Boys and Girls Learn Differently

More than anything, I found the whole basis for this book to be incredibly interesting. There is not enough research on gender in the classroom and more of it could enable teachers to reach all students in a maximize learning environment. What struck me as odd was the fact that there are schools separating their math classes by gender, but no other subjects follow this model. I wonder what it is about math that makes the results distinct enough to make this executive decision where as other subjects prove too ambiguous. I also wonder if separating boys and girls in the math class would even matter if a heterogenous classroom employed skills that seem to improve scores for both (such as kinesthetic motion coupled with increased time on learning multiplication facts). I hope to look into this more when I have free time and I'm glad that this group was able to call my attention to it!

Becoming a Wiz at Brain-Based Teaching

This presentation was great. Being able to learn in small groups seems to be what works best for this class, and I know I enjoy it more than lecture. Team 1 did an awesome job of creating engaging activities while modeling the process of joining them under an overarching theme. For me, the most meaningful part of the presentation was the station that focused on student ownership of the classroom. I really like the idea of having students write a meaningful quote and designating a wall of the room simply for that sense of ownership and motivation. It's definitely a strategy I plan on using in the field!

Turning Points 2000: Chapter 2 & pgs 102-105

Chapter 2 of Turning Points 2000 highlighted the authors’ recommendations for creating a functional and successful middle school. The sections I found the most important were actually the ones regarding the staffing of such schools. “Staff middle grades schools with teachers who are expert at teaching young adolescents and engage teachers in ongoing professional development” is one of the best things that I believe can be done for the heath of a middle school environment. Not only does it push educators to a standard of excellence, but it also engages them in new developments over the span of their teaching career. Too often I feel that middle school educators are held the least responsible for the wellbeing of their students. Perhaps that is because the age group is viewed publicly as “tough” or “troublesome”. Perhaps this is rooted in my own personal feelings of resentment toward my personal experience in grades 7 and 8 and the lack of professionalism I felt from my teachers (which actually makes perfect sense after reading section 102-105). Either way, I do feel that keeping teachers sharp and holding them to developing standards is one of the best things that any responsible educator can do to be actively involved with their students’ development and learning.

Meet Me in the Middle: Chapter 15

I enjoy any tips I can get on dealing with parents. I found this chapter to be helpful and full of ways I may be able to employ parent interaction in my classroom, however, I still do not believe I will feel completely comfortable with it until I have had the opportunity to teach for a few years and gain personal experience. Since it's shown that students who have parent involvement in their education perform better, I definitely want to make parental communication one of my top priorities as a new teacher. Although this chapter was full of information, , I feel a certain weight around this topic and I don't believe it will be settled until I am in the field.

Turning Points 2000: Chapter 9

Involving community is one of the tasks I think I'll struggle with the most when becoming a teacher. Other than sending home notices, frequent emailing or even phone calling, what can I do as an educator without seeming invasive to students' and parents' lives? As a person, I highly enjoy working with people, so I can see myself as being a fairly active community member. I also believe in being proactive by seeking out the support of others before I need it. Hopefully this will enable me to make some sort of connection with the school's surrounding area in order to engage their involvement with functions. I suppose it depends on the community.

Although I am nervous for interactions with parents, I am sure I will learn where the concerning boundaries are as I become more practiced as a teacher.

Turning Points 2000: Chapter 8

I believe creating a healthy learning environment within each classroom is doable. Each teacher has his/her expectations of each student and everyone has a common understanding of the consequences for not meeting those standards. However, I believe the difficulty lies within the whole school culmination of these sub environments. Having inconsistencies in policy from one class to another can make the lines of appropriate behavior quite ambiguous to the young teenager and thus easy to overstep. In order to create this ultimately positive atmosphere, all teachers, faculty and staff must have a common understanding of what is to be requested of students. But that only addresses the behavioral portion of the healthy environment - there are many other factors that contribute to the overall well being of the school community. Such things as eating habits, social and cultural barriers as well as experimenting with sex, drugs and alcohol all contribute to the attitude of the school. All things are matters which need to be discussed and addressed as a middle school unit.

Turning Points 2000: Chapter 4

Once again we revisit the idea of shaping instruction to maximize meaningful learning. Although it is "great" to teach-to-the-test and produce high scores consisting of regurgitated information, what benefits students is learning with meaning. At one point, the author says that students should be producing knowledge instead of just parroting it back to the instructor. Gaining this information in a way that matters in contexts outside of the classroom leads to durable understanding that students will be able to use throughout their lives. It is the responsibility of the instructors to provide information to students in such a way that they may take away the maximum amount of content. Using such tools as backwards design and the WHERETO model give teachers a leg up in this process, although they are dependent on the educator's ability to properly enact them. If teachers commit to use these formats in their classrooms and if they are genuinely understanding of their students' educational needs, we might be on the right track to achieving this higher level of learning.