Constructivism TIPR

One of the best examples of constructivism that I saw in the classroom was when Mr. D had students participate in discovery learning by splitting into groups and having students look up different key figures of the reformation giving them a few key guidelines of what to look for.  He then had the students present what they had found and had the other students take notes based on their discovery to learn about all of the different key figures of the reformation.  Students knew what they were doing and seemed to enjoy creating the presentations that they were creating.

However, there seems to be very few constructivist lessons in the classroom.  There are a few projects but the requirements seem so rigid that I would not consider them to constructivist.  For my mini-lesson I would like to incorporate group work and some inquiry.

Contexts of Development TIPR

I never saw the student's physical development be considered in the classroom.  One of the aspects that I felt like could have been improved upon, although I'm not sure how, is that the students did not have enough space.  The classroom was quite small and the desks were too close to each other for growing students.  However, this was definitely a facilities issue and probably could not be solved by the teacher.  In regards to Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological model, the teachers incorporated microsystems by having students reflect and write journals based on their own interactions with material.  They incorporated mesosystems by having the students work in groups and with the whole class from time to time thus bringing in more interactions.  I never saw an example of exosystems as that is much more difficult to identify, except for both teachers leaving for the Shakespeare festival meaning the students were left with a sub, an event that effected them indirectly.  Lastly the environment of Maeser Academy and the feelings that the students have towards their charter school acted as a Macrosystem as it effected each student and how they learned.

I saw neither teacher do anything to learn more about the students' personal, cultural, and community assets, but I suspect that this was something that was done before I entered the classroom.  I witnessed a couple of examples where the teachers used the assets that the students brought to the classroom to help build relationships.  I watched Mr. D playfully imitate a student and he seemed to do quite an accurate portrayal based on the reaction of the other students he was sitting around.  In addition, when students were giving presentations, Mrs. S was asking about both younger and older siblings giving indication that she was aware of the students home lives.

The teachers incorporated student's lives into instruction by having the students personally reflect on certain questions that were asked bringing in personal experiences.  The questions that I witnessed dealt with sexism, paradise, and suffering.  Students were also asked to write and turn in personal journals.  One that I saw is Mr. D asked the students if they would want to live in the Garden of Eden as it is described in Paradise Lost, why or why not.  Students had a few minutes to work on it and then Mr. D asked the students to share some of their thoughts.

Responding to student's individual needs based on their personal backgrounds was not something that I witnessed very often.  Both of the classes that I observed seemed pretty homogeneous to me with very few needs being displayed outside of the norm.  One that I did observe is that students were giving presentations, where they performed a scene from Hamlet either in front of the class or filmed it, and one student had not completed his.  I believe this student was nervous about performing in front of the class and possibly did not have the resources to complete the project at home although it is impossible for me to know either of these things.  The student requested an audience with Mrs. S in private so he could talk to her about it.  Instead of meeting with the student and learning what had happened that he did not complete such a large project, she gave him a 0.  This is an instance where his needs could have been better met by making talking to him a priority.

When I teach my mini-lesson I will strive to meet the student's individual needs as well as work with each group individually in regards to their project.  I will try to see what problems they are coming across and work with them to give them the tools to solve these problems.

Vygotsky TIPR

On my last observation day, I asked Mr. D if he had any last pieces of advice to give me.  Mr. D informed me that it's important to stay well-informed and make sure that students are able to use the knowledge that I have.  Mr. D was telling me to act as an effective More Knowledgeable Other to my future students.  He then pointed at his bookshelf and told me that the books there were all books that he had read to become more knowledgeable, or a more effective More Knowledgeable Other, which is also something that I observed in his classes as everything that I saw him teach he was very effective at providing scaffolding from his knowledge base.  I did not see the teachers evaluate the student's Zones of Proximal Development.  I'm not sure if I just missed the lessons where they did this, but it seemed that the teachers would frequently just assume where the students were.  I also did not see much scaffolding, but I did see the students working independently and being very effective with what they were doing which must have been the result of some scaffolding.  Mr. D was really good at using technological tools by having the students use the internet most of the classes that I was there and Mrs. S was good at using cultural tools by having class discussions and pulling in personal experiences that the students had.

Many of the lessons that I've observed don't actually use More Knowledgeable Other(s), besides the teacher, or determine the students' Zone of Proximal Development.  The teacher should use more group work and group according to the student's needs every once in a while.  I would also like to see the teachers pay attention to which students are responding and which students seem a little bit more lost in their responses, as this is not something that I observed.  In my mini-lesson, I would like to incorporate more group work and have students be the More Knowledgeable Other to each other.  I also did not see a lot of scaffolding done, as I either saw the teachers helping the students or the students working independently and not much in between.  One of the days that I came, Mr. D was talking to the class about the Socratic Seminar that they had the day before and how it hadn't gone very well.  He went over what he expected in a Socratic Seminar and some of the problems that had happened.  Many of the problems might not have happened if there had been more scaffolding.

Piaget TIPR

One of the biggest examples of creating disequilibrium that I saw is when Mr. D was teaching from Paradise Lost.  Many of the students were of LDS background and had learned that Eve could not have children and remain in the garden.  Mr. D caused some disequilibrium when he told them that in Paradise Lost that is not the case.  Adam and Eve could have children and that moral dilemma that exists in the LDS faith doesn't exist in Paradise Lost.  This was something necessary for them to learn in order to understand Paradise Lost and required them to accommodate by understanding that Milton's understanding of the Garden of Eden was not their own.  Mr. D helped them accommodate by giving them some time to process what he had just told them, by telling the implications that were related to Paradise Lost, and allowing them to answer questions regarding things they still didn't understand.  I also saw an example of assimilation when Mrs. S was going over a different part of Paradise Lost where Satan is written as a sympathetic character.  Mrs. S helped the students explore the concepts of Satan's character and had a discussion with them which helped them assimilate the new ideas of Satan's character with the ideas that they already had.  Most of the lessons seem to be in the Formal Operational stage as the goal of the course is to get the students to think critically about their world.

The students in the class that I'm observing have many chances to think critically and analyze situations, but it seems like to me that only a few students are actually doing the critical thinking and there doesn't seem like there is much opportunity for the other students.  Having the students think abstractly and hypothetically is something that the students need in their current stage of development.  In my mini-lesson something that I might do is have the students create a write-up that focuses on more abstract and hypothetical ideas.

Assessment TIPR

While observing Mr. D and Mrs. S I saw informal formative assessments everyday when they would ask the students questions or have the students participate in classroom discussion.  I also helped the students with a formal formative assessment where they researched explorers and then created a project.  I watched an informal formative self-assessment where the students were asked how they could have done a Socratic Seminar better.  I never saw a summative assessment while observing the class.

The teachers used formative assessments to indicate how well the students understood the reading that they had done the night before.  In addition, I saw the teachers use the assessments to evaluate how well the students were grasping the material and adjusting the discussion accordingly.

One assessment that I saw had them reading lines from Hamlet, and the teacher allowed them to perform live or to film themselves learning in order to allow students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning.  Beyond that, I didn't see an other adaptations to allow students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning.  I'm not so sure that there were needs that weren't being addressed though.

In a Socratic Seminar that I didn't see, Mr. D had the students fill out a self-evaluation as well as filled out an evaluation himself which he told them what he had wrote down.  He used his feedback and their feedback to do the self-assessment which I did see.  He encouraged them to remember what they had talked about for their next Socratic Seminar.  Beyond that I did not see how the teachers gave feedback on assignments as most of it was online and outside my hours.

The biggest need that I saw inside the classroom, especially with the discussion, is there didn't seem to be any sort of equalizer making sure that every student was participating and each student's needs were being met.  For my lesson, I would like to make sure that I focus on each student to make sure that each student is being assessed and not just a few.

Growth Mindset and Motivation TIPR

One of the ways that I saw Growth Mindset encouraged in the class right away was a quote written on the board.  It said something along the lines that a small change is far greater than no change.  I feel like this was encouraging students to keep going, even if they think it's hard.  For the motivation, I haven't been able to see anything either of the times I came to do observations, so I just went up to the teachers and asked them.  They told me that one of the first things they try to do is create a relationship with the students.  Mrs. S told me that a lot of times they'll do what they're meant to as to not disappoint her, which is an extrinsic reward.  They told me that building a relationship takes time though, so having a good reputation helps get a jump start on that.  They also told me that having genuine enthusiasm helps motivate the students as well.  This applies to their interests and is an intrinsic motivation.  I saw that first hand.  I came into the lesson, saw that it was about Hamlet and was immediately disinterested.  I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare.  But due to Mr. D's enthusiasm by the end of the class I wanted to read Hamlet for myself.

One of things that I saw was that during lectures, both teachers were actively taking in input and asking questions.  I was especially impressed with the way Mr. D would take unrelated comments from the students, comment on them, and get the students back on track without much interruption.  I think this is way to keep students engaged, because the tangents are short but they tend to be interesting.  However, on the day I came in to observe the first class I observed was just watching Hamlet.  She gave some context ahead of time and told them things to look for, but just in general I don't think that movies are very engaging.

The teachers build respect and rapport with their teachers by trying to get to know the students.  Mr. D had me sit at his desk, so during student presentations he would sit at different student desks and say "I'm ______, now."  One of the students he imitated as he sat down.  I don't know the student, but I got the impression that was the sort of jest that both that student and the class enjoyed.  So, he not only knew his students well enough to know where they typically sat (though they don't have a seating chart) in that class but their personalities well enough that he knew who would take his joking well.

One thing that I've noticed, that I feel like I need to address in that class, is they sit there for a very long time.  Now, typically they are doing a little bit more than me, but I always feel myself getting slightly bored just sitting there for so long.  And I've seen the students start to get restless as well.  If possible I'd like to vary things when I teach my lesson so they aren't just sitting there the entire time.

Defining Intelligence

The way that I would define intelligence is that intelligence is the use of knowledge to solve problems, socialize, and find understanding.  To me, it is found in many different aspects of life and in many different ways.  I understand that some students are generally more gifted, but everyone has intelligence and can develop intelligence.

This will impact the way I treat my students, because I will try to come into my classroom with optimism and avoid the belief that certain students "can not."  Everyone can develop and further their intelligence from the most gifted to the least gifted and to not help both would be wrong.  Furthermore, I will look for student strengths in order to better utilize talents and bring in assets.  Students can be a huge asset to each other and talents should be recognized and utilized.

Metacognition TIPR

My field work placement has me observing two teachers.  So, for all blog posts I will be referring to both teachers.  One as Mrs. S and one as Mr. D.  One thing I noticed right away in Mrs. S's class is that the students are encouraged to highlight and write notes in their text.  This is a form of procedural metacognition, giving them tools so that they can learn how to take notes and get things from their notes.  I wasn't there when this would have been described to them.  In Mr. D's class, he gave them a project to work on in class.  He told them who was in their groups and sent them to go work.  There wasn't any instruction past that.

However, this seemed to be just fine.  I watched for the metacognition needs of the students, and was surprised.  I believe they might have done this type of project before, because they got right to work and worked without any problems.  I went to three different groups and all three were working well with no problems.  They all knew what they were meant to do and were working really well together.  One of the groups that I went to, by the time I got there, had already been done for a few minutes.  I imagine this is due to Mr. D's previous instruction.  In addition, I didn't see any needs in Mrs. S's class either.

When I teach my lesson, I'll keep in mind the metacognition tasks that I've already seen the teachers employ.  I'll try to stay on course of what their teachers have already taught them so that the needs that have already been fulfilled can continue to be fulfilled.

Defining Learning Blog Post

My current definition of learning is the process of adding to and adapting schema.  It's gaining knowledge, but it's also figuring out what reality is.  Babies have a very poor concept of reality and very little knowledge and as they grow they start to understand so much more.  As a teacher, it is our job to add to and adjust student's schema so that can better understand themselves and the world around them.

Lately, I feel like I've been learning a lot about learning.  I was recently was studying for the Praxis Exam and getting frustrated with my knowledge on social studies topics.  Even though I was spending hours a day reading or watching videos I didn't feel like I was absorbing anything.  When I thought about what I had learned I couldn't bring anything up.  That was until someone brought up a historical, political, psychological, or economic topic in conversation and I found myself explaining it clearly to them.  Turns out I was absorbing a lot more than I thought, I just couldn't access it without a trigger.  What this taught me is that we are always learning whether we are trying to or not.  You never know what sort of things will stick in your brain.

I believe that people learn in a number of ways and that everyone has a unique learning style.  However, universally I believe that people learn better if they are learning about something that peaks their interest (hence why absorbed much more about Medieval European history than I did Islam world history) and if they are not bored.  I believe that everyone learns a lot better if they are active participants in their learning and not passive participants in their learning.  Lastly, I believe that everyone learns better if they believe that the knowledge is accessible.

In many ways I'm still trying to figure out how learning will look in my class and I honestly might not have it completely figured out until I have taught for five to ten years.  My first instinct is to teach students the way that I learn, but I know that won't work for a majority of them.  I am an individual with a unique learning style, and so are all of them.  So, my goal is to learn many different ways to teach so I can hit as many learning styles as possible.