The cerebrum -- which is just Latin for "brain" -- is the newest (evolutionarily) and largest part of the brain as a whole. It is here that things like perception, imagination, thought, judgment, and decision occur. I hope you are thoughtful as you leave your comments on this blog.
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Observation Logs for EDU 560 (Fall 2012)
Use this space to post your five (or more) log entries. Don't forget to reference theassignment pageand the "additional look-fors" to help guide you. Remember... post early and often.
Being a product of the Catholic school system, I was never really exposed to inclusion as a child growing up. My first experience seeing an inclusion classroom was last semester, in a middle school that was extremely racially diverse. I observed several inclusion classes, some with aides, some without. My most distinct memory was of the first period class I observed. The teacher had two "504 students" in the classroom and seated them at the same lab table, in the front and center. She would teacher her class, same as always, as a mostly lecture-style presentation. She would pay no extra attention to these students, when questioning or any other part of the class. She would very easily, and very obviously, get frustrated with these students when they didn't understand or have homework.
This semester, I am observing at a high school, one that teaches inclusion differently. Inclusion classes are co-taught, which means the student to teacher ratio is cut in half. The class I have observed so far, has six IEP students in a class of about twenty-five. I do not know who the six students are and haven't been able to observe a huge difference in the way any of the students act or are treated. Although there are two teachers, there is clearly one main teacher and one accessory teacher. The main teacher teachers her lesson and the second teacher doesn't really add much, other than the occasional comment or disciplinary statement (i.e. "Quiet down."). The main teacher teaches her lesson the same way she teaches it in an earlier period (a class I also observe) that is not inclusion. But each time her lessons contain huge variations in teaching a topic, from verbal, written, pictures, videos, and activities (all in one period!). So far the class is a total change than the middle school observations I saw last semester.
This year, as a model student, one of the model districts is Uniondale. The district is one that is considered to be impoverished with the families who reside there live just above the poverty line. My first 8 weeks is at Turtle Hook middle school, where my mentor teacher has 5 periods of 7th graders. 2 of those periods are honors, 2 regular and 1 inclusion. My experience began the second week of their school calendar. Already the students seemed as if they knew the teacher all year. They were all very comfortable with her, as they should be and for the most part well behaved. There is some chit chat that does go on, however we must understand as adults that it is to be expected. When there are side conversations the teacher stops and says it distracts her and the others and it needs to stop. As much as they like her, anyone that walks in that room can see that they respect her.
Her average class size is 18 kids, the inclusion class has 16 with 4 of them recieving services. Their is a co-teacher in the room for this period and really I have no idea why. He literally just walks around the room over and over and over...He stops at the desks of the students he works with and makes sure their books are open, they are on task and such. He does not teach the class or even participate. He looks at his cell phone a lot and jokes with the kids. I havnt asked so I dont know for sure but it does not seem to bother the general ed teacher.
I am not seeing much differentiation either. Not on the project they are working on for the upcoming election, not in the classroom and certainly not on the homework.
As I walk around the room to help students and observe, I can see that there are students who are just not grasping the lesson on a given day and it isnt until after class when I bring it up to the teacher on who I think may be lost and afraid to ask for help, that she realizes. As appreciative as she is that it is brought to her attention it is a bit scary that she doesnt always notice. So far I have been in the school for about 6 weeks and only once did I see group work as part of the lesson. Most of the time it is lecture with use of power points, maps, images and typical question answer.
During this summer I have opportunity to make an internship in an ESL classroom, in what the entire population was from South America Spanish speaking students non English. I had different experiences to talk about it, but the one that take my attention was that even the student did not know the language very well or zero, they make the best effort in participation in classroom. These show me that if you want something in life you have to fight for it and don’t give up. Is not easy for an ESL student population come to this country and confront a different language and culture. My experience in this classroom I noticed that some students have a great difficulty to learn (it was not the language barrier). One student specifically had never gone to school, he did not know how to read or write even in Spanish, he felt totally lost. Our job there was to give them support in the learning process in every class (While the teacher delivers the class).
What I like in this classroom was the teacher is not the traditional teacher stand in the front to deliver a class and the student copy everything, (She have different teaching method). This classroom you can expect something different every single day. One day it was a dynamic with the participation of the entire group (ex. Different Ecosystems), other day could be different centers or teams doing a project (ex. Folk Stories from my country) to be exposed in front of the class. In classroom management she had a great control over the group. I never saw this teacher screaming or getting out of control for any misbehavior. She has her strategies to keep the group motivated and engaged. In other word what I can see was that she enjoy teach, she had natural flow and don’t have to force anything. During this experience I see a lot of co-teaching, for example after class the group of ESL teachers sit together to discussed the things that concern them in class and what they can do to get a better performance from the students.
This was a tremendous experience that is going to help me in the future, in my personal opinion we need more teachers as the one that I had the opportunity to observe in summer. In other word they are leaders no boss, a boss tell you do it! , a leader say let’s do it together, you learn from me and I learn from you.
Leonell D. Santos Dr. Smith Managing Inclusive Environment Observation #2
“First Week of Class at the High School”
First of all when we hear the word high school, the first images that come to my mind is a bunch of different student fighting for a dream (graduate from high school) at the same time, and trying to overcome emotional issues. Be an adolescent in this society (generation) is not an easy job. They have to deal with many issues every day and the majority of them have a low self-esteem. During the first week of school at the high school I could observe many things. I saw teacher with a lot of stress, students screaming in the hallway, student running late to classes, students asking different questions, teachers making plan for the week, etc.
My observation was specifically at a science classroom. This classroom is set up to work in groups of four students. The teacher seem that have total control over the classroom, he is the kind of teachers that flow according with the situation and for me is very flexible.
What I could understand from this class is that we as teacher have to be wise, and not rigid just be natural and create new ideas. The teaching method that he uses is whole group at the lab, stations and YouTube videos. Also he uses the smart board to create all his classes and presentations.
During this first week of school I observed that the teachers at the high school had a lot of meetings and co-teaching to improve the performance at the classroom. I think this is a great idea because at this time we as teacher can share our ideas and take those ideas that work for us (that apply).
The teacher that I am observing at the high school is a leader for the students, he know what they need. Be a teacher is not an easy job; we need passion if we want the students to success. As a future teacher I want to be one where student see a leader and follow.
I had the opportunity to visit a public school located in Corona, Queens. The school is comprised of about 99 percent Hispanic children who come into the school system with very limited english skills. My observations stemed over a week in three different classrooms. I was able to visit a kindergarten, first and third grade inclusion classrooms. The experience was positive and gave me some insight into how the co-taught classroom runs, and how inclusion works for both the student and the staff. The school itself is moving full steam ahead with inclusion. They are very helpful with the staff and they have all developed a common approach to handling the classroom. In all but one class the room was managed by both teachers equally. In one class I felt that the general ed teacher ran a much tighter ship and might not be very flexible with the needs of the special education students. The special educator in this case played a back seat to some of the management, however they took equal roles in teaching. All of the classrooms were made up of eight special ed students and twelve to fifteen regular ed students. The teachers all taught whole group instruction and then broke down into groups for activities and work related to the lesson. Students were generally broked down by ability, however it was not alway the special needs students bunched together with the special education teacher. It was broken up evenly and they both helped all the students. The teachers all planned, assessed and taught together. This was a very positive experience for me. In enjoyed seeing how co-teaching and inclusion work both for the faculty and student. I felt as though I got to see an example of a successful model, where everyone works together collaborativly.
Currently, I am observing a middle school in Queens. The middle school is in the basement, first, and second floor. There is a high school that is on the third floor. Generally middle school students do not go to the third floor, but the inclusion class I follow has their science class in a room on that floor.
There are about thirty students in the eighth grade inclusion class that I follow. About eighteen of them are general education students while twelve of them are special education students. The special education teacher plans to send me a list of each special education student and what sort of needs they have.
The teacher goes to the Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies classrooms with the students. Her role in each class is generally the same. The general education teachers for Math and Social Studies will do most of the teaching and I believe they come up with the lesson plans. The special education teacher will take control of the class now and then to discipline, remind them to listen to and follow directions, and offer any advice such as shortcuts or ideas to help the students remember the content they're learning. While I am in the class, she will normally suggest a group of students to watch over and help so that she can be with another group of students. She will walk around and help others though too. I'm not sure which students are the ones with needs yet (though i can guess some), but she informed me that she pays special attention to those students. I agree that this is what she should do because although the teachers need to collaborate, she is a specialist on certain students and her main role is make sure these students are getting everything they need. In the Language Arts and Science class, I see more co-teaching from her and the general education teachers. Since she was originally a Language Arts teacher, I think she may have more confidence so she helps take over once in awhile. In Science, I think her relationship with the general education teacher is closer than with others so it helps them to work together and use parallel teaching in the class. In all the classes, the students sit in groups of about four or five. Most of the groups contain students who work really well together, but then there are about one or two groups of students who are more distracting than others. They make act out in class, but I think they would do this regardless if they weren't sitting next to each other. Grouping them together allows for the special education teacher to sit near all of those individuals and keep their attention on the task.
As I am completing my student teaching, I had the opportunity to observe an eight-grade general mainstream science class. It was 1:40pm when I entered a room filled with twenty-seven students all scattered throughout the class. Some students were sitting in groups of five, three and a few students were just sitting alone. There were no specific seating assignments. However, there was a group of three ESL students sitting together with an ESL teacher’s assistant. The noise level within the class was very high; as I entered the room the main teacher yelled to the student’s “SHUT UP and take a sit.” Students completely ignored his presence and kept talking over him. I quietly made my way to sit by the computers at the back of the class.
There was a lesson posted on the overhead which was all written in the same size font and color with no separation:
Aim: Looking inside cells Objective: The cell membrane controls what substances come into and of a cells Do Now: Define bacterial cells.
Some students took out their binders/notebooks and began to write down the do now, while the others lingered to take out their writing essentials. The teacher continued to yell at the students to be quiet, even the teacher’s assistant told the students to quiet down. A female student yelled back to the teacher, telling him to be quiet. The teacher demanded the student to move her seat and she refused.
The teacher decided to take attendance at 2:00pm where he spent seven minutes in doing so. Once he was done taking the attendance, he skipped the do now and scrolled down to his notes describing cells and organelles. All of the notes where written in paragraph form, making it difficult to read. He had to stop several times to tell the class to quiet down. This continued until 2:22pm. When the bell rang, students eagerly left the class and kept yelling at the teacher.
Reflection:
This eight-grade science class was out of control; the teacher had no type of authority the students were very disrespectful and so was the teacher. The students constantly used foul language across the classroom. I would think a teacher who has been working for thirty years would have proper class management. What was the purpose of giving the students a do now if the teacher did not intend on reviewing it? The objective of this lesson was not accomplished whatsoever.
Blog Post 1- Part 1-This Fall I had the opportunity to observe at a public school district out in Suffolk County. It is a district with about 1400 students within the high school. There are multiple ethnicities among the students. It is composed of mostly African American and Hispanic cultures, with the minority being Caucasian mixed European nationalities at this particular school. There is a lot of diversity within this community and the multiple ethnicities are celebrated throughout the year. The Class of 2005 had 51% attending four-year colleges and 27% attending two-year colleges. I observed several of the high school health education classes. These classes are always inclusion classes. There are 3 health/physical education teachers at this school. Two teach both health and physical education and the other teacher only health education. The two health and physical education teachers had expressed how it was very difficult at times to teach both subjects, even though they are very much related, they are still very separate subjects. This is even more difficult especially because there are many learning disabled students, special education students with behavior problems, ESL students that hardly participate, pregnant teenagers and students that have failed numerous times and ended up back in health education class and/or physical education class as well. The teachers also have mentioned that they are not told about how many kids (and who) have special needs and problems, so they do not know what kids are special education learners and who have other issues. They are not always told which ones have IEP’s either. Sometimes there is very little or no interaction with special education teachers and the principal regarding these issues before the quarter begins. They are not aware until they are in their classrooms and can pick up on it themselves. As I have observed, I thought these teachers both did a wonderful job especially with all the students being very diverse and on very different academic, intellectual and grade levels. The majority of the students were not in the same grades. They were not the same ages due to many of them failing the class several times and having to retake the course. Health is given in 9th grade. If you fail it you will have to take it over the next year, so some of the students were frequent repeaters. The first class I observed was a large early morning class with twenty nine (29) students. As I walked in to greet the teacher and students I noticed that there were no desks and chairs in the room. The teacher was upset, as understandable. The students looked very confused. This particular health education class was being held in a Family & Consumer Science room with many props, plants, food samples, pumpkins, etc. all over the room that seemed to be a distraction to the students. The teachers did not have their own classrooms. They were at different rooms every period, including the gym where they taught physical education. The teacher was trying to get help from the maintenance crew. It turns out there was a SAT course taught in another room and the desks and chairs were used. Chairs were finally delivered to the room but not the desks.
Part 2-The students began to ask many questions on why there were no desks. The teacher was able to calm them down, but it was an extreme disturbance especially for the ESL students. The teacher finally began the lesson that was on the topic of Emotions and Moods. She asks the students who would like to help read this book she presented to them on emotions. It is a children’s book so most of the students can probably read it. There is a lot of calling out in this class, private conversations among students going on, some students talking about their social lives aloud, some kids also playing around with the props in the classroom, and touching other stuff including the ovens and other appliances within the classroom as well. There were a lot of commotion and interference from all of this. Finally the teacher is able to get them on task and listen. Two students volunteer to read aloud the story. They read very well I thought. The teacher then finishes the book when the students do not want to read anymore. The book is about typical emotions and moods associated with the events and things going on in life, in particular about this little girl that goes through many changes and emotions in her life. Finally many of the students are paying attention, especially when they hear about a particular situation (and emotions & moods) this character in the book is going through. One student shouts out that she went through the same kind of experience. Another raised his hand and said he has gone through a similar situation also. The kids are relating it to their own lives, which is great. After the book is read by the teacher she goes around the room and asks the students how they are feeling right now and what kind of mood they are in. For some kids it is very hard for them to speak. Some kids translate in Spanish for other students to make it easier. They do help each other, which was nice to see and hear. The pregnant student in the class is getting special attention form the other classmates to make her feel like she still belongs. They all express their moods. Then the teacher directs them to the white board and asks them to write their mood on the board to generate a list of moods and emotions. Then they are asked about other moods that people can be feeling. At the end there is a great list of emotions and moods on the board. The teacher praises the students for doing such a good job with the list! She then speaks about emotions, repression, suppression; regression and how you can deal with you own emotions in a positive way. She also discusses how some people deal with their emotions in a negative way and what consequences can occur. She also talks about dealing with anger and common defense mechanisms, etc. I thought this was a great lesson that started out difficult and ended pretty well, especially because the kids were able to relate the lesson to their own lives! It was very nice to see all the students helping each other in the class so that they can better understand the lesson.
Today students and teachers come back to school after two weeks of no classes and no power. They were very excited to see each other again. What I see today is going to be unforgettable; looking at this kid telling their experiences in the hurricane was very emotive time. Many of them have never confronted a situation like this. The list of things that I hear was no power for two weeks, flooding and families living in the others people house because they lose everything. There was a teacher that lives in Long beach that lose everything (this broke my heart). The interesting part was that teachers take the first part of theirs classes to talk about their experiences in the hurricane; they were able to connect these experiences with the classes. One example was one Earth Science teacher that he was talking about the weather, hurricanes and how this affects us. The good thing here is that we know how to prepare for a next hurricane and the most important thing we are safe and dry and ready to keep moving forward.
Blog Post 2- Part 1 The second class I observed during my observational experience was a smaller health class with another health & physical education teacher. There were seventeen (17) students in the class present. It was a whole lot easier for the teacher to manage, rather than almost thirty students that were in the other health class. In my experience teaching, it is almost always better to have a relatively smaller class, but we all manage to adapt as best as we can regardless of how many students are in the class. This class has about a quarter of students who are ESL and a few that have behavior and learning problems. The teacher doesn’t exactly know if they have IEP’s because he is not always told or given a copy of them to see. He expresses to me (just like the other health teacher I observed,) that communication amongst the other teachers and faculty is not so good (although he does make an effort to reach out and communicate to them) and makes it very hard sometimes to get through the material in class. Today’s lesson was on psychological stressors. One thing I noticed is that the teachers and staff allow their students to be on their cell phones/smart phones and I-Phones, not talking but using them quietly, texting, using apps, playing games, and on the Internet, etc. They expressed to me that since this is a high needs school district they realize that this is really all they have and do not necessarily want to take that away from them. They try to incorporate using some of the apps on the I-phones into their lessons periodically. I thought that was interesting but of course can be distracting at times if the kids are just texting to their friends and not using it for school work. The teacher gave them a warm up exercise to do first, a rank-events survey on incidents or things that can stress people out. The students worked on it quietly and I filled one out as well with them. They seemed to respond well to this task. They questioned some of the survey scenarios and circumstances. Then the students finish the student stress scale on the back to tally up all the points. The more the points, the more the stress they have. The teacher conveys to me he is stressed out because he is teaching both physical education and health education and has several students with learning disabilities and behavior problems and it is extremely difficult to manage sometimes, especially since he does not usually know of the academic problems of the students until they are sitting in his classroom. The communication amongst other teachers in the special education department is pretty bad. Some students that have personal aides that accompany them are not there in his classes. It makes it harder for him to teach. After the class is done with this assignment, the teacher starts a discussion about stress and stressors in our lives and how it affects the body. The students are very chatty and calling out and having private conversations amongst each other. Some are talking about the pep rally that will be happening soon and not listening. The teacher goes on to talk about how our body reacts to stress and the body’s stress response. The teacher reprimands the students to stay focused and on task. The students are a little more focused now and contribute to the discussion talking about their own lives and what stresses them out. There are two very smart, well-behaved students in the front row of the classroom. They ask the class to please focus so they can all learn from this lesson. I was surprised to hear this, but it was nice that these students were trying to get the others to focus and be quiet so they can all learn. They seem to be behaving better and much more calm now.
Blog Post 2- Part 2 After the discussion, the teacher uses the smart board to start the next activity. He draws a clock on the board, a 24hour clock. He has the students draw a clock too, on paper. They are to create a 24hour personal clock of a typical day in their lives. They sit quietly working on the assignment for a few minutes. Some are asking their fellow students what they do after school and what they are writing on their clock. Some are calling out and making fun of themselves and others on what they do, acting obnoxious at times. The teacher tells them that after they are done they will share with the class and how it relates to stress in our lives.It is hard for some of the students to do this task and express what they do during a typical day. The teacher discusses everyone’s clock in relation to how much stress it may give and how they react. He talks about what the types of stress are including both eustress (good stress) and distress (bad stress) in their lives and ways to cope, etc. The students tell some interesting stories of their own lives and the stress they have in their lives. One student even pointed out he enjoyed health class because they are taught real life lessons and ways to do deal with them and it makes him feel better. Another student told the class she liked this class because they can relate it to their own lives and can be open about events going on in their own lives. The teacher ends the class by asking the students to write down a way they will cope with their stress. Overall it was a good class to observe. Again, I liked how some of the more focused students help the other less focused students stay on task, etc.
Blog Post 3- Another class session I observed during my time at this school was a class where the teacher asks students to write a letter as part of the health lesson. This letter was to be written and sent to a person, an adult the students know well, who has helped shaped their emotional health. This is someone who has had a positive effect on their life, to where they are now, and to thank them for helping them through life and/or over the years. This could be a role-model or someone they look up to like a teacher, parent, brother or sister, coach, aunt, uncle, or anyone they thought was important to them that have helped guide them through their emotional health. The reaction of the students towards the lesson shocked the teacher and myself as well. The students were rebellious towards this and clearly did not want to do this assignment. There were about five students total out of the twenty-five (25) students in the class that are excited to write this letter and want to jump into it and start writing. Mostly all of the other students are shouting out that they do not want to do this. Some of the remarks from the students I heard were, “This is stupid, I don’t like this, I don’t have anyone to write it to, I don’t know their address, I don’t know how to even write a letter.” I thought to myself, “This is a high school class, they should have been taught to write letters at least.” Some really awful things were said about this lesson from the students. It was really hard for the teacher to get them to take this seriously. The teacher asked the class to Google - letter writing on their I-Phones (for those that have them-which was majority of the class.) Some did look it up but they still had questions. When the teacher finally got them to understand what it was that she wanted them to do, there was so much time already wasted. A lot of them didn’t know who to write it to. The teacher really had to help all the students individually. The teacher also went over how to address the envelope that she provided and many of them didn’t know how to do this. One student asked the teacher if she could write the proper way to address the envelope on the white board in front of the class. She had looked it up on her I-Phone. I don’t know if part of the issue here was because real letters are hardly sent out anymore because of technology, and that most letters they write are just e-mailed or texted and never actually sent in the regular parcel mail or that they were never properly taught in previous grades? There were a lot of questions on this part of the lesson as well. They took some time to think about whom they would write to. One student asked to read something he wrote to the class. It was all in “slang” words and did not make sense. The class all laughed aloud. This lesson clearly didn’t go very well even though the teacher had great intentions. The students that wanted to write (and knew how) wrote beautiful letters that they read to the class as an example of what to do. The health teacher rewarded them for their enthusiastic efforts on helping the class. I noticed again some students really go out of their way to help the others. The teacher told me a few days later that most of them struggled through this letter writing activity but ever student was able to produce a letter and envelope that was sent out!
Blog Post 4- One class that I highly enjoyed observing was a lesson on how to cope with stress. Relaxation techniques were discussed, along with yoga, progressive relaxation and visual imagery exercises were demonstrated. The teacher explained how this helps in times of stress. The students seemed to love this activity and they gladly participated in the exercise. The teacher discussed relaxation mantra, thinking of something peaceful and positive. She discussed yoga and how it relaxes people. The students asked if they could do some yoga in class. The teacher demonstrated a few yoga poses and moves, and the students mimicked her. They really enjoyed this and expressed that they will do this on their own when they are stressed out. They did the visual imagery activity together also. The teacher asked them to get comfortable at their desks and think of a safe, calm, peaceful, serene place. Some kids laughed but most really got into the exercise. After the activity, the students communicated their opinions. They felt that this rejuvenated them and will help to get through the rest of the day. The students even thanked the teacher for teaching them this! This really went well and was a hit with the students. It was simple enough also that all the students could participate easily. It was very nice to see all the students actually taking an interest and even practicing something that they learned to enjoy and benefit from!
Blog Post 5- (Overview of observation of school) This last post I will reflect on will be a summary of everything I have observed within the school as a whole. This high school is a challenging school with most students having some type of behavior problem and/or learning disability. Many are ESL students. I noticed that some students, almost every period, were getting called out of class or pulled out for something. This seemed to happen frequently with each class period I observed. It seems like a good school, but the teachers lack communication with one another especially with the health and physical education teachers. I thought the health and physical education teachers did an exceptionally great job teaching the students, and managing the inclusive classroom, especially since it seems like they don’t get much assistance from co-teachers or the special education departments. They also have very large classes, where most had twenty-five or more students. I have learned a lot on how they manage all this together and techniques they use to keep the class on task and address the needs of students. The athletic director was a very nice man to speak to also, along with other staff I spoke with in the hallways and teacher’s lounge. They were very helpful with answering any questions I had and accommodating towards anything I needed. Ultimately the observation experience went well. It was good to witness the functions of this type of high needs public high school. It gave me much insight on how this school runs and operates. I enjoyed this observation experience and spending time in this school district!
Today was my first day of teaching in front of the class with a record camera. I teach two periods of chemistry, period one and period three. The lesson was about the periodic table and periodicity that take 75 minutes longer. The first part of my lesson was the do now, this take 10 min and was about to answer “In Your own words mention all the skills that come to your mind related to periodicity”. I like this part because students seem engage and motivated with the lesson. They all participate and answer the do know very enthusiastic. The second part of my lesson was going over a power point presentation that I prepared about periodic table concepts. What I noticed in this part watching the video was my accent doesn’t help me out and I was a little nervous because it was my first time in a camera and teaching. So far students understand my lesson, according what I can see in the video students were engage in the lesson and very motivated. They answer all questions that I asked about the periodic table. One point that I want to bring was my energy and speed, maybe next time if I slow down it will be better for students and for me. My activity was a chemistry unit exam review sheet periodicity. During this activity I distribute seven envelopes with the quantity of questions, like for example one group have the envelope 1 so he had to go over questions 1-4 etc. and then they have to switch. This activity took 30 min. I went over each table help them in each question. In general it was a great experience of practice. I love student participation and motivation. In conclusion it was a very enthusiastic lesson today and always remember that this is not for us but for them that are the future of this nation.
We are almost getting to the end of the semester. What I can say, this semester was one full of challenges. Different emotions, sad and happy moments, situations to overcome were most of our daily bread. I think all this is part of life. During this time in school I learned a lot of things, like be patience or know how to listen others people thought. I have the opportunity to teach in two settings, one was in a chemistry classroom and the other was in an ESL environment. Two different worlds but youth people with the same issues and dreams. I think one of the best parts of being a teacher is the student interaction. You can advise, encourage and motivated.
By experience what I noticed in school is that youth people don’t know who they are. Most of them have a low self stem, maybe the family is not the best family in the world or maybe the environment is not the best. As teachers we are not here just to deliver a lesson or a test, we are here to support the students. I think we need to change many things in the classroom; we are in the 21 century. Youth people from today need a reason to live, something that motivated them, and what a best candidate that the teachers to do that job. In general terms what I can say about my experience in school is going to be unforgettable, too many experiences that I’m going to keep it in my heart.
Blog post 2- Going back to my middle school last week was great after so much time off and away from the kids. They were so excited to see me and I was excited to see them. It was nice to talk to them and listen to their experiences and feelings on the hurricane and to hear all about their thanksgiving, the foods they like and dont like and the different traditions that presented themselves all in one classroom! For a few minutes they ran the show and the conversation and it wasnt about memorizing latitude and longitude or practicing reading primary sources...It was reconnecting with the kids and getting to know them and where they come from. I loved every minute of it! My mentor teacher seemed annoyed that I took so much time talking with them and catching up but thats fine with me, it didnt phase me...its her problem that she cant be bothered getting to know them or that she thinks I waste my time trying to get to know them and help them.
Blog post 3- I have to say that my inclusion class is my absolute favorite class of the entire day. Prior to observing I had never been in an inclusions class and although I thought I knew what it was all about I now realize I had so many misconceptions. One of the reasons that I love the class so much is because the kids are full of energy and are so lively, when they understand a topic they truly get excited about it. Although they call out and try to talk over each other, probably because the teachers never taught them how to have an open discussion, they really do know their stuff when given the opportunity to express their thoughts. On another note it frustrates me that the special ed teacher walks around the room aimlessly, looks at his cell phone and texts, and just looks over the kids shoulders making sure their on track and if they are not he opens their books for them, or quickly copies the notes for them. I just feel like he himself gives up on them in a way because they are more than capable of opening their books and taking notes, they are just not in the mood to apparently and may feel like they dont need to because their teacher will just do it for them. I feel it is teaching them laziness and enabling them to act that way as opposed to giving them tools to help them and use later in their lives.
Observation Log #2 I had the pleasure of observing an 8th grade science inclusion class with great co-teaching. Class began at 11:22am, and as the students entered the room the main teacher stood outside the classroom door greeting the students, while the other teacher prompted the students to open their notebooks and begin the “Do Now.” By the time the second bell rang all of the students were in his/her assigned seats completing their work. There were twenty two students sitting in rows facing towards the screen projector. Both teachers walked around the classroom making sure the students were on task and to see if they needed any help. At 11:27am the main teacher took two minutes to take attendance and jumped right into the Aim and Do Now. The main teacher called upon the students to answer the questions based on latitude/longitude. As the lesson continued, the mainstream teacher would rhetorically asked questions related to the lesson to the special-ed push-in teacher as a method to engage the students. They would constantly feed off each other’s thoughts. The mainstream teacher sat down among the students a few times as the push-in teacher would explain a concept. If I was not told who the mainstream teacher was at the beginning of the class, I would not have been able to distinguish who was the push-in teacher. They worked cohesively together. The students were well behaved; they followed the teachers’ instructions and were engaged in their work. Both teachers had great energy and motivated the students to answer and explain certain examples.
I am going to center each of my posts around five unique types of classes that I had an opportunity to observe over this semester. I was placed in many different types of classes. I went from resource room for students who need that extra forty minutes a day for an adult to guide them in their studies. I observed three different inclusion mathematics classes, each with a different general Ed teacher and different SE teacher. I observed an ESL class, a Career Training class and finally a Life Skills class.
The first I am going to post about is resource room. This is in a small room that fits no more than ten people. There are five students in the class of mixed gender and race, and there are two teachers who are female. The best way to describe these forty minutes is to imagine a mother and her children. The teachers get to find out about all of the students classes and their grades. They praise the students when they preform well and empathize when they do not. They provide "tuff love" when the student does not complete their homework and then proceed to help them finish it, and like most parents who help their children with their home work they do it. I don't know if this is because of time constraint or because they don't want the student to struggle because they feel bad or if they think it's the best way for the student learn. In my opinion the teachers feel that these students have already lost most of their motivation or self esteem and this is the best way to help them.
Luckily because there are five students and two teachers and my concentration in math is the teachers biggest struggle I've been hands all the whole semester. What I have found is that these students are very capable of the work they are given. This does not mean they have the time or support outside of school to do it. The best moment I had in observation was when I had the students figure a problem using their own knowledge and I didn't just write out the answer and expect him to understand. His response was: "that makes so much sense, I wish my teacher taught it like you". All I did was ask the student questions and let him struggle through it.
My second post is about the three mathematics classes I am observing. The three classes also have mixed gender and race. For reference I will refer to the classes as Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3.
Co-Teaching Style: Class 1: Half One Teach, One Assist and Half Team Teaching Class 2: Mostly One Teach, One Assists with some Team Teaching. Class 3: One Teach, One Assist
In Class 1 the teachers seem to have a specific formula. The Team Teach for the beginning of the class and then have the students work in pairs as the teachers circulate the room assisting the students on a small group basis. While this seems to work very well for class room management and flow I rarely see any kind of significant class room discussion. The teachers move through the material slow enough for the students who have an easier time understanding to understand and spend the rest of the time helping those who they wouldn't have expected to understand.
In Class 2 the main difference is that the classes are not always the same. While the mathematics teacher may the main speaker it does not always follow a specific formula. Sometimes there are lectures, but most often they are class room discussions. Sometimes they break into pairs or work individually, and sometimes they have work stations where both teachers help the students work as a team.
In Class 3 the Special Education teacher can seem like a fly on the wall. The mathematics teacher has a very set lesson plan everyday that does not seem to vary. The teacher lectures and will field for understanding at some points but is very much the leader of the discussion at all times. The teacher is very disciplinary even of the students who happen to only be talking because of the SE teacher or myself.
I would like to take ideas from Class 1 and Class 2 if I am to ever teach an inclusions class. Both teachers need to play a large role in the classroom and valuable class discussions must remain.
My third post is about English as a Second Language class. This is an english class with five students a teacher and an aid. There are four males and one female in the class. This class is very similar to a typical english class. The class is always reading a book that is used as the main topic of discussion. The main difference is that the emphasis is not on the literary parts of the story but on the vocabulary used. The class will read a few pages at a time and then go back to look at difficult vocabulary. Students then use these vocabulary words over the remainder of reading the book. They also write journals form the point of view of one of the characters and are suggested to use these words. All of the strategies used seem like great ways to help those who do not speak english as a main language to help strengthen this skill. The only issue I seem to find is that that students over the course of three books do not seem interested in any of the stories. The last two books also contain characters that do not speak proper english. This may be a class where I would have the students choose their own books and have them approved by the teacher. The students may be more motivated to read the english language.
My fourth post if about the Career Training class. When I was first assigned to this class I did not know what to expect. I was told it was for seniors to help them get ready for the 'real world' after high school. While I thought the whole point of school was to do this not just one class. I assumed this meant the students they did not expect to move on to college. Additionally that this was time spent helping students decide on a career or be given information like how to fill out applications or how to prepare for an interview. It turns out that the class comprised of three caucasian males was no more than resource room. The teacher would see what the students were currently working on and try to help them graduate, but mainly leave them alone to do what they want. I began to wonder what this class was for and how it was given its' title. I hope more comes of this class as the school year progresses.
My final post is about my favorite class to visit every week and that is Life Skills. Life Skills is a class for those with severe disabilities. I was given the expectation that after I left this class I would need to snap back to reality. This gave me an unsettling feeling that was quickly eliminated. There are eight students in this class, one teacher and three aids. On occasion a senior joins the class to help. When I am in the classroom it is considered English class, the students sit at their desks shaped in a semi circle and the teacher goes from one student to the other making conversation. I have never seen students so patient while the teacher is not speaking to them. They are the most polite and respectful students out of any I have seen in the school. Just like any class they have their out bursts and their episodes but they are the most willing to be involved and to be respectful to their peers. These students are consistently challenged and the teacher does not back down till the students understands and can respond properly (and this can take many attempts). This is the class I will be saddest to leave at the end of this semester.
The semester is almost getting to the end, and I feel that it went to fast. Today and during this week I discover that I’m getting attached to the students. I think this is positive because that show me that at least I was able to influence in a life in a positive way. I hear today one student that say you are a good teacher and a good person that made my day. I think that working with different types of mind is awesome and that is a challenge. The best way to engage students is giving the opportunity to be them and explore.
I think the classroom in the 21 century have to reflect real life learning, things that students can link and keep. In conclusion it was a pleasure been working in the school during this semester in the chemistry class. Thanks.
Entry 1: Over the summer I observed an ESL program. The program was very diverse with students from 6-12 grade and ranging in levels of ability from SIFE to intermediate fluency. This was a great opportunity for me to observe how to apply differentiated instruction in a classroom. The students were in the class for either extra help or to practice skills they learned. The teacher was always well prepared and had lessons that would engage all the students. She used different methods of assessment geared to the different of the students. For the intermediate fluency students the tests were more complex. The teacher made the atmosphere of the classroom nurturing to encourage and help the lower level students feel comfortable participating. She also assigned projects that all the students could contribute to so no one felt neglected. I did notice some resentments from the higher level students on test days when they saw that they had to take an exam that was more difficult. The teacher managed it in a fair manner but I feel maybe there might have been a better way. She simply said just focus on your own work don't worry about anyone else. Maybe if she would have explained to them why they would have been receptive especially since they were at one point beginner ESL themselves. Overall it was an enriching learning experience.
I have been observing an 8th grade science class with the same teacher for the past four months and the experience has been both positive and negative. I will begin by stating the positive attributes. The teacher is very punctual with time, always professionally dressed and carries himself in a professional matter. He begins every class with a “Do Now” on the overhead projector, and encourages the students to complete their work. He provides a lot of visuals and hands-on examples to further explain concepts during his lessons. For instance in his lesson on why do we have seasons, he had two students demonstrate the process of how the earth revolves around sun. He makes himself available during his prep periods and afterschool for those students who need the extra help. He also makes phone calls and home visits to those students who misbehave during class and/or are falling behind in class. He likes to keep his class organized and has good class management; he does not tolerate inappropriate behavior.
As for the negative attributes, where should I begin? He is extremely unorganized with his lesson plans, he does not plan ahead; he decides what he is going to teach in the morning. He hardly assigns homework and when he does he forgets to check the homework and if collected the students never receives them back. He frequently gives submissive assessments such as test and quizzes, but then again the students do not receive them back nor does he review them. Why assign homework if you’re not going to dedicate time to review it? Then he wonders why his students are failing the class. As I previously mentioned, he encourages students to stay focus in class however for those students who have their heads down he kicks their desks to get their attention. All of his lessons are published on Microsoft Word and in order for the material to flow; he assigns a student to sit at his desk and manned the computer. He refuses to do any type of group interaction work with his 8th grade class because he’s afraid of them being uncooperative. At times he uses words with a negative undertone, “Don’t be stupid or dumb,” You’re being a jerk.” I am not sure if this is allowed because he a decent relationship with the students, but as a parent I would not want any teacher calling my child a jerk. When he notices that a student is failing in his class, he does goes out of his way to give them extra help, but if he notices that they have no motivation to do well he simply gives up on them and just let’s them fail. He refers to those types of students as “A lost case.”
I know that there is no such thing as the perfect teacher, but I strongly believe that a teacher can always improve on his/her flaws. The science teacher I’ve been observing is overall a good person and a decent teacher; however I believe he should perhaps work on his organizational skills and take the time to get to know his students even further. Instead of shutting a student down, he should develop another approach that would potentially help the student succeed.
Entry 2: I am currently placed in Roosevelt High School. One of the class I observed was an intermediate ESL classroom. The students are all Latino mostly from El Salvador with a few exceptions. They all have been in united states for varying numbers of years with some even being born here but because English was not the main language spoken at home they are placed in the ESL setting. The classroom is full of students work and very welcoming. The students made a Hispanic heritage museum in the back of the room with artifacts from their cultures. They also made flags for the countries in Latin America and there was posters from a project called "Adopt a Country" where the student had to research various information about a Hispanic country. The teacher was well organized and encouraging to the students. She decorated the classroom and showcased the students work to make a warm nurturing environment conducive to learning. The students in this class are learning how to read and write in English. I did notice that some of the students in the class are special education students but the school does not provide services for the students in this class. I do however feel that some of these students were in need of additional support in the class and the teacher recognized this and did the best she could. The students in the class are engaged in the lessons but I am not sure they are actually understanding all of the material. I have observed the teacher use multiple techniques to try and reach all the students. They work in rows some classes and in groups for others. I have seen her assign groups based on ability level for some group work to differentiate instruction for the weaker and stronger students. I have also seen them work in mixed level groups for cooperative learning. The teacher encourages the students to follow the schools code of conduct. There is a contract on the wall with the classes commitments for the year with a list of school rules. This method appears to work with this group.
When entering the same inclusion classroom the next week, I didn’t really notice that much change from the teaching styles from the previous week. The main teacher taught her physical science lesson, and the co-teacher just hung around the outskirts of the class, not adding a whole lot. The main difference this week was the presence of a teacher’s aide, in addition to the co-teacher and the main teacher. The teacher’s aide is extremely quiet, adding less than even the co-teacher. I do not think I saw her speak once. She mostly stands at the back of the classroom, occasionally pointing to students’ books to try to keep them on task. I can tell she is a very quiet and reserved person, but there still wasn’t much interaction with the students, even on an individual level. The main point I would like to discuss about today’s class is the amount of professionals/paraprofessionals in the classroom. With two teachers and a teacher’s aide, the class seemed very crowded. The co-teacher and aide, especially, seemed to be doing the same job, stepping on each other’s toes a lot. It was very distracting for me, so I can only imagine how the students might feel. It seems a little unnecessary to have so many people in the classroom when the main teacher seems to be doing most of the “work,” as in teaching the content and running activities.
Today I was able to observe a different inclusion classroom, in addition to the one I see weekly. This class was an Earth Science class, also co-taught. The dynamic in this classroom is very different than that of the other class I observe. First, I must note, that the teachers’ personalities are extremely different, not only from each other, but when compared to the class I have previously written about. The content teacher was extremely gentle and easygoing: her voice and manor were very soothing and comforting. The Special Education teacher, on the other hand, was extremely abrasive, loud, and quick to comment. I think putting these teachers together, while it does seem like a strange sitcom, actually works because they are able to balance each other. This classroom runs very much the same as the other class I observe, where the content teacher runs the lesson, and the Special Education teacher mostly just chimes in for a quick comment or disciplinary action. But it is definitely clear that this Special Education teacher is more hands on: it seems she does all of the disciplining for the class, and she did not stray away from talking about the content being discussed. She spoke about density and answered student questions, and offered questions as well, sometimes just to clarify or repeat what the teacher said. It seems these two teachers have a better relationship and a good understanding of how to work together. About a third of the way through the class time, a teacher’s aide entered the classroom. She just sat on the side, writing the whole time. She may have been there to copy notes for a student.
For this blog, I observed the physical science class again. The content teacher planned and ran the lesson, and the special education teacher and the teacher’s aide were walking around, trying to keep student’s on task. I now know that all of these professionals/paraprofessionals are present because it must be required on the IEP of some students in the classroom. But I still question the validity of this arrangement after an experience I had today. Honestly, as much as I love science, it is clear that most of the students in this class want to be anywhere but this class. They could care less about science, and always try to get the teacher off topic or leave the room. This is when I noticed the problem of having so many teacher figures in the room. Every student wishing to escape would ask to go to the bathroom. The content teacher does not like more than one student out of the classroom at a time, but since the teachers and the aide are all doing their own things, when students ask each of them to go to the bathroom, the all say yes. This happened today to the point that three people were out of the room at once. Then, a student asked the content teacher to use the restroom, and she said no, so we walked around and asked the teacher’s aide instead, and she said yes. The students would go around to all three until they received the answer they were looking for. As an observer, my head was spinning! This situation became so confusing that it had to be addressed, and content time suffered. While this is proof to me that so many professionals/paraprofessionals in the room can be distracting and negative, I think maybe if there was more interaction between the three outside of the classroom, things like this could be avoided. If lessons are planned together and each person has their role, it would be much easier to manage the classroom. But of course the question is, how can they all find the time!
In today’s class, I observed the physical science class again. In this case, the teacher’s aide was not present. As usual, the content teacher was doing the teaching, while the Special Education was standing at the side of the classroom. About 5-10 minutes into the class period, someone came to the door and asked the Special Education teacher to leave. She was needed in another classroom for help. She did not return for the rest of the period. The class ran as usual, and the content teacher to not skip a beat. She taught her lesson, just as she did earlier in the day. The class was not more rowdy or out of control than usual and the lesson ran relatively smoothly. I thought this was extremely interesting for two reasons. First, I thought the reason for having a co-teacher was because it was present on one or more students’ IEP as a requirement. It was interesting that the teacher was just able to leave and no one was there to replace her. Now knowing more about the importance of a co-teacher, and what his or her role should be in the classroom, it seems a little odd to be able to have him or her leave the classroom without it being more of a problem. To me, it is the same as asking the content teacher to leave in the middle of the lesson, co-taught class or not. Unless it was an emergency, that would never happen. (Of course, it could have been an emergency situation, I’m just not sure!). The second reason I thought this was interesting was because of what we learned about the role of the co-teacher in the classroom. They are an equal part of the teaching force, and all teaching should be shared. An ideal situation would be no one knowing who the content teacher is and who the special education teacher is! If this were true in the classroom I observe, leaving the classroom should not be an option: the special education teacher would be teaching the lesson and not able to leave.
I would like to focus this blog on what inspired me to consider persuading a teaching career as an ESL teacher. I have been observing all levels of ESL classes for the past few months now. I first began my observations with the beginners, intermediate, followed by the advance ELL’s students. From the very first day of school until now, I have seen the growth of the students learning comprehension increasing dramatically. When I first enter the beginners ESL class, there were only five 8th graders and one 7th grade student sitting in a classroom equipped with twenty-eight desk and chairs. The students sat in the first two rows of the class. Majority of the students originated from El Salvador and knew very little English. The classroom had bare walls, colorful bulletin board borders, and a library equipped with books and dictionaries. The very first lesson was based on getting to know our students. The students had to create a circle organizer map to describe themself. As the students’ completed their task they asked, “when are we going to read a book in English? When are we going to write essays? I was amazed that with the limited amount of English they knew, the students were eager to learning how to read and write in English. At the beginning of the year I would just translate the assignments and readings to them in Spanish, but after gaining some experience within the field I learned how to scaffold the assignments to them in English. Just today I had to scaffold the class to help them comprehend the definition of a fact. I used different examples that demonstrated a fact such as Ms. Pimentel (myself) is short, then I would ask them how do we know I am short? How can we prove that I am short? It was like an “Ah ha” moment, they were then able to explain that my height could be measured with a ruler and proven therefore it was indeed a fact. Whenever a student is stuck on a certain concept and is apply to his/her knowledge and help them get the answer I feel as if I accomplished something. Are the answers always correct? Of course not, but just getting the correct answer doesn’t always tell me they are actually comprehending the material.
Let’s now fast forward four months ahead. The same beginner ESL class now has a total of sixteen students, and we are expecting new students within the upcoming week. There are five students from Dominican Republic two students from Honduras and rest are from El Salvador. The class has a mixture of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The more advance beginner ELL students help the less proficient ELL students with their work. When a student is able to translate and explain the material to another student that represents that they have develop great comprehension skills and for second language learners this is a great challenge to overcome. The walls are no longer bare; there are publish stories, published projects, circle maps, flow maps, word wall and sentence strips posted all around the classroom. Teaching the foundations of the English language is not as easy as it may seem and I have figured it out the hard way. ELL students need to be provided with the foundations such as learning how to make connections with the readings, learning how to count, learning how look at images and make prediction, etc. ESL is vital to all the other subjects. If a non English student cannot read nor understand English how are they expected to learn in a general science, math or social studies class?
Entry 3: I have been observing an ESL Living Environment (Biology) class. The class is all Latino students ranging from beginner to intermediate levels of English fluency. There is a main subject teacher and an ESL teacher push in. The students range from 9-12 grade. The classroom is very drab. There is no student work displayed and the "word wall" is a long strip of paper that is torn and falling down with some words written on it. It has not been updated since it was first put up. The class is run with the science teacher explaining and then the ESL teacher translating word for word. I feel this is a complete waste of time by repeating the same thing twice in two languages. Also the students are not interested at all in the class. They do not listen to the teachers at all or they only listen to the translation. This is not going to develop their skills. I have seen the ESL teacher try to pace the subject teacher and encourage him to increase wait time but to no avail. He is very rigid in his ways and is not open to used different methods to teach. It is not the best method to teach when you have a class full of students at different levels with different needs. I also see a lot of tension in planning between the two teachers. There is no co planning and tests to be translated are given to the esl teacher the day before which is not ample time to translate an entire exam. There is no motivation and the students are not performing well in the class.
Blog 4- Yesterday was my third time observing at the Highschool since being done at the middle school...What a difference there is. The highschool hallways are filled with students who have their hoods over their heads, earphones in ear, who are all half asleep. No one seems excited to be there, engaged in the class or the environment for that matter. As I walk through the halls inbetween perriods I notice their is nothing on the walls...AT ALL! No artwork, no students of the month, no MVP trophies, no pictures of school functions with the kids participating. The total opposite of any elementary school and middle school. Today was a tough day for the students, I dont know if its becaus it is the end of the week or close to christmas break, but whatever they were individually motivated to do it did not include staying awake or engaged in class. Classroom mamagement was non existent. Kids were texting, listening to their headphones with their music blasting, carrying on conversations with one another and a few paying attention to the economics lesson on blue chip stocks. The teacher just kept on teaching and focussed on the few students that were participating, how I am not sure because their are 25 desks in the class and 32 students who are left to stand or sit on the window ledges so its not like they can be inconspicuous. The teacher seemed un bothered by it and didnt try once to gind away to have the class as a whole relate to the topic or participate. I was so distracted myself I missed most of the lesson because I couldnt believe what I was seeing amongst a class of seniors! Even worse what I was not seeing from the teacher. This was not my regular mentor teacher, thank god!
Entry 4: I have been observing an Living Environment class. This class consists of a mix of Latino and African American students. They all are either native English or have scored out of ESL by being proficient. The classroom is full of life. There are many scientific posters and models on display. There is a lot of student projects and work on display. The teacher is very open to varied methods of teaching despite being very rigid personally. He is trying to implement inquiry based learning and develop critical thinking skills. The class is made up of almost all freshmen with a couple of sophomores. The maturity level of the students is creating some difficulty in this. They also have not much prior experience with this method of learning and are finding the lack of structure disconcerting. I know that the research shows this is the most effective way to teach science but the students are not staying on task. When the teacher is in front the students are very engaged and he is an excellent teacher. In the beginning of the class he showed the class the last lecture to help motivate the students as well as some other self esteem building things. There are many things I feel i can use in my classroom that I have observed here. He does lots of group work with activities that are engaging and educational. The groups also collaborate to get answers.
Entry 5: The last class I observed was an ESL Earth Science class. This class unlike the other was not all ESL students. It is about a 50% mix of ESL and Native English. The ESL students are all Latino and all of the native English students are African American. The teacher is very friendly and kind. The room is decorated in science materials but not much student work. There is an ESL teacher push in in the class. This class is taught entirely in English. The push in teacher walks around and helps the ESL students with content they find difficult. I feel that this is a better model than the other class where the teacher translates what the other just said. The only main issue I have seen in this group is the lack of tolerance by the non ESL students. They get annoyed if something is explained more clearly in Spanish or if something has to be repeated if they didn't really understand. This negative behavior definitely creates tension in the class. The class is mainly run by lecture with a few lab activities. The students rarely do group work. The students are sometimes engaged but mostly not. They put their heads down or have side conversations. There is nothing done about the behavior so it just continues. There is no differentiated instruction either. The same is expected of everyone.
I would like to focus my last blog post on my own observations as a student teacher. First of all I would just like to mention that prior to July 2012, I had no intentions on becoming a teacher; I initially wanted to become an Occupational Therapist. However the opportunity to potentially become a bilingual science teacher arose and I decided to give it a try. Four months later, I am standing in front of twelve and thirteen year olds waiting on them to complete their Do Now. The first time I entered the science class my mind was bombarded with questions. Am I capable of teaching? Do I have what it takes to become a teacher? Will the students take me seriously? What if I don’t have all the answers? Can the students tell that I am nervous? With time I was able to get over my fear and I feel much more confident when I am teaching a class. No matter how I am feeling or what type of day I am having once I step in front of a class all of my worries disappear. Do I have the potential to become a great teacher? I strongly believe so. Do I have to work on my teaching skills and styles? Of course, teachers learn something new each and every day from their own students. Do I expect to have all the answers? No, but I intend on dedicating time to develop my content knowledge and scientific vocabulary which are the two main challenges I need to overcome. Throughout my experience I have been able to distinguish my strengths and my weaknesses as a student teacher. Some of my strengths are I have a good tone of voice, good presence within the class, I manage good control within the class, I interact with the students well, during a lesson I ask high thinking level questions and I never ignore a student’s answer, even if the answer is wrong. As for my weakness, I need to develop my content knowledge, plan my lessons in advance and have more inquiry based activities. I asked myself once again, do I have what it takes to become a teacher? I most certainly do and I most definitely will become a great teacher.
Blog 5 On my first day as a student observer/ teacher in the model program I was excited, nervous and stressed all at the same time. I was excited to meet the students I would be with all year and have the priveleage of watching them grow as they watch me grow as well. I was nervous because it was intimidating walking into a place that I have never been before and introducing myself to 150 students throughout the day and countless colleagues(especially in the teachers lounge which I am not a fan of and I wouldnt be caught dead in there!) I guess I was stressed because I was overwhelmed with all of these opinions people had given me on the reputation of the school district I was placed in. I interacted on a minimum level last year when I observed, but this year was a different story. I know the kids, I have grown to love them! I know who plays what sports, like Fabio who has an IEP but is the captain of the soccer team and Alan who is in Honors is always benched during the football games but all he wants to do is to prove to the coach that he can play too. Roger who is too funny for words and has jokes for days is always talked about in the teachers lounge as being "bad", the kid doesnt have a "bad" bone in his body, its a defense mechanism so he wont gt called on. I also learned about students who dont have parents and their family members dont want them, syblings in prison, drugs in the house and yet they are supposed to focus in school. I know I am going to be really sad leaving these kids at the end of my student teaching. Also, I have decided that a lot of the teachers that I have met and observed should really work on choosing a different career. If you dont care about the kids for who they are and where they come from and how hard they do try, even under the toughest circumstances then some teachers just need to move on from teaching and consider a career in corrections or something. I noticed that a lot of teachers judge and label kids, especially in the teachers lounge,with lazy,disturbed, crazy, refuses to learn, trouble maker, bad etc. It's like how dare you! As a parent we dont send our kids to school and think about the teachers judging or labelling our children, I know I wouldnt be too happy about that. I even overheard someone explaining a students behavior by saying that "well his parents dont really love him" REALLY??? I was sickened. Teachers are now judging how parents love their children? How can someone assume someone they do not know doesnt love their child, maybe not in the same way they do or in a way that is the norm, but in their own way I am sure they do. Never in a million years did I think the behind the scenes of the classroom could be so horrible. I always say that when we die and get to heaven god isnt going to ask us how much money we have in the bank, what size house we lived in, the cars we drove, the clothes we wore, he will ask us how we treated others, the values we lived by and the way we lived and that goes for education too. We may be "graded" as teachers and as students but at the end of the day if students and teachers alike ask them selves how they treated one another, did they try their hardest, did they learn etc then that is what matters. Overrall this has been a wonderful experience and I am so excited to start student teaching in a few weeks. I am excited to try new things in the classroom, try to make a small change a week or a month, learn from my mistakes which will be many Im sure and grow and although I will probably cry on the last day of school saying goodbye to the kids, I will be so happy to send them off grown a little more and ready for highschool!
For this observation log, I would like to talk about the use of technology in the classroom. In the math inclusion classes, there has not been much use of technology with exception to the SMART Board. However, I did see some use in other special education and subject-matter classes such as game websites and Internet search engines. The teacher in the math inclusion class used the SMART Board for most of her lessons. She was able to use different colored markers to separate different ideas. This may have helped students realize that the teacher was talking about a new idea in case they had missed her verbally state that she was moving on to something else. While sometimes technology can be a useful resource in classrooms, I found that sometimes it can be a distraction. The SMART Board definitely has its positive uses such as differentiating ideas for a specific topic.
I also observed a different mathematics class which has approximately 10 students in it. These students are all in the special education program; seven are at the intermediate level while three are at the beginner level. The three beginner level students were told to go on www.math-play.com and play a multi-digit addition basketball game. If the students got the addition problem correct, they would have better accuracy on shooting the basketball to get it in the net. They were very enthusiastic about the game while the other students in the class also expressed interest in playing. Website games also help students become more enthusiastic, but when other students in the class aren’t participating, it can become a distraction. Also, if a student found a problem too difficult, they would select any answer so that they could get to the next one and shoot the basketball. I would recommend allowing all students in the class to be on the computers at the same time so that they don’t feel like they are being treated unfair. Also, though website games can intrigue students, sometimes they don’t get the idea across. I think it’s important that students are doing the correct work and not just guessing a multiple choice question.
I observed the same special education students during their science class. All students did individual projects about different minerals. At the end of collecting all the important information about their specific mineral, they were told to make an advertisement for it including pictures by searching the Internet. They were excited to select their picture, print it, and glue it to their construction paper. Using the Internet for searching pictures for a project is also a good idea, as long as it is at the end of the project. The teacher did a good job here assigning it towards the end so that the students could get the important information first, and then they began critically thinking about how to make an advertisement.
After learning about all the awesome uses of technology in class, I wish they were used more in this school. One of the teachers used ShowMe one time, but pulled three students to the side to use it on their own. After, they presented their own ShowMe to the class. The teacher said everyone would get a chance to use ShowMe throughout the year, but I haven't seen it used again since then.
I observed several classes with different teachers collaborating together and paid close attention to the way they managed their time and worked together. There was one teacher who was very observant of how much time he was spending on everything during class. He glanced down at his watch each time he would assign the students to do classwork. Once the allotted time passed, he would stick to the schedule and move on. He was able to keep the students on task. He made sure to spend a good amount of time on areas that were more challenging for the students. If a student was confused, he would slow down and address the problem he/she was having. This teacher did run into problems where the students needed to be disciplined, but he would take the students aside so that the whole class didn’t suffer. He taught the class most of the time where the special education teacher would chime in once in awhile. For the most part, he did the talking.
In other classes, teachers would spend the first ten minutes disciplining the children. Throughout the class, they would keep yelling at the students for acting up. The teachers would stop the entire class to yell at them for being noisy or not completing their assignments on time. They took up most of the period yelling at the students and therefore the students did not complete much work during the periods. The worst part was that they were being yelled at by both the general education and special education teachers so it took longer. Even when some students would ask me for help on their assignment, I would have to wait to help if the teachers decided to get attention from the whole class. It was frustrating for both the student and me. If there are some students who are not on task, I think it’s important for the teacher to notice that and step in. However, taking time out of class to yell at all the students is definitely a problem. The whole class shouldn’t be punished for the actions of just a few students. Also, their time shouldn’t be wasted.
In this set of observations, I decided to talk about how gender plays a role in the classroom setting.
In the special education math class, the ratio of girls to boys is 1:3 and the class is very small. The girls in the class sit together in the front of the classroom and are active participants. They usually finish their class work first and are more well behaved than some of the boys. However, the boys (with the exception of one) finish their work at a good pace, but don’t seem to participate as often. In the inclusive math class, the ratio of girls to boys is 1:5 and it is a much larger classroom. Most of the girls don’t want to participate, but do complete their work. The boys are always raising their hands, though some of the copy work off of others. In other classes such as social studies, language arts, and science, the girls also don’t participate whereas the boys do. Both genders seem to complete their work.
It is hard to make any judgments from the evidence I observed. One could say that girls don’t like to participate and boys do, but that isn’t what is shown in the smaller special education math class. It is a possibility that girls will participate in a smaller classroom setting rather than a large classroom setting whereas it is the opposite for boys. Participation trends look the same in all subject. However, I think that boys are quicker to understand concepts than girls are in mathematics. When a male would be confused, I would help and he would quickly say, “Oh, I get it now.” When a female would be confused, I noticed that it took a few tries to explain the idea to her. Finally, she would understand, but it took longer.
Cheating was definitely an issue for the boys. One of them even told me he planned on cheating on the state test. He said that the teachers never catch him. This is obviously a problem and although I probably betrayed his trust, I had to notify the teacher so that she could be more observant during the next test she gave out. Also, I think the girls should be seated in the front of the class closer to where most of the teaching takes place. The girls in the special education class sat right next to the board and that seemed to work. Maybe if the inclusive setting was set up the same way, the girls would be more successful.
For my final observation log, I just wanted to sum up everything I've learned and what I think needs to be changed.
First, I feel like I honestly haven't learned enough. I think it's very important to be a good role model for students, but I'm just wondering where the line should be drawn sometimes. Erin Gruwell is/was such a great role model for her students and she deeply cared about them. She is also a role model for everyone out there who has a passion for teaching. Throughout her years teaching, I feel like she was put in some controversial positions, but she was always there for her students. I could only dream about being as good of a teacher as she is. What are the boundaries that need to be a drawn when it comes to the student-teacher relationship? Is it okay to be friends with your students? And if so, is there anything that is inappropriate to talk about with one another? I've learned from my classes that if a student has a problem, most of the time you are supposed to tell the school therapist. In Erin Gruwell's case though, it looks like she took things into her own hands. If a student asks about my religion, political position, hobbies, etc., am I allowed to be honest? It sounds silly, but there should really be a rulebook for these kinds of things!
All the classes I've taken so far have questioned current teachings. My professors have engraved in my head that today and yesterday's teachers are "doing it wrong". I feel like I've learned all about what teaching techniques are wrong, but my professors aren't telling me what teaching techniques are right! It is also a little insulting because I think I've had some great teachers in my high school and elementary school. I don't think they needed to change their styles at all.
As for the Managing Inclusive Environments course, I think I have learned a lot and I'm not just saying that. I have really valued the information that I've learned in this course (and my Inquiry and Expression course). There were a bunch of little facts (sometimes opinions) that were expressed in class that I will carry with me. I learned the most from the little things that I learned rather than the big theories I learned about in other classes. Some of them that Professor Smith taught me about were: 1. Make learning fun. 2. Never blame the student; blame yourself. 3. You should show different ways of looking at things (ie. peeling a banana like a monkey video). 4. Learn everyone's names (before you even meet them). 5. Don't go over homework in the beginning of class. 6. Use 16 minutes of lecturing on 16 year olds, 15 minutes of lecturing on 15 year olds, and etc. 7. Students aren't used to being put in groups. It doesn't mean they don't work well in groups; it just means they need to get used to it. 8. Students learn the most when they are teaching others.
These weren't the only eight things I learned in this class, but I think they were some of the most useful things. I'm glad I got to see good and bad collaboration in my observations. I would like to work with a SMART board on my own so I can put it to good use in the classroom. Also, I would like to keep up with technology so that it can be a useful tool for my students.
I enjoyed working with the students this semester, but it made me sad to think that they are not receiving the best education. In my opinion, the teachers need to find better ways for their students to learn because they are always distracted. Also, though all the students knew that I was a teacher figure, I think a few of them tried to take advantage of my kindness. In the future, I will try not to be as friendly with them so that they take me more seriously.
47 comments:
Being a product of the Catholic school system, I was never really exposed to inclusion as a child growing up. My first experience seeing an inclusion classroom was last semester, in a middle school that was extremely racially diverse. I observed several inclusion classes, some with aides, some without. My most distinct memory was of the first period class I observed. The teacher had two "504 students" in the classroom and seated them at the same lab table, in the front and center. She would teacher her class, same as always, as a mostly lecture-style presentation. She would pay no extra attention to these students, when questioning or any other part of the class. She would very easily, and very obviously, get frustrated with these students when they didn't understand or have homework.
This semester, I am observing at a high school, one that teaches inclusion differently. Inclusion classes are co-taught, which means the student to teacher ratio is cut in half. The class I have observed so far, has six IEP students in a class of about twenty-five. I do not know who the six students are and haven't been able to observe a huge difference in the way any of the students act or are treated. Although there are two teachers, there is clearly one main teacher and one accessory teacher. The main teacher teachers her lesson and the second teacher doesn't really add much, other than the occasional comment or disciplinary statement (i.e. "Quiet down."). The main teacher teaches her lesson the same way she teaches it in an earlier period (a class I also observe) that is not inclusion. But each time her lessons contain huge variations in teaching a topic, from verbal, written, pictures, videos, and activities (all in one period!). So far the class is a total change than the middle school observations I saw last semester.
This year, as a model student, one of the model districts is Uniondale. The district is one that is considered to be impoverished with the families who reside there live just above the poverty line. My first 8 weeks is at Turtle Hook middle school, where my mentor teacher has 5 periods of 7th graders. 2 of those periods are honors, 2 regular and 1 inclusion.
My experience began the second week of their school calendar. Already the students seemed as if they knew the teacher all year. They were all very comfortable with her, as they should be and for the most part well behaved. There is some chit chat that does go on, however we must understand as adults that it is to be expected. When there are side conversations the teacher stops and says it distracts her and the others and it needs to stop. As much as they like her, anyone that walks in that room can see that they respect her.
Her average class size is 18 kids, the inclusion class has 16 with 4 of them recieving services. Their is a co-teacher in the room for this period and really I have no idea why. He literally just walks around the room over and over and over...He stops at the desks of the students he works with and makes sure their books are open, they are on task and such. He does not teach the class or even participate. He looks at his cell phone a lot and jokes with the kids. I havnt asked so I dont know for sure but it does not seem to bother the general ed teacher.
I am not seeing much differentiation either. Not on the project they are working on for the upcoming election, not in the classroom and certainly not on the homework.
As I walk around the room to help students and observe, I can see that there are students who are just not grasping the lesson on a given day and it isnt until after class when I bring it up to the teacher on who I think may be lost and afraid to ask for help, that she realizes. As appreciative as she is that it is brought to her attention it is a bit scary that she doesnt always notice.
So far I have been in the school for about 6 weeks and only once did I see group work as part of the lesson. Most of the time it is lecture with use of power points, maps, images and typical question answer.
Leonell D. Santos
Dr. Smith
Observation log #1
During this summer I have opportunity to make an internship in an ESL classroom, in what the entire population was from South America Spanish speaking students non English. I had different experiences to talk about it, but the one that take my attention was that even the student did not know the language very well or zero, they make the best effort in participation in classroom. These show me that if you want something in life you have to fight for it and don’t give up. Is not easy for an ESL student population come to this country and confront a different language and culture. My experience in this classroom I noticed that some students have a great difficulty to learn (it was not the language barrier). One student specifically had never gone to school, he did not know how to read or write even in Spanish, he felt totally lost. Our job there was to give them support in the learning process in every class (While the teacher delivers the class).
What I like in this classroom was the teacher is not the traditional teacher stand in the front to deliver a class and the student copy everything, (She have different teaching method). This classroom you can expect something different every single day. One day it was a dynamic with the participation of the entire group (ex. Different Ecosystems), other day could be different centers or teams doing a project (ex. Folk Stories from my country) to be exposed in front of the class.
In classroom management she had a great control over the group. I never saw this teacher screaming or getting out of control for any misbehavior. She has her strategies to keep the group motivated and engaged. In other word what I can see was that she enjoy teach, she had natural flow and don’t have to force anything.
During this experience I see a lot of co-teaching, for example after class the group of ESL teachers sit together to discussed the things that concern them in class and what they can do to get a better performance from the students.
This was a tremendous experience that is going to help me in the future, in my personal opinion we need more teachers as the one that I had the opportunity to observe in summer. In other word they are leaders no boss, a boss tell you do it! , a leader say let’s do it together, you learn from me and I learn from you.
Leonell D. Santos
Dr. Smith
Managing Inclusive Environment
Observation #2
“First Week of Class at the High School”
First of all when we hear the word high school, the first images that come to my mind is a bunch of different student fighting for a dream (graduate from high school) at the same time, and trying to overcome emotional issues. Be an adolescent in this society (generation) is not an easy job. They have to deal with many issues every day and the majority of them have a low self-esteem. During the first week of school at the high school I could observe many things. I saw teacher with a lot of stress, students screaming in the hallway, student running late to classes, students asking different questions, teachers making plan for the week, etc.
My observation was specifically at a science classroom. This classroom is set up to work in groups of four students. The teacher seem that have total control over the classroom, he is the kind of teachers that flow according with the situation and for me is very flexible.
What I could understand from this class is that we as teacher have to be wise, and not rigid just be natural and create new ideas. The teaching method that he uses is whole group at the lab, stations and YouTube videos. Also he uses the smart board to create all his classes and presentations.
During this first week of school I observed that the teachers at the high school had a lot of meetings and co-teaching to improve the performance at the classroom. I think this is a great idea because at this time we as teacher can share our ideas and take those ideas that work for us (that apply).
The teacher that I am observing at the high school is a leader for the students, he know what they need. Be a teacher is not an easy job; we need passion if we want the students to success. As a future teacher I want to be one where student see a leader and follow.
I had the opportunity to visit a public school located in Corona, Queens. The school is comprised of about 99 percent Hispanic children who come into the school system with very limited english skills.
My observations stemed over a week in three different classrooms. I was able to visit a kindergarten, first and third grade inclusion classrooms. The experience was positive and gave me some insight into how the co-taught classroom runs, and how inclusion works for both the student and the staff.
The school itself is moving full steam ahead with inclusion. They are very helpful with the staff and they have all developed a common approach to handling the classroom. In all but one class the room was managed by both teachers equally. In one class I felt that the general ed teacher ran a much tighter ship and might not be very flexible with the needs of the special education students. The special educator in this case played a back seat to some of the management, however they took equal roles in teaching.
All of the classrooms were made up of eight special ed students and twelve to fifteen regular ed students. The teachers all taught whole group instruction and then broke down into groups for activities and work related to the lesson. Students were generally broked down by ability, however it was not alway the special needs students bunched together with the special education teacher. It was broken up evenly and they both helped all the students. The teachers all planned, assessed and taught together.
This was a very positive experience for me. In enjoyed seeing how co-teaching and inclusion work both for the faculty and student. I felt as though I got to see an example of a successful model, where everyone works together collaborativly.
Currently, I am observing a middle school in Queens. The middle school is in the basement, first, and second floor. There is a high school that is on the third floor. Generally middle school students do not go to the third floor, but the inclusion class I follow has their science class in a room on that floor.
There are about thirty students in the eighth grade inclusion class that I follow. About eighteen of them are general education students while twelve of them are special education students. The special education teacher plans to send me a list of each special education student and what sort of needs they have.
The teacher goes to the Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies classrooms with the students. Her role in each class is generally the same. The general education teachers for Math and Social Studies will do most of the teaching and I believe they come up with the lesson plans. The special education teacher will take control of the class now and then to discipline, remind them to listen to and follow directions, and offer any advice such as shortcuts or ideas to help the students remember the content they're learning. While I am in the class, she will normally suggest a group of students to watch over and help so that she can be with another group of students. She will walk around and help others though too. I'm not sure which students are the ones with needs yet (though i can guess some), but she informed me that she pays special attention to those students. I agree that this is what she should do because although the teachers need to collaborate, she is a specialist on certain students and her main role is make sure these students are getting everything they need.
In the Language Arts and Science class, I see more co-teaching from her and the general education teachers. Since she was originally a Language Arts teacher, I think she may have more confidence so she helps take over once in awhile. In Science, I think her relationship with the general education teacher is closer than with others so it helps them to work together and use parallel teaching in the class.
In all the classes, the students sit in groups of about four or five. Most of the groups contain students who work really well together, but then there are about one or two groups of students who are more distracting than others. They make act out in class, but I think they would do this regardless if they weren't sitting next to each other. Grouping them together allows for the special education teacher to sit near all of those individuals and keep their attention on the task.
Observation
As I am completing my student teaching, I had the opportunity to observe an eight-grade general mainstream science class. It was 1:40pm when I entered a room filled with twenty-seven students all scattered throughout the class. Some students were sitting in groups of five, three and a few students were just sitting alone. There were no specific seating assignments. However, there was a group of three ESL students sitting together with an ESL teacher’s assistant. The noise level within the class was very high; as I entered the room the main teacher yelled to the student’s “SHUT UP and take a sit.” Students completely ignored his presence and kept talking over him. I quietly made my way to sit by the computers at the back of the class.
There was a lesson posted on the overhead which was all written in the same size font and color with no separation:
Aim: Looking inside cells
Objective: The cell membrane controls what substances come into and of a cells
Do Now: Define bacterial cells.
Some students took out their binders/notebooks and began to write down the do now, while the others lingered to take out their writing essentials. The teacher continued to yell at the students to be quiet, even the teacher’s assistant told the students to quiet down. A female student yelled back to the teacher, telling him to be quiet. The teacher demanded the student to move her seat and she refused.
The teacher decided to take attendance at 2:00pm where he spent seven minutes in doing so. Once he was done taking the attendance, he skipped the do now and scrolled down to his notes describing cells and organelles. All of the notes where written in paragraph form, making it difficult to read. He had to stop several times to tell the class to quiet down. This continued until 2:22pm. When the bell rang, students eagerly left the class and kept yelling at the teacher.
Reflection:
This eight-grade science class was out of control; the teacher had no type of authority the students were very disrespectful and so was the teacher. The students constantly used foul language across the classroom. I would think a teacher who has been working for thirty years would have proper class management. What was the purpose of giving the students a do now if the teacher did not intend on reviewing it? The objective of this lesson was not accomplished whatsoever.
Blog Post 1-
Part 1-This Fall I had the opportunity to observe at a public school district out in Suffolk County. It is a district with about 1400 students within the high school. There are multiple ethnicities among the students. It is composed of mostly African American and Hispanic cultures, with the minority being Caucasian mixed European nationalities at this particular school. There is a lot of diversity within this community and the multiple ethnicities are celebrated throughout the year. The Class of 2005 had 51% attending four-year colleges and 27% attending two-year colleges.
I observed several of the high school health education classes. These classes are always inclusion classes. There are 3 health/physical education teachers at this school. Two teach both health and physical education and the other teacher only health education. The two health and physical education teachers had expressed how it was very difficult at times to teach both subjects, even though they are very much related, they are still very separate subjects. This is even more difficult especially because there are many learning disabled students, special education students with behavior problems, ESL students that hardly participate, pregnant teenagers and students that have failed numerous times and ended up back in health education class and/or physical education class as well. The teachers also have mentioned that they are not told about how many kids (and who) have special needs and problems, so they do not know what kids are special education learners and who have other issues. They are not always told which ones have IEP’s either. Sometimes there is very little or no interaction with special education teachers and the principal regarding these issues before the quarter begins. They are not aware until they are in their classrooms and can pick up on it themselves. As I have observed, I thought these teachers both did a wonderful job especially with all the students being very diverse and on very different academic, intellectual and grade levels. The majority of the students were not in the same grades. They were not the same ages due to many of them failing the class several times and having to retake the course. Health is given in 9th grade. If you fail it you will have to take it over the next year, so some of the students were frequent repeaters.
The first class I observed was a large early morning class with twenty nine (29) students. As I walked in to greet the teacher and students I noticed that there were no desks and chairs in the room. The teacher was upset, as understandable. The students looked very confused. This particular health education class was being held in a Family & Consumer Science room with many props, plants, food samples, pumpkins, etc. all over the room that seemed to be a distraction to the students. The teachers did not have their own classrooms. They were at different rooms every period, including the gym where they taught physical education. The teacher was trying to get help from the maintenance crew. It turns out there was a SAT course taught in another room and the desks and chairs were used. Chairs were finally delivered to the room but not the desks.
Part 2-The students began to ask many questions on why there were no desks. The teacher was able to calm them down, but it was an extreme disturbance especially for the ESL students. The teacher finally began the lesson that was on the topic of Emotions and Moods. She asks the students who would like to help read this book she presented to them on emotions. It is a children’s book so most of the students can probably read it. There is a lot of calling out in this class, private conversations among students going on, some students talking about their social lives aloud, some kids also playing around with the props in the classroom, and touching other stuff including the ovens and other appliances within the classroom as well. There were a lot of commotion and interference from all of this. Finally the teacher is able to get them on task and listen. Two students volunteer to read aloud the story. They read very well I thought. The teacher then finishes the book when the students do not want to read anymore. The book is about typical emotions and moods associated with the events and things going on in life, in particular about this little girl that goes through many changes and emotions in her life. Finally many of the students are paying attention, especially when they hear about a particular situation (and emotions & moods) this character in the book is going through. One student shouts out that she went through the same kind of experience. Another raised his hand and said he has gone through a similar situation also. The kids are relating it to their own lives, which is great. After the book is read by the teacher she goes around the room and asks the students how they are feeling right now and what kind of mood they are in. For some kids it is very hard for them to speak. Some kids translate in Spanish for other students to make it easier. They do help each other, which was nice to see and hear. The pregnant student in the class is getting special attention form the other classmates to make her feel like she still belongs. They all express their moods. Then the teacher directs them to the white board and asks them to write their mood on the board to generate a list of moods and emotions. Then they are asked about other moods that people can be feeling. At the end there is a great list of emotions and moods on the board. The teacher praises the students for doing such a good job with the list! She then speaks about emotions, repression, suppression; regression and how you can deal with you own emotions in a positive way. She also discusses how some people deal with their emotions in a negative way and what consequences can occur. She also talks about dealing with anger and common defense mechanisms, etc. I thought this was a great lesson that started out difficult and ended pretty well, especially because the kids were able to relate the lesson to their own lives! It was very nice to see all the students helping each other in the class so that they can better understand the lesson.
Leonell D. Santos
Today students and teachers come back to school after two weeks of no classes and no power. They were very excited to see each other again. What I see today is going to be unforgettable; looking at this kid telling their experiences in the hurricane was very emotive time. Many of them have never confronted a situation like this. The list of things that I hear was no power for two weeks, flooding and families living in the others people house because they lose everything. There was a teacher that lives in Long beach that lose everything (this broke my heart).
The interesting part was that teachers take the first part of theirs classes to talk about their experiences in the hurricane; they were able to connect these experiences with the classes. One example was one Earth Science teacher that he was talking about the weather, hurricanes and how this affects us.
The good thing here is that we know how to prepare for a next hurricane and the most important thing we are safe and dry and ready to keep moving forward.
Blog Post 2-
Part 1
The second class I observed during my observational experience was a smaller health class with another health & physical education teacher. There were seventeen (17) students in the class present. It was a whole lot easier for the teacher to manage, rather than almost thirty students that were in the other health class. In my experience teaching, it is almost always better to have a relatively smaller class, but we all manage to adapt as best as we can regardless of how many students are in the class. This class has about a quarter of students who are ESL and a few that have behavior and learning problems. The teacher doesn’t exactly know if they have IEP’s because he is not always told or given a copy of them to see. He expresses to me (just like the other health teacher I observed,) that communication amongst the other teachers and faculty is not so good (although he does make an effort to reach out and communicate to them) and makes it very hard sometimes to get through the material in class. Today’s lesson was on psychological stressors. One thing I noticed is that the teachers and staff allow their students to be on their cell phones/smart phones and I-Phones, not talking but using them quietly, texting, using apps, playing games, and on the Internet, etc. They expressed to me that since this is a high needs school district they realize that this is really all they have and do not necessarily want to take that away from them. They try to incorporate using some of the apps on the I-phones into their lessons periodically. I thought that was interesting but of course can be distracting at times if the kids are just texting to their friends and not using it for school work. The teacher gave them a warm up exercise to do first, a rank-events survey on incidents or things that can stress people out. The students worked on it quietly and I filled one out as well with them. They seemed to respond well to this task. They questioned some of the survey scenarios and circumstances. Then the students finish the student stress scale on the back to tally up all the points. The more the points, the more the stress they have. The teacher conveys to me he is stressed out because he is teaching both physical education and health education and has several students with learning disabilities and behavior problems and it is extremely difficult to manage sometimes, especially since he does not usually know of the academic problems of the students until they are sitting in his classroom. The communication amongst other teachers in the special education department is pretty bad. Some students that have personal aides that accompany them are not there in his classes. It makes it harder for him to teach. After the class is done with this assignment, the teacher starts a discussion about stress and stressors in our lives and how it affects the body. The students are very chatty and calling out and having private conversations amongst each other. Some are talking about the pep rally that will be happening soon and not listening. The teacher goes on to talk about how our body reacts to stress and the body’s stress response. The teacher reprimands the students to stay focused and on task. The students are a little more focused now and contribute to the discussion talking about their own lives and what stresses them out. There are two very smart, well-behaved students in the front row of the classroom. They ask the class to please focus so they can all learn from this lesson. I was surprised to hear this, but it was nice that these students were trying to get the others to focus and be quiet so they can all learn. They seem to be behaving better and much more calm now.
Blog Post 2-
Part 2
After the discussion, the teacher uses the smart board to start the next activity. He draws a clock on the board, a 24hour clock. He has the students draw a clock too, on paper. They are to create a 24hour personal clock of a typical day in their lives. They sit quietly working on the assignment for a few minutes. Some are asking their fellow students what they do after school and what they are writing on their clock. Some are calling out and making fun of themselves and others on what they do, acting obnoxious at times. The teacher tells them that after they are done they will share with the class and how it relates to stress in our lives.It is hard for some of the students to do this task and express what they do during a typical day. The teacher discusses everyone’s clock in relation to how much stress it may give and how they react. He talks about what the types of stress are including both eustress (good stress) and distress (bad stress) in their lives and ways to cope, etc. The students tell some interesting stories of their own lives and the stress they have in their lives. One student even pointed out he enjoyed health class because they are taught real life lessons and ways to do deal with them and it makes him feel better. Another student told the class she liked this class because they can relate it to their own lives and can be open about events going on in their own lives. The teacher ends the class by asking the students to write down a way they will cope with their stress. Overall it was a good class to observe. Again, I liked how some of the more focused students help the other less focused students stay on task, etc.
Blog Post 3-
Another class session I observed during my time at this school was a class where the teacher asks students to write a letter as part of the health lesson. This letter was to be written and sent to a person, an adult the students know well, who has helped shaped their emotional health. This is someone who has had a positive effect on their life, to where they are now, and to thank them for helping them through life and/or over the years. This could be a role-model or someone they look up to like a teacher, parent, brother or sister, coach, aunt, uncle, or anyone they thought was important to them that have helped guide them through their emotional health. The reaction of the students towards the lesson shocked the teacher and myself as well. The students were rebellious towards this and clearly did not want to do this assignment. There were about five students total out of the twenty-five (25) students in the class that are excited to write this letter and want to jump into it and start writing. Mostly all of the other students are shouting out that they do not want to do this. Some of the remarks from the students I heard were, “This is stupid, I don’t like this, I don’t have anyone to write it to, I don’t know their address, I don’t know how to even write a letter.” I thought to myself, “This is a high school class, they should have been taught to write letters at least.” Some really awful things were said about this lesson from the students. It was really hard for the teacher to get them to take this seriously. The teacher asked the class to Google - letter writing on their I-Phones (for those that have them-which was majority of the class.) Some did look it up but they still had questions. When the teacher finally got them to understand what it was that she wanted them to do, there was so much time already wasted. A lot of them didn’t know who to write it to. The teacher really had to help all the students individually. The teacher also went over how to address the envelope that she provided and many of them didn’t know how to do this. One student asked the teacher if she could write the proper way to address the envelope on the white board in front of the class. She had looked it up on her I-Phone. I don’t know if part of the issue here was because real letters are hardly sent out anymore because of technology, and that most letters they write are just e-mailed or texted and never actually sent in the regular parcel mail or that they were never properly taught in previous grades? There were a lot of questions on this part of the lesson as well. They took some time to think about whom they would write to. One student asked to read something he wrote to the class. It was all in “slang” words and did not make sense. The class all laughed aloud. This lesson clearly didn’t go very well even though the teacher had great intentions. The students that wanted to write (and knew how) wrote beautiful letters that they read to the class as an example of what to do. The health teacher rewarded them for their enthusiastic efforts on helping the class. I noticed again some students really go out of their way to help the others. The teacher told me a few days later that most of them struggled through this letter writing activity but ever student was able to produce a letter and envelope that was sent out!
Blog Post 4-
One class that I highly enjoyed observing was a lesson on how to cope with stress. Relaxation techniques were discussed, along with yoga, progressive relaxation and visual imagery exercises were demonstrated. The teacher explained how this helps in times of stress. The students seemed to love this activity and they gladly participated in the exercise. The teacher discussed relaxation mantra, thinking of something peaceful and positive. She discussed yoga and how it relaxes people. The students asked if they could do some yoga in class. The teacher demonstrated a few yoga poses and moves, and the students mimicked her. They really enjoyed this and expressed that they will do this on their own when they are stressed out. They did the visual imagery activity together also. The teacher asked them to get comfortable at their desks and think of a safe, calm, peaceful, serene place. Some kids laughed but most really got into the exercise. After the activity, the students communicated their opinions. They felt that this rejuvenated them and will help to get through the rest of the day. The students even thanked the teacher for teaching them this! This really went well and was a hit with the students. It was simple enough also that all the students could participate easily. It was very nice to see all the students actually taking an interest and even practicing something that they learned to enjoy and benefit from!
Blog Post 5-
(Overview of observation of school)
This last post I will reflect on will be a summary of everything I have observed within the school as a whole. This high school is a challenging school with most students having some type of behavior problem and/or learning disability. Many are ESL students. I noticed that some students, almost every period, were getting called out of class or pulled out for something. This seemed to happen frequently with each class period I observed. It seems like a good school, but the teachers lack communication with one another especially with the health and physical education teachers. I thought the health and physical education teachers did an exceptionally great job teaching the students, and managing the inclusive classroom, especially since it seems like they don’t get much assistance from co-teachers or the special education departments. They also have very large classes, where most had twenty-five or more students. I have learned a lot on how they manage all this together and techniques they use to keep the class on task and address the needs of students. The athletic director was a very nice man to speak to also, along with other staff I spoke with in the hallways and teacher’s lounge. They were very helpful with answering any questions I had and accommodating towards anything I needed. Ultimately the observation experience went well. It was good to witness the functions of this type of high needs public high school. It gave me much insight on how this school runs and operates. I enjoyed this observation experience and spending time in this school district!
Leonell Santos
Prof. Smith
Today was my first day of teaching in front of the class with a record camera. I teach two periods of chemistry, period one and period three. The lesson was about the periodic table and periodicity that take 75 minutes longer. The first part of my lesson was the do now, this take 10 min and was about to answer “In Your own words mention all the skills that come to your mind related to periodicity”. I like this part because students seem engage and motivated with the lesson. They all participate and answer the do know very enthusiastic. The second part of my lesson was going over a power point presentation that I prepared about periodic table concepts. What I noticed in this part watching the video was my accent doesn’t help me out and I was a little nervous because it was my first time in a camera and teaching. So far students understand my lesson, according what I can see in the video students were engage in the lesson and very motivated. They answer all questions that I asked about the periodic table. One point that I want to bring was my energy and speed, maybe next time if I slow down it will be better for students and for me. My activity was a chemistry unit exam review sheet periodicity. During this activity I distribute seven envelopes with the quantity of questions, like for example one group have the envelope 1 so he had to go over questions 1-4 etc. and then they have to switch. This activity took 30 min. I went over each table help them in each question. In general it was a great experience of practice. I love student participation and motivation. In conclusion it was a very enthusiastic lesson today and always remember that this is not for us but for them that are the future of this nation.
Leonell D. Santos
Prof. Smith
We are almost getting to the end of the semester. What I can say, this semester was one full of challenges. Different emotions, sad and happy moments, situations to overcome were most of our daily bread. I think all this is part of life. During this time in school I learned a lot of things, like be patience or know how to listen others people thought. I have the opportunity to teach in two settings, one was in a chemistry classroom and the other was in an ESL environment. Two different worlds but youth people with the same issues and dreams. I think one of the best parts of being a teacher is the student interaction. You can advise, encourage and motivated.
By experience what I noticed in school is that youth people don’t know who they are. Most of them have a low self stem, maybe the family is not the best family in the world or maybe the environment is not the best. As teachers we are not here just to deliver a lesson or a test, we are here to support the students. I think we need to change many things in the classroom; we are in the 21 century. Youth people from today need a reason to live, something that motivated them, and what a best candidate that the teachers to do that job. In general terms what I can say about my experience in school is going to be unforgettable, too many experiences that I’m going to keep it in my heart.
Blog post 2-
Going back to my middle school last week was great after so much time off and away from the kids. They were so excited to see me and I was excited to see them. It was nice to talk to them and listen to their experiences and feelings on the hurricane and to hear all about their thanksgiving, the foods they like and dont like and the different traditions that presented themselves all in one classroom! For a few minutes they ran the show and the conversation and it wasnt about memorizing latitude and longitude or practicing reading primary sources...It was reconnecting with the kids and getting to know them and where they come from. I loved every minute of it! My mentor teacher seemed annoyed that I took so much time talking with them and catching up but thats fine with me, it didnt phase me...its her problem that she cant be bothered getting to know them or that she thinks I waste my time trying to get to know them and help them.
Blog post 3-
I have to say that my inclusion class is my absolute favorite class of the entire day. Prior to observing I had never been in an inclusions class and although I thought I knew what it was all about I now realize I had so many misconceptions. One of the reasons that I love the class so much is because the kids are full of energy and are so lively, when they understand a topic they truly get excited about it. Although they call out and try to talk over each other, probably because the teachers never taught them how to have an open discussion, they really do know their stuff when given the opportunity to express their thoughts. On another note it frustrates me that the special ed teacher walks around the room aimlessly, looks at his cell phone and texts, and just looks over the kids shoulders making sure their on track and if they are not he opens their books for them, or quickly copies the notes for them. I just feel like he himself gives up on them in a way because they are more than capable of opening their books and taking notes, they are just not in the mood to apparently and may feel like they dont need to because their teacher will just do it for them. I feel it is teaching them laziness and enabling them to act that way as opposed to giving them tools to help them and use later in their lives.
Observation Log #2
I had the pleasure of observing an 8th grade science inclusion class with great co-teaching. Class began at 11:22am, and as the students entered the room the main teacher stood outside the classroom door greeting the students, while the other teacher prompted the students to open their notebooks and begin the “Do Now.” By the time the second bell rang all of the students were in his/her assigned seats completing their work. There were twenty two students sitting in rows facing towards the screen projector. Both teachers walked around the classroom making sure the students were on task and to see if they needed any help. At 11:27am the main teacher took two minutes to take attendance and jumped right into the Aim and Do Now. The main teacher called upon the students to answer the questions based on latitude/longitude. As the lesson continued, the mainstream teacher would rhetorically asked questions related to the lesson to the special-ed push-in teacher as a method to engage the students. They would constantly feed off each other’s thoughts. The mainstream teacher sat down among the students a few times as the push-in teacher would explain a concept. If I was not told who the mainstream teacher was at the beginning of the class, I would not have been able to distinguish who was the push-in teacher. They worked cohesively together. The students were well behaved; they followed the teachers’ instructions and were engaged in their work. Both teachers had great energy and motivated the students to answer and explain certain examples.
Post 1:
I am going to center each of my posts around five unique types of classes that I had an opportunity to observe over this semester. I was placed in many different types of classes. I went from resource room for students who need that extra forty minutes a day for an adult to guide them in their studies. I observed three different inclusion mathematics classes, each with a different general Ed teacher and different SE teacher. I observed an ESL class, a Career Training class and finally a Life Skills class.
The first I am going to post about is resource room. This is in a small room that fits no more than ten people. There are five students in the class of mixed gender and race, and there are two teachers who are female. The best way to describe these forty minutes is to imagine a mother and her children. The teachers get to find out about all of the students classes and their grades. They praise the students when they preform well and empathize when they do not. They provide "tuff love" when the student does not complete their homework and then proceed to help them finish it, and like most parents who help their children with their home work they do it. I don't know if this is because of time constraint or because they don't want the student to struggle because they feel bad or if they think it's the best way for the student learn. In my opinion the teachers feel that these students have already lost most of their motivation or self esteem and this is the best way to help them.
Luckily because there are five students and two teachers and my concentration in math is the teachers biggest struggle I've been hands all the whole semester. What I have found is that these students are very capable of the work they are given. This does not mean they have the time or support outside of school to do it. The best moment I had in observation was when I had the students figure a problem using their own knowledge and I didn't just write out the answer and expect him to understand. His response was: "that makes so much sense, I wish my teacher taught it like you". All I did was ask the student questions and let him struggle through it.
Post 2:
My second post is about the three mathematics classes I am observing. The three classes also have mixed gender and race.
For reference I will refer to the classes as Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3.
Co-Teaching Style:
Class 1: Half One Teach, One Assist and Half Team Teaching
Class 2: Mostly One Teach, One Assists with some Team Teaching.
Class 3: One Teach, One Assist
In Class 1 the teachers seem to have a specific formula. The Team Teach for the beginning of the class and then have the students work in pairs as the teachers circulate the room assisting the students on a small group basis. While this seems to work very well for class room management and flow I rarely see any kind of significant class room discussion. The teachers move through the material slow enough for the students who have an easier time understanding to understand and spend the rest of the time helping those who they wouldn't have expected to understand.
In Class 2 the main difference is that the classes are not always the same. While the mathematics teacher may the main speaker it does not always follow a specific formula. Sometimes there are lectures, but most often they are class room discussions. Sometimes they break into pairs or work individually, and sometimes they have work stations where both teachers help the students work as a team.
In Class 3 the Special Education teacher can seem like a fly on the wall. The mathematics teacher has a very set lesson plan everyday that does not seem to vary. The teacher lectures and will field for understanding at some points but is very much the leader of the discussion at all times. The teacher is very disciplinary even of the students who happen to only be talking because of the SE teacher or myself.
I would like to take ideas from Class 1 and Class 2 if I am to ever teach an inclusions class. Both teachers need to play a large role in the classroom and valuable class discussions must remain.
Post 3:
My third post is about English as a Second Language class. This is an english class with five students a teacher and an aid. There are four males and one female in the class. This class is very similar to a typical english class. The class is always reading a book that is used as the main topic of discussion. The main difference is that the emphasis is not on the literary parts of the story but on the vocabulary used. The class will read a few pages at a time and then go back to look at difficult vocabulary. Students then use these vocabulary words over the remainder of reading the book. They also write journals form the point of view of one of the characters and are suggested to use these words. All of the strategies used seem like great ways to help those who do not speak english as a main language to help strengthen this skill. The only issue I seem to find is that that students over the course of three books do not seem interested in any of the stories. The last two books also contain characters that do not speak proper english. This may be a class where I would have the students choose their own books and have them approved by the teacher. The students may be more motivated to read the english language.
Post 4:
My fourth post if about the Career Training class. When I was first assigned to this class I did not know what to expect. I was told it was for seniors to help them get ready for the 'real world' after high school. While I thought the whole point of school was to do this not just one class. I assumed this meant the students they did not expect to move on to college. Additionally that this was time spent helping students decide on a career or be given information like how to fill out applications or how to prepare for an interview. It turns out that the class comprised of three caucasian males was no more than resource room. The teacher would see what the students were currently working on and try to help them graduate, but mainly leave them alone to do what they want. I began to wonder what this class was for and how it was given its' title. I hope more comes of this class as the school year progresses.
Post 5:
My final post is about my favorite class to visit every week and that is Life Skills. Life Skills is a class for those with severe disabilities. I was given the expectation that after I left this class I would need to snap back to reality. This gave me an unsettling feeling that was quickly eliminated. There are eight students in this class, one teacher and three aids. On occasion a senior joins the class to help. When I am in the classroom it is considered English class, the students sit at their desks shaped in a semi circle and the teacher goes from one student to the other making conversation. I have never seen students so patient while the teacher is not speaking to them. They are the most polite and respectful students out of any I have seen in the school. Just like any class they have their out bursts and their episodes but they are the most willing to be involved and to be respectful to their peers. These students are consistently challenged and the teacher does not back down till the students understands and can respond properly (and this can take many attempts). This is the class I will be saddest to leave at the end of this semester.
Leonell Santos
The semester is almost getting to the end, and I feel that it went to fast. Today and during this week I discover that I’m getting attached to the students. I think this is positive because that show me that at least I was able to influence in a life in a positive way. I hear today one student that say you are a good teacher and a good person that made my day. I think that working with different types of mind is awesome and that is a challenge. The best way to engage students is giving the opportunity to be them and explore.
I think the classroom in the 21 century have to reflect real life learning, things that students can link and keep. In conclusion it was a pleasure been working in the school during this semester in the chemistry class. Thanks.
Entry 1: Over the summer I observed an ESL program. The program was very diverse with students from 6-12 grade and ranging in levels of ability from SIFE to intermediate fluency. This was a great opportunity for me to observe how to apply differentiated instruction in a classroom. The students were in the class for either extra help or to practice skills they learned. The teacher was always well prepared and had lessons that would engage all the students. She used different methods of assessment geared to the different of the students. For the intermediate fluency students the tests were more complex. The teacher made the atmosphere of the classroom nurturing to encourage and help the lower level students feel comfortable participating. She also assigned projects that all the students could contribute to so no one felt neglected. I did notice some resentments from the higher level students on test days when they saw that they had to take an exam that was more difficult. The teacher managed it in a fair manner but I feel maybe there might have been a better way. She simply said just focus on your own work don't worry about anyone else. Maybe if she would have explained to them why they would have been receptive especially since they were at one point beginner ESL themselves. Overall it was an enriching learning experience.
I have been observing an 8th grade science class with the same teacher for the past four months and the experience has been both positive and negative. I will begin by stating the positive attributes. The teacher is very punctual with time, always professionally dressed and carries himself in a professional matter. He begins every class with a “Do Now” on the overhead projector, and encourages the students to complete their work. He provides a lot of visuals and hands-on examples to further explain concepts during his lessons. For instance in his lesson on why do we have seasons, he had two students demonstrate the process of how the earth revolves around sun. He makes himself available during his prep periods and afterschool for those students who need the extra help. He also makes phone calls and home visits to those students who misbehave during class and/or are falling behind in class. He likes to keep his class organized and has good class management; he does not tolerate inappropriate behavior.
As for the negative attributes, where should I begin? He is extremely unorganized with his lesson plans, he does not plan ahead; he decides what he is going to teach in the morning. He hardly assigns homework and when he does he forgets to check the homework and if collected the students never receives them back. He frequently gives submissive assessments such as test and quizzes, but then again the students do not receive them back nor does he review them. Why assign homework if you’re not going to dedicate time to review it? Then he wonders why his students are failing the class. As I previously mentioned, he encourages students to stay focus in class however for those students who have their heads down he kicks their desks to get their attention. All of his lessons are published on Microsoft Word and in order for the material to flow; he assigns a student to sit at his desk and manned the computer. He refuses to do any type of group interaction work with his 8th grade class because he’s afraid of them being uncooperative. At times he uses words with a negative undertone, “Don’t be stupid or dumb,” You’re being a jerk.” I am not sure if this is allowed because he a decent relationship with the students, but as a parent I would not want any teacher calling my child a jerk. When he notices that a student is failing in his class, he does goes out of his way to give them extra help, but if he notices that they have no motivation to do well he simply gives up on them and just let’s them fail. He refers to those types of students as “A lost case.”
I know that there is no such thing as the perfect teacher, but I strongly believe that a teacher can always improve on his/her flaws. The science teacher I’ve been observing is overall a good person and a decent teacher; however I believe he should perhaps work on his organizational skills and take the time to get to know his students even further. Instead of shutting a student down, he should develop another approach that would potentially help the student succeed.
Entry 2: I am currently placed in Roosevelt High School. One of the class I observed was an intermediate ESL classroom. The students are all Latino mostly from El Salvador with a few exceptions. They all have been in united states for varying numbers of years with some even being born here but because English was not the main language spoken at home they are placed in the ESL setting. The classroom is full of students work and very welcoming. The students made a Hispanic heritage museum in the back of the room with artifacts from their cultures. They also made flags for the countries in Latin America and there was posters from a project called "Adopt a Country" where the student had to research various information about a Hispanic country. The teacher was well organized and encouraging to the students. She decorated the classroom and showcased the students work to make a warm nurturing environment conducive to learning. The students in this class are learning how to read and write in English. I did notice that some of the students in the class are special education students but the school does not provide services for the students in this class. I do however feel that some of these students were in need of additional support in the class and the teacher recognized this and did the best she could. The students in the class are engaged in the lessons but I am not sure they are actually understanding all of the material. I have observed the teacher use multiple techniques to try and reach all the students. They work in rows some classes and in groups for others. I have seen her assign groups based on ability level for some group work to differentiate instruction for the weaker and stronger students. I have also seen them work in mixed level groups for cooperative learning. The teacher encourages the students to follow the schools code of conduct. There is a contract on the wall with the classes commitments for the year with a list of school rules. This method appears to work with this group.
Elisa Passarella
Observation Blog #2
When entering the same inclusion classroom the next week, I didn’t really notice that much change from the teaching styles from the previous week. The main teacher taught her physical science lesson, and the co-teacher just hung around the outskirts of the class, not adding a whole lot. The main difference this week was the presence of a teacher’s aide, in addition to the co-teacher and the main teacher. The teacher’s aide is extremely quiet, adding less than even the co-teacher. I do not think I saw her speak once. She mostly stands at the back of the classroom, occasionally pointing to students’ books to try to keep them on task. I can tell she is a very quiet and reserved person, but there still wasn’t much interaction with the students, even on an individual level.
The main point I would like to discuss about today’s class is the amount of professionals/paraprofessionals in the classroom. With two teachers and a teacher’s aide, the class seemed very crowded. The co-teacher and aide, especially, seemed to be doing the same job, stepping on each other’s toes a lot. It was very distracting for me, so I can only imagine how the students might feel. It seems a little unnecessary to have so many people in the classroom when the main teacher seems to be doing most of the “work,” as in teaching the content and running activities.
Elisa Passarella
Observation Blog #3
Today I was able to observe a different inclusion classroom, in addition to the one I see weekly. This class was an Earth Science class, also co-taught. The dynamic in this classroom is very different than that of the other class I observe. First, I must note, that the teachers’ personalities are extremely different, not only from each other, but when compared to the class I have previously written about. The content teacher was extremely gentle and easygoing: her voice and manor were very soothing and comforting. The Special Education teacher, on the other hand, was extremely abrasive, loud, and quick to comment. I think putting these teachers together, while it does seem like a strange sitcom, actually works because they are able to balance each other. This classroom runs very much the same as the other class I observe, where the content teacher runs the lesson, and the Special Education teacher mostly just chimes in for a quick comment or disciplinary action. But it is definitely clear that this Special Education teacher is more hands on: it seems she does all of the disciplining for the class, and she did not stray away from talking about the content being discussed. She spoke about density and answered student questions, and offered questions as well, sometimes just to clarify or repeat what the teacher said. It seems these two teachers have a better relationship and a good understanding of how to work together.
About a third of the way through the class time, a teacher’s aide entered the classroom. She just sat on the side, writing the whole time. She may have been there to copy notes for a student.
Elisa Passarella
Observation Blog #4
For this blog, I observed the physical science class again. The content teacher planned and ran the lesson, and the special education teacher and the teacher’s aide were walking around, trying to keep student’s on task. I now know that all of these professionals/paraprofessionals are present because it must be required on the IEP of some students in the classroom. But I still question the validity of this arrangement after an experience I had today.
Honestly, as much as I love science, it is clear that most of the students in this class want to be anywhere but this class. They could care less about science, and always try to get the teacher off topic or leave the room. This is when I noticed the problem of having so many teacher figures in the room. Every student wishing to escape would ask to go to the bathroom. The content teacher does not like more than one student out of the classroom at a time, but since the teachers and the aide are all doing their own things, when students ask each of them to go to the bathroom, the all say yes. This happened today to the point that three people were out of the room at once. Then, a student asked the content teacher to use the restroom, and she said no, so we walked around and asked the teacher’s aide instead, and she said yes. The students would go around to all three until they received the answer they were looking for. As an observer, my head was spinning! This situation became so confusing that it had to be addressed, and content time suffered.
While this is proof to me that so many professionals/paraprofessionals in the room can be distracting and negative, I think maybe if there was more interaction between the three outside of the classroom, things like this could be avoided. If lessons are planned together and each person has their role, it would be much easier to manage the classroom. But of course the question is, how can they all find the time!
Elisa Passarella
Observation Blog #5
In today’s class, I observed the physical science class again. In this case, the teacher’s aide was not present. As usual, the content teacher was doing the teaching, while the Special Education was standing at the side of the classroom. About 5-10 minutes into the class period, someone came to the door and asked the Special Education teacher to leave. She was needed in another classroom for help. She did not return for the rest of the period. The class ran as usual, and the content teacher to not skip a beat. She taught her lesson, just as she did earlier in the day. The class was not more rowdy or out of control than usual and the lesson ran relatively smoothly.
I thought this was extremely interesting for two reasons. First, I thought the reason for having a co-teacher was because it was present on one or more students’ IEP as a requirement. It was interesting that the teacher was just able to leave and no one was there to replace her. Now knowing more about the importance of a co-teacher, and what his or her role should be in the classroom, it seems a little odd to be able to have him or her leave the classroom without it being more of a problem. To me, it is the same as asking the content teacher to leave in the middle of the lesson, co-taught class or not. Unless it was an emergency, that would never happen. (Of course, it could have been an emergency situation, I’m just not sure!).
The second reason I thought this was interesting was because of what we learned about the role of the co-teacher in the classroom. They are an equal part of the teaching force, and all teaching should be shared. An ideal situation would be no one knowing who the content teacher is and who the special education teacher is! If this were true in the classroom I observe, leaving the classroom should not be an option: the special education teacher would be teaching the lesson and not able to leave.
I would like to focus this blog on what inspired me to consider persuading a teaching career as an ESL teacher. I have been observing all levels of ESL classes for the past few months now. I first began my observations with the beginners, intermediate, followed by the advance ELL’s students. From the very first day of school until now, I have seen the growth of the students learning comprehension increasing dramatically. When I first enter the beginners ESL class, there were only five 8th graders and one 7th grade student sitting in a classroom equipped with twenty-eight desk and chairs. The students sat in the first two rows of the class. Majority of the students originated from El Salvador and knew very little English. The classroom had bare walls, colorful bulletin board borders, and a library equipped with books and dictionaries. The very first lesson was based on getting to know our students. The students had to create a circle organizer map to describe themself. As the students’ completed their task they asked, “when are we going to read a book in English? When are we going to write essays? I was amazed that with the limited amount of English they knew, the students were eager to learning how to read and write in English. At the beginning of the year I would just translate the assignments and readings to them in Spanish, but after gaining some experience within the field I learned how to scaffold the assignments to them in English. Just today I had to scaffold the class to help them comprehend the definition of a fact. I used different examples that demonstrated a fact such as Ms. Pimentel (myself) is short, then I would ask them how do we know I am short? How can we prove that I am short? It was like an “Ah ha” moment, they were then able to explain that my height could be measured with a ruler and proven therefore it was indeed a fact. Whenever a student is stuck on a certain concept and is apply to his/her knowledge and help them get the answer I feel as if I accomplished something. Are the answers always correct? Of course not, but just getting the correct answer doesn’t always tell me they are actually comprehending the material.
Let’s now fast forward four months ahead. The same beginner ESL class now has a total of sixteen students, and we are expecting new students within the upcoming week. There are five students from Dominican Republic two students from Honduras and rest are from El Salvador. The class has a mixture of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The more advance beginner ELL students help the less proficient ELL students with their work. When a student is able to translate and explain the material to another student that represents that they have develop great comprehension skills and for second language learners this is a great challenge to overcome. The walls are no longer bare; there are publish stories, published projects, circle maps, flow maps, word wall and sentence strips posted all around the classroom. Teaching the foundations of the English language is not as easy as it may seem and I have figured it out the hard way. ELL students need to be provided with the foundations such as learning how to make connections with the readings, learning how to count, learning how look at images and make prediction, etc. ESL is vital to all the other subjects. If a non English student cannot read nor understand English how are they expected to learn in a general science, math or social studies class?
Entry 3: I have been observing an ESL Living Environment (Biology) class. The class is all Latino students ranging from beginner to intermediate levels of English fluency. There is a main subject teacher and an ESL teacher push in. The students range from 9-12 grade. The classroom is very drab. There is no student work displayed and the "word wall" is a long strip of paper that is torn and falling down with some words written on it. It has not been updated since it was first put up. The class is run with the science teacher explaining and then the ESL teacher translating word for word. I feel this is a complete waste of time by repeating the same thing twice in two languages. Also the students are not interested at all in the class. They do not listen to the teachers at all or they only listen to the translation. This is not going to develop their skills. I have seen the ESL teacher try to pace the subject teacher and encourage him to increase wait time but to no avail. He is very rigid in his ways and is not open to used different methods to teach. It is not the best method to teach when you have a class full of students at different levels with different needs. I also see a lot of tension in planning between the two teachers. There is no co planning and tests to be translated are given to the esl teacher the day before which is not ample time to translate an entire exam. There is no motivation and the students are not performing well in the class.
Blog 4-
Yesterday was my third time observing at the Highschool since being done at the middle school...What a difference there is. The highschool hallways are filled with students who have their hoods over their heads, earphones in ear, who are all half asleep. No one seems excited to be there, engaged in the class or the environment for that matter. As I walk through the halls inbetween perriods I notice their is nothing on the walls...AT ALL! No artwork, no students of the month, no MVP trophies, no pictures of school functions with the kids participating. The total opposite of any elementary school and middle school.
Today was a tough day for the students, I dont know if its becaus it is the end of the week or close to christmas break, but whatever they were individually motivated to do it did not include staying awake or engaged in class. Classroom mamagement was non existent. Kids were texting, listening to their headphones with their music blasting, carrying on conversations with one another and a few paying attention to the economics lesson on blue chip stocks. The teacher just kept on teaching and focussed on the few students that were participating, how I am not sure because their are 25 desks in the class and 32 students who are left to stand or sit on the window ledges so its not like they can be inconspicuous. The teacher seemed un bothered by it and didnt try once to gind away to have the class as a whole relate to the topic or participate. I was so distracted myself I missed most of the lesson because I couldnt believe what I was seeing amongst a class of seniors! Even worse what I was not seeing from the teacher. This was not my regular mentor teacher, thank god!
Entry 4: I have been observing an Living Environment class. This class consists of a mix of Latino and African American students. They all are either native English or have scored out of ESL by being proficient. The classroom is full of life. There are many scientific posters and models on display. There is a lot of student projects and work on display. The teacher is very open to varied methods of teaching despite being very rigid personally. He is trying to implement inquiry based learning and develop critical thinking skills. The class is made up of almost all freshmen with a couple of sophomores. The maturity level of the students is creating some difficulty in this. They also have not much prior experience with this method of learning and are finding the lack of structure disconcerting. I know that the research shows this is the most effective way to teach science but the students are not staying on task. When the teacher is in front the students are very engaged and he is an excellent teacher. In the beginning of the class he showed the class the last lecture to help motivate the students as well as some other self esteem building things. There are many things I feel i can use in my classroom that I have observed here. He does lots of group work with activities that are engaging and educational. The groups also collaborate to get answers.
Entry 5: The last class I observed was an ESL Earth Science class. This class unlike the other was not all ESL students. It is about a 50% mix of ESL and Native English. The ESL students are all Latino and all of the native English students are African American. The teacher is very friendly and kind. The room is decorated in science materials but not much student work. There is an ESL teacher push in in the class. This class is taught entirely in English. The push in teacher walks around and helps the ESL students with content they find difficult. I feel that this is a better model than the other class where the teacher translates what the other just said. The only main issue I have seen in this group is the lack of tolerance by the non ESL students. They get annoyed if something is explained more clearly in Spanish or if something has to be repeated if they didn't really understand. This negative behavior definitely creates tension in the class. The class is mainly run by lecture with a few lab activities. The students rarely do group work. The students are sometimes engaged but mostly not. They put their heads down or have side conversations. There is nothing done about the behavior so it just continues. There is no differentiated instruction either. The same is expected of everyone.
I would like to focus my last blog post on my own observations as a student teacher. First of all I would just like to mention that prior to July 2012, I had no intentions on becoming a teacher; I initially wanted to become an Occupational Therapist. However the opportunity to potentially become a bilingual science teacher arose and I decided to give it a try. Four months later, I am standing in front of twelve and thirteen year olds waiting on them to complete their Do Now. The first time I entered the science class my mind was bombarded with questions. Am I capable of teaching? Do I have what it takes to become a teacher? Will the students take me seriously? What if I don’t have all the answers? Can the students tell that I am nervous? With time I was able to get over my fear and I feel much more confident when I am teaching a class. No matter how I am feeling or what type of day I am having once I step in front of a class all of my worries disappear. Do I have the potential to become a great teacher? I strongly believe so. Do I have to work on my teaching skills and styles? Of course, teachers learn something new each and every day from their own students. Do I expect to have all the answers? No, but I intend on dedicating time to develop my content knowledge and scientific vocabulary which are the two main challenges I need to overcome. Throughout my experience I have been able to distinguish my strengths and my weaknesses as a student teacher. Some of my strengths are I have a good tone of voice, good presence within the class, I manage good control within the class, I interact with the students well, during a lesson I ask high thinking level questions and I never ignore a student’s answer, even if the answer is wrong. As for my weakness, I need to develop my content knowledge, plan my lessons in advance and have more inquiry based activities. I asked myself once again, do I have what it takes to become a teacher? I most certainly do and I most definitely will become a great teacher.
Blog 5
On my first day as a student observer/ teacher in the model program I was excited, nervous and stressed all at the same time. I was excited to meet the students I would be with all year and have the priveleage of watching them grow as they watch me grow as well. I was nervous because it was intimidating walking into a place that I have never been before and introducing myself to 150 students throughout the day and countless colleagues(especially in the teachers lounge which I am not a fan of and I wouldnt be caught dead in there!) I guess I was stressed because I was overwhelmed with all of these opinions people had given me on the reputation of the school district I was placed in. I interacted on a minimum level last year when I observed, but this year was a different story. I know the kids, I have grown to love them! I know who plays what sports, like Fabio who has an IEP but is the captain of the soccer team and Alan who is in Honors is always benched during the football games but all he wants to do is to prove to the coach that he can play too. Roger who is too funny for words and has jokes for days is always talked about in the teachers lounge as being "bad", the kid doesnt have a "bad" bone in his body, its a defense mechanism so he wont gt called on. I also learned about students who dont have parents and their family members dont want them, syblings in prison, drugs in the house and yet they are supposed to focus in school. I know I am going to be really sad leaving these kids at the end of my student teaching.
Also, I have decided that a lot of the teachers that I have met and observed should really work on choosing a different career. If you dont care about the kids for who they are and where they come from and how hard they do try, even under the toughest circumstances then some teachers just need to move on from teaching and consider a career in corrections or something. I noticed that a lot of teachers judge and label kids, especially in the teachers lounge,with lazy,disturbed, crazy, refuses to learn, trouble maker, bad etc. It's like how dare you! As a parent we dont send our kids to school and think about the teachers judging or labelling our children, I know I wouldnt be too happy about that. I even overheard someone explaining a students behavior by saying that "well his parents dont really love him" REALLY??? I was sickened. Teachers are now judging how parents love their children? How can someone assume someone they do not know doesnt love their child, maybe not in the same way they do or in a way that is the norm, but in their own way I am sure they do. Never in a million years did I think the behind the scenes of the classroom could be so horrible. I always say that when we die and get to heaven god isnt going to ask us how much money we have in the bank, what size house we lived in, the cars we drove, the clothes we wore, he will ask us how we treated others, the values we lived by and the way we lived and that goes for education too. We may be "graded" as teachers and as students but at the end of the day if students and teachers alike ask them selves how they treated one another, did they try their hardest, did they learn etc then that is what matters. Overrall this has been a wonderful experience and I am so excited to start student teaching in a few weeks. I am excited to try new things in the classroom, try to make a small change a week or a month, learn from my mistakes which will be many Im sure and grow and although I will probably cry on the last day of school saying goodbye to the kids, I will be so happy to send them off grown a little more and ready for highschool!
For this observation log, I would like to talk about the use of technology in the classroom. In the math inclusion classes, there has not been much use of technology with exception to the SMART Board. However, I did see some use in other special education and subject-matter classes such as game websites and Internet search engines. The teacher in the math inclusion class used the SMART Board for most of her lessons. She was able to use different colored markers to separate different ideas. This may have helped students realize that the teacher was talking about a new idea in case they had missed her verbally state that she was moving on to something else. While sometimes technology can be a useful resource in classrooms, I found that sometimes it can be a distraction. The SMART Board definitely has its positive uses such as differentiating ideas for a specific topic.
I also observed a different mathematics class which has approximately 10 students in it. These students are all in the special education program; seven are at the intermediate level while three are at the beginner level. The three beginner level students were told to go on www.math-play.com and play a multi-digit addition basketball game. If the students got the addition problem correct, they would have better accuracy on shooting the basketball to get it in the net. They were very enthusiastic about the game while the other students in the class also expressed interest in playing. Website games also help students become more enthusiastic, but when other students in the class aren’t participating, it can become a distraction. Also, if a student found a problem too difficult, they would select any answer so that they could get to the next one and shoot the basketball. I would recommend allowing all students in the class to be on the computers at the same time so that they don’t feel like they are being treated unfair. Also, though website games can intrigue students, sometimes they don’t get the idea across. I think it’s important that students are doing the correct work and not just guessing a multiple choice question.
I observed the same special education students during their science class. All students did individual projects about different minerals. At the end of collecting all the important information about their specific mineral, they were told to make an advertisement for it including pictures by searching the Internet. They were excited to select their picture, print it, and glue it to their construction paper. Using the Internet for searching pictures for a project is also a good idea, as long as it is at the end of the project. The teacher did a good job here assigning it towards the end so that the students could get the important information first, and then they began critically thinking about how to make an advertisement.
After learning about all the awesome uses of technology in class, I wish they were used more in this school. One of the teachers used ShowMe one time, but pulled three students to the side to use it on their own. After, they presented their own ShowMe to the class. The teacher said everyone would get a chance to use ShowMe throughout the year, but I haven't seen it used again since then.
I observed several classes with different teachers collaborating together and paid close attention to the way they managed their time and worked together. There was one teacher who was very observant of how much time he was spending on everything during class. He glanced down at his watch each time he would assign the students to do classwork. Once the allotted time passed, he would stick to the schedule and move on. He was able to keep the students on task. He made sure to spend a good amount of time on areas that were more challenging for the students. If a student was confused, he would slow down and address the problem he/she was having. This teacher did run into problems where the students needed to be disciplined, but he would take the students aside so that the whole class didn’t suffer. He taught the class most of the time where the special education teacher would chime in once in awhile. For the most part, he did the talking.
In other classes, teachers would spend the first ten minutes disciplining the children. Throughout the class, they would keep yelling at the students for acting up. The teachers would stop the entire class to yell at them for being noisy or not completing their assignments on time. They took up most of the period yelling at the students and therefore the students did not complete much work during the periods. The worst part was that they were being yelled at by both the general education and special education teachers so it took longer. Even when some students would ask me for help on their assignment, I would have to wait to help if the teachers decided to get attention from the whole class. It was frustrating for both the student and me. If there are some students who are not on task, I think it’s important for the teacher to notice that and step in. However, taking time out of class to yell at all the students is definitely a problem. The whole class shouldn’t be punished for the actions of just a few students. Also, their time shouldn’t be wasted.
In this set of observations, I decided to talk about how gender plays a role in the classroom setting.
In the special education math class, the ratio of girls to boys is 1:3 and the class is very small. The girls in the class sit together in the front of the classroom and are active participants. They usually finish their class work first and are more well behaved than some of the boys. However, the boys (with the exception of one) finish their work at a good pace, but don’t seem to participate as often. In the inclusive math class, the ratio of girls to boys is 1:5 and it is a much larger classroom. Most of the girls don’t want to participate, but do complete their work. The boys are always raising their hands, though some of the copy work off of others. In other classes such as social studies, language arts, and science, the girls also don’t participate whereas the boys do. Both genders seem to complete their work.
It is hard to make any judgments from the evidence I observed. One could say that girls don’t like to participate and boys do, but that isn’t what is shown in the smaller special education math class. It is a possibility that girls will participate in a smaller classroom setting rather than a large classroom setting whereas it is the opposite for boys. Participation trends look the same in all subject. However, I think that boys are quicker to understand concepts than girls are in mathematics. When a male would be confused, I would help and he would quickly say, “Oh, I get it now.” When a female would be confused, I noticed that it took a few tries to explain the idea to her. Finally, she would understand, but it took longer.
Cheating was definitely an issue for the boys. One of them even told me he planned on cheating on the state test. He said that the teachers never catch him. This is obviously a problem and although I probably betrayed his trust, I had to notify the teacher so that she could be more observant during the next test she gave out. Also, I think the girls should be seated in the front of the class closer to where most of the teaching takes place. The girls in the special education class sat right next to the board and that seemed to work. Maybe if the inclusive setting was set up the same way, the girls would be more successful.
For my final observation log, I just wanted to sum up everything I've learned and what I think needs to be changed.
First, I feel like I honestly haven't learned enough. I think it's very important to be a good role model for students, but I'm just wondering where the line should be drawn sometimes. Erin Gruwell is/was such a great role model for her students and she deeply cared about them. She is also a role model for everyone out there who has a passion for teaching. Throughout her years teaching, I feel like she was put in some controversial positions, but she was always there for her students. I could only dream about being as good of a teacher as she is. What are the boundaries that need to be a drawn when it comes to the student-teacher relationship? Is it okay to be friends with your students? And if so, is there anything that is inappropriate to talk about with one another? I've learned from my classes that if a student has a problem, most of the time you are supposed to tell the school therapist. In Erin Gruwell's case though, it looks like she took things into her own hands. If a student asks about my religion, political position, hobbies, etc., am I allowed to be honest? It sounds silly, but there should really be a rulebook for these kinds of things!
All the classes I've taken so far have questioned current teachings. My professors have engraved in my head that today and yesterday's teachers are "doing it wrong". I feel like I've learned all about what teaching techniques are wrong, but my professors aren't telling me what teaching techniques are right! It is also a little insulting because I think I've had some great teachers in my high school and elementary school. I don't think they needed to change their styles at all.
As for the Managing Inclusive Environments course, I think I have learned a lot and I'm not just saying that. I have really valued the information that I've learned in this course (and my Inquiry and Expression course). There were a bunch of little facts (sometimes opinions) that were expressed in class that I will carry with me. I learned the most from the little things that I learned rather than the big theories I learned about in other classes. Some of them that Professor Smith taught me about were:
1. Make learning fun.
2. Never blame the student; blame yourself.
3. You should show different ways of looking at things (ie. peeling a banana like a monkey video).
4. Learn everyone's names (before you even meet them).
5. Don't go over homework in the beginning of class.
6. Use 16 minutes of lecturing on 16 year olds, 15 minutes of lecturing on 15 year olds, and etc.
7. Students aren't used to being put in groups. It doesn't mean they don't work well in groups; it just means they need to get used to it.
8. Students learn the most when they are teaching others.
These weren't the only eight things I learned in this class, but I think they were some of the most useful things. I'm glad I got to see good and bad collaboration in my observations. I would like to work with a SMART board on my own so I can put it to good use in the classroom. Also, I would like to keep up with technology so that it can be a useful tool for my students.
I enjoyed working with the students this semester, but it made me sad to think that they are not receiving the best education. In my opinion, the teachers need to find better ways for their students to learn because they are always distracted. Also, though all the students knew that I was a teacher figure, I think a few of them tried to take advantage of my kindness. In the future, I will try not to be as friendly with them so that they take me more seriously.
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