Blog Archives

Co-Teaching Perseverance

7/26/2013

The first #coteachat on Twitter occurred this past week - if you missed it, you can read the Storify, and be sure to try to join in next time! Hosted by @ElizabethLStein, a veteran co-teacher, it provided an opportunity for co-teachers to share challenges and solutions. One of Stein's questions was "How do you think perseverance connects with co-teaching?"

I love questions that keep me thinking long after the asking! As I have been mulling this over the last few days, I have recognized that perseverance is an essential quality in so many aspects of teaching and learning. Co-teachers, especially, must have the ability to persevere through the ups and downs of their relationship. As in any long-term relationship, the partners will have moments where they might believe it would be easier to go it alone. The ability to decide for yourself, plan on your own schedule, implement your own behavior management philosophy - these are all very tempting at times. And yet we know that when co-teachers have open communication with each other and persevere in their collaborations, better outcomes happen for students.

What are some practical ideas to enhance your co-teaching perseverance?

Set a regular schedule for co-plannng meetings, with an alarm reminder, and don't let anything get in the way!
Set a regular schedule for reviewing learning objectives and progress monitoring data, rather than it being a task done only by the specialist.
Use a co-teaching reflection tool each quarter to guide discussion about your co-teaching effectiveness.
Arrange for a trusted colleague or administrator to do an informal observation of your co-teaching and provide some feedback. It might be a bit intimidating, but it will help you thoughtfully consider your practices.
Use Swivl or some other form of technology to help you video tape your co-teaching, then sit down and watch it together.
Frequently remind yourself that it is all about the children. With this in mind you and your partner will be motivated to do whatever it takes to give your students your best!

photo generated by A.Beninghofat www.redkid.net

0 Comments

Reading Comprehension Booster

7/23/2013

4 Comments

After more than a year in development, my Reading Comprehension Booster iPad app is now available on the App Store! Many of my regular readers have attended my workshops and seen the app in the early stages. I welcomed your input and changed the design to include your suggested features. Testing with children of various ages also improved our design to the point where I believe it will be an asset to any literacy program.

What makes my app different? I have reviewed many apps tagged as reading comprehension apps. What I found was that most of these provide students with text to read and then answer questions. It seems to me that this assesses reading comprehension but doesn’t work on the skills needed to improve reading comprehension! Reading Comprehension Booster targets the foundational elements of understanding fiction and non-fiction and engages students in interactive responses to these. The app is also fully accessible - children can respond with audio recordings, drawings, text and drag and drop.

Click here for a video overview of the app, or read below for the specific details. If you feel that it is worthwhile, I would appreciate you spreading the word for me through your contacts, blogs and other networks. I will also welcome your feedback as we work on updates. I already have ideas for adding more non-fiction features in a future release.

Boost reading comprehension with this set of interactive tools! Based on the idea of paper bookmarks, each booster encourages the child to record responses, while they are reading, based on a specific reading focus. No more wondering if your child or student was actually paying attention while s/he was reading!

Booster bookmarks were designed by an expert in the field of differentiated instruction, and are based on essential instructional elements identified in literacy, brain and learning research. Each booster has a variety of interactive options to tap into different ability levels and interests. Users can read or listen to directions, draw, type, drag or record responses, and much more. Children can choose from Characters, Connections, Story Seeds and other bookmarks, or use several simultaneously. Children can easily email their work to a parent or teacher for review and discussion.

Features

•    Interactive tools to increase reading engagement and comprehension

•    Each bookmark provides cues to prompt thinking

•    For beginning readers through early teens

•    Allows for multiple users for classrooms sharing iPads

•    A range of response options increases accessibility

•    Data can be emailed to parents, teachers, RtI specialists, IEP team members

4 Comments

What's your 6 word sentence?

7/15/2013

0 Comments

One of the resources shared at the Douglas County Geek Camp last week was an article by Dan Pink, which references a book called “Not Quite What I Was Planning,” a collection of 6 word memoirs.

Pink asked readers to share their sentences, and then compiled them into a thought provoking video. A wide range of responses, many learning and teaching related, provoked some great conversations. What a fabulous language arts activity this can be for students!

With all of this great inspiration, the Geek Camp counselors encouraged participants to write their own 6 word sentence and use their photo booth to save it. Here’s mine. What’s yours?

0 Comments

Symbaloo

7/9/2013

0 Comments

One of the sessions I attended this week at #geekcamp13 was on the use of Symbaloo. Linda Horne, teacher extraordinaire and Certified Symbaloo guru, provided an idea-packed workshop on engaging ways to use Symbaloo with students of all ages.

Symbaloo is a curation tool for visually organizing your favorite websites and documents. Instead of searching through a long list of bookmarks, Symbaloo allows you to design webmixes, using tiles, that include images and text. You can choose to color-code the backgrounds and group items together.

Comparing Symbaloo to Pearltrees, another curation tool, I would suggest that Symbaloo is more accessible for students who struggle. The color-coding and visual structure of Symbaloo tiles feels more organized and linear - important for students who may experience attention or organizational difficulties.

I had the chance to play with Symbaloo and found it very intuitive, and quickly developed this Symbaloo - an iPad app teaser.

My mind is buzzing with ideas for using Symbaloo in teaching!

Set up a webmix for a web quest
Provide access to your substitute teacher of all websites and documents they might need
Develop a webmix for the Common Core Standards relevant to your students
Gather your favorite math sites for student independent practice time
Students can create a webmix related to a research project
Show parents various resources and sites for homework help.

How are you using it?

0 Comments

Reflection

7/8/2013

1 Comment

I am treating myself this summer to an entire week of Geek Camp, generously sponsored by Douglas County School District in Colorado. The schedule is structured to include a 3 hour block of time in the middle of the day, cleverly named Campfire, to sit with colleagues and process new learning. Just as we might enjoy sitting around a campfire in the summer and share our stories, ask questions, and have a lively discussion, this opportunity at Geek Camp provides time for teachers to talk, share and problem solve. My pleasure from participating in Campfire today reminded me that students need time to process their learning, too. One of my new goals for this week is to explore ways in which technology can support student reflection.

How do you encourage students to reflect? How do you manage the time it takes to reflect in a quality manner?

Image from: "MorgueFile Free Photo." Eye9.jpg. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2013

1 Comment

Co-Teaching Perseverance

Reading Comprehension Booster

What's your 6 word sentence?

Symbaloo

Reflection

Anne M. Beninghof

Archives

Categories