Student Centered Inquiry Learning For Students Essay

For my Professional Engagement placement, I was assigned to a UNSW ASPIRE program school, Granville Boys High School (GBHS), an single-sex government school situated in South Western Sydney. Due to its geographical location in one of the most multicultural regions in Sydney, with 95 per cent of the school’s total of 488 enrolments classified as Language Background Other Than English (LBOTE) students. Most students attending the school live in the surrounding Holroyd/Auburn area, with a large majority of students from Arabic or Muslim backgrounds. Additionally, there are recently arrived students from Africa and students with South Pacific Islander backgrounds. As well as being classified as a

Developing an inclusive school ethos is crucial if inclusion is to be understood (Booth & Ainscow, 2002). Within my own setting, we have worked hard to challenge prejudice and discrimination against children with disabilities and special educational needs. Again, like other schools, we still have more to do as we are far from perfect. In all that we say and do, we make a strong case for inclusion, and we try to go ‘the extra mile’ to provide education that is inclusive to all.

In the ITEC 7460 Professional Learning and Technology Innovation course, I completed an Individual Teacher Technology Assessment using Knight’s (2007), Partnership Approach. The purpose of this artifact was to assess the technological need of a teacher and coach that teacher in effectively implementing digital tools. Using a Loti Questionnaire, six-point Likert Scale, and interviews, I assessed Mrs. Smith, an AP Calculus Teacher, to determine her level of technology use, her attitudes towards change, and identified her needs as well as those of her students.

How is our school addressing and reaching African American and Hispanic students? Students with Disabilities?

Currently, I am student teaching at Alfred E. Zampella PS #27 School in the district of Jersey City. The school is located in a busy city, next to John F. Kennedy St. which is especially busy in the morning and during rush hour. This results in several late students on a day to day basis. On the other hand, this school is also highly accessible and as a little over a thousand students. The school has grade levels from kindergarten to 8th grade, and has a mix of general, special, and inclusion education classrooms. Typically, families that enroll their students into this school are of lower-middle socio-economic class, and tend to be majority Hispanic, Indian, and African American, with few Caucasians and Asians. This school provides a variety of special programs for their ESL students and special need students. Students may be offered speech language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, ESL programs, reading recovery, and counseling.

The education context for my EDC3100 professional placement is a small state primary school, with three teachers on staff, situated in a small city. Students come from a localised geographic area with most students living in close proximity to the school. The students are generally from low socio-economic backgrounds. The student population includes a large number of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.

The purpose of public education is to enable students to be contributing members of society. Without it, the world would not be as we know it today in a very intelligent and complex society. Education is important in very many ways, probably too many to be listed. But I believe that among all other things that it allows students, by being educated, to live their lives in a way in which they can be successful in whatever they do. By learning about the trials and errors of those who came before us permits students to make well thought out decisions later on in their life. I personally hope to be able to better my students' lives by educating them about the overall curriculum and standards brought about

I come from Republican baby-boomer parents, whose parents before them were Republicans and so on. Growing up, I had strict political ideas fused into my spongy childhood brain without any realization on my part. I’m from a very liberal part of the country, and I remember in middle school, discussing politics in my civics class, and being confused as to why people would get so mad about the ideas I held as true. My parents talked about this stuff, how could what they say be lies or arrogant responses to social issues? I soon realized through discussion with my peers that a lot of the stuff I said I believed in I really didn’t agree with and that my views were vastly different from my parents and those before them. From there I went super radical liberal, spewing my views at my parents telling them they were wrong! After countless arguments with them, I gave up. They weren't going to change, and in my cynical teenage head I decided that this was true of everyone. Nobody changes, nothing changes, everything sucks. Then I gave up on not only changing people, but politics in general. I just rolled through the

While this is only my fourth year at the school, I felt that I might be lacking in knowledge of all resources available at my school. This prompted me to interview James, the director of the Equity, Justice, Multicultural Education (EJME) department, as well as Mia, the director of the Sophie Scholars. James, the director of the EJME department has over twenty years serving the school in various roles besides his current role, as a teacher, vice principal and principal. In interviewing both James and Mia I was able to gain an understanding of our available resources currently in place for all students. In addition, they directed me to additional information that was available on the staff and faculty portal.

The majority of schools are engaged in a wide variety of initiatives to improve provision and raise the attainment of all pupils. However, few schools monitor these activities systematically and rarely do they have a specific ethnic focus. (Raising_the_attainment_of_minority_ethnic_pupils_school_and_LEA_responsespg7)

In Lavin, Korte, Davies). The result of the study further pushes the notion of how important it is for school staff to understand the given technology so they can distribute the information effectively to their students. All the technology in the world will be ineffective if the teachers themselves are not passionate of their work. “Technology has the potential to transform the learning environment from passive to active and more subject to the control of the learner.” (qtd. In Lavin, Korte, Davies).

With almost no governmental support, the donation driven, Every Child Counts School (ECC) is positioned as one of the most highly respected learning institutions in the Abaco islands. This respect is generated through the schools commitment to compassionate, ethnically inclusionary practices in assisting young community members whom might otherwise be ineligible or omitted by the public school system due to the disabilities they live with. As a mature, visiting placement student, I was welcomed and immediately indoctrinated into the schools philosophy around care and support.

Inquiry is an interactive way of learning. Students are actively engaged in their studies. Inquiry involves student-centered activities focusing on questioning, exploring, and posing explanations. The goal of inquiry is to introduce a new way of learning where students can learn about the world around them through active engagement in real-life examples. Inquiry based learning can be incorporated into all academic subjects throughout the curriculum. Science could possibly be the most effective subject to incorporate inquiry.

There are several ways that student-centered learning can be described, and they all lead back to the same basic idea, the student. First, student-centered learning can be defined as a discipline that involves the interaction of a team of students that experience creative learning to be used in the real world (Thornburg, 1995). Thornburg (1995) also mention that students are essential to the classroom, just like a team member is essential to a game. He says that teachers are part of the definition of student-centered learning, but they are not the main attraction. The students are the focus, and the teacher is the one who can assist among small groups of students. Eaton

Every person deserves an education. It is what shapes us, allows us to grow. As future and current educators or parents, understanding the perspective of persons with disabilities in the classroom is important. Being confident in your own abilities and not being afraid to use the resources available to you.