Notes+from+Session+One

__ Large-Group - Sharing out at the end of Session One  __
 * The last thing we were talking about the “two-sins.” We had a nice little debate about whether or not we agree about “activity-oriented instruction.” Some of us were agreeing that it is a “sin,” some not agreeing, and some not quite sure.
 * Activities connected to learning, activities “for the sake of the activities, etc.”
 * We talked about how the FOSS Science Kits are designed just like this, working from the big idea backwards. They are done so well the kids can actually tell you what the big ideas are.
 * We talked about “covering because you have to cover,” and the more veterans discussed how we don’t have to do this. Some feel the freedom to let go because they know and have a certain comfort level with material and can make decisions about what to teach.
 * How does testing fit into this? Is it at odds with this?
 * The idea of the “big-picture” and sharing that explicitly with the students. That actually happened to me in class today, and it was the teacher taking a stop and saying “hey, let’s just stop and do something different.”
 * “GO SLOW TO GO FAST”
 * “ADAPT, DON’T ADOPT”
 * As a new teacher it’s hard to see the big picture because we don’t know enough yet to be able to wrap our heads around it. This is especially hard to grasp the teaching of writing and thinking about the end plan and what you want students to get out of it.
 * We need to step back further and ask “what is it that kids need to know to be able to be successful in the world. Maybe some of what we are teaching in school isn’t what students really need to know. So many times students know less about real things: “I teach them how to grow food, to know what they are eating when they eat a chicken wing.” Now I have grandchildren and it bothers me when they are in first grade and have homework and we sometimes forget they are just children.