Course Contract Review #3

I think I've been doing pretty well this semester. I've tried very hard to stay organized and I am now addicted to my planner. I hope that's a good thing. So far I've been able to complete all my coursework and stay on top of my assignments. However, I need to do better with staying positive and not letting myself become too overwhelmed. I need to look at one day at a time instead of thinking about everything I need to get done the whole week or even semester.
I think I've done well with my goals. I've become more organized and I think I am making fairly good grades this semester. I've also learned a lot about becoming a teacher and have gained a lot of ideas that I hope to implement in my future classroom. Obviously I could do better with studying more and learning to study for retention of knowledge and not just for the test. I definitely need to work on that.
My motivation has been a little better because it is the end of the semester. It helps to have the end in sight. However, throughout the semester my motivation has not always been very high. I do concentrate more on performance goals rather than mastery goals. I would really like to work on that so that I am mastering the concepts and not just doing what I need to do to pass the course. That's a difficult concept for me because I often feel too overwhelmed with everything that I need to do to spend the needed amount of time for mastery. I hope that one day I will be able to concentrate on specific areas that I would like to learn and be able to devote enough time to really understand. However, I'm not sure that is going to happen in the near future unfortunately.

Field Response Journal Question 9

9. How long does the teacher wait after asking questions? Be specific. Do you believe he/she waits long enough? What does current research show about the relationship between student participation and wait time? Include information from the class text and class discussion.        

         From my experience, as a student, I have found that many teachers don’t allow enough wait time after asking a question. This makes it difficult for students to reflect on past experiences or lessons before responding. However, Mr. Bassett seemed to wait a sufficient amount of time to provide students with enough time to maximize critical thinking. After timing him, I found that he waited around 3.7 seconds on average. According to researchers, student interaction is increased when teachers wait an average of 3 seconds after posing a question. That study indicates that Mr. Bassett provides sufficient time for students evaluate the question and then respond. By doing so, the students were able to provide answers that lead to a class discussion. They were able to utilize prior knowledge to reach an advanced level of analysis on the topic.

          However I did observe another class in which the teacher did not provide much wait time at all. She often asked a question and expected an answer immediately. I could tell that she was quickly growing frustrated and believed that her students weren’t paying attention. This was not conducive to thought-provoking interaction between the students and teacher. I felt that had she allowed more wait time, the students would have been more inclined to participate and her lesson would have been a medium for higher-order thinking.

Course Contract Review 2

After reviewing my course contract I wrote at the beginning of the semester, I realized that I have a lot to work on. I think overall I’m doing well at getting my assignments done on time. Especially the study guides. However, I think I could have studied more for the test. I need to work on allowing myself enough time to do well instead of just getting it done.

                I think I’m doing pretty well on my goals. I’ve learned a lot in this class and I think it is preparing me to become a better teacher. The unit of assessments made me re-evaluate how prepared I was. I always thought assessments would be easy but that was not the case at all. However I need to do better in these areas:

1.       Not procrastinating

2.       Prioritizing

3.       Staying Organized

4.       Motivation

These are all areas that I think would help me do better if I worked on them.

                My motivation is definitely lessening as the semester goes on. It’s difficult after you register for next semester’s classes to stay motivated for the classes you are currently taking. I think I’ve shifted to performance goals in a lot of my classes because I just want to pass and move on. I’m not sure exactly how to help my motivation but I know my lack of it is making things much more difficult and stressful.

Field Response Journal Question 1

*1. What evidence do you see of specific teacher behaviors that are geared toward Piaget's theories about the developmental levels of children at particular ages? Cite specific examples and make clear connection to Piaget's work.

My observation indicated to me that many of the students were in Piaget’s concrete operational stage. My teacher, Mr. Bassett, used questions that required a the implementation of abstract thinking to help guide them into the formal operational stage. For example, in the 8^th grade World History I class, the students were learning about early explorers. Mr. Bassett told the students that Christopher Columbus had decided to sail west to reach the East Indies. He then asked what some of the problems Columbus would encounter. This question required the students to analyze and reflect in order to figure out what Columbus faced not having the knowledge and technology that we have today. The idea that no one knew that America even existed and many people thought the world was flat, put many of the students into a state of disequilibrium. Their prior lessons allowed them to use assimilation because they knew that new things were constantly being discovered even today. They were able to apply that knowledge to accept that even a continent as big as the Americas would have been a new discovery at one time. However, many of the students had to use accommodation in order to accept the idea that people once believed the Earth was flat. These required them to accommodate their scheme of the concept and progression of scientific thought. They were then able to understand that facts that we so readily accept today, were simply theories that needed to be tested years ago.

Course Contract Review

One thing that I’ve noticed already is that I’ve been using my daily planner much more often. I’m glad that I’ve made this a habit because I have kept everything much more organized. So far I haven’t had any surprises on class assignments or missed homework. However, I have noticed that I need to put aside more time for studying and reviewing the concepts taught in class. Other than that I feel like I am making progress towards my goals. I’ve already learned things in class and every day brings me closer to being a better student and future teacher. Still, there is always room for improvement. Here are some of the things that I need to change to meet my goals:

1)      Set aside more time for review and studying

2)      Look at future assignments. My calendar has helped me keep up with daily assignments but I don’t want to procrastinate future assignments that are going to require more time.

3)      Apply more of the things I learn to a setting where I’m the teacher and not the student.

I need to focus more on mastery goals instead of just focusing on getting things done for the class and nothing more. I need to remind myself to look at the bigger picture. I think I’ve stayed pretty motivated in this class. It helps that it is challenging and requires me to stay on top of things. It’s easy to feel the motivation dwindle when the class doesn’t require much or I feel like it requires too much. I was thankful that the first test was geared around less stress. I appreciate being able to ease into the tests and being able to see what is going to be required in the future.

Neuroscience Blog

Judy Willis is a neuroscientist who wanted to discover why there was a sudden jump of referrals to evaluate students with supposed ADD and OCD etc. When evaluating the children she realized that most of the children did not suffer from any of these conditions. She decided the cause were classrooms that were geared solely towards the test or over-stuffed curriculum. After that she decided to get her teaching degree and has been teaching elementary and middle school since.

She came up with RAD (Reticular Activating System, Amygdala, Dopamine) teaching to help teachers apply the knowledge science has about the brain to develop strategies to help students’ academic success. People who use RAD teaching help their students overcome challenges, enrich talents, lower stress levels during tests and help build academic skills.

Judy Willis’ research has helped us understand that there are ways of teaching that appeal better to the brain. I think it’s important that teachers model their lesson plans around student retention. In order to do that we have to understand how the brain works. With Judy Willis’ research I’ll be able to take the knowledge I have on different learning styles and then come up with strategies that best suit those learning needs. This may also help battle problems with motivation and organization that every teacher comes across.

Field Response Journal

5. Look for examples of inclusion in the classroom. Are there children with special needs that the teacher is accommodating? If so, what special needs do these children have and how are they being addressed? Do you believe the accommodations are appropriate and adequate? Explain.

            I’m doing my field experience at a charter school in Logan, Utah. One of the things I noticed right off was that they were a very hands on type of school. I got the opportunity to go on a small field trip with them up a canyon, where kids had activities involving writing, science and social studies. I noticed a girl with special needs right off. She was in a wheelchair and had other handicaps as well. I was impressed by the way the school accommodated her and allowed her to go on the field trip and experience the activities with the other students. The school is small but I could tell that they were using all their resources to create the least restrictive environment for every student. In talking with my cooperating teacher, I learned that the school had many students with IEPs, involving both intellectual disabilities and specific learning disabilities, because many of the teachers had special education training and the classes were small. However, the size of the school made mainstreaming impossible because there was no room or money to have a classroom completely devoted to students with special needs. As a result, they had to incorporate complete inclusion. I think this school is doing the best they can with the resources they have. I was impressed with the way the other students were learning from their teachers and helped to accommodate the students with special needs.