In the final chapter of Fires talks about how to take all this learning and motivation of students and bring it outside the classroom, so it has a meaningful place in the real world. Students want to make those connections to the world outside, because it will make the entire learning experience mean more to them and help them actually retain the information and take something out of it. This chapter also talks about things that teachers can do to encourage further learning.
One thing that stood out to me is that so many students want their teachers to continue teaching them even after the class is over. I know that there are so many teachers who I would want to continue teaching me, even when the school year is over, so hearing all this different kids talk about having amazing learning experiences was really nice to read.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong
This chapter of Fires focuses on what to do when something goes wrong in your classroom, or students become discouraged and you don't know how to motivate them anymore. A lot of the student insight in this chapter came from students who had been through discouragement or had teachers who were discouraged, and their advice was about how to help students overcome it, or how to overcome it yourself. It not only talked about students who were discouraged, but also talked about how to handle, when you as a teacher, become discouraged.
I really enjoyed how this chapter talked about the teacher side of things going wrong and teacher's being discouraged, because I think it happens a lot more than we, as students, would realize. I also really liked how most of the advice in this chapter came from students who had overcome that discouragement, had overcome skipping classes and dropping out of school, to show that those students still might be motivated.
I really enjoyed how this chapter talked about the teacher side of things going wrong and teacher's being discouraged, because I think it happens a lot more than we, as students, would realize. I also really liked how most of the advice in this chapter came from students who had overcome that discouragement, had overcome skipping classes and dropping out of school, to show that those students still might be motivated.
Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English
This chapter of Fires in the Bathroom is the most specific of the different chapters in Fires so far. This chapter focuses mainly on what to do when you have multiple different languages being spoken in a classroom, or have students who are still developing their English skills. Many of the kids who have been giving their advice throughout this book come from different countries, and all live in the Bay Area of California, which is a very diverse area of California.
One of my favorite things that they talked about in this chapter was how to bring student's multiple different cultural backgrounds into the classroom. Connecting lessons to something students can relate to is something we've been learning a lot about in Dr. Grace's class, and being a history concentration, I definitely would want to bring many different cultures into a classroom. Making sure to use those cultural differences, so students can get something out of it, instead of ignoring them, is going to make not only those students more successful, but all students more successful.
One of my favorite things that they talked about in this chapter was how to bring student's multiple different cultural backgrounds into the classroom. Connecting lessons to something students can relate to is something we've been learning a lot about in Dr. Grace's class, and being a history concentration, I definitely would want to bring many different cultures into a classroom. Making sure to use those cultural differences, so students can get something out of it, instead of ignoring them, is going to make not only those students more successful, but all students more successful.
Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material
This chapter of Fires in the Bathroom, focused primarily on how to teach material to students in the way that's going to be most beneficial to them. The students in this chapter give many different examples of ways that they like learning new material and their favorite ways that teachers present information. There's also student insight into the best kinds of questions to ask students, in order to get them thinking and make them more "active learners."
My favorite part of this chapter was reading about the best kinds of questions to ask students. That's something that I have found myself struggling with the most, so being able to hear a few different students talk about questions that really made them think was really helpful for me to hear. I know from experience some of my best teachers were the ones who asked us the hardest questions, because they really made you think and become more "active learners."
My favorite part of this chapter was reading about the best kinds of questions to ask students. That's something that I have found myself struggling with the most, so being able to hear a few different students talk about questions that really made them think was really helpful for me to hear. I know from experience some of my best teachers were the ones who asked us the hardest questions, because they really made you think and become more "active learners."
Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom
In chapter six of Fires the hot button topic was motivation, what gets kids motivated, what keeps them motivated and what teachers can do to keep them motivated. As this chapter states, boredom is something so common in classrooms, and talks about what, you as a teacher, can do to try and keep students interested and doing their homework. Also discussed in this chapter, is how to correctly give homework, so instead of finding it arbitrary, students will be encouraged to do it and be excited it.
Being passionate about your content is something that I think is so important as a teacher, and is something that some of the different students in this talk about. I know, that in high school, I was always more motivated to succeed in the classes where I knew that the teacher cared about the subject and cared about us all succeeding. Another part of this chapter that I really found interesting was that students don't feel more motivated by hearing that school is important, because that's something that you always hear teachers tell students who don't want to do their work, so hearing more than one student saying that hearing that doesn't motivate them was really interesting.
Being passionate about your content is something that I think is so important as a teacher, and is something that some of the different students in this talk about. I know, that in high school, I was always more motivated to succeed in the classes where I knew that the teacher cared about the subject and cared about us all succeeding. Another part of this chapter that I really found interesting was that students don't feel more motivated by hearing that school is important, because that's something that you always hear teachers tell students who don't want to do their work, so hearing more than one student saying that hearing that doesn't motivate them was really interesting.
Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group
In this chapter of Fires, it talks mostly about how to be fair to each student, and treat each student as an individual, while also teaching to the entire class and make sure the entire class is succeeding. This chapter also talks about small group work, and how small group work thrives on diversity, having kids who are at different levels of learning, can be some of the most successful groups. Also discussed in this chapter is how as a teacher, you work with having many different levels of students in a classroom, and teach to all of them, without dumbing down, or raising the difficulty of any of the content.
My personal favorite part of this chapter, was the first quote a the very beginning, "One job of a teacher is to be fair to all. Don't expect the work of one student from another." One of my biggest pet peeves is when teachers expect all students to be at the same level, just because they are all in the same class, some kids learn differently than others, and that's an important thing to foster in a classroom. Finding out how each student works individually and holding each kid to the standard that they have expressed, is something that I think will allow a classroom to really succeed.
My personal favorite part of this chapter, was the first quote a the very beginning, "One job of a teacher is to be fair to all. Don't expect the work of one student from another." One of my biggest pet peeves is when teachers expect all students to be at the same level, just because they are all in the same class, some kids learn differently than others, and that's an important thing to foster in a classroom. Finding out how each student works individually and holding each kid to the standard that they have expressed, is something that I think will allow a classroom to really succeed.
Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success
This chapter of Fires in the Bathroom was all about how to support students and encourage them to succeed, without putting stress and high expectations on them. Most of the students that were included in this chapter talked about one particular teacher that really encouraged them to succeed and gave the necessary push and tools in order to have the success that they previously hadn't been able to reach. This chapter also talked about what the teacher can do in the classroom in order to promote success for all the students.
My favorite part of this chapter was the part at the end about grades, praise and incentive. It really reminded of what we had talked about previously, with motivation. I think it's super important to give students grades and feedback that encourages them to do more, not have them shut down if they aren't happy with the feedback and grades that they are getting. And while, it's important for students to find motivation within themselves, finding a way to praise students that will only encourage them to work harder is something I think is super important.
My favorite part of this chapter was the part at the end about grades, praise and incentive. It really reminded of what we had talked about previously, with motivation. I think it's super important to give students grades and feedback that encourages them to do more, not have them shut down if they aren't happy with the feedback and grades that they are getting. And while, it's important for students to find motivation within themselves, finding a way to praise students that will only encourage them to work harder is something I think is super important.
Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior
This chapter of Fires in the Bathroom was all about how to maintain a well behaved classroom, that allows for student success. In this chapter, the students talked about what kinds of things they've experienced that led to a good learning environment, and other things that led to bad behavior in the classroom by students. It also touched upon what to do when a student misbehaves and what the appropriate reaction would be, whether it be punishment by detention, calling parents, or going to administration.
One of the things that really stood out to me in this chapter, was that all students should be treated equally and fairly and that all sides of a story should be heard before taking any kind of action. Making sure that all students have their voices heard is something that I think is so important, and something that happens so rarely. So many times, I've seen teachers only listen to the "good" student, and not hear the whole story, which only sways the teacher decision and makes the other student feel isolated. Treating all students equally and with respect from the beginning, while also remaining in authority and being fair with authority, is the best way to gain your student respect.
One of the things that really stood out to me in this chapter, was that all students should be treated equally and fairly and that all sides of a story should be heard before taking any kind of action. Making sure that all students have their voices heard is something that I think is so important, and something that happens so rarely. So many times, I've seen teachers only listen to the "good" student, and not hear the whole story, which only sways the teacher decision and makes the other student feel isolated. Treating all students equally and with respect from the beginning, while also remaining in authority and being fair with authority, is the best way to gain your student respect.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Images
This chapter of Wes Fryer's book talked mainly about image sharing and how to correctly locate pictures to use in presentations and other classroom oriented activities. One of the things that Fryer really highlighted was the importance of using public domain images, or creative commons images, so students have permission to use all the images they would like to use. He encourages the use of special websites and search engines that cater to creative commons images, so students don't have to worry as much about getting copyright permission.
Another thing Fryer talks a lot in this chapter, is good websites of image sharing. He talks about different websites that can be used to upload and share photos on. Image sharing is such a new thing, but might be required for students to do now in the classroom, so he gives quite a few examples of different websites that can be used for not only image sharing, but also image editing, if photoshop is something that is unavailable to students.
One of my favorite things that Fryer stressed in this chapter is the importance of images in PowerPoints and other visual presentations. While text is important in classroom presentations, images and graphics can break up the text and make it more appealing for the people who are viewing it.
Another thing Fryer talks a lot in this chapter, is good websites of image sharing. He talks about different websites that can be used to upload and share photos on. Image sharing is such a new thing, but might be required for students to do now in the classroom, so he gives quite a few examples of different websites that can be used for not only image sharing, but also image editing, if photoshop is something that is unavailable to students.
One of my favorite things that Fryer stressed in this chapter is the importance of images in PowerPoints and other visual presentations. While text is important in classroom presentations, images and graphics can break up the text and make it more appealing for the people who are viewing it.
Resources
Flickr: Creative Commons, I really loved this resource. I have such a problem finding images sometimes, so having a resource with so many different images all that are free to use. I really want to use something like this in my classroom and make it available to my students, because I know a lot of the time, students might be kind of lazy and not be bothered to look for images they are allowed to use, so something like this would be a really good resource for students.
Tumblr, I've been using Tumblr for quite a few years now, but after talking about it in class the other day and reading this chapter, I never really thought it could be a resource for students in the classroom, but I really want to try and find a way to incorporate it into a lesson. Not only does it have great image sharing capabilities, but it also has so many resources on it, through it's search functions, that it could be really useful to students!
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