The importance of middle grades education should never be overestimated. Students have powerful minds and tend to have very strong opinions about important issues. Students need proper guidance when they are forming thier opinions on important subjects. When children undergo adolescence they go through drastic changes. They change both physically and mentally. This is the time when adolescents start to think abstractly, as well as concretely. There are different changes for each gender, and these changes can make many students feel insecure about themselves. Teachers need to know how to approach and educate young adolescents effectively. Everyone needs to be involved in the education of young adolescents; even principals and superintendents have their part to play. The community needs to be involved with the educational process as well. Having speakers come into schools can be a powerful thing. Curriculum needs to be relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory. Teachers need to be supportive, and they need to actively engage the students and the community. Sparking students' interest is key. Teachers need to use teaching approaches that respond to students' diversity. Assessment needs to be more than just tests; assessment should be paired equally with evaluation, and should actively engage students. Teachers also need to team up and collaborate to ensure that every student gets the support and instruction they need. Teachers need to do team bonding activities because an effective team means an effective school. Many young adolescents are struggling to take a stance on moral issues, and teachers can be a great role model for these young students. The school needs to foster health, wellness and safety. Every student should have an adult advocate, someone that they can come to for advice and support, because young adolescents need support and guidance. Teachers can guide students and help them through their tough times. Teachers need to know how to deal with the developments that young adolescents are going through. Teachers also need to keep constantly checking themselves to make sure that what they are teaching has a purpose and a goal. Lessons need to be engaging, and lessons also need to be differentiated.
I agree with everything that this book is saying. Students at this age level are really beginning to shape and form the ideas that will help them become who they are as a person. This is the time where they really need support and guidance. Teachers can be a great role model for students and can really help students out through this very tough time in their lives. Teachers need to be actively involved in every student’s education, and we constantly need to keep checking in with ourselves to make sure that what we are doing is really in the best interest of our students. Students’ brains are changing during this time, and engaging their minds is key. All students learn differently, and teaching in different styles can help keep students actively involved in their education. We also need to make sure that we involve the community in the students' learning. Bring in guest speakers. Take students out in the community. Get them as actively involved in the community as the community is to the school. Everyone needs to take part in the education process of young adolescents. Students at this age level look up to adults such as teachers and we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to be a proper role model for them. If we are not setting a good example, how can we expect students to know how to behave and act?
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I love link to the PDF file about differentiated instruction. I think it proposes great ideas about how to get to know your learners through pre-assessments, self-assessments, as well as learning profiles... etc. It is a great idea to start with getting to know their needs because once that happens you can tailor your instruction and assessments to their individual needs and learning styles. I also think the effective link is cool because it is another reinforcer of what we have been reading in the books. By the way, I think the hotlist for differentiated instruction is an awesome resource. It provides links to lesson plans and a bunch of stuff which you can use to differentiate your instruction.
I LOVE HOTLISTS! They are so helpful in organizing resources and then using them in class instruction. As a strong believer in differentiated instruction I found the hotlist to be very helpful. I really liked the section on graphic organizers, especially the links they had with regards to the program Inspiration, which as a social studies teacher is a great way to both organize thoughts and create timelines. Kudos!
I liked all three of the articles, and think that they will make for a good resource down the road. I thought the first article was something that should hang beside a teachers desk and used as a checklist everyday in class. Its a good reminder of what we should be doing. The article and power point on differentiated instruction were also helpful and gave good ideas. I believe that differentiating the instruction is such a vital part of student success, and these two resources gave great information for people just learning it, as well as a deeper understanding for teachers who already use it.
The first link was a great reminder for teachers. It seems like something administrators should pass out to first year teachers or at the first staff meeting. The powerpoint also seemed like something that teachers should share among eachother. I think its great that you had varied links-to an article, hotlist, and to a powerpoint.
The first link took me to an awesome site. That included links to magazine articles written on educational issues of today. It also included a blog that proved interesting reading. I encourage everyone to read the blogs!!!!!! The second link was a link to links (say that ten times fast). The Middle webs Teaching Strategies resources referenced Meet ME in the Middle.
I really liked your link about differentiated instruction. There were so many different informational links and resources just on the one website. I really enjoyed the Teachley's Believe It or Not link. It talks about useful hints and information to consider when teaching all different types of students. It talks about memory recall, boring classrooms and even the connection between dehydration and learning. Although they are simple facts and ideas, it seems as though they could be very useful and handy. Great link.
What I liked about your first link was that it showed that people are committed to integrating everything we're learning now into their schools. Furthermore, they're synthesizing multiple viewpoints and combining them to make a stronger master plan.
Your link on differentiation was also good. I'd never thought of separating differentiation into different categories like that (ie curriculum or environment). I think we can use these ideas to help us decide how we differentiate. We can ask ourselves, "OK, I've differentiated the curriculum and that didn't work, so why don't I try the environment?"
I like the website on effective middle school education because it condenses all the information that we've been reading.
I also liked the website on differentiated instruction because it had so many other links attached to it. I only had time to look through a couple of them but they were great, good job!
The first link is the perfect link for this class. We are all trying to figure out how to have an effective middle grades education for students. It also offers a few ideas that, believe it or not, Dr. Grace has not taught us. I think that it is especially important for the parents and community to be involved so this link really stood out to me. Another great reference for middle grades teachers
Your differentiation links are awesome; the first one -"effective"- has some great resources within that site. The powerpoint about differentiation is another great resource --I tagged/kept them both. Great finds.
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