Prompt: You've accomplished a lot during this program. In your blog this week, talk about your strengths, weaknesses, and hopes for the future!
My biggest strength as a teacher is definitely relationship building. I don't profess to be an expert in my field, and I could definitely improve in the areas of differentiation, assessment, and designing activities. Still, I feel confident in my relationships with my students. They are honest with me, and I have always managed to work through any antagonizing situations, repair awkward or tense moments, and find time to talk with them about their personal lives. Even so, I could always be more considerate about how I approach my students. I certainly could get better at teaching.
As far as my hopes for the future, I hope to be working at a more systematic level in education some day. While I have learned much from my experience in the classroom, I feel like many of the struggles and difficulties of teaching can be prevented through systematic structures and programs that are an integral part of the school. This requires visionary leadership on behalf of administrators, especially with developing stakeholder investment and staff involvement. I think I would enjoy that challenge, especially if succeeding meant helping students succeed.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Blog 23
Prompt: What types of teaching strategies have you utilized with your ELL students? Of the strategies discussed, which one(s) do you think you will implement in the future?
For my ELL students, the most common strategy that I use is purposeful grouping. I've found that mixing students and increasing opportunities for academic conversations to occur has been most beneficial for these students to make connections and develop their understanding of the material. I also try to pair students intentionally without making the pairings seem intentional. Sometimes I will number students off and tell the even numbers to find an odd numbered partner or I will identify students as either "peanut butter" or "jelly" and ask them to make a sandwich pair. Either way, the method of pairing students up changes every time.
I also try to include more visual examples or draw from their prior knowledge as much as I can. For example, when we talked about the voluntary response bias in statistical sampling, I surveyed the class and asked them to remain standing if they like the LA Lakers. I then asked the standing students if they liked Kobe Bryant and then took my results to "assume" that the population all liked Kobe Bryant. Students were able to draw connections from this illustration and use their own words to define "voluntary response bias". When I talk about properties of equality, I try to use the analogy of a see-saw to connect the concept with a mental image of balancing a playground toy.
What I would like to implement more of in the future is implementing students' background into the class and curriculum. I'm not as familiar with Native American culture as I would like to be and not comfortable enough to incorporate significant amounts into my lesson plans. Still, I would like to make more culturally responsive lessons and classroom structures in the future.
For my ELL students, the most common strategy that I use is purposeful grouping. I've found that mixing students and increasing opportunities for academic conversations to occur has been most beneficial for these students to make connections and develop their understanding of the material. I also try to pair students intentionally without making the pairings seem intentional. Sometimes I will number students off and tell the even numbers to find an odd numbered partner or I will identify students as either "peanut butter" or "jelly" and ask them to make a sandwich pair. Either way, the method of pairing students up changes every time.
I also try to include more visual examples or draw from their prior knowledge as much as I can. For example, when we talked about the voluntary response bias in statistical sampling, I surveyed the class and asked them to remain standing if they like the LA Lakers. I then asked the standing students if they liked Kobe Bryant and then took my results to "assume" that the population all liked Kobe Bryant. Students were able to draw connections from this illustration and use their own words to define "voluntary response bias". When I talk about properties of equality, I try to use the analogy of a see-saw to connect the concept with a mental image of balancing a playground toy.
What I would like to implement more of in the future is implementing students' background into the class and curriculum. I'm not as familiar with Native American culture as I would like to be and not comfortable enough to incorporate significant amounts into my lesson plans. Still, I would like to make more culturally responsive lessons and classroom structures in the future.
Blog 22
Prompt: What is your most stressful part of the IEP for you to deal with or work on? Do you have someone on your campus that you can go to for assistance and support in writing the IEP?
For me, the most stressful part of the IEP has been supporting individual students during guided practice. Even though I pull students into small groups, the varying levels of understanding can be difficult to navigate. When I work with students individually, there usually is very little time left from the 47 minute periods to give much support and monitoring. I do work with the special education teacher and discuss vocabulary, objectives, and assessment data on occasion. We try to align our work so that students are getting similar instruction in both their general and special education classes. The special education teacher often comments on the difficulty of the situation in the special education classroom as well. It seems like the students in the special education classrooms are also at varying levels of mastery and have very different needs. Having such variance in a room of 20 students does seem challenging, so I empathize with her.
I also go to her for assistance and support regarding all IEP matters. She organizes and invites me to IEP meetings, which I attend regularly. She also makes any adjustments to the IEPs as requested by parents or the student in these meetings. In my opinion, our district needs to hire more staff for our special education program to meet our student needs effectively. Having paraprofessionals in the general classroom would be beneficial, and providing additional support for the special education classrooms would maximize the support time in those periods as well. I have seen our special education teacher take on so many responsibilities in her role, and it seems very impractical. We are all isolated to our own classrooms and left to our own devices on how to differentiate and support different student needs all at once with terribly short instructional periods. In the end, our students suffer the most.
For me, the most stressful part of the IEP has been supporting individual students during guided practice. Even though I pull students into small groups, the varying levels of understanding can be difficult to navigate. When I work with students individually, there usually is very little time left from the 47 minute periods to give much support and monitoring. I do work with the special education teacher and discuss vocabulary, objectives, and assessment data on occasion. We try to align our work so that students are getting similar instruction in both their general and special education classes. The special education teacher often comments on the difficulty of the situation in the special education classroom as well. It seems like the students in the special education classrooms are also at varying levels of mastery and have very different needs. Having such variance in a room of 20 students does seem challenging, so I empathize with her.
I also go to her for assistance and support regarding all IEP matters. She organizes and invites me to IEP meetings, which I attend regularly. She also makes any adjustments to the IEPs as requested by parents or the student in these meetings. In my opinion, our district needs to hire more staff for our special education program to meet our student needs effectively. Having paraprofessionals in the general classroom would be beneficial, and providing additional support for the special education classrooms would maximize the support time in those periods as well. I have seen our special education teacher take on so many responsibilities in her role, and it seems very impractical. We are all isolated to our own classrooms and left to our own devices on how to differentiate and support different student needs all at once with terribly short instructional periods. In the end, our students suffer the most.
Blog 21
Prompt: What is something you want to change about your classroom management?
I wish my classroom expectations and some procedures had been designed by my students. I created my own classroom management policies and set rules and expectations on the very first day without collecting any input from the class. As the semester went by, some smaller issues began to emerge that I hadn't considered before. To give an example, students began to shoot their trash into the can like a basketball, often missing and never bothering to clean it up. I had not made an explicit rule about throwing away trash aside from my policy of "keeping the classroom clean."
I brought the concern up to my kids and they suggested a new rule: every time they made a shot into the basket, I would give them a point (which was part of a reward program for each class) as an incentive to make it into the can. I agreed, but added the caveat that if they missed the shot, the class would lose two points. Since then, basket shots have decreased, slightly, but everyone picks up their trash and puts it into the basket afterward to redeem half of the points lost. We have a little fun with it, and some new rules have been created as a result. Students have to shoot from at least three feet away for a shot to "count" and shots can only be made during transitions or independent practice time. Together, my class and I have turned a simple nuisance into a fun rule. And my room is clean.
If I had asked my students to help create more classroom expectations and rules at the beginning of the year, I wonder what they would have created? If anything, I'm sure they would have been more invested and followed them closely.
I wish my classroom expectations and some procedures had been designed by my students. I created my own classroom management policies and set rules and expectations on the very first day without collecting any input from the class. As the semester went by, some smaller issues began to emerge that I hadn't considered before. To give an example, students began to shoot their trash into the can like a basketball, often missing and never bothering to clean it up. I had not made an explicit rule about throwing away trash aside from my policy of "keeping the classroom clean."
I brought the concern up to my kids and they suggested a new rule: every time they made a shot into the basket, I would give them a point (which was part of a reward program for each class) as an incentive to make it into the can. I agreed, but added the caveat that if they missed the shot, the class would lose two points. Since then, basket shots have decreased, slightly, but everyone picks up their trash and puts it into the basket afterward to redeem half of the points lost. We have a little fun with it, and some new rules have been created as a result. Students have to shoot from at least three feet away for a shot to "count" and shots can only be made during transitions or independent practice time. Together, my class and I have turned a simple nuisance into a fun rule. And my room is clean.
If I had asked my students to help create more classroom expectations and rules at the beginning of the year, I wonder what they would have created? If anything, I'm sure they would have been more invested and followed them closely.
Blog 20
Prompt: Did you receive training regarding children with Emotional Disturbance? How was it helpful or not? Does your school have an "Emergency Team" for a student with Emotional Disturbance?
To my knowledge, I never received specific training regarding children with Emotional Disturbance, so can't comment on whether it was helpful or not. Our school does have an emergency team for one student with severe emotional disturbance, but I only know this because during my first week of teaching, that student punched me in the lunch line. After I reported the incident, I was contacted by one of our special education teachers who was part of the team that worked with the student.
I had one student who was classified as having an emotional disturbance on his IEP. I never received training or specifications on how to work with the student, even after attending his IEP meeting. Although I had few problems with him in class, he was eventually taken out and placed in an alternative education program suddenly.
The emergency team has talked with me briefly about how they work with students that have severe cases. They stress the importance of routines and regular expectations for their students. Reinforcing expected behavior is key, and being consistent with feedback helps. Forcing or ordering students has proven to be counterproductive in this sense.
To my knowledge, I never received specific training regarding children with Emotional Disturbance, so can't comment on whether it was helpful or not. Our school does have an emergency team for one student with severe emotional disturbance, but I only know this because during my first week of teaching, that student punched me in the lunch line. After I reported the incident, I was contacted by one of our special education teachers who was part of the team that worked with the student.
I had one student who was classified as having an emotional disturbance on his IEP. I never received training or specifications on how to work with the student, even after attending his IEP meeting. Although I had few problems with him in class, he was eventually taken out and placed in an alternative education program suddenly.
The emergency team has talked with me briefly about how they work with students that have severe cases. They stress the importance of routines and regular expectations for their students. Reinforcing expected behavior is key, and being consistent with feedback helps. Forcing or ordering students has proven to be counterproductive in this sense.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Blog 19
Prompt: How will you address classroom management in the final weeks of school (or next semester)? Will you change anything? What kind of positive incentive plan will you implement in your classroom? How will you communicate it to students and parents?
My positive incentive plan is multi-layered. I have class points for each class, which can be earned by student participation. The class points are part of every student's grade (albeit a small percent), and are used to encourage teamwork. Students earn points by volunteering to answer questions (with guidance, if needed), submitting completed homework, committing and accomplishing certain goals, and noticing mistakes that I make.
There are only two ways to lose class points: if students are off-task or misbehaving, I erase points that are earned one at a time off the board until order is established. Students generally pressure their peers into getting back on task or following the rules. The second way is when a student has demonstrated academic dishonesty. The first infraction will result in a zero for the assignment or assessment. The second infraction will result in the erasure of all points earned by the entire class. This is to illustrate that cheating hurts others in society at the benefit of one individual.
I have only had two incidents where I've erased more than 1 or 2 points off of the board. Most issues have been resolved through peer pressure, therefore I do not have to expend energy in pleading students to stay on task. I simply turn to the class points on the board and slowly erase points until the class notices and gets back on task. I have not found empirical evidence that students have cheated, although one student has shown some signs once. This matter was resolved.
I have a class captain each week that is selected by the previous captain. They are responsible for making decisions on behalf of the class (e.g. choosing who answers a question, deciding when the class is ready to move on, choosing to have music or not during independent work, etc.). I award class captains with a choice of their favorite snack (under $5), which I go out and buy personally. They are also responsible for handling specific duties (e.g. reprimanding off-task students, passing out papers, etc.) that help me save time during class.
To save time at the beginning of class and get students engaged, I have a "Red/Yellow/Green" light indicator that tells students how prepared I felt they were when entering class and beginning their work. The warm-up work is always on the board once students enter the classroom, so as soon as I finish taking attendance, I circle around the room and check student work on their bell-work sheets. A timer is running and once it finishes, I determine how prepared students were for the day.
For every green light, the class gets additional class points. Yellow lights constitute a warning. If a class gets two red lights in a row (for two days), I start with a seating chart the next day. If the red light continues, I remove privileges like music during independent practice. I have yet to go beyond the seating chart. Generally, misbehaviors and off-task issues are isolated to one or two students, so by the time the class has reached that point, they have been sent to the Responsible Thinking Room to go through an RTP and negotiate their return to my classroom.
This program has been evolving over a year, and while it has its benefits, there are definitely flaws and loopholes that my students are finding. I may need to include a few adjustments before next semester:
1. I need to be more consistent about enforcing the rule that class points are not awarded for someone answering more than one question. Many of the same students get asked to participate over and over again.
2. I need more short-term incentives. The idea that all of the class points add up to a final percent of everyone's grade is not a strong incentive sometimes. Perhaps setting short-term goals within a time frame will help boost participation and motivation.
3. I need to be clearer about my expectations on what is considered misbehavior and what is not. Sometimes the line gets blurry and students tend to push the limits before it becomes punitive.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Blog 18
Prompt: How do you plan to implement active engagement strategies in your classroom? How will this impact your instruction?
I believe that active engagement is a choice that students make. Certainly, teachers can create an environment or structure that keeps students actively engaged, but it is ultimately a choice that they make. There are a couple of ways that I think teachers can engage students, and a few of these ways I intend to try for myself (since I just learned about them):
1. Changing the method of questioning to include all students (e.g. instead of: "Who can tell me?" use: "I want everyone to think about...")
2. Creating roles for each person when students are grouped together (e.g. Student A will describe as many ways as they can on how to graph a linear function, Student B will hold up a finger for every correct response)
3. Allowing for sufficient think time (i.e. 3 seconds) and a signal for responses (especially for choral responses)
What worries me most is the disparity in student understanding for these activities. There is often a tendency for one student to dominate the activity (especially during group work or choral responses) and a culture of allowing that one student to mask the participation of other students. Creating those expectations and helping students overcome their own tendencies to be non-participants is tricky, since many students struggle to do even basic arithmetic and have developed a learned helplessness that has persisted for many years. Still, there is merit in allowing peer learning to occur, and engagement is definitely higher when such activities happen. If there is more active student engagement, indubitably, instruction will improve as well.
I believe that active engagement is a choice that students make. Certainly, teachers can create an environment or structure that keeps students actively engaged, but it is ultimately a choice that they make. There are a couple of ways that I think teachers can engage students, and a few of these ways I intend to try for myself (since I just learned about them):
1. Changing the method of questioning to include all students (e.g. instead of: "Who can tell me?" use: "I want everyone to think about...")
2. Creating roles for each person when students are grouped together (e.g. Student A will describe as many ways as they can on how to graph a linear function, Student B will hold up a finger for every correct response)
3. Allowing for sufficient think time (i.e. 3 seconds) and a signal for responses (especially for choral responses)
What worries me most is the disparity in student understanding for these activities. There is often a tendency for one student to dominate the activity (especially during group work or choral responses) and a culture of allowing that one student to mask the participation of other students. Creating those expectations and helping students overcome their own tendencies to be non-participants is tricky, since many students struggle to do even basic arithmetic and have developed a learned helplessness that has persisted for many years. Still, there is merit in allowing peer learning to occur, and engagement is definitely higher when such activities happen. If there is more active student engagement, indubitably, instruction will improve as well.
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