As a building leader, I think I need to improve on having a thinking vocabulary and common language across the building. All teachers need to be speaking the same language, and have a consistent meeting for the terms we are using. Let's work on what it means to be actively engaged, or rigorous, or higher order questions. As a teacher, I always tried to model the thinking skills I wanted my students to display. I would either have an example of a finished project from years past, or one I did, to hold up, and talk them through the process, prior to them getting started.
As a comment, I just want to say that I have enjoyed this book, and I think there are some very powerful teaching strategies included. Even if some of them may be too advanced for primary students, the discussions can be had on the possibility of adapting them for use with all students. I hope to see our teachers at 103, especially those who have participated in this book study, incorporating some of these strategies in their lessons plans, and as I do instructional walk-throughs. Let me know when you plan on trying something new with your scholars.
I too, really enjoyed this book. I was really hesitant to do this PD. I get sort of tired of hearing about DOK and how we should always be teaching at the highest level of DOK. I am grateful that the book values all levels of DOK and walks through how to get to that highest level. These strategies are something I can completely get behind and try to include in my classroom. I am grateful I participated. I learned a lot.
The area that I feel I do very well in is providing encouragement and giving academic feedback. I always strive to be positive in providing academic feedback and when delivering constructive criticism keeping a growth mindset in the forefront.
The area I need to improve on this year is knowing my role as a teacher and becoming more of a facilitator and less of a teacher led instructional philosophy. Giving up some control is something I struggle with.
The area I do well is adjusting task difficulty. I think finding the sweet spot for instruction for students is crucial for success. It nurtures the students' confidence and engagement.
The area I want to work on is designing real-world applications. It really does establish a sense of purpose in their learning. Plus, it just makes it much more interesting for the students and teacher.
I'm glad you mentioned the real world application. I need to work on this more in Science and Reading areas. I do ok with Math and Social Studies, but really need to get better in the other subject areas. -Sarah Castle A+ Arts Academy - Fair Ave.
I enjoyed this book. I look forward to sharing some of these strategies with our staff. I will definitely be observing teachers through a different lens.
Amanda Rouse PLA@103 There was a lot of great material in this book. After reading Ch. 8, I feel strengths (or maybe more accurately, areas I'd like to grow my strengths) in Establishing Norms for Thinking and Developing a Thinking Vocabulary and Common Language. I think I need to increase Empowering Students. I look forward to seeing these strategies in play throughout our building in this coming year.
I think a strength that I have is adjusting to students thinking and what the students can actually do. I adjust midstream if students are not getting it and ask more questions to draw it out of them. I like the idea of a academic vocabulary to use daily in my classroom, that way we will all be on the same page. I work really hard to help with their problem solving skills. I like when they find new ways to solve problems and their ideas and responses to text questions using the evidence of the story.
My strength in chapter 8 is fostering a classroom where they are not afraid to ask questions and hear my opinion on them or how they can make it better or think deeper. What I really need to work on more is allowing for more scholar centered learning and talking less. It's so easy to do when they are struggling to just tell them how to do it. So I need to step back, question them more where it points them in right direction. -Sarah Castle A+ Arts Academy - Fair Ave
I struggle with the same. Days tend to be jammed packed and hectic. I too need to step back and ask more questions to allow students to think critically. Best wishes this school year.
After going over Chapter 8, I believe that my strength lies in empowering students. Here's what I mean.
I have a excellent story that I heard Desmond Tutu tell about a wise old man who helped to define an eagle's destiny who was (1) confined in a chicken yard so he thought he was just an unusual looking chicken; (2) he didn't know he was an eagle after all, he was in a chicken yard and; (3) didn't know he was created to soar, he couldn't do any of the things chicken do like lay eggs or crow. The wise old man took the unusual chicken to the summit of a mountain, called him an eagle, and commanded him to soar. Once he understand who he was and what his destiny was, he began to soar. I tell the story each year to my students in hopes of their being able to define their destinies once they understand that they are scholars. I use lots of stories to assist me in empowering my students to be the best scholars they can be. Now, as far as what I would like to improve on, I would like to work on organizing the physical space in my room to accommodate some of the activities I would like to engage my scholars in from this 50 strategies in the book.
Dr. Deborah Godwin-Starks Timothy L Johnson Academy
I liked this book and it had many good ideas. I liked in this last chapter that it said when students are engaged and relate learning to their personal lives they are more likely to be motivated. I try to relate what we are learning to their every day life. I would like to teach more this year where I don't repeat what is said, give students time to reflect and give them more ownership of the classroom. I have to let go of the control factor. if students have more ownership I hope that this will motivate them to want to learn more and create an environment where they will be risk takers, and independent thinkers. It will take lots of practice but I hope that students realize they are good thinkers and smart scholars.
I agree with this post, this book has a lot of good ideas. I also need to learn to the students more ownership of the class. This may motivate them to want to learn more. S. Duff Pla@103
I really enjoyed this book and learning about new ideas and collaborating! I think one of my strengths is in empowering scholars. Something I would like to work on is allowing scholars to take more ownership and make activities more scholar led. Although many of these would be difficult for lower grades, I'm excited to modify them and try them this year! Heather Hill PLA @93
I enjoyed the book as well. I look forward to implementing strategies from this book as my role as a reading interventionist and watching my scholars grow in their reading skills!
I am looking forward to using them in my room as well. We will have to share our ideas of what worked and didn't go so well. Looking forward to talking about them.
I agree there are a lot of great new ideas for the classroom. I also agree that some are difficult for the younger scholars but I feel part of the strategies can be used or modified.
I also really liked this book. It gave me a lot of ideas to try out this year. I'm good at giving the kiddos time to think before answering. I let t them know that it's ok to make a mistake but to take the opportunity nevertheless to learn. I also like "developing a thinking vocabulary and common language". I'm making a chart for myself that I can use to remember how to state the questions using better terminology. After all, we're teaching them vocabulary they will experience throughout their academic career.
After looking at the ten topics from this chapter and assessing my area of developing a culture of thinking. My strengths are; 1. Understanding the teachers role. 2. Adjusting task difficulty. 3. Modeling thinking skills. 4. Empowering scholars. 5. Establishing thinking norms. 6. Developing a thinking vocabulary and common language. 7. Creating opportunities for practice. 8. Providing feedback. My areas of improvement are; 1. Designing real- world applications. I can always improve on creating ways to help scholars make sense of what’s being taught. 2. Organizing the physical space.
Overall, this was a good book to read this summer. I am good with allowing time for the students to answer questions. But I really think I could improve on all ten topics in this last chapter. So I plan to take another look at them and start to improve on them this year little by little.
The topic that is my strength is modeling thinking skills for scholars. Most of our Media lessons include a read aloud, where I might model decoding multisyllabic words or thinking aloud understanding a difficult part of a story. The topic that I feel like I could improve on is organizing the physical space. With CDC restrictions this past year, I have been struggling to find the safest way to use flexible seating in a high traffic space. We definitely have the "campfire" space for our read alouds and "waterholes" for scholars to collaborate, but the "caves" (independent, flexible seating) seems almost unattainable with the current guidelines. I have really enjoyed learning new strategies to engage my scholars this year. The strategy that I am most looking forward to using is carousel brainstorming.
I enjoyed reading this book over this summer.It allowed me to think about the strategies I have used inside my classroom and what I want to implement this school year as being a reading interventionist. One of my strengths from chapter 8 is empowering students and modeling thinking skills. I love empowering my students to believe in themselves and know they can do anything they set their minds to. Being a kindergarten teacher for the last three years it is been very important to model the skills/activities being taught in the classroom as well as set expectations. An area that I would like to work on this year is developing a thinking vocabulary and common language. I feel that this will very important this school year to help my scholars grow in their reading skills. I look forward to using these strategies this school year and working on a common vocabulary/language for my scholars this school year.
First off, I would like to say I really enjoyed this book because of all of the different strategies it laid out for me going into my first year of teaching. I would say one of my strengths is empowering scholars, something I am big on is letting every individual that walks into my room feel capable and give them a space to dream. One weakness is designing the physical space. I have never set up my own classroom so I want to make sure that when I do the space flows and promotes learning. Taylor Pritchard PLA 103
I feel that the physical environment that I provide for my students is comfortable and encouraging. They know they are accepted and are willing to take chances in the learning environment. I feel that I need to work on a deeper level of questioning during a variety of activities.
This book gave me so many strategies that I will be able to use in the classroom this year. I think the area I am comfortable with is the remember and apply. The analyze level is one that I am going to need to work on. I am looking forward to using these strategies in my classroom.
I would like to say that I appreciate PLA bringing the book club to all staff each summer. It's a great way for educators to keep their minds thinking about their scholars and it also offers strategies for them to use in their classrooms. As a building leader, I will be looking for the usage of strategies from this book in lesson plans and during instruction.
I have learned a lot from this book and am very encouraged about the options that have been presented for us to use with our scholars. I think all teachers and building leaders could benefit from this book. Encouragement and support from our building leaders is awesome!
I think my skills as a teacher and coach are in the area of modeling thinking and empowering scholars/teachers. I openly practice my "thinking aloud" brainstorming when I am trying to help my charges. I also try to make it clear how I came to my conclusions and justify my opinions with evidence.
An area that I did not fully develop as a classroom teacher was providing actionable feedback on an individual level. Now, as an Instructional Coach, I need to make sure my feedback is highly personalized. I'm excited to implement the Livinia curriculum this year and use their strategies to get to the root of the problem and create targeted feedback to improve instructional outcomes.
I can relate to and see myself doing all these strategies in my classroom, some better than others, and can definitely improve in all of them. For instance, in Organizing Physical Space, my strength is how I organize and group the tables (kindergarten) and use of lighting and music. But I could improve in the different types of flexible seating offered, rather than having to do their work sitting in a chair at a table. This chapter had much more meaning to me as a kindergarten teacher than the previous chapters. Many of the strategies discussed in this book were way too advanced for this grade level and would need an incredible amount of modification. I did appreciate the opportunity of joining this book club and keeping us all thinking and planning over the summer!
This book is a great resource, is has so many strategies and examples on how to implement these strategies in your classroom. I think my strength is modeling thinking for my students. I am always showing and telling them how I came up with in answer by thinking out loud and explaining how I came to that answer. One thing I think that I need to work on with others teachers that teach in the grades below and above me is using common language. Our school talked about this last year that we need to make sure that we are using the same vocabulary from kindergarten all the way through high school. Jennifer Janusaitis- Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
I agree Jen, there are some really great strategies and how-to examples in this book. We need to push admin and staff on the common vocabulary issue. I think that will make everyone's lives a little easier since we are a K-12 building now.
This book was filled with numerous strategies that help scholars succeed in the classroom. I feel that my strengths are creating opportunity for practice and using common language. Our team works well together planning and using common language when teaching. Teaching younger scholars you creating opportunity for practice. The more the scholars practice certain skill the better they master a skill. One thing I would really like to work would be task difficulty. I would like to challenge my scholars by providing challenging task that each scholar is ready for and make the skills for individuals challenging.
I think the area that will be a strength in my classroom will be "creating opportunities for practice". I am hoping to do some music theory/writing skills this next school year. This will mean learning the basics, analyzing existing works, and creating original works, hopefully engaging lots of high-level thinking.
The area I am worried we will struggle in is "designing real-world applications". While I can personally think of times when these music skills could be used, most people, our scholars included, often only want to enjoy the music they want to enjoy and are not truly interested in the larger possibilities of what music could bring. I know that some have interest in learning certain instruments or becoming rappers and whatnot, so I am hoping we can foster that into a larger concept of the many opportunities in the world of music.
Looking at the ten topics in this chapter, I think my area of strength is empowering students. I have always made it a point to encourage thinking and alternative ways of looking at topics of conversation and writing. I like to teach my students to have a voice and to use it in their daily learning/thinking.
I look forward to improving upon "Designing Real-World Applications". I need to be able to create more rigorous responsibilities and tasks within our classroom. I want to learn more about each student in order to personalize their learning to apply to "their world" so it is functional and rewarding for each scholar.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to implementing a few things into my classroom.
I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to sharing the strategies discussed in this book with the teachers that I work with at my two campuses. Last year many of our teachers struggled with DOK and pushing their scholars to reach higher order thinking. This book provides so many great strategies for them to use.
I look forward to using these strategies I learned from the book. An area of strength for me is creating opportunities for practice. I always try to provide multiple opportunities to apply and practice the skills we have learned. I love when there is a good class discussion where students are bouncing ideas off one another. One area that I would like to develop is designing real-world applications because students are more engaged when they can connect to their own lives.
I am excited to try these new strategies in my classroom this year, I think an area of strength for me is establishing norms for thinking. It mentions considering all viewpoints and ideas, learning from mistakes, celebrating each other, and teaching people with respect. These are all things I model and expect of my students. One area I would like to grow in is empowering students. I want to allow for more student directed learning. I would like to have my students' interest more evident in the things we are learning. Brittany Connett PLA@93
I've done summer book club every year since starting with PLA and I think this is one of the best and most useful books we've read. The number of strategies provided and real examples of how to use those strategies was great! I think I'm strong in a couple of these areas in this chapter. One thing I need to work on is empowering students. I'll admit to having some "control" issues. I think I've gotten better at giving students more control of their learning but I know I've still got work to do in this area.
I enjoyed this year's book as well, but think I liked last year's book better! Last year I started to use different language when praising students for their hard work. In addition to saying that I'm proud of them, I also said, "You must be proud of yourself!" 100& of the time they replied that they were! I want to continue using this language and incorporating more this year to help empower my scholars.
I feel that our first grade team at 103 works together to create common language in our lessons. I feel that I need to work on giving some of my scholars more of a challange during the day. Jenelle Miller PLA103
A strength of mine is Modeling Thinking Skills. I try to model my thinking as I read, and I also model any writing task, and what I am thinking about as I am making decisions as a writer.
An area of improvement would be to establish thinking norms. I especially like the stems that are included with this on pgs. 131-132.
I really enjoyed this book, and I feel like I have a lot of resourceful strategies to implement in the classroom. One of my strengths is to adjust task difficulty and empower students, I would like my school to work on a more of a common language, and I will work more on my teacher role as a facilitator, as control is something I don't give up easily.
As I reflect on strenth areas, I feel I am strong at utilizing vocabulary and differentiating task levels for diverse student needs. The area for improvement is making students independent thinkers. My goal every year is to have less dependent thinkers, and have more students that challenge and find solutions to their way of thinking. I want students to have a deeper understanding of mathematics. One way to have students thrive is to have them work on their critical thinking skills. That will be one of my goals this year.
I have had past success with adjusting task difficulty (by using immediate data to evaluate the direction the entire lesson goes in or whether we need to do a 10 minute mini lesson on a topic), establishing norms for thinking (not only clarifying other people’s statements and modeling asking questions, but also providing a resource for students to return to when they want to have discourse). I want to continue to improve using a common language to build vocabulary and providing more consistent feedback. The feedback piece can be a challenge to fit in time wise, but must be more of a priority. I’m excited to use some of the strategies from this book in my teaching next year! Thank you for setting up this book club.
After reading Chapter 8 and looking at my areas of weakness I came with three different areas where I can improve. The first is designing real world applications, I could pump up my curriculum with more real word examples and activities. Also establishing a class vocabulary to have words to help students with their thinking. And also helping students with critical thinking skills.
I really enjoyed reading this book over the summer. As I reflect back I feel that one of my strengths is definitely allowing for multiple opportunities for students to practice and apply the skills we have learned. In kindergarten we spiral review so much and I make sure to give my students every possible opportunity to practice all the skills we have covered. One area where I definitely could use some improvement is providing real world applications. Alyssa Scott PLA@93
An area that is a strength for me is cultivating student-teacher relationships. Last year even through the pandemic, I was able to successfully reach almost all of my students & their families at least once every other week if they weren't in class. We communicated through text, phone calls, emails, and multiple other forms! Staying in touch with both the parent and the student was also helpful because many students have blended families & it helps keep everyone in the loop.
To improve my culture of thinking in my classroom, I would like to focus on creating assignments with real world applications and adjust to thinking vocabulary. I attempted real world applications with a few assignments last year, but it was a little bit harder to connect with hybrid teaching. Using strategies we learned earlier in the book such as the top ten words will help my classroom move to a more engaged environment.
Angela Posey @ PLA 103 Chapter 8 I am firm believer in modeling. I know that the more students see demonstration of new skills and concepts, the better they learn. I do a great deal of model and thinking out loud with the students. I also provide frameworks for Socratic discussions using Statement Stems and Question Stems. My dilemma is providing enough opportunities for the students to practice these skills/new concepts. I want to find multiple ways that I can embed these strategies into instruction that will foster a culture of thinking.
As a building leader, I think I need to improve on having a thinking vocabulary and common language across the building. All teachers need to be speaking the same language, and have a consistent meeting for the terms we are using. Let's work on what it means to be actively engaged, or rigorous, or higher order questions.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I always tried to model the thinking skills I wanted my students to display. I would either have an example of a finished project from years past, or one I did, to hold up, and talk them through the process, prior to them getting started.
I agree with the need for common language across the building.
DeleteMegan Denton, PLA @ 48, Media Specialist
DeleteI also agree that having a common language and the same rigorous expectations pack a powerful punch in terms of scholar engagement.
As a comment, I just want to say that I have enjoyed this book, and I think there are some very powerful teaching strategies included. Even if some of them may be too advanced for primary students, the discussions can be had on the possibility of adapting them for use with all students.
ReplyDeleteI hope to see our teachers at 103, especially those who have participated in this book study, incorporating some of these strategies in their lessons plans, and as I do instructional walk-throughs. Let me know when you plan on trying something new with your scholars.
Teresa Jones, 1st grade at TLJA in Fort Wayne
DeleteI too, really enjoyed this book. I was really hesitant to do this PD. I get sort of tired of hearing about DOK and how we should always be teaching at the highest level of DOK. I am grateful that the book values all levels of DOK and walks through how to get to that highest level. These strategies are something I can completely get behind and try to include in my classroom. I am grateful I participated. I learned a lot.
The area that I feel I do very well in is providing encouragement and giving academic feedback. I always strive to be positive in providing academic feedback and when delivering constructive criticism keeping a growth mindset in the forefront.
ReplyDeleteThe area I need to improve on this year is knowing my role as a teacher and becoming more of a facilitator and less of a teacher led instructional philosophy. Giving up some control is something I struggle with.
Frederick Pittman HIAT
DeleteGiving up control is often a struggle.
DeleteThe area I do well is adjusting task difficulty. I think finding the sweet spot for instruction for students is crucial for success. It nurtures the students' confidence and engagement.
ReplyDeleteThe area I want to work on is designing real-world applications. It really does establish a sense of purpose in their learning. Plus, it just makes it much more interesting for the students and teacher.
Teresa Jones, 1st grade at TLJA in Fort Wayne
DeleteI'm glad you mentioned the real world application. I need to work on this more in Science and Reading areas. I do ok with Math and Social Studies, but really need to get better in the other subject areas.
Delete-Sarah Castle A+ Arts Academy - Fair Ave.
I enjoyed this book. I look forward to sharing some of these strategies with our staff. I will definitely be observing teachers through a different lens.
ReplyDeleteAlec Mayer, AP, PLA93, Indianapolis
Amanda Rouse PLA@103
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of great material in this book.
After reading Ch. 8, I feel strengths (or maybe more accurately, areas I'd like to grow my strengths) in Establishing Norms for Thinking and Developing a Thinking Vocabulary and Common Language. I think I need to increase Empowering Students.
I look forward to seeing these strategies in play throughout our building in this coming year.
I agree with you that the building needs more common language and I think this would help have consistency.
DeleteI think a strength that I have is adjusting to students thinking and what the students can actually do. I adjust midstream if students are not getting it and ask more questions to draw it out of them. I like the idea of a academic vocabulary to use daily in my classroom, that way we will all be on the same page. I work really hard to help with their problem solving skills. I like when they find new ways to solve problems and their ideas and responses to text questions using the evidence of the story.
ReplyDeleteMy strength in chapter 8 is fostering a classroom where they are not afraid to ask questions and hear my opinion on them or how they can make it better or think deeper. What I really need to work on more is allowing for more scholar centered learning and talking less. It's so easy to do when they are struggling to just tell them how to do it. So I need to step back, question them more where it points them in right direction.
ReplyDelete-Sarah Castle A+ Arts Academy - Fair Ave
I struggle with the same. Days tend to be jammed packed and hectic. I too need to step back and ask more questions to allow students to think critically. Best wishes this school year.
DeleteAfter going over Chapter 8, I believe that my strength lies in empowering students. Here's what I mean.
ReplyDeleteI have a excellent story that I heard Desmond Tutu tell about a wise old man who helped to define an eagle's destiny who was (1) confined in a chicken yard so he thought he was just an unusual looking chicken; (2) he didn't know he was an eagle after all, he was in a chicken yard and; (3) didn't know he was created to soar, he couldn't do any of the things chicken do like lay eggs or crow. The wise old man took the unusual chicken to the summit of a mountain, called him an eagle, and commanded him to soar. Once he understand who he was and what his destiny was, he began to soar. I tell the story each year to my students in hopes of their being able to define their destinies once they understand that they are scholars. I use lots of stories to assist me in empowering my students to be the best scholars they can be.
Now, as far as what I would like to improve on, I would like to work on organizing the physical space in my room to accommodate some of the activities I would like to engage my scholars in from this 50 strategies in the book.
Dr. Deborah Godwin-Starks
Timothy L Johnson Academy
I love this!! Stories can be so powerful!
DeleteHeather Hill
PLA @93
I am going to use the Desmond Tutu story. I love that!
DeleteJenelle Miller
PLA103
Amylynn Faulstich PLA@48
ReplyDeleteI liked this book and it had many good ideas. I liked in this last chapter that it said when students are engaged and relate learning to their personal lives they are more likely to be motivated. I try to relate what we are learning to their every day life. I would like to teach more this year where I don't repeat what is said, give students time to reflect and give them more ownership of the classroom. I have to let go of the control factor. if students have more ownership I hope that this will motivate them to want to learn more and create an environment where they will be risk takers, and independent thinkers. It will take lots of practice but I hope that students realize they are good thinkers and smart scholars.
I agree with this post, this book has a lot of good ideas. I also need to learn to the students more ownership of the class. This may motivate them to want to learn more. S. Duff Pla@103
DeleteI really enjoyed this book and learning about new ideas and collaborating! I think one of my strengths is in empowering scholars. Something I would like to work on is allowing scholars to take more ownership and make activities more scholar led. Although many of these would be difficult for lower grades, I'm excited to modify them and try them this year!
ReplyDeleteHeather Hill
PLA @93
I enjoyed the book as well. I look forward to implementing strategies from this book as my role as a reading interventionist and watching my scholars grow in their reading skills!
DeleteAllison Kelly PLA 103
I am looking forward to using them in my room as well. We will have to share our ideas of what worked and didn't go so well. Looking forward to talking about them.
DeleteKaren Prince PLA#93 3rd grade
Mindi Spychalski PLA@103
DeleteI agree there are a lot of great new ideas for the classroom. I also agree that some are difficult for the younger scholars but I feel part of the strategies can be used or modified.
I agree that most of the strategies would need to be modified for our younger students, but I am excited to try them out too!
DeleteBrittany Connett PLA@93
I also really liked this book. It gave me a lot of ideas to try out this year. I'm good at giving the kiddos time to think before answering. I let t them know that it's ok to make a mistake but to take the opportunity nevertheless to learn. I also like "developing a thinking vocabulary and common language". I'm making a chart for myself that I can use to remember how to state the questions using better terminology. After all, we're teaching them vocabulary they will experience throughout their academic career.
ReplyDeleteKay Clabaugh TLJA Fort Wayne, Indiana
Hello,
ReplyDeleteAfter looking at the ten topics from this chapter and assessing my area of developing a culture of thinking. My strengths are; 1. Understanding the teachers role. 2. Adjusting task difficulty. 3. Modeling thinking skills. 4. Empowering scholars. 5. Establishing thinking norms. 6. Developing a thinking vocabulary and common language. 7. Creating opportunities for practice. 8. Providing feedback. My areas of improvement are; 1. Designing real- world applications. I can always improve on creating ways to help scholars make sense of what’s being taught. 2. Organizing the physical space.
Overall, this was a good book to read this summer. I am good with allowing time for the students to answer questions. But I really think I could improve on all ten topics in this last chapter. So I plan to take another look at them and start to improve on them this year little by little.
ReplyDeleteMegan Denton, PLA @ 48, Media Specialist
ReplyDeleteThe topic that is my strength is modeling thinking skills for scholars. Most of our Media lessons include a read aloud, where I might model decoding multisyllabic words or thinking aloud understanding a difficult part of a story. The topic that I feel like I could improve on is organizing the physical space. With CDC restrictions this past year, I have been struggling to find the safest way to use flexible seating in a high traffic space. We definitely have the "campfire" space for our read alouds and "waterholes" for scholars to collaborate, but the "caves" (independent, flexible seating) seems almost unattainable with the current guidelines. I have really enjoyed learning new strategies to engage my scholars this year. The strategy that I am most looking forward to using is carousel brainstorming.
I enjoyed reading this book over this summer.It allowed me to think about the strategies I have used inside my classroom and what I want to implement this school year as being a reading interventionist. One of my strengths from chapter 8 is empowering students and modeling thinking skills. I love empowering my students to believe in themselves and know they can do anything they set their minds to. Being a kindergarten teacher for the last three years it is been very important to model the skills/activities being taught in the classroom as well as set expectations. An area that I would like to work on this year is developing a thinking vocabulary and common language. I feel that this will very important this school year to help my scholars grow in their reading skills. I look forward to using these strategies this school year and working on a common vocabulary/language for my scholars this school year.
ReplyDeleteAllison Kelly PLA 103
First off, I would like to say I really enjoyed this book because of all of the different strategies it laid out for me going into my first year of teaching. I would say one of my strengths is empowering scholars, something I am big on is letting every individual that walks into my room feel capable and give them a space to dream. One weakness is designing the physical space. I have never set up my own classroom so I want to make sure that when I do the space flows and promotes learning.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Pritchard
PLA 103
I feel that the physical environment that I provide for my students is comfortable and encouraging. They know they are accepted and are willing to take chances in the learning environment. I feel that I need to work on a deeper level of questioning during a variety of activities.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis book gave me so many strategies that I will be able to use in the classroom this year. I think the area I am comfortable with is the remember and apply. The analyze level is one that I am going to need to work on. I am looking forward to using these strategies in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteKaren Prince PLA #93 #rd grade
I would like to say that I appreciate PLA bringing the book club to all staff each summer. It's a great way for educators to keep their minds thinking about their scholars and it also offers strategies for them to use in their classrooms. As a building leader, I will be looking for the usage of strategies from this book in lesson plans and during instruction.
ReplyDeleteI have learned a lot from this book and am very encouraged about the options that have been presented for us to use with our scholars. I think all teachers and building leaders could benefit from this book. Encouragement and support from our building leaders is awesome!
DeleteHeidi Hilt
AAA Fair Avenue
Columbus, Ohio
I think my skills as a teacher and coach are in the area of modeling thinking and empowering scholars/teachers. I openly practice my "thinking aloud" brainstorming when I am trying to help my charges. I also try to make it clear how I came to my conclusions and justify my opinions with evidence.
ReplyDeleteAn area that I did not fully develop as a classroom teacher was providing actionable feedback on an individual level. Now, as an Instructional Coach, I need to make sure my feedback is highly personalized. I'm excited to implement the Livinia curriculum this year and use their strategies to get to the root of the problem and create targeted feedback to improve instructional outcomes.
I can relate to and see myself doing all these strategies in my classroom, some better than others, and can definitely improve in all of them. For instance, in Organizing Physical Space, my strength is how I organize and group the tables (kindergarten) and use of lighting and music. But I could improve in the different types of flexible seating offered, rather than having to do their work sitting in a chair at a table.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter had much more meaning to me as a kindergarten teacher than the previous chapters. Many of the strategies discussed in this book were way too advanced for this grade level and would need an incredible amount of modification. I did appreciate the opportunity of joining this book club and keeping us all thinking and planning over the summer!
Brenda Kolkman
TLJA - Fort Wayne
This book is a great resource, is has so many strategies and examples on how to implement these strategies in your classroom. I think my strength is modeling thinking for my students. I am always showing and telling them how I came up with in answer by thinking out loud and explaining how I came to that answer. One thing I think that I need to work on with others teachers that teach in the grades below and above me is using common language. Our school talked about this last year that we need to make sure that we are using the same vocabulary from kindergarten all the way through high school.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Janusaitis- Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
I agree Jen, there are some really great strategies and how-to examples in this book. We need to push admin and staff on the common vocabulary issue. I think that will make everyone's lives a little easier since we are a K-12 building now.
DeleteMindi Spychalski PLA@103
ReplyDeleteThis book was filled with numerous strategies that help scholars succeed in the classroom. I feel that my strengths are creating opportunity for practice and using common language. Our team works well together planning and using common language when teaching. Teaching younger scholars you creating opportunity for practice. The more the scholars practice certain skill the better they master a skill.
One thing I would really like to work would be task difficulty. I would like to challenge my scholars by providing challenging task that each scholar is ready for and make the skills for individuals challenging.
Abbigail Brantch, Music Education @ JRPLA
ReplyDeleteI think the area that will be a strength in my classroom will be "creating opportunities for practice". I am hoping to do some music theory/writing skills this next school year. This will mean learning the basics, analyzing existing works, and creating original works, hopefully engaging lots of high-level thinking.
The area I am worried we will struggle in is "designing real-world applications". While I can personally think of times when these music skills could be used, most people, our scholars included, often only want to enjoy the music they want to enjoy and are not truly interested in the larger possibilities of what music could bring. I know that some have interest in learning certain instruments or becoming rappers and whatnot, so I am hoping we can foster that into a larger concept of the many opportunities in the world of music.
Looking at the ten topics in this chapter, I think my area of strength is empowering students. I have always made it a point to encourage thinking and alternative ways of looking at topics of conversation and writing. I like to teach my students to have a voice and to use it in their daily learning/thinking.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to improving upon "Designing Real-World Applications". I need to be able to create more rigorous responsibilities and tasks within our classroom. I want to learn more about each student in order to personalize their learning to apply to "their world" so it is functional and rewarding for each scholar.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to implementing a few things into my classroom.
Heidi Hilt
AAA Fir Avenue
Columbus, Ohio
*Fair
DeleteI enjoyed reading this book and look forward to sharing the strategies discussed in this book with the teachers that I work with at my two campuses. Last year many of our teachers struggled with DOK and pushing their scholars to reach higher order thinking. This book provides so many great strategies for them to use.
ReplyDeleteAbby- OH IS
I look forward to using these strategies I learned from the book. An area of strength for me is creating opportunities for practice. I always try to provide multiple opportunities to apply and practice the skills we have learned. I love when there is a good class discussion where students are bouncing ideas off one another. One area that I would like to develop is designing real-world applications because students are more engaged when they can connect to their own lives.
ReplyDeleteKaylee Briggs- PLA@103
I am excited to try these new strategies in my classroom this year, I think an area of strength for me is establishing norms for thinking. It mentions considering all viewpoints and ideas, learning from mistakes, celebrating each other, and teaching people with respect. These are all things I model and expect of my students. One area I would like to grow in is empowering students. I want to allow for more student directed learning. I would like to have my students' interest more evident in the things we are learning.
ReplyDeleteBrittany Connett PLA@93
I've done summer book club every year since starting with PLA and I think this is one of the best and most useful books we've read. The number of strategies provided and real examples of how to use those strategies was great! I think I'm strong in a couple of these areas in this chapter. One thing I need to work on is empowering students. I'll admit to having some "control" issues. I think I've gotten better at giving students more control of their learning but I know I've still got work to do in this area.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this year's book as well, but think I liked last year's book better! Last year I started to use different language when praising students for their hard work. In addition to saying that I'm proud of them, I also said, "You must be proud of yourself!" 100& of the time they replied that they were! I want to continue using this language and incorporating more this year to help empower my scholars.
DeleteAshley Pierce - 7th Grade @ JRP (Indy)
I feel that our first grade team at 103 works together to create common language in our lessons.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I need to work on giving some of my scholars more of a challange during the day.
Jenelle Miller PLA103
Sarah Williams-Chapel Hill Academy
ReplyDeleteA strength of mine is Modeling Thinking Skills. I try to model my thinking as I read, and I also model any writing task, and what I am thinking about as I am making decisions as a writer.
An area of improvement would be to establish thinking norms. I especially like the stems that are included with this on pgs. 131-132.
I really enjoyed this book, and I feel like I have a lot of resourceful strategies to implement in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteOne of my strengths is to adjust task difficulty and empower students, I would like my school to work on a more of a common language, and I will work more on my teacher role as a facilitator, as control is something I don't give up easily.
PLA 103
As I reflect on strenth areas, I feel I am strong at utilizing vocabulary and differentiating task levels for diverse student needs. The area for improvement is making students independent thinkers. My goal every year is to have less dependent thinkers, and have more students that challenge and find solutions to their way of thinking. I want students to have a deeper understanding of mathematics. One way to have students thrive is to have them work on their critical thinking skills. That will be one of my goals this year.
ReplyDeleteI have had past success with adjusting task difficulty (by using immediate data to evaluate the direction the entire lesson goes in or whether we need to do a 10 minute mini lesson on a topic), establishing norms for thinking (not only clarifying other people’s statements and modeling asking questions, but also providing a resource for students to return to when they want to have discourse). I want to continue to improve using a common language to build vocabulary and providing more consistent feedback. The feedback piece can be a challenge to fit in time wise, but must be more of a priority. I’m excited to use some of the strategies from this book in my teaching next year! Thank you for setting up this book club.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Bell - PLA @93
After reading Chapter 8 and looking at my areas of weakness I came with three different areas where I can improve. The first is designing real world applications, I could pump up my curriculum with more real word examples and activities. Also establishing a class vocabulary to have words to help students with their thinking. And also helping students with critical thinking skills.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this book over the summer. As I reflect back I feel that one of my strengths is definitely allowing for multiple opportunities for students to practice and apply the skills we have learned. In kindergarten we spiral review so much and I make sure to give my students every possible opportunity to practice all the skills we have covered. One area where I definitely could use some improvement is providing real world applications.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Scott PLA@93
An area that is a strength for me is cultivating student-teacher relationships. Last year even through the pandemic, I was able to successfully reach almost all of my students & their families at least once every other week if they weren't in class. We communicated through text, phone calls, emails, and multiple other forms! Staying in touch with both the parent and the student was also helpful because many students have blended families & it helps keep everyone in the loop.
ReplyDeleteTo improve my culture of thinking in my classroom, I would like to focus on creating assignments with real world applications and adjust to thinking vocabulary. I attempted real world applications with a few assignments last year, but it was a little bit harder to connect with hybrid teaching. Using strategies we learned earlier in the book such as the top ten words will help my classroom move to a more engaged environment.
Ashley Pierce - 7th Grade @ JRP (Indy)
Angela Posey @ PLA 103 Chapter 8
ReplyDeleteI am firm believer in modeling. I know that the more students see demonstration of new skills and concepts, the better they learn. I do a great deal of model and thinking out loud with the students. I also provide frameworks for Socratic discussions using Statement Stems and Question Stems.
My dilemma is providing enough opportunities for the students to practice these skills/new concepts. I want to find multiple ways that I can embed these strategies into instruction that will foster a culture of thinking.