Thursday, June 30, 2011
Teacher Identity
The Wire - Mr. Prezbo tries to teach fractions
Teacher Role:
From outside the classroom, Mr. Prezbo may appear to be the "leader" in the classroom as he is standing at the front of the classroom directing attention to the blackboard. However, within the classroom it's a different story. Mr. Prezbo continues to explain the problem, walking through and circling the numbers to direct students to focus, however there is plenty of chatter going on in the background. Mr. Prezbo doesn't seem to be frustrated or even agitated by it as he continues on. When a students asks for clarification on what "distribute" means Mr. Prezbo simply rephrases and says to give out. The student responds with "Well, why didn't you just say that." With no comment, Mr. Prezbo simply changes his phrasing. Throughout this whole process, Mr. Prezbo is quite calm as he responds to students directly. He does make a few facial expressions when hearing the students response to the answer but doesn't act upon it. Mr. Prezbo appears to make very little connection with the students as he continues to push forward with the lesson. Later in the clip, outside the classroom however we can see that he truly does care about his students performance and is frustrated by his findings following the quiz he gave them.
Student Role:
The students appear to be in the mode of multitasking. They are chatting with each other however can still hear the teacher talking in the background as they make random comments about it. You see a few students are paying attention however many are not giving Mr. Prezbo their full attention. The student who asked Mr. Prezbo about what distribute means I believe is a student who is engaged as he spoke up when asking for clarification on a word he didn't understand. The way he asked and put Mr. Prezbo on the spot wasn't respectful however this is a student who does want to learn.
Curriculum:
In this lesson, Mr. Prezbo is trying to teach his students fractions. He highlights the numbers that they should be paying attention to and then asks them to solve the problem to figure out if the answer is a, b, c, or d. From my observations, Mr. Prezbo appears to be speaking another language. The context of the problem isn't quite at the students level as the Calvin who went up to the board made fun of context and replaced it with his own.
Looking at Mr. Prezbo's response after the class in the teacher's lounge, Mr. Prezbo clearly sees that many of their students aren't grasping this concept, as many are far from it.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
My Educational Philosophy
~draft~
The classroom is a community of learners. Every individual in the classroom has the power, right, and expectation to achieve with excellence both in school and out. The teacher is not an instructor but someone who teachers, models, supports and helps students to discover more about the world they live in and to learn the necessary skills to become active learners and citizens.
As teachers we need to come together as a group to support our youth. Like the saying, "it takes a village", it's important that as teachers we utilize each others experience, knowledge, and support to reach all students. The community does not stop at the school doors. All players in our students lives need to come together. Teachers and parents are vital roles and it's crucial for both parties to work cohesively. The teacher needs to support the parents by developing knowledge, skills and strategies to collaborate with parents and giving many opportunities for interaction.
In today's world, our students our surrounded by technology either through a cell phone, the television, a video game, and or the computer. It's vital to utilize technology to better enhance students learning experience. Technology adds a new element into the everyday learning as students are able learn beyond the classroom, the city, the state, and even the country. It connects students to the real world and introducing them to bigger ideals. Through technology students are given numerous opportunities to express themselves and their understandings through words, images, sounds, and film.
Every student is unique by the way they speak, act, and learn. Students learn best when they are treated with respect, given high expectations, and can genuinely see they are surrounded by people who care and wish to see them succeed. Through all this, the classroom needs to have structure. Classroom rules and expectations provide the clear norms for students however they need to accept them first. Having the students create the classroom's statement/contract and all agrees to follow them will allow the students to feel a connection to structure as they are the developers.
Students are the very essence of the classrooms. They are ones that should lead the lesson become the discoverers. Student focused and student led allows the students to become active and engaged learners. They need to feel empowered that they drive their own future with the support of their fellow classmates, teachers, family, and community. The students need to be in an safe space surrounded by trust, acceptance, friendship, and respect.
The classroom is a community of learners. Every individual in the classroom has the power, right, and expectation to achieve with excellence both in school and out. The teacher is not an instructor but someone who teachers, models, supports and helps students to discover more about the world they live in and to learn the necessary skills to become active learners and citizens.
As teachers we need to come together as a group to support our youth. Like the saying, "it takes a village", it's important that as teachers we utilize each others experience, knowledge, and support to reach all students. The community does not stop at the school doors. All players in our students lives need to come together. Teachers and parents are vital roles and it's crucial for both parties to work cohesively. The teacher needs to support the parents by developing knowledge, skills and strategies to collaborate with parents and giving many opportunities for interaction.
In today's world, our students our surrounded by technology either through a cell phone, the television, a video game, and or the computer. It's vital to utilize technology to better enhance students learning experience. Technology adds a new element into the everyday learning as students are able learn beyond the classroom, the city, the state, and even the country. It connects students to the real world and introducing them to bigger ideals. Through technology students are given numerous opportunities to express themselves and their understandings through words, images, sounds, and film.
Every student is unique by the way they speak, act, and learn. Students learn best when they are treated with respect, given high expectations, and can genuinely see they are surrounded by people who care and wish to see them succeed. Through all this, the classroom needs to have structure. Classroom rules and expectations provide the clear norms for students however they need to accept them first. Having the students create the classroom's statement/contract and all agrees to follow them will allow the students to feel a connection to structure as they are the developers.
Students are the very essence of the classrooms. They are ones that should lead the lesson become the discoverers. Student focused and student led allows the students to become active and engaged learners. They need to feel empowered that they drive their own future with the support of their fellow classmates, teachers, family, and community. The students need to be in an safe space surrounded by trust, acceptance, friendship, and respect.
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Beginning
It is the first week of AUSL. Starting our new journey with introductions, motivational speeches, team builders, get to know you activities, and of course the dreaded paper work like the W2s. It was great getting to meet the people who I will be spending a full year with through our graduate courses at NLU as well as potential colleagues who we will be sharing our experiences all our ups and downs in the classroom.
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