October 19, 2017

EDUC 350

     While completing our visit at the elementary school yesterday, I was surprised by many things, yet not surprised at all by other things. My teacher was very welcoming, and it was obvious how much she cared for her students. Walking in the hall she told me, "I wish I had started out student teaching in a school like this. Student teaching in a school located in a middle class to wealthy neighborhood did not prepare me for teaching here. The needs are just different here." She explained that her heart was at the school where she is teaching now because of all of the needs.
     I absolutely loved spending all day in this particular third grade classroom. The kids were so loving and sweet, and I think I must have gotten 1,000 hugs throughout the day. Many of the little girls begged me to let them play with my hair when we went out on the playground. One thing that surprised me was that the little boys craved attention and love just as much as the little girls did. With my past experience in classrooms in different areas, almost always it is the little girls that want love and nurturing and the little boys that want someone to talk to, play with, and give them attention. It was obvious that the children at this particular school craved love and attention. All of them.
     One thing that made me sad yesterday was that I saw a little girl that had a piece of twine tied around her pants through her belt loops. She was trying to hold her pants up with twine because she didn't have a belt. The twine wasn't working well, and her pants were falling down anyway. I saw multiple kids with dirty clothes and book bags that were falling apart. At one point I looked over at the teacher that I was with, and she was trying to safety-pin a little girl's book bag together. The book bag looked like it had been through a blender, but the teacher just kept trying her best to pin it and make it work. What surprised me most about this was that the teacher had a look of total concentration on her face. Not sadness, not frustration, just a "let me see what I can do here" look on her face. I admire how this teacher does her best and is loving and does not get frustrated with her students. But I really admired how she doesn't let her job get the best of her emotions. By just observing this teacher, you can tell that she is totally in her element. Completely comfortable by her surroundings. Not worried about the traumatic experiences of teaching in this particular elementary school that tomorrow might bring. She takes it one day at a time, meeting one need at a time to the best of her ability. This relates to so many of the NCTCS Standards, but especially to Standard 5c, "Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment."
     I saw several kids throughout the day that looked like they were going to cry, or were very frustrated and angry, even though nothing in class happened to make them upset. I think that this is because they are carrying burdens with them that are placed on them outside of school. I don't really care what the NC School Report Card looks like, the kids that I spent the day with yesterday are smart and eager to learn. How and why in the world would anyone label these children as "not intelligent" because "they are in poverty and they'll just keep failing and never be successful." This is why I want to teach. Because I don't label children as a failure because "their home lives will never let them rise above and be successful." I believe in giving all children a chance because they are all able to learn and they all deserve it. If you don't believe this statement, education is not the right field for you. This aligns with Standard 2a, "Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults."

EDUC 410

We had a great seminar today about Integration and Technology. Often times we used examples in the seminar today about how the teachers that we spent the day with yesterday used Technology and integrated many subjects into one lesson. We talked about how important it is to make utilizing technology in the classroom seamless. This is exactly what my teacher did yesterday. As a part of every lesson, at least one center was using computers to work on math, reading or phonics. The students were so used to this that they were independent, knowing how to log in, plug their earphones in, and work quietly on the computers and iPads. This relates to Standard 4d, "Teachers integrate and utilize technology  in their instruction." For my outside research, I looked up what some of the best ways to integrate technology into my future classroom are. Here's the link:
https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation
This resource is from Edutopia, so it's really good. It includes everything from how to begin introducing technology into your classroom to some of the best sites to actually use in your lessons. This article also talks about how to make this integration of technology seamless, how to use technology to provide feedback, and how to use technology to make a professional development plan. It's got some good stuff!

In my future classroom I will...

• Create a positive relationship with my students and my class as a whole because in the school visit yesterday I saw how important that was.
• Create a positive classroom culture and environment because in the school visit yesterday I saw how important that was.
• Integrate technology in my classroom seamlessly.
• Integrate many subjects into my lessons because this makes life easier when it comes to teaching the Standards, and it helps students to retain the information and become more engaged in the lessons.

    

October 5, 2017

EDUC 350...

This week in EDUC 350, we had Dr. Mitcham come talk to us about Special Education, Multi-Tiered System Support (MTSS), Response to Intervention (RTI), and Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS). (Wow, that's kinda information overload!)
With MTSS, we learned about the different tiers. There's Tier 1, which is Differentiated Core. Everyone participates in the regular core curriculum in the classroom, but many students need differentiation. 80-85% of students are in Tier 1. Tier 2 is Supplemental Support/Enrichment. This is "core plus more," and 15-20% of students are in Tier 2. Lastly, there's Tier 3, which is Intensive Support/Targeted Curriculum Extensions. About 5% of students are Tier 3. After Tier 3, those that don't benefit from the Tiers go to Special Education. Those in Special Education have Individualized Education Plans (IEP's).
There were a few key points that I took from Dr. Mitcham's visit, and they really stood out to me. I enjoyed the important information that she provided, but what I most enjoyed was the advice she gave us about teaching in general. These key points were:

• A teacher needs to fix behavioral problems first, and then academic problems. However, the teacher needs to make sure that these behavioral problems are actually behavioral, and not stemming from frustration from an underlying academic problem.
• Children are like oysters. They will only open up when they are ready, and if you're not there for them when they finally decide to open up, they will just shut again.
• We teach children. We need to remember this. The content that we provide them is important, but in the end it's only content. We need to teach kids.
• The paycheck isn't why we teach. The paycheck is the result of teaching. The "why" is our own personal reasons. {My own personal reasons: It's my calling and my passion, I want to help children, I love kids... I could literally go on and on about all the reasons why I want to teach.}
• ALL children can learn. Just because a child comes from poverty absolutely does not mean that they aren't as smart as a rich kid. The difference can simply be that the child from poverty was not introduced to as many things (like books) as the child coming from wealth.
• The bulk of my time will not be spent lesson planning. It will be spent problem solving.

All of these key points are related to many of the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards. I think that they mostly relate to Standard 2a, "Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults." I will integrate ALL of these key points into my future classroom because I think that they are all so SO important.

EDUC 410...

We talked a lot about Formative Assessment specifically in this class this week. In one of the Frontline assignments for this class this week, there was a video about a teacher who was frustrated because she had specific students that were so smart and knew all of the material, but they were not doing well on their tests and other assessments. She KNEW that they knew this material. So she came up with a strategy for helping them do their own assessment data, getting their parents more involved, and helping the students learn to take responsibility for their own learning. This new strategy was Student Led Conferences. Each student had their own binders with their goals, data of improvement, and evidence of this improvement. Their evidence was graded work that they completed. Each student met with their parents and teacher, and explained to their parents and teacher their goals, how they reached them, and their data as well as evidence supporting this data. I thought this idea was golden. I definitely plan to implement this in my classroom. This aligns with Standard 2e, "Teachers work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students." It also relates to Standard 5a, "Teachers analyze student learning." Lastly, it also related to Standard 3d, "Teachers make instruction relevant to students."

For my outside research this week, I read about formative assessment on Carnegie Mellon University's website. It says that formative assessments "help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work." I think the key point of this statement is that formative assessments help students to target areas that need work. This helps students to take responsibility for their own learning.

Source: https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

September 28, 2017

{EDUC 350}
Monday was a workday for our cultural competence project, so we did not meet for class.
Wednesday in class we learned about IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This is the law that governs how students with disabilities are taken care of in schools. IDEA requires that we give students with disabilities a "free and appropriate education." This aligns with Standard 2d, "Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs." We also learned about IEP's (Individualized Education Plan) and LRE (Least Restrictive Environment.) This is what I learned about LRE in class (these are my notes):

4 settings for LRE: (ranked 1-4, 1=least restrictive and 4=most restrictive)

1. Inclusion (What I will teach/traditional classroom in which EC kids are functioning below grade level, but with support, can be in a traditional classroom. Kids are included in traditional day and we just provide accommodations.)
2. Resource (The EC kids are still in the traditional classroom, but they go to a resource teacher as they are pulled out during different times of the day.)
3. Self-contained (EC kids are still at your school, just in their own classroom.)
4. Separate setting
5. (May have a few students that are on monitoring… these kids have an IEP and the EC teacher comes in and checks if they’re still progressing)

While doing my outside research I found a quote that sums up what I learned in class this week. It says, "Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) isn't a place; it's a principle that guides your child's educational program."
source: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/special-education-basics/least-restrictive-environment-lre-what-you-need-to-know

{EDUC 410}
This week, Natalie led our seminar, and she did a great job! Our seminar was about rubrics, why they are helpful and important, and how both teachers and students can benefit from them. This is what we decided on rubrics during the seminar:

• Rubrics help the teacher to grade assessments without having bias, because the rubric holds each student up to the same standards/expectations.
• Rubrics help the student to know what is expected of them when completing assignments.
• Rubrics help the student to know in which areas they need to focus on improvement for the next assignment.
• Rubrics provide a great way to give feedback by allowing the teacher to write comments on the page.
• Rubrics allow for constructive criticism and focusing on the positive things that the student did in the assignments.

I think that rubrics are equally important for students and teachers for these reasons. Teachers using rubrics for grading assessments aligns with Standard 4g, "Teachers communicate effectively." This is because rubrics help teachers to effectively communicate what they expect from their students.

What does this mean for my future classroom?

I will ALWAYS follow the guidelines that meet each of my students' needs under IDEA and for students with IEP's, because it's all about their well-being and how I can help them learn. I will also provide rubrics for my students in order to better the communication in the classroom. Rubrics will help my students know what is expected of them and will help me grade all of my students' assignments equally.

September 21, 2017

EDUC 410
This week we talked a lot about self assessment and how important it is. This week, it was my turn to lead the seminar. I actually had a lot of fun doing it! I chose a commentary by John Hattie and a blog written by Kathy Dyer for our readings. John Hattie's commentary is about "how we aren't using assessments correctly," and Kathy Dyer's blog is about how important self-assessment is. Dr. Clark said that I chose readings from two of the most important education researchers out there, and I didn't even know it until she told me! Since these readings are so informative and helpful, I want to use them as my outside research for my blog this week. I want to point out something that I think is so important that was in Kathy Dyer's blog. She wrote it based on Dylan Wiliam's book, Embedded Formative Assessment, and includes 5 strategies that should be included in formative assessment in any classroom. Numbers 3 and 5 go hand-in-hand, I think.
#3- "Providing feedback that moves learning forward"
#5- "Activating learners as owners of their learning"
I think that these go hand-in-hand because I don't think that students can self-assess until we teach them how to do that. We have to teach them how to do that by assessing them and giving them feedback, as the teacher. This aligns with Standard 6a, "The work of the teacher results in acceptable, measurable progress for students based on established performance expectations using appropriate data to demonstrate growth." It also aligns with Standard 4e, "Teachers help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills." Teachers are helping students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills when they teach their students how to self-assess.

Links for readings/outside research:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/28/we-arent-using-assessments-correctly.html

https://www.nwea.org/blog/2015/the-importance-of-student-self-assessment/

EDUC 350
This week in 350, we participated in a simulation (we always to the coolest stuff in this class!) We chose pieces of paper, and they told us what our SES, race/ethnicity, job, etc. was like. My character was a heterosexual female refugee from Iran, who spoke little English. It was stressful trying to make decisions on what to buy when I had very little money to start out with. Thankfully, I chose to spend the money on living in a good neighborhood at the beginning of the game, so this helped my living conditions. I didn't have the right to vote, because I wasn't an American citizen. This made me feel kind of anxious every time that there was a vote, because I didn't have a say, and everyone else voted for things that would benefit them individually-- not everyone as a whole. More times than not, whatever was voted into place was something that was going to affect me in a negative way. I managed to make it to the end of the game without having "illness," but I was in quite a bit of debt. This game really opened my eyes to the fact that we don't choose which race, ethnicity, or SES that we are born in. It's really all based on luck. This is how my student's home lives will be-- I will have students from all kinds of different backgrounds and home lives. So what does this mean for my future classroom? I will embrace each child as an individual and prepare myself to teach a classroom full of diverse learners. This aligns with Standard 2c, "Teachers treat students as individuals." Also, it aligns with Standard 2b, "Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world."

September 14, 2017

*EDUC 410*

     Yesterday in class we looked at some data that a teacher had made for a test that she gave her students. Her data would tell her which students got which questions right and wrong, and what she needed to teach again, because maybe she didn't teach them as well as she thought that she did. I thought that this was so cool! Since I am really early on in the education program, I had never heard of making a data sheet to track my student's progress. Now I see how useful and important it is, and why it's such a good idea!

1. Assessment Data helps the teacher to see which students they need to differentiate for
2. It helps the teacher to see which standards that need to be taught again, perhaps in a different way
3. It helps the teacher to see how much each student has grown when comparing pre-test and post-test scores

Assessment data is important because we need to know which students have mastered which standards, and which students need a little extra help.

• So what does this mean for my future classroom?

     I'll use data to see how much my students grow by comparing pre-test and post-test scores. I'll use data to measure their strengths and weaknesses, to see which students I need to differentiate for, and which standards I need to go back and re-teach because maybe I didn't cover the topic as well as I thought that I did. This aligns with Standard 6a, "The work of the teacher results in acceptable, measurable progress for students based on established performance expectations using appropriate data to demonstrate growth."

September 14, 2017

*EDUC 350*
     This week we talked about a topic that touches my heart every single time. This topic is probably one of the main reasons why I want to teach and help kids. This topic is a burden that is laid on my heart every time I walk into a classroom for a clinical, volunteer work, tutoring, etc.
Poverty.

     On Monday as we were walking into class, we had to draw a piece of paper out of a cup. These were our directions for the beginning of class. My paper told me to sit on the floor next to a folder, because I was in that 80% that was in poverty. Four people got to sit at a table with snacks, posters, art supplies, technology, and candy. The rest of us in the class sat on the floor with folders. No snacks, no posters, no art supplies, no technology, no candy. We were told to make an informative poster about poverty using the resources that were given to us. Taylor G., Carol, and I opened our folder to find ripped and crumpled paper and 2 markers. When it came time to present our posters, my group's poster was written in small print on one piece of white card stock with marker (as was most of the other groups that were in poverty). When the middle class/wealthy people stood up to present their posters, they had stickers on them, had more information on them, had more decorations on them, and they were overall better posters. This activity completely opened my eyes for the first time about how poverty can limit students in their education and how it makes them feel. I was anxious that I didn't have what I needed to complete my poster. I was embarrassed to present my poster when I new the middle class/wealthy people's posters would be better. I felt like I could do a better poster if I had more materials, or if I had what the "rich kids" had to work on their posters. This is exactly how many children suffering from poverty feel in school every day.

• So what does this mean for my for my future classroom?

     As a teacher, I have to recognize poverty. I have to recognize which of my kids are in poverty and how poverty can limit them in the classroom. I have to help them in any way that I can. This aligns with Standard 2a, "Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults." I also have to make sure that I feed them before I expect them to learn, because a kid that does not have a full belly has a hard time thinking and learning. This aligns with Standard 2d, "Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs." In their case, this special need is food, because they are suffering from hunger. I don't think that a "special need" is necessarily a disability. I think that kids suffering from poverty have "special needs" that the middle class and wealthy kids do not have, because their needs are being met. I also have to have absolutely zero tolerance for bullying that may arise due to the way an impoverished child looks, smells, or academically performs. This aligns with Standard 1e, "Teachers demonstrate high ethical standards."
     One thing that Dr. Clark said that really stood out to me in class today was that education really is the only thing that can break through poverty. As teachers we have to love our kids and take care of them as best we can!

(Source for image: http://drpfconsults.com/shocking-effects-of-poverty-on-education/ )

September 7, 2017

~EDUC 410~
We've had lots of good conversations about assessment this week! We talked about whether or not standardized testing is a good way of assessing students and what assessment really means. We came to the agreement that assessments do not always have to be in the form of tests, but that assessments can be presentations, projects, papers, oral tests, etc. There are various assessment techniques that teachers should use, other than just testing. This aligns with Standard 4h, "Teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned."

We decided that standardized testing should happen in schools because our kids have to be assessed in some way. However, we also decided that we shouldn't take standardized tests too seriously because there are several factors that can affect a child's ability to do well on the test, even though they may have mastered the material and they may be extremely smart. These factors include:

• Test Anxiety (I know this is real because it is something that I have!)
• If the child did not rest well the night before
• If the child is hungry/hasn't eaten anything on test day
• If the child had to take care of younger siblings and the test is the last thing on their mind
• If something recently happened to their parents that could be occupying their minds, rather than them being able to focus on the test

These are all factors that could make a smart child that knows the material perform badly on a standardized test, so standardized test might not be worthy of all the credit that we give them. I mean really, how accurate are they?

For our seminar today, we had to read about assessment and about an interview of Grant Wiggins, a nationally recognized assessment expert. I read something that he stated about assessment that really opened my eyes to assessing my future students! He said, "So you have to think about how it's [your lesson] going to end up, what it's going to look like. And then that ripples back into your design, what activities will get you there. What teaching moves will get you there?" He said that they call it backward design. This is a method in teaching where the teacher first figures out what they will assess their students on, and then they develop their lesson to cover all of the material on the assessment. This way they can be sure to cover everything they need their kids to know. How awesome is this?! This is an approach to teaching and lesson plans that I had never thought of or heard of before. But I think this is a great way to teach and assess.

(Source: https://www.edutopia.org/grant-wiggins-assessment#graph3)

So what does this mean for my future classroom?

• First of all, I won't let my students think that their standardized test scores, or any test scores for that matter, define them as a person or define how intelligent they are.
• I will use backward design to first figure out what I'm going to assess my students on, and then design my lesson plan based on what they need to know for the assessment.
• I won't just assess my kids with tests- but I'll use other methods, such as presentations, papers/reports, projects, oral tests, etc.

 

September 7, 2017

~EDUC 350~

Our 350 classes this week were deep. I am so glad that this class gives us the opportunity to talk about things together that will in some way affect us in this profession of teaching. Not only do we talk about these things together, but we support each other. I learned some extremely important things about being an educator in 350 this week regarding diversity and what it means to teach a diverse classroom. These are some things that my eyes were opened to this week about classroom diversity:

• As a teacher, by saying that I am "color blind" and that "I don't see colors, I only see students," I am not being respectful to my students. I am ignoring an important aspect of my students as individuals. Their race often becomes a part of their own individual culture, because that's the way our society works. I shouldn't ignore this part of them... as their teacher, I should help them embrace this part of who they are and I should embrace them for who they are as an individual! This relates to Standard 2c, "Teachers treat students as individuals."
• Kids can tell if you believe in them or not. This affects their performance in the classroom. They need a teacher that believes that they can succeed, because this will help them believe in themselves.
• Kids are more likely to remember negative things that are said about them than the positive things that are said about them-- this is extremely important to remember.
• If kids aren't getting the attention, nurturing, love, care, etc. that they need at home, and if I don't show that I care about them as their teacher at school, where are they going to get the nurturing and care that they need? Probably nowhere. It is vital that I care for my students and pay attention to their overall wellbeing at all times. This relates to Standard 2a, "Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults."

So what does this mean for my future classroom??

I will embrace every child who walks into my classroom for who they are as an individual, without ignoring the fact that their race is often a part of their culture and who they are. I'll also provide constructive criticism without tearing my kids down. I will build each student up to the best of my ability, and not say unnecessary negative things about them, because these are the comments they will remember and put themselves down with. I will pay attention to the wellbeing of my students at all times and fight for them and take care of them! This aligns with Standard 1d, "Teachers advocate for schools and students."

"It is easier to build strong children than fix broken men." (-Frederick Douglass) 

https://today.law.harvard.edu/it-is-easier-to-build-strong-children-than-fix-broken-men-at-hls-summit-edelman-says-we-must-move-from-punishment-to-justice-video/

August 31, 2017

{EDUC 410}

   This class is already easing a lot of concerns that I had about being a teacher, which is a blessing.

       

 In class on Tuesday, we talked about standards:

• Standards that we have as teachers: North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards
• Standards that we have to teach our kids: NCDPI K-12 Standards
• Standards that we have to make sure that we are integrating technology: NCDPI Digital Teaching and Learning

On Tuesday I learned that it IS possible to tie all 4 subjects (Math, Science, English Language Arts, and History) into one lesson. This is what makes it possible to get through most of the standards for the grades that we teach. Thank goodness, because there are oh so many standards! It is easiest to tie all these subjects together if you start with History and Math or Science, because you can tie Language Arts into just about any lesson. Sometimes you won't be able to tie all the subjects together, but you can always link at least 2 subjects together into one lesson. This aligns with Standard 3c, "Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines."

Today, we had our first seminar. I went into the seminar a little bit nervous and wondering how it would go. I wondered if I would have enough to say in it, but after, I was amazed at how good it went and what our class had accomplished! We all came to the agreement that standards are essential in education. They are essential to education because standards help keep everyone on the same page and "level the playing field." Furthermore, we also decided that it is crucial for the teacher to write the standard and objectives of each lesson on the board every day so that students will know what they are trying to learn and accomplish in each lesson. I also learned the meaning of the word "scaffolding," which is important in education. This is the idea that as children get older, they should become more independent and responsible for their own learning. In order for this to happen, I (as the teacher) should encourage them as they get older to take more responsibility for their own learning-- rather than me helping them so much with their work. This aligns with Standard 4a, "Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students"

So what does this mean for my future classroom??

• I'll stick to the standards! I want my kids to be on a level playing field in their education as other kids their age. I don't want to cause them to lack in any subject or concept because I didn't teach the standards.
• I'll write the standards and objectives of each lesson on the board every day so that my kids know what their goals are and what they need to accomplish for each lesson. This is to benefit them.
• I'll integrate as many subjects as possible into one lesson in order to help my students gain a deeper understanding of concepts and how each concept and subject can be connected.

~Nifty Teaching Tricks I Learned This Week~

• I can go to Lowe's and ask for shower board, which is only $20-$30 per sheet, and there I have my dry-erase board!
• I can also ask them to cut the shower board into individual squares, and each of my students can have their own dry-erase board.
• I can look on Pinterest for cute ways to decorate the boards.

August 31, 2017

{Education 350}

        The deeper that we dig into this class, the more I like it! This class is making me really excited to create my own classroom culture and teach a diverse group of students confidently. I learned that it is my responsibility as the teacher to create a positive classroom environment and set the mood for my classroom culture. This aligns with Standard 1a, "Teachers lead in their classrooms." This also aligns with Standard 2b, "Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world." I'm already learning more about diversity and culture and issues that might arise in my future classroom as a result of this, but I am also learning techniques that will help me solve these issues. For example, I learned that if I assign my students homework that might go against their religious beliefs, I can assign an alternate homework assignment that they may do instead. This way, all my students are completing homework relevant to what we are learning in class, and there should be no conflict.

        On Monday, we were assigned reading about Multicultural Curriculum and Teaching Diverse Learners. This reading helped expand my knowledge on bias curriculum and the importance of making sure that my lessons are free from bias. I also learned the importance of discussing inequality with students at a young age, but keeping the discussions age appropriate. This aligns with Standard 4a, "Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students."

        In order to gain a better understanding of diversity that we might face in our future classroom, we made a list of various types of diversity. They include gender, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, community, disability, beliefs, political status, citizenship status, learning styles, level of education, occupation, home life/family makeup, language, age, sexual orientation, culture/customs, and physicality. There are probably more items that we could add to the list. I didn't realize that there are so many factors that play into diversity, but by making this list, it helped me see the importance of being ready to teach a classroom of diverse students!

        So what does this mean for my future classroom??

• I will establish my classroom's culture, because as the teacher, that's my responsibility!
• I'll be ready to tackle classroom diversity with confidence and embrace it.
• I'll know how to talk about things such as diversity, inequality, etc. on a level that is age appropriate for my students, and at appropriate times.

EDUC 350/410 August 24, 2017

EDUC 350

In our first class, we came up with our own definition of the word "culture" as a class. This topic and its definition was so much more deep than I had ever imagined! Until our discussion, I did not realize how many aspects of culture there are and how essential each one is to the definition of culture. Here are some aspects of culture that we decided are essential to its definition, as a class:

• social norms
• the arts (this includes music)
• cuisine
• apparel
• beliefs
• traditions

In our class definition, we said that culture is the growth and development of all of these things put together in our society. One thing that we did not include in our definition that I wish that we would have is that it isn't just the growth and development of all of these things, but also, simply the existence of these things. To me, culture is social norms, the arts, cuisine, apparel, beliefs, and traditions all tied together into their existence. I don't think it necessarily has to be the growth and development of all of these things all of the time, but it can just be what it is and how it exists.

It's very important to integrate culture in the classroom. This is because of diversity. There will always be diversity in the classroom, and it is our job as educators to approach it in a friendly way and make all of our students feel like their culture is valued when they step into our classrooms!

EDUC 410

In our first class, we discussed the syllabus and the semester at a glance, but we really talked about what this class is really all about-- integration and assessment, their importance, and how they go hand in hand. Integration is SO IMPORTANT in our classrooms. We learned an example of integration when we played baby blob in class. We had to tag each other, and each time someone was tagged, they joined the blob. The last person that had not been tagged at the end of the game was the baby blob. We could use this one simple game in the classroom to integrate physical activity, to integrate science by teaching students about the spread of germs each time someone was tagged, and integrate math using multiplication, adding, and subtracting using blobs and how many individuals make up the blobs. There are so many creative ways to use integration in the classroom, and every teacher should use integration because it adheres to the NCTCS standards-- one specifically being that "Teachers facilitate learning for their students."