Classroom Reflection

My time spent in the Clinical setting, so far, has been extremely inciteful as to how to become a better educator in a classroom setting. Through the data I collected I was able to connect Borich’s Seven Variables of learning to the students. By being in the clinical setting for nearly two months, I have been exposed to new ways of thinking when it comes to structuring a classroom and instructing a classroom. Within this reflection you will find out how I would better plan an effective lesson for the pupils in my future classroom. You will also discover what I will do about certain issues in the classroom and how I will address/fix them.

This paper will describe on why a certain lesson should be adapted before it is delivered to different audience at the same level. This lesson was taught to university students in the USA where the majority of the students were English native speakers. At some points in this lesson, the depth of discussion is not really appropriate to be taught to foreign/second language learners because the nature of English proficiency between English native speakers and foreign/second language learners is absolutely different. The finding in this paper will be based on observation of the writer and elaborated with the reference from library research.

While not every teacher teaches the exact same, there does exist a few, fairly common similarities between those I was able to sit in on. Of these commonalities, there were positives and negatives. Typically, one of the first things I noticed during observations of a “good” class was that from the moment students entered the room they knew what to do. Out of the ten observed classes, eight used some form of bell-ringer that was displayed before and during the ringing of the first bell. Yet, of these eight, only four classes successfully engaged in the bell-ringer. Of these three, there was only one that required the teacher’s full input, which came in the form of reading the question. Even still, the four classes that successfully started off the classroom’s time with learning did so out of routine. The two classes that did not use bell-ringers while I was observing did so voluntarily. One was because the students were to be engaged in a Science project within the class, and the other was because they were expecting to leave to take student yearbook pictures. Excluding the Science outlier, classes that did not start off with a bell-ringer or some form of question/activity at the bell tended not to transition as smoothly into lecture or the next planned activity.

There were many ways to monitor students' understanding and achievement of the mastery objectives during my lesson. Students were continuously informed me about their learning and interpreting information through discussions, explanations, ans written work. These informal observations provided me with opportunities for instruction to be adjusted according to students' needs.

Question 1. How do you make work more meaningful to your students? What motivators are you currently using with your students? Examine the climate in your classroom. What would you change to make it better?

When I arrived to my classroom today, Mrs. Beach’s students were still at their special. This gave us about ten minutes to talk about my upcoming less. Mrs. Beach would like me to teach my lesson on October 24. I am not certain which standard I will be teaching, but I do know that I will be teaching students how to solve story problems using the standard subtraction algorithm. I am excited to teach this lesson, but I am also very nervous because I don’t know exactly how to introduce this topic to the students. At 10:10 A.M., the students returned to the classroom, grabbed their math baskets and sat down at their desks. I am constantly amazed at how well behaved these students are. I cannot to learn more about the management strategies that Mrs. Beach implements in her class.

On December 5, 2017, I spent my fifth session with class 3-213. As a prospective student teacher, this day provided me with a plethora of information regarding questioning. For my first few weeks of observation, I focused on the differing forms of instructional planning, assessment, and interdisciplinary instruction. However, this week I listened carefully to the types of questions the teacher asked the students. Mrs. Diaz is truly a remarkable teacher, who carefully plans her questions to execute informal assessments. She uses these questions to measure student performance, while simultaneously stimulating collaborative and encouragement in the classroom. Based on this idea, Mrs. Diaz continuously asks questions throughout the duration

One major drawback that Blatchford (2015) has with the idea of differentiation is ‘the fact that teachers have to do this for 30 students at once’ making ‘it even more difficult’. He further continues to express how you can have great experience in this field which reflects ‘purposeful practice’ but you still would not be able to ‘quite crack’ differentiation. In some ways, I agree with Blatchford as from my first placement, I too have felt the pressure of differentiating for the whole class. I always found myself altering my plans as just when I think I have the best plan for that teaching, another need will crop up, thus starting back at stage one. Additionally, I feel it gives the teachers the impression of feeling intimidated by the number of needs that they would need to measure for when planning.

On September 25, 2017, I was unable to participate in class due to an infection. However, I was able to observe and evaluate the others in class. This opportunity allowed myself to view the students’ body alignment, challenges, and the ability of picking up phrases. Not only did I observe the students, but I tried to imagine myself in the space and wonder what would have been difficult for me.

The role of the teacher is a critical piece when he or she teaches literacy programming because it is evidence of how a teacher view teaching (Izadinia, 2012). If teachers are prepared to address the diverse, and sometimes complex needs, of their students, teachers much understand phonological awareness and embrace it and work toward understanding the application for a diverse classroom (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). The capacity to understand phonological awareness and its importance in literacy define the role of a reading teacher who produces an environment of learning that is high in quality (Norris, Lucas, & Prudhoe, 2012).

When starting this class, I was a little concerned as I only have one class of my own this year and thought maybe I was taking the class at the wrong time. The more in depth we go in this class it is helping me more and more at my school because of the types of differentiation we are doing this year. I always thought I differentiated my lessons but through this class and my co-teaching experiences this year I’m learning that I have not differentiated enough. I have felt a pride in knowing that the music that I incorporate into student work time is beneficial. I also am glad to see that the use of pre and post assessments is important.

This term, Nina has made noticeable improvements to stay focused during classroom discussions. Despite her best efforts, Nina still finds it difficult to follow instructions, learn specialist vocabulary, locate and join words together to form meaningful utterances. Furthermore, her language and communication difficulty extend to interactions in collaborative tasks, group work and social situations where she struggles to use social language, such as ‘turn-taking’ and to consider what others say. Due to such communication and interaction difficulties, she requires a lot of support and structured activities to help with her learning.

When I evaluate my school year, many things come to mind. I think about friends. I think about the highs and lows.I also think about how I have grown.My 7th grade year at CMS was full of concepts learned, memorable experiences, and personal growth.

The teacher that I have selected for my interview, is one that I have previously used for an assignment in this class. Mrs. Shore teaches freshman Biology, and is a coworker of mine at the ninth grade academy in which I am employed. Mrs. Shore’s classroom management style is one that is very similar to what I had discussed in my reports over the length of this class. She uses a fun, energetic environment, while at the same time clearly depicting expectations about student behavior. She explained to me that she believes talking with students and gaining an understanding about what type of environment works best for them, and then molding numerous styles together. When discussing discipline issues, she notified me that her most difficult challenge is deciding when to punish a student. Mrs. Shore explained that it is vital to be invested in students and know when grace needs to be given, and when discipline actions need to be taken because students can be adversely affected by their home lives and many other factors. She continued to explain that multiple factors should be taken into account before deciding if a student truly deserves to be punished. Another thing that I enjoy about Mrs. Shore is her classroom environment. When walking into Mrs. Shores classroom students are not greeted with desk, but rather a variety of table styles and around the tables students will find large rolling desk chairs. The setup of Mrs. Shores class is what stood out to me the most. Her tables and chairs provide a sense of comfort while also allowing students to learn in an environment different from the traditional school setting. Mrs. Shore explained that she tries to provide a sense of safety and fun to her students.

The desire to ascertain how the strategies, interventions and pedagogical that we learn in class are implemented by teachers in the course of teaching prekindergarten classes made me visit Mrs. Smith’s PreK 12 class. Before my visit, I had informed her of my intention to avoid ambushing her at the last minute. My visit to her class lasted for two hours, during which I remained nonpartisan regarding the activities that were taking place in the classroom. Before the class started, however, she introduced me to the class for the sake of making the children comfortable with my presence around them.