Professional Development Reflections

Making Thinking Visible Meetings

Our PLC read the great book, Making Thinking Visible. The meetings we had helped
me to achieve a deeper understanding and application to the strategies within this book. Our
PLC brought up some good questions and points about MTV. I enjoyed this book more so than I
did the Teaching Thinking Visible book. I think both of them are equally important. However,
Making Thinking Visible had many thinking routines which I could use in my unit. The purpose
of this book was the idea that making student thinking visible is important. When teachers use
the strategies and routines to make student thinking visible, it results in students learning to ask
more questions and find more answers. The routines presented in this book promote expansion
of thinking in students. Moreover, it standardizes critical thinking in students across all subjects
in the classroom.
Each routine has its place in the classroom and is important in its own right. However,
there were a few that stood out to me while reading. One of these routines is the See-ThinkWonder. In this routine, the students observe a picture or event, and write down what they see,
what they think, and what they wonder. I love this routine because it promotes curiosity with
students. In the future, I would like to establish this routine with my class. I think teaching
students to see, think, and wonder will ultimately teach them to be curious throughout their
education and ask important questions. I want my students to be able to explore the things that
they are curious about because it makes their education more meaningful and enriching. I am
also using this in my unit, when I have the students analyze pictures and advertisements from the
Great Depression.

Another routine I thought was great is the Circle of Viewpoints. In this routine,
students explore the different perspectives of a topic. Students participate in a critical thinking
discussion where they talk from someone or somethings perspective on a certain issue. I think
this is especially a great routine to use during social studies. The circle of viewpoints would give
students a deeper understanding of a historical event or time period. Teachers can even make
this routine more exciting by having students dress up and act like the historical figure of which
perspective they are speaking from. I will probably use this routine within my unit, as there are
many opportunities to use it.
The last routine that stood out to me while reading MTV, was the Peel the Fruit routine.
In this routine the students use a map that looks like a fruit. It has an outside layer, an inside
layer, and a core. On the outside students write their generalizations or important facts/events
about a specific topic. They also write critical questions to the topic or concept on the outside.
On the inside, the students write detailed explanations of their generalizations or questions. Last,
they put the main idea or conclusion to their topic at the core of the fruit map. When I read
about this routine, I knew that it was going to be my bridging activity within my lesson. In my
opinion, I think Peel the Fruit is a great way to summarize what has been learned in a lesson.
In my unit, I am using Peel the Fruit as a closure for each lesson-- with the whole class. I also
plan to include a review for each previous Fruit organizers in each lesson. I think it will be a
great way for students to review what they have learned so far and connect it to what they are
going to be learning.

Trace Crossings Grade Level Meeting

In this meeting for the 3rd grade teachers of Trace Crossings, they discussed preparation
for upcoming testing. One area they discussed was teaching the third graders how to read the
directions on test items. Sometimes test items, especially those on Math tests, can be confusing
or take careful reading to understand what is being asked. The principal used the example of the
Samford preservice teachers completing a math problem incorrectly because many misread the
instructions. The principal stressed the importance of teaching students to read the questions on
the test with care. I think it is great that Trace is teaching its third graders to read the test
questions carefully. Many times, incorrect answers can be avoided if the person just reads the
directions carefully. I remember when I was younger, I would jump right into the problem or
question. This sometimes got me in trouble, as I made an assumption to what the directions said
and didnt bother to really read them. I think its pretty common for younger students to
overlook the directions, so it is good to teach them to stop and read the directions.
Another thing they discussed in this meeting is the students in tier 2 and 3. The 3rd grade
teachers shared the results of their reading and math scores. They discussed whether or not each
student was responding to the intervention they were receiving. As well as discussing students
who were in tier 1 that they thought needed to receive intervention and possibly recommendation
to tier 2. The math and reading coach were present at this meeting to supply information about
the different students. I think it was great to see collaboration from 3rd grade teachers, principals,
and math and reading coaches. I hope that one day I will be teaching at a school that promotes
collaboration as the key for student success. This idea personally resonates with me; I think it
is important to collaborate with other teachers and explore ideas on how to better student
achievement and guide them towards success.

AMSTI Reflection
A couple of weeks ago, we had our AMSTI Training. AMSTI stands for Alabama Math,
Science, and Technology Initiative. The big idea of this program is to integrate STEAM/STEM
learning opportunities into the classroom. I learned a lot about what AMSTI is, how it is used,
why it is used, and how to use it as an educator. Then, we got to have an engineering activity
experience with our PLCs which was fun.
I am glad that great emphasis is being placed on math, science, technology, and
engineering today. It is also a good thing that instruction is experience based and hands on,
rather than explicit instruction based. In the past, especially when I was in elementary school,
there were little to no hands-on activities in math or science. We did not really use technology
for anything. And, I cannot think of any engineering opportunities I had. Instead, emphasis was
placed on explicit instruction and individual practice. For example, for science I would read the
textbook, the teacher would do a lesson, and then there would be a quiz or a worksheet.
Unfortunately, I did not learn concepts, only facts.
Today, however, with programs such as AMSTI, students are able to learn math and
science in a conceptual way. Students work cooperatively with one another in a collective math,
science, technology, and engineering experiences. Consequently, students are both knowing and
understanding the subject. I think AMSTI and STEM/STEAM is getting students interested in
learning math and science. Through having STEM/STEAM experiences, student motivation and
engagement will increase.
As a teacher, I want to use what I have learned from the AMSTI speakers to benefit my
students learning. I want my students to have meaningful STEM/STEAM experiences. My

goal is for students to have fun STEAM experiences which teach them a concept, rather than a
set of facts.