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.

Motivation

I'm taking courses in History Education at UVU because I truly want to become a teacher. I'll admit there are times that I feel like giving up but then I remind myself why I'm here. I started out my college experience majoring in Business Administration. One Accounting class and I knew that business was not for me. Still, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I transferred schools and had marked my major as General Education until I figured it out. For some reason, however, I kept getting letters about the History Education program. Finally I decided to take a history class and decided that was what I wanted to do.
I decided to become a teacher while working at a place that helped people get their GEDs. Most of our clients were young women who had dropped out of high school because they'd gotten pregnant. So many of them were suffering from learned helplessness and truly thought that failure was just a part of them. This experience made me want to help more people. I know the importance of having a support system, someone who pushes you to do your best. I also know that that person can be a teacher.
I'm motivated when I feel like I'm accomplishing something. I'm also motivated when it's something I enjoy and something I know I can do. One of the best feelings is getting through something that was challenging. That feeling is often what motivates me to continue. I have a strong support system and knowing they are behind me one hundred percent has helped keep me motivated my entire life.
I think I succeed because of the self-worth theory. I often do things to prove to myself that I can do it. My parents always instilled in me the mindset that if I wanted to do something I could accomplish it. I think that is a large part in any of my successes. I also believe in the growth mindset and I enjoy learning. I like being knowledgable on a subject.
However, I do experience some debilitating anxiety. There are many times that I feel completely overwhelmed and it keeps me from being productive. As we learned in class, girls are more likely to have an internal locus of failure and I believe this is very true. Whenever I fail I blame myself even if there were other contributing factors to the situation. I think this a large part of why I have some debilitating anxiety because if I don't do well I blame myself.
One of my goals is performance based and the other is mastery based. There are many times that I focus on the performance orientation because I'm more worried that others will think I am competent. I need to focus more on mastering the skills needed to become a great teacher. I need to learn that failure isn't always a bad thing as long as I learn from the experience. I also need to learn that everything won't always be perfect and that everything won't always be in my control.