Jean Piagent: Cognitive Development

This video is of Jessica and I reading "In My Backyard" to the young students at F.L Schlagle Library.

Dealing with Race: Reflection 8

How will you deal with the issue of race as a teacher with your students administrators and colleagues?

As a teacher, it is important to be cautious about the type of word choices you use. reason why word choices are important is because, something little that you comment about could be offensive or a big deal to another student. When talking about race, most students tend to be very uncomfortable; especially when you are the only opposite race in the room. From having this discussion, I believe that I would have to build a personal relationship with each student first. After I have built a bondi with each student, I think we can discuss racism as a group open-mindedly. I understand that not everyone will be comfortable with having this conversation, due to their background, and where they come from. But as a teacher I will make that my responsibility to get everyone to a place where we can open up together. I would even set up conversations where we could share negative racism experiences. This will build a close bond between the students and I. This could help me build an enviornement of trust the classroom. That will then lead to an open discussion as well. I know this conflict has been present for many years, and this topic needs to be talked about, regardless if anyone believes differently.

With administrators, it should not even a question to wonder about; rather if it is hard to bring up a conversation about race. Since we all live in the same world, everyone knows racism is and has been a problem for a very long time. As I teacher, it is important to discuss all the negative things that are going on with administrators. When that is discussed, there needs to be a plan made or an agreement between administration and staff on how to talk to your students about it. Doing it this way, you won’t have to be afraid of a student telling on you. This avoids trouble in so many different ways. Also, if the whole school talks about it, the students will bring their attention on the topic and respond.

In my opinion, talking to the colleagues about race is as important as discussing it with the administrators. When talking to other teachers, everyone will not agree on how to present this discussion to students. Agreeing and disagreeing is the whole point of the meeting. Bringing together different mindsets and views on this topic can bring bright ideas to the table. Using the four engagement hooks could also be a useful tool to discuss when brainstorming on ideas. With colleagues being involved, it could also be like a team project to work on as a unit.

The process of educating students about racism will never be easy, or the most comfortable thing to do. Because the problem is present now, its important for every student to be still aware and knowledgeable about it. Also, when i see racism going on, I will make it my job to put a stop to it. Racism needs to be a topic as much as bullying. In fact, racism is very much involved in bullying. So discussing the roots of all the negativity can bring a solution. It is obvious it can’t be done overnight, but I will be sure that the staff and I  just take one step at a time.

Teaching Experience: Reflection 7

Teaching Experience

Before, I went out to go teach I was very nervous. I have never been the type of person who likes to be around big bunches of people; so, even having the imagination of having the audacity to speak in front of a big group of people made my heart drop.

When going to teach the students assigned to, I didn’t feel prepared at all. I was shook and felt like i was missing something; or I continued thinking of things i could do differently but was too late to prepare. Before teaching something i was excited about was, afterwards i could be able to say i taught somebody something. Since i am the youngest of all my mothers children, there isn’t anyone i can teach because everyone is above me in my knowledge. It’s also almost like i’m the only one who is being taught lessons.

The difficult things i faced was talking in front everyone and having all eyes on me. When talking out loud around many people, i tend to stutter and talk low and slow. After each sentence when speaking, it was like a drag to say the next sentence. But the good thing was i kept calm and got through. I didn’t have to change anything the day of the lesson, because everything was ready to go. Although my lesson was set, it was unfortunate that we couldn’t even get to the fun part.

Some of the classroom techniques that were used was the natural lighting. The blind were open with nothing but shining in; because we didn’t want the brain to fry. During bellwork time, the leading teacher did put calm music on to get into there own vibe to focus. While, teaching I accentuated the positive throughout the whole lesson, to keep the students going; because what i didn’t remember about middle school was we tend to give up really quickly. The aroma of the classroom had the scent of fresh air. Along with the natural lighting the windows were cracked to keep a refreshed atmosphere. The other techniques that were available wasn’t really necessary.

If was teaching this lesson again, i would make sure the reading part, was up to par with their reading level. By doing this next time, we could have a better flow of the lesson; because with the more challenging article, we didnt even get to read through the whole article. My students would have expressed their opinion rather more than listening the whole time. I noticed my students were getting bored with having to be quiet and listen for long periods of time. The students would have received small gifts for putting in effort. Receiving awards, could keep them going and make competition on getting the answers right with the other students hopefully.

Mcdaniel Learning Center Observation: Reflection 6

Mcdaniel Learning Center Observation

When I first was told that I would be going to McDanield school, I had no idea where it was and what level of education the school was teaching. As I asked more questions about it, it was clear that this school was for students who have special needs. I was then automatically nervous about this. The reason behind that,is because I’ve had many bad experiences with students with special needs at my current high school. As i thought about it, I never intended to discriminate towards anybody. After further reflection, I then made myself excited to go and observe around different kinds of students and different education levels.

When I first arrived at the location of the school, it was all brick on the outside. After walking inside, and looking around, the setting had very dim lighting; as if it were a prison and this gave a very depressing atmosphere. When looking at the walls, there were lots of colorings of pictures and uplifting posters. I thought the school looked very much like an elementary school. When finally seeing some students, you could automatically tell that they had some kind of syndrome or problem. By their facial features, the way they walked, and responded could give you a hint that something is internally wrong with them.

My group and I went to the preschool class first to observe. While going to the classroom, I looked through the other classroom windows. While looking, I saw that the students sat at a semi-circle table; the teacher would always sit on the opposite side. There were several short books scattered on shelves, colorful carpets, toys and games.

After we got to the classroom assigned first, we all met the teacher named Mrs. T. She was very kind and welcoming; Mrs. T. immediately introduced us to all the students. There were about six students present in the classroom, and most of them were females. They were all at different stations in the classroom doing different things. The majority of the  students were caucasian while only one girl was hispanic. As I observed the classroom, I saw that the ceiling lights had pillow cases over the lights. Seeing that was very strange to me, until I remembered the different learning techniques that were brought to my attention. I knew that the pillow case being over the lights, was to help the students be in a more calm and environment, and also be able to think straight and relax, rather than having bright lights fry their brains and straining their eyes. I also recognized that the classroom strategy “accentuate the positive” played a big part in all of the the classrooms. Even if the student did something small, the caregiver made it clear to the student that the student’s progress has been recognized and it’s a good thing.

In the classroom, I saw that the teacher was slowly discipling them and getting them in the routine to follow directions and do things following procedures; instead of how they wanted to do it. For example, when a student wanted to change to another learning/fun station they were to go to the round table and look at the choices of stations that they had available. When the child made up their mind on what they wanted to do, they were to move it to the side directed by the teacher, say please, and be directed to the station. They were also disciplined: if a student was doing something that is not acceptable, he or she would go in time out for one minute and the teacher made sure to  inform the student why he or she was in time out. There were no rules posted on the walls; but the students couldn't read, so it wasn't really necessary.

In all the different classrooms, the students were very behind on their comprehension level. Teachers would have to tell a student to do something repeatedly and sometimes have to direct them on what to do. Through all the learning levels, the students were in common psychological stages.

According to Jean Piaget’s theory, the most common stages that the students were on were the Concrete Operational Stage and the Sensorimotor Stage. These stages are when the students are learning to interact with the environment and for some, even learning to have a conversation.

Overall, at the end of the day, I did very much enjoy this experience. Although, some of the moments were depressing and boring, I still have a more open mind, or different outlook on people with special needs. I can understand more about where they are coming from and how they develop differently.

Lesson In Class: Reflection 5

Lesson In Class

    While teaching my lesson, my objective for the students was to make them realize how wrong bullying was; and how it affects the people around them. Hopefully, afterwards they would walk out the classroom, not wanting to bully anymore. Teaching the students with the Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan model wasn’t hard because the teacher already made herself be the responsibility to accentuate the positive, provide natural lighting, and soft music. The only thing I had to bring to the table was the four engagement hooks.

At the beginning of the lesson, I was sure to introduce myself first and inform the students as to why I was there and what I would be teaching. Even though I was someone new to the class, getting the students’ attention was not a problem. Students already knew bullying had been a major problem in the school environment, or anywhere, really. To connect them to my lesson, I asked each student a bullying situation they’ve witnessed or been involved in. Then, I had them explain if they thought it was right or wrong, and why. None of the students said it was a good thing, so this made the lesson a lot easier to teach.

To prepare the students for what they were about to learn, the leading teacher and I had them all get out their annotation cards to help them answer questions, and a vocabulary worksheet to help guide them as we read the article together as a class. Some of the comprehension activities i had them do as we read along is, since the article was slightly challenging; after each paragraph I had them partner up and discuss what the paragraph was about. I then made them come up with a one sentence statement on what the paragraph was trying to tell us. Each group shared their statement, we was sure to make sure everyone understood before we moved on. This activity was also an assess to make sure everyone did understand.

For the future I would do some things slightly differently. On my behalf, something i didn’t look into or think about was look at the different reading levels. Based on us not even being able to get past the third paragraph, made me realize that the article that we were reading was a little more challenging than anybody anticipated. The big vocabulary words scared the students and made them not want to continue reading; this also made them lose interest in my lesson. For the future if I was to make them read a challenged article, i would provide a vocabulary list on the words they would most likely not understand. Or I would just be sure to give the students an article that was more on their reading level. Another thing i would change, was make us all have more class discussion on their beliefs. Students know it all, so discussing the conflict could help me and other adults figure out the root of why bullying even occurs.

The management techniques played a big part in the classroom. Like, already mentioned the leading teacher used most of the techniques while assisting my lesson. My job was the four engagement hooks, to obviously get them to get engaged into the lesson and the objective. To keep positive energy in the classroom, I also helped accentuate the positive. When the students were asked questions during pauses; most students would get the answers wrong continuously. So, i made sure that they knew this was a challenging article, and they were getting close to the right answer. I knew by keeping positive air in the room, the students would be more motivated to get the answer right; or at least try to put in more effort. Management techniques i would do next time, to encourage the student is reward them with actual small prize like candy. Nobody turns down a prize for any reason. I believe doing this, would keep the students awake and be more motivated to learn.