Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Module 12
Even though I am already in a classroom, I feel like this class was very helpful. I enjoyed the textbook and thought it contained a lot of useful information. I will definitely continue teaching, hopefully for many years to come. Keeping up with the demands of teaching, while difficult at times, is possible and I think I have learned many things this semester that will help me better meet these demands in the coming years. Some of the demands, figuring out each student’s learning style, caring for each student as an individual, and meeting curricular needs are not things that will probably ever change. There are other demands that will change with the passage of legislation like NCLB and we will have to adapt when that comes along. The role of the teacher is very complex and it’s not until you’re in a classroom with 25 sets of eyes staring at you that you will be able to understand how complex it is. Being a good teacher and being a good student are related in several ways. Both require attention to detail, dedication, organization, and follow-through. Both can also be very rewarding. As a student, a good grade on a test or the completion of a project makes you feel proud; while as a teacher, seeing a student who was struggling with a concept finally get it, or seeing a project a student worked so hard on, are both rewarding.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Module 11
Focus Questions:
2) According to our text, page 430, class time is evaluated by three terms: allocated time, engaged time, and academic learning time. Form what I read in the book and what I observed during my field experience, although the state mandates that students attend school for 1,080 hours per year, these hours can be used very differently from school to school and classroom to classroom. In one of the classes I observed, the teacher made the best possible use of her time with the students. Students were always actively engaged in something and none of it was “busy work.” There were suggestions on the wall for activities to do if EVERYTHING was finished, but there were also suggestions on the board for what to work on if certain assignments were already finished. These suggestions reflected longer-term projects that the class was working on, like a book report. This enabled the students who had completed their math assignments to know exactly what to do next and why. Academic learning time is engaged time with a high success rate. This refers to the time the students are working independently and without the teacher available to correct their work. Classroom management can play a large part in the success of academic learning time. Where there are poor classroom management skills, the students will not have a high success rate when working independently. They will be off task and easily distracted without the teacher readily available.
6) Teachers can increase student achievement by employing good questioning tactics. John Dewey said, “To question well is to teach well.” As a teacher it is important not only to ask good questions, but to provide students equal and ample opportunities to answer them. It is important to keep the pace up and not allow students too long to sit and wait between questions, but it is also important to ensure that the students have enough time to process and give a thoughtful answer plus give enough time following the answer for the other students to process that information. Bloom’s taxonomy, which proceeds from low-order questions, stating basic facts, to high-order questions, that demand more thought and, generally, more time to answer. Research shows that teachers ask higher-order questions infrequently and these are the questions that are shown to increase student achievement. There is a time for lower-order questions, such as when being introduced to new information or when working on drill and practice, but this type of questioning does not challenge students to manipulate pre-established information to create more sophisticated thoughts. In my observation, the teacher did not ask too many higher-order questions during class time, but much of the work on the board to be done when the class work was completed had to do with higher-order thinking.
2) According to our text, page 430, class time is evaluated by three terms: allocated time, engaged time, and academic learning time. Form what I read in the book and what I observed during my field experience, although the state mandates that students attend school for 1,080 hours per year, these hours can be used very differently from school to school and classroom to classroom. In one of the classes I observed, the teacher made the best possible use of her time with the students. Students were always actively engaged in something and none of it was “busy work.” There were suggestions on the wall for activities to do if EVERYTHING was finished, but there were also suggestions on the board for what to work on if certain assignments were already finished. These suggestions reflected longer-term projects that the class was working on, like a book report. This enabled the students who had completed their math assignments to know exactly what to do next and why. Academic learning time is engaged time with a high success rate. This refers to the time the students are working independently and without the teacher available to correct their work. Classroom management can play a large part in the success of academic learning time. Where there are poor classroom management skills, the students will not have a high success rate when working independently. They will be off task and easily distracted without the teacher readily available.
6) Teachers can increase student achievement by employing good questioning tactics. John Dewey said, “To question well is to teach well.” As a teacher it is important not only to ask good questions, but to provide students equal and ample opportunities to answer them. It is important to keep the pace up and not allow students too long to sit and wait between questions, but it is also important to ensure that the students have enough time to process and give a thoughtful answer plus give enough time following the answer for the other students to process that information. Bloom’s taxonomy, which proceeds from low-order questions, stating basic facts, to high-order questions, that demand more thought and, generally, more time to answer. Research shows that teachers ask higher-order questions infrequently and these are the questions that are shown to increase student achievement. There is a time for lower-order questions, such as when being introduced to new information or when working on drill and practice, but this type of questioning does not challenge students to manipulate pre-established information to create more sophisticated thoughts. In my observation, the teacher did not ask too many higher-order questions during class time, but much of the work on the board to be done when the class work was completed had to do with higher-order thinking.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Module 10
Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities
Situation # 5
In looking at situation #5, (page 387) I think of how busy I am as a teacher. In this situation the teacher feels that everything is calm at her post in the cafeteria and steps out to make a school related phone call. While she is gone, a student slips and falls and breaks his arm. The teacher gets sued. While I would not leave my kindergarteners to make a telephone call, I think of all the things that happen in the classroom that take my attention. Walking to the playground one day, one of my students got pushed into the brick wall on the outside of the building. I was no more than 5 feet from the student in the middle of the line, but there was nothing I could do to foresee it. He stepped on another child’s shoe while walking and that child pushed him and he fell into the wall. In the cafeteria situation the teacher was at fault for neglecting to be in her “assigned post.” In my situation I was in my “assigned post” but the child got hurt anyway. Our text states, on page 388, that when looking into teacher negligence cases, courts “use two standards: (1) whether a reasonable person with similar training would act in the same way and (2) whether or not the teacher could have foreseen the possibility of an injury.” According to this, I would not be held legally responsible for what happened on the way to the playground. . . which is quite a relief!
Students’ Rights and Responsibilities
Situation # 10
Situation ten, beginning on page 393, is concerning the issue of student records and who has the right to see them. A teacher is reviewing a student’s folder after school and the student walks in and wants to see it. The teacher refuses and the student tells her parents, who then call the school and want to see the folder themselves. The Family Rights and Privacy Act, or the Buckley Amendment (1974), allows parents and guardians access to their child’s educational records. If a student who is over the age of 18 requests to see the folder, they must also be allowed to do so. In this situation, it does not appear that the teacher should have given the student access to the folder, but does have to show it to the parents at their request. This decision seems fair to me, but what about the student. Obviously letting a first grader review the content of his or her folder would not be appropriate because they would not understand it. There are plenty of 16-year-olds, however, who are mature enough to understand the content of their folder and perhaps should be allowed to see it. Maybe it is up to the parents, when they review it to answer any questions their child may have about what the folder contains. I don’t think I will have any students asking to see their records, but it’s helpful to know that I don’t have to let them!
Situation # 5
In looking at situation #5, (page 387) I think of how busy I am as a teacher. In this situation the teacher feels that everything is calm at her post in the cafeteria and steps out to make a school related phone call. While she is gone, a student slips and falls and breaks his arm. The teacher gets sued. While I would not leave my kindergarteners to make a telephone call, I think of all the things that happen in the classroom that take my attention. Walking to the playground one day, one of my students got pushed into the brick wall on the outside of the building. I was no more than 5 feet from the student in the middle of the line, but there was nothing I could do to foresee it. He stepped on another child’s shoe while walking and that child pushed him and he fell into the wall. In the cafeteria situation the teacher was at fault for neglecting to be in her “assigned post.” In my situation I was in my “assigned post” but the child got hurt anyway. Our text states, on page 388, that when looking into teacher negligence cases, courts “use two standards: (1) whether a reasonable person with similar training would act in the same way and (2) whether or not the teacher could have foreseen the possibility of an injury.” According to this, I would not be held legally responsible for what happened on the way to the playground. . . which is quite a relief!
Students’ Rights and Responsibilities
Situation # 10
Situation ten, beginning on page 393, is concerning the issue of student records and who has the right to see them. A teacher is reviewing a student’s folder after school and the student walks in and wants to see it. The teacher refuses and the student tells her parents, who then call the school and want to see the folder themselves. The Family Rights and Privacy Act, or the Buckley Amendment (1974), allows parents and guardians access to their child’s educational records. If a student who is over the age of 18 requests to see the folder, they must also be allowed to do so. In this situation, it does not appear that the teacher should have given the student access to the folder, but does have to show it to the parents at their request. This decision seems fair to me, but what about the student. Obviously letting a first grader review the content of his or her folder would not be appropriate because they would not understand it. There are plenty of 16-year-olds, however, who are mature enough to understand the content of their folder and perhaps should be allowed to see it. Maybe it is up to the parents, when they review it to answer any questions their child may have about what the folder contains. I don’t think I will have any students asking to see their records, but it’s helpful to know that I don’t have to let them!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Field Experience (3)
On Monday I finished my observation for field experience. The school where I observed is very neat, clean, and welcoming, from the front of the grounds all the way into the classrooms. When I arrived I was greeted by the teacher and the assistant and had a seat in the classroom. The class where I observed was an upper middle school special education classroom. There was one teacher and 1 assistant who work in that room throughout the day.
I worked with a few of the children while I was there on some general goals covering what they need to accomplish for this period. The teacher explained to me how they know what to teach, since it's not a typical classroom and went on to explain some of the goals of the students to me. There is a curriculum called the North Carolina Extended Content Standards, that parallels the curriculum used in typical classrooms. The information covered in the curriculum prepares the students for the Extend 1 (a modified EOG) test that the students must take every year. There were ten students in the class that day.
I enjoyed my time with this class and it was not much different from typical 6-9th grade classes. The assistive technology the students have makes it possible to participate in a variety of activities.
I worked with a few of the children while I was there on some general goals covering what they need to accomplish for this period. The teacher explained to me how they know what to teach, since it's not a typical classroom and went on to explain some of the goals of the students to me. There is a curriculum called the North Carolina Extended Content Standards, that parallels the curriculum used in typical classrooms. The information covered in the curriculum prepares the students for the Extend 1 (a modified EOG) test that the students must take every year. There were ten students in the class that day.
I enjoyed my time with this class and it was not much different from typical 6-9th grade classes. The assistive technology the students have makes it possible to participate in a variety of activities.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Module 9
In reading about the Leandro case there were many things that jumped out at me, but the biggest was the idea of a “sound, basic education.” As a teacher of at-risk children I am amazed at what I am asked to “do without” for financial reasons. Sure, I have more supplies in my classroom than the children have at home to facilitate their learning and I speak English, but is that really what I should settle for?!?!?! I don’t like the idea of that and I have spent plenty of my own money this year ensuring that my children are not only getting a good education, but also have good materials to work with. I don’t think it is fair to look at a low income group of children, at any age, and say “well, at least they have something.” Trust me, my children aren’t sitting in gold plated chairs and I am certainly not wealthy by any means, but I do make sure we have good markers, good construction paper, good play dough, good paint, etc. I think the stories and art work produced by children in the poorest schools should look just as nice hanging on the walls as the richest schools in the county. I agree with the court case that you can’t take away from the “sound, basic education” of one group of children to fund another group, but I feel like we should all be funded. Living and teaching out of the country I was able to get many school supplies donated and sent to the school in Romania. If businesses will send supplies to me in Romania, surely they would send some to the school down the street.
I think the creation and funding of the new “More at Four” program, as a follow up to this case, is a great idea. It follows the same basic principles of the “Smart Start” or “Head Start” programs and gives at-risk (low income or non-English speaking) children a chance to go to preschool that perhaps their family cannot afford. Hopefully, it will work to give these children a more even playing field on which to start kindergarten so we as teachers won’t have quite so big a gap at the beginning of the year. You can’t get everyone on the same level, all children learn differently and need to have the space to do so, but it can help those children who will be behind and not able to catch up in kindergarten, resulting in being behind for many year and possibly never be promoted to the next grade or able to pass the EOG tests.
I think the creation and funding of the new “More at Four” program, as a follow up to this case, is a great idea. It follows the same basic principles of the “Smart Start” or “Head Start” programs and gives at-risk (low income or non-English speaking) children a chance to go to preschool that perhaps their family cannot afford. Hopefully, it will work to give these children a more even playing field on which to start kindergarten so we as teachers won’t have quite so big a gap at the beginning of the year. You can’t get everyone on the same level, all children learn differently and need to have the space to do so, but it can help those children who will be behind and not able to catch up in kindergarten, resulting in being behind for many year and possibly never be promoted to the next grade or able to pass the EOG tests.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Field Experience Observation (2)
March 18, 2009
Today was my second day of observation for my field experience. Back in the second grade classroom in Romania. Today was a little different, graded reading had to be done today and there was a math test. In addition, the kids had Romanian lessons and an art class in the afternoon. With the reading grade and the math test both in the morning the teacher has developed a system for accomplishing both things and still making time for the special afternoon activities. She did the language lesson first so the students could do their language papers and study for their math test while the graded reading took place. After the graded reading, the teacher checked over the language papers and made sure everyone was using their time well. Then it was time for the math test. As the students finished the written math test they came up one at a time to do the oral part of the test. While it was a test, the atmosphere in the classroom was very relaxed and the students didn’t appear too stressed about it. There was no talk either day of the standardized testing coming up at the end of the month. Maybe because it’s in a foreign country and the teachers’ jobs aren’t on the line, no one appeared to be worried about the testing. English is at least the second language for these students and sometimes the third or fourth. The test that they take is something like what homeschooled students would take to ensure they are learning, I think. I administered the test when I was teaching at this particular school and it, in my opinion, closely resembles the EOG tests the students in NC take. I had a fantastic time observing in this class and I hope that my other observation goes as well.
Today was my second day of observation for my field experience. Back in the second grade classroom in Romania. Today was a little different, graded reading had to be done today and there was a math test. In addition, the kids had Romanian lessons and an art class in the afternoon. With the reading grade and the math test both in the morning the teacher has developed a system for accomplishing both things and still making time for the special afternoon activities. She did the language lesson first so the students could do their language papers and study for their math test while the graded reading took place. After the graded reading, the teacher checked over the language papers and made sure everyone was using their time well. Then it was time for the math test. As the students finished the written math test they came up one at a time to do the oral part of the test. While it was a test, the atmosphere in the classroom was very relaxed and the students didn’t appear too stressed about it. There was no talk either day of the standardized testing coming up at the end of the month. Maybe because it’s in a foreign country and the teachers’ jobs aren’t on the line, no one appeared to be worried about the testing. English is at least the second language for these students and sometimes the third or fourth. The test that they take is something like what homeschooled students would take to ensure they are learning, I think. I administered the test when I was teaching at this particular school and it, in my opinion, closely resembles the EOG tests the students in NC take. I had a fantastic time observing in this class and I hope that my other observation goes as well.
Field Experience Observation (1)
March 17, 2009
Today I did my first observation for my field experience. I was observing at an American school in Romania. Like many of the buildings in Romania, the outside of the school was not too impressive, but the inside made up for it. The hallways were filled with brightly colored pictures created by the students as well as pictures from last year’s “Spirit Week.” I taught at this school for two years, but we were in a different building on the other side of town, so I was excited to see the new building and students. I had scheduled to spend two full days with the second grade class before visiting the other classes. There were 12 students in the class and a very nice sign welcoming me to their class. They had even set a space up for me to sit, complete with flowers. I was impressed with the amount of information the teacher the teacher covered with the students NOT sitting in their desks. Their spelling words, the math review, and even part of the language lesson were all done through games or physical activity. The students were very well-behaved and transitioned well from moving around and playing to sitting down and working. As the students finished their math work they took the paper to the teacher who checked over it and sent them back to correct any problems they missed and helped anyone who was struggling. I look forward to going back tomorrow.
Today I did my first observation for my field experience. I was observing at an American school in Romania. Like many of the buildings in Romania, the outside of the school was not too impressive, but the inside made up for it. The hallways were filled with brightly colored pictures created by the students as well as pictures from last year’s “Spirit Week.” I taught at this school for two years, but we were in a different building on the other side of town, so I was excited to see the new building and students. I had scheduled to spend two full days with the second grade class before visiting the other classes. There were 12 students in the class and a very nice sign welcoming me to their class. They had even set a space up for me to sit, complete with flowers. I was impressed with the amount of information the teacher the teacher covered with the students NOT sitting in their desks. Their spelling words, the math review, and even part of the language lesson were all done through games or physical activity. The students were very well-behaved and transitioned well from moving around and playing to sitting down and working. As the students finished their math work they took the paper to the teacher who checked over it and sent them back to correct any problems they missed and helped anyone who was struggling. I look forward to going back tomorrow.
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