Module 4 Blog Post

For module four, we were assigned to read chapters nine, ten, and eleven and of the three I think chapter nine was the most interesting to me. It goes on to talk about metacognition, problem-solving, critical thinking and argumentation and teaching for transfer. Woolfolk describes metacognition as “knowledge about our thinking processes”(340) or in other words our awareness of out thoughts and thinking process and the way in which we use this information to retain new information. I know confusing right? Metacognition is very important to the way in which students learn considering everyone's level of metacognition is different a no two people are the same. However, there are a number of tools and strategies that teachers can use to help guide students in the growth of using and learning. An example that Woolfolk gave for young students was the KWL strategy. This tool encourages students to question what they already know, what they want to know and what they learned (p.342)

Chapter nine all covers learning strategies. For example I like to annotate when I am learning and reading, it helps me better break down and comprehend the information that I am taking in. for some people this may not be a favorite because it may be like taking the long way around. Some of my peers of would prefer note taking of some other form like Cornell notes. 

          Chapter ten talks about social and cognitive constructivism and collaboration and cooperation. scaffolding student learning is a key concept in the chapter that Woolfolk  said scaffolding is defined by when “teachers and students make meaningful connections between what the teacher knows and what the students know to help the students learn more” (389). It is crucial for educators to scaffold student learning because it allows the student to take ownership in the learning process through the moderation of their teacher. When teachers scaffold learning for their students, it is more than just giving a student literature or work to do but making it clear for the student what the objectives and expectations are for what they are learning. With that students can go forth with clear guidance from their teacher with what they should strive to take away from the portion of a lesson.

        Lastly, chapter eleven goes over cognitive theory, agency, and self-efficacy, self-regulated learning and teaching toward self-efficacy and self-regulated learning. This last chapter is important because it addresses learning from a students functionality in a classroom. Tha ability for students to self regulate and take ownership of their learning process under the guidance of an educator. When teacher better understand how students the concept of how much a student does or doesnt believe in their own cognitive ability yo0u can better understand how and in what measures you need to support that particular student. I precieved it to be important to learn of these concepts to further find a way to instill in students they can and will succeed, through hard work.

Classroom Management

"I feel classroom management

is based on a mutual respect between 

myself, the students and other staff

in the classroom..."

-Arthur Drenth

Meet Coach and Special Education Teacher, Arthur Drenth. Through the past three years I've experienced his teaching style and classroom management first hand as a paraprofessional assigned to his classroom and a staff member to work one on one with his students. When tasked with the challenge to interview a teacher about their classroom management style I couldn't have picked a better teacher. Drenth, a special Olympics sports coach and teacher at Transition 99 of Community High School District 99 takes respect and rapport with his students seriously on the court and in the classroom.

As I interviewed him, he puts into words actions I have observed over time in the classroom. The first question I asked was "What obstacles do you encounter  in forming relationships with students, how do you reach students that struggle to form trusting relationships with you? Mr. Drenth walked me though would his normal process of what it is for him to form bonds with his students. Essentially, he uses the approach most people use when meeting anyone new. Ice breakers and conversations about things they like, and don't like. Asking open ended questions that allow students to talk more about their personal interests. As I've sat in the class observing, I've noticed just allowing the students to have a voice to speak and be heard allows for guards to come down making Mr. Drenth approachable in the classroom when needed. In working with students that may have trouble with establishing relationships because of could be behavioral disturbances, Mr. Drenth stressed the importance of reading IEP's  and behavioral plans to understand in detail what students may struggle with and communication with parents to come up with plans and ways to help students overcome difficulties with behavior. The next question I asked Mr. Drenth was what tools and opportunities do you give your students to exercise self management. By self management I meant, chances to use self control, manage their own time, and form bonds with their classmates or room to resolve their own issues. Mr. Drenth spoke about giving breaks and using social time to create opportunities to talk about things they like-- This allows him to step back and let students find ways to communicate with each other and use their social skills. I also inquired about instructional time in the classroom and what that looks like. Mr. Drenth explained that the few moments in a day that students are made to sit at a desk to learn something outside of activities, it is real work for the students, instead of work to occupy the time. He imphasised the importance of creating a balance when working with students with disabilities. It is important to give room for breaks and personal time to reinforce positive behavior when it is time to learn and work in the classroom or at various activities in the community. Lastly we closed up the interview comparing his classroom management style from when he, first became a teacher up until the present day, and it was said that initially the emphasis was placed on structure,  or a more strict form of it, but as the years have gone by Mr. Drenth talks about having learned the importance of balance and flexibility to meet students' needs for where they are.

Having a moment to reflect on my time as a paraprofessional in his classroom the things of this interview are apparent. It is in the way students rely on him to help them in moments they encounter trouble. How He advocates for his students in the community. The skills and management style Mr. Drenth uses shines through in respect his students, staff and in his communication with parents.

His involvement in a controlled setting like his classroom ties in to chapter 7 and 13 in the sense that he finds ways to refrain from punishment by providing a classroom as a safe place for his students-- or creating reinforcements for students to produce the productive behaviors he expects of them. He allows them to be heard and seen creating a great foundation for positive relationships. Students are made to step out of their comfort zones trying new things, forming their own opinions and challenged to respect opinions of others. Creating a healthy balance for students. In my experience as a para and through information given in this interview, classroom management skills are the necessary tools a teacher learns to facilitate a space that can be conducive to the ideal learning environment for a happy productive student.

To view My interview click the link below.

Classroom Interview

Module 3

Chapter 7 Behavioral Views of Learning 

and 

Chapter 13 Managing Learning Environments

Highlight Review

This weeks reading about behavior views of learning and how to manage learning environments are two chapters that pretty much seemed to go hand in hand-- in fact to manage a classroom I would think it is important to understand behavioral views and how to enforce them in a classroom, so I'll get right to my highlight take away from each chapter. 

This week in chapter 7, we cover what is positive and negative reinforcement in relation to punishment. We define punishment, we also discover types of consequences, antecedents and behavior change as well as methods for encouraging behaviors. The highlight of this chapter for me was understanding what punishment is-- and by definition is defined as a process by which a consequence immediately follows a behavior which is meant to decrease its frequency over time. In understanding punishment is was then important to understand how positive punishment and positive reinforcement works as well as negative punishment and negative reinforcement works. In reading about these important terms, I learned that positive reinforcement and positive punishment a stimulus is always given to get the desired behavior. For example with positive punishment If you touch a hot stove you will be burned. Touching the stove is the behavior, getting burned is the stimulus-- the outcome is getting this response will diminish this behavior.  where as in negative punishment and negative reinforcement something is taken away in order to achieve desired behavior. As the chapter goes on Woolfolk ties the importance of these terms and what they mean into how they are used in the classroom by methods of acknowledging positive behavior. 

      "...to encourage behavior is to reinforce it. There are several specific ways to encourage existing behaviors or teach new ones. These include teacher attention and praise, the Premack principle, shaping, and positive practice (Woolfolk 273)." 

as the chapter goes on Woolfolk compares the effectiveness of praise and ignore approach to that of the Premack Principle. I've seen both done, in fact depending on the student I am dealing with I choose which method to use in my current line of work, as a paraprofessional. I relate most to this portion of the chapter because I relate first hand dealing with students on a daily basis. It provides me with a little more incite on how and why students respond to different stimulus. There are some students that respond well to praise and ignore, I find because of the attention from the teacher that they desire. Students that seem to look for attention of any kind from the teacher tend to respond more to praise and ignore tactics versus the student that responds to the premack or the "first, then" method. First-- then, students are motivated by their own interests and activities they prefer do over the attention of the teacher. So in reading this chapter I think it is important to know your student in order to understand which form of reinforcement they will respond better to. 

Moving into chapter 13 I focused in on the basic tasks of a teacher in the classroom and the goals of classroom management. Woolfolk quotes Doyle in the start of the chapter with " The basic management task for teachers is to achieve order and harmony by gaining and maintaining student cooperation in class activities (Woolfolk 510)." In reading this chapter it is mentioned that there are 4 specific goals of classroom management:

• Access to learning, or making sure that everyone knows how to participate in class activities. Now, initially reading this goal, I thought that was pretty trivial, but as I read on I realized that is not so true. Just because its a classroom does not mean that everyone knows how to participate or that everyone knows the rule in the classroom. Ideas like are the rules of the room explicit, are the listed, did the teacher verbally go over them with the students, how do the students know what is appropriate in the classroom if we do not tell them and reiterate them when needed. 
• More time for learning, or making sure that students are having adequate amounts of time for academic learning and instruction. 
• Management and relationships or establishing teacher student relationships that are positive and conducive to a positive learning environment. When teachers establish high-quality, trusting relationships with students, they are less likely to be defiant, and too seek proper help in areas needed. 
• Lastly management for self-management or helping students learn to manage themselves. Of the four goals I found this one to be one of the most important. I think students learn better independently when there is a great foundation of self control. In using self control, students use things like time management, manage their behaviors and relationships with their peers. 

Reading about these important classroom management goals tied into my personal experience is that because I aspire to be a ED/ BD teacher it is important for use these as motivation for how I run my classroom. I want to create a classroom of inclusion for my students. I want student to learn tools to self regulate, to promote a positive learning environment. And as their teacher I want to find methods of reinforcement that are conducive to establishing positive relationships with students.

Module 2

Module 2 reading of chapter 4,5, and 6 was jam packed with information. I learned about about cultural differences and diversity and the role it plays in and out of the classroom, in chapter 6. I learned about English language learners and how they are taught and and the different needs of different types of learners. As this post goes on these are some highlights and takeaways from each chapter.

In chapter four it is said "The future is not bright for students with emotional and behavioral difficulties, who do not get the appropriate help"(Woodfolk 154). This short statement about students with emotional and behavioral difficulties resonated with me because its a short but true statement that I've seen more often than not to be true with students I've worked with as a paraprofessional and aspire to work with as a teacher. The chapter goes on to talk of the characteristics of students that suit the bill for ED and BD-- "... these students aggressive, anxious, withdrawn, or depressed and who often have difficulty following rules, paying attention, staying in their seats, or interacting with others,"(Woodfolk 154). As I though in reflection of the contents of the chapter this stuck with me because these are students that may very well be quite remarkable as far as intellect goes but have a difficult time with their emotional and or behavioral disturbance. Without the proper learning environment, and an educator that can work with them beyond the surface of what we perceive as just troublesome, these students go to the wayside. It is said in the text that students of this kind, need structure. As I read on I am prone to agree just from experience. The students I've worked with were very capable students, they just required structured schedules, structure in the classroom and in activities that they participated in. I hope to continue as a teacher working with that demographic of student.    

As I read into chapter five learning about English Language Learners, the specific part that I really enjoyed in this chapter was learning about the differences between Bilingual Maintenance Programs (BMPs) and are they more effective that English immersion. The question was posed "...is it better to teach students who are ELLs to read first in their native language or should they begin reading instruction in English," (Woodfolk 202). As the chapter goes on we learn that studies shows that learners retain and preform better in BMPs than in total English immersion. As I though about it, I questioned why that is the case. I think if I had to immerse myself in another country, challenged to learn their language, I had to be taught what I don't understand in a language I don't know, the stress of learning itself would make it hard for my to perform. Also I'd imagine that learning another language in my native language first would help my comprehension. It made me think of how students are taught second languages as electives. We don't learn that language by being totally immersed in a setting only that language is spoken. We learn by reading in our native English language and slowly the foreign language we are being taught is integrated more and more until eventually we have learned enough to speak read and write in that language, so the idea that ELL students would learn and better perform in BMPs made more sense to me. 

Lastly reading that studies and statistics of studies of diverse cultures piqued my interests because it speaks to something that I'm passionate of-- and that is teaching students of different races, backgrounds and demographics. It is important to me to reach every student I can-- the student that doesn't present me with much of a challenge, the student the doesn't speak English, the student that has an emotional disturbance or learning disability, right down to even the students that experience homelessness and poverty. As I read more about that, the portion of chapter six that focuses on the influences of students that experience poverty made me think of what they go though at school when their home lives are so hard. "Increased stress is related to increase school absences, decrease attention span, and concentration ability, problems with memory and thinking, reduced motivation and effort, depression and reduced neurogenesis," (Woodfolk 226). As a student in college full time currently, I work full time, I'm a single mom, I've experience hardships financially and had to over come a lot of things that have been added pressure as I pursue my education, as an adult some days I get stressed, so I picked this quote because if we as adult experience these things it made me empathetic to a young high school student that may be experiencing hardships of poverty, teen parent hood or other difficulties of living in poverty. It made me think as an educator that what we teach is very important but students don't learn well when they are not mentally or emotionally present. They don't learn well when their stomachs are empty or their angry because they had a rough night or morning. These are worries of students that come from difficult backgrounds. My hope is as a teacher that I can reach those students by being as resourceful with them. I hope to provide them with different options and solutions to some of the problems they encounter. 

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: Transition 99 (T99), Downers Grove

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

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).

T99 is a transitional program for 18-21 year olds that focuses on life skills, such as funds management, furthering education, job skills and community interaction. Though all the students that attend have disabilities, special education teachers, with the help of paraprofessional staff assist and aide in their educational process both in the classroom and out in the community.

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.

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). Transition 99 is staffed with 5 special educator teachers, and 4 paraprofessional educators per classroom. There is a permanent nurse on staff in the building, as well as a speech pathologist, occupational therapist and physical therapist. 

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

1.    Estimated percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch: About 56%

2.    Grade level(s): 18-21

3.    Number of

a.    students in the class: 7

b.    males:2

females:4

c.     English language learners:0

d.    students identified as gifted and talented:n/a

e.    students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans: 7

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
Intellectual Disability	2	Assistance or aide in communicating with others, job supervision until they have learned skills,  assistance in basic math, some reading and writing, guided social interaction
Autism	3	Assistance in using voice equipment, close monitoring for seizures, use of magnetic devices in event of seizure, use of sensory aids and space, assistance in social skill and job supervision
Down Syndrome	2	Allow more time on assignments Allow activity breaks Don’t use timed activities Allow short breaks between activities Ignore minor movement Allow student to stand and work Use physical adaptations (seating supports)

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?

    Because T99 is a transitional program that focuses on life skills, and more, there is less classroom instruction in a day and more hands on activity that focus on building skills students need to become as independent as possible. Students work on time management, with individual schedules that could include activities like, work, college courses, and time spent in the community volunteering. During their day students are assisted either by their teacher or teachers aide in their activities as they learn to social interact, work or learn in a college setting. The entire day is geared towards hands on learning and instruction for students. 

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

It is common to see students with the same level of functionality to be grouped together which seemed to better help the teacher and TA manage classroom tasks and student needs better.  

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

4.    List other resources (e.g., SMARTBoard, manipulatives, online resources) used for instruction in this class. SMARTBoard, Online Resources, physical manipulatives,  large print, picture instructions, and use of timer.

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? Two of the students in the classroom have intellectual disabilities, these two young ladies, are pretty independent compared to their classmates. They work short hour part time jobs, and job train, they are learning time management, and how to learn in a college setting though vocational courses at the college of dupage. 3 of our students are autistic and require hand over hand assistance with their voice devices. They are learning to carry out basic activites like, eating, showering routines and the use of technology with their speaking devices. Lastly 2 students that have down syndrome display high functionality by managing part time jobs, and also attending college vocational courses, they are learning to manage time, volunteer in the community and home skills, like cooking, cleaning and personal self care. 

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

One student in the kitchen learning to meal prep. I observed the student struggling to carry out the task set before them. Instead of the teacher doing it or showing the student how it is done, the teacher, used fewer words in her directions and talked the student through things one step at a time so that the student was able to do things for herself. Though there were minor mistakes or things that needed to be fixed the student learned hands on for themselves, how to complete the meal prep task. The teacher verbally reassured the student they could do this, that it was difficult but they needed to try. The student stood and listened to directions and one by one was able to do what they were told. I liked that instead of doing it for them, they allowed the student to make mistakes to learn from and through repetition they will learn to do it better and better each time

Do You Know What Your Doing With That?

"What are we telling our students about their online presence... Are we practicing what we preach?"





Technology is overwhelming. Options and more options and more options. Tricks and shortcuts, applications for leisure, lifestyle and education-- there is so much you can do at your finger tips. So many choices and activities to see and do but have you ever stopped and asked yourself do you know what your doing? I know when I see my parents on social media struggling to upload a photo or save a contact, the first thing I want to say is give it here! you don't know what your doing-- I'll show you. But what about you, do you know what your doing? I saw this image about digital citizenship and the 5 Do's of online behaviors and wondered, self, myself said yes? Do we practice what we preach to students? Well, wait... what are we preaching to students about their online and technology presence? The DigCitCommit campaign is striving to teach students and educators the importance of using technology and its platforms as a voice of positivity and a presence that is engaging and informed on the issues and platforms that we partake on. I really liked this because we tell students that they should be careful of the content they post and to use technology as a method of speaking their minds but we don’t always tell them positively how— and this campaign does just that! Check it out at digcitcommit.org! 

From Pencil to keystroke...

Up, down, over there, put it where? 
How does it work?

What does it do?

Can I try? Well if I can't touch it, 
if I can't work with it 
how do I know it works? 

     The curious mind of the kinesthetic learner or the hands on kid. This is me. Even today I learn with my hands and eyes, through repetition, through doing it myself. It was hard learning as a child from books, because I could only read about it, but how was I to try it for myself? Ah! Through the involvement of physical activities, incorporated by my teachers. That was years ago, you know, before the internet. Before you could simulate difficult tasks at a screen. Now instead of finding more ways to be creative with text we find more ways to be creative with technology. A screen that lights up with good graphics is great all the way up until I have to problem solve. The ideal behind the use of technology is to make things easier, but I think in the process we loose or maybe just don't use as often the skills to problem solve or learn how something work when we take away some of the benefits of hands on learning. For me, this would be a struggle. I mean there are somethings you have to do to learn the best, somethings just don't teach well on a screen. Learning to incorporate both in a lesson would be interesting, but certainly possible. With time, things change they evolve, education, learning, and teaching don't look the same today, as it did 10 years ago as it will 5 years from now,

I suppose as an educator, the challenge is creativity to find ways to reach every type of learner.