Classroom Reflection Paper

The amount and usage of technology around the world is constantly growing. Because of technological advances, more and more schools are opting into technology-based learning, even with students as young as preschoolers. Many teachers (and parents as well) trust that the increasing exposure to and implementation of this technology is helping children’s learning abilities when used responsibly (Sharkins et al., 2016, p. 437).

It is really amazing how excited students get with the possiblity of using the computer in the classroom to assist them with their lesson. The teacher added that she uses it as a reward system, stating how affective it is in maintaining order and control in the classroom. Students knew how to navigate, go to various websites that were related to the lesson and create a folder in which to put their assignments in.

When I first picked this class I had in mind that I speak another language as well, I might be able to bring a different mindset to the class. I can say that the class was not what I picture or would have liked to be. I imagined more of setting where we discuss more languages and how they shape people and their culture.

When I arrived to Mrs. Beach’s classroom, she began debriefing what had occurred in the classroom since the last time I was there. Two of the boys in her class had almost gotten into a fight, so the seating chart had to be changed so that these students were as far away from each other as possible. She also informed me that when they had a sub the previous day that they were behaving so poorly that the principal had to come in and have a talk with the students. Because of this, Mrs. Beach warned me that she would be much sterner today, because she was going to have to be out two more days this week, and she needed to reinforce what appropriate behavior looks like in her class.

One of the most important things teachers should do is try their best to get along with the parents of their students. This weeks readings were related to the importance of healthy and positive relationships in order for a child to feel a sense of belonging and to feel secure. The textbook stated, “A child’s family is the first and most important place where a feeling of identity and belonging start.” (Bilmes J, 2004). Once a child finds their sense of belonging in their family, not only do they start to understand their cultural identity, like the textbook mentioned, but they also learn about trust. From a very early age, children establish their trust in the grown ups around them, (aka their parents), and from forming trust first, it is easier to then feel a sense of belonging. This is also how teacher student relationships form. When a child knows they can trust the teacher, it is easier for them to find their place in the classroom. The easiest way for a teacher to help a child establish their trust in you is to get their parents to trust you first. In a way it is like that quote “monkey see monkey do”. If a child can see that their parents trust a teacher and see that they have a healthy and good relationship, then the child will be more open to having a relationship with their teacher.

To begin the Faculty assignment I first started by trying to email professors using the faculty information document provided. Of all the specialties available under the Business degree, management and marketing most interested me. This is due to the fact that I have an ample amount of experience working in restaurants. Often while performing tasks such as endlessly sweeping floors, scraping gum off tables, talking down agitated customers and so on, I found my mind wondering. Aside from thinking about how much I was utterly and wholly adoring my tasks, I thought about what it would be like to run the establishment. I wondered what it would be like to manage others and plotted ways in which I could improve upon my manager’s skills in the area of management. Because of my curiosity for management I really wanted to speak with someone who is knowledgeable in the area. After sending a few emails to multiple instructors and not receiving any reply I decided it was time for a face to face interview.

This reflection focuses on ELCC Standard 4.1, due to the fact that I had to collaborate with administration, teachers (regular and special education), board members, facilities, parents, and students in order to develop a topic, plan, and carry out a Parent University. After discussing topics with my mentor, we decided that the topic for this Parent University should be the new PowerSchool Unified Classroom Program. The purpose of getting this new PowerSchool program was to improving the overall educational experience for students and parents by having one program that parents, students, and teachers can use to access grades, attendance, discipline, and teacher websites/homework information. The district transitioned to PowerSchool Unified Classroom as a result of parents and students complaining about having to go to five different sites just to get homework (Moodle, Schoology, etc.). Parents and students can not only view all of these components, but this program also streamlines communication between the school and home. In order for the use of Unified Classroom to actually improve the educational experience, parents need to know how to use the program.

For this assignment I was unable to ask the teachers at my normal school setting questions due to them being on vacation all this week. That being said I asked one of my favorite teachers who works at the high school I go to. This teacher's name is Claire Hickman, she is the art teacher at Bayshore High School. One of my questions asked how many years she has been in an inclusive learning environment and her answer was 13 years! That’s just 5 years short of my life time so I am sure I can learn a lot from her. I had also asked the overall composition of her classes she mentioned that each class had about 35 students ranging from grades 9 to 12. Of these 35 students 11 would be ESOL, 5 V.E. students, and 1 gifted student. I had even asked if she makes changes on her lesson plans depending on the type of student that are coming into her classroom she said yes. I asked her questions mainly pertaining to students who are ESOL and students who have disabilities. She is extremely open with her views and I knew she would make the perfect candidate to interview.

Since I was in a middle school setting, I was given the opportunity to observe multiple classrooms which a variety of different students. In my first class, I noticed that most, if not all students were African American. The ratio was 22:1, where about 18 of them were boys. The second class I went to, had a ratio of 19:1. The ethnicity in this class was again, mostly African American, with a few Hispanics and Caucasian. The third class represented a ratio of 20:1. The ethnicity was made up of mostly Hispanics, Caucasian, with 1 African American child. My final class ratio was 18:1, where most students were Hispanic and African American.

The most important resource is children. In order to fully tap that resource and allow children to gain the knowledge needed to perform to the best of their ability, and thus become effective, contributing members of society, competent teachers are needed in classrooms across the world. I hope to become a teacher, specifically for elementary-aged children, once I finish school; however, with all of the varying teaching methods educators across the world employ, I am curious to see which approaches to expanding young minds have been the most successful. Additionally, as a teacher, I would like to provide a creative environment for students that makes learning something students want to participate in, as opposed to a chore. Furthermore, because children all interpret information in different ways, I am interested in finding teaching methods that work for a majority of children.

The lessons were taught in a classroom in a New York City public school. The school is in a low-income neighborhood in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The school’s demographics consist of a majority of Chinese students followed by Hispanic students. A majority of the parents of the students in this class do not speak English. The students were engaged throughout the lessons and it helped that they experience a positive learning environment in this class.

As kids, most of us get up every morning dreading going to school. We beg our parents to let us stay home, and on occasion, fake sick just to get out of school for a day. There are many factors that attribute to making us want to stay home from school but as a teacher, I want to provide an atmosphere where students enjoy coming to my classroom. Kids should feel like they matter and are respected when they are learning in a classroom, and from the learning experiences that I have had and will gain in ECCO, I intend to provide an atmosphere where not only can they can flourish and thrive, but they are able to influence the world around them.

Since taking this class, my mind has been opened to so many new ideas and perspectives about the society we live in, and teaching in general. I have always considered myself to be an open-minded person, and have always striven to be socially aware. I would make sure to be on date with current social events that were happening and especially during the election, I made sure to know all sides of a topic before trying to talk about it. When I had to sign up for this class last semester, I thought that it would be easy, and that we would not talk about anything I did not already know. I thought I was socially aware about everything at the time, and that I did not need to be educated anymore on the topic of multiculturalism. Well, having been in this class for half a semester I can honestly say that I have learned more in the last eight weeks than I have taught myself. I feel like I have been able to broaden my multicultural lens extensively since starting that class, and I know that it will continue to widen as the semester goes on.

When the students are learning about science in my field placement, the teacher has a set routine or schedule that they would follow. As I am observing my classroom, I have notice that the students would go to the science lab to be introduced to the science topic that we are learning. While the students are in the science lab, they are doing experiments that are very hands on. The science lab’s teacher would also introduce the students by connecting to their prior knowledge and have them explain their thinking. Since the students are very engaging in science lab, they enjoy attending the class because they get to learn something new every week.

Walking into the first two weeks of the EDU program I desired to experience what it would be like to be a future educator and have a grasp of how to help the molding of our youth and giving them the possibility to become future leaders. Doctor dresser was able to bring in a Concordia alumni who had just begun to experience his professional education, career and is teaching multiple different grade levels as a young teacher. When he first walked into the classroom my first impressions were that unfortunately he looked very inexperienced and unsure of what was to be expected of the lecture I thought to myself in the position of a younger student in his classroom this is a person I would not take seriously. He then proceeded to communicate