After reading and reflecting on "The Principle of Trust" from Houston and Sokolow's The Spiritual Dimension of Leadership one thing that really jumped out at me is the idea that "trust is to people as water is to plants;" we all need to trust and to feel trusted in order to thrive.
However, another idea that resonated with me, and one that I agree with, is trust is not an easy thing to maneuver. Some people have been burned so badly that they enter into a new relationship, whether it be personal or work related, with a lack of trust...before ever exploring the option that this person might actually be trustworthy. Houston and Sokolow explain the importance of trusting that people are innately good and remind us that "the very act of trusting people unleashes a powerful force that empowers them and brings out the best in them...when people feel trusted, they tend to behave in a trustworthy manner and give more of themselves," (pg. 131-132).
I've seen this play out many times over the past five years in my classroom. I start every school year trusting each one of my students and try to present them with opportunities that show how much I trust them. I know many teachers don't allow students to go near their desk or *gasp* IN it...but I am constantly asking my kids to get something from behind or in my desk...knowing very well that there are things in there that may tempt them. However, only twice have I experienced a break in this trust when something (a piece of candy and a calculator) went missing. I caught one of the students in action and, instead of yelling or even writing her up, I simply told her how disappointed I was because we had spent almost the entire year in a trusting relationship and that was now broken. I've never had a student cry like she did! I have her in my class again this year (having looped up) and she still brings up "that time when she broke my trust." She's worked very hard ever since then to earn it back and I think we have a very strong relationship because of it.
Some of my very best relationships, including my marriage, are based on a strong foundation of trust. I don't believe this would be the case were I not a trustworthy person myself. This is something I strive very hard to maintain and hope to continue instilling this in my students, and my own children, for many years!
Friday, March 14, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Action Research...Action!
Since the beginning of last school year (2012/2013) I've been conducting an Action Research study on Reader's Theater and repeated reading and the effects these strategies have on reading fluency.
When I began this research last year I had a group of 26 second graders, 16 who were below grade level. With this alarming number came a group of kids who had yet to develop their love of reading..mostly because they had no idea WHAT they were reading. I knew I had to start somewhere but simply teaching them how to break apart words didn't seem to be enough. Yes, some of them needed this strategy, but most were ready to move on to that "next step" of reading..but what was that next step?
After reading many articles about reading fluency one thing became very clear: to become more fluent with a passage it must be read over, and over and OVER. The more the student read the passage, the more cognitive attention would be needed to decode and could therefore be given to comprehension. Great...so I'll just have my kids read the same book 20 times. No problem...not boring...at all..
I knew this wouldn't go over too well and that I had to incorporate a more motivating strategy to get them to WANT to practice a passage multiple times. This is where Reader's Theater came in to place! While I won't go too far into detail, this website does a wonderful job explaining what Reader's Theater is and how it may look in a classroom. Also, ReadingA-Z offers many multi-leveled scripts (with a subscription...but well worth it) that my students loved practicing and performing.
Needless to say, I saw such a great increase in their reading fluency that their comprehension levels went up as a result! When I decide to loop up with my class to third grade I knew I had to continue the success in reading growth by continuing the use of these scripts in conjunction with other fluency strategies.
I've continued to see a HUGE growth in my students' reading abilities and their confidence! Where I once had 16 of 26 students below grade level I'm now proud to say that, of my current class of 25, 19 are reading at or well above grade level expectations :)
When I began this research last year I had a group of 26 second graders, 16 who were below grade level. With this alarming number came a group of kids who had yet to develop their love of reading..mostly because they had no idea WHAT they were reading. I knew I had to start somewhere but simply teaching them how to break apart words didn't seem to be enough. Yes, some of them needed this strategy, but most were ready to move on to that "next step" of reading..but what was that next step?
After reading many articles about reading fluency one thing became very clear: to become more fluent with a passage it must be read over, and over and OVER. The more the student read the passage, the more cognitive attention would be needed to decode and could therefore be given to comprehension. Great...so I'll just have my kids read the same book 20 times. No problem...not boring...at all..
I knew this wouldn't go over too well and that I had to incorporate a more motivating strategy to get them to WANT to practice a passage multiple times. This is where Reader's Theater came in to place! While I won't go too far into detail, this website does a wonderful job explaining what Reader's Theater is and how it may look in a classroom. Also, ReadingA-Z offers many multi-leveled scripts (with a subscription...but well worth it) that my students loved practicing and performing.
Needless to say, I saw such a great increase in their reading fluency that their comprehension levels went up as a result! When I decide to loop up with my class to third grade I knew I had to continue the success in reading growth by continuing the use of these scripts in conjunction with other fluency strategies.
I've continued to see a HUGE growth in my students' reading abilities and their confidence! Where I once had 16 of 26 students below grade level I'm now proud to say that, of my current class of 25, 19 are reading at or well above grade level expectations :)
Sunday, March 2, 2014
technology as a classroom staple
Technology is one of those things that you love to hate. While there is an endless amount of ways to enrich learning within the classroom when technology is involved, it doesn't always go as planned.
However, this is the direction in which our students are headed. We live in a day where toddlers can swipe an iPad screen, select an app and be entertained for hours.
I've certainly seen this engagement transfer into the classroom as my students are more "entertained" when the Smart Board or iPad is a central part of the lesson. In fact, I could write something on chart paper and lose them within minutes...put a piece of paper under the ELMO (projector) and show it on the Smart Board and they're locked in.
I've always been one to try and integrate technology into my lessons and, more recently through my master's program, have been more intentional about using it to enhance the learning and not simply act as a substitution for paper and pencil. While I've been trying many new apps and websites I've learned that what's best for my students and me is to find and implement one new idea and give it due diligence for a week or two. This allows for me to fully understand how to best use it in our classroom and gives my students the opportunity to become "fluent" and independent with it as well. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in all the possibilities that technology can bring us but, to better increase engagement and deepen understanding, it's worth it to me to "weed out" the substitutions and focus on finding things that truly enhance their learning.
However, this is the direction in which our students are headed. We live in a day where toddlers can swipe an iPad screen, select an app and be entertained for hours.
I've certainly seen this engagement transfer into the classroom as my students are more "entertained" when the Smart Board or iPad is a central part of the lesson. In fact, I could write something on chart paper and lose them within minutes...put a piece of paper under the ELMO (projector) and show it on the Smart Board and they're locked in.
I've always been one to try and integrate technology into my lessons and, more recently through my master's program, have been more intentional about using it to enhance the learning and not simply act as a substitution for paper and pencil. While I've been trying many new apps and websites I've learned that what's best for my students and me is to find and implement one new idea and give it due diligence for a week or two. This allows for me to fully understand how to best use it in our classroom and gives my students the opportunity to become "fluent" and independent with it as well. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in all the possibilities that technology can bring us but, to better increase engagement and deepen understanding, it's worth it to me to "weed out" the substitutions and focus on finding things that truly enhance their learning.
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