Reflections: Why is My Particular Discipline Important in Life? How Can I Use Inquiry in My Discipline?
I teach health education to grades six through eight. I really enjoy what I do because I feel that if students have a good understanding of how the body works, the importance of good nutrition and a healthy life-style, the impact of the environment on health, and how medicine and medical technology impact us both short and long-term, then they will have the tools to hopefully make wise decisions about their health.
The health curriculum is very broad and there is a lot to cover within the school year. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that I see my students every other day. It’s hard to fit everything in that I am required to cover. This is a problem we all face today and we are ultimately forced to choose what we feel are the most important parts of the curriculum that we should spend more time on. Some of the various theories we have read about don’t necessarily lend well to classroom practice when we are dealing with time constraints. Inquiry based learning sounds great theoretically but I feel it takes a lot of time to use this form of teaching effectively. What I find does work is using inquiry based learning in interdisciplinary units. In fact, I like this approach because not only does it gives students a chance to explore on their own, it shows students how each subject is really a part of the whole.
This past year I worked with the eight grade team to develop an interdisciplinary unit that we titled, “Chemicals, The Environment, and You”. The inquiry part of this study dealt with students exploring various products that are used everyday, such as laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, drain cleaner, bathroom and kitchen cleaners, pesticides, etc). Students worked in groups and came up with their own list of products. They then developed questions to explore relating to how these products affect the environment and our health. Students then conducted research about their products but were guided through the process in that they were asked to investigate some required information such as:
· Active ingredients in the product
· Are any of the ingredients toxic, corrosive, reactive, or ignitable? (chemistry)
· Calculate the weight of each active ingredient based on the % stated on the label (math)
· Laws regarding waste disposal of product; laws regarding information required on label including warning labels; what agencies create the laws and monitor enforcement (social studies)
· Hazards of the product—effects on the body/body systems if it is absorbed, ingested, inhaled (health)
The language arts component included the research and the written part of their final product. The above is just a snapshot of the total unit. Again, it did involve some inquiry but I think that this is more of an example of project based learning; I’m not really sure.
What I did find was that for those of us who planned this unit this experience definitely involved inquiry. We kept asking questions throughout the unit as we met to discuss and chart student progress. We also learned from the students as they worked on the unit. We have fined tuned the unit for next year and will include another element—students will come up with “green” alternatives to common products. This was suggested by the students! We will also expand the use of visual arts for student presentation to include I-movies and Podcasts.
I never thought to question the methods used in the classroom to facilitate learning. What I get from the readings is that there are many ways to teach our students. Each writer is a proponent of their own method, their philosophy. My discipline is important because we have to learn how to take care of ourselves if we want to live a long life. I can have students investigate how to do that but at some point I have to give them the “meat and potatoes”—the facts, the figures, the content. There is not time to explore everything.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Reflections on: Arts as Epistemology
Arts as Epistemology: Enabling Children to Know What They Know
By Karen Gallas
Reflections:
Reading this article gave me a whole new perspective about creative arts and the use of this medium to enhance learning. I think that most teachers use some form of creative or visual arts as part of the learning process but probable not to the degree that Gallas does in her first grade classroom. As I read the descriptions of the different phases of her unit on life cycles, I could envision the learning that was taking place—very powerful! I see this as a tool to help students learn, understand, and show that they grasp what is being taught. Should this be the only tool we use? I don’t think so. Like the mechanic or the carpenter, we must use many tools to get the job done, to make learning happen.
Gallas states that “true knowing involves transformation and change, rather than memorization and regurgitation” (Gallas, 1991, p. 293). She uses the art mediums such as drama, poetry, movement, music, and visual arts to allow students to learn and express what they are learning. This allows for all students to learn according to their learning styles. I have never thought of addressing learning styles in this manner even though I have used various forms of creative arts in my classroom. So often we do things with our students that impact learning in a positive way and we don’t fully realize the extent of that impact. This past year, as part of the 6th grade health curriculum, students were required to revisit the body systems. As part of the learning process, I broke students into groups and had each group explore one body system. Their task was to be able to explain to classmates how that body system works and how it is interdependent with all the other systems of the body. I guided each group as they explored and investigated. The end product of this project was a presentation by each group. These presentations were in the form of rap songs, pictures, drawings, charts, and three dimensional models. One group acted out their presentation as they became that body system. Each group got the whole class involved. Their presentations were great and they had fun doing this. More importantly, I saw that they really understood the information. I also discovered that as they involved the whole class everyone was learning. It made me realize that this is a good part of learning and understanding. This type of activity wouldn’t work for every aspect of the curriculum to be taught but it is a good tool. I think that this is the message the Gallas is trying to convey.Gallas takes us through the whole process that evolves in her classroom as her students learn about life cycles. This is a good introduction to what we will be experiencing as we create our own units of study using the arts as a medium. She expresses the opinion that the “arts make it possible for all children to participate fully in the process of education” (Gallas, 1991, p. 303). Although I’m not sure what lies ahead with regard to our own projects, I think this will be a great learning experience.
By Karen Gallas
Reflections:
Reading this article gave me a whole new perspective about creative arts and the use of this medium to enhance learning. I think that most teachers use some form of creative or visual arts as part of the learning process but probable not to the degree that Gallas does in her first grade classroom. As I read the descriptions of the different phases of her unit on life cycles, I could envision the learning that was taking place—very powerful! I see this as a tool to help students learn, understand, and show that they grasp what is being taught. Should this be the only tool we use? I don’t think so. Like the mechanic or the carpenter, we must use many tools to get the job done, to make learning happen.
Gallas states that “true knowing involves transformation and change, rather than memorization and regurgitation” (Gallas, 1991, p. 293). She uses the art mediums such as drama, poetry, movement, music, and visual arts to allow students to learn and express what they are learning. This allows for all students to learn according to their learning styles. I have never thought of addressing learning styles in this manner even though I have used various forms of creative arts in my classroom. So often we do things with our students that impact learning in a positive way and we don’t fully realize the extent of that impact. This past year, as part of the 6th grade health curriculum, students were required to revisit the body systems. As part of the learning process, I broke students into groups and had each group explore one body system. Their task was to be able to explain to classmates how that body system works and how it is interdependent with all the other systems of the body. I guided each group as they explored and investigated. The end product of this project was a presentation by each group. These presentations were in the form of rap songs, pictures, drawings, charts, and three dimensional models. One group acted out their presentation as they became that body system. Each group got the whole class involved. Their presentations were great and they had fun doing this. More importantly, I saw that they really understood the information. I also discovered that as they involved the whole class everyone was learning. It made me realize that this is a good part of learning and understanding. This type of activity wouldn’t work for every aspect of the curriculum to be taught but it is a good tool. I think that this is the message the Gallas is trying to convey.Gallas takes us through the whole process that evolves in her classroom as her students learn about life cycles. This is a good introduction to what we will be experiencing as we create our own units of study using the arts as a medium. She expresses the opinion that the “arts make it possible for all children to participate fully in the process of education” (Gallas, 1991, p. 303). Although I’m not sure what lies ahead with regard to our own projects, I think this will be a great learning experience.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
My Mission Statement: A Work in Progress
My Mission Statement:
Each student shall be given the opportunity to grow and flourish in a nurturing environment that encourages life-long learning, healthy self-esteem, strong ethical values, and an appreciation and respect for others so that he/she can become a responsible and productive citizen in society. This will be accomplished through the provision of a supportive learning environment that provides the knowledge and skills necessary for intellectual, social, and emotional growth and allows each student to reach his/her full potential.
Each student shall be given the opportunity to grow and flourish in a nurturing environment that encourages life-long learning, healthy self-esteem, strong ethical values, and an appreciation and respect for others so that he/she can become a responsible and productive citizen in society. This will be accomplished through the provision of a supportive learning environment that provides the knowledge and skills necessary for intellectual, social, and emotional growth and allows each student to reach his/her full potential.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
About Me
I am a middle school health & physical education teacher. I teach mostly health education to grades 6 through 8 and I really enjoy it. I especially enjoy the curriculum for grades 6 and 8 and also enjoy the age range. I find middle schoolers predictably unpredictable--that is, you never know what they will say or what kind of mood they will be in--hormones play such a big part of what they are like at this age.
I enjoy teaching health because there is so much in the curriculum that lends to life long skills and knowledge. I also enjoy the physcial edcuation part, even though I only teach two P.E. classes per day, in that there is so much cross over with regard to health and fitness (the two go hand in hand). This schedule allows me to see my students in a different venue.
I am very family oriented and I am also a "people person". I enjoy the daily interaction with both students and faculty. I really feel that raising two children through every developmental stage has given me a better understanding of kids. When people ask me what age I teach and I tell them that I teach middle school- aged children, they ask me why? My response is, why not? I love that age and I truly enjoyed my own children as they moved through that stage of development.
While my family is and always will be my passion, my kids are grown now and have their own lives. That said, my husband and I are now able to enjoy so many things that we didn't have time to do earlier in our lives because our kids were our focus. We now enjoy traveling, especially international traveling! So--travel has now become my passion. I really enjoy experiencing other cultures. There is so much to learn and experience--both in this country and abroad. Our plans for the future include trips to Ireland, Italy, and Greece. Can't wait!
On the horizon--my son just got engaged this May (2008) and our family looks forward to his wedding in 2009.
I enjoy teaching health because there is so much in the curriculum that lends to life long skills and knowledge. I also enjoy the physcial edcuation part, even though I only teach two P.E. classes per day, in that there is so much cross over with regard to health and fitness (the two go hand in hand). This schedule allows me to see my students in a different venue.
I am very family oriented and I am also a "people person". I enjoy the daily interaction with both students and faculty. I really feel that raising two children through every developmental stage has given me a better understanding of kids. When people ask me what age I teach and I tell them that I teach middle school- aged children, they ask me why? My response is, why not? I love that age and I truly enjoyed my own children as they moved through that stage of development.
While my family is and always will be my passion, my kids are grown now and have their own lives. That said, my husband and I are now able to enjoy so many things that we didn't have time to do earlier in our lives because our kids were our focus. We now enjoy traveling, especially international traveling! So--travel has now become my passion. I really enjoy experiencing other cultures. There is so much to learn and experience--both in this country and abroad. Our plans for the future include trips to Ireland, Italy, and Greece. Can't wait!
On the horizon--my son just got engaged this May (2008) and our family looks forward to his wedding in 2009.
My Thoughts: What is the Mission of Schooling (Chapt. 1)
As I read the first chapter in Schooling by Design, I began to wonder how many teachers actually read their district's mission statement. It does make sense to know what the expectations are and what we as teachers need to do in the classroom and school community to help all students achieve their full potential. I revisited my own school district's mission statement and beliefs and I feel that both express in clear and concise language what the district's expectations are. Some of the examples cited in this chapter did not compare favorably as, in my opinion, they were too vague or general. For example, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional District--too vague; LaVace Stewart Elementary School--good but maybe too general. The most important point that I learned about a mission statement is that it should "summarize what an education is meant to help the learner achieve" (Wiggens & McTigue, 2007, p. 12) throughout his or her schooling. I think this will help as we form our own mission statements!
Another important point that I learned from this chapter is that when one is planning a unit or designing curriculum, it is helpful to begin with an essential question(s). Wiggins and McTigue also suggest that a unit should be disigned around "a culminating assessment task requiring transfer (Wiggens & McTigue, 2007, p. 16). That makes sense in that it necessitates that students apply what they have learned to situations which can help them make sense of what they have learned as well as see the information or content as meaningful. It also makes sense that from this point we should then design our lessons to ensure that students get what they need to master the task at hand. I can see the value in this approach.
Starting this fall, I will be involved in the re-writing of the health curriculum according to the new state (New Jersey) standards. This committee, which I am part of, has already met once to view and discuss the new standards and to begin to plan what has to be done during the 2008-09 school year regarding this re-write. I am excited about applying some of the things I have already learned about curriculum planning. I also look forward to sharing this information with my collegues. I find that I now have a different view of this process. Wiggens and McTigue state that "making content the focus of all teaching, learning, and assessing gets the matter backward" (Wiggens & McTigue, 2007, p. 20). I will keep this in mind during the next school year as I help design the new health curriculum for the Northern Valley.
Another important point that I learned from this chapter is that when one is planning a unit or designing curriculum, it is helpful to begin with an essential question(s). Wiggins and McTigue also suggest that a unit should be disigned around "a culminating assessment task requiring transfer (Wiggens & McTigue, 2007, p. 16). That makes sense in that it necessitates that students apply what they have learned to situations which can help them make sense of what they have learned as well as see the information or content as meaningful. It also makes sense that from this point we should then design our lessons to ensure that students get what they need to master the task at hand. I can see the value in this approach.
Starting this fall, I will be involved in the re-writing of the health curriculum according to the new state (New Jersey) standards. This committee, which I am part of, has already met once to view and discuss the new standards and to begin to plan what has to be done during the 2008-09 school year regarding this re-write. I am excited about applying some of the things I have already learned about curriculum planning. I also look forward to sharing this information with my collegues. I find that I now have a different view of this process. Wiggens and McTigue state that "making content the focus of all teaching, learning, and assessing gets the matter backward" (Wiggens & McTigue, 2007, p. 20). I will keep this in mind during the next school year as I help design the new health curriculum for the Northern Valley.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
What Makes a Person Educated?
A person is educated when they have the knowledge and/or know-how to access the information necessary to function in society.
A person is educated if they know how to apply the skills/knowledge they have acquired so that they can lead a productive life and contribute to society.
Education is ongoing. An individual is always learning and acquiring new skills and knowledge because society and the world we live in today is changing constantly.
A person is educated if they know how to apply the skills/knowledge they have acquired so that they can lead a productive life and contribute to society.
Education is ongoing. An individual is always learning and acquiring new skills and knowledge because society and the world we live in today is changing constantly.
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