Stereotyping is something that goes on daily both inside and outside of the classroom everywhere. As secondary teachers I think we may even do it more. We become fearful of certain students because of what we've heard about them, how they dress, and even though we won't admit it..for their ethnicity. I found myself my first couple of days stereotyping a lot. Through observations there were students that I felt were only going to cause problems, and it made me less apt to check on them through guided practice. We can also stereotype students whom we perceive to come from great backgrounds. Sometimes these students are the ones that are dealing with many struggles.
One tip my teacher gave me is to never show your roster to other teachers. When you share your roster, teachers will give you horror stories about certain students. These stories put a perception in your head about these students when in actuality they could be completely different for you or may have just had a bad year before.
In student teaching, I discovered to pay attention to the students that are working hard. Of course encourage and engage ALL students constantly and consistently, but no matter what kind of student they are if they are working hard for you, they deserve your time and attention. A positive outlook towards all students is also a great tool to prevent stereotyping. I try to think of at least one positive attribute on each student before working with them. It has helped me a lot!
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Reflection #3
As a student teacher, I love the idea of inclusion. I think it is wonderful for all students, even though they may require modifications, to be in a regular classroom. However, I see some downfalls to it as well. I have a deaf student in my class and he is wonderful. He is super smart, and enjoys the atmosphere of a regular classroom. On the other hand, I have a special needs student in my classroom that does nothing. Him and his parents insist on him staying in our class, but he definitely needs the aid of someone with a special education certification. Meeting in the needs of students is obviously crucial in order for all students to be brought to their full potential. I will continue striving to do so this semester by learning students' interests so that I can relate material being learned to stuff the students enjoy and understand. Also, with a lot of guided practice, I am able to see where the students are struggling and which needs are apparently not being met.
Inclusion, is a wonderful idea but requires a lot of hard work and the distribution of attention to all students. When executed correctly, I find inclusion to be wonderful. It is important that we, as educators know the needs of our students and strive to meet them every day.
Inclusion, is a wonderful idea but requires a lot of hard work and the distribution of attention to all students. When executed correctly, I find inclusion to be wonderful. It is important that we, as educators know the needs of our students and strive to meet them every day.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Success Journal
My first tweet for the week, on Monday was, "Created the lesson and taught all 6 classes." This was a big step for me! Usually my teacher creates the notes with me, but this time she put it in my hands and I taught every class of the day. My tweet the following day was, " My teacher feels comfortable enough with my teaching and class management to leave the classroom." When the teacher is confident enough to leave her classroom to me to leave the room to take care of other matters, it gave me more confidence too! Whether she was gone for a few minutes or nearly the entire class; I seized the opportunity and felt confident in my ability to run the classroom. On Wednesday I tweeted, "Reaching out to the students that need it most and getting positive feedback >>" Wednesdays after school Central High School has R&R for math students who need extra help. My teacher gave me the opportunity to be in charge of it while she worked with other students. The students were really responsive and we got a lot of work done! Thursday my tweet was, "Finally comfortable with working the overhead." While this seems small, it was a big success for me! Not working the overhead correctly can be a distraction and frustration for students. Finally, on Friday I tweeted, "Department was comfortable enough to let me have a class completely to myself with no teacher in the room." This was HUGE. It was such great encouragement that not only did my teacher have the confidence in me, but the department head also felt that I would do just fine. It was only one class out of six, but it went well and really got me excited for teaching in the future.
This week's assignment made my student teaching experience even more enjoyable that it already was. It showed me the little and big successes and progress I have made since the beginning of this journey. As a teacher, I self evaluate myself a lot. It is easy to focus more on the negatives than the positives. There are some more successes that I plan on achieving. I have a hard time managing two of my classes, I would like to do better at managing those classes. I also am hoping to feel more confident in my teaching style and fingers are crossed that EOSL 2 goes great this week!
This week's assignment made my student teaching experience even more enjoyable that it already was. It showed me the little and big successes and progress I have made since the beginning of this journey. As a teacher, I self evaluate myself a lot. It is easy to focus more on the negatives than the positives. There are some more successes that I plan on achieving. I have a hard time managing two of my classes, I would like to do better at managing those classes. I also am hoping to feel more confident in my teaching style and fingers are crossed that EOSL 2 goes great this week!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Reflection #2
A.) Offering only multiple choice or chapter tests limits the abilities of the students we teach by teaching them that only certain, short answers are acceptable. By offering only these kinds of tests we teach students to think narrowly and to think in terms of how the teacher would think rather than teaching them to create ideas of their own. It also tells students that their answers are completely wrong when in actuality the student may have just made one mistake. Therefore, the students aren't receiving any credit for all the steps they have completed correctly. This is a problem you see often in math classes. Or students guess the correct answer without knowing ANY of the steps. This can cause the students to fall behind while keeping the teacher from noticing.
B.)
i.) Some examples of formative assessments that I currently use are: in class assignments that allow for guided practice, quizzes, homework, participation grades, group work, and activities similar to exit slips where the students must have so many problems done before leaving.
ii.) Examples of summative assessments I currently use are: six weeks and chapter tests.
iii.)It is important to have both formative and summative assessments throughout the year not only to give the students an appropriate grade, but to help them catch their mistakes as soon as possible so that they can be fixed. It is also important to include both types of assessments in the curriculum so that we, as teachers, are able to grade ourselves. If students are doing really well on classwork and group discussions, but are failing tests; we could be creating tests that are too difficult, or we may not be covering the appropriate material for the test. Formative assessments allow both students and teachers to catch their mistakes early.
iv.) I would like to implement interviews as a means for assessment in my future classroom. Once every two weeks I could have students briefly tell me how their work is going and explain the material being covered to me.
I would also like to implement more projects as a means for assessment. I could use more hands on activities to get the students involved and excited. After, the students could present their projects to me.
Lastly, I would like to implement class discussions as a means for formative assessment in my future classroom. Throughout new lessons I could prompt discussion by asking questions that require thought. Having the whole class involved could help students feel comfortable in asking one another questions and responding in a positive way.
B.)
i.) Some examples of formative assessments that I currently use are: in class assignments that allow for guided practice, quizzes, homework, participation grades, group work, and activities similar to exit slips where the students must have so many problems done before leaving.
ii.) Examples of summative assessments I currently use are: six weeks and chapter tests.
iii.)It is important to have both formative and summative assessments throughout the year not only to give the students an appropriate grade, but to help them catch their mistakes as soon as possible so that they can be fixed. It is also important to include both types of assessments in the curriculum so that we, as teachers, are able to grade ourselves. If students are doing really well on classwork and group discussions, but are failing tests; we could be creating tests that are too difficult, or we may not be covering the appropriate material for the test. Formative assessments allow both students and teachers to catch their mistakes early.
iv.) I would like to implement interviews as a means for assessment in my future classroom. Once every two weeks I could have students briefly tell me how their work is going and explain the material being covered to me.
I would also like to implement more projects as a means for assessment. I could use more hands on activities to get the students involved and excited. After, the students could present their projects to me.
Lastly, I would like to implement class discussions as a means for formative assessment in my future classroom. Throughout new lessons I could prompt discussion by asking questions that require thought. Having the whole class involved could help students feel comfortable in asking one another questions and responding in a positive way.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Reflection #1: Introduction
Hello friends! I will be teaching high school level math! Algebra II to be specific. My classes will consists of sophomores, juniors, and seniors! I have been placed at Central High School, and I could not have asked for a better fit for my teacher! I just had the privilege of meeting her this afternoon, and am very excited! (Hence all the exclamation marks.)As of now, I have really enjoyed my experience in San Angelo so I am thinking about teaching here in the future. I have heard great things about S.A.I.S.D as well as Wall so I am excited for the options here.
While pay is low, expectations for teachers are very high. I think the three most important roles for a teacher are: to motivate, to be a positive role model, and to know the students. These three things are absolutely crucial in teaching. If students are motivated to learn the material, they will be miserable and won't cooperate or learn. If the teacher doesn't set a positive example for the students, they will be unmotivated and go to class day after day doing whatever they want. Lastly, a teacher has to care enough to know the students. If you don't know the students there's no way of knowing whether or not your instruction is beneficial to them. Teachers must know their students to meet their students need and bring their students to their full potential!
The picture below is me with my siblings. Yes, I am one of nine children; and yes they are all from the same parents who are still happily married! (However, pictured with us are my grandparents)
While pay is low, expectations for teachers are very high. I think the three most important roles for a teacher are: to motivate, to be a positive role model, and to know the students. These three things are absolutely crucial in teaching. If students are motivated to learn the material, they will be miserable and won't cooperate or learn. If the teacher doesn't set a positive example for the students, they will be unmotivated and go to class day after day doing whatever they want. Lastly, a teacher has to care enough to know the students. If you don't know the students there's no way of knowing whether or not your instruction is beneficial to them. Teachers must know their students to meet their students need and bring their students to their full potential!
The picture below is me with my siblings. Yes, I am one of nine children; and yes they are all from the same parents who are still happily married! (However, pictured with us are my grandparents)
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