Thursday, November 17, 2011

Countdown to E-Time...

So we've updated our students' Renzulli Profile, now what?

If our E-Time (which begins January 6th) is truly designed around our students' interests and talents, our next step will be to analyze these profiles and search for commonalities.  Those commonalities will be the launch-pad for designing our E-Time sessions.

Teachers, as you review your class profiles, what commonalities do you see in:
  • students' interests?
  • students' learning styles?
  • students' expression styles?
By December 2nd, please respond to this post, and indicate what similarities/commonalities/themes you see among the students in your class.  When you respond to this post, please sign-in using your Coppell GMAIL account.

We look forward to discovering more about our students' talents and interests!

31 comments:

  1. I discovered many interesting things about my students as I began to look through their Renzulli profiles. I was incredibly surprised that not one student chose group work as their preferred learning style. The trends were towards games, discussion, and technology. It was interesting to me that my kinder kids preferred to work with a partner and play games instead of working as a small group. The technology piece is alive and well in the classroom but, I’ll definitely be looking at more interactive and engaging games to add to our daily lessons. The interest piece of the profiles were also fascinating to me. I have a couple of students who would like to be involved in social action! In kindergarten! I love that and what a great way to use service learning with these students. I am excited about grouping my students by their interest areas and letting them engage in activities that they are truly interested in. These Renzulli profiles provided me with valuable information about my students!

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  2. The common thread is all of my students enjoy working in groups. Their areas of interest and preferred product style were diverse.

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  3. My 3E students’ areas of interests span 11 different areas with the top choices being Athletics (9), Reading (9), and Mathematics (8) with Technology (7) and Fine Arts (6) close runner-ups.

    Their preferred learning styles came in strong with Discussions (12), Lecture (11), and Technology (11). Peer Tutoring (9) came in just under that. The learning styles spanned 9 different areas.

    Lastly, their preferred product styles came in strong with Audio-Visual Display (13), Service (10), and Artistic (9). The product styles spanned 9 different types.

    ~ Neera

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  4. Edwards 2D
    Common Interests include: technology, social action, performing arts, science, and business.
    Common Learning Styles include: technology, peer tutoring, games, and groups/discussion.
    Common Product Styles include: audio/visual, and artistic.

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  5. We have lots of interests in K1! The top being technology. We love to learn and play on the computer. After that we had, science. This is no surprise to me. Kids (especially these younger ones) always seem to love science! And that went hand in hand with math. We also had quite a few video/photography. We like the idea of making a movie or creating a video. Or maybe just watching videos.

    The top learning styles were playing learning games, working in groups or small groups with the teacher.

    The preferred product styles were the audio-visual display, artists and service.

    I love that even though they may not know what all it entales that my kids like the idea of helping people!

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  6. Voltz 3D

    Common Interests:
    8/21 chose Reading as their primary area of interest. All others were widely scattered.

    Instructional Styles:
    These varied a lot. Emphasis on Learning Games, Working in Groups, and Technology.

    Product Styles:
    This is the most clear of all the areas. Audio/Visual Display option was chosen by 13/21 students. Then artistic with four students, and others scattered.

    I will definately give more options to produce audio/visual products, as well as giving my students more opportunities to read for learning, and incorporate a larger variety of instructional methods.

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  7. Top Choices for 3C
    Interest: Athletics and Social Action
    Learning Styles: Technology and Discussions
    Product Choices: Artistic and Audio/Visual Display
    My observations: Technology scored high in Learning style, but very low in interest and even lower in Product Choice. It didn't make the top 2, but I was surprised that for learning style over a 1/3 of my student choose lecture as a top choice. Then less than 1/5 said that working in groups and learning games was a preferred learning style. (We do a bunch of learning games in groups with investigations.)
    -Christine

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  8. Kinsey Weegar-1D
    In 1D, our most common areas of interest included sports, working with Legos, dinosaurs, science, technology/computers, and pets. Pets and working with animals was actually our most common area of interest. I found this very interesting! Our two most common learning styles were working in a small group and working with a partner.

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  9. Lisa Ricciardelli - ARTNovember 29, 2011 at 4:15 PM

    Ricciardelli-Art

    Aside from being a resource to groups needing expertise in visual art, I am interested in working with groups focused in the following areas:
    service learning,
    world cultures,
    earth/environmental science,
    video/photography,
    health,
    creative writing
    or even dance & yoga!

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  10. My class really seemed to love the more science related interests and were especially excited about animals. The topic with the highest ranking was pets. I was surpised that the technological choices were not higher up on their interest list. I was also disappointed that only one person was passionate about helping others. I guess at this age, they're more interested in the things that look "fun." Maybe we need to make helping others more fun! I'd say I need to start looking for a veterinarian to come as a speaker!
    ~Janell

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  11. Common Interests:
    My third grade class has varied interests! 5/21 make technology their top choice. Athletics and reading tie for second place with 3 votes each. Science, Social action and History/Social studies each had 2 votes.

    Preferred Instructional Styles:
    The first choice for instructional styles is technology with 8 votes. Discussions with teacher and small groups came in 2nd. Only one of my students chose lecture as their preferred instructional style!

    Preferred product style:
    8 of my students chose audio-visual products as their first choice. Commercial and dramatic came in second with 3 votes each.

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  12. I have also discovered many interesting things about my students. In 2C, our most common area of interest was social action and business. Technology was the most common when it came to my students learning styles. Games, discussion, peer tutoring and independent study all came in second with 3 votes each. I have to say I was very excited to see more than half of my class likes to express their learning through audio-visual styles with artistic being right behind. These Renzulli profiles have really made me understand my students SO much more. I'm excited to start E-time. Let the learning continue...

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  13. I have resources in the areas of sports, dinosaurs, pets, oceans, rain forest, and Famous Americans that can be used in all grade levels. After reading the previous posts, I have noticed that first graders have interests in many of these areas. I would also like to help out in any activity that utilizes creative writing.

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  14. After reading the profile surveys of 1C, all I can say is that I better get in shape! Our class is passionate about Sports! Interestingly, just as many girls choose this as their favorite activity, as did boys. Someone in our class even suggested we learn about wrestling! That would be a new one for me! Other popular choices were: Legos, cooking and arts/crafts. The profiles also suggested that 1C is happy working with a partner and participating in large and small groups. This is an accurate picture of the students in my class this year. They are all easy going and get along well with each other! Go Team Nutt!

    Sharon

    Sharon Nutt

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  15. 3A has many interests as a class but our primary one is athletics!! We love to move around a lot!! Our preferred instructional style is learning games, discussions and technology which all tied!! So we need to move and talk while we learn. :) Our preferred product style was audio/visual. I will use this information to guide me as I design lessons. It will be exciting to see what else I learn during E time!!

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  16. After reading the comments about the interest and learning styles, I noticed that several classes were interested in helping others/service learning and audio visual presentations. I would love to use photography, videos or movie maker as a way for children to tell their own stories or perhaps retell a book that they have read. Also, I think we could share these stories with others maybe at a retirement center as a great service learning project.
    --Teresa Raney

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  17. The commonalities I found under:
    Interests- Business and Athletics were the most popular. Technology was second.

    Learning Styles- the most popular one was working in groups. Next was peer tutoring and technology.

    Products- Audio/visual display was very popular in my class. After that was artistic and commercial.
    -Brittney Kayl

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  18. Gay Dobecka P.E.

    I am not suprised to see that many students chose athletics as a top choice. I have a variety of equipment that is the traditional but also a lot of new and out of the box items that can be used. I think students might enjoy using some of the non-traditional equipment to make their own new games with their own rules. I also have some "concentration" and "go fish" game packs that I made involving health and animals. I would love to share these items with the students. I am excited about sharing my pe equipment with the students.
    Gay Dobecka

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  19. Here are the findings that I got from K2's reports:

    Our top interest areas were science and then fine arts.

    Our top two learning styles technology and peer tutoring. This was no surprise as all of my students love anything technology related as well as working with other students.

    Our top two expression styles are audio-visual displays and artistic.

    Good information to know more about our students!

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  20. Sara Busby - 2A

    Before looking over the profiles for 2A, I had anticipated seeing athletics as the top interest - and I was correct! Technology and Video/Photography followed closely after.

    The top learning style was technology, followed closely by group work and peer tutoring. This was somewhat anticipated as well because we are a very social group.

    However, I was somewhat surprised to see that my students prefer to express themselves artistically. Knowing this, I hope to implement activities in the future with artistic expression options!

    I enjoyed reviewing their profiles and getting to know these students a little better.

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  21. I was so excited to discover that our top two interest were puzzles and games and pets. I figured they would choose pets, but I love puzzles so I am looking forward to bringing those in. Sports and legos came in close right after pets and games. All of my students picked at least one of the top four, so now I have a great place to start.

    My students said they like working in small groups and with partners. Of course, they love technology. (They asked if there would be iPads available during e-time. Who do I need to talk to about that?! Ha!)

    We are looking forward to E-time in 1B!

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  22. We combined our class data because we might do some flexible grouping for e-time. Our most common areas of interest were technology and athletics. Interestingly, none of our combined 46 students chose fine arts or foreign languages. Our two most common learning styles were discussions and technology. Going along with the technology theme, the overwhelmingly favored expression style was audio-visual display. We have many students in the drama club, but only 10% chose dramatic expression style as their favorite style.

    Marcy 4B and Tara 4A

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  23. In 4D, the top 3 interest areas are social action, reading, and technology. That information corresponds well to what I see in the classroom. My students are very alert to the needs of others, and respond eagerly when provided an opportunity to provide assistance or encouragement to those around them. They also love to read, and are quick to express their disappointment if their reading time is unexpectedly interrupted! Finally, my students come alive when they are engaged through technology. They work harder, sustain engagement for longer, and are more willing to take risks when technology is part of the equation.

    When I began to look at the profile results for learning styles in my classroom, I immediately noticed that there was a clear correlation between my students' interests and their learning styles. Our top 2 learning styles are peer tutoring and technology. My students love learning from each other and helping each other overcome some of the challenges that all of us inevitably face as learners. And of course...technology...they love it!

    Finally, when I looked at the preferred expression styles for my students, I found that audio-visual products (technology ?) and service were once again very high on the list. One other trend that emerged through the expression styles component of my students' profiles was a love of art.

    It is so much fun to see the connections between what I see in the classroom and what these profiles reveal about who my students are and what makes them tick. So much of what I intuitively understood about my students was reaffirmed when I explored their profiles, but I also enjoyed the little "surprises" as I learned about interests and/or talents of my students that I was not aware of previously. I am excited about the opportunity to more fully incorporate this information into the learning experiences within my classroom.

    Liz Malone/4D

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  24. 5th Grade Renzulli Profile Results:
    Submitted by: The 5th Grade Team

    If you look at the 80 5th graders as a whole group and take into consideration their top three interests you will find they are interested in everything! They are a curious group of children who love to learn.

    First Interest
    Athletics – 24/80 students
    Performing Arts – 12/80
    Fine Arts – 11/80
    Second Interest
    Video/Photography – 12/80
    Performing Arts – 12/80
    Technology – 10/80
    Third Interest
    Video/Photography – 11/80
    Technology – 11/80
    Reading – 11/80


    Analyzing the 5th graders’ learning styles is quite confirming. We 5th grade teachers incorporate technology, group work and/or games into every learning opportunity we design.
    Technology – 48 out of the 80 5th graders have technology as one of their top three learning styles.
    Group Work – 44 out of the 80 5th graders have group work as one of their top three learning styles
    Games – 39 out of the 80 5th graders have games as one of their top three learning styles

    Like their interests, the way the 5th graders prefer to express their learning or the favorite product style is quite varied. Arts, music and technological products are common in the top three expression styles of this group of students.

    First Expression Style
    Artistic – 20/80
    Technological – 11/80
    Dramatic – 11/80

    Second Expression Style
    Hands- On – 16/80
    Musical – 14/80
    Artistic 11/80

    Third Expression Style
    Audio/Visual Display – 14/80
    Musical 12/80
    Artistic, Hands-on, Technological – tied with 9/80

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  25. Most of my students in 2B are interested in athletics and technology. It is a pleasant suprise and it gives me ideas on what I can do to further engage the students. As far as expressing their learning, audio visual was the choice. Tehcnology was the 2nd choice for expressing their learning.

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  26. I love that several groups have students interested in reading! I am not at all surprised about the high interest in technology. I am sure I could be of help to groups with this interest. I am very eagar to help out wherever needed. This is a very exciting time for our students and staff.

    Jodie McConnell

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  27. Reading (Yeah!), science and technology are the predominate interests my students indicated. I have one group that preferred audio visual and drama for their products to demonstrate what they have learned. I can see that I need to help them learn to use the technologies that teachers are using in the classroom like Gloster and Edmodo. My other groups like artistic expression and audio visual. This gives me some great tools to help spark their interest and keep them engaged.

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  28. My Kindergarten class blew me away with their results! The number one Interest Area in my class is Business! Wow! However, a close second tie betweenAthletics and Technology followed with 8 out of 19 students each. I was surprised by this since I find that a large part of my class seems to love fine arts, but only one student shows interest according to Renzulli. As far as their expression styles, the majority of my class chose "artistic" and "audio-visual/display". I'm looking forward to seeing how all of this information will help me once we start our E-Time next semester!

    Ally Cooper

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  29. Many of the students at Austin are interested in athletics and technology. Since my area is one that is on the lower end of the list, I will be happy to work with a group with technology.

    I could also participate by sponsoring:
    video/photography,
    Building
    Movie and Audio editing
    Drumming
    Science
    electronics
    I look forward in helping a class at E-Time next semester.

    David

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  30. I see that a lot of classes have mentioned science as an area of interest. I have worked hard over the past few years to add to the nonfiction section of my classroom collection. I have many books related to animals, dinosaurs, the human body, plants, volcanoes, earthquakes, geology, weather, space, electricity, light, sound, and physics.

    Cathy

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  31. The primary interest was varied for the students I work with. The interests were athletic, history and social studies, science, social action and technology. The instructional styles included discussion, games, and technology. The expressive styles were audio-visual display and service. It was interesting that the instructional style was games. Looking back some of our best lessons and days this year have been days when we have played games during our lessons. It was also interesting to find out that the expressive styles for the majority of the students were audio-visual display. This information will help in enrichment lessons as well as planning everyday lessons that will allow students to be engaged and interested in the lesson matter.

    Anne

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