In terms of classroom management, I have learned how important it is to use positive reinforcement by thanking each child for their good behavior or giving specific examples of which students are behaving properly and why. This immediately makes other students in the classroom pay attention and want to model the behavior as well. It’s also valuable to use both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, so that students know what they can work towards. For the intrinsic rewards, specifically acknowledging good behavior and by expressing how proud I am of their behavior or performance helps to encourage them to do well. For extrinsic rewards, we are currently doing a class auction where students are receiving points on their behavior and random acts of kindness on a daily basis. Once all the points have been tallied, students can earn various knick-knacks.

Another strategy that has been helpful is the use of guided questioning both in teaching and through classroom management. Instead of giving the students all the answers, specially designed questions can be used in order to provoke critically thinking and problem solving in students. When students have questions about various topics, I turn it around and see if other students can answer student questions. Additionally, when  a student is misbehaving, instead of telling him/her to stop, I use questioning techniques in order for the student to recognize his/her own misbehavior and to reflect on whether that is something he/she should be doing and what they should be doing next time. This helps students to be more aware and accountable for their actions.

Overall my student teaching experience has been extremely valuable and I have been able to use the strategies and methods I have learned both in class and from my mentor teacher. I am especially grateful for having a creative, positive role model, from whom I am able to learn so much. I have also valued the comments and feedback I have received from others as this has greatly improved my teaching. Moving forward, I will make sure that I am constantly reflecting and making the necessary adjustments so that I am providing an environment where all students have the potential to succeed.

Modifying curriculum and materials is important in ensuring that students needs are met. I think it’s important to assess where your students are and see what instruction methods are working and which ones aren’t. I have done this with several lessons, because students were still confused after using the lessons in the district manuals.

For example, we use Everyday Math and for some lessons in the Fraction Unit, I had to use additional materials like manipulatives and everyday examples in order for students to get a better grasp for what we were learning. In this unit, students were having difficulty understanding what the denominator was and turning mixed fractions into improper fractions and vice versa. In the manual, they only covered one way for describing this and repeating this continuously would not help students to understand this better. In this manner, adjusting the curriculum and using additional materials would be necessary. A big part of modifying curriculum is checking for understanding and trying to figure out what parts are confusing for students in order to better adapt instruction. An additional area where I modified curriculum was the lesson on multiplying two digit numbers by two digit numbers. In the manual, for example, they described 72 as 7(10s) and 2 (1s). However, this was confusing to a lot of students, so I altered it to expanding the number first – so 72 = 70 and 2. In this manner, adapting curriculum is necessary in order for students to understand the material.

For the science curriculum, I also supplemented the unit on plant growth and development with a Powerpoint presentation that reviewed all the concepts we had gone over. This Powerpoint included a video of a time lapse of a fast growing corn, and other illustrations of what we were learning, in order to give them a better perspective of the material. Additionally, the manual provided a written assessment for the students, but I also wanted to see if they could verbalize what they knew. So, I placed students into groups and had them create an oral presentation for the class, using the vocabulary words. This could take the form of a skit, newscast, etc. This was a great way for me to assess their understanding, show their creativity and knowledge of the material in a manner than is different than a test. The last way I did assessments was through the prompts, I learned, I am still confused about, What I liked about this science unit, What I didn’t like. This was a great way for students to reflect on the unit and also for me to gain a better idea of their experience. This also helps to improve my teaching in the subject.

Overall, I think that modifying curriculum is beneficial for both the students and the teacher. It ensures that students are understanding concepts, and providing more depth to a curriculum. For the teacher, it always them to use a variety of assessments in order to check for understanding and to improve teaching strategies.

Life Cycle of Plants

In Marc Prensky’s book, Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning, he states, “…[S]tudents’ passions are the main drivers of student engagement and achievement” (Prensky, location 1356).  Passions are a strong motivator both in and out of the classroom. Within the classroom, they help to motivate and engage students, keeping their attention and focus. In addition,  understanding the individual passions of your students is valuable when designing instruction. As for me, I am passionate about travel and thus, anytime I hear the word, travel, it peaks my interest and I immediately want to know more or hear about other people’s stories. It makes me want to read as many books, magazines, blogs, etc. on the subject. It’s not only something that I enjoy doing, but it is something that I love talking about with others. It’s interesting to think about this from a student’s perspective. If they are able to get this excited and interested about a subject, then it would be valuable to use these interests in the classroom.

After student teaching for several weeks now, I have an idea of what each child finds interesting. For most of the class, it was Japanese erasers. That fad has slowly gone away and students are into various after school activities, like lacrosse, baseball, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, etc. Sometimes, when I am giving a lesson, I try to use these examples or other interests they may have in order to make a lesson more engaging. Whether it’s using one of their interests as an example, or allowing them to write/speak about one of their interests, I think it’s important in allowing them to talk about their passions. This also helps them to feel like they are an integral part of the class, shaping how lessons are taught and being able to voice their ideas/interests. These interests or passions also serve as positive motivation.

I have not  had prior experience with this as I was in the same school throughout elementary school and a few of my friends from elementary school also went to the same middle school and high school. I would imagine that this student probably feels anxious, nervous, shy, and unsure about what to expect. He/she probably wants to make a good impression on the other classmates, so he/she can make friends easily. I have noticed that at the elementary school level, at least in our school, that students are pretty open and almost enjoy when they have new students in the class or visitors. They have made me feel welcomed to the class and they are open and accepting of other students’ differences. There is a student in a wheelchair and students are sensitive to his disability, but also help to keep him accountable. He is not allowed to “bunny hop” when he is out of his wheelchair and when they see him doing it, they tell him. I think that the relationship students have with him is positive and valuable for both sides. Additionally, one student in the class was living in Japan for most of this life and only last year moved to the school. He seemed to fit in well and has a set group of friends in the class. I thought it was interesting that he went to an international school in Japan and asked him casually about his experience. I didn’t do this in front of the class until I knew he would be open to talking about it with the whole class. During break time, I asked him questions about it and he was open to sharing his experiences. Over time, I noticed that the other kids were also interested in his experience and so when we had a class discussion on Japanese culture and how it relates to Haiku, I asked this student specific questions about what he knew and how to pronounce certain words. He definitely enjoyed feeling like the expert on the topic and the other students also payed close attention to what he was saying. I thought it was a great way for him to share this experience with his classmates. I also noticed that after this, students would ask him about Japan outside of class.

Teachers can assist in making other new students feel more comfortable by creating a warm and open environment. They can make the student feel welcomed by introducing them around the school, familiarizing them with routines and expectations in the classroom. They can also talk about what their experiences were like in  their previous school and what type of differences they have noticed. I think an important part of helping a new student feel welcomed is allowing them to discuss their prior experiences, without pressuring them to do so.

Additional student teaching observation: A valuable resource that my teacher uses is Time for Kids. I used this with the students during a lesson on Japanese culture for my poetry lesson on Haiku. I was surprised at how much the students enjoyed these issues and how much they learned and retained. For every two pages, I had them write down or remember 2 interesting facts they learned. Once they were done reading, we had a discussion about these facts. The next day, I asked them what they remembered from the previous day and I was extremely surprised that they had remembered a lot of the facts they learned, including specific dates, numbers, and phrases. I will definitely use this once I have my own classroom as it is a great social studies tool.

As I was growing up, it was common to hear various stereotypes of students, like “Asian students always do well in math.” However, I am Asian, yet I did not always score well in math and managed to struggle. I was okay with my multiplication facts, because I practiced these incessantly, but anytime I took a standardized test, I always scored lower in math than the other subjects. My brother on the other hand, always scored 2-3 grades above his level or in the 99th percentile. He fits this stereotype, whereas I did not. This always confused me, especially after hearing the common phrase, “All Asians are good in math.” I remember practicing as much as I could in math and even had a tutor so I could live up to these standards, since teachers automatically thought I didn’t need help because I was supposedly good at math.

My background with this experience has taught me that stereotyping, even if it can be perceived as positive, does not help learners. It places emphasis on strengths or weaknesses that possibly aren’t even there. With this, some students will fall behind because teachers automatically perceive them to be a certain way. If it was a positive stereotype, teachers may not see that a child has slipped through the cracks. This child may have needed help, but because of these preconceived notions, the teacher may have completely missed the warning signs for the struggling student. If it was a negative stereotype, these students may not have been pushed or challenged enough. Additionally, if a teacher’s expectations of these students is low, there will be little motivation for the student. Students excel when teachers have reasonably high expectations.

I talked with my mentor about what type of expectations she had for all students, especially because there are some students with IEPs, and some that see the occupational and speech therapist. For these certain students, she does have different expectations and alters assignments for them, but this does not mean she has low expectations of them. In fact, my mentor teacher has high expectations of all these students, but determined in a manner that is reasonable for each particular student. I agree with her expectations and think that it is important to have high expectations of each student. This helps them to excel and grow as learners. I know that sometimes this can be difficult, especially if you hear negative things about students from other teachers. I think the best way to guard oneself against accepting these things is to make assessments of students based on your own experiences, rather from others. It is important to remember that focusing on the negatives will only hurt the student and it will impact how you teach and your attitude towards that student. This issue reminds me of the self-fulfilling prophecy and how our perceptions of people influence how they in turn act. This is a great reminder of how important it is to have high expectations of students and that a positive environment is important for growth.

During my student teaching, I have used various strategies of peaking student interest and curiosity. I think this can sometimes be difficult as students have differing interests, thus it is important to try different methods in order to see what works best.  I have found it useful to prompt students with questions before diving into a lesson. For example, during the science unit, I asked students what they wanted to learn about plants, so I could get a better understanding of what their interests were. During a unit on fractions in Math, I gave them specific questions about dividing up a cookie or pizza and asking them questions like, “If you were hungry and hadn’t eaten all day and someone offered you 8/12 of a pizza vs. 1/2 of a pizza, which would you choose?” In this way, the phrasing of questioning is important because it helps students to connect what they are learning with the real world around them, making subjects more relevant.

Other ways of modeling curiosity and interest are by creating projects that are of interest to the students. We have projects that combine both learning and a creative component. In addition, I let students choose what they want to discuss. For example, during our poetry unit, I first introduced the unit with personification poems. I narrowed the scope to animals and from there, I allowed children to choose any type of animal they wanted to write their poems on. When I went through the example for this type of poem and the cinquain poems, I allowed the students to choose what we would focus on and they were more excited to talk about these than if I were to choose a topic. Additionally, I taught the structure/guidelines of the poems, but I let them construct it. In this manner, they had ownership over the poem and even the lesson, which prompted all students to be excited to participate. Other projects that we have incorporated into the various subjects involve relating the subject matter to the students. For example, in reading, half of the students are reading the Mouse and the Motorcycle. Besides completing quizzes, and story problem notes (beginning, 3 supporting ideas, and ending), they were also given creative projects. One was to create and draw their own motorcycle and the second was to create a school lunch menu. While these are more creative projects, they also touch on a few ideas from the book. For the other group of students who are reading Stuart Little, they are creating a sailboat from materials that they choose with the requirement that it will have to float. With this project, students had to research and test different ideas of how to keep an object afloat. These types of projects are more hands-on and peak student interest, while also incorporating topics from the books they are reading.

Additionally, I try to ask guiding questions instead of directly telling them everything. Even if it may be something that they haven’t learned, I ask questions first and give them clues, so they can learn to think on their own. I ask them to try and make predictions or guesses and this makes them more curious to find out what we are learning. In science, this is really important as they are studying plant growth. They have just planted the Brassica seeds and are beginning to see the plants sprout.  I have not told them what their plant will grow into, but rather ask them to make predictions daily as they start to see new growth. This makes them more curious to know what it will become and also helps them to take better care of their plants.

Additional reflection for Week 8: This past week was a long week as we just came back from Spring Break. On Tuesday, we took a field trip to the Seattle Children’s Garden, where students were able to have a hands-on experience with plants. They had the opportunity to taste some of the edible plants, get their hands dirty by searching in compost for worms and other creatures, and lastly, were allowed to thin and transplant various plants. This was a great experience for the students, where they were able to learn about plants through a more active approach. Likewise, the guides were extremely knowledgeable about the garden and they were enthusiastic about the subject matter.

Observation of another class within Lawton

This week, I also observed a P.E. class for one of my required observations, where students were learning how to rollerblade. Lawton is fortunate to have an active PTA, who contributes generously to the P.E. department. The gym is equipped with enough rollerblades for 2 classrooms each period in each size.  For this period, it was our students’ third time at attempting to rollerblade. They first entered the P.E. and lined up on the benches in the center. They listened well to the two P.E. teachers, Ms. Parks and Ms. D. They followed directions and everything in the gym is organized well and marked clearly. Students knew how to find their rollerblades and where to store their shoes in the meantime. They knew that they had to grab a helmet out of the bin, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist pads (if needed). Once they had everything on, they slowly maneuvered around the classroom, stopping to listen to the teacher when needed. During this period, there are two classes and one class stays in one gym with Ms. Parks and the other gym with Ms. D. Students in our class were respectful of both teachers, listened, and followed directions clearly. I’m not sure if it’s because I came the day after they had been reprimanded for not listening, but they were definitely paying attention to the teachers’ directions. Additionally, they were all excited about rollerblading and thus, did not want to get in trouble the second day, otherwise their rollerblading privileges would have been revoked.

In terms of the overly appearance of the gym, it was great to see how well organized everything was and how neat the gym looked. There are drawings of animals on the wall, a rock climbing wall on the far end, hula hoops, basketball nets, and even unicycles! I was surprised to see how much equipment they had and wished that my elementary school was equipped with as many fun things.

The management style of the P.E. teachers was similar to my mentor teacher’s management style. Both use strong positive reinforcement. They have control of the students and in turn, it is apparent that the students are respectful of the teachers. Additionally, the P.E. teachers were also clear in giving their directions and this was apparent by how smoothly the students transitioned from one thing to another. Expectations were also high and you could tell that students enjoyed coming to P.E. In terms of any behavioral problems in this class, I did not see any. However, the previous day they had been reprimanded for not listening to directions clearly. Their consequence was that the P.E. teacher lectured them about the importance of paying attention closely since this was new equipment that they were using and safety was a major issue. This was their first and last warning, if they did not listen the next day, they would be able to participate in roller blading. As this sport is a favorite amongst almost all the students, they made a huge effort to pay close attention the following day (which happened to be the day I went in for an observation). Even though this is a sport they enjoy, on the other days that I pick up the students from P.E., I have not received any major reports of misbehavior. I believe this is due to the fact that the teachers actively discipline their students and in turn, the students are respectful to the teachers since they thoroughly enjoy P.E.

Additional Reflection for Week 7: This past week was challenging with the field trip, school assemblies, a guest iPad teacher, and antsy students awaiting Spring Break. During the field trip, I realized that not all students are going to behave how they do in the classroom. It’s almost as if they forget all rules and expectations when their not in class. There were a few instances when students were not being respectful and it seemed a bit out of character. The other things that can be challenging are preparing for lessons, while also taking into account various disruptions. We didn’t have Math class three times this week and it was apparent that students were not able to retain the information they had previously learned the days before. It felt as if we were back pedaling every day in order to move an inch forward.

One area this week that I found especially enjoyable was the Publisher’s Party that we had on Friday. Students showcased their Harris Burdick Mystery Stories to friends and family. They created a book which included a Cover, the picture from the Mystery Story, their own fiction story, and an About the Author on the back page. On Friday, students shared these stories with others and those that read their stories made comments on a separate sheet. It was great to see the students excited and proud of their work.

Additional Reflection for Week 6: This week I started the Science Unit on Plant Growth and Development. A point to keep in mind is the importance of preparing and setting up for the lesson. On my first lesson, I noticed how important it was to prepare the materials ahead of time and make sure that all my teaching resources were ready for use and easy to transition to (switching back and forth from lecture capture to butcher paper that was attached to the white board). Making these transitions quick and easy was important because if there was a slight delay, student attention would be lost. With science materials its also important that students pay attention to the different steps and that materials are kept tidy and organized. I also realized the important of this as students were collecting and returning materials to the resource desk. Some students listened to the directions, while others had difficulty. I could make this more apparent by writing directions on the board or by having students repeat the directions back to me several times.

On Friday, the Pacific Science Center presented several demonstrations on blood and guts and the skeletal system. It was great watching them excite the students in these areas and the props they brought in were great for hands-on use. Students were able to experience science in a different manner that is valuable for peaking interest in this area.