Module 2

I now have new found respect to Special Education Teachers.  These teachers take the time to make sure that all students no matter what the limitations are taught in a way they can contribute to society.  The students don’t want to be left behind, they want to succeed and achieve the same success as their classmates and other students their age.  Special Education goes beyond just physical and mental limitations.  Often we think of special education as those with noticeable disabilities.  This reminds me of The Cosby Show episode when Theo Huxtable (played by Malcolm Jamal Warner) discovered that he was dyslexic.  Good looking young man, high motor skills, everything you would classify as normal.  Better yet parents very well off, a doctor and a lawyer.  You would have never thought that he had a learning disability or different learning style.  That goes to show that you cannot judge a book by its cover.  I currently work in the school system now and see students walking around like any other student but are classified as a special education student.  On the opposite end, the ones that has noticeable signs of special needs are extremely intelligent and it takes special educators to bring that out.  There is caution before we try to accommodate students' learning style.  The students may not be the best judges of how they should learn.  Helping the students think about how they learn you can develop thoughtful self-monitoring and self-awareness (pg. 135).  I really appreciate the team of special education teachers that I work with and those who aspire to be.

Another big push in education is diversity.  This goes along with understanding the student and how to educate them.  I was taught in the suburbs of Chicago from 2^nd grade thru High School, and the area was very diverse.   That’s not to say as a black male I didn’t feel discriminated against in my diverse area, but I cannot remember being discriminated or not properly taught in my diverse school.  It wasn’t until I got to college when I felt that I was being treated differently.  Being at a liberal arts college we had to take courses like Music in America.  In that course being the only black student, it was automatically assumed that I listened to rap music.  I do listen to rap music, but I am one that appreciate all music although I don’t major in music or play an instrument.  This is the dangers in stereotyping.  I was very interested in the course, but after that public assumption by the professor, I was less interested in her.  I understand that all students cannot be taught the same, but they should not feel different.  Now this is not the only time that I felt prejudice thrown my way in college.  Bringing the awareness of diversity to light is a good step for the teachers and students that we are all here to learn no matter what our culture background is.

Module 2

Chapters 4,5,6 and 8 covered intelligence and the different views, the difference between disabilities and handicaps, language development, teaching English learners, understanding what it means to be gifted, culture and diversity and their effects on education in today's society, the role gender plays in teaching, discrimination and stereotyping, teaching for long-term knowledge and memory, making learning meaningful, the different types of memory and the different ways we develop knowledge.

I enjoyed reading chapter six the most because it discussed culture and diversity. In today's society, we have to be prepared to teach in diverse classrooms from different ability levels to cultural differences. We have to become familiar with the different social classes and how it may affect the way the students learn or their will to learn. There may be students who come from wealthy families and have had everything their entire life but have so many expectations placed on them that are either struggling emotionally and mentally because of all the pressure or simply not doing good for them but for their family. On the other hand we may experience having a student who hasn't had a stable living situation in their life and doesn't know where their next meal will come from, and they either use their experiences and work even harder to become successful or follow that same routine that maybe their parents before them have followed and have low expectations for themselves because they have no one to hold them accountable.

One of the models that stood out to me was Bank's dimensions of multicultural education. The model broke down the meaning of multicultural education and how it's more than about changing the curriculum. It's about the integration of content, using a variety of content from cultures and groups to illustrate different ideas, reducing prejudices,  examining the interactions between the staff and students across ethnic lines to create empowerment, matching teaching styles to student learning styles and improving the knowledge construction process.

Module 2

           This week's chapters really put things into perspective on how I would want to set up my classroom and brought a lot of issues that teachers face to light.

             In chapter 4, what stood out to me was the different disabilities that were discussed. When I was in college I got to observe a gym class that was both students with disabilities and those without. It was great to see the interaction between all students and I think in the gym setting it is a great time for those students with disabilities to be able to express themselves and for all students to come together through physical activity. I really liked and thought it was important how Woolfolk discussed that we must not label people by their disabilities because this implies that the condition labeled is the most important aspect of that person. People with disabilities are first and foremost people! That being said their disabilities don't define them and that shouldn't be how we label them. The text does a great job addressing the right and wrong ways to label. As future educators, we have to be aware that from one year to the next our students will all be very different, and some students may have intellectual or physical disabilities. We have to continue to treat all students fairly and for the individual that they are.

            Chapters 5 and 6 really dove into what most American classrooms are today which is very diverse and many teachers face students who are bilingual. Just like chapter 4 how with students with disabilities we never know from one year to the next what kind of students we will have in our classroom the same applies in terms of different cultures, race, socio-economic status, and religion. Referring back to "the salad bowl" reference a classroom is made up of an assortment of ingredients (students) that make up one great salad! In chapter 6, it is addressed the fact that children with low SES tend to see a relationship with low achievement in school. Unfortunately, those students who live in poverty often struggle for a meal from one day to the next. Imagine expecting your brain to work at 100% when all you think about is how hungry you are, and for many students who are living in poverty that is their unfortunate reality. There is also the idea that because these students come from a low SES often times they develop low self-esteem and it is not helped when teachers tend to place lower expectations on them because of their situation. This is of course not fair to the student and does not help them advance in any way, instead, it hinders them from ever reaching their full potential. As future educators, we have to take into account that every student deserves all that this life has to offer, and we should be paying attention and allowing all our students to be successful and not be the reason that they are held back from overcoming their current situation that as young students thus far have had no control over. That is why I really enjoyed reading about multicultural education because this specifically is designed to increase educational equality and where there is a value on diversity, which I believe is exactly how it should be!

          In Chapter 8, the brain is the main focus. This chapter talked a lot about memory. There is something called working memory which Woolfolk describes as the workbench of conscious thought. In order to keep memory working for longer than 20 seconds maintenance rehearsal is used along with elaborative rehearsal. Maintenance rehearsal is mentally repeating something, while elaborative rehearsal would be making connections with knowledge from long-term memory, it also aids in helping new information make its way to someone's long-term memory bank. Working memory is limited and that is why our machine of a brain tends to chunk information in order to better process and store everything. This week for one of our discussion questions we had to take an IQ test for something like this it requires working memory span and is directly related to performance because it requires a higher-level of thinking. It was under a fixed time and required controlled attention. It is interesting to think about how our brain works and processes information in various ways.
         

           

Module 2

I really enjoyed the readings for module 2 because of the topics they covered, learner differences and learning needs, language development, language diversity and immigrant education, culture and diversity and cognitive views of learning.  As future educators I do not think it is possible for us to reach our full potential as teachers without having the knowledge and mastery of topics like these because each student is going to be completely different from one another, no two students will be alike.  

Chapter 4 talked about how controversial the topic of labeling students is, amongst many other topics.  I thought that it was interesting to hear the explanation as to why some people think that labeling a student can be beneficial, such as a special needs student because it may protect the child but others believe that labeling in any way is negative to a student.  I had never heard of the multiple intelligences, "linguistic (verbal), musical, spacial, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic (movement), interpersonal (understanding others), intrapersonal (understanding self) and naturalistic (observing and understanding natural and human-made patterns and systems) and possibly a ninth existential" (page 123).  I agree with his research and results that some people can be gifted in one of those areas but may be average or even struggle in another one of those areas.  Even though I am not going to be a special education teacher, I know that I will need to be able to identify certain traits amongst my students so that I can get students the correct help that they need if they seem to be struggling.  I think that this chapter was even more important to me because I want to teach kindergarten or first grade and that is usually where families become aware of their students learning issues, etc.  

Chapter 5 talked about early childhood milestones when it comes to language and the young elementary aged students that I wish to be teaching, kindergarten, will be hitting these milestones or some of them may not and it is important for me to recognize that a 5 and 6-year-old should be forming sentences that are five to six words long, a 10,000 word vocabulary, the ability to define objects by their use, know their own address and the ability to know same and different (page 173). There is a responsibility as a teacher that we must properly prepare each student based upon their age and ability so that we can properly assess them and give them the tools they need to reach their full learning potential and language is a huge part of that in the younger age groups.  

Chapter 6 was more of something that I feel I have learned about in a previous course, but I believe that it is talked about in so many different courses throughout this program because of how incredibly important it is to understand the roles that culture and diversity play in a students life, the school and your classroom.  I think that teachers do a great job, from what I have seen in my nephew's school and the two schools that my daughter has attended in explaining culture and diversity and making it a topic of discussion throughout the year but especially around the holidays.  I think that figure 6.1 on page 211 is a great way to explain culture, that heroes, dress, language, games, cooking foods etc. are only the tip of the iceberg and that there is so much more that makes up a culture, beliefs and social mobility, rule of eye contact, showing respect, personal space, etc.  The home environment of a student is going to play a large role in the student's academic life and how they may behave inside of the classroom. Knowing and involving parents or guardian of your students is a great way to get a feel for how involved or uninvolved they are in your student's lives and academics.  Some parents may never respond or care to show up whereas others may want their children to attend Harvard and can expect perfection out of you and their child.  Knowing these things is going to allow us as teachers to know how much to expect out of a student and if they will be getting any help from home.  

Chapter 8 I gravitated towards page 297, gaining and maintaining attention.  It points out ways such as using signals, reach out rather than call out, make sure the purpose of the lesson or assignment is clear to students, incorporate variety, curiosity and surprise and ask questions and provide feedback. I liked the examples they gave to coincide with those ideas and methods teachers should utilize to gain and maintain students attention.  I think that for adults it seems so obvious and like common sense for us that we would not think to do some of these things with our students, or we may forget sometimes, because they are children and they are not developmentally where we are, obviously.  I think that making eye contact can be extremely beneficial for both positive recognition and when you are trying to correct bad behavior from a student as well because you want them to know that you see them, you hear them, you know what is going on.   

 

Module 2

Before I even started reading Chapters 4,5, 6, and 8, I read the titles and was very excited for this section.  “Learner differences and Learning Needs,” “Language Development, Language Diversity, and Immigrant Education,” and “Culture and Diversity” are very bold fairly general words that encompass many things, but initially when I looked I could see all the children I have encountered at my time in the school.  Preschool is a major transition time for children and often we see many of these types of elements that we have to work with.  English is not the primary language at home, and this is their first step into the school system, and we have to deal with culture shock for many of them.  Culture can also affect how we learn or how we are scrutinized.  In Chapter 4, when I started reading I noticed how it discussed the stereotypes in teaching and intelligence testing.  The section discussing IQ testing and other intelligence testing raised a point on how most are compared to the white male standard, and how perhaps minorities should not be forced to take it, because perhaps their first language is not English, and they do not have that advantage (p.128).  I feel that if we are creating a curriculum to work with all kinds of students, we need to have them take the tests, so we can see where we can help them move forward.  If they do not standardize test well, there is the likelihood that they also have trouble in school, and that should be something we can see and work towards.  I think that it is not just ethnicity or if someone is a minority that we have to change things. We have to be cognizant of children with disabilities. The words disabilities and handicaps are somewhat scary and can be daunting, but if we have the knowledge and tools we should be able to help them.

English is a very difficult language to grasp the nuances of.  We can add adjective upon adjective in a sentence and somehow we know the correct order they go in.  For example “The girl had a small, green, Celtic cross with her”, not a “green, small Celtic cross.”  I suppose this is part of syntax and how children learn to speak from their parents, as well as Language Arts instruction in school; although I personally do not remember learning the order of adjectives.  A lot of what I see in my classroom is the transitioning between the different levels of language development, as well as emerging literacy.  My children are at the age where we are focusing in on letter sound and correspondence to sound in words; we make word lists and begin to sound out just about everything we do in the classroom (p. 177).  I know that all different preschools take different approaches to writing and education; some may think that it is a bit too strenuous for 4 and 5 year olds to do.  I have been in this preschool for 4 years, and I think having them have a base of writing and sounding out words helps us the the teachers who they go on to.  We are able to see the beginnings if the children are on the right path, if some need a little extra help, or even perhaps if they have other issues going on that may affect their learning (but that is a whole different topic).  We are with the kids transitioning from their primarily Polish speaking household or Spanish speaking household, and we are able to help them develop their language skills, without it interfering with their education too much.  At my school we generally do not get immigrant families or refugee families, so we do not have to work with strong language barriers or strong cultural differences in the classroom.

I would like to think that as teachers in the school system we are above stereotyping and prejudice with our students; we should be, we teach them to combat it.  It is difficult to fight against something that is constantly spoken about in mainstream media with facts and numbers and data (p. 227).  It would be easy if we could put blinders on that x-ed out skin color, accent, behavior, etc. but we cannot do that.  We need to address within ourselves and work it out so we treat every child the same.  Same with gender biasing; I do not see boys vs girls in my classroom.  They all play with each other and no gender does better in one thing than the other; I am hopeful that this pattern continues throughout their education (p. 234).

Memory and cognition are something we see everyday in Preschool.  To increase the memory and to help them learn certain things we focus a lot on repetition.  ABCs, certain songs or phrases, and other things to jog their memory.  I have noticed that I will even say certain things, mostly just to help me with them, and they say it with me (p. 296).  Kids are very smart and intuitive, and I think at this age, having something to jog the memory and encourage them to use their memory helps the learning process.  Occasionally I will change up things to see if they know the content versus just the rhyme, and I know every time I am pleasantly surprised.  THey are not going to remember everything though.  Breaks like Easter and Christmas are difficult for us since they are so small, we often forget things and have to reteach them behaviors and lessons in the classroom (p. 302).  Many of the other concepts discussed in the chapter are things that also evolve in time as the children grow.

Module 2

The concepts that really caught my attention were those relating to multiculturalism in the classroom. Since we already discussed these in general, I am going to focus on the language aspects. There are many dialects of English that are spoken among students. Likewise, there are a great number of ESL (English as a Second Language) students in America today. That being said, it is imperative that teachers are sensitive to dialects and to the needs of bilingual children so they are able to instruct and assess them accordingly. Given that there are so many dialects within the English language, there is really no absolute form of standard English to teach (Woolfolk, p. 186). For ESL students, since English is being learned, their language development must monitored differently than monolingual, English speaking students. Woolfolk really delves deeply into these concepts in chapter 5 of our text.

     With regard to dialect, it is amazing just how many ways there are to say the same thing. Regions can determine how things are said, regardless of ethnicity. Woolfolk uses the example of different ways to refer to carbonated beverages, such as “coke”, “soda”, and “pop”. For example, people may use the words “home”, “crib”, or “pad” when referring to where they live. Additionally, there are many cultural differences in dialect. For example, the word “crib” is commonly used by African Americans when referring to the place they live, vs. “home” or “my house”. Since such differences exist, it is important to be aware of them and accept them as valid language, while teaching the more “Standard English” to prepare students for the professional world (Woolfolk, p.p. 186, 187). Comparative writing and speaking activities can be done to allow students to express their thoughts in their own dialects, while gaining exposure to other dialects in the process. Students could then go on to take the different dialects, and translate them into “professional English” dialect.

     When teaching ESL bilingual students, there are so many concepts that teachers must be mindful of when constructing lessons and assessing achievement. For example, teachers must know the appropriate time frames for achievements and normal errors in new language use, otherwise a child could be incorrectly assessed as having a language disorder. There is a great chart that explains this in the text (Woolfolk, p. 185). Another aspect of this, that had honestly never even crossed my mind before reading the text is this; there is “contextual” language and “academic” language. When taught well, contextual language takes 2-3 years to master at a basic level, while academic language takes 5-7 years to master (Woolfolk, p. 184). This means that an ESL child, who is able to hold a full conversation in English, will still struggle when hearing and reading academic words that are found in textbooks. What a concept!

    There are so many things to take into consideration when becoming a teacher in today’s America. I just hope that I can meet the needs of all the students I will be teaching. It sometimes seems to be a bit overwhelming. Is anyone else feeling this way?

Module 2

     Chapter 4 of Woolfolk covered measuring and gauging intelligence, as well as learning styles and learning needs. I found the controversy surrounding accurately measuring intelligence especially interesting. I really liked Gardner's idea of multiple intelligences (pg. 123-124). I also believe that there are more than one way to be intelligent. The ideas that categories such as interpersonal, existential, linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalist are looked upon as categories equal to logical-mathematical, and spatial are paramount to the development of students sense of worth.
     When discussing intelligence, often times the focus is put on logical and spatial reasoning that other forms of intelligence gets pushed aside as less important. There are so many people in my life that I admire for their genius in other categories. For example, both my son and my boyfriend are amazing musicians. My son plays the guitar, and my boyfriend plays drums, guitar, mandolin, keyboard, and banjo. The level of both of their skill is absolute genius.These different types of intelligences should be addressed in the classroom setting. Students should know that what some deem talent, others deem a type of intelligence. According to Woolfolk, "First, teachers should take the individual differences among students seriously and differentiate their instruction to connect with each student" (pg. 126). I think that is one of the most important lessons for us future educators: everyone has a different type of brilliance. Our job is to recognize it, cultivate it, and design lessons and construct assignments to that every type of intelligence has a chance to shine.
     When Woolfolk discusses learning styles, there were a couple of different ideas that stood out to me. First was how research suggested that people identified their learning preferences, rather than learning styles (pg. 132). Is it possible that different course material is best taught with various learning styles? For example, if I were teaching American History, and we were covering WWII, is there a specific way to teach that material to the class that will make them remember the material better? Perhaps video clips, or pictures, or a reenactment of a battle? Should I present the material how the students say they'll learn it best, or should I make an informed decision about how to teach it?
Another topic that resonated with me was learning disabilities. On page 135-136 in Woolfolk, IEP's are discussed. I have spent the past decade hearing about the "IEP", but did not really know what it was. I knew there was a meeting that determined services, and that is where my knowledge ceased. I'm glad to learn more about individual annual goals, and plans on specific services. I have a god daughter and a nephew who are both on the autism spectrum, and I feel like I can listen to my best friend and sister in law when they want to discuss IEP's with a different ear now.  However, the most important take away from this chapter for me was that students are people first, and their diagnosis second. I think it's far too often where kids are thought of and referred to as their diagnosis, and who they are as people gets lost in all the professional lingo.
     Chapter 5 of Woolfolk discusses language development, and some problems related to language development. It was interesting to me that the majority of language develops in early childhood, rather than during the first year as I previously thought (pg. 173). I have a 10 month old daughter who is beginning to form word sounds and letters, so this particular part of the chapter was of special interest to me. Another topic of Chapter 5 (pg. 189) that I find extremely important in today's classroom are bilingual and immigrant students. There are a few students in the high school where I'm observing that are bilingual, and sometimes pronounce words incorrectly in English. The instructor generally gleans what they are saying or asking from the other words in the statement or question, and does not correct them. It's important to him that they are answering questions, and he is afraid if he begins to correct their English, they will not participate as much.
     Chapter 6 in Woolfolk discusses Culture and Diversity. I think there are several good points in this chapter that we can take into our classrooms. For example, how dangerous stereotyping can be in the event that can make students feel foreign in the country they were born in ( pg. 214). Also, this chapter forces us to look at several factors that can be educational obstacles that we may not have known existed before. Issues such as homelessness and students who are constantly moving (pg. 215), poverty and the challenges it presents such as inability to purchase school supplies or having to work to provide one's family with the necessities (pg. 219),  and students who have to deal with real life crises such as evictions or no utilities (pg. 218). These scenarios are very real to an increasing number of students. So,as teachers, we must be aware of these circumstances and not judge these students for coming to school late or missing days. They may be caring for siblings or working late.
     Chapter 8 discusses the cognitive views of learning, and the role it plays in long and short term memory. I think it is important for us as future educators to understand how memory works so we can better plan lessons that will maximize how the students retains the lessons. Lastly, as teachers, we must be aware of, be patient, and compassionate to those students who have memory impairment.

Lantz Module 2

These chapters talk about the intelligence and any impairments students may have, the language development, diversity and immigrant education, culture, and cognitive learning. However, the multiple intelligences stuck out to me.  There are many different forms of different kinds of intelligence.  Gardner's theory specifically talks about 8 different kinds of intelligence.  They are, linguistic, musical, spatial, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. (Woollwolk pg 123) I agree with having different ways of learning because each student learns differently. I learn differently depending on each subject. It is the same for my students.  If I can connect the projects I come up with to their other subjects it is easier to create connections between things.  

Another thing that stood out for me was the development of language in chapter 5.  In classes anytime my peers said something wrong grammatically or phonically they were always scolded heavily. This chapter discussed other ways to help that rather than scoldings. It also helped me understand why anyone learning another language, people use double negatives because of that form of dialect in their languages. (Woolfolk pg. 186)  This chapter also talked about what happens to students who are bilingual or become bilingual. I knew it was a sought after or pushed thing in high school but I never really thought of a reasoning why. Other than traveling or for high up jobs. Woolfolk states that "higher degrees of bilingualism are correlated with increased cognitive abilities in such areas as concept formation, creativity, a theory of mind, cognitive flexibility, attention,  and executive functioning, and understanding that printed words are symbols for a language." (pg 180.)  I really enjoy my students teaching me their own languages that they use at home so this chapter really was interesting. 

Module 3

There were many things that I loved about my education, but also many things that I was not so crazy about. I hated writing endless spelling words and standing by the fence at recess. Even as a third grader I knew these activities were pointless. I was a pretty good kid. The kids who caused more trouble received some of the more ugly punishments that were embarrassing and humiliating. Not a great experience, but to look at the positive I can use that as an example of what not to do.

Chapter seven teaches that punishments tend to be ineffective at preventing the repeated behavior. I think we can all agree we don’t enjoy punishing our students and without any long-term positive results, we want to avoid it. As I know from my experience parenting my daughter it is easy to default to the ways we grew up within a moment of stress. I have learned that if I do my research and am constantly reading about positive examples I can stay focused on my mission of raising a healthy child. And the most wonderful part about it is that when she is a parent her default will be to defer to the way she was raised. In other words, if I put in the work to become a mindful parent I am starting a ripple effect to last for generations.

I have the same attitude towards teaching. I am sure I will have imperfect days as an educator but my overall goal is for my student to feel safe, supported and encouraged to learn. This chapter is full of ideas that I can’t wait to use in my classroom. On page 255, Woodley gives some examples of associating “positive pleasant events with leaning tasks”. One example suggests getting the kids more involved in reading by making a special comfortable spot for reading. Once I observed a second-grade teacher who allowed each child to bring a stuffed animal from home to be his or her “reading buddy”. The animals lived on the shelf but when the child was ready to read they could hold their stuffed animal and read to them. The students were more than happy to read their new library book.

Praise can be a powerful tool when used in moderation and in the right context (Woolfolk, p. 263).  “To be effective praise must (1) be contingent on the behavior to be reinforced, (2) specify clearly the behavior being reinforced, and (3) be believable” (Woolfolk, p. 263). Praise is only effective when we are praising the child’s efforts. Praising a child’s talents or something that is beyond their control only creates more problems in the long run. Children know when you are insincere or give too much praise.

The Premack Principle is one that I myself use every day. I always push myself to get my dreaded tasks done first and save the most desired task as a motivation to finish the job. I believe it is a great lesson to teach children to finish up less exciting last before beginning a more desirable one. I believe my intention for using this method in my classroom is not as a tool to help my kids finish a torturous task but instead to teach them to order their tasks in a way that works best for them.

I know a teacher who was an expert at classroom management who said: “the first week if the year was spent on reviewing and establishing the routines of the classroom”. This first week set the tone for the entire year. According to Woodley on page 499, an effective teacher’s classroom starts out organized from the first day of school. I believe having a well-organized classroom gets rid of a lot of the discipline problems right there. When I was a substitute there was a second-grade class that I loved to substitute for. The class came in each morning, put away their things, and began their morning station right away. This kind of routine does not happen naturally. I sure many days of teaching and training was put into these second graders.

I must agree with Woolfolk, “Prevention is the Best Medicine” (p. 502). Having a well-organized classroom with fun and exciting curriculum is the beginning of good classroom management.  My goal is not to motivate my students, but teach them to be self-motivators. I know at discipline problems will arise but I hope to handle them with positivity and wisdom. I believe in treating others the way you would like to be treated.

Module 2

One thing that caught my attention from this week reading was the topic of different learning and thinking styles. I found this very interesting because of the course of my education, I struggled to find what type of learner I was and thus my education suffered. According to Woolfolk (2016), learning style can be defined as " the way a person approaches learning and studying (p. 132). The text mentions that we should not label our students with a certain category of learning (i.e. visual, audio, etc.), but instead we should focus on each student's learning preferences such as learning environment,  lighting, individuals in the environment, time, music, etc. (132). I think that it is important for us as educators to know what of learning preferences each and every one of students like so we can make their educational experience the best it can be.  Also, each school or classroom should have different types of environments for students to choose from such as music vs earplugs, quiet areas, bigger tables for group work, bright vs dark lite rooms, etc. As I mentioned previously, I struggle to find what type of learner/learning preferences that constituted me as a learner, thus this made my education suffer. Growing up, we were told as students that we each were a different type of learner such as visual, audio, verbal, etc. and that should figure out what type we are so that we could excel in all aspect of our education. I felt that this really hinder my learning because my of my peers had found their so-called style and yet there I was just trying to understand the information being presented to me. As a future educator, I hope that I will be able to have the one-on-one individual time with each student to create a learning environment that benefits each student diverse learning preferences.

Another topic that was covered in the readings this week was diversity. As teachers, we will be faced with students who come from many different types of backgrounds. Again we as educators must be able to make all of our students feel safe and welcomed. In chapter 6, Woolfolk mentions how some teacher may treat their students different and set lower standards because of their backgrounds such as poverty, etc. According to Woolfolk (2016), "these lower expectations, along with a lower-quality educational experience, can lead to a sense of learned helpless" (p.218).  I believe that we should treat all of our students regardless of what their backgrounds are or what may be going on in their personal lives. Also if we treat all the students the same then we may have a better chance of getting our students engaged in their learning.

Module 2

Throughout this module, I have learned more about myself and how I believe I would want to set up my classroom to be a culturally friendly and comfortable environment for my students.

First off, it is very important to understand what type of students you are working with on an individual basis. In chapter 4 of the text, Woolfork describes Howard Gardner's MI theory or the idea of eight separate bits of intelligence in the human brain. The eight separate intelligences include linguistic, musical, spatial, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist (pg. 123). While Gardner's theory has been scrutinized heavily since its conception, I believe, as a teacher, it is important to be cognizant of these intelligences because each student will be different, and may be superior in some of these but not others. Being able to decipher which area of intelligence your students rely on individually will help you be able to group them accordingly, and plan lessons appropriately for the small groups. For example, as a PE teacher, I may have to introduce my students to bowling. Bowling is a physical sport, but there are also areas of math (scoring), spatial development (aligning the ball with the pins) among many things. Being knowledgeable of my students' intelligences can allow me to group them with other like-minded students who may be better in one aspect but need help in others so that I could teach them all as a whole, rather than teach each individually and wasting time. It would also help to create a sense of equality in the students which would make them feel comfortable and more motivated to try hard and correct mistakes if their peers share the same mistakes.

      Which leads me to another section of chapter 4 that I feel will play a major importance in my classroom. On page 132, Woolfolk talks about the difference between two cognitive learning styles, Personality-centered and Activity-centered. Personality-centered students react better to results while activity-centered students react to the presence of learning. As a teacher, it is going to be my goal to teach my students the importance of an activity-centered learning style. I do not want my students to care about the grade because if they do what they need, it will come on its own. I want to stress the idea the grade is reflected in the effort and participation of the student, and not just the knowledge base. By instructing this method of teaching I feel my students will work harder to grasp all the concepts of the subject area which will allow them to hold the content longer mentally.

Alther thing I know I am going to have to be aware of as a teacher is my students’ cultures. Not just for myself, but for the students as well. Like Woolfolk quoted, “Culturally relevant teachers utilize students’ culture as a vehicle for learning (pg. 236). We are in a time period, socially, where recognizing cultural differences in each other is of utmost importance. I believe that the earlier we can get children to understand and accept cultural differences, the better suited they will be for social life as they get older. As a teacher, I am going to have to be aware of my students' cultural differences, not only to be able to interact with them but to help them succeed. Like the video expressed – it could be as simple as a single word spoken in a certain tone that may be the difference between reaching your student and completely losing them, because of the culture of the student. I can also use my knowledge to help the other students learn the importance of other cultures. For children, diversity is different, and different can be scary. If I know the differences in my class I can use that to my advantage by grouping children of different cultures together and give help guide them in conversation to help them get to know each other, creating an environment of multicultural education (pg. 235)

Like Woolfolk says “Culture is compared to an iceberg. One-third of the iceberg is visible; the rest is hidden and unknown (pg.210). A good teacher takes the time to unearth the unknown of their students and use that information to build a unified feeling in their classroom, and that is my goal.

Module 2

     In chapter 4 of Woolfolk, topics of different types of learning styles is discussed. Every student has a different learning style. In the book, it talks about maybe usual visual or verbal learners could be described differently such as specific learning environments. Personally, for the longest time would always talk about how I am a visual learner rather than verbal. Extending my knowledge in this will be beneficial in my teaching career. For a teacher to know which way a student likes to work or learn is going to benefit that student more. Whether that being, put them in groups, or separate certain students who like to work alone.

     Growing up, I never really had to deal with being in a diverse classroom. I know as a future educator that I will come across many classrooms of diversity. Understand backgrounds of all different diversities may be difficult for me but it will be necessary for me to be successful in my career. Many teachers tend to think a family who deals with home issues that that student may not be as smart as a student who doesn't have home issues. Which is covered in the Woolfolk text, Chapter 6. As a future teacher, I hope to look past that. I hope to look at that as I need to work more one on one with that student rather than ignore and look down upon that students education. Set high standards rather than low.  That being said, I will teach and treat my classroom equally and if one students wants or needs more help that I will plan one on one meetings with him or her to help that student. 

     Getting experience is vital for most teachers. Luckily, I've had a great opportunity to get experience teaching by substitute teaching starting this year. I sub at multiple districts which I think is even greater for me to understand different areas. Some deal with diverse, some don't. Working in diverse schools has gave me a chance to realize that some students have things difficult at home and that being in school can be the best time of the day for them. Again, understanding that every student is different. Come from different backgrounds, cultures, etc. is hard for some teachers to understand but very powerful. (Woolfolk, page 242)

     

Module 2 - Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences (Kirsten Zinzer)

Multiple Intelligences

I have always found Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences interesting.  In Chapter 4 of the Woolfolk book, multiple intelligences are covered extensively.  Gardner was a developmental psychologist that established the theory of multiple intelligences (MI).  The theory of multiple intelligences encompasses at least eight separate intelligences.  Gardner stresses that there are more than eight multiple intelligences and that eight is not the magic number (Woolfolk. Chapter 4, p. 123).  I appreciated Table 4.1 on page 124 of the Woolfolk book that outlined all of the different multiple intelligences.  The table suggests that there are eight or nine kinds of human abilities.  I found the table to be helpful to better understand each category of intelligence.  I also enjoyed finding my place within the table and where I fit in relating to multiple intelligences.  It’s nice to know that we all have strengths and weaknesses in one or several areas.  No one is the same.

The eight intelligences in MI theory are linguistic (verbal), musical, spatial, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic (movement), interpersonal (understanding others), intrapersonal (understanding self), and naturalist (observing and understanding natural and human-made patterns and systems) (Woolfolk, Chapter 4, p. 123).

Below are a few of my favorite multiple intelligences highlighted:

Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn different languages, and then use language to accomplish certain goals.

Musical intelligence is the skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns.  An individual is able to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements.

Interpersonal intelligence is to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people. It allows people to work collaboratively with others.  Educators all need well-developed interpersonal intelligence.

There are many critics Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory.  One, in particular, is that just because someone has adopted the MI approach doesn’t mean the learning experience will be enhanced.  Additionally, critics argue that there are published studies that validate Gardner’s theory.  Gardner strikes back at the critics by defending his theory and saying that the critics have a narrow view of intelligence and do not have the breadth of research on multiple intelligences to form a disagreement.  Gardner also stresses that intelligences are not the same as learning styles (Woolfolk, Chapter 4, p. 125).

My goal as a teacher is to develop lessons that can incorporate a variety of different intelligences to better meet the needs of many more students than through one method alone.  With the help of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, it’s important to remember that no one set of teaching strategies will work best for all students at all times.  As a result, when I have my own class filled with my students, I need to shift intelligence emphasis from lesson to lesson, if possible.  Realizing that all students have various multiple intelligences can make teaching flexible, which is can result is really excellent teaching.  Tailoring classroom activities to individual students' needs, interests, and strengths makes complete sense.  I look forward to tapping into all of the different intelligences that will make-up my classroom.  Everyone is different, everyone is unique, everyone learns differently.  As an educator, it is key to remember this for a successful outcome for each of my students.

Module 2 Blog Post

            Chapter 4 of the Woolfolk text delves into the topics of different learning styles that students may have.  The text describes how the term “learning preferences” would actually be a more accurate phrase as most of the research suggests that students have different preferences for particular learning environments.   Instead of describing students as visual or verbal learners, it may be more helpful to focus on how the students learn and their own self-awareness of this.  For example, schools can make available various learning options, such as quiet private corners as well as large tables for group work, brightly lit desks and darker areas, headphones for listening to music and earplugs, or structured as well as open-ended assignments (Woolfolk p. 133-134).  Having these options available for students can be instrumental in supporting students and lead to a learning environment that all students can benefit from.  Growing up, I struggled in a group environment and would have benefited from more one on one learning or just a peaceful corner of a room to dedicate myself to my work.  I will be the first to admit that I can become very easily distracted from homework and other things that I need to get done and having a dedicated space to be more focused is very important for me.  As a future educator, I hope to provide individual one-on-one attention to my students and learn the ways they like to learn and try to create an environment in the classroom for what I’m sure will be many diverse learning styles of my students. 

              Not only will there be diversity amongst learning preferences, but there will be a great deal of diversity amongst the students as well.  From teaching students who are English language learners to those who come from extreme poverty to those of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, it will be my job to make all students feel equal to other students.  In Woolfolk Chapter 6, the text describes how students who come from a poor family may be viewed by teachers as not as bright and may avoid calling on these students and set lower standards for them.  These low expectations and biases along with a lower-quality educational experience, can lead to a sense of learned helplessness for children from a lower socioeconomic status (Woolfolk p. 218).  As a teacher, I will make it a point to not feed into a student’s sense of helplessness and feeling that they cannot make a difference in their own learning.  Regardless of a student’s social class or racial background, I will focus on educating all students with the same attention and set and maintain high expectations for all students.  

Even in my limited experience with substitute teaching at a Catholic grammar school, I have encountered multicultural classrooms and have taught students of different racial and economic backgrounds.  I have realized that some students come from broken homes and homes with one parent trying to give their child the best possible education and that is what my goal will always be: to give each student the best education possible. To provide students with a harmonious learning environment, as Woolfolk discusses, teachers can experiment with grouping different students together to promote cooperation amongst all students or getting to know the customs, traditions, and values of students by having projects in which students can teach other students about their origins and traditions important in their culture (Woolfolk p. 243).  I feel that by promoting an environment that doesn’t ignore the differences amongst students, but embraces and explores them, can lead to a welcoming and bias-free classroom environment. 

Module 2

Cracking the Code

My passion in education has always focused on teaching reading. That is why I am drawn to the younger elementary grades where phonemic building blocks play an important role in a child’s academic success. Chapter five gives some great information and research about literacy and what it means for me as a teacher.

Two activities that are known to build a strong foundation for young readers are “ (1) conversation with adults that develop knowledge about language and (2) joint reading using books to talk about sounds words, pictures, and concepts” (Woolfolk, p. 177).  There are many skills involved in reading comprehension, not only must a student be able to sound out the words while remembering the last words they read (inside-out processing), but also an understanding of the vocabulary and narrative of the story (outside-in processing) (Woolfolk, p. 176 table 5.2). Cracking the code of reading comprehension can be a very difficult and multilayered task. Many skills need to read are learned at home, through language development, before a child even arrives at preschool. Analyzing the oral language of a preschooler can be indicative of their future reading abilities (Woolfolk, p. 176).

Many students have built-in advantages such as constant access to books, trips to museums and libraries, and adults that read aloud to them. That is not the case however for many students of a low SES. In addition, these students may face other challenges such as learning disabilities, homelessness, and language barriers. Reading intervention can be effective, but there is no quick fix. “About 70% to 80% of student who had reading disabilities in the early grades we still behind over a decade later” (Woolfolk, p. 177). Students with learning disabilities need support initially and throughout their education.

As teachers, we must address not only phonemic skills but also build the many other skills required for reading. We can help build supporting language by pointing out things in a book and asking the students questions to connect them to the story. Getting students to tell stories and retell stories told in the class can strengthen literacy. Students can build vocabulary through everyday conversations and activities. For many students reading will never come easy and they will always need a little extra help.  The extra effort to help a student learn to read well can make a positive impact on the rest of their life.