Here is a link to my website for Clinical Practice 2:
http://sites.google.com/site/askmscollier/
Pretty cool, huh?
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Reading Reflection 4 - Groupwork Chp. 4-5
Creating the Task
One of my biggest questions after reading chapters 1-3 of Designing Groupwork was “What does well designed groupwork look like?” In Chapter 4, Cohen provides an outline of how to create groupwork tasks that are effective. In creating group-oriented tasks, teachers must first decide what it is they want students to gain from the experience. If the goal is conceptual, the task needs to be designed as a “multiple ability task.” Multiple ability tasks have more than one answer or process for solving the problem, are both intrinsically interesting and rewarding, allow for different contributions from different students, involve multimedia and various senses (sight, sound, touch), require a variety of skills and behaviors – including reading and writing skills, and are challenging (Page 68).
In order to design effective groupwork, all of these criteria must be considered as contributing factors. If there is only one right answer, limited skills are needed, and the task is not challenging, the groupwork will become ineffective as a teaching strategy and issues of status and hierarchical struggles are more likely to emerge, resulting in unequal distribution of work within the group. It is also important to consider the difficulty level of the concept(s) being covered. If it is a more difficult concept or group of concepts, it may be more effective to design a variety tasks, rather than one single task.
Within my discipline this is incredibly important to consider. Some concepts may be less challenging and can be covered by a single task, like smaller grammatical concepts. However, larger concepts, like the use of voice in writing or questions of theme in literature can be more difficult to grasp and may require multiple visits and tasks in order for students to gain a legitimate understanding. As an English teacher, I think my biggest challenge here is determining which concepts to develop multiple tasks for. As each set of students may struggle with different concepts, I will always need to reflect and adapt according to what my students find challenging. The challenge is balance, the key is flexibility.
One of my biggest questions after reading chapters 1-3 of Designing Groupwork was “What does well designed groupwork look like?” In Chapter 4, Cohen provides an outline of how to create groupwork tasks that are effective. In creating group-oriented tasks, teachers must first decide what it is they want students to gain from the experience. If the goal is conceptual, the task needs to be designed as a “multiple ability task.” Multiple ability tasks have more than one answer or process for solving the problem, are both intrinsically interesting and rewarding, allow for different contributions from different students, involve multimedia and various senses (sight, sound, touch), require a variety of skills and behaviors – including reading and writing skills, and are challenging (Page 68).
In order to design effective groupwork, all of these criteria must be considered as contributing factors. If there is only one right answer, limited skills are needed, and the task is not challenging, the groupwork will become ineffective as a teaching strategy and issues of status and hierarchical struggles are more likely to emerge, resulting in unequal distribution of work within the group. It is also important to consider the difficulty level of the concept(s) being covered. If it is a more difficult concept or group of concepts, it may be more effective to design a variety tasks, rather than one single task.
Within my discipline this is incredibly important to consider. Some concepts may be less challenging and can be covered by a single task, like smaller grammatical concepts. However, larger concepts, like the use of voice in writing or questions of theme in literature can be more difficult to grasp and may require multiple visits and tasks in order for students to gain a legitimate understanding. As an English teacher, I think my biggest challenge here is determining which concepts to develop multiple tasks for. As each set of students may struggle with different concepts, I will always need to reflect and adapt according to what my students find challenging. The challenge is balance, the key is flexibility.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Reading Reflection 3 - Groupwork Chp. 1-3
Chapter 1 – Groupwork as a Strategy for Classrooms
According to Cohen, groupwork involves small enough groups of students so that every group member can contribute to a clearly outlined task. Groupwork also involves delegation, which allows the students the opportunity to work and struggle through the task at hand to come to their own conclusion without the aid of the teacher.
I found this to be an extremely classroom strategy in Clinical Practice 1. My freshmen were extremely social, and when I put them into small, heterogeneous groups to work on classroom activities (especially business letter writing and grammar work) I found these to be the times that all of my students were actively participating in the task at hand. I was available to my students for clarification questions and to make sure they remained on task, but I did not hover. I let them work things out on their own.
Chapter 2 – Why groupwork?
Chapter 2 makes the argument for implementing groupwork in the classroom. Groupwork allows students not only to develop and build much needed social skills, but it nurtures intellectual growth as well. Allowing students the opportunity to struggle through a problem gives them a chance to argue, talk out, think out, and solve on their own. This process often leads to students discovering concepts for themselves rather than using the teacher as a crutch to memorize facts. It creates an active learning environment in which students of all learning levels and abilities think for themselves while also learning to communicate more effectively.
This argument for groupwork seems to answer one of the biggest questions I’ve had in teaching so far - How do I effectively teach to a classroom full of students who are all at different levels without boring my higher achieving students or leaving behind my lower achieving students? In today’s diverse classrooms, there is a constant struggle to maintain balance. Groupwork seems to be a key in achieving and maintaining that balance and creating effective education for all students.
Chapter 3 – The Dilemma of Groupwork
Chapter 3 outlines some of the common problems teachers face in implementing groupwork in the classroom. The biggest problem facing groupwork design is the hierarchies that naturally emerge in any group setting. These hierarchies and statuses often create a situation which one student becomes dominant and, as a result, participation in and contribution to the activity becomes unequal between the members of the group.
There are many factors that contribute to the emerging hierarchies in small groups. The biggest contributing factor is often the heterogeneity of the classroom. In today’s diverse classrooms, there are many students with a variety of differing skill sets, ability levels, areas of expertise, culture, and perspective. Although this can create an opportunity for tremendous learning and exposure to take place within small groups, it also opens the door for hierarchical struggles among students which can hinder learning if not properly addressed in the classroom and the management of the groupwork.
Although I am a proponent of groupwork, I often worry about the dilemmas it presents. I understand that groupwork can create an incredibly effective learning environment for all of my students, but my same concern still always remains – how can I teach to every single one of my students unique, individual learning needs? I am, after all, only one person. Cohen claims that groupwork can actually be the answer to this question if it is well designed. So, I ask, what does well designed groupwork actually look like in the classroom? What steps can I take to incorporate effective groupwork in my lessons? And, finally, how do I prepare my students for groupwork to insure success? These are the questions I hope to find answers to in the rest of Cohen’s book.
According to Cohen, groupwork involves small enough groups of students so that every group member can contribute to a clearly outlined task. Groupwork also involves delegation, which allows the students the opportunity to work and struggle through the task at hand to come to their own conclusion without the aid of the teacher.
I found this to be an extremely classroom strategy in Clinical Practice 1. My freshmen were extremely social, and when I put them into small, heterogeneous groups to work on classroom activities (especially business letter writing and grammar work) I found these to be the times that all of my students were actively participating in the task at hand. I was available to my students for clarification questions and to make sure they remained on task, but I did not hover. I let them work things out on their own.
Chapter 2 – Why groupwork?
Chapter 2 makes the argument for implementing groupwork in the classroom. Groupwork allows students not only to develop and build much needed social skills, but it nurtures intellectual growth as well. Allowing students the opportunity to struggle through a problem gives them a chance to argue, talk out, think out, and solve on their own. This process often leads to students discovering concepts for themselves rather than using the teacher as a crutch to memorize facts. It creates an active learning environment in which students of all learning levels and abilities think for themselves while also learning to communicate more effectively.
This argument for groupwork seems to answer one of the biggest questions I’ve had in teaching so far - How do I effectively teach to a classroom full of students who are all at different levels without boring my higher achieving students or leaving behind my lower achieving students? In today’s diverse classrooms, there is a constant struggle to maintain balance. Groupwork seems to be a key in achieving and maintaining that balance and creating effective education for all students.
Chapter 3 – The Dilemma of Groupwork
Chapter 3 outlines some of the common problems teachers face in implementing groupwork in the classroom. The biggest problem facing groupwork design is the hierarchies that naturally emerge in any group setting. These hierarchies and statuses often create a situation which one student becomes dominant and, as a result, participation in and contribution to the activity becomes unequal between the members of the group.
There are many factors that contribute to the emerging hierarchies in small groups. The biggest contributing factor is often the heterogeneity of the classroom. In today’s diverse classrooms, there are many students with a variety of differing skill sets, ability levels, areas of expertise, culture, and perspective. Although this can create an opportunity for tremendous learning and exposure to take place within small groups, it also opens the door for hierarchical struggles among students which can hinder learning if not properly addressed in the classroom and the management of the groupwork.
Although I am a proponent of groupwork, I often worry about the dilemmas it presents. I understand that groupwork can create an incredibly effective learning environment for all of my students, but my same concern still always remains – how can I teach to every single one of my students unique, individual learning needs? I am, after all, only one person. Cohen claims that groupwork can actually be the answer to this question if it is well designed. So, I ask, what does well designed groupwork actually look like in the classroom? What steps can I take to incorporate effective groupwork in my lessons? And, finally, how do I prepare my students for groupwork to insure success? These are the questions I hope to find answers to in the rest of Cohen’s book.
Monday, February 8, 2010
School Reform at Lunch
Orange County High School of the Arts
Mission Statement:
"We provide a creative, challenging, and nurturing environment that offers bright and talented students unparalleled preparation for higher education and a profession in the arts."
http://www.ocsarts.net/Page.aspx?pid=183
Mission Statement:
"We provide a creative, challenging, and nurturing environment that offers bright and talented students unparalleled preparation for higher education and a profession in the arts."
http://www.ocsarts.net/Page.aspx?pid=183
Reading Reflection 2 - BPHS
3 – Of the many practices in place at BPHS, I believe the size of the school, community experiences (particularly internships), and the supportive school climate are what make it work. The small size of the school creates more support options for students which protects individual students from being overlooked or ignored. This relates back to components 4 and 5 of Comprehensive Reform. Providing students with internship opportunities allows students to connect their schooling with the outside world and creates new, professional roles for students, which relate to components 1, 5, and 6. Finally, and most importantly, BPHS has had a focus on creating a supportive school climate from the very beginning to support students and help them through this crazy time known as adolescence. Components 1, 4, and 5 are all represented by BPHS’s supportive school climate.
2 – At my CP1 school site, the freshmen class was divided into three “houses”. Students belonging to each house have the same set of teachers, so many of freshmen have classes with the same groups of students. This helps to build community amongst students and helps freshmen transition comfortably into a large high school without getting lost in translation. This practice represents components 4 and 5 of Comprehensive Reform. Another practice I saw at San Pasqual High School was common assessments (benchmark exams.) In theory, this can be a great way to create common, authentic assessments of student learning, however, in practice it needs a lot of work. I think benchmark exams can be a great tool for teachers to use school wide if implemented properly and so long as it doesn’t become just another meaningless standardized test. This is a tall order and requires a lot of work, but it is possible to achieve. These common assessments at SPHS fall under component 3.
1 – Although the author’s expressed the importance of capping enrollment at 400, I think this will be difficult to achieve. The population will continue to grow, and I believe it is the nature of schools to grow with the population. That’s why new schools continue to open even in crazy times. This goes back to the Comprehensive Reforms component 5 – restructuring the school. I think over time, BPHS will have to consider restructuring again, maybe breaking the school into houses to keep a small feel, in order to allow for expansion without sacrificing the importance of small size.
2 – At my CP1 school site, the freshmen class was divided into three “houses”. Students belonging to each house have the same set of teachers, so many of freshmen have classes with the same groups of students. This helps to build community amongst students and helps freshmen transition comfortably into a large high school without getting lost in translation. This practice represents components 4 and 5 of Comprehensive Reform. Another practice I saw at San Pasqual High School was common assessments (benchmark exams.) In theory, this can be a great way to create common, authentic assessments of student learning, however, in practice it needs a lot of work. I think benchmark exams can be a great tool for teachers to use school wide if implemented properly and so long as it doesn’t become just another meaningless standardized test. This is a tall order and requires a lot of work, but it is possible to achieve. These common assessments at SPHS fall under component 3.
1 – Although the author’s expressed the importance of capping enrollment at 400, I think this will be difficult to achieve. The population will continue to grow, and I believe it is the nature of schools to grow with the population. That’s why new schools continue to open even in crazy times. This goes back to the Comprehensive Reforms component 5 – restructuring the school. I think over time, BPHS will have to consider restructuring again, maybe breaking the school into houses to keep a small feel, in order to allow for expansion without sacrificing the importance of small size.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Reading Reflection 1 - Rethinking High School
The first concept that really caught my attention in Chapter 1 of Rethinking High Schools is the idea that “change in high schools seems to unfold in geologic time” (20). I completely agree with the authors’ statement – “we could really use an earthquake” (20). I find this to be true not just in the structure and logistics of high schools as a whole, but even in specifics like content area. Far too many high school English curriculums require that students read the same books year after year without ever considering the possibility that there might be something new out there for our students to read. My students are reading the same books that I read in high school, which are the same books that my parents read in high school.
None of this is to say that I don’t appreciate classic literature, because I do. I just think that we need to start infusing our literary curriculum with some modern perspective. Our students should be exposed to a variety of literature ranging from the classics to modern, contemporary pieces and everything in between. Such changes take time. Too much time, if you ask me. Although I don’t believe we should make rash, uninformed decisions about such important topics, I do believe that educators need to start making these changes happen for our kids now, both collectively and individually.
While I do believe students should have the opportunity to delve deeply into what they are studying and truly examine and investigate topics and issues, I don’t know that I agree with the books’ idea of having students “study a few essential areas deeply” (16). This reform suggestions’ biggest flaw is its lack of specificity. It is vague and general. It leaves quite a bit of room for interpretation, and – what I fear more – misinterpretation. Most importantly, I worry about the potential outcomes of the power struggle that this reform might incite. Who will decide what is “essential”? Who will decide which “few essential areas” our students will study? Will all students study the same “few essential areas”? These are serious questions that would have to be answered definitively before this reform could be put into practice if it were to have a chance of succeeding.
Many of the overall concepts covered in this chapter (as it is an overview chapter) fall under the Second to None component of “Restructuring the School.” Although I’m sure there are other components represented in this chapter, this component fits the bill best. All of the suggestions and concepts shared in Chapter 1 of Rethinking High School require some sort of restructuring (or structuring if it’s a brand new school), whether it be how the school is designed logistically or even physically. In order to reform our high schools, we must restructure them.
I would really like to take a closer look at the Coalition of Essential Schools’ principle that “Students should be constructing meaning rather than being filled up with information” (16). I had a great conversation with one of my cooperating teachers for this semester the other day about this exact idea. I told her that I want to teach our students how to think, how to write, how to communicate. Let’s spend our time teaching our kids how to think for themselves instead of wasting their time teaching them facts and information that they can look up on Google. I would like to learn more about how to do this. What does this look like in a classroom? How do we provide our students with the tools and skills they need to be truly independent thinkers?
None of this is to say that I don’t appreciate classic literature, because I do. I just think that we need to start infusing our literary curriculum with some modern perspective. Our students should be exposed to a variety of literature ranging from the classics to modern, contemporary pieces and everything in between. Such changes take time. Too much time, if you ask me. Although I don’t believe we should make rash, uninformed decisions about such important topics, I do believe that educators need to start making these changes happen for our kids now, both collectively and individually.
While I do believe students should have the opportunity to delve deeply into what they are studying and truly examine and investigate topics and issues, I don’t know that I agree with the books’ idea of having students “study a few essential areas deeply” (16). This reform suggestions’ biggest flaw is its lack of specificity. It is vague and general. It leaves quite a bit of room for interpretation, and – what I fear more – misinterpretation. Most importantly, I worry about the potential outcomes of the power struggle that this reform might incite. Who will decide what is “essential”? Who will decide which “few essential areas” our students will study? Will all students study the same “few essential areas”? These are serious questions that would have to be answered definitively before this reform could be put into practice if it were to have a chance of succeeding.
Many of the overall concepts covered in this chapter (as it is an overview chapter) fall under the Second to None component of “Restructuring the School.” Although I’m sure there are other components represented in this chapter, this component fits the bill best. All of the suggestions and concepts shared in Chapter 1 of Rethinking High School require some sort of restructuring (or structuring if it’s a brand new school), whether it be how the school is designed logistically or even physically. In order to reform our high schools, we must restructure them.
I would really like to take a closer look at the Coalition of Essential Schools’ principle that “Students should be constructing meaning rather than being filled up with information” (16). I had a great conversation with one of my cooperating teachers for this semester the other day about this exact idea. I told her that I want to teach our students how to think, how to write, how to communicate. Let’s spend our time teaching our kids how to think for themselves instead of wasting their time teaching them facts and information that they can look up on Google. I would like to learn more about how to do this. What does this look like in a classroom? How do we provide our students with the tools and skills they need to be truly independent thinkers?
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