Replies to Others

Readings: Mayer chapt 7, and SKEP chapter

1. Pam - Thank you for your comments! I completed an Accelerated Reader evaluation for our EPSY494 - Evaluating Learning Technologies course. It was definitely interesting to hear the opinions of our second-fifth grade teachers regarding the AR program. It worries me also that some teachers turn AR into a grade and do not let students read the books that they want to. Also, thank you for directing me to the AR WikEd page! - Marcy

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2. Michelle,

Thanks for your comments! Also, thank you for the book reference. I'm always looking for good literature on teaching! I will be looking into this book. - Marcy

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3.  Susan,

It is difficult to keep up with everything, but I have found that if you really stick with it, it can be a very positive thing. Once students get used to what is going on, it runs very smoothly. Students know what is expected and what will happen if the system isn't followed. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the positives really outweigh the negatives. I also had a very good role model in implementing my rewards systems. When I student taught at the fourth grade level, the teacher I worked with used both the marble jar and the tokens and it went really well. It was a little harder to implement these in second grade (especially counting the tokens for the auction).

I agree with your Accelerated Reader comment. I wish the kids could just enjoy a book without worrying about taking a test on it or just looking for the facts. Of course, it does get some kids that wouldn't otherwise read to at least pick up a book and try it. Thanks for your comments!

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 4. Rachel - One of your wonderments stated - I agree with many of Kohn’s suggestions concerning motivating students such as hands on work, collaborative work, giving students choices.  I wonder how in our culture we could teach without assigning grades? I, too, agree with Kohn's suggestions but also wonder how we could teach without assigning grades. Less emphasis on grades would be nice, but we need to progress monitor in some way. I think students (and parents) would be upset to not receive grades or some kind of information on how their child is progressing.

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5. Ming - You wrote, If teachers consistently conducted classroom meetings and developed a sense of community in the classroom, would discipline be less of an issue? I wonder the same thing. We have a program called C.H.A.T. - Classroom Harmony Achieved Today available to use in our classrooms. Students are supposed to sit in a circle at least once a week and have discussions about things they like, how they feel, how their behaviors affect others, etc. I have had a couple of CHAT sessions in my room and it is neat to see the "bond" that is created. Teachers really don't allow students enough time to have meaningful conversations with each other that are not about school work. It is nice to just talk sometimes and I do believe that it creates community and lessons discipline problems because students know more about one another and learn to respect each other. Teachers can also use CHAT to resolve conflicts. The whole group discusses the problem at hand and makes decisions based on the best interests of everyone involved. It gives students ownership over their decisions. - Marcy

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6. Brett - One of your wonderments stated - I wonder if token economies would work in secondary schools or if students would think it was un-cool to earn tokens. One of my good friends uses a neat kind of reward system at the junior high level. She gives students a punch card (like one that you would use at a store-  getting a punch for every ten dollars you spend). Each student gets a punch on his/her punch card if they turn in an assignment on time and complete. After they fill the card, they can turn it in for one free homework assignment that they do not have to do (or some other reward). If students lose their card or forget to bring it, they are out of luck. I thought it was a neat thing to do at that age level. I think she gets a pretty good response from it and it is not too babyish. - Marcy 

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EPSY490 Assignment (Due Feb 7) in Forum 4: Essay on Metacomprehension

7. Ming,

An air conditioner is an excellent analogy for metacomprehension. You did a great job of breaking down the process and relating it to metacomprehension. While reading these essays, I kept thinking how beneficial it would have been to read these analogies during our undergraduate coursework while preparing to teach. The examples make it concrete and easy to understand, especially yours! Great work!

Marcy

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8. Ron,

Interesting analogy. You made several great points while comparing your stages of moving to the example of reading a book. It would be difficult to know where you wanted to put everything in your new house while you had the people there to help you position it. Just as it would be challenging to sequence (position) facts from a story so that you can understand it. I like how you discussed the unexpected in your move. We also encounter that in our reading when trying to decode words or make sense of a difficult plot.

Marcy

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9. Valerie,

It was very easy to relate to you essay with metacomprehension and the evolution of the teacher. It makes me think of how important new teacher mentoring really is. I am a third year teacher and looking back on my first year sometimes brings back embarrassing memories. I have definitely learned a lot since then and credit much to my mother who is also a teacher. I thought your four categories of metacomprehension was excellent in relating to growth as a teacher. Great essay!

Marcy

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10. Jillian,

I got a GPS for Christmas and have loved using it. I had also thought of using it as a metaphor for this assignemnt. When I'm driving in familiar territory, I have noticed that it sometimes does not choose the route that I would have liked to take or necessarily the more direct route. This could be similar to the student choosing to do a problem a different way than the teacher directs because he/she thinks it's easier. Great essay! I also enjoyed the clip about Microsoft Surface. Thanks!

Marcy

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EPSY490 Assignment (Due Feb 14) in Forum 5: Analyze 2 websites using criteria related to Reading Comprehension

11. Ming,

I really enjoyed the literactive website! I can see how it would be a nice addition to your computer station. I will share this site with my pre-k, k, and 1st grade teachers. I may even be able to use it with my struggling readers at the beginning of the year in second. The froggy website was cute too, but I see the struggle with that site. I really like this site, http://www.starfall.com/. You have probably used it before but I thought I'd share. Great sites!

Marcy

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12. Brian,

I really liked the websites you chose to analyze. Both seem very useful and I plan on using the pizza fractions site with my second graders. You were right in saying that the pizza site wasn't as polished as the math.com site. I noticed one part illustrated equivalent fractions in fourths and sixteenths. The boxes used weren't the same size so it wasn't a very accurate representation. I had my students play this fraction game and they really enjoyed it.

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/equivalentfractions/index.html

Thanks for the great sites!

Marcy

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13. Ann,

I love the National Geographic site! My second grade class reads a chapter book about Hawaii and we study volcanoes. I will definitely be using these. Last year, I found a website that showed volcano movie clips. It is kind of neat and thought I'd share.

http://www.volcanovideo.com/p8vidclp.htm

Thanks for the sites!
Marcy

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14. Lorikay,

Thanks for your comments! Here are a few more rainforest websites that I enjoy using if you want to check them out.

http://www.rainforestmaths.com/

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/00/earthpulse/rainforest/index_flash.html

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9100301575195043049&sourceid=searchfeed

-Marcy

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EPSY490 Assignment (Due Feb 21): Generate 15 wonderments based on Reading assignment.

15. Valerie,

This wonderment really stuck out to me..

Mayer Ch4, P129: If younger students require more adult interaction with improving writing, wouldn’t it make sense to have younger students in Language Arts classes with really small class size?

Writing is very important for young children. The only time in the school day that I have an aide is during my writing time (only three times a week). We do a lot of one-on-one conferencing with the children and it is nice for the kids to be able to interact closely with the teacher. I wish I had about three more aides in the room at that time!

Marcy

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16. Nic,

 My neice is in first grade and she has a journal that she writes in at the end of the school day. Most of her entries are about horses because she LOVES them and really wants one. It is neat to see her progression from the beginning of the school year. She is writing with complete sentences and gets to illustrate every entry (she loves to draw, too). Her work may be repetitive, but it is important to have that opportunity to reflect on feelings and just write. One way to work on writing would be to give your daughter a diary. I know that sounds like an activity for older kids but she may really enjoy it! If she draws you a picture, you could ask her if she wanted to write about it. Just some simple ideas. Thanks for your comments!

-Marcy

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Marsha,

17. Thanks for your comments. I know that it drives me crazy to have a talkative room during writing time. I think if the noise level is kept to whispering students can really help each other with ideas and such. Many of my students like to write about each other and then they need to interview them and ask questions. I also like to use peer editing and that requires some conversation as well. Thanks for the ideas for fostering the reading and writing relationship.

Marcy

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18. Lorikay,

Thank you for your comments! I also think it is important to really discuss and brainstorm a topic before children begin writing. We model that as a class but sometimes it is difficult to students to brainstorm on their own and that is where the assistance from classmates can be helpful.

Marcy

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19. Susan and Ann,

My mom teaches first grade and they use a program called Shurley English. They have parts of speech jingles to help the students learn what they are (which is kind of fun and something I use with my second graders). They also do sentence diagramming. It is pretty intense - having to know and label the parts of speech within a sentence. Then it builds each year. It was also used in sixth grade at the school where I student taught.

http://www.finders-keepers.net/index.php?id=shurley

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EPSY 490 Assignment (Due 28): Post essay about Misconceptions.

20. Pam,

Thanks for your comments! Yes, my board is mounted low enough. I like to use it as a learning center. When students are working independently (at the end of this lesson for example) I usually let two or three come to the board and do problems allowing a certain time limit. You can imagine that it is hard to allow all equal interaction. During our computer lab time, I distribute websites that we have visited during class lessons that students can look up also. Thanks again!

Marcy

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21. Susan,

That is a great idea! Thank you for sharing. We usually do a big lesson on sink and float with all three sections of our second grade together and this will make a great addition!

Marcy

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22. Matthew,

You made many good points with your essay. I can see how high school math allows for many misconceptions. Doing problems wrong can become a bad habit that is hard to break. It is easy for a student to get the wrong idea and if their work is not checked (or they don't check it), it can become a problem. I try to always check my second graders' work immediately after they finish so that I can help those who are struggling or doing the problems incorrectly. With young students (and older too, I'm sure), the immediate feedback is crucial.

Marcy

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23. Rebecca,

I would just say to make every minute count. If you find a time in the day when you are sitting at your desk and are not interacting with a student or checking his/her work, then I would try to use that time wisely. It has been much easier for me to work this in during this school year because I only have 15 students in my room. It has been much more difficult in the past with more kids. Smaller class sizes really are better!

Marcy

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24. Ming,

I have also dealt with this misconception. I sometimes do this myself - I read the words but then have to go back and read it again because I wasn't comprehending what I was reading. I have a couple of students in second grade who do not comprehend very well. It sometimes becomes frustrating because I feel like they are not trying to understand it. They both read well enough but do not think about what they are reading. When I read it to them, they seem to understand better.

I sometimes introduce my vocabulary words in a sentence and see if they can use context clues to discover the meaning of the word or even draw a picture to illustrate the word. I also do something called riveting the words. You make a blank line for each letter of the word. Slowly fill in the blanks and allow students to try to guess what word you are writing. They can make good guesses by looking at the number of blanks you have for the word (showing the number of letters in the word) and any letter combinations already present. After they guess the word, I discuss what the students think the word means. Here is a good link to the procedure.

http://www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/fourblocks/rivet.htm

Great essay!

Marcy

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25. Ann,

I really enjoyed your essay. I also teach the water cycle in second grade and hadn't thought about many of the misconceptions you stated. Thank you! I also liked your websites and will enjoy using them! I like to use brainpop and brainpopjr videos and they have a good one for the water cycle. You have to have an account to view - thought you might have one. If not there is a free five day trial that you can sign up for. Just thought I'd share!

http://www.brainpop.com/science/weatherandclimate/watercycle/preview.weml

- Marcy

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EPSY490 Assignment (Due Mar 7) Post 15 wonderments about Reading Assignment.

26. Thanks for your comments Pam! Journaling for math is a great suggestion. Our math series actually has the idea incorporated, but it is sometimes difficult to find the time. It would greatly help students to really THINK about math terms, how they work math problems and how to get the answers.

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27. Marsha,

When I student taught in the fourth grade, we used Saxon math and I really liked it because of the review. I was taught with Saxon in high school and looking back, I think the review really helped. The math series I used in second grade does not review except on the test, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I am constantly trying to find ways to review difficult concepts like counting money and telling time. Thank you for the reply!

Marcy

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28. Susan

I have thought the same thing. There are usually many ways to get the answer. I tutor kids after school (many which need math help). They are usually required to show how they got the answer and they have to show it the way that that the teacher explained it. I'm not so sure that I agree with that. As long as the answer is correct and the student can show how he/she came to the conclusion, it should be correct. I'm curious about the new system for long division that you mentioned. Seems like people are always coming up with ways to make things easier! Hopefully! Thanks for your reply!

Marcy

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EPSY490 Assignment (Due Mar14): Post 15 wonderments about the Readings.

29. Jennifer,

I even admit that at times I am turned off by group work. It does seem to get competitive or one person ends up doing all the work. Kids don't like to rely on others to do something that will be graded. It is sometimes hard to put trust/confidence in others but I think it is a very important skill - doing your part and allowing others to do theirs. Maybe teachers should focus the grade more on how students cooperate and work together and put less of a focus on the ending result (if they get a good grade on working together...their end result should be great!). Thanks for your comments!

Marcy

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30. Nic,

I do think this modeling is very important. I think students really benefit from modeling in front of their peers because they become the teacher. It gives them a sense of ownership. I think as far as the peer harassment - it depends on how the teacher guides the modeling. If the teacher allows the child to completely mess it up then the kid will be embarassed. It really depends on how it is handled. As a primary teacher, a teacher models constantly. Even simple things like how to come in the room in the morning, hang up a bookbag, turn in homework, sharpen pencils and return to seat before the bell rings. I literally put on a little show at the beginning of the school year to show the kids what to do. Little ones really need modeling and then they need to apply it. Thanks for your comments!

Marcy

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31. Jimmy,

It sounds like you have a great system with using ability level in groups. With younger students I think it would also work to assign roles to each member. One student could even have the role of making sure everyone else does the job they are assigned.

Marcy

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32. Can goal setting as a class (or individually after class discussion) change student attitudes toward material?  Would this increase motivation to learn and reach the goals? (Mayer, p. 522)

I liked this wonderment. I think goal setting does change student attitudes toward material. It gives direction for learning. Students often wonder, "Why am I learning this?" If goals are set and reasons put forth, students make meaning from that. Even as simple as a guided reading lesson - maybe using a KWL chart (What I know, Want to know, What I have learned - after reading the story). Setting goals really give purpose to learning. I enjoyed your wonderments! ~Marcy

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33. I wonder if teachers can be a success in creating social contexts to foster learning. I truly hope so.(461)

I wonder this myself. I think it is extremely important that teachers create those social (group) assignments to allow students a chance to learn how to work together toward a common goal. I wonder if some adults do not struggle with working together because they did not have much exposure to learning in social contexts as children.

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34. Mayer pg. 480 – I wonder if the student doesn’t try hard because s/he knows that the teacher will help him, so why put forth the effort

I wonder this myself. This makes me think of following directions because that is something I struggle with. It seems that the first thing a student does is ask, "what am I supposed to do?" Then I ask if he/she has read the directions. Of course the student has not.  In second grade I try early on to be firm with the importance of directions and reading them carefully. Many kids do not realize that they can figure it out what to do for themselves and do not have to ask the teacher. Following directions is a very important skill at all levels. Teachers have to allow students to interpret the directions themselves or they will come to rely too much on the teacher to do this step for them.  

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EPSY 490 Assignment: Develop an Essay on the Use of Assertive Discipline Strategies that involve adults. Due Apr 04

35. Ann,

I really enjoyed your essay! I have to agree with your statement "the more work I put into preparing a lesson the less discipline problems I seem to encounter." It is remarkably easier to control discipline (or even have to deal with it) with a well thought out and prepared lesson plan. I also agree that the use of technology minimizes discipline problems as well. When I take my students to computer lab they are very engaged in what we are doing. My kids also love lessons on the smartboard. Your job at Soldier field sounds like there is seldom a dull moment! I enjoyed your examples of assertive discipline. ~Marcy

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36. Marsha,

I enjoyed reading your essay. The connections you made with the structure of assertive discipline in the classroom and the aspects of adult lives were interesting. I agree with how incredibly easy it is to get off task in certain situations. I was wondering if your Sunday school class has a leader/teacher(s)? I could imagine it would be very easy to get off task without this person. Great essay! ~Marcy

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37. Rachel,

Your essay made me think of my church choir and how discipline is approached. I agree that when participation in a group is voluntary, there is not much need for discipline. People come and participate because they want to benefit themselves. Like you mentioned, children have to come to school and often do not want to make the "choice" to come and learn. You provided an interesting example with the members who were not reading the lessons for the week. I can see that the situation would be a difficult one to handle. I wish that my church had a young adult group. It sounds like a lot of fun! Great essay!

Marcy

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38. Jimmy,

Great essay! The adult sport teams you are involved in sound great and I wish my area had more opportunities for adult teams. It was interesting to read about how you view the referee with your assertive discipline analogy. I coached junior high girls basketball, which was a very interesting experience. Having played myself, I soon found out how different it was to be the coach. The coach teaches the rules of the game and enforces consequences (like the referee). If a kid on my team got a technical foul, she would immediately be taken out of the game and the situation would be addressed. As far as positive reinforcement, I think that the coach and other players provide much in that area. Since referees have to remain neutral, it is understandable that they do not openly praise teams. Really enjoyed your essay!

Marcy

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39. Jennifer,

Thanks for your comments. It does seem like a very harsh punishment, especially considering another teacher had been granted unpaid leave just a few months before they decided to enforce the new policy. Basically, teachers can still ask for unpaid leave, but it probably won't be granted. It does seem very harsh and it was shocking to all the staff when they heard about it. I didn't mention this in my essay but shortly after, another teacher pulled the same thing (taking leave without it being approved by the board). She was going to face similar consequences, but decided to resign instead. The teacher's union has been involved with the situation and has had many discussions concerning the issue. No action has been taken yet. The principal does have the right to determine the position of a teacher but she was in agreement with the board on this matter. Also, this teacher does receive full-time teacher salary. They had to hire someone to take her position this school year so that was definitely not beneficial to the district having to pay double. It is a very messed up situation and I know it is still being worked on. Who knows what the future will bring!

Marcy

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EPSY490 Essay on Active Listening - Due April 18th

40. Jimmy and Marsha,

I definitely agree! I usually let my students share at the end of the day. One student likes to talk and even if she doesn't have anything to share that day, she will make something up. I don't know how many times her dog has had puppies this year! We have had several conversations about telling true stories and such but occasionally she will make up something. Great essay Jimmy!

Marcy