Module 5

MODULE 5

CONCEPT 1: Teachers’ Mindsets

Summary:

            In Chapter 12 of Woolfolk’s book, she discusses many pieces that contribute to the motivation in learning and teaching. While we have discussed pieces of motivation in students thus far in this course, I found it especially intriguing that there was a few paragraphs concerning the importance of a teacher’s mindset in the motivation section of a learning community. In fact, I think it to be very important. Woolfolk shares the difference between teachers with fixed mindsets versus those who hold growth mindsets and what that implies for their classrooms. (479) Teachers with fixed mindsets, Woolfolk shares, are quicker to judge their students and less likely to change their opinions of those students when the students develop and change from the immediate judged state. This can have a great deal of negative consequences for their students. Teachers with growth mindsets, on the other hand, tend to encourage students to create goals and to achieve them, believing that every student has the ability to change. (479)

Reflection:

            It may seem obvious that students need to believe in themselves for them to be able to achieve their highest level of performance, but it is just as important that teachers know that their attitudes about their students can make a world of difference in the motivation of a classroom. When I consider my own experiences or the experiences of my classmates growing up, I can see this play out. There were some students in my classes that would excel in school due to their behavior, mindset, and hard work. Certain teachers tended to develop a positive attitude toward them, thinking that those students would always tend to be responsible and excel in class. There were other students that some teachers thought very little of when it came to their level of work because those students behaved poorly. However, in both types of instances some teachers were very stagnant in their views of the students. Those that were seen as good students often were pressured with being an example and perfection, while those who did not have a good reputation were isolated to only that type of a standing in the classroom. There was not much flexibility of standings in those teachers’ classrooms.

            A lot can be said for the impacts of a teacher leaving flexibility in their views of ALL their students, not just the troubled ones. I think that the growth mindset is an important one to have for every student because it allows for failure, but also leaves the door wide open for great improvement. Students need to be given room for both, because imperfection is the reality for everyone. Students who do well in class need to be allowed to not be perfect because then they will stay engaged and motivated if something goes wrong. On the other side, students who struggle in class need to be allowed room to develop at their pace and to not be shamed for how they perform in class. Instead, a teacher needs to be ready to come alongside that student and give them support, not by enabling their helplessness, but encouraging them that they do have what it takes.

CONCEPT 2: “Beware of Either/Or”

Summary:

            Homework is one of the most disliked pieces of school for many students and is one of the most controversial types of classroom instruction in the realm of education today. In chapter 14, Woolfolk tries to shed a little bit of light on this issue by sharing some thoughts and opinions that are common in the education world today. At the end of her section on homework, Woolfolk shares an important motto for dealing with homework: “beware of either/or.” Woolfolk shares with us that “the real question is not about assigning homework versus not assigning homework, but rather assigning the right kind of homework to the right learners.” (568) This is something that really stuck with me. She pointed out the fact that if homework is not appropriate, fair, or useful for a certain group of learners, then it should not be used. However, she also shared that if homework is intentionally assigned and designed for certain purposes and learning outcomes that can actually assist students in learning well, then it can be very useful.

Reflection:

            This discussion of homework is one that I truly appreciated. Growing up, I was faced with many homework assignments that seemed incredibly tedious and without much use to me for learning anything in the class. Often these homework assignments would lack creativity or would be very redundant to the point that the class was so unmotivated to do it that it became solely a hoop to jump through to get to the completion of the course. That being said, the homework assignments that were well thought out and creative were also the ones that me and my classmates most embraced and learned from. I can think of a number of projects that still stick with me today that I can remember the lessons I got from them.

            Given all of my personal experiences along with the information and discussions I have had as I have continued my education, I do believe there is a place for homework. However, I must agree with Woolfolk that there needs to be an appropriate time and place for homework and the type of homework that is called for. There will be instances where a more monotonous, repetition of problems will be necessary, but only for times where a certain skill or technique needs to be developed thoroughly. In addition to that, there will also be times where a homework assignment like that will do nothing for the students, but only frustrate them and make them shut out the learning that could be had. There will also be the necessity of creative assignments, where students can truly dive into the material and embrace it wholeheartedly. The overall message that I have received is that homework, when intentional and done right, can have a positive impact on the learning of a student, but if done poorly can lead to apathy and the ignoring of the lessons I will be trying to teach as an educator.

CONCEPT 3: Norm-based and Criterion-based Testing

Summary:

            Another one of the hot-button debates in education today is that of testing. Teachers discuss how to test, why we test, how testing should be administered and how the results should be used. A couple examples of interpreting these test scores are “norm-referenced testing” and “criterion-referenced testing.” (597) Woolfolk defines norm-referenced testing as comparing a students score on a test to a “norm groups”, which is the average score for a group of individuals that have taken the test before the student. The student is assessed on how they performed compared to the “norm” and then is assessed on whether they are on par with the “norm”. Criterion-referenced testing, on the other hand, focuses on assessing the students’ scores based on a “standard of performance” (597) that has been previously set. These types of tests focus on mastering a very specific set of learning goals. In these types of tests, there could be a certain number of problems that a student must get out of a set to reach a “mastery” level.

Reflection:

            When I was a student, the types of testing or the theories behind testing never crossed my mind. However, throughout the last three years I have really begun to look at testing in a new way due to the importance that it holds in how students feel about themselves and the courses they are in, in addition to the monitoring and improvement that they can provide when use properly. The new questions that have begun to pop into my mind is how I can provide the best types of testing for my students and what those tests may look like.

            I think that in an individual classroom, the criterion-based testing is the most important and effective. I believe this due to the fact that comparing students to other classrooms outside of their own is not particularly useful for the day-to-day work of the class. In addition to that, I think that it is fairer to assess students based off of a standard that has been set in the content that we will be covering. I want my students to be concerned with trying to learn the content that we are studying in the class without being bogged down by the pressure of performing better or as well as other kids around the nation.

            For my future classrooms, I hope to use a lot of formative assessments, but for my final exams and summative assessments I want to use almost entirely criterion-based testing. I believe that in the daily workings of a classroom, it is most appropriate to have this type of grading and measurement. Assignments and coursework aside from tests can also work within the bounds of a criterion-based system, which adds to the continuity of the class. To summarize, I believe that criterion-based systems are both more supportive to students, more applicable to a class as a whole, and more effective in assessing students in an individual classroom.

Module 4

MODULE 4

CONCEPT 1: Principles of Learning Strategies

Summary:

            In chapter 9, one of the first subjects that Woolfolk emphasized was that of Learning Strategies. These types of strategies are focused on helping students “learn how to learn.” (344) Woolfolk tells us that developing good learning strategies is essential to the best learning. A challenge for teachers is working to develop strategies that they can use to teach their students good learning strategies. When considering how to instruct students in these strategies, Woolfolk shares some principles that have been attributed to good learning strategies. (345) The first principle focused on the fact that students need to be exposed to many different strategies, both general strategies and subject-specific strategies. The second stated that students need to be taught “when, where and why” to use the many strategies. The third focused on the necessity of growing a will in the students to utilize these strategies effectively. The fourth focused on the importance of students having the mindset that they CAN learn new strategies and apply them well. The final principle focused on the fact that students need background knowledge and techniques in the subject they are studying to be able to understand how these strategies apply. These principles are important to remember both when forming strategies and employing them in the classroom.

Reflection:

            Looking at the evidence and the principles that Woolfolk shares with us, I am struck by how applicable they are to how learning is done. When I consider my own learning, I can see the importance of many of these principles and how much they have given me both in learning techniques and the knowledge I have gained through it. Now that I have begun to look at these subjects through the lens of a future teacher, I also see these principles’ purpose and potential for helping my students learn well. Since these principles have assisted me in my learning and the fact that they are so highly regarded, it can be projected that they will also be important for my students to grasp. Not only that, but these principles should also help me as a teacher be able to design strategies and ways to teach strategies to my students.

            One principle that stood out to me was the second one. It seems so obvious that students need to not only be taught the “how” of a learning strategy, but also the “when, where and why” of that strategy. However, as Woolfolk shares, teachers often neglect to instruct on these details and tend to only teach the technique and not when to apply it. Knowing when to use a strategy is just as important as knowing the strategy, so I need to be sure that I do not also neglect this piece of the puzzle. A second principle that stood out to me was the third one, the principle that focused on the will of the student to use the strategy. This is a difficult principle to instill because it relies heavily on the student’s end of the relationship, which is something that we cannot control. However, as teachers we need to think of ways that we can engage this deeper will of our students to help inspire the effort and performance they have the potential to do. One way that I can think of to help this is making the strategies applicable to regular life too. If a student sees something that can work in many different ways for them, they are more likely to use that thing. If a strategy is useful for not only the classroom, but life outside of school as well, students will be more apt to use that strategy due to its application for a broader scope of life.

CONCEPT 2: Critical Thinking and Argumentation

Summary:

            When one considers learning, critical thinking is not often seen as a necessity in the classroom, but rather more important for innovators or people in the workplace. However, learning in the classroom also needs to employ and encourage critical thinking. Woolfolk defines critical thinking as “an effortful and deliberate cognitive process that entails reflection on and evaluation of available evidence.” (364) Seeing the fact that “effortful” and “deliberate” are present in this definition, one can conclude that critical thinking is something that can be worked at and developed with the appropriate focus and care. Another important piece to have in a classroom along with critical thinking is argumentation. Argumentation focuses on the ability of students being able to discuss and debate thoughts and opinions in a way that allows them to defend their beliefs and respectfully relate them to others’ beliefs. This can also be used in classroom learning, with argumentation becoming a way for students to learn different ways of thinking of things.

Reflection:

            When I found this in the textbook, I was very pleased and excited. Critical thinking and argumentation are skills that are essential to my life and one that I actually enjoy developing. However, when I was growing up these skills seemed to be restricted to an outside of school realm. I tended to learn more critical thinking skills outside of school in extracurricular activities or sports than anywhere in school. That was the case up until my junior year of high school when my teacher for “Doctrine and Ethics” worked critical thinking, reflections, and argumentation into the daily schedule of the class. Not only did this class become more applicable due to the skills we developed, but it also became more enjoyable too.

            I believe fully that a classroom that focuses on the skills of argumentation and critical thinking can be a classroom that best engages students. My reasoning for that begins with the fact that in these two skills students are actively and personally engaging with the material. Students need to understand the material more deeply to be able to think critically around it. Secondly, these skills make students actively and personally engage with each other. I believe that at the root of every career, every hobby, every day there is an underlying need and requirement for people to interact with each other through argumentation and a need for people to think critically about situations. If students learn how to harness these skills in the classroom, it will assist them greatly outside of it as well. Given the essential nature of these skills for daily life, what is stopping us from having classrooms that also integrate these interpersonal skills too?

CONCEPT 3: Cooperative Learning Groups

Summary:

            Near the end of chapter 10, Woolfolk gives us a great tool of facilitating learning and group interaction among students: cooperative learning groups. These groups are intended to teach students to learn more fully and to learn together, a skill that is essential to classroom learning. (403) A cooperative learning group assigns different roles to students to give them a different focus within the material and group. For example, some roles could include a recorder, a gate keeper, and a reflector. (403) A recorder’s job would be to write down the group’s ideas, thoughts, answers, or any other things that might be useful or necessary for the group to recognize or remember. (403) A gate keeper’s job could be to make sure that the group is not controlled by only one voice. (403) They could work to manage voices and attitudes in the group, keeping certain students from bossing others around or making sure that they do not progress ahead without the rest of the group. A reflector’s job would be to observe and keep track of what sort of progress that the group has been gaining throughout the work time. (403) This may not only help the group stay on task, but it can also help them make sure they attain their goals for the class period. Finally, another useful piece of a cooperative learning group is that is can rotate the roles for students and even interchange different group roles. This allows for students to take on different roles within a group setting and to grow a new skill in doing so.

Reflection:

            Cooperative learning groups are a subject that I find very important for classrooms. Growing up, these types of groups began in reading groups in elementary school, where my teachers would break us into new groups each time and directed us on our roles. They applied the role-rotation method that Woolfolk discussed in chapter 10, which I found to be useful for getting every student in my class involved both in areas where they excelled and areas where they needed growth. When I look back on those experiences, I think that those types of groups helped stimulate a great deal of growth, both in academics and in interpersonal skills, for my classmates and I. These groups helped us interact with material while also learning how to manage our roles, work within a group, and to interact with material from different angles.

            When I consider these types of groups for my future high school classroom, I have to work to adapt my elementary and middle school experiences into a high school setting. I think that these types of groups can still be effective, but it will take more detailed design and a deeper level of content interaction. These groups can still be effective in helping students interact together, but they also need to have an added depth to their questions and prompts so that the students will still receive stimulation and growth from it. I think that the role definitions may also need to be advanced to allow for students to stretch themselves and be forced to try new techniques or viewpoints. Another skill that I think would go well with these groups for high school is argumentation, where students could bring what they discussed together and present it or debate it either within their groups or between the class’ groups.

Teacher Interview

            For my classroom management interview, I decided to interview Ms. Patty Williams, a teacher I had the privilege to work with during my junior year for one of my placements. She was very welcoming to me as a student in her classroom and welcomed me into the daily life of the class, allowing me to help in small group discussions and even lead a class. Ms. Williams had a unique trip to her current teaching location, having been an elementary school teacher for many years before transferring into a new position in a seventh and eighth grade teaching position at Prairie Junior High in Alsip, Illinois. That, in addition with her masters being in administration, gave me another reason to work with her for this interview.

            When reading through chapter 7 of our book, Woolfolk discusses the importance of understanding the “why” behind a student’s behavior. (284) Rather than assuming why a student is behaving a certain way, Woolfolk encourages educators to focus on understanding the possibilities as to why the student may act a certain way in respect to their background situation. This mindset is one that is definitely shared by Ms. Williams and is exhibited in how she conducts herself in and out of the classroom. She shared with me in the interview how she always tries to know what her students have going on in their lives outside of school. She shared that she does this to develop a sense of respect and understanding between her and the students so that she can understand the “why” behind their actions. I think that this is an essential piece of being a teacher, that understanding a student’s background and current situation can lend clarity on that student’s behavior. This is something that I want to be sure to use in my future classrooms. I want to make sure that I make an effort to know what my students live through outside of school so that I can best encourage them at school.

            Another technique that Ms. Williams shared with me that Woolfolk discussed was that of Positive Behavior Supports or PBS. (285) She shared that the entire school system for elementary school has the same PBS system, with “clip up and clip down” charts where students are involved in the management of their behavior. She shared that the middle school also has a type of the PBS system, but that it is not as well defined or universal as the elementary grades.

            Woolfolk also encourages teachers to have authentic tasks in their classroom. (522) She states that teachers can encourage student engagement through connecting lessons to other areas of students’ lives or interests. Ms. Williams tries to embody this type of teaching marvelously, sharing that she tries to connect lessons to sports or other activities that the students are involved in. This connects back to trying to know students’ lives outside of school and to then try to engage them through connecting lessons to what they have going on in their lives. I think that this is a very effective way to teach and add engagement to instruction. When considering what may be effective for my future high school classrooms, I believe that this is even more important to work on. High school students are often very busy in many areas of their lives, in addition to the fact that many of them can easily become distracted or disinterested in school as they progress throughout the years. Engaging the lesson with their personal lives is an effective way to lessen the disinterest that may grow in them, in addition to continuing to build those real relationships with them as individuals.

            One final insight from Woolfolk that I worked into my interview was the idea of working with difficult students within a class setting. Woolfolk’s term for not being distracted or absorbed by a single student acting out in class, while still being able to continue instruction effectively, is “withitness”. (523) Woolfolk states that this mindset is essential to being able to both deal with students who are acting out, keep effectively teaching the rest of the class, and making sure that the issue is dealt with effectively. When I was interviewing Ms. Williams, one technique that she used jumped out to me as a comparison with Woolfolk’s idea of “withitness”. Ms. Williams uses signals or gestures with certain students to alert them to their behavior while not disrupting the flow of the class. Her intention with these subtle actions is to make sure the student knows that they are acting out of line while also guarding their dignity in front of their classmates, which is something that is very dicey in middle school. When considering this type of technique in high school, I think that it is still important, but changes shape. There may not be many actions or signals that I will be able to effectively use with high school students, but learning to deal with the student in question outside of the flow of a lesson is essential. I need to be able to overlook a couple of students that may be acting out for the learning of the rest of the class. I need to be wary that I do not become absorbed with the issue and in dealing with it lose the rest of the class as well. There needs to be a balance between addressing issues during class and continuing to teach through them if they do not disrupt the rest of the class’ learning too much. 

To view the full interview, click this link: https://youtu.be/RtsLHsbjIFA

Module 3

MODULE 3

CONCEPT 1: Reinforcement and Punishment

Summary:

            In Chapter 7, Woolfolk focused on behavior’s place in learning and how behavior can affect learning in the classroom. One point that she nailed home early on was the types of conditioning and reinforcement that teachers use to mold the behavior of and the standards of behavior for their students. There were two main ways that Woolfolk explains that teachers utilize reinforcement of behavior in their classes. First, she shares that both of these types of reinforcements use a reinforcer, which is “any consequence that strengthens the behavior it follows” (267), meaning that these reinforcers are used to encourage or discourage certain behaviors or actions by students. The first type of reinforcement is positive reinforcement, which is used when the behavior leads to something being presented to the student. (268) This type of reinforcement encourages the behavior, like a student getting laughs from other students for being disruptive. The second type of reinforcement is negative reinforcement, which focuses on removing or taking away something to strengthen a desired behavior. An undesirable behavior occurs, so something is “subtracted” from the situation, prompting the desired behavior from the students. One final component that Woolfolk shares is punishment, which she states as always involving a decrease or suppression of a certain behavior. (268) This is different than reinforcement in that it does not encourage any behavior, but rather only looks to lessen the bad behavior.

Reflection:

            These types of reinforcement and punishment patterns are something that students and we as people have our lives structured around in some way. From the earliest of ages, we have been structured in such a way as to learn what should and should not be done in certain circumstances. I can think of many instances in my own life where both parents and school worked to teach me what I should or should not do, what was appropriate and inappropriate for me to be doing. I think of instances where my teachers would reward my classes for acting appropriately or gathering the most cans for a can drive to help us continue to do these types of actions. To put a label on it, they were using positive reinforcement to encourage the behavior we were already giving.

            I can also think of a number of instances where my teachers have removed certain “rights” or activities from a plan to reinforce more positive behavior instead. One example is when my teachers would shush students when they were talking or saying that they will remove a fun activity from the lesson for the day, which would often prompt students to quiet down and act more self-controlled. There were also a number of punishments that arose in my classes that kept us responsible for our actions, like not being able to have a Christmas party in a class. These punishments would often work for us to act better in the future.

            Looking at my past experiences with reinforcement and punishment as a student, I now find myself on the other side of the discussion as a future educator. Many of these events now have greater depth to them and have forced me to think outside the box. In discussions concerning punishment and reward, I now find it harder to say 100% yes or no to a given situation. For example, if a reward is offered to the class if they behaved a certain way, and everyone in the class except for a few students did, is it better to not reward anyone or to reward all those who followed the rules and not reward those who did not? These types of situations become a lot more individualized from class to class and the situations begin to separate more. I no longer feel as though there are universal answers as to when to used reinforcement or punishment. It is amazing to me that one piece of a classroom such as this can have so many different techniques and results attributed to it. I am sure that with experience, knowing my students, and specific circumstances surrounding situations, my answers for when to use reinforcement versus punishment will change over time.

CONCEPT 2: Shaping

Summary:

            A new point that I had not considered before reading this chapter was the idea of “shaping”. Shaping, as defined by Woolfolk, involves “reinforcing progress instead of waiting for perfection.” (275) This type of thinking aims to negate the issues of a classroom that only aims for the end goal. When a classroom tends to focus on only the end goal for a behavior, if a student is not able to attain the level of mastery that they need they will tend to shut down and stop trying to get to that point. Woolfolk shares a good technique for us as teachers to work with to create a more shaping-style approach to improving behavior. She shares that if a student is struggling to attain the end-goal for a certain level of behavior, it may work better for the teacher to ease the student towards that type of behavior through a series of steps. These steps of developing behavior are more attainable than a single “jump” to a level of behavior. These steps work to shape behavior in increments, which helps get to the same end but more gradually.

Reflection:

            Looking at this style of behavioral adjustment, I can see a great deal of the logic behind this technique of shaping. I could see this technique working for a great number of behavior situations because it still achieves the end goal for behavior while making it more manageable for the student to attain. I think that this style of behavior teaching can be effective both because it makes the levels more manageable for students to work through, but it also sets a direct course of action for both the students and the teachers. I could see this type of instruction working to open dialogue between the teachers and students and also give an opportunity for the students to monitor their own progress in regards to their behavior.

            As a future teacher, I can again see the logic in this style of behavior development. Some students will be able to attain the level of behavior desired for my classroom immediately, but others will struggle greatly to achieve that level of behavior. When I thought about this style the first time, I thought of coaching in the same light. A coach cannot expect their players to immediately reach the level of play that the coach wants them to be at by the middle of the season during the first practice. Instead, the coach needs to help set up practices for the team to grow their skills and their chemistry over the coming weeks. There need to be a number of levels for the players to improve to gradually, while still aiming for the final product. I have seen these types of techniques used often in sports teams that I have coached and been a part of, so I think like this when I head into the classroom. Looking back on my education, I cannot think of definite examples where I saw students’ behavior being developed through shaping, but I am sure that some may have happened. However, a majority of behavior was simply demanded to be at a certain level and all of us were expected to be at that level of behavior immediately. I can see the benefit that certain students could gather through a shaping mindset of behavior.

CONCEPT 3: Self-Management and Goal-Setting

Summary:

            Near the end of Chapter 7, Woolfolk shares the importance of self-management in behavior and some techniques that can lead to students being able to manage themselves better. Woolfolk shares that students having a hand in managing their own learning is an important piece of today’s education. (287) She shares with us an important truth: that the responsibility and ability to learn is within the students, that teachers cannot learn for the students. After understanding this idea, we can begin to truly recognize the importance of a student’s role in their own learning. They have a great deal of responsibility in this, which is why developing self-management techniques is so important.

            One of these self-management techniques is goal-setting. There is a great deal of research that points to both goal-setting AND making those goals public having positive impacts on the learning of a student. (287) First and foremost, a student must have some sort of goals that they decide for themselves. A teacher can assist in suggesting them, but if a student does not buy into the goals themselves, they tend to be less successful in achieving them. In addition to that, if a student makes these goals public, whether that be to a study group or another classmate, the success of achieving these goals improves yet again.

Reflection:

            When considering the types of classrooms that I hope to be in someday, I begin to realize just how important the skills of self-management will be for my students. In high school (where I want to teach someday), students need to be developing personal control and accountability for their studies and growth in learning. High school is less structured, less controlled, so students begin to have a stronger presence and influence over their own education. It is imperative they do so, so as an educator of these types of students, I must consider how I can begin to instill in them a sense of personal responsibility to their learning.

            Why I specifically chose to discuss goal-setting is because I think it is an essential piece to managing one’s personal education. If a student does not have goals themselves, they can often hinder themselves in their learning just as much as a teacher imposing many restrictive learning goals on them may. When I consider my own education, especially in the last 4 years or so, I have had to develop a personal management style and have needed to set goals for my education. This type of goal-setting has pushed me to be responsible for my own learning, but it has also done more than that. Goal-setting has also given me a new passion and vigor for what I am learning and what I want to accomplish through that learning. I believe that passing these types of skills and mindsets can greatly assist high school students in their learning, both in their high school and post-high school education, whatever that may be.

Module 2

MODULE 2

CONCEPT 1: IEP’s and Parent Rights

Summary:

            Throughout chapter 4, the topic was focused on learning difference and learner needs, including cognitive disabilities. When there are students who need special instruction and special techniques used for them in the classroom, teachers need to make specific adjustments that can help them best learn. These adjustments can range from taking tests in other rooms to having classes in a separate classroom. One piece of adjusting instruction for these students is an IEP. IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. An IEP makes a list and program of specific adjustments that are individualized to the certain needs that they have. When an IEP is being formed, parents have the right to involved in many steps of developing and implementing these programs for their children. Parents even have the right to challenge details in these programs if they do not agree with it. (143) They are able to do so whenever they feel the need to by the process of law.

Reflection:

            When I was considering this reality, that IEPs are essential to learning for struggling students and can be influenced greatly by parental preferences, I did not know exactly how to feel. Looking at this reality, I was first struck by a great deal of optimism. The fact that an IEP can be accessed and is developed both by parents and teachers, with the teachers making a great deal of the original plan with the parents being able to give feedback and adjustments as they see necessary. At its root, this type of plan should work wonderfully and has the potential for a very beneficial, symbiotic relationship between parents and teachers that can lead to the best educational outcome for the child possible.

            However, I also began to consider the negative possibilities that could arise from this type of system. There are two ways I could see possibly negative consequences coming from it. The first is already and issue in education, with a child not receiving any care or support from their parents at home. The parents are apathetic towards the state of their children’s education and do not put any effort or thought in the IEPs for their children. This is dangerous because even if the IEP is sound enough to assist the child, there will not be support or encouragement for it at home and some of the positive impact the IEP could otherwise have may be negated. In the opposite directly, a combative and overbearing parent may also lead to issues with an IEP. For example, if a parent disagrees strongly with an attempted change in the child’s program they may deny the child that change. They could withhold certain pieces of help, which may be detrimental for the child. Since I am not a practicing teacher yet, I have not gotten any experiences like this with IEPs, but it was a scenario that I could see occurring and causing issues for the child.

CONCEPT 2: “Pills or Skills”

Summary:

            In today’s society, there have been a great deal of medical breakthroughs, both in medicine, understanding differences in the brain and body, and how to assist those with such differences thrive through medication and treatment. One of the largest of these differences is ADHD, which is a disorder that causes people to lose focus more easily. One of the biggest advancements that has occurred in the realm of treatment for ADHD is the development of medications to help those with ADHD focus better. However, one of the greatest discussions surrounding ADHD is whether medication or techniques/habits are more important or effective in helping these types of students. (151) Chapter 5 holds a section called “Pills or Skills for Children with ADHD?” This portion supplied us with supports given for both these stances, with support for medication being helpful, while there also being a host of evidence to the end of why medication should not be the first move to help those in ADHD.

Reflection:

            When considering the argument of medication versus practices, I usually think about mental illness and how many factors go into the treatment of such an issue. Having done multiple research reports on similar subjects with addiction, I have come to believe that the “integration approach” is the best way to bring the best possible help to people. The integration approach focuses on giving the best that both medication AND techniques can offer to most fully assist the person in their struggle. I believe it to be critical for us as teachers to be aware of the treatment of these issues and understand the complexity of these treatments. However, I also believe that we may need to advocate for a more integrated approach to treating something like ADHD, which is very controversial in the classroom.

            One thing that Woolfolk lays out that I very much agree with is the fact that we need to “beware of the either/or.” (151) This means that we need to avoid and be wary of the dangers of making absolute judgements universally for all students, whether that be on the side of all medication-based treatments or on the side of all technique-based treatments. Again, the mantra that “every student is unique” wins. I believe that each student needs to be treated as an individual case, taking into account their very personal struggles with the issue and focusing on what will help them best, rather than looking to only the “normal” or average way of treating them. Again, I also believe some degree of the integration approach to be critical in giving the best treatment for many instances of ADHD students.

CONCEPT 3: Intersectionality and Stereotypes

Summary:

            Chapter 6 was focused on culture identity and how that plays into how students function within a classroom setting. Within this chapter, the point that stuck out to me the most was the discussion surrounding intersectionality and how it plays into a classroom and the teacher’s perception of that student. Woolfolk tells us that “Intersectionality refers to our overlapping, intersecting social identities (gender, sexual orientation, class, ethnicity, religion, etc.) that shape each of us in unique ways.” (221) She tells us that these social identities can have varying degrees of obvious influence on the person’s experience, but all play some sort of role in how they interact with a classroom setting. We need to conscious of cultural differences, but not make assumptions due to the uniqueness of each individual’s experience. She supplied us with another caution; that we are to be careful to remember that “group membership is not destiny.” (221) Just because a student belongs to a certain cultural group does not mean their personalities, struggles, and gifts will directly reflect that group’s.

Reflection:

            When I was reading through this section and reflecting on it, I continually focused on the idea of avoiding assumptions about my future students. I think that this was one of the primary foci of this section of the book. What jumped out at me was the term “intersectionality”. This term, to emphasize it again, focuses on the multidimensional faces of a person’s cultural identity. There are many different “categories” they can be a part of and each one can have a great deal of importance to who they are and how they act. As a future teacher, I need to be conscious of all these different levels that my students have and understand where they fit in how the student acts and lives, both in the classroom and out of it.

            However, recognizing these different levels does not mean that students are stuck or boxed into these levels. As a teacher, I also have to careful not to assume things about my students based on their different dimensions of cultural identity. I need to know the student individually, rather than merely generalizing how they may act or learn due to what groups I perceive them to be a part of culturally. Instead, I have to recognize the individualization that each student’s experience holds. Their experience deserves that respect and understanding. I should never box a student into the cultural groups they belong to, or else I may hinder them from thriving in school. There needs to be a balance between recognizing cultural groups and the influence it has on student identity and recognizing how experience can run either with or against that culture.

            One final point that pairs well with this is the danger that stereotyping can hold in regard to cultural groups. If we as teachers tend to make assumptions of our students based on what is generally true of the cultural groups they belong to, we tread the dangerous line along stereotyping. If we stereotype students, we can easily fall into habits of restricting our opinions, hopes, and visions for them down to what we determine based on the group(s) the students have. All of these assumptions and stereotypes can quickly drop both student confidence and motivation, as well as make us blind to the individuality of the students.

Module 1

MODULE 1

CONCEPT 1: Adolescent Minds

Summary:

Throughout chapter 2, Woolfolk focused on discussing the brain and cognitive developments that children go through and how these can connect to educating these children. Given the focus of my major and the fact that I want to teach high school, I focused in on the adolescent mind. Woolfolk described the general processes of brain development and then how children cognitively develop. In this section, she specifically looked at the uniqueness that an adolescent mind holds. For example, she explains that an adolescent mind is beginning to mature and grow towards being able to increase “abilities to control their behavior in both low-stress and high-stress situations, to be more purposeful and organized, and to inhibit impulsive behavior” (42). However, she explains further, their brains are not yet at the full maturity and potential, so the “power” of the brain has increased by the control of it has not yet. Due to this type of potential and risk, she explains that teachers can harness this intensity and passion into amazing work. Kids have the potential to be invested strongly in groups, assignments, classes, and relationships.

Reflection:

            This portion in the book struck me with its accuracy and I was actually filled with a lot of hope at these paragraphs and their information about the type of students I may be teaching someday. To begin, I thought about how when kids in middle and high school buy into situations and material, they go all in. This may be partially due to the fact that they do not have many other obligations besides school and home at that part in their lives but keeping in line with Woolfolk’s writing also points to the fact that the developmental stage of these students is prime time to tap into the passions of these people.

            Another interesting point that she brought up was the emphasis on the still immature cognitive habits that these students have. She put an emphasis that although the students are beginning to process like adults, they are still very immature in doing so. High-stress situations especially can serve as a trigger to them as they do not yet have the best handle on their emotions and cognitive abilities. I think that this important to keep in mind as a future educator. First, I believe that we must acknowledge the growing maturity of our students in the high school setting. These students are only years away from stepping into the world of adulthood, and although some are further along that path than others, they are all working towards that reality. Therefore, we need to treat them and their opinions, ideas and dreams as valid and respected. Along with that, we must also recognize that in the face of this maturing process there is still a great deal of immaturity. It needs to be recognized and understood that these students are not yet at the level of maturity that is (more) common in adulthood. They still must be treated with respect, but not necessarily expected to act and function as full-fledged adults.

            One final part of this section that stuck with me was the thought about students being sleep-deprived and how that can greatly impact both their cognitive development and cognitive function (43). Students in high school do not get enough sleep each night, which Woolfolk described as a big issue for learning in the classroom. She talked about how varied instruction may help keep these tired minds engaged, but it made me begin to think. Shouldn’t there be a balance between rest and work in the classroom? Why have we not figured out a way to make there be a balance? I began to think about classes that I have been in where each class has been a drag to get through due to unvarying instruction patterns, but it also made me wonder what sort of impact an adjustment to the workload would hold. Maybe there is something to be said about there being adjustments and variance in the workload that students take with them in homework each night so that there can be more room for personal care and rest. I believe there needs to be a change here.

CONCEPT 2: Emotions, Learning, and the Brain

Summary:

Again, in chapter 2, there was a portion about emotions and how their development can greatly influence the learning of a student. Woolfolk states that “another clear connection between the brain and classroom learning is the area of emotions and stress” (48). She states that there is a great deal of impacts that emotional state can have on a student’s willingness and ability to learn and perform in a classroom setting. This can range from safety and the lack thereof to the degree to which a student is challenged. Often these seemingly “outside” details can have an incredible impact on how the students learn.

Reflection:

            When considering the evidence and points that Woolfolk puts forward, I find myself agreeing with a great deal of it. To begin with, I agree that if a student feels anxious in a classroom, they will not be able to function in a way that would allow them to learn well. Additionally, if they are focused on their anxiety or fear, they will be less likely to step into the community of the classroom as well, which is detrimental to both themselves and the classroom as a whole. That being said, one of my focuses in my future classroom needs to be aimed at creating an environment where students can feel loved and secure.

            Another piece that I agree with it the fact that if students are not challenged, they may tend to be less engaged in learning. If the subject matter is too easy, they will tend to check out mentally and not glean anything from the course. However, I also believe that the other extreme also hurts learning. If a class is overly challenging, to the point of near “impossibility” for the students, they may feel that effort is futile and proceed to check out in class as well. I have experience both throughout my career as a student and that makes me believe that finding the correct balance of difficulty and accessibility in assignments, tests, and content is essential.

            One final piece that I appreciate was this quote on page 43 where Woolfolk states, “learning will be more effective ‘if educators help to minimize stress and fear at school, teach students emotional regulation strategies, and provide a positive learning environment that is motivating to students.’” Students must be encouraged, be made to feel safe and accept, and to be challenged appropriately for the classroom to be the best place it can be. As teachers, we need to be conscious of our students’ mental and emotional states as we progress through days, weeks, and years in these settings.

CONCEPT 3: Teacher Support to Students

Summary:

            In chapter 3, one of the most essential topics that Woolfolk covered to me was the role that teachers need to playing student support. Woolfolk begins by stating that teachers often are the “main adults in students’ lives for many hours each week.” (101) This large sum of time that teachers have in students’ lives gives a perfect opportunity for teachers to play large roles in not only student learning, but also student social and relational development, as well as personal development. There needs to be support for these students for them to freely and successfully grow into the emotional and social states that they need to be in. Students need this type of influence in their life at such a critical time as well, given the fact that there is an incredibly large amount of personal development that occurs during high school. Woolfolk discusses the fact that teachers have the opportunity to speak into the personal lives of their students, to be an open door for these students to come and discuss issues in their lives. One final piece she shared was the fact that students defined caring in two distinct categories: academic caring and personal caring. Both of these were important to students.

Reflection:

            This section spoke to my heart for my future students greatly. Much of what this section talked about is something that I aspire to be in my classroom. To begin with, I loved the fact that an educational psychology book focused on a teacher’s opportunity to speak into the lives of their students for personal and social growth. This type of idea speaks almost Christian ideals into the classroom, which was very encouraging to see. Students need to be the focus of our careers rather than just the content we will be teaching. I believe that a teacher’s passion needs to come from a will and a hope to positively impact the lives of students outside of the classroom, to assist them in becoming the best they can be.

            One way a teacher can do that is to keep an open line of communication to their students. Students need to know that their teachers want to help them become the best person they can be. This can be through challenge and encouragement, but I believe something needs to be said for just listening to students’ lives and hear about their problems and struggles as well as the positives. I want to be the type of teacher that students feel safe coming to with issues and asking for prayer from. I want to be able to be a teacher who lifts up my students emotionally as well as one who challenges them academically. This is beautifully explained by Woolfolk in her two modes of caring. I believe that teachers can be the most effective they can be when they focus on supplying aid to both types of caring for their students.

Context for Learning: Description of School and Students

Trinity Christian College Field Experience Form

Context for Learning

Description of School and Students

About the School Where You Are Observing or doing Field Experience

School Name and City: H.L. Richards High School, Oak Lawn, IL

Type of School: Elementary school, Middle School, High School, or Other: High School

Setting: Urban, Suburban, or Rural: Suburban

Write your responses to the three questions below in paragraph form.

1.    List any special features of the school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, co-taught with a special education teacher, pull-out program).

·         There are not any co-taught portions of the class I was in, whether that be for special education or for ELL. However, I was in a classroom that had a full size lab space that took up the back half of the room. This gave a great deal of flexibility for tests, projects, group work, and lab work for the students to work with.

2.    Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that affects the planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

·         There is a policy that mandates that teachers allow retakes on tests. This is an official policy that is enforced by the school district that allows kids to retake tests as many times as they need or want to.

3.    For special education only: List any educators with specialized expertise in the school/district (e.g., specific disabilities, subject-specific pedagogy, English language development, speech therapists).

About the Students in this Class [Give a brief or one word response]

1.    Estimated percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch: around 70%

2.    Grade level(s): Predominantly Juniors and Seniors (11^th/12^th grade)

3.    Number of students in the class: 21

    males: 10

females: 11

c.     English language learners: None (in Honors Anatomy, the class I was in)

d.    students identified as gifted and talented: None

e.    students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans: None

4.    Complete the chart below to summarize required accommodations or modifications for students receiving special education services and/or students who are gifted and talented as they will affect instruction. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first row has been completed in italics as an example. Use as many rows as you need.

Special Education Category	Number of Students	Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Learning Disability	Example: 4	Example: Close monitoring, follow up, and Resource Room

About the Class You Observed

1.    How much time is devoted each day to instruction in the classroom? Describe the class periods (if applicable)? Choose a content area of your specialty or major. How much time is devoted to teaching that subject?

·         The class periods are fifty minutes long each, on the dot. At the beginning of the day there is a time where there are daily announcements and standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. There are eight periods throughout the day, with students having a lunch during one of those periods and six or seven periods worth of classes each day. Depending on the schedule, students may have two periods in the same discipline, but overall there are probably 45 minutes of class time that is devoted to instruction.

2.    Is there any ability grouping or tracking? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

·         There is placement testing in middle school to determine what “track” that the students will begin high school on. This is either regular classes or honors classes, depending on that test. However, students are able to switch back and forth during their high school career based off of how much they struggle or excel at their given level. This can be either from grades or a teacher’s recommendation.

3.    Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.

·         Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology by Elaine N. Marieb. Publisher: Daryl Fox (2006).

4.    List other resources (e.g., SMARTBoard, manipulatives, online resources) used for instruction in this class.

·         Each student has an iPad. They utilize iTunes and documents in that way for classes and activities. There is a main projector that the teacher uses, connecting to it via Apple TV.

5. What do you know about what your students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?

·         From what I can gather, these students are all intelligent given the fact that I am in an Honors course, but they have greatly varied amounts of motivation. Those that are motivated breeze through the class, enjoying themselves and helping others learn as well. Those who are not motivated often do not turn things in. What I am discovering about my students’ everyday lives is that they are involved in many extracurriculars. There are a great deal of athletes, specifically softball, and a great deal of theater kids as well. I am also learning about the religious and ethnic demographics to, especially given the fact that there is a large contingency of Arabic students fasting for Ramadan currently.

6. Describe one teaching event. What best practices in teaching were used?

·         One event that sticks out in my mind is the day that my class did a dissection of a pig. My teacher had given them details the day before on what they were looking for in the pig and how they could decipher it from the other parts of the body in the pig. Once given the information, the students were more or less given free reign on what to do. It was because of this that the many students got very excited and invested in their anatomical explorations. It was awesome to see these kids get interested it something once they were given freedom to explore it for themselves. My teacher gave them the ground work and they ran with it, discovering excitement for the subject along the way.