Investigation math

First I found out what investigation math is. Investigation math is when teachers present various concepts of math and the children experiment and discover which ones they like the best. It is not the standard, direct way of teaching math. The standard concepts alone are not taught but different kinds of strategies. Students solve solve problems using strategies they discover on their own and working in groups.
This new way of teaching math was tried in the Alpine school district and the math results actually did go up!
Some critics of this new method argue that under the investigation approach nobody gets pushed. It requires large amounts of time for the students to discover what will finally work. They are not shown the correct method. They have to try and figure it out on their own. And the best way to learn math is through repetition and practice which comes most effectivly through teaching the standard math methods. Some parents also arque that funds that would go to implementing this new way of teaching should go to the teachers and students.
I thought it was interesting that with input from parents, the principals of the Alpine school district will decide which method they would like to be taught in their school. So different schools will be teaching different methods. There will no longer be one standard.
I personally think both should be implemented into the classroom if possible. I wish that I wouldn't have been taught math through direct instruction only. I think it is wonderful for students to have the opportunity to work in groups more with math.

New Strategy

When reading through chapter 7 this week I tried harder to read a few paragraphs at a time and take notes while I was reading. I believe my notes were better and I learned more because I took it slower. It was also helpful because I set aside enough time to be able to really sit down and concentrate on what I was doing and not feel rushed. I could apply this strategy to all of my classes. Really trying to read the sections and take notes not just skim through. It really helped me to take notes because writing the information down made me really have to think about it and know what I was doing! It was helpful to try a new strategy for learning.

Extra Credit

I researched about Judy Willis who became a teacher to study about the neurology of learning and classroom strategies. She was written four books that are all based around the brain and learning. She gives consel to parents and teachers about how to help a student find their potential by figuring out their learning preference. She says when you find that learning preference and incorporate it into your teaching "it opens up opportunities for success in all academic areas." She talks about all of the many different areas that children may find success in learning through. Such as, auditory, visual, kinesthetic, etc. Children need to be able to have fun and creative ways to remember and apply what they are learning. Connections need to be made!
Through reading about Judy Willis and her strategies I realize how important it will be for me as a future teacher to use those strategies to help my students reach their full portential. To give them the same chance as any other students. To find ways to reach every student and help them along in their learning and growing processes. Judy Willis's research and experience as a teacher gives an example to other teachers to put more of any importance on not only what they are teaching, but how they are teaching it!
I enjoyed learning about someone that has such an interest in improving the quality of education.

Website

Today we learned how to create multiple pages for a website. I especially liked learning how to do a calender on google. I have never done anything like that before. Even though this was just for fun and practice it would be helpful to have a calender for my school schedule and for the dates of birthdays. I had fun it class today putting this together! This is also a great idea I had never thought of before to make a website for my classroom. It would definitly help the parents feel more involved in their child's education. I think I would have a hard time keeping up on it though. Maybe in my 3rd or 4th year of teaching when I was on more of a schedule and more organized. Thanks for teaching this! I think it is very helpful!

Reflection

Today I liked learning about photo story. I have never done it before so it was pretty fun to do! Then me and Paige reviewed the video we have made and I think it is great!! We might still change a few small things on it but all in all we are finally finished! It is kind of a relief to have this done because I am going home to sunny St. George on wed for the whole weekend!!
Anyways, I am glad I have learned how to do a digital story because I think it will be a fun tool to use as a teacher! Thank you for all of the cool things I have learned how to do from this class:)
Have a nice fall break!!

Fertile Minds

This article was full alot of information that was totally new and interesting to me. So amazing what the brain can do! How it is continually changing and forming throughout a person's life. Children who are not touched or who do not play develop brains that are 2o to 30% smaller then average children. I liked how the article said that, "Rich experiences produce rich brains." that tells me as a future mother, that I need to help me children experience as much about the world around them as possible. Though the first year is the most important and vital for a young childs brain development throughout the rest of their life. It is amazing how complex the brain is and how much it can adpat, grow, and compensate for other shortcomings. I also liked the studies that have been done on the effects of depressed mothers because I believe that needs to be adressed more in our society, How careful as a mother you have to be with depression affecting your baby. Overall I realized just how important it is, if possible, to be a stay at home mom! Because I would want to make sure that my children had the best that I could give them. It's interesting to read all of the research that continues to come out on the development and processes of the brain.

Psych learning log

I really enjoyed class today! I am definitly suprised because although this is a three hour class I also enjoy it. I especially liked talking about the stages of Erik Erikson and all the cool ways you came up with for us to remember them! That will make the test easier and make it not so hard to remember that information long term. All of that information today in class was good to learn for the test that is coming up! Thank you so much for making this class enjoyable and interesting!

3250 Reflection #6

Today in class was very helpful for me because me and my partner finally figured out what we will be doing! This was a big accomplishment because now we can really get going on it. After talking to our teacher at the elementary school we will be going to we thought about doing our assignment on another subject but it was hard to find ways to incorporate the media strategies into the subject. So we stuck with our original plan, which is good becuase it will hopefully be successful and then we will know what we are doing when we have to put something together for our classroom experience. I'm glad we had time in class to work with our partner and get ideas and also get suggestions and ideas from you. It erased alot of confusion.
Thank you for your help! Class today was a good experience and I'm glad to finally be able to get going on this assignment.

Psych- Piaget tasks

I tried a few of these tasks on my younger sisters. Jacey is 8 and Jenessa is 6. I tried the test of putting water in two different containers and seeing if they knew that they both held the same amount of water. My younger sister thought they didn't and Jacey knew they both had the same but also looked so confused at the same time! I tried the pencil experiment too to see if they knew that the length stayed the same and Jacey did but Jenessa did not. It was interesting to see that although they are only two years apart that makes a huge gape in the way they think. It made me realize how vital it is that children learn so much and make so many connections when they are young. If they miss out on those opportunities it is a huge set back. These experiments were fun and intereting to do!

EDEL 3250:01-Kristen Finch

This past class period we learned about story boarding. We went through a powerpoint and also watched many examples of story boarding. It is a way to organize information to make a digital story. When creating the story board you could include music, pictures, videos, colors, different point of views, emotional characterization, pacing, voice, and much more! Story boarding can help your students have a different experience in learning as you take this new approach. In class I was able to have more of an idea of what I would like to do with my own story board. I loved the idea of having a different voice tell what is happening and portray the story. It really makes it come more to life! This class made me excited for this assignment because their are so many different ways on how to make this digital story successful and fun. It is a good tool to know and understand for teaching!