Karen Donohoe
Standard 4
April 20, 2015
Standard 4 Educational
practices that foster learning, development, and achievement in all of the
nation’s children
1)
Educators should use teaching strategies and educational practices that
develop children’s capacity to think critically, analytically, and
imaginatively, and extend their knowledge and understanding of the world.
2)
They should provide multiple ways for children to deepen their grasp of
concepts, stretch their thinking, express their understanding, and learn
critical skills.
3)
They should search for appropriate materials, experiment with new
technologies, collaborate with specialists and colleagues, and consult with
families and community members to meet the instructional needs of all their
students.
4)
Educators should establish caring, inclusive, stimulating, and safe
learning communities in which all children feel they belong, and in which they
can assume responsibility, take intellectual risks, make mistakes, explore
alternatives, participate in decision making and work both collaboratively and
independently.
5)
They should understand principles of effective classroom management as
well as human motivation and behavior from the foundational sciences of
psychology, anthropology, and sociology.
6)
They should understand cognitive processes associated with various kinds
of learning and how these processes can be stimulated.
7)
They should also understand language development and the role of
language in learning.
8)
Educators should understand principles and techniques, and advantages
and limitations associated with various teaching strategies.
9)
They should be able to communicate effectively within many domains (oral
and written discourse, mathematical/symbolic representation, non-verbal
communication, audiovisual and computer-based technologies), and model
effective communication strategies in conveying information and in asking
questions.
Standard 4
defines the heart of teaching. It is about the importance of diversity within
teaching and learning. Teachers should educate in ways that challenge the
students learning as well as encourage them to think in diverse ways by using
different materials and resources to further student learning. Teachers must
create a warm and comfortable environment for the students to feel safe in,
teachers must recognize how student may learn differently and meet those needs,
teachers must maintain an appropriate management of the classroom and teachers
must act as an appropriate role model for students in every light.
I feel as
though this standard is the most important because it touches on so many
important parts of being a teacher. This standard is about educational
practices that will benefit our students in every way. This standard is broken
up in nine essential parts that make a terrific teacher. We should be teaching
our students how to think about the world in order to understand it. Teachers
need to provide a safe environment for children to feel safe in. It is
difficult for students to ask for help or feel passionate about their own
learning if they do not feel safe in their own space. For some students, school
might be a happy get away from home and it is important to give them a space to
be themselves and for them to know that they have a trustworthy adult that is
on their side. Students are more likely to take their learning in their own
hands if the environment is safe. It is important to have a motivational method
to classroom management. I believe that a classroom can be managed properly
without yelling or dwelling on the negative actions, but praise the positive,
and repeat your belief in each students success. Teaching to different learners
is one key technique that makes a good teacher. Not all students are going
grasp a concept at the same time or in the same way. It is important to teach
students how to share their learning verbally. It is so important for students
to be able to understand their learning well enough that they can explain the
concept and their learning to another. There are advantages and limitation to
all teaching strategies because all students are different learners. One
teaching strategy might help one students but not another. Lastly it is
important for the teacher to communicate with the students in different ways
and model how to communicate with another person appropriately.
Robert
Marzano is the CEO of Marzano research on education in Colorado, and Maria
Foseid is known for her research of education and learning and they authored, A Handbook for Classroom Management that
Works.
“Regardless of the specific rules or
procedures established for general classroom behavior, it's important to follow
through consistently and to reinforce these norms. You can do this in a variety
of ways. Here are some specific suggestions:
-Model the procedures for students,
or ask students to participate in modeling.
-Provide time for students to talk
or write about why rules and procedures for general classroom behavior might be
important and useful.
-Provide feedback to students about
the extent to which they are following the rules and procedures so they can
refine, improve, or correct their behavior.” (Marzano, chapter one)
Marzano says that follow through and
student involvement is key within managing a classroom. I agree that following
through with rules that the class has established is extremely important. Rules
are not rules unless they are enforced. I strongly believe in giving the students
the control over their own actions, and what I mean by this is that if a
student gets in trouble I think it is important for them to decide what should
be done about their misbehavior rather than them being told what is going to
happen. It is important for the students to create the classroom rules that way
they will be more accountable for them because they created the rules
themselves.
I have reached standard 4.3 by
reaching out to other teachers in the school for support for the students or
for myself. The students just finished a social studies project on monuments
and memorials in Washington D.C. I knew that the students would not be able to
find resources at home to find information about their topic so I asked the
computer teacher if they could use their computer time to find information.
Artifact 4A is the guided worksheet that I gave the students to use during
their computer time. I wanted the students to be able to find information
through articles, online sites, and movies. I knew that this would be
impossible for the students to do at home so I provided them with the proper
resources for them to be successful in their research.
I also reached out to a third grade
teacher, who helped me come up with some great ideas of how to work with maps
within social studies. She provided me with a lot of helpful materials that I
could modify to a fourth grade standard. Artifact 4B is one of many materials
that this teacher gave me. I modified the work she gave me and did a lesson
specifically on North America with the students. I had the students color the
different countries of North America different colors, so they could see where
one country began and another ended.
I connected with a fifth grade
teacher who is reading the book, Pay It
Forward to her class. I was thinking about reading this book to my class
during my take over week and we did not have time to do so. The fifth grade
teacher gave me artifact 4C, which she has been using, in her classroom because
of the book that they are reading. This teacher is connecting a read aloud to
the student’s everyday life by encouraging them to take the kindness they
receive and pay it forward to another person. I plan on using this book in the
future because I really like the message that it send and I like how the
teacher connected the reading to the classroom, it is more meaningful and
memorable for the students to act on what they are learning or listening to.
I have met standard 4.3 by reaching
out to different teachers within in the school along with different grades.
Connecting with different grades helps me with the main idea but then I still
need to adapt the idea to fit my students and their learning needs.
I feel as though I have met standard
4.5 through observations of my cooperating teacher and through my own
experiences with the students. I have one student in my classroom that has a self-control
and emotional disability. I found myself at the end of each day extremely
frustrated and almost in tears that this student was giving me such a hard
time. I went home one day and after talking to my mother who is also a fourth
grade teacher I decided I needed to create a positive relationship with this
child and see if she responded well to it. I went into school the next day and
spoke with my cooperating teacher about my frustrations and my intended plan.
My cooperating teacher then told me that this child has a disability. It was
clear to me that the negative attention the student was receiving in the
classroom was not helping her in anyway, and that my plan to connect with her
in a positive way is necessary. I spoke with this student and asked her if she
would like to have lunch with me once a week, and she eagerly said yes. I told
her that lunch would be a treat and what could she do to earn lunch each week?
The student said that if she could earn her points each week we could have
lunch on Fridays. We both agreed to this and the student felt held accountable
for her actions more so than she did before because there was a positive
outcome to good behavior. Artifact 4D is a picture of the point system that my
cooperating teacher keeps track of each day. If students meet a certain number
of points they can participate in the points party, which varies from movies,
to ice-skating. My cooperating teacher did not have a point’s party for the
month of January, February or March. The students’ motivation towards good
behavior was deflated slightly because what they were promised did not happen
and was not made up for. I felt that reaching out to this student individually
would help my classroom management with the entire class because this student
is usually the one that is disruptive so creating a trusting relationship with
her has made her respect me more while I am teaching. I believe that it is
important to make more of an effort to connect to the students who acts out
during class, because if you have a personal relationship with them they will
respond to you with a more positive attitude and you will overall have better
control of the classroom as a whole.
I did a focused observation at the
beginning of my full practicum of my cooperating teacher and five-second
interactions. I focused on whether or not the interactions were positive,
negative or neutral. Artifact 4E shows the notes that I took during the lesson.
Most the students question were about the state testing that the students have
to take called PARCC. My cooperating teacher responded neutrally almost every
time she interacted with a student. If a student got something correct she
would just tell them what to do when they are done and if a student got
something wrong she would ask them a question to get them thinking and then
move on to another student. Once within the 30 minutes observation did the
teacher respond to a student positively, meaning that she praised them for
getting something correct or say that their question was a good one. I learned,
through this observation, that this is my cooperating teachers style of
classroom management. She does not praise the students but also does not always
yell at them unless they are misbehaving. This method to classroom management
definitely kept the students from getting off track but it also seemed a little
bit cold. I understand that this is one method of classroom management and
making sure the kids are not goofing around in very important. I learned from
this observation that I would like to find a balance between a stern and
compassionate style of classroom management. I feel as though I have reached
standard 4.5 through observations of my cooperating teacher and personal
experiences with my students. I believe that how you handle a child needs to be
in the best way for the child. Yelling at children might make them shut down
because it embarrassed them and then they are incapable to learn.
I have met standard 4.7 through what
I have learning in the classroom and through the two English Language
Development courses I have taken at Wheelock. These classes have taught me to
always preview vocabulary and content before a lesson. Previewing content
before a lesson can be difficult when still having the rest of the class to
manage. My cooperating teacher often gets the class started on independent work
and then will pull the level ones and work with them on something else. I
taught a social studies lesson on North America and I had time to pull the
level ones before I taught the lesson and preview the content with them. There
were two other teachers in the classroom at this time that were circulating
with the other students. I was able to do a mini lesson with the students so
they would not be left behind. Artifact 4F is apart of my lesson plan for this
lesson on North America. Artifact 4F is the accommodation section of my lesson
plan where I state my plan for making accommodation for individual education
plans and English language learners. This shows my planning and thinking of how
I am going to teach to all my students. There are five English Language
Learners (ELL’s) so we were able to work on the rug together and work on saying
countries in English and Spanish. We worked in such a small group that I was
able to work on the students’ language.
I have also met standard 4.7 through
my ability to accommodate in different ways for the level one English language
learners. The students have morning work each morning and it is usually a math
problem. During my take over week I have the morning work relate to whatever we
were doing that day or what we did the day before, to be more of a review or
preview. I gave morning work on Matter because that was what we had learned
about in science the day before. The level ones had a picture-based paper and
the rest of the class had more of a reading about matter packet. Artifact 4G is
a copy of the morning work that I gave to the level one English language
learners. I was able to grasp the students learning of the subject in the best
way for them. I think that I have met standard 4.7 through my ability to preview
the material ahead of time and that I was planned to be able to preview the
material with the students. I also was able to find different resources for
level ones that still tested their knowledge of matter but in the most
effective way for them.
Standard 4.10 really resonates with
me because it is a teacher’s role to model appropriate communication and
interactions. I believe that if teachers yell at the students they are modeling
that it is okay to yell at someone when you are frustrated with them. When the
students come up to me and say, “I don’t get it” I say you need to ask me a
more detailed question about your learning. I don’t get it, does not show me
that the students have tried. If a student comes up to me and says can you help
me with problem 3 I am not sure if I should multiply or divide. I know that
they have thought about the problem and narrowed down the methods that they
could use. I try to motivate the students to take their own learning in their
own hands through questioning. Although I do not have artifacts for this
standard, I believe that I have met this standard through my own philosophy of
learning. I believe that it is important to teach students how to be
responsible for their learning and modeling that is the only way to show them
how to do so. If the students ask me a question that I do not know the answer
to I often will tell them I do not know the answer and I will tell them I will
look it up and get back to them. This models me taking responsibility of my own
learning. Through this example I am modeling being an engaged learner.
Standard 4 as a whole is the heart
of teaching and shows the many pieces that make up a good teacher. I have met
some pieces of these standards but I have much more learning to do and I plan
on working closer and closer to meeting each and every piece of this standard
as my teaching experience goes on. Teaching to achieve the development of young
engaged learners is the goal of teaching.
Marzano, R., Gaddy,
B. & Foseid, M. (2005). A handbook
for classroom management that works. Modules 1-6 ending on p. 33 [ebrary
chapter one]
ARTIFACT 4A
Your Name: Group Members:
Social Studies: Research Project
Name of Monument:
When was it built?
Who was it built
for?
Describe what it
looks like
Height:
Color:
Shape:
Unique features:
Sketch a picture
of what the monument looks like:
Five fun facts
about the monument:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
ARTIFACT 4B
ARTIFACT 4C
ARTIFACT 4D
ARTIFACT 4E
ARTIFACT 4F
Accommodation/Differentiation
-Each table group
that has a level one ELL also has a native Spanish speaker in the group so they
can translate if needed. Students will be working on the “we do” puzzle in
their table groups.
-I have already
previewed a labeled map of North America with the level one ELL’s in their map
books. I have named countries and they had to point to where they were on the
map of North America.
-While students will
have time to work on their S.S. projects in the morning I will work with the
level ones on the rug. I will do a mini lesson with them so they will be
prepared for the whole class lesson in the afternoon.
-We will start
with looking at a labeled map of North America and I will have the students
find countries that I say out loud.
-The students will
each be given a puzzle of North America that they will put together using the
map in their map books as reference.
-We will then play
a game with the globe ball. We will take turns naming countries in North
America and throw the ball to a friend who has to then find the country that
was named.
-IEP / ELL
students have already seen and colored a labeled map of North America.
-I will be using
manipulative to help students who need a visual. (Puzzle)
-Word banks will
be used to help ELLs.
ARTIFACT 4G
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