Gretta's Blog Post 3, Edutopia Video

The video that I chose from Edutopia, was Tricks of the Trade: Quieting the Classroom. I initially chose this video because the topic caught my attention immediately. I think one of the major problems with new teachers is classroom management. I think part of the reason new teachers have problems with this technique is because we are unsure the best way to gain control of the classroom. This deals with getting the classroom to be quiet. Kids are naturally hyper and very talkative, so keeping them quiet is somewhat a task. In the video, Tricks of the Trade: Quieting the Classroom, the teacher instructed teachers to never raise their voice at a student to get them quiet. I agree with this statement, once a teacher has raised her voice or yelled it shows your frustration with the class. You also have to keep in mind that you don't want your students to yell, so you should exemplify the same behavior. The teacher in the video also suggested using some type of technique to get your students quiet. For example, she suggested counting. In a lot of elementary classrooms, the teacher holds up her hand and counts to five. I've found this technique to be very helpful.

Gretta's Blog Post 2!!

"Creativity is as important as literacy in education, and we should treat it with the same status."


This is a very powerful statement, and I would have to say that I agree with it. A student being creative is just as important all by itself. There are so many different aspects where a student can use his or her creativity. If you teach a child to be creative, then it can be a very powerful gift that can help them in the long run. Some of the most famous and impacting people in History are inventors, and it was their creativity that allowed them to invent different things. If we don't teach children the importance of creativity, then we could be missing out on a lot of future inventors that could be very beneficial in our world. Creativity does not just deal with how well a student does a particular thing, but it is about the process that that student uses to get something accomplished. When a student is creative it causes them to use their own ability to complete a task. In schools, there is too much work given that does not require individual effort and that can hurt students in the long run. You'll never know how creative a child can be if you never give them the opportunity. Most children are taught to just do enough work so that they can get by in the class, they don't feel as though it's important for them to use their creativity. However, if we have teachers that teach the importance of creativity, then maybe we can change this attitude.

Blog Post 3

Technology in education is a vital concept that needs to be intergrated as much as possible. The world that we live in is technology based and the more that we as future teachers learn how to intergrate this tools of technology will allow us to keep our students interest in the teaching material. There are tons of lessons on the internet that demonstrate how to incorporate Mirosoft word, excel, powerpoint, and etc. It is actually surprising to see first graders understanding how to operate these tools of technology better than their teacher. I believe that every teacher needs to understand at least the basics of technology, to an extent where it can be an effective tool in the classroom. I have learned a lot about technology and still learning. I think the school systems are now understanding that the technology of the world needs to be a part of the classrooms. More and more computers and smart boards are being put into classroom, which will help the technology and education to intersect effectively. It will just take time for all the schools to come to the 21st century and realize that technology needs to be in the classroom since this is a technology based world that we live in. Students actually keep interest in material that is being taught if we as teachers go their level of thinking, which is technology based.

Blog Post 2

Prompt: Sir Ken states: "Creativity is as important as literacy in education, and we should teart it with the same status."

In this prompt I agree because I believe that creativity is just as important as literacy. Literacy is important because it is the foundations of reading and knowledge of a growing student. Every childs thinking process is built on literacy. Literacy is the key to reading and understanding anything in this world. Creativity is in the same status. Creativity is what makes everyone unique. Creativity come natural to everyone and even if they do not think they are creativity, in reality they are and just do not realize it. The creative side of the brain goes hand in hand with learning and growing in knowledge. Creativity helps one to develop a well rounded grasp on concepts just like literacy helps one to be well round and grow in knowledge.

Blog Post 3

I chose to watch a video from edutopia. I watched Student Body: Classroom Exercise Makes Learning Lively
This video was about 4 techniques that you can do in the classroom befre or during class to get students up and moving and thinking clearly. I chose this video because we learned about this in our P.E. class and i found it really interesting. The techniques that the guy in video used were kinda of calm and boring. I thought that it would have been more upbeat and fun but they were all just stand in one place movements. I guess this would be good for large classes and older grades. The only problem that it might cause in older grades would that the kids wouldn't participate and some of the movements are funny looking so it could create a distraction. The overall purpose of this video was to introduce movement in the classroom so that it gets the kids back on track with a movement activity.

Blog Post 2

Sir Ken states, "Creativity is as important as literacy in education, and we should treat it with the same status."

I do agree with Sir Ken on this statement. I think that it is very important for a child to be able to express creativity. I know that when i was in school it was more fun and allowed us to show our creative side. However, now that i have done many different school field placements, i have found that most creativity has been taken out of the school. I feel like there are many ways to involve creativity through out the curriculum including literacy. A lot of times i have noticed that some kids do not want to pay attention to certain subjects because they have no interest, just as Ken said. If a teacher were to involve some creative aspect to the same subject the child's interest could change in a heartbeat. I have seen just recently in a child i was tutoring in reading that he hated to read. I found out that he loved to do science experiments so i let him read the instructions to science experiments which led him to begin reading and he did not even know it. I allowed for his creativity to shine through while involving literacy. I think all schools should do this. Unfourtanety, schools say they just don't have time. That is a shame

"Creatively Speaking on the Power of the Imaginative Mind

What is divergent thinking? Divergent thinking is not the same as creativity. Divergent thinking is the fundamental part of the creative process. Being non-creative is simply in a sense that you do not know how to be creative. During this video Sir Ken Robinson had mentioned a project called "Break Point and Beyond," which was a study about divergent thinking. It had been said that throughout this study that the capacity to see connections is to see more than more one answer to a problem. This study was longitudinal throughout the whole process because they retested subjects to see if anything had changed over a span of 10+ years. In order to score high on the test the divergent thinking of 3 – 5 years old is 98%. In three years they retested individuals to see whether or not their thinking will increase or decline and it had declined to 32%. In five more years they retested again when individuals were between the ages of 13 - 15 and found out that it declined again to 18%. Due to this research it had been stated that divergent thinking declines because once students enter the age level for school and they become educated there is only one answer when solving problems. There are several capacities in which divergent thinking can be maintained with the right conditions: 1. Standardized tests, 2. Narrowing curriculum, and 3. STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. There are other disciplines that benefit most from a broad based approach to education. Linking across the curriculum is a good way when trying to make connections between different ways of thinking.