This week in Mr. Polynomial’s class I witnessed the importance of building relationships in the classroom.  Mr. Polynomial commented about each of the sports teams that played a game this past weekend and showed that he was really paying attention to events going on around school..  He later explained to me the importance of being involved in these students’ lives, emphasizing the oftentimes lack of a positive and steady adult role model in kids’ homes.  Mr. Polynomial made it clear how very very important it is to learn students’ names, and even suggested reviewing the class roster before each class.

Analysis:

Earlier this semester, when Mr. Ramon came to speak to our class about building relationships in the classroom, I started to be interested in the idea of implementing personal instruction methods in the classroom.  Later, Dr. Bond spoke of the methods he used to learn about his students’ personal backgrounds and gave reasons for doing so.

High school students are at an age where their emotions rule.  If we as educators can become personally connected to their lives, they will feel more motivation to want to perform well in the classroom.  The more disconnected students feel, the less accountable they’ll become with regards to attendance, discipline, and learning.

It is also helpful in designing instructional activities to know about what is going on in your students’ lives outside of school.  For example, if over half the class has a part time job outside of school, it may be unwise to assign an hour of homework every night.  Instead, maybe you can allow some time in class to complete the homework or assign a little less.

Let’s say there’s a student who seems uninterested in class and sleeps all the time.  Then you find out that kid supports his family at work or is going through a tough emotional time.   Finding out about a students’ personal life would show how much you as an adult care and are aware of their situation.  Once the student feels that extra boost of support from a caring adult, he or she may be more prone to accept help or strive to do well and catch up.  Being flexible in these cases would be key for an instructor.  Maybe offering bonus points on tests in order to combat low homework grades would be a good move.

It is important to get to know your kids.

Reflection:

It is becoming more and more obvious that a job as a teacher is one which requires more than just being in the classroom.  Both my cooperating teachers spend time outside of class attending school events such as sporting events or student art shows.  They pay attention to what is going on in lots of the students’ lives, and make instruction relevant based on that.

In the math classroom, it will be key to try to make instruction relevant, because one of the biggest challenges is answering this question:  “Miss, how will this benefit me in the future?”  As long as an instructor can relate the answer of that question to something the student can actually foresee in his or her personal future, the student will respectfully accept the idea that math isn’t so disjointed from real life.

This week I met my new ELL buddy.  I was actually paired with a couple of non-native English speakers, and I felt like I learned about how much more difficult it is to engage people who are not very comfortable talking back.  I felt connected to my kids, and I think the three of us built a good relationship even from just one day.  Having learned some things about the kids’ pasts, I feel a little more confident about and connected to the kids and our ability to communicate together and learn from each other.

Analysis:

I asked some questions of the kids, and they responded well.  Sometimes I had to use examples, like when I asked one of them what kind of fiction do you like and he responded with a shrug.  I mentioned that Harry Potter is fantasy and he got it right away.  Since Harry Potter is pretty popular, this indicated that the boy had good Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) in English, but that his CALP, or academic language, was not as well-developed.  It is hard to say whether either of the kids had a good CALP in their native languages, but one told me that he wanted to be an engineer when he grew up, so to me that means he must be pretty ambitious and smart.  The girl wants to grow up and be in the Army, then retire in 20 years.  That sort of planning and care for a financially secure future also indicates to me that this girl is more than proficient in life skills.

As we all spoke about where we were from, I drew a diagram of the United States to show where we were right now and where my home state is in relation to Texas.  This multisensory teaching helped, I think, the kids visually understand our geography.  We used to the map to show where the kids’ home countries were too.  That was neat, because I already like to draw a picture to explain things, and using the picture as a reference while using plenty of hand movements is my preferred method of communication.

These kids were shy.  I asked them so many questions and even felt like I was dominating the conversation at times.  I was just so excited to ask them questions and find out more about what their challenges are in school.  One of my kids said he receives information in English quite well, but he struggles with reading and speaking.  My other kid said she has the most trouble with writing English, due to the varied and plenty grammatical rules we must follow as speakers of English.  They both admitted that practice would be the best way to get better at what is right now a challenge.  I like that kind of work effort.

Reflection for the future:

It is obvious that in order for students to feel like they can share something with you, you have to get them feeling comfortable.  More so, I think that the more comfortable I am, the more they’ll feel the same and be willing to share and participate.  The importance of relationship building cannot be understated.

As for multisensory teaching, as a math teacher I will constantly be having to come up with multiple methods for teaching any one thing, and the use of pictures, diagrams, and body language will be essential in teaching in the diverse classroom.

I was most interested in the kids’ ambitions and dreams.  I think what I would like to know from the kids is what the school or teachers can do to help them succeed in reaching preset goals.  I asked if a short journal write would be helpful in reading and writing English, and they both said yes.

Maybe I’ll start my next meeting with that journal activity suggested by my kids.  I really like to perform that activity, and the fact that the ELLs are so willing to do work that will improve upon English skills is encouraging for me.

Analysis:
When I met my second cooperating teacher, Mr. Polynomial, I had the chance to observe a very different teaching style from the one of my first cooperating teacher. His is a more lecture style than student-centered. The kids in the class are very bright, but I noticed that one who had missed a couple of classes was behind while the class was working on a worksheet and he started to put his head down. This reminded me of the thing we’re learning about ELL’s how if they don’t understand something, sometimes they “zone out” or put their heads down in class. I realize how challenging it will be to keep all students on-track during class time.

While working in my group with those who share my professional goal, we talked about our own learning styles and preferences. I quickly realized that we all have severely different learning styles. One of the girls explained many things about Attention Deficit Disorder that I had never known about. Another described that structure was best for her when it came to tests and the way class time is used.

The real highlight of the week was observing a class where the freshmen were assigned speeches about an important relationship each student shares with another person. The class was a warm, rich, comfortable environment, and I believe the ninth-graders really felt close to comfortable with sharing some really personal information. As I listened to the stories, I realized for the third time this week that every student is unique and special. Hearing students tell about their personal lives and really share some deep stories made me even more excited to be a part of the shaping of potentially great minds.

Reflection:
I am so stoked to be able to learn more about how to respond to different learning styles, as it is certainly obvious that such a skill will be crucial for me to attain and culture.

This week in the block we talked about English Language Learners (ELLs).  There are many factors that influence the success of ELLs in the content classroom, including mobility, previous school experience, and classroom environment.

Analysis:

Our class read articles describing strengths and setbacks that come along with being an ELL.  If a student is a part of a family who has to move around quite a bit for work, they might have trouble adjusting to new environments and getting settled in the classroom.  Students who change schools often might have trouble with changing curricula and new requirements.  Also, at the identity vs. identity diffusion stage (Erik Erikson’s 8 Stages of Development), adolescents will struggle with the social problems of being thrust into unknown worlds.

When a student comes from a strong educational background, there exists an advantage in his or her learning abilities.  With well-developed literacy skills in a student’s native language, learning literacy in a second language comes much easier.  On the opposite end, when a student does not possess strong literacy skills in his or her native language, it will be harder to develop strong literacy skills in a second language.  Some countries are much farther advanced than the United States in math and science, and students from those countries will be apt to excel in those subjects here, whereas students from less-developed areas of the world will be lacking behind the math and science standards in the United States.

Once an ELL enters the classroom in the US, there are classroom environment factors that influence learning.  An affective filter describes the hindrance upon absorption of information; with great stress factors in the classroom, the filter is in place and keeps a student from learning.  Alternatively, when a student feels less stress and pressure in the classroom, the affective filter is off and he or she is ready to absorb more information.

There are many more factors to consider with an ELL in the classroom, but the important thing to remember here is that not every learner is the same and individualized factors need to be taken into account.

Analysis:

In order to foster success with ELLs, a teacher must be able to create a welcoming, comfortable environment in the classroom.  When an ELL is first exposed to a new culture, teachers must not be “put off” by the ELL’s desire to be silent at first.  We as educators should have the patience to let the student observe silently before openly participating.

Also, it is the crucial role of the teacher to be aware of differing educational, economical, and home-life backgrounds of students.  Knowing the different backgrounds will allow us to accommodate the needs of each learner in specific and appropriate ways.

Finally, it is important to make your students feel comfortable.  I’d like to say it again..  it is important to make your students feel comfortable. The classroom needs to be a place where students feel like they can openly discuss ideas and solutions.  With a safe and respectful classroom, ELLs will be more likely to feel welcome and let the affective filter down.

Something new I learned this week:

Many ELL’s have a strong family background.  Some have grown up with a big, close family and that fact has led to a more mature and socially aware student.  I like that.

I heard a radio show last weekend that, by the end, had me in tears.  The show was about an immigrant student, Ramon Sanchez, and his experience in grade school of name changes for all the Spanish-speaking students.  As a son of migrant farmers, he faced many challenges, but made sure to remind listeners that he was so grateful for the strong family support he received.  I can only hope to have students with supportive and loving parents like the ones in this radio show.  There’s a link to the show on my page… it’s called “NPR story about ELLs”.

The “block” started this semester, and my fellow interns and I are at a high school all day for two days of the week.

Awesome High School is pretty impressive.  The administration strives to keep students interested in learning are commendable.  I think the people in charge over here really want to see students succeed.  I like that spirit.  The kids are really great.  The ones I have met so far have been so smart and mature.  I’m amazed that kids are as grown up as they are.

A fellow intern and I observed a classroom last week, and we really enjoyed it.  It was so interesting to see how the teacher kept the attention of the class and was able to manage her classroom effectively, even when some of the students wanted to not pay attention.

Analysis:

I have been told throughout  my college career that we as teachers will have no idea what we’re in for until we actually get into it.  Being in the classroom and really observing is a great way to learn, I think.

As for the intern classroom, working in small groups is nice because everyone is so friendly and shares ideas.  I like the structure of the lectures.  For example, the lecture given on the format of the Direct Teach Lesson Plan (or the Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan) was actually presented in a Direct format.

Future Expected Results:

Being in a cooperating teacher’s classroom will be exciting, I think.  I’m interested to know more about classroom management and about the specifics of how to reach kids of differing learning styles.