Chapter 10: Going Beyond the Classroom

"Recognize and support our learning on our own. If we are doing something that interests us outside of school, it's probably teaching us something. you may be able to connect to it somehow, and in any case your acknowledgment and respect matter to us" (page 180).

This part of the reading in chapter ten made me feel good when I read it. The author is just trying to convey the fact that teachers need to be aware of what their students are doing outside of school because more often than not, they are seizing the opportunity to learn other material in ways that interest them.

This part of the reading was a great way to end this book because it reminds those who are reading that learning can take place anywhere and everywhere. For some, poetry readings may teach them extensively about English and interest them in a way that would cause them to want to write their own. Going to art shows may teach students about different styles and brushstrokes and then influence them to create their own piece. I think that students like to know that their teacher admires the work that they do and it is important to them to hear that support and praise from their teachers.

Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong

In chapter nine, the quote that jumped out most for me was on page 168. It said, "We're just going to crush your hope and pride. Teachers need to get a harder shell. After that, students won't see that you're scared. -Mika" (page 168).

This particular section of the reading stood out to me because it kind of summarized my first few weeks out in the schools. While my time there was not 100% awful, I did quickly come to the realization that students, if they really want to, can break you down into very small pieces. In my class, I realized that if you don't give your students the respect they deserve, you won't be respected either. My mentor has been teaching for almost 10 years, and his students have been challenging him every minute of everyday since that 10 years began. Since he isn't giving them respect, they are wearing on him.

Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

One thing from chapter eight that jumped out at me was the chart on page 148 that discussed different ways for a teacher to incorporate another individuals culture and background into the material being covered in class.

This part of the reading stood out for me because I never thought that I would be teaching students who have learned English as a second language. Coming from rural Maine, it has never been something that I have had experience with, but if I become a teacher in a larger city or more populated states, this issue is something I will have to learn to deal with. I think that this chart offers some great beginning ways of integrating another culture and language into the classroom. Not only does it educate the other students in the class, but it also helps the student learning English relate it back to their own origins. One question I have is what happens when the student may not be coming from a different country and may just have extreme trouble learning the English language?

Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

"Use a lot of concrete examples. Don't start with formulas. Instead, look for everyday illustrations of math or science concepts like the angle of our shadows or the arc of a basketball" (page 134).

This section in chapter seven stuck out in the reading because it applies to what we have been discussing in terms of how to make assessments and learning material relevant to the student, as well as to the WebQuest examples we have been working on.

All through elementary and high school, being able to apply real world situations to levers and pulleys or trigonometric equations really helped me be able to completely grasp the material presented. If I decide to continue on in the education field, I want to be able to find as many real like situations possible to help my students understand the material. For example, a physics teacher could help you determine how tall a tree is given the length of the shadow on the ground. In geometry, the teacher could have an assessment where the students would have to build/find something that makes use of the different kinds of triangles or the different sizes of angles.

Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom

In chapter six, one of the areas that stood out that we have been discussing throughout our practicum experience was whether or not to give homework, and if it's given, how much should it be worth in their final grade. On page 114, there was a chart that discussed different ways to make homework matter to the students. The most interesting point stated that teachers should still give points when the students do their homework regardless of whether the work is correct or not.

I chose this section because homework and grading policies are topics we have been discussing in great detail since the beginning of the term. In theory, I think that this is a great idea because it rewards the students for sitting down and working through the problem sets given. However, this kind of policy could make students want to not care and slack off. As long as it is apparent that the students are putting time and effort into their work, full credit for work being turned in is great.

Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group

"I wish that a teacher would ask me, "Do you understand? If not, how can I make you? -Mahogany" (page 91).

This particular section of the reading jumped out at me because I thought it was pretty silly that this idea was included in the book. I thought that being a teacher automatically included being able to help your students grasp challenging concepts.

I think that this topic and quote from a student stood out to me because it is a problem that each and every one of us have dealt with at one point in our lives. While some teachers are actually there to help you learn, there are many who continuously say "why don't you get this?" and then continue to "reteach" the material the same way that did not help the student learn it in the first place. If I decide to continue on with education, one of my biggest goals is to have a way to teach each and every student, even if it means having 20 different methods.

Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

"But if a teacher keeps believing in their value and their ability, kids are willing to try, and try again" (page 63).

This quote did not necessarily jump out at me, but after spending some time in the schools, it is nice to know that students really do want to learn and succeed. When I read that quote, it made me smile and gave me a bit of reassurance. Students just want positive reinforcement as well as a little push from the teacher to help them get where they want to be.

After my first three weeks in the school, I have been growing more and more frustrated with teachers, students, and myself. The students seem like they aren't there to learn, and teachers seem like they don't care enough push them in the way they should, maybe because they have given up. The different experiences that I had in my classroom made me realize how important fulfilling this quote is to the success of my students as well as of me as a teacher.

Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior

The section of chapter three that really jumped out at me were the charts set up on pages 42 and 53. It was clear and made it easy to understand the actions and reactions of students, as well as different techniques for punishing the student. This could be extremely helpful when it comes to dealing with discipline problems in the future.

I really enjoyed these charts because I think it reinforced the fact that all students think and act differently and the attitude and conduct of the teacher can really affect how the students feel about being in school. I thoroughly enjoyed high school and was always very attentive during class, but there were some students who joked around, threw things or had their heads on the desk. Reading over the chapter and looking at the chart helped me realize that they aren't necessarily wanting to misbehave and that sometimes their actions are misinterpreted. The chart with different suggestions of punishments were also great because the pros and cons of each form of punishment were offered.

WebQuest Student Sample-Genetic Disorders

WebQuest Performance Task:

You are an up and coming scientist who has been presented with the opportunity to host a children’s show for Discovery Channel Kids. This new show will film many different volumes, each pertaining to different areas of science. In order to determine if you are the right host for them, the producers have decided that each contestant will create a five or six minute sneak preview show based on a secific genetic disorder. The sneak peek needs to include what the disease is, how it is diagnosed, whether or not it is hereditary, how it affects your genotype and phenotype, and whether or not there are any treatments. In order to be selected as the future host of this new children’s series, you will need to win over the hearts and minds of both the producers and the elementary students who will be viewing your show. Remember, this show is designed for children between the ages of ten and fifteen, so keep it fun and interesting! If selected as the winner, the producers will fly you out to their headquarters in Silver Springs, Maryland, and then on to L.A. to begin filming your show.




Resources Used:

St. Georges University of London:
Kessling, Anna and Mary Sawtell. "The Genetics of Down's Syndrome." Learning About Intellectual Disabilites and Health. 2002. St. Georges University of London. 30 September, 2008.

March of Dimes:
No Author. "Quick References and Fact Sheet." March of Dimes. 2007. March of Dimes. 29 September, 2008.

The National Down Syndrome Society:
No Author. "About Down Syndrome." National Down Syndrome Society. 2008. The National Down Syndrome Society. 30 September, 2008.

KidsHealth- For Kids
Scott, Charles. "Down Syndrome." KidsHealth- For Kids. August 2008. Nemours Foundation. 20 September, 2008.

The Lucina Foundation:
Ward, Kenneth, P. Farrington and A. Sharp. "Birth Defects." The Lucina Foundation. 2006. The Lucina Foundation. 29 September, 2008.


Photos:
(In order of appearance)
Groovin' on a Summer Afternoon
Collage
Down's Syndrome in South Africa
Amniocentesis
Average Karyotype
Trisomy 21 Karyotype
Effects of Down's Syndrome
Down's Syndrome Hands
Lucina Foundation- Birth Defects
New York Times-Genetics Photo
Pregnant Woman Photo
Incidence of Down's Syndrome
Gene Photo
Boy 1
Boy 2
Girl
Adolescent
Young Adult
Man

Diversity in Education

My contributions to the WebQuest wikis

Introduction to WebQuest roles.

Ancient Aztec WebQuest
Added this WebQuest about creating an Aztec museum with traditional artifacts to the "creative products" tab.

Science WebQuest Links
Added this website with links to various WebQuests and lesson plans to the "scientific" tab.

A Forest Forever
Added this WebQuest discussing national parks and their resources to the "persuasion" tab. Students were required to write a persuasive essay regarding the topic.

Refining WebQuest Audiences

Television Shows-Roles
Edited roles that could be taken on when creating or taking on a webquest.

The Maine Memory Network Video

How to Help Someone Use a Computer

One thing that I have to tell myself is:
"Knowledge lives in communities, not individuals. A computer user who's part of a community of computer users will have an easier time than one who isn't. "

This spoke to me because I think that it is important to everyone, young and old, to realize that technology is here to stay. Knowledge in this area is not something that will come easy to everyone, it is something that needs to be worked on frequently in order to become proficient. My mom has the hardest time with them and gets so frustrated because I just understand. The most you can do is fully immerse yourself in that kind of community.

Important Rules:
"Don't take the keyboard. Let them do all the typing, even if it's slower that way, and even if you have to point them to every key they need to type. That's the only way they're going to learn from the interaction. "

This rule spoke to me because I am always the kind of person that gets frustrated if it takes forever for people to do things or get mad if it isn't being done properly. I have a tendency to grab things out of peoples hands and do it for them. As a teacher, however, that is something that I should not be doing. I should be encouraging them to try it out in order to learn.


Though I don't think the concept of technology will be a problem in this classroom, I could say that this presented information would let us know how to better serve those who consider themselves digital immigrants by making the technology as fun, easy, and user friendly as possible.

Agre, Phil. "How to Help Someone Use A Computer." 1996. 18 September, 2008.

Copyright and Fair Use LR

The question that I thought was the most intriguing asked whether it was OK for a teacher to post work of elementary students on a password protected site for parents even if the work contained resources that had not been cited. Under copyright laws, that is technically OK as long as the website is really secured by a password.

This law struck me as really odd because it almost goes against everything our teachers taught us in school. I do not necessarily disagree with the law, but I certainly do not agree either. I understand that we are talking about children between the ages of five and fourteen, however, if it is not their own work it should be cited somehow. If the student doesn't do it, the teacher should take some responsibility of making some reference to who the original work was from. I don't understand why there is a rule such as this. How is typing a paper for your teacher any different? If the teacher’s eyes are the only ones that see your work, it is protected in a sense. At a young age like that, I would think it important that they learn to give credit to the work that you use. Some children may assume that it is OK to not cite their work, which could get them into trouble later in life.

Does the law hold true for students are in high school, or is it strictly for those in elementary school? If a password protected site is created for student work to be published for parents to view, how many hits does there need to be before a law is being broken? What is the reasoning behind the law?

Copyright and Fair Use SR

I thought that the most interesting answers came from questions 2, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, and 18 because a lot of them had to do with the simultaneous use of programs during class or in school. I thought that this quiz showed there were a lot of little loopholes in copyright laws and is not as cut and dry as I had thought. Now that I have taken this quiz, I do not feel like I know any more about the laws, and am just more confused by what can and cannot be done in a classroom setting.

Web 2.0 Educator

I selected Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis as my person to read about.


I think that her specialty is integrating technology into the classroom by using hands on activities and simulations.

The first post that I looked at was about different ways that wiki spaces can be used in the classroom. She includes ideas like using it for lesson plans, notes, information beyond the classroom, and projects. I thought this was helpful, because I think I'll eventually use wiki spaces in my classroom. The second post that I read was about routines in the classroom. In general, my own spaces can be pretty messy, but when it involves classes and school, I must be very organized in order for me to feel like I can accomplish anything. Vicki Davis says that students find comfort in routine and teachers may be able to be more effective. She was initially anti-routine until she realized how much it helped her. The third post was about digital citizenship and tips for parents. I chose this because Dr. Theresa had mentioned it in class this morning. The post basically consisted of an image that looked like a map. Surrounding the middle were branches that had tips for parents like ways to connect yourself and healthy habits online. The final post was about Web 3D and how it is used in education. What was interesting was that it actually referenced second life which was also mentioned in class. It sounded really interesting because you might be able to create a virtual chem lab or a simulation of a functioning ecosystem.


I think that Cool Cat Teacher is in complete support of integrating technology into education. It was pretty obvious through reading just the titles of the posts, that she uses technology a lot in her classroom for various things.

Chapter 1- Knowing Students Well

In chapter one of Fires in the Bathroom, the section on "Getting to know their neighborhoods" really stuck out in my mind. It discussed how student leaders in the school took groups of teachers on excursions to see where students were living. It surprised me because activities like that do not happen that often in Maine.

So far, the content was what I had expected it to be, but I was shocked to read about the "tours" student leaders took their teachers on. In Child and Adolescent Psych, we learned about neighborhood efficacy and how it affects the students and their ability to learn. Even though teachers may realize the impact of living conditions on a child's confidence/identity/learning/etc, visiting neighborhoods is a great idea because it really allows the teachers to get to know their students on a different level. If I was teaching in a city like the one mentioned, I may be oblivious to the quality of neighborhoods because I have never lived in an area like that before. This is now something that I will be more aware of in the future.

Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust and Fairness

The section that I found the most interesting was the exercise for teachers titled "Am I Playing Favorites?" I agree completely with using this strategy as a means of seeing if you are favoring one student over another.

I chose this section of the reading because I thought it was a great strategy to learn about yourself and your attitudes towards certain students. Even if you are not using the survey to see if you are favoring certain students over the others, I do think that it would be a great exercise to do a couple times a month. If there are certain students you may find especially challenging, it may help you focus on some of the positive things that the student has done. I also feel as though it could be a great way to get things off your chest and resolve issues.

Type I and Type II Technology

Type I:
This kind of technology aids the traditional teacher by making every day teaching tasks easy. Students are not really able to get involved and be stimulated by the technology. I think that this kind of technology could best be described as the kind that would be used for PowerPoint presentations and slide shows.
Examples:
1. PowerPoint presentations done in any high school, or college lecture.
2. The use of computers as an electronic grade book.
3. Use of technology for online syllabus or agendas for classes.

Type II:
This technology could be described as the kind of computer use that encourages becoming engaged and interacting with the computers. It may be a hands on method for students to better their knowledge. They often involve computer games, interactive programs, and using them as a learning tool in the classroom.
Examples:
1. In younger grades, there were computers in our classrooms which we could use to learn math skills, history facts, and typing skills. We used to play math blaster frequently to learn about factors.
2. In Botany and Chemistry, we used palm pilots and data loggers which were attached to computers allowed us to perform tasks and simultaneously show us the data from the running experiment.
3. In middle and high school during our computer classes, teachers would offer us interesting projects to do when using the computer. We designed web pages and were able to use interactive programs to improve typing speed.


References:
Maddux, Cleborne D. , and D. LaMont Johnson. Type II Applications of Technology in Education: New and Better Ways of Teaching and Learning. The Haworth Press, Inc. , 2005.

My MEL Experiences

• Hands On- I really enjoyed my high school science classes because they involved many hands on projects. My favorite memories were in my ninth grade Foundations of Science class. We used projects and research to learn, but we also created mouse trap dragsters, rockets, and toothpick bridges to keep science lessons fun. In Physics we used to spend a great amount of time outdoors using trees and other objects help us find out how tall objects are by using their shadows. In Marine Biology, we created cardboard boats to learn about boat design. We then took them to the YMCA to see if we could paddle them to the end of the pool and back without them sinking.
• Interest- Through high school I had always been really interested in the human body so I decided to take Anatomy and Physiology. I loved this teacher because even though we did not do a whole lot of hands on activities, she did fuel our interest by asking questions and having us think on our own. Every few weeks we had to find an article relating to what we were studying, summarize it, and write down questions and concepts that interests us. We did case studies, and she would always show us some pretty awesome films or images. This really kept my interest alive.
• Helping Students Succeed- I had one teacher who had been involved in my life since the age of nine. I grew up performing in her plays and singing in shows. Finally when I got older, she thought that she would guide me into being a music "star." Her expectations for me seemed higher than they were for others, and even when I was really terrible, she still had the confidence that I would succeed. This continued for years and eventually, my hard work-and hers- paid off.
• Context- My English classes in high school were the worst because many teachers never were able to show us how certain projects could be used in the real world. More time was spent reading Lord of The Rings or the Book of Virtues than editing papers and honing our writing skills. What Frodo did with the ring was not useful in the real world.
• Student/Teacher Relationships: I have had many great student/teacher relationships throughout the years that I have been going to school. Many teachers in the younger levels really use positive reinforcement to encourage the students. I think, though, that my best student/teacher relationship that I have is with a professor here. The environment in his classroom is always positive and students would constantly look forward to going to his class because we would wonder what he was going to do next. I still drop by because I know that he is always there to help and always there to talk to.

Learning Styles Inventory Results

Style Scores
Visual-15

Social-10

Physical -11

Aural -16

Verbal -6

Solitary-9

Logical-18







Reactions:

I do think that the results are fairly accurate. It was interesting to see that my logic score was higher than visual because I had always perceived myself as a visual learner. I also thought that it was interesting because the results I received in Dr. Grace’s class did not show either aural or visual as a learning style for me.

Courtesy of: learning-styles-online.com