Meet Me in the Middle: Chapter 7

The name of this chapter really sums up how I feel about education in general ; fitting the lesson to the learner. For too long I feel education has been approached in a cookie cutter way where each student is expected to adhere to one form of teaching. If the student does not learn in that specific method, they're immediately considered non-compliant. I love the idea of differentiated instruction and it's all inclusive way of reaching students. This chapter was a complete throwback to Practicum. Once again, I was able to think about students in their individual needs and ways to meet those specifications within my classroom.

Meet Me in the Middle: Chapter 6

Too often "accountability" for students becomes synonymous with punishment for failing to reach high standards. In this chapter, the author made an excellent point of differentiating between the two. The best way to hold students to these expectations is to allow them to redo their work until they have reached their potential. He also mentions that giving extra credit is not the most effective way to earn more points toward a grade. The most meaningful way for a student to immerse in the material is to repeat the work they scored poorly on in order to gain better understanding. Wormeli also discusses the importance of teachers holding themselves to equally high standards and dedicate themselves to being an educator. On the whole, I enjoyed this chapter and it made me think about my role as an educator and what I want to accomplish in my classroom.

A Whole New Mind

All of the activities incorporated into each mini-presentation really enforced all the information that was being distributed. I especially liked the section about happiness and the health benefits of it. The most intimidating bit of information was the part about computer processing. Humans will never be faster than machines and they will only sharpen their precision with time. However, no computer will ever be able to replace such things as empathy, sympathy and play. Computers can out do us in many things, but humanity will never be one of those.

Awesome presentation.

Meet Me in the Middle: Chapter 3

This chapter discussed students brains and how teachers can play to the strengths of the human mind in order to create more long term learning. Primarily, the chapter focused on memory and retention of information. The book suggests providing an experience that engages all the senses as students are more apt to remember it. One tip I found interesting was making sure students are hydrated. It's a logical tip, but I would never have thought "Hey, this student isn't keeping up with the class... maybe he needs a glass of water!". Moral of the story: there are many strategies that feed into the natural processes of the brain ... and it's acceptable for students to get a drink of water during class time.

Meet Me in the Middle: Chapter 4

This chapter discussed incorporating physical activity into every lesson. Reading this reminded me of the Walton Elementary school that makes physical activity an integral part of math (http://www.wcsh6.com/life/community/schools/story.aspx?storyid=146577&catid=215). This is wonderful for including kinesthetic learners! I also like the idea of students not remaining in their seats for the full 80 minute period. There's only so much lecturing one can handle while still being an attentive learner.

Meet Me in the Middle: Chapter 13

I agree in getting students outside of the classroom and into the natural world. However, I think something as adventurous as a camping trip with a class is probably out of the question. That just seems like a misunderstanding or accusation of teacher misconduct waiting to happen. With proper chaperoning precautions, outdoor activities are an excellent method of guided exploration, but such academic trips should probably be limited to day trips.

Turning Points 2000: Chapter 3

Although I am a fan of the Backward Design, I feel that all too often educators "teach to the test" or other benchmark. I think this sort of planning model definitely pushes for student mastery not just a temporary memorization by setting goals then building a way to meet them, but it could be implemented poorly which would lead to yet another teacher hemorrhaging information for the sake of meeting a benchmark. Then again, I suppose that's not the true backward design if it's being used incorrectly. I guess what I'm getting at is I like the model but I think it'd be easy for less ambitious teachers to abuse it.