Videos

                      In Video 1, Sandra Jenoski started on day 1 with routine and practice for 6 to 8 weeks. After the 6 to 8 weeks, the students were supposed to be more independent. She said that if you do not spend the first part of the class letting the students know your expectations,  they will be confused and not know what they should be doing or what you expect them to do. Voncille Ross said you should establish a learning community with the students beginning with circle time. This would develop respect between the students and teachers. Shaina Martinez said to listen to the students. Students will appreciate you taking an interest in them. You should make the students feel comfortable so they can share with you. Ilene Miller said when choosing groups you should take time to consider your options and make sure all children are involved in learning.

                The classroom management may differ  because of the ages of their students. The learning community works well with the younger students. The secondary schools,  have less time so it would be hard to have a learning circle before every class.  Shaina Martinez’s students, because they are older, just want to be listened to and respected.  The students should be involved, so that they can be part of the learning community and so they know what is expected of them.


            In Video 2, the advice is to get to know as many types of students as you can to be prepare din your classroom management.

Bullying

Preble High School here in Green Bay has several student led groups that work on preventing bullying. The Gay Straight Alliance helps foster acceptance of sexuality. The leadership group helps demote the existence of bullying of any kind. If students feel they are being bullied they should talk to their teacher or another staff. Bullying is not tolerated. Cyber-bullying is addressed in the class Challenges of the 21st Century. Cyber-bullying is also addressed in newsletters. Here's an example of  a Preble newsletter that addresses bullying and cyber-bullying http://www.greenbayprebleonline.com/assets/newsletters/2010%20December%20new%20nl.pdf
Many of the teachers talk about it with the students as well. This it the most effective way to get the message across to students.

Classroom Management

As teachers we should have procedures for everything! Making a list of all the procedures we should have could be quite long....
- playground, hallway, entering classroom, lunch count, sharpening pencils, morning meetings, bathroom breaks, assistance with work, putting away (everything), lining up, lunch time..etc.

Procedures are best when they are school wide if they are locations that are used outside of the classroom (playground, hallway, lunchroom) should have universal rules. P.B.I.S. suggests using Cool Tools to create these procedures as well as reteaching steps in the case that a student is not following the procedure.

Here is an example of Eisenhower Elementary's PBIS Cool Tool for the hallway

Teaching Examples:
-use voice volume 0
-students stay on the right side of the hall
-maintain personal space (one arm's length between the student in front of him/her, keeping hands at your side and feet to yourself).
-appreciate art work with your eyes only.
-quiet waves to say "Hi"

Student Activities:
1. Take the class to the hallway and model for them what it looks and sounds like to follow the 8 steps listed above.
2. Role Play: Provide students an opportunity to practice walking in a line in groups of 4, while the rest of the class looks to see if they are correct. Use compliments to reinforce correct behavior.
3. Use of non-examples such as teacher talking, looking behind, hands on wall, etc. Ask students which steps were missing in the examples

Follow Up/ Reinforcement Activities
1. Verbal praise from staff
2. Teacher prompts/cues targeted skill when difficulties occur in order to shape the desired behaviors. (EX: "show me line basics. Excellent job! I knew you could do it!)
3. Review the skill weekly and where it can be used (coming in from recess, on the way to lunch, going to gym or music, etc.)
4. Teach to new students as they arrive throughout the year.

Global Education Resources

www.epals.com

This site is great! Many of the projects are applicable to early childhood. It would be fascinating to use these to collaborate with children from a different culture. I'm going to suggest we do something with this for the after school program at Eisenhower. I like the "The Way We Are" one because it's a topic Kindergarten and First Grader's discuss on their own. Plus it has a Spanish option, which many of the students at Eisenhower speak.

www.iecc.org

This is not actually a site. However, IECC can be found at http://www.friends-partners.org/CCSI/penpals/iecc.htm. I prefer epals to IECC. IECC is similar to EPals in that it connects students to other students elsewhere, but ePals has more options.

www.thinkquest.org

This site seems useful but I was unable to register to see it's options. I took the "tour" and saw that it has projects and competitions.  When I am able to register, this will be an interesting site to explore.

Convergent Education

Kurshan says. “I think they’re learning the way we work in the business space. If there’s something you don’t know, you’re finding it, and you’re doing a lot more critical thinking and problem solving. At the moment, kids may be learning more outside of schools than they are [inside them].”


This quote stood out to me. "At the moment, kids may be learning more outside of schools than they are inside them." I believe this is changing. In my field placement and my job at Washington Middle School, I saw technology being integrated into their classroom. The science teacher I was with for my field placement had a generic version of a SMART board and used it to engage the students. In all my education courses so far, we've at least touched on an aspect of technology in the classroom. This shows that our future teachers are being well trained in how to use technology. 


As the textbook says, we are living in a flat, global classroom. Our job as educators is to make sure students learn how to find information, so that they can find it on their own, rather than memorize it. I was intrigued by the site the article talks about (www.jason.org). I searched the site and found many interactive games and simulations that would be interesting to students. I didn't see any that would be applicable to early childhood, however in case I change my mind in the future, this is a good site to know

My Blogging Experience

I think the idea of having blogs in the classroom works well. It makes all my responses easily accessible on one page. The blog questions are all relevant to the course. The only issue I have is that it would be nice to see what other students are saying as well. In the future, I could use a blog to communicate with parents. I will be student teaching Kindergarten for the full semester (and hopefully finding a job teaching Kindergarten), so I probably will not have the students keep their own blogs.

Assistive Technology

http://www.specialed.us/autism/assist/asst14.htm

This site discusses how to use AT with children who have autism. One of the things they mention is the talk pad. The talk pad records voice so the child can play it. The site gave the example of using it for a child who can't remember the routine for snack time. The snack time routine is recorded and when it is snack time the child plays it to remember.

http://www.cesa7.org/assistivetech/documents/ATintheEarlyChildhoodClassroom.pdf

Cesa 7 suggests some pretty simple AT for the early childhood classroom. One of these options is the Big Keyboard. This keyboard has brightly colored keys that are larger than normal. This could be used for all early childhood children who have trouble finding the key they are looking for, or whose fingers hit the wrong key.

Tony Ever

Tony Ever changed his position on the voucher program in Milwaukee because of Scott Walker's cuts to education funding. In the first article, he supported the voucher program because he believed Wisconsin had enough money to fund this program. However, after cuts to education, he does not feel the voucher program should be prioritized by receiving money over public education. It also may be the case that Ever felt pressured to be against Walker because of the communities dislike for Walker.

Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention, or RTI, is a system focused on teaching appropriate behaviors and acknowledging each student's needs. RTI watches for students who may be struggling and goes through steps to help those students. There are different models of RTI in use. Some use a three-tiered model like our book suggests. Tier 1 involves all students. Only students who are not up to grade level move on to Tier 2. In Tier 2 those student sare given extra assistance. If Tier 2 does not help, the student moves to Tier 3. In this Tier, the school tries to evalauate why the student is struggling. In Wisconsin, RTI is based on high quality instruction, collaboration and balanced assessment. In the center of all of this, is culturally responsive practices, because to assist a student we should consider their culture.  High quality instruction, collaboration and balanced assessment are all used to help students as they move through RTI.

Response to Intervention is a stepping stone that may lead to special education. It is not strictly for special education students. In Wisconsin RTI acknowledges struggling students and gifted students. RTI says we need to differentiate instruction for our diverse learners and provide interventions if needed. If designated by the steps in RTI, the student may need some sort of special education.

Separate Education

I don't believe it is my job as a teacher to decide whether or not boys and girls should be educated separately. This is a choice for the parents and students. Schools should not mandate that boys and girls be educated separately  however I believe parents and students should be free to choose to attend an all boy or all girl school if that is what they desire. This is the beauty of us having so many different options for our education, we can choose to be educated as we please. In some cases, students may concentrate better without the distraction of the opposite sex, it would be unnecessary to take away students' privileges to attend same sex schools. The U.S. Department of Education agreed with this when they ruled that Title IX does not make single-sex schooling discriminatory as long as it is voluntary and takes place in an environment that also includes comparable co-educational schools and classes.

"Accomodating" or Embracing

It may not be easy to accommodate, ethnic diversity, religious diversity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic disparity, language-minority students and students who are at-risk in a classroom, but that is the job of many teachers. To accommodate to all students, you need to not just accommodate them, you need to embrace them. All my students will have different attributes and different struggles. It is my job to find a way to reach them.

To embrace these students we need to show a respect for their differences into the classroom. In some cases, this respect might be in the form of bringing their differences into the lessons. This is applicable with language- minority students and ethnically diverse students.  We can embrace our language-minority students by being aware of the struggles they may have adapting to an English speaking classroom. As the book advices, we can try not to speak in idioms and perhaps pair them up with an English speaking classroom. As a future teacher, I can use English books that have Spanish words mixed in to help with the ELL Hispanic students.

We can embrace ethnically diverse students by having lessons that incorporate their ethnicity. We can use their knowledge of another culture to our classroom’s advantage. It is important to embrace the differences in an appropriate way. When I was at the Middle East Education Conference at UWGB, the point was brought up that sometimes when teachers try to incorporate Middle Eastern subject matter they end up being offensive to the Middle Eastern students. The example was given of a school which handed out Hijabs to women students so the women “could know what it felt like to be Middle Eastern.” The Middle Eastern students were offended because the simple wearing of a Hijab does not delve deep enough into the understanding of their culture.   

We need to be careful not to offend any of our students. We should watch for students in the classroom who may make discouraging comments to students of a different sexual orientation or of a low socioeconomic status. These students, the ethnically diverse, religiously diverse, of a different sexual orientation, in socioeconomic disparity, language-minority students and students who are at-risk are those who need us to embrace them the most.

Multiple Intelligences

1)Linguistic Intelligence
2)Interpersonal Intelligence
3)Musical Intelligence
4)Logical- Mathematical Intelligence
5)Moral Intelligence
6)Intrapersonal Intelligence
7)Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence
8)Spatial Intelligence
9)Existential Intelligence
10)Naturalist Intelligence
11)Spiritual Intelligence

Learning Theories Comparison

Video Response

I thought it was interesting how the teacher asked for the students' input on the assignments. As a constructivist teacher she put a lot of emphasis on the responsibility of the students in their learning process. She allowed the students' to help decide what assets they should be graded on. She still administered the conversation to make sure the requirements they were choosing were fair and valid. Asking for students' input is an efficient way to get the students more involved in their learning. Evaluating other students' work gives a student time to think about how they would critique their own work. I want to teach Kindergarten, and I think that even at this level a student's input is important. The teacher could have used a behaviorism centered approach to assessment. She could have assumed that the role of assessing belonged to her and the reward of getting at A from her was enough for a student.

Blog 5

Brooke Teegarden 

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965. It provided one billion dollars to improve the education from families living below the poverty line. Today, the act is still used to help impoverished students.  I can see the effect of this act, especially through Title 1. I work at Eisenhower Elementary; their Title 1 workers do quite a bit to add extra tutoring assistance and opportunities to the students. The government funding workers to be placed in Title 1 schools is much needed.

Title IX

Title IX was passed in 1972. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. This means that boys’ and girl’s activities need to be funded equally. Sometimes this may not happen. As a teacher, I need to watch for inequalities in girls’ and boys’ activities. For example, I might see a boys’ sports team but not a girls’ team even though there are girls interested in the sport. At Preble, the boys started a volleyball team after it was seen that the girls had a volleyball team that the boys were not allowed on, yet there were boys interested in playing.  All educational opportunities for boys and girls should be equal.

Individuals with Disabilities Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Act was originally known as the All Handicapped Children Act in 1975.  IDEA began because special education students were often being given a watered-down curriculum. IDEA helps give structure to special education. There are options for special education students: inclusion, partial inclusion or a self-contained class.  IDEA is exceedingly important to teachers and students because of the “ideas” it contains. Special education students’ educations are no less important than the general publics.

Rules for Teachers

Rules for Teachers

Brooke Teegarden

            The rules for teachers from 1915 and 1872 amuse me. They are quite different than our rules now. NEA’s principles are student focused. Their expectations for teachers have the student’s best interest first. For example, stating that a teacher “shall not unreasonably deny the student’s access to varying points of view”, is student focused. The old rules for teachers are based on society rules and are not necessarily student focused. For example, “you are not to keep company with men” is a society rule that does not affect the student.

            However, teachers still have society rules they need to follow. In the past rules, the teachers could not keep company with men because it would have been considered immoral. Today, although we can date and get married, if a teacher were to be known by the community as promiscuous, he or she would be setting an immoral example for the students. Parents and other staff would not want that person at their school.  There are other hidden social rules that relate to the old rules as well. Teachers should not be drunks, or hang out in sketchy areas. Teachers are expected to participate in their community in a positive manner.

            Some of the rules are similar. We don’t have to whittle nibs, bring coal, fill lamps or clean chimneys, but we do have to sweep, and if something spills on the floor, we better be scrubbing it.  And, of course, we teachers still may not loiter in those tainted ice cream shops.

School Climate

School Climate

Brooke Teegarden

            The climate of my elementary school was cheerful, nurturing, and family-like. I was in a school girl scout troop with my closest friends. We had plenty of art and music opportunities. Our principal got to know the students individually. I remember him sitting by my sister and I at lunch at talking to us. We had game days, fake elections, talent shows and plays. Students who were ahead in math got to move ahead to middle school math. The school tried to include something to interest all students.

            The teachers had rules and we respectfully followed them. I can remember only one instance of being reprimanded in elementary school. This was when I ran too far away from the playground during recess. I’m sure there were instances with classmates not following the rules, but overall, we respected out teachers.

            In fifth grade, Red Smith opened and I switched to there. My middle school climate was much the same as my elementary. It was cheerful, nurturing, and family-like. However, at the middle level we did not want the school to be as nurturing as an elementary school. Since Red Smith is K-8 we didn’t have as much freedom to grow up as our classmates at Edison. The climate at Red Smith was protected. All students were allowed to participate in sports teams or musical activities. Try-outs were not allowed in case a student would get hurt.

            We resented being treated the same way as elementary school students. This resentment made the middle school climate at Red Smith slightly conflicting between the students and staff. I think part of this conflict is that my classmates and I were spoiled. We were used to getting our own ways. Coming from Red Smith, I think I can say that.

            The climate at my high school, Preble, was much more open and diverse. This was the first time I ever had more than a few students from another race in my classes. I was not racist, I was simply clueless. The diverse culture at Preble was very beneficial to me. Preble embraced the diversity with things like a unity fair.

            Preble was strict, but only when it needed to be. In general it gave my classmates and I the ability to do as we pleased. They have a culinary arts program, a fantastic music program, a huge tech ed. room, sports, two gyms and a great writing program.

            The  teachers and staff at all of my schools did the best they could to make an appropriate climate for the students. 

Teaching Metaphor

Teaching Metaphor

Brooke Teegarden

    Teaching is like the weather. You can make a prediction for how your day is going to go, but you have to be ready to change those plans in case of rain (trouble), fog (students are unclear of the idea: reteaching), or too much sun (you or the students come up with a lesson that is even better than what you had planned). Sometimes a man in a suit tells you what the weather will be like (the weatherman/principal) but it is up to you as the teacher to make sure your school "climate" is warm and sunny. : )

Educational Autobiography

Educational Autobiography

Brooke Teegarden    

        In high school I was voted “most likely to try to take over the world”, “most unique clothing” and “most likely to write a trashy romance novel”. I can’t speak to the most likely to write a trashy romance novel. I hoped it was because of my top-notch writing skills. However, I loved being voted most likely to try to take over the world. I put determination into my education. I was involved in school clubs such as show choir, student council president, and homecoming court. I was always trying to come up with some immense idea for the school. Unfortunately, my sense of humor being what it is, many of these school ideas were pranks.

            Don’t let my humor fool you. An education has always been a priority. I’ve always had an interest in learning new facts. When I was in high school, I found myself watching National Geographic while my friends watched MTV.  I received only A’s and B’s. I felt quite devastated with myself when I received anything less than an A. I still do.

            I’m a creative person.  This is why I was voted most unique clothing. The creativity transferred to my school projects and I did slightly insane things. At one point, my classmates and I ran out of glue, so, we simply used bubblegum to paste paper onto our poster. As a teacher, my odd way of thinking works well for me. Creative lesson plans get my students attention.

            My educational autobiography is a mess of being creative and over- achieving. I’m hoping these qualities make me a dynamic teacher.