Discussion 6- What I've Learned

Wow- where do I begin?   I started out thinking that the most important part of teaching was to get to know my students.  In actuality, the most important thing was to maintain control at all times.  Students need to know who is in charge, and what to expect.  They need consistency and structure.  This means that as teachers, we need to have a good solid plan, and we need to know our content area well.  I learned that even though I may want to get involved with my students outside of class (i.e. "Mrs. Klipa, will you come to my softball game?  Mrs. Klipa, will you come to my play?), it's best to get the job done as professionally and as dutifully as possible, and keep boundaries, otherwise what you say and do may come back to haunt you.

As important as it is to maintain control and structure, it's also necessary to value flexibility, and to realize that things will always change.  Have a backup plan, always!  Never take comments or situations personally.  Talk to students with an open mind, and offer a smile no matter what they say, or do, or feel, or act.  Be real, but firm.  And always, always, always, validate their feelings.  My approach to students is to either acknowledge their feelings while gently guiding them to the goal, or to just listen, and not offer a response, but a simple, "yes" or "hmm".  Most of the time teenagers just want to talk, and they need someone to listen. Oh, and give as little information about irrelevant subjects as possible.  For example, when students ask me, "Is Mr. S here?" (when I'm subbing for him), I say, "No".  Then they say, "Where is he?", and instead of saying, "Well Cindy, he's on the panel of teachers choosing our new AP", which is what I WOULD have said a few months ago, I now say, "He's gone".  That works.

Effective Classroom Management Strategies

I teach freshmen in health and juniors/seniors in a class called, "Individual Family Living".  Managing the classes can be a super challenge for me, especially for the older population.

In all my classes, I do a lot of walking/moving around, making sure I offer myself to as many individuals, or groups, as possible as I speak, as they speak, or as they work.  I use a lot of eye contact.  I make facial gestures towards them like scrunching up my face, or turning my palms upside down and giving them a "really?" look.  I try to use humor first since I have a "you be cool to me and I'll be cool to you" mantra that I remind them of constantly.  These strategies work for excessive talking or chatting when it's not appropriate, or when they should be listening.   When they don't listen, I shift into a more serious tone, and I tell them that every minute that they are disruptive is a minute that they lose after the bell rings.  If they try and get up to line up before the bell rings then I have them sit down and wait, and if anyone is up then everyone has to sit until everyone is seated before they can leave.  They hate this.  I try to have my "withitness" with me in class everyday, so I can react immediately, give constant feedback, and stay on top of my special needs students, who number 7 in all five classes, and are all ADD with IEP's.

Strategies work for me with the freshmen.  They don't work as well with the juniors and seniors.  I have a LOT of kids who "don't care" or have extreme apathy.  Considering some of the problems they have with their home life and the law, if I can keep them at school, I'm winning half the battle.  I don't assign homework and I try to do group work that involves higher order thinking skills like solving problems through case studies.  I also have great guest speakers, like AIDS patients and teen parents.  I find that they are attentive to the more serious real-life stuff, and since we don't have any district sanctioned curriculum for IFL, I can pretty much do what I want with them.  It's been a great learning experience.

Assessment Measures

The assessment measures we use in our health class are: 1. asking questions to check for understanding- formative 2. quizzes and tests- summative 3. cornell note taking- formative In the class I'm student teaching, my teacher asks questions to check for student comprehension. He first asks for volunteers to answer, and if there aren't any, then he assigns answers to random people. We cover a unit of study and then it's followed up with either a quiz or test. During the unit, cornell notes are assigned twice a week. These notes form the basis of understanding and provide the student with something that's gradeable other than the summative assessments. Most of my teacher's strategy involves direct instruction on a day to day basis. There are rarely group assignments or interactive work. As a result, morale is poor, and students aren't motivated and don't challenge themselves. There is a definite lack of organization within the structure of the class and with the lessons. They aren't inclined to raise their hands to answer the questions, and if they are chosen, will respond with an "I don't know". I find a general lack of motivation in all classes, and I think a more proactive approach would wake them up and get them more interested. Since there is so much reliance on the teacher as the leader, perhaps switching it around so that the students direct their learning instead, and the teacher becomes the facilitator changes the dynamic so that the students are in charge of their learning process. It may prove to generate more interest. Lesson plans need a good overhaul as well. I like the cornell notes. I would use them in my class, but I would rely heavily on solid, well-written lessons that include a lot of group work that inspires higher order thinking skills, and projects. Tomlinson suggests a good approach to assessment is by giving two grades. "A struggling learner might receive a B on progress toward reaching personal learner goals and a D when compared to the class....it is important to help parents and students clearly understand the utility of each piece of information in educational planning" (Tomlinson, pg. 94). Tomlinson, Carol Ann, (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms.

PPT on Washington High School in Fremont, CA

School and Class Culture Presentation by

Steve Jobs- How to live before you die

School Culture

The culture of a school can affect the learning process of its students.  If a school has an established, nurturing climate where the community is thriving and happy and productive, then that school will most likely have the best possible outcome for its students, teachers, and parents.  "Effective schools have a culture, based on their human capital.  An effective culture has two characteristics:  Beliefs and Practices."  (Wong, pg. 328).  For a school to have student success, Wong cites, it must have that vision or belief.  The people that work together within the school have a routine that nurtures that vision and conducts education with consistency and a strong sense of value.

The role that the teacher plays in creating a culture for teaching and learning is by recognizing and celebrating that culture on a daily basis with his/her students.  At the school where I am student teaching, every Friday is "husky day" or spirit day, where students are encouraged to wear the school colors, participate in lunchtime events, and show their allegiance to their school family during classtime discussions.  Every day, a student gets on the intercom and makes announcements about clubs and focus groups, student meetings, current events, service reminders, leadership opportunities, and upcoming events that are happening around the school.  The teacher is responsible for facilitating and encouraging a positive response to connecting and getting involved with the activities that make the school unique and special.  When children feel connected to the school family, they are more likely to want to try their best and work hard to be an organic part of that family, and share in its successes.

What Makes An Effective Teacher?

Teaching requires a lot of specific skills that when well aligned, can be one of the most powerful careers a person can have.  I love to say that I'm in the business of shaping young minds, but it's so much more than that.  Being organized is key.  You've got to have a plan, so lesson plans are the foundation to being an effective teacher.  Those plans have to include several factors:  

1.  They must be able to hold interest.  Boring lessons result in little retention.

2.  They must be well understood.  Lack of clarity causes teachers to have to spend valuable time repeating the directions and checking for understanding of objectives. 

3.  They must provide modifications.  Lessons should be tailored to appropriately suit the grade level, but also be flexible to offer the gifted student more challenge, the special needs student more support, and the ESL student more shelter.  

4.  They must consider the availability of resources. If there isn't enough of what is necessary to carry out a lesson, then that lesson isn't going to work.

5.  They must consider a backup plan.  If something goes wrong, there must be a "Plan B" in mind to recover the lesson without sacrificing time. 

6.  Teachers need to know what they can and cannot do.  Lessons require forethought and background knowledge when applying new concepts or using new technologies for the first time.  

In addition to solid and well thought out lesson plans, teachers need to have strong time management skills and effective classroom management skills.  A class that has no boundaries in terms of time and attitude is at risk of being ineffective, and even the best plan can unravel if the teacher cannot control him or herself or the class.  

For my own personal growth, I have the following goals:

1.  Learning how to integrate technology into my lessons.

2.  Learning how to be more organized.

3.  Developing a discipline plan that works without having to "shush" or raise my voice to command attention.  

4.  Learning and applying Google Tools as part of my teaching strategy to educate young people in the ways of the future.  

I hope to achieve these goals during this course, and learn new things from others.  

In my classroom, I have observed students with terrible behavior.  It's been an exhausting and frustrating two weeks, especially since I had to substitute for my Master Teacher in the second week while I was being observed by my Supervisor, with weak plans and no discipline policy in place.   I've decided to spend more time in the classrooms of other teachers this next week, learning different skills and strategies.  So far, I've met a lot of interesting people who have been very willing to help and be supportive, and for that I am grateful!  

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

This is such a great video on Piaget's Stages, I just had to share it. 
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Allyson's Introduction

I'm Allyson Klipa, and I'm "guest teaching" in Health Science at Washington High School in Fremont.  My other two subjects are physical education and biology/life science.  I am a fitness instructor at ClubSport Fremont where I teach weight lifting and endurance training in a group fitness environment.  My passion is helping people get motivated to become healthier, and learn about how to stay healthy by eating right and exercising regularly.  I am on the M.Ed track with an emphasis on Educational Technology, a subject that is totally out of my comfort zone, but satisfying and gratifying.  My favorite saying is "There's Always Room For Improvement".  I run three Facebook pages:  The 10 Pound Challenge!, ClubSport Fremont Group Power with Allyson! and Aqua Zumba with Allyson!  I want to be a teacher so I can educate young people about the importance of total wellness, and have a schedule that matches my kids'.