For this last reflection, please include an overall impression with the content we covered in this class.
In addition, which items do you hope to implement in the upcoming school year? If I had only one word to describe this class (CURR 341), it would be RELEVANT! This course provided multiple opportunities for me to reflect on the effectiveness of my instructional practices as it relates to students’ learning, academic achievements, and overall well being. It allowed me to reexamine the purpose of education, my pedagogy, as well as refocus my attention on students as individuals. At the end, I was challenged to be a change agent within my school, district, local and global communities. The idea of a one-size-fits all approach to education never really made sense to me as an educator or a parent with a background in child development. We do not expect all children to mature physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally at the same rate. Why do we expect students to reach academic milestones based on subject matter and age? Since all students are unique, they are going to have a myriad of different interests, talents, and learning styles. Therefore, we can infer that each student should master academic standards at different times. Yet, many educators are chained to a pacing schedule that allows them to differentiate and make accommodations to daily lessons without regard to students’ background experiences, the rates at which they are capable of learning, or addressing their levels of understanding across the curriculum. This year I am blessed to have 22 individuals within a self-contained classroom setting that emphasizes project-based learning. I am going to take the time to build relationships with my students and their families, individualize instruction by giving students choices, providing activities that give all students access to learning, and take the time to really listen to them so I can hear their voices. I am nervous to relinquish some control and excited to see what students can achieve when they are truly given a chance to drive instruction and be the center of the learning process.
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I was introduced to the flipped classroom model in 2009. At first, I was not sure if it would be an effective teaching tool. Since then, I have used the flipped classroom model and adaptive online programs to help me close my students’ academic learning gaps as well as allow students to move ahead in their learning. Many of my students do not have anyone at home to help them with their homework, so homework needs to be something they can do on their own. By flipping the classroom students receive work they can do at their own pace at home as well as gain background knowledge on the topic for the next day’s class. Class discussions, activities, and projects are more engaging and meaningful because students have been given an opportunity to at least become familiar with the concepts before I teach them. The best part of flip-learning is that my students come to class with questions they have generated based on these preliminary activities. The key is creating a combination of flipped learning activities such as readings, Nearpod lessons, Edpuzzles, webquests, videos, and other activities. If you use videos, it is important they are relevant and if possible record them yourself. Adaptive learning online tools such as Moby Max, Prodigy, and Read Theory are wonderful because they are responsive to students and allow them to fill in their learning gaps as well as challenge them beyond grade-level curriculum. I am going to continue using these tools this upcoming year because I have seen tremendous growth in my students every year thus far.
Why do so many students describe their educational experiences as boring?
At the end of this past school year, my students created parody songs about their experiences. One line in one of the songs states, “Never really liked math, but now we do. Mrs. B made it fun by sensing how bored we were.” This statement has been puzzling me because I can’t quite put my finger on what they meant by “fun.” Normally, when kiddos say that a teacher is fun, it means that the teacher is a bit laissez-faire, there is little to no work to do, and the class is an easy A. I assure you this is not me! I have high academic and behavioral expectations, but am fair. I set boundaries, but am flexible. I listen when they speak and give them choices. I notice when my students are disengaged and respond accordingly by changing my instructional approach. Perhaps what they meant by “fun” is engaging? If students are not engaging in the learning process, then the class is boring! Moreover, the students are not learning! School in general is very routine and depersonalized. After teaching the same grade-level for most of my career, I can’t understand how some teachers teach the same activities and content the same exact way year after year. If I taught the same thing over and over, I would be bored out of my mind! To make school fun, educators need to build relationships with their students and families as well as provide them with relevant and rigorous learning experiences that are meaningful. What would it take for you to want to be a mentor to a high school student two days a week at your workplace? I would love to mentor high school students, but they would need to attend class consistently, act professionally, and dress appropriately for the position. For most of this class, I have focused my reflections on how I can apply what I am learning directly to my work in the classroom. I have become more cognizant of how much I have changed personally and professionally by being open to the perspectives of others in this class. Then, I got to thinking about what it means to be a change agent. The longer I teach, the more I realize that there is more than one way to be a successful teacher. Over the years, I have observed and volunteered in diverse classroom settings where teachers were successful at meeting the needs of their students as well as attended countless professional development programs striving to consistently improve my pedagogy. There have been times when I changed my practice because I thought one instructional method was superior to another. What I have discovered is that there are multiple effective pedagogical methods because students are unique people. When I think about my own children, they are like night and day-complete opposites. When they were in school, my husband and I did our best to ensure that our boys had teachers with opposite teaching styles in elementary school and allowed them to choose to attend different high schools based on their educational goals. They grew up in the same household with the same parents and had very similar upbringings, but they developed into individuals with their own personalities, interests, and ambitions. The one-size-fits all students educational system can never efficiently or effectively work because it is nearly impossible to reach all students by treating them identically expecting duplicate performance results. To have the greatest impact on students, we need to put the learning of students first. While my voice might be soft, I can be a powerful change agent just by putting the individual needs of my students first. Only then, will everything else fall into place.
Did you save any of the papers you wrote for school? Why or why not?
While my mother saved “special projects” I did during my school years, I don’t recall saving any of my papers. On the completion of my senior year, I threw my work from my locker into the air because it didn’t seem to have any meaning that connected to my “new life”. When I attended college to obtain my Bachelors of Arts degree and credential, I saved my writing assignments, projects, and some of my textbooks from classes I took that pertained to teaching because they were relevant to my career. In fact, I still refer to several of my textbooks, to refresh my memory regarding teaching strategies and subject matter content knowledge. There are some lessons that I wrote years ago that I revise on a regular basis and still use. Now that I am back in school working towards a Masters in Education, I am applying what I have researched and learned in my classes to my instructional practices. I am saving all of my papers that I have written along with other work because I will most likely refer back to them in the future. Is there anything you always cut out, file, jot down into a notebook, or add to the pile on your desk? What is it, and why do you save it? I do keep notes and handouts from seminars I have taken in my desk drawer. I jot down interesting ideas and strategies that other professionals share at work and school. I write down what I am learning so that I can remember it in the future and refer back to these gems for encouragement, to spark new ideas, and guide my instructional practices. Also, I keep many of the cards, notes, and messages that my students give me to remind me that even on my toughest days, I am making a difference. “You have to start where people are, because their growth is going to be from there, not from some abstraction or where you are or someone else is.” ~ Myles Horton For most of this class, I have focused my reflections on how I can apply what I am learning directly to my work in the classroom. I have become more cognizant of how much I have changed personally and professionally by being open to the perspectives of others in this class. Then, I got to thinking about what it means to be a change agent. The longer I teach, the more I realize that there is more than one way to be a successful teacher. Over the years, I have observed and volunteered in diverse classroom settings where teachers were successful at meeting the needs of their students as well as attended countless professional development programs striving to consistently improve my pedagogy. There have been times when I changed my practice because I thought one instructional method was superior to another. What I have discovered is that there are multiple effective pedagogical methods because students are unique people. When I think about my own children, they are like night and day-complete opposites. When they were in school, my husband and I did our best to ensure that our boys had teachers with opposite teaching styles in elementary school and allowed them to choose to attend different high schools based on their educational goals. They grew up in the same household with the same parents and had very similar upbringings, but they developed into individuals with their own personalities, interests, and ambitions. The one-size-fits all students educational system can never efficiently or effectively work because it is nearly impossible to reach all students by treating them identically expecting duplicate performance results. To have the greatest impact on students, we need to put the learning of students first. While my voice might be soft, I can be a powerful change agent just by putting the individual needs of my students first. Only then, will everything else fall into place.
Tell about a time where something you learned motivated you to learn more. What implications does this have for education?
When my first born was a toddler, I was invited to attend a parent participation preschool at Modesto Junior College (MJC). One of the requirements was that parents were required to participate in parent seminars. This gave me access to child development experts and professionals in the Northern California area. I was able to attend the seminars of my choice and collaborate with others about issues related to children and parenting. These topics were of interest to me because I could directly apply what I learned to my life. This motivated me to continue in the program and enroll in child development classes at MJC which allowed me to obtain my AA in Child Development and further my education. As educators, we can effectively engage our students in learning by presenting learning opportunities that spark our students' individual interests. This will encourage innate curiosity about the topics and motivate students to want to learn. Teachers can provide students with access to professionals in their fields of interests through career exploration days, workshops, internships, and topical collaboration circles. These activities can be done in person or online. Teachers can differentiate instruction so that all students learn the required concepts, but do so in a manner that interests them. For example, reading comprehension skills can be diversified by reading level as well as allow students to choose from a variety of different articles. This can be done using paper copies or online applications. By incorporating students’ interests within lessons, educators can inspire and motivate students to want to learn as well as ensure they meet learning goals and standards. What do we have to unlearn about traditional schooling so that we can educate one student at a time? In order to educate one student at a time, traditional schooling needs to take into account that every student learns differently and at different rates. The focus should be on the quality of learning and demonstration of master of standards instead of keeping to the pacing calendar. Every child should have access to grade-level standards, but they should also be given lessons that either provide reteaching or enrichment of the content matter as well as time to acquire knowledge and demonstrate their level of understanding. Teachers need autonomy to create lesson plans that meet the needs of their students as well as the standards. Furthermore, they need to have the freedom to adjust the pacing calendar to do so. It has been my experience that when I put the needs of students first and make adjustments to lesson sequence and pacing, my classes still completed the standards required by the pacing calendar. There have been times over the years when a majority of my students have come to me with learning gaps. When I have had the opportunity to make adjustments in the pace calendar and modify the lessons, most of my students are on track by January. In one school district where I worked as a single subject math teacher, we were able to work together as a math department, along with the high school, to create our own learning trajectory for our students in grades 6th-12th grades. We specified power standards and chapters in the curriculum that each grade level needed to focus on so that students would be more prepared for Algebra 1 when they enrolled in the course. This took the pressure off teachers to cover everything in the math book and students were able to demonstrate a higher level of proficiency of the standards emphasized. In addition, those who were able to move at a faster rate were allowed to move on to more advanced math classes. By giving students time to grow at their own pace, students were able to learn the required material needed and many were prepared with the necessary skills to be successful in the next grade level. Do you and your colleagues share the same philosophy or vision about your school or workplace? Why or why not? How does this influence the way you work together and think about your work?
Over the years, the teaching profession has definitely changed. There are teachers who see the profession as merely a “job.” Some of these teachers arrive at school a few minutes prior to the start and leave when the last bell rings. These people really do their best to keep their work confined to their contracted hours and protect their personal time. Other teachers see the profession as a career and spend additional time beyond the school day investing in work related tasks, attending professional development, and participating in additional extracurricular activities after school. More often than not, these people use at least some of their personal time for work projects. Both paradigms of thinking do influence collaboration during PLC time because each side tends to judge the other instead of finding common ground. More often than not, innovation is stalled in favor of the status-quo. This lack of cooperation hurts students the most because they inevitably miss out on participating in lessons that are potentially more relevant to their future and possibly more engaging. What would a school that was “a little more human” look like to you? Teachers can add a bit of humanity to the classroom and school by taking the time to connect with students in small ways. As students start their school day, the teacher can greet them at the door by name and throughout the day casually check-in to see how each person is doing. Look students in the eye and really listen to them when they are speaking. Attend sporting, drama, and other extracurricular events that students are involved in after school. Take the opportunity to switch up word problems to make them relatable by changing the names of people, places, or sporting teams. Give students multiple ways to demonstrate their level of understanding of concepts and standards. Provide multiple opportunities for students to give input regarding the learning process as well as alternative choices if possible. Be sure to have “other” (with teacher’s approval) as an option. After a lesson, take time to discuss with the class how a lesson, project, trimester, or year went, and give students an anonymous method to share their thoughts too. Overall, and be respectful, inclusive, kind, and gracious. I completed my student teaching in a kindergarten classroom. My mentor had been teaching for 42 years and that trimester was going to be some of her last days of teaching before retiring. She gave me a few pieces of advice that I took to heart and have followed throughout my teaching career. My mentor said, “You must be teachable. The moment you think you know everything there is to know about teaching and education is the day you need to quit teaching because you are no longer benefiting the students or yourself.” That year I was literally the only student teacher who attended the district’s math convention. That day, My mentor encouraged me to not just focus on kindergarten. Instead, she recommended that I attend a variety of sessions from different grade levels to broaden my horizons and knowledge base.
In this spirit, I decided to choose a topic for my project that would be relevant to my professional development. Next year, I am moving to a different school, grade level, and will have the privilege to teach in a multicultural classroom. In order to be better prepared, I am going to research culturally relevant pedagogy as it relates to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), Project-, Problem-, Place-based learning, English as a Second Language (ESL) and socially-economically disadvantaged communities. My desire is to learn how I can us 21st century skills as a way to improve students' level of language acquisition, close the learning gap, inspire and motivate students to enjoy learning, and equip students for their futures. I am excited to begin my research and learn more about best practices and specific strategies that I can use to next year that will improve the quality and effectiveness of my instructional practices. Why do you think kids drop out of school? If you have known a high school dropout, what was his or her experience after leaving school? What do you think needs to change in the way schools and society deal with dropouts? Adolescents drop out of school because they do not see the relevance of it based on their experiences and personal needs. My grandparents did not complete high school and went on to do extremely well for themselves. They started as factory workers in the local slaughterhouse and ended up flipping houses and owning real estate before it was the “cool” thing to do. When I was a junior in high school, I really considered graduating from high school early. I had completed all of my graduation requirements by the end of the 11th grade except for one civics class. I attended my senior year of high school mainly to participate in the senior activities and go to prom. I had a career plan and job lined up, so my senior year was fluff! My brother, who is six years younger than me, struggled in school for years. High school was no picnic for him! He ended up living with me, then my uncle in order to attend different schools. In the end, it just wasn’t for him. Looking back, I think he may have had dyslexia. Now, he is doing very well as a supervisor for a welding company. People can lead productive lives, even if they don’t complete high school or go to college. In order to successfully deal with dropouts, schools need to take a look at and get to know their students as individuals instead of the labels placed on them. Whatever their future holds, students need to be able to think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate with others, and be creative. Yes, a liberal arts program is important because students should be exposed to a wide range of experiences, but students’ interests should be considered too. My high school experience emphasized the college prep track and if you were on a different track you were considered “less than” as a student. Educators need to take the time to get to know students and not just their test scores. Most students want to be valued as well as know what they are learning is purposeful and meaningful. If our society committed itself to the idea that we care about kids more than we care about schools, what would need to change? If society committed itself to the idea of caring about kids more than about schools, they would treat students as the unique individuals that they are. There would be less emphasis on competition based on academic achievement. Instead, students would be taught that everyone grows and learns at their own pace, and it is okay. Students would have a homeroom teacher with classmates their same age, but attend different academic and elective classes based on interests and ability levels. The focus would be on acquiring 21st Century skills, tools effective learners use to acquire knowledge, as well as connecting learning to personal interests and real-world applications. Evaluations would be based on evidence of learning provided by the students to demonstrate progress towards learning goals and level of mastery of desired standards. Differences would be appreciated as students use their talents, gifts, and abilities to develop into positive community contributors. Before reading Chapter 2 of Big Picture Learning, I thought it might be wise to learn about the MET in hopes that I would get a better understanding of the author's point of view and the book. I thought I would share some of what I find. If you find more current information or additional resources, please share in the comments. People are unique individuals. No two people are the same. Yet, schools categorize students into grade levels based on age and with little regard to their differences. More often than not, students receive the same instruction, activities, and assessments. Differentiation and accommodations are made, but the tasks are similar to the original and the content standards are the same. The focus is on teaching the required lesson on the day it is assigned in the manner that was agreed upon by the team. Is it any real surprise that some students consistently struggle on assessments or lack motivation to learn?
I participated in a lesson study lead by a math instructional coach. A team of 4 teachers along with our coach designed a math lesson. The goal was that we all were to present the lesson exactly the same way. There was never a mention of the students or classroom dynamics during planning time. The focus was on the standards and curriculum. This was the hardest lesson I have ever taught in my 16 years of teaching. I am a teacher who puts my students first and what matters most to me, more than any lesson, is whether or not my kiddos are learning. It was about 10-15 minutes into the lesson, and it was clear my students were lost! So, I made adjustments based on the responses of my kiddos and modified the rest of the lesson to meet them right where they were. What is the point of a lesson if very few of the students are actually getting it? It makes sense that some schools are not effective because they were designed to educate the masses. While individual teachers do amazing things within their classrooms, overall the main focus of mainstream education is on other things rather than the students themselves. If we are here to educate students, shouldn’t we put their needs first? Shouldn’t we teach kids the standards instead of merely teaching standards to kids? How would you define the differences between “learning” and “knowledge”?
Knowledge consists of facts, figures, formulas and other information that one can memorize and retrieve from memory at a later date, but has not been transformed through real-world application. Knowledge is potential learning. Learning happens when students have an innate desire and motivation to acquire additional knowledge, share what they are learning with others, connect and apply their thinking to real-world situations that extends beyond the classroom. Instead of students merely memorizing and regurgitating material taught for a test, they develop a deeper level of understanding of the content when learning takes place. Do you agree that “learning is personal”? If so, how would you go about explaining the concept to someone who may not be as convinced? Learning is personal. For learning to take place, change has to occur. In order for change to happen, challenges must be presented and overcome. This conflict or productive struggle leads to growth and learning. If a lesson, activity, or task does not produce a productive struggle within students, it is most likely a concept that they already know and or understand; thus, learning did not occur. Students are unique individuals with a wide-range of abilities, interests, backgrounds, and experiences; therefore, they have different learning styles and needs. There is not a one-size fits all formula to instruction and learning because assimilation of information takes place when the learner connects new information to background knowledge. Since students come to the classroom with diverse backgrounds, educators need to present concepts, activities, and tasks in a manner that all students can relate to at some level. Children are unique and reach developmental milestones at different rates. Yet, society sets benchmarks for human growth and development defining what is “normal” maturation. These standards have led to the labels that society uses to classify children as a “typical kid” or somewhere outside of what is deemed to be normal. Even at local playgrounds, parents can be overheard comparing and contrasting their children’s abilities with others. While we know that everyone is different, society places an emphasis on uniformity. This same thing plays out in our community schools. Pacing calendars are set, objectives are defined, and all that is left is for students to meet or exceed learning expectations. When these benchmarks are not met teachers are often to blame while students are left feeling discouraged.
Our classrooms need to be student-centered in the sense that students’ learning should drive instructional practices. We can not rush the learning process by simply giving students facts and rules to memorize as a substitution for genuine understanding. Students need to be provided with opportunities to progress through the landscape learning from the bottom tier upward making sure that they master big ideas across content areas. Students learn in different ways and at different rates; therefore, instructional practices should emphasize facilitation of the learning process as opposed to presenting lessons and assigning work. |
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