Lets teach about PIGS

So, as I spoke about in my previous blog we picked up where we left off in our jigsaw expert groups. My expert group was based on Group Processing which is also the G in P.I.G.S. Now it is my time to head back to my base groups and teach them all they need to know about Group processing in the classroom. My expert group and I created a powerpoint presentation on Group processing which you can find here. But in simpler terms, group processing is the act of members of a group reflecting on the groups work and the interaction between each other to get the work done effectively and efficiently. Students can do that by describing what members actions were helpful and making decisions on what actions to change or keep the same in order to be successful in completing a group project. It can be examined on how children work together in groups and be effective for us as teachers to ask questions in order to get a feeling about who is doing what. Group processing can be helpful because it allows students to work together rather then listen to a teacher lecture, this also teaches them social skills and helps them to understand that every person has a job and without them completing the job the work cannot get done. Group processing is usually done during the cooperative lesson and during the closure to ensure everyones work is completed and they have something to reflect upon.

Back to work !

congratulations social studies methods, we are officially done with field work for this class. I'm not sure about everyone else but that was the most challenging thing I have encountered so far! But, we all made it out alive. Now its back to work on our edTPA's, our jigsaw lessons, and everything else Dr. Smirnova has in store for us. Creating a unit plan was difficult but once my group was done we were able to sit back, enjoy and relax for some time... not anymore though.
We have picked up where we left off in our jigsaw base and expert groups. As we meet in our expert groups we review what we left off at and try to reminisce on where we found our information and re-teach ourselves what we now have to go and teach our base groups. But, at the end of class we all did all right and we able to get right back on track. Next step teaching base groups!

Group 4 inquiry lesson

Today group 4 did their inquiry lesson plan, and I think they did a great job! I could tell that group 4 has learned from each of the groups before their mistakes, and that is exactly what a great teacher should do. They had a great dialogue after their review that transitioned from the opening review to the activity they were going to be presenting. I thought they explained the hypothesis well and i loved that they gave each student a slip of paper to write down a hypothesis before they even continued with the activity. This allowed them to walk around and make sure each student understood what a hypothesis is and how to create one. The teachers kept control of the class fairly well even though when it came to tradition from one topic to the other the students got excited and started to get loud. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the big groups but their can be some pros and cons with doing it like that. Luckily for them they had the luxury of having enough teachers for each group to keep them on topic. But, when it is just one teacher it can be harder to control. As well as it being hard to control some students tend to be sitting there not interacting with their other group mates. However, group 4 did a good job with trying to keep them all on track. Even though the group ran out of time they stayed with the second graders to go over their homework so everyone would be clear on what to do, I think that was a great thing! I loved the way they burned the paper and dyed it to make it look old and rustic, it was an amazing touch and I will defiantly be using that in my future classroom ! From watching each of the 4 groups teach their lessons i have learned little things that I would do in my own classroom and ways to improve something that i once thought would be a great idea! Overall i really enjoyed watching this lesson !

Last first lesson

Today Ms. Jessica, Ms. Rachel, Ms. Julie and Mr. Kimbark taught their first lesson of the three. They are the last group to go, and boy did they do a good job! I was so impressed with how knowledgable they were about their topic. I loved how they got the children's attention and how they made sure the children knew the most important information in the lecture. I really enjoy watching my collages teach and learn from what they do and how to improve my teaching abilities. Also, watching my classmates teach helps me learn some information that I might not have remembered from years past. I can't wait to watch the rest of their lessons in the next week !