Reflection Journal #4-Domain #4: Teaching and Instruction

Different strategies

The teacher has a variety of ways that she introduces new strategies and materials to the class; I think this is important because it helps the students feel like things are not repetitive. Sometimes the teacher presents materials and different lessons in a transition to the past assignment and sometimes she talks with the students about their prior knowledge of the certain subject. I find that the students don’t always have that much prior knowledge of a certain subject which sometimes makes it difficult to introduce a subject. When I taught my lesson, I wasn’t sure how to introduce the concept of centimeters because it isn’t something used very often in the United States and it may come off as something not important. So I made a connection to myself as being a Canadian and how this is a type of measurement we use in Canada. To conclude, I learned that when teaching younger students it might not always helps to consider prior knowledge to introduce a subject or concept, and that it’s important to make it interesting to the students.

Student Grouping

The teacher has the students seated in small groups (6-7). She will change groups if students misbehave with one another and also monthly she will move around the students to different groups, so students can get to know one another. When they have carpet time they have a whole class discussion, this usually takes place 3-4 times a day. Another occasion is when the teacher assigns reading/math groups, which contains 3 groups of 6-7 students, one group is one on one reading with the teacher, the second group is partner reading and the third group is individual math experiments. I found Ms. Marron didn’t do that much one on one or partner or small group, her lessons usually were individual assignments. That’s why when I taught my lesson I made it small group oriented, because I feel its often more fun to learn in a group or with a partner.

Techniques to asses and evaluate learning

Sometimes when the students are working on reading assignments the teacher will walk around and observe and make notes in her notebook. Also, when they finish their reading assignment she will walk around and look over each students work and make a check or circle questions that are incorrect. When I collected my worksheets from my lesson I did a similar assessment, I checked each question that was right and circled questions that were incorrect, on the exit slip I made a checklist of each question and noted the students performance, another form of assessment was the completion of the worksheet from each group, which I made a checklist for and as well as brief notes.

What I have learned about the age group

I have learned a lot about these 1^st graders I observed in Ms. Marron’s class. One thing I have learned about these 6 and 7 year olds was they love to help out with different task and just help the teacher; such as passing out papers, erasing the board, taking the attendance, and ringing the bell. When I was in Elementary school I remember being the same way, I don’t know why but its funny how times don’t change. The second thing I’ve noticed is that the students like to tell on one another when someone doesn’t follow directions, doesn’t complete a task correctly, looks at their paper and or misbehaves. A couple of the times when I was observing the students would come back from lunch telling on a certain student because he or she hurt someone physically or emotionally and was in the principle office, but it was funny listening to their interpretations of what happened, and then the teacher would look at me like “do you understand what happened?, because she wouldn’t”. As a result, I have learned a lot, and also remembered a lot from when I was that age. I have learned that the kids come to school with a lot of problems from home and they know how to leave their problems at home while they are at school. I find these 6-7 year olds are great participants in school and try their very best most of the time. Although, sometimes the students misbehave and or forget the way they are suppose to act in the classroom or in the school; this lack of control some of the students have is due to the lack of structure or discipline they have in their home lives.

Likes and Dislikes

Students enjoy going to their special, which consist of music, gym, and computers; the specials are once daily and are 45 minutes long. The students also enjoy hands-on activities rather than seat work, going to the carpet for group discussions, and group games at the white board. I find the students don’t dislike that much; they usually are excited for any activity or lesson. Which I think is something that needs to be enforced throughout the grades, and that is fun and things that interest the students. I say this because in the community most students will be influenced by gangs, drugs etc… and it is important as teachers to show the students the importance of school and how it plays a role in their lives. As an observer I noticed that students dislike seat work because their expressions on their face tell you. When they work on their morning work, I find some of the students rush through the questions so they can join their friends playing on the carpet; which is despites the purpose of the morning work. Also, when the students are listening to lesson or instructions, they often begin to stare off into space, talk to one another, play with something in their desks; which ends up getting them in trouble, I think if there was more interaction during the lessons this would help.

Technology in the Classroom

I see technology being used once maybe twice each week. The teacher sets up a program on the computer that practices their spelling words, math and reading. The students are able to listen to stories, type words and print off their completed work once they are finished.

Reflection

Throughout the text it explains many different aspects of Teaching and the Instruction, such as assessment, applying skills, teaching lessons appropriate to students and various instructional strategies. In the text, I liked the idea of allowing time for interaction and collaboration (76) among students because it has many benefits, such as students carrying out work independently, and a critical aspect of a learning process. In the text they discuss how small groups become noisy due to questions, teasing, joking, and other comments that are usually considered “off task” (76). I feel like it’s important that students get the opportunity to converse with one another in an appropriate way because it’s often when students can see where they are comparison to their classmates. In my lesson I split the class into three groups and each group went around to the 3 centers and participated as a whole. I think this was important because it allowed the students explore as a group rather than individually. I remember when I was in elementary school and I always looked forward to group time because it allowed me to step out of my shell and also voice my opinion.

In the text I liked Kathy Rosebrock’s concept “uses but confuses” (93) because it is a great example of assessment, data collection and teacher intervention. I thought the way she gathered information and assessed their work was a perfect way to assess a student’s progress or struggle. I feel like every beginner teacher worries about parent-teacher meetings and this would be a great example to show parents and also the student(s); to show their progress and what actions will be taken to improve or take the child’s work to the next level. In Ms. Marron’s class I felt that there needs to be more assistance when students are falling behind, not just when they are beyond no return. This struggle that students feel is very important to identify because if the student feels unconnected to the rest of the class they’re more likely to act out and just give up. That’s why I think it’s important to address the problem when it occurs.

Context of the Classroom and School Community

The school I analyzed was Greenbay Elementary School, which is located in North Chicago, Illinois. The district is North Chicago SD 187, grades: K through 5. I choose this school because I plan to work at this school once I have obtained my teaching certificate, or in this district.

At this school the majority of the students are Hispanic with 47.4 %, followed by Black with 45.3%, White 4.3%, Asian/Pacific Islander 2.1% and Multi racial/ethnic 0.9%. It was interesting to compared these racial statistics to the state, the majority of the racial background was white 53.3%, next is Hispanic 20.8% and then Black 19.1%. Considering the ethnic make up of the school, the English proficient rate is 16.7% compared to the 8.0% state rate. The average class size (as of the first school day in May) Kindergarten: 18.0, Grade 1: 15.3, Grade 2: 18.5, Grade 3: 15.3, Grade 4: 19.5, and Grade 5: 18.7. On the school report card there was no information regarding a special education program. But, while I was observing in the school I was able to experience a 3-4 grade self contained special education class. There were only three other special education classrooms at the school, most of the special ed. students are included in the mainstream classroom. The one rate that caught my eye was the Attendance rate 94.3%, which is high considering the state of Illinois only requires 93.7% for non high school. The mobility rate is 22.1% which indicates the number of times students enroll in or leave a school during the school year. The low income rate is very high at this school with 84.8% compared to the state which is 42.9%. Low income means students that come from a family receiving public aid, or eligible to receive free/ or reduced price lunch. The second rate that caught my eye, and I felt was the most important was Parental Contact, which is 100 percent compared to the state which is 96.7%.

In this district the teachers consist of 67.0% White, 22.6% Black, 8.1% Hispanic, and 1.4% Asian/ Pacific Islander. The teacher’s population is 71.6% female, and 28.4% male. The average teacher salary in the district is $57,999 compared to the states $61,402. The average teacher experience is 12.7 years. The percent of teachers with Bachelor’s Degree is 51.9% with in the district. One shocking percent was the number of classes not taught by highly qualified teachers was 14.3 compared to the states 1.2%.

The Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) is a test administered to students in grades 3 through 8. The grade I was interested in was grade 3, because I plan to teach grade 1 or 2 and I would be responsible for teaching my students the necessities for the ISAT. The reading score for 2008-2009 was 38.5% which has decreased from the previous years which was 46.6%, these scores show the percentage of the students who met and exceeded the standards of the test. The mathematic scores for 2008-2009 were 57.7% and had gone down from the previous year of 58.6%. The gender comparison for reading and mathematics was similar because the statistics showed more males failed to meet the standards in both then females, where more females passed both subjects then males. Both of these scores for Reading and Mathematics were extremely low compared to the state scores.

The classroom I observes in is 75% African American and 25% Hispanic (Mexican), the class is almost evenly split between boys and girls. The students in the class all differ in their strengths and weaknesses, but the majority of the class is on the same track. There are two boys who are going through testing for a learning disability. One students was going through the process while I observed in October, but when I started observing in January his parents were going through conferences to discuss where the best placement would be appropriate for him. The other boy is still going through testing because he was held behind once before, and now he is still struggling so the teacher has become worried and he is being monitored by specialists. There are 8 Hispanic children in the class, their first language is Spanish and it is reinforced at home because most of their parents speak little to no English. Most of the students do well with English, but one girl struggles with speaking English. She is taken out of class daily where she practices reading out loud to a teachers assistant, the teacher give her a lot of praise when she ask question or gets involved with discussions. Ms. Marron, has communicated with her parents to remind her to speak English and watch English cartoons; to help her practice English.

I believe all of the students have strengths and talents, but there are a few students who succeed in many different ways in the classroom. I think this is due to the support and reinforcement the students have at home, because you can learn a lot at school, but if you have no support at home to help you practice, then you will see the difference between the students that have support and student who do not.

The culture of the classroom and school is low in social economic status, and this is due to the community the school is in; which is not a safe area. In this area most kids do not get past high school and if they do, they are superior to the rest. The community is half African American and half Hispanic. Most teachers would look past this district due to the community that surrounds the school, but I believe this is where the most help is needed, and this is the school I would like to teach at once I obtain my Bachelor’s degree. Even though the community isn’t the best, to the most part the family support is good, but there are some families that do not help with their child’s school work. Ms. Marron discussed with me how she spoke with a student’s mother because the homework that was being handed was unsatisfactory, and it was clear the student wasn’t receiving any kind of guidance, but the mother continued to say “I help him”. When Ms. Marron told me this, it made me think how important it is to get across to the parents and how vital they are to the success of their child’s academics. As I was observing I began to notice most of the students guardians were single mothers, grandparents and or mother and father. I thought this was good to know because then you consider how much assistance the students were receiving at home, some students are looked after by an older brother or sister because their parents work nights.

The behavior of the classroom is alright, but sometimes the students get out of control. Most students come to school because it is the most structured environment they know. Some families have no structure or discipline and usually those are the students that act out or the students who follow directions, it all depends on the child. Since I have been observing at the school, I would say this is one thing they need to consider fixing. When I ate with the students in the lunch room, it was a total disaster, teachers were yelling at the top of their lungs to control the kids, it was pretty sad to see. I believe that teachers can only threaten to call the parents so much, and then it is in the hands of the parents.

Therefore, I felt that some teachers may look past this school due to the results on the ISAT, also the diversity in the school and community. I personally would like to be involved in helping the students improve their scores, and I don’t think people should look past a school because of the low income rate or diversity of the students. In conclusion, the school needs to make certain changes to meet the standards of the state and to make sure there is support for the children because of the community that surrounds them.