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I'LL BE BACK.


“We’ll come back to this and see what other things we can add at the end of this after we have looked at some art today.”

I selected this phrase because it paints a picture of thinking as a progressive actions. It reminds the teacher that thinking cannot be front loaded.Rather, it explains that thinking is progressive.

"This discussion might no have worked earlier in the tour, but at this point students have built up an extended conversation around art and identity on which they can now elaborate and expand."

The importance of timing,scaffolding, and intent.

A knowledgeable teacher should be able to facilitate the thinking process by moving the students towards more complex thinking patterns in a manner that is natural.The student should be able to own their knowledge and this can only happen by giving them the opportunity to have experiences with the knowledge and making them aware of it.

We cannot push our students through...we have to give them a chance to assimilate all their learning.

UPDATE: I recently wrote a post about "feedback." I have thought about it more and a thought came to mind as I selected meaningful words in this chapter. The word I chose was, “deliberate,” as it was used to describe how feedback should be. The author commented on the need for the teacher to think about the student, about the feedback and how it would affect the student. It is not an afterthought, it is ingrained in to the lesson. The teacher must purposefully carve out time to give quality feedback and quality thinking time to her students. This made me consider how I was approaching this in my own classroom. Adjustment: I have put little reminders on my board and around the room to remind me to give feedback and also to use the MTV strategies.

HOM

Questioning and Posing Problems

I felt that in the readings, this habit of mind took center stage. All throughout the chapters, the author keeps insisting that we use questions to help the students develop their awareness and understanding. The teacher is asked to question and pose problems for the students. The teacher then uses this as an opportunity to delve into the students minds and understand the manner in which they make decisions and develop their schema and/or conclusions. The teacher is then asked to pose problems to help the students understand the weaknesses in their thought pattern, or to reinforce their thought pattern.

Persisting

As I was reading the book, I thought about how important developing thinking routines are and how hard it has been to incorporate them deliberately. This is why I chose persisting. I feel that this is a habit of mind that I can relate to for this week. I need to concentrate in the end goal and use my persistence. I need to continue to try to make thinking visible a part of my routine. I need to continue using my planning time to develop lessons that include the many strategies learned thus far. And I need to understand that just because one day doesn’t go as planned, it doesn’t mean they all will. I need to keep strong and try again.

Questions

  • Based on what you know, what are some distinguishing factors and/or consequences between deliberate feedback and plain feedback?

  • What evidence can you find in your own teaching, that supports the use of deliberate feedback?How would you evaluate your own ability to provide time for engagement as described in Chapter 7 ? How would you improve?

How am I doing?

Great!! I feel comfortable in my use of the HOMs, although I still feel striving for accuracy is my greatest challenge. My questions are well versed and my students are more engaged thanks to the Thinking Routines I have integrated into the lessons. I have become more comfortable using them and I am able to switch between them during the lesson if I see the students are having a particularly hard time engaging a concept or text. The Step Inside routine has been a wonderful addition that has improved my students ability to visualize tremendously. The first time they struggled but the more we practice the strategy, the better the students have become at truly "stepping in". I am presenting the strategies little by little because I don't want to overwhelm them. I also want them to learn how to apply them independently. I already have seen an improvement in my listening comprehension in Reading. I cannot wait to see how this transforms my math time, as it pertains to word problems. I am also working on integrating the HOMs.

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