Reflecting on
your CPI teaching, respond to the following questions:
1.) What is
it like to be a student in my class?
Although I
have asked myself this very question many times over the past few months, it is
still difficult to answer. I
recognize that I see everything from my vantage point. I want each student to have a wonderful
experience in my classroom, and feel that each lesson is valuable and
potentially life changing. However, the reality is that each student has many
different experiences both inside and outside of my classroom that shape their
opinions, and feelings.
Looking back
to my first couple of days teaching, I think many of my students felt a bit
confused. Although they knew who I
was, and had become somewhat familiar with me, they still weren’t entirely sure
about how I was going to lead the class. I believe that many of the students
initially felt that I was more lenient with regards to discipline than the
Cooperating Teacher, however they soon realized that I modeled my classroom management
techniques after the CT’s. Within
a few days of my taking over the teaching responsibilities, the students
stopped asking when their “regular teacher” would be teaching again, and began
coming to me with questions, and issues. They quickly adapted to my style of
instruction, and became very interactive.
I believe that the majority of the students in my classes felt that they
could ask questions without judgment, and that my classroom was a safe environment
to learn and develop their interests in science. I frequently had students
approach me between classes to ask my opinion on a science related topic they
had read or heard about. I took
this as an indication of their comfort level, and appreciated that they valued
my opinion on a wide variety of subjects.
Like most
interactions in high school, there was a distinct social aspect to each day’s
class. Since each class was two
hours, nearly every lesson incorporated a lab component. This was the time where I saw the
social dynamics of high school manifest themselves. Although most of my students were freshmen, they still had
their own social groups, which they gravitated toward during each lab. These
groups did change throughout the semester, but in general the same students
would interact with their particular group of friends or acquaintances. For other students, who didn’t seem to
have a set group of friends to interact with, they would work with the other
students assigned to their particular lab table. Partially for this reason, we would change the seating chart
every few weeks. Other than positioning students in locations where they had
the greatest likelihood of being productive, the periodic changing of seats
would help them socialize with new students. This became something the students
looked forward to, and would frequently ask about.
Lastly, I made
great efforts to treat my students with respect, and show appreciation for
their participation and efforts. In return, I felt that every student was
extremely respectful of me, and that mutual respect was demonstrated throughout
all of our interactions. I believe adolescents are keen at sensing sincerity,
and greatly appreciate anytime an adult values their input.
2.) What is
it like for a student to move through classes in a day at our school?
Many students
arrived for their first period classes fairly tired, and obviously lacking
sufficient sleep from the night before. They usually traveled throughout campus
in small groups of 2-3. Prior to
the day’s first class, few students congregate in the common areas to
socialize. This changes
dramatically during the passing times for all following classes. Although more
than a couple of decades have passed since I was in high school, much of the
general social structure seems to be the same. Most students seem to be much more occupied with the social
aspects of high school rather than their academics. They are still trying to discover who they are, and where
they fit in with society in general.
They talk about after school activities, and any upcoming events.
Although most put an honest effort towards academic achievement, it quickly
takes a back seat to the social aspects of their daily lives.
JOURNAL #2
JOURNAL #2
Quote
from the text/ video
|
What it
means
|
Deeper
thinking
|
1. “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up
with anything original.”
-Sir Ken
Robinson, Ted Video
|
We must get past the belief that being wrong equates to
failure.
|
As teachers and parents, we must provide an environment for
our students that shows them that new ideas are rarely realized without some
trial and error. That the process of creation and
critical thinking is more important than the “correct answer”. By providing an environment where
students feel safe while still making mistakes, creativity can blossom. When
we stifle freethinking by providing negative feedback for inaccurate
responses, we in turn shut down a student’s ability to “think outside the
box”. We must focus on the
process of discovery and critical thought to promote creativity in our
students. I have heard many
times that most of the great inventions and discoveries in history occurred
while the person responsible was still in their early twenties, because by
the time we are much older than that, our childhood creativity declines, and
we focus more on what might be described as practical matters.
|
2. “As we build a new foundation for economic growth in the 21st century,
the nation’s workers will be better prepared for ever-changing opportunities
if they have strong analytical and interpersonal skills. High-quality
education and training is the best way to prepare the workers of today for
the jobs of tomorrow.”
-Jobs of the Future
|
Through education, we can prepare students for the future
marketplace.
|
Although analytical skills will be needed, interpersonal and
creative skills will also be required. It simply won’t be enough for someone
to have the requisite knowledge in a given profession, they will also need to
have a wide range of knowledge they can draw from and apply that in ways that
might not be foreseen. The
well-rounded person will have the greatest probability for success, not
simply the individual with the greatest subject matter knowledge. Quality education
goes beyond simply presenting facts and figures to our students. We must also assist our students in
cultivating their abilities to work cohesively with others.
|
3. “Employers demand workers who can think critically and solve
problems. As a result, future prosperity will require greater worker
investment in post-secondary education and training. The current U.S.
education and training system offers a variety of ways in which workers can
obtain the skills valued by employers. Many of the existing programs,
particularly those in fields related to high-growth industries and
occupations, have been shown to lead to improved employment and earnings
outcomes.”
-Jobs of the Future
|
Areas of growth in tomorrow’s markets will require workers who
can think critically, and analyze issues. They will need greater knowledge and education beyond the
high school level in order to be valuable to employers.
|
The education requirements of the past simply aren’t enough in
today’s fast paced global economy. In order for the U.S. to remain
competitive, we must ensure our students receive the education they need to
keep up with the global economic powerhouses in Asia, and other emerging
regions of the world. The days of training a worker to complete a mindless
task have passed. Today and in the future, our students will be competing not
just with people in their own areas, but with well educated workers from all
parts of the globe. Other than
their parents, we as teachers will have the greatest adult influence on how
far our students will progress in their educational careers. We must always remember, that at the
core of what we are doing as teachers is preparing our students to succeed,
both professionally, and personally.
|
4. “Nobody has a clue what the world will look like in five
years time, yet we must educate them for it”
-Sir Ken Robinson, TED Video
|
We must continue to strive to prepare our students for the
future, although we don’t know exactly what it will hold for them.
|
Beyond analytical skills, the one area that will allow our
students to succeed and adapt to the ever-changing world is through
creativity, and critical thinking.
Adaptability will be what allows someone to remain vital in the
ever-changing marketplace. With
the speed at which technology is changing and advancing, our students will
need to adapt at rates that we cannot comprehend. We must exercise and strengthen these cognitive abilities
in our students, so that they can change along with technology. Creativity
will always be a commodity that will be desired in the marketplace. Our
students must feel as though their creativity is valued in the classroom, if
we expect it to remain with them as adults.
|
JOURNAL # 3
At more than twice the age of my students, I don’t pretend that
the “generation gap” does not exist. Students today have many more distractions
to deal with than when I was a student. As I have expressed to my students,
there are entire industries dedicated to the development of electronic gadgets
meant to distract them from whatever they are currently engaged in. That being said, I do feel that
although the scenery may change, the students themselves still have the same
issues they had when I was in high school. Trying to figure out who they are and how they fit into the
world has been, and will always be a primary concern for adolescents.
Although the most obvious gap would pertain to technology, the
most significant gap for me is in the family structure. When I was in high school, none of my immediate
friends came from divorced or single parent families. There were some students
in my school whose parents were divorced, but in my neighborhood you could
count them on one hand. This has certainly changed. Many of my students at my
last clinical practice school made it known that they usually had one parent at
home. The “traditional” family
structure is more the exception than the norm today. This presents many
different challenges to both the student and the teacher. This new and complex structure to
families needs to be considered by teachers to ensure they understand their
students. An example would be that many students travel between two households
and have to transport their school supplies as well. Through the use of technology, a teacher can make course
materials available in nearly any location.
Quotes from Week 4 Readings:
“When we receive evidence that confronts our deeply held and
usually unrecognized biases, the human brain usually find ways to return to stereotypes.
The human brain used a mechanism called ‘re-fencing’ when confronted with
evidence contrary to the stereotype.”
-Understanding Unconscious Bias and Unintentional Racism
“First, there needs to be unswerving, unnerving, scrupulous
honesty. Individuals need to become less focused on feeling very tolerant and
good about themselves and more focused on examining their own biases.
- Understanding Unconscious Bias and Unintentional Racism
I learned a long time ago about the correlation between students’
academic success and whether they were able to see themselves in schools. That
was the reason leaders of the women’s movement demanded that textbook companies
begin to write stories with girls as protagonists, to include pictures of
girls, and to acknowledge that women have played a role in this country’s
history.
-One Teacher’s Story:
JOURNAL #4
Will be submitted on Cougar Courses
Final Reflection
I honestly found all of the topics
covered in the semester to be quite interesting. Therefore, the task of
summarizing and reflecting on the entire semester in one page is nearly futile.
So, I would like to focus on a couple of the more memorable topics that have
had an effect on my teaching style and point of view. The first would be the
bias section and paper we covered several weeks ago. This particular subject
had the effect of forcing all of us to look at ourselves through unfiltered
lenses, and evaluate our own biases, stereotypes and generalizations about
others. After writing the paper, and thinking about the subject for quite some
time, I find myself continuing to analyze my views toward my students, and my
likely misconceptions about them. As a result, I am very conscious of any
preconceived feelings about how a student may or may not perform on
assignments, class participation, and assessments. I honestly believe that each
of us tries very hard to be neutral and not show or feel any biases, but to
deny that we have bias is simply ignoring the issue. To face it head on, as we
have in this class, is the best course of action to minimize its effect. Of all
the subjects we have tackled over the course of the past year, I believe this
lesson will last with me for the duration of my teaching career.
Although not specifically taught specifically in EDSS-531,
the other significant lesson/project that we worked on was the creation of
ITUs. Working with others online and in person was initially difficult, but
became tremendously educational. The collaboration process of creating a
thematic unit that could be taught across multiple disciplines required
tremendous planning and organization. The lessons learned will be extremely
useful in future lessons that I can already envision that will require
coordination with other teachers to maximize the benefits to my students. In
fact, in recent lessons during CP-II, I find myself consciously thinking about
how some subjects I am currently covering could be better covered by
integrating disciplines outside of science. I look forward to trying to
collaborate and connect subjects with teachers from other disciplines once I
gain employment at a local school. The ITUs really drove home the understanding
that education and learning is a holistic endeavor, and to solidify
understandings, we must always be aware of the connections between disciplines.
I’ve focused on two very specific parts of our coursework
from the past 8-10 weeks, but as I write this reflection, I begin thinking
about the interactions I have been fortunate enough to be a part of during
class, and while working outside of class in groups. I feel that I have been
fortunate to have met some extremely caring and thoughtful individuals who will
become the kind of teachers I would like my daughter to have during her future
years in high school. I can’t help but feel as though writing this final
reflection is somewhat bittersweet, in that it signifies the near completion of
a great deal of work and effort to achieve something extremely valuable. But
also, it signifies the end of an extremely beneficial and enlightening
interaction between the cohort members, and the university faculty.
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