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 learning experience supported the science content area physics. It provided the children with opportunity to collaborate as a group to work together to problem-solve. My focus for this lab was to build and construct ramps and pathways in the outside play yard. I implemented technology by letting the children watch a YouTube video about constructing ramps and pathways to generate new knowledge about the activity. They used marbles to travel down the ramps, while recycled bottles and PVC piping were used to make bridges and underpasses. I planned this lesson to connect to some of the children’s prior knowledge about using this type of track. When the children began using the tracks in the outside play yard they chose to put their ramps off landscaping rocks. This gave them the ability to secure the ramp at the top as well as the ability to build bridges and underpasses on the ground. This activity immediately ignited their language such as, “let me try this, I have an idea, what about this, how about if we do this” which demonstrated that the children were engaged in the inquiry process. The learning standards this activity supported was; 3.2 PK.B.1 Explore and describe the motion of toys and objects. AL.1 PK.A Explore and ask questions to seek meaningful information about a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Throughout this English course we have created two different projects thus far. Our first project consisted writing about our literacy sponsor and allowed us to think back to how we developed our literary skills. The second projected consisted of finding a rhetorical statement from a source that affects the Charleston population. Our final project was taking one of the two projects above and changing the medium of it. My rhetorical statement was about how technology should be used in the classroom for younger generations to improve their learning development. Having this topic, I automatically thought about an interesting way to change the medium versus the topic from my first project. I created an article that would be found in a parenting magazine.

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?

The purpose of this workshop is to explore the vision of and values placed on inclusion of special needs students in a general education classroom by special education teachers as well as general education teachers and how they both can work together to create a shared sense of purpose. “Although scholars have long considered how leaders communicate visions and values to establish a sense of purpose, they have overlooked how these messages can be used to establish a shared sense of purpose, which is achieved when multiple employees possess the same understanding of the purpose of work” (Carton, Murphy, & Clark, 2014). Thus the workshop is recommended for special education teachers and general education teachers, however, special education supervisors and administrators are also invited to participate. “These workshops or clinics are most effective when they are in the teacher's subject area” (Professional Development for Teachers,” n.d.).

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 November 11, 2017 I attended the Victoria Crossroads Council for Math Educators from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This event is hosted twice a year, once during the Fall semester and once during the Spring semester. The conference is hosted by Dr. Barba Patton and Dr. Teresa LeSage Clements. Students in the education program at UHV in Victoria and Katy, come together to present and teach lessons on Science and Math. There is a morning keynote speaker, a lunch speaker, and a closing ceremony speaker the speakers are individuals involved in the field of education that present on topics regarding education.

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).

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.

Throughout this class, there has been a substantial number of topics covered that helped the class learn more about how science and the environment are intertwined. Topics have included things such as the Rapa Nui and their extinction all the way to learning about new technologies and environmentally friendly options that are around today and could be created. While there has been a large amount of material covered over this semester, there are many specific learning objectives that have allowed me to learn through different methods. Some of these include leading others in a thought-provoking discussion, understanding how the environment has been embedded in society for centuries, and even realizing many new company concepts that could be

My experience was informational. I was able to see how my students are inside the classroom environment with my teacher how they are in art. I was also able to observe another classroom and see how they differ from my class. All of these are completely different spaces where the children act differently. Comparing these different environments provided a unique insight into how these children act differently depending on who is around. Having been with these children a lot now, I have the ability to interact with them and get to know them individually. This helps in my classroom assessments because I am able to differentiate between how children normally behave and what the normal classroom routine is like.

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 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.

There are several revolutions in the classroom including: technology, flexible seating in bigger classroom settings, student lead discussions, group based testing, team lead for grades with meetings, and frequent hands on project based learning. I think a lot of these modern classroom changes have been implemented in the district. Not in every school but in most. I know in my school we have all of the above and I can see how these changes have helped in the learning process.