Chapter 6
In Chapter
6, Wormeli addressed the issue of accountability and how it relates to several
parts of teaching. First, he writes about ways to use accountability to
encourage students to produce quality work. One of these options is to tell
students that their work will be displayed somewhere that their peers or other
teachers will see it. I think that this would encourage students to put time
into their work, as they would be concerned about what others think of them. I
think a better way to get students to put effort into their work would be to
have a real audience for what they are producing. That way they see a purpose
and it is not just scaring them into doing well by forcing them to face the
judgement of their peers.
One thing I
found questionable in this chapter was the section about using accountability
to control student behavior. In theory, I think this would work. However,
something about filming students and forcing them to watch themselves or having
their parents sit with them in class just seems cruel and embarrassing. I do
not think accountability means embarrassing and shaming students into doing
what we want them to do.
Chapter 7
I feel like
I have already learned so much about differentiated instruction throughout this
class and Practicum, but this chapter did give some new insight into the
practice and how it related to Middle Education. One point that I found
interesting is that middle school students are all over the place when it comes
to their level of development. While this is still somewhat true in High
School, I feel like there can be huge differences in middle school settings. I
think this issue is something that really needs to be considered when
differentiating for a middle school classroom.
Another
good point Wormeli makes about differentiating is that it does not just mean
adding or taking away the amount of work, it means changing up the complexity
and difficulty of work. For example, Wormeli writes, “Requiring gifted students
to complete more of the same type of problem that they have already mastered is
a recipe for boredom or rebellion.” I think this quote perfectly illustrates
why teachers should not differentiate by adding or removing quantity.
Chapter 8
Assessment
is another topic that I feel like is highly focused on in Practicum, but this
chapter actually addressed some of the problems I have with this type of
assessment. For example, it makes the point that—while some assessment ideas
proposed may seem light, fluffy, and easy—if you really consider all of the
knowledge, time, and skill needed for the project, you will see that is really
is a fair assessment.
However, as
an English concentration, I have some concern with how many of these projects
move away from writing. I think teaching writing is extremely important, and
having students practice this writing whenever they can is ideal. If there are
not any writing assignments for, for example, books we have read, I feel like
the students will be missing out on practicing and learning and important form
of writing. While I understand that there can be separate units on writing, I
also feel like incorporating writing assignments into other topics is also
quite important as an English teacher.
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