8th grade Science and Religion teacher, Mrs.Liebauc, had the very most memorable tests. It is sad to say, but they are memorable because of how hilariously easy they were. Don't get me wrong, we learned a lot in Mrs. Liebauc's classes. The easiness of her test is really as much of a testament to the fact that she was getting us to learn and remember things, as it was to the fact that she was a bit of a push over. I mean that in the nicest way!
Its just that she drilled us, gave us mnemonic devices, and was obsessively repetitive. We definitely knew exactly what would be on her tests. Then, even though every student was probably accidentally dreaming about all the information while they slept (that was how good we knew it) Mrs. Liebauc still seemed rather stressed out that we might not know everything that we were suppose to know. During the actual tests, she would actually give us clues as we were answering the questions. She always administered tests orally. She would give us blank paper, then ask questions, and we would write the answers. She would walk around the room (elementary-school-teacher-giving-a-spelling-test style) and ask the question, repeating herself several times, then she would pause, and sometimes give us hints. Example: "Name the colors in a prism....Remember children: ROYGBIV...ROYGBIV!" Like we really needed that reminder.
But seriously, like I said in a previous blog, I still remember a ton of that stuff! I probably remember more from Mrs. Liebauc's classes than any of my other middle school classes. And I'd like to think that I could still ace one of her tests!
I think the most difficult tests were my math tests. It always seemed that even if I totally understood the concepts that I was being tested on, I would make one small accidental mistake, and end up with the wrong answer on at least a couple of problems. The good thing was that my teacher had us show the work on our test paper or a sheet of scrap paper, and if we made some little error, and ended up with the wrong answer, we would still get credit for the rest of the problem. I was always a big-picture person. The attention to detail needed in Math was a skill that didn't come naturally.
The most meaningful tests were the short answer and essay tests that were common in Literature and Social Studies. They were sometimes more work to study for, but I always liked essay tests, and generally did really well on them.
As you can see, assessment in my middle school was usually a test. That was nearly 20 years ago, and more creative assessments were not as common then. We certainly had oral presentation and projects and such, but they were not really considered assessments. Every major unit had some kind of test at the end of it. The other things were extra. They did not replace testing.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Memory devices that work for me
Their are several memory devices that worked for me in middle school. One of my 8th grade teachers, Mrs. Liebauc, was crazy about mnemonic devices. She taught Science and Religion, and I still remember that "King Phillip Came Over From Germany Suddenly"= Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. I haven't used that information for any practical purpose in almost 20 years, but it's still there. Thanks, Mrs. Liebauc!
I also found that taking notes during a lecture helped me to remember it a lot better. Even if I was paying attention, if I didn't take notes, I wouldn't retain as much information. If I took notes, I would cut my necessary study time significantly.
Also making associations between new knowledge, and some type of prior knowledge helped me to remember. Mrs. Liebauc was really into that one too. She would make up metaphors between things she was teaching, and common examples to help us understand and remember concepts.
One more thing that worked for me was putting information, like definitions, Quotes, or lists of any kind, to some sort of rhythm or melody in my mind, nobody told me to do that, and I don't know why it worked, but it did.
I also found that taking notes during a lecture helped me to remember it a lot better. Even if I was paying attention, if I didn't take notes, I wouldn't retain as much information. If I took notes, I would cut my necessary study time significantly.
Also making associations between new knowledge, and some type of prior knowledge helped me to remember. Mrs. Liebauc was really into that one too. She would make up metaphors between things she was teaching, and common examples to help us understand and remember concepts.
One more thing that worked for me was putting information, like definitions, Quotes, or lists of any kind, to some sort of rhythm or melody in my mind, nobody told me to do that, and I don't know why it worked, but it did.
A cooperative learning experience from middle school
In Middle School, we did lots of cooperative learning activities and projects. Some that I remember are: creating our own fake business, preparing skits about historical events, rotating-writing activities,and a trust walk.
Two stand out to me as really memorable, The trust walk, and writing a story in a group of four .
The trust walk was done in my 8th grade literature class after we read The Miracle Worker. The Miracle Worker is a biography of Hellen Keller. The Trust walk was a way to experience the way that Hellen may have felt being blind and having to trust someone else for guidance. We got to blindfold one another (one at a time of course) and lead one another around the whole school, wherever we wanted to go. It was really a fun and different experience.
The other group project that I remember was a short chapter book that we wrote as a group. The first student would start the story, and write a chapter or two, then pass it on to the next student. The next student would not be allowed to change anything, but would add on the next chapter or two however they pleased. The process went through all four students in the group. Each student would have a few nights to do their part of the story. After the rough draft of each section was done, we did peer editing. Then we each did final copies, complete with intermittent illustrations. Finally, we all brought our finished parts of the story and bound them into a finish book. It was really fun to see how the collaborations turned out.
Two stand out to me as really memorable, The trust walk, and writing a story in a group of four .
The trust walk was done in my 8th grade literature class after we read The Miracle Worker. The Miracle Worker is a biography of Hellen Keller. The Trust walk was a way to experience the way that Hellen may have felt being blind and having to trust someone else for guidance. We got to blindfold one another (one at a time of course) and lead one another around the whole school, wherever we wanted to go. It was really a fun and different experience.
The other group project that I remember was a short chapter book that we wrote as a group. The first student would start the story, and write a chapter or two, then pass it on to the next student. The next student would not be allowed to change anything, but would add on the next chapter or two however they pleased. The process went through all four students in the group. Each student would have a few nights to do their part of the story. After the rough draft of each section was done, we did peer editing. Then we each did final copies, complete with intermittent illustrations. Finally, we all brought our finished parts of the story and bound them into a finish book. It was really fun to see how the collaborations turned out.
Tracking in my middle school
At St. Theresa's there were classes offered for different levels of students during our 8th grade year. The school did not refer to this as tracking, but it was a form of tracking. The good thing about the way that it was done at St.T's was that a student was not put in one track for all subjects. In fact, only two subjects were divided by ability levels, Math and English. Three Math classes were offered, Math, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. I took Pre-algebra. Two English classes were offered, English and Literature. I took Literature. As I detailed in a previous blog, that literature class was one of my favorite classes of my school career.
The other classes, Science, Social Studies, Religion, Music, Art, Gym, Computer, and Library were not tracked at all. I think that my school had a good way of handling the use of tracking. Students were recommended for their Math and English classes according to the observations of the 7th grade teachers. The student and their parents had the final say as to what class they would be in. The fact that most of the school day was spent with the entire class, diminished the perception of some kids being the "smart kids" and others the "not so smart kids". That, coupled with the fact that some kids were in the high English class but one of the lower math classes, made it so that it was not really noticeable, or at least not a focus of anybodies attention.
I really liked that the high ability classes tended to treat less like kids. We were given responsibility for our own work, and we were never given the kind of boring "busy work" kinds of tasks that I always hated.
The other classes, Science, Social Studies, Religion, Music, Art, Gym, Computer, and Library were not tracked at all. I think that my school had a good way of handling the use of tracking. Students were recommended for their Math and English classes according to the observations of the 7th grade teachers. The student and their parents had the final say as to what class they would be in. The fact that most of the school day was spent with the entire class, diminished the perception of some kids being the "smart kids" and others the "not so smart kids". That, coupled with the fact that some kids were in the high English class but one of the lower math classes, made it so that it was not really noticeable, or at least not a focus of anybodies attention.
I really liked that the high ability classes tended to treat less like kids. We were given responsibility for our own work, and we were never given the kind of boring "busy work" kinds of tasks that I always hated.
Monday, December 10, 2007
What motivated me as a student
What motivated me as a student was getting work that seemed to me meaningful and had a purpose. My biggest challenge as a student in grade school, middle school, and high school, was completing homework. Even from a young age, I knew when homework was "busy work" or maybe just geared towards students who needed more practice. As young as 3rd grade, I had major problems with getting in all of my homework. I always got good grades on my tests and projects, but I would miss points on what I saw to be "stupid" homework assignments. The funny thing was, that if I didn't understand something, then I didn't mind doing the homework. Also if the homework involved learning something new, like book reports, research, or reading, I didn't mind doing it. The homework that I hated, and almost never wanted to do, was the stuff that just repeated what I already could do. Examples would be: doing 20 math problems that were all pretty much the same, and that I already knew how to do; or, paraphrasing a story that we read. I would do the math problems if i needed the practice, but once I knew that I understood the concept, I didn't want to go on and do 20 problems. I wouldn't have minded answering thought provoking questions about a story, but paraphrasing bored me to tears.
I was always good at self monitoring and doing what was necessary to learn.
The older I got, the more of a problem it was. I understood my motivations for not wanting to do homework, and I knew that I should do it anyways, but I just really didn't want to. I hated that homework was such a big part of the grade. Like I said, I got A's and B's on my tests and projects, but homework grades brought me down.
Let me tell you, it doesn't work as a good excuse to say that you didn't do your homework because it was "stupid." The teachers would always say that it was an easy A and it was an important aspect of the grading system because some kids, even though they understand the concepts, do not test well. I understood the theory, even agreed with it, but I wanted to scream, "What about the kids who don't do well with homework? WHAT ABOUT US!"
Anyway, my best classes, as I mentioned before, were the ones that had meaningful assignments that enriched learning, rather than assignments ( both as homework and during class really) that were boring and repetitive.
I think that is why I like college so much, I am finally in charge of my own learning, and I can do it the way that works best for me. Tests, Projects, Papers- I don't mind, just don't make me write spelling words 10 times each when I already passed the pre-test, or do ditto's that look just like all the ditto's you gave me the day before.
I was always good at self monitoring and doing what was necessary to learn.
The older I got, the more of a problem it was. I understood my motivations for not wanting to do homework, and I knew that I should do it anyways, but I just really didn't want to. I hated that homework was such a big part of the grade. Like I said, I got A's and B's on my tests and projects, but homework grades brought me down.
Let me tell you, it doesn't work as a good excuse to say that you didn't do your homework because it was "stupid." The teachers would always say that it was an easy A and it was an important aspect of the grading system because some kids, even though they understand the concepts, do not test well. I understood the theory, even agreed with it, but I wanted to scream, "What about the kids who don't do well with homework? WHAT ABOUT US!"
Anyway, my best classes, as I mentioned before, were the ones that had meaningful assignments that enriched learning, rather than assignments ( both as homework and during class really) that were boring and repetitive.
I think that is why I like college so much, I am finally in charge of my own learning, and I can do it the way that works best for me. Tests, Projects, Papers- I don't mind, just don't make me write spelling words 10 times each when I already passed the pre-test, or do ditto's that look just like all the ditto's you gave me the day before.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Why I decided to become a teacher
I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. I can remember being a very young child, even before I started school, and wanting to be a teacher someday. I think that it started when I was 3. I remember taking my big sister, Lori to school and seeing her kindergarten teacher. She seemed so great to me. She was really nice and she always paid attention to me. I could not wait to be old enough to go to kindergarten. I still have very distinct memories of her yellow piano, and seeing my sister sitting on the rug listening to the Mrs. DiScico play that piano and sing.
Pretty soon, Mrs. DiScico was my kindergarten teacher. She was everything that a good kindergarten teacher should be. I use to pretend that I was a kindergarten teacher at home, and I would re-enact some of the lessons from the day.
As I went through school I watched my teachers. I loved the way they wrote on the board and held their worn-out, well-loved books. They were nice, patient and interesting.
As I got older, I had a few duds for teachers, but by then, I already knew for sure what I wanted to be "when I grew up."
I use to play school with my sister Lori, but she always wanted to be the teacher and me to be the student. That wasn't my idea of fun, so we would set up separate classrooms, complete with chalkboards and stuffed animal students. We would converse in the halls about students or visit each others "classrooms" to tell each other to "keep it down!" We didn't have interdisciplinary teams, but too bad because that would have been fun!
I can never remember a time when I had any doubt about becoming a teacher. As I got older, my vision became more solidified. I wanted to be a Mom and a teacher. I didn't know what age I wanted to teach, but I always leaned towards middle school age. I started thinking about what qualities I liked in my teachers, and which ones got on my nerves. I always pictured myself as one of the awesome teachers, of course.
Except for two months during 7th grade, when I told everyone that I wanted to be an accountant when I grew up (I don't even think I knew what an accountant did), I never wavered.
During high school, I meet up with plenty of teachers that could have made me believe that teachers, in general, are just put on this earth to make life joyless, but I also had a few really good teachers. Those good teachers gave me valuable examples of how to be a successful teacher. The bad ones, I pretty much just ignored.
I actually had one incident that truly epitomizes the effect of a good teacher on a students success. In 11th grade, we had to take American Government. I had this teacher, who was clearly burnt out, and he was so terribly boring that I really don't think I heard one single word he said all semester. He was monotone and had no sense of humor. His assignments were so rote and meaningless that I just couldn't bare it. I would sit in the back and just try to survive the 40 minutes without falling asleep or exploding. Around test time, I would try to pull it together, but I was always so lost, that I could never manage. Needless to say, I completely failed the class and had to take it over. And its a good thing that I did because the next time I took it I had one of the most awesome teachers of my high school career. Mr. Buffalino, who was also a part time college professor in the evenings, was the kind of teacher that made even the most boring things, like branches of the government, interesting and relevant. I looked forward to his class everyday. I didn't even have to think about passing, it came very naturally. I was engaged and learning. He would mostly lecture, with some activities to back up learning, but he was so interesting to listen to. He would joke around with us as he taught, he got to know us personally, and he treated us like adults. He took our little problems very seriously, while at the same time assuring us that someday, all those little things would seen trivial. He made me excited for the future. He made us see that we could do big things. He never gave us meaningless homework or busywork. He just expected us to learn the material in our own ways, and do good on the tests. I got an A+. Most people did really well in his class. Not that it was easy. There was a lot to learn, but he made it all interesting and relevant. He Incorporated history and current events into his teaching to help us to really understand how our government functioned, and he worked in that all important critical viewpoint that was so rare at the high school level. Finally, someone who was willing to include a perspective that didn't always assume that our country was perfect. Thinking back on it, he was a lot more like a college professor than a typical high school teacher. One very important thing that I learned from him, was that it is okay, even GOOD, to think for yourself. That was a revolutionary perspective for me at the time, especially after Mr. Monotone, who just wanted you to spit useless information back at him without questioning. Finally a teacher who thought it was great if you pushed the envelope a bit. Mr. Buffalino taught me more than American Government, he gave me confidence in my ability to succeed academically. Truthfully, I wasn't that excited about college, though I knew I had to go if I wanted to become a teacher, I just figured it would be more of the same. Mr. Buffalono gave me a much needed taste of the kind of critical thinking that is the key to learning in college (and life.)
Well, anyway, It is taking me a long time to finish college, but that's because my goal of becoming a mother (I have 4 small children) came first in the progression. I have been coming along slow but steady for a long time. By the time the baby starts kindergarten (she's almost three now) I will be graduating and seeking my first teaching job. Its been a long time coming, but I look forward to it. I've been working towards this since I was three myself.
Pretty soon, Mrs. DiScico was my kindergarten teacher. She was everything that a good kindergarten teacher should be. I use to pretend that I was a kindergarten teacher at home, and I would re-enact some of the lessons from the day.
As I went through school I watched my teachers. I loved the way they wrote on the board and held their worn-out, well-loved books. They were nice, patient and interesting.
As I got older, I had a few duds for teachers, but by then, I already knew for sure what I wanted to be "when I grew up."
I use to play school with my sister Lori, but she always wanted to be the teacher and me to be the student. That wasn't my idea of fun, so we would set up separate classrooms, complete with chalkboards and stuffed animal students. We would converse in the halls about students or visit each others "classrooms" to tell each other to "keep it down!" We didn't have interdisciplinary teams, but too bad because that would have been fun!
I can never remember a time when I had any doubt about becoming a teacher. As I got older, my vision became more solidified. I wanted to be a Mom and a teacher. I didn't know what age I wanted to teach, but I always leaned towards middle school age. I started thinking about what qualities I liked in my teachers, and which ones got on my nerves. I always pictured myself as one of the awesome teachers, of course.
Except for two months during 7th grade, when I told everyone that I wanted to be an accountant when I grew up (I don't even think I knew what an accountant did), I never wavered.
During high school, I meet up with plenty of teachers that could have made me believe that teachers, in general, are just put on this earth to make life joyless, but I also had a few really good teachers. Those good teachers gave me valuable examples of how to be a successful teacher. The bad ones, I pretty much just ignored.
I actually had one incident that truly epitomizes the effect of a good teacher on a students success. In 11th grade, we had to take American Government. I had this teacher, who was clearly burnt out, and he was so terribly boring that I really don't think I heard one single word he said all semester. He was monotone and had no sense of humor. His assignments were so rote and meaningless that I just couldn't bare it. I would sit in the back and just try to survive the 40 minutes without falling asleep or exploding. Around test time, I would try to pull it together, but I was always so lost, that I could never manage. Needless to say, I completely failed the class and had to take it over. And its a good thing that I did because the next time I took it I had one of the most awesome teachers of my high school career. Mr. Buffalino, who was also a part time college professor in the evenings, was the kind of teacher that made even the most boring things, like branches of the government, interesting and relevant. I looked forward to his class everyday. I didn't even have to think about passing, it came very naturally. I was engaged and learning. He would mostly lecture, with some activities to back up learning, but he was so interesting to listen to. He would joke around with us as he taught, he got to know us personally, and he treated us like adults. He took our little problems very seriously, while at the same time assuring us that someday, all those little things would seen trivial. He made me excited for the future. He made us see that we could do big things. He never gave us meaningless homework or busywork. He just expected us to learn the material in our own ways, and do good on the tests. I got an A+. Most people did really well in his class. Not that it was easy. There was a lot to learn, but he made it all interesting and relevant. He Incorporated history and current events into his teaching to help us to really understand how our government functioned, and he worked in that all important critical viewpoint that was so rare at the high school level. Finally, someone who was willing to include a perspective that didn't always assume that our country was perfect. Thinking back on it, he was a lot more like a college professor than a typical high school teacher. One very important thing that I learned from him, was that it is okay, even GOOD, to think for yourself. That was a revolutionary perspective for me at the time, especially after Mr. Monotone, who just wanted you to spit useless information back at him without questioning. Finally a teacher who thought it was great if you pushed the envelope a bit. Mr. Buffalino taught me more than American Government, he gave me confidence in my ability to succeed academically. Truthfully, I wasn't that excited about college, though I knew I had to go if I wanted to become a teacher, I just figured it would be more of the same. Mr. Buffalono gave me a much needed taste of the kind of critical thinking that is the key to learning in college (and life.)
Well, anyway, It is taking me a long time to finish college, but that's because my goal of becoming a mother (I have 4 small children) came first in the progression. I have been coming along slow but steady for a long time. By the time the baby starts kindergarten (she's almost three now) I will be graduating and seeking my first teaching job. Its been a long time coming, but I look forward to it. I've been working towards this since I was three myself.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
My favorite subject in middle school
My favorite subject in middle school was Literature. We didn't start having a Literature class that was separate from our English class, until eighth grade. I Think that I liked it so much because it was the first time that we were able to read really great books in school. The class was only opened to high ability students, so we got to read things like To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies. We read a play and had a "dinner- theater" performance of it at the end of the unit for our parents and other guests. It was a fun and challenging class.
I think the reason that I liked the class so much was partly because I had a good teacher, partly because I liked the subject matter, and partly because it was a class for high ability students.
The teacher used many different teaching methods , which kept the class interesting. She gave lots of opportunity for discussion, and call me a nerd, but I have always loved discussing literature with other interested people.
The content was also very influential in my liking the class. Prior to this class, we hadn't really read very much good literature. We rarely read a whole novel as part of our curriculum. In this class, we read To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of The Flies, The Miracle Worker, The Diary Of Ann Frank, and more.
Of course, the reason that we were able to read the books that we did, was because we were a high ability class. The reading was tailored to our reading and comprehension level.
I think the reason that I liked the class so much was partly because I had a good teacher, partly because I liked the subject matter, and partly because it was a class for high ability students.
The teacher used many different teaching methods , which kept the class interesting. She gave lots of opportunity for discussion, and call me a nerd, but I have always loved discussing literature with other interested people.
The content was also very influential in my liking the class. Prior to this class, we hadn't really read very much good literature. We rarely read a whole novel as part of our curriculum. In this class, we read To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of The Flies, The Miracle Worker, The Diary Of Ann Frank, and more.
Of course, the reason that we were able to read the books that we did, was because we were a high ability class. The reading was tailored to our reading and comprehension level.
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