Tina Sanders Blog Post 1

Tina Sanders Blog Post

Chapter 2:

Before implementation of my PBL, there are some crucial things I need to know about my students. Academically:

Can they hold a pencil to write some letters/symbols? If they do not have those skills, I have to teach them. Where the students entered at the beginning of the year: My students are all at varying levels, I have students who are reading and students who do not know the first letter in their name. Some students attended school and some have never been anywhere but at home with their parents who have taught them very little. In fact, one mom said, “He didn’t get into K4 so we just figured he didn’t need any help.” This child does not know 1 letter including the 1^st letter in his name.  The majority of my students came in significantly below grade level with very limited writing skills. It is impossible to get them to write letters when they don’t know their letters. Each student comes in with varying experiences with synapsis firing at different rates because of the lack or abundance of those experiences. We have worked tirelessly to get them up to grade level standards. While we have made some progress, we are far from where we need to be. Yet, we have gotten everyone to the point where they can at least copy some letters they see us write.

Socially/Emotionally:

Do they know how to work cooperatively with a small group and do they have the ability to compromise?

My students aren’t use to having to compromise in any way shape or form. They are very egocentric and all about what they want. They love talking about themselves, so we have sharing circle every morning where students have the opportunity to talk about themselves and learn to listen to their friends. We have done a lot of team building exercises to show them the benefits of working together. Realizing with the research of today, that the whole child is what is important, it is difficult to understand why those who make the decisions about expectations rely so heavily on test scores and not on authentic experiences.

Chapter 3:

Classroom Environment: I have worked long and hard to transform my room into a flexible seating haven for my students. There are no assigned seats. Students are allowed to choose the best learning environment for them.  I would like to get some bucket seats to complete the flexible seating design. I have a large rug for a whole class meeting space. Then I have lowered most of my tables to accommodate stadium seats and/or cushions. I have also purchased several lap desks for students to work on the floor. Then, we also have 2 kidney shaped tables for small group work with myself and my assistant.   There is a part of the room that has materials for “busy-messy” activities. Clean and clutter-free are words that my principal always uses to describe what she wants to say is the ideal classroom environment. While I agree with that on some level, I also think that being too controlling of the environment can limit the free expression that students should be allowed to have. Flexible seating also helps with student engagement. I liked the quote: "The key is engagement early on. We know that if a project is flat at the outset, it's going to be six weeks of dragging them along."  So, I am hoping that between having an amateur magician and having Mrs. Magnet come to class, I will get them instantly engaged. The challenge will be to keep them engaged.