As I sit here and reflect about my practice over the past few years, I realize I have been in education through many educational fads, a few different curriculum adoptions and a few administrators with different perspectives as to what is the best way of approaching the learning of our students. Yet, what has been consistent for me is the district and school site in which I work. I have been a part of the same community for all of my educational career and this has allowed me to get to know the families and the students quite well.
The SITE Model, is a learner- centered model. After reading this article, it has helped me reflect on different aspects of my students’ learning. This model strongly considers student perspective. It reminds us to acknowledge our learners’ background knowledge as well as their cultural environment. It asks us to consider what motivates and interests them and what tools will enable them to learn them better. As teachers we should all be utilizing the SITE model in our teaching and consider the learner a whole. Teachers must use what we know about our students to adapt our teaching for what best suits their learning. This makes me think about my everyday practice, when I was in a regular classroom set up and now, in my intervention position as well. I always try to prepare everything I can ahead of time, especially when it is a lesson that worked very well. Yet, I never stop to think that even though it worked great with one group of students it may not work the same because of the simple fact that each student is different and each cohort of students is different. Even though I was thinking that by planning ahead I was doing everything I could in order to provide the best learning environment/ outcome possible for my students; I was not truly considering all of what my students bring to the table. Reading this article has reminded me that even though pre-planning does wonder for teachers, it is important to be mindful of each and every one of my students and use what I know about them to create a lesson that is student centered and truly authentic for them. There is yet another thing that continues to pop into my head when I reflect on my reading of the SITE model. Most, if not all districts have a pacing guide that teachers must follow. Many are told to follow this pacing guide with fidelity, but is that the best option, when we must take all of our students’ learning styles into consideration and view each learner as a whole?
5 Comments
Christina Schreiber
3/26/2018 11:00:09 am
I have done a lot of reflecting on my past teaching as well as my current teaching. I agree with you that pacing calendars or what is suggested in the teachers manual is not always what meets the needs of our students. I also agree with you that what works well one year with one group of students may not work with a different group of students. Learning about our students' needs and motivations help us to develop the best lessons for our learners. A teacher manual or pacing calendar cannot do that for us.
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Shawn
3/26/2018 11:32:40 am
I think that is one aspect that I love about this profession, is that there is always room for growth. Ways to improve your craft. With each new class that comes into my room I have to eventuate my teaching practice to see what technique will work best for these students. Now that I am in the classroom I am able to picture how to use these different models in the classroom. It never hurts to have more tools in out teacher toolbox!
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Mady
3/26/2018 04:35:58 pm
I also thought about what a strong community exists at Markham and how that helps us to create a student-centered model in our classrooms when I was reading the article this week. Having only taught at Markham I'm not sure how it compares to other schools, but I love that ALL of the teachers there are dedicated to the students and helping them be successful. I also found what you said about pre-planning lessons to be really inspiring. I realized that when I'm planning my lessons I'm thinking about what I need to do to help my students to be successful, but I want to focus more on what my students need to do in order to be successful. Thanks for the great thoughts!
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Mayra Cindy
3/26/2018 10:34:23 pm
I agree that we must take our student's perspectives into account when we develop our lessons. The SITE model does just that, everything revolves around the learner. I think that as teachers we can decide what is best for our students and if that is tweaking the pacing guides to meet the needs of our students then it should be validated.
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Stephanie Jones
4/3/2018 10:29:49 am
I feel that our school site does just that. Teachers are focusing on students and their community while fighting for what is best for them at the district level. As a school, GLAD strategies and planning do just that. A lot of our students struggling to learn grade level content. By merging science and reading or social studies and reading it becomes a great way to increase student motivation to learn and it lightens the load of content being delivered. I have also found that when I can connect content to food I have a greater understanding of the concept that I am delivering. Some students don't know where their next meal is coming or if they will even be full at the end of a meal. Knowing your students is key because food might not be a motivator for all students at every school or at every grade level. The SITE model is key to being an effective teacher.
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