Blog 10

Blog 10

Learning Experiences: We have started preparing for field experience! We finished presenting all of our lessons and the time to leave is drawing near. It has been really great to finally see all the model lessons. By generally recapping the positive and negatives it provided us with an idea of how to improve once we enter the classroom.

Current Events: The article I read discussed alternative ways to asses a student's comprehension of a book than the mundane book report. The suggestions were all intended to strike creativity such as write a diary entry of one of the characters. The ten alternative methods made reading more exiting and interesting and tested their knowledge at a higher level.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/book-report-alternatives-elena-aguilar

Quote of the Week: "There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning." I like this quote because it describes school as just the beginning of an entire life of learning and without it life would be quite dull.

Observations: Getting to watch one another present was helpful so that once it is our time to teach a lesson to our own class we are already aware of what works best and what we should avoid. Field experience was awesome! Getting to see different schools, grades, and teachers first-hand was the best way for me to figure where I wanted to do my field experience  The fourth grade class at Oak Point is what sold me on either 4th or 5th grade. The students were old enough to carry a conversation with you while not getting too distracted. Oak Pointe was just as fabulous as the kids that go there and hopefully I will get that same awesome experience when we go out into the field!

Reflection: If it were not for the field experience that we have coming up I would be absolutely ready to graduate now! I am too excited for College now as well as everything I have planned for the summer it is making it difficult to keep focused on the rest of the school year. Hopefully having field experience to change things up a bit will make the rest of the year more bearable. I can't wait to find out my placement!

Blog 9

Read Alouds: Teaching Hope-Stories from the Freedom Writer Teacher. This portion of the book that we were able to listen to gave a lot of insight to us students. Not having any field experience yet made this a perfect book to learn from since teachers with all sorts of backgrounds were giving their own insight. It would be good for new teachers to hear how other new teachers dealt with problem situations that provide inspiration and ideas when things are not going as planned. I also thought it was soo awesome that Mrs. Jackson had her writing published in the book. I think its a valuable book to any teachers or aspiring teachers because you feel like you can relate to the Freedom Writer Teachers through their writing.

Learning Experiences:  As we near the classroom period of the class we have been preparing for field work in class. We have been reviewing teaching skills and methods and how to make learning more engaging for the students. Most recently we have been preparing our lessons which requires us to apply all of our knowledge about teaching to this one lesson we will present to the class. It has been beneficial to be present for the lessons. By watching it helps to see what works, what is interesting, and what engages the students the most.

Current Event: In a middle school there has been recent concern with the lacking civic and government classes for kids of this age. The concern is that students will not have had enough classes about the government and will not be as knowledgeable of the system. They feel that the one required class in high school is not enough to prepare them to understand the real world problems in government today. Nothing has yet to be done about this concern but they hope to encourage an increase in civic courses. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2012/10/civic_education_assessments_fo.html

Quote of the Week:

"Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that's not always the biological parent or family member. It may be a friend of a neighbor. Often times a teacher." I really like this quote because the power of a teacher is incredible especially for a student who feels neglected at home. I have seen the impact a compassionate teacher has on a student how how much the student begins to feel empowered just because someone has taken the time to be there for them.
Observations: Through our presentations I have taken note of what teaching styles are most effective and what students respond to the most. After noticing this in TC class I have noticed that I began to pick up on this in my other classes. I notice what things the teacher does that excites or interests the students as well as what bores them. I have been applying what I have learned about teaching styles in the classroom because I often find myself saying what makes this activity so interesting or boring.

Reflection: I am getting excited for the field experience that is coming up. I am already starting to think about what grade and school I want to be at. I am looking forward to the field trip Monday because it'll make field experience seem that much closer. Being in a classroom will be an awesome new experience to help with the monotonous feeling school has started to get.

Blog 8

Learning Experiences: I really enjoyed the guest speaker Jenna Hallman. Her lesson was so engaging and really interesting. She presented us with a ton of great techniques shush as using the colors red and yellow to help students remember the material learned. The brain based learning that Jenna presented to us gave a fresh insight to learning that I would not have thought about before. I thought it was awesome when we did the little test to see if we were auditory or visual learners! By being able to mix auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning I was truly engaged and learned a lot from her presentation. In the class room we learned about the different learning styles and techniques as well as the best way to present your test to students: start with easier questions, be grammatically correct, and have consistency in your answer choices.

Current Event: In Maine all school faculty are required to attend a teaching, administrative, and technology conference in order to better prepare the staff for the classroom. I think this is a positive implication while many teachers who are required to do so are not happy about the additional meetings to attend. In these conferences they allow new ideas and techniques from other schools to be presented in order to create the best learning experience for their kids in the classroom.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/10/11/news/midcoast/school-district-sending-entire-staff-to-technology-conference/

Quote of the Week:
" The best teacher gives you something to think about at home besides homework." I like this quote because if teachers were not so focused of doing the most amount of worksheets then they would be able to take more time to communicate and share meaningful ideas with their students.

Observations: From the presentation that the guest speaker shared with us as well as the activities we have done in class I noticed that teachers and students both benefit from interactive and engaging lessons. The students are more willing to learn and listen and the teacher does not have to fight to keep the students engaged. This technique could be useful in a lot of my classes right now since seniors are starting to get senioritis and are becoming more interested with the upcoming months than what is going on in the classroom.

Reflections:  I can already tell that I am getting senioritis. Every week I am doing something to prepare for my upcoming year at CofC. I am still itching to hear back from the Honors College but until then I am getting my housing and everything ready for next year. I have already even found a roommate. I am beyond ready to graduate.

Blog Six

Read-alouds: With the holidays and our busy classes we only had a chance to read two read alouds. The first one was "Big Book of Families" by Catherine and Laurence Anholt 978-0763603236. It would be a really good book to introduce kids to the idea of a family tree. They could make their own family tree in class and share it with the other students. Also it would be great to teach kids about cultural diversity and how there are so many different families with different values. This would be really helpful because there are students with different cultural backgrounds throughout all classrooms, and it would help them understand where they all come from. They next book was "The Halloween Class" by Peter Maloney 10: 0439395194 was a seasonal appropriate book and was fun to listen to since Halloween was just around the corner. It is a great book for kids who are just beginning chapter books. It still is engaging like a picture book but it prepares the kids for more challenging books to come. It introduces them to the concept of breaking up a book into chapters, and they could even write their own story with chapters to enforce concept division in books.
"The Perks of Being a Wall Flower" by Stephen Chbosky  9781419387241was a book that modeled student teacher relationships in a positive way and kids could respond to this book by writing a letter of appreciation to one of their teacher. "Just be Nice to your Little Friends" by Caroline Kenneth 0307101002 was a book that could support a lot of creative writing ideas such as having kids rewrite the story in the perceptive of the bees and butterflies and show how they felt. We also read "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Summary 1595141880 would be a great book to teach in freshman success classes about the harms that come from bullying. Teachers could get kids to understand the consequences and also have the bullied kids open up about their struggles.
Learning Experiences: It was really great to be able to reach eachother's barrier books. It really helped me understand some of the barriers better, therefore it would have been nice to read the books before the test. None the less I was able to comprehend and better understand some barriers to learning that I had never thought were a big issue in the first place. Also one day in class Mrs. Dowd from Newberry College came to speak with our class and she had a lot of helpful information that she presented to us. She offered some advice that would be helpful even if we don't end up choosing to attend Newberry. I was nervous about entering college not knowing exactly what I wanted to do, but she explained how there are a large number of students that switch majors at least 3 times which made me feel a lot more reassured. I also liked listening to each groups presentations. They were very informative and fun. I feel like the way they were presented has helped me better understand the material.
Current Event: The article I read mostly talked about the similarities between Obama's and Romney's plans for education. The part I was most interested in was their approaches to evaluating teachers and ensuring that capable educators are entering our schools. They both want to make it more challenging for educators to enter schools because they want the quality of teachers to expand. I agree with their goals because sure anyone can set out and earn a teaching degree and teach a class but only a small group of those with teaching degrees actuallly know how to teach and engage their students.
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8740947228598430290#editor/target=post;postID=8814276956254565966
Quote of the Week:  "Experience is the teacher of all things" I really like this quote because it is a useful motto for the classroom. After the teacher has provided the students with the information it should be common practice for the class to engage in a hands on activity to reinforce the information they just learned because nothing helps me learn more than a hands on approach to learning.
Observations: I've been noticing lately that one of my teachers tends to be putting kids down unintentionally when asked a question. This teacher will often react to the question and the student asking it like they are thinking are you seriously asking this, you should know this what a dumb question. Clearly this is not a good model of a helpful and understanding teacher. This type of reaction shuts down students and discourages them from learning because they are no longer comfortable asking questions about things they don't understand. I am glad that most teachers are not like this because this is one trait that immediately hinders a student's ability to learn.
Reflections: These past few days I have applied to what I believe is my last college! I still have  a few more additional tasks to complete for two of my schools like finalizing my honors college essay for CofC, I can't wait until everything has been sent in and I will just be waiting for those acceptance letters! I',m extremely ready for college, over the weekend I went to CofC's open house and it made me even more excited to graduate. I am so glad we are about to go on Thanksgiving break because school has gotten stressful. Hopefully the few days we have off will be enough to recover.

Read-Alouds: I really enjoyed the read-alouds that were chosen for these past two weeks! The first one, "It's Not Easy Being a Bunny" by Marilyn Sadler 9780394961026, was a book my parents read to me when I was little! It was so strange and  so cool because it was the first time I had heard that book since I was really little and as Michael read it I was transported back into that time of my life. There was a lot of repetition which would be good for an English class. It would also be good for elementary school guidance counselors when they are teaching children about character ed. It would even be great for a science class where kids have to research about the animals that were listed in the story. "Is There Really a Human Race" by Jamie Lee Curtis 9780060753481 was a great book filled with rhyme scheme that would be a great model for kids to learn from. It was also very inspirational displaying that you don't always have to be first, if you work at your own place it will be much more rewarding. It would be a great encouragement for ESOL students to support them as they learn a new language, even the title itself is an idiom they would most likely misinterpret. The format of this story would be a great creative writing assignment where kids have to write a story by only using questions. The next book we read I found it to be very cute and funny. It was "The Monster at the End of This Book" by Sesame Street 0307010856. Grover is afraid of the monster at the end of the book, and kids can really relate to him because of their fear of the unknown. This book can get kids to talk about their fears or even write about them so that they can face them. I read "Halloween" by Jerry Seinfeld 0316706256. I first heard this book when I was in elementary school. I loved it so much that I had my parents buy it for me immediately; I had to have it! There was a lot of voice in the story which would be perfect for a public speaking class to get kids to read with enthusiasm while enjoying a funny children's book by a great comedian. Our last read-aloud was an excerpt from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling 9780747558194 portrayed a very unique student-teacher relationship. It shows that teachers are normal people and are surprisingly a lot like students. It displays a respectful and close relationship between teacher and student that is good for actual students to understand.
Learning Experiences: These past few days we have really started to focus on barriers. After reading our text book I was shocked at all the different barriers there were and what significant affects they have on kids. I really like how everyone in class presented about a specific barrier. It made it interesting and I liked what people brought in to help explain their barrier. I especially liked Faith's article about the impact bullying had a specific woman's son that caused him to commit suicide. It showed how serious barriers such as bullying can be and what are the true consequences. Learning is best when it is hands on and that's why I loved going to Coach Ivester's special ed PE class. It was amazing to see all of what kids with such varying disabilities can do. They are capable of more than I realized and that was one of the biggest things I took away from that day. People, including myself, shouldn't assume just because these kids have mental and physical disabilities and capable of doing the amount of things they can. They looked so happy and it truly was an opportunity that I am very happy to have gotten to experience.
Current Event: The article i read was about how some schools seperate their math and science classes by gender. Parents often got the impression that academia viewed girls as being dumb and less capable when it came to these subjects in comparison to boys. It discussed the different characteristics of each gender and how it influences the classroom. I did not agree with most of what the stereotypes were, nor did the author, but it was interesting to read how supporters of single gender classes thought this approach was beneficial.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/07/single-sex-education.html
Quote of the Week:"A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary." I like this quote because it sets a teacher's goal to be that they teach so well kids will progressively need them less and less. But it should not be interpreted as that it is a teachers goal to avoid teaching and making kids learn on their own. It's a balancing act, a teacher should strive for their students to become somewhat academically independent but at the same time have a passion for helping them grow intellectually.
Observations: I've been noticing kids with special needs and barriers much more frequently than usual. This is probably due to our discussions in class and what we have recently learned about these kids so I see them easier. But because of what we have learned I don't see them as being as different as I did before, I have a better understanding of their special conditions and I like the fact that I am not as clueless about these conditions before.  I didn't realize how much I was moved and interested in kids with special needs and it may be something I would like to get involved in.
Reflections: I've been wrapping up my college applications and now am anticipating my acceptance status! It is going to be difficult waiting all the way until December to find out! I am ready to commit to a college (Cofc!) and begin the next step! I am glad that the first quarter is over, it has been more stressful than I had wished for but I am happy with the way I preformed. I've been enjoying most of my classes but this one is definitely the most enjoyable. I also like that we have Ms. Prince in our class, she's a great role model for the teacher cadets who really want to pursue teaching and is a great addition to our class!
 

Read- alouds: I loved the book "One" by Kathryn Otoshi 0972394635. It took an extremely creative approach to adress the issue of bullying. It made it as simple as possible which is great for younger kids so that they can understand much easier. It is also a good way to teach colors in an art class or even for kids in elementary schools when learning to stand up for what they think is right. The next book we read was the "Zoom Broom" by Margie Palantini 9780756908966. It has a lot of onomatopias which would be really helpful for speech therapy kids that need practice with trickier words and phrases. Also this could be a fun lesson for highschool physics kids and they could create a problem where they have to calculate at what speed and how long it took for the witch to hit the ground. The last book we read was "The Pout Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark" by Debrah Disen 0374360960. This book mentioned all sorts of fish and that could be used to teach smaller kids fractions. Also it could be used in an english class and have kids write about what they feel like is their darkness in their lives and how they can overcome it.
Learning Experiences: These past few weeks we have talked a lot about disabilities and how they affect the lives of those who have them. One of the most interactive things we did was Disability Day where we went to different stations around the room and were "disabled" for the tasks. They were all difficult in their own nature and really made me realize what some kids have to go through on a daily basis. For instance, I never realized how hard it was to maneuver a wheel chair until I had to use one myself and go up the ramp! Also I found the hearing impairment station really difficult. It was frustrating to try and follow directions while struggling to hear what the person was saying. I do not see how some kids do it but I admire them so much!
We have also just recently finished the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time"- a book that was extremely eye opening- it help me better understand autism and its different forms. The way the author uses Christopher to portray several different aspects of his form of autism really gave me a good perspective since I have not had much interaction with this particular disability. After reading the book I have a greater understanding of why kids like Christopher do the things they do and how and why they feel about certain things.
In class I loved watching the videos about autism. Can you believe 1 in 88 kids have some sort of autism! It's somewhat discouraging but this is why people should talk about it more and really focus research on it. The videos were so interesting; I liked hearing what the parents of these autistic parents had to say and I can not even begin to understand how difficult their lives must be.
Quote of the Week: 
Always
Unique
Totally
Intelligent
Sometimes
Mysterious
This is not exactly a quote but I think it says it all. I really like how it portrays autism in a positive nature; focusing on the gifts that come with autism. If fewer people saw it less as a disease then maybe they would not be so scared and hushed when talking about it. Without talking about it, nothing can be done to help solve its mysteries.
Observations: When I was at the mall the other day I went into Gap and saw that there was an autism awareness table set up. I went to talk to the person since I felt somewhat confident in my knowledge since what we have been learning in class. They were accepting donations and were just really trying to expose and educate people about the disorder. It was really cool to see what I had been learning in class show up in my daily life!
Reflections: These past few weeks have been stressful! A couple of classes are consuming huge amounts of attention and time. I've been trying to do other things besides schoolwork when I can, just so I can have a breather ever once in a while. I completed my Clemson application this weekend so I can send it in for the early application date! I don't want to go to Clemson whats so ever though, my heart is set on CofC!

Busy Busy Busy!

Read-alouds: "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds  978-0-7636-1961-9 was a really enjoyable book and i really lied the illustrations. Its a good book to read to kids in middle school because they are preparing for high school and this books demonstrates that even if you don't feel like you are capable of something, everyone else see potential in you. You could have kids paint a dot however they like and then write their goals for the near future on it. The next book was "A visitor for Bear" by Bonny Becker 9780763628079  and it was a book about unexpected friendships. You could have students reach out to their fellow classmates by writing a note, drawing a picture, and giving them a small gift to let them know that they care just like the mouse did to bear. "The Jester Lost his Jingle" by David Saltzman 9780964456303 I found was a mediocre book. The illustrations were nice but I could not really see the full purpose of the story. It could be used in an art class to stress the importance of color and how the illustrator did a great job with it. Also students could write letters of appreciation to those who they feel like have given them a lot of hope and encouragement just like the jester did to strangers. "The Spider and the Fly" by Tony Diterlizzi 9780241024713 was a dark story that was not very clear and a little hard to get the message. But if read to the appropriate age group, several lessons about self assurance and sticking up for yourself could be taught. It is a good book to read around Halloween time, especially when the kids are going to strangers doors they should be aware that they are still talking to strangers and should be cautious. "What teachers Can't Do" by Douglas Wood 9780689846441was a very cute book that illustrated to kids a small part of the lives of teachers. It would be perfect to read during teacher appreciation week and the kids could get involved by writing their own versions of what students can't do!
Learning Experiences:  In class we discussed about different ways of learning such as visual, kinesthetic, and auditory. We even got to make our own lessons to apply these different types of learning to make the highest level of learning possible. I really liked seeing what other students did as their lesson, they had really good ideas. I especially liked Alexis' fraction lesson with the skittles.
Current Events: The article I read discusses "deeper learning" and how to achieve it. Researchers came up with domains competence intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive. This type of learning is said to be brought about by challenge and question and discussion sessions. Educators are trying to get their state governments on board so that this type of learning can really be supported throughout the school systems. They also argue that curriculum should go deeper into application of skills and cover less topics so that more in depth learning can be achieved. I agree with this article and I feel like students would become much more knowledgeable if they were given fewer topics to cover and instead go into great depths in the selected ones. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/09/how-do-we-define-and-measure-deeper-learning/
 Quote of the Week: "The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching." I like this quote a lot because I find it very true. It is obvious that teachers who are really passionate about the subject they teach really know a lot about it, therefore are able to truly teach a student better than any other person with less extensive knowledge. This also applies to students because I know explaining things to someone helps me reinforce the concept and better understand it myself.
Observations: I have been noticing that a lot of fellow seniors are getting stressed out and becoming less motivated because of "senioritis" But one teacher in particular took the time out of class to talk to us and ask us what is going on that is stressing us out so much. This teacher really cares about the students and I can tell that it has made a big difference because most of them are motivated again, including me and ready to conquer the rest of the year!
Reflections: This past week has been extremely stressful but I have stuck to it! I have had a ton of school work but I have managed to stay on top of it. Taking breaks from it helped a lot like going to soccer practice, hanging out with friends and talking to each other about what is going on. I am ready for the long weekend, I hope to get a few more college applications sent it!