Friday, May 10

Annenberg Post 4

Workshop 6. Beginning the Year

http://learner.org/resources/series183.html

            I saw a lot of strategies for setting up a classroom that I had not thought of before.  The first major point was about environment.  The teachers in the video put a lot of thought into how their room was set up.  They made sure the students would have access to the things they need, that seating would be effective, and that transition/walking routes were effective.  This strongly relates to my management notes and looking at how teachers use space.  One idea I really liked was leaving the walls blank.  In the first week especially, having students contribute to the wall space is very important.  This creates a relationship between them as a class, with the teacher, and with the space that they will share for an entire year.  This says to them that it is the space of the community, and that they are an integral part of it.  The only thing I thought of with this was that walking in on the very first day, they might feel estranged with completely bare walls.  One idea I had is to fill it with something of my own, or after my first year, something from the students before them.  Having my previous students create something as a wall gift to the next class would be great to do, and would show my new students that the previous class was a community, and that they will become one. 

            All of the teachers talked about how important the feelings of community and trust are to a new class.  These go hand-in-hand, which I did not see clearly until viewing this video.  Many of the teachers also highlighted how important discussion is to a class.  If the students cannot effectively have discussions, they cannot help each other’s learning.  There were a few ideas I really liked that built community and discussion rules and norms.  The first was having students get into small groups to decide class rules (such as who gets to sit on the couch for reading, how long the class has to settle down, etc.).  The teacher left this up to them.  She went over respecting other ideas, using parts of them, and adding to them in considerate and helpful ways.  Then the students voted on the ideas, and those became class rules or norms.  Another idea I really liked was having extended morning meetings for the first week or so of school.  During this time, the teacher would have conversation ideas as back-ups, but would mostly let students determine where the conversation would go.  I think this is important because it lets the teacher see what is important to the class.  In addition, it also encourages the discussion skills that will become so important throughout the year.  One more idea I really liked was reading a book that has illustrations that greatly enhance the story, but not showing the pictures.  This sort of sets students up to disagree on what is happening in the book.  They then have to listen each other and navigate (with teacher help), how to respectfully disagree and listen to other opinions.

            A lot can also be done on the teacher’s part.  I really liked some of the ideas for modeling discussion.  The one I liked best was modeling how to listen.  This sounds so simple, yet it can go so far.  The teacher had two students come up and share books, then engaged with them about their choices.  He then had students watching make observations on what a good listener does.  I think writing these down and posting them all year would really help students solidify the expectations as they enter discussions.  The teacher also got out a camera and took pictures of students who were showing good listening. 

            Building a relationship with the students as the teacher is another crucial element of setting up the year.  One teacher talked a lot about management.  After the students decide the rules of the classroom, really sticking to them shows students that expectations are clear in the room, and that everyone needs to abide by them.  To build on this, a teacher also discussed how he makes it very clear that each and every student is important to a discussion.  He said that he makes expectations during discussions important, and communicates to students that they are all expected to interact with each other, and with the text they are discussing. 

            When teachers offers information about themselves, they enforce a strong relationship with the students on a personal level.  In the extended morning meetings previously discussed, sharing self facts and insights can really further those conversations.  There was one brilliant idea from the video that I am definitely going to use.  The teacher called them “written conversations”.  This is where the teacher starts with a simple question and writes it on paper.  The student writes a response, and must engage in the conversation.  The teacher often starts with the same question for the class, then sees where they go based on the individual.  This gives the teacher insight into the specific student, as well as can give the teacher an idea of where the student is in terms of literacy.

            The biggest thing I learned from this video was that there is a definite connection between three major areas: environment, trust, and discussion/connection.  Environment leads to trust and community, which in turn affects discussion and connection.  Making students feel welcome in the classroom, and enforcing every student as a crucial part of it shapes the year.  The other major point I take from this video is that showing students that there are high expectations for them will encourage them to meet them and succeed in their academic environment.

Question of the day:  This question of the day is a little different.  Because of an all staff development training, I didn’t have a lot of time with my teacher.  I was planning on a question, but during the training another question was asked that I found interesting.  The staff did an exercise where we each got a stack of 3”x8” red and pink papers.  These were our bricks.  We then wrote things we appreciated, could count on, made us smile, etc. about the rest of the staff.  Everyone shared at least one brick, often more.  They then taped the bricks onto a large sheet of paper to make a wall.  It started as a simple activity with small comments, then developed into a very emotional expression of appreciation.  Many of the staff members were crying by the end.  It was beautiful.  There were so many bricks filled out that they had to get another sheet of paper.  At the end, the next speaker had us reflect on when we had seen or been a part of an activity like that with staff members before.  This is the question I am focusing on.  I was surprised, yet not surprised that most of the more experienced teachers hadn’t seen it in their careers.  A few had seen something similar once or twice, however these were teachers that had been teaching for close to or more than 20 years.  I have realized now how close knit the staff there is, and I am very honored to have been a part of it.  It was a beautiful exercise, and I hope to find a staff group that has such a strong connection.  In addition, I think it’s a great classroom building technique.