Book Review

I chose the book The Teachers Guide to Media Literacy Critical Thinking in a Multimedia World by Cyndy Scheibe and Faith Rogow.

I would give this book a two thumbs up rating across the board! It is a fantastic resource to supplement not only this class but to use as a tool for incorporating media literacy and 21^st Century skills into you classroom.  This book does a really great job to support this class; it seemed to mirror and supplement each week. It is very informative when it comes to offering strategies to implement technology into the classroom. It does a great job of explaining media literacy and how to use it, as well as incorporate technology in the classroom in very effective ways. I received a lot of valuable information from this book. For an additional bonus, the book offers a companion website that includes all of the curriculum and lessons included in the book to use as a reference. It is great because you can make adaptations to the lessons to best meet the needs of yourself and your class. The book was an easy read and it does a great job to get you hooked. I found myself wanting to read more and more. It offered numerous ways to use media as well as ideas of curriculum and lessons to use in the classroom. Besides offering many resources and instructional strategies, the book had “reflection boxes” throughout the book, which encouraged self-reflection to what was just discussed. “It is possible to teach media without taking time for self-reflection, but you will be much more effective if you engage in this important part of being a media literacy educator.” (Scheibe & Rogow 2012, p. 7) I couldn’t agree more with this statement and found that having the boxes throughout the text reminded me to take time to self-reflect, which created a better understanding of the material.

Summary:

       The book starts out by describing media literacy, the ISTE educational standards, the principles behind media literacy, the needs of educators and students when it comes to media literacy, and how to use the book effectively. Chapters 1-3 give in-depth reasoning about what they mean when they talk about media literacy education. They describe different types of media, going beyond technology and point out different types of media and the messages convey through all types of media. It discusses the components of media literacy and the importance critical thinking skills play when developing media literacy. The book discusses the topic of visual literacy. Taking into consideration the content of what you are looking at. “Replace the question, “What does it mean? with “When you see this, what do you do?” (Scheibe & Rogow 2012, p. 29) There was a great example about a yellow dot. Is it part of a traffic light, or the sun, or a smiley face? Visual literacy requires putting what you see into a relative context, which differs upon personal perspectives. In Chapter three the book discusses media literacy education, this is where they incorporated the ISTE standards and how they relate to teaching media literacy. Teaching students and yourself to ask questions when analyzing media messages. It talks about critical thinking and looking at the impact, context, and creditability of a source. This chapter laid the foundation for the following chapters in how to teach these skills in a classroom.

       Chapters 4-7 lay out the pedagogy and practices for achieving media literacy education. The first section discusses reading and interpreting media messages. Teaching students to build a skill set to decode media documents and media messages they read. Asking productive questions such as, Is it fact or opinion?, Is it a reliable source?, What is the author's point of view?, and to draw conclusions using document-based evidence. These skills are the same as in traditional ELA standards, but just as important when taking into consideration media literacy. Using these decoding skills to find media documents and analyze them to see if they are going to be useful and supportive in whatever they are researching. Using teaching strategies that are unbiased and developmentally appropriate. I felt that these chapters pointed out the use of effective teaching strategies for overall instruction. It is just as important to keep these strategies in mind when teaching media literacy and technology skills. It gave real life examples of decoding strategies related to art and history. The book offered detailed ways to incorporate media literacy into everyday curriculum, by using it in everyday teaching strategies such as KWL charts and self-assessments. It gave examples of advertising, news reports, video games, and website home pages. How they can be set up to be misleading or bias. All the scenarios are interpreted differently from children to adults. Overall, encouraging, teaching, and promoting critical thinking skills in students when it relates to their media and technology lives.

       Chapter 6 offered ways to incorporate media into every content area/ subject, giving examples of how to do it in each area. The ideas range from word clouds to electronic graphs and charts. Chapter 7 offers many detailed lesson plans that effectively used multimedia throughout the lesson and promotes opportunities for students to practice the media literacy skills they have learned. Oh my goodness they were all fantastic.

       Chapters 8 and 9 are about assessment. Specifically, how to determine if your approaches to teaching media literacy have been effective. They also describe the challenges and benefits to media literacy education in the classroom. They offer assessing habits of inquiry with a traditional scale of inadequate, emerging, proficient, advanced, and elementary. Chapter nine was awesome because it challenged the question, “Sounds great, but I don’t have time! Getting past the barriers and why it’s worth it.” (Scheibe & Rogow 2012, p. 201) Teachers have excuses and reasons to why they are fearful or don’t work on creating a differentiated classroom. When I was reading the chapter they were all similar to those and they offered the same advice. Start slow, do one step at a time, and tweak it to fit your needs and those of your students, that way it will be less overwhelming and more effective.

Reference:

Scheibe, C., & Rogow, F. (2012). The teacher's guide to media literacy: Critical thinking in a multimedia world. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Standards Based Interacrive Game

This is an interactive Jeopardy game based on the fifth-grade science standards, “Physical Sciences 1. Elements and their combinations account for all the varied types of matter in the world. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know that during chemical reactions the atoms in the reactants rearrange to form products with different properties. c. Students know metals have properties in common, such as high electrical and thermal conductivity. Some metals, such as aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au), are pure elements; others, such as steel and brass, are composed of a combination of elemental metals. i. Students know the common properties of salts, such as sodium chloride (NaCl).” 

I found the Jeopardy template on the Internet; in Google Slides. A blank copy of the template can be found in the link below, so you can use it in your classroom. The game and template, are extremely user friendly and has all the links already set in place, all you need to do if fill in the questions, answers, and final Jeopardy question. Then you are ready to play with your students. Just click on the square they choose and the question appears, then to see the answer you click on the answer link. To get back to the home screen you click on the back to home link on the answer slide. The only drawback to this game is that it doesn’t blank out the square that has been previously chosen. Using a white board marker and placing an X over the box easily remedied this. 

 Blank Jeopardy Game Template

I used this template to create a 5th grade Science lesson on metals and alloys. I used the text to create the questions. To begin the lesson I had the students’ frontloaded with information from the chapter. The students were tasked to fill in a chapter notes sheet. This sheet consisted of 6 general questions that covered the material. The students read the chapter and watched the correlating video; they took notes based on the information learned. The students were allowed to use their notes while playing the game. 

On game day I had the students play the game in their table groups, they had to work together as a group to come up with the answers, which they then wrote down on their white boards. I had a time limit of a 1:30 minutes, when the buzzer went off I used pick me sticks to pick a student/ group to flash their white board. If they got the right answer, the group was awarded the corresponding points. The group with the most points was awarded $50 Yankees (the classroom monetary system). 

Metals and Alloys Jeopardy Board

I used the Jeopardy game again in a subsequent lesson, but decided to kick it up a knock. I wanted to provide the students with the opportunity to use a higher order of thinking in Bloom’s Taxonomy, synthesis. I had the students take the same notes based off reading and watching the chapter video for salts. This time I had the students create the questions for the Jeopardy categories. I had them work in cooperative groups and assigned each group a category from the note worksheet. They then gave me the questions, which I inputted into the Jeopardy board. When we played the game we followed all the same rules as before. The students used were able to use their notes when answering the questions.

Student Created Questions Jeopardy- Salts 

I was able to assess the students throughout the entire process. I assess the students while they were coming up with the answers. I was able to use informal observation of their conversations and answers. I also had each group flash their white boards, so I could see that all of the groups answers. Checking all of the answers enabled me to check for understanding of all the students. When I had the students create the questions, I checked the questions and answers as another form of assessment. I used the unit test as a summative assessment, which the students rocked! The lesson provided many opportunities for differentiation, through cooperative group work, content input and output, as well as technology. The game was a great tool for meeting the standards because all of the questions/ information included in the lesson is based on the content standards set forth by the State in fifth grade. Best of all it makes learning fun, engaging and promotes motivation in students.

Refrence:

CDE. (2009, June). Science Content Standards for California Public School. Retrieved June 17, 2016, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/sciencestnd.pdf

21st Century Skills- assignment 1B

21^st century skills are the skills that students need develop and apply to be able to succeed in the information age. They are the skills that prepare students to be successful in their college and careers. There are, what is considered by most, the 4c’s of the 21^st century skills. They are Critical thinking, Creative thinking, Collaborating, and Communication. In general, these skills require students to be able to work effectively with people, to be able to solve problems, to use technology, and have digital literacy.

I feel that communication is one of the most important skills for learners to have to be successful in the 21^st century. Communication skills involve a number of skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Communication skills are an essential part of being a 21^st Century learner. Students need to be able to communicate verbally and via technology.  Students need to effectively collaborate and communicate with other people digitally through technology as well as in person. This requires learning of social skills, how to effectively interact with people, as well as the traditional reading, writing, listening, and speaking. 21st century learners need to be able communicate their thoughts and feelings clearly, articulately, and effectively with a diverse people and in diverse environments. These skills will cross over from the real life world to the digital world. 21^st century learners also need to know how to listen effectively to diverse people and environments to decipher, interpret, and understanding meaning being communicated to them. They must also be able to create positive interactions and communications with diverse populations of people and digital sources. The best ways for students to learn these skills is to practice them in their own lives.

One way for students to practice this is through cooperative group learning activities. With cooperative group activities students are given the opportunity to work with a diverse population of students and personalities. Students learn communication and collaboration skills needed to be successful in their careers, by getting practice with it throughout their education. By incorporating technology into the classroom and working cooperatively with other students it promote creative and critical thinking in the students. 

I have confidence in my abilities as a teacher and learner of 21^st century skills and digital literacy because I assist my students in gaining these skills by modeling and explicitly teaching the skills needed to communicate and interact well with others both in person and via the digital world. By teaching and modeling them how to effectively work well with diverse personalities, use technology; think creatively and critically I feel the students will be better prepared for their future. 

Education- Am I a 21st century teacher? 

Teaching in the 21st century

Upon taking the self-assessment questions based upon the ISTE and NETS standards I have learned a lot about my abilities towards mastery of those standards. When it comes to ISTE Standard One, level one: Technology operations and concepts, topics 1 (mouse & keyboard/ file management/ computer network/ windows operating system/ basic operations), 2 (word processing), 3 (Internet), and 4 (email) I am confident in my abilities to perform all of the functions described in each categories proficiently and effectively. I use them often in my everyday life.

       In self-assessment of level two section 1 (computer network/ computer terminology/ hardware & software/ windows operating system/ basic operation) I rate myself proficient and knowledgeable. In level two section 2 (Internet/ word processing/ presentation software/ spreadsheets) I would rate myself proficient, I am comfortable and use all of the categories in my classroom on a regular basis except for spreadsheets.  When it comes to spreadsheets I would classify my abilities as emerging. I have a basic knowledge and understanding of how they work, I able to create, read, and use spreadsheets, however I feel as though I do not use them to their full potential. With more practice and knowledge in the creation of spreadsheets, I feel that I can become more efficient in using them. As of now I can make them, but it can be time consuming and takes me a lot of trail and error when it comes to streamlining the format. I feel that I am proficient and knowledgeable in sections 3 (Productivity and professional practice) and section 4 (Social, ethical, and human issues) I model, practice, and teach responsible and ethical use of technology in the classroom. I believe this standard it of the utmost importance when incorporating technology in the classroom.

       In self-assessment of level three section 1 (ISTE Standard III: Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum), section 2 (ISTE Standard IV: assessment and evaluation), section 3 (ISTE Standard V: productivity and professional practice), and section 4 (ISTE Standard VI: Social, Ethical, Legal, and human issues) are the areas in which I have the most to learn. When starting this program I had a beginning knowledge of how to utilize these skills and standards in the classroom. As I come to the completion of this program I have learned many new skills related to the subcategories in each topic, but know that there is a lot more for me to learn and practice to consider myself proficient in all of these categories.  Learning is an ongoing process and to keep current in today’s digital world I need to keep learning.

 ISTE and NETS Self-Assessment 

  To become more confident in my skills as a 21^st century learner and teacher I plan to take a proactive approach to seeking out opportunities to enhance my knowledge and abilities in ALL of the areas. I plan to seek professional development to enhance my knowledge and abilities in these areas as well as using my colleagues as resources. As teachers we can use each other as resources to gain knowledge to enhance our teaching strategies and abilities. Another way I plan to become more confident in my skills as a 21^st century teacher and learner is to explore and research different tools myself. To learn new skills by being an active participant in my own learning. I need to get out there and try new technology, not fear or be intimidated by it. Use trial and error to discover how things work. In essence start creating and experiencing new technology tools myself to gain practice and become familiar in using them. With any new skill learned it takes practice and guidance to refine and become proficient in the skill. In doing these things I will become more confident in my abilities as a 21^st century learner and teacher of digital literacy.

21st Century Learner & Teacher- 1A

How would I describe myself as a 21^st Century learner? I would say that I am semi-active 21^st Century learner. I say this because after researching information about digital literacies, I realized that I still have a lot to learn when it comes to becoming a creator in the digital world and not just a consumer and user of products in the digital world. Throughout my Masters classes I feel that I am on my way to learn the information and skills needed to become more of a creator in the digital world and not just a consumer.

I feel that I am a very efficient consumer/ user of technology in the 21^st century. I have learned how to effectively navigate and use computers, iPads, iPods, satellite TV, fitness gadgets, video games, digital cameras, smart phones, and much more. I have taught myself how to be successful in using many of these devices. If I get stuck I can go to the Internet and look up information or videos of how to fix it or how to use the device to it’s fullest potential. I love using technology and the Internet, I fee that it has opened up my world to so many great possibilities, especially the Internet. I use the Internet daily to gain information relative to my everyday life. Ranging from using social media to getting directions. I use it to research and learn information relating to work, home, school, and play the possibilities are endless.

I would like to learn more about how to become an effective creator in the digital world. My first thoughts on this topic were, “I am a creator in this world! I use technology and make things all the time!” After watching and learning more about what a creator is, in the digital world, I discovered that I have way more to learn to consider myself a creator in the 21^st century digital world. I know nothing about writing code or what goes on behind the scenes of the Internet. I hear things such as HTML, PHP, Python, or Ruby and I have absolutely no idea what they mean or how they work. These words, and the thought of going behind the scenes of the Internet intimidate and overwhelm me. I now know that learning these skills are essential to becoming an effective creator in the digital world. I will need to know them to take me to the next level to achieve success in the 21^st Century and the digital world. This knowledge is what motivates me to learn these skills.

 

Technology is everywhere and there is the need to be a responsible digital citizen. I feel that I am a responsible digital citizen. I use social media often, I am very mindful of how I present as well as protect myself on social media and the Internet. I am very careful in protecting my digital identity. I am also very mindful of how I represent myself in social media or on the Internet. I make sure that anything I post or do on any sort of social media is appropriate for all audiences. I ask myself these questions, "Would I want my boss to see this? Would I want my 8 year old nephew to see this? Would I want my family to see this? Would I want my friends to see this?” Once it is out there for the world to see it cannot be taken back. You have to really be proactive and think about consequences to your actions or reactions before putting them out there in the digital world.

       This brings me to how I view myself as a teacher in the 21st Century. In order to be an effective teacher in the 21^st Century and the digital world I need to have a strong foundation and knowledge of how to effectively use, as well as create technology, to benefit from it. A 21^st Century teacher is tech savvy and knowledgeable on how to incorporate it into the classroom to utilize it with students to create a learning environment that promotes student learning to be successful in the 21^st Century. As a teacher I want my students to learn the required skills and knowledge to become productive, responsible citizens in the 21^st Century and the digital world.

       I strive to be an effective teacher in the 21^st Century. I want to facilitate and guide students in their learning. I consistently model behaviors that I expect my students to demonstrate. I create a classroom environment that encourages cooperative group work. I choose curriculum that is based on student’s interest to create motivation for student learning. If students are interested in topic and see the relevance the learning has in their lives it acts as a natural motivator. They in turn have a need and want to learn about a topic, which can push them to a higher order of thinking and create initiative in students. 

    Technology and the Internet are all around today’s students and they have grown up in the digital age. When students use their intrinsic motivation to take initiative in their learning, they are more likely to explore and expand on their knowledge and learning of the digital world by being active participants in it. They can manipulate and use digital media tools to learn. The learning builds upon their natural curiosity of discovering how things work. They can use trial and error to learn on a first hand basis how it works. As a teacher I can be used as a resource to guide and support their learning. Having the students teach each other is another great way to facilitate this in the classroom. I see students teaching other students how to use digital media sources more effectively in my classroom all the time. They see something someone else has created and they want to learn how to do it. They as the student how they did that and the other student will show them. It is absolutely amazing!

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

Creating motivation in students is extremely important! When students are motivated to learn and positively praised for their efforts in learning, learning is increased. “Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and guided practice. Without learners’ motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this effort is unlikely without coercion.” (McCombs & Miller p. 54). Students need to be connected to the material, understanding how the material being taught is relevant to their lives. Answering the question: Why is this useful for me to know?

       I can remember a time in tenth grade when I was inspired to learn and perform. I decided to take an introduction to accounting class. I figured I was good in math, so it would be easy. Wrong! It was extremely complex and required a great deal of high order thinking. I remember thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? I’m never going to be able to pass this class!” Then the teacher created, what I now know as problem based learning, assignment. Each student was given a mock company to run, complete with accounts payable, accounts receivable, memorandums, invoices, and legers. We were tasked to input all of the data from our companies last quarter and decide how the company was doing. We then had to create a plan to increase the company’s productivity. This motivated me to learn because it was a real life scenario. We could have either a positive or negative influence on this company. It created an opportunity to apply what we had learned in the class previously. My motivation was increased because other students in the class had the same company and we could compete amongst each other to see who could create a better performance. This was an external factor to my motivation.

       Each week we would receive an envelope filled with receipts bills, memos, and productivity reports that we had to input into our journals and ledgers. We then had to analyze the information and make changes accordingly. This connected me to the material because again I was applying what I had previously learned, but it took it to the next level. I had to analyze, synthesize, and create all of which involves a higher order of thinking. Some weeks would be successful; I was able to find a manufacture of goods at a cheaper price with a higher quality, which inspired me to keep my company growing. Even in the weeks that weren’t successful I was determined to figure out a way to fix the problem to create success. I thinking having this type of assignment with cause and effect based on my performance created the intrinsic motivation to learn more. To go above and beyond the basic requirements of the assignment. It catered to my learning style and my need for organization. Till this day I feel as though this class is responsible for my budget/money management skills. I remember and use strategies learned from this class in my everyday life almost 20 years later.

       Conversely, I remember a time being completely deflated in my learning. Writing was the subject I struggled in throughout my elementary and high school education. I remember my first sentences/paragraphs would be a page long. The beginning would be indented and the period and the end of the sentence would be at the bottom of the page. I worked very hard in my writing to learn how to write without run-on sentences and how to create the five-paragraph essay. I went to college feeling somewhat confident in my ability to write a five-paragraph essay, and then I took my first college English class my first semester. The first assignment was to write an essay about the best place we have ever been in our lives. I wrote the essay in the typical form I had worked so hard at learning throughout high school. I got my essay back from the professor and it was covered in red ink, he went on to lecture the class on how the five-paragraph essay is wrong and not the way to write! I was completely deflated! He was basically telling me all that I have learned and knew was wrong. I remember thinking, “Now what? How am I ever going to pass this class? I have no idea what I am doing? I must be an idiot?” I sulked around for about a week then figured I have to do something to figure this out, the professor wasn’t any help, so who or where could I go to get help. I wasn’t ready to give up on college English yet. I found a writing resource center on campus, which was my savior. They taught me many new skills in writing that were useful. I also found friends who were willing to proof read and edit my writing, which was amazing. It helped me to use their input to create a better paper.

       As a teacher I will be certain to praise students efforts in learning and provide opportunities for them to succeed in the classroom. I plan to create lessons and learning activities that relate to their lives to increase motivation. I also plan to create a positive classroom environment where students feel safe to take risks in their learning. I will avoid criticizing student’s work and using negative reinforcement when interacting with students in the classroom. It is important to find the positives and work from there. Even if the student answers a question wrong, they are still putting forth an effort to try, which should be acknowledged and praised. Then you can guide them to discovering the correct answer or provide clues for them to figure it out on their own.

Reference:

McCombs, B. L., & Miller, L. (2007). Learner-centered classroom practices and assessments: Maximizing student motivation, learning, and achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

MAT 671

Mat 671

Hi my name is Carrie and I would describe myself as a very energetic teacher. I feel it is extremely important to be passionate about teaching students, as a teacher you must truly love what you do and want to make a difference in your student’s lives.  I work to create a classroom environment that is very positive and interactive. I get to know all of my students; I learn what interests them and what their learning styles are. I look for a variety of learning opportunities throughout the content areas. You can learn about science, math, and ELA all while doing one lesson. Integrating the content area throughout the day. I do agree that making adaptations and modifications to lesson are beneficial to meet the needs of all learners. However, I feel that creating a lesson that is structured to meet the needs of all learners at the same time is more beneficial to increase learning among all the students at he same time. This way no one feels singled out. Working in cooperative groups is and effective way to achieve this and or letting the students/ class guide to direction of the lesson. It is all about finding a balance and setting a standard for success to be high. I believe that it is important to have a deep bag of instructional tricks and strategies in which to pull from when planning and instructing a lesson. Being reflective and flexible during a lesson to meet the needs of the learners also goes a long way. I work to create instruction that is authentic to student’s lives, engaging, and interesting to students. Getting them “hooked” in to a lesson, creating intrigue and questioning. Making them an active participant in their learning. That combined with creating a classroom community in which they feel safe to take risks, students are able to push their knowledge and learning beyond their zone of proximity and work towards a higher level of understanding of the content.

       I feel my personality affects my students in a very positive way. I am a very caring, passionate, organized, dependable person. I feel my students thrive when confronted with this type of personality. They know I genuinely care about their well being and lives. I ask questions and have conversations about things they do outside of school. When I ask them about something personal they experienced in their lives it goes a long way. It shows that I listen to them when they talk and that I am interested in their life. My students know that I am dependable; if I say I am going to do something I do it. This works to build trust in our relationship. I am extremely organized and well prepared. I feel that it leads to a smooth, less chaotic learning environment. My passion for learning and teaching is contagious. If you as a teacher are passionate about what you are teaching you can create a passion in your students. It is easy to get them excited about the most boring topic if you are passionate about it. Overall it works both ways, I exhibit the qualities I feel are important to have in a learning environment. I can’t expect my students to have a quality that I myself don’t exhibit to them on a daily basis.

I am a visual/ verbal learner, that learns best by experiencing the learning. My preferred learning style affects my teaching by an increase amount of lessons that include visual, verbal, and hands on experiences. I feel this increases my students' abilities to be successful. I have primarily worked with younger students whose language development is still being developed. By using a lot of visual, verbal, and hands on activities I feel their success increases versus having them complete worksheets and being lectured to.

Cooperative Learning

A first grade literacy standard is “RL.1.1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text, RL.1.2. Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson, and RL.1.3. Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.” (CCSS) Students can work in a whole group setting to retell a story. The students dictate what happened in the story and retell it in their own words and views. The teacher writes down each sentence/ thought put forth by the student with their name attached to it. Then as a class they reread the story they created. When the students see their words in writing it creates meaning and they feel that their thoughts are important, they had a crucial part in recreating the story. To get students writing, you could have them work in small groups to create mind maps of the story (that was read) that includes the major characters, the settings, and major events. Individually students could write in a reflective journal their thoughts about the literature they read. A first grade writing standard is, “W.1.2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.” (CCSS) You could group students according to their interests. Each group would then work together to supply facts about the specific topic of interest. They could then work together to create a graphic organizer detailing the facts. From there they would turn the graphic organizer into written work. By having students work in groups you create engagement in the activity and learning is enhanced.

Grouping students can take many forms, heterogeneous (mixed ability) and homogeneous (similar ability). The formation of each group depends on the purpose and activity that the group is involved in. When creating heterogeneous groups I will examine the student’s abilities and personalities. Creating a mixture of students within the group, mixing high performing students, low performing groups, outgoing personalities, and introverted personalities together. This way the students can build off each other’s strengths and learn to work together with a variety of dispositions. I would carefully select the group that I would place a student with a special need in. I would look for a group that has the most flexible and emphatic students in. Ones that I feel would be able to work well with that student and vise versa. I would use heterogeneous grouping for project-based assignments, or long-term assignments. I would use homogeneous grouping for short-term activities or quick pair conferencing.  I like to have the students desks arranged in the classroom in groups of 4-5. This gives easy access to quick group work or conferencing when asking for contributions to a whole class discussion. Each pod has the desks numbered and that tells the students what their role is in the group. The group roles have been pre-determined and rotate within each group activity by number. This way all the students have the opportunity to experience each role.  Grouping students by gender, birthday, number, shoulder partners, or interests is an effective way to form groups quickly.

Using cooperative groups is extremely valuable in differentiation because it does just that. Differentiates. It allows for students with multiple intelligence and learning styles to express themselves and use their skills to enhance the group dynamic and product. Some examples of whole group configurations and activities that allow for Gardner’ multiple intelligences are playing Jeopardy games based on the content, singing song or reciting chants as a whole class allows for the musical learner, and for the kinesthetic learners participating in the human knot game is a great whole group activity. For small group or peer pairs PBL or problem based learning activities are extremely effective. Students must work together to solve a problem. Peer editing, science experiments, and creative projects are great small group or pair activities. To meet the needs of the learners that work well individually reflective journal writing is a great way for them to express themselves on an individual basis. Students can also work individually to write a poem, or compose music. Computer based applications that support math and reading skills are a good design for individual grouping.

Each grouping pattern reinforces grade level standards by actively engaging the students in the content area. By having each student contribute thoughts and sentences to the whole group narrative they are actively involved in the discussion. By adding their name to their sentence and thoughts it make them feel important and gives their words meaning. By rereading the story as a class, students are hearing their words, which creates more meaning and understanding to the story read, thus meeting the standard.  By having the small groups or pairs work together to create a mind map about the details, characters, setting, and/or the central message of a story they are working toward meeting standard “RL.1.1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text, RL.1.2. Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson, and RL.1.3. Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.” (CCSS) Writing in a reflective journal reinforces the content standard by allowing students time to reflect and process what they have read or story they have listened to. Journal writing and reflection allows students to make sense of their thoughts on feeling. By writing down their thoughts it gives them practice towards meeting the writing standards.

Each of the different grouping patterns facilitates meeting the content standard for learners by allowing them the opportunity to express themselves freely within the cooperative group. They are able to utilize their particular strength and learning style in completing the group work. Working with other students who may have strengths in their weakness areas allows them to learn new ways to strengthen their weaknesses. They can share their ideas with each other and learn from each other, working towards the common goal of meeting the standard set out for them.

Cooperative learning allows for differentiation by giving students support and guidance to each other. Students are able to put information in terms that the other students are able to understand. They are exposed to different points of views, perspectives, and ways the information is explained.  Students are able to help each other and learn from each other. Group work increases student performance because it allow for students to interact and be social with each other. They are learning essential skills needed for real life. When working in cooperative groups students are more actively involve and engaged in their learning, they pay closer attention to content knowledge, and they hold each other accountable within the group. Students are able to learn from other students and the teacher can be the facilitator of the learning. When students discover knowledge for themselves, versus being told by a lecture, it is cemented into long-term memory. When working in small cooperative groups it increases student performance because it reduces the intimidation factor. Some students are more comfortable putting forth their ideas and speaking up in a small group setting because it is much less intimidating than speaking out in front of the whole class. Being able to express their ideas works towards a better understanding of the content area.

References

First Grade Reading Literature Standards - Common Core Standards | Common Core Activities, Worksheets, and Workbooks. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from http://www.corecommonstandards.com/first-grade-standards/english-language-arts-standards/first-grade-reading-literature-standards/