Abstract A:While I thought that this section was repetitive at times, I think it had some good ideas about what true middle schools should be like. Like the Turning Points 2000 recommendations, the ideas given in this book need to be used as a whole and not be used selectively. Tying into Wormelli's belief, in This We Believe, one of NMSA's main beliefs is having educators who value working with adolescents. It goes on to to say that middle level educators are role models for their students and should demonstrate the qualities that they want their students to possess. I think that this idea is critical for educators to understand and demonstrate if they want a successful and meaningful classroom. I also really connected to the idea of having high expectations for everyone in the school community.
Reflection A: Coming from a school district where the expectations of students were very low, it was easy to see how this affected the morale of the entire school. By having high expectations of your students and coworkers, they will be more motivated and have a higher chance of succeeding. The last main section that I connected with was the part about the school initiating partnerships with the families and community of the students. So often teachers assume that they are solely responsible for the education of students while in reality is should be a mutual effort. As the book points out, there is a direct correlation between family/adult involvement and greater student achievement and improved behavior.
Abstract B:I thought that this section of the book (19-34) had very similar ideas that were listed in Turning Points 200 such as teams, block scheduling and houses/schools-within-a-school." Another reoccurring theme that I found in this book was the need for integrated academics. Not only should teachers at the middle grades level integrate other academic subjects into their classroom, they should also model to the students how the information being presented can be applied to their daily lives out in the "real world." The portion dedicated to assessment I found very useful though. Because adolescents are at a time in their lives when they are building a clear self-concept, all assessment and evaluation should be focused on individual progress and not an individual's progress in regards to his or her classmates. The need to avoid extrinsic motivation is also another indicator of adolescence that should be recognized. Another reoccurring theme that I found in this book was the need for integrated academics.
Reflection B: Not only should teachers at the middle grades level integrate other academic subjects into their classroom, they should also model to the students how the information being presented can be applied to their daily lives out in the "real world." However, I found it lacking in concrete examples when the book dealt with many various topics. I would have liked to have more examples of how to make curriculum more relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory instead of the author simply telling me the benefits of doing so.
Abstract C:It is possible that this section of the book (39-51), even though it was rather short, was the most useful to me personally. Truly understanding the changes, needs and thoughts of adolescents is the basis needed to teach and support them most effectively. Having been out of middle school for several years, I had forgotten some parts of what it was like for me at that time.
Reflection C: Reading about the physical, cognitive, moral, psychological and social-emotional aspects of development that were discussed, I was able to recall much more of my time as a young adolescent. I think that this was very important as it will help me to emphasize with and support the adolescents that I will have in my classroom. In particular, I will be able to reassure my students that what they are going through is normal, which according to the book, is something that all adolescents will need at some point in their development. After having read this class, I thought that it would be a good idea for colleges to offer psychology courses specifically geared toward the development of adolescents as a typical college level psychology course is required to cover much material and does not provide enough in-depth information for this topic.
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8 comments:
I was working as a tutor at Jay a few weeks ago and read their course offerings. Each core class is either Phase 1, 2, 3, or 5. (Don't ask me where 4 went) One that was obvious was that classes for the lower tracks had far lower expectations for their students. They lacked some of the enduring understandings that the Phase 5 courses had. How can they expect the students to perform well if they aren't expecting them to?
Your expectations link is great; it encourages teachers to examine their teaching strategies and approaches, while at the same time bringing in students' opinions about the expectations their teachers have for them. This is a great resource for us to have, to look back on, as a reminder to get us back on track. The motivation link, again, is a great resource so that we can refer to it should we ever find ourselves in a situation where motivating our students has become difficult.
The website about expectations is really interesting because they talked to students and asked what they thought was expected of them.
The article about motivation is good because it just reinforces what we read and puts it in a different point of view.
I like the website about Adolescent Growth and Development because it puts all the changes that young adolescents go through into a couple pages. It condenses it but doesn't leave out any information.
Like I commented on another blog, I think motivation is one of the most important things for a middle school classroom. The motivation link works well with other strategies I have seen and is a great resource. Nice job.
I agree with Sean's statement that motivation is the most important elements of a middle school classroom. Teachers must bring some element to the classroom in every lesson that will motivate each and every student.
I like your Adolescent Growth and Development link. It's similar to the links I put in my own blog. It's very important for teachers, families, and communities to be familiar with the developmental growths that middle school students are going through.
I really liked your motivation link and thought that the SCORE was a great way for both teachers and students to be taught and reminded about the importance of motivation and what it means to success. The expectations link offered a variety of helpful strategies, and the easiness of navigating the site make it seem very useful.
I liked the site on development - I think it is important for educators of this age group to know who they are working with.
I think the links are great. I think it is a great point that although teachers truly believe that they do have high expectations for their students, in reality, they don't. I also agree with the fact that when teachers do have high expectations for their students, that is when their students will perform at a higher level and be more successful. The link about motivation is also important. Students these days are different. You have to be able to work with what they have and what interests them if you expect to get anywhere with them. That is why it is important to know what does motivate students. The other article is important because it takes you through all of the different changes that are going on. Working with middle school students is hard because of all of these changes and it is important to understand what is going on. This is another resource to better understand the development during this time period and how to deal with young adolescents.
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