Week 3

Differences

According to many studies, there is an indication of different behavior and beliefs among people belonging to different generations.  As a teacher I often find myself saying, "what is wrong with our kids?", "why wont they do their homework?".  I believe there is a relationship with the time period in which your were born and how you view school and success.

According to the articles this week, the researches believe that generations today are self-absorbed, often referred to as Generation Me.  They are taught to believe in themselves as if they can conquer the world.  I teach my students this, but they also need to know that they must be willing to complete all of the hard work in order to reach their specific goals.

According to the videos this week, studies suggest that multi-tasking for students actually produces negative effects.  Students that focus on one objective often do better in class.  If students are aware of their primary objective before a class begins then they will increase their chances of meeting that objective.

Research also suggests that knowing a student's learning style is not really effective.  Knowing someone's learning style can be helpful in getting to know that student, but planning a students activities solely on that learning style is a mistake.

If we as teachers make instructional decisions based primarily on what we think makes sense and what media says and not research, are we doing our students a disservice?

My opinions
I taught in Detroit Public Schools from 1999-2012.  I left and went to University Prep for 3 months and then to EAA (Education Achievement Authority) for 9 months.  Let me just say, Thank God I am back home with Detroit Public Schools.  Despite all of the negative press that DPS gets, we don't experiment with our students.  We have a curriculum and we have technology and we are able to fuse the two together to make a positive learning environment.

We definitely need to approach learning differently.  We can't ignore research but we also need to research what works best in our classroom and Common Core works really well with my students.
As teachers we can't possibly think that just because we learned in a certain way that our students will learn in that same way.  I can't keep giving out homework assignments that aren't motivating to my students. Research says that short but to the point lessons work best with students.   I decided to create my classroom based on research but also based on the needs of my students.  In my classroom instruction is always short, entertaining, and motivating.  Some of the activities in my classroom include:
Tic-Tac-Toe Homework (Gives the students a choice of what assignment to complete)
-Centers
-Cause and Effect Books
-Talk Shows (Mainly with Social Studies)
-Hands up to 85 (Spelling Words)
-Flocabulary
-Wiki Page (consists of games related to our learning objectives)
-Kidblog-Teacher created questions about core subjects
My students have made tremendous gaine in Reading and Writing because of these activities that are designed for them to become better thinkers.

Learning Styles
According to research, knowing a student's learning style does not directly relate to student achievement.  However, I think it is important to know a student's learning style and create a variety of lessons for your class that will target all learning styles.  If Johnny takes a learning style quiz and it says he is an auditory learner, should all of his lessons only focus on auditory learning tasks, NO!! Johnny still needs to be exposed to all types of lessons.

I think students need a new approach to learning and teachers should let go of how they learned and expose children to activities that require them to create, compare and apply.  Teachers need a strong curriculum but they also need to be able to step outside of that curriculum and create meaningful lessons.

Week 2 Post

I really enjoyed viewing all of the videos and reading the articles.  It makes sense that students that have grown up surrounded by technology would of course learn differently than those that grew up without technology.  I was born in 1974 which makes me a member of Generation X, I did not grow up surrounded by technology, but I have been exposed to technology and I try to implement it as much as I can with our 4th graders.

The video, A Vision of Students, today had me riveted.  It was so interesting to take a walk in that classroom and read the signs that the students were holding.  It made me think about my students, their learning and their futures and how can I have an impact on their lives.

The video, A vision of K-12 students, today helped me to understand why digital learning has an impact on our students.  I remember in the first week of school asking my students about their summer breaks they mentioned how they would sit with their I Pads (all of their friends) and play games with each other.  I remember thinking what about how my summer was filled with bike riding and playing jump rope but I must remember our students/children are much more interested in getting the instant entertainment.

The video, Education, Today, and Tomorrow, focused on how education looked in the past compared to how it looks now.  Long ago students sat in rows and the teacher did all of the talking.  Now we should be preparing our students to engage, apply and create which will also support the Common Core.  My students love to work in groups to create a project, they really get motivated.

The Social Networking, video gave a quick example of how Social Media plays a huge role in networking.  You are able to see relationships and possibly interact with those relationships.  So many times I have found out from Face book that one of my sorority sisters is a friend of a friend and that sorority sister happens to know two other people that I have known for years.

All of the articles/videos helped me understand my students on a different level.  My students have a very difficult time paying attention in class and retaining the information.  That is because my students are digital learners and while I try to engage, apply and create with my students, we are still mandated to use the textbooks.  At the end of each week I often reflect back on my positives and negatives for the week.  I created a Kid blog which gives the students a question to answer about our Social Studies reading for the week.  The students love it!  When it is time to get the reading book out, I hear a lot of moans and groans.

All of the material this week describes most of my students.  They live in a world full of Instagram, Face book and much more.  In order for me to keep them engaged I need to create learning opportunities that mirror their world.

Getting to Know My Classmates

Hello everyone my name is Erika Guilford.  I live in Southfield, Michigan with my wonderful husband of 14 years.  We have 3 children, Donovan(12), Kayla(11) and Christopher(2).  I've been a teacher for 14 years and I work for Detroit Public Schools(4th grade).  I am taking this class so that I can implement more meaningful lessons for my students.  I want them actively involved with technology.  I want to expand their minds and create life-long thinkers.  I am very eager to get started!!!