Texas A&M University – Commerce
Master’s of Education in Secondary Education – MED
MISD & A&M – Commerce Partnership Cohort 2010
SED 513 Secondary School Curriculum – 3SH
Final Reflection I
One thing that I have learned this past semester is that I have been using many different teaching strategies in my classroom. I did not know the exact term of each strategy, until know, but I have used or are using several of them right now. As a teacher I think that you have to incorporate many different strategies because you have students with different learning styles. I wish I could pick one and every student would learn and benefit from the strategy I chose but that is not the case. My classroom is changing and it is because of my students. So there is one thing that needs to happen in order for them to be successful, I have to change the way I am teaching to make that success possible. This semester has opened my eyes to that. The strategy that I seem to use the most is cooperative learning. Cooperative learning allows me to get my low ability students to become more involved in my class and gets them to do their work because the rest of the group is counting on them to do their part. This strategy allows me to partner students in different ways so that they get to know each other. I like the personal interaction of my students because they already separate themselves into groups and often times alienate others. In our Classroom Instruction that Works book, David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1999) recognize five defining element of cooperative learning. These elements are Positive Interdependence, Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction, Individual and Group Accountability, Interpersonal and Small Group Skills, and Group Processing.
Marzano places Cooperative Learning in the middle of the learning strategies with a percentile gain of twenty-seven percent. What I really like about Cooperative Learning is that I am able to incorporate other strategies while I am using it. For example, I can use Identifying Similarities and Differences, which has the highest percentile (45%) within a Cooperative Learning setting. By doing this I can even further increase the possibility of learning and success in my classroom. Cooperative Learning allows for students to see other ways to find solutions, it opens students eyes to different points of views, it allows communication, builds trust, and can help in conflict resolution. I like the fact that I can group students together that have a hard time with the English language and they work together and learn. This was actually why I first started using Cooperative Learning when I first started teaching. Students that were struggling with getting their worked turned in were turning in all their assignments, students that were afraid to ask questions were now speaking and asking questions, it made a difference in those students and I took notice. That is why I continue to use this strategy in my classroom and why I will continue to use it. Now this strategy is not for everyday use and independent study is very important but it can be a great tool to help the success of your students.
Master’s of Education in Secondary Education – MED
MISD & A&M – Commerce Partnership Cohort 2010
SED 513 Secondary School Curriculum – 3SH
Final Reflection I
One thing that I have learned this past semester is that I have been using many different teaching strategies in my classroom. I did not know the exact term of each strategy, until know, but I have used or are using several of them right now. As a teacher I think that you have to incorporate many different strategies because you have students with different learning styles. I wish I could pick one and every student would learn and benefit from the strategy I chose but that is not the case. My classroom is changing and it is because of my students. So there is one thing that needs to happen in order for them to be successful, I have to change the way I am teaching to make that success possible. This semester has opened my eyes to that. The strategy that I seem to use the most is cooperative learning. Cooperative learning allows me to get my low ability students to become more involved in my class and gets them to do their work because the rest of the group is counting on them to do their part. This strategy allows me to partner students in different ways so that they get to know each other. I like the personal interaction of my students because they already separate themselves into groups and often times alienate others. In our Classroom Instruction that Works book, David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1999) recognize five defining element of cooperative learning. These elements are Positive Interdependence, Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction, Individual and Group Accountability, Interpersonal and Small Group Skills, and Group Processing.
Marzano places Cooperative Learning in the middle of the learning strategies with a percentile gain of twenty-seven percent. What I really like about Cooperative Learning is that I am able to incorporate other strategies while I am using it. For example, I can use Identifying Similarities and Differences, which has the highest percentile (45%) within a Cooperative Learning setting. By doing this I can even further increase the possibility of learning and success in my classroom. Cooperative Learning allows for students to see other ways to find solutions, it opens students eyes to different points of views, it allows communication, builds trust, and can help in conflict resolution. I like the fact that I can group students together that have a hard time with the English language and they work together and learn. This was actually why I first started using Cooperative Learning when I first started teaching. Students that were struggling with getting their worked turned in were turning in all their assignments, students that were afraid to ask questions were now speaking and asking questions, it made a difference in those students and I took notice. That is why I continue to use this strategy in my classroom and why I will continue to use it. Now this strategy is not for everyday use and independent study is very important but it can be a great tool to help the success of your students.
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