Grouping Students

For the Unit Plan that my partner and I created, there would need to be different types of grouping depending on the lesson plan that day. For teaching students new material, I would group the students as a whole group. This type of grouping is best for teaching new material.

After teaching new material, I would group the students in small groups to work on classwork. It is important to consider the reading and writing skills of the students in each group. For the group, like the video, "The Importance of Homogenous Grouping," I would group the students in groups of those who fully understand, those who partially understand, and those who don't understand at all. These groups will be good, so I can work with the students who need extra help. It's a way that I can give additional instruction to these students.

Certain lesson plans include lab work. In these times, I would group the students in pairs. By having pairs, guided instruction can be successful to further the learning of the students. This type of grouping is another example of when to consider the reading and writing skills of students. In order for students to be the most successful, students need to be paired with peers that can work well together. It might be helpful for lower-level students to be paired with higher-level students, so that students can help each other in the learning process. A great way to learn is to try to teach someone the concepts. This is great for the higher-level students to reinforce their knowledge. It is also helpful for the lower-level students to have a peer that can help explain to them concepts they don't understand.

Finally, for project-based learning, I would group the students individually. This is a great way to encourage students to enhance their own learning. In terms of me as a teacher, it is great to be able to oversee how engaged the students are in their own learning.

On another note, for grouping it is important to group students well. When students are incorrectly grouped, their learning can be affected negatively. Students can struggle when they don't have a healthy learning environment. When grouping students together it is important to remember there are repercussions if you don't group them in a meaningful way.

References

McLaughlin, M. (2015). Organizing For Teaching And Learning. In M. McLaughlin (Ed.), Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness (pp. 126-152). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Timson, K. (2014). The Importance of Homogenous Grouping. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/73426089

Framing Our Reading IV

From the past three articles I have posted under Framing Our Reading, Framing Our Reading II, and Framing Our Reading III, I have chosen to look at the vocabulary words photosynthesis, metabolism, and inner-inner core. I chose the words photosynthesis and metabolism because not only are they key words to understanding the article, Plants Do Math to Survive The Night (found here: http://news.discovery.com/earth/plants/plants-do-math-to-survive-the-night-130624.htm), but they are also important concepts in biology. The vocabulary word inner-inner core is the main concept in the article Earth's Inner Core Had Its Own Inner Core (found here: http://news.discovery.com/earth/earths-inner-core-turns-out-to-have-its-own-inner-core-inside-it-150211.htm). While this word isn't a key factor in biology, it is important for other science fields.

To understand these vocabulary words I would use a Concept of Definition Map. The Concept Definition Map is a great way to let students focus on questions such as "What is it?" and "What's it like?" Students can organize the information that pertains to these three vocabulary words that will help them better understand these definitions. An example of one can be seen below.

The Concept Definition Map is organized with the vocabulary word in the middle and specific questions pertaining to the word on the outside, connected to the word in the middle. Student are, then, supposed to try and come up with the answers, which will make the vocabulary word easier to understand. This concept map is good for utilizing the Schema Theory in the classroom. The Schema theory embodies the concept of organizing knowledge into units. By understanding new vocabulary, there are new concepts that students can understand. By connecting new vocabulary to old vocabulary and concepts, the Schema Theory is used in the classroom. 

Figure 1. Concept of Definition Map of Photosynthesis

References

California State University, (n.d.). Schema Theory. California State University. Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gipej/teaparty.pdf

Framing Our Reading III

This week Jess and I chose the article, Earth's Inner Core Has Its Own Inner Core (found here: http://news.discovery.com/earth/earths-inner-core-turns-out-to-have-its-own-inner-core-inside-it-150211.htm). This article includes information on a new discovery about the Earth's inner-inner core. This discovery has given the science community new information about our planet. In terms of math, this article can be applied to graphing and learning about planes and axes. In terms of biology, this article explains how new information can be found in science everyday, as well as explain a new discovery about our planet.

The text frame is concept/definition. The author explains the new discovery of an inner-inner core of Earth. Scientists found this new part of the inner core through seismic waves. Whereas the inner core has iron crystals that are in a North-South direction, the inner-inner core has iron crystals that are in a East-West direction. The inner-inner core also differs from the inner core through the behavior of the iron crystals. This new discovery is thought to open up new doors to understanding more about the Earth's history and processes.

For this reading, I chose to use the Concept/Definition Mapping strategy. This strategy is used for teaching both concepts and vocabulary. There are three categories to explain a concept or definition: category, characteristics, and illustrations. The students would use this strategy for vocabulary that they find confusing and important for understanding the article, as well as using the strategy to understand the concept of the inner-inner core.

Using this type of strategy promotes the Schema Theory. The Schema Theory states that "all knowledge is organized into units" (California State University, n.d.). In order to understand a more advanced unit, one must know the basic unit first. The Concept/Definition Mapping strategy teaches students concepts and definitions that they will need to know in order to advance to higher learning. By using this strategy students not only understand the definition of vocabulary, but they understand how it relates to other vocabulary and concepts that they have seen before.

Work Cited

California State University, (n.d.). Schema Theory. California State University. Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gipej/teaparty.pdf