The Importance Of Classroom Teaching

This essay contemplates my individual development, skill acquisition and exploration of teaching approaches; throughout and beyond the International Teacher Training Organisation (ITTO) program. The problems I encountered will be discussed; and their relation to establishing where my wealth of primary teaching experience aligns with English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching approaches. For example; efforts to reduce my teacher talk time compared to primary school education was important, correcting pronunciation in an appropriate manner and correctly pacing both my speech and activities were areas of development that were observed, reflected on personally and subsequently acted upon.

“A classroom design can improve an individual's performance by 25%” (How Classroom Design Affects Student Learning). Six of ten design guidelines had the most significant encounter on student learning: color, choice, connection, complexity, and light. By rearranging the rows of desks into grouped structures, improves all of the following aspects of learning:Ability to engage in preferred learning methods,

The language development of the students in my class come from Spanish speaking homes, I only have seven proficient English speakers, some of my students are reading below grade level. Most of the students are able to communicate, while

This is a 1st grade class made up of 12 first grade students. There are 7 Girls and 5 Boys. There is 1 male student with general academic IEP that covers all subjects as well as 1 male and 1 female student that have speech IEPs. The classroom is arranged in table seating with a large carpeted area in the front of the classroom for group learning. This lesson will be taught in a group setting at the carpet.

It is a third grade classroom of 20 students (8 girls and 12 boys) seated in 5 groups of 4. Most of the students are of Hispanic ethnicity, and the teacher can speak Spanish fluently and uses this skill when deemed necessary. Some students are also Caucasian, and there are a couple of African American and Asian students as well.

We all learn in different ways, influenced by the combination of our past educational experiences, study practices and personal approach to specific tasks. This can be described as our learning style, defined as ‘particular ways of gathering, processing and storing information and experiences’ (Cuthbert, P.F., 2005).

Last semester was exceptionally challenging; however, it was extremely beneficial because I had to work harder than any of my other classes before. I think various elements contributed to me being unsuccessful in Nursing 204. My aunt died in March with Lupus and that affected me in a huge on the grounds that she played a big role in my life, since I was a child. I was still in the denial stage and my emotions took over, which caused me to become less motivated in school. I just felt like I had no inspiration last semester and I should not have let my emotions hindered my education. In high school, I generally experienced difficulty taking tests that were not seeking the direct answers, and the Nursing 204 tests were not quite the same as the tests I would regularly take. My procrastination last semester played an enormous role in failing the course. When I initially

The kindergarten classroom I observed was ethnically diverse, consisting of African-American, Biracial, and Caucasian children. The teacher-student ratio is 2:21. The teacher currently has one biracial female whose mother is Caucasian and whose father is African American, 2 African American males, 9 Caucasian females, and 9 Caucasian males. The males outnumber the females only by one. The students are between the ages of 5 and 6 years old. The cultural background of the classroom consists of Christians and non-believers. Most of the children’s families live in poverty and are raised by relatives other than their parents. The diversity of the students learning needs is high as most are on a 504 plan, or are eligible for special educational services or processes.

Through this past semester, we have heavily discussed the important aspects of a functioning classroom, from different theorists to helpful teaching techniques. We’ve debated what it means to be a great teacher. There are quite a few flaws in our education system today, but I believe most of the theories we discussed could be accorporated much more in the classroom. John Dewey, Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori, and Lev Vygotsky all understood the way children think and the importance of imaginative play. They also understood that children need to be active in nature. Also, we have discussed different forms of learning, such as project based learning, and outdoor classrooms. In my opinion, the education system should have minor changes that benefit the students more.

I am a first grade Dual Language Spanish teacher in an urban district in the state of Connecticut. I teach Language Arts, Math, Science and Social studies in Spanish to my 23 homeroom students, 10 boys and 13 girls, and teach Spanish as a second language to 24 students that are in my Dual Language English partner’s classroom. In my homeroom more than half of the students are English Language Learners, and for many of them this is their first year in an American school. I also have 5 students with special needs. In my Spanish as a second language class I have English Language Learners, but there are no students with special needs.

My mind is still processing all of the ideas and challenges presented by George Couros during our most recent institute day this past Friday. After this day of professional development, I feel revitalized, encouraged, and motivated to stretch my teaching muscles and rethink how I incite learning in my classroom. Technology has opened a world of opportunity for us as learners, but as Uncle Ben quips in Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsible."

Despite the breakdowns I would experience from not understanding what was being taught in class, I was able to improve my situation. Instead of suffering in silence with my confusion, I began asking my teacher more questions during class lectures. I would even come in at seven in the morning to discuss my problem about understanding the logic behind the math with my teacher. Not only did I speak with my teacher more, I also bought a study book for the class and began watching Chemistry videos from Bozeman and Khan Academy to teach myself any topics that were not clear to me during class.

As a future teacher of ELL students, I have learned some awesome techniques to help me encourage the development of both of the languages that they are learning, as well as helping them to be successful in school. One piece of information that I want to take away from this chapter is that each culture views how American’s teach in a different way, and as a future educator, it is my responsibility to ensure that not only the children feel comfortable with the way that I teach, but that the parents do also. I know that it is going to be impossible to make sure that each parent feels comfortable with every teaching strategy that I use, but that they know that I am trying to make an effort to include their culture in my classroom. One way that I have thought about doing this is to do home visits before school starts. This will allow me to explain to the parents what my goals are or the school year and ask for their opinion. I am a huge advocate for parent feedback, so I would love to hear what they have to say! I love the idea of teaching a culturally diverse classroom, and yes, it will bring its challenges, but I feel that I could learn so much from the families and their

This entry features one 2nd grade student out of a class of 14 students ranging in grade level from kindergarten to 3rd grade; 4 girls and 10 boys. My class in a self-contained classroom teaching students functional academic as well as social/emotional skills. I have 2 teacher assistants that under my guidance assist me with the daily activities and lessons throughout the school day. This class consists of a diverse population of students; I have 4 Native American students, 1 African American student, 4 Hispanic students, and 5 causation students all of my student have some form of disability and all are on individual education plans. There are a wide variety of abilities, especially in phonics and reading. The majority of the students struggle to comprehend what has been read but because I enjoy a verbally active class with lots of verbal interactions they’ve been getting more engaged with one another throughout the semester. All of my student speak English, although some of my students are non-verbal; all receive speech/language services. Because of the variety of needs of my students, collaboration with their support team of general education teachers, speech/language therapists, physical and occupational therapists is essential in planning appropriately for this and other lessons. Their range of abilities influence my instruction. I chose Kenneth because of his specific need in

In the second grade, all of the students were Hispanic and ranged from the ages of seven to eight. The two students that I worked with were, in my opinion, very smart when it came to doing their assignments. Considering that English is their second language, both students spoke well and were well-mannered. As far as their learning stages, their ways of speaking and doing their assignments showcased that they were at the age of a second grader. Not saying that they were anywhere near of falling behind, but with how they wrote and spoke it was evident and clear to me that they were in the second grade. Lastly, the characteristics from the students were shown often with the students being very active in their studies but also with their peers. Both of my students were socially competent and enjoyed doing challenging skills. For example, one of my students loved to practice their money skills and count coins whereas my other student liked to practice the maps of countries and states. Little things like this have taught me that you don’t always have to be over-the-top and extravagant with assignments for the students. Simply putting the alphabet, vocabulary words, maps, times table and money on the wall will trigger and push them to want to learn more about it. I know from experience when I was in the second grade, my teacher was from India and he had word walls that contained multiple ways to say “Hello” in other languages. This intrigued me to want to