Notes from Bakersfield Training as Taken by Participant
September 15, 2012
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Please add your thoughts to the discussion by submitting a comment below.
NOTES:
“Get your classes attention by having them repeat after you.
For example: You say “”Classity Class”" Kids say “”Yessity Yes”"
Exercise: Define Critical Thinking in 8 words or less. Write it down in 8 words or less. Turn paper over. Stand silently when finished.
-Why? Discussion:
Limit words- focuses thinking, focuses on general definition not details
Flip answers- no cheating
Stand silently- defines end of task, forces completion of task since others are way on you, classroom management
Stress regulation- task was less stressful when working on our own and more stressful once standing
8 words? Too stressful for children, puts pressure to complete task in certain criteria
Tim’s Response: Exercise not great for periodic teachers need time to develop the climate of the classroom Your’e a Hero for taking a risk. Wants kids to be tough. Confident about what they believe. Develop a climate that promotes taking risks. Never really finish anything only satisfied enough to move on to a new project or topic.
Standing silently- Give praise to child who was last to stand and took their time to write their answer.
Limit words-
Flip answers-
—Methods Discussion
Pair share- learn from partner, speaking aloud helps make concrete thoughts, allows more timid students to be heard (Tim: students more comfortable after pair share. Then they will be more likely to share answer classroom wide)
Stand, sit- easier for teacher to listen, standing engages more brain activity, physical activity is good for fidgety kids, defines start and finish to task
Chain it- allows kids to have a little bit of control, could focus on child insecurities (Tim’s response- popcorn reading not good. Use chain it for discussions)
Teacher sits- teacher becomes a facilitator
Teacher response to answers- redirection, validates all student answers
Student response to answers-
Reach Consensus- Critical Thinking answer
Steps:
Must agree, match paper
Change or blend
Stay until agree
Role play
Separate, find new partner
Repeat
What’s the purpose?
-Must agree: works on listening and explaining skills
-Change in writing: commit to something
-Find new partner: connects kids to each other, interacting, forming relationship
-Teacher as facilitator: as soon as teacher tells opinion all student thinking goes out the window, students feel empowered, kids almost always come to the conclusion that you want them to, kids discover answer for themselves
-Change the way you view yourself as a teacher
—Ask open ended questions. Write them in advance.
—Ask students to pair share all responses first (gives teacher feedback on how well they are communicating)(don’t expect your kids to know how to talk to each other. Keep using the tool to encourage communication)
—Call on individuals to answer
—Respond to the person, not the content. (affirm person but not the answer. Thank student for participating.
—You are the last resort for feedback in your classroom
Q&A
Comments-
-Learning is an activity that can be fun and interactive.
-Encourage students to listen and to retain the answers of others.
-Research shows that if you do not use something you learned in training within two weeks you’ll never use it!
