Monday, June 30, 2014

Session III - Question 2

Session III - Question 2:  Select 2 of the 13 strategies located in this session and describe how you would use them in your subject area.  State the page number of the two strategies.

37 comments:

  1. Two strategies that appealed to me are the Kaplan Model p. 160 and Cooperative groups p. 192-193. The reason the Kaplan Model appeals to me is that my students are required to write historical essays that incorporate analysis and evaluation, but also need details and facts at the recall level to support their analysis. Being able to discuss more than one viewpoint is a plus. I can see using the Kaplan Model by having students take a topic we are studying to create a graphic organizer. The students could use the three aspects of the model as main headings for the organizer. There could be a "big question" students need to answer based on the information in their Kaplan Model organizer. GT students, and actually all students, would have freedom to explore the topic from a variety of aspects... some would be common aspects all students need to know and others be of the students' own choosing. The assessment would be the essay question all would need to answer at the end.
    I could relate to the information about Cooperative Learning Groups p.192-193. I have tried to use cooperative groups in the past and have tried to have them heterogeneous, as workshops and books suggest. I also have tried letting the groups form voluntarily, but have not ever been totally satisfied with the outcomes. I found the information "gifted student groups vs. heterogeneous groups: which is better" to be very informative. I will use the suggestions about cooperative groups in this section when I use cooperative groups this coming year.

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    1. I'm all for having them create graphic organizers which they can later use to help plan an essay. I believe that could be useful in so many disciplines, especially English with regard to novels, etc.

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    2. in response to Valerie HarelsonJuly 16, 2014 at 10:04 AM, i too like the idea of fhe students creating a graphic organizer. I am definitely going to try more of this in the upcoming year.

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  2. I would use the tiered lesson planning chart when I had students answer questions about a short story. Since there is so much diversity in my class (LEP, Sped, GT), each student would be asked to meet the writing standard, but with different levels of assignments and rubrics on which they would be graded. I also like the topic browsing planner strategy (p. 170). When looking at the Topic Browsing Planner for Primary Grades, it gives the students time to really think and focus about what they would like to further research. Too often, students seem to not have any say in their topics.

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    1. In response to elizabeth h, I like the tiered strategy also. I agree that we can also ask everyone to do the same activity with different levels of outcomes. This use of rubrics is a must.

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  3. The Tiered Learning chart on pages 146-148 is one of the strategies I'd use, as I teach GL and am constantly trying to vary the nature of what we do in class to meet the needs of all different types of kids. The TLC would allow me to see all of those strategies and procedures on one piece of paper, instead of feeling like I'm flipping back and forth through multiple sets of notes, documents, charts, roll sheets, etc.

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  4. The second strategy I'd use would be the Taxonomy of Thinking (p145), given that I often like to make sure someone knows which levels of Bloom's Taxonomy I've planned for my kids to hit on a particular day. I'd be able to actually match parts of the procedures up with the level of thinking, and not only could I explain that to the kids, I could explain it to parents of GT kids if necessary.

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  5. In my classroom I would use learning centers (pg. 161) because they can be easily incorporated into what I already do for first grade. However, I would change what I currently do and be more cognizant of the tasks to make sure they approach a variety of learning styles (auditory, visual, etc.) and include extension activities for those who need/want them. It is a great way to differentiate and I could continue conferencing with students and small group work while they choose meaningful activities around the same standard. I could see it working for reading and math. I also love the resident expert planner (pg. 171) and see how I could make that work in my class. Like the example in the book, a student could easily take our work with other countries in social studies further and become experts using the subtopics and questions. As first graders they may need help from me or parents at home to develop that part, but we teach kids how to research and that could be accomplished easily. When the child shares what he or she learns I think it would be interesting to the whole class.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. in response to moneyj July 23, 2014 at 6:08 AM

      I love the resident expert strategy too. I do think it would require a lot of teacher support at the kindergarten level. I am interested to hear about how it goes in first grade.

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    3. In response to moneyj on July 23rd, I think the learning centers are an excellent way to have children learning while you are working in small groups. I am new to 3rd grade, previously 2nd grade, where I had activities for the students. Now I know a way to do it in 3rd without it seeming too primary.

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    4. I agree with Moneyj. I use learning centers as well in my classroom but I could also be more thoughtful to incorporate various learning modules for the activities.

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    5. I also agree with MoneyJ on July 23 and Shauna on August 7th. One of the areas I struggle the most with as a teacher is coming up with different ways to work on the same concept so that it includes opportunities for all types of learners to be successful and interested in the activities.

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    6. Catherine Roth:
      In response to moneyj on July 23rd:
      I agree with you whole-heartedly! Workstations or centers are already in place in many early childhood classrooms so simply being more cognizant-great word choice-of learning styles when you are putting those together seems like a do-able task. And, I do think kids would love becoming the resident expert-especially if they could in turn share their knowledge with another class-say another 1st grade or Kindergarten class. Again, not a requirement for all students but rather an option for those wanting and needing more.

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  6. Two of the strategies that I would use are: 1. The Socratic Seminars found on page 161-163. I would use this during book club and social studies time. I feel this would allow students to speak and learn in an open ended manner. 2. The personal Interest Study Project found on page 166 would be another strategy that I would like to use. This allows students to dig deep into topics that they desire and pursue interests in the topic of choice.

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    1. In response to Stacey L on July 23-
      I also think that the personal Study Project would be great to use with the GT kids. I had several students last year who attempted to do this, but we were so busy with the regular curriculum that they did not get very far.

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    2. Stacy L (July 23), I was excited to think of all the possibilities for using the Socratic Seminars. I like that the students are directing their comments to each other rather than to the teacher. It's a great way for students to have higher level conversations and improve their communication skills at the same time.

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    3. I like both of these strategies. Both are very student centered and can allow for the integration of blogs and other technology.

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    4. I agree with Stacey L on July 23, I also like the personal Interest Study Project. This would be especially beneficial for kids who already have a lot of background knowledge on a topic. I'm always trying to find ways to incorporate more technology into class and this might allow GT students an opportunity to present some of the in depth information they learn.

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  7. The two strategies I would use are learning centers (page 161) and Socratic seminars (page 161). I would use the learning centers while I pull small groups. I like the way the learning centers are described in the book because everyone is working on the same concept, but it is at the pace they need and the students are given options. I would like to use the Socratic seminars to take the science concepts to the next level, such as giving them a situation and asking them to explain why they think something happened or what they think might happen, based on what we have learned.

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  8. The first strategy I would choose is the Cooperative Learning Groups on pg. 192. I have already attempted to implement something like this a couple years ago but it can use some work. In my classroom students are divided into groups. These groups change a couple of times throughout the year. At one point I will sort them by ability to give higher performing students a chance to work with other higher performing students. I differentiated their work by giving them different, though similar assessments and offering more challenging versions of classwork. Their experience was different, but not independent from the rest of the class. I think I am in a better position now to find ways to have a group like that really get to work on something all their own.

    The second strategy I would employ is the Socratic Seminar on pg. 161. Often in math there are certain topics which rely a lot on conceptual understanding. I would envision students having a discussion about a scenario and how to properly model it. Or, a series of graphs where they have to determine the relationship and why it exists. This could be a great way to conclude a unit.

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  9. I like the learning centers strategy listed on page 161. I already use learning centers in my class, but I rarely have them set up by auditory, visual, tactile-kinesthetic, and extension. I would definitely try to do this and I think it would work well with our soil unit. I also like Socratic seminars listed on page 161 &162. Last year I spent a lot of time coaching my students’ discussion skills and this seems to fit right in with it. We worked on turn taking without raising hands and acknowledging what the other person said before speaking; a very difficult thing to do when you’re in kindergarten! I would use the Socratic Seminars when discussing themes of books. Asking the children what they thought the book was mostly about and having them defend and justify their answer.

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    1. In response to Mrs. M's Kinders on July 31, the Socratic seminars- a lot of time is needed on working on discussion skills, taking a turn without raising hands in the primary grades. Wonderful life skills.

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  10. I like the note card method on p. 178.This would be helpful for my 2nd graders when researching their famous American and bird units. It would keep them organized.
    I also like the personal interest study project on p. 166. The students are allowed to research on their interests.

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  11. One of the strategies i want to try is the Learning centers from page 161. In science i always have a wide variety of who knows what on a specific topic. With the learning centers, those who have a grasp of the topic can move on to a higher level, while i make sure those who need a review get it before moving on. The other strategy isthe Socratic seminar which is also on page 161. I think i would try the socratic seminar when we are done with a topic or unit..I could see my g/t students really enjoying the socratic seminar since we could really get into the what would happen if...questions..it would take some time for them to understand the ground rules but once they understand the rules, it could turn into some great discussion/debate.

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  12. I would like to try the Socratic Seminars (p.161) because I'm always trying to get students to have deep conversations about what they are reading/learning. This would be a great way as the text says to go from recall to expert on the topic where students can own their learning. The other strategy I would like to use is ThinkTrix (p.157). This is another way for students to work together and having thoughtful in depth dialogue on a topic of interest or taking a topic learned in class and going further in depth.

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  13. Using the standard, the students will understand the purpose of earning, spending, saving and donating money by creating a simple budget.
    Use the Curriculum Differentiation Chart: pages 144-45 and 150
    Auditory: Analyze how you budget your allowance for areas to make it more balanced.
    Visual: Create a visual of 3 simple budgets
    Tactile: Demonstrate how to make a simple budget
    Extension: Investigate why so many elderly people live in poverty.
    Use Think Trix: pages 157-8
    Cause/effect: What is the cause of too much spending? What effect does saving have?
    Recall: What do the terms-saving, spending, donating-mean?
    Similarities: How are spending and donating the same?
    Differences: How are spending and donating different?
    Idea to Ex: Give examples of how you use a budget with your allowance
    Examples to Idea: Based upon your examples, what can you do to make your budget better?
    Evaluation: Is it possible to always stick to a budget? Why or why not?

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  14. I like the Curriculum Differentiation Chart on p. 150. I think I could use this in a weather unit.
    Auditory: Create a dictionary of weather words
    Visual: Build or draw different types of clouds and where they are located in the sky
    Tactile: Act out a weather report
    Extension: Build a project board of the water cycle and explain why its important to us.

    I think I could also use the Topic Browsing Planner for my GT students to plan for a non-fiction book they would write. I might change the Experiments to "Resources I might use."

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  15. The first strategy I would use is the personal interest study project. My students would enjoy the freedom to pursue their interest and share their finding with peers. The second strategy is the great Friday afternoon event. This sounds like so much fun and it gives all my students the chance to lead and be a part of a team.

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  16. I would use the ThinkTrix strategy(p.157-159) with my fifth grade students. This would be a great strategy to use in social studies and science to extend their learning. I like that they are given a topic and have to come up with the questions. I would also use the Kaplan Model where the students are encouraged to come up with creative solutions to a problem or situation.

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  17. I really enjoyed learning about the Curriculum Differentiated Chart on page 145-147 and page 150. I love how you can collaborate with other teachers to create a really differentiated group of activities all tied to the required standards. Students can pick what they enjoy doing to show mastery of a concept. The other strategy that I enjoyed reading about was Learning Centers on page 161. I love how the two strategies can work together to create learning for students in an independent way for the whole class. Students can all pick a center to work on together or individually.

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  18. Two strategies I will use in my Language Arts and Social Studies classes are the Socratic Seminar and Centers. I plan to use the Socratic Seminar for discussions or Scholastic News Articles, debates, persuasive conversations, historical events, and other literature discussions. I will continue to use centers to integrate Reading, Writing, and Social Studies while offering students opportunities to choose how they learn. I plan to offer more activities to avoid the congestion mentioned in the book.

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  19. margaret goodwin-griffinAugust 24, 2014 at 9:53 AM

    Resonse to Charlotte McHale (7/22): I too like the taxonomy of thinking (pg 146) strategy and I plan on using this when assigning projects that reinforce concepts and allow students to apply what they know or to delve deeper into a subject or topic. For example, this could be used at the end of a Development Across the Lifespan unit in psychology or when covering Therapy.

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    1. margaret goodwin griffinAugust 24, 2014 at 10:03 AM

      Response to Stacey L (7/23): I too think the second strategy I would like to try is the Socratic seminars. I think I would have to fine tune this a bit for high school students but the basic idea is wonderful. I think once the students have discussed the questions posed, they should create higher level thinking questions of their own.

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  20. I think the socratic seminar strategy found on page 161 lends itself very well to investigating historical events or even can be used in a book club. The other strategy I would also like to use is the Friday Afternoon Event p. 140. I think this would lend itself well to a younger grade's LA curriculum as well as that of the secondary curriculum

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  21. Since this book has been in circulation for 22 years, many of these strategies are already embedded in our everyday planning and teaching. Three that are used readily and easily are learning stations and Independent Study (currently called PBL) and the resident expert. Most of the strategies mentioned are very similar. However, the Tiered Learning Experience strategy is one that I will try to implement in my math classroom this year as it allows for more choice and a more efficient way to assess student learning. I will use this strategy when the objective encompasses many layers and skill levels such as multiplication and division. This year as we implement more reading into our science curriculum I would like to try the Socratic seminars. I think this approach will teach a lot more that the given material. It will enhance presentation of ideas, realizing that class discussion are about the students and not the teacher, and most importantly that you must be able to backup your thinking with information.

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  22. Catherine Roth:
    On pages 160 & 236, I think the Kaplan Model, created by Dr. Sandra Kaplan, would be useful in helping children understand and internalize Social Studies/History content. I can see using the ideas of depth, complexity, and novelty when discussing a social dilemma or when trying to understand the struggles & successes of a particular group of people in a particular moment in history would solidify the learning. The website mentioned on p. 236 jtayloreducation.com had many good ideas and materials for using the Kaplan Model in classrooms.
    I also like the strategy of Cooperative Learning Groups for Gifted Students on pages 192 & 193. I would use this strategy in book clubs in Language Arts. I can see how truly gifted students need to be reading the same book as other gifted students and then engage in a structured conversation about what they are reading. Gifted students think ‘outside of the box’ and they will thrive when they are presented with others who think like them. Winebrenner also suggested putting 2 gifted students in a book club with 2 students who are of average/high ability. This allows the average/high student to hear the thinking of the gifted learner, but also allows the gifted learner to have a thinking partner.

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