Platt Visit!

I really enjoyed having the opportunity to visit Platt and observe and interact in three different science classrooms. Our focus of our trip was to see station rotation. We observed three teachers that plan together or in the same system as one another.One helpful tip I learned with implementing stations was using a timer that accounts for transition time. This timer will reset itself as well so you do not need to remember to do that in between each station. It is a google app meant for training and the transition time is really the “rest” time. 

Being in the teacher’s classrooms, you could tell that the students were accustomed to the stations and many of the students were eager to complete the stations. I really liked that it was a standard set up that they always had a drawing, reading, video, hands on or simulation activity and a vocabulary station. These stations also have their own designated area so students know exactly where to expect each station. It was clear that this routine benefited the students. The teachers did not assign where students needed to start but just stated that there could only be 4 or 5 students at each station. I liked this aspect because students were able to start where they felt most confident or where the best style for them to start learning the content. 

A blended learning detail that I enjoyed was seeing their use of QR codes. The code was not 100% necessary at the station since the teachers tablet was available at the station but but having the QR code available for students that were absent would be really helpful. We also saw that the students used QR codes to access their online textbook and other materials so they were very comfortable with this process.