Reflective Blog #5

"Creative thinking is an essential life skill" (Costa 70). As teachers, it is our job to teach creative thinking. I believe that we can use Talent Unlimited to do this. I think I would teach all five components of Talents Unlimited in all my units. I really have enjoyed learning about it. I have really grown to appreciate Talents Unlimited. However, I do worry about how it could be applied to students with severe disabilities. I think there are many advantages to Talents Unlimited. One would be that some students that are labeled as "special ed" or "dumb" will learn that they are smart because every student will succeed in at least one talent. Productive Thinking is something all students need to learn. Decision Making is an essential skill for all people. Planning is also important for all children to learn at a young age. Forecasting is new to me but I think it is so important. Communication is great for the talker students. I think a major difficulty would be accommodating severe disabilities. "Creative problem solving requires students to create, invent, discover, imagine, and suppose" (Costa 451).

Reflective Blog # 4

I love this quote, “As a result of misinterpretation of state and national standards, “American
education covers far more content than other industrialized nations, but it lacks depth of
treatment.” (Schmidt in Erickson, 2002) This is so true America focus way too much on
meeting AYP than on what the student is actually learning. Students learn a little about a lot
when they could be learning a lot about specific things. I truly love the idea of concept-based
curriculum and I am really excited about this assignment. My group chose to do first grade
Social Studies. We chose the macro concepts of people, place and environment. We chose
the micro concepts of transportation, leadership, and groups/institutions. We chose these
three state standards:SS(1) Exploring Our Community and State5. Label human-made and n
atural resources in Alabama. SS(1) Exploring Our Community and State8. Identify how
occupational and recreational opportunities in Alabama and local communities are affected by
the physical environment.SS(1) Exploring Our Community and State10. Discuss civic
responsibilities of participating members of a community and state. (ALEX 2011) I am really
excited about writing my unit planner.

Erickson, H. L., 2002, Concept-based curriculum and instruction: Teaching beyond the facts. Corwin Press, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, CA.
ALEX. (2011). Retrieved from http://alex.state.al.us/index.php

Reflective Blog #3

I have never heard of compacting until now. It is very interesting to me, I think it is a great idea and very beneficial to the student. Especially considering that, "contemporary textbooks have been "dumbed down." (Educational Leadership). However, I wonder if parents of the other children would find this unfair. However I guess the teacher would have to explain how they have, "experienced the frustration of realizing that the work they are assigning is too easy for some of the bright students in their classroom." (The Elementary School Journal). I do not know much about gifted education, so as we learn about it. I find it very interesting. If I was a general education teacher and I had a student like Michael, I would listen to the experts and do whatever they told me.

As far as skipping grades, this is another one I probably have a weird perspective on. I personally don't think many students benefit from skipping grades. I think it varies but I think it is only beneficial in rare cases.

Reis, Sally M.; Renzulli, Joseph S. "Using Curriculum Compacting to Challenge the Above Average." Educational Journal. Retrieved from " http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ451479&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ451479".


Reis, Sally M.; Renzulli, Joseph S.; Smith, Linda H. (1982). "Curriculum Compacting: An Essential Strategy for Working with Gifted Students". The Elementary School Journal, 82. Retrieved from "http://www.jstor.org/pss/1001569".

Reflective Blog #2

I absolutely love the idea of using multiple intelligences in my classroom. Seriously, I think it's brilliant. I am not very logical or mathematical, but I can see how my peers would benefit from it. "Dr. Gardner says that our schools and culture focus most of their attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence."(Armstrong) This makes it so important that we as teachers focus on all the intelligences. I think it's really cool how you can incorporate everyone's learning style in a unit. I am more verbal-linguistic and intrapersonal. I love to read and write.I also keep lots of journals and self reflections. I find it very comforting to know that if it works for me, then it works for my students. I know I will definitely use this in my classroom one day. "The art of instruction is the heart of the teaching profession." (Costa 206) How beautiful is that? I find the "art of instruction" a very precious thing and I cherish it. I think that this is something all masters of teachers should hold dear.

Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, 3rd Edition. Edited by Arthur L. Costa, 2001.

Armstrong, Thomas. Multiple Intelligences.1998. Retrieved from:http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.php.

Module 2

Explain how you would develop five "habits of mind" in the student with a particular exceptionality, based on the descriptions in Costa's article (p. 80 in textbook).

As a special education teacher, I would try to develop five "habits of mind" in my students. For a student with Downs, I would work on the following habits:

1) Managing impulsivity. I think that frequently these students just start working on what is assigned to them before comprehending what it is they are suppose to be doing. They also do not have a plan for following thru with assignment. Sometimes they just do whatever comes in to their head instead of thinking more deeply and forming something more difficult. Teaching impulsivity will teach the student to think before they act. (Costa 80)

2)Striving for Accuracy and Precision. It is so important for the student to go back and rework their problems to make sure they did it correctly. Students who don't have this habit turn in sloppy,incorrect work. The student needs to be taught that it is more important to turn in good work than complete an assignment. (Costa 82)

3)Finding humor. I do not necessarily think Downs children need to be taught this considering that they make me laugh all the time. However, we can teach our students when it is appropriate and when it is not appropriate to find humor. (Costa 84)

4)Thinking Interdependently. We have to teach our students to work with others in a group to solve problems. (Costa 84)

5)Learning Continuously. We want to teach our students not to be afraid of learning something new, but to enjoy learning and how we can do it for the rest of our lives. (Costa 85)

Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, 3rd Edition. Edited by Arthur L. Costa, 2001.

Reflective Blog # 1

At fifteen, I knew I wanted to be a special educator. That was one of the first times I realized the capacity and unconditional love that a child with special needs provides. I remember my first “students”. I remember the challenge it was to get them to complete a task. I also realized that this success was what drove me to keep working even when I was discouraged. Costa said, “If we expect students to put forth and sustain high levels of effort, we need to motivate them by regularly recognizing their accomplishments” (Costa, 2001). I think motivation is key when working with students to complete a task. I also think we have to make our “children feel that their thinking is valid and valuable” (Gates, 2007). Special needs children give us so much more than we can ever give them. They give us joy and happiness that typical children just can't give us. I look forward to incorporating creative and critical thinking in my future teaching.

Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, 3rd Edition. Edited by Arthur L. Costa, 2001.

Teaching for High Potential: Infusing Thinking Skills into the Classroom. Jillian Gates, 2007.