Social Study Reflection

I have heard that for many beginning teachers, classroom management can be one of the most challenging aspects of their new career.  Knowing this, I decided to experiment with many classroom management approaches during my student teaching to find one that fit both my students and myself.  Based on these experiences, I designed a classroom management plan that I will implement in my classroom as a beginning teacher.  It is important to note, however, that my classroom management philosophy will be evolving as necessary as I gain more experience and insight into the field of teaching.  Also, my classroom management plan may need to be altered to fit my specific group of students.

Our reading for this week is from the uniquely formatted book written by Harry and Rosemary Wong titled, “The First Days of School; How to be an Effective Teacher.” The focus section of our reading is based in Unit C of the text, which focuses of Classroom Management. Chapters 11-16 were read, and these chapters focus on the topics of how to have a well managed classroom, effectively preparing the classroom, how to introduce yourself to students, seating arrangement/assignment, starting a class, and the proper timing and execution of taking roll. Essentially each chapter of this text follows the same format. There will be a few paragraphs discussing what “effective teachers” would do followed by a few paragraphs about what “ineffective teachers”

After taking a Sociology class this semester, I learned a lot of about the different topics and concepts in this course and how they are related to our society, which has changed my perspective as well as how I view and see the meaning of my surroundings. I would also think about what would be going on inside a specific person's mind and how he or she was feeling. After learning about different concepts in Sociology and watching the videos presented in class, it became easier to just stop and think about a person, wonder who that person was, and be curious about that person's life story. We pass by people all the time every day, but we never really know what is going on with them and don't really think about it or care since it is so

My personal belief is that teaching is not just the profession of spitting out information to students that they in turn regurgitate to me. I think that teaching is a process of life learning for these students. I believe there are four extremely important factors that distinguish a well-disciplined class from others. They include the following factors: classroom environment, expectations and procedures, student-teacher relationships, and active learning.

A teacher in the classroom setting is considered a professional in that environment because they have the training and skills necessary by which to create a setting which is conducive to learning. To aide in the establishment of a setting which is conducive to learning the teacher must create guidelines which help to provide structure for expected behavior as well as for the dissemination of information between teacher and student. Organization and careful planning are two elements which help to

Before taking this class I never liked my English classes more specifically writing essays for them. I didn’t understand much of how to use strategies while writing essays and focuses little on learning it. By taking this class and using the strategies that I was provided with it made taking this class easy and enjoyable while writing analytical essays. I was willing to put in the effort and do my part in order to get a good grade in this English class and it worked. I feel that my performance in an English class has improved significantly.

“The first day of school is the most important day of the school year (Wong, 2009)”. It is the day where classroom rules and procedures are set in place and the students know what is expected from them. An effective teacher will dedicate time in creating a classroom management plan in order to help maintain appropriate behaviors of the students in the classroom. “When classrooms aren’t managed, they become chaotic and less productive (Wong, 2009).” Student’s will respond and absorb the academic lesson if the teacher is organized and consistent with the rules he/she sets in place.

One must look at classroom management as a plan for what procedures students will follow throughout the day. Teachers must understand their role in making sure students have a successful experience each day. Wong H. & Wong R., state “Effective teachers teach how to responsibly follow procedures” (2009, p. 165). To have a smooth-running classroom with minimal behaviors, students must be taught classroom procedures from the very first day. In my classroom we have procedures for many things we do each day. Some of these are arrival of children, snack time, lining up and walking down the hallway, and cleaning up centers. I have been teaching these procedures for many years with much success.

Ms. Kimberly Rich is motivational. She does not fall short of inspiration, just like the other teachers from whom we have learned in the previous chapters. She has inspired me to implement her classroom management technique and she encourages other teachers in her school to learn strategies for effective social skills. I hope I can inspire students and other teachers the way she does. One of the main points she made was her classrooms management system. I am planning to use this method in my teaching career. I think it is a brilliant idea to create it as a level system. Both positive and negative sides come with “responsibilities.” Ms. Rich is

Students need and desire structure to make them feel safe. They way in which a classroom is managed is directly linked to the learning that occurs in the room. Without a clear set of rules, procedures, and expectation, much of the instructional time could be spent on management issues rather than quality lessons. I will establish a procedure for all things in my classroom. I will begin reviewing and practicing these procedures beginning on the first day of school.

This semester has been filled with informative information when speaking about our own social skill, but also other people’s social psychology as well, thus is why it will be very useful in future. Throughout the semester we studied everything from the introduction of social psychology, social influences, aggression in psychology, and interpersonal attraction and close relationships. A lot of the knowledge that I gained was not only from the “Social Psychology” textbook, but also in the videos and the reactions that we needed to come up with on a weekly basis. I like the idea of being able to watch the video to see if the experiment was successful or unsuccessful and commenting on it by giving my opinion if I agreed or not. For me,

“Our views and behavior depend to some degree on our social location in society—our gender, race, social class, religion, and so forth.”(Barkan, 2013). As I have grown up and my perspective of the world has broadened I have realized how narrow my views were. I grew up in Germany, Italy, and Hungary before moving to the USA, but because I was so sheltered I really didn’t know what was really happening in society. As I grew older I have come to realize the socialization process did help me develop my values, beliefs, morals, my religious outlook, my political affiliations and what not.

Classroom management is a key element to establish a successful learning environment in any classroom. An effective classroom management plan creates a positive learning environment. Classroom management is affected by the characteristics of the students and their behavior. Students’ behavior is influenced by their age, academic abilities, goals, interests, and home backgrounds (Evertson, Emmer, and Worsham, 2006). Teachers need a diverse array of classroom management skills to facilitate learning. A classroom with a proper management plan will spend less time in disciplining and more time in learning. Students in effectively managed classrooms know and follow clearly defined rules and routines. A classroom management plan should provide

The performing arts and social studies integration lesson I taught went well. My students met the math objective of identifying a multitude of shapes, regardless of their overall size, orientation, color, and other non-defining attributes. Additionally, my students learned details about the history of Halloween, fulfilling my social studies objective.

Everyone is born without culture and unfamiliar with what socialization is and how to socialize. Socialization is a specific sociological technique that transpires through engaging with family, friends, and coworkers. By learning and understanding the expectations and societal norms, acquire society’s beliefs and familiar with societal values (Keirns, 2015). The process of socialization is taught not long after birth and then throughout all our lives. This is how we become effective human beings in society. As we develop from birth, we acquire gender roles, our parents nurture us, and growing older, we acquire a status within social groups.