Got into a cab in New York City
Was an Oriental man behind the wheel
Started talking about heaven
Like it was real
Said "They got mansions in heaven
Yeah the angels are building one for me right now
And I know...
They're saving the best for last
Look around this town
And tell me that it ain't so
They're saving the best for last
Don't ask me how I know
'Cause it must be
Saving the best for last for me
You can go a hundred miles a second
Don't have to drive no lousy cab
Got everything you want and more man
And the King picks up the tab
You walk around on streets of gold all day
And you never have to listen
To what these customers say and I know...
(Chorus)
I remember when I was a child
Lost in the streets of Chinatown
My mother had a vision and I was found
(Saving the best for last for me)
Oh-oh -- saving the best for last
And when I finally take this journey
I'm gonna wave goodbye to Earth
Gonna throw this meter in the ocean
And prove what I was worth
And I don't care who tries to flag me down
They're gonna have to find another ride uptown
And I know
They're saving the best for last...
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Teaching - don't quote me
"Teachers are potentially the single most important asset in the achievement of the vision of a learning society. It is the kinds and quality of the training and development opportunities throughout their careers, and the culture in which they work, that will influence their own promotion of life-long learning values and their ability to help students to learn how to learn to succeed. Teachers are at the ‘cutting edge’ of change. It is they who hold the key to students’ growing or diminishing self-esteem, achievement and visions of present and future possibilities for learning through their own commitment, knowledge and skills." - ? Day (2002, p. 431)
"To be a passionate teacher is to be someone in love with a field of knowledge, deeply stirred by issues and ideas that challenge our world, drawn to the dilemmas and potentials of the young people who come into class each day – or captivated by all of these. A passionate teacher is a teacher who breaks out of the isolation of a classroom, who refuses to submit to apathy or cynicism." - Robert Fried (1995, p?)
"There is little or nothing in the organization and culture of schools that spurs a teacher to regard change and development as necessary, personally and intellectually rewarding, and safe. I emphasize safe because in the culture of the school the teacher who seeks help or coaching from others is one whose competence is called into question." - Seymour Sarason (1999, p. 63)
"To be a passionate teacher is to be someone in love with a field of knowledge, deeply stirred by issues and ideas that challenge our world, drawn to the dilemmas and potentials of the young people who come into class each day – or captivated by all of these. A passionate teacher is a teacher who breaks out of the isolation of a classroom, who refuses to submit to apathy or cynicism." - Robert Fried (1995, p?)
"There is little or nothing in the organization and culture of schools that spurs a teacher to regard change and development as necessary, personally and intellectually rewarding, and safe. I emphasize safe because in the culture of the school the teacher who seeks help or coaching from others is one whose competence is called into question." - Seymour Sarason (1999, p. 63)
Monday, May 16, 2011
HCI Visit
The visit to HCI was enriching indeed. I managed to see the IRE strategy in action. I think we teachers are prone to practice the IRE strategy without realizing due to the lack of time and the large amount of content to cover. Also, I am particularly disturbed by how we teachers often use the mark system to allure students to do work. It is no longer about learning to educate oneself instead...it is learning for the sake of scoring... it is really sad... I mean yes this thing has been happening forever. However, sitting in a classroom where the teacher evaluate group presentations and telling the students about how many marks they got instead of asking them about their experience on working as a team is sad. I mean yes, giving marks is fine but that should not be the main focus.
That being said, I like the fact that there are so many opportunities for collaborative learning in HCI. All 3 classes that I sat in show students doing group work. Also pupils in the class are allowed to feedback to their peers on the project which enhance learning. Also I am wondering how different will a co- ed school be from HCI. Will collaborative learning be similar? I foresee more conflict due to the different gender make up in co-ed school.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
HCI visit
First class was Miss Kala's class. Her style remained the same after all these years, so it was quite amusing (at least to me) then that I was the one observing instead of being the one sitting there. Class was expectedly rowdy, what with all the discussion going in and the walking around from 'station' to 'station'. What I liked was that she had a strong rapport with the students, and they obviously listens and respects her so the entire classroom system was more of an organised chaos. Through the presentations I thought the students did quite well in trying to 'sell' their idea, and Miss Kala did ask some what you'll call ''aristolic' questions to probe their minds further, which was all good I like it.
Second class was a GEP class. Miss Huang was doing PC with them. It's hard for me to comment on the effectiveness since it's a style I adopted. Basically it was all very.. rigid. She prompted the students for their views and interpretations, but I think one problem that ginny and I identified was that she did not seem to offer any alternative interpretations to certain points in the poem. Much of the IRE is done so that her teaching points are covered. I'm not saying that this is a 'problem' per se, what with the time constraint and stuff, but it would probably be better if she had elaborated more on the analysis made, rather than just searching for the correct answer.
Second class was a GEP class. Miss Huang was doing PC with them. It's hard for me to comment on the effectiveness since it's a style I adopted. Basically it was all very.. rigid. She prompted the students for their views and interpretations, but I think one problem that ginny and I identified was that she did not seem to offer any alternative interpretations to certain points in the poem. Much of the IRE is done so that her teaching points are covered. I'm not saying that this is a 'problem' per se, what with the time constraint and stuff, but it would probably be better if she had elaborated more on the analysis made, rather than just searching for the correct answer.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive and Affective Processes
We need to introduce rigor in the design and evaluations of our own lesson plans. Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains offers a useful and powerful heuristic to gauge how "deep" and "wide" our teaching/learning objectives are, and to modify our lesson objectives, questioning techniques, and assessments accordingly.
More on Bloom:
http://www.businessballs.com/bloomstaxonomyoflearningdomains.htm
On the Affective Domain, see this tutorial:
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=OTT402
More on Bloom:
http://www.businessballs.com/bloomstaxonomyoflearningdomains.htm
On the Affective Domain, see this tutorial:
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=OTT402
HCI Lesson Observation
Hello!
Nat, Anita (our friend from the other lit class and many of you do know her) and myself attending a JC1 H2 Literature Class. Unlike Melody who felt disappointed that the students in the class she attended were unprepared, personally, the students in this class I attended came across as BRIGHT. It felt very much like going back to JC days, sitting in class and unpacking quotes from 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy that the teacher painstakingly picked out and compiled into a handout for the students.
The teacher got the class to split into groups of about 4-5 students, she insisted that the 5 boys / young men split themselves up and that the students work in a different group from the previous lesson. The lesson was a continuation of the previous lesson and the lesson activities in both lessons are similar, if not, the same. In their groups, students were to look at the quotes given in the handouts, unpack the quotes for their classmates and to put these quotes into context (eg. significance). I have not read this text, but I was impressed by the students' abilities to explain the quotes because at the end of the lesson, I felt that I somehow got the gist of at least certain parts of the text. The students were relatively outspoken as well, asking questions and clarifying doubts. (If I was part of the class, I'd probably be likened to a leech) =) The second part of the lesson was about looking at questions and analysing them and providing answer for them.
I enjoyed the way the lesson was carried out such that students were responsible for their own learning in the sense that they were the ones in-charged of providing ideas and sharing information / findings with their classmates. I think the compilation of quotes are very useful. It may come across as dictating which quotes to remember, but for examination purposes, I would think that these are helpful. My Lit teachers used to do this for us and I think it really helped us identify the main ideas / quotes better. We could alter this by getting the students to pick out quotes that particularly strike them or they think are important. In that sense, the responsibility lies in them. =)
The lesson was pretty much a student-centered one as the teacher did not teach much but instead, facilitated discussion within groups as well as class discussion. However, it set me thinking because I wondered if such an approach would work in a class of students with a lower ability. In this case, maybe scaffolding questions could be provided to the students to help them to complete the task.
Nat, Anita (our friend from the other lit class and many of you do know her) and myself attending a JC1 H2 Literature Class. Unlike Melody who felt disappointed that the students in the class she attended were unprepared, personally, the students in this class I attended came across as BRIGHT. It felt very much like going back to JC days, sitting in class and unpacking quotes from 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy that the teacher painstakingly picked out and compiled into a handout for the students.
The teacher got the class to split into groups of about 4-5 students, she insisted that the 5 boys / young men split themselves up and that the students work in a different group from the previous lesson. The lesson was a continuation of the previous lesson and the lesson activities in both lessons are similar, if not, the same. In their groups, students were to look at the quotes given in the handouts, unpack the quotes for their classmates and to put these quotes into context (eg. significance). I have not read this text, but I was impressed by the students' abilities to explain the quotes because at the end of the lesson, I felt that I somehow got the gist of at least certain parts of the text. The students were relatively outspoken as well, asking questions and clarifying doubts. (If I was part of the class, I'd probably be likened to a leech) =) The second part of the lesson was about looking at questions and analysing them and providing answer for them.
I enjoyed the way the lesson was carried out such that students were responsible for their own learning in the sense that they were the ones in-charged of providing ideas and sharing information / findings with their classmates. I think the compilation of quotes are very useful. It may come across as dictating which quotes to remember, but for examination purposes, I would think that these are helpful. My Lit teachers used to do this for us and I think it really helped us identify the main ideas / quotes better. We could alter this by getting the students to pick out quotes that particularly strike them or they think are important. In that sense, the responsibility lies in them. =)
The lesson was pretty much a student-centered one as the teacher did not teach much but instead, facilitated discussion within groups as well as class discussion. However, it set me thinking because I wondered if such an approach would work in a class of students with a lower ability. In this case, maybe scaffolding questions could be provided to the students to help them to complete the task.
HCI Look-see
In the first lesson I attended, the students were in a blur of activity as we caught them midway through the class. In spite of the marketplace atmosphere I felt that the teacher was never in danger of losing the class; she either stood at the head of the class observing their actions or walked around surveying their work. As it was a secondary 1 class, I think her use of the auction (iirc) was useful in engaging students in the activity. Did she meet her objectives? I think so, the students were creative in thinking about the terms given to them to express.
In the second lesson I attended students had to sell their idea of a political poster. The students seemed seemingly engaged, especially when their peers essentially became politicians themselves trying to convince the teacher of their creativity. Like Afiah said, they were given the rubrics, but I don't kow if they were clear to the students as the teacher said something at the end of the lesson about how some of them didn't seem to know what was required of them. But overall I think that she achieved her objectives, judging from the explanations I heard from the students.
In the second lesson I attended students had to sell their idea of a political poster. The students seemed seemingly engaged, especially when their peers essentially became politicians themselves trying to convince the teacher of their creativity. Like Afiah said, they were given the rubrics, but I don't kow if they were clear to the students as the teacher said something at the end of the lesson about how some of them didn't seem to know what was required of them. But overall I think that she achieved her objectives, judging from the explanations I heard from the students.
Short glossary of literary terms (from one of many web sources)
Taken from: http://www.sgsd.k12.wi.us/homework/kanne/webpage%20stuff/HEng%2010/poetry/Song%20Analysis%20Poetic%20Elements%20Review.htm
Song Analysis Poetic Elements Review
Apostrophe
Poetic device in which the poet talks to an absent person.
Example:
From Pink Floyd:
“Hey You!
Out there in the cold
Getting lonely, getting old
Can you hear me?”
Simile
Comparison of two unlike things using ‘like” or ‘as’.
Example:
“She was as cold as a winter morning”
Metaphor
Comparison of two unlike things without using ‘like” or ‘as’.
Example:
“She was a cold winter morning”
Understatement
Stating an idea with considerable restraint/sarcasm. Opposite of exaggeration.
Example:
Saying, “I see you have a bit of a problem on your hands” when the problem is enormous.
Onomatopoeia
The use of a word that’s sound suggests its meaning.
Example:
“Bang” “Splat” “Boing”
Exact/end Rhyme
Rhyming words exactly at the end of two lines of poetry
Example:
From “Innocence Maintained” by Jewel:
“Ophelia drowned in the water
Crushed by her own weight
Hitler loved little blue-eyed boys
But it drove him to hate”
Approximate Rhyme [e.g., half rhyme]
Rhyme that does not match exactly
Example:
“Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.”
Imperfect Rhyme [e.g., sight rhyme]
Words that look like they should rhyme but do not.
Example:
gone and stone
Internal Rhyme
Rhyme within a line of poetry
Example:
“Jack and Jill went up the hill”
Allusion
Reference to a famous person, place, thing or event in poetry
Example:
“Ophelia drowned in the water
Crushed by her own weight
Hitler loved little blue- eyed boys
But it drove him to hate”
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Example:
“Sue sells sea shells by the sea shore”
Refrain
Repetition of a line or phrase at regular intervals
Example:
“I’m a genie in a bottle baby
Come, come, come on and let me out...”
Enjambment
Running over of a sentence from one line of poetry to the next
Example:
From “Behind These Hazel Eyes” by Kelly Clarkson:
“Here I am once again
I’m torn into pieces
Can’t deny it can’t pretend
I just thought you were the one
Broken up deep inside
But you don’t get to see the tears I cry
behind these hazel eyes.”
Imagery
Words/phrases which bring a certain picture to the listener’s/reader’s mind
Example:
From “Barcelona” by Jewel:
“Barcelona
Where the winds all blew
The churches don’t have windows
But the graveyards do.”
Personification
Giving non human things human-like qualities
Example:
The icy fingers of death wrapped around her until she expired.
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds anywhere in the word.
Example:
We need easy feelings, not evil or mean ones.
Repetition
Repeating words for emphasis
Example:
All we need is love, love
Love is all we need.
Inversion
Reversal of normal word order for effect (usually rhyme)
Example:
I and my Annabel Lee
Symbol
A concrete object used to represent an idea
Example:
A dove = peace; a heart = love; a wedding ring = unity
Hyperbole
Exaggeration for effect
Example:
“Your hands are in my hair
but my heart is in your teeth”
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sound from anywhere in the word
Example:
We were meant to live for so much more / but we lost ourselves
Song Analysis Poetic Elements Review
Apostrophe
Poetic device in which the poet talks to an absent person.
Example:
From Pink Floyd:
“Hey You!
Out there in the cold
Getting lonely, getting old
Can you hear me?”
Simile
Comparison of two unlike things using ‘like” or ‘as’.
Example:
“She was as cold as a winter morning”
Metaphor
Comparison of two unlike things without using ‘like” or ‘as’.
Example:
“She was a cold winter morning”
Understatement
Stating an idea with considerable restraint/sarcasm. Opposite of exaggeration.
Example:
Saying, “I see you have a bit of a problem on your hands” when the problem is enormous.
Onomatopoeia
The use of a word that’s sound suggests its meaning.
Example:
“Bang” “Splat” “Boing”
Exact/end Rhyme
Rhyming words exactly at the end of two lines of poetry
Example:
From “Innocence Maintained” by Jewel:
“Ophelia drowned in the water
Crushed by her own weight
Hitler loved little blue-eyed boys
But it drove him to hate”
Approximate Rhyme [e.g., half rhyme]
Rhyme that does not match exactly
Example:
“Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.”
Imperfect Rhyme [e.g., sight rhyme]
Words that look like they should rhyme but do not.
Example:
gone and stone
Internal Rhyme
Rhyme within a line of poetry
Example:
“Jack and Jill went up the hill”
Allusion
Reference to a famous person, place, thing or event in poetry
Example:
“Ophelia drowned in the water
Crushed by her own weight
Hitler loved little blue- eyed boys
But it drove him to hate”
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Example:
“Sue sells sea shells by the sea shore”
Refrain
Repetition of a line or phrase at regular intervals
Example:
“I’m a genie in a bottle baby
Come, come, come on and let me out...”
Enjambment
Running over of a sentence from one line of poetry to the next
Example:
From “Behind These Hazel Eyes” by Kelly Clarkson:
“Here I am once again
I’m torn into pieces
Can’t deny it can’t pretend
I just thought you were the one
Broken up deep inside
But you don’t get to see the tears I cry
behind these hazel eyes.”
Imagery
Words/phrases which bring a certain picture to the listener’s/reader’s mind
Example:
From “Barcelona” by Jewel:
“Barcelona
Where the winds all blew
The churches don’t have windows
But the graveyards do.”
Personification
Giving non human things human-like qualities
Example:
The icy fingers of death wrapped around her until she expired.
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds anywhere in the word.
Example:
We need easy feelings, not evil or mean ones.
Repetition
Repeating words for emphasis
Example:
All we need is love, love
Love is all we need.
Inversion
Reversal of normal word order for effect (usually rhyme)
Example:
I and my Annabel Lee
Symbol
A concrete object used to represent an idea
Example:
A dove = peace; a heart = love; a wedding ring = unity
Hyperbole
Exaggeration for effect
Example:
“Your hands are in my hair
but my heart is in your teeth”
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sound from anywhere in the word
Example:
We were meant to live for so much more / but we lost ourselves
Monday, May 9, 2011
HCI lesson observations
I share the sentiments of ginny and afiah on the first lesson we observed. they were so cute! like excited little salesmen- i thought they brought out the subtle messages in the advertisements very well: they interpreted the advertisement on their own and explained the meaning to their peers quite eloquently. and the teacher's rapport was obviously there as well. I think her lesson objectives were met- the students seemed to get a good idea of what the words meant and how they were embedded in the messages in the adverts.. like "power", "challenge" and oh dear, i can't remember what else.... but it was a lot of self directed learning on the students' part.
the second class i looked at was the JC class. I was a little bit disappointed with the students behaviour (i expected more from a JC lit class..) they didn't seem to know their text well enough. sometimes, it may have been the case of blind regurgitation from the teacher's lecture notes. however, there were students who tried their best to answer the assigned questions and could point to evidence in the text (particularly the question on "omens" in Tess of the D'Urbervilles where she referred to the crow as an omen, and the painting on the fence). the level of engagement was, OKAY... they took part, but it looked like they were going through a drill and practice session, taking out their notes and trying to answer the questions. i thought they were not able to synthesize their thoughts on the text succinctly enough... that's why i was a bit disappointed because they were supposed to have almost finished the text and have thought through the themes and issues in the text.
the second class i looked at was the JC class. I was a little bit disappointed with the students behaviour (i expected more from a JC lit class..) they didn't seem to know their text well enough. sometimes, it may have been the case of blind regurgitation from the teacher's lecture notes. however, there were students who tried their best to answer the assigned questions and could point to evidence in the text (particularly the question on "omens" in Tess of the D'Urbervilles where she referred to the crow as an omen, and the painting on the fence). the level of engagement was, OKAY... they took part, but it looked like they were going through a drill and practice session, taking out their notes and trying to answer the questions. i thought they were not able to synthesize their thoughts on the text succinctly enough... that's why i was a bit disappointed because they were supposed to have almost finished the text and have thought through the themes and issues in the text.
Classroom Teaching Observation at HCI.
The first lesson we went to, was the same as Ginny’s, I have to agree that the students were engaged and very excited. Students were taught how to analyse advertisements and certain film conventions. They were then assigned to come up with something of their own ( find pictures and advertisements of their own), revolving around the themes of power, chance, ( and 2 others which I can't remember).
Each group had one student stationed, while the other group members rotated among the other groups. And the group representative would explain and sell their ideas or how they conceptualised it, kind of “selling” their idea, and one of the boys even sounded like a very convincing salesman. (remember, guys? ) This is good because students learn to articulate and learn the art of “persuasive speech”. I was also glad to see that classmates supported and encouraged each other and listed attentively when their classmates spoke.
Yes, the teacher would have built very good rapport with the students because she could control the class without too much effort, and although when the boys were excited at times, it was still well under control .
The second lesson, was just a presentation the students had to do based on their research of the cultural revolution in China during Mao’s rule. I think it served to let students know the cultural context and background of the book they are/were (?) reading, Mao’s Last Dancer. It was just the students presenting the information they have gathered. Although, one student was creative, and instead of listing “facts”, he pretended he was Chairman Mao and gave a speech about “his” plans for China.
It was pretty much just a presentation and there wasn’t much teacher input.
I personally feel, the third lesson is the most interesting. Students were required to come up with a political poster of their own, using any Singaporean political party of their choice ( how apt, since it was the height of the elections). [most used PAPs, with a few WP and one NSP, I think] So students were asked to think about the layout of their poster, the symbols they used, explain their choice of colour and font size and the word choice. They were required to write a 1-2 page report on this together with their A3 poster.
Students were also required to do an oral presentation and verbalise the idea and concept too.
The poster designs were varied and some were very interesting, some looked a bit messy, some used computer graphics while others settled for water-colour and hand-drawn posters.
In addition, students were also given a rubrics so they knew what was the “standard” required of them.
After each presentation, the teacher would comment on the points mentioned by the students, what she didn’t like about it, what she liked about it, how they could improve on it and their grades. And, some students (as most students would), jumped up and shouted, ”YES!”. If they received a good grade. Those who didn’t do well, also took it in their stride. Thus, the teacher provided on the spot feedback in front of the class and also on their written reports.
As part of the project, students were also required to write a detailed account of their contributions to the project and exactly what they did ( determines a % of their grade).
In addition, when marking, the teacher marked it against their rubrics and clearly marked it according to the section whereby they fulfilled the requirements and wrote individual comments for each members.
Most importantly, you could sense that the students really enjoyed the lesson too.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Experience at HCI
The first one we went to was pretty fun with an interesting lesson planned out for the Secondary 1 students. What I thought worked really well was the level of involvement and how engaged the students were. None of them actually used the computer to do non-work stuff like facebook or anything like that for that matter. The competition element also added a certain level of pressure for them to do well by "selling" their idea in a well-thought out manner which I assume is one of the lesson objective.
However, I also believe that the teacher has already built a strong rapport with the class and it shows in the lesson. Her instructions whether casual or serious were taken seriously by the students and rarely was she challenged. Juxtapose this to a rowdy class in a neighbourhood school where students challenge teachers all the time even when simple instructions like, "please keep quiet" are given.
The second class that we went to was a GEP class and honestly, the teacher could have been tad more prepared. One student asked her when was the poem written and all she could say was, "during the WW1 period". In my mind, I was thinking that there will probably be some differences in their understanding of the poem should it be accurately told to them that it was written at the beginning of WW1 or at the end of WW1. Then again, I might be wrong but at that point, the student shot her a seemingly condescending look that read, "You didn't quite answer my question. Sheesh!".
However, I also believe that the teacher has already built a strong rapport with the class and it shows in the lesson. Her instructions whether casual or serious were taken seriously by the students and rarely was she challenged. Juxtapose this to a rowdy class in a neighbourhood school where students challenge teachers all the time even when simple instructions like, "please keep quiet" are given.
The second class that we went to was a GEP class and honestly, the teacher could have been tad more prepared. One student asked her when was the poem written and all she could say was, "during the WW1 period". In my mind, I was thinking that there will probably be some differences in their understanding of the poem should it be accurately told to them that it was written at the beginning of WW1 or at the end of WW1. Then again, I might be wrong but at that point, the student shot her a seemingly condescending look that read, "You didn't quite answer my question. Sheesh!".
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