Blog 2: Thinking about research - Aug 23rd

I have been trying to think about what it is that I want to do my research on this year and I believe today I finally have an idea that I feel passionate about. I strongly believe in integrating movement and music into the classroom as much as possible. I also know from looking at my current fourth graders West test scores from last year, that as a whole, they are really struggling on the west test. I want to help them improve their grades in the classroom and on the tests that they take. The fourth graders schedule is one subject after the next with no breaks in between. I have noticed several students loosing focus after two subjects and many of them start to put their heads on the tables and fall asleep. I have read that movement in the classroom improves students’ learning and improves their thinking, helps them to focus, so I want to test this and see how well it really works. My ideas are to implement classical conditioning by introducing several different songs, from different genres to the students. Once the students become a bit familiar with the different songs I will connect them to a certain action in the classroom and explain what I expect of the students when they hear a particular song. For example, I would play “operate” and they would know once they hear it that they are to clear their desk and get ready for the next subject. I am hoping that eventually I will not have to tell students what to do but instead just play a song and they will do it.

EDUC 600- Chapter 2 Reflection

Chapter 2 discusses a lot of important information especially about how to actually use what you learn in your education courses and apply it to your PDS classrooms. When I think back to all of the education courses I have taken at WVU I realize how much I have learned including facts, methods, strategies etc. When it comes to research I often struggle with forming the research question. This chapter has a lot of useful information that can be applied when thinking and creating your research question. It gives great detail about the many sections that make up the research inquiry. One section that I believe many of us really struggle with is finding reliable, accurate sources to use. The first place I always think of when looking up information is to do it on the internet, although the internet isn't always the best place. As this chapter explains, it can be difficult to find reliable and accurate sources but it also shows you how to modify your search in order to find some reliable sources. One source that has been a lot of help to me has been the WVU Library online. I have found several articles and books that helped me with my previous research.

First week of fourth grade!!!!

This was my first week in the 4th grade classroom. It started off with 2 staff development days, which consisted of a lot of meetings that really opened my eyes to all of the decisions teachers actually have a say in. The third day was used to get the classroom ready for the children and figure out the scheduling details. Valley has had a lot of changes since last year, we hired a new principal and our school day is an hour longer this year, students start school at 7:50 and are released at 3:15. By the fourth day I was very anxious to finally meet the 25 little fourth graders that I would be spending this semester with. The students finally arriving to the classroom was very exciting, especially because when I first came to Valley I started with two second grade classes, I then moved into a third grade classroom that consisted of a mix of the two second grade classes that I previously had. I am now in the fourth grade with some of the same students that I started off with. It has been really interesting to see the students grow over the past two years and I am looking forward to what this semester has in store. I have learned so much from being with the Valley faculty and the students. The students that I have had over the past two years were really happy to see me and have me apart of their classroom again. All of the changes that I mentioned above brought upon many questions that were still in the process of being answered the day before school started. It seemed to be a bit hectic for the faculty but the first day for students went very well. In attempt to make the end of the day pick up/busses to run more smoothly several faculty members and myself tagged children as they were getting dropped off at the "kiss and drop". We tagged the children by asking guardians what the plan was for arrival in the a.m. and departure in the p.m.. If the child was supposed to go on a bus we wrote down the bus number on the sticker, if the child was supposed to be picked up we wrote pick up and then put the sticker on the child's shirt. They were to were the sticker all day so that at the end of the day teachers and bus drivers were aware of where the child was supposed to be going. Over all, I believe the tagging really did help to make the end of the day go more smoothly but there was still a little bit of chaos. Being apart of this first week of preparing has been a wonderful learning experience that I am happy to have been apart of.

Celebration Reflection

Last Friday all of the Benedum students had to attend the Celebration of Inquiry Seminar at Lakeview. At this seminar all of the Interns present their research and findings. It is always very interesting to listen to but this year I found it very helpful for me and my current research. One of the presentations I listened to was on sight words and if visuals or kinesthetic activities help them recall their sight words. This presentation was very helpful to me because it is exactly what my research is on this semester. The presenter had really great and creative activities that I thought my students would have enjoyed as well. For one of her activities she created "angry birds" but in real life out of toilet paper rolls. She had sight words written on them and the students had to knock over the toilet paper rolls that had that sight word on it. I thought this was such a great idea and the students would be intrigued by it since it is just like the angry bird game that is on phones. I believe it really helped that many of the students knew how to play already and could relate to it. She also had activities like sight word twister, bean bag hoop throw and leap frog. Listening to her presentation and hearing about the activities she used it really opened my eyes to what I could create for my students. Another one of the presentations that I listened to was on sign language being used in a Kindergarten classroom. This was incredibly interesting to me and I was amazed to hear about how well her students responded to it and picked it up. The presenter told us about one of her students who never spoke to anyone in school or around people from her school but after teaching sign language to them this student began to communicate by using sign language. Her communication was still very little but it is a great start. The presenter also said she never thought that this particular student was participating and learning the sign language but when she recorded her students and her teaching them she saw in the video that the student was participating, she was doing the signs behind her back so that no one could see. I think that this is an incredible story and it shows that we should not assume that a student isn't learning because they may have their own way or be to shy to show their participation. I took a lot of notes this year at the celebration so that next year when I go to create mine I have an idea of what others did.

Characteristic Post #2

Characteristic 10: Be Liberally Educated. Each semester I take several classes outside of the Benedum program. Many of the extra classes that I take are usually dance classes. These dance classes can be very helpful for teachers because they can be easily integrated into the classroom in all different subjects and for all different grade levels. The African Music and Dance ensemble class is a wonderful class to take for teachers. It not only teaches you music and dance fro other countries and cultures but it also teaches you about other cultures and what they believe. This is a great way to fulfill the standards on diversity and culture because I could teach them a dance and about that culture. I have used a lot of what I have learned in this class at my PDS with my students. Many students love learning through movement and hands on activities so having this in my background has been very useful. There are several other classes that are very helpful such as reading classes and CHPR. In our CHPR class we created a full unit plan which is also a great resource for us to have. Characteristic 4: Be a facilitator of learning for all students. Being a facilitator of learning for all students is a very important characteristic to have. There are several ways you can fulfill this such as literacy work stations, differentiated lesson plans, learner profiles and even seating/classroom arrangements. The classroom that I am currently placed in has several special needs students. We must be able to accommodate for all of the students and one way that we do this is through seating arrangements. I have one student that is hearing impaired and has behavioral problems in the classroom that I am placed with this semester. In order for him to get the best education possible we must cater to his needs. One way we do so is through seating arrangements. We must be sure that he is always at the front of the classroom so he can hear the teacher and we must always be sure he is placed around students that will not distract him or cause him to misbehave. It is crucial that we do this for him through out the day because it will really effect his learning negatively if we don’t. The classroom arrangement is just as important. In order for all of the students to have the opportunity to learn as much as they can the teachers must know a little bit about them and how they learn and what distracts them. For example, some students can not be placed near windows because they will constantly be distracted and looking out the windows.

Creating a Classroom website

In one of our classes this year we are to create a website for a classroom. I think this is a wonderful idea and I will definitely have one in the future for my own classroom. I think it is a great way to keep parents updated and share info. and what is going on in the classroom. I love that you can share pictures on the site and even have a sign up sheet for activities that you need parent volunteers for. I am still working on the classroom website for made up Kindergarten class but I am really enjoying this assignment and think it will benefit me for the future. Here is the link if you want to take a look around: http://msrilkoskindergartenclass.shutterfly.com

Characteristics

Characteristic 1 is to have commitment and skills for lifelong learning. There are several ways a novice teacher can fulfill this characteristic such as blogging, Pinterest, workshops, research, reading educational literature and simply just communicating with other teachers and sharing ideas. Two artifacts I often use are Pinterest and sharing ideas with other teachers and even talking with students about their ideas and intersts. Pinterest is a wonderful way to share and learn about all types of stuff, including lesson plans, arts and crafts and much more. Many teachers use Pinterest as a site to share all of their classroom activities and blogs. Pinterest connects you to all types of information, ideas and people from all over the world. This artifact connects to this characteristic because outside of the classroom a teacher must constantly be trying to figure out new ways of teaching and helping the students. Not only can Pinterest be used to share ideas but it is a great way to organize and keep ideas that you may want to use in the future. Pinterest is one way that a teacher can constantly be learning new material and develip effective teaching skills that will enhance their teaching experience as well as maximize their students learning experience. I already have an educational section on my Pinterest where I pin ideas, lessons and blogs that I would like to remember or try out at some point. Pinterest has already been very helpful to me and gives me more creative ideas for the classroom and lessons. Characteristic 9 is to be aware of and have respect for human diversity, this includes much more than just ethnicity/race but also learning styles. Being sure to fulfill this characteristic is very important. In order for student’s to get the most out of school it is important for students to feel comfortable and respect others who may be different then them, physically, mentally or spiritually. It is important for teachers to be aware of all the diversity that is in their classroom so that they can meet the needs of each student. Teachers knowing about their students’ family profiles is one way that teachers can become more aware of their students needs, differences and any limitations. One way to be culturally diverse is to have a family night or each week or month learn about a different culture and ask parents to come in and share their culture and traditions with the class. This is a great way to not only get the families involved but also for the children to be able to ask questions and learn about their classmates and other people of the world that may believe or live differently then them. I have always thought that when I have my own classroom I would like to focus on a different country/culture each month and learn all about it, taste the food, have someone speak about it, read books about it, learn about the music and dance and the clothes they wear. I think the students would really enjoy it!