Entry 6

It is very important to actively engage the students. As a teacher my goal will be to engage the entire class during activities and lessons. I believe a great way to get the kids engaged is to first, start with a mind warm-up using a mix of collaboration and competition. The mundane warm-up that we are use to is question and answer where kids work silently and usually results in some students disengaging. Using a mind warm-up that is creative and fun will help engage the students and get their minds ready for the next task. Next, it's great to use movement to get the kids focused. For example having the kids stand behind their desks and doing a physical movement (like clapping their hands while chanting a song) will not only get the kids focused on the task but it is also an easy way to monitor full participation. Two other important concepts are incorporating different teaching styles.

Below is a list of techniques and activities that a teacher can incorporate to actively engage students.
1. The jigsaw technique: The class is divided into several teams, with each team preparing separate but related assignments. When all team members are prepared, the class is re-divided into mixed groups, with one member from each team in each group. Each person in the group teaches the rest of the group what he/she knows from the assignment completed previously. 
2. The gallery walk: post several questions around the room. Form the students into as many groups as there are questions. Each group moves from question to question. After completing all the questions together in the groups the students can then do their own reflection. 
3. Effective discussion: Rather than just having a discussion with teacher-student interaction, students can also discuss with their peers.
4. Concept Sketches: sketches or diagrams that are concisely annotated with short statements the describe the process, concepts, and interrelationships shown in the sketch.

Some effective strategies Mrs. Cullimore uses in her classroom are as follows. She uses random student selection to get the kids to answer questions. She has a cup of craft sticks with the names of the students. This helps the class pay attention because they could be called on at any moment. Individual dry erase boards are also used in Mrs. Cullimore's classroom. Students love writing on their own white board and solve math problems or give silent direct feedback to the teacher. Sometimes Mrs. Cullimore will separate the class into small groups and they will go to specific learning centers. Here they receive small group instructions and more one on one time with the teacher. Another fun activity Mrs. Cullimore incorporates is reading theater. She has the students dispersed into small groups and given a story/play. Each student is given a part in the play and then each groups performs a reading for the class.

I believe that having actively engaged students is very important. I plan to use most of the ideas previously discussed in this entry. I believe most of these ideas to be more effective than the usual mundane day to day activities that most students dread.