Six Thinking Hats

In my class I learned about different methods that can be used with the social interactive model (SIM).

Our class was put into groups to learn about various methods.

My group was assigned Six Thinking Hats.

This method provides students with a problem. The problem is then looked at from different perspectives. Six to be exact. Each hat is explained below:

White Hat: This person looks at the information provided and makes an educated decision.

Red Hat: Decisions are made based on gut reactions and emotions.

Black Hat: People wearing the black hat look at the problem cautiously and defensively. These people look at all of the bad points to the decision.

Yellow Hat: People wearing the yellow hat are positive and optimistic.

Green Hat: People wearing the green hat find creative solutions to the problem.

Blue Hat: The person wearing the blue hat is generally the person who is in control of the meeting. Example: Chair of a committee.

This method is a nice way to show how people base their decisions on all different reasons.

Social Interaction: What's the Point?

Social skills are vital to being successful whether you're in school or on the job. School is really the place where people learn and practice their social skills. Everybody knows social skills are used on the playground, but what about in the classroom?

This is where the Social Interactive Model (SIM) comes into play.

SIM is used to facilitate group work in the classroom. Unlike Direct Instruction, SIM is student-centered and requires students to work together in a structured setting.

SIM lessons begin with the introduction of the task by the teacher. Students are then placed in groups. There are many different methods for grouping students. It may be done randomly through choosing Popsicle sticks, counting (1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2...), or it may be done based on skill level.

The point of SIM is to make students responsible for their learning. This is because SIM requires students to be able to take what they learned and share it with group members, as well as the rest of the class.

One cooperative learning method that was used in my class to show SIM, is Jigsaw. In Jigsaw, students are put into groups (in whatever manner the teacher chooses). Each group member is assigned a different part of a problem. Students then research their assigned part. Before they return to their group to share their findings, they must first meet with other students in the class from different groups who were assigned the same part. This new group is known as the expert group. The expert group makes sure that everyone has found the same information and come up with a way to share their findings with their home groups.

Jigsaw makes every group member responsible. All students in the group must do their part in order for the final product to be a success.

One advantage to SIM is that is allows for students to use their higher order thinking skills. The disadvantage is that it is extremely time consuming.

It's Time For Inquiry!

I completed all of my lessons on greater than, less than, and equal to in the 2nd grade classroom.

They did well with the WebQuest for the most part. It was hard for some of them to read the information provided on the web sites, which made doing the research a challenge. This was after I consulted with my cooperating teacher about what web sites she uses with the students.

The students really enjoyed using the laptops in class. This was the first 2nd grade class in the building to use the laptops. They are usually reserved for 4th and 5th grade.

After I began by introducing the assignment and explaining what needed to be done, they were free to explore. They loved researching!

According to my cooperating teacher, during this time, it was the quietest she had ever seen them. They were all engaged.

Due to the grade level, age, and overall maturity level of this class, I had to walk the students through every step of the WebQuest.

While students worked on the laptops, I played the role of facilitator. I walked around the room and assisted students as needed. This was their time to learn, however, not my time to teach.

The WebQuest was broken into two separate lessons. The first day was information processing. On this day, students only researched their topics. Day two was social interactive. This lesson required students to work in groups, share the information they learned the day before, and create a riddle.

Overall, I think the riddles came out better than I expected. I knew this would be hard for some of the students in this class, but I wanted to challenge them.

When all of the riddles were written and illustrated, it was time to share. The students loved presenting their riddles and their classmates loved guessing the answers to the riddles.

Looking back, I can't say that 2nd grade is an ideal grade for using WebQuests, at least not at this point in the school year. They are too dependent on the teacher to show them what needs to be done. I think WebQuests are great for older students who are more independent.

Local Interactive Museums

After watching the video on the Long Island Children's Museum, I decided to try and find any local museums that offer the same experience to students.

I found the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum in Poughkeepsie.

There is also an interactive museum for kids in Middletown. Unfortunately, they do not have a link.

Time to Teach

Today was the day that I implemented my Direct Instruction lesson plan!

I introduced the concept of greater than, less than, and equal to in a 2nd grade classroom.

Overall, I think it went well. My cooperating teacher loved my lesson!

I am, however, very critical of my own work. So I can find plenty of things that could have been better with it.

My anticipatory set wasn't as smooth as I had rehearsed. It was a lot tougher to carry out when there are 23 7-year-old kids yelling out answers at me when I was not asking for any answers.

My transitions could have been better as well. Despite writing them in my lesson and practicing ahead of time, it was hard to remember to actually say all of the transitions between the development, guided practice and independent practice.

One activity that I did during guided practice that worked really well, was one that included sorting small pompoms into two groups. They had to count how many pompoms were in each group and then figure out which symbol (>, <, =) to use. In their math notebooks (I needed them to write all of this down to have some kind of record of their work) I had them write the whole problem down, and then write it out in a sentence. For example, they would have to write 13 > 7 -- 13 is greater than 7.

I wanted them to understand that the symbols we were using were taking the place of the words.

Most of the class did very well with this. Some did not get it right away and needed another example, but then quickly picked up the concept.

One of the reasons this activity worked so well was because it was very kinesthetic. they enjoyed using the pompoms and having the hands-on work.

The best part of the lesson for me was the closure, and no, I'm not saying that because it meant it was finally over.

During the closure part of the lesson, I asked students to tell me what the concept of the lesson was, and everyone could tell me. I then asked the class to tell me one thing they learned from the lesson, and most were able to tell me how to use the >, <, = signs correctly.

I felt like my lesson had been a success!

DI is Not Enough

Direct Instruction is the best strategy to use when introducing a topic. After the student has reached automaticity, however, it's time to move on and allow for inquiry.

Students need to be given the opportunity to come up with their own ideas about what they are learning. The video clip of the LICM is a great example of discovery learning. Every student in that video was learning by doing. It was hands-on.

For me, I know that is the way I learn best. The concept can be repeated multiple times through DI, but until I can get involved and do it myself, I won't truly understand what is being taught.

DI Test Reflection

Dr. Smirnova posted the answers to the Direct Instruction test I took a couple of weeks ago.

I don't remember what I posted for my answers then, but I looked at the questions again, and I think I did okay.

I can say this, after spending so much time on DI the past couple of weeks, and looking at the questions a second time, I felt more comfortable answering the questions again.

When I took the test originally, I knew most of the information, but I wasn't confident in my answers. That has since changed.

I'm much more comfortable with DI and I think I owe a lot of that to analyzing a DI lesson plan, and then designing my own DI lesson plan.

Breaking everything down, as you need to do when writing a plan, helps me to figure everything out, and really drove home the concept of DI and all of the points that go along with it.