Week 2 Blog

1.  What did I learn?

I was able to take a lot of useful ideas from the assigned reading for class; the reading was titled “Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say.” This is an article written by a practicing teacher regarding what she has learned, and seen to work, when teaching children.  The main idea realized by this teacher was that by merely telling students the answer or showing them short-cuts, students don’t learn; therefore she believes that real learning occurs when students are able explain and make sense of their own ideas.  One quote that I really liked from this articles states, “my definition of a good teacher has changed from ‘one who explains things so well that students understand’ to ‘one who gets students to explain things so well that they can be understood.”  I have interpreted this to mean that students need the opportunity to explore and discover the answers themselves allowing them to actively think and become engaged; students are able to help each other and share their thinking to one another.    

2.  What do I still have questions about?

When students are exposed to new ideas or concept, shouldn’t the teacher model different strategies in the beginning to help them get started?

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

The largest implication this methodology would have on the classroom would be that the focus would be taken from the teacher and placed onto the students.  The teacher would help facilitate their learning by asking them the best possible questions and encourage students to listen to fellow classmates for strategies.