Students as Scribes

How can we use student scribes in a preschool classroom?

This chapter in our textbook, Who Owns the Learning, was extremely interesting for me to read. It discussed students as scribes in the classroom. Mainly, the chapter talked about students sharing their notes. Scribing for one another can be beneficial to both the teacher and the students. Maybe a classmate took notes that you missed. Maybe note taking showed the teacher where some students were confused.


But, how can student scribes be used in my preschool classroom? Ages ranging from 2.9 years - 5. Hmm....


DRAWING!


I thought that my youngsters could scribe by drawing a self-portrait of themselves at the beginning of the year (September). And then one at the end of the year (June). This type of scribing would show the student's progress as well as key developmental aspects that need to be met, (draw a person).



Knowledge
I would like to have my students draw self portraits at the beginning and end of each year to show their progression. I am going to be using the classDOJO app on my classroom iPad. This app is great for communication with teachers, students, and parents. It is also FREE! 

You can create classes:

Each student can have their own portfolio:

You can add pictures to a student's portfolio:

 

After you create a portfolio for each child, their parents can see their progress in all areas:

Application
I would like to use classDOJO in my preschool classroom to document the student drawings (scribes) throughout the school year. I think this app will be a very efficient way to see the progress of all students, as well as have easy communication with their parents. 

Preschool drawings that change over time is an important aspect in their development. Using classDOJO allows me to keep all their work in one place, stay organized, and share with other teachers, classmates, and parents.





Reflection on Practice

Of course the biggest problem with relying on an app for communication and documentation is the app not working properly. That is why it is always a good idea to have hard copies of all the student's work. This way, you can always share their progression and development with their parents. 

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Below is a summary of various types of educational models. Would you send your child to any one of these different educational approaches?

Democratic School
This school model involves having mixed age groups participate together and the students are completely in charge of their own learning. The students are make the rules and the punishments. They learn what they are interested in. 

This is a very interesting model. I do feel is has some good qualities, but lacks structure and balance. I fear that the students having ALL the freedom could negatively impact them in the long run. I personally would not send my child to this type of school because of the lack of a structural environment. I do, however, like that the students get choices...I would just like them not to make all the decisions in their education. There are basic life skills and basic knowledge, I feel, this model would not provide. 


Pedagogy of the Oppressed
This approach focuses on students being a creator of their own knowledge rather than an empty tank that needs to be filled. This approach looks at what the child already knows and goes from there. Education should be a practice of freedom.

(I would be lying if I said this approach didn't confuse me. It's very tricky to understand. I'm still not 100% sure what and how it teaches children.)


Flipped Classroom
This educational model is exactly how it sounds. Instead of the student learning all of the course material in class, they are introduced to the learning material before class. The hope is to use class time as a discussion to deepen the meaning of what they already learned beforehand. 

There are pros and cons to this type of classroom model. I feel that students would be afraid to teach themselves the material and possibly miss something. Maybe it would be a bit confusing since you have no background knowledge of the topic. However, I do like the idea of the classroom focusing on peer discussions, hands-on learning, and less on lecturing from the teacher.


Montessori 
This school model is an education approach based entirely around the child. Montessori classrooms are mixed age groups where the child is allowed to choose their own activities. Montessori uses an informal way of teaching where the they hope to develop the natural interests of each child. A child at this type of school learns through their own choices and at their own pace. A teacher in a Montessori setting is looked at as a facilitator and observer of the child.

I like this approach because it seems that the child would be very interested and engaged in what they are learning about, because they are the chooser of it. They have the freedom to learn what they want, when they want, and how fast or slow they want to learn it. I also see the mixed age groups as a positive. I feel this is a great way for younger students to learn from older ones. I also like the aspect of hands-on learning and the focus on independence. However, Montessori schools can get very expensive and I feel that not ALL children would be successful. Sometimes given too many choices is intimidating. The flexible curriculum and students choosing their learning paths are a cause for concern for me because I think maybe some children would fall behind in certain subject areas. 

Waldorf
This education approach is thought that children learn best being engaged in an environment that they can learn in. Waldorf focuses on academics, arts, and practical skills to help each child grow individually. A preschool Waldorf classroom should resemble a home, using simple, natural materials and appear to be simplistic. Waldorf has a big focus on a child's creativity and imagination. 

In a Waldorf school, the same teacher is usually with her students for several years. I really like this concept because it seems that the teacher would really be able to get to know her students on a deeper level then a year of just lecturing, taking a test, and passing/failing them. I also like how students are treated as individuals and that the learning process is not forced or taught too fast. I also love that the do not use standardize testing.

As many of the other models discussed above, a negative aspect of Waldorf is that there is no set curriculum and core subjects may not be taught in a normal way. Waldorf also does not allow technology until grade 5 and, to me, this does a disservice to the students since we are in an era that technology is everywhere and used for everything. 

Glen Urquhart
This educational approach focuses on authentic learning of each child. Their academic outlook includes place-based learning, a thematic curriculum, and social-emotional learning. Children are looked at as independent thinkers whose ideas should be nurtured and valued. 

This school, located in Beverly, Massachusetts is expensive, which is a drawback. However, they focus on core human values such as respect, kindness, acceptance, and empathy. 


As stated above, all the educational models discussed have both positives and negatives. As a mom and preschool teacher, I would love to take a little bit from each one and make a whole new educational model! One that promotes independence, acceptance, respect, and kindness. One that fosters a child's ideas and creative process, but also uses a teacher as a role-model and educator. Tuition would also play a large role in my decision to send my child to one of these types of schools. Most of them are out of my price range! I would most likely stick with traditional, public schooling, unless my child was having a very hard time. 

I think technology could play a large role in teaching students different educational approaches through student tutorials, virtual field trips, etc. Maybe teachers could teach each other about the different educational models and learn from one another.

Student as Tutorial Designer

Is there a way for preschoolers to use technology to be tutorial designers?

I pondered this question for a while. I work at a mixed age group preschool and we are constantly seeing the older students teaching the younger students. They act as role models. So, I thought to myself, is there a way for technology to be brought into this atmosphere?

We use a classroom iPad for just about everything. We research questions, use YouTube to show the students different things we are learning about, but we mostly use it for documentation of the students. We take pictures ALL DAY LONG. We take pictures of everything...a confident creation, activity time, outside play, etc. But, the teachers are the only ones to actually use the iPad, since are students are so young. How could we use this device for technology and so students could teach their peers?

VIDEOS!!!!!!!!!

For my weekly app practical, I would like to use the video app on our iPad. This is an easy app because everyone usually has access to one. They are built into every iPad and smart phone (which means free yay!). What if the teachers took videos of the students modeling things in our classroom that the students are responsible for? 

My preschool is loves to focus on self-help skills. It is a big part in any preschoolers development. The act of being independent, being able to care for his/her own needs, etc. What if we could take these skills and have the older students make a video showing the students how to properly do them?

Skills:
1. Hand-washing
2. Snack time 
3. Hanging up coat and backpack
4. Recycling paper

My thought is that at the beginning of every year, these student-made, self-help videos could be shown to the rest of the class. I feel that it would make a huge impact on the newer, younger students. It would help them learn the rules and expectation much faster then the boring way of the teachers just going over everything. 

Here is an example of what a video could look like:
(Due to privacy I could not share a video from any of my students)

I would change one thing. I would have the student dictate what the proper rules are for hand-washing. I think the other students would listen better if this happened. 

Students learning from students is a great way for everyone to learn!

Tech for Teacher Admin.

Problem: How can I make my life more organized?


Knowledge
One of the hardest things about being a teacher, for me, is staying organized. School activities, parent conferences, special guests, assessments, etc. are hard to keep track of...now add being a mom of 2 into the equation: doctor appointments, sports, school, birthday parties, etc. I was finding it hard to balance all “the things”. That’s when my co-workers and I came across Google Calendar. It is a free app you can download on your phone, computer, iPad, etc., you just need to create a google account.


Google Calendar is a great app for basically everything:
-appointments
-events
-alerts
-reminders

-organization


My research has found that Google Calendar is very user friendly. One feature is that you can sync/share different calendars with different people. For example, I have my work calendar on my app (which I share with my co-workers), and I also have my family calendar (which I share with my husband). This allows me to see everything I have going on in one place. You can also color code each calendar so they are separate from each other.








I use green for my school calendar and blue for my family. This makes seeing the different calendars much easier. It is also great that my husband and I can just look at our shared calendar to see upcoming events/appts. This way we do not double book anything.

I also found that with Google Calendar you can set up alerts for appts/events, but you can also have an email sent to you every morning with an overview of your day’s tasks/appts/events. If you forget to look at your calendar, it is a nice feature to have an email sent directly to you so that you do not miss anything.









Application
My co-workers and I have implemented using Google Calendar into our classroom. We use it for event reminders, parent conferences, if someone took the day off, etc. But, for our classroom, the most important thing we use Google Calendar for is that when we have a special guest coming (science, yoga, art), we put into our shared calendar how many spaces are available for students to add. For example, if we have yoga class our calendar will read: Yoga - 5 spaces available. Then, if parents want to add that special event, all teachers have access to add in a child. This helps so that we are never out of ratio.


You can see in the image below that for Art with Ms. Amy we have 3 spaces available. For lego club, we have 0. This allows all teachers access to add and subtract students if need be and helps us know how many children we have at all times.






Reflection on Practice
Of course when using apps for organization the problem of “it’s not working” will arise. Maybe your phone didn’t charge last night or your computer is dead. Google Calendar allows you to access it from anywhere as long as you have Internet access. You simply just log into your google account and you can use the calendar. (If you used iCalendar for Apple you would not have this feature).