Innovator Hour Reflection by Emily Fay-Kentrolis

Collaborative conversations

2025-02-05 13:38:26 UTC

I love how she introduced the topic, had the kids share their thoughts. She acknowledged that they may not know much. Then she showed a video to give them ideas and had them talking again. Where does magma come from?

Hand up Stand up Pair up

2025-02-05 13:46:51 UTC

I have used this in class to get kids into groups to discuss what they are learning. They were using papers to prompt their questions and answers for this activity. One student would ask the question from the paper while the partner would answer. Some groups would read right from the paper verbatim and others would not look at the answer and use their own words for the response.

After the activity, they reviewed as a class the main topics and then completed a task on the topic discussed.

I will continue to use this in class to pair up when needing to have small group discussions.

It was interesting to see how the general ed classroom dynamics work versus the way the chorus room works.

Nice Job Mrs. Dowd!

2025-02-05 13:47:32 UTC

The students were all engaged in their work. Mrs. Kelly was able to work closely with a small group of students and give individual feedback while the other students were working independently.

2025-02-05 14:06:33 UTC

kward004 — 2025-02-05 14:14:14 UTC

I loved the online activity and giving students an opportunity to have a voice and write without risk of failure. All students were actively engaged and jumped right back into the activity after the interruption(lock down drill) with much ease. I can definitely see using this resource in the future!!

Way to go Penegar!!!!

Baeli at Ruppe’s class

2025-02-05 14:14:35 UTC

Shoulder partner-lava- where does it come from?

“Leads to next question…” I loved this!!! It makes the student feel valued like he contributed.

I saw a table of 3 and one of 5… how do you manage the odd number with “turn to your shoulder partner? Do they know just to group. In three and talk it out?

2025-02-05 14:19:40 UTC

I liked the app Ms. Penegar was using. It limited the amount of time students could type their answer so they couldn't stop to ask her for "approval" of their ideas. It was real time, quick action, and honest ideas.

Hand up Pair up

2025-02-05 14:32:54 UTC

Ms. Dowd was having students discuss the parts of an argumentative essay. Students were asking and answering questions about the different parts of an arguement.

kknab — 2025-02-05 14:56:40 UTC

I liked how the students started at a home group, went out and did an activity with other students, then came back and shared with their home groups. This is a good way to mix things up and I want to try it.
How did you decide their breakout groups? Was it random?

2025-02-05 15:03:59 UTC

I would like to use this in my classroom!!

Emilee Best-Schildt

ebestschildt — 2025-02-05 15:24:01 UTC

I love how this resource motivates students to write! It was heartwarming to see students engaged and getting "frustrated" when the timer went off because they wanted to keep writing! I also appreciate how it allows students to see their classmates' writing, which can inspire ideas for future prompts!
Can you create your own prompts, or must you use only the premade ones from the site?

Timer and Sentence Starters

2025-02-05 15:29:20 UTC

I liked how you gave them specific expectations during the hands up stand up, and guidance on how to structure their collaboration time using sentence starters. Also, the use of a timer kept everyone on task.

2025-02-05 16:33:59 UTC

Students were receiving small group instruction from Kelly while other students were in a preassigned group completing an independent assignment. The assignment was on the board so students knew the expectation.

Wipe Book Vocab Review

2025-02-05 16:49:42 UTC

This was a great activity that had students working with each other to come up with definitions or related images to avocado term. Student had to productively struggle to work through this assignment . It keeps them engaged by having a reward at the end for the most correct answers.

Small group / rotations

2025-02-05 16:57:51 UTC

I loved the flexible seating options- the kids were very excited to sit in different areas during their rotations.

I wonder how long it took you to build the routine of small group rotations with these kids. It was obvious they knew the expectations. It was great. :)

2025-02-05 17:26:40 UTC

I loved how students collaborated within their table groups before moving to the posters around the room. This opportunity helped every student participate within their group.

Wipe Book Vocabulary/People/Events Review

shamilton12 — 2025-02-05 17:49:37 UTC

This was such a fabulous review exercise that got the students out of their seats, moving, and working with other students. Each student was accountable for identifying and explaining the word chosen through words, pictures, and details.

2025-02-05 17:53:51 UTC

Small Group-- The kids were so excited to use morse code to do their names. Jennison was taking note of who struggled to help determine who would need small group help

2025-02-05 17:54:36 UTC

2) I liked how you had the post it notes all set up. I also liked how eager the students were to get into their groups! Lots of great conversations!

3) what level was the class (C4)?

2025-02-05 18:43:06 UTC

Excited to see how another class uses Curipod to determine which students are struggling. Students were provided support in that they were able to use their textbook, but it was clear to see which students needed additional help and would benefit from a future small group. It was great to see how engaged students were in their learning!

2025-02-05 18:43:35 UTC

It was so cool seeing the students so engaged while writing! They took the time to actively reflect not only on their writing but their peers. I loved the class discussion and the voting opportunities!

Small group

2025-02-05 19:08:06 UTC

Curipod was a diverse app to use. The kids were engaged and participating, some together, some solo. Some activities were longer then others, reviewing info from notes, brain breaks, morphing into self reflection in order to place the kids into small groups for tomorrows activities so teacher knows which teams she has to work with the most for concept mastery

Wipe Board Voc Activity

2025-02-05 19:08:57 UTC

I observed students working together to define and describe words and phrases. It appeared students of different levels were paired together. Each student in the group had a turn to write their information and others were allowed to support them with additional info. Mrs. Averitt visited groups and awarded points based on accuracy. She also questioned students to help them build on their answers.

2025-02-05 19:11:55 UTC

Collaborative conversations

2025-02-05 19:23:04 UTC

The kids had some good conversations about the topic using two different Kagan strategies so were well prepared as they launched a model building section. I need to do a better job of using focused small group or pair interactions to set up our lessons.

2025-02-05 19:27:32 UTC

Wipe Books

2025-02-05 19:29:12 UTC

Students were seated in groups and collaborated with each other with Round Robin. Students stood up once they finished. The students were asked another question whole group but students were not really responding. The teacher had the students stand up to share with each other with "stand up, hand up, pair up". Students immediately began to discuss with each other. I have used both of these engagement structures in the past and realized I need to use it more often. I wonder how the students were grouped at their seats.

Kelly- Small Group

2025-02-05 19:48:07 UTC

Kelly did an amazing job at showcasing a great small group lesson. All of her students were focused and gave her the opportunity to focus on the students in her group. One thing I really liked is how she organized the students into groups, and had the respective assignments posted on the board. All of the students knew what do to and the expectations. Great work!

Productive struggle in writing

2025-02-05 19:50:03 UTC

I love this lesson because students were given a prompt and then were on their own to come up with an answer. Usually when students are given independent work there are hands constantly going up to get assistance or reassurance that they are doing it correctly. Because it was timed and all answers were anonymous students felt comfortable writing their own thoughts and they stayed focused.

Wipe Book Activity

2025-02-05 20:20:52 UTC

Students were working as a group to define/describe different vocabulary and events. Every student had a role and was engaged in the activity. I could use this strategy when I introduce unit 3 next week.

2025-02-05 21:42:58 UTC

I appreciated hearing the thoughtful responses and conversation and it was an excellent transition to the collaboration stations. You and your students did a wonderful job.

Curipod - instant feedback

2025-02-06 01:31:49 UTC

I really appreciated seeing Curipod in action! I was impressed by the AI generated, INSTANT, and thorough feedback that students received after they submitted their typed responses. ALL students were engaged, and now there is individual data to support differentiation opportunities. WAY TO GO JENNISON!!!

Math

2025-02-10 14:14:16 UTC

Loved the hands on activity! Students were very engaged and working well in small groups.

2025-02-12 15:18:36 UTC

I loved that at each station the work was posted on the wall, and that each station had a teacher. How do you assign the teacher from each group?

Excellent activity

2025-02-19 20:33:05 UTC

Awesome way to monitor student progress and allow for peer feedback. Will definitely use this to help students explain their thinking in mathematics.

Small Group/Station Rotation

2025-02-19 21:20:37 UTC

This worked smoothly with the group I observed. Each student was told which station to work on first and was given the assignment. Students were on task and did not hesitate to do the work.

Ms. Summerfield was able to pull the small group and work on intervention strategies.

I liked that these students did not complain or seem to dread doing the stations. They were open to them.

2025-02-19 21:39:55 UTC

Loved learning about Curipod for student engagement, assessment, and a small grouping tool! Thank you for sharing!

Frio- Ruppe's Class

2025-02-20 18:06:18 UTC

I am a big fan of the busy beehive classroom as it suggests an educator that is willing and able to establish best practices for collaboration. Mrs. Ruppe's Classroom reflected that of collaboration as she has clearly established routines and the know how to think and wonder. She reminds me to emphasize such measures and create an inquisitive learning environment. I witnessed students collaborating "the right way" and I will surely use the stand approach to keep the beehive buzzing. My picture will not upload! This is my second time uploading a message, too. Please excuse my first reflection if that does appear.