Synthesis Blog (Science Article)

Summarize
- Cross-fertilizing with subjects can help students understand each content area in depth individually, as well as teach them how to make connections in the classroom between their subject areas. If students get in a habit of doing this in school, they are going to be more likely to apply the knowledge they have learned in the classroom to their real-life experiences.

Connections
- This article reminded me of an article that I read about math. In this article, it discussed how students often believe they are either good at a subject, or they are not. They have a tendency to believe that they cannot learn the material and are going to stay put at the place they are at. At then beginning of this article, this idea is mentioned and discussed.
- Like the math article that I read, I feel as though this article was written very laid back. When it came to the vocabulary and explanations, I felt very comfortable reading through it with no problems and could definitely talk to someone about what the article was about no problem.

Critique
- At the beginning of the section "Two kinds of writing: Science with literature, literature with science," it begins with way too many names and it is hard to follow. Overall, the article was an easy read and definitely was informative. But, this section in particular stuck out to me because it was confusing from the jump.

Importance
- Connection between 2 content areas may not be easily noticed, or very evident. However, as a teacher, you need to try your best to "break the wall down" and incorporate other subject areas into your lesson plans. While it may be very subtle, and in some word problems or articles, it is going to allow students to understand the material better in both classrooms and they will have a more applicable mindset.
-This article is very important and I believe that it should be read by teachers of all subjects. I think that it is important for teachers to collaborate and try their best to incorporate other material into their lessons, allowing the students to make connections and learn material at a deeper level. If they are learning about something in science and read an article about it in language arts, they are going to quickly make the connection. The information that is provided in language arts can be beneficial in the science classroom and it is great to have teachers collaborating.

Word Count: 416

Resource Blog #3

Article!

The reason that I was drawn to this article so much is because it addresses formative assessments. When most students hear assessment, they get stressed out. This usually means that something is going to be graded and students often get test anxiety, hindering their performance. This article discusses the use of formative assessments that are not graded, and simply allows the teacher to see where the students are at with the material. To begin, teachers need to emphasize to their students that it is okay to be wrong, it is all a learning process. It is ideal to get to the point where students feel comfortable sharing their answers in class and sharing with one another their thought processes. While this may not be easy to adapt to, and may take some time for students to get used to, it is crucial and will improve their overall understanding.

I think that this article is important to read as a math teacher because there are often many different methods to solving math problems. If you give your students formative assessments, you can analyze their thinking process and figure out where they are making a mistake and how it is affecting their answer. While group work and class activities aid in learning, it is important to see a students whole thought process while working through a problem. If students are given the opportunity to show their thinking and even confusion before a graded test, I think that they will be more confident when the graded test comes around because they will understand what they did wrong and have an explanation for it.

Formative assessments are beneficial in every classroom, no matter the subject. Even if you aren't teaching math, this is an excellent article to read and I think will be helpful in all cases.

Word Count: 303

Synthesis Blog #3

Textbooks have always seemed to be "so important" in our classes throughout high school and college. We spend almost or over $200 each semester buying textbooks for our classes, but do the teachers really know how to effectively use them? I think I can confidently answer that question with 'no.' The quote that I picked out of the text to talk about is, "The material may seem easy to you, but it really may be Greek to the kids" (SM 182). I don't think there is a quote that I can relate more to. I often think that teachers forget that we are not masters in the subject being taught, and that we can't sit down with 30 pages of textbook reading and completely understand the topic afterwards. Splitting up readings, and having activities to go along with it is probably the most effective. Reading is not one of my strong subjects, and textbooks tend to use vocabulary that does not make it much easier to understand the material being read. I would rather have a guide, or questions to go through while reading so that it is more guided reading rather than me trying to comprehend 30 pages of history. It is important as future teachers, no matter the subject, to learn how to properly use a textbook to help us teach. We need to take time to create handouts to go along with their textbook so that it is not overwhelming for them. Also, it is important to keep in mind that we are going to have students that reading is not their strong suit. It is going to be hard to help them learn with a textbook if they struggle with literacy to begin with. The time that we take to extract important information, provide guided readings, and create powerpoints is going to help our kids out so much and allow us as teachers to use a textbook as a helpful resource rather than a useless book.

Word Count: 330

Resource Blog #2

Click here to read the article!

My favorite thing about this article is the fact that they emphasize the fact that math is not just about numbers. I fully believe that math can be learned by everyone, and that sometimes kids seem to downplay the importance of it, or think they are too dumb to understand it. One of the main points that this article makes, is teaching math in a variety of ways. Rather than just talking about negative and positive numbers, relate it to money or objects and watch as the students begin to understand it better. When kids especially can relate numbers to physical objects, they have a better chance at remembering how things work.

Math is definitely a subject that continues to build on top of itself. If something small is misunderstood or not fully grasped, it can cause the students to have less confidence in the future because they are going to have even more trouble understanding the new material. Math is definitely a hard subject, but it is important that teachers do not allow their students to feel defeated. Another important thing that we can do as a teacher is never assume that students know something, or have prior knowledge of a topic or strategy. I struggled in my sophomore year college math class because my teacher assumed we all had past knowledge of the content. If we continue moving forward with content that students do not fully comprehend, it is only leading closer to a breakdown and more misunderstandings.

I think that it is important for teachers to read this article so that they can get some tips about handling math strategies in the classroom and understanding it is not going to be easy for everyone.

Word Count: 287

Synthesis Blog #2

The concept that stuck out most to me about this reading is the passage about how students want the teacher to do the thinking for them rather than them doing it themselves. I feel like this is an important thought to have in the back of our heads as teachers because even we don't have the answers to everything. It is important to have our students think hard about the content they are learning and not give them all of the answers without them processing the information first.
They need to learn how to think deeply and figure challenges out on their own. We can help with that by giving them extra activities or deeper questions for them to think about and really consider if they completely understand the material or not. We need to encourage them to ask questions that are not just about the content, but their understanding of the content. Rather than just having them do worksheets and work individually, we need to encourage them to be able to explain their learning and thought process so they realize why the answers are what they are.
One way that this strategy can be used in a math classroom is teaching students the content, have them work some problems out on their own, and then going to the board and explain their thinking. Some students are going to do problems a little bit different than others, and it is important to show that they can be solved in multiple ways. Solving problems using different methods can encourage deeper thought and will also inspire students to ask more questions about the process rather than "Why is the answer not 4?"

Word Count: 280

Resource Blog #1

Click here to see the professional blog entry!

While this blog is titled "How to better prepare math teachers for success," I believe that a teacher in any content area can benefit from this good read. The main reason I think that math teachers should read this, is because learning how to explain math problems is going to be a lot more beneficial than just simply knowing how to do them. College students that major in math education focus a good portion of their time taking higher level math classes. While the knowledge of how to do this math is simply amazing, it has to be understood to a deeper extent in order to be able to teach others how to do it.

I believe that this blog is perfect because the tips that she gives can benefit almost every teacher, no matter the content area. One of the techniques that Dr. Baldinger gives to becoming a better teacher, is simply just to listen to your students. It is important to listen to what they have to say, and get a feel for their knowledge and thought process in the classroom. I think that sometimes teachers focus too much on teaching what they need to teach, without fully listening to their students and adjusting based on their knowledge and feedback. 

Listening and truly understanding your content area and how to teach it, are some of the most beneficial traits that a teacher can possess. Anyone can understand how to do math problems, but it takes a special person to be able to teach them. 

Word Count: 256

Chapter 2 Synthesis Post

There was a scenario mentioned in the text that stuck out to me the most. The text read,  "Have you ever noticed how you can drive your car across town to a friend's house, daydream all the way there and still arrive at your destination?" (Subject Matters 30-31). This hit home for me because it happens way too often. When going to a new destination, we tend to have GPS or directions that we are reading or listening to intently. Once something becomes routine, we tend to have our mind on other things and fail to pay attention to small details as soon as we get comfortable. The same thing happens when we read. If we are familiar with a subject or topic, we tend to skim and not read every single word and look deep into the meaning. If there is a reading about a subject we are unsure about, we try to pick apart the reading and make sense of it piece by piece, almost paying too much attention to it. Often times we read things, and nothing gets stored in our brain or memory because of the wording or the content being read. If we have no idea what topic a reading is on, like the cricket one at the beginning of the chapter, it is just in our nature to read the words and be okay with not understanding the context or what the reading says as a whole.

Word Count: 243