Chpt 14 standardized testing

By Tiffany

Isn’t the thought of being judged based on how well all of your students do on a test frightening? I do think there are better ways to see how effective teachers are and
I don’t feel tests are that accurate. As we have discussed, students suffer from test anxiety. I think it is great that the WASL gives them more opportunities to pass, but if you suffer from anxiety it is not necessarily going to change the next time you take the test. In a way, it is punishing those teachers who choose to work at lower status schools that may not share the same knowledge as others based on social or capital culture. My question is how could we change this? If we know that the WASL is not fair for all students, what are our options? I like the idea of letting your student have pretzels on their desk, but I don’t know if that would make every student comfortable. I think this will be an interesting challenge we will all face as teachers; how do we rise above this and give all of our students the same opportunities without putting us at that much of a disadvantage. I want to be an effective teacher, but how do I do that with the pressure of the WASL hanging over my head?

Chapter 14 Response to: Teachers Being Held Accountable

by April

You brought up a good point about every student being different. Another problem I see with these tests is that they don't show progress over time. A teacher may have done a wonderful job helping a student make progress over the course of the year. They may still be below grade level but they might be a grade level or half a grade level higher than they were when they entered the class.

Also, it doesn't take into consideration what the student did or didn't learn in previous years. At one point a teacher complained to me that they couldn't teach their students the grade level material because they were having to make up for the fact that teachers in lower grades weren't teaching material the way they should have (according to this teacher). So, it seems to me that a 4th grade teacher or a 10th grade teacher could be held accountable for the test scores of students that he/she only taught for one year and maybe even made great progress with.

Chapter 14: Standardized Testing

by April

It seems that with all the potential problems of standardized testing, high-stake decisions shouldn't be based on the results of one test. We've been talking a lot about NCLB and the WASL in all of our classes. I understand that schools and teachers should be held accountable for doing their jobs well, but I can't say I agree with using tests to determine that. As our chapter mentioned, teaching to the test becomes easy and suddenly students are only learning basic skills that are tested.

I have also have great concerns that students' WASL scores determine graduation eligibility. I haven't seen any specifics, but I wonder if there are students who are doing fine overall in school but then can't pass the WASL. It's good that students are given multiple chances to pass the test but I still question it. It seems that it would be better for graduation to be based on a variety of assessments to get a broad view of the student's overall achievement.

Obviously, the WASL isn't going away anytime soon. I thought the Guidelines section on page 533 had a helpful tip in taking some of the pressure off students. It says that we should do we can to make students comfortable. I've been given these types of tests by a variety of personalities. I can think of people administering the test who were relaxed, wore a smile and even used some humor. I also remember people who seemed emotionless and strict. The pressure level in each of those situations is very different. As a teacher I hope to be relaxed when testing my students. Someone told me of a teacher who let the kids have a bowl of pretzels on their desk during the WASL. Maybe something like that would help take some of the pressure off.

Chpt. 14: Teachers being held accountable

By Tiffany

The point/counterpoint in this chapter tackled the subject we seem to be discussing frequently in our classes; the subject of standardized testing and high stakes testing. This is obviously an issue all teachers are going to have to face when they have their own classrooms, but should it really determine a teacher’s ability to teach? If we hold every school and every child to the same exact standard, than we are not acknowledging the fact that everyone is different. I see holding teachers accountable for tests scores as punishing those teachers who work with diverse, low SES students. If my career depended on how well students did on the same exact test, I may have an urge to go work in an upper class, white suburban school. Sadly, these are not the kids that necessarily need the extra help.

If you focus all of your attention on getting your students to increase their test score, you will neglect other material they need for a well rounded education. It just amazes me that our society doesn’t take these things into consideration when it is clear that research and studies show the negative sides of testing. We have all read how standardized testing is not representative of the whole population, but rather the students that were raised with the WASP cultural and social capital.

I really was intrigued by the author’s quote of, “The high-stakes accountability process seems to assume that public humiliation is enough to get schools to improve.” This is the only reason I can see why they implement these required tests and why it is the only information they make available. It is not representative of how well students do in class, but rather on one test. By publishing this information and making a point to say a teacher is not doing their job is like saying if everyone knows how your students are doing, than you will be able to push them harder to succeed. I do agree that it is alright for the community to know how the schools are doing, but I don’t think test results should be the only information available. As a future parent, I know I will want to know how my child’s school performs academically, so I can’t say I think it is all wrong. However, like we have read, portfolios, exhibits or presentations could show us a better representative sample of how the school is doing as a whole.

Chpt. 15 Response to: Assessment - Yikes!

By Tiffany

I want to start off by saying; I love your title to this journal! Second, I know that my personal feelings have influenced the way I have graded in the past; how horrible is that? I have recognized this in the past and done what I could to get over it and grade the best I could, but like you said, we are only human. I do have to say that I couldn’t believe the grade differences either. How do you avoid it though? Also, I would agree that feedback is incredibly helpful. I am not necessarily one for constant feedback with every little thing I do, but I think it is important if you want your students to grow and develop. How can we change if we have no idea what went wrong? I agree with your comment about performance anxiety. I would much rather take a test over a presentation any day. I think it all depends on who your student is, everyone is different. No one loves presenting, but I literally get sick, dizzy and rash out. Presenting is not a comfortable situation for me.

Chapter 15 Response to: Testing and Failure

by April

I was glad you talked about diversity in terms of assessment. I was very interested in the example where the teacher looked back and realized that she may have disadvantaged her students in her testing by using examples from a "city" culture where most of her students had probably never experienced anything outside their farming/ranching culture. I would never have thought of this without this example. As you know, I grew up all over the place. I've lived in tiny towns (Petersburg, IN), big cities (Las Vegas, NV) and everything in between. I've lived near mountains, deserts, ocean, farm-land and even glaciers. I MUST be aware that not everyone has had the same life experiences as I have had. This will require much purposeful thought on my part as I prepare not only tests but also instruction. This program has been helpful in teaching the value of self-reflection and knowing one's self so that we can be aware of our personal biases and cultures and how that could inhibit our ability to reach all students. Hopefully by being aware, we will be more successful!

Chapter 15: Assessment - Yikes!

by April

I have to admit that assessment is an area that I've always found to be intimidating. Obviously I did not give grades in preschool but I had to keep written observations and be able to talk to parents at conference time about their child's social/emotional skills, fine/gross motor skills, academic knowledge (letter recognition, counting, etc...) and self-help skills. I was always nervous about being accurate and fair. And I did recognize times when I let personal feelings such as frustrations about a student's behavior get in the way of accurate assessment. Even doing "peer-reviews" in this class has been uncomfortable because I recognize the subjective nature of it.

I was surprised by the extreme differences of grades listed on page 559 for the same essay tests when graded by different people. I assumed there would be some differences but a grade of 64% from one teacher and 98% from another is incredible! I can think of times when I've turned in a paper and thought, "That was not good." I was later surprised by a high grade on it. This again brings out the subjective nature of grading, especially when you are grading someone's writing. I do think using rubrics can be very helpful. I especially liked the idea of having students write their names on the back of their paper so you can grade them anonymously. Of course we'd all like to consider ourselves above personal bias but let's face it, we're human.

It was good to see that clear feedback is valued as well as an opportunity to learn and try again. It's not always easy to figure out exactly why you got the grade you did so detailed feedback is really helpful. I just sent an e-mail to Professor Dunn to say thanks for the specific APA-related feedback. It helps me learn what I'm doing wrong and how exactly to fix it.

Lastly, I just have to comment on using performance-based assessment. I'm not saying this is a bad way to assess. I'm sure it's a great way to assess. However, when I think of performance-based assessment all I can think of are my "juries" in college where I had to perform three (usually foreign language) classical pieces in front of the voice faculty. The thought alone makes me want to vomit. We worry about test-anxiety for our students. For some of us, performance anxiety is much higher!

Chpt. 15: Testing and failure

By Tiffany

We have been discussing the WASL in a couple of the classes we are in and I just thought this chapter was incredibly insightful with respect to that. You cannot judge a person based on how well they do on a test; it is not only inaccurate, but it also can be a way to discriminate. The author said that retained students were more likely to be members of a minority group or living in poverty. Of course this would be the case because tests are reflective of the WASP society and they are not differentiated. It is inaccurate to assume these students would benefit from the same teaching strategies as upper-middle class students do. I think this is why differentiated lesson plans fascinate me; I really hope to be able to incorporate it into my own classroom because it appears to benefit all students involved.

The author discussed the effects of failure on students. It was discussed that you “must encourage students to reach beyond their intellectual grasp and allow them the privilege of learning from mistakes.” This made me think back to the Zone of Proximal Development; the area between the student’s current level of development and the potential that they could achieve. It is something I think we really need to focus on as teachers, it is essential for us to find this zone. It concerns me because I am not sure how to find this zone exactly; I worry whether or not I will push my students to hard or not hard enough. I think the key is to not let them see their failure as negative. We can all learn from mistakes made by ourselves or even by others so teachers should that the opportunity to make a lesson out of a mistake. I thought it was helpful to read that we need to help students fail successfully. I know I have failed many times, but it was the times in which I reflected on my mistakes and learned from them that make me feel my failures did not define me. My hope is to guide all of my students through their failures and let something positive come out of it so as not to impact their self-efficacy.

My final thought was is that the author discussed feedback in this chapter and I think this has a lot to do with failures. If we want students to learn from their mistakes, we have to give them the opportunity to do so. A smiley face or a frowning face does not provide adequate feedback, so to make a point in explaining ways or opportunities for a student to improve is important. It is important to have high standards set in your classroom for everyone, but it is important that these standards can be reached, by everyone.

Chapter 12 Response to: Discipline and Management

by April

I can completely understand your apprehension with the first few days of school. Every year it's a brand new set of kids and you are starting all over. It's intimidating but it can also be exciting. You have a fresh chance! I love that! If I didn't do so well communicating with parents last year, I know that this year I have a new opportunity to do better! If I didn't set clear enough expectations last year, I know that I can try again this year. I think the key to those first few days is preparedness and organization. You need to have very clear ideas in your mind about how you want it to go. Things will come up and you may deviate from that a bit, but you must have a plan. Down time, slow transitions and teacher instructions that last way too long are all things that lead to classroom management problems, especially when everything is new. The text had some great ideas as I'm sure you saw.

I'm thinking back to how some of these things looked in my preschool classroom. The first day of school we always had name tags ready for students and materials set out for students to jump right in to a fun activity. Although after a few days our morning routine involved finding their name, putting it up to show they are "here" and getting a job for the day, we never started with that on the first day. The kids would enjoy a fun activity and then we'd all come together for circle time where we'd talk about finding our names and getting jobs and we'd talk about expectations and things like that.

Just know that kids can read you. Be confident, have fun and well prepared and you'll be great! And I know I've said this before, but confidence can be faked. Trust me, I do it all the time. I'm sure I'll be incredibly nervous for the first day of school, but I have no intention of letting my students or their parents in on that little secret!

Chpt. 12 Response to: Classroom Management

By Tiffany

I agree that this chapter had some good tips for us for when we get our own classroom. I agree 100% that people need to follow through on their threats (not harmful ones, that is). So many times I have seen both teachers and parents threaten to take something away from the child if they do not do what they are told. Next thing you know the child is doing it again and the same threat is being told. I don’t think many people give kids the credit they deserve. They may not have the wealth of knowledge that an adult has, but they are smart and they are very perceptive. Eventually they will come to realize that they can get away with anything and the next thing you know you have lost any potential ability to bring the child to respect you and your authority. I know as a teacher, I am going to be sure to follow through on anything I say. If I know it is not possible for me to follow through on, than I just won’t say I will do it.

Teaching is a very stressful job, but it is important to remember that these are kids. Yes, they may frustrate you and do things you feel are not okay. This doesn’t mean you should yell at them and give up on them. They need a nurturing environment to feel comfortable enough to learn and it is the teacher’s job to provide this. To provide this environment you need to listen to them, hear what they are really saying, not just what comes out of their mouth. Of course this is easier said than done, but I for one will strive to do my best at this.

Chapter 12: Classroom Management

by April

I thought this chapter had a lot of important tips for teachers regarding classroom management. I was relieved to see that I already did many of the "effective teacher" techniques in my past teaching experiences. I'm a huge believer that follow-through is one key in changing student's behavior. I've seen parents and teachers make empty threats that they would never follow through on and after a while, children begin to see that their adult won't follow through and they completely ignore instruction. For example, I remember at one point hearing a parent say, "If you don't come here right now, you will not have lunch today." Ok seriously, no parent (at least I hope) is actually going to deny their child lunch as a punishment. I also learned that if you choose to make heavy punishments, you had better follow through on them no matter how hard it is to do so. For example, we had a loft in my classroom and the rules were that it was only a place for resting quietly and reading. Toys were not allowed and standing was not allowed. My afternoon class continually chose to ignore my instructions and reminders and so I finally told them, "If you choose to take toys in the loft one more time, I will close the loft for the next two weeks." They did not follow my instruction and therefore they lost two weeks in the loft. For two weeks I listened to them whine and complain about not being able to go into the loft, but I had to be willing to follow through regardless. I always try to think of the possible consequences before I let students know how I'm going to respond if they choose to misbehave.

I especially liked the section about empathetic listening. It's easy to get frustrated with students when you are teaching because there are so many things going on at once and you are responsible for managing them all. I know how easy it is to react to students rather than listening and trying to seek the real reason for the problem. The example in the book about the boy who said he hated the book was a great one. That teacher could have done any of the wrong things listed on page 468, and I know I've done some of those things from time to time. In this example, however, the teacher asked questions and sought the reason behind the students response. Not only was she then able to help the student, their relationship was improved as the teacher showed respect for the student. I need to remind myself daily to slow down and listen and seek understanding so I'm not just reacting.

Chpt. 12: Discipline and Management

By Tiffany

There was a lot to take from this chapter, but I don’t feel I need to discuss it all. The one topic that did upset me was in regards to student discipline. The author stated that the lack of student discipline is one of the main problems schools face today and in the past. I think it frustrates me because as a teacher our hands are tied. For example, the student I worked with was known for hurting other students. However, if he was on top of a child, punching or kicking him, we were told to pull the abused child away and not touch the aggressive one. Why, you may ask? This is because his mother threatened to sue the school if we ever touched her son. How do we deal with this? I am sorry, but I feel if a child is hurting another child, we should be able to grab them to pull them off. What kind of society do we live in that we protect the aggressive children over the abused? This is a really sensitive subject to me because of what I went through in my past job. I know I am not the only one frustrated by this situation. No wonder discipline is lacking, we aren’t permitted to do anything.

The other topic that interested me was the whole beginning of the chapter, discussing the importance of classroom management. The one thing that I couldn’t help but think about was the importance of the first few weeks of class. My first day as a teacher (as I am sure everyone’s is) is going to be full of insecurities and stress. We won’t know what to expect and being in a new situation is always nerve-racking to begin with. Now on top of all of those original thoughts I had, I am going to focus on how important a smooth day is because it sets a precedent for the rest of the school year. I could have gone without reading that part, but at the same time it is important for me to know. I am going to make a point to mark this chapter for future references, as it had great suggestions on managing a classroom.

Chapter 11 Response to: Classroom Issues

by April

I thought it was interesting that we had almost opposite experiences with group work when we were young. You felt useless because some students took over. I felt stressed and overwhelmed because I, while also being shy, felt like I always had to step up and lead groups because other students wouldn't take any personal responsibility for the group work. In either situation, I think we've both brought out an important point, teachers have to watch over group work and ensure that it is benefitting all students involved.

I did think it was interesting that the text mentioned that independent work might be better for introverted and shy students. On one hand I completely agree with this. On the other, I ask, how do these students learn to cooperate with others? This skill is necessary for success in many and perhaps most jobs. In the classroom, teachers can provide for opportunities to learn this skill in a caring and supportive, noncompetitive way, before students enter the work force and have to cooperate for success.

I wanted to comment on the idea of a "comment box" but didn't in my original journal so I'm glad you brought that out. I've never seen it done so it was nice to hear of your experiences with it. When I read that I thought, "That's a great idea!" Of course, it does require that a teacher has thick skin. I'm guessing students will at times bring out things that they don't like about what the teacher does. A teacher has to be willing to accept criticism and be able to reflect and evaluate their teaching for the benefit of their students. I've always been sensitive and have never taken criticism all that well. But I've made it a point in the last few years (especially after facing upset parents) to be more reflective and open to criticism. Yes, I still take it personally more often than not and I do get my feelings hurt, but I'm determined to push through those feelings so that I can hear what others say and continue to become a better teacher, year after year.

Chpt. 11 Response to: Student Cooperation

By Tiffany

I really liked what you had to say about group work. I have many of the same feelings about it. I have seen many teachers, sadly, use group work as a way to get their other work done. This is unfortunate because group work can be extremely beneficial to students if used the proper way. Also, students do need to be instructed on how to work effectively together. I know I was never shown how to work with others and I do think it caused me to resent working in groups. It wasn’t until this program that I was able to see the benefit of working with others.

Finally, I do think that it “sucks” regarding students getting “the short end of the stick.” If group work is not successfully carried out than students may learn to label others. Some people do not know how to work with others and this could be the cause of their minimal effort in the group. Therefore, other students may not want to work with them and may resent them for something they do not know how to work with. Then you have the other end of the spectrum, the lazy students that just do not care. I think as a teacher, we need to be aware of all of the groups we create and to monitor them closely enough to make sure that everyone is benefiting from the group. Perhaps if one student does not work successfully in a group, you may want to have them work by themselves on occasion; just a thought.

Chapter 11: Student Cooperation

by April

I felt this chapter brought out positive and negative aspects of group work. It's important for us to be aware of both sides so that we can be careful in terms of the negative possibilities. On page 417 the author told a story about a partner project where one partner got an A on his part and the other partner got an F because he didn't do anything but combined they got a C. I don't know how else to say it except that, that really sucks. Teachers need to be careful not to make students resent group work or collaboration. Teacher's need to carefully monitor groups and not punish students for the inattentiveness of other group members.

Growing up, I absolutely hated group work. The issue of grading, I think, in relation to group work is something to think about. My biggest frustration growing up was that I was concerned about my grades and was worried that unconcerned group members would pull my grade down. Perhaps collaboration should be promoted for the goals of, for example, reasoning and critical thinking, without a focus on grades.

Teachers need to watch for groups where one student is dominating and need to ask if this is happening because the other group members are not engaging or if it is because that one student isn't giving room for everyone's voices. I also think that teachers need to walk around and interact with groups at work to watch for groups who are falling away from the purpose and into socializing. I've seen teachers sit back and work on other things while student collaboration is happening. Student group work should not be used as an excuse for teachers to sit back and not be involved.

Lastly, we shouldn't assume that students know how to work as groups. Skills such as asking good questions have to be taught and modeled to make the best use of student cooperation.

Chpt. 11: Classroom issues

Within this chapter, one quote caught my attention the most. Jerome Bruner said that, “I have come increasingly to recognize that learning in most settings is a communal activity, a sharing of culture.” This thought really made me think and I have to say I agree with it. It seems everything we are reading and learning about in these last couple of weeks has promoted cooperative and collaborative learning (which can share strengths and culture). I have always been the introverted student that individual learning was a better approach for. Looking back I did not appreciate group work and cooperative learning, but I strongly feel that if a teacher would have addressed how to effectively work with one another and did check on progress that I would have benefited from it more. That wasn’t the case and the teachers never seemed to check up on the groups; which made it easy for one or two people to take over and make the rest of us feel useless (I had this feeling all too often and because of that I still doubt myself when working in groups). I know I am going to strive to not let any of my students feel how I felt and I feel with regards to this topic. Through this program I have seen the benefit of successful group work and I would never want a student to miss out on that opportunity.

The subject of civic values brought back memories from my fifth grade year. I had a teacher who had a comment box in the classroom. We would write down any problems we had and then after lunch/recess we would sit in a circle and discuss it. Looking back I think it was a great way to make the classroom feel more like a community. I really admire her for what she did because no other teacher addressed issues this way and because of that many feelings were internalized and never worked out.

I thought the information regarding peer influence was interesting. It brought me back to the movie, Dangerous Minds. Clearly this knowledge is nothing new, that peers can control what others want to do in regards to learning. This would be why in the movie the teacher finds the student that all others look up to and they try to reach them. If they can get him/her to think school is important, then maybe others will follow. It also reminded me of Welcome Back Kotter and Vinnie Barbarino.

The author also discussed how being a “brain” wasn’t a good image and I reflected on my friend’s daughter’s words. She had told her mom that she had no friends, that nobody liked her. My friend asked her daughter why she thought that and she proceeded to say, “because I am good at math and I am smart. I am a nerd.” This was coming from a second grader. I think it is so tragic that this image of a “nerd” starts as early as second grade, if not sooner. No wonder so many students prefer to not learn, they don’t want to fall into that category at such an early age and due to that not have any friends. It saddens me because this girl is so creative and smart, yet she is missing out on all of the social interactions she deserves (such as birthday parties).

Chapter 13: Compassion, Flexibility and Homework

by April

I was interested in the topic of homework as well. I feel like we are really learning some great new ways of thinking about things in response to the traditional methods that we grew up with. I liked the idea of holding kids accountable for their homework as well. I don't think this happened when I was a student and I'm not sure if it does now, from what you said, probably not. It does make sense though that students would learn more if they were required to fix their wrong answers (with help as needed) so that they learn and show the right way of doing something. I'm thinking of math in particular. I was always anxious about math when I was younger. I'd take home an assignment, do it, turn it in and get a grade. The problem was that I didn't actually get help on the things I wasn't understanding. I'm guessing many students don't take it upon themselves to figure out where they went wrong on their homework. They probably just look at the grade and throw it out like I always did. Perhaps having students rework through problems would help with the issue of motivation as well. Students might be more apt to try and take risks if they know that they will be shown their mistakes and given an opportunity to learn from them and rework them.

Lastly, I think I fall more in the middle of the homework vs. no homework argument. I believe it goes back to what Dr. Finnely was talking about today, that is, knowing your community. I think someone mentioned the issue of how homework can cause students from lower SES to fall further behind because it is likely that their parents are able to give them the same support as the middle- and upper-class parents. When I'm a teacher, I think I will take into consideration this issue and if it seems that students aren't really benefitting from homework, I will try and make sure that I'm not relying on it too heavily for learning. I've also heard a lot of parents from a variety of SES backgrounds complaining about the ridiculous amount of homework their children get. That's something to keep in mind as well.

Chpt. 13 Response: Flexible and Integrated Planning

By Tiffany

I thought your reflection of your second and third year teaching were interesting. It is very true that you do have to be flexible, not just year to year but within the one school year. Students’ behaviors fluctuate through the school year. I know at my school when we got close to winter break the students tended to act out a lot more. This was the case with spring break as well. Finally, the end of the school year, which thankfully I am missing out on this year, the behavior is much more sporadic. I think planning is very important, but you need to be flexible and not be stubborn. If you see that your students are really into one educational activity, but it is time to move on, maybe either find a way to integrate the other activity into the current one, or give them some more time. I think it was great that you were able to reflect on the school year and make the appropriate changes. Your students are all different and until you get a feel for them (and even afterwards!) it is hard to know what works best for them.

With regards to the authentic tasks and integrated learning, I think it gives more opportunities for better comprehension. Your students are putting past knowledge with current knowledge and applying it to something real and tangible to them. I think it is a great way to provide a lesson, but like you, I wonder how much flexibility I will be given with my lesson plans once I have a classroom of my own.

Chapter 13: Flexible and Integrated Planning

by April

The first thing I connected with in this chapter was the idea of balancing planning and flexibility. I liked the last night of page 478, "So plans are NOT made to be broken - but sometimes they need to be bent a bit." I really think that how much you plan and how much space you make in your day is something that changes from year to year and you really just have to get to know the dynamic of your particular classroom. My second year of teaching I left a lot of room open in the day. I had several key things planned but didn't overwhelm myself with a multitude of lesson elements. My third year I looked back and thought, "I wonder if some of my behavior issues stemmed from some boredom and perhaps more structured learning activities would help?" So for everyday I planned more than could be fit in a day. I'd have multiple art stations set up so kids could do one or both. I'd have a variety of other learning center type activities available for kids along with just the general classroom set up of books, manipulatives, computers, dramatic play, etc... Well that year we had just as many behavior issues but I was a lot more stressed out because I had too much going on. Thankfully, I learned to reflect and evaluate in the middle of the year and started toning down my plans and leaving more room for spontaneity. So, I think you have to constantly be reflecting and making choices and changes to find the way your class, in that particular year, finds the most success.

On page 485 it talks about integrated planning. I've been thinking a lot about this lately especially thinking about authentic tasks. Students don't just learn reading during "reading time," they learn during social studies and science and math and so on. It is the same with writing. I could incorporate reading, social studies and writing by having students read a primary text, perhaps a journal written by an early settler in the West. Then students could respond by thinking about what it would have been like to be in that person's family and then write their own "journal" from that perspective. You could even bring in math by talking about trading and forms of money used and then have students act that out. You could present the perspective of the settlers and the Native Americans at the time and even point out the differences in what was used for money (I remember studying a tribe that used a type of beads as their form of money) and then have different groups in the class take on different roles and figure out how trading could have taken place between people who speak different languages and have a different system of money. I really like this idea of authentic tasks and integrated learning. I'm curious how much flexibility I'll find for this in the school I end up working in.

Chpt. 13: Compassion, flexibility and homework

By Tiffany

This chapter really hit home for me in some aspects, so I have a lot to comment on (sorry!). I have always been considered very sensitive and compassionate. This is why I look forward to working with children, because I feel that they need this compassion in the classroom. With the growing diversity in the classroom, I feel many students are sometimes overlooked in this aspect. It is important to let every child know that they are valuable and that they matter. This is why it was intriguing to read that there is a strong correlation between teacher warmth, friendliness and understanding and students’ attitudes. I think it is very important that students have a good attitude towards school because the more they enjoy class; the more likely they will enjoy learning. They will actually want to be in class!

I think another reason students may enjoy being in class is when they are appreciated; when they feel that they have a choice. Constructivist approaches to planning involved shared and negotiated lesson plans. I think this is such an interesting concept and I look forward to seeing if I can implement it into my own classroom. The fact that the teacher just provides ideas to help guide planning and the students help decide what activities and approaches to use is just fascinating to me. To give the students this much freedom and choice amazes me; it wasn’t even considered when I was in school! My only concern is if curriculum allows this. I know some schools have very structured learning environments and I just wonder how much flexibility you really have as a teacher. I will ideally plan on doing what I can, but I wonder how much the “system” will restrain me (I don’t really want to get fired during my first year!).

I definitely was reassured while reading this chapter. In one of my first journal entries I was worried because the author had stated that teachers are more effective if they actually have their degree in the subject they are teaching. What I am taking from this chapter is that this is true, but it also says that the reason they are more effective is that they present the information more clearly and recognize student difficulties. I figure, if I do my research and make sure I am clearly stating my topics, then I could potentially be as effective as teachers who have majored in the subject content.

The final topic I found interesting is seatwork and homework. I know the chapter said that seatwork should not be the main mode of instruction and I have to agree with that. After everything we have read, I can’t see that sitting at your desk and doing worksheets by yourself could be an effective way of teaching. I know when I graded all of the worksheets for the school I worked at, a lot of the papers had more than half of the questions wrong (average math class-they tracked their students). Clearly, it was too complicated for them and therefore they resorted to guessing. Not once did the teacher go over the incorrect answers with students so there was an opportunity to teach and it was overlooked. We talked in one of our classes about how due to requirements classes were moving on before students could fully comprehend the information and lesson. That is what happened frequently in this classroom; the school was very structured and the students struggled to keep up.

Also, it said that you should hold the students accountable for their homework. I know the school I worked for did not hold students accountable. If they got questions wrong, the number was circled and then it went into their Friday Folder. No child had to redo their answers or figure out how to do the problems correctly, the assignments just got sent home and it was left at that. As a teacher I am going to really strive to help my students with homework and to help them come up with the correct answers. The Point/Counterpoint about homework was interesting, but I have to disagree with the people against homework. I think that students could be interested in homework if a teacher strives to make it comprehensible and to make it interesting. There are always ways to make learning interesting; we just have to figure out how to appeal to students’ different needs and interests.

Chapter 10 Response to: Motivation and Self-Worth

by April

I agree with you that students need a supportive, encouraging teacher for growth. Along with that, they need a teacher who really believes in their ability to learn and achieve success. I think teachers will be most successful in helping students develop self-worth if they help them set and reach challenging goals. We have to be careful, I think, not to get into the realm of coddling our students in order to build their self-esteem. I think it was in this chapter that talked about how students get an impression about whether or not their teacher thinks they are capable. For example, offering help too quickly can lead students to believe that the teacher doesn't think they can do it on their own. I know we've talked about this before, but it's good for students to struggle because most things in life don't come easily and they should be prepared to stick it out and work hard to achieve their goals.

I have a similar feeling about wanting to have clear guidelines in regards to instruction and assignments. I think this is because I didn't have teachers who provided a safe place to take risks. It seems easier to achieve success when you are told exactly what to do rather than being required to really think through tasks and take risks. As a teacher, I hope to help parents and students see value in risk taking and creative thinking because those skills are very beneficial in the world after school and in school.

I think our text throughout has provided a variety of ways to help students at least start relationships with other students. Of course this isn't something we can control or force but we can at least provide opportunities and support. Some students need direct instruction regarding how to enter a conversation with peers or how to join play that is already taking place. I don't know that it's really appropriate at the elementary level, maybe it is, but in the preschool I would usually choose one of our friendly, slightly outgoing students and ask them to make an effort to befriend a child who is struggling in this area. This was usually a very successful technique.

Chpt. 10 Response to: Motivation

By Tiffany

I really thought you brought up some interesting and valid points. I mainly liked your example on how to phrase things to your students. It makes a lot of sense that you would want your students to know what they are doing well at. If you just say “good job,” there is no explanation of what that good job was for. However, if you tell them that they have showed great improvement with understanding the vocabulary words they will understand what they have achieved.

Your comment about control caused me to reflect on my past job. I remember the parent of John (not his real name) told me that if I let him feel he was in control, I would have less behavior problems with him. Where I do not agree with that, I do think it is important for kids to feel they have control over their schoolwork (which I am assuming you meant anyway, just explaining my train of thought). I agree that a balance is the most effective way for students to achieve in school. They need parameters to work inside, but with some flexibility they may show more excitement about school. Students could potentially choose to do an assignment that interests them. We all know it is more interesting to do an assignment based off of something that intrigues us. I think this is a perfect way to approach teaching, especially with the differing learning abilities. One assignment could be a little more in depth for the students that feel like pushing themselves and one could be basic, but just as interesting for students that are struggling.

I agree with everything you said about the WASL. My concern as a new teacher is that it may be relatively easy to learn (or research) about the different teaching strategies and techniques, but how easy is it for us to apply them in our own classrooms? As an inexperienced teacher I do not know how flexible curriculum is (at my last school it was very structured) and therefore I do not know how much time must be dedicated to WASL subjects. What are our options if we know it is not in the students’ best interest? This frightens me, but at the same time intrigues me because maybe it is possible to get around the “politics of school” and do what we feel needs to be done to benefit our students.

Chpt. 10: Motivation and Self-worth

By Tiffany

There were a couple of things that intrigued me in this chapter, so I worry I may be all over the place. Everything seemed to interest me. The first comment that stuck out in my mind was that teachers must encourage and nurture intrinsic motivation, while making sure that extrinsic motivation supports learning. I fully agree that this is true. I know I have been personally intrinsically motivated to go back to school. However, I would not be as motivated if there were not extrinsic motivation behind it. Getting the A on any assignment excites me and gives me more motivation to work harder!

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been around for quite some time. I know I have heard about this many times. It saddens me to think that you don’t ever accomplish the self-actualization phase. However, I guess it motivates us to keep going. I think one of the responsibilities of a teacher is to provide and support a student's self-esteem and intellectual achievement. If you give students a safe learning environment with reasonable goals, you can help maintain or increase their self-esteem. I know I have had a low self-esteem in the past; all through middle school and high school. I just wish I had a teacher back then that showed me that I was worthwhile and that I could achieve things if I tried. I hope to be that teacher for many students; a supportive teacher is essential in a child’s growth (in my opinion).

Self determination related a lot to me as well. The need to feel like you belong to a social group can really impact your education and your social life. I think as long as you provide a supportive and safe environment for your students, you can help them feel like they belong.

One thing I found interesting was that studies have found that students and parents prefer controlling teachers over teachers supporting autonomy. This does make sense to me because guidelines help students know what to do; what is expected of them. I for one, appreciate clear and concise guidelines, I know I am one who prefers controlling teachers. Perhaps this attributes to my lack of feeling of creativity. I think you need to know your school, your students and your parents to know what they need as students.

I had always felt alone growing up and I feel I lacked the bond with peers. That is why I really noticed the section about the need for relatedness. This need for closeness is important for the development of children and I think it really impacts a students want to be in school. I am not sure how a teacher can help with this, but I do feel it is something we should be aware of.

My final comment has to be the belief about self-worth. It made me laugh because it said that procrastination was a self-protective strategy. I know I have used procrastination as an excuse for failing (not really failing, but for getting a grade of a B). I never thought of it as an excuse, but that is what I used it for. As a teacher, I hope to prevent my students from doing this. I hope to be able to help them set realistic goals and to teach them how to learn and hold themselves accountable for their education. Basically, it seems I want to give students help in areas that I apparently lacked in. I just hope I can be an effective teacher and I feel I have a good chance of that with all of the information I have learned so far (and we are only in the first session!)