Educational blogs

I needed to reach out and look at some new materials for my future classroom, and I found myself using Feedly, an RSS (really simple syndicate) to make the searching easier. I have another anthological blog that I had to create for a class, which I based on a theme of acceptance and kindness in the classroom.

I have found many other helpful educational blogs one of which is entitled Clutter-free Classroom  which has many great teaching and organization ideas. I love that there are specific posts about how to help a substitute out, as well as how to prepare for having one come.
Joe Bower has an amazing blog about education and trying to teach in a traditional sense while letting students explore. His blog is entitled For the love of learning, and one of my favorite posts is entitled "Rethinking Discipline" which has become very important to me after having taken a classroom management course. Runde has a great blog called Runde's room I love her post about changing your mindset and helping students. Runde has many other wonderful posts about math and literacy that are very helpful for teaching. Another wonderful blog that is very helpful for teachers is The Cornerstone for Teachers by Angela Watson. She has set up many great opportunities for teachers to boost their classroom environment, and help students enjoy their time in class.

I hope you find some of these blogs informative and helpful to any other teachers out there. I really enjoyed looking through them and gathering ideas for my future classroom. As a note I hyperlinked each blog title to open the blog in a separate page if you would like to look at them.

My personal classroom management stance

      At the beginning of my classroom management course, my personal management philosophy was that of an essentialist, at least for solving conflicts and classroom environment. I wanted to have a classroom where the students and I would be positive, proactive and productive where I was the manager of the classroom. After this course I have seen how much of a constructivist centered management style I want to implement in my classroom. I have learned that the approach I want to take to classroom management is where there is shared control in (and of) the classroom, where I am a mediator not the judge and jury. I am going to discuss my personal management stance by going through each module we covered in class and how I would elaborate and implement what I learned in the classroom.

     At the beginning of the year every teacher wants to get to know more about their students, and students are curious about who their teachers are and what they are like. In the past I have had elementary school teachers mail out a letter to their students, a week or two before school begins telling, about themselves and what the classroom is going to be like. I would like to reach out to my students before school starts and depending on the grade I teach, I would like to make a home visit and see how the students are in their everyday environment. I know that it is not always possible to make a home visit, but making a connection with my students in a place where they feel comfortable and in control would be very helpful to me before we start the school year. In order to get to know my students I want to have a list of things they can do to share with the class and myself, and then let the students decide what they would like to do. I have been in a class where at the beginning of the school year the teacher gives each child a brown paper sack with the instructions to put four artifacts in the sack that can help others learn about them. When the students bring back the sacks with the artifacts in them the teacher randomly numbers them and assigns them to the students. The students then take turns presenting the contents of the bag and try to guess which class mate was represented by the artifacts. This was a fun way to learn about each other and dissolve any preconceived notions about our classmates. I am very much a constructivist when it comes to wanting to get to know my students because I want them to feel comfortable in what they choose to share, as well as how they choose to share. If I can start my class off with the students becoming familiar with each other and feeling safe in the classroom, then I can see the school year going much smoother. I believe that by letting the students choose how and what they would like to share it will help them build autonomy, and relate better with each other.

       Just as I like having teacher guided ideas, but student input and choice in getting to know my students, I want the students’ voice in the classroom environment. I am a borderline of social reform and constructivist when it comes to classroom environment. The second job interview questions we were asked what we would need in order to set up our classroom and what was on our to-do list before school started. I had many different things I would want in my classroom to help provide a positive and welcoming environment. To build the basic structure of my classroom, presuming I am given an empty room that only has some cupboards and drawers installed, I would need enough tables for groups of four students to sit at as well as a table to act as a desk for myself. I feel that by having students sit at tables it gives them more freedom to get to know the other students and reach out to each other because they are sharing the space rather than having individual desks. At each table I would have two crates full of groups supplies for the students to use, and then have a four-section square Ikea shelving unit for students to put their personal workbooks and supplies in. I want my classroom to be very open, easy for children to move around in because I understand that it is difficult for students to stay in one place for very long. I would like to set up a reading corner in my classroom with either small beanbag chairs, or a small amphitheater seating arrangement so multiple students can be there at once. I would use the reading corner also as the cool down space for students when there is conflict.

      The walls of my classroom may have some teacher selected spaces and how they are filled in, but I want to have multiple areas for the students to fill in the space. One of my favorite students filled in spaces was the calendar and events center a sixth grade teacher had. Any student could write an event on the calendar and then share about it during class announcements. This brought the students together more because it gave them opportunities to support each other outside of school and learn more about each other. I don’t want to necessarily have rules posted, but something along the lines of norms or guidelines for the students that they can build off of. The article by DeVries and Zan states,

“All teachers have… norms. These norms are acceptable and necessary uses of external authority in a constructivist classroom [, but these] teachers carefully evaluate their reasons for norms and attempt to minimize the use of external control as much as possible”(2003).

     I agree with DeVries and Zan that by minimizing external control, not eliminating it, helps students helps students feel equality in the classroom. By having the students help create the rules it lets me see what motivates them and what they are aware of in the classroom as a potential problem. If a consequence is needed I would like students have decided these along with the rules so that the class knows the consequences and feel that they participated in making the choice to discipline a specific way. The reading on students’ intrinsic motivation, from the book Motivating Students to Learn, was very insightful to me in how to help motivate students, but especially in how to increase opportunities for students to be intrinsically motivated in the classroom. My personal favorite suggestion they gave in the reading was to have more game like features and activities in how students learn. I had a teacher who was amazing at incorporating more of a game like structure into lessons, as well encouraging collaboration and peer work. That specific class of students became more aware of each other’s needs and connected on an additional level that made the learning environment even better. I loved the example Fallon shared in class of using the star system, and I would love to be able to have self selected time at the end of the week, or a student chosen themed party for those students had the required amount to participate in the stars party.

      When it comes to solving conflicts and group issues I want to be a mediator and discussion facilitator, like Laura was in our classroom role-play, rather than the judge and jury in a situation. I want to help students become problem solvers and build their autonomy. I will be an active listener to what the students are saying, but I will also help them to understand how to actively listen, as well as use “I messages” to communicate how they feel and their needs. I would like to have morning meetings each day, and have Friday’s meeting be a class meeting where we can discuss any problems that have been brought to my attention. I want to have a “book of grievances”, like Fallon shared about, to help students think about what really has become a problem and to think about solutions. I want to guide students to possible solutions, but still let students voice their ideas. Overall my personal management style is that of a constructivist, and I feel comfortable and confident that it will increase learning and autonomy in my future classroom.

References

DeVries, Rheta & Zan, Betty. (2003). When Children Make Rules. Education Leadership, 64-67.

Connecting with Students Intrinsic Motivation. Motivating students to learn, 126-157.

The Most Important Thing

   In the movie Night at the Museum the main character Larey Dayly begins his job thinking that he will be wandering the halls of the museum protecting it from vandalism, but he is in for a shock. As sunset rolls around the museum comes to life, he is confused and in a daze. He had expected the museum to be silent and mostly boring at night, but it was not as he expected. The museum came to life and Larey had to brush up on his history of what was in the museum. He didn't expect to learn anything when he came to the museum, but in the end he came to love the museum because he learned about everything in it. This is one of the most important lessons I have learned while observing other teachers.
       Doug Jolley, the teacher I observed, knew this as well because he made everything he could come to life. When he taught his science lessons he would have the students teach as well, they would do experiments, and reports on what new discoveries were being made. Students were excited to have a lesson in science, not because they could watch movies, but because they could discover things for them selves. When Doug taught history lessons, the classroom became that time period. When they learned about ancient Greece the class was split into two teams, Athens and Spartans, and for the next few weeks they competed in an Olympics competition. During the unit on Rome students took a turn teaching a portion of a lesson whether it was on the social classes or the housing. During the medieval unit students brought in their family crest or coat of arms, and then created a shield and helmet (out of paper and tin foil) to display.
       Doug's students looked forward to going to school, because he was bringing his lessons to life. The students look back at how they felt at the beginning of the school year and realized how much they changed in the fact that they wanted to come to school. They use to be worried that Doug would be a mean teacher and extremely strict, but once he taught them with lessons that were alive they didn't want to leave. Doug Jolley was actually my sixth grade teacher and not a day goes by that I don't reflect on the lessons he taught me. He opened the eyes of his students, especially me, to the opportunities out there for us by showing us that learning is something fun. The most important thing for teachers to do that will help their students is to bring to life the lessons they teach, and not just telling them the real world application of principles.

Procedures used in the Classroom

           In the 6th grade classroom I have been helping in the teacher has a variety of procedures that help the class run smoothly. At the beginning of the school year each student drew a class job out of a cup. This became their job until it was a new quarter in the class. The jobs ranged from setting people chairs out in the morning, writing up the class schedule, reading off the class announcements, collecting homework, cleaning the sink and microwave, to filling in the daily planner key. At this school the students are grouped into A.M. and P.M. students based upon when they arrive/leave school. An A.M. student is always in charge of making sure each desk has a chair at it before the students sit down. At 9:15, when the P.M. students arrive, the class announcements are read off to the class. This helps each student know what is due that day, and how many days until another assignment is due. After the announcements are read, another student reads the class schedule out loud. The teacher has the students do this to help them all get onto the same page, and to focus in on their day at school.
         As the day goes on the teacher will let students pop pop-corn in the microwave, but they first have to ask permission, and if there are others who also want to use the microwave they will put their name on a list on the white board. By having the students create a list on the board it helps the teacher and students see who gets to pop pop-corn, and if a mess was made it helps with the accountability of the student because everyone knows who made it with out false accusations. At lunch time students line up in alphabetical order of their last names, The last three people in line each have a job. the second and third to last in line carry a basket of balls and other sports equipment to the cafeteria so their classmates have an option to play with them. The last student in line is in charge of making sure that the everyone is out of the room, turning off the lights and locking the door. All the students know that once the door is locked there is no going back in the classroom until after lunch is over. This helps the students think ahead and be responsible for being prepared for the weather outside.
         At 2:45, when the A.M. students prepare to leave, all the students clean up the classroom. If someone (who was in class that day) leaves their chair unstacked before leaving, or has a mess around their desk at the end of the day, their name is written on the board. The next morning the teacher tells them why their name is on the board, has them correct the behavior, and if it happens again they will help do an additional job around the class that is not very desirable. There are some students in this class that frequently are doing additional jobs. The teacher does not take away any rewards they have received, they merely add a consequence after a warning has been given. The routines in the classroom help the environment because the students are no longer responsible only to the teacher, but to each other, and they know the consequences.

Learning Strategies

     In sixth grade it is difficult to understand shapes and angle measure, and it becomes more difficult when they become 3-D objects. I know I struggled with polygons and tetrahedron when I was in elementary school and in junior high. The sixth grade teacher I am observing saw how hard it was for students to grasp these new shapes and how to calculate the number of faces, lateral surface area, etc. So he designed a very hands on and active lesson for the kids. I participated for the lack of students in one group, and really enjoyed it. He had volunteer parents roll up newspapers into tiny rods so we could use them as edges of the shapes. Each student was given four newspaper rods. Next he asked the students to get into pairs and make a triangular based pyramid. I watched as students built the base of the pyramid and then communicated the best way to build the pyramid and still hold all the vertices in their hands. The teacher then asked how many faces and edges it had. Once the majority of the class had successfully made a pyramid a new polygon was called out. This went on for twenty minutes, with each shape gradually getting harder and requiring more students to help in each group. By the end the whole class was laughing and was able to make the shapes asked of them.
      This sixth grade teacher got all of the students involved (even if they didn't talk much), provided an opportunity for interaction and communication, and he also provided physical movement. This math lesson on polygons was so much fun the students wanted to do it again for recess. The teacher was surprised by the success rate he had with the students during that day all because he started out the day with an engaged and active learning opportunity. I'm definitely remembering this activity for my future classroom.

Co-taught classes- The Roles of a Teacher

        I have been in a classroom for a few hours where the inclusion program is prevalent, but only the teacher and I know exactly which students are exceptional students. Half of the students are the "normal learners" and the other half are exceptional students. Each lesson is taught by the regular teacher and the special education teacher. The students in the class don't know anything different than having the two teachers every day, but there is a reason for this. Both teachers know exactly what is required of them to teach, but because they knew what the students were each dealing with inside and outside of the classroom they could teach the lessons in ways that the students could understand and comprehend better. I watched as the regular ed teacher taught some of the students were confused and would try to ask questions,but would still be confused after an answer that might seem clear normally was given. Once the special ed teacher taught the rest of the lesson that same student might still have a question but they were checking their understanding instead of questioning the subject.
        I believe that one of the most important roles of a teacher is to help students feel confident in what they are learning, how it applies to them, and help them feel safe to question things in the classroom. If a child does not feel that they can ask questions while they are learning they will not grow as much as they could. Students need clarification because as they are starting out in school so many things are confusing and new to them, and the teacher is the one they look to to help them succeed in a new environment. If a student feels confident that the teacher will respect them and try to help clarify things for them they in turn are more willing to listen to the teacher and try to understand what they are learning. Once a student has tuned in to the lessons they want to know why it is important or how it is used in their every day life. If the teacher can give an example of the usefulness of the subject mater the student begins to absorb the information and apply it to the example given and they look for more examples on their own.

The preparation it takes to succeed

As a student I always knew that teachers had to prepare for their classes ahead of time, but I never could figure out when or how they managed to prepare the lessons and teach them. I would see teachers run make copies during class if they ran out, but I never saw my teacher creating the lessons at school.
     Now that I have been helping a teacher out, I truly see a vast majority of the preperation that goes into her lessons everyday. Some days during lunch she will finish creating a worksheet and print it off, and then I will run make enough copies for all the teachers how are doing the same lesson at the time. She will have me help create, copy and put together booklets for the science units that are coming up in the following weeks to help save her time so she can have the other lesson materials ready in enough time for the class to start.
    When I have come into the classroom in the mornings before the students have arrived I will see the teacher working on a lesson for another class later in the week, and durin the day I see her make notes on a piece of paper and at the end of the day I watch her to back and adjust tre upcoming lesson based on how the students did that day. I have observed that the teachers who have taken the time to get to know their students and how they are doing out more thought into their lesson plans and it really helps lessons run more smoothly, and the content is remembered better by he students. Teachers spend countless hours outside of their classroom creating lessons, grading papers, emailing parents, and making master copies. None of that ends when they get to school, it just continues but they may have help from a copy aid or volunteers to help make their life easier. The proerpstion it takes to help a student succeed can't be done just I the classroom, it takes more time and effort and the teachers that change children's attitude about learning are those who have taken the time to prepare.