I have known that teaching was the profession for me for a while now. There was never any changing my major or changing my mind with what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It was an easy decision and for many reasons. First of all, I have a passion for teaching. It is something that I have been given the gift to do with my life. I have naturally always been comfortable working and interacting around children and intermingling in the classroom. I get excited about seeing children each day and even go to sleep wondering what they will bring to the table in next class. Elementary students are like little sponges. They want to observe everything and learn each and everyday. I want to be that person in their lives that helps them understand. I long to see children’s expressions when what I am teaching finally makes sense and see the connection take place. Just knowing that it was me that helped them achieve success that they did not even know was possible, gives me motivation to get up and keep going each day.
Secondly, I have respect for others around me and I want to share that with all my students. I am open and understanding towards all religions, cultures and backgrounds. I want to express this openness in my classroom to my students by incorporating it into lessons and activities. Diversity is a wonderful thing that Americans fail to take full advantage of seeing. All students in a classroom are going to be different and have different beliefs and views. It takes an understanding person to be open to all these cultures and I feel that I am one of these accepting people. I should use this in my teaching career. I am also good at self reflecting. I refuse to be someone who just simply goes through the motions each day. I want to strive to be the best teacher that I can be and if something does not go well, I want to step back and ask my self questions. Why did this not go as planned and what can I do tomorrow to make sure that my students get more out of the lesson tomorrow? When a person loves their profession enough, like I do, there is nothing more they want then to be better at it. I hope that I still say that I want to be a better teacher fifty years form now. You can never stop learning and growing.
Last but not least, I want to make a difference in someone’s life and there is not a better profession than teaching to achieve this. Some children do not have the stability that they need at home and I want to be a light for their dreary, world. These children are the future of our country and they need leadership and guidance to show them the way. Without great teachers there are not great students. I want to see each and every one of my students succeed and help make for a better tomorrow. Growing up during my elementary years, I was not blessed by having the best of the best teachers. Looking back from 1992 to 2000, I feel as though elementary school was such a learning and growing experience that could not have been better. The few teachers that were undoubtedly, exceptional come to my mind right away. First of all, Mrs. Jones was a sixth grade teacher that I will always remember. She was a history teacher that made me want to go home and study. I never thought about how she got away with this, until I recently went home to observe her classroom. She cares for her students, sincerely. She does not settle for simply having an ordinary day at school. She makes every day count by staying after school to plan activities and lessons that will engage students’ minds and interest. She does not just want her students to learn. She wants her students to want to learn and strive to learn. Remembering Mrs. Jones’s class defiantly came to mind when I picked teaching as my career of choice. It is because of teachers like Mrs. Jones that I am now interviewing for this job and longing to make differences in children’s lives.
I remember Mrs. Jones and how she made a lasting impression on my life. Someday, by picking teaching as my career, I hope to make a lasting impression on another child’s life. I may be on one of my students’ minds when they are writing a paper or asked the question about why they want to be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor or a writer. I could be that inspiration that they need in their life to push through and strive on in life. If I can be an inspiration to just one child, it will be worth my complete career in teaching.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Motivation is Key!
Motivating students can sometimes be a challenge because it is always up to the individual how they chose to be motivated. The source for motivation can come from personality characteristics, the intrinsic characteristics of the task, or from what extrinsic motivation drives the student. However, through experience and classes I have learned hints and tips that may help me in this area. One important task for a teacher is to attempt to get to know their students as quickly as possible. Teachers tend to forget that grades do not motivate everyone and that sometimes it takes a different approach to motivate certain students. I will try to draw out the students’ interest and reward them with that. For example, if you know that a little boy liked football you might reward him with something related to football. As a teacher I will find out what each student likes because each student can be motivated in a different way depending on their personality. When thinking about how this is a good idea, it made me think about different ways that I could find out likes and dislikes within my classroom. I recalled how one of my professors in college at Auburn University made us fill out a “Get-to-know you” sheet the first week of class. I enjoyed the activity and have a mental picture of the sheet for suture reference. I think that this is a good idea for older elementary students. For younger elementary students, I could play a little “get to know you” game with my students and be sure to take notes as they talk about their interest. I think that students respect teachers more when they show interest in them as individuals, and not just as a class.
Extrinsic rewards are great for gaining motivation to complete task, behave in class, or turn in projects on time. Nevertheless, as an upcoming teacher it is extremely vital that I remember a very important motivation rule: Extrinsic rewards kill intrinsic motivation. This meaning, that when a teacher excessively extrinsically rewards her students, they lose the drive from within to complete the task. Students now expect a reward for doing everything and are motivated solely by the reward. The fact that a student can learn from the task or have a good feeling on the inside by completing the task goes completely away. This is why the best way to reward students is on a variable ratio. The students keep performing well, because they do not know when a reward will actually come from their behavior or good performance. You can relate this back to adults and slot machines. Millions of people play slots over and over, even thought they are losing. Slot machines randomly rewarded adults and this keeps their drive still in tact. I plan on using this technique in my class to make sure that my students stay intrinsically motivated.
It is also important for teachers to remember the expectancy theory on motivation and relate situations back to this theory. The expectancy theory was developed by Edwards and later worked on by Atkinson. In this theory Edwards says that motivation is the perceived probability of success multiplied by the incentive value of success. Therefore, people’s effort of achievement depends on their expectation of reward. If a child does not believe that it is even possible to pass a test, then his or her motivation to even try plunders down. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if a test or skill is extremely easy and not challenging enough for the students’ taste, the child’s incentive to complete the task will lower, therefore; lowering his or her motivation as well. This is imperative to remember when making tests. It is important to be aware that having too easy or too hard questions, especially near the beginning of the test, will lower the student’s motivation to try. A teacher should pick question that represent the construct well and will keep the students motivated throughout the test.
Extrinsic rewards are great for gaining motivation to complete task, behave in class, or turn in projects on time. Nevertheless, as an upcoming teacher it is extremely vital that I remember a very important motivation rule: Extrinsic rewards kill intrinsic motivation. This meaning, that when a teacher excessively extrinsically rewards her students, they lose the drive from within to complete the task. Students now expect a reward for doing everything and are motivated solely by the reward. The fact that a student can learn from the task or have a good feeling on the inside by completing the task goes completely away. This is why the best way to reward students is on a variable ratio. The students keep performing well, because they do not know when a reward will actually come from their behavior or good performance. You can relate this back to adults and slot machines. Millions of people play slots over and over, even thought they are losing. Slot machines randomly rewarded adults and this keeps their drive still in tact. I plan on using this technique in my class to make sure that my students stay intrinsically motivated.
It is also important for teachers to remember the expectancy theory on motivation and relate situations back to this theory. The expectancy theory was developed by Edwards and later worked on by Atkinson. In this theory Edwards says that motivation is the perceived probability of success multiplied by the incentive value of success. Therefore, people’s effort of achievement depends on their expectation of reward. If a child does not believe that it is even possible to pass a test, then his or her motivation to even try plunders down. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if a test or skill is extremely easy and not challenging enough for the students’ taste, the child’s incentive to complete the task will lower, therefore; lowering his or her motivation as well. This is imperative to remember when making tests. It is important to be aware that having too easy or too hard questions, especially near the beginning of the test, will lower the student’s motivation to try. A teacher should pick question that represent the construct well and will keep the students motivated throughout the test.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Group Work
Recently a teaching concept was brought to my attention that had never before been discussed or that I had never thought about. This was the concept of group work, however not just having students do group work but how as a teacher do you construct group work and make sure that everyone is participating. Usually when I am doing teaching in my methods courses I simply tell the students to get into groups around them, or they are already arranged in groups. When students are put into groups to work there are several problems that can occur. First of all one person usually dominates the group. This is usually a student that is more outgoing and comfortable being in charge, however if they end up doing all the work then the other person are not learning as much. These low status students outside of the group are usually ignored and are looked upon as though their opinions do not matter. From a teacher’s point of view sometimes these students may be viewed as being unmotivated and not wanting to try, however in reality they may be trying but their thoughts are being shot down by the dominate members of the group.
So what do you do? One idea that I thought about was making a Multiple Abilities chart. Each group member is good at something and it is good to highlight this. As a teacher it is good to convince students that every group member can bring something to the table and contribute and that one person doesn’t have all the abilities to contribute all. Also a teacher needs to make sure that the group work has a purpose and needs to pick worthwhile task for the students to work on. Setting guidelines for the group and assigning roles for the students before the group work beings are also great ideas to keep from one person taking over. I have also noticed in my science method classroom that my cooperating teacher makes a point to visit and talk to each group and each person within the group to help intrigue their ideas. He makes sure that they are engaged in the activity and are being included by facilitating questioning and highlighting their thoughts and opinions. This is sometime to think about when teaching. Unless a teacher takes the time to take care of the classroom culture, including group work activities, even the best lessons do not go well and can be unsuccessful.
So what do you do? One idea that I thought about was making a Multiple Abilities chart. Each group member is good at something and it is good to highlight this. As a teacher it is good to convince students that every group member can bring something to the table and contribute and that one person doesn’t have all the abilities to contribute all. Also a teacher needs to make sure that the group work has a purpose and needs to pick worthwhile task for the students to work on. Setting guidelines for the group and assigning roles for the students before the group work beings are also great ideas to keep from one person taking over. I have also noticed in my science method classroom that my cooperating teacher makes a point to visit and talk to each group and each person within the group to help intrigue their ideas. He makes sure that they are engaged in the activity and are being included by facilitating questioning and highlighting their thoughts and opinions. This is sometime to think about when teaching. Unless a teacher takes the time to take care of the classroom culture, including group work activities, even the best lessons do not go well and can be unsuccessful.
My Trip to a Science Museum: Excellent Inquiry
After visiting The McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama, I was amazed at all the exhibits that I witnessed and all of the physical knowledge that was being used inside the building. Before before visiting this museum, I did not fully understand the concepts of physical knowledge. I simply thought the kids I observed were playing around. After being learning about inquiry and physical science, I went back to the museum and acknowledged that these children were not just playing around, but gaining knowledge through constructivist methods of teaching.
The first exhibit, which I immediately connected with what I am learning through my methods courses, was right when I walked in the door. I was surprised to find a water playground with all kinds of different funnels, filters and other manipulative obstacles that children can use to play with the water throughout the room. This McWane Center water exhibit, took experiments and took it to a whole new level. Children were allowed to shoot out water from the guns and could also try adjusting the guns to obtain different water pressures. By doing this, the children could make various blocks move around in the water. Changing the pressure that they used either caused the block to move faster or slower and sometimes it did not move at all. Since I took my cousin who is in Kindergarten, I was able to practice what I had learned with her while she played with the water guns. I asked her what would happen if the water was going faster, or if we used a smaller floating block, if she thought that the block would move faster. They also had items that children could experiment with by seeing if they floated. These water “building- blocks” allowed the children to have fun, but to also try to complete a task. This activity seemed to stir up curiosity among the children because everyone wanted to see if they could build a house or castle on the water. Not only did they have to decide which items would float, but they also had to be able to tell which blocks would balance and not fall over and crash into the water. Some of the children were successful and some had a little trouble. The kids that had trouble actually seemed to be learning more. When they would mess up they would have to try a different route of construction which provoked learning and knowledge.
Another display that I found interesting and that I could relate back to what I have read and learned in my primary math and science class was the chaotic pendulum that was on the second floor of the building. The Chaotic Pendulum contains a deceptively simple set of pendulums in a steel and Plexiglas case. A central, T-shaped bar supports three mounted bars from its ends. The “T” is mounted at the intersection of the upright and the cross arm. I watched as the little kids would twist the knob to start the pendulum moving. Intuition says that the resulting motion of this system should be, if not simple, at least predictable. Intuition, however, does not work with this device since its motion is chaotic, extremely complicated and long-lived. Children have to experiment and play with the chaotic pendulum in order to figure out where it will go and what will happen. Just like in the Physical Knowledge for Preschool textbook this pendulum can be used for children to construct knowledge. Since this is different than a normal pendulum it encourages interest and the students are likely to ask more questions about the display. However, this pendulum is limited to materials that you can add to make it more appealing and interesting to a child. This doesn’t help the students continue their curiosity therefore; I witnessed several children, including my cousin, get a little bored with the display and move on.
Another game that I noticed older elementary school children playing was the Giant Lever game. In this game the kids play a game of tug-of-war. However there is a catch to this tug –of- war game and these students are not just playing a game but constructing knowledge. These kids soon realize that the lever arm distance influences who wins the tug-of-war. Dynamometers on each side of the lever allow the children to see the force exerted, while a victory signal reveals the mechanical advantage of this simple machine. It is important for students to understand simple machines and how they work. There is not, in my opinion, a better way to teach kids than through the children experimenting with how simple machines work. Through this exhibit the kids can see how a lever works. Whoever has the heaviest amount of weight on their side automatically wins. Strategy becomes a factor when students start to figure out this information. They may have to swap up teams or add people to their side. It was very entertaining to see the children try to work it out and also fun to see them learning while having a good time.
I think this museum sets a good example not only to students, but also teachers. It shows how students can learn through observation and experimenting. Unfortunately, not all teachers use this type of constructivist learning in their classroom and this museum gives the kids an opportunity to learn through touch and manipulating objects. It also allows students to fail and create new routes to success on their own. Some teachers use direct instruction of how to do an experiment. This method usually does not allow the student to explore the entire learning process, but to simply always have a successful result at the end. Children need the opportunity to work things on their own. From water, to pendulums, and even simply machines The McWane Science Center provides hands-on activities for learning in a fun manner. I have never seen children more excited to discover new ideas and different concepts. The children that I witnessed had such intense curiosity. Seeing the museum in through my new “teacher light” made me excited about doing physical knowledge activities in my future science classes.
The first exhibit, which I immediately connected with what I am learning through my methods courses, was right when I walked in the door. I was surprised to find a water playground with all kinds of different funnels, filters and other manipulative obstacles that children can use to play with the water throughout the room. This McWane Center water exhibit, took experiments and took it to a whole new level. Children were allowed to shoot out water from the guns and could also try adjusting the guns to obtain different water pressures. By doing this, the children could make various blocks move around in the water. Changing the pressure that they used either caused the block to move faster or slower and sometimes it did not move at all. Since I took my cousin who is in Kindergarten, I was able to practice what I had learned with her while she played with the water guns. I asked her what would happen if the water was going faster, or if we used a smaller floating block, if she thought that the block would move faster. They also had items that children could experiment with by seeing if they floated. These water “building- blocks” allowed the children to have fun, but to also try to complete a task. This activity seemed to stir up curiosity among the children because everyone wanted to see if they could build a house or castle on the water. Not only did they have to decide which items would float, but they also had to be able to tell which blocks would balance and not fall over and crash into the water. Some of the children were successful and some had a little trouble. The kids that had trouble actually seemed to be learning more. When they would mess up they would have to try a different route of construction which provoked learning and knowledge.
Another display that I found interesting and that I could relate back to what I have read and learned in my primary math and science class was the chaotic pendulum that was on the second floor of the building. The Chaotic Pendulum contains a deceptively simple set of pendulums in a steel and Plexiglas case. A central, T-shaped bar supports three mounted bars from its ends. The “T” is mounted at the intersection of the upright and the cross arm. I watched as the little kids would twist the knob to start the pendulum moving. Intuition says that the resulting motion of this system should be, if not simple, at least predictable. Intuition, however, does not work with this device since its motion is chaotic, extremely complicated and long-lived. Children have to experiment and play with the chaotic pendulum in order to figure out where it will go and what will happen. Just like in the Physical Knowledge for Preschool textbook this pendulum can be used for children to construct knowledge. Since this is different than a normal pendulum it encourages interest and the students are likely to ask more questions about the display. However, this pendulum is limited to materials that you can add to make it more appealing and interesting to a child. This doesn’t help the students continue their curiosity therefore; I witnessed several children, including my cousin, get a little bored with the display and move on.
Another game that I noticed older elementary school children playing was the Giant Lever game. In this game the kids play a game of tug-of-war. However there is a catch to this tug –of- war game and these students are not just playing a game but constructing knowledge. These kids soon realize that the lever arm distance influences who wins the tug-of-war. Dynamometers on each side of the lever allow the children to see the force exerted, while a victory signal reveals the mechanical advantage of this simple machine. It is important for students to understand simple machines and how they work. There is not, in my opinion, a better way to teach kids than through the children experimenting with how simple machines work. Through this exhibit the kids can see how a lever works. Whoever has the heaviest amount of weight on their side automatically wins. Strategy becomes a factor when students start to figure out this information. They may have to swap up teams or add people to their side. It was very entertaining to see the children try to work it out and also fun to see them learning while having a good time.
I think this museum sets a good example not only to students, but also teachers. It shows how students can learn through observation and experimenting. Unfortunately, not all teachers use this type of constructivist learning in their classroom and this museum gives the kids an opportunity to learn through touch and manipulating objects. It also allows students to fail and create new routes to success on their own. Some teachers use direct instruction of how to do an experiment. This method usually does not allow the student to explore the entire learning process, but to simply always have a successful result at the end. Children need the opportunity to work things on their own. From water, to pendulums, and even simply machines The McWane Science Center provides hands-on activities for learning in a fun manner. I have never seen children more excited to discover new ideas and different concepts. The children that I witnessed had such intense curiosity. Seeing the museum in through my new “teacher light” made me excited about doing physical knowledge activities in my future science classes.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
How is Standarized Testing Integrated into Teaching?
I plan on using the data from standardized testing to help show me where I stand as a teacher. I won’t use the results as a complete representation of my teaching skills because as a teacher I know that sometimes these types of standardized test can prove to be unreliable or invalid. However, anything that can help me improve as a teacher I want to capitalize on the opportunity. By knowing the data I am able to see the subjects that I am not teaching as well on and what areas where my teaching styles prove successful. In these areas I can continue my teaching style and even share with struggling teachers. These tests can motivate me as a teacher to take a second look at established instructional practices. Sometimes teachers tend to be in the same routine of teaching year after year, however this teaching style may not be effective for every class. Each class is unique and different and change is sometimes not only helpful but necessary.
Assessment- criterion relationship is an important concept to look at when going through standardized testing data. Criterion-reference is when a teacher looks at how much of the targeted material the student learned. This is important to use because their will be certain targeted information that will be necessary for the child to score well on the standardized test. This is how I will set goals and encourage students to learn the information. Therefore, I have to look at the construct and decide what should become the content. The students usually do not need to know everything so picking out important and relevant content crucial to criterion referencing. Norm- referencing is another concept that compares a students’ score to other people in the class. This can show a teacher where her students stand as individual and is important to look at when applying assessment in the classroom. This is usually interpreted through a bell curve on standardized test results. After observing these results, I can devise a plan to allow individual attention to struggling students. I will allow time for an intervention for certain students who need help in areas. Sometimes these results can even help determine a learning disability. For example, student could score really high in all areas and score exceptionally low in reading. In certain situations it may give means to have the student tested for a reading disability or in other areas.
Standardized testing data can help me as a teacher set goals for my classroom. When viewing the results from one year, I can set goals as teacher for the next upcoming class. Each year, I want to strive to be better and better and I can set goals for myself to make the most out of each day. I can also set goals for my upcoming class. Showing the class how last year’s grade scored as a whole, (not separately), will help motivate the students. Then we, as a class, can set goals for the students. I want my students to be included in this decision. They can let me know how well or how much better they want to and think that they can score on their standardized achievement tests for the year. Hopefully this will also motivate them to score well. They want to score as well as they say they will. This is also a great way to use data and graphs into your lesson. Using real life data and information works well with older elementary students.
I plan on integrating information from the data in many ways. First of all I want to take the data and devise a plan for the entire year. This will consist of any and all of the ideas that come to mind where I can improve and the class can improve. I will also document on what my class needs to work on. With this plan I will have the information for the entire year to look back on. In the education society today, standardized tests are looked at with high priority. It is important that I do the same. Using the data can only benefit students and teachers and help not only their school year, but school years to come.
Assessment- criterion relationship is an important concept to look at when going through standardized testing data. Criterion-reference is when a teacher looks at how much of the targeted material the student learned. This is important to use because their will be certain targeted information that will be necessary for the child to score well on the standardized test. This is how I will set goals and encourage students to learn the information. Therefore, I have to look at the construct and decide what should become the content. The students usually do not need to know everything so picking out important and relevant content crucial to criterion referencing. Norm- referencing is another concept that compares a students’ score to other people in the class. This can show a teacher where her students stand as individual and is important to look at when applying assessment in the classroom. This is usually interpreted through a bell curve on standardized test results. After observing these results, I can devise a plan to allow individual attention to struggling students. I will allow time for an intervention for certain students who need help in areas. Sometimes these results can even help determine a learning disability. For example, student could score really high in all areas and score exceptionally low in reading. In certain situations it may give means to have the student tested for a reading disability or in other areas.
Standardized testing data can help me as a teacher set goals for my classroom. When viewing the results from one year, I can set goals as teacher for the next upcoming class. Each year, I want to strive to be better and better and I can set goals for myself to make the most out of each day. I can also set goals for my upcoming class. Showing the class how last year’s grade scored as a whole, (not separately), will help motivate the students. Then we, as a class, can set goals for the students. I want my students to be included in this decision. They can let me know how well or how much better they want to and think that they can score on their standardized achievement tests for the year. Hopefully this will also motivate them to score well. They want to score as well as they say they will. This is also a great way to use data and graphs into your lesson. Using real life data and information works well with older elementary students.
I plan on integrating information from the data in many ways. First of all I want to take the data and devise a plan for the entire year. This will consist of any and all of the ideas that come to mind where I can improve and the class can improve. I will also document on what my class needs to work on. With this plan I will have the information for the entire year to look back on. In the education society today, standardized tests are looked at with high priority. It is important that I do the same. Using the data can only benefit students and teachers and help not only their school year, but school years to come.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Managing Active Assessements
In any subjects it is sometime necessary to assess using active assessments. These can range anywhere from drawing a picture, to class discussion. I think that these type of assessments will work nicely when trying to assess students knowledge on a particular subject. However, managing these assessment is something that should be worked out beforehand. When managing active assessments, I think that there are many ways that a I can keep from becoming overwhelmed. First, I could make a checklist to make sure I am covering all and only of what is needed. For example, if I am having my students draw sea and land breezes in a picture to show that they understanding the direction and temperature, I can have a checklist with the specific drawings that I am looking for. If the students have what is checked then I can tell their understanding. I also think that it is important to stat small. Science is a wodnerful subject for this type of assessment to be very helpful. In the Active Assessment for Active Science textbook, written by Hein and Price, they both write how a teacher should not throw away all the traditional text immediately, but start modifying or adding on to the original tests (53). I think that this is important to remember and I could modify my original test on land and sea breezes by first adding a drawing box on the back and have students not only write and fill out the test, but also provide a drawing on the back. I could eventually transform the entire evaluation to a drawing.
When I am pre-designing my assessments, I need to remember that it needs to identify the learning goals. Students need to know what this assessment is showing and you need to see. As a teacher I need to know what my students are going to learn and how they follow the Alabama and National Standards. I also need to make sure that my assessments are developmentally appropriate. I would not have first graders draw pictures of land and sea breezes and the directions they are going. This would be something for a higher 5th or 6th grade level.
Price and Hein, Active Assesments for Active Science, Heinmann. 1994
When I am pre-designing my assessments, I need to remember that it needs to identify the learning goals. Students need to know what this assessment is showing and you need to see. As a teacher I need to know what my students are going to learn and how they follow the Alabama and National Standards. I also need to make sure that my assessments are developmentally appropriate. I would not have first graders draw pictures of land and sea breezes and the directions they are going. This would be something for a higher 5th or 6th grade level.
Price and Hein, Active Assesments for Active Science, Heinmann. 1994
How Much Homework is Too Much?
Over the past years I have been noticing a trend in elementary aged students, especially the younger grades. This trend deals with the amount of homework that they are being assigned. I have been surprisingly taken back by how much homework is assigned to these students on a nightly basis. After working at an afterschool daycare, this problem started to become aware to me during homework time after school. I watched as young third grade students did tons of practice math problems that were all exactly alike and then answered several reading questions after being assigned to read as well. In my opinion this homework trend is a little excessive. Children are in school eight hours and now days extra activities such as recess, PE, and music are being taken back to the minimum time, therefore these children are learning for the majority of these eight hours. I do think that children need to practice learning outside of school and that this type of "on their own" work helps the children to build responsibility for their own work, however there is not a need for excess work in multiple subjects. Students need to take this time outside of school to have their own playtime, family time, and time to do other extracurricular activities and hobbies. Homework should never have to take them all night especially and ages and grade level should be taken into consideration.
Now I am not saying this about all teachers, which leads me to another point. I feel that there is a huge inconsistency amongst different teachers with the amount of homework. Some teachers load their students down with books and work at night while others barely assign any at all. Does assigning more homework make them a better teacher? Does it mean that their kids are smarter or learning more? These are questions that I have been curious about for a long time and as an upcoming teacher would like to learn more about from previous teachers.
Now I am not saying this about all teachers, which leads me to another point. I feel that there is a huge inconsistency amongst different teachers with the amount of homework. Some teachers load their students down with books and work at night while others barely assign any at all. Does assigning more homework make them a better teacher? Does it mean that their kids are smarter or learning more? These are questions that I have been curious about for a long time and as an upcoming teacher would like to learn more about from previous teachers.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Classroom Managment,.... What Works Best
I intend on managing my classroom through an assortment of behaviorism techniques and methods. In order for students to begin learning a teacher has to establish good classroom management. Reinforcement and punishment are some of the most important tools for shaping a child’s behavior and helping them learn. This is why I want to use this in my classroom when making classroom management a top priority. Punishers are used to decrease behavior. For example, I would take away free choice time until they stop talking when the teacher is talking or behaves when I have a guest come into the room. On the other hand, reinforcers are used to increase behavior. I could use this by allowing my students to have more free choice time when they listen when I am talking. The best reinforcers to use are on a variable schedule. Intrinsic reinforcers or variable ratio is the toughest to break. Our bodies are actually canalized to react to this type of reinforcement. I plan on reinforcing on a fixed schedule, so that my students keep expecting to be reinforced and will react accordingly. The students do not know how many times they may need to be quiet in line, for example, before they will be rewarded, therefore; they keep doing it. This is how I will establish good behavior in my classroom: in a peaceful way. There will be no arguing between me and a student because I am the adult in the situation and I refuse to argue with the child. Verbally arguments will not be tolerated; however I am open to verbal discussions given that they are done in the right manner.
However, this does not mean that my class room will be managed as a dictatorship ran solely be the teacher. My students will feel that they have a say on certain situations. First of all, I will allow my students to come up with rules that they feel are needed in the classroom and what they think the consequences should entail. This will be discussed on the first day. I will make sure that everyone agrees. When the student breaks a rule, they will not only be breaking my rule, but a rule that they came up with. I believe that this will give the children more incentive to follow the rules. I also will allow free choice time in which the students will have an array of activities that they can participate in, instead of being forced into one activity. When we have time left over or finish a lesson early, the students can draw, play games, engage in computer games, read or other events depending on the time. The activity must be educational, but still gives the children a freedom of choice as well. I believe that by allowing my students to help manage the classroom that they will feel that they do have a voice in what goes on inside these four walls and will have more respect for me as a teacher.
As mentioned earlier, I want to institute a routine in my classroom that will begin on the first day of class and carry on through the entire year. Not only will this help my days go better, but it will also help the students get the most out of each efficiently. For example, once the bell rings, I want to begin my day with a Morning Meeting in which the students will know to come to the rug in the front of the class and sit in a circle. In our meeting I will discuss if there are any changes in our day and we will probably play a little fun phonics game. Then the children will know what the routine is for each day and can carry it out.
I want to manage my class with parent involvement, because I think that this is important to have them involved in the child’s life. I plan on taking many steps to achieving this throughout the year. I will have parent nights in which they can come and look at how their child is doing and talk to me about behavior or any other questions. The classroom website will have a certain section for the parents to send me thoughts, questions, or concerns and I plan on replying to their needs immediately. Their will also be the Price’s Paper that will go out each week. This is a newsletter informing the parents of any and all of the events that are coming up and will keep them updated with what is going on in their child’s classroom.
However, this does not mean that my class room will be managed as a dictatorship ran solely be the teacher. My students will feel that they have a say on certain situations. First of all, I will allow my students to come up with rules that they feel are needed in the classroom and what they think the consequences should entail. This will be discussed on the first day. I will make sure that everyone agrees. When the student breaks a rule, they will not only be breaking my rule, but a rule that they came up with. I believe that this will give the children more incentive to follow the rules. I also will allow free choice time in which the students will have an array of activities that they can participate in, instead of being forced into one activity. When we have time left over or finish a lesson early, the students can draw, play games, engage in computer games, read or other events depending on the time. The activity must be educational, but still gives the children a freedom of choice as well. I believe that by allowing my students to help manage the classroom that they will feel that they do have a voice in what goes on inside these four walls and will have more respect for me as a teacher.
As mentioned earlier, I want to institute a routine in my classroom that will begin on the first day of class and carry on through the entire year. Not only will this help my days go better, but it will also help the students get the most out of each efficiently. For example, once the bell rings, I want to begin my day with a Morning Meeting in which the students will know to come to the rug in the front of the class and sit in a circle. In our meeting I will discuss if there are any changes in our day and we will probably play a little fun phonics game. Then the children will know what the routine is for each day and can carry it out.
I want to manage my class with parent involvement, because I think that this is important to have them involved in the child’s life. I plan on taking many steps to achieving this throughout the year. I will have parent nights in which they can come and look at how their child is doing and talk to me about behavior or any other questions. The classroom website will have a certain section for the parents to send me thoughts, questions, or concerns and I plan on replying to their needs immediately. Their will also be the Price’s Paper that will go out each week. This is a newsletter informing the parents of any and all of the events that are coming up and will keep them updated with what is going on in their child’s classroom.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Science Inquiry Lessons: Thoughts and Feelings
I believe that science inquiry is a way to provoke thinking outside of memorization and learning facts. I feel as if I grew up with more memorizing material and not enough experimenting and observing. Making definitions and observing new and interesting science phenomenon helps children to truly learn and apply what they know in other science experiments. This type of teaching not only allows the children to learn but also promotes entire lessons that stem from one question of curiosity. I think that it is important to not only go by the book and lesson plan but to make sure that you put the children’s thoughts and curiosity somewhere in the plan first. Their ideas need to be top priority. I am excited about learning along with my children and extremely interested to see what types of questions and thoughts that children come up with through this type of science. They may come up with questions that I do not know the answer. In this type of situation the children will use their prior knowledge to work with me to find the answer. I am most comfortable with observations because I think that you can learn a lot from simply observing. I think that I will be good at taking something little, for example sharks or spiders and turn it into an entire fun unit. In order to grow and improve on science inquiry learning I, as a future educator, need to be more patient and understanding. This type of teaching allows the teacher to invest into a lot of time for the students to think. I think that this might be something that I would struggle with. I also am a very organized person and sometimes this might allow for me to change and be flexible with my science life. I would need to work on this to instill science inquiry in my classroom.
What's So Special About Teaching Elementary Students, Anyway??
I recently had a conversation with my sister, a public relations major who now works in a law firm doing corporate planning. She warned me about the real world and how monotonous days start to get when you do the same thing over in over. After hearing this statement, I quickly responded happily and excitedly. Although the “real world” may be coming at me fast, my days would not be the same like with her job and many others. With kids, everyday is a brand new day. There are new things to learn and new ways to grow. There are different moods and attitudes each day and even different opportunity for lives to be touched. This is what I am really going to love about my job. I will not, in a since, have to ever enter “the real world.” I am given the opportunity to stay a child at heart forever and to never forget what it is like to be young again. Elementary student will be a constant reminder of what it is like to have no real worries and to be fascinated by the little things in life. I look forward to learning more on one day at the job then any lawyer or businessman learns in an entire year.
Elementary students, especially the younger ones, are like little sponges. They are eager to learn and want to soak up everything that is brought to them. The world is still a neat and happy place to them and they want to know and ask questions about everything that is on it. Their curiosity provokes learning that may not have even been on the lesson plans. Days may not go as planned, however, this is fine. Sometimes elementary students learn more on these “unplanned” days than on the most well thought-out lessons.
With elementary students, I believe, there is a real chance to make a difference in the child’s life. Unfortunately, not all children are put in ideal situations. Sometimes children are put into home conditions that are not appropriate for a child’s mind and their situations that are very unstable. It is very unfair for the child and there is nothing that they can do to change their surroundings. However, they can get away for 8 hours during this day. During this time I want to be and will be the stability in their life. By teaching elementary students I will be given the opportunity to show my students love, forgiveness, compassion and other emotions that they may not have ever experienced before. This truly excites me about entering the teaching field. I will always remember that I am not just an elementary student’s teacher. One day, I could be a student’s caregiver or counselor and on another day, I might just have to be their friend. At this age, these children might need a hug, a smile or words of motivation.
Teaching elementary students brings me the perfect opportunity to be an excellent role model to these children. In these years, students look up to their teachers. They think a lot more of the teaching profession than some, or most, junior high or high school students. To some students their teacher is someone that they want to be just like. This is why I want my students to see me in positive manner at all times. I want to show my students how to be helpful not just through school activities. It is great to give back to the community for all that they do. I want to help out in the community and volunteer where it is needed. Hopefully, seeing me acting positively by helping out the community will make an impact on my students. Some may even want to come with me and do the same. I can set an example that the children may not see in any other adult figures in their life. It is at this age that students need this guidance to help start them off to a better life.
Elementary students, especially the younger ones, are like little sponges. They are eager to learn and want to soak up everything that is brought to them. The world is still a neat and happy place to them and they want to know and ask questions about everything that is on it. Their curiosity provokes learning that may not have even been on the lesson plans. Days may not go as planned, however, this is fine. Sometimes elementary students learn more on these “unplanned” days than on the most well thought-out lessons.
With elementary students, I believe, there is a real chance to make a difference in the child’s life. Unfortunately, not all children are put in ideal situations. Sometimes children are put into home conditions that are not appropriate for a child’s mind and their situations that are very unstable. It is very unfair for the child and there is nothing that they can do to change their surroundings. However, they can get away for 8 hours during this day. During this time I want to be and will be the stability in their life. By teaching elementary students I will be given the opportunity to show my students love, forgiveness, compassion and other emotions that they may not have ever experienced before. This truly excites me about entering the teaching field. I will always remember that I am not just an elementary student’s teacher. One day, I could be a student’s caregiver or counselor and on another day, I might just have to be their friend. At this age, these children might need a hug, a smile or words of motivation.
Teaching elementary students brings me the perfect opportunity to be an excellent role model to these children. In these years, students look up to their teachers. They think a lot more of the teaching profession than some, or most, junior high or high school students. To some students their teacher is someone that they want to be just like. This is why I want my students to see me in positive manner at all times. I want to show my students how to be helpful not just through school activities. It is great to give back to the community for all that they do. I want to help out in the community and volunteer where it is needed. Hopefully, seeing me acting positively by helping out the community will make an impact on my students. Some may even want to come with me and do the same. I can set an example that the children may not see in any other adult figures in their life. It is at this age that students need this guidance to help start them off to a better life.
Major Issues in Schools and How They Need to Be Addressed
Since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed by President Bush there has been a huge movement towards standardized testing. Some may say that this is a good decision; however I feel that it is a major issue in our school systems. Through this movement a lot of pressure is put on the student when standardized testing time comes around. Teachers are also now teaching just the test and not what they feel is an important part of the construct for the student to learn. Schools that receive the highest scores, receive the most money, therefore; lots of money is going into the preparation for theses standardized tests. I feel that this money could go elsewhere. Also, through this movement most extra activity time such as art, physical education and music classes are being pushed away. Schools and school systems are so concerned with SAT standardized tests scores that these extra activities are completely taken away. Teachers feel that they need this time to prepare for standardized tests. I think that this is absurd and that children need to have a well rounded curriculum. Studies have shown that students, early- elementary especially, tend to do better on assessments when they are able to rest their minds.
In addition art and music exposure has been correlated to improvement on grades and assessments. As an upcoming teacher this movement will affect my daily classroom practices tremendously. If these extra activities are not offered, I want to be able to incorporate music, art and these extra activities into the classroom myself. In college at Auburn University, I took college course in how to teach art, music and physical education and I would incorporate these activities in with my learning activities. Thus giving my students time to have fun and rest their brains. Too much pressure on the students is bad for their esteem and they need to learn more than just what is on the standardized test. With proper classroom management, I could help my students by making sure they achieve high enough on the SAT, but still allowing room for them to learn information and have a little fun outside of test preparation.
Another issue that must be addressed is school funding. With the economy at a record low, there is just not enough money to make sure that all schools are equipped well and are up to par with supplies. I plan to address this even before I become a teacher. I am taking advantage of opportunities that allow me the chance to start collecting and acquiring supplies as I go along. For example, yard sales have children’s’ books at very inexpensive prices. Also, trying to stay in contact with old teachers who retire is good for collecting supplies. I recently collected an abundance of books and posters for room decoration from a retried teacher who did not have a need for the materials. I will use these especially for being a first year teacher. When becoming a teacher, I can address this by brining in my own personal things that can contribute to classroom activities. .
The last issue that I want to address is overcrowding of the schools and school systems. Since No Child Left Behind, several schools have been shut down due to poor quality. This and insufficient t funding has caused schools to become overcrowded. Some schools are now looking at 30 kids in a classroom. If this is the case for my classroom, I will address the problem by giving my students as much one on one time as possible. I think that working in groups can contribute to this. If I can not allow one on one time to each of the students, a group of 5 gives the student more individual attention than a group of 30. I know that I am only allowed 8 hours everyday; however I plan on capitalizing on these eight hours and making sure each child gets enough individual attention to get the most out of their year with me.
In addition art and music exposure has been correlated to improvement on grades and assessments. As an upcoming teacher this movement will affect my daily classroom practices tremendously. If these extra activities are not offered, I want to be able to incorporate music, art and these extra activities into the classroom myself. In college at Auburn University, I took college course in how to teach art, music and physical education and I would incorporate these activities in with my learning activities. Thus giving my students time to have fun and rest their brains. Too much pressure on the students is bad for their esteem and they need to learn more than just what is on the standardized test. With proper classroom management, I could help my students by making sure they achieve high enough on the SAT, but still allowing room for them to learn information and have a little fun outside of test preparation.
Another issue that must be addressed is school funding. With the economy at a record low, there is just not enough money to make sure that all schools are equipped well and are up to par with supplies. I plan to address this even before I become a teacher. I am taking advantage of opportunities that allow me the chance to start collecting and acquiring supplies as I go along. For example, yard sales have children’s’ books at very inexpensive prices. Also, trying to stay in contact with old teachers who retire is good for collecting supplies. I recently collected an abundance of books and posters for room decoration from a retried teacher who did not have a need for the materials. I will use these especially for being a first year teacher. When becoming a teacher, I can address this by brining in my own personal things that can contribute to classroom activities. .
The last issue that I want to address is overcrowding of the schools and school systems. Since No Child Left Behind, several schools have been shut down due to poor quality. This and insufficient t funding has caused schools to become overcrowded. Some schools are now looking at 30 kids in a classroom. If this is the case for my classroom, I will address the problem by giving my students as much one on one time as possible. I think that working in groups can contribute to this. If I can not allow one on one time to each of the students, a group of 5 gives the student more individual attention than a group of 30. I know that I am only allowed 8 hours everyday; however I plan on capitalizing on these eight hours and making sure each child gets enough individual attention to get the most out of their year with me.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Under What Conditions Do Children Learn Best?
There are many conditions that children learn better in than others, however; one condition clearly sticks out in my mind. Children learn best in safe environments. I want to make my classroom a safe place for my children to learn and grow. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs chart shows that children can not continue to learn until all psychological and safety needs are met. As a teacher knowing that children will not be able to learn until certain needs are met will help me create great learning conditions. For example, if the child is hungry because food is not abundant at home then they will not be able to focus on multiplication problems in math class. Thus I can make better learning conditions by planning to have packs of peanut butter crackers in my classroom for situations such as these. My reasoning behind this is to make learning and focusing on their work easier for the child. This is only one example, however; there are several ways that I intend to incorporate Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in my own classroom to help explain certain circumstances.
First of all, I plan to establish a routine to start and continue through the entire day. Children are at a better piece of mind to learn when they know what is about to happen. Having a routine, for example in the morning when they come in or when they go to centers, is something that establishes a safe classroom environment. If students do not know what is about to happen next, it can possibly create an anxious and nervous situation. I learned this when I worked and did service learning hours at The Discovery Club after school care program in college at Auburn University. The kids would come in from school and know that they have 20 minutes of homework time and then its snack and play time. They also knew that homework time is quiet time. Since they knew that homework time is right when they come in, they are quiet without even being told. This takes a little bit of stress off us as teachers to make them behave and have to remind them everyday to be quiet. This routine is established at the beginning of the school year and is reinforced everyday. It is amazing to see how the children quickly respond to the set guidelines. Children seem to show an appreciation for knowing what is expected of them daily. This also allows them to focus on what is being taught rather than worrying about what is going to happen next and when, for example, P.E or recess is going to take place. They know what to do throughout the day.
I also want to establish a safe environment by making sure that everybody is comfortable being in my classroom. I want to get to know my students and find out if something is bothering them by the classroom set up or when I set up seating arrangements. Teasing and making fun of other students will not be tolerated in my classroom. Every student deserves to feel safe in my classroom and I will not allow other students to ruin that for one of their peers. It does not matter what is going on before or after school, when students are in my classroom they will feel safe. This is especially important for students who do come from a troubled or dishearten situations when they are at home. I want my eight hours to allow the children a chance to feel that they belong. I want to help establish the best possible conditions for the student to learn. If students do not feel comfortable or something is bothering them it might make it difficult to focus on their school material. As a teacher, I feel that it is my responsibilities to establish belongingness and build esteem where I can help. When children feel good about their self it also contributes to having an excellent learning condition. My students’ needs will be placed at the top of my priority list.
First of all, I plan to establish a routine to start and continue through the entire day. Children are at a better piece of mind to learn when they know what is about to happen. Having a routine, for example in the morning when they come in or when they go to centers, is something that establishes a safe classroom environment. If students do not know what is about to happen next, it can possibly create an anxious and nervous situation. I learned this when I worked and did service learning hours at The Discovery Club after school care program in college at Auburn University. The kids would come in from school and know that they have 20 minutes of homework time and then its snack and play time. They also knew that homework time is quiet time. Since they knew that homework time is right when they come in, they are quiet without even being told. This takes a little bit of stress off us as teachers to make them behave and have to remind them everyday to be quiet. This routine is established at the beginning of the school year and is reinforced everyday. It is amazing to see how the children quickly respond to the set guidelines. Children seem to show an appreciation for knowing what is expected of them daily. This also allows them to focus on what is being taught rather than worrying about what is going to happen next and when, for example, P.E or recess is going to take place. They know what to do throughout the day.
I also want to establish a safe environment by making sure that everybody is comfortable being in my classroom. I want to get to know my students and find out if something is bothering them by the classroom set up or when I set up seating arrangements. Teasing and making fun of other students will not be tolerated in my classroom. Every student deserves to feel safe in my classroom and I will not allow other students to ruin that for one of their peers. It does not matter what is going on before or after school, when students are in my classroom they will feel safe. This is especially important for students who do come from a troubled or dishearten situations when they are at home. I want my eight hours to allow the children a chance to feel that they belong. I want to help establish the best possible conditions for the student to learn. If students do not feel comfortable or something is bothering them it might make it difficult to focus on their school material. As a teacher, I feel that it is my responsibilities to establish belongingness and build esteem where I can help. When children feel good about their self it also contributes to having an excellent learning condition. My students’ needs will be placed at the top of my priority list.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Should Math Be Told to Students or Learned by Students in Elementary Schools?
During my elementary school experience, I feel that I was not given the best tools to build a great foundation for a math basis. It varied from teacher to teacher and grade to grade as to whether my skills in math were strengthened of weakened. I usually made good grades, but I feel I was never pushed to answer questions through my own reasoning. Most of my experience of math was learned through a type of memorization. A problem would be presented on the board to follow step by step. When I came across a math problem in a different context I froze. I would constantly try to think back to that one example problem instead of reasoning about the situation on my own. I specifically remember math always being told to me and not learned by me. Formulas were written in the book and example problems were worked out for me on the board. As a result math has always been a frustration subject for me. It is important each year for children and me as an upcoming teacher, to understand math because it is a subject that builds from year to year. Since I was never given a great basis into the math world, it has hindered me from growing and loving the subject as much as I would have liked. However, now every year was disastrous and through my math classes I was able to pick up good and bad teaching methods that I can learn from when I become a teacher of my own.
I am and have always been under the impression that the traditional math or what I call "told math" is how math is suppose to be learned by students. My eight grade teacher of algebra ruined math for me all together. I remember that he would always give us an example problem and the load us down with problems that resembled the example. We would continue to do the problems until we not only were exhausted from math but also had memorized how to get the solution. The next week or even by the next test, I had forgotten all about that night's homework. I did not learn the material it was told to me. I feel that if I had come up with how to get the solution on my own then I would not have to keep looking up and following example problems, but could figure it out with my own created knowledge. Ninth grade geometry was not any better, but something different for me to struggle with. My teacher gave out worksheets for us to do in class and typically did not allow group work or interaction I tended to get nervous when speaking to the teacher because he always put up an intimidating front. Proofs and angles were hard for me to pick up and easily became one of my most difficult math moments. I believe that I can learn and grow from this classroom situation. Now I know that these are all high school examples but can be used for teachers of all ages how to teach math properly. During my college years I have been given the opportunity in which I myself had to tutor and help third graders with math homework and understanding. I tried hard not to simply give the children the answers but to question them through the thinking process. However I have realized that doing this allows for much time and patience and it is very tempting to show them exactly how it is done and let them follow my lead. This experience has taught me much about the time that goes in to teaching a good and thoughtful math lesson. You have to allow time for the children to think. They need to be able to reason on their own and eventually through much thought and teacher facilitating questions will reach a solution. Time is also used to fix mistakes.
By reflecting on my own experiences I do see the flaws and strengths of my past math experiences and how they will help me become a better teacher in the near future. I believe that teaching math can be a balance between traditional and most constructivist methods. For example learning certain formulas is important, but knowing how,why and where they stem from is something that reform teaching touches more on. This balance for the two approaches will help children build a better math lifestyle in the long term. As elementary teacher which method of teaching math do you think is the best?
I am and have always been under the impression that the traditional math or what I call "told math" is how math is suppose to be learned by students. My eight grade teacher of algebra ruined math for me all together. I remember that he would always give us an example problem and the load us down with problems that resembled the example. We would continue to do the problems until we not only were exhausted from math but also had memorized how to get the solution. The next week or even by the next test, I had forgotten all about that night's homework. I did not learn the material it was told to me. I feel that if I had come up with how to get the solution on my own then I would not have to keep looking up and following example problems, but could figure it out with my own created knowledge. Ninth grade geometry was not any better, but something different for me to struggle with. My teacher gave out worksheets for us to do in class and typically did not allow group work or interaction I tended to get nervous when speaking to the teacher because he always put up an intimidating front. Proofs and angles were hard for me to pick up and easily became one of my most difficult math moments. I believe that I can learn and grow from this classroom situation. Now I know that these are all high school examples but can be used for teachers of all ages how to teach math properly. During my college years I have been given the opportunity in which I myself had to tutor and help third graders with math homework and understanding. I tried hard not to simply give the children the answers but to question them through the thinking process. However I have realized that doing this allows for much time and patience and it is very tempting to show them exactly how it is done and let them follow my lead. This experience has taught me much about the time that goes in to teaching a good and thoughtful math lesson. You have to allow time for the children to think. They need to be able to reason on their own and eventually through much thought and teacher facilitating questions will reach a solution. Time is also used to fix mistakes.
By reflecting on my own experiences I do see the flaws and strengths of my past math experiences and how they will help me become a better teacher in the near future. I believe that teaching math can be a balance between traditional and most constructivist methods. For example learning certain formulas is important, but knowing how,why and where they stem from is something that reform teaching touches more on. This balance for the two approaches will help children build a better math lifestyle in the long term. As elementary teacher which method of teaching math do you think is the best?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Does my Reading Philosphy Relate to Yours?
Teaching literacy and reading has truly been a process for me as an evolving teacher. This is a subject that I have learned to love and continue to grow through studying new ways to teach effective reading to students of all elementary ages. I first began shaping my own philosophy of teaching reading when I was a junior in college. It was then, that I saw how important literacy is to a child and the many parts that attribute to the reading process. There are many points that I deem necessary to seeing what type of reading teacher that will be presented through me. Interaction through games, participation through literacy focus units, and talking in group activities are just a few of the feature tools that help to outline the type of viewpoints that I have towards teaching reading. Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension guide these activities and are at the top of my reading priority list. These are some of the most important sections for students to engage in during reading class time. As a teacher, I not only want to teach reading, but also give my students motivation to and desire to read. . Building an appreciation and a love for reading in my students will help them tremendously in their future education endeavors and in life.
As a teacher, I feel that it is my role to make sure that students understand that literacy is more than just reading. It takes spelling, comprehension, fluency and more for the reading process to advance. These are all key components and have to come together to make sure that literacy is understood by the child. I believe that in order for reading to be effective, a teacher has to teach literacy through a variety of ways. Just simply having students read aloud or having the teacher read aloud to the students can be effective, however may not very enjoyable for some. Most of the lesson plans that I create for literacy entail literacy and reading activities somewhere during the day. This could include phonics games, scramble spelling competitions, and even group discussions in literacy focus units.
Although my role as a reading teacher has evolved over time, I hope that it is never fully shaped and that I continue to grow and learn new great ways to teach reading. Struggling in reading can cause frustration and humiliation on students and I believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to take as many steps necessary to help everyone succeed in reading. I know this may not be possible every year however; I have gained the knowledge to at least help everyone in my class improve. I want my students to be familiarized with all steps of literacy. This will ultimately help them with reading and writing. It is my goal to evaluate each of my students in regards to their reading skills. I believe I can start to achieve this goal by assessing my students as quickly as possible even from the first day of school. I also believe that I can use the appropriate areas of phonemics awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to better guide my students. By developing and implementing this philosophy of reading, I feel that I will be better prepared when teaching reading to my elementary students.
As a teacher, I feel that it is my role to make sure that students understand that literacy is more than just reading. It takes spelling, comprehension, fluency and more for the reading process to advance. These are all key components and have to come together to make sure that literacy is understood by the child. I believe that in order for reading to be effective, a teacher has to teach literacy through a variety of ways. Just simply having students read aloud or having the teacher read aloud to the students can be effective, however may not very enjoyable for some. Most of the lesson plans that I create for literacy entail literacy and reading activities somewhere during the day. This could include phonics games, scramble spelling competitions, and even group discussions in literacy focus units.
Although my role as a reading teacher has evolved over time, I hope that it is never fully shaped and that I continue to grow and learn new great ways to teach reading. Struggling in reading can cause frustration and humiliation on students and I believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to take as many steps necessary to help everyone succeed in reading. I know this may not be possible every year however; I have gained the knowledge to at least help everyone in my class improve. I want my students to be familiarized with all steps of literacy. This will ultimately help them with reading and writing. It is my goal to evaluate each of my students in regards to their reading skills. I believe I can start to achieve this goal by assessing my students as quickly as possible even from the first day of school. I also believe that I can use the appropriate areas of phonemics awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to better guide my students. By developing and implementing this philosophy of reading, I feel that I will be better prepared when teaching reading to my elementary students.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
What teaching method do you think is the most effective?
To be an effective teaching you have to use a variety of teaching methods. However, I tend to lean towards constructivism when deciphering which teaching method is the most effective. Also I have researched and research does show that constructivist students have higher order thinking and out perform their peers. There are several reasons why I believe this and many ways that I try to implement constructivism in my classroom. First of all, using constructivism brings a lot to the table. When using this teaching method students do not memorize, but construct their own knowledge on their own. This approach allows the classroom to become more student center instead of teacher centered and after all, the student is the most important part of the classroom. Therefore, this is the way that it should be. Through constructivism the independent learner is intrinsically motivated to generate, discover, build and enlarge his or her framework of knowledge. There are several aspects of constructivism that have led this method to being the most effective among classroom students.
First of all, cooperative learning is something that I believe is a must to use and present in your classroom. This is the idea, founded by Vygotsky, in which people more easily discover and comprehend difficult concepts if they can talk out their problems with their peers. I would establish this by putting my students into groups, for example, work on math problem that no one in the class got right on their homework. This teaching approach deals with the idea that students will bounce off ideas from each other and gain knowledge through working with others. Cooperative learning not only helps the students cognitively, but also socially by forcing the students to learn through interaction with others.
Reciprocal learning is a small group teaching method based on principals of questions. In this type of teaching the students usually lead class discussions and teachers foster metacognitive skills mainly to improve reading performance of students who have poor comprehension. I could implement this in my classroom through literary circles or focus units in which students read different books in groups and then talk about the books they read amongst their selves. They lead this discussion and once again learn form each other. Vygotsky also introduced the idea of scaffolding as a part of constructivist teaching. This is the idea that teachers support a student’s learning by using cues, examples, encouragement by breaking the problem down the step by step to support growth of independent learners. Through scaffolding a teacher can gradually pull herself out of the picture until the student can work a task on his or her own. This is ultimately what we strive for as teachers.
When recalling my elementary years and remembering back to the observation and time that I have spent in the classroom, constructivism in the classroom specifically sticks out as the most important. Science experiment, reading groups, using physical knowledge are all activities where learning is constructed by the student and not through memorizing notes. Students tend to be more creative learners when they construct their own knowledge and also tend to retain more knowledge. Constructivism tends to motivate curiosity in students through, for example, science experiments and this is something that all teachers long to have in their classrooms. Although having a mixture of teaching methods will help build great classroom learning, I believe that it is imperative to implement constructivism in everyday teaching. It not only produces independent learners, but it also promotes curiosity and enhances self esteem by showing the student that they can learn on their own
First of all, cooperative learning is something that I believe is a must to use and present in your classroom. This is the idea, founded by Vygotsky, in which people more easily discover and comprehend difficult concepts if they can talk out their problems with their peers. I would establish this by putting my students into groups, for example, work on math problem that no one in the class got right on their homework. This teaching approach deals with the idea that students will bounce off ideas from each other and gain knowledge through working with others. Cooperative learning not only helps the students cognitively, but also socially by forcing the students to learn through interaction with others.
Reciprocal learning is a small group teaching method based on principals of questions. In this type of teaching the students usually lead class discussions and teachers foster metacognitive skills mainly to improve reading performance of students who have poor comprehension. I could implement this in my classroom through literary circles or focus units in which students read different books in groups and then talk about the books they read amongst their selves. They lead this discussion and once again learn form each other. Vygotsky also introduced the idea of scaffolding as a part of constructivist teaching. This is the idea that teachers support a student’s learning by using cues, examples, encouragement by breaking the problem down the step by step to support growth of independent learners. Through scaffolding a teacher can gradually pull herself out of the picture until the student can work a task on his or her own. This is ultimately what we strive for as teachers.
When recalling my elementary years and remembering back to the observation and time that I have spent in the classroom, constructivism in the classroom specifically sticks out as the most important. Science experiment, reading groups, using physical knowledge are all activities where learning is constructed by the student and not through memorizing notes. Students tend to be more creative learners when they construct their own knowledge and also tend to retain more knowledge. Constructivism tends to motivate curiosity in students through, for example, science experiments and this is something that all teachers long to have in their classrooms. Although having a mixture of teaching methods will help build great classroom learning, I believe that it is imperative to implement constructivism in everyday teaching. It not only produces independent learners, but it also promotes curiosity and enhances self esteem by showing the student that they can learn on their own
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