Standardized testing

I do think that standardized tests should be a part of education. There needs to be some level of national testing, so that schools from different regions, cites, etc. can be compared to each other and held to some level of national standard. If every school and teacher had their own tests, there would be no way to tell if those students are being given their grades, if the tests are inaccurate, or if the students are not receiving at least a basic level of knowledge. I don't think that these tests should be any part of the student's grades or be punishable in any way, it should be more of almost like a research poll, to see what common knowledge kids share and have mastered.

Boundries for teaching

I came across an article on education and the "Identity and Schooling: Some Lessons for the Economics of Education". The article claims that students desire to fit into social labels, and that those social labels create the "supply and demand" for schools. The article also makes the claim that a person "gains utility when his/her actions and the actions of others enhance their self-image." I have a serious problem with both of these statements, because it not only suggests that schools have a certain quota of stereotypes to fill - and please correct me if I am interpreting this second statement wrong - but the idea of utility in the article seems to be saying that a person is only useful when they are fueling their self-image.


 I don't think that schooling should be viewed this way, it is not our jobs as educators to label, divide, and judge our students. They are called students because they are people in the context of learning, which is how we should view them, as learners - not as classifications. I think a lot of schools overstep their boundaries by trying to educate people past their curriculum and educationally based topics, which I guess comes down to the division of parenting and teaching - we can only teach so much in the classroom. The article mentions some schools that also teach school behaviors and principals. I think as educators, yes, we should teach common social norms, things that every citizen should know, things like respecting others property, respecting personal space, common manners, but it is not our jobs to draw a thick line between what is right and wrong. There are so many different religions, cultures, and views within students that you may just end up making prejudices that get in the way of your REAL curriculum by trying to teach a moral code. I think you should still uphold your own morals for yourself (and maybe as a subliminal example in the classroom) but not expect them of everyone.



On a side note, I've noticed that Journal articles are very guilty of frequent run-on sentences. It is annoying sometimes that they have to be written so formally and stuffy to sound "educated" when really they are just limiting their audiences to who has the patience and attention span to read them. I don't think being a good writer means using big words and sounding complex, it means communicating your ideas successfully.


http://ehis.ebscohost.com.cowles-proxy.drake.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=103&sid=f4da6c82-af52-48a2-9fef-390f762d4edf%40sessionmgr110

Motivation Factors

            I personally feel that motivation is the “glue” that holds the process of successful learning together. A teacher can be as concrete or abstract as they want, or as informed by the learning theories as it gets, but if the student’s aren’t motivated to learn, they won’t. Some of the motivation factors we discussed in class can be categorized into three parts:  internal affective factors, environmental factors, and cognitive factors, so as a teacher it is important to see all three when they look at a student.

            Internal affective factors would include things such as beliefs, mood, interest, how much they value education, and how relevant they find the curriculum (among other factors). I feel like these factors could be the hardest to alter or be aware of, since many of them are not things that a student exhibits specifically, for example, a student is not going to say to you, I don’t find math important or relevant to my life (although they may), but they are more likely to exhibit results of these feelings – things like not putting full effort into their homework, turning in things late, not paying attention – so these are the types of things that I think can be a cue for a teacher to have concerns.

Ways to better affect a students more emotional motivators? I think the biggest thing is to get to know your students. If you know that a student doesn’t value art, tell them why it could be important, or how it could relate to them, or make it a project that could reflect its meaning. Ways to do this are limitless, but some big things that I want to tell my students, are that they don’t have to fit any labels. I feel like there are many students who don’t think they are “good” at art because there is someone better than them, or because they weren’t happy with something they created, or because somewhere in life, someone told them one of their creations was bad. I want to explain to them that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a master at a skill, so they should still be learning and improving. I also want to explain that everyone has different interpretations of what “good” art is. I want to know if my students value recreating something perfectly, or do they want to explore their creativity, even if it’s not realistic, or perfectly executed. I want to know what aspects of art they value, and which ones they don’t – what hobbies they have, and how those can inspire them in their artwork.

I also want to address how art is fruitful to their learning and how it is relevant to them – how it is everywhere, how they can learn from it, how it will make everything from advertisements to movies, to the museum of modern art hold much more weight than the students can realize. I think it would be really cool, one of the first days of class, to just have everyone meet in groups (or in one large group depending on how comfortable the students are with each other) and just have a sort of Socratic seminar that I could facilitate with questions. Ones off-hand that I can think of would be things like:

In what ways do you think art is important?

How has art influenced the way you view things?

Why or why not do you like art?

What do you want out of this class?

What types of art/periods of art do you want to explore?

I really want to know where my students are coming from so I can address or alter their motivation towards the subject accordingly.

            The Other motivation factors that I will have to address as a teacher will be a student’s environmental factors. To me, these seem to be less of a challenge since school is a controllable environment. Aspects such as distractions, available support, peers, presentation of materials and classroom, teacher expectancy and a student’s home life would fall under the category of environmental factors.

            I want to start with external motivation factors created by your own classroom, since your room is the first thing you have to prepare when teaching. A big thing for me when I was a student, and especially in an art room, is to make your classroom a haven for kids – stark walls and rows of desks doesn’t exactly say that you are invested in inspiring your kids. I think your room should be decorated, for art, things like a color wheel, basic components of composition, and maybe some example pieces of work can go a long way in the classroom. It brings some life into the room, and kids are literally surrounded by the subject when they enter. However, if a room is over-decorated or cluttered with irrelevant crap, kids can become distracted or feel stressed. I used to have a social studies teacher who was a huge pack rat and I had the hardest time focusing in his room because I felt cluttered and stressed.

            I also think that kids should work at tables, not desks. For art I don’t really have a choice because sparseness of materials and sheer size of projects usually require kids to have to share and work at big tables. But creativity is something that sometimes needs nurturing, and I think it is important for kids to sit at tables, have time to bounce ideas off each other and critique each other’s work. Also, since art is usually skill-based, a more knowledgeable peer is essential! One teacher to 20 students means I will not be everywhere at once; I know when I was a student it was painfully difficult to get the teacher’s attention in art classes because everyone had their own specific questions they needed help with. If kids are in groups, they will turn to each other first for answers, and if there is no one knowledgeable on the subject, than I can step in. Obviously as a teacher it is my duty to always be available to answer questions and support my students, whether that means coming in extra before or after school so kids can get extra help or finish projects.

            Presentation in the classroom will often be difficult I think, since most of what I will be presenting will be demonstrations of techniques. I know that I will want the kids to gather around and not remain at their tables so that they will pay attention better. I also want to put serious thought into each activity/ lesson plan that I create. Will this be something that is engaging to the student? Is it within their ZPD? (this is especially essential because if something is too hard, they will get frustrated and give up, but if it is too easy, they will finish early and be bored and probably get off task). Obviously I will have a set curriculum, but within that I need to make sure that what I am teaching is properly scaffolded – for example, if I ask a student to do a drawing using primary colors, I better have already checked their understanding/schemas of what primary colors are so they can be successful. The activities also need to be age appropriate; having a kindergartner cut and paste would probably be more appropriate than having a senior in high school do it. And in the same way, you wouldn’t have a second grader soldering metal or working with serious chemicals and complex processes.

             I think another big thing I want to address with my students is a level of comfort they need to have with each other. Art is a very personal thing, a person’s work is a reflection of their thoughts and emotions. If students don’t feel comfortable with each other, it will be hard for them to want to fully express themselves and want to expose themselves in front of their peers. We will probably have a serious discussion about respect the first week of classes so that kids can feel open to fully express themselves and not feel judged in the classroom. For some students, the medium may be their only way of expression, so I don’t want anyone belittling another’s work/ ideas.

            The last environmental motivation factor that I want to address is the student’s home life. If a child does not seem motivated, interested, or dedicated, I would first talk to the student and try to figure out where they are coming from – what is stopping them from putting their best foot forward, and where we can make things better – but if that still does not help the student improve, I would turn to their home life. Maybe the parents think that art is a waste of time for their child to be taking, or maybe the student doesn’t have the workspace/ time at home to put into their homework. I would have to try and work with the parents to see how we can be a support group to that student, and what we could do to make the student want to succeed.

Classroom management

My personal philosophy on classroom management is a balance of day-to-day structure and flexibility. Obviously a teacher should have a prepared lesson plan that has been informed by the learning theories, which will allow the class to flow from one activity to the next, but the lesson plan should also include a bell-ringer for the class to begin with. I think a bell-ringer is essential to classroom management because it sets off the mood for the whole class; if students walk in and don’t have down-time they are automatically getting in gear to be actively mentally engaged. The bell-ringer could be anything from a reflection, to a demonstration or simple task.  In my English class in high school, we used to journal every single day of class, the topic would be whatever – from what’s your favorite song lyrics, to what did you think about this book – as simple as it was, this journal time became one of my favorite parts of the day to just refocus my thoughts and express myself. Eventually, students will assume this is the way class is ran and be used to being attentive right at the start of class (since they are conditioned-as informed by the behaviorist learning theory).

However, the end of a lesson plan should be just as thought out as the beginning. I personally think a teacher should always slightly over-plan for a class period, whether it be a couple thought-provoking questions about the curriculum, or an even additional activity. Making sure that the class period is being used to it’s fullest extent will keep your students engaged, allow them to dive deeper into what’s being taught, and also show them that you respect the time they spend in the classroom and that you want them to get as much out of it as possible. Students have to feel like what they are doing has value and is “fruitful” so to speak, because just like one of my teacher’s used to say, the students are going to walk in with the attitude “if it barely matters, barely do it”.  

In regards to classroom management throughout the class, everything from handing out materials, to keeping kids on task, to dealing with individuals needs to be addressed. Materials should be kept tucked away from the students while directions are given so the kids don’t play with them and can listen fully. If they are working in groups, one representative for each group should get the materials, so that as few people as possible are up and about moving around, this will keep the room from getting hectic.

Keeping kids on task I think can be broken down into two parts, one being a teacher’s physical influence, monitoring the classroom by walking around so that kids don’t think they are getting away with other activities. The other aspect to keeping kids on task is knowing your students and where they are in their learning. By knowing a student’s ZPD, you can appropriately adjust your content to match it, because if content is too high for a kid’s ZPD, they will become frustrated and give up and if it is too low, they will be bored and disinterested. This can be determined by asking questions, and relating new ideas to what kids already know.

Other ways to keep kids on task are to make sure you establish a level of respect with the kids, by setting high expectations, having class start on time, not talking over students, and staying on topic, you are showing the student that their time in class is not wasted and that you care about what they have to say. Often, if a student understands that you respect him, they will respect you back in turn.

            The BIGGEST key to successful classroom management however, is establishing all of these components early on. Kids have it in their nature to take what they can get and push the rules. If you let them out of class on occasion, they will expect to be let out early and begin packing up instead of listening, Or if you give them candy to participate, they are going to expect it and not participate later on if they are not offered a reward. Clearly behaviorist learning theory plays a huge roll in classroom management.

reflections on other groups

Group 1: food/ health
I LOVED how this group really made an effort to have DLT inform their lesson; they had physical examples of the food groups on the table, then showed an image, then placed the groups from the table into where they would fit and then went fully abstract by having us volunteer to provide examples. They did an awesome job fluctuating between abstract and concrete to get their point across. I think they also used it to their advantage with applying the behaviorist theory to the food on the table being rewards. Maybe could have had a bit more in relation to SLT??

Group 2: Homophones
They did a good job waiting for the class's attention and I liked how it wasn't just a lecture but rather directed questions to have the students reference their schemas to the topic. They had a good informing of SLT by having us discuss in groups and I really liked the riddles we got to solve

Group 3: Respect
This one was so cute! The book provided a concrete experience of respect and they also had us brainstorm how we as "kids" had maybe had our feelings disrespected on the playground or in other scenarios. I didn't really love how they made us all sit on the floor and kind of treated us like 5 year olds, I get that the lesson was for kids, but I didn't really want to have to dumb myself down to go through the experience.

Group 4: Alphabet
I liked the game of this and how behaviorist theory challenged us to be competitive made kids want to do the activity. But I think it would have helped to have it more structured, cause there was no order to who was suppost to take their turn when, which was frustrating. Also, I think socialist learning theory may have played a bit too much of a role in this lesson because it seemed like people were more interested in socializing than the activity at hand. Maybe the instructors could have said a little something on why the lesson was relevant to us, (or fruitful/ worth learning) so we would have stayed more focused.

Group 5: States
I struggled a little bit with how DLT fit into this since we didn't really get to see an experience or concrete representation. Maybe having a brief video of the state would have been a more concrete way, and it was just very repetitive. They did associate SLT in their lesson though, by letting us team teach and learn the state aspects together.

Our presentation informed by learning theories

I really thought our group did quite well in this presentation to be honest, I thought we were a strong group. We went from concrete to abstract and back again, used a variety of mediums, and asked appropriate questions. We also did a good job having SLT inform our lesson by having students converse with each other.

Room for error was still apparent though. I was frustrated with the way my group obtained the class's initial attention (as it was not the way we had planned). The video itself was supposed to be the "bell ringer" so to speak, not having the kids get shouted at to be quiet. Also, the first video was set up with a question in mind, but our lesson plan was to just show it with no prior information, so that the student's could discover it on their own, so that was kind of frustrating, but I think it still worked out ok and people seemed to be engaged and interested in our presentation. I personally was the only person that moved throughout the classroom out of my group as well, listening to what different groups were discussing as well as keeping the classroom focused. It would have been nice if some of my other group members would have done the same.

The only last thing is that I wish we could have had a bit more time to conclude our presentation, this may have been because we let discussion go on a bit longer than needed. I had wanted to relate social norms more to how they define our society, and how they can be important for things like business, social acceptance, and exposure to new cultures/travel. But obviously this was a topic that would traditionally require a whole classroom period so thats ok.

Growth

Before this semester, I feel like my mind went back and forth between two mindsets when I thought about me actually being  a real-life teacher: 1) how hard can it be? Its teaching! and 2) overwhelmed. Where to start? I think this class has started to bridge that gap and teaching is starting to feel tangible, manageable, REAL.

Especially in regards to the learning theories (which I really have enjoyed learning about because they relate a lot to my psych class from my freshman year that I loved) it touches on the importance of intention. All teaching should be intentional. Every aspect of a lesson plan should be intentional. I feel like as naive future teachers, we thought how can I teach in a way that is fun and informational? where now we think, how can students LEARN? How can students develop their thoughts and ideas? I have also liked how we have been able to apply theories to our specific concentration. Its important to start thinking of teaching in regards to your subject, and how to edit/customize ideas for yourself. You cannot just assume that one method of teaching or one lesson plan can work for anything.

It is also neat that I can see the ties between my education classes, from the theorists in my ED 106 class to the theories in my ED 107 class, and the technology taught in my 109 class applied in my 107 class. Its all related and feels useful. Blogging has also helped me be more thoughtful and reflective on my learning. I think I do this anyways (since me and Joe reflect on the class pretty much every day on the walk back to campus) but writing it down makes it more permanent and something I can measure progress with. I will say, that learning in ED 107 is exhausting. I get a lot out of participating, it is the way I learn, and I do feel mentally challenged in the class- but if you have a headache coming into that class, it will probably get worse with each "consider this" or "what do you mean by that?"  : )  I can definitely say that I am starting to understand the perspective of a teacher (rather than a student) now more than I ever have.