Module 5

Motivation is very important in the classroom. We want our students to be excited to work towards a goal and work hard to complete a task. The biggest problem teachers face is finding that motivation and continuing it throughout the day. The biggest thing we as teachers want to avoid is amotivation, which is complete lack of any intent to act. On the other hand, we want our students to be seeking out the answer and looking for the challenge, which would be referred to as intrinsic motivation (pg.445). The last kind of motivation talked about in the chapter is extrinsic motivation, which refers to finishing the task, but for a different reason other than interest in the activity itself. After comparing and contrasting these, the most important motivator to look for is extrinsic, because it could be hard to identify. That student may be finishing the task, but with little effort and negative emotion towards it. We have to be aware of our students and their attitudes towards learning so we know they are doing their very best work.

                Some ways the book encouraged positive motivation was through rewards or incentives (pg. 446). I personally don’t think this is going to be the best way to increase motivation. Rewards can only go so far, and grades aren’t always important to every student. I agree more on the cognitive approach to motivation. It says that behavior is determined by our thinking and not by our rewards or punishments from the past (pg. 447). Motivation is determined from within and the individual’s own expectations and value of whatever goal is at hand. I think this is more realistic to believe, because like I said, not everyone is going to be motivated through reward.

                Each student has their own individual needs. These needs are made up of physiological, safety, love, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, and self actualization (pg. 449). This was explained in a great way, and that was if these needs are satisfied, then there will be less motivation wasted on trying to fulfill them. This will then allow students to focus on what is assigned to them in school so they can stay motivated on that instead of worrying about other problems going on in their life. People want to be in control and if we give them that, then their motivation to succeed should increase (pg. 452). Giving students the sense of growth and control will help them stay on task and complete to the best of their ability.

Module 4

The importance of understanding metacognition can help with students who struggle to find the main idea. Being able to reflect on what you learn and find ways to remember the important idea can be helpful to students who struggle with comprehension or any form of cognitive learning (pg. 328). Finding out the important elements of learning, whichever topic it may be, and finding ways to stay away from all distractions can help with comprehension and understanding (pg. 329). It is important to tell the students that metacognition doesn’t have to happen all the time, and things will become easier and more routine and automatic. I remember growing up, reading was my worst subject. I would rush through the story and never comprehend anything. It was something I struggled with throughout my schooling, but once I found strategies that worked for me to help with my comprehension it all became easier. I think that finding out ways students enjoy and pay attention to will help them with comprehending and paying attention for longer periods of time.

After reading about all the different learning strategies, they all sparked a memory from my different levels of schooling. Teaching certain learning strategies that help with comprehension is important to learn early on so you don’t have to struggle when the content becomes more difficult and in-depth. Some of the important principles the book mentions were mnemonics, self-taught, desire to learn, belief in the subject, and background on why it is important to know (pg. 323). The biggest principle that stood out to me was the desire to learn. This was something that really affected me in college. I was taking all these biology and chemistry classes that I had absolutely no interest in. Once I sat myself down and told myself I need to do something I will enjoy for the rest of my life, I changed my major. Taking classes that I was interested in changed my whole mindset of school and I was doing much better that I had before. This is important when teaching, even though we must follow a curriculum, using these principles can make learning more fun. Especially giving background on the subjects that may not be as interesting, but finding the purpose of why its important may be a way to increase interest.

Learning about the different kinds of problem solving was also very interesting to me. Looking at functional fixedness with getting stuck on using convention materials is probably something that happens quite often. Some students only know one way to solve a problem and don’t want to go the extra mile to try something new and different, even though it could save them time. This also relates to response set, with only one way of representing a problem. In the real world, problems we may have encountered in school may be presented differently somewhere else. Being able to learn the similarities makes this problem-solving skill important (pg. 346).

The last topic I wanted to talk about was the importance of creativity. Working with divergent and convergent thinking and the importance of purposing different ideas helps with creativity. This can be measured through originality, fluency, and flexibility. Each of these are building blocks to increase both kinds of thinking (pg. 350). Creativity in the classroom is important because it’s involved in personality factors, motivational patterns, and background experiences (pg. 351). I think giving your students the chance to express themselves in different ways is very important, and I also think that it’s very important to push them to be creative. In the classroom I shadow, the teacher always encourages them when drawing to make it big and colorful and to take up the whole page. They usually draw little stick figures and finish quick. I like that she sees the importance of simply drawing and coloring and make them express themselves in this kind of way. Being able to express themselves through a picture can involve critical thinking because it is a different form of expression. I intend to push this in my classroom as well.

Teacher Interview

Link to Interview

After reading and interviewing my sister, I found many similarities between the both on classroom management. This gives some props to her because she is working with the book and it has been shown to be successful. One question that I really wanted the answer to was the difference in managing the classroom at different age levels. This really interests me became at this point, I am not sure if I would want to teach the younger grades or if I want to lean more towards the older ages of elementary. In the book (pg. 490), it comments on how gaining cooperation is an important aspect of classroom management and it will obviously differ when working with kindergarteners and high school seniors. I had the thought that the older grades would be easier to manage because they are more mature, but as the book also states, some students begin to testify and defy authority in their later years of elementary. In middle elementary years, school has become a routine and being able to flow through class and keep interest is usually maintained. This is very interesting to me because I felt the opposite way. As my sister stated in her interview, there are different kinds of activities she used for first grade that wouldn’t work as well for third graders because of their maturity level and their interest in it, but there were some things she carried over to the older grades.

            Another question that sparked my interest was how do students manage themselves. I never thought about this before I was reading on other people’s interview question ideas, and this one stood out to me. When I asked my sister this question, she said that other student will motivate their peers to listen and to stay on task when an award was at hand. This is also a kind of positive reinforcement she used, table points. Management for self-management (pg. 492) relates to this topic because it explains how self-control and self-regulation is a fundamental shift in classroom management today. When a student misbehaves, my sister uses “Success Sheets” to monitor how well they do each week. Getting a letter scratched off will be their consequence, but she mentioned how she turned this into a positive thing at the end. Instead of asking how many letters they lost, she would turn it around and ask how many they had left. I think that is important to turn a bad into a good, so they learn from their mistakes. This is a great way to have students participate in self-management because they are in control of losing their letter or not. This teaches students how to take responsibility and work a little bit harder to become successful. As the book states (pg. 493), “if you teach your students to manage their own behavior and learning, you should have fewer management problems.” This has been seen to be true in my sister’s classroom. I asked her what behavioral problems she was dealing with in class, and she said there weren’t any major consistent ones. This means that the tasks she is using to manage the class are working in the correct way. Every now and then things happen, but it isn’t a problem she is dealing with in her classroom today. It is important to stop problems quickly so they don’t have to lead to involving administration (pg. 506). This was something that I also asked my sister about. She said she hadn’t had major behavioral problems that she couldn’t handle on her own, she just had to have others involved when it dealt with educational problems where they may need extra help that she couldn’t provide on her own.

            No class is ever perfect and no student is going to be happy and participate every day. Therefore, I was interested in how she dealt with students who were having a bad day and don’t want to cooperate. The answer my sister gave to this question related to personal territories that was discussed in the book (pg. 498). Seating arrangements, whether it be the front or back, clusters, or circles, all can affect how student learns. My sister talked about one of her students who likes to get up and walk round and will sit in the back at his own table. She said this is the way he learns best and if he stays in arm’s length of the desk, she will allow him to stand. Everyone works and learns differently and being able to notice that early on is important. Going back to students having bad days, this is something that also is best to figure out early in the day. My sister said there are many signs that she will notice if her kids are acting off, and she will pull them aside and talk about the issue as soon as she can. This is important to her because she doesn’t want it to ruin that students chance to learn. Catching negative behavior early on before things get worse is important because then they can talk about it and move on from it quickly. Some student may want to sit by themselves for a while and be left alone, and that is okay. Once you get a better relationship with your students, it will be easier to notice their signs and figure out their best solution to fix the problem.

            For students who aren’t having a bad day, but don’t usually participate also need some sort of motivation. My question based off this topic was what was the best kind of positive reinforcement for your students. Encouraging engagement is a huge topic talked about in the book (pg. 501), and my sister had many kinds she uses. She said the best kind is one the whole school is participating in. For her school, they had “Ram Dollars” that can be used to buy things from their dean. These are given out by any teacher to any student for good behavior, but also can be taken away for bad behavior. This works well because they can receive them anywhere at any time. They get very excited to get them, especially in large quantities, as my sister said. She also does little things in the classroom, like “Fun Fridays”, table points, and extra computer or free time. She said it is important to switch up the rewards so they don’t get sick of them. This answered my other question of giving too much away, if it comes routine and not exciting. She said she will move on with other rewards and may even bring back some old ones, but the main one she uses and that seems to work best is the school-wide “Ram Dollars.” Having a school-wide reward system also relates to building a better relationship and connection throughout the school. Students who have a strong connection with their school tend to be happier and more engaged (pg. 504). Having all the teachers work together to build a better school community can really make a difference in their student’s education.

            Overall, I feel like I have learned a lot from this interview process. The main thing that my sister stressed is that in teaching you are always learning and you may not always have the answer. It is a trial and error process, but it does get easier as years go on. I think classroom management is very important because if you don’t have control of your class, you won’t be able to get much done. You want to make it through each day with as little stress as possible, and you want to build strong relationships with your students as soon as possible. As of right now, I am not sure what grade I am interested the most in teaching, but I am excited to learn more from shadowing and student teaching in my future.

Module 3

Understanding the different concepts of learning is very important when you are a teacher. Being able to understand that students will all learn differently, remember things differently, and that there are strategies we can learn and use to help promote learning to the students is important (pg. 254). Reading on all the different kinds of consequences and conditions really makes you think and understand why teachers do the things they did when we were in school. Getting rewarded with stickers, food prizes, no homework, or extra credit all were given for a specific reason at a specific time (pg. 256). We as teachers need to learn how to give the appropriate positive and negative reinforcement so the students will learn themselves why they did right or wrong. Reading further in this chapter, I found reinforcement scheduling very interesting. It does make sense though to move from continuous to intermittent to interval and so on. This all is important because the amount that is given will influence how persistent a student will respond to it, and help find the most effective strategy to be successful with them (pg. 259). Knowing all of this can help prepare for when there is misbehavior and when negative reinforcement and punishment is needed. This is something I am nervous about because it’s hard to discipline kids who aren’t yours and try to find a way for them to understand they are wrong and how to fix the problem. The biggest take away I got from this topic was to make sure the child knows what they should be doing instead of their negative behavior to make it right.

Respect is something that needs to be taught immediately in the classroom. Without respect from every single one of your students, it is going to be very challenging to have a successful year. This chapter talked about how that the teachers just being present can lead to positive behavior versus when the teacher leaves the class or there is a substitute (pg. 271). Respect for that teacher needs to be made first. I can agree with this. I feel like there was always one student who would mess with the substitute teachers because they thought they could get away with it. Therefore, it is so important to have a strong relationship with your students that is based off respect. This respect should be encouraged always, to any adult, even when the teacher is away. I think it is important to set rules straight away with your students and keep them throughout the year, but take the year to learn what kind of reinforcements work the best and what doesn’t seem to have an effect. I have been understanding that teaching is always going to be a learning process and what may have worked for one class may not work for your class next year. I am looking forward to these challenges and working together to figure out how to do it best.

Module 2

After reading chapter 4, it really gave a good insight to many things that students and teachers struggle with each year and how to help with these issues. The biggest thing that stood out to me and related to everything else in the chapter was the advantages and the problems with labels. Like mentioned in the chapter, they can be a good or a bad thing; helpful for teachers, yet gives the opportunity to stand out in a negative way for the student. Labels on students who may have disabilities, disorders, or injuries can cause issues (pg. 120). This doesn’t tell exactly what treatment or help a student needs because all students are different. I think it is so important for teachers to understand that everyone has their own needs and shouldn’t be just a label. I know that growing up and going through grammar school, there was the "special ed. room" and all the students knew who was in there and treated them differently. I like that students are now more incorporated in the normal classroom, and the stigma of being a "special need" student is not as prevalent. Teachers need to also consider that there are multiple intelligence's and that students may connect differently than others. Understandings and connections can be made with all students if the teachers take time to figure out the best way (pg. 126). Teaching with different learning styles in general should happen always (pg. 132). Some students may need to find a way they can stay focused, especially when they aren’t at school and need to do work at home. 

Chapter 5 I felt is a very important chapter to understand. Today, there are so many different cultures and languages mixed together in most schools. A teacher needs to know how to communicate, relate, and accept every student they have (pg. 189). For students who are English language learners, it can be very difficult, but can pay off for them. The goal is for these students to be a master at both. When shadowing a school, one student gets called out for ELL and it is very subtle and he doesn’t feel different and the other students don’t ask questions. Teachers need to understand and work with these students and know what they are going through. These students learning another language may have a learning disability, and this could be hard to figure out because their language is already limited (pg. 200). This can also go the other way with labeling a student with a learning disability when they really don’t have one just because of the language barrier. This chapter just shows how important it is to reach every student and to never give up on someone too quickly. Frustration may come, but every student has the right to learn with patience and kindness from their teacher.

Chapter 6 focused on diversity in the class room regarding race, social class, and gender. Culture diversity may be one of the most problematic things seen in schools. Big things that teachers encounter can be holiday customs, clothing, or just in the way a conversation may begin (pg. 214). This doesn’t mean all cultural differences will cause a problem, but they can arise. Stereotyping from students and teachers will happen, but can’t happen. This is something that I know happens all the time no matter where the work place is, but as a teacher you must look past all of that to be successful. Students can feel that they don’t have a chance in the future because of their race or social class. The students in poverty need to stay in school and be encouraged to continue with their education to end the trend of them not being successful (pg. 217). The last topic talked about was about gender and the gender bias seen in the class room (pg. 232). Gender bias simply must be avoided at all causes. We don’t know what it is like at their households, but no matter what, we as teachers need to make sure everyone feels equal. This is a problem that has been seen in education, sports, and careers, and it needs to end, at least in the classroom. Whatever teachers can do to prevent any discrimination is prevalent, and I know this is going to be something I focus on in every aspect. Feeling discriminated against will not give a student the power to work harder, it will just bring them down. To at least have one place that they feel accepted and equal can be enough to change a student’s mindset on their life.

Module 1

The topic this article is on is correlation research. This kind of research is used when determine how or if two or more variables are related in a single group of people. The difference between correlation research is that there is no attempt to manipulate the variables at all and it is done through observation and random variables. In the article, the difference between correlation and experimental was discussed in detail.

            In experimental research, the variables are manipulated in some way and then the effects are measured. An example that was given was showing the relation between cholesterol and blood pressure readings. In an experimental research study, they would somehow manipulate one variable to see the outcome of the other. This can show that if there is a change in one then that could be the reason for the change in the other. Looking at the correlation research, no manipulation would take place, just measurements would be made and the outcome would be as is. This kind of data can only be interpreted but cannot prove anything.

            After reading on this, why would anyone want to use correlation research over experimental research? What is the point of interpretation versus an actual proven statement? Well, correlation has a direction that can easily be seen when the results are plotted. A positive correlation shows if someone scores above or below the average on one measure then it should be similar when looking at the other. A correlation can also show the strength of the relationship between the two things being measured from the range of 1 to -1, where 0 is no relationship, or uncorrelated, and 1 and -1 having perfect relationship. The relationship can be seen anywhere between this range and this is quick way to show if there is a relationship at all without having to go into the depths of performing an experiment.

            Correlations are important because they describe a relationship that things have in common with each other. The major take away is that correlations do not prove a cause and effect like an experiment can do. There are different kinds of relationships such as positive, negative, linear, and nonlinear. These can all be shown when graphed appropriately and is an easy way to visualize if there is a relationship between things in a different way. Correlation research can easily be performed in the class room and can help teach how different things can relate to others and how much, if any relationship is there.

Context for Learning Description of School and Students

Trinity Christian College Field Experience Form

Context for Learning

Description of School and Students

About the School Where You Are Observing or doing Field Experience

School Name and City: Roosevelt Elementary School Dolton, Il

Type of School: Elementary school, Middle School, High School, or Other:   Elementary and Junior High

Setting: Urban, Suburban, or Rural: Suburban

Write your responses to the three questions below in paragraph form.

1.       List any special features of the school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, co-taught with a special education teacher, pull-out program).

In my class I am shadowing, there is a reading instructional aide who comes into the class room for reading and pulls small groups to work on skills. She also will work one on one with students when reading novels. She comes every day for the reading block and doesn’t make it apparent why she is there. No student that I have seen has commented on her or the child being helped which is good to see. Also, three times a week a teacher will pullout one of the students in the class room for ESL help. He is the only student who needs this extra feature in the classroom. He is gone for about 30 minutes per session.

2.    Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that affects the planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

The reading curriculum “Ready GEN” is very structured and has a pacing guide for each day. There is little deviation from the plan when it comes to reading. When it comes to other subjects like math, science, or social studies, a less strict curriculum is followed and there is more room for personal lessons and holiday focus. For standardized testing, students will take the PARCC Test in March and April, so there are modified lessons being taught during that time.

2.       For special education only: List any educators with specialized expertise in the school/district (e.g., specific disabilities, subject-specific pedagogy, English language development, speech therapists).

NA

About the Students in this Class [Give a brief or one word response]

1.    Estimated percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch: 100%

2.    Grade level(s): 3

3.    Number of

a.    students in the class: 17

b.    males: 8

females: 9

c.     English language learners: 1

d.    students identified as gifted and talented: 0

e.    students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans: 0

4.    Complete the chart below to summarize required accommodations or modifications for students receiving special education services and/or students who are gifted and talented as they will affect instruction. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first row has been completed in italics as an example. Use as many rows as you need.

Special Education Category	Number of Students	Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Learning Disability	Example: 4	Example: Close monitoring, follow up, and Resource Room
Behavioral Modification	1	Check in check out program for behavior monitoring
Reading Instruction	3	Small pullout group work with aide
ESL	1	Pullout 3 times a week for 30 minutes to work on English

About the Class You Observed

1.    How much time is devoted each day to instruction in the classroom? Describe the class periods (if applicable)? Choose a content area of your specialty or major. How much time is devoted to teaching that subject?
The school day is from 8:35am-3:00pm. All time of this is dedicated to instruction except a 45-minute plan period and a 30-minute duty free lunch. My specialty is Science and that is taught about 40 minutes per day.

2.    Is there any ability grouping or tracking? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

Students take benchmark assessments four times a year where they can be grouped and tracked at the teacher’s discretion based on their abilities. Groups change based on ability. Students aren’t aware of what group they are in, but are aware they are getting pulled in for different things throughout the week.

3.       Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.

The one lesson I helped teach was a math lesson on money. The Harcourt Math book Illinois Edition was used.

Harcourt School Publishers, 2006.

4.    List other resources (e.g., SMARTBoard, manipulatives, online resources) used for instruction in this class.
We used the SMARTBoard for an interactive money activity and used fake money to count and identify.

5. What do you know about what your students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?

   What the students knew the most about the money lesson was identifying them and knowing their value. The biggest thing they had trouble with was actually counting up different amounts of money when asked. I don’t know much about the students because I have only observed twice so far.

6. Describe one teaching event. What best practices in teaching were used?

One teaching event that I observed was having the students reading a novel or have the option to following the SMARTBoard reading their novel to them. This gave the opportunity for visual or auditory learners to pick their mode of learning. After a few pages were read the teacher had them talk to the people at their table and discuss what happened and why. It was a good way to have the students interact with one another and listen to other’s thoughts and ideas.