Great Questions

According to Dr. Parker, we are almost 25% through the semester. Ummm.. Can you say "wow"?!
I can honestly say that I have learned more in these past four weeks of social studies methods than I've learned in my entire college career. There is so much I still have to learn as a future teacher! It makes me both nervous and excited.

One thing that both Dr. Clark and Dr. Parker have both taught me is that questions in a lesson are crucial. Dr. Clark stressed in EDUC 410 how important great essential questions are. This week in SSED 307, we have learned about guiding questions. We have learned about the three different kinds of guiding questions and how each one has an important role.

I am going to be totally and completely honest with you right now, and I hope that you won't judge me (you probably won't, because you probably are right there with me)......... While I was in elementary school, middle school, high school, and much of college, I never once paid attention to the essential questions. Looking back now, HOW SAD IS THAT?! I am sure that I got the basic point of the lessons or learned what was required, but I never cared to read the essential question.

Knowing now what teachers can go through to come up with the perfect essential question, I feel pretty guilty about that. On the other hand though, why didn't my teachers stress those essential questions? Can those questions not set the entire mood of a unit/lesson? Can those questions not guide us into the generalizations and directions that we need to be going?

In a Scholastic Article by Jeffery Wilhelm, he talks about what an essential question is, why it is important, and how to create an effective one. He gives a specific example from his daughter's first grade class. This teacher's essential question for her habitat unit was "What makes a good home?"
So simple, yet so thoughtful. This makes students think, "what DOES make a good home?" and "just because it is good home for me doesn't mean it is a good home for someone else." This question was broad enough to give students the opportunity to think outside of the box and use critical thinking skills, but specific enough to lead them in the right direction.

This teacher took this one question and did so many things with it! The students started by talking about homes for humans. Then they read books about homes for different kinds of animals. In the end, students created habitat exhibits with various aspects added in to show what they had learned. This teacher had such creative and also fun ideas that really got the students interested and involved! All it took was that first essential question "What makes a good home?"

I often find it difficult to come up with that one perfect essential question. Wilhelm gave these 3 points to take into consideration when making an essential question:

"(1) The question should be interesting and compelling to your students right now! (2) It should invite them into the ongoing disciplinary debates and conversations that create knowledge in the first place. (3) It should require students to learn—and to use—the same understandings and strategies as the real experts in the field"

Great essential questions can connect to a few different NCTCS including, "teachers recognizing the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines." However, ultimately this all leads back to "teachers helping students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills." The right questions can help students think outside of the box and develop their critical thinking skills.

I want to be sure that when I finally have my own classroom, I am not only creating great essential and guiding questions, but that I am using them! I don't want my students to look back over their student careers and not remember looking at the essential questions. I want these questions to guide them in a positive direction and get them engaged and excited about learning. I simply want to make a difference in the classroom. Don't we all?

Read Jeffery Wilhelm's article at:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/essential-questions

Caring Teachers

Are you frozen yet?

I don't know about where you all are, but in my part of the world, we have quite a bit of snow with even more on the way! Due to the fact that I live out in the sticks, I have already lost power and it will probably stay that way for a while! I pray that you all stay safe and warm in this winter "blizzard" they are calling for!

Another week has come and gone, and all I can say is... wow! How much there is to learn! There are so many things that Dr. Parker has already taught me in such a short period of time. Who would have known that classrooms have changed so drastically since we have been in school. The biggest thing that I have realized from taking this class and EDUC 410 is that INTEGRATION IS KEY. Integration is the means to a great lesson. I think that teachers were integrating in some ways without even realizing it, but it is such a necessity now! We have to make conscious decisions to make sure integration is happening. Differentiation is something that I have really come to love. Finding new ways to do this is challenging, but exciting! I want my students to know that I am taking the time to get to know them and their needs. I also wanted to know how to connect and speak to my students. Without a great teacher-student relationship, kids will be unmotivated to learn.

What are three things that students desire to hear from teachers? 

Dr. Lori Desautels wrote an article on Edutopia answering that question. Dr. Desautels hadn't actually spent time in the classroom in quite sometime, so she decided to get back in there. She wanted to answer this question herself. 

Dr. Desautels stated, "I have surveyed the students and teachers with these questions in mind:

• What does your teacher say to you that feels encouraging or motivating?
• What do you want to hear from your teacher about your performance or disposition in school?"

From her study, she found that the three themes or words that kept popping up included believe, purpose, and question me.

Kids want to know that you believe in them. A simple encouragement letting them know that you have faith in them. Rather it be speaking these words or leaving them a note, this can give students a new kind of confidence.

Along with believe, students also want to know that they have a purpose in life. This really applies to everyone. I'm sure that everyone reading this would admit that they want to know that they have a purpose in life. Most of us would probably say that our purpose is to educate and inspire kids. Well those kids that we want to inspire need to know they have a purpose. Dr. Desautels says a great example would be, "You have a purpose. I see it and feel it! Let's have fun and discover what it is. A purpose might change, and that's a good thing, but it’s there!"

Believing in kids and giving them a purpose is great, but something that can truly affect a kid is questioning them.

"Listen for this unspoken request from students:

Ask me how I am. Ask me what I need. Ask me my thoughts and feelings. Ask me what my opinions are, even if my response is ridiculous because I don't want to stand out in front of my peers! Ask me in private -- always in private. Ask me to teach you anything about my world, my culture, music I love, my beliefs, and my story. I may not say a word, and it may take the entire school year for me to respond to your questions, but I hear you. I hear your interest and your compassionate concern for what I like, what I need, and what plans I would like to create."

Putting in the simple time to give students words of encouragement or to let them know that you notice them can really make a difference. We want them to know that they are important to us. The great thing about this, is that this applies to EVERY age! I can use this in my current pre-k classroom along with my future classroom.

As teachers we are suppose to provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. Encouraging them and showing them that we are paying attention to their feelings and needs can make this happen in great ways. We are there to do so much more than simply teach students facts.

Let us be exceptional teachers and show that we truly care.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/students-desire-to-hear-from-teachers-lori-desautels?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Getting the hang of this thing! Maybe?

We have survived week one of Social Studies Methods- maybe barely- but none the less, here we are on week two! For me personally, one of the toughest things so far has been all of the requirements involving the use of technology. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining one bit! I need this! Thank you Dr. Parker for exposing me to the 21st century. I'm sure that I have many friends in the Twitter world who had to look twice when they saw my name pop up on their screen. That has just never been my thing, but I'm going to accept this and embrace it with open arms! Technology is only going to become more and more apart of our lives, right?

According to Alan Warhaftig, WRONG! After reading an interview with Warhaftig and Scholastic Magazine, I learned that not everyone is accepting technology in the classroom with open arms. Warhaftig would argue that technology is causing more harm than good.

A direct quote from Alan Warhaftig reads:

"I also have serious concerns about the long-term health effects of children using computers. Children already spend several hours a day watching television, and their sedentary lifestyles place them at risk. The intention to motivate through technology may only produce obese children who squint, don't know how to interact with others, and can't catch a ball or shoot a basket."

Warhaftig is very passionate and convinced that technology in the classroom is ruining the education and learning of the students. Ian Jukes would beg to differ however. Jukes opinion is that technology is not what we should be focusing on. This isn't about the technology itself, but how it is being used to teach students. Juke often says that in the past students were learning to use technology, when they should have been using technology to learn.

Juke explains that technology is all about how it is helping us:

"When I write with a pen, I'm not pondering the pen. I'm not staring at the pen trying to figure out how they got the ink in there. It's not the pen that's important, it's what I do with it that matters. Technology in schools is not about teaching a kid Microsoft Word, it's about helping that student to become a better writer. It's not about teaching students how to use Excel, it's about helping them to become better problem solvers. It's not about having students learn PowerPoint, it's about helping them become better communicators."

When I look at both sides of the argument, it is hard for me to pick one side. On one hand, I'm a pretty old fashioned girl. I was just fine without all of the technology and I do think that it is potentially causing more harm than good. However, I also believe that in our day in time, technology is inevitable. Students need to be exposed to it now and be able to understand what it is they are looking at. The technology world is only growing larger and larger, and we would be naive to think that we can avoid it.

I can't help but think that maybe we depend on technology too much though. It can be such an amazing tool, but it can also be such a hassle. How many times have you gotten up to teach a lesson- incorporating technology- and it has failed. There goes your lesson for the day.

Do you remember when you were a kid, what it felt like to get a new textbook? Maybe it was just me, but I loved it! I spoke to a teacher recently that said due to their budget cuts, they were no longer receiving textbooks. She told me how much of a disappointment this was because students loved to get their textbooks. I'm not by any means saying that teachers should be strictly teaching from the textbook, but what I am saying is that's nice to pick up an actual book and flip through the pages sometimes. Textbooks can be a good reference and research tool for students.

This all comes back to teachers facilitating learning for their students. The standards tell us to integrate and utilize technology in our instruction, but how much technology should really be used? As a future teacher, I want to prepare my students for when they leave my classroom and enter in the real world. I realize that this means exposing them to all of the technology resources that are available. I just can't help but wonder if Alan Warhaftig is right.

I strongly urge you to go read this Scholastic Administrators article! Both Juke and Warhaftig have very interesting points!

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=453

 

Hello to My Fellow Classmates!

To start off my first blog EVER, I want to give you all a little basic information about me! 
Well, as some of you may notice, my name in the tracker shows up as Lauren Capps, however my name in my link appears as Lauren Hamilton. This is because I got married December 29, 2015! As a few of the other ladies in the class know, going through a name change can be a little bit of a hassel. 
I live on a farm with my new husband in Hendersonville, NC. I am a preschool teacher at Mud Creek Christian School and I nanny in the afternoons. This is my third year at Gardner-Webb and I absolutely love it! I started out living on campus and was an undergraduate student, but after my second year I switched over to DCP
Teaching is my passion and life long dream. God has blessed me in so many to get me exactly where I am today! I wish you all luck as we endeavor on this (maybe difficult) journey of Social Studies Methods, and pray that we all make it through together!

Enough about me! Let's get to good stuff!

Are you wondering what is happening with Nebraska's social studies standards right now? If so, let me fill you in!

They are in the process of rewriting them! So far from what I gathered from this course is that we are learning to teach students to be the very best they can be and fill them with knowledge and skills that will be with them for a life time! Sometimes I wonder how exactly am I going to teach my students the important things, help them develop critical thinking skills and independent thinking all while following the standards and preparing them for testing. 
There are some people in Nebraska who feel that they need to broaden the standards, giving teachers the ability to pick and choose which topics they want to cover, how deep they want to get into the topic, and give their students the ability to develop research and critical thinking skills. The JournalStar told us that Randy Ernst said that "creating a laundry list of facts and figures turns the standards into a textbook of sorts, and it doesn't leave room for the depth necessary to teach the skills students need to know to be able to evaluate sources in today's information-saturated world."

Don't get me wrong, I agree with that statement a hundred percent, but have you ever looked at a standard and thought to yourself "what in the world does this standard mean?" I know that I have! I recently was talking with a first grade teacher, and she told me that if she could create and teach any college class for future teachers, the entire class would be based around looking at one standard and telling what it means to each student, ideas of how to teach it, and ideas of how to even approach the standard. Every teacher and future teacher reads and interprets each standard differently. The problem is not rather or not the student learned an adequate amount of information or skills, it simply comes back to rather or not that is information of skills that the state wanted you to teach. I think this is the issue that many other teachers have with planning their lessons and unpacking their standards. 

My biggest goal as a teacher is to make the lessons that I am teaching to my students relevant and meaningful to their lives. I want them to learn things that will be with them many years from now. I want them to look back to their elementary school days and remember, "Oh, yeah! Mrs. Hamilton taught me that!" I want them to learn things that make them a better person. I want them to walk away from my class and be able to have intelligent conversations with people about things that really matter. Ultimately, I want my students to develop into the best them that can be. Isn't that what we all want?

To read more about Nebraska and their new standards click the link below!

http://journalstar.com/news/local/education/education-leaders-are-revisiting-how-we-teach-social-studies/article_cb803cbe-3b63-53e1-8793-a17fae443298.html