Involvement with ELL’s

I liked how the reading this week brought up the idea that different cultures have different ideas. Different cultures have different ideas of what is expected for respect between people, and how they should be involved in education. I think the idea of interpreters in high need communities are a great idea. I wish I had interpreters in my school so that I could more easily communicate with some parents. I specifically liked the idea of a sign-in sheet for the parents at curriculum night (Curtin, 2009, p. 238). My mentors did not do this during our curriculum night this past year and I think it would help a lot in reaching the parents. Many of the suggestions the book gives are about incorporating parents in the classroom by asking them to volunteer. In high school classes, there is not a lot of opportunity for parents to help out. I was unsure of how to use this idea in my classroom, unless we go on a field trip and need drivers. Maybe I can involve parents in homework activities and projects, but I cannot foresee any reason to have them in the classroom during school hours. The book also talks about home visits. I do not feel that this is really appropriate. As high school teachers, we have 150+ students. It would not be possible to visit all of these parents. I never had teachers visit my house, even when my brother nearly failed out of eighth grade. I’m just not sure how appropriate this is.

Curtin, E. M. (2009). Practical strategies for teaching English language learners. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Moral education in today’s schools

This week’s lecture discussed moral education in today’s schools. The church and state first separated in the early 17^th century, when government was based on a congregational system, with most of the power at the local level (Ellis). In early education, moral education was a necessary piece of every kind of education, because every individual is responsible for his or her own acts, and educators should help students have enough knowledge to take responsibility for those actions. Some school officials and political leaders have ignored moral education in schools because it seems like teaching Christianity to students, and many are part of some other religion or no religion at all. This approach seems odd, because morals to me are right from wrong, and we still have right and wrong in society that are not connected to any religion. Why can’t morals be seen like this in schools? C.S. Lewis found a solution to the dilemma that morals are based on one religion. He found a set of common values between many religions, which he calls “Natural Law” (Ellis). Ellis talks about how these practical principles are capable of being learned, which makes sense to me. However, he also talks about they have been “proven benefit to individuals and to the collective when employed in society.” How can he have proved that? And who says which morals those individuals that he may have tested were following his “Natural Law?”  Finally, it is suggested that school is a new venue for teaching moral education, because it seems that other venues, such as home church and community have failed to teach it. I disagree with this statement entirely. Who says these venues have failed? I do not think they have failed. I do think that they do not reach everyone in the population. School is a much more universal venue for the population to receive this education. However, I do think that home life needs to step up and teach these values. Theoretically, all parents have this knowledge. Why can’t they take care of this part of the education? Parents should be teaching these values starting before their children even start school. By high school, students are at the point where they think they know much more than the authority figures, such as teachers. These values need to be taught to the students long before high school, because high school students are unlikely to change their point of view. I do not think we should give up on teenagers entirely, but if they do not have a sense of moral value when they come into high school, they will not be able to take responsibility for actions such as not doing their homework, or cheating on a test. High school is when we are supposed to help them develop their self-responsibility so that they can be self-sufficient when they go off to college, or into the career of their choice. I think parents are the most important part of teaching children right and wrong and that education needs to start as soon as possible in life.

Meta-Reflection on Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

I feel that I have learned a lot about this standard this year and gathered valuable evidence to fulfill this standard. In taking over both chemistry and both biology classes, I have learned so much about my students and how I can help them succeed in my classes. Coming into student teaching, I knew dealing with high school students was going to be a completely new experience. From fall quarter, I saw the huge difference in maturity between sophomores and juniors and seniors. I also saw a difference in maturity between my two sophomore biology classes, probably because of the difference in the other classes the students are taking (those in IB math or block and those who are not). I have learned that different techniques are needed to handle the different classes, and I must keep in mind how much I can expect each class to be able to do without guided instruction.

I feel I have learned a lot about what this standard means in the past quarter. This standard calls for the teacher to personalize her teaching to individual learning strategies, and to help students succeed even with large obstacles in their way. I have many students that are dealing a variety of obstacles, and I have learned a lot this quarter about how to help them in my classroom and tailor my teaching to their needs without feeling like I am giving them an easy pass. In order to find out more about my students, I gave a student questionnaire during the first week of school, in order to give them a chance to tell me how they learn best, and if they have any issues they would like me to know about. I get 504 and IEP information directly from the school, but I wanted to know about all the issues students might have, not only the legal, documented students (1, 2, 3).

I have several 504, IEP and ELL students who all require some modification to their learning in the classroom. Nearly all of these students are placed up front in the seating chart, though not next to each other. I want to help them succeed by putting them near me, so I can help them be separated from distractions. I have also separated these students so that they are working with a student that will help them keep up with their classmates, whether that means someone who speaks their native language, or focused student that will help them be more focused, or away from other students who distract them even more (seating chart).

For ELL students specifically, I allow them to continue working on their exams in their ELL classes. I feel that they need this extra time because of the English barrier. Even though their ELL teacher does not know much about science, she can help the students understand the English questions being asked. Sometimes I allow this extra time on assignments as well. I had one student complete an assignment, but received a low grade on it because he misinterpreted what most of the questions were asking him to do. I gave the assignment back to him and asked him to go over it with his ELL teacher. He turned it in the next day and received an A because of the help he received with the English. I also saw great improvement on his last couple exams, I think because of how much better his understanding of English is becoming. I made sure that, in both seating arrangements we have had so far, he is seated next to another student who speaks Chinese (I happen to have two other students who also speak Chinese in his class) so that he can translate with them, and get help when he does not understand things. On the first few exams, it was apparent that his English was preventing him from showing his understanding of the material. On the last two exams, he got A’s, which shows that he is improving greatly.

I tend to have a lot of group work in my classroom, because I feel that it helps connect the students to each other, and help each other learn. We have labs approximately every other week, which calls for students to work in their partners (they sit together). When we do other partner work, I try to mix it up so students can work with other students more often. I also switch up the seating chart once a quarter, to differentiate which students work together in labs. I feel that putting students into groups, and then mixing up those groups help the students develop a learning community with their classmates, and feel like the class is learning together, rather than everyone learning for themselves. Group work in the classroom also will help students develop the skills they need to work with others, because they will have to work with others in some way for the rest of their lives.

My biology mentor is very much an environmental biologist. Our most recent unit was ecology and we will begin human impact when we return from break. She always makes a point to discuss the environment and our effect on it many times during this unit. This idea is built into the power points, Populations and Ecological Pyramids, for this unit. During the Populations lecture, we discussed how different countries have contributed to our advances to extend Earth’s carrying capacity. We also discussed how these actions affect other organisms, including other humans. In the Ecological Pyramids lecture, we discussed how we could stretch our resources even more, and how differences in eating habits between countries can affect our use of resources differently. We are trying to help students become aware of their impact on the environment, and I think the next topic (Human Impact) will open their eyes to the idea that they have an effect on the world they live in.

My biology classes, for example, have a hard time with a lecture when it lasts all period, no matter how many attention grabbers, or stories I insert into the lecture. Therefore, I try not to lecture all period, rather lecture for half the period, and then do an activity or worksheet for the second half. Even if this means splitting up a lecture, I think the students will learn more if they are focused throughout the lecture, rather than spacing out or getting bored. When I do need to lecture for an entire period, I try to give the students a break in the middle of class. The break is usually to do yoga with the students, or to talk about an upcoming event (such as HSPE testing, or a track meet). I find this helps keep them on task while giving their brain a break. If I give them a chat break, I find that it is really hard to bring them back in to the material.

In my chemistry classes, the students can handle a little more lecture during the period. Of course I still use practice problems, stories, demonstrations and video clips to break up the lecture, to hold the students’ attention. I try to begin a unit with a lecture that begins with a somewhat relevant video clip (see power point links) from a TV show that the students recognize and possibly watch. I feel that this helps relate the material to their lives outside of school. In addition, I try to present a chemistry cartoon that relates to the material I am presenting that week, every Friday. I also put pictures, animations and cool backgrounds into my power points (1, 2), with not so much text, so that the students can focus without getting bored with tons of text.

This quarter, both my chemistry and biology classes had a design lab project (biology design experiment). This means that they were given a research question, and they needed to work with a partner to develop a procedure to answer the research question. All periods were given in-class time and needed to get checked off before they could start the experiment. During the experiment, the students needed to work together in order to come up with a procedure and then work together to complete the experiment. This project required the students to collaborate with their peers and work well with their assigned partner. At the end of the chemistry design experiment, the students had to individually write a letter to a ceramic company, recommending the glaze that the students found during the experiment. It was meant to show students how to appropriately communicate with members of the community in a business setting, and from a peer’s perspective, rather than from a student’s perspective. In addition, the letter helped the students explain in their own words why they designed their experiment the way they did. The students could explain how they came to the conclusion that they did, as these students did (1, 2, 3).

I have had many parent conferences this quarter, in e-mail, on the phone and in person. I have learned a lot about how to talk to parents. It is always good to show them that you care about their student’s success by giving ways to help their student succeed in your class. It is also good to start off with something positive about their student, so that they can feel that their student is doing something right in your class, and that you have not written them off as a bad egg. I like to encourage parents to help their child with homework, especially with labs and studying for exams (flash cards are very helpful to students and parents can quiz their child with them!)

In my biology class, my mentor has a set of activities to help the students learn the structure of DNA, and how the molecule replicates. The students work in pairs to first make a model of one DNA molecule out of string, two different types of pasta, and four different colored pipe cleaners. They have to answer given questions, study the different parts of the molecule and how it is put together. After they feel they are ready (they know the molecule backwards and forwards), they come up to me and must pass an oral quiz. The students must get every question correct, or they must go study and come back up again. Each time they are sent back to their seat, they lose one out of five points. This encourages the students to learn and master the material quickly, so that they only have to get quizzed once. I try to change up the questions each time because nothing prevents the students from telling their friends all the questions I asked them. I also do not want the students memorizing the questions I asked them in their first try so that I know that they are actually learning the material, rather than memorizing the minimum material. We go through the same routine for replication of DNA, with another oral quiz.

For my Standards-based Assessment class, we had to complete a project that involved assessing what the students have learned up to a point, re-teaching, and then giving another assessment. I gave the students a formative assessment (pop quiz) on new material right after I lectured and gave examples on the material. Then, I helped them practice the material over the course of the week, with homework problems, warm up problems, having students answer orally in class, and partner work. At the end of the week we had another quiz. In my project, I attached the work of five students, showing their improvement over the week. I had students answer reflection questions, including any strategies they used to solve the problems, or learn the material. It was interesting to compare student performance to whether or not they had a strategy for solving the problems. The students who had strategies for learning the material, and actually understood how they learned were the most successful.

I have found in many of my classes that students listen to lectures, take notes and regurgitate information when teachers ask questions, but they have a hard time internalizing what they learned. I have begun to ask for some sort of exit slip at the end of a lecture that forces students to think about what they learned in class. I ask them to write a summary of the lecture, or give me two things they understood and one thing they did not understand or an idea that is still unclear to them. If they feel like they understood everything, I ask them to ask me a question about the material that I did not answer, or something that intrigues them about the subject. When I read students’ responses, I can tell what parts of the lecture were clear, and what parts I may need to go over. I can use some of their questions as a warm up the next day, or make sure I cover the unclear parts at the beginning of class so that students have a full understanding of the topic.

Students all learn differently, and it is important for a teacher to understand that when he or she is planning lessons. It is also important for students to understand their own learning, both what they have learned and how they have learned. It is really important to put learning in context for the students in terms of the community, get them involved in the classroom, and get their parents involve in their learning. Students have individual needs when it comes to learning a good teacher knows how to meet those needs.

Philosophy of Teaching

1. What education is

I believe that education is teaches children about the world around them. Parents can teach their children the basics, but eventually children need to be taught by those who are experts in those subjects to be learned. Not everyone is an expert in the subjects we have deemed important for students to understand, which is why we have teachers for specific subjects in secondary school. Our goal in education is to give the next generation enough knowledge so that they can be competent citizens, who understand how the world works and why we live the way we do. Especially right now, with the debate about climate change in the government, students must be able to understand the science behind the theories so that they can make an informed decision about what they believe.

I believe that education can excite students about the world around them. Engaging student curiosity is important because students will be more willing to learn, and may learn more completely. The more young people we can engage with the world around them, the more involved those students will be in the world as the mature and move in to their later careers. The more involved people are, the more they participate in important events, such as elections. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2009), in 2008, of the total population 18 and over, only 71.0 percent registered to vote and 58.2 percent actually voted. It is important that all citizens have a say in how our government is run, as it is our right to do so. 63.6 percent is a far cry from all citizens, and I think the more we engage students in the classroom, the higher this number will go. The number of people who actually voted is five percent higher than the number of people who voted in the 2004 election (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). Educating students about the election and the bills to be passed helps these numbers to keep rising.

I believe that education fosters skills in group work and collaboration in students. In their later skills, students will most likely need to be able to work with other people, whether in a single partnership or in a large group. Education is one way to help the students gain the ability to successfully work with their peers, whether at the same achievement level or not.  When working in a group or pair with a peer (or peers) at the same achievement level, a student can learn how to effectively bounce ideas off someone else, or look at a problem from a different perspective. When working in a group or pair with a peer (or peers) with different strengths and weaknesses, a student could learn how to improve their weaknesses by seeing another student’s example, or help another student with their weaknesses. In some cases, this strategy helps both (all) students with their weaknesses, and they learn much more than they would have on their own (Toward Inclusive Classrooms, 1994, p. 47).

I believe that education teaches students how to be leaders. Leadership skills are important for most careers, and the classroom is a safe place that students can use to gain these essential skills. Education can provide a model for leadership skills as well, giving many examples of leaders both in history and in present day. Leadership skills include those necessary to manage group tasks, to take initiative and plan out an agenda, to collaborate with others on a single project, and many others. All of these tasks are inherently tasks that require one to solve a problem, and students will need to have many strategies at hand when asked to solve any problem in their later careers (Sue Law, 2000, p. 175).

I believe that education teaches students about diversity. In our society, we tend to focus on how people are alike, and we cling to those things that make us the same, or that help us fit in with the crowd. Education can help students realize that differences should be celebrated, and can help our society grow. Education can show students that everyone can reach their goals when motivated enough, even if the student is reaching for the sky. Especially for marginalized and “at-risk” youth, it is important to show that everyone can be successful, no matter what their background is (Sheri C. Hardee, 2009, p. 38).

I believe education can teach students about morality and ethics, to help them see right and wrong. Morality is something that affects students daily lives on a constant basis, and education should teach them how to deal with the issues. Students are faced with issues as small as copying homework, to as big as stealing and education should give them the tools to make good decisions. I think education provides an environment in which moral issues can be discussed, and moral issues can be experienced and viewed. Although it is difficult to tell students what is right and what is wrong in all cases, there are issues that can be discussed, and examples given, but students have to gain their own sense of right and wrong for their own beliefs (Standish, 1997, p. 96-97).

1. How teaching supports

I believe that teaching supports student learning about the world because teacher can use his or her own enthusiasm for the subject material to excite the students. Teachers can be the key to student engagement. If a teacher is excited about the subject material, it is more likely to be interesting to the student (Medina, 2008, p. 76).

I believe that teachers can support collaborative learning by modeling collaboration with other teachers. Teachers can do collaborative projects with other classes, or talk about other teachers in their classes. In addition, teachers can encourage group collaboration on certain assignments or projects, even encourage the higher achieving students to help the lower achieving students understand the concepts. As students work with others more often, they will improve their collaborative skills very quickly.

I believe that teachers can model good leadership skills in the classroom, showing students a good example of a wide variety of skills. Teachers can encourage development of leadership skills by putting students in the position to use those skills often, giving them a chance to try, fail and try again. Practice will help students hone these skills, and if each student is given an equal opportunity to plan a project, or mediate discussion in a group, or give a presentation on a particular concept or idea, they will be able to fully develop problem solving and communication skills needed by leaders.

I believe that teachers can show students how differences can enhance our society rather than devastate it. Teachers can provide a model by making a point to notice students’ strengths, individually or in front of the class, whether by complimenting their work, or going to an event. Small reminders to students in class, such as, “nice job in the game on Saturday, Suzanne!” will help the students see that a teacher cares about each student enough to notice each students’ strengths and celebrate the different activities that each student excels in. Students will see this, and begin to celebrate their own differences from their peers, and maybe start to celebrate the differences in others (Noddings, 2005, 18).

 I believe that teachers can show students the difference between right and wrong through example and discussion. Using real examples will give students real situations to think about, and will force them to think about situations they could be in. Teachers can give their students good class discussions, and complex situations to think about so that students can develop their own sense of morality. Teachers should not tell students what to think, but give them time and issues to think about. Teachers can get students to develop a great sense of right and wrong if they simply give the students time to think and reflect.

I believe that teaching adds the personal connection between educational content and student learning. The teacher can be the spark that gets the students excited about the material and engaged in the school community. When teachers take in to account the situations their students are in, the environment they grew up in, and the state their brains are in, as teenagers, they can alter the way they teach to accommodate for the issues most teenagers have. We can use research on the brain and knowledge of our students to coordinate our lesson plans to help them learn the best they can. We can help the students by previewing material, priming the students for the material, and repeating the material with the students, because this is the way their brains learn best (Jensen, 2005, p. 39). As teachers, we are trying to educate our students, and help them succeed in school. The more we can do to help them succeed, the better teacher each of us will be.

References

Dalheim, M. (1994). Toward inclusive classrooms. National Education Association of the United States.

Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules. Seattle: Pear Press.

Noddings, N. (2005). The challenge to care in schools: an alternative approach to education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Sheri C. Hardee, A. R. (2009). Women’s well-being initiative: creating, practicing, and sharing a border pedagogy for youth. Perspectives on Urban Education , 6 (2), 29-40.

Standish, R. S. (1997). Teaching right and wrong: moral education in the balance. Staffordshire: Trentham Books Limited.

Sue Law, D. G. (2000). Educational leadership and learning: practice, policy and research. Buckingham: Open University Press.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2009, October 20). Voting and Registration. Retrieved February 21, 2010, from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2004/tables.html

Meta-Reflection: Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

I feel that I have continued to learn and gather evidence to fulfill this standard this quarter. In taking over both chemistry and both biology classes, I have learned so much about my students and how I can help them succeed in my classes. Coming into student teaching, I knew dealing with high school students was going to be a completely new experience. From fall quarter, I saw the huge difference in maturity between sophomores and juniors and seniors. I also saw a difference in maturity between my two sophomore biology classes, probably because of the difference in the other classes the students are taking (those in IB math or block and those who are not). I have learned that different techniques are needed to handle the different classes, and I must keep in mind how much I can expect each class to be able to do without guided instruction.

My biology classes, for example, have a hard time with a lecture when it lasts all period, no matter how many attention grabbers, or stories I insert into the lecture. Therefore, I try not to lecture all period, rather lecture for half the period, and then do an activity or worksheet for the second half. Even if this means splitting up a lecture, I think the students will learn more if they are focused throughout the lecture, rather than spacing out or getting bored. When I do need to lecture for an entire period, I try to give the students a break in the middle of class. The break is usually to do yoga with the students, or to talk about an upcoming event (such as HSPE testing, or a track meet). I find this helps keep them on task while giving their brain a break. If I give them a chat break, I find that it is really hard to bring them back in to the material.

In my chemistry classes, the students can handle a little more lecture during the period. Of course I still use practice problems, stories, demonstrations and video clips to break up the lecture, to hold the students’ attention. I try to begin a unit with a lecture that begins with a somewhat relevant video clip (see power point links below) from a TV show that the students recognize and possibly watch. I feel that this helps relate the material to their lives outside of school. In addition, I try to present a chemistry cartoon that relates to the material I am presenting that week, every Friday. I also put pictures, animations and cool backgrounds into my power points (1, 2), with not so much text, so that the students can focus without getting bored with tons of text.

This quarter, both my chemistry and biology classes had a design lab project (biology experiment). This means that they were given a research question, and they needed to work with a partner to develop a procedure to answer the research question. All periods were given in-class time and needed to get checked off before they could start the experiment. During the experiment, the students needed to work together in order to come up with a procedure and then work together to complete the experiment. This project required the students to collaborate with their peers and work well with their assigned partner. At the end of the chemistry experiment, the students had to individually write a letter to a ceramic company, recommending the glaze that the students found during the experiment. It was meant to show students how to appropriately communicate with members of the community in a business setting, and from a peer’s perspective, rather than from a student’s perspective. In addition, the letter helped the students explain in their own words why they designed their experiment the way they did. The students could explain how they came to the conclusion that they did, as these students did (1, 2, 3).

I have had many parent conferences this quarter, in e-mail, on the phone and in person. I have learned a lot about how to talk to parents. It is always good to show them that you care about their student’s success by giving ways to help their student succeed in your class. It is also good to start off with something positive about their student, so that they can feel that their student is doing something right in your class, and that you have not written them off as a bad egg. I like to encourage parents to help their child with homework, especially with labs and studying for exams (flash cards are very helpful to students and parents can quiz their child with them!)

In my biology class, my mentor has a set of activities to help the students learn the structure of DNA, and how the molecule replicates. The students work in pairs to first make a model of one DNA molecule out of string, two different types of pasta, and four different colored pipe cleaners. They have to answer given questions, study the different parts of the molecule and how it is put together. After they feel they are ready (they know the molecule backwards and forwards), they come up to me and must pass an oral quiz. The students must get every question correct, or they must go study and come back up again. Each time they are sent back to their seat, they lose one out of five points. This encourages the students to learn and master the material quickly, so that they only have to get quizzed once. I try to change up the questions each time because nothing prevents the students from telling their friends all the questions I asked them. I also do not want the students memorizing the questions I asked them in their first try so that I know that they are actually learning the material, rather than memorizing the minimum material. We go through the same routine for replication of DNA, with another oral quiz.

For my Standards-based Assessment class, we had to complete a project that involved assessing what the students have learned up to a point, re-teaching, and then giving another assessment. I gave the students a formative assessment (pop quiz) on new material right after I lectured and gave examples on the material. Then, I helped them practice the material over the course of the week, with homework problems, warm up problems, having students answer orally in class, and partner work. At the end of the week we had another quiz. In my project, I attached the work of five students, showing their improvement over the week. I had students answer reflection questions, including any strategies they used to solve the problems, or learn the material. It was interesting to compare student performance to whether or not they had a strategy for solving the problems. The students who had strategies for learning the material, and actually understood how they learned were the most successful.

Students all learn differently, and it is important for a teacher to understand that when he or she is planning lessons. It is also important for students to understand their own learning, both what they have learned and how they have learned. It is really important to put learning in context for the students in terms of the community, get them involved in the classroom, and get their parents involve in their learning. Students have individual needs when it comes to learning a good teacher knows how to meet those needs.

Meta-Reflection: Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

I feel I have learned a lot about what this standard means in the past quarter. This standard calls for the teacher to personalize her teaching to individual learning strategies, and to help students succeed even with large obstacles in their way. I have many students that are dealing a variety of obstacles, and I have learned a lot this quarter about how to help them in my classroom and tailor my teaching to their needs without feeling like I am giving them an easy pass. In order to find out more about my students, I gave a student questionnaire during the first week of school, in order to give them a chance to tell me how they learn best, and if they have any issues they would like me to know about. I get 504 and IEP information directly from the school, but I wanted to know about all the issues students might have, not only the legal, documented students.

I have several 504, IEP and ELL students who all require some modification to their learning in the classroom. Nearly all of these students are placed up front in the seating chart, though not next to each other. I want to help them succeed by putting them near me, so I can help them be separated from distractions. I have also separated these students so that they are working with a student that will help them keep up with their classmates, whether that means someone who speaks their native language, or focused student that will help them be more focused, or away from other students who distract them even more.

For ELL students specifically, I allow them to continue working on their exams in their ELL classes. I feel that they need this extra time because of the English barrier. Even though their ELL teacher does not know much about science, she can help the students understand the English questions being asked. Sometimes I allow this extra time on assignments as well. I had one student complete an assignment, but received a low grade on it because he misinterpreted what most of the questions were asking him to do. I gave the assignment back to him and asked him to go over it with his ELL teacher. He turned it in the next day and received an A because of the help he received with the English. I also saw great improvement on his last couple exams, I think because of how much better his understanding of English is becoming. I made sure that, in both seating arrangements we have had so far, he is seated next to another student who speaks Chinese (I happen to have two other students who also speak Chinese in his class) so that he can translate with them, and get help when he does not understand things. On the first few exams, it was apparent that his English was preventing him from showing his understanding of the material. On the last two exams, he got As, which shows that he is improving greatly.

I tend to have a lot of group work in my classroom, because I feel that it helps connect the students to each other, and help each other learn. We have labs approximately every other week, which calls for students to work in their partners (they sit together). When we do other partner work, I try to mix it up so students can work with other students more often. I also switch up the seating chart once a quarter, to differentiate which students work together in labs. I feel that putting students into groups, and then mixing up those groups help the students develop a learning community with their classmates, and feel like the class is learning together, rather than everyone learning for themselves. Group work in the classroom also will help students develop the skills they need to work with others, because they will have to work with others in some way for the rest of their lives.

Already this quarter, I have had many conversations with several different parents, over e-mail, on the phone and in person. I have come to understand that a lot of teaching is responding to parent concerns about their students, even in high school! Many parents just want to know how to help their students do better, and my mentor has been great about helping me respond to these queries. Most e-mails and phone calls can be answered quickly, noting what areas the student needs to put more effort in, giving examples of how they can improve (i.e. making flash cards, attending after-school tutoring or coming in after school to see me). Some meetings can be this simple as well. Some other e-mails and meetings, however, need a little bit more. Some parents need specific lists of what their students are missing, although Skyward (an online grade book) helps greatly with that, and some parents even need e-mail attachments of assignments, especially in cases of IEP students. I try to keep these parents informed; I even do weekly e-mails for one student with his Learning Strategies Teacher and his mom. I have attended a few conferences, with parents and the student, with the parents and other teachers, even with parents, teachers and administrators. I have learned that it is much easier for the parents if you have something positive to start out with, even if it is as simple as “your student does not disrupt class” or “your student seems to be engaged when we do hands-on activities.” There are a lot of issues to keep track of, but I think keeping track of everything is important to help all students do their best.

My biology mentor is very much an environmental biologist. Our most recent unit was ecology and we will begin human impact when we return from break. She always makes a point to discuss the environment and our effect on it many times during this unit. This idea is built into the power points, Populations and Ecological Pyramids, for this unit. During the Populations lecture, we discussed how different countries have contributed to our advances to extend Earth’s carrying capacity. We also discussed how these actions affect other organisms, including other humans. In the Ecological Pyramids lecture, we discussed how we could stretch our resources even more, and how differences in eating habits between countries can affect our use of resources differently. We are trying to help students become aware of their impact on the environment, and I think the next topic (Human Impact) will open their eyes to the idea that they have an effect on the world they live in.

Although I mostly have reflective evidence for this standard, I think my knowledge has still greatly increased in fulfillment of this standard. I hope to collect more hard evidence, especially student-based, over the next two quarters.

Innovation in the classroom

In the readings of this week, there was much information concerning introduction of new technologies into the classroom. There are many different ways to use innovative ideas and technologies in our classrooms. Many of them were very simple ideas while incorporating different technologies. I especially liked the project, scenario E, described on the NETS Implementation website. For this project, students are required to simulate an election, creating a campaign complete with pamphlets, stickers/buttons and flyers to handout, a speech containing a slogan, as well as a commercial made, in this case, with Photo Story 3. For this class, the project was a big success. Fortunately, each student had a laptop for their own use for the entire school year. This resource is not available to every school. Skyline High School, for example, does not have this kind of technology available to their students. I had students create a commercial for a specific organelle (small structure within the cell). I gave the students the option of using technology. Only one group (out of approximately 30 groups) chose to try to use technology, and then the commercial was messed up in editing, because all sound was lost. Although we have a very wealthy clientele at Skyline, we cannot assume that every student had access to all technology, especially specific software such as Microsoft Office, Photo Story 3, and Quark. Schools would need to have all technology that students would require for any project, and that is not always possible, especially in the current economy.

One thing we can do to incorporate technology that the school has access to in the classrooms is to give students class time to use the technologies required while brainstorming, collaborating and planning using free technologies at home, such as webinspiration and wridea. These technologies can allow students to do all their brainstorming and planning at home, while using their class time to actually work on the assignment, allowing more productive use of the time that students have with the technologies required for the assigned project. This would require students to have a computer and web access at home. At Skyline, this is not a problem. However, I could foresee issues with this at other schools.

It is very difficult to incorporate innovative technologies when schools have few resources. I think that there would need to be much in-class work planned in order to fulfill the technology standards. This would take much planning, especially to incorporate all subject material we must, according to the Washington state standards. This may be difficult, and I do not know whether it can be done, unless there are very few projects that incorporate technology. I would think that it is possible, but it would require a lot of planning, possibly including tutorials for each piece of software or technology we use. I think technology can be implemented if a teacher tries hard enough.

Resources:

Technology Operations and Concepts. (2009). Retrieved from ISTE Wikispace: http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/Technology+Operations+and+Concepts.

Implementing 21st Century Technology into the Classroom

As I browsed through the readings and the delicious posts of this week, there were many different ideas about 21st century skills and how to implement them in the classroom. There are many skills that the articles deemed “21st century.” One of the skills the articles discuss is the different forms of technology that are used in the world today. Students need to be familiar with them when they graduate so they will be marketable employees. 21st Century Skills, Education and Competency Guide discusses how other countries are teaching their children the technologies required, which mean children of other countries will be more marketable for 21st century jobs than American children. If our children are not marketable once they graduate, then our country will slowly fall behind in the global market and economy, which is something no one wants (21st century skills 2008).

The job market today requires their employees to have a different skill set than past generations. Today, employers want their workers to be able to work out complex problems, both individually and in groups, communicate with others effectively, both locally and over long distances, and be able to efficiently manage information. All of these skills could require some type of recent technology, such as Skype, facebook.com, blogging tools (i.e. wordpress.com) or wikispaces (Nielson 2009). We need to prepare students for this essential skill set for their future.

In order to help students learn how to use these tools appropriately and effectively, we should work on incorporating these technologies into our lessons. For example, we could have students record a phone call on Skype at home, where they are using all the elements, including vocal communication, instant chatting, and sending documents, pictures or videos. They could collaborate on a project, each doing one part and then sending those parts to each other. They could keep a log of their collaboration (chat does this automatically) and record their vocal communication. In another project, students could collaborate on a wiki or blog to present a concept for their peers. The project could involve students creating their own website, viewing and commenting on their peers’ sites.

This idea has huge implications for education. If we want to ensure that the next generation of Americans is on par with the rest of the world, we may need to create laws and policies to guarantee that every classroom provides the technology training for the students. If policy dictates that we must provide this technology training, we must be provided with the resources to give students experience with these technologies. This will probably require a lot of money, and may not even be possible in the current economy. If we do not have the support money however, it will be very difficult to ensure that are students will graduate with the skills to operate some of these technologies. We need to do the best we can to introduce, and possibly demonstrate these technologies, even if we cannot provide students the opportunity to individually experience them.

References:

Nielsen, Lisa. (2009, August 14). Ten Ideas for Getting Started with 21^st Century Teaching and Learning. Message posted to http://www.techlearning.com/

(2008). 21^st century skills, education and competitiveness. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php

Week of 9/21-9/25

My biggest successes this week was curriculum night. I felt that it went very well. I introduced myself and the class. I went over some of my policies in the class, and talked about what I expect of the students. I got feedback from a couple parents that their students have loved my class so far . I also was told that my enthusiasm for science was infectious and that one student had never liked science before, but is already excited about my class and science classes beyond it.

My biggest struggle this week was illness, both of my students and myself. I had a great many students absent between one and several days last week. My bio class had an exam and there was a quiz and a lab in my chem class. Then I was sick and missed the day before the exam. It was difficult to get myself back on track and try to get the students back on track. In bio, I had deal with students not being ready to take the exams due to absence and I had to deal with that while the other students were taking the exam. In chem, students knew they needed to make up the quiz, and the one student who could not take the quiz studied on the side. All the students know they need to make up the quiz, lab and exam within one week. Because of my illness, I had difficulty knowing when to stay home. I had only a head cold, but that is enough to get the students and other faculty sick. I felt ill on Monday, and still went to school on Tuesday because it was curriculum night. By the end of the day I realized what a bad decision this was because I was getting more fatigued by the hour. I stayed home Wednesday, and went back on Thursday. I know now, that even with a cold, I should stay home even when I have only a cold. That one day at home helped more than I thought it would.