Chapter 2 blog post
On the
first day of school I had my students fill out a get to know me sheet. A
student then proceeded to tell me, “You are probably not going to read these.”
I told that student that I was going to read each one. Like most teachers, I
really did intend to read every single get to know me sheet. However, it kept
falling to the end of each “to do” list and I eventually forgot all about them.
Through the activity deep data at a glance that we did in class, I realized how
little I knew about my students. At that moment, it felt like I was being hit
in the stomach with a stack of bricks. Without knowing information about my
students, I am unable to make connections in my project to student interests. I
am unable to discuss with them the things they like or dislike. It is important
to know how each student feels they learn best, and learn the areas they feel
they struggle in. With this information, you are able to place them in groups
that focus on their strengths and are able to get help with their weaknesses. After
class I decided to go through each get to know me sheet and document what the
students like, what they do not like, their strengths, and weaknesses. I
realized that many of my students like to draw. Therefore, I am going to allow
my students to draw their floor plan out on a poster board. I also learned that
many students struggled with fractions (I mean, who did not struggle with
fractions in 9th grade). Because of this, I will now give mini
lessons throughout the course on fractions. This will allow my students to
practice and become more comfortable working with fractions.
I am so happy you got to go through your interest list. My first year I did the same thing and I felt so much better plus I was so much more in tune with my students. Over the years, I have started giving each student a sticky note as they enter my classroom. On that sticky note I ask each student to tell me one thing they wish I knew about them and at least 3 things they enjoy doing and a place they would like to travel. This helps me to learn their interest a little quicker.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your honesty in this post and your continual willingness to reflect and grow in your teaching practice. I am glad that the Deep Data at a Glance assessment helped provide the lens for you to consider what you know and don't know about your students. I loved reading how once you found out that many of your students like to draw you adjusted your pbl unit plan to include opportunities for them to use that learning modality in the pbl unit plan you created. creating their floor plan on a poster board provides a visual and some intrinsic motivation for this. I also am glad that you provided some scaffolding with fractions so that students build confidence with this content.
Sincerely,
Dawn