Data Analysis Revisited: The importance of reflection

Picture it, I am sitting the the front of the class, the kids are answering my questions about data, everybody is on page with me. I am feeling like the most incredible student teacher that has ever existed! Life is good.

later that night.......

I am marking the worksheet I gave the kids on data analysis at dinner time, I almost choke on my tortilla soup, barely any one got the questions right! Perhaps I am not the most incredible student teacher, in fact I am feeling very deflated. What Happened? How could an entire class do so well in discussion but be unable to  answer the same questions on a piece of paper?

I think back to something the FA said to me this summer. "If a group of students fail to make understanding and connect with what you are talking about. You have only your self to look at."  I suppose it is time for serious reflection. I look back into my lesson plans and try to see if I have missed out on a key piece of information somewhere. What have I left out? I see nothing that is missing, all the concepts are there. My students should have all the tools they need to do the task. In an e-mail, my very knowledgeable SA points out what I have completely lost sight of, the students themselves. I truly forgot to look at the students and see them for who they are. A large proportion of the kids are ESL. I suddenly realized the language I am using in my lessons is not reaching the group. They are only beginning to understand the math concepts because  they are only just beginning to make meaning of the language I am using. This week I have re-planned my lessons in order to focus on making meaningful connections between the language and the math. Realizing the needs,wants, and abilities of those I teach is helping me to direct my focus in order to direct their learning

The most important lesson I have taken from this episode, is the importance of reflection in one's teaching practice, especially for new teachers like myself who are still new to the process. It's important to look at our failures without self-judgement and think about where we can make change to create success. At the same time it is important to reflect on our successes as well. Looking at a successful lesson can help you to recreate that success across your teaching practice. Honesty is important, give yourself credit when things go well, accept it when you make terrible mistakes and oversights you can only learn from them.

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Calaveras for Day of the Dead

I have been trying to get a lesson done in each of the subject areas during this practicum. Halloween provided a great opportunity to teach an art class. Instead of your basic construction paper pumpkin, vampire, or q-tip skeleton I decided to branch out and do some Day of the Dead art with the kids.

Day of the Dead is celebrated in many places in Latin and South America. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where it is a national holiday. Day of the Dead  is a remembrance of those loved ones who have passed on. Unlike Halloween, Day of the Dead is a happy joyous celebration. People flock to cemetaries with picnics and construct altars for their loved ones. The altars hold  favorite foods, and beverages for the departed.

Skull portrait from creativeartlessons.com

Calaveras (skulls) are a significant symbol of the Day of the Dead. They are often depicted in every day life situations and are sometimes funny and satirical. Sugar skulls are a traditional treat offered to children on this holiday.

I found a great idea at http://www.creativeartlessons.com/2010/11/skull-portraits-el-dia-de-los-muertos.html. I loved this idea for it's beautiful lines and shapes. A great way to teach the elements of drawing. I taught the activity as a directed drawing lesson. Then took it a step further and had the kids decorate their portraits as mexican sugar skulls. I think they turned out really beautiful.



Calaveras portraits done by students.



Listening to the radio on a Sunday Afternoon

I love the CBC!  I listen to it all the time. I particularly like the show Spark which airs on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Today was a great discussion on Dyslexia and how technology is changing the meaning of literacy for people with learning disabilities.  Check it out!



http://www.cbc.ca/spark/episodes/2012/10/26/194-dyslexia-documentia-domains/

Data Analysis

Things have been going much more smoothly recently with my practicum. I have finally gotten over the nerves of all eyes on me as the leader in the classroom. So much in fact that I decided to conquer another one of my biggest fears: Math.

Where did the trauma start? Not too sure but I have vague memories of my grade two teacher angrily telling me that 2+2 would never equal 5 no matter how many times I tried to count it my fingers. As a teenager I got pushed down from the math that the smart university bound kids took, to the math for kids who were taking math because the school said they had to.

"You're just not very good at math" They told me.

My new teacher Mr.Bieksa was a great guy, who told a lot of funny stories, but I can't seem to remember a thing he taught me. As someone who is going to be shaping the minds of young children, I am more than worried about my lack of confidence in mathematics.  "But it's only grade three!" you are probably thinking to yourself. It's deeply ingrained folks... Perhaps it's a great lesson for future teachers out there, if you tell kids they suck at something, they will believe you for the rest of their lives. 

However, I cannot be a classroom teacher who does not teach math. So I chose to teach an entire math unit on Data Analysis with the support of my SA who thinks I'll get over my fear by jumping in with both feet.

Check it out! Awesome graphing visual

You know what? So far so good. Graphing is a great way to start teaching math!  It visual and engaging for the kids. I began by reading some great books on graphing The Great Graph Contest by, Loreen Leedy and My Path to Math:Graphing by,Penny Dowdy.  If you are looking for good math resources for a classroom library, these are fantastic books! These stories provided great discussion points of what a graph is and why we graph information. The books also provide introduction to vocabulary used in graphing.

So far I have been teaching graphing as a class activity. We just finished a classroom graph on our birthdays. The kids loved it. We all drew pictures of ourselves and glued them on to a big class graph. Colorful and completely relevant to the kids. We drew the graph together. It was a great way to scaffold the construction of a graph.

As for analysis, I have "borrowed" ideas from the classroom teachers I currently work for as a Special Education Assistant.  They are master teachers and I am forever indebted to these two gentlemen, they have taught me skills I will use for my entire career. 

Right There Information: Information that is right on the graph. You can find it immediately without much of a search. E.g. No one has a birthday in February                                                

Search and Connect: A bit more of a higher order thinking activity. This is information that is found by looking for information and comparing it to other pieces of information to make sense of the data. E.g. All the birthdays in September are girls.         

What do you Think? This type of information gleaned from the graph requires students to make decisions based on the data. This can be difficult as it requires students to think about the data and generate their own  for the results.  I think most people are born in spring because that is when most babies in nature are born (I actually have saved this line of analysis for the next lesson. two concepts seemed more than enough for one lesson plan)

                                               

I like this approach to data analysis. Instead of just asking questions about the data I want to give students the foundation to critically look at information. I think it's an important skill that everyone needs but not everyone has. Graphing is a real "thinking activity" for kids and a fantastic way to develop a sharp critical mind.

This coming week: Halloween candy graphing and making our own graphs.

I think I'm Being Watched...

Yesterday was my first formal observation as a student teacher. I spent the entire night before tossing and turning in bed trying to remember all the things I wanted to say and do with the kids.

I decided to do a Gym lesson for my first try. I had a difficult time planning this lesson as I haven’t ever really seen gym as a time that requires a lot of planning, although I do see the importance of planning activities (especially if working on a unit such as soccer or gymnastics). Now, I have been in the gym with kids many times in my career and feel quite comfortable managing a large group of screaming kids in a big room. Unfortunately, things got a little out of hand almost immediately when one of the boys actually tried to trip my Faculty Adviser as we were walking to the gym (something I thankfully was unaware of until after the lesson). Thank goodness I had an inkling that something was up and brought him to help with the door at the front of the line.  

I thought the first game of Four Corners was fairly successful. They kids picked it up quickly and got better at it after each round. During Octopus went OK too...except for the kid who got run over and hurt (eep!)

After a reminder of safety expectations was a fantastic game of California Kick Ball...OK not so fantastic in fact it was awful. I was bombing the lesson :(

After a quick breathing activity (the least I could do was send them back to the teacher calmed down) I took the kids back to class and sat down with my Faculty Advisor. He gave me his iPad and let me read his observations. Here is a short excerpt:

[2012-10-15  14:05]  H. circles students. H. " I am losing my patience...Do we want to go back?"  Class quiet. H. Counts off students in 4's to avoid partnerships for teams. Quick review of CK rules.

(02 min. 48 sec.)

[2012-10-15  14:07]  game begins. H. Compliments fielders on their improvement.  Batters still seem to have the advantage.

(04 min. 36 sec.)

[2012-10-15  14:12]  finally an out. Lots of positive feedback from H. Immediately followed by another one.

(01 min. 34 sec.)

[2012-10-15  14:14]  team switch. Boy in red leads off with big kick. Even though he forgets to run he still makes it home safely.

(02 min. 49 sec.)

[2012-10-15  14:16]  second team is more organized.

(01 min. 43 sec.)

[2012-10-15  14:18]  H. Asks boys to close piano. (Red and green). " Thanks"

(50 sec.)

[2012-10-15  14:19]  "come on in. ". H. Uses individual names to bring them in. "OK. OK...How do you think the game went?"  Quick debrief of CK. Focus on the lack of cooperation. 

Um...were in the same room? I then had a total realization that what I had thought was a terrible failure was actually not too bad a lesson given the circumstances. I had actually done a good job managing my students! 

The moral of the story: Just when you think things are falling apart, take a breath and realize that only you are feeling the stress. Other people can't see it and the kids are oblivious. Make your mistakes and learn from them. Most of all just do your best, you'll get better in time. 

Also make sure you put the trouble makers at the front of the line.....

"It is important that you are fair with yourself. It is key to long term growth."

-John S.

A Thanksgiving story: How teaching kids to write can go astray

This actually happened last week but I thought it is a great example of how you an so easily go off topic while teaching.
 I decided to begin a writing topic on Thanksgiving by webbing out my own Thanksgiving dinner with my class. I thought it would be great because it wasn't your average turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie dinner. My approach was great, I introduced the fact that my usual dinner was cancelled because my aunt and uncle went away on a trip to Italy. Instead my family and I decided to go on a day trip to the valley. I webbed all about how I rode bikes with my son, picked grapes and went to Mount Baker to watch the sunset and eat a beautiful dinner of chicken sandwiches with purple grape Big League Chew for dessert. All in all a pretty straight forward webbing lesson.

Me: Any questions about how you can start your Thanksgiving webs?
Kid one:  Once I saw a bear. Were there any bears?
Me: uh no..there were no bears
Kid two: My last name is Baker!
Me: Cool! Any questions about the webs?
Kid three: Don't you know anybody else you love who can cook for you?
Me: Well you see, I'm from Manitoba. All my family lives there.
Kid three: That's sad.
Kid four: I hate turkey.
Me: OK! time to get started..

Actually, the writing went pretty despite the fact that things went so astray..

Mindfulness

Normally when I think of grade three, the word mindfulness is not the first thing that comes to mind. However that is exactly what I want to talk about. My SA has been doing a unit on mindfulness since the beginning of September. When she first started she worked with the children on being mindful of their senses, then mindful of their thoughts, and finally mindful in their actions and words. I can see the benefits of her work in the focus and communication within the class community. Perhaps the most powerful part of the day is the two sessions of mindful breathing done after recess and lunch. The kids are trained to join the teacher on the carpet. It is amazing to watch the children sit cross-legged on a carpet and practice mindful breathing together as a group. The teacher begins the process by ringing a chime....

"Bring Your attention to your breath. Feel your nostrils as you
 breathe
 in and as you breathe out.
In...and out...
If other thoughts come into your mind, that's OK, just bring your attention back to your breath.
In.. and out...
When I ring the chime listen until you can't hear the sound anymore and gently, quietly open your eyes..."

Imagine listening to 21 children breath together...It is beautiful. Not only is is beautiful, there are now 21 children focused and ready to learn.
MindUp training is offered by the Vancouver School Board and in many places around North America.

I need to breathe more....

Teaching Practice

I recently started a short practicum at a local elementary school. My faculty supervisor could not have done a better job in finding a perfect fit for a supervisor. She is knowledgeable, organized and has a great style of classroom management.  Classroom management is a big one for me. As a teaching assistant, I have seen many groups of seven to ten year olds descend into chaos  because the adult at the helm let things get out of control. Think Lord of the Flies but with tables, walls and a blackboard.

I'm also loving the set up of the room. It really is one of the most lovely rooms I have ever been in. The building is over 100 years old.  We have 14 foot tall windows or two sides of the room providing tons of natural light (so important on those dark  winter days in Vancouver.)  I think I'm going to like it here!

Recently I decided to go back to school and build on the ten years  I have spent working in the school system as a Special Education Assistant and become a teacher. Follow along and watch me learn, make mistakes and figure out what this teaching thing is all about. I want to use this space as a place to share my ideas and hear yours.