Week 12

Learning... I feel like I have learned so much this semester. I have felt that way before, taking other classes, but this semester is different. This time I actually feel like I can use what I have learned with success. We have all learned about these learning theories in our time, but now having been in the classroom, I now feel like I can use them. Each theory that was discussed I was able to imagine a student that I have had that would totally benefit from a particular theory's ideas and techniques.

Most of the theories had on thing in common, relate new knowledge to something the students already know. This is the key, in my opinion, to engaging our students in their learning. If the students feel like they can relate what they are learning to something they are interested in, they will have more interest in the new topic. My goal is to use these theories to get the students engaged in their learning, an active participant, not a forced participant.

Week 11

In order for a student to learn they need the appropriate amount of help. I remember when I was going to elementary school and jr. high school I had a really hard time solving story problems. I think my mind wasn't ready to apply knowledge into a real situation. When I was trying to solve these types of problems I encountered two types of teachers: One would just give me the answer because that was easiest (but I didn't learn any thing), the second type would say "just think about it, I'm sure you'll get it." Both of these situations frustrated me to the point that I would just give up. Well, maybe not the teacher that gave me the answer, but the second type for sure. In both situations I didn't learn anything.

The key for teachers is to give the appropriate amount of help to each student. I'm sure that there were students that were so much better and so much worse than me with story problems. If the teacher was giving all of us the same amount of help, I think none of us would achieve at our potential. I have found that the best way to give the appropriate amount of help for each student is to ask them questions so I have an understanding of what they do understand (and knowing my students). Once I know what they do understand I can direct them to ideas that they might not of thought about on their own, and absolutely not just handing them the answer. The students may think they just want the answer, but what they really want is the feeling of satisfaction after solving a problem they deemed as difficult.

Week 10

Learning... this isn't a one step process. Learning takes time. Students need more than one look at any topic they are taught. I can't expect my students to completely understand factoring the very first time I teach it to them. Luckily, students usually don't see a topic only once in their life. Going back to factoring, this topic is actually taught from late elementary until they finish their math classes in high school (and longer if they choose to continue taking math classes in college). At each level the students learn something different about the topic. In 5th or 6th grade they start learning about common factors, which continues through jr. high to encompass variables. Once they take algebra they start learning about factoring polynomials, and so on. At each step something extra is added in to make it just a little bit different, but the basic principle is the same.

As teachers we need to remind our students of their past learning experiences, so they know they aren't learning something for the first time. We need to help them make the connections between what they have learned up to the point we are teaching them. We can also give them problems where they have to use past knowledge that may help them figure out a the problem, but perhaps the key to solving the problem is for the student to recognize the one new difference. The key for teachers is to remember that we have tools and previous knowledge that we can use to help our students!

Week 9

I have a real problem remembering people's names. I can always remember a face, but not names!!! It's really frustrating, especially being a teacher. I have to put a real effort into learning student's names. I usually have to relate something or someone to a student's name before I can remember it.

The same goes for students when they are learning a topic. I have found that my students remember a topic better when they have something to remember about it, something out of the ordinary. I had one student last year who would relate what he learned on a particular day to something unusual that happened on that day. He'd usually start out saying that he didn't remember a particular topic, then would say, "wait, I remember it. That was the day that .... happened. I remember now." I've never seen anyone who could do something so well. He really remembered how to do something by remembering what was going on around him.

Not all students can do this. But, as teachers, we can provide learning environments that create memorable situations. I wouldn't suggest doing something odd just to get their attention, but something hands on to explain topics. If the students are allowed to discover something, they are more likely to remember it.

Week 8

Learning needs to mean something to the students. If they can't relate to the information, they won't care to learn the information. A pretty easy way to help the students put meaning into a topic is using stories. At first, I was a little confused how to incorporate stories into my teaching. Was I going to have my jr. high students sit on the floor while I read them a story book that had a particular topic in the story? That didn't make any sense to me. I was thinking how can I ensure that every student relates the story the way I want them to relate it? The answer is I can't.

Then I was thinking what it meant to relate stories to students. Then it came to me, relate what they are learning to something they see everyday in their lives. They will provide their own stories dealing with the topic to help them understand. I don't have to make sure they have a meaning to it, because they will be able to add meaning that actually means something to them.

Week 7

Learning needs to have meaning. If a student can draw meaning from a topic, for example, how a certain topic is used in the everyday world, the topic can be more relevant to them. In basic math classes it is pretty easy to show the students how the topics are used everyday. The problem arises when the students start taking more abstract math courses, basically Algebra and above. Many algebra topics can be related to everyday situations, but not all careers use algebra skills. The trick here is to make the harder to relate to topics more interesting.

As a teacher of algebra, I have found that it is helpful for my students to have a general idea when they will use a skill again. For example, solving linear systems of equations is a hard topic to explain how it fits into everyday life, because it really doesn't. This skill is not used in an average person's life on a daily basis. For this skill, and many others, I explain to my students that they many not use this topic, but it is a required skill to move to the next level in math (I usually tell them when they will see it again), which they will need to complete in order to reach where they want to go in life, even if it's just graduating from high school. This discussion sometimes isn't enough to get the students motivated and excited to learn a given topic, the good news is, math is very easy to develop learning games around. Games are a great tool to get almost all, if not all, of the students excited to learn.

Week 6

This week I have been feeling a little hopeless when it comes to my learning. I'm sure all of us, including our students get to this point once and a while. I think sometimes students get so beat down by the teachers that they don't even want to try any more. This week my learning has been effectuated by a teacher (not Brian!) in a negative way. I don't want to use this blog as a bashing tool for this teacher, I'm just using him as an example. As I thought about how I was feeling in this particular class I wondered if I ever made my students feel the way I am currently feeling; like they can't do anything right not matter how hard they try. I am sure that this particular teacher isn't intentionally making me feel this way, which is what made me wonder to myself if I've ever done this to a student and if I have (unintentionally) how do I make an effort to not do this to my students?

I think that student's learning is best effectuated when the teacher is positive to them. I'm not saying give every student an A so they don't get their feelings hurt, but be positive in the criticism that must sometimes be given to students. And most importantly, don't make the criticism sound like criticism, more like a suggestion or help. Every student does do something well. It may have nothing to do with the class you're teaching, but make sure you know what those strengths are. This not only will help the teacher know how to best teach this student, but it will also give you an opportunity to give positive reinforcement.

Week 5

I have been thinking about relating content to a previously understood concept or topic this week. As I was studying this, I wondered how do I, as a teacher, correct misconceptions that students bring into my classroom? I think it is impossible to know every misconception that every student has, so how do I combat this unknown?

As I pondered this question this week I started to realize that I do know many of my students misconceptions that they bring into my class. Most of them I know because they are very common, so point them out in the instruction. But sometimes they are unusual misconceptions. These, I have found, are more difficult to identify. I have found that doing informal assessment has really helped correcting these misconceptions. Simply asking probing questions (and waiting for the answer) is a very helpful tool. If I find many students in a class are making the same mistake, I'm not afraid to go back and correct the problem.

Week 4

I have one lesson that I do every year in algebra (usually right before Winter Break) that gives my students the opportunity to really explore and understand a crucial topic, lines. For those of you who where in Doug's Instructional Design II class last semester got to see this lesson developed on my Moodle project, Bungee Barbie.
This lesson explores a linear relationship. In this case, the number of rubber bands corresponds linearly with the distance Barbie falls with that amount of rubber bands connected to her. For a quick overview of the activity, the students collect data, create a line, find the equation of the line, then use the line to figure out how many rubber bands they are going to need for a given distance (really any distance they want to know). All of the topics that are related to lines.
In algebra lines are extremely important. I have found that my students' core tests scores for the standard containing lines are outstanding! I'm not crediting these scores to my exceptional teaching the first time through these topics and my well thought out assignments. I credit Bungee Barbie, and Bungee Barbie alone, for my students' scores. My students are able to remember lines because they had a hands on activity (not to mention a really fun activity) where they had to do some real problem solving.
I really feel that this is a type of meaningful learning. Not that I think that my students attach their dolls to rubber bands then drop them from high place on a regular basis, but they are able to link lines to this activity that is pretty memorable. If every class is just like yesterday's, there isn't anything interesting to remember. I have found that students, especially jr. high students, remember the unusual and the fun, not the droning lectures. We, as educators, need to get into the habit of mixing up our lessons, try not to the same old every day.

Week 3

I would like to continue on the ideas of last week's post. There were so many great comments that brought new thoughts to my mind. I talked about some questions that I always ask my students, but what if my original question doesn't make sense? I think one thing that helps me with the "wait time" is during the thinking time, I rephrase the questions or sometimes repeat the question. I know that sometimes when I am in a lecture setting and a question is asked I didn't hear or understand the question, so I just give up thinking about whatever they want me to think about. I have found that it is helpful to me and my students if they hear the question over and over again, or perhaps asked in a different way.
The key here is to develop a safe classroom setting where the students feel comfortable to share their ideas, even if they might be wrong. That's the hard part!

Week 2

Today I want to talk about how learning can be best effectuated by a teacher. I think far too often teachers don't let students stop and think about something. They either feel there isn't enough time or there would no possible way a student would come up with an answer on their own. In my opinion, I think learning can be best effectuated by a teacher by giving students time to think. In my class I ask a lot of questions throughout my whole lesson. I ask questions like, "why do you think...", "what do you think happens when..." and so on. I always give my student time to think, I'm not afraid of the wait time (which can be kind of scary!). I think the wait time is extremely important when it come to student learning. The time you give your student to think is processing time. Many students need that time to get through the information that you just delivered. I would say most students don't completely understand a topic right after you explain it.

Learning... today

Today I think I might be slightly jaded when it come to the question, "What is learning?." Today my students are taking the math core test. As I walked around the room I kept wondering to myself if my students are really showing what they have learned. I don't think they are! I feel frustrated that students are forced to regurgitate information that they may or may not remember (and that specific information my not be that important when it comes to their math career!). I personally feel that learning isn't a specific piece of information that a person can recall at a drop of a hat, but a process that can be applied in different situations at different times in ones life. Learning is the ability to process information and link it to other situations to help make sense of the given information. I wish there was a more accurate way to really see what my students have actually learned!

Set-Up

I just set up my very first blog! On this blog I will be discussing what is learning? and how can learning be best effectuated by a teacher/trainer? I hope to gain a lot of insight while doing this.