Manage the Materials Needed to Integrate technology: Plickers are a great way to assess students' knowledge and growth. It is a means of integrating technology, and receiving immediate assessment data. It is important to plan ahead, and consider factors such as distribution of plickers, rules when handling plickers and so on. I went over these guidelines with students prior to beginning the activity, and had placed the plickers in each table group bin. The equipment manager then passed the plickers out to his/her group members. This preparation and planning allowed for smooth transition and allowed the benefits of this activity to be reaped.
Manage the Materials Needed to Integrate technology: Plickers are a great way to assess students' knowledge and growth. It is a means of integrating technology, and receiving immediate assessment data. It is important to plan ahead, and consider factors such as distribution of plickers, rules when handling plickers and so on. I went over these guidelines with students prior to beginning the activity, and had placed the plickers in each table group bin. The equipment manager then passed the plickers out to his/her group members. This preparation and planning allowed for smooth transition and allowed the benefits of this activity to be reaped.
Try a new seating arrangement- Students were experiencing conflicts during their lunch seating. Therefore, I decided to give them the choice. I gave each student a sticky note and allowed them to write anything they would've liked me to know about their seating preferences. I then tried my best to meet all students' needs in the new seating arrangement. I believe that student choice in this situation is important, and behavior since the new seating arrangement has been implemented has tremendously improved.
Write something on board- I decided to implement table points as a behavioral management system, and thought that having in on the board where students can see it as well as the fact that it is fluid, and anyone can receive points. Students have been very interested in receiving points, and have been accountable for their other table members. I believe that this accountability encourages positive behavior.
Organize the materials for a lesson. (Particularly one with manipulatives)- This lesson focused heavily on hands on, interactive investigations. Thus, I needed to organize various measuring tools, solids, liquids and so on. From this experience, I have learned that it is extremely important to have all materials prepped in advance, in order to save time and allow for smooth transition. For example, having all materials filled, and grouped and ready for table groups. Have students such as the equipment manager distribute the materials for this group also helps with transition and behavioral management.
Try implementing techniques you read in Weistein Chapters 8-11- This activity involved cooperative learning. Students worked in groups to come up with their own definitions for each of the properties. I allowed students to write on sticky notes in order for them to feel accountable and see that their work is being appreciated, and their own thoughts were displayed. Having students brainstorm in their groups resulted in many creative, unique and thoughtful definitions, and I believe that cooperative learning benefited all levels of students.
Use nonverbal cues to keep a group of students on task. - In our behavioral management class, we have learned to first use the least intrusive method of correcting unwanted behavior. Thus, nonverbal cues such as eyecontact, change in posture, "the look", proximity control, a slight touch on shoulder and so on are very effective for redirecting students. Additionally, it does not disrupt the class like verbal cues may do.
Plan and Implement a Read Aloud - This read aloud was used as an introduction to a new mathematic concept, and was engaging, fun and educational for students. I believe that an important part of planning a read aloud is to know where you are going to stop, and what questions are going to be asked. Pre planning higher order questions is also vital to encourage critical thinking. Additionally, certain guidelines such as facing forward, sitting down properly, and having eyes and ears on the speaker must be enforced.