Standard 4 is based on teaching practices. At Wheelock College, our mission is to “improve the lives of children and families.”. This mission cannot be achieved if teachers do not teach in multiple ways and understand that children require diverse teaching methods in order to learn. Wheelock provides students who are majoring in Elementary Education ample resources and educational strategies to meet the needs of an entire classroom. We are expected to design instruction that includes everyone in our teaching practices.
When teaching, it is important to use multiple strategies. These strategies include making essential questions visible, creating word problems that are culturally sensitive, and designing curriculum that is mindful to all students in the classroom. During EDU 330, I created an Ethnomath project. This presentation (Artifact 4A: Powerpoint Presentation - “Fire on the Mountain”) includes a read- aloud book that serves as the foundation for transition into a math word problem. This math problem includes a recipe for Injera, which is a type of Ethiopian bread. This math word problem has a personal connection for me since I was born in Ethiopia. This personal connection showed my students that math is everywhere and can help us understand our own cultural backgrounds in new ways. In my current practicum placement, I encourage students to share about their culture when writing word problems. I allow students to turn and talk in partner pairs which is just one of the multiple strategies that I use in the classroom for children to deepen the grasp of concepts, stretch their thinking, and express understanding.
Using appropriate material, including experimenting with new technology, to meet instructional needs of students is a learning process for a student teacher. The first time I encountered a document projector, or an “ELMO”, was when I was substitute teaching. I used it infrequently and missed the overhead projectors with the clear plastic sheets. However, through my practicum site, I have become more comfortable with the document projector. In a recent math lesson, I used the document projector to work with students on creating math problems. I have become more comfortable with the document projector and use it daily for read alouds, or to model group work, and display student work during moments of share.
Every morning, my practicum class starts the day with morning meeting. This is an important part of the Responsive Classroom (2013) curriculum. This curriculum states that morning meeting is “an engaging way to start each day, build a strong sense of community, and set children up for success socially and academically” This curriculum directly helps children build a sense of community in a safe environment where they assume responsibility, take intellectual risks, make mistakes, explore alternatives, participate in decision making, and work collaboratively and independently through the activities that are part of morning meeting. During each morning meeting, students participate in an activity to either review a concept or work on social-emotional growth. Each child is included and every day includes a different activity.
During morning meeting, and throughout the entire day, effective classroom management is used. There are several examples of group management including physical movement breaks known as group stretching and “shake downs. As a team of teachers at my practicum site, we work to select seats for the children that will not be a distraction to their learning. We have certain children with specific needs and we work to accommodate them while creating seating charts that will manage the behavior of the whole group. I also use behavior management techniques such as controlling the level of my voice, waiting for every child to respond to the musical chimes to gain their attention, and refocusing children by saying, “That is not helpful,” when they are becoming a distraction to the group (Artifact 4B: Notes from Observation on 10/18). These strategies have developed through my time at Wheelock College to help me teach a classroom of children.
Different children use different cognitive processes. Some children respond to visual models while others respond to auditory directions. These processes can be stimulated simply by providing a diverse range of teaching approaches during a single lesson. During a single lesson, I used a visual model while I explained the directions orally. I had children repeat these directions for further clarification. I then had children draw their own models in order to engage the kinesthetic learners. Through this one lesson, I took into account three different types of learners. It is important to use different teaching strategies in any classroom. Different strategies include, but are not limited to small groups, independent work, whole class, and turn and talk partners. All these teaching techniques help children with different cognitive processes learn.
Unfortunately my two practicum sites did not have any English Language Learners (ELL) However, I had the privilege of working with ELL learners during my Jumpstart experience. In this experience, I encountered children who were in different stages of second language acquisition Jim Cummins suggests that teachers should welcome the home language into the classroom, and he provides resources for teachers who work with ELL students (2005). During my time as a Jumpstart Corp member, I learned Spanish as my partner child learned English. Jumpstart has identified certain vocabulary words for each weekly read aloud and every week I would read her the words in English and use visual pictures to show her, while she told me the Spanish words. We practiced learning a new language together while sharing the roles of student and teacher.
Communication is key to any relationship, especially the student-teacher relationship. It is important to communicate with students in a variety of ways including oral, written, and by providing non-verbal cues. On math homework, I comment on student work and point out areas of growth (Artifact 4C: Math Packet). I provide both positive comments to encourage the student and critical ones that help students see errors and eliminate them.I also communicate with students using non-verbal communication. An example of this is when I ring the chimes to indicate “stop.” Students know to stop what they are doing and to put their hands on their head. This is all done without a single word spoken. Effective communication is also about speaking in a clear way that is child- friendly. My supervising practitioner took observation notes on my communication with children and shared them with me. These notes allowed me to realize what language I was using that was helpful to children.. During a morning meeting, I explained the American Sign Language (ASL) motions to “Good Morning” by saying “Your hand comes down from your chin and then your hand comes up. Think of the morning sun rising from the horizon.”. I did not realize that this was an example of positive communication until my supervising practitioner pointed it out to me (Artifact 4D: Observation Notes from 10/1). Becoming aware of my own language will improve my communication in the future.
Teaching practices vary from classroom to classroom and new ones are continuously introduced by educational theorists, practitioners and researchers. Wheelock College has created an education program that exposes a future teacher to child friendly language, positive behavior management techniques, and varying forms of communication that are invaluable when creating a classroom community. It is essential that future teachers recognize that these skills are continuously being refined and developed over time through classroom experience. It is essential that teachers never stop learning
References
Cummins, J. (2005). Affirming identify in multilingual classrooms. Educational Leadership, 63
(1). 28. Reflective Classroom.
Responsive Classroom. (2013). Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. Retrieved from:
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