Chapter 5

Chapter 5 (p. 137-149)

(3) You have now read several views about intelligence. What do you think about intelligence?

Is it one trait or many? more heavily influenced by nature or nurture? a fixed capacity or a

modifiable ability? Articulate your views in a paragraph of 6-8 sentences.

I think intelligence is influenced by both nurture and nature. It depends both on how children are raised and how the affect the environment has them. I certainly think that nature has a stronger influence as children grow older. I think there is some truth to the "multiple intelligences." It's evident that people excel in some areas and are only mediocre in others. I disagree with the way that intelligence is often tested in schools, and is not a clear indication of what students achieve.

Field Trip- Barb Rentenbach

Today we had a field trip to the UT Hodges Library Auditorium to listen to Barb Rentenback, a lady with "severe autism". She was considered retarded until the age of 19. Since then she has come along way. She is able to type independently and has written a book, yet is mute and unable to speak much. She claims that her voice is in "the shop".  She is constantly engage in self-education and stands as a stronng advocate for those with special needs. She loves to read History and Philosophy and it has made her more introspective. Due to technology complications, the presentation went a little differently. The presentation started with Barb typing on an enlarged keyboard, stating "dear utk, autism is not my prism my prison. Her partner/colleague, Dr. Lois Prislovsky read excerpts from her book. The books speaks of differences and "the gold standard brain." Her book is very impressive and it is suprising the level of thinking her brain can operate on in comparison with her actions in person.

Barb quotes in her book to "Find out who you are and be that one purpose.” Dr. P expresses to future educators to learn how to connect with your students. As teachers,” we do not lose our expertise status by learning from those we serve” Meet individuals where they are even if it’s at a nonverbal state. Build on strengths you see and be open to other forms of communication. Remember,it takes time!!

Chapter 4-Group Differences

         Thinking about what types of groups will have an effect on my classroom, I can now see that all ethincities, races and genders will have some kinf of effect within my classroom. From doing a project on gender differences, it is apparent that boys and girls act differently and are wired to think a little bit differently too. Through this project I have discovered the characteristics that make boys and girls different, which often perpetuate stereotypes. As teachers we must be quick to understand their differences and first of all, understand the uniqueness of each gender. Girls are born one way while boys are born another, and that brings uniqueness to the classroom. But often times we reinforce behaviors that we feel are oriented more towards boys or girls and discourage students from trying or engaging in certain activities. We can encourage the right kind of gender equity by not giving more attention to one gender because students definitely notice and can feel insignificant because of it. Another great way to encourage crossing sterotypical boundaries is encouraging boys to engage in activities and subjects that are not typically "manly" and vice versa for girls. Approaching these barriers that society has deemed "not right" and setting the record straight is one way to start taring down barriers.
         The way me and my partner tried to approach addressing gender differences and stereotypes was by allowing students to discuss, act out, or draw stereotypes that are reinforced or broken in society. We wanted to emply a teaching style that was colloborative and interactive. We wante students to construct their own ideas about the topic and feed off of prior knowledge as well as other's thoughts and ideas. This opened the floor for discussion on how we address these matters and what holds people back from breaking stereotypes rather than following reinforced patterns. Throughout the rest of our presentation we wanted to present factual, research-based gender differences in the classroom ranging form elementary school to high school. Next we wanted to give future teachers the tools to combat reoccuring gender differences that might cause strife and negativity in the classroom. We wanted our students to understand that stereotypes are inevitable beacuse many of them are true, but that we need to be aware of two things: 1. We can help students overcome certain stereotypes that are barriers to them. 2. We must recognize that many stereotypes warrant different types of treatment for boys and girls.

Cultural Diversity

Incorporating Cultural Diversity in the Classroom

By: Dr. Steven Jones

This article shares great ways to bring culture to the classroom and allow every student to feel included. Some of my favorite ways to incorporate cultural diversity into the class are:

1.) Invite a family member to class (probably a grandparent) and allow them to share some of his or her family history (I like the idea of guest speakers). 
2.) Students create presentations of the cultures they have studied throughout the year.
3.) Reach out to cultural associations in town to learn about events and receive artifacts and handouts.


Article:

With the growing cultural diversity of the world, the K-12 classroom has become a critical launching pad for understanding cultural differences. Education about cultural differences begins with the teacher. Today it is a prelude to the world of work, where many students will encounter diverse cultures. It is this exposure to cultures that can bring out a teacher’s creativity in teaching a broad range of subjects. So each teacher must go on a journey to uncover how cultures influence families, government, language and where people live.
In his book, “The World is Flat” Dr. Thomas L. Friedman points out that the trend toward cultural diversity will not change. Some teachers are ready to make bold changes in their class format, which will allow every student to feel included in the class discussion. For others, an adjustment will be needed to re-examine teaching approaches in order to incorporate a broader view of the world. The teacher must provide experiences that are culturally specific inside and outside of the classroom. Instead of taking the traditional trips to museums, each trip becomes a cultural exploration throughout the year. The class could go to see the communities where Chinese, Russian and African immigrants live and talk with the local residents. The students are likely to find differences and similarities in their own culture. Another teacher could invite a guess speaker who helps an art class to recreate some of their culture’s art.

One unique idea would be for teachers to explore their own culture and talk with the students from a personal perspective. Also, invite the students to do research on their families’ culture. Invite a relative who can talk about the history of how their family arrived in this country. Explore some of the things that have changed in your family. For example some children no longer speak the language that their grand parents were taught. Some families still have property in their native countries and return to their roots for family reunions. Students may also be assigned to interview a family member about an historical event that they experienced. Families are filled with rich stories that aren’t always passed down.

A teacher who is sensitive to cultural differences can bring tremendous value to the classroom. They are more likely to understand that every student does not have the same learning style. Some students are visual learners and some are tactile learners. Bringing cultural diversity into the classroom enhances the learning opportunity of the entire class. The visual learner can benefit from maps, discussions of videos and pictures. One assignment might involve students finding pictures that represent how cultures live in their native country. Housing itself can be very symbolic of a culture’s history. In another class students might talk about the types of clothes that are acceptable in a country. A chemistry teacher can discuss the difference in materials and the dyes that are used and in a certain culture’s clothing. For some cultures clothing is very symbolic. Students may bring in clothing and foods representing their culture.

Some teachers have joined efforts to take students to other countries. This is particularly true in classes that involve international languages. Students who are learning Spanish may visit Mexico. Before going, they spend a semester learning the values of Mexican culture. Students can benefit from learning how families have different ways of communicating. The teacher can benefit from researching how a culture can change over time. Students can also study how the economies in other cultures operate. An economy that works in one country may not work in another country. There are cultural differences about the value of money and the importance of having material possessions. Some economies around the world are still very focused on living based on the productivity of their land. This may lead to a class discussion about who is allowed to own land in a different country. Teachers may also benefit from taking advantage of training and enrichment travel programs for educators.

Developing a balanced educational experience requires a teacher who is willing to reach out to multicultural associations that have resources and materials. Some of these associations are specifically designed to preserve the important aspects of a culture. There are many associations and community groups that sponsor events about Africa. A teacher can join or attend events that are sponsored by the African groups and other cultures. Building a relationship with a group can give the teacher access to materials and newsletters that are produced by the association. The teacher may be allowed to bring artifacts to the classroom to discuss their origin, or give a joint presentation with someone from the association.

The teacher also must realize that some students have not been exposed to people who are from different backgrounds and cultures. They may not be sure how to respond to some one who speaks differently. There may be some assumptions about the student’s knowledge level because they can not speak English clearly. This offers a great teaching opportunity. It also provides material for class discussions on the dangers of stereotyping people, the role of the media as it relates to culture and understanding people on an individual basis. Teachers may initiate projects connecting students with schools in other countries.

We are living in a rapidly changing world. While a teacher is providing instruction in their classes the world is changing everyday. There are video conferences where languages are translated. There are Web sites that uncover cultures that are rapidly growing more modern. The teacher who is sensitive to these changes will produce a student who is better prepared to have a flexible world perspective. The new labor force will require students to understand cultural differences. Today workers are sometimes assigned to live and survive in other countries while working for international companies.

Teachers can intertwine courses with cultural themes throughout the school year. Just a study on the pyramids alone could yield thousands of years of history, and math and science of specific cultures. At the end of the year students could have a culminating presentation of the cultures they have studied. Also there is value in seeing how these cultures have changed to adjust to modern technology. There is a lot to learn about cultures all over the world, and it can be fun. Teachers can present rich cultural lessons by highlighting the accomplishments of other cultures and preparing students to have a better global perspective.

Personal & Social Development

Chapter 3

(3.1) Personal and social development can have a major influence on both individual student

learning and the learning environment as a whole. Identify a case from the CSEL guidelines*
that you would like to address in your paper. Then, examine the possible developmental
factors that could be influencing your target student(s) or classroom in the case study. Consider
all dimensions of personal and social development, including cognitive, language, social,
emotional, and moral development. *CSEL guidelines can be found under CSEL Artifact. Cases
are included at the end of the document. Choose the case that best suits your desired grade level.

 

Elementary Education Case Study

You engage your third grade students in cooperative learning activities at least twice a day, changing heterogeneous group members once every four weeks. You have agreed upon routine procedures that your classroom community uses within their small groups, including the roles and responsibilities of group members. Lately you have noticed that one small group always seems to have difficulty grasping material and completing their project in an acceptable manner.  You observe this group carefully and find that Lisa seems to be the catalyst for their problems.  She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning.  She constantly interrupts others in her group.  She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations.

It is possible that since Lisa seems determined to be disruptive and insists on getting her way, that she is a product of permissive/passive parenting who rarely punish discipline their children for wrongdoings. Her lack of discipline at home could have easily transferred to the classroom. It is possible that she is somewhat experiencing a culture shock by being presented different expectations than at home (Ormrod, 65). It also appears that Lisa lacks stable personality traits such as openness, agreeableness, and extraversion. If she does have stable traits, they seem to lead to the negative side and lead to her gaining attnetion in result. I also think something can be said for her sense of "self." I think it is very likely that she has low self esteem. Even though young children have trouble thinking in the abstract, I think by the third grade at least students start comparing themselves with others and where they range. They might see other students excelling and think something is wrong with them. Lisa migth fall into the category of having a low sense of self and might even feel like a "rejected student" and her image might have never been righted at home.

(3.22) Check out tables 3.1 (p. 75), 3.2 (p. 83) and 3.3 (p. 91) with particular attention to the age

ranges you are interested in teaching. Identify your personal favorite ways that an educator can
promote a child’s sense of self, perspective taking, and moral reasoning skills.

-Provide opportunities for students to look at one another's work only when eveyrone has something to be proud of (p75).
-Help students resolve interpersonal conflicts by asking them to consider one another's perspective(p83).
-Explain how students can often meet their own needs while helping others (p91).

Chapter 2 Cog Developement

 1)One of the most cited theories of human development is that of Swiss biologist Jean Piaget. After reading about Piaget's basic assumptions (p. 27-32) look with particular attention at the stage of child development you would like to teach. The other most cited theory of human development belongs to Russian developmentalist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development leads us to expect greater diversity among our same-ages students than Piaget. Given these two influential theorists' ideas on cognitive development, how might you accommodate students who are not yet working at the level of their peers?

After reading through Piaget’s  4 stages of Cognitive Development, I believe I will be interacting with children who are in the Concrete Operational Stage according to Piaget. In this stage it is said that “adultlike logic appears but is limited to concrete reality” (p.31). There are  many great points Piaget has to offer, but  I think he is assuming that children move and learn at the same pace which is completely untrue. Children are often able to think in a more advanced manner than the stage that Piaget places them in at that age level. In order to accommodate students who are not working on the same level as their peers I would first have to assess where they are at in their learning. I think meaningful, probing questions during exercises can allow me to see their level of understanding and if they are making meaning of the content. I think by challenging their illogical and incorrect ideas and guiding them in the right direction, they can construct their only knowledge but at this point, reaching equilibration by going through a process of better developing their understanding. I also partly agree with Vygotsky’s assumption that social interactions plays a big part in making meaning for children. Thus, I would most likely create groups of high and low learners so they can feed off each other and learn from each other’s ideas.

2)Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development. Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), paying particular attention to the age range that you are interested in teaching. Consider how you might incorporate or adapt the strategies presented for use with your own students.

I examined the section aimed at grades 3-5. I really liked the suggested strategy of having students create short stories and presenting them orally or in writing. This is a good idea because it can be used in almost all subjects, basically killing two birds with one stone. You can encourage creativity while at the same time checking for concrete understanding of a topic translated into concrete writing.  Presenting them orally helps build confidence and speaking skills. The more students read aloud, the better readers they will become.

 

Social Cognitive Theory

Which of the learning activities/skills can you think of that lend themselves to learning through modeling?

I believe that both academic skills as well as interpersonal behaviors lend themselves to learning through modeling. I like the idea of verbal, descriptive explanations. While I am explaining, for instance, a math problem, I would model a very clear thinking process so that my students could see that led to success, and wish to copy the same steps. I might also talk out how I used the context clues in a reading to allow me to figure out what a challenging word meant. If students are able to interpret these processes as the road to success, hopefully, they will willingly choose to model these steps, and in turn raise their self efficacy. I believe by modeling acceptable and wise actions, students will respect that, and choose to imitate. In this way, they would be gaining a sense of what a respectable person looks like and acquiring much needed interpersonal skills.

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?

Sometimes by having someone other than yourself (the teacher) explain why certain behaviors are beneficial, professionals in their field are inspiration enough to raise students’ ways. In my case study, Lisa is extremely disruptive in her group, and will not allow work to get done unless she gets the job she wants. I think the idea of having a respectable person everyone is familiar with would be a great idea to raise my students (and in particular, Lisas) self efficacy, but I know that will most likely be possible. So, I would probably search the web for a good video of a famous person that emphasizes only by working together, and setting productive goals can we become successful. In this way, she would not just be hearing these words from me, but someone who seemed larger than life. This would hopefully allow her to redirect her behavior toward productivity. Once her self-efficacy increases, we could work on self-regulation skills and how to make her a student that is more in line with her success based on strategies she can do for herself.

Behaviorism Simplified

In order to better understand Behaviorism I researched more and found an imformational site provided by the University of Georgia. It is very straightforward but I like it because it is very simplified and touches on reinforcements, conditioning, and behavior modifications. Basically, it explains things that we will most likely apply to our own classroom models. The following link will provide you with a great wealth of information about Behaviorism: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Behaviorism


Next, I found this diagram to compare and contrast a Behaviorists thinking with that of a Cognitive Psychologists. Notice how different the thinking is and how one relies on prior knowledge while the other focuses on reinforcement of behavior to produce the desired effect.

Chapter 9- Behavorist Learning

How would you define successful mastery of your lesson objectives from a behavioral view of learning? Well, I think in any lesson the take away is for them to understand the content thoroughly and be able to apply it. For example, if I had a vocabularly lesson I do not want them to just take away the spelling and meaning of the word for which they can simply memorize. I want my students to apply what they know and create sentences to show they understand the words in different situations and contexts. In this instance I might propose rewards for mastery at the end of the unit to teach students delay of gratification and also give them something to work for. I hope to create an environment that has air of competition, but does not intimidate students where their response is to let the high learners win the prize. Consider your CSEL intervention case study. Are there tools from a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case? What are they? I am not crazy about behavioristic approaches, but I think their are important and useful behavior techniques for the classroom in the form of reinforcement. In order to increase positive behaviors I may have a group goal available. In order to encourage students sitting in their seats, I will offer the reward of extra free time at the end of class. This will hopefully spark an interest since it is giving students the option to move around a lot at a later point. I will most likely use social reinforcers as well to discretely give praise while not giving too much attention to certain students. I might just smile often and give a thumbs up for good work, or a student that models good behavior, or I might even praise aloud in order to recognize, and feel as if he is really a star student.

Project Based Learning Success Story

This high school in Manor, Texas uses a project based learning style to give their students hands on and interactive experiences, and to constantly keep material interesting and fresh. Statistically, the school has consistently outstanding graduation rates and students appreciate what their teachers are trying to do. Teachers create many activites with the hopes of applying the materials to real-world experiences. The link below shares more about their goals and the 5 steps they follow in order to reach them. They are: 1. Start with the State Standards
                                    2. Entry Event: Define Learning Goals
                                    3. Assess and Adjust Throughout
                                    4. Critical Friends (Teachers)-Peer Feedback
                                    5. Asses on Multiple Learning Outcomes

http://www.edutopia.org/stw-project-based-learning-best-practices

Chapter 8: Metacognitive Processes

Chapter 8

Consider a lesson plan you might use.  Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain?

I think I would create a lesson on purposes of writing and narrow in on opinion pieces. This would be intended as a writing activity for a fourth or fifth grade classroom. We would discover the differences between fact and opinion through powerpoint, then view different pieces and talk about what context clues point to it being an opinion. I would require students to try and takes notes to follow along, possibly giving them a diagram to organize their thoughts and be able to write out their evidence and reasoning. I think I would incorporate probing questions to see what they know and their opinion about opinions. I think it is important to convey that there are not wrong opinions, incorporating ideas of acceptance and tolerance. I would then have students participate in an authentic task by writing an opinion paper/article to the school newspaper about an issue they have a strong opinion about (i.e. changing school dress code).

Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills.

 I would use a geometry lesson for third grade students. Based on the angles previous learned, I would create different scenarios where the student must use their previous knowledge to measure areas, perimeters, distances and angles. (i.e. of the backyard of a house) In order to answer the mathematical problem students must use an algorithm to find the correct solution(s). A strategy I would implement is drawing a model on a smaller scale with very simple numbers and writing the possible solutions in order to gain understanding of the concept itself. After they begin to catch on, I would draw my own model on the board and call on students to walk me through the procedure.

Chapter 7: Knowledge Construction

  Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach.

As I was thinking about a constructivist type of lesson I could teach, I first wanted to decide on a subject that really challenged students’ minds to open up and reach far, so I settled on Science. Next, I thought what grade do I want to teach? So I settled on the fourth grade since I am drawn to upper elementary classes. One standard for fourth grade Science is to focus on life science and how cells work. This can be a difficult topic to be introduced to. I really want them to gain a conceptual understanding of the material, and I believe this can be done by relating the jobs of each part of the cell to jobs in real life or even to the functions of a city. (e.g.  lysosomes could be the military or police). As a class we would discuss the parts of a cell and how they are very important to help them operate maybe relating it to body parts or car parts and how everything plays a special role. I would allow them to discuss this and in table groups write down ideas for how they might remember each part and its function. Because the Endoplasmic Reticulum is the transporting system one might compare it to a mailman.  My main assignment I would incorporate in this lesson would be a project based lesson where they would have to be creative and on a poster or 3D model construct a cell with its parts and make a chart of how its function related to something they could connect with (some ideas could come from group brainstorming). The final part of the project would be to write a letter to the cell describing the students’ favorite cell structure and why. I think authentic activities are a great for classroom use. I am not completely sure if this would help with a real world experience, but I feel like the assignment in the least teaches them to think in a more sophisticated manner they will encounter in the real world. I think a good sequence would be to ensure students were gaining a conceptualized understanding my focusing on main points as a whole and connecting them former knowledge and personal links. Next, would be group work, followed by the project.

Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to student’s individual or group construction?  How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/these principles?

The part of the activity that requires students to collaborate with their table groups is a form of group construction by means of classroom dialogue, as students lean on another to for each other’s interpretation.  The second part of the lesson requires an individual constructivism, where students must use what they know and their personal ideas to connect cell jobs to whatever they choose. I would leave this open to gain an understanding myself of hoe they construct their own ideas. One way I think I might use to help discovery of constructivist methods is scaffolding. I would not want to use it all the time, but use it mildly to guide students in the right direction. I merely want to be a helpful tool in their learning process.

Chapter 6: Cognitive Learning

What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning?

 

The definition that best explained cognitive learning for me personally was “the procedures we have for manipulating information “in our heads.” I think of the ways I process and interpret the information I receive in the form of written words, sounds, and visuals. The items that stick are most likely because I connected them to previous knowledge or they instantly appealed to my interests. Thus far I like the idea of children constructing knowledge rather than absorbing. Because of this, I really like the idea that students receive these streams of educational information and go on to interpret it based on former knowledge and the way in which they view the world. I want to teach my students (no matter the grade) to learn to think for themselves both critically and analytically. I like the idea of open discussion. I know in my experience I remember more based on a flow of ideas within a group rather than reading from a textbook. It also helps me evaluate and choose what I agree with and what I want to challenge. I want my students to be open minded and realize they create knowledge.

Because people are naturally selective of what they choose to mentally process due to the overflow of information, I do not want to bombard them with textbook work. I want to encourage group work, debate, and problem solving. One thing I found in the text that I definitely want to employ within my own classroom is meaningful learning because it “involves recognizing a relationship between new information and something already stored in long-term memory.”  I believe ways that contributes to capturing things in my long term memory were visuals, songs and mnemonic strategies. I want to teach things to my students that will be sure to stick!

 

 

How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?

 

My knowledge of memories has enhanced tenfold since I was presented the two teacher projects on cognitive processes and memory. I know the sensory register holds information in basically its original form, but I know that is for a short time and can change over time. I know just like the game telephone, students are not going to save everything just the way they hear it. Any key words or information that they can relate with will likely stick better in one’s minds. This was pointed out in the first teacher project. It was stated that if a visual appealed to your interests, you were more likely to make a connection and store that image. As a teacher I want to do my best to create activities that are relatable since the long term memory “is interconnected.”  What I do not want to do is encourage rote learning which attached no meaning to itself. This was so often my experience in elementary school that I feel like I missed out on some very valuable knowledge.

 I want to use a variety of methods to help information file itself away in the long term memory. I want to utilize mneomnic devices which has always proven helpful for my own remembering. I am also a big fan of remembering through song and rhyme and other creative measures. For example, I remember that the element Gold is Au on the periodic table due to this joke: Silver walks up to Gold in a bar and says, "AU, get outta here!"  My biggest tip to my students will probably be cues through association. I think these things most easily come back to our minds because we can so quickly identify with them. I want to use fun and catchy tios like these that are fun and interactive ways that can be repetitively used in the classroom.

 

 

 

Charter School Debate

 

 

This is a video I found really interesting concerning charter schools, which we spent some time discussing the other day in class. This video shows a debate on whether they are beneficial or actually hurting public education. Diane Ravitch, an educational policy analyst, argues that on average charter schools do not produce better results than public school and that is simply a risky way to deal with education. She goes on to say that charters enroll 3% of the children in NY and no one is advocating for the other 97%. It sounds like inequalities we have heard about in the past couple years about no one advocating for the bulk of society. The top reigns.

James Merriman, the cheif executive of the NY Charter School Center, argues that in New York, studies prove that charter schools are outperforming public schools for sure and that thousands are on waiting lists for this kind of education.

I think this video allows us to see a specific location where there is much debate, and two high status people's differing views about why they do or do not believe charter schools are effective. I would encourage you guys to check the video out and think whether or not it is an institution you would want to wort at.

Chapter 15: Test Assessment

Chapter 15

Turn to p. 559 in Ormrod’s text.  Now, imagine that you are meeting with Ingrid’s grandmother today to explain her scores on the recent standardized achievement test pictured at the bottom of p. 559.  What will you tell her about Ingrid’s performance? her strengths? her weaknesses?

If grandmother asks you what she could be doing at home to help strengthen Ingrid’s skills, what will you suggest?

If Ingrid’s grandmother was needing to meet with me concerning her granddaughter’s scores from the standardized achievement tests, I would first have to break down and explain a few definitions. I would first explain that a stanine score was simply a way test scores could be placed on a scale of nine points. The first stanine would be in the lowest of scoring groups while the ninth would be found in the ninth scoring group. Depending what group her granddaughter fell in would be an indicator of her performance on that test. For example, Ingrid’s stanine score of an 8 in reading comprehension shows she excelled in that content area, and thus is performing “well above the average.” This would be easy to explain with the excel chart of scores. I would next explain a bit about percentiles. Percentiles are based on a value system.  It is a value on a scale of one hundred that indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to or below it. For example, a score equal to or greater than 97 percent of those attained on an examination is said to be in the 97th percentile.  From there I would show her Ingrid’s scores and emphasize that she did really well in Science and Reading Comprehension, where her percentile and stanine scores are high. Her strengths as shown by the chart are Science, Social Studies and Reading Comprehension, while she struggles slightly with Spelling and Math Computation. She fares well at Math Concepts, achieving just about average.

I would suggest working on weekly site words with Ingrid and checking her writing assignments to evaluate how her spelling is doing, and is she needs any additional help. I can also send home additional worksheets with a key for you (the grandmother) to check.  As for math computation, I would  create links on my teacher website for interactive games and additional problems to practice since doing homework outside of class is key to improvement much of the time. I would give the grandmother multiple worksheets of the same exact problems so that she can measure progress herself over time, and feel directly involved.

Extra Resource Investigation

          Chapter 13 greatly interested me because it is so important to understand how to manage and control our classroom the right way.  I was looking at additional resources and found great insight on how to approach different types of students. Specifically, I really engaged in th article by Larry Ferlazzo, Eight Things Skilled Teachers Think, Say, and Do.  He reiterates on how teachers can be successful through intrinsically motivating their students. I like how they distinguish between authoritarian and authoritative control. Our goal is not to be a dictator and rule with an iron fist, but to listen and interact with our students in an understanding and rationale way. It is the same way children hope their parents will interact with them. The level of comfort in my classroom is going to be a huge deal. I think I can eliminate future problems by establishing that from day one.
         Another fantastic point that is covered in the article is student growth.  He says failure is simply new opportunity. It is hard to think when we have 20-25 students in our classroom that we could at some point fail. My personal mindset is to never accecpt failure, yet I know in my first years a lot of failures and setbacks are going to be my own growth and learning experience.
        My third take away was to learn to be flexible, which might mean differentiating lesson plans and specific instructions to accommodate a particular student. If teachers pre-think of a variety of approaches for their many different learners, they will not be so pressured to find alternatives on the spot. There were really great tips to follow from a moderately experienced teacher. I think I will certainly be able to apply these next year in my internship when I am in a school on a daily basis.

Chapter 14: Assessment

(14.1) Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area (feel free to use the same topic you used for Chapter 6, 9 & 10). Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

I believe that both informal and formal assessments can be very telling of students’ progress. I believe I would use 3 or 4 different informal assessments for my own knowledge of how we are doing as a class, and perhaps what I can be teaching more clearly and effectively. I thought my example could be of a lesson plan in the fifth grade (since that is a grade I am interested in teaching) with the subject social studies (since it is my favorite). If I were using a topic such as the founding fathers, I would create a portfolio project as the final, formal assessment. Since there are a limited amount of founding fathers, more than one student would be assigned the same man.

Informal: Students must write a 25 word abstract on the founding father they have researched and then place in their portfolio

Informal: Students with the same topic must pair up and verbally share the most important facts (I check for accurate information)

Informal: Students will create questions for peers to answer about their founding father

Informal: After discussing the making of America and how these men the creation of a republic, we will have Q &A time

Formal: I will give students an essay question for a grade and it will go in there completed portfolio

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 (14.2) Consider norm referenced assessment and criterion referenced assessment. Are there advantages to both? Are their disadvantages?

I think there can be positives and negatives to both criterion-referenced assessments as well as norm-reference assessments. Criterion reference allows teachers to see what their students and what they do not. This can be extremely helpful and understanding which concepts they may be completely grasping, somewhat grasping, or not understanding in the least. In this way, teachers can recreate and redraw lesson plans to more accurately get their point across.                                                                                                                  

As for the norm-referenced assessments, students are compared to other students. This may be across the county, state, or nation. If these tests are administered state-wide, it is likely that there is information that is not in the state curriculum, and that the state probably did not feel it was that important for their students to learn. I see this as a negative when time could be better spent learning valuable skills. A positive for norm-referenced assessments is that it could create healthy competition for schools to compete against each other like “battle of the nerds.” They also use a lot of percentile ranking so schools can see specifically where they are and how much they need to approve.

Ticket Out the Door

Pros & Cons to Standardized Testing

More often than not, we have heard negative things about standardized testing and have ourselves produced this negative feeling towards them. Because they are produced by these officials and experts, they are not good indicators of whether students are learning methods in the classroom. With the pressure to perform, pass, and reflect well on the school, much important information is glazed over A huge con to standardized testing is the pressure teachers and administrators are placed under to stay above the radar, thus staying out of trouble. I think this takes away from teaching, and teachers creativity gets diminished.As for pros, these standardized can often predict whether a student will do well and succeed in higher education. They are also able to compare students scores across schools and also across races and ethnic groups I believe it must be considered what would be the best alternative if tests such as the ACT and SAT were eliminated. Then colleges might run into more complicated issues such as, what means do we use to judge ones acceptance .Since schools can greatly range in difficulty, basing admittance solely on one's GPA would not be accurate. Whether to use standardized testing is a complicated question, but as for me, even considering the pros, I still do not care for this type of testing.

Chapter 13: Productive Learning Enviornment

In My Classroom

How will you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning?

I think first of all appearance is extremely important. We discovered in class how wall art could be important to creating the environment for students. I think in a room that is organized and well structured will allow my job as a teacher to be made easier, and less stress on me means more focus on my students. I think grouping desks is a great idea because ultimately I want all my students to get to know each other, and I think the best way to learn and grow together is to create a community-like environment. That means I want my students to collaborate with me to create rules, goals, and new ideas. America believes we are all about the power of people and their power to make decisions so I figure this is extremely helpful in molding students into citizens as well as facilitating learning by not sounding dictatorial. I plan on creating an environment where I am extremely approachable where any problems concerning school work, bullying, or at home issues can be brought to me without hesitation. Another thing I want to implement is smooth transitions. I love the idea of planning activities around the transition periods. I believe this is so important not to lose time in between subjects and outside courses such as art and music. There are many things that I read about in the book that would seem to produce a learning environment, yet I know I will often have to go through trial and error to see what works best for that particular class.

Now consider your CSEL case study.  Develop a full continuum of responses for dealing with the misbehavior of your case (ignoring through dealing with serious and repetitive infractions).

My case study involved Lisa and her disruption with the group. Right away I noticed that this might be a tricky case and ignoring the problem might only exacerbate it.  She seems to be bossy and controlling and maybe group work isn’t best for her. However, I believe I would skip both ignoring and cueing and move on to discussing the problem privately with Lisa. Taking her aside or most likely outside of the classroom, I might be able to get to the true root of the problem, and reiterate my expectations, and why her behavior is disruptive to our school family. However, since I do believe Lisa’s case might be complicated, I might have to interact with her parents or even plan an intervention if it were to worsen. In her specific case I do not believe teaching her self-regulation strategies would be very helpful due to the fact that she seems to have no sympathy for her misbehavior. It privately discussing the problem with her was to have little or no affect; I believe it would be most logical to confront her guardians. I would not want to harp on all negative qualities and behaviors but gently present the case to her parents and seek advice and possibly intervention. From there I believe we could solve the issue without getting other students involved, and I might gain understanding from the parents with the best way to deal with their child who may have emotional or social problems. I know it’s likely not everything will go according to planned, but I love that I have a spectrum to use to help manage my classroom!