This was certainly an interesting time to be heading into Thesis defense! As such, we created youtube videos of our research proposals. Below, you can see my research proposal for my Thesis. The title is English Language Learners: Developing Complex Emotion
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This thesis is focused on EL students, and how we can best serve them in our education system. The proposed focal points are developing engaging learning environments, building meaningful relationships with educators and positive familial involvement. ![]()
This is my comprehensive classroom management plan. Although this plan will be in a constant state of revision and updating, this creates a foundation which aligns with my goals as an educator. This presentation is meant to open a conversation on how we, as educators can combat the growing presence of cyberbullying in our schools. This assignment I completed with Gail Brower-Nedler's Comparative Literature 2B class at Newport Harbor High School. I was able to teach this warm-up with her class then return to watch her teach the same activity. This allowed me to experience my planning from the student perspective, as well as see a seasoned teacher work with the same plan.
French II: Grade 10 (+/-) Standards Common Core Standard: CCSS: World Languages: Communication: 2.0-2.2
Learners The students in this particular classroom on the day of my observation had a demographic breakdown as follows: Total: 23 Students Male: 6 Students Female: 17 Students White: 14 Students Minority Group: 9 Students The High School itself is situated in a space where two communities of differing socioeconomic statuses meet. There are members of an extremely wealthy culture, and those who are much lower on the socioeconomic scale. Along with this, there are a significant amount of ELLs at this campus. However, in this class, there was only one students whose primary language was not English. I would imagine that this is due to Spanish being the predominant language for ELL students in this area, and they might be more inclined to take Spanish to fulfill their high school language requirement. Target
Engagement Assessment: Instruction: Management:
Expression Assessment: Instruction: Management:
Action and Representation Assessment: Instruction: Management:
Reflection This field experience really informed my understanding of planning. Mme. Hussein shared with me her methodology for planning, and how she assesses prior knowledge. She explained that she does the crux of her planning in the summer, and makes a very comprehensive list of everything she will need for each lesson, where to find it in the classroom and what needs to have happened in student understanding prior to this being accomplished. I am really intrigued by the idea of planning far out in advance, but being flexible to shift things where they need to be. This course really solidified for me that as teachers we really can’t prepare for everything, the best we can do is prepare to flexible with our plan. Lesson Plan
Teacher: Lucinda Reidling Subject: French II Grades: 10-12 Date: Thursday, November 29, 2018 Ages: 15-17 Lesson
Standard
Learning Target
Learner / Student
Universal Design for Learning Considerations
Instruction
Six Elements Addressed
Reflection
Peer and Teacher Feedback Reflection
References: World Language Content Standards for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. California State Board of Education, 2010, www.cde.ca.gov/be/ st/ss/documents/worldlanguage2009.pdf. Teacher Interview
School: Dana Hills High School /City or Town: Dana Point Teacher’s Name Mme. Abir Hussein Date 11/15/2018 [x] General Education [ ] Special Education Designation / Grade Level(s) 9-12 The observation really fueled my understanding of needs in the classroom. Considering the needs of students in addition to the academic needs the district puts in place gives each educator a bit to juggle. In terms of the needs diagram I am realizing more and more the necessity to approach the occupation of teaching with seriousness and maturity. Families entrust teachers to protect and guide their children all day long. This means ensuring that all of their fundamental needs are met. The teacher I had the pleasure of observing today made that very evident to me, that students have needs at school that are not academic. Understanding that the best learning takes place when each of the 5 sub levels is accounted for is the most important consideration for these young minds. Mme. Abir Hussein was very well versed in what we are studying in this class and had made significant strides in her classroom to ensure safety, belonging and nutritional needs were met. I was able to see first hand the quality of learning that takes place when all of these fundamental needs are met, and students are not preoccupied with thinking about things other than class time. The biggest takeaway for me with this observation was how much focused learning and teaching can take place if the educator takes time to eliminate exterior pressures on the mind. Both Mme. Hussein and her students were actively participating on the work at hand. This was the first group of high schoolers that I had seen who were passionate about the subject. Granted, language is only required for two years, but I sat in on AP French IV and French II, so I was able to see mandatory and compulsory students, and they both had the same mentality: they were there to learn French. Employing active listening skills and taking part in the various UDL aspects of her class made each of the classes engage with the subject and ask thoughtful questions. Pre-considering student needs before going into a classroom session made worlds of difference, and even when I was her student, I had not thought of how impacting that may be.This will inspire me to understand teaching in a whole new light. We, as educators are charged with student success, this includes ensuring their needs are met each day. Being an inspired educator has become more to me than just teaching, it is living each day knowing the duties we adopt as we enter the classroom, and I plan to take this into consideration each day. Just as a short aside, during break she was writing a letter of recommendation for a student for college, and as the student left, the meeting Mme. Hussein said she remembered writing my letter of recommendation for college, and how she had been proud that I asked her. It warmed my heart how thoughtful some teachers can be, feeling very inspired! Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs indicates that we all have 5 levels of need that must be met: Physiological, Safety, Love / Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization. In your professional opinion: 1. How important it is for students to have their basic needs met in order to be successful in School? Why do you think so? She noted that it was very important, because if basic needs are not met then learning cannot take place. 2. Which needs are most important to have satisfied so students can thrive in school? Why? She made special note of the role of nutrition in the classroom. She was very open to students eating in class and she actually had a fridge full of snacks that students could grab from. This ensures that students are not focused on the next time they can eat, and instead have their focus on the classroom discussion. She also discussed how in language studies students need to feel welcomed to speak with their peers and practice their language skills, which goes 3. Who is responsible for ensuring that students have their needs met? Why do you think so? “Everyone” she said. “Everyone has to play their part in order to make the environment work for students, it’s all about teamwork.” She emphasized how each person is integral in this scenario: parents, teachers, proctors, administrators etc. 4. What is one thing a teacher might do for a student who has physiological or safety needs? Why would this be useful? “Have this conversation with them”. Madame Hussein is an advocate for students feeling comfortable speaking with the teacher, and sharing their concerns. In this way, she suggests that having a conversation with the student and/or parent may allow for more clarity with what would be most beneficial rather than just “assuming what the child needs”. 5. Ensuring Safety needs are met and making sure students are ready to learn involves classroom management. What are three things you do to manage your classroom? First and foremost it depends on the group of students, if there is a student with a condition that all of the students need to be aware of Mme. Hussein mentioned (1) “keeping the classmates aware of what the student will need in an emergency” is a useful tool. Second, ensuring that (2) students know safety routines and precautions for the classroom, and that they understand the seriousness of drills. And finally (3), making sure she knows were students are at all times by asking them to write where they are going on a sign out sheet if they leave the classroom for any reason. 6. How do you decide what rules and routines to employ? It depends on the “age and maturity levels of the students”. She teaches freshmen through seniors and employs different rules for the age groups. Although she stresses they three main classroom management tactics above. 7. Do these fit for students who have a Behavior Intervention Plan? How do you assess progress? What do you do for students from a different culture? She had not had students with the prior listed speciality but she often gets students from a different culture. She says that her classroom becomes more fulfilling when other cultures enter because her class is culture based. She makes sure they “understand my [Mme. Hussein] rules and regulations” 8. How do you organize your classroom / educational environment to support classroom management? “Group work is essential for language studies … I seat the students in little ‘pods’ so that they can conversate and practice their language skills.” She noted that for tests she asks them to rearrange so that they are all facing the front this ensures no cheating and more direct focus to what is in front of them. 9. With classroom management in mind, what advice would you give me regarding how to establish good classroom management in my first class? She entreated me to be good to my students in the sense that students are impressionable and if you treat them with respect and you are fun yet regulated with them, they will mirror this and behave accordingly. 10. Ask one of these 2 questions: When you know that a student has a specific need that most of the other students do not have, what do you do to address that need? Or How do you incorporate UDL into your classroom? First and foremost, I was very impressed with the UDL in her classroom. She noted “Well this all stems back to the Multiple Intelligence Theory”, she walked me through how students need different outlets to show how much they are learning. For these reasons she structures her lesson plans to everyday contain: a text, a listening exercise, a song, a ppt and some sort of vocabulary discussion game. This allows each of her students to engage with the topics in various ways. I had the pleasure of observing Drama I and Advanced Drama at Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, CA. The instructor is Ms. Samantha Sanford, and in shadowing her in her role, I was able to glean a great deal of pertinent information in relationship to the role of the educator. Her classroom was slightly unconventional in nature given that it is a subject in the arts, yet her practices as a teacher remained sturdy in the foundations of traditionally understood teaching methods.
The class, comprised of 38 students, was held in the Porthole Theatre at Dana Hills. The class was a mixture of Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors; however, the student population of this class was predominantly first years. The objectives for this session were clear, students performed a pantomime of an everyday activity in order to increase their understanding of spatial awareness on stage and a “show not tell” attitude in the theatre. The class period began with a welcome from Ms. Sanford in which she directed each of the students to join her in a circle on stage. She asked the students if they had any late work to turn in remarking “some credit is better than no credit.” They proceeded to play a game which required patience and critical thinking. Although frustrating to some students, this game allowed them to enter into the appropriate mindset to facilitate a conducive learning environment. Although high school aged students are a bit older than other primary aged students, they proved to take a particularly long time to focus their attention on the task at hand. This posed several hurdles for the teacher: maintaining focus once achieved, ensuring the fewest disruptions possible and appropriately asking students to behave themselves. Once attention was achieved in the whole class, the activities for the day were able to commence. Ms. Sanford created an order for the students to present their pantomimes, and asked if the students had a preference in the order they performed in. Once an order was established, the presentations began. After the first student took the stage, and presented her pantomime, the teacher asked the students to reflect on the performance and provide positive feedback as well as constructive criticism. This routine repeated until the penultimate moments of class. At the finish of class time, Sanford asked the students if they had any announcements regarding student body affairs or on campus activities. Several students shared announcements on campus, and she closed with allowing students to have 5-10 minutes to work on assignments or ask her questions regarding upcoming work. This lesson provided me with many new understandings of the inner workings of the classroom. At the top of my notes I noted the word “multitasking” with several underlines. Sanford presented a facet of teaching that I had not anticipated. Within a period of ten minutes, an operations manager for the district came in to ask her a question, a student asked for the hall pass, a student asked for a note to visit the nurse and a call slip came for another student in the class. All of this occured while she was teaching her lesson for the day. Spring notes the demanding role of decision making the classroom writing “Also, in comparison with many corporate and factory jobs, teachers enjoy a great deal of autonomy in the classroom. It has been estimated that teachers make more than 200 decisions an hour in their classrooms. These decisions range from curricular and teaching problems to behavioral problems. Unlike routine work, teaching involves creative decision making” (Spring, 277). I had not anticipated the level of multi-focused activity that would be demanded from the educator at any given moment. I was also able to see the impact of group work for students. In allowing students to share feedback with their peers, they became both the student and the expert. Robert E. Slavin describes the importance of group work in 21st century learning by writing “In the 21st century, teamwork and the ability to solve problems and learn in groups are increasingly important in the world of work, and every student should know how to work productively with others. Cooperative learning is strongly encouraged in writings about the Common Core State Standards and other college-and career-ready standards” (Slavin, 202). Under the guidance of Ms. Sanford, these students were able to proactively help one another resulting in a greater understanding and appreciation for the subject matter. One of the greatest takeaways from my visit in this class was the role of discipline in the classroom. There are two kinds of discipline that exist within the classroom setting: the discipline in relationship to students, and the self-discipline required of the educator. As typical in any class, there was a group of rowdier students who appeared to thrive on performing in loopholes, or in opposition to direction. This group of students sat together in a space where the teacher would not be able to see them or hear them all the time. In order to ensure the space was not going to be disrupted by student distraction, Sanford began to ask students at random to offer feedback. This ensured that each student was actively, and attentively paying attention to the lesson, and offering the deserved respect to their classmates. She dually reflected the necessary skill of self discipline in the classroom. Although students would exhibit distracting and unruly behavior, Sanford expressed her disinterest in this behavior in a patient and appropriate manner. In encouraging students to behave maturely rather than lashing out at them for there lack of maturity, the students responded well to her, and often shifted their attitude for the betterment of the classroom. In my interview with Sanford, I had the opportunity to ask her several questions regarding her understanding of her occupation. The questions were as follows:
Question two brought about a conversation which aligned nicely with the focus of this course. She found that “balancing the tedium of the goals of the administration and the requirements of core curriculum” was more often than not a challenge. After recently studying the common core requirements, I was able to understand that there may often be contention among administrators, teachers and state officials as to what should be taught in the classroom. In contrast, she noted that her “students successes both personally and professionally as they find the confidence to make their own choices for their futures” was the most rewarding aspect of her job. Sanford expressed that this career give or take was what she had expected, sharing that some aspects were easier and some aspects posed more of a challenge. On that thread, we discussed her advice for interacting and communicating with parents. In her field of study, parents often become involved with the various elements of production. Some of the more useful tools she recommends were keeping in regular contact with parents and allowing for a smaller margin of error for questions, too much information is better than too little. Another method she employs is checking on how her students are performing academically as well as artistically. The school system has a tool which allows her to see when she has students that are “high priority”, this means that the students have two or more grades below a D. In these cases, she is able to see which students she should connect with and help them improve their academic stature. Seeing as students with a GPA lower than 2.5 are not permitted to perform in the arts, this allows her to intercede with the student and see where she may be able to help before it gets out of hand. In communicating with colleagues she shared that she was very lucky to have a small department of tight-knit teachers. This provides for the comfortability to communicate in less formal settings. With bi-weekly department meetings, and informal lunch collaborations, she noted that keeping lines of communication open among your colleagues is one of the best ways to ensure a well-working and efficient department. Her advice for me was varied and practical. She remarked that I should know who my union representatives are and be sure to be consistent on checking the accuracy of documentation with the district. Dually she noted that once I become tenured, I should consider only committing to projects that are of interest to me. Before the process of tenure is awarded to me, I need to be diligent with my co-workers and “play the game” as she put it, taking special attention to understand that I am not yet permanent. All things considered, I had a very informative and motivating experience shadowing Ms. Samantha Sanford. This observation widened my understanding of truly what is required of the position, and what some unforeseen joys are in the job. I look forward to pursuing my credential and seeing first-hand the rigor and expertise required of an educator. References: Sanford, S. (2018, September 19). Classroom Observation [Personal interview]. Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice (12th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. Spring, J. (2017). American Education (18th ed.). Routledge. I had the pleasure of working with my peer JT Richards this week to inform our discussion of professional development in the classroom as well as trends in our teaching philosophies. Working in pairs this week allowed us to work through some of our similarities and differences in teaching style and help each other find places we are thriving and challenged by in developing as future educators.
Our discussion began with working through our previous written assignments and seeing where we overlapped in our teaching philosophies. As it turned out, we had the same teaching philosophy from Sadker and Sadker’s “What is Your Educational Philosophy” quiz, progressivism. This student-centered method for teaching requires that the educator create a plethora of assessment techniques in order to adequately cater to the body of students in the course. We examined the various modes of assessment which could be appropriate for both of our fields of study, specifically methods that we had seen used in our educational careers. We came to find that often we were impressed with teachers and professors who offered many avenues for success and growth for their students. Dually, we discovered that it was the enthusiasm for students and their success which ultimately moves a good teacher to a great teacher. We are both involved in different sides of the academic spectrum (English and biological sciences), so for us to both find teachers who we related to in a more personal level suggests that it may not be the subject which affects student interest, it may be the educator. In our discussion we each commented on not wanting to allow our preferences to affect a students learning. Two places where an educators personal biases may show are in the educators opinions of subject matter and the educators learning and teaching styles. Perhaps the more explicit translation of bias in the classroom is when a teacher or professor suggests that a subjective concept has only one way to consider an answer. For example, as a hopeful English teacher, I could translate my bias by suggesting my opinion of a novels worth. Rather than address the text as a neutral work for students to discover, I have just given the students an opinion about the text before they even encountered the words. Another way that bias could be introduced is from allowing students to be affected by your (the educators) social and political affiliations. Whether or not they engage with your subject well, they may decide to forego their understanding because they do not agree with your views. Perhaps the less recognized space for bias in the classroom is the assumption that the classroom of students has the same learning style as the teacher. Just as teachers each have different teaching philosophies, students have different learning philosophies. For these reasons, the educator must cater to several methods for learning and assessing in one classroom. This provides for a space in which the educator is not favoring one style. For example, if a student is not particularly inclined to classroom discussion, but is more gifted in writing, the educator must provide a space for them to grow as a discussion mate and a place for them to thrive as a written communicator. While each subject works more closely with a specific assessment style, it is important to understand the students may disengage from your subject if you do not offer them a space to do what they do best. On the other hand, it is imperative that educators create an environment where students see their growth and progress in spaces where they did not find themselves to be talented. As educators we are tasked with created rounded learners, and this is only attainable if they are assessed in various mediums. Some ways to showcase the compassion necessary to be an educator are in the various roles that the educator fills. Working with students and families of various cultural, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds requires a constant use of compassion and understanding from the teacher. Understanding that students are not all afforded the same level of encouragement outside of schools means that the teacher may have to gage which students need a but more educational encouragement in the classroom. In addressing each student and family member, the educator must approach each interaction professionally and patiently. From there, understanding that each student may require the teacher to adopt a slightly different tone and role in the classroom is imperative. In moving forward in my pursuit of the MA in Education, I have several goals in the field of my professional development. I hope to learn various tools for addressing the needs of each student quickly. In order to learn these skills, I believe working in the classroom will be the best way to quickly maneuver through the various teaching styles. This will come I believe with the student teaching element of the degree. Another goal of mine is to learn how to appropriately discuss students educational enrichment with parents. In speaking with several educators (at the secondary level), I have gleaned that parents and teachers often have a disconnect in understanding a students successes and failures. I hope to find manageable skills to translate into conversations with parents who may be unhappy with their students progress in my course. Works Consulted Association of American Educators. (2018). Code of Ethics for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/about-us/aae-code-of-ethics. Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2016). California Teaching Performance Expectations. Retrieved from https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-prep/standards/adopted-tpes-2016.pdf?sfvrsn=8cb2c410_0. Sadker, M.P. & Sadker, D. S. (1997). Teachers, schools and society (4th ed., pp. 403-405.) NY: McGraw Hill. An educator, at any level, has the power to affect the way a young mind will view their subject. That being said, teachers have a tremendous impact in the educational experience for all students. Each educator is affected by the various educational styles of their learning process. These philosophies are defined by the relationship between educator, curriculum and student.
My learning process was greatly affected by the teachers and professors that shared their joy for learning with me. Although a vast majority of my interactions with educators were positive in nature, I found many points of contention with teachers who did not possess a level of enthusiasm for their subject or students. In contrast, I responded more energetically to educators who sought for their students to find the enthusiasm in their subject in leading by example. The English department at both my high school and university housed some of the most inspirational educators on campus. Each professor entering class with an inspired sense or knowledge-sharing allowed students to feel as though they were sharing in an personal process of learning. This environment fostered conversations which led to a greater understanding of subject matter. Socratic methods for learning provide students with the ability to engage with their peers and their subject in a method that is only provided in an environment of enthusiastic learning. I was able to experience this in advanced placements of English at the high school level. These classes inspired me to become a lifelong learner, understanding that academic discussion with peers and educators is one of the most direct avenues to understanding and conceptualizing great literary works. Thus, the enthusiasm for both student and subject is necessary from the teacher in order to create an environment conducive for academic conversation. This enthusiasm for learning has the power to inspire students to understand their own potential in a subject the had previously understood as difficult. Having trudged my way through high school sciences, I reached the point where I needed one more course in the biological sciences to finish. Dreading the first day of classes, I begrudgingly made my way to “Science Research”. Much to my surprise this class ended up being one of my favorite courses in my high school career. The teacher rewarded enthusiasm, and introduced an atmosphere of “coolness” for being eager to learn. Although not in a subject I had aimed to pursue, this teacher introduced to me that each subject and each educator has the ability to make learning exciting. My results from Sadker & Sadker’s “What is Your Philosophy of Education?” survey were unsurprising in their explanation of my teaching style. I believe that it is the educator’s job to cater to the changing climate of the students’ education. With my scores weighted toward progressivism, I recognize my “student-centered” approach to the education process. This study was enlightening to defining my goals for students as active learning. In “Analyzing the relationship between prospective teachers’ educational philosophies and their teaching-learning approaches”, Sahan and Terzi describe learning under the thought of progressivism as “teacher is the guide of learner-centered education, learning should be via problem solving and individuals should make meaning of the knowledge useful for him/her via connecting knowledge to real life. Progressivism philosophy puts forth that the individual must learn practical knowledge via actively participating in real life” (Sahan and Terzi, 2015). This description establishes progressivism as a method for creating problem solvers. In actively taking part in their education, students gain skills alongside knowledge. As a passive learner, repeated information bares little to no significance in the workings of the mind. With this new understanding of my own educational philosophies I hope to broaden my horizons for understanding how to cater to multitudes of students. Progressivism, as a school of thought under educational philosophies, requires the educator to orient their teaching style to the needs of the student. In these ways the educational system becomes more personal and practical. I assert that as an educator, it is one of the many duties to help develop learned and eager students. As individuals we are an aggregate of experience, and as educators we must understand that we are a part of cultivating that experience for young learners. Exhibiting a decorum of professionalism while maintaining enthusiasm for both student and subject are two of the most major facets of building my educational philosophy. References More, E.T. (2015, August 7). My Educational Philosophy. Retrieved from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/philosophy-of-teaching/my-educational-philosophy/ . Sadker, M.P. & Sadker, D. S. (1997). Teachers, schools and society (4th ed., pp. 403-405.) NY: McGraw Hill. Şahan, H. H. and Terzi, A. R. (2015). Analyzing the relationship between prospective teachers’ educational philosophies and their teaching-learning approaches. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(8), 1267-1275. |
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