It was the first day I taught: my teacher taught the first two blocks, and I taught the last two blocks. Sometime my teacher would suddenly put me on the spot. But I like those kind of challenges. :) I am so glad that I finally can learn about his teaching in action. Mr. Stark was a language arts teacher for over six years. So it was very natural for him to be aware of students’ writing and reading levels and literacy skills in his classroom. We spent around 30 minutes on individual writing, which I found was a good way to push them to their ZPD and reflect deeply on the movies we watched the past three days. Obviously, it wasn’t an easy task for most of the students. If I could, I would do it differently. I will ask them to write a summary or reflection or discussion every day after the movies.
We talked a lot about assessment, common core, DOK thinking levels. It was very helpful for me to see how he put different practices into actions.
We talked a lot about assessment, common core, DOK thinking levels. It was very helpful for me to see how he put different practices into actions.
Adjust test to meet students’ needs. Most of the tests are open book because instead of having his students wasting time memorizing all the facts, he would rather have them understand and appreciate history on a deeper level. He also adjusts tests to meet different students’ needs. I think it is a very good way to differentiate and hopefully they can all feel challenged and successful at the same time. Self grading and peer evaluation are used often in his classroom. On students’ writing assignments, he doesn’t give letter grades, instead, he leaves feedback to help them to improve. (Differentiated Instruction)
Daily Study Buddy. At the beginning of the school year, students got to choose people to be their study buddies. I thought it was a good idea.
Give them ownership. The first thing Mr. Stark said to the class was, “What are we going to do today? You decide.” Students shouted out different things, and they voted on them by using old fashion way: “Yea” and “Nah”. Eventually they still did what they supposed to do. When I asked why did he do that. He answered, “It’s good to give them some ownership. It’s also fun to start the class this way.”
Open classroom culture. While everyone wanted to play games, one student said he wanted to read chapter 6. As you can imagine, everyone started to make fun of him. Yet he didn’t feel offended. It shows how open the classroom is. Later on, however, I noticed that Mr. Stark explained and demonstrated how to offer each other constructive criticism. He let everyone share their comments to the whole classroom and checked in, “Did anyone feel offended in this activity?” Open classroom culture is not built in one day. It’s a constant reminder to yourself and others to respect each other.
Positive Perspective of Common Core. Mr. Stark is in favor of Common Core, because it brings out a higher level of thinking, instead of simply recalling facts. The shortcoming of CC is that it expects too much from young children. Parents usually aren’t able to give any support to their children.
Giving Learning Statement. Mr. Stark used this activity to end his BLK 1 class. Students stood up and shared one new thing he learned from the past four days. He/she then has to pick the next person.
I am deeply grateful for my teacher being so flexible and respectful. He would also check in, “Are you feeling comfortable?” and would always ask about my opinions when he was having conversations with students. Those children are so flexible and respectful too. It was only a week. They already made me feel like home.
This taught me, if we want to teach our children to be respectful and loving to each other. All we need to do is to demonstrate, to respect, and to love everyone around. Actions are worth more than a thousand words.
Daily Study Buddy. At the beginning of the school year, students got to choose people to be their study buddies. I thought it was a good idea.
Give them ownership. The first thing Mr. Stark said to the class was, “What are we going to do today? You decide.” Students shouted out different things, and they voted on them by using old fashion way: “Yea” and “Nah”. Eventually they still did what they supposed to do. When I asked why did he do that. He answered, “It’s good to give them some ownership. It’s also fun to start the class this way.”
Open classroom culture. While everyone wanted to play games, one student said he wanted to read chapter 6. As you can imagine, everyone started to make fun of him. Yet he didn’t feel offended. It shows how open the classroom is. Later on, however, I noticed that Mr. Stark explained and demonstrated how to offer each other constructive criticism. He let everyone share their comments to the whole classroom and checked in, “Did anyone feel offended in this activity?” Open classroom culture is not built in one day. It’s a constant reminder to yourself and others to respect each other.
Positive Perspective of Common Core. Mr. Stark is in favor of Common Core, because it brings out a higher level of thinking, instead of simply recalling facts. The shortcoming of CC is that it expects too much from young children. Parents usually aren’t able to give any support to their children.
Giving Learning Statement. Mr. Stark used this activity to end his BLK 1 class. Students stood up and shared one new thing he learned from the past four days. He/she then has to pick the next person.
I am deeply grateful for my teacher being so flexible and respectful. He would also check in, “Are you feeling comfortable?” and would always ask about my opinions when he was having conversations with students. Those children are so flexible and respectful too. It was only a week. They already made me feel like home.
This taught me, if we want to teach our children to be respectful and loving to each other. All we need to do is to demonstrate, to respect, and to love everyone around. Actions are worth more than a thousand words.