Now that you have created your own blog and used it through the previous eight lessons, describe in detail how you will use your blogging skills in your classroom.
I could use blogging as I teach high school English in multiple ways. I will first be guided by the policies and procedures of my school district regarding social media and websites. If allowed, I would create a blog for each class. Each student would be required to post entries and respond to entries made by others. Extra credit could be offered for statements that provoke intelligent and respectful debate.
I could also use a blog to keep parents up to date on what we are covering in class, homework, study guides, and tips for how to succeed in my class. I could have the students take on the personalities of characters we are studying in literature and write journal articles describing one of their days. I could also encourage them to make their own blogs as a creative writing outlet. Blogging is fun, especially when people take the time to read and thoughtfully respond to my writing. My students will love it.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Lesson Seven
After reading and pondering the debate about teens lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do you think this means for you as a teacher?
I think one of my jobs as a high school teacher will be to model appropriate behavior and show them how to make good decisions. I want to be a role model, but also someone they can ask advice from. My 9th grade English teacher was such a mentor for me. The literature is packed with good lessons for teens as well. Romeo and Juliet died horribly because they didn't take even a few hours to ponder the wisdom of their impulses. I want to use the stories we talk about to start important conversations about real life. I want their journals to be places where they can work through thorny issues and complicated questions. I want them to think, and to understand that their first thought might not be the best one, especially when the consequences of their choices will affect their entire lives.
I think one of my jobs as a high school teacher will be to model appropriate behavior and show them how to make good decisions. I want to be a role model, but also someone they can ask advice from. My 9th grade English teacher was such a mentor for me. The literature is packed with good lessons for teens as well. Romeo and Juliet died horribly because they didn't take even a few hours to ponder the wisdom of their impulses. I want to use the stories we talk about to start important conversations about real life. I want their journals to be places where they can work through thorny issues and complicated questions. I want them to think, and to understand that their first thought might not be the best one, especially when the consequences of their choices will affect their entire lives.
Lesson Six
After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?
What stood out to me the most was the conclusion drawn based on the Mozart research. The students who listened to Mozart music for ten minutes before a test did 8% better on the test than students who sat in silence before the test. This led some people to believe that Mozart makes you smarter. Further research showed, however, that listening to almost anything that uplifts, calms, and brightens your mood before a test will help you give a peak performance. This could be a short story, or any fast paced, happy music.
I need to give serious consideration to whether it would be a good idea to incorporate this into my High School English class time. Would my students do better on their assessments if I gave them ten minutes at the beginning of the class period to calm their hearts and minds, rather than jumping right in to working on their examination? Would I get a better understanding of what they do and do not know if I made the assessment shorter so that it could fit into a 40 minute time span, rather than the full 50 minutes? Would this experiment be successful if I played one piece of music for the entire class, or should I let them choose what they wanted to listen to on their own with headphones? I am really curious about these questions. What do you think?
What stood out to me the most was the conclusion drawn based on the Mozart research. The students who listened to Mozart music for ten minutes before a test did 8% better on the test than students who sat in silence before the test. This led some people to believe that Mozart makes you smarter. Further research showed, however, that listening to almost anything that uplifts, calms, and brightens your mood before a test will help you give a peak performance. This could be a short story, or any fast paced, happy music.
I need to give serious consideration to whether it would be a good idea to incorporate this into my High School English class time. Would my students do better on their assessments if I gave them ten minutes at the beginning of the class period to calm their hearts and minds, rather than jumping right in to working on their examination? Would I get a better understanding of what they do and do not know if I made the assessment shorter so that it could fit into a 40 minute time span, rather than the full 50 minutes? Would this experiment be successful if I played one piece of music for the entire class, or should I let them choose what they wanted to listen to on their own with headphones? I am really curious about these questions. What do you think?
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