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Winter 2013 Educ 456 Educ 458 Internship Senior portfolio Spring 2014 Educ 480 Capstone Internship Educ 323 Summer 2014 Educ 496 Psych 531
Description for Collab 4 Kids
Collaboration 4 kids is organization established by six Oak Park agencies with a mission to provide resources and education to educators, parents and students to enrich and improve the early childhood education field. Now over 60 agencies contribute to the benefit of this organization and provide resources to the early childhood education cause. This website offers links and article to parents nad educators and the community at large to aid in educating young children up through high school.
Teacher Collaboration
The article on the website District Adminstration address the vital role that collaboration plays in the classroom. It addresses the benefits of collaboration for the school district, the students and teachers. Collaboration, as I define it, is working together with other entities or people for the benefit of a cause. In the classroom this can be teachers collaboratiing with her students, veteran teachers collaborating with new teachers, or the adminstration collaborating with teachers and students. When collboration happens, great things take place. Learning is expanded by all, teachers, students, the school, district and community--and that is what education is all about, so it is clear that collaboration play a vital role in the education field.
Further analysis of Collaboration in the Classroom
From further exploring the idea of collaboration in the classroom, I learned just how crucial it is to learning. I have even come to the conclusion that without collaboration, no learning can take place. If the students aren't collaborating with the teacher in their learning, how can they learn? They have to focus on what she is teaching and participate to learn which is collaborating. They both, teacher and student are working together to learn. This sentence from the article Teacher Collaboration in Context of Inclusive Education (cited below) really gave me some insight into collboration, "A collaboration process cannot be imagined without recognising the equality and the importance of different competences.' To me, this means that collaboration takes place when we respect that everyone has difference competencies that are equally important and if we work together we can benefit one another with are diverse knowledge backgrounds. Miltenienė, L., & Venclovaitė, I. (2012). TEACHER COLLABORATION IN THE CONTEXT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION. Special Education, (2), 111-123
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Career Options with my Degree
25 Resources
1. Art on the edge 208-664-3095 x388
1418 N 1st Mail: 108 E Walnut
Coeur d’Alene 83814
After-school program of arts,
summer work-shops, camps
and community events
2. Big Brothers Big Sisters of the
Inland NW
222 W Mission, Ste 40 328-8310
Spokane 99201 Fax: 328-2068
Agency that matches adult mentors,
Role models and friends to school aged
children
3. Boy Scouts of America
Inland NW council
411 W Boy Scout Way 325-4562
Spokane 99201 Fax: 242-8233
A program developed to teach 6-18yr olds
leadership, personal fitness, good character,
and outdoor recreation
4. Campfire Boys & Girls Inland
Northwest Council
524 N Mullan 747-6191
Spokane 99206 ca
Program offering youth development
Leadership, self-reliance, community-building,
camping, environmental awareness for
children ages 3-21
5. Deer Park Youth Theatre
c/o Deer Park Arts Commission
316 E Crawford 276-8884
PO Box F, Deer Park 99006
Performing arts program for grades 3-12
6. Get Lit
EWU 501 N Riverpoint Blvd, Ste 425
Spokane WA 99202 359-697
Supports young aspiring writers especially
In low income and rural schools
7. Girl Scouts Eastern WA &
Northern Idaho
1404 N Ash 747-8091
Spokane 99201 800-827-9478
A programs on leadership, service and
Self-reliance, building confidence courage and character. Many volunteers and adult mentors with
Camp Four echoes, STEM, First Lego League for
Girls K-12th
8. Girl Scouts Eastern WA &
Northern Idaho
1404 N Ash 747-8091
Spokane 99201 800-827-9478
Recreation, fields trips and arts and crafts
for children 2.5-12yrs
9. HYPER-Formance Jazz Dance
Club 448-5423
1312 E 56th Ave, Spokane 99223
Performing arts program that promotes
physical fitness
10. Kid Sports
416 N Madelia St 534-KIDS(5437
Spokane 99202
Coaching for kids 2-6yrs in soccer,
Basketball, baseball, volleyball and cheer
Bounce and sport parties as well
11. Kindermusik Adventures
Summer Camps 991-1816
Summer Classes: 1309 W 14th,
Spokane 99202
Music, stories, crafts and fun for
ages 0-7yrs
12. KPBX Kids Concerts 328-5729
2319 N Monroe, Spokane 99205
Music and performing arts program
For kids. Free concerts
13. NBC Camps
10003 N Division Ste 100
Spokane 99218 800-406-3926
Basketball and volleyball camps
14. Peaceful Valley Center
214 N Cedar St 624-8634
Spokane 99201 Fax: 747-1860
After school program on education and recreation for 1st-12th grade with summer camp
15. Serving People with Education,
Arts and Recreation 475-5470
1905 E Pacific Fax: 475-5470
PO Box 4033, Spokane 99220
Program to help children 5-17
with academics and health
16. Spokane All-City Jazz
Ensembles - SAJE
PO Box 9751, Spokane 99209
Jazz and musical instrument program
for high school and middle schoolers
17. Spokane County Parks & Rec
404 N Havana 477-4730
Spokane 99202 Fax: 477-2454
Recreation sports program for youth
18. Spokane Parks & Rec
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd 625-6200
Spokane 9920
Program offering arts and crafts (adults too) and an outdoor program to help kids 2-11yrs with community building and self image
19. Spokane Youth Symphony
4131 E 38th Ave, Spokane 99223
Dir: Brad Thiessen 448-4446
Chamber music program for
youth
20. Summer Youth Camp 625-6699
East Central Community Center
500 S Stone, Spokane 99202
Youth camp for children 5-13
21. Adventure Dynamics 467-0800
PO Box 213, Nine Miles Falls 99026
A program the helps youth build community through outdoor experiences
22. EnviroKids’ Club 3104 E Augusta Ave 477-4727
Spokane 99207 Fax: 477-6828
A program for children grades K-6th teaches about the environment
23. Peak 7 Adventures
6710 N Pittsburg St 467-5550
Spokane 99217
A program specifically serving socially at risk and disadvantaged children with outdoor adventures
24. REI Outreach Specialist
1125 N Monroe St 328-9900
Spokane 99201
Helps kids build a love for the outdoors and outdoor education classes
25. Sierra Inner City Outings
SierrA CluB upper ColumBiA river group 1829 S. Limerick Dr 280-8159
Spokane Valley 99037
A program that helps urban youth and adults to nature and provide education
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Educ 455 Syllabus
Eastern Washington University Department of Education Our mission is to prepare student-centered teachers and leaders who are caring, effective, informed, reflective graduates who successfully engage all learners in diverse schools, communities and global contexts. EDUC 455 Perspectives of Early Childhood Education Instructor: Chris Booth Office: WM 315-C Phone: 359-7035 Email: cbooth@ewu.edu Course Description: This course introduces students to the foundations and current multi-perspectives of early childhood education. Opportunities are provided to learn about appropriate practices and expectations for working with the diverse population of all young children and their families. In addition, students collaboratively study and individually reflect on their learning from field-based experiences within various early childhood programs. Course Proficiencies Early childhood education is about working with children from birth to age eight, and the best practices for children are the most appropriate ways to facilitate the holistic development and learning of young children. In this course, opportunities will be provided to develop a framework for exploring and constructing knowledge about the foundations and perspectives of early childhood education. Students will discuss, reflect, define, and outline aspects of child development, programs for young children, best practices to enhance and construct children's holistic development and learning, teaching roles, authentic assessment, parenting, and educational systems. Course Standards 1. Early Childhood Education is about working with children from birth to age eight in the a network of community a. Joining a community of learners b. Getting information and support c. Observing children's development and learning in various programs. 2. Personal Development as a Professional a. Reflective practices b. Becoming a constructionist teacher c. What is a good teacher Children's perspectives d. Identifying and changing perceptions, values, attitudes, etc. e. Today's EC Professionals 3. Professionalism in Early Childhood Settings a. Types of Early Childhood Programs b. Funding Early Childhood Settings c. Administration of ECE Programs d. Justification for the Field of ECE 4. Views of Children Over Time a. The concept of childhood b. Changing views of childhood c. Children's views of childhood 5. Appropriate Practices for the development and learning of young children a. Children as sense makers in a technological world b. Integrated practices for teaching the diverse young child c. Assessment for growth and development 6. Exploring the Lives of Young Children and Families a. Listening to Others b. Issues Affecting Young Children and Families c. Advocacy: A Wellness Approach Assignments for the course 1. Readings: There is no text book in this class. However, you will be responsible for reading at least two articles or chapters from relevant books each week and including your reflections of these articles/chapters along with the source information in your portfolios. 2. Observations and reflections: 3 different early childhood programs. (no more than one program in a school/center). At least one, one-hour observation in each program. Each observation is to be transcribed and at the end of all three observations, write a one to two page reflection. 3. Develop a portfolio: to be compiled on a continuing basis and completed by the end of the quarter. For each reflection or activity, list the endorsement competencies (p-3) that are addressed. 4. A Reflective Self-Assessment will be written about the meaningful things that you have learned during this class. Please include your constructionist approach to individual and group learning and how this applies to children as well as your participation in a community of learners. Grading 1/3 Attendance and participation 1/3 Assignments 1/3 Portfolio requirements
Article 1
For my first article, I decided to read up on building a learning community. I was brought to a website called edutopia.org, which I feel I will be using a lot in the future. The article I found was, “A Community of Learners: Building a Supportive Learning Environment” by Bob Lenz. Lenz notes how structuring a classroom into a community environment accelerates learning. He notes that “A learning community does not just happen; it is created intentionally…” After stressing its importance, he actually goes into how a learning community is built, which is what I really wanted to learn. He addresses all the planning time that goes on outside the classroom with colleagues and lesson planning. Then he addresses direct student to teacher interactions in the classroom. Teachers have close relationships with students. Teacher greets them at the door with a hand shake or hug. The teacher asks students how they are feeling. Students are then sent to their groups in a non formal circles work and collaborate. He notes that teachers that build a learning community address issues of diversity, race and class in the context of their lesson plans. Lenz states how a community of learners in the classroom becomes a school community of learners and even extends out into the community. Article URL:http://www.edutopia.org/envision-schools-learning-community-respect
Article 2
“Protecting students against the effects of poverty: Libraries (Krashen 2011) researches how libraries help students of lower socioeconomic status still achieve in school. The article references first the facts and statistic from Berliner (2009) Martin (2004) which children of high poverty families were more likely to be subjected to a variety of issues such as little or no health insurance, more illness/ absents, live in highly polluted areas/ more exposure to pollutants—all of which have been found to be correlated with hindering learning, behavior and all over health. From Neuman and Celano (2001) the article states that children from these families below or at the poverty line usually don’t have access to books at home or in their communities. And as is noted from Krashen (2004) and Lindsay (2010) studies confirm that more accessibility to books correlates with higher literary achievement. Krashen then proposes that making improved accessible libraries to areas of high concentrations of families below or at the poverty line. How should that be funded—Krashen asserts that funding can be provided by dropping all standardized testing besides an improved NAEP. He contends with a study by Kohn (1999) that the massive amount of standardized testing is not doing students any good and could actually be setting students back instead. Eliminating these unnecessary and costly tests would help provide funding for improved libraries in low income communities which would help benefit students’ literary performance in school as Krashen concludes (pg.4). I really like his solution to funding, because I think it kills two birds with one stone—gets rid of costly standardize testing which is not helping students and provides students with access to the resources they need to be successful in reading. This is an Ebsco Host peer reviewed article
Article 3
“Education and Poverty: Confronting the Evidence” by Ladd had some reaslly interesting views on solving problems in education such as poverty and standardized testing. Ladd takes a strong stance on policies, such as “No Child Left Behind” and test based evaluation of teachers. She states that these mandates “set aside or deny basic bodies of evidence documenting that students from disadvantaged household perform less well in” (pg. 1). Though this piece has a strong position, I still think the facts and statistics will be useful. Ladd presents the evidence on the relationship between family background and educational outcomes which is the focus of my paper. She directly addresses how she feels mandates as such do not help improve children’s achievement and supports it with many sources from both showing that neither have contributed to improving school outcomes (pg 13&14). Ladd addresses Education-Related challenges of children of low socioeconomic status and references many sources supporting these challenges (pg. 17). She notes that charter schools are a great option that does show improvement in student outcomes, but accessibility of these schools are limited and some show a lot of improvement and other’s hardly at all depending on the school (pg. 16). Ladd concludes her article calling for more research to be done solutions on factors such as poor physical health, limited extracurricular activities, and family stress that are all adverse effects of poverty on school aged children, holing schools more accountable and abolishing the No child Left Behind Act (pg. 22). This is an Ebsco Host peer reviewed article
Article 4 Reflection Aritcle
In Reflection in Teacher Education: Towards Definition and Implementation Hatton and Smith explore and define reflection as a key part of a teacher’s daily tasks. The first section of their research defines reflection and provides literary context on the practice. Hatton and Smith use the thoughts of Dewey (1933) to define important framework about reflection. Reflection according to Dewey was special form of problem solving (pg. 3). Dewey noted as Hatton and Smith address, that there are four key issues with reflection—whether it is limited to thought processes about action or is bound up in action, whether reflection is extended or immediate in short term in time, whether reflection is problem centered or not and how consciously the one reflecting takes account of wider knowledge bases (pg. 3). Hatton and Smith note that reflection and problem solving are connected in the way that reflection is connected with finding solutions to real problems (pg. 4). Critical reflection is defined as, though it is loosely termed, constructive critics of one’s actions with a view to improvement (Calderhead, 1989). Different levels of reflection are also discussed, technical reflection, practical reflection and of course critical (pg. 5). Smith and Hatton note that all types are valuable and necessary to teachers. They then discuss different strategies for reflection such as Action Research, case studies, microteaching and supervised practicum experiences and structured curriculum tasks (pg. 6). Hatton and Smith in their article make a point to stress how vital reflection is to teaching, but how it is not commonly associated with teaching. Hatton and Smith refer back to reflection-on-action which is also divided up into sub categories such as descriptive, dialogic and critical (pg. 21). Hatton and Smith really drive home the importance of reflection and its different types and stress the importance of all forms for teachers.
Article 5
The article on the website District Adminstration address the vital role that collaboration plays in the classroom. It addresses the benefits of collaboration for the school district, the students and teachers. Collaboration, as I define it, is working together with other entities or people for the benefit of a cause. In the classroom this can be teachers collaboratiing with her students, veteran teachers collaborating with new teachers, or the adminstration collaborating with teachers and students. When collboration happens, great things take place. Learning is expanded by all, teachers, students, the school, district and community--and that is what education is all about, so it is clear that collaboration play a vital role in the education field. From exploring the idea of collaboration in the classroom, I learned just how crucial it is to learning. I have even come to the conclusion that without collaboration, no learning can take place. If the students aren't collaborating with the teacher in their learning, how can they learn? They have to focus on what she is teaching and participate to learn which is collaborating. They both, teacher and student are working together to learn. This really drove home how important collabortation is in the eudcation field and it is a skill that I definitely want to improve upon. http://www.districtadministration.com/article/benefits-teacher-collaboration
Article 6
One article that I really want to write about is the day that in your class Mrs. Kris that I learned I should become a teacher. When you were teaching us about integrated practices of how to teach every subject based on a centeral object. You gave our group clocks. All the sudden my mind started spinning with endless ideas about how to teach each subject. I felt like I could keep coming up with ideas forever. I honestly had no idea I could do that and since this is my first actual education class so far, I was shocked. I had thought about becoming a teacher, but when I heard that getting your teacher's certificate takes another bachelors I gave up the idea. After this day I decided I was going to find a way! For clocks my group and I came up with games, activities, field trips and arts & crafts for each subject. It really helped me solidify just what integrated practice meant, so instead of children sitting and doing work books all day, they explore and play to learn. I absoultely love it and I have even since have tried to put this into practice with the three year old girl I nanny. We found a turtle shell on a walk and I showed it too her and we brought it home. I cleaned it so she could look at it and hold it. I told then that maybe she could draw it, so she drew it (Science). Then I had her measure it with crayons (Math &Science). Then we looked up facts about turtles and we learned that our turtle was actually a tortoise! Then we made a book together --me writting the words, but asking what this or that letter was that the word started with and saying aloud what we were going to write and then she did the illustrations from looking as pictures of turtles and tortoises (language arts & art). I taught her some yoga poses and that included turtle pose (PE). We read a book about turtles (reading). I would have loved to take her to pet store where they have turtles, but the parents aren't really keen on me taking them anywhere, but I suggested it to them, but I think they forgot but that would have been science. I did however find videos for her to watch about turtles as well. I feel in a classroom setting I would have a little more materials and resources to make more happen, but it is a good start I think! Right now I am teaching about Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful.
Article 7
The article “Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?” from The New York Times addresses the same issue in the same matter as many of the peer review articles did, the only difference is that they did not do their own study. Ladd and Fiske very broadly state that most people (unlike Huffington Post, as I note) don’t dispute “the fact that students from disadvantages households perform less well in school, on average, than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds” (2011). The No Child Left Behind act they note, has in no way helped students and has in fact, just set the standards higher and made these disadvantaged students at high risk of staying behind their peers. This was definitely mentioned a lot in the peer reviewed articles I read as well. Ladd and Fiske make a very potent argument that schools alone cannot offset the effects of poverty and that more has to be done outside the schools as well (2011). They also point out that nutrition and health care are vital to these students from poor backgrounds, because when their basic needs are not being met, children’s academic performance suffers (2011). They also note the strong fact that in Finland, which is known for their high performing schools, provide food, free health care for students and counseling services are abundant (2011). I really like this article and think it really gets to the point as to why we are failing are students and what needs to be done to change it. This article will be useful in my paper as well.
Artcle 8
The final article “Poverty Produces Smaller Brains” was a report from a study published in the JAMA Pediatrics journal on the actual physiological structure of the brain of students who come from poverty stricken homes. JAMA Pediatrics found that “children who grew up in impoverished households showed smaller white and grey matter in their brains compared with those who had more means—these make up density of nerve connections between different parts of the brain” (2013). Stress and anxiety has been hypothesized to be the cause of the size difference, but poor nutrition could also be a contributing factor (2013). All the regions that have shown to be smaller in the less advantaged children are all correlated with learning abilities and focus, so that is an important fact that I want to address in my paper. There is actual physiological evidence that shows that children from less privileged home don’t have the same brain capacity as children from wealthier homes. Of course no one, nor will I settle to end on this note, what can be done has to be addressed. Sifferlin suggests that the study showed that the effects could be reversed if changes in care giving in early childhood occurred. I would also venture to say that more proactive and better staffing for counseling in schools would help teach the students ways to cope with the stresses of being from a disadvantaged home. I think this was a very useful article because I didn’t find any physiological evidence, just test results on academic performance, so this is really useful information to me. I am going to see if I can get access to the study in JAMA Pediatrics. Like the New York Times article suggested, there really isn’t much to dispute, poverty in education is a problem and we need as a country to stand together and close the achievement gap through means we have not been utilizing or not utilizing enough. Times Magazine published another article titled Poverty Produces Smaller Brains written by Alexandra Sifferlin, October 29, 2013.
Article 10
I looked again to edutopia for some more education articles and that is when I found this one called, "Reframing Failure as Iteration Allows Students to Thrive". The article is reposrted from a game-based learning school in New York. The students have special weeks called Boss Level week in which they must face a challenging task as a group and problem solve together to find a solution. In this article the students were working on a Rube Goldberg machine. It is through this project that the teacher and aids help students redefine the concept of failure through iteration. A student defines failure as iteration as meaning, "when you fail, you just try again". I love everything about this story. The whole idea of this school is fascinating too, definitely a school I would have wanted to go to as a kid. Students learn through experierencing for themselves with hands on projects. Teachers function more as guides to social interations and moral support to the learning and less as facilitators of learning. This is exactly what we have focused on in this class, putting children in charge of their own learning. Also, the idea of teaching the students failure as iteration, was fantastic. This concept was embedded and defined through their own experience creating their Rube Goldberg machine--fantastic.
Article 9
I decided to read up on constructionist teaching because I was really fascinated at what it meant. Just from the name I hypothesized that it was a way of teaching as to build from what the factors the learning situation offers. This concept, as I found, was established by Seymour Papert. He taught that by using the environment and social interation learning can become more a fluid like process, such as art, which he compared it too. This approach is centered around the learner and progresses at the rate the learner wants it to progress. The contructionist teacher supports the student by providing a social dialog that helps the student progess in their own learning. The learning itself is a hands on experience that the student fluidly moves through. It allows the student to build something that is fluid in the way that they can continue to work on like an art project and the learning progresses from continuing to work on the project. The teacher does not know which direction the learner will take or what in fact will be learned. They just serve as an "expert learner" that aids in debugging the child's program and helps them to delight in the process of the project. This really reminded me of the Reggio Emelia approach. Students decide what they want to learn about or explore, the teacher just provides them the means to do so and encourages them. The dialoug between teacher and student must be that of to encourage the learning, not structure it. The learning process is left the to the learner. Fascinating concept. http://bsherry.wordpress.com/thinking-about-learning-2/constructionism/ http://namodemello.com.br/pdf/tendencias/situatingconstrutivism.pdf
Article 13
One of the competencies that we talked about was the concept of a timeline of childhood. This was a very open ending question which really allowed us to think freely about a very dynamic subject. Some of my peers took it to mean the delopmental milestones of childhood. Some took it has a timeline of how childhood has changed over time. I looked at it through the concept of Erik Erickson's personality theory because it addresses the different stages of how a person develops. It was interesting to learn from my peers about the history of childhood, that how children are viewed has changes so much over time. I still can't believe children in the middle ages were viewed as adults by age 7! chidlren had to perform all the same tasks as an adult did. To think that children were seen as evil because they wanted to play in the puritian times, just crazy. Then we have the modern child which now is a victim of being marginalized and used for profit of adults. I think that is important idea that we as teachers need to know and battle.
Article 11
In the documentary Waiting for Superman, the issues of the public school system are addressed. The film starts with Geoffery Canda, the founder of the Harlem Children's Zone explaining how as a child, he was disappointed when he discovered superman was not real. The Ceo explains that it was not that his childhood hero was not real, but that “no one was coming with enough power to save us.” David Guggenhiem’s documentary follows several students from low performing school s as they undergo the process of trying to get into higher performing charter schools. Through these children, Davis Guggenheim demonstrates how our public education system is not meeting the needs of the nation. He then addresses the attempts that have been made to improve the success of American children, but shows how they cannot meet the needs of our nation without true public education reform. The documentary includes countless statistics of the low proficiency of American children in basic subjects such as math and reading, along with statistics about high dropout rates. Private schools are presented as a possible solution, but because they are not publicly funded it is harder for lower income families to have access to these schools. The children followed in the film are lower income families who cannot afford to put their children in these schools, but desperately want them to be. They participate in what is called a lottery. The school announces spaces that need to be filled and applicants that want to fill those spaces are put into a random drawing. Some of the children in the film make it into the school of their choice, some of them do not. The despair on the faces of the parents and children is clearly shown. They afraid their child will have to attend a “drop out factory”, a school with an extremely high dropout rate. Waiting For Superman by David Guggenhiem
Article 12
I read another article from eudtopia. I really like this website a lot, as you can probably tell, it is all articles from real teachers and reviewed and published by other teachers. They share their thoughts and experiences and it has been really interesting and thought provoking to read their articles. The one I read today was on strategies to promote independent thinking. It caught my eye because it is a really important idea that I think almost evey teacher hopes their students will grasp, to think through problems indepedently and discovery the world around them by creating their own learning experience. The first strategy was to sequence instruction. I took this to mean finiding insteresting ways to organize children's discovery. One teacher set up science labs in such a way that there were several different experiments the kids were doing at once and they were allowed to move through each one. So, they learned about the subject from several different experiences at the same time. I bleieve that teaches children that they can explore a subject in all different ways and gain even more knowledge. The second strategy was recovery from mistakes, it is vital the students learn that when they make a mistake they can learn from it and fix it, instead of just giving up. One teacher would help students with their homework by telling them, 'who made the biggest mistake on their homework?" after explain the students problem then he says, "now that wasn't even that big of a mistake, someone has to have made a bigger mistake than that!". This builds up the students to want to share their mistakes and learn from them and that it is ok to make mistakes. The students then know that their teacher is their to help them with their mistakes, not judge them. And in turn it teachs them that when they are on their own they can recover from their mistakes. The third strategy is to have the students set goals for their own learning. It will help them be encouraged to meet their own goals. This was a very useful, informative article, I am glad I read it.
Article 15
An article I read today from edutopia was really interesting. The article I read was on teaching children how to study. The author really started think about this when her 15 yr old daughter when as how she learned to study replied, "I was never taught how to study, you just do it because teachers have too much to teach". And when I thought about it, I really was never taught how to study until I took general psychology in college. My teacher taught us ways to study based on how our brains best retrieve information sand taught us lots of trick for remembering that I still use. Until then, I never had a teacher teach me how to study, just was given study guides. In this article she addresses how to teach children how to study by helping set out their own study goals and plan by taking it step by step. I think this is a really important issue that I honestly had not until now thought of, teaching my students how to study by making a study plan. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-compatible-study-strategies-lori-desautels
Article 14
One topic I want to discuss that really hit home for me was the concept of always being an adovacate for children in and outside the classroom. I liked that this was addressed because I do this without thinking about it because I care and love children, but I did not think about to the extent we addressed and I learned there is so much more I can do. I learned about different community resources I can use to be a volunteer. I learned about the rights of children and that I can vote to help them. I have always thought voting was important, but now I see it as doing a disservice to children if I don't vote. I think this topic tied in especially well the issues children face today. Children argueable face more issues then ever have and yet they don't have the sane rights and privileges to change that and that is why it is so important like we discussed in class for adults to advocate for them. So I have comitted to stay more informed of issues facing children, laws and organization to help them in anyway possible.
Article 17
The article “Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?” from The New York Times addresses the same issue in the same matter as many of the peer review articles did, the only difference is that they did not do their own study. Ladd and Fiske very broadly state that most people (unlike Huffington Post, as I note) don’t dispute “the fact that students from disadvantages households perform less well in school, on average, than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds” (2011). The No Child Left Behind act they note, has in no way helped students and has in fact, just set the standards higher and made these disadvantaged students at high risk of staying behind their peers. This was definitely mentioned a lot in the peer reviewed articles I read as well. Ladd and Fiske make a very potent argument that schools alone cannot offset the effects of poverty and that more has to be done outside the schools as well (2011). They also point out that nutrition and health care are vital to these students from poor backgrounds, because when their basic needs are not being met, children’s academic performance suffers (2011). They also note the strong fact that in Finland, which is known for their high performing schools, provide food, free health care for students and counseling services are abundant (2011). I really like this article and think it really gets to the point as to why we are failing are students and what needs to be done to change it. This article is relvant to me as an aspiring teacher because poverty and class issues are a big hinderance in learning outcomes. I want to be aware of the complexities of this issues and how best to combat them and help my students thrive despite their backgrounds. New York Times article "Class Matters. Why won't we admit it?"
Article 16
Most of us know the movie Mary Poppins, and those who do also will remember the part about how she makes work for the children play just by a simple change of attitude. I follow a similar principle; to me, work can be play. This is something I liked that we addressed as well. Though our reflection on the movie was more to note the issues that the children faced in the movie, there is a lot more that can be taken from that movie. I want the children I teach to learn by play like mary Poppins teaches the children. Of course there are responsibilities of both myself and my students, but I want more than anything to teach my students to learn by exploring for themselves and play just as Mary Poppins does in the movie. I thinlk this classroom environment is created by allowing the children to play and explore and teaching them through those experience by letting them explore at their own pace. I loved the video we watched about integrative learning about the bird unit that classroom wa doing, it all started because the kids wanted to learn about birds and the teacher embedded information on each subject through birds. I want to structure my future classroom that way.
Article 18
The final article “Poverty Produces Smaller Brains” was a report from a study published in the JAMA Pediatrics journal on the actual physiological structure of the brain of students who come from poverty stricken homes. JAMA Pediatrics found that “children who grew up in impoverished households showed smaller white and grey matter in their brains compared with those who had more means—these make up density of nerve connections between different parts of the brain” (2013). Stress and anxiety has been hypothesized to be the cause of the size difference, but poor nutrition could also be a contributing factor (2013). All the regions that have shown to be smaller in the less advantaged children are all correlated with learning abilities and focus, so that is an important fact that I want to address in my paper. There is actual physiological evidence that shows that children from less privileged home don’t have the same brain capacity as children from wealthier homes. Of course no one, nor will I settle to end on this note, what can be done has to be addressed. Sifferlin suggests that the study showed that the effects could be reversed if changes in care giving in early childhood occurred. I would also venture to say that more proactive and better staffing for counseling in schools would help teach the students ways to cope with the stresses of being from a disadvantaged home. I think this was a very useful article because I didn’t find any physiological evidence, just test results on academic performance, so this is really useful information to me. I am going to see if I can get access to the study in JAMA Pediatrics. Like the New York Times article suggested, there really isn’t much to dispute, poverty in education is a problem and we need as a country to stand together and close the achievement gap through means we have not been utilizing or not utilizing enough. JAMA Pediatrics "Poverty Produces Smaller Brains"
Article 19
In the article “Kids in Poverty Can Still Learn” in Huffington Post a whole other side to the poverty and education debate is presented, which honestly I was not expecting, since most people agree that socioeconomic class does set children at higher risk of lower academic success. The article uses references such as slavery, the depression and various historic cases of extreme poverty to say that students can still learn and be successful. I would counter, of course they can still, but did the child of slaves learn and academically perform as well as white boys? Of course we cannot answer that question, because they didn’t have anything close to the same treatment which affected the outcome of their education, which is why I think it is horrific case to make—of course they can learn! But can students of low income families be as academically successful as their more economically advantaged counterparts? That is the question I want to answer in my final paper. I am planning on including this article and then refuting it in my paper because it is important to have another side. I still thought this was the most ridiculous professional article I have read, I had a hard time believe that someone wrote this and thought it was a vakid arguement. I think it is definitely ignoring the statistics which in the end, just hurts students more. Yes, children can learn despite being put in very rough situations, but can they thrive and achieve to their full potentional? That is more useful inquiry. Kids in Poverty Can Still Learn- Huffington Post
Article 20
For my last article I want to touch on the our topic of teacher professionalism. From our discussion, we addressed what a professional looks like and then compared it to teacher professionalism. Professionalism as a teacher is especiallky important because you are dealing with the adminstration, parents, students, other teachers and the public. To be resptected you must give respect to all. And as a teacher we are role models for our students. If we are late, rude, pushy, impatient etc, we teach that to our students whether we like it or not. I want to be a teacher that is professional and sets a good example to my students by being on time, putting the students/ parents/adminstration/other teachers needs before my own, not taking short cuts, being genorous and not lazy just to name a few. I want to teach my students professionalism and how to be a well funstioning member of society by example.
Self Assesment
Reflecting back on what I learned from this class, I am honestly kind of in awe how much I learned in such a short span of time. I discovered what I want to do with my life and that in and of it self is invaluable and I am not just writing that because I think it will get me a better grade. I learned what it means to be a teacher. Teachers are called to a high standard, to serve children in and outside the classroom. They are called to be respectful, considerate members of society because the example they set for their students. I learned what it means to create a community of learners and how to students to learn on their own which is how they learn best. I learned about different topic in education and strategies from teachers in classrooms now. I learned how to teach students failure as chance to try again and fix their mistakes. And how to integrate curriculum to include every subject with just one subject matter (birds, clocks, chairs, lights etc). I grew a lot from this class and learned a lot about the field and a lot about myself and the role I want to play in this field. With this information I think I will be a lot more prepared for my master's and then my classroom. I will know that doing a random craft (hat making) or game is a create way to build community. I will know that there is a way to make every experience a learning experience if I let children experience for themselves what they want to learn about. This class helped me realize my passion for teaching and now I am set on making my own community of learners wherever I go.
Compare/ contrast
I went to visit two different children programs (could not get into the third soon enough) in Spokane and Cheney to get an idea of what the facilities and student-teacher interactions were like. I went to chose St. Anne’s Children and Family Center and the Domino Project. Each program offered care for a wide range of ages, offered very different environments and teaching to the children. The first place I visited was St. Anne’s because I still have contact with most of the staff. St. Anne’s offers childcare for ages four months to six years. It is a non-profit organization run through Catholic charities of Spokane. Teachers are required to have a bachelor’s degree unless grandfathered in, Children Studies or Early Childhood Education strongly preferred. Classrooms vary by age group and there are several classrooms for each age bracket. It does have an institutional like feeling when you come into the building as it is arranged just like an elementary school. The classrooms were equipped with age appropriate toys and lots of regulations and guidelines were on the walls for teachers to read. Teacher to student ratios varied by age group. Some teachers had strict schedules and other just went with the flow of what the kids wanted to do. Each room had access to their own or sometimes shared playgrounds. All classrooms allowed children to have lots of free play time and only stopped the children for circle time, lunch or snack. The rooms have children’s artwork neatly displayed on the wall with cute captions. There are age appropriate pictures and collages of the children’s families low enough that they can see them. Each room had tables and chairs and cots for sleeping. Children used the tables for working on crafts, building projects, but mostly for eating snack. They were never required to sit at them unless it was meal time. The other facility I looked at was the Domino project classroom with is a program for children with special needs and some children without. The classroom had some toys, but not very many. They had artwork of the children taped to the wall and what looked like the start of a craft on the counter. They had circle time mats around a stereo and round tables with chairs. They had a door that they would use to take the students outside. The classroom serves 12 children and has over a dozen volunteers, usually students in special education doing their internship. Just while I was in there I saw five student teachers. All of them were working with students at the tables. They were working on worksheets. I saw one student at a listening station and some, as I was told were outside. There did not seem like there was a lot of stimuli, which seemed appropriate for special needs children. In my opinion, St. Anne’s seemed to have a better program and was able to offer more contructionist style teaching. The students had more hands on experiences to learn about the world around them. The teachers seemed more at easy because they were not themselves being critiqued by a supervisor at the time of my visit unlike at Domino. In the Domino project a lot of the autistic children were seated at tables in front of worksheets with a teacher beside them tell them how to do it. I wish I would have seen more hands on activities or some experiments were the children were learning from experience. Also, one of the students at Domino had a meltdown and had to stay inside because he refused to do this worksheet activity, which I feel was just not a way I would want to run my classroom. From the observation of these programs I learned more on how I want to run my own classroom and what I feel benefits children the most. Though I feel Domino is a great program on campus, it does not have the same benefits to offer as a non-profit larger organization like St. Anne’s which makes sense.
Rich sticky notes
EDUC 456
Eastern Washington University Mission Statement:
EWU expands opportunities for personal transformation through excellence in learning
Department of Education Mission Statement:
The mission of the Department of Education is to prepare student-centered educators to be professionals, leaders, scholars, and practitioners.
Integrated Early Childhood Practices
EDUC 456
Instructor: Chris Booth
Office EDUC 315 C
Telephone: 356-7035
email: cbooth@ewu.edu
Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:00-11:00am
Other times by appointment Times:
Course Learning Proficiencies
A major aspect of this course is the development of learner-centered landscapes, where the child is the central focus of all decisions, actions, and interactions. Appropriate materials and resources for a child’s learning environment will be selected and created; and integrated experiences and curriculum to assist children to negotiate meanings will be planned, implemented, and assessed. The preservice teacher will demonstrate an understanding of teacher roles in early childhood classrooms; prepare appropriate schedules and routines, and develop transition strategies. Special needs, equity, and diversity issues in early childhood education will be taken into consideration; and suitable techniques for communicating with parents, community agencies, and other professionals will be addressed.
Course Learning Outcomes
Field Based Experiences in Early Care programs: 2 hours a week. This cannot be done at the same time as field experiences for other education courses, such as literacy practicum or the teacher certification practicum’s, as expectations differ.
Planning an Early Childhood Program
- Principles and Beliefs of Early Childhood Education.
- Articulate early childhood education assumptions and beliefs
- From principles and beliefs, a philosophy statement of early childhood education can be developed.
2. Characteristics, knowledge, and skills that are part of the early childhood experience.
3. Appropriate materials and resources for a child’s learning environment will be selected and created.
- Create and/or represent spatial arrangements for learning.
- Describe appropriate outdoor learning environments
- Define child focused learning opportunities
4. The preservice teacher will apply an understanding of the teaching roles in early childhood classrooms and will prepare appropriate schedules, routines, and transitions.
· Develop planning strategies
Project approach
High scope
Race To The Top
Reggio Emilia
Creative curriculum
· Experience the early childhood day
· Observe and reflect on transitions
5. The processes of planning, implementing, and assessing integrated experiences and projects are to assist children to negotiate meanings.
· Develop program dimensions and projects for the development and learning of the whole child.
· Develop and/or implement integrated activities and experiences so learning will take place through construction, reconstruction, and transformation of experiences.
· Use authentic assessment strategies for assessing the constructionist learning outcomes as developed in this class...
· Planning and applying early intervention experiences in an inclusive process
· Developing sensitivity to and facilitation of authentic multicultural experiences
6. Suitable techniques for communicating with parents, community agencies, and other professionals will be addressed.
· Interviews with or case studies of parents and community members regarding their perceived role in the early education process
Field Based Process
In collaboration with Early Care licensed programs and private preschools, early childhood preservice teachers will plan and/or interact with students for active learning experiences, collaboration activities, observations, and/or inquiry projects, for the purpose of implementing and assessing appropriate practices. Reflective teaching practices are important aspects of this course.
Expressive Learning Outcomes
20 hours of field based learning
1. Three (one hour) observations of one child (birth to eight) in a group setting and one reflection (2 to 3 pages) on all three hours of observations of the same child. In addition, you will develop a learning framework for each child. This is to be part of your first field experience. You will be required to attend an Early Care setting in the first two weeks, do your child observations, and submit those observations and reflections. (3 hours field based work). Please research one article to support your reflections. Reference in APA style and place them on your professional portfolio.
2. 15 hours of practicing aspects with classrooms of young children. No more than 3 hours at a time. Document accounts of the experiences and learning through reflection that is to be included in the portfolio. One article is required for each three hours of experiences and reflections remembering to attach the ECE Competencies to your reflections.
3. Design and implement integrated activities as part of the holistic environment of an early childhood classroom. (2 hours of field based work). Please support your work with a relevant article for each experience you provide, remembering to attach the ECE competencies.
II. Building the ECE Community
4. Building community is assessed on contributions to the ECE class community. Attitudes, enthusiasm for the field of early childhood education, and learnings will be self-assessed. Self-initiative, learning about early childhood principles and processes, attendance, contributions to class climate, dialogue, inquiry approach, and other reflective approaches that are needed to build classroom community will be taken into consideration. Attendance is not a choice as this is a process course. At least .2 grade points will be deducted for each class missed no matter what the reason.
III. Design and Implementation of ECE Integrated Program through a Portfolio Assessment Process
5. Design of an early childhood program in a portfolio (as a work in progress). This culminating project is created from discussions in class, readings, observations, reflections, and relevant experiences. The portfolio will be handed in at midterm (Feb. 13). The development of this portfolio will be an ongoing discussion in class and the final submission to be completed no later than the Mar.13. A relevant article will be required to support each section of the portfolio. Also each section will be referenced from the 2014 state ECE competencies, NCATE/NAEYC standards, and the NAEYC code of conduct.
Sections of the portfolio will include the following.
a. Principles and beliefs with a one-page philosophy statement
b. List of the development and learning characteristics of the whole child
c. Environment development (Outside and Inside)
d. Role of the teacher
e. Planning the program
f. Implementing learning projects and activities in the program
g. Assessment
h. Parent involvement
IV. Assessment Process
6. Self-assessment of your learning about early childhood practices and development of a role identity of an early childhood teacher.
7. Building Reflection Self Rubrics
a. Above Standard
Evidence for all competencies in reflection portfolio as outlined in the expressive outcomes in the syllabus. Self Assessment to describe learnings. Application of Van Manen’s third level of reflection.
b. Standard:
Evidence for all competencies and at least the understanding and application of Van Manen’s second level of reflection.
c. Below standard
Lack of evidence to show understanding of competencies and only using Van Manen’s first level of reflection.
Assessment Framework
1. Portfolio Assessment:
Including the development of the ECE Integrated Program and
Field Based Assignments 50%
2. Community building 20%
3. Self Assessment 20%
4. Self Grade 10%
Total 100%
Program Schedule
7 am-7:30- Free play
Transition song
7:35 Greeting song/ how are you feeling?/ Interactive song dance/ weather words/ jobs for the day sign up
8am-8:45 Breakfast / Clean up help
8:50- 9:15 Group meeting to discuss project or process of project to go over what needs to be done
9:15-9:45 Work time
Transition song
10:00-10:15 Reflection what did you get done? What do you still need to do?
10:15-11:15- Outside time
Transition song
11:30-12:15- Lunch
12:15-1:00- Rest time/ reading
Quiet transition sound that slowly get louder
1:30-2:00- Snack
2:30-3:45- Group meeting about projects Revisit
3:15-4:15- Montessori toys time
4:15-6pm Free play/ work time
Community Building what it means to me
Community building to me means, purposefully creating atmosphere where learning flourishes. Community building purpose is to create an environment in which everyone is encouraged, supported, trusted, counted on and included. I believe this atmosphere is best created by every member of the community getting to know each other on a deeper level and to have lots of opportunities to prove to each other, how important each of them are to our community with their different strengths and experiences.
Assesments
For assessments in my classroom, I want them to be very informal because I believe testing at young ages is counterproductive. I want to assess my students without me knowing I am assessing them.
I plan on have our group discussions and taking notes with how the children communicate and share their ideas. I want to note their group work that they share and how they are coming a long with their motor skills, writing and numbers
I also want to use evidence note books to keep tack of each child's work, then send the parents home with it at the end of the early so they can see how much their child grew in a year.
Transitions
1. Play a song
2. Thunderstorm
3. 1-2-3 eyes on me
4. Bell
5. Start to sing a song with motions
6. Light ball
I found a page that has specific songs for specific transitions. All of the songs tell the kids what is coming next by singing about it. I think this would be really helpful to ease the children into transitioning while informing them what they need to be doing next.
http://www.songsforteaching.com/transitions.htm
Hi-scope Project
For my plan-do-review
I decided to work with the three year old girl I nanny to teach her about mixing colors.
Plan ---I opened the discussion by saying we were going to paint today with water colors, but I told her we are only going to use red, blue and yellow. I told her that we would make other colors like purple, green and orange. I asked her if she knew how we might do that. She first said I don't know, but I prompted her again that by using only red, blue and yellow we will make them. Then she guessed we would mix them together.
Do--- I made circles that overlapped each other for her and I had her paint one circle either red, blue or yellow. Then paint the other circle another color. When she saw how the colors in the middle of the circles were making purple, green and orange.
Review--- When her painting with the circles was all done I reviewed with her what she did. I asked her to find the green on her painting, she pointed to the overlap of two circles. I then asked her what two colors made that color? I pointed to the blue and then the yellow. Blue and Yellow! she yelled. We went through all the colors she made and then hung it up on the fridge for her to look at. I told her she could use it to look back at and remember what colors make other colors.
Planning Curriculum
I believe that children learn best when they are seen as competent learners and direct their own learning. I want to serve as just a guide, questioner and provider of materials so they can initiate their own learning. There are times when I want to plan a large group active to do as class, but I still want it to have individual components. My approach is more of a hybrid of Montessori, hi-cope and Reggio Emelia in all honesty. I believe all of them have components that are extremely beneficial to the young mind. I also want to develop my approaches to each child. Some children will do their best work in large groups, some will do their best on their own. I want to give them the opportunity to choose, though I do plan on teaching collaboration and will still have them do some things that will put together as a class that they can do a small part of individual, but then see how it fits into the bigger picture of the whole class project.
I really don't want to limit what we do to what I plan on, because I feel if I make this clear cut plan I will be to tempted to just make it fit to the students I have and I really don't want to do that to them. I have however thought about some themes I would love the kids to vote on and see what they are most interested in
Historic People theme where we learn about real "super" heroes throughout history- I would have students learn about different people and act them out for a final project. We would have the Susan B Anthony's make posters about the rights of women to vote and the Martin Luthers the equal rights for all, the Amelia Earharts would have aviation get up and map their trip across the Atlantic. Then for math we could count how many of Martin Luthers we had, Amelia, Thomas Edisons and Susan etc and put it into a chart. Science we could do something about studying the light bulb for Thomas Edison
Rain forest
South and North Pole-
Space
Bugs- Bring in different bugs, have them count and add with them. Bug songs and stories. Science and art drawing different bugs and naming parts. Possibly end with a trip to a bug museum or a evidence book of what we learned that I can laminate and have in classroom.
Camping/outdoor safety- Create a camp out in the classroom I would love to bring a tent in and one of those fake fire things that blows up pieces of fabric to look like a fire and teach fire safety as well. We could make our own hiking cookies to go on a hike with. We could learn about animals in the forest that we might see camping. Math could be measuring how long our tent is by our feet and seeing if it will fit between which trees in our classroom, I will bring in some extra trees that day. We could end with a field tip to a hiking spot, definitely would need volunteers, but it would be great.
Building covering how building are made what they are made of end with them making their own model buildings out of cardboard with straws for pipes etc. --- This would be great for a class with a lot of children playing in the block areas of the classroom
Letter to the Parents
Dear Family,
Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year at St. Anne’s Children and Family Center! I am very excited to meet and get to know you and your child as we all enjoy a wonderful learning experience together that this year has in store. I believe in a holistic method of teaching, which means I want to teach your son/daughter in context of their culture, family and community. You are a a very crucial part of that. My goal this year is to create a supportive, dynamic, engaging learning environment that helps children become active participates in their own learning and prepares them for the elementary classroom.
Because I do believe in teaching to the whole child, I want to ask for your support in our learning community. I might ask for you for your knowledge on community activities and other help in the classroom as I feel it is extremely beneficial to our environment. I am just one person, but together we are many with amazing knowledge and strength. I want to use that resource to empower our classroom experience as we go through this year. I also will be notifying you about special events and family night that we are having as a classroom. I want you to feel as welcome and comfortable in our classroom as I know your child will be.
I will be in class from 8am-4pm everyday, but if I am not there when you pick your child up please feel free to send me an email with any questions or information you would like to pass on. You can also call the St. Anne’s number with x112 to reach our room as well. Please let me know if there is anyway I can better serve you and your child.
With your support I know that this year will be a year full of incredible exploration and learning adventures. I also would thank you in advance for your support and partnership with our learning community. I look forward to meeting you and your child very soon.
Sincerely,
Miss Alison
Chidren Studies TPA
TPA Lesson Plan #_______
| 1. Teacher Candidate | Alison Sims | Date Taught | |
| Cooperating Teacher | | School/District | |
| 2. Subject | Reading | Field Supervisor | |
| 3. Lesson Title/Focus | Word Building Blocks | 5. Length of Lesson | |
| 4. Grade Level | Kindergarten |
| 6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National) | Recognizing simple words, phonetically sounding out letter sounds, forming own words by combining written letters |
| 7. Learning Objective(s) | Students will learn to recognize, read simple words and put letter chunks together to form words |
| 8. Academic Language demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse) | Word building |
| 9. Assessment |
| Observe children recognizing and knowing letter sounds in a group lesson. Some students reading simple stories. **Attach** all assessment tools for this lesson |
| 10. Lesson Connections |
| Children regularly listen to stories and retelling parts. |
| 11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning |
| Learning Tasks and Strategies Sequenced Instruction: |
| Teacher’s Role Offer materials Scaffold | Students’ Role Put word blocks together Form their own |
| Student Voice to Gather What did you think? What was hard? Making their own words |
| 12. Differentiated Instruction |
| Plan Advanced students: Have them attach their own letter chucks for a less advanced student to put together Less Advanced student: Have letter chucks already on blocks and have them fit together when they are right |
| 13. Resources and Materials |
| Plan Word blocks, printer, scissors, sticky tac |
| 14. Management and Safety Issues |
| Plan Make sure edges of wood are sanded down and painted for no splinters. Ask questions, to keep engaged and provided simple instruction. |
| 15. Parent & Community Connections |
| Plan Ask parents to have them write a simple sentence about their drawings using words they learned |
Children Studies TPA
Lesson Plan Format
SHORT FORM
Teacher Candidate: Alison Sims Date:
Cooperating Teacher: Kris Booth Grade: Pre-K
Unit/Subject: Language Arts, Science and Art
Lesson Title/Focus: Plant food coloring experiment
Content Objective: To developing an understanding of noting change, observing for details, representing real life objects through art, realizing words correspond to objects
Academic Language: Experiment, control
Assessment Strategies: Ask student to note changes, in a “game of what is missing?”, have them color a picture, follow simple instructions like put your markers here and crayons here
Student Voice: Letting students choose colors. Ask them what they like about the project.
Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning:
Build on knowledge of plants, scaffolding things plants need, like water. Go over materials. Have students help pour 1 cup water into 4 glasses. Have them drop in 4 drops of food coloring in all but one and place a stalk of celery in each. Have them tell you what they see. Draw an outline of celery stick inside glasses having students tell you what to draw where. Then photocopy picture on break or have an assistant make two sets of photocopies for whole class. Pass out to students for them to color, encourage them to color exactly what they see and scaffold for corrections (Is the water in or out of the cup? Etc). Go around and help label their pictures with written words like celery, water, and food coloring as them point and tell you what they are. Label which one is the control, the one without food coloring.
Follow reflection several days later, new TPA
Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology:
Projector, Celery stalks, Photo copier, food coloring, measuring cup, four glasses, water, pencils, crayons
Montessori Article
I read an article to further understand the Montessori approach to classroom teaching. The article title which clearly demonstrates the content was, "Comparing Montessori and Traditional Education ". This article really helped to solidify the difference between traditional teaching methodology and Montessori methodology. Traditional classrooms are centered around group instruction, are teacher led, materials are teacher aids with all same age students. Montessori classrooms are centered around individual or small group work, are self-directed, materials are instructional methodology with students in a age range of three years. The article also notes the various studies that have been conducted on the effectiveness Montessori programs as apposed to traditional classrooms. Some studies concluded that Montessori students weren't not extremely advance over their traditional classroom peers and some did. The article calls for more studies to be conducted to find conclusive evidence, but holds that Montessori programs are incredible for educating the future leaders of tomorrow.
Children Studies TPA
TPA Lesson Plan #_______
| 1. Teacher Candidate | Alison Sims | Date Taught | |
| Cooperating Teacher | | School/District | |
| 2. Subject | Reading | Field Supervisor | |
| 3. Lesson Title/Focus | Pancakes for Supper | 5. Length of Lesson | |
| 4. Grade Level | Kindergarten |
| 6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National) | With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. |
| 7. Learning Objective(s) | Students will be able to answer questions about specific details in text, identify characters, major events and settings |
| 8. Academic Language demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse) | Characters Setting |
| 9. Assessment |
| Observe children actively listen to stories and ask questions about text **Attach** all assessment tools for this lesson |
| 10. Lesson Connections |
| Children regularly listen to stories and retelling parts. |
| 11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning |
| Learning Tasks and Strategies Sequenced Instruction: Read the story, after a few pages ask a question in regards to where book takes place and who is in it all the way until book is finished. Scaffold them into understanding of characters and setting. Have them respond at the end with who the characters and what the setting is. |
| Teacher’s Role Read story Pose question Scaffold | Students’ Role Listen to story Respond to question when prompted |
| Student Voice to Gather What did they think of the story? Were some of the questions hard? |
| 12. Differentiated Instruction |
| Plan Provide stronger scaffolding for students who are struggling with the answer. Who got launched off the wagon? Who did she meet? |
| 13. Resources and Materials |
| Plan Pancakes for Supper book |
| 14. Management and Safety Issues |
| Plan Ask Have students sit comfortably. Read with appropriate inflection and excitement. Aks questions periodically to keep students engaged. |
| 15. Parent & Community Connections |
| Plan Ask parents to read stories to students and ask the same questions at home. |
Observation #1
2/7/14
3 hours (11am-2pm)
Observation 1 hour (I changed names for ethical reasons of course)
I was placed in the center’s only kindergarten class. Today was their 100th day party. I walked in during a circle time and they were discussing the number 100. They all brought 100 of something to class. Lead teacher (LT) asks students, “if Taylor and Preston both brought 100 M&M’s, how many M&M’s do we have to share? “200!” they shout. I decided to watch a student that I knew from when I worked there last year so she wouldn't really think twice about me watching her play and would be at ease. She is 5 years old and has been at St. Anne’s since she was 3. She shared that she had brought a 100 piece puzzle for 100th day. She focused for a few minutes at a time then would look down at her shoes and readjust the straps with Velcro. They were released to centers after circle, she decided to play with her puzzle in which 3 other children joined. She talks to the other students to categorize pieces by what is on them. She demonstrates pretty strong social skills, but shows very little interest in putting the actual pieces together. The puzzle pieces she did put together usually did not fit and she lost interest fast. Seems not as strong problem solving technical skills. She seemed interested in doing the puzzle but after many failed attempts at putting pieces together she quit. She started to then wander the room, but after not finding anything that caught her eye she went back to the puzzle. She matched her first pair, but then after not matching one for about a minute she started to wander the room again, observing what everyone else was doing. She always would wind up back at the puzzle. There was a disagreement between two students about crowding, to which the student told them, “No fighting over my puzzle. We can all do it together.” Which seemed like a great conflict resolution to the situation. She definitely seemed more interested in the social interaction the puzzle elicited than the puzzle itself. LT then invited her to make her 100 day crown, the craft for the day. She eagerly headed to the craft table that had been full until then. She grabbed the base of the crown which was black and scribbled marker all over it wildly at first, but then she followed the lead of another student and used glue to make a 100 then LT helped her sprinkle glitter on to it. She dumped a lot extra until LT stopped her. “Do you think that is enough she asked? Yes, student replied. She glued on pre cut triangles and then put her name on it in upper case and lower case letters interchangeably. She has writing skills, knows how to use basic craft materials. "Beautiful!" LT told her. She asked me if I could put it up to dry, so I did. The LT then invited another two students over to make their crowns. The LT then rang her bell and warned the class in 10mins it would be transition time. The student then went back to the puzzle. She wanted to start putting it away because her other classmates were still fighting over it and that bothered her. She clearly is a harmony seeker. The classmates started to get mad she was putting it away and started to yell at her. She then got up and told the LT the situation. The LT told them, "It is her puzzle, if she wants it put away she can--it's hers."
Participating in Class
The LT turned on the transition song and students all started cleaning up the room. I helped clean up the craft table. Students cleaned up their messes and then headed to circle without being asked. We gathered at circle and the LT started to speak in French to her students and asked them questions. Several responded in French, several need help. She told them what the weather was in French and then she switched to a lesson on time. She gave them the time in French as well. She then moved the clock and asked them what time it was. She had them respond in English then French. Then she had students show me a silly song that you sing and dance too. It made you stick your knees together, bottom up, thumbs up and tongue out. It was pretty funny. She then dismissed the students to wash and prepare for lunch. I helped set the table for them so they could serve themselves. I sat next to them and ate just like the LT did, talking with the students at the table about the day while they served up their food. I talked with the students about when I had been in their classrooms before and made a point to remember every name. I asked them what they liked most about school, a lot of them said centers basically free play, but a few actually said their lessons. I also explained that I was going to school to become a teacher like Miss Tressa. I wanted the students to be comfortable with me being in their classroom. I realized that building this relationship is key for aiding students in reductive behaviors. We then participated in ELF fitness with is a program that combines physical activity with learning. I help set up and run a section of this by setting up plastic bright colored riverstones that students have to hop to while they count by 10s to 100. For the more advanced students they had to do it while stepping backwards and then they could not easily see the number next to it. After Elf fitness Tressa transitioned them into centers. They were allowed to play in centers until Tressa aid came in and relieved her and then they had small circle with a story. Then they went out for outside time and I said good bye to the students.
Competencies
Enhancing Group Experiences Level 2e I am building a trusting relationship with the children as a foundation for positive guidance and self discipline. I told them about myself and actively pursued learning about them, their names and favorite activities. I feel like this is the most important steps when first coming into an early childhood classroom because students need to know that they can trust you for valuable, helpful information and resources.
Children Studies TPA
Lesson Plan Format
SHORT FORM
Teacher Candidate: Alison Sims Date:
Cooperating Teacher: Kris Booth Grade: Pre-K
Unit/Subject: Plants/ Math
Lesson Title/Focus: Plants and food coloring experiment Charting favorite colors used (cont’d)
Content Objective: To recognize that data can be represented, number recognition and counting
Academic Language: Chart, data
Assessment Strategies: Number book: ask students what number is that? How many (object on page)?
Student Voice: Their favorite color
Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning:
Create a chart with the colors used in the plant experiment (the food dye colors they picked) and the number of students who like each. Have students tell you each color of food dye that we used in other experiment by putting the glasses up for them to see. Ask each student what color they like best. Chart data for them to see, have number scales on the side, ask them to identify number or count squares to see what number it is.
Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology:
Graph poster board, black and colored markers, previous plant experiment set up
Observation #2
2/14/2014
3 hours
Today was Valentines Day, so when I came into the classroom students were very excited having got new valentines. They were all pulling different ones out and looking at them. Asking if this tattoo could be put on them or if they could scratch the scratch valentine. The girl I was observing did just that. She asked if she could have a tattoo put on and I looked at Miss Tressa and she said no save it for home. She then asked if she could do her scratch valentine to which Miss Tressa said yes. She sat with another group of girls who had heard the ruling and started to scratch away the black to reveal cool zebra and cheetah patterns. I noticed again that this students is very relent on Tressa for input and because she sees me as a teacher too she asks me what they should be doing a lot too. I have to refer to Tressa because I want to be respectful of her classroom. The girl went to dress up center which I noticed she played in the first day as well. I went into the center and was instantly asked if I would play the owner who owned all these dogs. So I eagerly accepted and petted their heads and feed them dog treats. The girls loved it (and it was all girls playing). I got down on their level and interacted with them which helped them feel that I was truly engaged. I asked them what else do dogs need? What should I do? They said feed us! I asked well what do doggies eat? They kibble! Dog Food said another. So I asked them to pick out one of their play foods that looked like kibble and I pretended to feed it to them. I noted how they girls would suggest to change the narrative of their play by saying, "Pretend that...". A lot of Pretend this or that were thrown around, but I noticed that it was primarily by two girls who I happen to know are a little bit older and more advanced. The student I was observing simply would follow along with what they would say to pretend. The only "pretend this" she did was to say "pretend that my name is Lucy". I can kind of guess that she is at a different stage of the preoperational stage of development as the other older students. The LT then transitioned the students with playing a song to clean up and move to circle. She read them a story, "The Kiss that Missed" and then she started to dismiss them to wash their hands. We then had their valentines day party where LT passed out cupcakes with the regular snack. I ate with the students again and talked to them about the day and what happened earlier in the day.
Competencies
Creating the Learning Environment and General Curriculum level 4c I used the materials in the classroom, children's choice and play as a context for learning. When invited to pretend play with students I asked them questions to further their learning and understanding. They compared what they new dog food should look like and found a pretend food item to match it which is constructing a abstract thought into a concrete item by comparison.
Child growth and development Level 4 a I was able to take Piaget's theory and recognize it the child I was playing with. This will help when I am playing with children to be able realize the areas that they are working on and which kind of play is the most beneficial for that.
Children Studies TPA
Lesson Plan Format
SHORT FORM
Teacher Candidate: Alison Sims Date:
Cooperating Teacher: Kris Booth Grade: Pre-K
Unit/Subject: Plants/ Language arts, science and art
Lesson Title/Focus: Plants and food coloring experiment (cont’d)
Content Objective: To realize they can illustrate what they see around them, to note changes and to follow detailed instruction and prompting
Academic Language: Experiment, Results
Assessment Strategies: Respond to simple instructions and what is missing game to note key changes
Student Voice: Chose what colors went into experiment
Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning:
With students help cover what control means. Scaffold students into noting key changes as compared to control with other colored celery. Have them represent this change in a new picture with outline from original drawing by coloring were they see the color in the celery. Again help them label control and materials in picture.
Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology:
Projector, Celery stalks, Photo copier, food coloring, measuring cup, four glasses, crayons, water, pencils
Observation #3
2/21/2014 *Names changed for privacy
Today when I came into the class room the children where in their centers like usual. The girl I have been observing was in house center again. She was playing the mom with some of the same girls she was playing with the other day. I noted today that she seemed to be playing in way that suggested a higher level of thinking. She was doing a lot more of the "Pretend this..." and was playing a lot more active role in their play. I am guessing that playing the role of the mom really supered this on. It was incredible to watch because I felt I was just watching her mind stretching in front of me. The LT then dinged the warning bell to get prepared to transition. They started to clean up because they had a lot of things out. Then the LT played the transition song and the children came to the circle rug. She then went into a math lesson. She put a magnet plus sign with a magnet equal sign and spaces between each. She then grabbed an abacus she put 8 on the abacus and asked how many. 8 the kids shouted. She then said I am going to preform a magic trick and make some disappear. She then asked how many do we have now Lauren? 5! She wrote the 8 and then put the 5 on the equal sign. Then she asked how many did I take away then? 3! The class shouted. I am not going to lie I was very impressed that the kids could do this math problem backwards, in a pre algebra sense. After two more problems the LT went in her normal lesson with English, French and sign language. The little girl I was observing was asked a question and she first got nervous and looked at her shoes, but then upon realizing she knew the answer she looked up and did the sign for father. Then the LT went into discussing an experiment that they did earlier in the week, that they did not control (keep record of how much of everything they used). She discussed the importance of controlling your experiments and they went over their buzz word definitions for the experiment. We then got out of circle and went to tables to recreate the experiment.
I went around the table to help make sure name and date was on their papers. She went over with them how to write the date. Then at the she discussed with them how to write their hypothesis stating it was a guess on what you think will happen. She was doing an experiment with shaving cream on top of water and how many drops of food coloring it would take to go through the shaving cream. She measured the water for them and had them write it down. Then they drew a picture of the experiment. I went around to scaffold them to making accurate pictures, like,"is the shaving cream out of the vase?" "is the shaving cream at the top or the bottom of the vase?" Then they were asked to come up with their hypothesis and write it down in a sentence. I help scaffold them into writing their hypothesis. I asked them how many drops of food coloring they thought it would take to drop through the shaving cream and then we went from there. A few asked me how to spell certain words. I helped them sound it out. One girl who was struggling a bit I came around to. She asked me if I could help her write it and I said I would help her. I asked her what she thought it should say and then I went word by word with her asking her if she knew how to spell that word and then helping her sound it out if she didn't. We got the end and I had her put a period and then she knew she had finished her sentence and then I had her read it to me. She looked at me beaming and I told her, "See you did that! You are so smart!" I then went around and checked the other students papers and scaffold a few into correcting a few small mistakes with upper case letters where there shouldn't be and etc. The LT was doing the same thing with the other table of students and then when everyone had written their hypothesis we moved on to the actual experiment. They recorded the results excitedly. I explained to a few who I saw tried to change their hypothesis that it was ok to have guessed wrong because it is just a guess and there was no need to change it. Then they drew an after picture of the experiment. We went around and checked their papers and then collected them. Then they went to circle to reflect on the experiment and then the LT let them go to centers.
Competencies
Child Growth and development level 4 g I demonstrated a knowledge of inclusive philosophy and practices and recognized the range of development with young children. I saw that the girl was struggling and encouraged her that she could do what the other students were doing. I assured her that she was just as capable as the other students and helped realize that.
Promoting cognitive development level 4 c I helped the students I interacted with create their own knowledge. I scaffolded them into them into constructing their own knowledge of writing their hypotheses.
Observation #4
2/29/2014
When I got into the classroom they were at centers as usual. The girl I was observing was at the craft table. I saw her putting marker stamps wildly all over a piece of construction paper. I then asked her what she was doing and she said she was making a washcloth. I was kind of interested how this came about and she told me that one of the other old girls came up with it. I looked around the craft table and realized they were all making something like it and when I asked them they all said they were making a wash cloth too. I asked the LT and she said yep this girl started it and then they all followed. She guessed it had come up from all the water experiments they had been doing. She said they had done another experiment earlier in the week with the kids with water which made sense since they were on a water unit. I watched them make their wash cloths and the girl I was observing made several until it was time to clean up. They then were transitioned to clean up and I helped sort out some issues they had. Some markers and papers were left out on the table. I asked whose they were and then asked one of the girls if it was her paper and she said yes and I kindly asked her to put it away before it got lost. I then asked one of the students nicely if he could put the markers away with one of the other girls at the craft table and they said yes and picked them up and put them away. Then everyone came to circle. The LT then went over an english, french and sign lesson. Then she got out a reading curriculum book and read them a chapter of a story that they had read earlier in the week. She asked them questions about the story after she read it about why had happened in what she had just read. Complex open response questions like whether they would want to be friends with the main character and why. The girl I was observing had a harder time with the open ended questions, but the LT helped scaffold her into a saying that the girl seemed nice because she took care of her kitty. Then we went into ELF fitness. I helped them get into two groups with the LT then she explained what they would be doing. I helped my side by giving them the riverstones to place and jump on all the way to a table then gave them a scooter to scoot all the way back to their line. At the table they had to match the quantity with the number that represented it. The children had a lot of fun. I was able to note the more advanced students as far as coordination and gross motor skills. Most students did not have a problem with the number section since they were all doing simple addition and subtraction already. Then after they finished they went to the table to do a subtraction worksheet. I was kind of shocked that I had no one asked me for help and when I went around every answer I saw was right. One girl asked me for help with 7-4. I had her put up four fingers and take four away then she counted what was left. I did this because the LT said they would use their fingers if they were having a hard time. Then I went around and made sure everyone had their name and then we collected papers again. The LT then released them to centers again. Then the assistant teacher came in she asked me if I wanted to read them a story today. I was thrilled. I asked if I could give them a short reading lesson on characters and setting and she said sure since she knew I was early ed major. They were transitioned to circle and I asked them if they knew what a character was. One girl raised her hand and said it was a person in a story. I said you're right! Then I asked them where the setting is in the story. They were a little more reluctant on that so I explained that it was where the story takes place if it is outside or inside, in the city or in the forest etc. I read them Pancakes for Supper including all the correct inflection and excitement. I noticed how engaged they all were. I asked them questions throughout about the characters and the setting. They were all listening very intently so they didn't have any problem answering. They were able to identify characters and setting. They pointed out that the setting was in the forrest which was exciting to here that they had connected the definition I had gave them with the meaning. I went over with them the characters in the book and the setting at the end and then the assistant thanked me and then read them another story. They then were headed to go outside.
Competencies
Promoting language level 1 f I used varying inflection while reading to the children showing differences to convey emotions and different characters. I think this helped them recognize different characters talking in the story.
Level 3 k I helped their listening skills, vocab and discourse skills through book reading by using prompts and follow up by scaffolding them into noting characters and setting of our story.
Observation #5
3/7/2014
Today when I came into the class the children were transitioning from centers into a lesson activity at the tables. The LT passed out a worksheet with pictures on it. It was very weird looking to me and I had no idea what this lesson was about. She then told the children they would be doing a listening activity where they had to listen to a recording and follow the instructions to go through the worksheet. It fist had them circle a P on a paint can if the word started with P. First the children started saying the answers until the LT corrected them not to and to let the other students think for themselves. I walked around and noticed everyone seems to being getting the answers right away I did notice though that they would often look at their neighbors paper to check and make sure they had got it right. Then they had to do the same thing but with names of children pictured on the page. They had to write the beginning letter of the child's name on a sign the child was holding on the worksheet. When they finished they noticed that the children's signs together spelled pop-up. The they had to draw pictures on picture below to show what was popping up of each thing. I noticed I did not really have to help with this activity at all it was pretty self explanatory with the recorder telling them what to do. They then went to circle and did their english, french and sign lesson and then they went into centers. A boy came up to me and asked me to play a wooden board of tic tack toe. I accepted and was eager to help him build cognitive problem solving skills. I did not go easy, I played to the best of my ability. Each time I won I told him he could beat me, I knew he was smart enough. I beat him 11 times before he won once, but when he won he felt so victorious and proud because he knew I was playing my best. I told him you outsmarted me! I didn't see that move! Nice thinking! I could have easily let him win, but I don't think he would have learned from that. When I worked with him and taught him some of my strategies he learned and then he won! A few more students asked if they could have a turn when they saw he had beaten me, so they wanted to see if they could too. It was a wonderful learning experience for all of us to apply our cognitive skills.
Promoting Cognitive Development level 4 e I made sure I was challenging this student cognitively while encouraging him in his development.
Plan-do-review
Making cupcakes- 3year old girl I nanny
Family Involvement
1. What is your understanding of the central role of families in development and learning for young children? Families are the lives of children. Families are their number one and most important teacher. Families truly are the most shaping impacting influence on a young child and it is important as a teacher to realize and respect that.
2. What is your understanding on how to establish a mutual nurturing relationships with families?
To establish mutual and nurturing relationship with families you need to have open and active communication. As a teacher you must also be sensitive to the needs of the family and serve them as best you can in their entirety. Families should be a seen as an irreplaceable source for knowledge and connections that are so important to our child care programs, so it is important to collaborate with the families.
3. How can you establish and maintain respectful and collaborative relationships with young children and their families?
To establish and maintain respectful and collaborative relationships with families you have to let them know what is going on in the classroom and how they can be a part of their child's learning in and outside the classroom. As a teacher you can send out weekly news letter, send emails asking for specific knowledge, connections or volunteers, you could have parent nights, and host parenting classes. Respectful and collaborative relationships come from respecting culturally differences and supportive and encouraging engagement with families.
4. What strategies can you use to partner effectively with families to inform and enhance support for their children's learning by listening to, observing and learning from family members?
To partner with families as a teacher you have to keep in constant contact with families via their most accessible means, email, phone, letters, etc.. As a teacher you should invite parents into the classroom to volunteer, conferences, sending pictures and family nights. Another way to partner with families to ask them for help, connections or resources, let them know that they are valued and vital to the classroom culture.
5. How can you work effectively with family and community volunteers in learning experiences?
When working with family and community volunteer you should give them a run down of what is happening in the classroom today and specifically how they can help. It is important to maintain boundaries with volunteers and have clear open communication. Always, ALWAYS, thank volunteers for being in the classroom to encourage them to keep volunteering and to encourage others to volunteer.
List of how to get families involved
Send them pictures of their child and classroom so they know what is going on
Hold conferences, parent nights, date nights for parents and (unculturally biased) holiday parties
Ask families for their support, knowledge, connections, skills and time (volunteering)
Send home letters, emails and phone calls (if that is their preferred method)
Ask them to bring in family pictures to put up in their classroom
Have a parent career day
Article on Family Involvement
I love that the article I looked up opened with why it is so vital to have families involved in our classrooms, because families help "develop and enhance skills that will offer students the best possible learning experiences and opportunities, in school, at home, and in community settings."
It also had some really great stats on parent involvement on learning outcomes, "Researchers at the University of Oxford found that children whose parents participated in the Peers Early Education Partnership (a program geared towards supporting families of children ages 0-5) "made significantly greater progress in their learning than children whose parents did not participate.""
The article also noted some tips to helping improve parent involvement: make the most of pick-up and drop off times, share details, host a variety of special events, communicate frequently, set your expectations high, encourage peer networking between parents, make resources available to parents and invite parents into classrooms. This article also cover how to have hard conversations with families without burning bridges. I think this article will be useful to reflect back on when I have my own classroom.
http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/family/engagingfamilies
Role of the Teacher
To me, a teacher serves as a guide to a child's own natural curiosity and a yearning for adventure. I want to ignite the flame inside them the drives them to ask why, what and how. I want to push them by asking key questions that help them explore all the possibilities. I think this is the role of a teacher to provide the materials and to encourage and ignite their own need for discovery.
Web widgets
Photos
Outdoor Environment
Visual Representation of Learning
Project Approach
Montessori toy
Word Blocks Pic 1
Word Blocks Pic 2
Word Blocks Pic 3
Rich sticky notes
EDUC 458
Eastern Washington University Mission Statement:
EWU expands opportunities for personal transformation through excellence in learning
Department of Education Mission Statement:
The mission of the Department of Education is to prepare student-centered educators to be professionals, leaders, scholars, and practitioners.
EDUC 458
The Learning Paradigm in Early Childhood Education
Instructor: Chris Booth
Office 315C
Telephone: 359-7035
Email: cbooth@ewu.edu
Office hours: Monday. Tuesday, Thursday 10:00 AM to 12:00 AM
Other times by appointment
Description of Course:
The Learning Paradigm in Early Childhood Education course will empower students to learn about early childhood education in a learning paradigm through integrated, holistic, and collaborative approaches.
Course Proficiencies
Reform in higher education focuses on preparing early childhood professionals to work with children in a changing society. Learning is to be experienced in a learning paradigm, that provides opportunities for students to; have a voice in their learning, develop a teaching/facilitation role that understands the integration of knowledge and pedagogy and to view constructionism as a theory of learning.
Learning Outcomes
1. Prepare students to work with children in a changing society
a) Seek creative solutions to problems around the rights and strengths of children
b) Identify current changes in early childhood education and understand the ramifications for the integrated study of children
c) Understand the benefits of interdisciplinary and holistic approaches
d) Learn how to identify the strengths of children with diverse backgrounds
2. Empower students to have a voice in their learning
a) Empowerment of students and their families
b) Influence perceptions of working with young children
c) Reflective practices
3. Explore a teaching role that facilitates learning
a) Awareness of the integration of knowledge and pedagogy
b). Study assumptions and myths of the teaching/service role
c) Identify the characteristics of quality education, and why we need to go beyond quality in education.
d) Identify the assumptions of the role of technology in early education
4. Define constructionism in education as a theory of learning
a) Understand construction of knowledge
b) Identify ways of knowing
c). Define contextualized education
d) Understand the importance of guiding the holistic development and learning
of young children.
e) Design appropriate practices for all young children
5. Provide the opportunity for students to develop a community of learners (ongoing)
a) Learn how to apply inquiry strategies
b) Provide opportunities to observe the learning of children in action
c) Reflect on and in action
d) Learn from the other in a process of collaboration
Evidence to be placed on your Protopage portfolio
1. You will be expected to take part in all class discussions, activities, etc., read (at least one article) in all areas introduced in class, and keep a teachers journal on your classroom learning. These postings will be read periodically by your instructor.
2. Using the project approach to learning, small groups will choose topics of interest and present to the class their informed discoveries. The first presentation in the third week, the second the sixth week and the final presentation the last week. All presentations are to be planned projects with research based and shared findings through representations of learning. These are major collaboration projects and grades will reflect your peers’ evaluations.
3. Community building is very important and you will be expected to attend all classes (especially as much of this course is process learning).
4. A final self-assessment will be written to provide an opportunity to highlight your learning’s from the class.
Evaluation:
40% Portfolio assessment
45% Collaborative Group Experience
10 % Community Building
5% Self assessment
Conceptual Framework
Eastern Washington University Department of Education: Conceptual Framework
Eastern Washington University Mission Statement: EWU expands opportunities for personal transformation through excellence in learning
Department of Education Mission Statement: The mission of the Department of Education is to prepare student-centered educators to be professionals, leaders, scholars, and practitioners.
Professionals: Student-centered educators exhibit character and dispositions expected of professionals embarking on a life-long career. They relate well to diverse populations, communicate effectively, and hold themselves to high ethical standards.
Leaders: Student-centered educators think critically, mentor others, and encourage teacher voice as they work to create a learning atmosphere that reflects, collaborates, and advocates for the needs of the learning community.
Scholars: Student-centered educators know and apply current research to improve their instructional practices.
Practitioners: Student-centered educators reflect, collaborate, implement, integrate, transform, and build learning communities.
Week 1- Paradigms/ Holstic Teaching
Monday, January 6th
Today in class we just went over the basic perimeters for the class. We did an ice breaker activity to get to know some of our classmates and build a sense of community. We were assigned an article to read by Barr and Tag for Wednesday. The article was on the difference between a learning paradigm and an instruction paradigm. As I learned learning paradigm is centered on the student. Students work at their own paces and are tested based on competency of skills. Teachers are seen as guides to helping student in their own learning experience. Learning experiences are supportive, collaborative and cooperative. The instruction paradigm on the other hand is teaching as means to the means, or teaching to provide instruction, not actual competencies. Teachers are seen as housing all the knowledge and dumping it into students regardless of individual needs of each student. Teaching is centered on the teacher and on a set time. Students are assessed at the end of the material the teacher lectured on not their own specific learning outcomes or skills. The instruction paradigm is the exact way that college classes are at Eastern. The teacher lectures and the students have to be able to regurgitate the information at the end of the class. In the learning paradigm, where actual skill sets are to be obtained, students learn by creating their own learning experiences with an instructor as a guide. The learning paradigm produces competent learners and individual thinkers who construct their own knowledge from learning experiences. I looked up another article on teaching centered instruction versus student centered learning found a chart by Huba and Freed (2000) called, “Comparison of Teacher Centered and Learner-Centered Paradigms”. I liked this chart because it was worded in ways that seemed little straighter forward. What stood out to me was what was noted about the emphasis difference, the instruction paradigm is focused on right answers, while the teaching paradigm is focused on generating better questions and learning from errors.
In my classroom: I want the students I teach to set their own goals for their own learning and to allow them to learn about subject matters they are interested in and build a curriculum around their interest. To do this I will have to establish a relationship with my students so they will feel comfortable telling me what they want to learn about and how they learn best. I want to guide them in learning experiences and just give them the answers. The way I best can attribute it to is teaching a child how to ride a bike by telling them how, versus actually letting them practice riding a bike to learn how.
Wednesday
On Wednesday we discussed what holistic teaching, methodology and contextualized instruction meant. Holistic teaching as I understood it, means teaching students to find their identity and purpose in life through community, nature and humanitarian values. A teacher who teaches holistically involves the entire environment in her instruction and encourages her students to explore each domain. Methodology is the study of methods or how something is practiced. Teachers must be methodological and study all different kinds of methods of teaching. Contextualized instruction is teaching that is aimed at developing specific skills that children will need in the real world. The article I read from USC Center for Excellent Teaching had brief article on how best to establish contextualized learning in your classroom. The article notes that it is important that learning occur in many different environments such as the home, the classroom, outside and in the community, this prepares them for the real world. It also notes that learning situation should be centered around problem solving and have students work together to find solutions.
In my classroom: I really do like contextualized learning and think it is vital to raise students that are prepared for real life situations. To make this happen I would love to have students be able to work on real life projects together like cooking, gardening, cleaning, building and money management. If children were given fake reward money for doing extra chores, for helping another student, doing volunteer work in the school and then letting them purchase things they might want, like homework passes and bigger prizes like a stereo or kindle that they have to save a lot of money for. I could also have them solve complex issues like solving a rube goldberg machine where the have to use materials in the classroom to get a marble from a starting point to and ending point.These complex situations will help students be prepared for real life problem solving.
http://cet.usc.edu/resources/teaching_learning/learn/contextual_learning.html
Week 2-Group Work/Community Building
Monday, January 13th
Today in class we discussed group work and how best to work in groups to achieve a common goal. We got an article on collaboration and group work. We discussed the article in our groups. We noted the importance of defining and assessing the project and noting the deadlines. We also addressed getting to know your group members and sharing insights, thoughts, strengths and weaknesses. We also had to pick a recorder, a speaker, a leader and a questioner. Discussing our article using these as our jobs did help facilitate the group work. We noted how it would be important for our future group work. We discussed some of our strengths and weakness and how we could work together to fill our weaknesses. All of what we learned from discussing we can help guide our students into learning how to work with others towards a common goal. Kris opened this as an opener to collaboration I believe. I read an article on group work on edutopia that was really interesting. The article I read was by Bernice Yeung called, “Students Can Get Work Done in Groups”. Yeung presents her reflection on her group work practices in her classroom. Yeung notes that group work takes building trust in other members to do their part in group assignments. Everyone signs a written contract of what work they will commit to doing for the group. Then at the end the teacher and the group members grade each other on their collaboration skills. Members that don’t perform are liable to be voted out of the group and forced to do the project independently.
In my classroom: Though I am not sure I like the idea of students “voting out” another student from the group I did like Yeung analysis and application of group work overall. Since I plan on working with much younger children than the students in Yeung’s classroom, I do want to help my students to build trust in one another. I want them to feel comfortable discussing things they don’t understand with each other and work through complex issues together and as Yeung suggests, this is best done through allowing students to really get to know and trust each other. I want to do this through many ice breaker games, about-me days, family nights, etc.
Wednesday, January 15th
Today in class we talked about community building and collaboration. We separated into groups and discussed a project on community building through collaboration. Community building in a classroom is purposely created to help students feel safe, encouraged and supported to make this happen everyone has to be active participates and work together or collaborate. The article I read from Learning and the adolescent mind described it as a community of learners which is defined as a "group of people who share values and beliefs and who actively engage in learning from one another--learners from teachers , teachers from learners and learners from learners". Children learn best in this kind of environment, everyone builds from each other and collaborates their ideas to work towards a common goal--learning.
In my classroom: To build this community of learners I want to start of with have lots of ice breaker games and get-to-know you games which I plan to participate in. To trust and feel safe in our community students need to know each other so we can build that trust. Then have lots of opportunities for students to work together towards a common goal, like a Rube Goldberg machine so they learn they can trust and count on each other. I can also help establish a sense of community by having parent night so students can know and trust each other even better by knowing the context of which they live away from school. This would all help create an environment that would help the students to feel the most comfortable to collaborate towards the common goal of learning.
Week 3-Group Presentation Reflection
Monday- Martin Luther King Day
Wednesday, January 22
Today was our group presentations. We presented on our group work. I think this was honestly the worst group experience I have ever had and it was on working together, go figure. I honestly blame it on lack of times we could meet and a general misunderstanding of the project. I had started a google doc powerpoint and had typed our written notes onto from what we had and emailed it. I got an email back saying that one of them wanted to change the activity so we changed it. I prepared the powerpoint accordingly, but the night before presentations another girl in my group informed me she had the powerpoint we were going to present with the same activity that she decided on. I felt like I had absolutely no part in it as did the other group members. Our activity which I wanted to make more collaborative by having some groups have what the other groups need, but this didn't happen at all. It was extremely frustrating. That is why in our next group activity I plan to remain in constant contact with all members by adding them on facebook as well so they will get their messages faster. Constant communication is key in community building. Getting to know each other better I am sure will help in furture group projects.
Week 4-What makes a good teacher
Monday, January 27th
I wasn't here on this day, but I heard about the assignment. I asked my friends on facebook what makes a good teacher, I got a variety of responses, like good listener, helpful, caring, learning from mistakes, someone who understands what her students are going through, compassion and empathy, an excitement and passion for teaching, humor, no homework, patience and understanding, and fellow ed major knowingly said a facilitator.
To me, a good teacher is someone who makes a personal connect with all of her students and has extreme amount of caring and love for her students. Even though love doesn't seem professional, it is a part of this field, or any field where you care shepherding and caring for others. It helps you to put their need first, to stay focused on your job, to help them feel safe and cared for. You have to genuinely care for your students and you have to make their learning how you would like to learn, fun and exciting. I want to be the teacher that helped a child through a hard time, or the teacher that made learning fun again.
Wednesday class was cancelled
Week 5- Technology
February 3rd
Today in class we discussed technology and how it plays a role in the classroom. We went over what technology was, why it was important and briefly went over our opinions on whether technology was good or bad. We discussed how a lot of teachers that say they don't want technology in the classroom typically don't know how to use it. We were encouraged to learn how to use this technology. I read an article by Timothy Honeycutt and it addressed the benefit of using tech in the classroom: keeps children focused for longer, students get more excited to learn, it allows students to learn at their own pace and it prepares them for the future. To add to that, I also think technology gives students a chance to learn without the whole classroom knowing their grade, which might shield them from the feeling of public failure. In my classroom I decided I definitely want technology because it does prepare children for the future and it does help them stay excited to learn when they can use a variety of ways to do so.
http://nms.org/Blog/TabId/58/PostId/188/technology-in-the-classroom-the-benefits-of-blended-learning.aspx
February 5th
Today we talked more about technology how it can be beneficial and how to get it in our classrooms. We watched two videos on technology and how it can be used in the classroom. We also discussed how it can be used incorrectly, like using it to just distract children and not help them learn, they are not monitored and play games excessively, incorrectly use tech, use web to shop, or browse inappropriate site. Children have to be monitored around tech and taught how to use it properly. The University of Pittsburgh said it well when they wrote, "Use tech for a purpose.... and align them with your learning objectives". They also recommend making the technology accessible to the students, they can easily use it and have been educated how. They also note to be clear if you use it for online assessments, tell you students what you will be grading them on. The fourth point they note is reinforcement, technology should be a reinforcement for your teaching, not a supplement for instead of teaching. I agreed with all the points of this article. I plan to make sure my students can use the technology in the classroom and how to use it appropriately. I want to always be intentional when I have students use technology and have them use it to help drive home learning objectives.
https://www.cidde.pitt.edu/ta-handbook/teaching-technology-1 a reason.
Week 6- Technology Benefits & Issues
February 10th
Today we talked more about technology benefits and issues. We discussed children using it inappropriately, not being monitored, teachers not being intentional with it and using it as a supplement for actual teaching instead of using it as a reinforcement of actual teaching. When children use it appropriately it can help them have a deeper understanding of learning objectives. With the little girl I nanny I use a app on their Ipad for her that helps her trace her letters while it makes the phonetic sound. It has really helped her remember the letter sounds we have been discussing throughout our days. For the first time today she was a able to tell me a letter sound without me prompting her, it was very exciting for the both of us. I read the NAEYC position of technology and they stated that, "technology and interactive media are tools that can promote effectively learning and development." NAEYC stresses the importance that above all technology should not harm children, it should promote healthy development.
http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children
February 12th
Today we discussed issues with technology. We discussed funding, can be used inappropriate ways and can be used in substitution for actual teaching. We meet in our groups for our presentation. Dr. Bruce Perry reflected in an interview on how technology is useful with young children. He made an interesting point that technology helps build children's confidence by helping them type neat and correctly spelled assignments on word documents that can be really helpful for them. I want to apply for grants to have at least one computer in my classroom even though it will be pre-k I think they can benefit just as older students can. I would love to have at least one computer, if not two for microsoft word and some kind of word typing game that they are working on simple words and typing. Having a classroom Ipad would be wonderful too. Just one to play as an option with a few learning games on them. I would really want to preview these games harshly and pay for the ones that are really quality. I feel like you wouldn't get the most out of having the technology in the classroom if you didn't bother to spend a little on developmentally appropriate apps and software.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/using_technology.htm
Week 7- Group Presentation Reflection
February 17th
No school
February 19th
Today we had our group presentation on technology. I think as a group we communicated pretty well. We still couldn't get together outside of class and that made it difficult. I took and lot of initiative and sent out group information that we took notes on in class, reminded everyone of their section and what was suppose to be in it. I definitely asked for people's input, but they just kind of agreed with what I had come up with. I did like how we went about our presentation, I just wish we would have added a fun activity. I guess a lot of us are still in the boring old presentation mentality where you don't add in activities because the teacher seems to think you are just trying to waste time. I think it would have made it a lot more interesting for everyone. Definitely will keep in mind for our last presentation.
Week 8- Children Rights/ Issues
February 24th
Today we discussed children's right and strengths. We split into groups and made a list for each and then combined them. We came up with right to a name, basic needs, education, expression, culture and beliefs. With the strengths we ended with great learners, emotional characteristics and creative. It was hard to narrow down the strengths because every child has their own strengths just like adults do. Every child is different in their own characteristics. I do believe that every child is at heart a great learner, they just have to be given the right opportunities. I looked up the Convention of the rights of the child to reflect on. It establishes that every child has a right to life, a name, right to be cared for by their parents given the what is in the best interest of child, protection from discrimination, freedom of expression, privacy, freedom from violence, health treatment, education, right to rest and play. To mean I can summarize this in my mind as children have the right to education, express themselves, a name, health treatment, freedom from abuse and culture. I think it is important as a teacher to reflect on these. I as myself am I meeting these rights when I work with children? My first instinct is to say absolutely yes, but I think I should dig deeper than that. Expression is probably the most trick one to exactly quantify. How do I make sure as a teacher that I am letting them express themselves? I think to truly let children express themselves you have to be ok with hearing something you don't want to hear and instead of telling them no, don't do or say that--- maybe explaining, "we can use a inside voice now because we are inside" or "I am sorry you are upset, but words can sometimes hurt others feelings. Can you tell me why you are upset?" These would be great solutions to difficult situations that encourage children to express themselves, but still handling the issue in an appropriate manner.
http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx
February 26th
Today we discussed children issues. We named a few issues that children in our country are facing today like discrimination (bullying, violence, abuse), family issues (poverty, abuse, neglect), government issues (access to healthcare, education policies, school funding), and education issues (bad teachers, funding, resources). We then signed up under each issue for our last group presentation. I got education issues. Watching "Waiting for Superman" made me really interested in education reform so I signed up for that topic with a few of my classmates.
Week 9- Children Issues
March 3
Today in class we discussed children's issues. We discussed some issues specifically in education and watched a video with that. The video discussed a preschool that lost its funding and how important early education is and how much that community needed it. Seeing this like this scare me to death because that is my worst nightmare to open a center and to lose funding or just not be make enough to keep the doors open. To have that happen doesn't just impact you and the employees, but all of the children especially and the families. We need to focus more in the is country on how important early childhood education is and get these children off to a good start. We are guiding children in the most brain developmentally crucial times in their lives and to say that early education isn't a big deal is misguided at best. I especially loved the TED talk, one because I love TED and two because it really was very persuasive and I think it really appeals the people who think funding early education is useless. It really appealed to economics point of view and everything he said is so valid. The investment in early education is long term gain with amazing returns. In the article link below the government actual has a section on their website on the importance of early education in the United States. I covers Obama's initiative to expand access to preschool and full day kindergarten (which I support as well). It also covers the invest allocated towards childcare assistance to families in need. The next topic was home-visiting funding to help empower parents to make sure their children are healthy and ready for school (this is a big one for me, I think poverty is one of the biggest issues impeding children in the United States in regards to education. Then it discussed Race to the Top, which I don't support. I get that they are hoping states will come up with new creative ways to improve our education, but giving more funding to some schools and not others is one going to create an even larger achievement gap in our schools. Finally, it covers head start which I think is a great program for early childhood and has made a difference in our country. I think we still have a long way to go and there are policies that are not working, but we are still heading in the right direction.
March 5th
Today in class we discussed children's issue again briefly, but we focused most of our time in our groups. I am very excited for our presentation. I think it is coming together really nicely and the girls and are working wonderfully together collaboratively. Everyone is clear on their parts and are keeping up with the work, so I am very excited for how it will turn out in the end. My part is comparing Finland and the United States. The more I read up on Finland, the more obsessed I have become with their education system, it is incredible. And I know this is controversial because I am in a class with all teachers, but I really think the difference lies in the quality of their teachers over there. They decided in 1970 that they had to improve their education system so they closed the teacher training schools they had and opened the teaching program at the universities. Only the top 10% make it in to the program and they have to have their bachelors first and then get their masters in teaching. I am of all people not to judge teachers here, because I, myself do not have my masters and was definitely not in the 10% of my class, but it is hard to ignore the facts that it would make a difference here. It definitely make me want to get my masters and try to be the absolute best I can be for my future students. I want them to be as prepared for the real world as students in Finland or Shanghai. Also POVERTY, Poverty here is huge and creates a huge achievement gap in our schools. Finland's poverty rate is almost non existent. If we can some how get poverty more under control we would really help even the deficit in our schools.
Final Group Project Eval
I was really happy with our group presentation. I was really glad that you (Kris) helped us narrow it down. I feel like our presentation would have been a lot more vague and uninformative as it turned out. I was very interested in our topic so that helped a lot too. The other girls were very diligent and we worked together really well. We had clear cut out pieces of the project which really helped make it easy of who was suppose to do what. I thought the presentation was interesting and engaging. Alicia computer dying was a hiccup, but Brittany was so kind to come to our rescue. I definitely feel that this presentation was the best that I have ever had as far as collaboration and quality. All of us were pretty knowledgable about our countries and that really helped us deliver a strong presentation as well.
Rich sticky notes
Early Childhood Environments
I read an article on early childhood environments and how to make them more attractive and beneficial for young minds. It notes that each classroom should be set up for the age group that is intended to serve. Infants and toddlers need more space to actively engage objects because that is how they learn. Preschoolers are starting to learn to symbolic representation and they need space to engage in play socio-dramatic play. Preschoolers also need room to have literacy materials that are accessible to them. They note that the first 8 years of life are the prime window for cognitive development and they need visually engaging , auditory engaging and integrated interesting environments promote this development. It is important to have stuff at children's eye level that is interesting to look and analyze. It is also noted that music in the classroom is important for early child brain development. Then the integrated aspect to the environment, areas most be versatile and allow students to learn in different ways. I think my environment takes in to consideration all of these points. I included things for the children to look at an about me wall, class pet or bug, plants, their art all over, I would love to also have a canopy hanging down with other objects like kites. I allow for a stereo and instruments in the classroom as well. Almost all of the areas in my classroom would be pretty versatile, aside from maybe kitchen, dress-up area, but there is a lot of different ways they can play in the area. I am pretty happy with how my classroom turned out.
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=334
5/1-Land Before Time
5/1 Culture-how you were brought up with family influence, what makes your individual identity. Diversity- how you differ from others. Issues- discrimination, jealousy, fear, bullying, genocide Land Before Time The three horn parent tell Cera she can't play with the long necks. Cera reminds littlefoot even though they were having fun playing together. When little foot meets ducky he tells her that long necks don't play with her kind. When they almost get caught Cera says no one is safe with you! They still have a hard time trusting reach other because they come from such different backgrounds and were taught to not trust different kinds of dinosaurs. Cera says you're mom was a stupid long neck too. They have to overcome their differences so they can work together to survive. Many run ins with t-rex make it very clear that no one can make it on their own.
There are clear applications that translate to human situations. Yes, we don't have long necks, but we as a race have so many barriers that separate us. The differences are what makes us as a race so diverse, but sometimes these differences cause people to be fearful of what they do not know or understand, which has been repeated time and time again throughout history. Like the little dinosaurs who must work together to fight these fears, we too, as humans must come to know and trust people from different backgrounds to know that they are not to be feared, but fellow people to share our lives with and survive with. Knowledge is at the for front of this realization. One must come to know what we do not know, which is people that are different from us.
Finding Joy By Sonia Neito Reflection Part I-III
Part I Review
Sonia Neito’s Finding Joy in Teaching Students of Diverse Backgrounds part one discusses the very real issue that faces all teachers, finding joy in their profession despite the odds. Governmental policies, lack of funding and resources, little to no collaboration between faculty, all leading to an immense amount of pressure on teachers who are now having to teach store bought curriculum. It seems as though all the joy is being sucked out of the teaching profession at the expense of the students. Teachers are not being prepared or given the resources to teach the populations they are serving which creates an even grander issue for our education system. Teacher and student relationships are shaped by these multitude of contexts which can often lead to fear and mistrust of teachers.
Neito makes call to professional development to help meet the needs of teachers and students and the learning experience as a whole. Neito suggests that teaching is a political statement, because it, “determines who benefits and who loses when decisions on pedagogy, curriculum, policies and practices are made” (pg.23). To make sure children of diverse background don’ lose out, Neito calls for teachers to education themselves on how to teach these students. Three key components in profession development such as, “a focus on content knowledge, opportunities for active learning and coherence with other learning opportunities” help set teachers up for success teaching students of diverse backgrounds (pg.25). Mentoring, induction programs and teacher collaboration have also proven to be helpful for teacher teaching students with different backgrounds. With all this development though still good teachers receive bad review solely based on test scores. It is suggested that teacher evaluation needs to take on a more collegial approach, so evaluation can be more accurate.
Part II
In part II Neito delves into what actually makes a teacher of students with diverse background successful in teaching. It is noted how important it is for teachers to show their students that they care about them, to make themselves emotionally available to their students. Also, teachers that open up their own identity to students help students to open up with their own identity which has shown to greatly impact learning. Neito finds that successful teachers are the ones that have love and compassion for their students no matter where they come from. I personally loved some of the ideas teachers had about how to bring up the importance of cultural diversity in their classrooms. Neito notes how important it is to have a “culturally responsive space” in the classroom (pg.57). Neito also notes how important it is for teachers to never stop learning, so they might set an example for their students. Teachers that become good learners, become good teachers (pg. 74).
Neito notes in chapter 6 specifically how to help “emergent bilingual students”, so students learning English as a second language which is become a lot more prevalent in our classrooms today. It is important for teachers to respect these students culture and to celebrate it in the classroom. These students are an asset to adding cultural diversity to a classroom and making them feel that why is crucial to their success, as Neito notes. All students should be celebrated for their different cultural backgrounds, and when that happens, learning happens. By knowing students identities teachers can challenge their students to question status quo, and to exceed any boundaries they think hold them back. Successful teaching is also being an advocate for students of diverse backgrounds. Community resources and outreach are key tools for a teacher to support his or her students to success. Good teachers challenge misconceptions, provide students with all the tools to succeed, draw on a students’ talents and strength to enhance education and create a learning environment that promotes critical thinking and supports agency for social change (pg.106). Teachers should always advocate for their students, in every arena, to promote policies that ensure their success.
Part III
Neito wraps up part II in chapter 9 of part III by stating how much teachers can make a difference in the lives of their students by, teaching as an act of love, by teaching as an ethical endeavor, by always striving for more learning, by honoring students identities and believing in their futures, by challenging status quo and by advocating for students. Neito then goes into how teachers can keep up these ventures. She notes how important it is for teachers to engage in critical self-reflection, to value language and culture, to insist on high quality performance from all students, to honor families and to exemplify a commitment to lifelong learning. Teachers must remember to align themselves with people that are happy and to continue their teaching through their internal motivation, so they can fight anxiety, insecurity and frustration, which all teachers face in their career. Teachers must teach based on support and their care for students which will truly make them successful teacher of students from diverse backgrounds.
Diversity ads
Honey maid-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xeanX6xnRU
Durcell Derrick Coleman-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2HD57z4F8E
Diversity Event
I went to the Spokane Islamic Center. I called them ahead of time and asked if I could attend. They said yes and I went to their Friday prayer service. I did wear a hijab (head scarf and a skirt, trying to be covered as much as possible. My first mistake though was making the mistake of walking through the front door. Woman enter through a back door because women and men must be totally separate during worship services. I went to the ladies side and took off my shoes as I had seen by the other women. They had a lot of instructional sheets everywhere on how to wash and get ready for service. I performed the washing rituals of hands, face and feet. I sat in back and watch the opening prayers begin. They bowed to the floor repeatedly and the women did so by watching a screen with audio from the male service that was in a separate room. Then a service began on how to be a good citizen and a good Muslim. It was great to see how they were intertwining themselves with the United States that way. It was very eye opening and I think it will better help me understand Islamic people a lot better.
5/8 Do Children See Differences and activity
The first article I read was really great because it directly referenced real children. It notes how even the recruiter for the Klu Klux Klan youth admitted that when he first saw a African American man he told his father, 'that man is covered in chocolate" and then his father told him, "no, that is a N%^&". Children, as this article persuades argues that children see basic differences, they are not blind, but they do not have any biases about those differences. It is not until someone tells them that that person is different in a bad are good way that they for any opinions about them.
Every other article agreed. I honestly could not find a single article that said children are born racist. All of them state that racism is a taught concept out of fear that the parents was taught that I am sure was taught and passed down from people who never were around different people, so they were scared and made up awful things about them.
The other article stated that her little girl doesn't even make references to other children's skin. She shows that she physically sees the difference, but doesn't see it as being important. Children see people the way all people should, you should be able to physically see a difference, but it should not change how you see them.
http://mamamojo.wordpress.com/2007/04/27/how-do-children-see-race/
http://www.parentmap.com/article/are-we-born-racist-the-talk-you-must-have-with-your-children
Diversity activity
Take two students and put them in front of the class back to back. Have the class say things that make them different, for each one they take a step apart. Then have them stop and turn around and face each other. Then have the class call out all things that are the same about them and they take a step towards each other each time. Great activity to show how people are different, yet can still have so much in common.
5/22 Diversity Week Event
Let me just say how much I loved this event. I loved the dancers. I ended up staying to see all of them and let long after I saw anyone from class. I was sad that I couldn't try the food, but most of it had gluten. I did try a fig with a cream cheese sauce thing in the middle that was Greek. I kept thinking how great this event would be at child care center. Have families bring food from their culture. Then ask for an family members to perform music or dance. To have them bring artifacts from their family history. I feel like you could even ask the culture groups here if they would like to perform and you could even set up a donation box for the groups to split. It would be a win, win for both the center and the groups. It is a great way to show how fun culture is and how great it is to celebrate our differences.
Review of Class
In review of this I have become more knowledgeable of how to present culture and diversity in the classroom. I learned that the differences that separate us are the differences that can actually bring us together. I found the book you choose was really helpful on how to teach diversity and culture to even the youngest children. I have made a commitment to respect all the things that make a person different and to not just respect them, but to celebrate them and to help my students to celebrate them as well. I believe students learn best in an environment that encourages everyone's differences. I liked forming my own code of ethics that I will be putting into my professional portfolio. Everything we covered will be useful in professional career.
My Teaching Philosophy
I believe children are born as competent learners. I believe children learn best in a nurturing, enriching, diverse and developmentally appropriate environment that encourages their own interests and individuality in a way that respects all genders, races, religions and creeds. I believe that children are active learners who must be allowed to experience their learning with their whole body. I believe children learn best when they are allowed to learn from what they are most interested in, that allows them to play as a way study. I think children learn best when treated as capable beings allowed to actively participate in activities of daily living as Montessori taught. I also believe that children learn best when they encouraged toward collaboration with their peers, teachers and members of the community.
Code of Ethics
1. I promise to treat all children fairly, with dignity and respect regardless of their race, gender, religion or cultural background
2. I promise to teach children to celebrate each others differences.
3. I promise to advocate for the healthy, safety, education and play of every child.
4. I promise to be committed to always learning.
5. I promise to respect childhood as a vital and important life stage for all people.
6. To engage the families and to encourage celebration of all cultures.
Alison N Sims
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