Interactive Notebooks

My love affair with Interactive Notebooks happened by accident. Although I don't remember the specifics of it, I know I was looking for a Maths resource on Teachers Pay Teachers when I chanced upon Blair Turner's TPT store.

Interactive Notebooks are a big part of my daily routine now and although it's almost the end of the school year in Australia, I'm already thinking about how I can better implement it in my classroom next year. I even came up with my own interactive resource for Rounding Numbers during the break. I'm still learning but I'm quite proud of myself.

So anyhow, I was really excited when I found out Jennifer from 4mula Fun was hosting a webinar about Interactive Notebooks. Of course, with the time difference and all, it meant that I wasn't able to watch it live. (I'm at work at the time...)but thankfully, the clip was uploaded with handouts.

So what I've learnt thus far:

PLAN

It's really important to plan. Because I did not start Interactive Notebooks at the beginning of the year, it lacks a certain 'flow'. So, I get how important planning would be for next year as I embark further into my journey of using Interactive Notebooks.

ROUTINES

Fortunately, establishing routines haven't been as difficult for me. I haven't established everything that was recommended but I have implemented one strategy - placing baskets on the tables of each group for them to put the bits and scraps after they are done, which has worked so well. I don't have an assigned student to hand out the baskets, for some reason it seems to miraculously appear on the tables. Most of my students are on auto-pilot mode (this year). What's worked for me is giving my students a time limit for what to either cut, paste, write etc. The students decide how much time they would need, I ask several students how much time they think they would need to complete a certain part of an activity and we then decide how much time they would get, (usually between 2 to 5 minutes). I use a stopwatch to tell them how much time they have left. The students who complete the assigned task before the time is up, usually either check or colour in what they've done. This has worked really well for me and my students, so they are constantly engaged and no time is wasted. (But I hear so much about how colouring is done outside of classroom time, so I'm wondering if I'm really using that time well.)



MATERIALS

Materials aren't really a problem because the students' book packs come with glue sticks and scissors and exercise books.  (Haven't tried liquid glue yet.) I guess one disadvantage would be the printing and copying that I usually have to do. Staff in my school get about $100 printing and copying credit every term  and that doesn't last very long, so in desperate situations, I use the printer at home to print the necessary sheets for my students.





OUTPUT

Hmmm...this video has caused me to reflect on my student's Interactive Notebooks. There's lots of input but they don't do a lot of output in their books. I use other forms of assessment - exit slips or tests to assess their understanding but I haven't given my students the opportunity to reflect or show what they've learnt in their books and that is something I would need to put more thought into.

My key takeaway from this webinar was in regards to modelling the use of Interactive Notebooks...something I haven't done enough of, actually I have done it at all (although my students do refer to previous activities they've done on their own) and also, having my own Interactive Notebook. That's where the planning bit comes in.

So there, my first Professional Development post. My mind's already buzzing with ideas and thoughts. If you are reading this, please do leave a comment of how you use Interactive Notebooks in your classroom. It would be of so much help.