The Best and Worst of Times

            Before reading Marzano’s chapter, I reflected on “the best and worst of times.”  I would consider today’s world of teaching, learning, and education as “the worst of times” because there is so much pressure on teachers to do more and more.  The students are also expected to learn more at a quicker rate.  There is less time for students to interact and just “play.”  I also feel that some parents need to work more and there is less time left for kids and helping with homework and reading.

            I would consider today’s world of teaching, learning, and education as “the best of times” because students are learning more at a higher level with the ability to apply their learning to multiple situations.  I also feel that any information students want to know can be found very quickly with a quick search on the internet.  I would consider today’s world of education “the best of times” because there are many more resources that are easily accessible to support teachers.

            In Marzano’s article he looks at the best of times and the worst of times in education.  He writes about how students’ backgrounds plays a role in their education success.   I believe that students who come from challenging situations can overcome these situations.  I believe that the experiences that students come from can be shared within the class and everyone can learn through those experiences.

            Looking at the best of times, Marzano writes about how schools can impact student achievement by staying up to date on research.  I believe that schools and teachers are constantly changing to do the next best thing.  It is important to follow best practices and implement them.  I believe we have to keep in mind what is best for students in order to help them be successful.

            It takes a village to raise a child and everyone must do their part.  We need to work together.

Technology

I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!  I know the opportunities are endless when it comes to using technology in the classroom.  Integrating more technology in my classroom would allow for more individualized learning.  Students would be able to create and show their learning in new ways.  My biggest apprehension for having more technology is the learning becoming so individualized that students aren’t able to interact with one another as much.  This can be overcome by having students work together on group projects or sharing and hearing feedback about what they are doing from their peers

In my classroom, I have observed students become excited about learning with technology.  I have seen students create projects as a class with the iPads and seeing their faces light up when they see the finished product.  I have seen students thrive to be able to learn with the iPad or SMART board.  They enjoy seeing technology, using technology, and learning with technology.

My idea for integrating technology to get students to the modification or redefinition level is to give students choice in how they want to show what they know.  Children are so creative and when given the opportunity they will strive to reach the unknown.

Fall Conference

The fall conference was a time for professional discussions with colleagues from other learning communities.  It is always engaging to me to hear what others are doing and find new ideas that I can use in my classroom.  The fall conference discussions inspired me to find new ways to incorporate literacy across all content areas.  It was also inspiring to me to share and hear about action research topics.  I am starting to feel more excited about my own, but also excited to hear about what others are doing.  The Lasallian principles I believe were supported through the sharing were association and generativity.  Association was present because we were brought to together to share and learn from one another.  Generativity was present because we worked in small groups to contribute and appreciate what others had to say.

Action Research

The question guiding my research is: How will daily oral repeated reading practice affect my students’ reading fluency?  My research has shown that fluency is the ability to decode and comprehend text at the same time.  If students are not able to quickly read words, they will spend more time on decoding versus comprehending.  Third graders are expected to read about 100 words in a minute.  In second grade, many students are still learning to read, but by third grade they are expected to read to learn.  My research suggests the importance of repeated reading to help improve fluency.

Through my research, I have improved the way I teach fluency.  Students are reading phrases and passages repeatedly to help build their fluency.  Students are recording and hearing themselves read and then evaluating their reading using a rubric.  Students are being exposed to the importance of reading rate, expression, punctuation, and accuracy.  I am finding my students becoming more aware of what they are doing well and what they need to work on.  They are setting goals and striving to meet them.  I plan to continue having students recording and listening to their reading and graphing their results.

Questions:
What does the action research timeline look like?
How many students should I be tracking?

Backward Design

My favorite part about backward design is focusing on the big idea.  It has really helped my students to make connections to the different things we are doing and reading.  It has been enjoyable for me to spend more time building background knowledge with them and engaging them in meaningful conversations.  I feel that I have been more intentional with what I am doing with my students.  I feel that my lessons have been very meaningful.

Questions:

1. I have many students who want to share their background knowledge with the class.  Do you have any suggestions on keeping this sharing to a reasonable time?

2.  How can I get my struggling students to answer higher level thinking questions?