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/