This week we discussed values and citizenship in the classroom. Within each subject, we had great discussions about how to implement each in the classroom. In the values section, we mostly talked about caught versus taught. This is the idea that students need to “catch” some values, while they need to be taught other values. Different values require different methods of teaching towards the students. I really liked the examples of some of my classmates. Group work and collaboration can usually be caught values, especially when the teachers and some students model good behavior in these activities. Students can catch values from the teacher, or from other students. At first, I interpreted catch as in catch students in bad behavior, which would teach those values. I was not sure about this idea because I did not think that students would necessarily be able to learn values this way. After reading my peers’ posts, I realized that the idea was meant as catch from a role model, similar to how fashion trends are started by one person and then spread through a population. Values can be spread the same way. I think that this is a much more effective method for students to learn values because many students are much more highly influenced by their peers.
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I have grown a lot more this quarter than I really expected to. I have so much left to learn and to consider in order to figure out my views on different aspects of education. My largest area of growth this quarter has been in my view of what students should actually learn in school. I came in to teaching wanting to share my knowledge of science with students, and try to excite them about the science in the world around them. I started off the year trying to make sure I covered everything in the curriculum and make sure the students learned it well. I did want my students to learn how to collaborate and communicate with others, and to learn how to be successful in a society, my classroom for example. These were secondary however to mastering the concepts in the curriculum. After taking the post test, I realize how much I have grown in this area. Standards provide a basis for the concepts the students are meant to master in any given class, but teachers can still give students something to learn without them. I think now that it is more important for students to learn how to function in a larger society besides themselves and their friend group. In high school, many students isolate themselves into small groups that do not socialize with anyone else. In my class, I ask them to break free of those cliques and be a part of a larger class where everyone works together towards a common goal. I do want the students to learn some curriculum, and maybe even be a little more interested in the subject I taught them (biology or chemistry). I want students to be more informed, so that they can go into the world and be educated enough to make informed decisions, or be able to do enough research to make an informed decision. If I can excite even one student to go further in my subject, I will have succeeded. If I can get students to understand more about the world and how it works, even if it just catches their interest, I have succeeded. I want my students to be prepared for the world. Whether they learn all of the biology or chemistry I taught them over the year is secondary to them learning how to work with others and becoming aware of how to function in a group society.
The courts have stated that children do not have to attend school if they are Amish or if they are home schooled by their qualified parent(s). I thought it was interesting that the Amish religion is the only religion covered under this law (Teachers and the Law, p 2). What about devout Christians that do not believe in evolution? I thought it was interesting that students can opt out of certain subjects, like the father who did not want his daughter to study grammar, and it was only because he did not feel like having her learn it. The court agreed because it was not necessary to be a good citizen. But students could say that about chemistry, or math. How can those subjects be essential for becoming good citizens? How can high school, besides the social aspect, be considered to create good citizens? One could argue that only history is needed after junior high, with the logic of the court. The reading also discussed the idea of extra-curricular activity participation for home-schooled children. The state of New York ruled that students who do not attend a public school full time could not participate in extra-curricular activities. I think this is a good idea because the schools pay for the activities, and the parents are not paying into the fund that pays for the activities. The sports especially have other ways to participate, such as club sports, or recreation sports through the YMCA.
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.
Essentialism is different from progressivism because progressivism focuses on student interest and curiosity while essentialists focus on student effort and discipline. Essentialism is the idea the education is intellectually demanding and very rigorous. Students should be constantly challenged by a well-informed teacher, who is very knowledgeable about their subject matter(Ellis, 2010). Essentialism must have been the base of our curriculum design in education today. Essentialists believe curriculum should be based around core disciplines, and involve textbooks, specific goals, formal evaluations, standardized tests and grades. Social activities and relationship between peers are not as important in essentialism.
I am not sure why essentialism is the dominant form of education in America. In all my education classes, the biggest focus is on caring for our students. Even when applying for jobs, at least two of about ten criteria is rapport with students. I think this shows that social and emotional well-being of students is important. There is also research that talks about how much better students learn when they are engaged and interested they are in the material. John Medina specifically discussed this idea of engagement leading to higher achievement in his book “Brain Rules.” My question is, why is our education system still based on essentialism rather than progressivism? I think it may be possible to alter our education system to reflect our new knowledge, but I think there needs to be dramatic change and possibly a complete re-hauling of the system in order for the system to change. Is it possible? I’m not sure, because we would have to change our country’s core beliefs about education.
This week’s lecture discussed moral education in today’s schools. The church and state first separated in the early 17th 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.
American education has come along way over that past several decades. Horace Mann greatly contributed to developing education in America. He had great ideas about education, such as a push towards a common school, including schools for children from all backgrounds, funded and controlled by the public, moral values imbeded in schools, while keeping them secular, and well-trained, professional teachers to run the schools (Ellis, 2010). He also imposed ideas profoundly American into the education system, such as changing spellings, expanding on the American nationalism sweeping the country. In colonial times, before Mann, schools were there to support the masses, but they were based in religion and curriculum differed from school to school. Most students never went past elementary education (Education in America, p. 1). Mann thought students should stay in school until they had a “resonable level of literacy, numeracy, and information from history, literature” (Ellis, 2010), which was about grade 8, according to Ellis, past what colonial schools did. Once America gained its freedom, education had to battle the new amendments, separation of church and state and powers not delegated to federal government are taken care of by the state. Even though we had big names like Mann trying for universal schooling, the laws now made education a decentralized system (Education in America, p. 4). Mann also started the movement for teachers to be well-trained professionals, and he started three schools for teacher training purposes. One of the most important ideas, for me anyway, was Mann’s push for woman to be educated. Once educated, then woman could also become teachers. I could not be where I am today without the work that he started. I agree wholeheartedly with Mann’s idea that teachers should be trained. If they are not experts in their subjects, how can they be expected to teach others? I think centralized education is an important idea because we want all of our students to know the same material when they graduate high school. High school graduate are expected to be competent citizens, and we should have a system in place that sets a standard to what we want our incoming adults to know.
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.
In the lecture this week I learned about Aristole, Plato, Socrates, and Quintilian, all of which lived many many years ago. Education was very different back then, and it would seem that ideas of these educators would not apply to todays society. But looking more closely, the basic ideas are very applicable.
Socrates taught people through demonstration, which is done widely today. I do demonstrations of chemical reactions in chemistry all the time. In biology, we do demonstrations both by the teacher and the students (which are teacher directed) to help them better understand a specific concept.
Plato thought that virtues were gained through a well-rounded education. In education today, teachers are supposed to teach morality and ethics in each of their subjects. For example, in science we discuss different advances in biotechnology, such as cloning, and the ethical view on each advance. Should this advance be used? What are the pros and cons? What does it mean to be a moral scientist? With this range of subjects that were expected to be learned, the idea of a curriculum was also developed. Educators today would not dream of trying to teach without a curriculum. The state standards try to establish a universal curriculum state-wide, as the national standards do for a national curriculum.
Aristotle advocated for “sense realism,” or using your senses to to observe and study the world around you. In science, we still use the senses to study different concepts. We use microscopes to study plant cells, smells to compare different chemical structures and taste to compare acid concentrations. There are many ways the senses can be used to enhance learning and students learn much better when we incorporate this idea into our teaching.
Finally, Quintilian had many good ideas in teaching. The idea that most stuck out to me was his thought that “a good teacher knows his pupils as individuals and knows their interests and abilities” (Ellis). I agree with his thoughts because students need the connections to their interests to spark their desire to learn. If a teacher appeals to the students interests, they will be much more inclined to learn what the teacher is trying to present. Knowing students’ abilities is also very important because lessons and activities may need to be modified to help students learn the material. Every student is different, and each needs to be able to learn in their own way. Education today supports this because of the existence of IEPs and 504 plans, in addition to the push in certification programs for teachers to individualize their curriculum for each of their students.
The reading this week affirmed many things I already know and taught me things I did not know about helping ELL students. Both classroom scenarios were very similar to experiences I have had this year in the classroom. Ms. Lockhart’s experience was very familiar (Curtin, 2009, 2-4). Just like Ms. Lockhart, I have several students who seem to understand the material in class, or even when I help them after school, but then perform poorly on tests. I have some students who should be in the ELL program, but are not, either because their parents do not want them to be, or because they have never been tested. I also have students who do not qualify for ELL, but they still have limited English skills. These students often have other responsibilities at home, such as caring for younger siblings or making food for the family. How can I help these students, when they do not have time to come after school and I try to alter my lessons so that I can help these students as much as possible?
It was also interesting to read about all the different methods of helping ELL students in school. Skyline uses a program similar to the partial ESL program, where the student spends one period a day in an ELL class, working with an ELL teacher on current material in other classes. The English Language Development (ELD) caught my attention (Curtin, 2009, 16). This program has one teacher who is trained in ELL, teaching ELL students the subject matter appropriate to their age group. I have heard of programs, such as one in the math department at Kentwood, where a subject is team-taught by two teachers, one certified in the subject matter, one ELL certified. I think this program would be the best for the students, because the ELL students have a second teacher to help them when they need extra help that the subject matter teacher is unable provide. This tactic would be difficult because of the shortage of ELL teachers we have. Skyline only has one ELL teacher. In order to make a program, like the one at Kentwood, work, we would need to hire significantly more ELL teachers than we have now.
Reference:
Curtin, E. M. (2009). Practical strategies for teaching English language learners. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
