Week Six- Developing a Rapport

  This week's topic was focused on building a rapport with at-risk students or those with special needs.  While thinking about this topic I remembered the quote by Paul Lockhart that I used for a paper on the subject during my undergrad years, "Teaching is not about information.  It's about having an honest intellectual relationship with your students".  Each day that I teach is another day for me to develop my students as individuals and learners.  As a teacher, my goal is to instill an appreciation for learning and an aptitude for success in each and every student that comes through my door.  This is not a simple task, but is a process made up of relatively easy steps.  The first thing that must occur is the development of a positive relationship.  Displaying kindness, being attentive, acknowledging positive behavior, and listening to students' opinions are small steps that begin the process of developing a student-teacher relationship.
  In our text, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, author R. E. Slavin discusses how to build intrinsic motivation to positively effect student behavior: "One way to build intrinsic motivation to learn is to create a classroom climate that is warm, accepting, and positive (Marzano, 2011; Wentzel, 2010). In such classrooms, students work hard because they want to please a valued teacher, and they feel safe in trying out their ideas and taking intellectual risks. Classroom strategies that adapt to the needs of all students and communicate high expectations with support for all students to reach high levels may also add to intrinsic motivation (McCombs, 2010), as may classrooms that value cultural diversity and make all students feel welcome and provided for (Curwin, 2010; Kumar & Maehr, 2010)" (Slavin, 261).  As the text mentions, it is when the student knows that their teacher cares that they are willing to meet expectation, and develop intrinsic motivation to do their work.  More often than not, students who are at-risk or having special needs have lower self-esteem.  It is the teacher's job to motivate that child and encourage them to push themselves to achieve success.
    In my own classroom, I try to go out of my way to highlight the positives of the students in my class who are either at-risk or have special needs.  It is often these students that I appoint to be class leaders, teacher helpers, and decision makers.  I find that in giving these students positive attention and responsibility upfront, they are more engaged in class and perform better.  Along with the academic gains that can be achieved through positive student-teacher interactions is behavioral gains.  If students are able to build a relationship with a teacher who actually cares, they are more willing to demonstrate positive behavior traits and stay on task.  In the article, Positive Teacher Affect and Maternal Support Facilitate Adjustment after the Transition to First Grade, authors Kiuru, Laursen, Aunola, Zhang and others discuss the importance of a positive student-teacher relationship in regards to student behavior: "For example, a positive relationship with a teacher provides a safe context for the development of self-regulation (Denham & Burton, 1996). Warm, supportive teachers also use sensitive ways to guide children who are misbehaving and direct them toward constructive social problem solving (Thijs, Koomen, & van der Leij, 2008). In addition, a close, supportive relationship with a teacher may fulfill the child’s basic psychological need for social relatedness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Deci & Ryan, 2000)" (Kiuru, Laursen, Aunola, Zhang, etc, 160).  All students, especially those with special needs and at-risk learners, need a support system to be successful.  If a teacher is willing to go the extra mile to make sure they feel safe, accepted, and cared for; these students in turn will be willing to work harder toward their goals, both behaviorally and academically.
  As I continue to teach, I will make sure to keep in mind that they relationship between me and my students will ultimately determine their success and "buy in," into the instruction in my classroom.

References

Kiuru, N., Laursen, B., Aunola, K., Zhang, X., Lerkkanen, M., Leskinen, E., . . . Nurmi, J. (2016). Positive teacher affect and maternal support facilitate adjustment after the transition to first grade. Merrill - Palmer Quarterly, 62(2), 158-178. Retrieved from http://library.valdosta.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1798423123?accountid=14800

Slavin, R. E. (2015) Educational Psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.

Week Five- Student-Centered Instruction

This week's discussion and reading focused on student-centered instruction.  In most of my education courses I have studied the positive outcomes of student-centered instruction.  The idea is that students find the content more accessible, interesting, and relevant when they are given the opportunity to discover it in independent environment.  Over the past few years, I have found to be this type of instruction to be beneficial.  Students are engaged and involved when "teaching" themselves.  In the article, Motivating Dialogue: When Seventh Graders Own their Learning through Discourse Analysis, the authors Dean, Goering, and Nutt highlight a study done with a seventh grade class.  The class is done using a student-centered instruction model.  The authors state the following, "An opportunity to create more dialogic teaching through discourse analysis held myriad benefits for the students of Room 173. Doing what researchers do not only helped the students see themselves in a different light, it also helped improve their participation in discussion of all varieties" (Dean, Goering, & Nutt, 23).  Having students engage more directly in the learning process gives the students a sense of ownership over their gained knowledge.  This study proved that students were able to grasp the content, but were able to do so with confidence.

   An advantage of student-centered  learning I have experienced is the opportunity to teach students to self-manage.  In my Pre-K class we have an hour block in our schedule for "work time," which is the free-play segment of our day.  It can be beyond noisy during this time, especially during the beginning of the year.  However, my para and I are able to guide and instruct students on how this time is to be used as the months pass.  By November, the students are able to work in an area independently or in a group as well as rotate to various activities throughout the room.  Teaching and upholding behavioral expectations and consequences is what positively effects classroom management.    
 
  There are different types of student-centered instruction models.  In our text, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, the author Slavin discusses one model,  "Discovery learning has several advantages. It arouses students’ curiosity, motivating them to continue to work until they find answers. Students also learn independent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, because they must analyze and manipulate information" (Slavin, 194).  The text goes on to mention that despite the advantages this type of instruction may have, there is a need for some structure.  There can be a lot of wasted time if students do not remain on task.  For this reason,  I think a balance of student-centered and teacher-centered activities should be integrated throughout the day.  Also during student-driven activities the teacher must remain a proactive facilitator.

  After reading and discussing this topic I have come to realize that learning and discovery is mainly done by the students; while the teacher will be responsible for keeping students focused, on task, and moving toward the learning goals.  In the future I will create more opportunities throughout the day to allow students to have more involvement in their own learning; through discovery, discussion, and hands-on experimentation.    

References

Dean, J. S., Goering, C. Z., & Nutt, T. (2016). Motivating dialogue: When seventh graders own their learning through discourse analysis. Voices from the Middle, 23(4), 19-24. Retrieved from http://library.valdosta.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1788221335?accountid=14800

Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.

Week Four- Lesson Planning

    This week the topic of discussion centered around the structure and planning of lessons.  Planning a lesson is an essential skill for any great teacher.  There are various sections and considerations when creating a lesson.  From gaining student attention to differentiation, assessment and student interest, there are many factors that contribute to the layout and presentation of content.  These past few years teaching has taught me the importance of being intentional in lesson planning.  In Pre-K we use an online data notebook to record student progress.  It is through analyzing what my students know, coupled with what I know they are interested in and current teaching practices that I create lessons.  Data and teacher-student relationships is what guides and drives my instruction.  According to author R. E. Slavin, of the text Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, "The first step in presenting a lesson is planning it in such a way that the reasons for teaching and learning the lesson are clear. What do you want students to know or be able to do at the end of the lesson? Setting out objectives at the beginning of the lesson is an essential step in providing a framework into which information, instructional materials, and learning activities will fit (Gronlund & Brookhart, 2009)" (Slavin, 163).  In order to be effective in teaching and helping students to reach their academic goals and instructor must know what their students know and what they should know as well.    

    Another important aspect that comes into play when planning lessons is student engagement.  Current research and my own experiences have solidified my belief that technology supports student learning.  In the article, Technological Innovation in Twenty-First Century: Multicultural Teacher Preparation, the authors comment on the benefits of integrating technology in planning instruction, "This review demonstrates that as teachers integrate technology into their practices, possibilities increase for making educational resources more accessible, engaging, and relevant to broader audiences worldwide – including increased avenues for bringing together real or virtual communities across perceived intercultural, international divides to learn with and from one another" (Laura, Baker, & Milman, 8).  In order to gain and retain student attention I strive to create engaging lessons. Students today are driven by technology.  By utilizing technology in my instruction I am able make learning content appealing and relevant to student lives.

      Lastly, it is important for teachers to realize that all types of instruction require extensive planning.  In our text, Slavin comments on the preparation needed for small group discussion with the following: "Because small-group discussions require that students work independently of the teacher most of the time, young or poorly organized students need a great deal of preparation and, in fact, might not be able to benefit from them at all" (Slavin, 184).  Though I only put my students to work in small groups for short periods of time (5-10 min max) I consider all of the tasks that come along with having students work independently.  I have to spend time instructing my students beforehand on how to communicate with one another, how to stay on task, and how to share ideas.  All of these skills must be taught and practiced before students are able to work in independent small groups.

     I believe that if I continue to use data and student interest to drive my instruction I can create lessons that both challenge and engage my students.  In the future, I will continue to research best practices for planning instruction and integrating technology.  This week has reminded me of the benefits of having a well thought out plan in order to successfully instruct all of my students during each and every lesson.

References:

Laura, B. L., Baker, L. L., & Milman, N. B. (2014). Technological innovation in twenty-first century        multicultural teacher preparation. Journal for Multicultural Education, 8(1), 54-67.  
     doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JME-02-2013-0005

Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.

Week Three-Memory

This week's discussion focused on the importance of using various teaching strategies, as well as memory and its importance in regards to learning.  Throughout the past six years of formal education I have received the topic of instructional differentiation has been a reoccurring topic.  The essential reasoning for creating varied instruction is to engage and assist all students in their learning.  Every student who has entered my classroom has been different from their peers.  Whether it be different in terms of background knowledge, socioeconomic status, interests, or learning style each student was unique.  A teachers job is to ensure that each student learns.  It is by varying instruction that the needs of a variety of students can be met.  By having engaging lessons that appeal to kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learners the entire class is given various options by which they may understand and interact with the content.  Another important reason varied instruction should be used in the classroom is that it helps support memory.  Students must be able to retain information to adequately make use of it and build upon it.  In the article, Attention, working memory, and long-term memory in multimedia learning: An Integrated Perspective Based on Process Models of Working Memory, the following is stated about how information is moved to long-term memory, "In the course of processing, knowledge in terms of a pictorial and a verbal model of the incoming information is constructed in working memory and then integrated with each other and with prior knowledge (represented in long-term memory). Once integration has occurred, the goal of learning has been achieved" (Schweppe & Rummer, 287).  In order to have students learn and retain information content knowledge must be transferred from working memory to long-term memory.  Having students engaged in learning and using various strategies for instruction will assist students in remembering new information and retaining it.  I myself can remember different lessons from school because of the level of interaction that my peers and I had with the content.  I am able to recite quadratic formula, because my math instructor made us break off into groups and create a song to remember the steps.  It is through using the senses and interactive activities that students can best remember content.  In the text, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, the author Slavin discusses the importance of memory and learning.There are various ways by which student’s memory can be engaged with the content. Drawing students’ attention to the task at hand, not overloading the working memory by utilizing category lists, and implementing strategies that use imagery like mnemonics are all methods of teaching content in order to be remembered (Slavin, 2015). The aforementioned strategies differ from each other in method, but all serve to enhance the memory of the students being taught.  In my own classroom, I will keep in mind the importance of using various strategies to appeal to the varied learners in my room.  I will also strive to create engaging lessons that will assist my students in not only knowing the content for a short while, but retaining content knowledge in their long-term memory.


References

Schweppe, J., & Rummer, R. (2014). Attention, working memory, and long-term memory in  
       multimedia learning: An integrated perspective based on process models of working memory.    
       Educational Psychology Review, 26(2), 285-306. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-
       9242-2

Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.