Reflection #4

In my experience, I haven’t seen anything that stands out as much as David’s case in “His name is Michael” but I have seen teachers who rely on the schools systems and, both in others and sometimes myself, witness passive racism. First, we’d all like to think that there are mainly two categories of schools: good schools vs. bad schools. In bad schools, with poor or little equipment and conditioned students that are disruptive and trained to not care, I feel that it would be generally known that the school system would not be the best. For those teachers (good, bad, or otherwise) they’d be somewhat left to their own devices. Ideally, most people would like to choose the good schools, those that are embracing technology, learning styles, the diversity of students. In those schools, the expectation is higher for the school system; we expect it to work and be accurate. In this story, this wasn’t the case. (Logically, I know there are many different types of schools between good and bad, and as the quality rises, so does the expectations.) My second point is passive racism. This isn’t something that is overt or sometimes even a conscious effort; it’s something that happens unintentionally but still wrong. Our society, despite our learning or intentions, tends to make us think certain things about race. One example is I’ve had with close friends of mine is assume that they can speak or understand Spanish based on their race. I may not state this in any obvious way but it is still passive racism. I think one of the best ideas from the story is “I have learned that being a good teacher is as much about rapport and relationships as it is about progressive curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment.” This express that in order to educate and touch student’s lives, we must learn and know them as people first. I encountered a transfer student, ELL during my observations. I was lucky to have a great teacher to observe, she worked on knowing this student as an individual and expected the same level of work effort from him as any other student, though her approach may have been different. During a journal prompt, she saw that he was not working, though she knew he had the ability to. She found a way to motivate him using his own ideas to complete the assignment. This was done my asking him question of his interest.

Reflection #3

I've learned of inclusion in my other courses and I actually got to see it in action during my observations. As I learn more and witness this concept, my option does not change. Inclusion is a great concept and should be utilized in schools. I think it creates a sense of normality for students with special needs; forming a level of equality that I feel is important. I think that as teachers, we should always strive to reach the needs to all our students. That's why we modify and adapt lesson, to ensure that students are learning. We practice techniques of using auditory, visual, and kinesthetic methods to teach information from different perspectives to reach all students. I think the process of inclusion is along those same lines; creating, modifying, and adapting lessons to included students with special need into a normal class room settings. Though these students will need other instructions and possibly one-on-one help, they'll still receive time in a classroom like other students. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to practice inclusion this semester but I have seen variations of it during my observations. One occasion occurred in an English courses I observed. This particular student would spend the first portion of the class period with his mentor, working one-on-one to complete his lessons. The second portion was spent working on whatever the class was worked on at that time. The first of the two articles I found focuses on creating an enabling environment for inclusion. The ideas of communication and teaching methods stood out to me. I think communication is important inside the classroom. This article states that inclusion students should be able to share their experiences, capabilities, and accomplishments inside the regular classroom. Chidindi, Joseph. "Creating Enabling Environment for Inclusion of Students with Developmental Disabilities." ERIC. N.p., 7 May 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2013. . The second article I choose discuss the pros and cons of inclusion. I think can be a topic of debate in the offices of many schools; should they create programs of inclusion in their facilities? Overall, I agree with the authors that the advantages of inclusion for all students outweigh the disadvantages. Chidindi, Joseph. "Creating Enabling Environment for Inclusion of Students with Developmental Disabilities." ERIC. N.p., 7 May 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2013. . P.S. I'm sorry if the formatting is weird, I've done this assignment on my phone :)

Success Journal: Reflection

I think this experience is really unique for me. During my hours, I worked to find a balance between observing and student teaching. Overall, I feel I’ve had a great opportunity. I felt that doing this time, I met a few of my personal goals, such as learning the students’ names and faces. I was also able to see and put into practice some of the ideas I’ve learned about over the last few semesters. There are a few areas I’d like to improve on, such as interacting more with the students. This opportunity was a little limited, I couldn’t interrupt while my cooperating teachers were actually teaching their lesson though I was able to step in when the students were completing group and individual work. One thing I’ll definitely take from this experience is how important classroom management is. Both my cooperating teachers had different styles but their classrooms flowed smoothly. Students knew what was expected from them and what was not. I’d like to have this level of classroom management in my own classroom.

Success Journal: Day 5

Teaching a lesson in small groups: As part of my requirements, I have to teach 3 lessons in small groups. The topic I was assigned was fragments and run-on sentences, identifying and correcting mistakes. I was nervous but overall I feel it went very well. I used worksheets and brief notes I typed up as an aid. With the groups of students I worked with, I had to change my approach so that I could keep them engaged and motivated. I think this stood out to me the most, showing me, though I have learned this in my classes, that students learn at different rates and may need more explanation before they fully understand what is being taught.

Success Journal: Day 4

Day #4: Observing Co-teach I’ve learned and studies about co-teaching in previous courses but not until now have I had the opportunity to see it in action. I know to students the thought of having two teachers can be daunting but this experience was anything but that. The energy both teachers created way positive and upbeat and easy to feed off when I worked with the students as they completed their group work. The students also responded to both teachers very well, showing them both respect. It’s interesting to watch as the teacher’s feed from one another, giving the students different perspectives to view the information. Overall, I think this is a huge educational experience; one that I think will help me in the future.

Success Journal: Day 3

Engaging specific students: In each of my observation classes, some students stand out more than others. One of my accomplishments of the day was engaging and keeping one student in particular on track. In general terms, he’d be considered the “class clown” but overall he’s really smart and, when disrupting the class to ask questions, he has quiet intelligent inquires. For an 8th grade class, satire is a particularly hard topic but I was able to help him work which I’m really proud of. I think this experience is helping me to establish management skills.

Success Journal: Day 2

Establishing my role: I think this experience is a little different from my observations before. I’m not strictly student teaching or just observing so my time is spent doing many different things (talking to my cooperating teachers about the lessons, observing what practices work with different students, working with the students, and presenting my lessons). Getting into a rhythm took awhile but I feel now that the students and cooperating teachers are comfortable with me being in the classroom. They aren’t afraid to ask me questions and interact with me. If I don’t know the answers or need help my cooperating teachers are, as always, more than willing to help.

Success Journal: Day 1

Learning student’s names: It’s really difficult to keep track of students since I am observing 1st-3rd period of two different classes. I felt particularly proud of myself on Monday for not only recognizing students that attend both of my observation classes, but also for remembering most of their names. Interacting with the students help me learn more of their personality and what they like. I’m also working to learn about the other students, who only have one of the two English classes. I think at first I was a little overwhelmed but now I’m facial recognition and naming skills are kicking in!

Reflection #2

1.Personally, I do believe that only offering students multiple choice tests limits students. As teachers, we should encourage students to think, to find the answers if they do not know them. I think this is a part of the learning experience. Students know that when taking a multiple choice test that the answer will be there, typically 1 of 4 so they have a 25% chance of guessing and getting the answer correct; in the end getting a “good enough” score but overall not learning much at all. When giving summative assessments such as this, teachers should not want students to guess but to have learned the information and to apply it appropriately. I think multiple choice tests also limit the student’s uniqueness and creativity. Different concepts can be applied in different ways. I believe that students should have the opportunity to express their knowledge and overall understanding of a subject by more than just choosing one of four answers. 2.Formative assessment can be discussion in groups or as a class or they can be written, such as worksheets. I prefer assessments such as the KWL charts to assess student’s prior knowledge, expectations, and what they have learned or even concept maps, to make connections in information they are learning. These assignments can be turned in so that I’d know where my students are as the lesson progress. Summative assessments are more conclusive to a lesson or group of lesson. Tests (incorporating multiple choice, short answers, fill in the blank, etc.) and other creative projects can be used. Book reports are great for English classes. I think it is important to have both formative and summative assessments because it gives me an idea of what the students know both on a daily basis and after complete a unit. •Book Reports: Students can choose from a list of books, relating to the subject matter. From there, they can read summarize, and express their opinions of the story. •Presentations/Expert Groups: Students can create presentations, taking on the role of peer teachers. They would be expected to learn and research parts of the assigned topic to present and teach to the class. •Quizzes: This is a simple way to judge student knowledge as the lessons progress; given at the end of each week.

Photos :)

A little more about me: My favorite football team is the New Orleans Saints, my roommates and I have 3 animals (Halliwell, the doggie, Salem, the bigger cat, and Bellatrix, the kitten. I love the Harry Potter series. The photo of my sister and I shows us in 2011, when we first began at ASU, and again in 2013, our last year. She's an Education major and is student teaching this semester.

Reflection #1

Hi everyone! My name is Alisha Graham; I’m a Psychology major with a minor in Education. I think this makes my experience in this program a little different than most people (I have not specialized in a content area and I don’t plan to take the PPR certification test) My overall goal is to be able to teach at the community college level and I choose Education as my minor so that I can have some experience inside the classroom. I know this is a secondary program and that middle/high school will be a totally different experience than community college but I feel that the basics that I will learn in this course and what I have learned in the courses I have taken will definitely help me in the future. To reach my goals I will have to attend a graduate school and receive my master’s degree so that’s what I plan to work on after graduating this May. This semester I will be placed at Glenn Middle School in an 8th Grade English course. My reasons for this is because I have contacted my middle school in Houston, where I plan to move to after graduation, and I am trying to set up my own observations to gain more experience inside the classroom. One important trait I believe that teachers must possess is the skill of being facilitators. Their overall job is to guide students while not giving them all the answers. This means not only being a lecturer but listening, giving feedback, and being positive. It is critical for teachers to not only provide information to the students but to ask students questions to make them think and form their own opinions and ideas. Another trait that is equally important for a teacher to possess is the ability to be flexible. Students learn in different ways or may not understand the subject material after a lesson is complete. As teachers, we need to be able to meet the needs of our students. This may mean adding components to a lesson plan or changing the way we present a lesson to meet each individual’s needs. Lastly, I think teachers should serve as role models. Students may or may not have an adult in their lives to encourage them to reach their goals and to do their best inside and outside the classroom. Teachers can serve as a positive image for students.