Today was a very productive and busy day, my CT was out for the day and the students had a substitute teacher that is a regular at the school and all the students know him. I was only in class for a few minutes when the substitute asked me if I wanted to teach ERT, I said sure why not so I took 5 minutes to go over the story, prepare my thoughts and write some useful questions on a post it note. I had never taught during ERT but I tried to make it as interactive as I could. The story being read had character parts so I decided to pick random Popsicle sticks to see who would read and act out that part. Overall it went well and the students did enjoy the story and I felt they understood the story. They might not be very well at writing it out but they can explain it back to you if you ask them too. On Friday I went to school even though it was an off day for the students I knew this was an opportunity to help my CT organize and clean up a little and so we could plan for next week because during the week time is limited for planning. I was able to plan for next week so I could teach two math lessons one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
ERT and Lesson Planning
Today was a very productive and busy day, my CT was out for the day and the students had a substitute teacher that is a regular at the school and all the students know him. I was only in class for a few minutes when the substitute asked me if I wanted to teach ERT, I said sure why not so I took 5 minutes to go over the story, prepare my thoughts and write some useful questions on a post it note. I had never taught during ERT but I tried to make it as interactive as I could. The story being read had character parts so I decided to pick random Popsicle sticks to see who would read and act out that part. Overall it went well and the students did enjoy the story and I felt they understood the story. They might not be very well at writing it out but they can explain it back to you if you ask them too. On Friday I went to school even though it was an off day for the students I knew this was an opportunity to help my CT organize and clean up a little and so we could plan for next week because during the week time is limited for planning. I was able to plan for next week so I could teach two math lessons one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
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Math 4th Grade Teaching Experience
My Professional Learning
For my professional learning assignment I will teach a math lesson based on what the calendar says in the current content area they will be at during the specific day and week. I want to teach towards the needs of my students to meet the objective for the day based on the essential question that will be written on the whiteboard. In the social studies lesson I want to do a gallery walk but undecided because I want to check with my CT first and see if this would be suitable for the week’s objective. In the literacy area I want to ask for permission to the teacher next door and plan accordingly for a 4th grade lesson, hopefully I can start planning on Tuesday with her and come up with a day and time to use her classroom. I would like to observe her first because I have not had the chance stay in her classroom for a whole lesson when she teaches. I want to have more set goals by next week and have a complete list of what I want to accomplish for this assigment. Class Activity
In EDE 4505 all the students were given play-doh of different color, a color sheet of construction paper, and a marker to write with. Before we started the activity we had to read an article and based on the article we read we then had to use the play-doh to reflect what we read. Every one of my classmates had interesting models they made only using the play-doh and we all had to go around the classroom and write one word on the construction paper that described what we saw based on their models. So we all went around the classroom and with our markers wrote down one word. Every student wrote something different and at the end when we went to everyone’s model and described it we got to go to our models and see what everyone thought of mine. The description words that my classmates wrote on mine where all correct and guessed right. Below is a picture of my model and it’s a group of teachers and students working together for an effective classroom environment. Determining Student Reading Level
“Caldwell (2002) describes four steps for assessment. First, identify what you want to assess. Second, collect evidence. Third, analyze that evidence. And foruth, make a decision and act on that decision. Caldwell suggests three main purposes for reading assessment: to determine student reading level, to identify good reading behaviors, and to document student progress” (Cunningham & Allington, 2011). I went over to the literacy classroom next door and observed for a while and asked for some training on how to administer an assessment for a student’s reading level. The teacher was more than willing to help, she first showed me the paperwork and sheets that one would use to conduct this type of assessment. Then she should me what all the sympbols mean and the purpose of them on how to properly mark the readings once the student read the story. Then she went ahead and called one student and assessed them and I was there to observe and follow along to take mental notes. Once she was done we went over on what she observed and recorded on her sheet and then she called on another student to administer a second a assessment. I observed and then once again she explained to me how the student did and how to record the reading properly. Finally it was my turn to conduct my own reading assessment and it was fast paced because of the student’s fluency but the teacher explained that I can ask the student to slow down a bit so I can correctly write all the details of his retelling of the story that was just read. Once the student was done reading I asked him what was the story about and to explain to me so I can record it in his words. Then I said thank you and asked the student to go back to their desk and continue their work. Then with the teacher’s help we went over the three student’s assessment and wrote down notes based on how they scored and based on their scores that is what we documented on the asessement sheets. We wrote if they either needed help in (fluency or copmrehnison). The training was helpful and glad that I had the opportunity to conduct my own reading assessment. Works Cited Cunningham, P. M., & Allington, R. L. (2011). Classrooms That Work. Boston: Pearson. Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?
During lunch we brought back a student to the classroom to eat with us so that the teacher can address his bad behavior in class and to get to the root of the problem and find a possible solution. When we talked to him that is when I learned he had family issues at home and that’s why he wasn’t concentrating at school. We discussed a behavior contract and if he followed the rules he could earn a reward. He agreed and picked his own reward if he did accomplish this goal. His bad behavior in class was distrubing the other students from learning and this caused the other students to become angry at him and therefore we believe that they must have been bullying him. The very next day his mother called to say that his child was being bullied in class and she left a messege with the front office for the teacher that she wanted a phone conference. When the teacher called the parent to discuss it, she did not mention how bad his behavior was just because the parent already sounded very upset. From one of the readings “You have probably had someone talk to you in a way that made you think, Who do you think you’re talking to? or, equally, Who do you think you are? When this happens to us, the other person has clearly communicated, by the way they talk to us, who they think we are. We become conscious of it because who they think we are conflicts with who we think we are (Johnston, 2004, pp. 78-79).” With upset parent the last thing as a teacher is provide accusations to the parent because then nothing will be resolved. Instead the teacher just listened and discussed how his behavior in class was affecting other students and that’s why he was getting picked on in class. She discussed that she set up a behavior contract with him and see if that would motivate him in some way to follow the class rules. There is always a time and a place to discuss issues with parents about their child and during a phone call conference is not the best way and that is why the teacher asked the teacher that they should meet for a parent-teacher conference at the school to further discuss. Works Cited Johnston, P. H. (2004). Choice Words. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse. The Trouble with Today’s Teaching
Alfie Kohn’s article Beyond Discipline talks about the “traditional instruction” taking place in the classrooms. Although this is still the way some teachers are teaching in some classrooms I have seen differently in the classroom that I am placed in. With “traditonal instruction” little attention is given to exploring ideas, seeking new solutions, looking for meaning or connections, or attempting to gain deeper understanding of the phenomenia involved (C. M. Charles, Kohn’s Beyond Discipline, pg.192). What I have witnessed in Kohn’s idea of how teaching should be: exploring ideas, seeking new solutions, looking for meaning or connections, or attempting to gain deeper understanding. The constructivist approach, knowing that students must construct knowledge and skills out of the experiences provided in school (C. M. Charles, Kohn’s Beyond Discipline, pg. 193) is emerging or has been emerged in the classroom that I am in. In math class the students no longer just solve a problem they have to understand what the numbers mean and how to take it apart and then write using math vocabulary words how they got the answer. In some cases they don’t solve for answers but come up with strategies on how they would solve the problem by using KWPL (what we know, what we want to know, problem and what we learned). For literacy class the students have to connect to text and use text coding on what they are reading, this is also used in science. With this approach Kohn says that questions asked to students that need answered should not lead to a correct answer, but make students pause, wonder and reflect (C. M. Charles, Kohn’s Beyond Discipline, pg. 194). Cooperative Discipline
In Linda Albert’s article on cooperativice discipline she addresses why students misbehave in the classroom and that is because they have to meet a universal psychological need—the need to belong (Charles, 2006). I have witnessed several behavior issues in the classroom that I am in currently and I do believe like the Albert mentioned in the article that they are seeking a universal psychological need but don’t know how to do it without misbehaving. Linda Albert calls the students behavior which are four mistaken goals: attention-seeking, power-seeking, revenge-seeking, and avoidance-of-failure (Charles, 2006). I have one student that falls under the attention-seeking behavior, this student shows off, calls out anything, and ask irrelevant questions all throughout the school day. The student’s behavior distracts others because of the blurting out during class when someone is talking or trying to answer a question, decides not to do his work and instead ask irrelevant questions to waste time to not do the assignment. Then the student constantly turns their head to look at others and comment on anything to upset the student or the student will stretch so far back that their hand or head disturbs another student. With the student doing all these the other students trying to learn get so upset then it starts into an argument between those students. I do stand by the student and that helps sometimes but then the student will ask an irreverent question. I have used phrases “Other students can’t concentrate” or “I can’t hear what the teacher is saying.” Two of the examples Linda Albert mentions are “stand behind the offending student, and use I-messages such as I find it difficult to keep my train of thought when talking is occurring (Charles, 2006). The one thing I would have to try would be to recognize good behavior when they are indeed behaving properly. Sometimes teachers get lost in the bad behavior students have that when they actually behave well the recognition is not given to those students. Not all teachers fail to recognize, teachers are really busy individuals and sometimes they honestly forget. According to Albert the goal of classroom discipline is the same everywhere—helping students learn to choose responsible behavior. Cooperative Learning
I had my first Science teaching experience last week and the use of cooperative learning was used to conduct the lesson that I had planned. The class was in groups of four or five students and each with designated numbers on their desks, the numbers where placed to make sure that the lesson ran smoothly and to designate jobs to certain students to minimize the “pick me, oh pick me” and proper use of instruction time. “Talk is the central tool of their trade” (Johnston, 2004) with the students being in groups this would generate them learning from each other to reach the goal of the lesson which is to answer the EQ (essential question) of the day that I had written on the board from them to answer at the end of the lesson. Talking for the purpose of educational value is important for students to learn and the same is for talking about non educational topics at school but when it is all done in moderation without disrupting the learning environment. I circulated around the groups and provided positive feedback on their accomplishments or asked questions “What do you think the liquid is based on the color you observed?” or “Did your inference now change based on the smell/odor?” Then when doing the read aloud I was able to use assertive discipline , because when I would ask questions and a student was speaking someone was talking and therefore I would stop the student that was speaking to address and announce that I couldn’t hear her because of students not being respectful to their fellow classmates when they are speaking. The non-verbal cues for the one student that outbursts when a student is already speaking is a warning for that student to stop what they are doing immediately and pay attention to their classmate speaking. The unplanned attention getters to quickly regain the classrooms attention so I can speak and continue to teach the lesson and give further instructions or provide feedback on what they are currently doing. The co-teacher and I modeled the proper use of googles and wafting should done to assure safety when smelling the liquids from the container. I also provided them with a visual of what their drawn chart should look like in their science journals. The outcome was good and glad to have received feedback and will incorporate it in my next teaching experience. Culture
“What happens in the classroom is primarily reflective of the cultural values of the school and the teacher”. For example, “what teachers consider to be ‘discipline problems’ are determined by their own culture, filtered through personal values and teaching style”. (Johns & Espinoza, 1996, pg. 9). Two weeks ago during parent teacher conference at the school I got to see many of the students’ parents and siblings, this is the most important way to understand your student’s cultural backgrounds. I was able to assist in translating because the majority of the parents spoke Spanish and even if they did know a little English they preferred to be spoken to in Spanish just because they felt comfortable and reassured they didn’t miss important information about their child’s education. The parents that did show up that night is a huge indicator of how your students see education values and the parents that didn’t show up, it shows on those students that don’t value school. This past week I was able to stay for a whole complete lesson plan (planning), I had stayed before during my first week but was confused by so many acronyms and not aware of what was going on. This recent one was with someone from the district leading it and it was such a learning experience and I was able to input and share my ideas and the feeling that I got by doing this was surreal. We planned for a whole week of Science and can’t wait to see it executed and the outcome of what was planned. It’s good to know that you’re not alone when it comes to planning as a teacher and that you have resources and other teachers that can provide you with knowledge. |
"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." Author
Rosa M. Vela Archives
May 2015
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