As I mentioned in this week discussion ,the topic of Multiple Intelligences has been with my teaching style for years.I have applied diagnostic tests since I learned about them.,that is to say more than 15 years ago.
Different learning styles were something I could feel in my heart, when I observed my student behavior when learning and I was planning different tasks naturally.
When I came accross Howard Gardner`s theory of Multiple Intelligences and I started working with his tests,.I felt really well .I was doing something and I had the theory to back it up.
As I also mentioned in the discussion, technology nowadays is a magnificent tool to be able to scaffold different learning styles.In the 21st.Century, we have become familiar with tecnology in our classroom and this week topic has been for me an excellent chance to reflect upon the past and see how much we have developed.
I want to share also in the blog a project I implemented with a group.It was a project negotiated with them "My favorite Song" this was a Friday afternoon task and only if we had finished with the objectives of the week,they would have 20 minutes for it.It worked this way:After choosing a song they would like to share with their classmates,students in pairs,had to look for the script of the song and prepare a task for their peers,e.g,fill inthe blanks,order the stanzas,or the lines,..It was impressive how they worked the rest of the week to have those 20 minutes for them to present their tasks,.
As a conclussion to my week reflection I want to mention the article "Sailing the 5 Cs with Learning Strategies" (http://www.nclrc.org/sailing/) with these 5 words : "communication,culture,connection, comparisons and communities",(I haven't heard " 5 Cs" expression before).
These 5 words,the article and the page reassures and confirms all my beliefs about education.and makes me fall in love again with my profession,as every time I learn something new or reflect upon a useful tool
Maria Elena
Navidad
En casa
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Week 8 ANVILL WEEK
I have named this week ANVILL ,because I have discovered this page and I do not want to exagerate,but I think my classes will change from now on.
I had been using Moodle,as a students and as a teacher,but I have found out that ANVIL is a lot more user-friendly for me and I am sure it will be for my students as well.
I am so sad I could not get Internet connection earlier that day and I was so thrilled watching the video of the conference.You can´t imagine ,several times I wanted to participate because I was feeling I was there!
This week has been very special for me, because another group of six graders in the Public Highschool have said goodbye to classes there,some of them are going to University,some others to other courses,related to the country,because we live in a farming aerea,others are going to look for a job...We have had farewell meetings with each class.I get very emotional .Every year I say goodbye to a group, I feel great in one part,having been part of their development and sad on the other hand ,because I always feel I have not done enough.
Anyway it has been a bittersweet week as usual and as I share a googlegroup with them we may continue in touch.Now that I have discovered ANVILL ,I am already making plans for my 2012 groups.
On the other hand this week my project students in the Private Institute will bring their final videos for the project tomorrow.I am thrilled to see the results.
Maria Elena
I had been using Moodle,as a students and as a teacher,but I have found out that ANVIL is a lot more user-friendly for me and I am sure it will be for my students as well.
I am so sad I could not get Internet connection earlier that day and I was so thrilled watching the video of the conference.You can´t imagine ,several times I wanted to participate because I was feeling I was there!
This week has been very special for me, because another group of six graders in the Public Highschool have said goodbye to classes there,some of them are going to University,some others to other courses,related to the country,because we live in a farming aerea,others are going to look for a job...We have had farewell meetings with each class.I get very emotional .Every year I say goodbye to a group, I feel great in one part,having been part of their development and sad on the other hand ,because I always feel I have not done enough.
Anyway it has been a bittersweet week as usual and as I share a googlegroup with them we may continue in touch.Now that I have discovered ANVILL ,I am already making plans for my 2012 groups.
On the other hand this week my project students in the Private Institute will bring their final videos for the project tomorrow.I am thrilled to see the results.
Maria Elena
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Learner Autonomy and the One-Computer classroom
As usual in me I take my weekends to reflect and then post,this week really made me reflect about planning and organizing when working with one- computer-classroom,specially after reading the article I mentioned in the discussion from Dimitrios Thanasoulas."What is a Learner Autonomy and How Can It Be Fostered?"and the one from Samuel P-H Sheu "Learner Autonomy:Bird in-the-hand or Bird- in- the-bush?."
I was tempted to work on this discussion until I found they were both so interrelated from my point of view that I could not separate them ,so I decided to participate in the one-computer classroom discussion ,because I needed to learn more about it.
Quoting Dr Deborah Healey :"Bad teaching will not disappear with the addition of technology,no matter how advanced the technology is.Good teaching will benefit from it ".Her words were so important for me,I work as a mentor teacher in my aerea and I feel we do not exactly know if the bird is in our hands or in the bushes, to follow Prof.Sheu reflections on the topic.
I teach High School Grades and usually find students who have had a bad experience when learning and they have quit trying ,they just repeat mechanically to pass the tests ,so I have always felt as a challenge to " lower their affective filter" with the language and start again,having them feel differently about the language,enjoy it,have fun with it ,technology has helped me a lot these last years with this challenge .Nevertheless,not well planned one-computer classes,may provoke all the "birds"fly away from learning...
Thanks for listening
Maria Elena
I
I was tempted to work on this discussion until I found they were both so interrelated from my point of view that I could not separate them ,so I decided to participate in the one-computer classroom discussion ,because I needed to learn more about it.
Quoting Dr Deborah Healey :"Bad teaching will not disappear with the addition of technology,no matter how advanced the technology is.Good teaching will benefit from it ".Her words were so important for me,I work as a mentor teacher in my aerea and I feel we do not exactly know if the bird is in our hands or in the bushes, to follow Prof.Sheu reflections on the topic.
I teach High School Grades and usually find students who have had a bad experience when learning and they have quit trying ,they just repeat mechanically to pass the tests ,so I have always felt as a challenge to " lower their affective filter" with the language and start again,having them feel differently about the language,enjoy it,have fun with it ,technology has helped me a lot these last years with this challenge .Nevertheless,not well planned one-computer classes,may provoke all the "birds"fly away from learning...
Thanks for listening
Maria Elena
I
Sunday, November 6, 2011
My Project
As I have commented on nicenet,this week I have told my students that they will have to prepare the video by the end of the month.As I have mentioned I changed the topic of my project to "Optimism related to health",because of the article I found on the recommended page www.brekingnewsenglish.com.,this last week they were reading the article,doing the different exercises and connecting it to the course book :American Inside Out Pre.Intermediate.Unit 5 :In Shape and 9 Smile. Last class they handed in their personal opinions about this topic in written form,so I could help them edit it asking further questions for them to prepare their speech.
I gave them the rubrics I prepared and last Thursday we negotiated the way they were going to record it to present to the class,some of them will have a classmate with a camera,some others want to record themselves,some of them want to edit the video with Windows Media Player and others don´t.We have decided that it wouldn't be fair to edit the video itself because not all of them know how to.
So off they went last class,they have also asked me to rehearse it in class or record it in class.
I told them not ,because it wouldn't be a totally new situation to practice.
Let's see which new questions arise next week.
Marilen
I gave them the rubrics I prepared and last Thursday we negotiated the way they were going to record it to present to the class,some of them will have a classmate with a camera,some others want to record themselves,some of them want to edit the video with Windows Media Player and others don´t.We have decided that it wouldn't be fair to edit the video itself because not all of them know how to.
So off they went last class,they have also asked me to rehearse it in class or record it in class.
I told them not ,because it wouldn't be a totally new situation to practice.
Let's see which new questions arise next week.
Marilen
Interactive Power Point
I am so proud to say that I could prepare my first Interactive Power Point.
I must mention that it could have been an almost impossible mission, without the articles Donna Shaw suggested us.
I know I have just started with it ,I was not able to add hidden slides with more information,for example,or to think of a different topic ,or to add a better assessment,we are finishing classes here,so we are reviewing for the final test,but I am so enthusiastic about it ,that I am sad because classes are finishing and I will have to wait until next year to work more with them in class.
On the other, hand I will have vacations in January and then in February, if God spares,I will have plenty of planning time before classes start again,to prepare better ones.
Don´t I sound crazy saying something like this?But usually this is the way I feel when I discover a new tool,I can't wait to implement it.I will work with it in class next Wednesday and I will tell you next week
Thanks for the comments on my blog,you make me aware of the blessings I have and Yes,I do have small groups,but I have seven groups which means planning teaching and assessing for more than a hiundred students weekly.
That is why I am connecting to my blog or other's on Sunday nights.
Marilen
I must mention that it could have been an almost impossible mission, without the articles Donna Shaw suggested us.
I know I have just started with it ,I was not able to add hidden slides with more information,for example,or to think of a different topic ,or to add a better assessment,we are finishing classes here,so we are reviewing for the final test,but I am so enthusiastic about it ,that I am sad because classes are finishing and I will have to wait until next year to work more with them in class.
On the other, hand I will have vacations in January and then in February, if God spares,I will have plenty of planning time before classes start again,to prepare better ones.
Don´t I sound crazy saying something like this?But usually this is the way I feel when I discover a new tool,I can't wait to implement it.I will work with it in class next Wednesday and I will tell you next week
Thanks for the comments on my blog,you make me aware of the blessings I have and Yes,I do have small groups,but I have seven groups which means planning teaching and assessing for more than a hiundred students weekly.
That is why I am connecting to my blog or other's on Sunday nights.
Marilen
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
week 6 .Student centered classroom and Interactive PPT
This week readings have been difficult to me .I think it is because I do not feel identified with the topic of large classes..Luckily I do not have large classes in the little Public High School I work, and neither in the Private Institution I work .I may have from 10 to 25 students in my classroom ,However the page from Geoscience Faculty has really broaden my perspective about the effort teachers have to make ,struggling with large classes.
What I have found really challenging is the interactive power point I am working on.I am used to Power point but not interactive ones,so creating an Interactive Presentation is not being any easy.for me.
But I like challenges.
Maria Elena
What I have found really challenging is the interactive power point I am working on.I am used to Power point but not interactive ones,so creating an Interactive Presentation is not being any easy.for me.
But I like challenges.
Maria Elena
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