So, You Want To Be A Teacher?

I have pondered the last couple of months about becoming a teacher.  I feel I have always had a teacher mindset with my own sons.  It has caused me to cautiously model my actions, take opportunities to instruct, know when to NOT instruct, allow them to develop their own ideas and strategies and discipline effectively.  All of these things have been bonuses to me in my teacher journey.  Teaching for me is derivative of being a parent.  Now I know not all teachers are parents, and that doesn’t mean if you ARE a parent you will be a better teacher.  What I am saying is, if we go into teaching thinking of it as a job, then we will soon find ourselves wishing we hadn’t. 

That sounds kind of negative….I know.  BUT, what I am saying is, being a teacher is not or should not be looked at as a 9-5 “job”.  Nor should it be looked at as just having to pass a test, or interview.  Some jobs are like that, but teaching to me is a career…a journey…a commitment.  To be great, you have to submerse yourself in something.  If you are only wanting to “try” teaching, I would say, controversially, don’t do it.  You don’t “try” being a parent (unless you are babysitting I guess).  The point is, to be a great teacher we have to constantly be learning our craft.  That means, we are always going to be learning after college and beyond.  If you want to be a GREAT teacher, you will learn to implement different styles, tactics, pedagogy, life lessons into your classroom.  IF you want to be a GREAT teacher, you will learn what you are teaching (hopefully we already have learned it).  If YOU want to be a GREAT teacher, you will learn the best ways each day and each year for how you teach your students.  Now can you be a good teacher without these things, possibly.  But to do ANYTHING in life that is GREAT that creates a legacy that is above average you have to work hard at it and really love it.  I don’t say all of this to discourage or sound arrogant.  I just believe this is how we make our schools better.  Through teamwork, dedication, continued learning and commitment, we can make our schools even better.  And there are some great schools all around.  Our students deserve the best.  Does that mean we don’t have a life?  No.  It just means we should set aside time to develop our craft, sometimes in real time, sometimes outside of the classroom.

This little rant connects to the NC Teaching standards:  Teachers III • Teachers know the content they teach.  It is important, once again, that we as teachers are well versed in differentiation, DOK, Bloom’s Taxonomy and other great resources to help us make the learning experience excellent for our students.  It also connects to:  Teachers IV • Teachers facilitate learning for their students. Our mission individually and as a team in our school is to create a rich environment of learning that is challenging, fun, and creative.  It should also produce results and pinpoint problem areas that we can help students need work on.  All of these things are doable.  I feel like we have a great start.  That’s just my two cents.

 

 

Organizing A Classroom: Writer's Workshop

I have been considering my future classroom and how I might possibly set it up for the best possible outcome with students.  As we have been learning, differentiation, integration and diverse teaching skills are a must in today's 21st Century classroom.  In any classroom for that matter.  It is important as well, as a teacher, to develop, learn and create an environment for these teaching practices to hold up and be successful.  We are, after all, teaching students for their benefit.  However, I think for a teacher it is important (very) to love what you do.  When you make it your own and teach students to "own" their learning, I believe you will see great success and reward for your efforts.


In a recent article on Edutopia,the idea of Writer's Workshop caught my attention.  I really enjoy ELA and Writing, so this is certainly something I was interested in.  I have gathered from recent Clinical experiences that ELA takes up a huge portion of the day by itself as well as being integrated into other subjects.  In fact, my CE (Clinical Educator) explained to me that in order to get quality Social Studies, Science and Math into the day, it really has to be that way.  But it makes since because reading and writing are one of the most integral parts of our lives.  We read labels, stop signs, magazines, articles, emails, etc..... and if we are not efficient in that skill it will make life kind of difficult at times.  Even with the technology that we have today, we will still need to have a basic understanding.  I know students probably don't see ELA as very important at times and probably boring, but there are ways to get them "hooked" and interested for the most part. 


The article talked about one teacher's ideas on how she sets her class up physically and practically.  She gave examples and a diagram of her room that helped illustrate how she does it:


   http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/blogs/edutopia-scoffield-writersworkshopsecondaryclassrm.png

As you can see there are many different opportunities for students to work and learn throughout the centers.  She states:

 

"When I conduct writers' workshops in my own classroom, I adapt the station rotation model of blended learning. I set up five or six stations around my classroom. Students walk into the room and look at the assignments listed on the whiteboard. They then pick the skill that they need to develop and go to the designated station" edutopia

I like the idea of using this model because you are not "forcing" the students into an assignment, but allowing them to choose a specific area they need to work on, or that they thrive in to get them interested.  Another idea was helping students develop their Citation skills for writing research based papers:

 "Using Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) as a main source, instruct students to complete various activities that will help them build a works cited page for their own papers." edutopia

I know personally that knowing how to do this at an early age will help tremendously in College or any other situation where you are required to identify sources.  The article goes on to explain the rest of the diagram/work stations in detail: a station for working on essays, analyzing topics and other portions of what they are reading.  Also working in peer groups to better create a good amount of differentiated learning offering opportunity for each student to learn from one another.  All of these seem like a great plan to me and I can't wait to possibly try some of this out.  I think they would work well with a variety of students from Challenged learners to more advanced learners.  It offers peer grouping as well as flexibility.

This article would certainly connect with our Teaching standards (from Learn NC here is a more in-depth breakdown:) http://www.learnnc.org/?pstandards=Teachers

IVa •

Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students.

IVb •

Teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students.

IId •

Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs.

IIa •

Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults.

Works Cited:

http://www.learnnc.org/?pstandards=Teachers

  http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/blogs/edutopia-scoffield-writersworkshopsecondaryclassrm.png

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/creating-writers-workshop-secondary-classroom-shelby-scoffield

Differentiating For ELL Students

Last week, I started on a group assignment in one of my classes.  We were put into groups and asked to research one of five different people groups and give resources and info regarding how to teach this particular group and a background of information about this people group.  My group chose the Hispanic community and it had me thinking about my own classroom and how I plan to engage ELL (English Language Learners) as well as help them succeed. 


In the following link, I found many great resources and teaching aides to help instruction for this group of students:
http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/language/teaching-ell.html




Among the list, there were ideas and tactics that stated speaking slowly and writing down key terms helps the student to comprehend and process what is being taught.  You could even make sure to use closed captioning in videos to help them follow along in the process.  The use of visual elements as well can enhance the comprehension levels of many students.  Using Graphic Organizers like Vin Diagrams, Graphs, and pie charts are all ways in which you can encourage and engage some ELL students.  Grouping students with strong English speaking students as well can help with ELL students as well as any student who may need Speech assistance.  Using Think/Pair/Share as well can be an invaluable tool to help you as the teacher as well as the other students get the most out of each lesson.  In an article from Edutopia:"Do model for students what they are expected to do or produce, especially for new skills or activities, by explaining and demonstrating the learning actions, sharing your thinking processes aloud, and showing good teacher and student work samples. Don't just tell students what to do and expect them to do it" The article goes on to explain that it is wise to develop non verbal cues as well (gestures, visuals, other non verbal cues) to instruct and lead ELL students.  It is important as well for them to develop both their home language as well as English in the process.  I could see it as a challenge especially students with Learning Difficulties on top of ELL status, but one I am ready to take on.  I think with any learner, these methods can be used to everyone's benefit in the classroom. 


I would plan to use these methods and more in my own classroom.  I believe having all of the classroom work together would greatly benefit each student as well as make for a more productive day.  I would not rely on the English speaking students to carry that burden alone, but would use it as a resource and at the same time make the classroom a lot more diverse.  I think we can all learn in the process.  The most important part is making sure you are teaching to the entire classroom and modifying to accommodate each student on their level.  That is the balance: Teaching each student appropriately so that the advanced learners are not bored and get behind, and those who are a bit behind can catch up.


This would connect to the NCPTS: 2-->Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students.  It is important to make sure ALL students are getting quality instruction that benefits them no matter where they came from.  And 4:Teachers facilitate learning for their students.  This will ensure that learning is top notch for all students in the classroom.


Works Cited:


http://www.edutopia.org/blog/esl-ell-tips-ferlazzo-sypnieski
http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/language/teaching-ell.html

Integrating Fine Arts In Social Studies

I recently found this article on Social Studies using Arts Integration for teaching.  It has some great insight into the importance of Arts integration and meaningful ways in which you can use different tactics to create memorable lesson plans. From the article: “One of the ten major themes in the social studies standards is culture.2 Societies around the world express culture—their identity—through the arts with dance, music, drama, and visual products. Making art is a way to express cultural norms and perspectives.” (socialstudies.org)

I thought that was a great statement and truth from the article.  I can see how using the arts would certainly help me to teach students as well as make the content meaningful.  I know some students dread social studies, but this is a way in which we can create more interest in the subject.  Here is another quote: “By integrating the arts with social studies, students also tap into other forms of intelligence, such as visual-spatial, musical, kinesthetic, and interpersonal.” (socialstudies.org)  So we can see how integrating Fine Arts also helps in the development of students brain function and psychology.  It is important for teachers not only to teach content from an academic standpoint, but also to help in the development of the whole student.  Our job is to help them to develop their knowledge but also the ability to function in society and be wonderful people in their communities.  Building well rounded students is very important to me personally. 

This article also gave some great ideas to help a teacher or future teacher to plan for integration in their curriculum.  The very first thing to consider would be picking a State Standard followed by a Fine Arts standard.  Then picking grade/age/learning ability appropriate vocabulary and content to use.  And of course some type of performance based assessment to see if the students are absorbing the content.  There are really many directions and ideas to base whole Unit plans on using this method of integration.  The article went on to give a very detailed illustration that was very helpful in how to start from scratch and create a very detailed and interesting social studies lesson.  The last quote that really captured my attention is one all teachers should listen to: “Instead of a disconnected list of dates, names, events, and timelines, coequally using the arts in instruction provides students with a real context in which to apply social studies content.” The arts are a great way for educators and communities to collaborate and integrate community into the classroom and school system.

Using the NCPTS: Standard 4: Teachers Facilitate Learning for Their Students.  This connects to the integration method because it allows teachers to use different mediums of Arts to engage student learning.  I have learned a lot from EDU 311 (Fine Arts) class about how using the Arts to help teach content not only helps students be creative, but also it helps in the overall child's development from fine motor skills, to cognitive development.  This could also connect to Standard 3: Teachers Know the Content They Teach.  In order to create an integrated lesson, you have to know how you can relate it to the standards but also how the students will understand the concept you are trying to tackle.  It is not about memorizing as much as it is absorbing and retaining the content. 

This is something I plan on using in all of my subjects.  I have a love for the Fine Arts, especially music.  Hopefully, the school system I work for will allow for Fine Arts to be a major part of what and how I teach.  I think that with so many different types of learners in the world, it is important to use every advantage possible to encourage and foster both physical and mental development.  I would like to use collage, digital presentations, bring in musicians to demonstrate time period and cultural styles of music and possibly bring in different artists from other countries and regions to demonstrate.  I like the idea of using creative writing as well, which was a topic in this article as well.  The teacher played an instrumental orchestra piece for the students as they had snack time.  Then they developed a story or fictional character.  As they listened to the piece, they paid attention to the lulls, the tempo, the excitement, key of the song to help develop the story: (if the tempo was fast, the character could be angry or frantic, maybe they were running away or something.  If the song was slow or quiet, maybe the character was sleeping or sad. etc.....)  These are some of the things I would like to possibly implement into my classroom. 

Works Cited:

http://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/publications/yl/2301/230120.pdf

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