Back to 3rd grade...

I've been in the classroom now for two half days and have the challenge of discovering all of the students growth since September.  I started wondering, "how do you measure growth?" 

The spelling curriculum is designed to give a set of 100 words that are commonly used in writing over the course of a year.  The list is provided at the beginning of the year for review by the students.  The words come and go randomly during testing, but show up at least twice throughout the year.  This arrangement allows students time to show growth.  If the student misspells a word they have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the word and try it again at a later date.  The tests are given in story format, so the students can use visual clues and context to aid them in their spelling.  By the end of the year the student should know all 100 words.  The spelling plan seems fairly straight forward and fair. 

Math, on the other hand, has a very complicated format.  Once a chapter test is given the students move on to new material and a different series of tests.  The material is always changing and previous information is not retested.  So, how do you test growth?  With each test the student is showing understanding of new material, but not growth or comprehension of original material.

hugs

Right now I should be blogging about evidence for my essays, but instead I'm going to blog about hugs.  Hugs? I know, but as I was searching through my many reflections trying to come up with ideas for my final essays, I came across this quote "I know that you are not supposed to touch or hug your students, but in some circumstances I may really want to.  I always appreciate it when my child’s teacher shows them affection in a time of need.  How can I help a child in desperate need of affection with words that I’m not sure I can speak and actions I’m not allowed to display..."  and I started thinking...I have given more hugs to kids this year that I don't know than I have in any other point in my life.  And guess what? I'm about to hand out a bunch more in a few days!  I thought it was just the little kids that wanted hugs, but boy was I wrong!  I can't tell you how many teenagers hugged me on the way in and out of the door last week.  Every time I turned around I felt arms around my waist with an "I'm going to miss you."  I must say.... I found it delightful and wonderful!

Blogs for kids?

I am so excited about the classroom blog I just viewed!  As a parent I receive many crumpled pieces of paper stuffed in the bottom of a backpack to show my student's progress.  I can sort out what my children are learning and working on in class, but get very little conversational response to what they are doing and how they feel about it.  I'm sure that the individual blogs established to showcase each child's work both excite the child and spark bigger conversations about classroom activities, likes and dislikes and open discussions on learning.  I am very interested in this approach to blogging.  It both to keeps an ongoing updated portfolio for the teacher and shows progress for students overtime without requiring an in depth filing system.  The students are interacting with technology and learning to use it in a beneficial way, all while giving their parents and grandparents a way to connect with their work from any location.  This gives the child a support system for their learning that cannot be matched.  The children will inevitably take more pride and time on their work knowing that they have an audience to cater to.
I don't see anything negative about showcasing a child's work on their own blog.

student conferences

Today I participated in four student conferences.  I have been to several student conferences in my lifetime, but these ones were different...

The teacher choose to spend the whole conference talking to the student and their parents about individual improvement and goal setting based on student reflection, not grades!  She asked each student to discuss their homework patterns, in-class social patterns, interactions with teachers, organization patterns and test preparations.  Once the students answered each question honestly and thoughtfully, she offered suggestions and asked the parents for input to help support the student.  Together they set and implemented goals that both suited the student's needs and fit their personality to ensure success.  The suggestions ranged from going to the store to purchase an accordion style binder, to willfully participating in class.

The students left with ideas that they could implement immediately with very little effort and parents who had a sense of accomplishment knowing that they picked goals that would create success in their child's learning.  I was really impressed at the level of maturity shown by the student's honest answers and deep reflection of themselves as learners.  They left inspired, knowing that they could make effective changes to their existing patterns and become more well-rounded students.

ART-multiple creative experiences!

Tracking?

So we've had many discussions on tracking in classrooms and how it is not beneficial for most students...but when I read about preparing differentiated classrooms and building curriculum for all student levels, it appears that it is the recommended method.  Does tracking have a "bad" name because historically students are placed in tracks by assumed overall ability, regardless of subject ability?
Is it fair to say that tracking works if it is done appropriately, by subject ability and with the opportunity to move often when improvement is demonstrated?

TED video on technology

Using technology in a classroom provides students with amazing access to an abundance of information.  They are empowered to discover information and find answers on their own, building confidence and creating emotional connections to the content.

The idea of grouping students to search and discover together provides a social connection that I hadn't thought of before.  I have mainly seen technology used in a classroom with individual students practicing math or reading skills in a formatted program.  I know that my own children enjoy playing games together online, searching educational programs and talking about what's happening on the screen and plotting their next move together.  I think it is a very clever concept to have peers search topics together, finding results and manipulating information as a team.

I wonder how workable it would be in various situations, especially when it come to taking turns and sharing duties as the "captain."  If structured properly, I believe it would be an amazing way for students to spark interest with their peers and carry conversations forward about the discoveries they have made together, all while they are individually making multiple connections to the information.