Chapters 3&4

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       The concept that I enjoyed the most in these chapters was "mirrors and windows."   The fact that students should be able to see themselves represented throughout the classroom.  The students must know that everything about them is an important part of the classroom community, so even though the book stresses that a students heritage must be represented, I also say that should see different genders, sexuality, socioeconomic statuses, ages, etc.  As far as the "window" part of this concept goes, I think that it is necessary for everyone to see different people in the society being represented.  This helps to create acceptance between different people in the community.  By demonstrating how important the different types of people are to the society.  This will help to work towards a world without racism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination.  There are many things that we can include in our classrooms to show them that everyone is a valuable member in the community. Again this is will take time, but I truly believe that it will be worth the time.
        As we keep reading these chapters the thing that always seem to be the overall concept is being intentional, and within that, each chapter discusses different things that we need to be intentional.  Teaching is not something that you can thrown together if you want to make sure that you teach the lessons that you intend to teach.  It can't be thrown if you want to do it correctly, and if you aren't going to do it correctly, what is the point in doing it?

UBD Reading

     I am excited for backwards design.  I think this style of teaching really fosters intentionality, and as you know from my previous posts, I love intentionality.  This style of teaching demands thoughtful preparation.  It incorporates what we have read in the book so far because it requires us to not follow the textbook's structure, but to go along the path that you find to be best, and to use the textbook only as a support.  In my experience, the students can tell when a teacher is teaching to the textbook, and they get frustrated by that.  It is nice for the students to see a teacher who takes their own path.  The students can feel that there is preparation behind what they are being taught, and they appreciate the lesson more.

     Not only with the benefits that it brings to the students, it helps the teacher to be prepared.  When you have put as much thought behind the lesson as it takes for backward design demands, there is nothing to worry about.  You don't have to worry about fears of not being familiar enough with the material because you had to get familiar with it to plan out the unit successfully.  You also have all the activities planned out for the unit and the materials have been gathered for your lessons.  When you teach in a way that makes the lessons personal and intentional, a lot of the stress can be eliminated because of how much thought has been put into what is being taught.  Therefore, this style of teaching is a win for both the teacher and the students.


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Chapters 1 & 2

     When I was reading this, I had a lot of different emotions.  At first I was really excited because it was awesome to see students getting passionate about what they are being taught.  Then I got nervous about how to be able to incorporate this.  I grew up in the Coventry school system (www.coventryschools.net) and the only time I can really think of the teachers working together was in middle school.  Even then, it was rare to have projects that were connected between classes.  And the way that my high school was set up, would make this really difficult.  We were all separated by our level and any student could have any combination of classes and teachers, so in order for the students to be able to have multidisciplinary projects would be for the whole school to coordinate together.  Which I also tough because it is a huge school.
     I agree that this type of focused reading is much better for keeping the students captivated than the textbooks.  When I was in high school I was told to read the textbook in my math classes but I never did.  Math is not a passion for me, it is something that comes easily to me and it is a skill that I chose to teach through.  I believe that the textbooks should be there to provide extra support if needed, but it should not be relied on to teach the subject.  It will take some out of the box thinking to find students things to read that will keep them interested, but I know I can figure it out.

Thoughts on Chapters 1&2 of Wilhelm

    This reading has proven to be very interesting.  I enjoyed the section that spoke about the theory of the "wide awake" teacher which forces the teacher to question when they teach anything.  They have to make sure that they are are very intentional with everything that they do.  I believe that when a teacher is intentional with their lessons they are demonstrating the greatest form of respect and it creates a new atmosphere where the students feel confident in the job that the teacher is doing.  Thus the students will be more willing to listen to what the teacher has to say, and the class will be more likely to be well behaved.
     I also appreciated  the learning-centered teaching model, I think that this model helps the students to become independent with the skills that they are being taught on a safe and success driven path.  When the students feel that there is hope in them being successful in accomplishing the task assigned, they are more likely to finish he task than if they feel the task is a hopeless endeavor.  When a student feels that they're in a hopeless situation, they are more likely to shutdown and just give up on the whole idea of trying.  So, it is very beneficial by using the teaching-centered teaching model.
     The other point the the chapters emphasized that I believe is import is to make sure that the students realize how the skills are applicable to the real world.  When I started tutoring, the thing that was a common for my students to say was that they didn't understand how they would use these skills in the real world, so what was the point in them learning what they were being taught.  I also remember this being something that frustrated me as I was going through school.  When the connection between school and the real world is not made clear, it is difficult for the students to feel that they are using their time wisely.  Which leads to students being less willing to pay attention to the lesson.  So I want to make sure that I make the connections clear for my students when I start teaching.

My Literacy in Dance

            Since I was in the second grade, I have been dancing, and throughout the years I have become very literate in the language and the way that the community acted together.  The first year I took only a tap class.  I learned what tap was through the participation in the dance class.  In the dance world, tap is the style of dance where you put on shoes that have metal plates attached to the heel and to the ball of the shoe.  With these shoes on your feet you make a rhythm, with or without music.  Since I took this class, I have learned to appreciate the beauty in the art of dance. 

             I have learned so many things throughout the large amount of time that I have dedicated to dance.  All of the literacy of dance that I have obtained was taught to me by my dance teachers and through the interactions that I had with the people that I danced with.  My slope of learning steepened even more when I went from being a recreational dancer to being a competition dancer.

            When I first started with the tap class, I had started because my mother wanted me to get some exercise and dance was one of the ways in which she chose it to accomplish that goal.  However, as the years went on, I started to love dance.  I loved being a part of the classes that in the end, put on what I though was a wonderful show at the time.  I loved the time that I spent with my friends, and in the end what I truly loved the form of expression that dance allowed me use as an outlet.  I even have learned to love the extremes that that the art pushes the body to reach. 

            Along with the love for dance I learned of the enormous vocabulary that encapsulates the world of dance.  I learned social skills that are necessary to participate in the community, for example one should clap whenever an award in announced, even if the person is on a different team.  This is because it is important to demonstrate good sportsmanship and to be happy for everyone.  I learned how to dress and how to have my makeup done so that it’s appropriate for the stage.  These lessons were taught to me through my participation in dance class, my social interactions with other dancers and the teachers, through my participation in the performances, and through my participation in competitions.  Being a part of the dancing community has changed my life immensely, in who I am and how I have chosen to live my life since I started to dance.

            I believe that dance even helped me to pick math as my teaching concentration.  There are many mathematical variables that come into light whenever there is a song or simple rhythm present.  I believe that the constant exposer to all of the math that surrounds the dance environment, has helped me to be more comfortable with mathematical concepts.  Even though most of the math that is involved in dance is not obvious, the constant exposure to rhythms, patterns, and many other related things, has made it easier for me to pick up and apply the more complex concepts.  When I started to look at being a teacher, I thought that I wanted to teach science.  I was good at science, but after a while I realized that I was only really good at the math within the science.  So that I how I picked math as my vehicle to teach.

              As I moved towards high school graduation, I started to be an assistant teacher at the dance studio, from this experience I knew that I did not want to be an elementary school teacher.  While the girls were adorable, a whole class of little girls was just too much for me; after the revelation I decided that I would teach high school and coach a dance team at that high school. 

            The literacy that I have gained will also help me to connect with the student that are involved with dance.  By being literate in dance, it will be easier for me to be able to find the connections between my lessons and my students’ lives.  Not only can I relate to the students that dance, I can relate, at least a little, to the kids involved with music, the students involved in sports teams, and others.  I have decided that I want to coach a dance team at whatever school that I end up teaching in.  Many schools don’t have a dance team and if I end up teaching in a school that doesn’t, I think that it would be very beneficial for that school to start one because of all the great things that dance can bring the students.  Dance has forever affected the person that I become and the teacher that I will be.

Observation Assignment #4

Name_________________________________        Date____________            Total              /15

***Make sure to show all of your work***

1-5 True or False (Write out the whole word ex. True) (2 points each)

1.) A net of a cube must to only have 4 sides to create a cube.                                ____________

2.) An octahedron has 12 edges.                                                                                ____________

3.) A soccer ball is an example of a truncated icosahedron.                                     ____________

4.) A tetrahedron has 6 vertices.                                                                                ____________

5.) A cube has 6 faces.                                                                                               ____________

6.) Create a net of a regular octahedron, using a ruler and protractor.  (5 points)

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1) What do you think the objective is?  The students shall be able to derive information from knowing what the shapes look like and from Euler’s Theorem.

The students will be able to construct an Archimedean or Platonic solid with the help of a ruler and protractor.

2) What level of Bloom’s Taxonomy is that?

Knowledge, Analysis, and Application

3) How will you assess it in 10 minutes or less?

I will assess them in 10 minutes or less through questions 1-5 for knowledge and analysis and Application through question 6.

Observation Assignment #3

            I have to say that the classroom management in this building as a whole is nothing like I have ever seen before.  The students at East Greenwich High School, as a whole, are very driven and they are well behaved.  The students were all in the classroom and had their stuff at their seats before the bell rang for the end of the passing period.  When the bell rang they made their way back to their seats.  Unless they were asking the teacher about something. The class would begin right after the teacher asked about who was absent. 

            As the class begins, I notice that the students have the procedure of leaving the room one at a time and they had to sign out on the chart, and finally take the pass.  This procedure does not hold when people have to go to the nurse or when the students are called out of class.  I did not get a chance to see an example of how the teacher collects paperwork except when the students were placing their homework into the designated bin.  The paperwork that the students needed for the class was passed out by the teacher as he was explaining the next activity.

            At one point a student came into the classroom late and as soon as they got to their set the teacher made sure to quickly summarize what they had been doing.  A different student at one point had their cell phone out and was texting and all the teacher had to do was make a serious, but at the same time joking remark that let the student know that the way they were behaving was not how they were supposed to be, and the student put the phone away.  When I asked the teacher about this later he said that he feels setting the expectations early on makes all the difference.  He says that he spends the first three days to set expectations and to get to know the students.

            In his classroom help enforces the expectation of 24-hour mutual respect and he expects his students to have a positive attitude whenever they come to class.  I really appreciate the idea to 24-hour mutual respect and I will make sure to bring this into my classroom, but as far as the positive attitude goes, I think that sometimes it cannot be avoided.  We can do everything in our power to make them happy, but sometimes they are going to have a bad day, and we should make them feel ashamed of that.

            I feel that the way that the classroom management was handled added a sense of safety that is needed in order to learn at the optimal level.  The students are able to concentrate on their studies rather than worrying about what the other students think of them because they know that the teacher will make sure that sure that any behavior that is negative s corrected.  Because the students aren’t afraid of being too smart the students aren’t afraid of having or sharing the right answers.  The students may even be competing to have the correct answer, but that could also lead to bad things if not managed.  However the teacher is very aware of what is going on between his students, in and out of the classroom, so he is able to maintain balance in the classroom.  Before the students arrived in his classroom he gave me a rundown of all the students and how they would interact with him and with the other students.  This demonstrated a great understanding and awareness of his classroom which is beneficial in so many ways because then he can figure out how to handle situations that is truly the best for the students.  I believe that the way that the classroom is managed is intertwined with the amount of success in the classrooms.