Blog #2

1. In the "morning meeting" readings you were exposed to several teachers who do morning meeting in their classrooms. Please find one of them, list his or her name, and explain what they do or believe about morning meeting.

 

I really enjoyed the article about Mr. Saunders and his class. He believed in making Morning Meetings an engaging learning experience. When he noticed the "Sharing" aspect of his Morning Meeting seemed to be lacking in both of those senses, he decided to take action. Three students signed up for a day to share an experience with the rest of the class. To help make the experiences more lively, he asked open-ended questions to the students who would be sharing the following day. He also incorporated what they were learning in their writing and reading to remind the students what makes an engaging and interesting story. These short interviews before the day of the individual shares as well as a reassuring comment from him right before Morning Meeting, transformed the attitudes and excitement level of each student in his classroom. He believed in finding the kinks in his Morning Meeting routine and wasn't afraid to change them or take the extra short time to improve the entire classroom community's experience. He was a very positive and encouraging teacher and that is what I admire about him.

If you are going to do Morning Meetings, do them right. Always be on the lookout for ways you can improve and engage your students even more. Utilizing what you're learning in other areas of curriculum not only reinforces what students are being taught but also helps them understand that the things they are learning are valuable and useful in everyday life (and amazingly enough, in social experiences as well). 

2. In both part I of Differentiation in Practice and chapter 1 in Fulfilling the Promise, you find a short list of curricular elements that teachers can adjust and a short list of student traits or characteristics teachers can respond to. One of the books lists 4 of these, while the other lists only 3. What do you think changed in Tomlinson's thinking to add a 4th curricular element and a 4th trait to her original list? 

 

The curricular elements in the article were: content, process, and products. Adding in the importance of the learning environment is a great addition to the other important elements of a successful differentiated classroom. The other elements would seem to naturally evolve the classroom into the desired learning environment however the added focus to the importance of this element was probably the reason it was added in by Tomlinson. The learning environment of a classroom makes or breaks your experience with the students and how they view the learning process. It is so important to provide a safe, warm, and loving environment for your students so that maximum learning experiences are fostered there. Tomlinson knows how important this fourth element is to provide an even more successful differentiated classroom and further enables students to receive the individualized instruction they need based on their characteristics. Each of the elements work together with the characteristics and feed off of each other. It's kind of like the perfect algorithm for best and most successful differentiated classroom.

Affect is the fourth student characteristic added to the list of readiness, interest, and learning profile. A student's perception of how they feel about themselves has a great impact on their achievement as well as the learning environment. Some things that make one student feel successful might make others feel less than adequate. Tomlinson probably added this to her list of curricular elements because it is so important make sure each of our students feel successful as much of the time as possible. We need to help build our student's self-esteem and perception in a positive manner to enable them to feel like they are capable of completing the tasks they are given. When a student feels confident in their learning and abilities their desire to grow and take on challenges improves immensely. It is our job to create a balance of helping everyone find their successes without making others feel of less significance. I feel like this idea can be summed up into one quote from the end of this article, "Do the best you can with what you bring." and show them that they each have unique individual talents and abilities. 

3. In the introduction to The First Six Weeks of School you read about the importance of establishing a friendly, predictable, and orderly classroom as a "prerequisite for children's academic achievement." Is "friendly" as important as "predictable" and "orderly"? Why or why not? (Please refer to ideas you find in the introduction to The First Six Weeks of School.

 

Friendly is just as if not more important than establishing a predictable and friendly environment in your classroom. I believe it is the foundation that sets the stage for everything else to function properly. A predictable and orderly classroom enables students to know their expectations and function smoothly. A friendly classroom is just as important to academic achievement because that is how the student's learning is fostered and grows. We have all learned about the importance of the classroom environment (hence the several classes in classroom management) and have seen the effects of a nurturing and friendly environment. I have also seen classrooms where no team building activities are incorporated and it was visible how their lack of classroom community spilled over into other areas of interaction with each other. In my previous field experience I was disappointed to see how much this effected students at recess during social interaction and in team games during PE. It seemed like a vicious cycle because the less the students worked together, the more they would argue and tear each other down outside of class, and the less they supported each other's comments and ideas inside the classroom. 

If children are anxious and timid to share who they are with the other children, they are unable to grow and support each other. This is the case socially, as well as when it comes to sharing ideas and knowledge. Without this sharing it is extremely difficult for us as teachers to assess the individual needs of students which in turn doesn't allow us to help the student in those areas of need and the student is less likely to succeed.