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When we were discussing the word association exercise last week before the teachers came, I was under the impression that many of the teachers would have many of the same responses to the words.  However, during the word association today I was pleasantly surprised that many of the words that were offered were actually quite diverse. I found it interesting as well, the way in which people think of word association. For example, I thought it was fascinating that Kate and Ashley were more about visualizing images then thinking of actual words to associate with the word that was given.

This led me to think about the different methods of learning within the classroom and the need for educators to be mindful that within a particular class not all students are homogenous. Learning styles for individuals varies as much as the outward diversity that is present within the classroom. Building off of this it would also be interesting to see how the students would respond to these word associations. Perhaps educators could learn a lot about how to alter their own classrooms with immediate unconscious student feedback? I thought of this especially after several teachers highlighted the negative connotations that they associated with certain words which unleashed her own feelings and experiences that maybe would not otherwise be known. Overall I found this exercise extremely insightful, thought provoking, and an activity that brought a sense of unity to the discussion table.

Another topic that was brought up during the discussion was the idea of standardized testing. This paralleled many of my own interests that I displayed when writing my application for the Summer Institute. I know it will definitely be interesting to listen to the idea and perspectives on standardized testing as the institute continues.