Communication with Administration/ Parents

A lot of times, especially dealing with seniors, I must reach out to administration and parents. This is because there are many interventions, we need to take in order to legally fail a student in our school system. One instance where I had to call a parent was due to a student’s attendance. The student was absent for over a week and was beginning to fail my class. The parent was aware of the student being absent and explained the financial difficulties they were having, so the student was working extra hours at their job. When the student came in the following week, we had a one on one conference and they explained their situation and the situation had turned around. Another instance where I had to contact an administrator was for a student who was being disruptive repeatedly in class. The administrator had a conference with the student and the situation was extinguished.

When dealing with situations with students I try to mediate the situation in the classroom first. Generally, if I level with the student and get to see where the root of the behavior is coming from, they tend to turn around or respond better when redirected. Talking with parents does not need to be an immediate disciplinary act but can be helpful when you are trying to better understand a student. There was one student I had that was in class daily but was more reserved and struggled with interacting with myself and other students. I reached out to their parent and they informed me of some of the issues at home and gave me some incite into what the student was interested in, which helped me to better address the student and get them to be more interactive. I try not to get the administration involved in some circumstances that I can mediate internally, but when it comes to my seniors, I must let them be aware of their status for graduating.

ED 645 Reflection

Classroom management is one of the most important things that a teacher needs in order to be successful. To have good classroom management, there needs to be norms and expectations set in place that students and the teacher need to be held accountable for. If these things are not set in place and the teacher is not consistent, it makes it hard to have an environment where your students will feel safe and want to learn.

When I started teaching in 2017, classroom management was scary to me. I have heard horror stories about some classrooms and how the students basically ran the show. Never teaching before and going into a school where the population is not what I had ever experienced was daunting, but I was going to have to figure it out. I came in stern and strict and soon realized that, that was not going to work. Making adjustments over the last two years, I think I may have found a system that works. I am more personable with my students, fair in my grading and treatment, and hold them accountable. My students respect me and my classroom operates smoothly since we all have a mutual respect and understanding of one another's expectations.

In the coming years of my teaching careers, I am hoping to perfect my classroom management. I hope to do this by trying to find more ways to help relate better to my students and get them more motivated to learn mathematics. I want to find things that interest them and make my lessons and real world scenarios more relateable to their lives and the communities they live in.

Final reflection

Over the past few weeks, I have been trying different methods of teaching. There is a growing push for the use of technology in the classroom and now that all students are given laptops in my school building, they should be used more often. I have been decreasing the number of paper assignments and note sheets and replacing them with online work. My students are seeming to respond better to this method based on their participation in class and improvement in their grades. I have been trying to have students do more exploratory and lab-based assignments that require students to learn on their own a little more. It has seemed to be helping with their retention because I have noticed on the last quiz they took, a lot of my students scored highly.

To be an exemplary teacher, one needs to be patients, caring, and versatile. An exemplary teacher needs to be patient because no everyone’s learning style is the same. If a student does not get it right away, a teacher should have patience and try to find another way to teach it. Being caring is very important as well because as a teacher, students look to you for guidance and if you are not showing that you care, then your students are not going to be willing to learn. Versatile, I think is the most important characteristic because like I mentioned before, not everyone learns the same. Teachers need to be able to adjust on the spot at times for whatever reason. Not all lessons will run smooth or how one plans, but it is important to do your students a service and prepare them for the future.

For the next semester, I have a few goals in mind. I want to one, finish this MAT program and become a certified teacher. I want to make sure that I prepare my AP students for their exam in May the best I can. I am hopeful that I will have a few students do well on this exam. I also want to guide my bridge students in completing their bridge projects, so they can graduate in May, as well. I want to be the best teacher I can be and be a role model for my students. I want to help prepare them for their next chapters in their lives after high school.

Observational Reflection 2

My most recent observation was last week during my AP Statistics class. We were just beginning our probability unit, so we were doing an exploratory lab. Students were to complete a candy lab, which compared colors that come in different types of candy. We looked at Mike & Ike’s, Starbursts, M&M’s, and Skittles. Each student had their own sample of candy they were to predict and collect data with. Then once they collected their data, they were to come together as a group and compare findings, followed by combining their data together. Once they compiled the data, they were to combine the data as a class and compare the findings. The overall idea of this was to use probability to see if we could determine the more popular color candy. I believe it was somewhat successful, but because the lab had a lot of parts to it, it was tough to have a good group discussion at the end due to time.

This lab has proved to be a good indicator of how I could have created mini-lessons to help with the time aspect. I could have had students using the smaller data to do different things and then have another lesson using larger data and then talking about the difference in sample sizes. I think that this would have help with their fluency because they would have been doing multiple hands on activities, which would have made the lessons stick better, than rushing through one big activity. I think this also would have given students time for the information to stick in before beginning a new idea. Though students responded well to the activity, I could tell that the concepts did not fully stick. Most likely there will have to be a reteaching aspect of future lessons. I think mini-lessons for this would have been more effective.

These past two weeks have been hectic. The first quarter was coming to a close and, of course, students had been coming up to ask what they can do to bring up their grade. This time I feel is more stressful for the teacher than the student. I need to have everything from the first quarter graded, grades finalized in the grading system, complete other teacher obligations in the building, and still plan meaningful, effective lessons for three different subjects. I find the close of the quarter to be my busy time.

Being in my third year, I should have this down pat on how to deal with the different stressors teaching has to throw at me, but this one never seems to have an effective solution. In talking to my colleagues in what they do to cope with the stress, I have learned some good tips I want to try next quarter when grades close. One of my colleagues had suggested just not taking work that is more than 2 weeks past due. This is a rule across the board for most teacher and I have it in my syllabus, but culture in the building makes it hard to stand behind this rule when so many kids are failing at once. I think by standing more firm on my rules and expectations, I can eliminate the pressures I feel in grading more than I already have to.

On top of being the end of the marking period, I also had multiple observations. I had a formal observation by my assistant principal, two informal observations by the principal and the department chair, and one by my teacher mentor. When my teacher mentor came, I made sure to plan a lesson that would not be too outside the box and relaxed. I wanted her to see that my classroom operates in a smooth manor with everyone on the same page. I did not let the stress of having an observation get to me and I made sure that everything was as organic as possible. I think the key to having a stress-less observation is to just roll with it. Just do what you normally do, and everything will fall into place. I made sure that day one I set the tone and created a good rapport with all my students, and I think that also helps when it comes to teaching them and making sure they are gaining the knowledge they need to succeed.

Meeting All Student Needs

I am in my third year of teaching and every year I have a different set of learners. I have students that learn better by taking notes, students that learn better by just being exposed to the problem being modelled, and those that require many different opportunities for practice and references. In meeting all these needs, quite the challenge is posed because you must alter each lesson in many ways so that everyone in the room can benefit. Engagement must be high, and everyone must be able to learn.

In trying to meet the needs of my students, I have taken many approaches. I have created poster size anchor charts, with the step by step processes of different things we are working on in class, as well as individual hand outs for those to keep. I have also tried supplying videos during class instruction and for students to have access to who may need extra help. Using different platforms like GeoGebra and Desmos, have also been able to help my students, so I do try to offer practice on those sites.

Moving forward with my career, I do want to try and provide as many students as possible with as many resources and opportunities to learn as possible. I am so used to learning through lecture because that is how my classes were structured in all my years of schooling. With this generation, lecture is as engaging to them. Because I have a variety of learners in one class, I cannot just lecture and expect all students to grasp the knowledge. I want to try and incorporate more exploratory lessons, so give students the chance to learn on their own and be more responsible for their own learning, which is a skill they will need for higher education. They need to be able to learn from an instructor but also on their own time. I want to be more engaging by having more relatable lessons too. I know I learn better through experience and it seems that a lot of my students benefit from it as well, so I want to have more hands-on lessons where students can physical apply the knowledge to something real world. I think that if I pay more attention to the community I teach, I can find things that interest all students and engage them more.

I have to remember while doing all of this that everyone learns differently. I cannot just teach one way or have one type of practice and expect all students to understand the concept. I need to make sure that I have multiple outlets for each student to give them the highest probability for success. Each student has to be given an equal opportunity to learn and so whatever I can find to help them learn better, I will. 

STEM Research Project Reflection

In the past 2 and a half years I have been teaching, I have noticed that the majority of my students, as well as students in other classes, all struggle with one thing, ASSESSMENTS. The traditional multi-assessment question test has stressed a number of my students out to the point where they give up and do not perform well. It baffles me to see that for every subject, there are these types of assessments, as well as State and County exams, where students are required to pass to graduate. I believe that there are other ways to assess student knowledge and comprehension, without pressuring them to perform. For my action research project, I want to compare the performance of students over two units on a multi-assessment question test and a performance-based assessment. I want to see if there is a difference in the type of assessment and the ability for the students to perform. 

I believe that this action research relates greatly to STEM/ STEAM education. In the "real world", a lot of what you are assessed on is your ability to perform the task at hand. There are less multi-assessment question tests and more can you do your job. I believe that having students "do their job" and have the liberty to show their understanding through something more hands on and creative can also better prepare them for the real world. My students seem to learn better through experience, so having them "experience" the unit through a performance assessment, I think will not only improve their retention, but also help them convey their understanding better. I think a performance-based assessment is not only more applicable to students, but also more of a STEM approach to teaching and learning. 

STEM Teaching Reflection

This year marks my 3^rd year of teaching. I have not seen how many other classrooms operate, so I am a career changer and have been learning as I go and implementing the learning I have gained since I joined the MAT program last Fall. In my classroom, I tend to use problem-based learning and project-based learning. I give my students a situation at the end of the unit and they need to take all of the information I have given them throughout to help them solve it. In my opinion, I think this helps me to better see what are the main components that have stuck with my students. I do get many different solutions to some of the problems I give my students, which some I did not even think of. I think this allows the students to get creative and innovative with their problem-solving abilities. I also think that by giving my students project-based assignments, it allows them to have more freedoms to choose their topics and solutions, which in turn allows that innovative and creative mind to come into play.

A lot of my activities throughout my lessons, revolve around hands-on learning. I try to create a lab per unit, so students can have a day where I am not interfering, and they can play with concepts on their own. One of the labs that I love to do with my Algebra students is the Candy Launcher Lab. I use this lab for the Quadratic Functions unit. Students calculate the maximum height of the candy and an object of their choice by the distance and time the items traveled. Student enjoy this because they get to launch things across the room, which on a normal day would not be allowed. I also have activities for my Geometry students where they also launch items across the room, but they do this to calculate angle measures. My Geometry students also used things like chalk lines that would not otherwise be used in the classroom, so construct parallel lines with transversals and other shapes. For AP Statistics, I allow my students to collect their own data, create their own surveys, and construct their own games throughout the year. This helps them to better understand probabilities and different types of statistics that we read about, which are not always truthful.

This year I am teaching AP Statistics, Geometry, and Sets, which there is not much overlap. I see that there are many gaps within each class, especially when it comes to algebraic concepts. A lot of times, students in all three classes struggle to do basic mathematics without using a calculator. I also noticed that many students do not know how to effectively use the TI calculators, excel, and many other mathematical platforms. My goal this year is to implement these technologies more in the classroom. Excel is a wonderful technology that many employers still use today. Being able to know the functions of Excel can definitely help students outside of the classroom, however there is not a real place for it in the curriculum. I am working with my Statistics students to use a mix of the TI calculator and Excel to enhance their understanding of the data and how to create different graphical representations.

My school does try to put more of an emphasis on literacy. Though this is a schoolwide goal, there is not a lot of buy-in amongst teachers due to the large gaps that we have in literacy. I believe that I can implement more literacy in my classroom by having my Statistics students analyze data and differentiate between bias and nonbiased studies. For Geometry, I can allow students to see what careers use these concepts and how they can relate better to it. For Sets, I can give readings that are more relative to their lives and how things like linear functions are out there when we look at statistics with different sports players.

My View on STEM Education

Pre-reading

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These academic subjects are taught in the education system. There is more of an emphasis and a push now for students to learn about subjects in these four disciplines. Science may include classes such as biology and chemistry. Technology may include computer science. Engineering may include robotics. Mathematics may include algebra and geometry. STEM disciplines push students to question and make observations more so now than before in these areas.

I think that STEM education is important because there are many fields out there that are underrepresented with the amount of STEM disciplinary concepts they contain. There are many fields that deal with computer or mathematical operations like programming and even finance. There is a lack of women in these fields and it is important to increase them in these workforces. Because things in our world are constantly changing these fields are becoming more and more important to help find ways to better support the growing population and in discovering more environments outside this world. Without STEM, the emphasis on the growth in these industries would not be a prevalent.

STEM needs to be emphasized in the public education system. Due to a lack of females in this fields, there is a need to have new fresh minds in those roles to help discover new and more effective possibilities for people. STEM is what helps human beings advance as a civilization and do things more efficiently. Without improvements in medicine and technology, we would still be living in primitive times.

Post Reading

After further research, that there is a lack of diversity in the workforce (Bidwell, 2015). Women and minorities are very under represented. In the US, “we do not encourage out female students to pursue career paths in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (Purcell, 2013). In addition, the current workforce is growing older and this may stunt the growth of new ideas and innovations to take place. I can see this being an issue because recently I had my boss ask me to set up his email on his phone because he did not know how; he is in his sixties. There are other times that I am asked to do something or check something out on social media, and I have to ask one of my students how to find it, where is it, or can you show me what they are talking about? I have noticed also that nowadays a lot of my students are very savvy with their cell phones and cannot seem to get it from in front of their face. The upside I see to this is any question that I may have about social media, they can easily tell me. The new generation is become more reliant on technology and social media and that is something that the current workforce lacks.

With this current generation being more immersed in their cell phones, this is something that does not always have to be seen as a negative in the classroom and can be used to help increase their understanding in a STEM curriculum. In the article Student Solutions to Global Problems: STEM Education in South Carolina, students using their cells phones had been highlighted as something that the teacher can take advantage of as a resource to help support student learning. Technology can allow the students to find resources to help them and they can use it to interact with others and can allow them to get creative like the students in the article that created a 3D Braille Printer and an app for measuring carbon sequestration.

Though I thought I knew a lot about STEM, there was still much I did not know. After reading some articles, it seemed that there was problem with the amount of lack of interest and the growing “age” of the current workforce in STEM careers. This will possible halt our pace in creating advancements and when new technology can be available. If us as teachers start by promoting and building interest from the school years, then there may be more input, continuing advancements. “As repetitive tasks are eroded by technology and outsourcing, the ability to solve novel problems has become increasingly vital” (Deangelis, 2018). STEM subjects teach life skills that other subjects outside of STEM may not address making them also very important to emphasis as our students go up the ladder in the public education system.

References

Bidwell, A. (2015). STEM Workforce No More Diverse Than 14 Years Ago. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2015/02/24/stem-workforce-no-more-diverse-than-14-years-ago

Purcell, K. D. (2013, March 8). 5 Ways to Get Girls into STEM. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-ways-girls-involved-STEM-karen-purcell

Mason, R. (2017). Student Solutions to Global Problems: STEM Education in South Carolina. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/student-solutions-to-glob_b_8591808?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlYmluZGVycy5jb20vcGxheS9wbGF5P2lkPTE4ODM2MTQ&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF9cU29FAzVjU05rzvzqgfh_Z-i_NGw_JXPFAlV0vUNnp87NuJHoEIsNDBE2wNGHUnAEgLsIoEFJEXm6h6D5neIjB9qWHLhChVE6G3rrGl9XIF2V0htxd5vfI4JVnbs_Rh4IcaTwwt23moDGIUHbNTOETjjDscenxLDfzxN__KO5

Stephen F. DeAngelis, E. S. (2015). Why STEM? Success Starts With Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving Skills. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/06/stem-success-starts-critical-thinking-problem-solving-skills/

IEP Meetings

When watching the IEP process, I was able to see each step that is taken in creating student IEPs. I found it interesting that there was a huge emphasis on the parent involvement in the process. At my current school, I do not see as much parent involvement in the process. Parent involvement is very important because they know the student the best. They know student history, strengths, and weaknesses and can help to create the most beneficial and effective IEP for the student (Kupper). The parent can give their input on what may or may not work for their child.

The IEP team consists of the parent, general education teacher, special education teacher, school district representative, and school psychologist. Out of this team, I think that the most challenging role is the parent. This is because the parent is responsible for making sure that their child is receiving the services they need and that their IEP is the most effective. I noticed in the IEP meeting that the parents felt that some of the goals may have been a little much for their child and reducing their child’s special education time was not a good idea because their child was behind. When the parents spoke up, the meeting coordinator agreed to keep the special education time. Though the school members of the IEP team are trying to do what they can to make the student successful, sometimes the parents know better when it comes to the student’s needs.

At my current school, I have not attended many IEP meetings, so I never really knew the best way to help them when it came to the IEP process. After watching the mock IEP meeting, I know better how I can help my students with IEP during meetings and moving forward. One thing that I will do is ask the meeting coordinator to have the student join the meeting. Seeing how the team talked with the student and took some of his input helped the IEP process in getting the student his needs. Another thing I will be sure to do is to keep work samples. I do not keep much student work because I want them to have their work to be able to study from, but when I would be asked for input about a student on be invited to IEP meetings, I would not have any samples to help. I now will be sure to make a copy of any work that I feel will help to address the goals on their IEP. Thoroughly reading the IEP will also help me to create the best accommodations or modifications for the student. There is a lot that goes into making and IEP, so to help my students, I need to thoroughly read and understand their disability and needs. In meetings, I need to speak up more about what I think the student can achieve and ways to help them. In the meetings that I have gone to, I was there for a short period of time to give minimal input and was told I could leave. After watching the meeting, it is important that everyone on the team stays the entire time to be sure that everyone is on the same page.

References

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 1 – IDEA and IEPs. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=94&v=bSm3wOjkkVw

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 2 – The IEP Team. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMctXPmG7bc

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 3 – What’s Included in the IEP. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIi0xanOVcs

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 4 – Getting Ready for the IEP Meeting [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDhLjYSbwCc

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 28). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 5 – The IEP Meeting. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok0irMNfKmY

Kupper, L. & Kohanek, J. (2000, July). “The IEP Team Members.” Reading Rockets. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/iep-team-members

Somebody Else's Kids- Claudia

In Torey Hayden’s Somebody Else’s Kids, four extraordinary students are highlighted, Boo, Lori, Tomaso, and Claudia. They each struggle with learning disabilities and throughout the book, Torey addresses each one in a different way. She is compassionate towards her students and is dedicated to giving them the best chances for success in her classroom by trying different ways of helping them. One student that she goes above and beyond for is Claudia.

Claudia is a well-behaved 12-year-old honors student who came from a private school on the other side of town. She has had no history of being a bad student, behaviorally or academically. She struggled was being pregnant. Due to the lack of educational programs for pregnant students, Claudia was placed in Torey’s class. Torey also noticed something else about her that Claudia was struggling with that no other one of her teachers had seen as an issue. She struggled with being immensely shy, becoming physically ill when presenting in front of people and had to be coerced to work in groups.

To accommodate Claudia, Torey made may efforts to help her be successful. Academically, Torey would have all of Claudia’s assignments ready for her when she entered the class because Claudia, in the beginning, was not interested in socializing. To help with her social skills, Torey would encourage Claudia to work with others in the group. This was demonstrated when Torey joins the group when they are painting because she had seen Claudia just watching and when Torey joined, Claudia began to participate and loosen up. She began laughing with the group and volunteered to help others in the group. Torey also took the time to get to know more about Claudia and showed care for her. Torey also gave Claudia responsibilities in the classroom, for example working with Boo to help her social skills. Torey also made attempts to build a relationship with Claudia’s parents by inviting them to informal meetings to give them incite to what the program for Claudia and to try and work with them to help Claudia, though they were not very interested in helping. Torey does give Claudia an outlet to talk about her pregnancy and other problems and worked to find her support groups.

Though Torey did as much as she could to accommodate Claudia, there were some setbacks. The first setback was Claudia’s lack of social skills. She entered the classroom very shy and timid with little interest in interacting with the group or even Torey. The next setback was Claudia’s parents not being on board with seeking help for their daughter. Torey made multiple attempts to try and reach out to Claudia’s parents at the meetings, encouraging them to get Claudia help to deal with her pregnancy, the baby, and educate her on the process. They were very resistant and saw Torey’s attempts to be helpful as crossing the boundaries. Claudia’s father, mainly, only saw things his way and did not think his daughter needed help in dealing with anything. Another setback was that Torey allowed Claudia to come to her and talk about her situation and everything, which could be seen by others as crossing a teacher-student relationship boundary.

With the setbacks that Torey faced in trying to accommodate and help Claudia, this did cause some potential issues. With Claudia’s social anxieties, it made it hard for her in interact with others and have friends at her Catholic School. Her previous teachers acknowledged her shyness, but it was not need as a hindrance because she academically thrived. This issue was noticed by Torey when Claudia came to her class because she would come in, grab her folder, and work on her assignments before going home at the end. She did not socialize with the other students voluntarily at first. Another potential issue for Claudia is that since her parents, mostly her father, were not on board with helping her seek help to deal with her pregnancy and social issues, Claudia suffered before meeting Torey. If this had continued, Claudia would be more socially distant from others and she may have continued with another suicide attempt.

If Claudia was a student in my mathematics classroom, I would try many different things to accommodate her. Because Claudia was an excellent student, I would focus more on her social anxieties. I would have her focus on her academics to help continue her education, but I might have her display her understanding of the concepts by teaching it to the other students. She struggles immensely with presenting in front of a large group, so I would have her teach one or two students at a time. I would also give her responsibilities in helping to improve lessons for the other students, by allowing her to create her own lessons for topics we are learning. I would also direct students to her if they needed extra assistance and treat her almost as a co-teacher. Giving Claudia jobs to help the other students forces her to interact with others, which can help her become more confident in social settings.

In my classroom, though I have been able to see how Torey was able to help her, I think I would still have some challenges. I have students that come to me with every problem they have in their lives, so I do not think it would be a challenge to allow Claudia to feel accepted and cared about by me. I think the struggle would be more getting the rest of the students in the class to accept her because students can be very judgmental with those who are different from them. I also think that I would struggle getting parental involvement because I have called many parents in my few years at my current school and I have had parents say they have given up on their kid and I have had parents say they will talk to them but if they don’t want to they won’t. Not becoming discouraged to help my student may be a struggle because as an educator, there is only so much I can do, but I would stop trying to help as much as possible.

Claudia struggled with more social skills than academia. Her pregnancy then further hindered her ability to make friends and be accepted by her family and her previous school. Torey accommodated her by giving her supports, a person to come to for guidance, and pushing her socially. Though there were setbacks with Claudia’s family not being fully onboard with seeking counseling or supports for her during her pregnancy, Torey still managed to give her a person to talk to who actually cared. I think that if Claudia were a student in my classroom, I would try similar tactics to help with her social skills, though it may take some time for the other students to accept her.

References

Hayden, T. (1981). Somebody Else’s Kids. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.