Tuesday, January 19, 2010
This chapter was mainly a review for me, but I still found it interesting and helpful. Student's learn in many different ways and teachers need to be prepared to accommodate and adjust their lessons. I work in a school and I definitely don't see enough of this happening. One thing that caught my eye in the text is communication among general education teachers and special education teachers. I see this as a struggle and obstacle among many teachers because some (not all) do not want to change their way of teaching. As teachers we need to do what is best for our students and that is to create as many opportunities as possible and be ready to face many different types of learners.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I have always loved math and I feel that it is a very important subject. The two principles that stood out to me were making sure that students learn math with an understanding and that assessment should support their learning and understanding. I liked the paragraph on real-world problems because students always ask, "Why do I need to know this?" As a teacher, you can determine how a concept or skill is used outside of the classroom and create an activity that will require the student to use the concept or skill in exactly the same way. Math involvement, I feel, is very critical and students are not involved enough. There are many activities and helpful ideas the text gives which can be taught in the classroom.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Reading and writing are very important for any student to learn. These two have a strong connection and go hand-in-hand. I totally agree with the textbook in which it states, "Reading and writing instruction should not be seperate nor should writing instruction be postponed until students are able to read." Even if a student cannot write to form words, he/she can draw pictures to depict their message they are trying to get across or they could participate in storytelling. I think it is imerpative that teachers understand the importance of these two ksills and that they try their best to get their students actively involved in many different ways.