model promote inquiry-based learning?  What are other ways to develop and structure inquiry-based learning experiences?  I’m also curious with how Inquiry-based learning is connected to Project-Based Learning as I am also taking a course on this method of teaching as well.  If you have any insight on any of these questions, please leave a comment below! I’d also be interested to hear about any preconceptions and misconceptions you had about inquiry-based learning.

References

Donovan, M. S., & Bransford, J. D. (2005). How students learn: History in the classroom (pp. 1-2). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Newell, Beth (Producer). (2012). Inquiry-Based Teaching Series  [Video series]. New York, NY:      The Teaching Channel Retrieved from: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/reasons-for-inquiry-based-teaching

The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of the Ontario Ministry of Education (May 2013). Inquiry- based Learning. Capacity Building Series, Secretariat Special Edition # 32. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_InquiryBased.pdf

Topic A: Personal History Regarding Inquiry Based Learning [EDIM 513-INA Course Content]. Retrieved from https://live.wilkes.edu/d2l/le/content/242169/viewContent/2609367/View

Topic B: Preconceptions of Inquiry [EDIM 513-INA Course Content]. Retrieved from https://live.wilkes.edu/d2l/le/content/242169/viewContent/2609368/View

 

 

Strengthening the Home-School Connection with Classroom Website

Communication is Key 

As teachers, we know it is beneficial to our students to have frequent, open communication with families.  We also know that this is time consuming (but well worth the effort).  An effective classroom website is a great way to help stay connected with families.

“So, What is the Best Way to Create a Classroom Website?”

This was a question that I was grappling with toward the end of summer break, while my boyfriend and I were vacationing in Savannah (it really is lovely there).  During our downtime, I was researching my options.  In the past, I had used Edmodo, however, I found that many parents didn’t take the time to set up accounts.  We also have a school Facebook page, so I post their frequently, and Edmodo just seemed a bit redundant.  Last year I tried out Kidblog  (see my post here) in addition to Edmodo, as a platform for displaying student work.  I found that Kidblog was a easy way to embed student work, but in 1st grade, we honestly aren’t going to blog in a traditional sense so having a blog of each individual kid seemed a bit unnecessary.

Assessing My Website Needs

As teachers, it is easy to keep doing the same things every year out of habit, but the Virgo in me always pushes me to do things better!  I wasn’t satisfied with my classroom website, and I was determined to find a platform that would suit my needs. So, I sat down and thought about what I was looking for in a platform, and I came up with this list.

  • User Friendly– I wanted something that would be easy for me to use, because at the end of the day, I don’t have a lot of free time!
  • Ability to Embed– A lot of the technology projects I implement with my students give you embed code, so I wanted to be able to embed student work directly into my website.
  • Privacy– My students privacy is extremely important to me, so that’s why in the past I leaned towards using platforms that required user sign in (Edmodo & Kidblog), however, I discovered this was a deterrent to the parents.
  • Easy to Access– I wanted the parents to be able to visit the website without having to log in.
  • Organized– In the past using Edmodo and Kidblog, things got disorganized.  It wasn’t easy to find what you were looking forward, as things get posted in chronological order.  I wanted something that looked more like a traditional website, with tabs.
  • Attractive– It obviously goes without saying, but I wanted it to be pretty!

So, What Did I Decide?

I began looking into Google Sites, but honestly found their templates a bit confusing (this is coming from someone who considers herself technology savvy enough to author a technology focused blog).  Then it dawned on me, WordPress!  I use WordPress for this handy dandy blog, so I was already familiar with the platform (user friendly, check!)  I honestly had it up and running in an hour!  You can obviously embed in WordPress (check!) It is easy to access because parents just have to visit the URL, https://missconroy1stgradeclass.wordpress.com/, or they can subscribe to my posts and they are delivered to their email!  (easy to access,  check!)  I also made a refrigerator magnet with a QR code (see below) that parents could keep around and scan to visit the website.  What is great about WordPress is that it allows you to set privacy on a post by post basis.  So I am able to password protect my posts that have student photographs or work, and I only give the passwords to parents (privacy, check!)  Wordpress had really cute education templates, so I think the website is attractive (check!) I also was able to make categories, so my posts about certain topics would show up under tabs, making the website easy to navigate and organized (check!)Classroom Website

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend using Word Press for your classroom website.  Please let me know if you have any questions or need help setting one up!  I am very pleased with the end result, and another added bonus is that Word Press gives you analytics, so you can see if parents are actually accessing your classroom website, or not!

Quiet Critters are a Teacher’s Bestfriend!

Quiet Critters

I got the idea for these Quiet Critters from The Teaching Chick blog via Pinterest.  They are a dream come true for bus dismissal time!  I pass them out at the end of the day, and students bring me their Quiet Critters as their bus is called.  If they are quiet during bus dismissal I give them a stamp or a sticker.  Works like a charm!  I found a Foamies brand kit that included the pom poms, googly eyes, feet and hats.  I put them together using a hot glue gun, and I they have held up great!  I highly recommend using these in your classroom!

Calling on Students Equitably to Boost Engagement

Putting your Students on the Spot

We all have those “teacher pets” who crave attention and love to be called on in class. Often we are grateful to those students who “carry the lesson”.  Do you feel like you are always calling on the same two students? Calling on students at random is a technique that keeps all students in the class on their toes and better engaged. This makes me think of Elle Woods’s first day at law school in the movie “Legally Blonde”.  She takes out her feather boa pencil to take notes, and the professor randomly calls on her.

Being called on at random was not fun for Elle Woods, but you can make it fun for your students with some of the ideas floating around out there!
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