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Course Reflection By: Miryam Christensen Autumn, 2014

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Degree in Elementary Education I teach music for Kindergarten and First Grade I share the main music room for my first grade classes 3 Focus students are First Graders They are all confident learners

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R: Bilingual, pleasant, follows rules, quality work A: Curious, takes risks, active, makes friends easily S: Excited about learning, asks clarifying questions when unsure, energetic

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HypothesisConclusion R: Easy: Reading & Math Difficult: Writing (mechanics) Learn better: Visual examples Easy: Music, writing, reading & math Difficult: Maps Help: Pictures; seeing how something works A: Easy: Math Difficult: Writing (getting and sharing ideas) Learn better: Manipulatives Easy: Math Hard: Playing the piano Help: Doing something and trying it myself, asking questions. S: Easy: Learning songs Difficult: Reading & Writing Learn better: Examples, group work Easy: Math Difficult: Cleaning the litterbox (home), reading and writing Help: My teacher and hearing things

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My HypothesisFinal Conclusions Environment affects learningExperience and schema help students understand lessons Teachers pull on students pre-existing experiences to teach effectively Community-centered approach helps develop a safe environment with procedures in place (risk-taking and learning from mistakes encouraged) Metacognition develops higher level thinking skills Students can take control of their learning & goals when a metacognitive approach is taken Students should be aware of learning targets Holding students responsible for learning targets encourages them to take responsibility for their learning

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I need to assess in order to build on prior knowledge Understanding a childs background, experience, and learning style helps me scaffold to needs Metacognition: Powerful tool for teachers to help students take charge of their own learning

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Learning Targets: Personal Rubric: Keep students on track Show # of fingers to indicate competence Student Thinking Exercise

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HypothesisConclusion R: I predict this learner will be able to connect the learning with a gap of time after the lesson This student was able to remember the lesson and details with a teacher prompt; the student connected lessons by referring to a concept we had discussed before. The students schema seemed to aid in connecting lesson content This student was able to transfer and seems to have more background for remembering and connecting one lesson to another A: I think this learner will recall details from lesson More prompting helped the child recall the lesson. The student was unable to see how lessons connected with one another S: I think this student will be able to recall lesson details This student had difficulty recalling details; this child was not seeing how the lessons were connected to one another

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HypothesisConclusion Students need experiences and review to remember lesson content Gradual release model solidifies learning for students Review and use links for students to remember content Multi-sensory teaching is more effectivePreparing lessons with student learning styles in mind provides more powerful learning and transfer Students know how they learn best; ask and apply; multiple intelligence theory Varying teaching strategies = + results Skill mastery is dependent upon good lessons and hard work from students Student performance (formative & summative assessments) is a reflection on effective or ineffective teaching practices; realign to needs of students Transfer is understanding VS memorizing

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Personal motivation affects learning & transfer Take time to explore and integrate information Expert VS novice = time and experience Good teachers tap into their students existing knowledge to make new learning meaningful Practice, guided learning, and learning from experiences boost brain development

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Concert Theme: Im Thankful Discussed thankfulness We asked classroom teachers for writing piece Some ideas put into script Displayed for night of performance

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Flipchart used to teach xylophone skills before moving to instruments Variety of instruments & approaches for one lesson

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I prepared charts and literature for our family literacy night and posted them throughout the building during conferences as well.

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HypothesisConclusion Teaching with modeling helps students learn concepts I need more visual examples in addition to models, such as videos, flipcharts, and pictures to build student background knowledge and help them connect lessons My students need adults to find out how they learnMy students know what helps them learn. Each identified what I can do to help meet their needs, whether they be visual, auditory, or a combination of approaches R This student needs fewer examplesThis student learns content quickly but still needs rich examples and opportunities to model personal knowledge of subject matter in positive ways. A This child has a relaxed attitudeThis student needs challenges and opportunities to share. Intentional review using metacognitive skills and a slow release model will help this learner stay on task and share personal connections. S: Student struggles with metacognitionThis student has a difficult time filtering what content is value added and what may be a generic answer. Helping this student with rich experiences, building thinking skills, and intentional connecting content will build higher thinking skills.

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Teachers need expert knowledge in subject matter and teaching activities in order to lead students to understand it Teachers must know their discipline and conceptual barriers that may hinder others Learner centered environments : knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs learners bring Assessing is feedback for teachers to rethink and improve teaching practices

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Post concert reflection: reflect, discuss, create, share

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Lesson Example Scaffolds: PowerPoint with video example and dance steps Marker dot on Right hand for easy identification Practiced most difficult steps in isolation, then moved to all steps Called steps; no music Video for pre and post assessment Discuss with partner and class: how did we do? Good? Help?

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Student performance coincides with background knowledge & experience Environment is a catalyst for learning Intentional connection and transfer of knowledge affect retention Slow release model leads to transfer of skills Metacognition leads to independent learning & higher thinking skills

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Build the learner: learn background of students to reach each potential Knowledge: be a life long learner & fill in the gaps Assessment: feedback for aligned learning Classroom Environment: Collaborate, communicate, create (norms, procedures) Safe to make mistakes & learn from them