This semester was the first time that I administered an interest inventory to my students. From the results, it was seen that the majority of the class only "sometimes" read books just for fun. Therefore, I believe that I can provide opportunities for learning to be more fun so that this would occur more often. Furthermore, a lot of the students had very specific interests and book preferences. Though it is impossible to incorporate all of these interests into the curriculum, I could possibly focus on those who need that extra push to read and focus. From what I have seen so far for the semester, the students' learning styles have remained this same. I would aim to meet the needs of these learning styles to the best of my ability, and differentiate instruction based on these.
This semester, I am with the same classroom. I was extremely happy about this as it was an opportunity to get to know my kids even more. Though I believe that I got to know them well last semester, I know that there is still a lot to learn. The only change made to my classroom was that one boy left, and a new (previously home schooled) boy came in. However, I still have a classroom of 18 students, (9 boys and 9 girls). Because of the new student, the demographics of my classroom has also changed. The African American percentage has now decreased from 16.67% to 11.11%, and the White percentage has increased from 33.33% to 38.39%. There are still no ESOL students in my classroom, and the socio-economic status remains the same. Additionally, my focus student (Billy) is still the only student on a 504 plan, though it is believed that another may be on one soon. Therefore, Billy is a student that needs a lot of accommodations during lessons. Because he has been diagnosed with ADHD, brain breaks, kinesthetic learning, and incorporating things that he likes (such as snakes) into daily routines is definitely important.
This semester was the first time that I administered an interest inventory to my students. From the results, it was seen that the majority of the class only "sometimes" read books just for fun. Therefore, I believe that I can provide opportunities for learning to be more fun so that this would occur more often. Furthermore, a lot of the students had very specific interests and book preferences. Though it is impossible to incorporate all of these interests into the curriculum, I could possibly focus on those who need that extra push to read and focus. From what I have seen so far for the semester, the students' learning styles have remained this same. I would aim to meet the needs of these learning styles to the best of my ability, and differentiate instruction based on these.
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The Sleeter article focused on aspects of the curriculum. Of the four main groups that were constructed by Kliebard, I agree most with the developmentalists and the social meliorists. In my classroom, students' needs and interests are of top priority. Therefore, the curriculum should include the interests of the students, and they should play a role in the formation and development of such. Additionally, I believe that the hidden curriculum has many important duties, such as preparing children for future social roles. Though this may not be an apparent or obvious function of education, I think it is one that goes unappreciated for its significance.
The second article, by Shulman, began with a quote that I unfortunately have heard before. "He who can does, he who cannot, teaches." It is one that I have had to battle more than once. Nevertheless, I know what is true and what is not, and it is evident that the author of the article does also. It is beyond me why persons still have a low opinion of teachers. However, the line "Broadly speaking, what distinguishes the man who knows from the ignorant man is an ability to teach," captures the essence of the profession well. In today's standards, the seven criterion seem a lot more fitting than the previous ones to me. It is the age of differentiation and attention to individual differences, rather than pure focus on content. This is one of the goals for my future classroom. I believe that there needs to be as many kinds of teacher knowledge in the classroom as possible in order to make it an effective one. In my future classroom, I would be sure to combine propositional knowledge, case knowledge and strategic knowledge. One without the others can prove ineffective, and I have seen this through personal experiences in schooling. This article ends beautifully, with the line, "Those who can do. Those who understand teach." This phrase is the one that should be well know, and I would be sure to prove it right in the future. Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4-14. Sleeter, C. E. (n.d.). Multicultural Education, Definitions and Curriculum Standards. Encyclopedia of Diversity in Educatio In terms of accomplished practices, I am confident that I have grown personally and professionally in my level 1 internship. I believe that I need to continue working on feap 2b. I think that I need to "toughen up" on some students, and enforce my behavior management policies more thoroughly. This way, I would be respected more as a teacher, and class procedures and lessons would run more smoothly. Furthermore, I would like to develop feap 2h. Though I do implement some form of differentiation in my lessons, I believe I can do more of this in order to meet the needs of every single student in the class. For example, I tend to focus on the needs of those who are below level, and pay less attention to gifted students. Thus, a goal this semester is to distribute my attention and accommodations more evenly to all students.
I can meet this goal by paying more attention to my differentiations in my lesson plans. In terms of behavioral management, my CT can definitely help me with this. Often times, she would notice when I am being too easy on a student, and would encourage me to enforce my policies. Thus, with her reminding and encouragement, I would master this skill. My CT and supervisor are also great resources for ideas and suggestions to differentiate, particularly for gifted learners. I believe my lesson plans would be evidence that I have grown mid-semester in terms of accommodating for all levels of students, as I would include these methods in each. Furthermore, I believe if I am stricter with behavior management, I would be able to see a difference in the ways that students respond to me and act around me. For example, if the teacher leaves the classroom for a moment, they would act with the same conduct that they would in front of the CT. Of the three fundamental principles of learning, the point about using a "metacognitive" approach stood out to me the most. Metacognition can be extremely beneficial for learning, especially if students are aware of what this concept entails. Therefore, this is a reminder that as a future educator, it is important that I reinforce this idea to students. Furthermore, the quote "new understandings are constructed on a foundation of existing understandings and experiences." These preconceptions, that can act as an aid, or sometimes a hindrance, to learning are important to investigate. Thus, in the future, I will be sure to discover, and dig deep to determine my students' views, opinions and understandings of a certain topic before I begin to teach it. This will result in more effective and accurate learning. Linking back to the third principle, the it is also important for students to define goals, and monitor progress on their own. The quote ,"even the best instructional efforts can be successful only if the student can make use of the opportunity to learn" emphasizes the importance of this. Thus, all efforts would be seen as a future educator to implement techniques, strategies and exercises that encourage students to think about their own information processing.
With regards to learning environments, I would definitely focus on the learner-centered lens, due to the importance of preconceptions and the influence of these. The knowledge centered lens is also important and students should always be aware of the purpose and outline behind all lessons. Of all the lenses, the community-centered lens is one that is extremely important, as it encourages a safe and comfortable classroom that could result in optimal learning. As a future educator, this lens stands out to me the most, as I always want my students to feel comfortable enough to ask questions, and answer questions even if they are not positive that they are correct. I believe that this factor, or lack-thereof can be seen in many classrooms. For example, my focus student struggled significantly with self-confidence and participation. Therefore, if he would feel safer and more comfortable, these two factors may improve. As I continue my internship, I would try my best to encourage all lenses and the important principles of learning. Donovan, S. (2005). How students learn history, mathematics, and science in the classroom. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. |
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