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[sanchezlisette]

Reflection Question #3: How are the students in the classroom diverse?

The world of high school social studies is often met with mixed reactions from students but nonetheless, it is essential to learn and participate in.

The Social Studies teacher opens up the class by discussing continuity and change and how they will now being letting go over that topic but rather expanding on that big idea with beliefs. Students have their own charts from the teacher previously handing them out in another class period where it is detailed with the patterns of beliefs. One of the big questions the teacher asked repeatedly throughout the class was: “Why is America in everyone’s business?” It is important for students to remember this question and think over the beliefs that America has. The teacher also adds on and details the importance of guiding questions to the classroom- this causes for each student to think of their response and share their own personal beliefs, which ties into the lesson. The teacher asks students questions to get them to participate and keep them engaged with the lecture: “What is evaluate?” She then expands on the student’s response by providing more information over evaluation. By having students hold their thumbs up, sideways, or down to demonstrate if they completely understand, it’s kind of fuzzy, or they don’t understand the lesson throughout the period, the teacher is checking for understanding. She wants her students to follow along and for the lesson to make sense to them. When one student is having trouble following along, she has another student explain it to them in a different way. By having another student explain it, it’s easier for the other to follow along and also for the teacher to know that the students are actively listening to her. Using the thumbs activity in class is a good way to check for understanding and use as a follow up with students. The teacher also uses past experiences to know what works best for students and that is why she doesn’t go straight into making the cause and effect wheel over something related to history. Instead, she has students work on their own and write their own belief. She gets up close to students to check in with them and make sure they are following through with the wheel- helping them gain understanding over the lesson and helps provide examples to the student as well. By calling on different students instead of having the same students speak, the teacher is checking for understanding. After the cause and effect chart, the teacher reads off of a reading packet, this packet answers the questions of the guided questions. Instead of just reading directly from the packet, the teacher engages students by having them write on the packet and asking them questions. She personalizes the lesson to fit her students.

The students in the classroom are diverse in different ways. One of the features that details the diversity in the classroom are the beliefs of the students. The students have different religious and cultural beliefs as well as personal beliefs. The students’ personal beliefs are highlighted by the implement of the guided questions as students have to provide more of a response than just yes or no. They have to state why they believe or do not believe that a country can exist without a purpose and while they may agree with other students- each student is diverse in their own reasoning and their thinking process. Not every student agreed with the question and not all students disagreed either, this demonstrates the diversity of the students in the classroom. While they may share the same teacher, they hold different beliefs and the teacher encourages for each student to have their own belief. The teacher has students fill out their own cause and effect wheels, writing down a personal belief they currently have. Each student has a different belief and different actions they must take/have taken to achieve their belief. The students’ responses are all diverse and each student has a different reason as to how they have reached their belief. They each have a negative and positive effect but their effects are different. The process of each student is different as well and the teacher is aware of that and she helps with the diversity of learning in her class by getting up close to the students that need more of a push. Along with a diversity in beliefs, the students in the classroom also possess racial and gender diversity. We may often take it granted today but a diverse classroom wasn’t always possible. Not every student in the classroom is male or the same race but they all come together to form the class and celebrate their diversity.

Pause and Reflect (p. 66)

1. How can you help prepare yourself for the diversity you are likely to encounter in the classroom?

To prepare myself for the diversity I am likely to encounter in the classroom, I want to illustrate how important each one of their beliefs are such as the teacher in the video did. Each student deserves to know how important their beliefs are and how learning from each other helps build a better environment. I want to celebrate all the different forms that I encounter in my classroom. I think it is important to illustrate each students culture and personal beliefs. I would achieve this by building activities that help students to get to know each other and understand one another. I would like to have a day where students present a project they worked on over their family tree and their ancestry such as a scrapbook over their German cultural traditions or bringing in a dish such as tamales and sharing music of their Mexican culture. It would be a Culture Day and each student would have to share something. I would also participate with the students and share my own cultural traditions and expand on what beliefs my culture has shaped me to have. I would use my own personal experiences to prepare myself for the diversity I will encounter.

Having your students share and celebrate their diversity is important. Learning about one another helps build a better environment and help create a better understanding in the classroom. Our history helps us learn the importance of diversity and how we might take our current environment for granted and how it has grown from what it was before.

And that is all for the inside of the world of teaching!

[sanchezlisette]

The Art of 11th Grade Reading- Blog Post #4

 Reflection Question #24: Does your cooperating teacher demonstrate the 6 characteristics of Ethical Teaching that our textbook describes? Give specific examples.

Being pulled into the world of 11th grade reading creates an insightful experience.

The English teacher opens up class by asking students specifics from the last class period, jogging students memory. She calls on students to list the material they learned, this helps students be prepared to be call on and to be alert. Students are ready to review and provide examples to the teacher and their classmates. The teacher illustrates the importance over context and asks students questions, keeping them engaged with their material. The teacher uses a variation in her classroom to make sure that her students are academically engaged the entire time. Aside from asking students review questions and expanding on their knowledge, the teacher also uses an activity- she uncovers the words students used for the subject of the book. She reminds students that overlapping is okay- reassuring her students and making them feel comfortable. She also uses words of praise over the words students picks, encouraging their participation. The teacher has a positive attitude and doesn’t waste class times and uses variation as she also has students get in groups to figure a theme together and the teacher comes around to each group to speak to the group directly and encourages them with words of praise.

The teacher demonstrates the characteristics of Ethical Teaching our textbooks describes by being empathetic towards the students when they need her help, she goes around the tables and is there for the students. She also demonstrates her empathy by reassuring her students that it is okay if some of the themes interconnect with one another. The teacher knows her students and knows what they are capable of, she encourages them to participate because she knows their capabilities and is there to help them if they fall short. The teacher reasons that students may have similar answers and that is okay, she encourages improvement of the students with their themes and gives them some helping words as well as words of praise to make the students feel better and engaged with the content. The teacher did not really have to build up any courage to tell the principal or anyone above her anything but something that I found courageous is that she had the confidence in herself and her students to have her classroom be recorded. If I was in her situation, I would not be able to handle that pressure and feel like everything had to go perfectly in my classroom for it to be okay out of fear that someone above me may judge the way I run my class. The teacher demonstrated interpersonal skills by using a nice, audibly leveled tone of voice instead of yelling. By kneeling down and getting on the students’ level, the teacher really demonstrates her interpersonal skills with her students. She is being sensitive towards them and helping them expand on their themes.

Pause and Reflect (p. 223)

3. What would you say is the greatest ethical obligation of a teacher? Why?

I believe that the greatest ethical obligation of a teacher is to be empathetic. Being empathetic is the teacher’s greatest obligation because students need someone to be there for them and understand their situation. Students will not listen or not be as encouraged to participate if they believe that the teacher does not care about them or their academic success. If a teacher wants respect, they must demonstrate respect towards their students as well. Empathy is also the greatest ethical obligation because teachers have the most contact with students out of the staff. Teachers need to keep an eye on their students and pay attention to them and how they usually are, that way they can notice if something is off and reach out to the students in a way that is understanding of their situation or what the teacher suspects to be the situation.

Pushing your students forwards and using a variation in the classroom as well as being empathetic towards them is very important to achieve student success. It is important for a teacher to know the role they play in their students’ lives and to be there for them through both the world of reading/academics and also personally.

And that is all for this inside on the world of teaching!

[sanchezlisette]

The Technology Age- Blog Post #3

Reflection question #2: In which of the following ways does your supervising teacher use technology as a learning tool: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and/or creativity?

Observing Mr. George’s fourth hour APUSH class has been quite the ride.

It was the week before spring break and since the class consists solely of seniors, everyone was getting a bit antsy. A collaborative assignment for the class was just what they needed considering how much the students interact with one another. However, it couldn’t be all fun and games. A test was necessary at this point and was the first thing to do on the list. The class was completely silent as they each took their time working on the exam. This was definitely not the most exciting moment in my time observing the class. I spent the forty minutes doing the only thing I could think of doing- doodling all over the pages of my spiral notebook. The exam finally came to an end though and Mr. George engaged students into a lecture over the Post War Era and what Americans were tired over at the time. Mr. George discussed what changes occurred in America during this time and expanded upon all questions students had. This lecture was crucial for the students’ collaborative assignment. Students worked in pairs with each pair having their own question to answer over the 1920′s. The students were given the rest of the class period to work on their topic.

Mr. George uses technology as a collaborative, communicative, and a critical thinking learning tool. When students were working on their document over the 1920′s, their use technology of technology was collaborative. The entire class shared one document and added onto their specific topic’s information but other classmates and Mr. George could help them expand more on what they had written down. Students also had to collaborate with their partner over the information they researched and split the topics they wanted to work on but still collaborated with one another on what would be good to add to their presentation. Mr. George implemented critical thinking through their use of technology by presenting the students’ topic in the manner of a question. With immediate access to the document, thanks to Google Docs, Mr. George was also able to implement critical thinking by asking students to expand more over an area and giving them sites that were good resources to find more information and that could help them think more critically over the topic. As a pair grouped on their topic, I heard a student ask their partner about what the impact of the KKK was today- which led to them searching for information on their computer and finding more information over it. Their assignment got them to think critically of how the world was still impacted by something like the KKK. Due to the document being accessible to everyone, students were able to communicate with one other right just by the use of their chrome books. Technology also served as a communicative learning tool when it came time to present. Mr. George displayed the document on the screen so everyone could see what the pair had written over their topic and they could read what they had written as well as hear the pair give a quick summary over their topic. Technology is used widely in Mr. George’s class. He completely embraces it as he implements the use of it through his lectures, videos, students’ notes, and more! Technology is definitely shaping the world of education today.

Pause and Reflect (p. 207)

3. Do you have any educational concerns about the use of these technologies in schools?

For the most part, I am not really concerned with technologies used in the school as long as they serve an educational purpose. Virtual field trips, tutorial software, spread sheets, and more all serve a purpose to enlighten the experience of students in the classroom. My art appreciation teacher embraces the use of virtual field trips in her classroom as they provide us with information over art pieces in museums that aren’t in Kansas. Virtual field trips open up horizons and give students’ access to places/information they wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. When I become a teacher, I definitely want to implement virtual field trips in my classroom because I know not every student has the resources to go to the White House, Pearl Harbor, or other historical monuments. Every student should be given the same opportunity and virtual field trips provides students with that experience. My only concern with the use of technology in school is students getting distracted. It is easy to click off a site and begin to browse around other websites but I think that’s why it is important for teachers to monitor their students’ computer screens. Proctor technology allows teachers to keep an eye on students and make sure that they aren’t roaming around the web. Access to technology would allow students to be more productive but they would have to think more clearly, creatively, and critically. I am concerned that students might think that just because they can use technology, Google can do all the work for them and that is not correct. Teachers need to implement the use of textbooks as well and guide students through finding more information in it.

It is the age of technology, it’s hard for someone like me to imagine our world without it. It’s everywhere we look and it is definitely in Mr. George’s classroom. Educators should embrace the use of technology as it can be a helpful learning tool inside of the classroom. Mr. George’s use of technology shows how technology can be a communicative, collaborative learning tool that can help cause critical thinking.

That is all for the inside of the world of teaching this week!

[sanchezlisette]

The Engaging World of the Classroom- Blog Post #2

Reflection Question #3: Are the students academically engaged? If so, why? If not, what might be done to help them become academically engaged?

Observing Mr. George’s classes the past two weeks have proven to be quite the journey. Although all three classes that I observed consist of high school seniors, each class varies in some way from the other and have a different method than the other. Even both of his APUSH classes vary in some form.

Mr. George’s fourth hour APUSH class is definitely the most independent out of the three. The majority of this class can refrain themselves from browsing the internet and sit through a class that consists mostly of a lecture. When the lecture transitioned into a movie over Theodore Roosevelt, they were able to remain silent throughout the entire scene they watched and were actually engaged with the movie and what was happening on screen. The students in his fourth hour all know how to stand their ground, I would say they were the most confident out of the three. They seemed the most sure of themselves when it came to responding to questions surrounding the lesson. However I will say, this is probably the class that time just seems to really takes its course when I am observing.

Mr. George’s fifth hour APUSH class was a bit different than his fourth hour. The students in this class seemed to enjoy engaging among one another more than the fourth hour class. They reflected upon the Progressive Era throughout the week as well as World War I. The students in this class were more outspoken than the previous APUSH class and while the other’s really stood their ground, the students in this class seemed to find more fun in the subject and are more carefree. They got some answers wrong but they would reflect back with one another and try again. They weren’t afraid to make a mistake and know it’s a process of learning.

Economics is the most lively class out of the three. The students in this class seem to have the most energy and work better when they collaborate, which Mr. George often implements into the class period. In contrast to his U.S. History classes, lectures and notes aren’t  as heavily implemented in this class which allows for more collaborative assignments between the students. On one of the days I went in, they had to work together to make a survival plan and then present it. By creating a survival plan, they were building their own society and economy which could refrain from being a communist society to a capitalist society. All of the groups compared what they had in common to each other and what they differed in. The groups also explained why their economy was structured the way it was.

While each class had their differences, they all remained academically engaged throughout the entire class period. Mr. George kept the students academically engaged by using a variety of teaching methods in his classroom. He refrained in each class from focusing the entire period on lecture and would engage them in the lesson by asking them questions that related to the modern life of today. In his fifth hour APUSH class, he demonstrated the difference of open door policy between China and the U.S. by comparing it to Sam’s and Walmart and how Walmart is open to all while Sam’s is not. As well as simplifying policies in modern ways for students, Mr. George also kept his students engaged by going from using the white board to his power point. Students drew their own perfect squares to represent Theodore Roosevelt’s actions. Aside from lecture, Mr. George also showed his fifth hour APUSH class political cartoons and they were able to communicate among one another to figure out the meaning. Shorty after they all would come together as a class to share what they took from the political cartoon and what they interpreted. Mr. George analyzed the student’s perspective before he shared his own interpretation. Before their lunch break, students were to think about what they knew over WWI from their sophomore year World History class and were to discuss whatever they remembered with their table group before they would all come together as a class again and reflect upon what they knew. Mr. George then expanded on that information before he let them go. After the lunch break, Mr. George was able to quickly engage them with the content as he gave a quick review over what they had just discussed before he played a scene from a movie to demonstrate the German perspective in WWI. The scene spoke as to why the world saw the war as an answer and he expanded more upon the scene and incorporated into the lesson of imperialism. By creating this variety in his fifth hour APUSH class, the students were able to remain academically engaged the entire ninety minutes of class. By using a variation in his classroom, students are able to remain engaged because they don’t have to be doing one thing for too long and they are given a break from writing notes or aren’t stuck just watching a movie that their mind can only focus on for a limited amount of time. In his Economics class, Mr. George keeps students academically engaged since the get go by starting off with a physical  warm-up: bal a vis x. Bal a vis x helps the students focus and work together as they are moving in sync together. The use of variation in each of his classes helps Mr. George keep his students engaged with their academic work. Mr. George also adapts to each class and keeps them engaged by applying to their interests- he knows that by using the example of Sawyer saving enough money to buy his own car in his economics class won’t apply to Grace in his fourth hour APUSH class. Students are able to recall what they learned as soon as he brings it up because of how effectively he engages them.

Pause and Reflect (p. 178)

2. Are you concerned about your ability to establish and maintain a productive classroom environment? If so, what particularly concerns you?

I feel like it is natural to be slightly concerned over your ability to establish and maintain a productive classroom. While I have seen first hand through my practicum how effective engage time is and what it is like to effectively manage a classroom, I am still concerned as to how I will pull it off? I constantly question my abilities and while I am fairly confident that I understand what it takes to run a productive classroom from reading about it and seeing an example, I am still concerned as to how will it be when it is my own classroom and how will I know what to do. I am concerned about my ability to handle misbehavior most particularly. I have gone about my life just ignoring that kind of behavior and refraining myself from engaging from it but when I am in the position as a teacher, I can’t just sit back and watch it occur. I will have to encounter it and learn how to handle it but I am concerned that I won’t know how to. I don’t want to just send a student to the office straight away because I have seen many times in my role as a high school student how that has backfired on teachers and how the student stops caring by a point if you do send them because the teacher has caused them to resent their class. I want to be able to handle the misconduct myself and see the office as a last resort but I don’t know how I can manage from refraining all misbehavior possible to create a productive classroom. I am concerned I won’t seem as much of an authority figure to my students as well.

Each day I go to Mr. George’s class is truly a lesson and I hope that as I grow to be more comfortable that I will learn how I will manage my concerns one day so that if misbehavior does ensure, I am equipped to handle it as well as run an effective classroom such as the ones I have observed.

That is all for this week’s inside on the world of teaching!

[sanchezlisette]

Oh, The Intelligence!- Blog Post #1

Reflection Question #5: What type of learning styles are accommodated in the classroom?

It was an interesting day.

Things started out pretty slow with Mr. George’s AP U.S. History class on Tuesday. The class period mostly focused on Mr. George presenting a power point and discussing the 19th century. He talked about the People’s Party and how it collapsed after the election of 1892. He also discussed the economy during this time period and the role farmers played in it. Students wrote down notes on their chrome books as they followed along to the lesson but there wasn’t much interaction between the students until the end of the class period. At the end, students were told to read through a document and discuss it with the person sitting next to them...It was not the most interesting class period to observe.

Following his AP U.S. History class was Economics and right away, the class period was so much more interesting! Mr. George started off the period by informing the students about a pop quiz- news that led to many students’ grumbles. He handed me one of the quizzes as well to test my knowledge and see how much I still remembered from when I was in his class two years ago. I was shocked to see how much I still remembered! However, this was not your typical quiz as Mr. George then made the students grade it and he had quite an unusual grading structure. If a student got every single question right or only missed one- they had failed the quiz. Now this caused quite the confusion around the classroom as most students had done fairly well on the quiz and didn’t want to give themselves an F. He then allowed themselves to re-take the test which led to the students getting nearly every question wrong so that they could get an A. Following the re-take, Mr. George asked the students why they had changed their answers and then explained to them how everyone just followed the system. The quiz was just to implement a lesson and was not actually something that was graded. Afterwards, he presented the students with a game, Earning A Living in Econoland. Students were either a business or a household. Households were trying to sell businesses human resources, natural resources, and capital goods while a business’ goal was to earn a profit by supplying the goods and services households want. The game went on till nearly the end of the period but he came to find out there was an incident of cheating that had happened, causing for the students that participated in the cheating to lose out on their daily points for the day. He explained how their cheating completely manipulated the economy and ensured criminal activity and chaos.

In AP U.S. History, the class centered around verbal-linguistic intelligence as the students individually analyzed Mr. George’s lecture and produced notes from what they found were important from the lecture and his power point. Students in the AP class experienced more intrapersonal intelligence as they were left to their own devices for most of the period and had to keep notes for themselves throughout that time. They had to recognize their own abilities to write notes and asses themselves because their classmates and Mr. George weren’t checking up to see if they were writing notes or playing poker on their chrome book (I did notice one student doing this). However in contrast, the Economics class relied most of the period on interpersonal intelligence as they played Econoland. The economics students had to reflect on their ability to recognize on one another’s desires and intentions, especially when it came to selling and purchasing resources. While Mr. George stayed out of their way for most of the game, they still had to rely on their fellow classmates or else they were doomed in Econoland because they needed to communicate with one another. The Economics class also strongly demonstrated bodily-kinesthetic intelligence as they turned their lesson into a physical game and had to move around the classroom to talk to their classmates and make a deal with them. The two classes to me were approached so differently by Mr. George, it was interesting to see how flexible his teaching style was. It made me think if I would be able to exhibit this when I get my own classroom and if I can apply different methods to different groups of students.

Pause and Reflect (p. 70)

2. Should teachers and schools focus on fostering a variety of abilities such as those Gardner identified, or should they concentrate on developing verbal and mathematical abilities? Explain your position.

Personally, I think that after observing three of Mr. George’s class periods, teachers and schools should DEFINITELY focus on fostering a variety of abilities. Each one of Mr. George’s classes were so different and the group of students in each class differed from the other. His AP U.S. History class was able to sit through an entire period of quietly listening to his lecture and writing down notes and reflecting on themselves individually. They could easily handle verbal abilities. However his Economics period needed to get up and work with one another and the students worked best that way. They reflected off of one another and were able to recognize each other’s intentions within the game. The students were able to pick up on the cheating due to analyzing that small group. Mr. George’s Contemporary U.S. History learned best through a combination of both methods- they began the class period with a ball activity to focus on the lesson and asked questions Mr. George questions throughout the lecture and connected the lesson to their own lives. They communicated with one another but didn’t rely completely on one another’s reflects. Both his Contemporary U.S. History and Economics class exhibited bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and if Mr. George and Newton High School only concentrated on verbal and mathematical abilities, these students would struggle. Schools and teachers should be like Mr. George and recognize that you cannot have the same expectations for each class period- every group of students has a way they learn best and it’s your duty as an educator to figure it out and work with it.

My time observing Mr. George has thus far been very insightful and made me look forward to when my time comes to be in his position. I want to help figure out what methods work best for each class period and test my strengths as a teacher.

That is all for this week’s inside of the world of teaching!

[sanchezlisette]

Inside the World of Math-Practice Blog

At the beginning of the class, the teacher starts off engaging with the students, calling back to a previous assignment they had done. The teacher effectively demonstrates the characteristic of communication by doing this. She also encourages the communication between the students as they discuss the problem together and the solution. She encourages engagement with her students as she asks them questions, demonstrating what her expectations are. She carries that “can-do” attitude. The teacher is aware of what her student’s are capable of doing which is an important characteristic for a teacher to have. Another characteristic the teacher demonstrated was academic engaged time. The students are engaged with solving the math problem she has set out for them and keeps the student’s attention on the activity by keeping their minds active with questioning and discussing to their classmates. The teacher did an excellent job at exhibiting a few of the eight characteristics for an effective school inside of her classroom.

Denial of desire, page 42. Denial of desire is a common experience for elementary aged children as they can have their hand raised and not be called upon or have a question go unanswered. They will grow frustrated as they deal with the delayed gratification and are denied their desire of speaking up. In the video, you can see at 1:52 that a student has their hand raised, waiting to be called upon to answer the question but they are not called upon and another student that didn’t have their hand raised gets the gratification of speaking instead. We do not get a view of the student’s face but one can imagine that they are dealing with the denial of desire as they had been waiting patiently to be called on and their hand was ignored and the answer was just blurted out by someone else.