Well since then I have still been actively working towards certification and trying to write posts about some of the theories behind WBT as well as specific strategies. I am happy to announce that I am almost at a THOUSAND certification points, yay!! Unfortunately I am unable to complete the video requirement until I begin student teaching in October so it will still be a while until I am officially certified. Until that time I will still continue writing and working towards gaining enough certification points to hopefully be eligible for some of the high WBT Certification levels.
I have really been enjoying reading through all the certification posts on the WBT forum and the various blogs that I follow. I LOVE reading how WBT is being interpreted by teachers all over the world. I really think that this process will really help me have a deeper understanding of WBT and will be an asset when I am explaining WBT during a teaching interview one day!
989CP [as of July 19]
Medallions: Posts (15), Webcast (3), Instant Bonus (6), Conference (1), Artistic Blog (1), Blog followers (139)
Congratulations! Your efforts and hard work is paying off. Is there any way your followers can help you earn more points?
ReplyDeleteMichelle
Thanks Michelle! I actually earn one point for every blog follower so by following I get 1 point per person! :) I could always use inspiration though so any comments/questions by followers could be the perfect topic for my next post as well!
ReplyDeleteI do have a nagging question. Before finding your blog I watched many videos of teachers and some of Chris Biffle's own videos on how they use WBT in the class. Watching classes being taught with the concepts, I did not see anything on how to use it with differentiated instruction. Students that can't keep up with the fast pace or when asked to teach or mirror, struggle with it. For students that need one on one direction and instruction or guidance seem to be lost with such a program. I did see one video where two of the students seemed totally confused and could not mirror well nor teach. They also were not addressed through the whole video. All the other videos show full participation, understanding, etc., but we all know every class has students that are below level, especially ESL, ELL, or ESOL students. I always worry about the underdogs, if you will. Its rare to find something that works with everyone. Can you shed some light on this?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle
Thanks for asking Michelle! I've actually heard similar questions being asked on the WBT Forum and on other blogs. One thing that people might not realize is that the majority of the WBT videos are created to specifically show off a certain strategy. As such, they are often edited as opposed to showing one continuous shot. This may mean that parts of the video that involve teacher's working one-on-one or further elaborating for certain student's are cut out unfortunately.
DeleteDuring "Teach-Ok" when students are teaching each other through verbal descriptions and gestures the teacher(s) should be walking around and listening in on the student's explanations. This can be a great time for formative assessment to gauge the student's understanding. Teacher's can interject, ask questions, redirect and correct if needed. This would be a great time for the teacher to walk over and address those student that may need one-on-one instruction. The pairing option of "Teach-Ok" could be consciously set-up between an academically strong student and an academically weaker student so one student could assist the other (this may only work with certain students though).
WBT strategies can also be great for differentiating instruction in the sense that it meets multiple intelligences. I've written some blog posts that you might find interesting, feel free to check them out at your leisure and let me know your thoughts! I'd love to chat further :)
WBT & Differentiated Instruction
http://misslwholebrainteaching.blogspot.ca/2012/01/wbt-differentiated-instruction.html
Gestures & Multiple Intelligences
http://misslwholebrainteaching.blogspot.ca/2012/06/whole-brain-teaching-wednesday-gestures.html
Towards Inclusion Part 1
http://misslwholebrainteaching.blogspot.ca/2012/02/wbt-manitobas-towards-inclusion.html
Towards Inclusion Part 2
http://misslwholebrainteaching.blogspot.ca/2012/02/wbt-manitobas-towards-inclusion_13.html
What a reply! I did think after commenting.. she probably has an entry on that already. :) I appreciate your response and the links to follow up on. Believe me I will be asking more questions seeing that you respond in detail. I was all for WBT when I first saw it but the more videos I watched the more questions came to mind.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much,
Michelle
That's ok! It can be time consuming to look through all the posts but I do hope those links help with some of your questions. Feel free to ask questions as they come up! I will try and help or at least point you in the direction of someone who can help.
DeleteRemember that WBT is a strategy that is completely flexible and, like any teaching method, should be modified to best fit the needs of your students. It can very much be used in conjunction with things that are already working for you, it doesn't necessarily have to replace anything!