EDU 6526 Post 7- Character Education

This topic of character education is one that does not get old. When I think about character and how we can help educate children on morals and good character, there really is not one answer. Earlier this year I took a class about morals issues and education. This class really helped me delve in and figure out what I really think about educating students of character. The bottom line, what I found I really believe is that children learn best from modeling. They learn best when their teachers and parents are behaving in the way that they want their children to behave. This is a BIG responsibility! And one that we, as teachers, need to take seriously. This week we read an excerpt from a book by Russel Kirk. He gave across the idea that virtues are “caught not taught”; this really sums up in three words, my thoughts exactly. Just being told what to do or what is right, is not enough. We need to show children what good character is. Defining this gets a little more complicated, but there are some general norms that people live by. In religious schools there may be more areas that are touched on, but the idea of modeling for students will be the same. In addition to modeling the behavior we can find areas that we study that model behaviors for us in literature and history.

Reference:

Russell, K. (1987). The wise men know what wicked things are written in the sky: Can virtues be taught? Washington D.C: Regnery Publishing Inc.

EDU 6526 Instructional Design

Blog Post 1- 7/2/13

I just finished my 11^th year teaching. I taught middle school science for two years at a school in New York then moved to Seattle where I taught 5^th and 6^th grade math and science. That job evolved into teaching 5^th grade general studies. Three years ago I moved in the Leaning Center at my school. I love it there. For the last two years I have been working on getting my masters in Special Ed. I completed the ARC program this spring and am taking my last two classes this summer to complete the masters.

Although in some ways it may seem that I went about this backwards- compared to the traditional way of getting into teaching, I feel fortunate for the way I went about my career. (I have been teaching in the private school system so I have not needed a teaching certificate). I feel like I was given an opportunity to learn from other teachers in a different way than I would have if I had first gotten my certificate. This way also allowed me to learn on my own and sift through what I have seen other teachers do to develop strong opinions and strategies. Over the years I have attended various workshops and have learned that lot of strategies I was employing had names. Going to school this past two years has been awesome. I feel like it has either validated what I have been doing or helped me fine tune my teaching. It has been really helpful to learn new strategies as well. I have not had my own full classroom the last three years, I have continued to work with students in small groups, and even more so I have been given the opportunity to work with teachers to help them with strategies in their own classrooms. I love working with teachers and figuring out ways to help them reach their students- particularly students who struggle.

So for me, a big piece of learning about instructional design strategies is how to help teachers employ them in their classrooms. I really like the book Classroom Instruction that Works. I love books that clearly lay out practical ideas for use, and this book does just that! In this book the nine strategies that are referenced are:  1-Setting objectives and providing feedback, 2-reinforcing effort and providing recognition, 3-cooperative learning, 4-cue, questions and advance organizers, 5- nonlinguistic representations, 6- summarizing and note taking, 7- assigning homework and providing practice, 8-identifying similarities and differences, generating and testing hypotheses.

When thinking about goals for my self- Homework is constantly on my mind. My feelings towards HW are that we should minimize the amount of HW that is assigned. However, it seems there is never enough time in a class period to finish all the practice that students need in order to be successful. Interestingly enough the research about HW is not concrete and furthermore it suggests that HW is more effective for children older than elementary age. Additionally, HW can have a negative effect, for example on family time or physical activity (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler & Stone 2012).

This is an area I would like to try to help teacher really hone in on and make decisions that will really be the most useful and effective for our children. I also work in a dual curriculum school and this leaves less class time for general studies so teacher often feel pressured to assign HW to make sure that they are covering all that needs to be covered; it is a really hard balance! I would like to work with teachers to help figure this out and make sure teachers, students, parents and administrators all feel like the HW that is being assigned is useful.

H4-Honor family/community involvement in the learning process

 

Teacher-candidates inform, involve and collaborate with families/neighborhoods and communities in each student’s educational process, including using information about student cultural identity, achievement and performance.

It is important to involve families as much as possible in the learning process for our students. There are several ways to bring families into the learning process. It can start from weekly newsletters to inviting parents into the classroom. Especially as a Special Ed teacher, many of my students have higher needs and parents may not feel equipped to address those needs of their children. By including them in the conversations about their children and providing them with resources it brings them into the learning process. It could also to be helpful to the teacher to use the parents as a resource to help connect with students through their cultural and personal identity. It is important to keep parents informed of their child’s progress as well. It can be difficult to always keep parents in the loop because of cultural or diversity differences, but ultimately every parent wants the best for their child and is responsible for their child, so keeping them informed can help empower them as well.

In my experience in the resource room there are more natural opportunities for parent communication than Gen Ed classroom teachers tend to have. A classroom teacher typically communicates with the parent about their individual students during parent-teacher conferences and report card time, so between four and five times a year.  Additionally teachers typically have a weekly newsletter of some kind that communicates general classroom information to the parents.

In the field of Special Ed, there are typically more opportunities to meet with parent and communicate directly with them about their child. One such opportunity is through the IEP meeting, or student learning plan meeting, (Example of a student learning plan: Student Support Plan- Template ) as is the case on our school. It also seems to be especially important to communicate more with my parents of students I work with in the resource room because the anxiety of these parents is often higher. It is also crucial to share successes of students with higher learning needs. I have found that parents often don’t hear enough positive feedback when they have a child with special needs.

I feel lucky to have had experience both in the Gen Ed classroom and in a resource room. Given these opportunities has allowed me, as a resource room teacher, to meet with current Gen Ed teachers and better advise them and help them in communicating with parents on a more individual manner.

I have also found that although as teachers we have great insight into our student’s needs, there is a piece that parents provide that really allows me to fully understand my students. And by enlisting parents and educating them on the importance of their involvement, the students often will receive more academic attention at home, which will help them find more success at school.

Extra-Curricular Observation- Math Night!

Last week I went to math night at my school. It took place on 3-14, Pi day! Each grade from Pre-K through 8^th came up with a couple of math games and activities. The games/activates were set up and run by the classes (the activities did not have to do with Pi, although it was encouraged to try to come up with connected to Pi). Teachers worked with the students to help them generate idea and prepare for the evening. When I walked into the gym my students had prepared the table with my partner teacher. The gym was bustling with activity. It seems like this is the most popular evening activity at my school. Student and parents were all moving around the room excitedly changing from table to table.

My students had two activities at their table. One activity was to write Pi Poetry. We cut out circles for the poetry to be written on. The idea of the poetry was that the first word should be a three letter word, the second a one letter word, the third a four letter word and so on. In class my students came up with word lists that we had hung up for people (since figuring out the different words is challenging on the spot). The second activity was called “Discovering Pi”. People were to measure the diameter and circumference of several different circles and find that the relationship is that the circumference is about three times the diameter, or Pi! How fun!

Students were to take turns, in shifts, manning the tables. There was one student who very much wanted to man the “Discovering Pi” table, so he spent the whole evening at the table. All the other students rotated between the tables and engaging in activities run by the other grades. It was so fun to see the students having such a good time learning! I also loved the opportunity to watch the students take leadership roles with both adults and other children.

Extra-Curricular Observation 1

A couple of Saturday nights ago I went to a basketball game on my school’s campus. One of the teams competing in the game was the High School which my school feeds into. It is also in fact the school my brother plays for, which is why I was at the game. He is a senior and this was his last game. Several of the students who play on the High School team have siblings who attend the school where I teach. Many of my students were at this game. It was a great opportunity to see my students outside of the school day. One occurrence that was especially fun to watch was four of my students cheering on my brother. Their older brother is on the basketball team too, but they made signs for my brother not theirs! Through this experience I learned a little about them that I did not know. Namely, that they constantly tell my brother they like him better than their own brother (who happens to be my brothers’ best friend) J.

The 8^th grade student who I work with on his year-long project was there as well. He goes to most games because he is so excited to be on the team next year and he wants to be a professional basketball player. It was fun to watch the game with him because for the last four years (before this) he had a sister who was on the basketball team, so he “got it” when I was cheering on my brother. He also liked that I knew something about sports and it gave us something else to connect about.

Observation 2: 8th Grade Social Studies

What I See                                                                                          What I Wonder

–          Kids walk in, Teacher checks who is late, gives a lunch meeting-          Kids are reading while waiting for class to start –          Teacher reminds students to raise hand when they want to speak –          Holocaust unit –          Defining of terms- perpetrator, bystander –          Student asks what is worse, being the perpetrator or bystander? Teacher says- I am throwing that question back at you. Student gives her opinion –          Teacher lists some words the students need to know –          Age of reason- do you know what this term means? Teacher calls on a student for an answer, student answers, the age a person becomes responsible for their actions –          Teacher reviews questions she wants students to be thinking about while they are watching a film called Confessions of a Hitler Youth. –          Students are given 5 minutes to answer three questions before watching the film –          Students are quietly working and are given the instruction to read silently while they are waiting for all to be done, and have their pencils down, that is how teacher will know the students are ready for the movie –          Student raises hand and asks for clarification on a question- teacher gives explanation through examples relating to the students life, asking him questions so she can get him to see the answer –          After kids are finished, she calls them together to give a short explanation of the film- who narrates it and what it is about –          There are three more questions to be answered while watching the movie –          After they watch the movie they are to read one of three articles –          Video is already set up and ready to go –          The movie begins –          Teacher covers over some of the film because the images of the holocaust are particularly graphic –          The story is about one child who was part of the Hitler Youth –          Students are all engaged in the movie (9:35) –          A student shows the teacher how to get rid of the menu bar on the bottom of the screen –          (9:40) Teacher reminds students that if they don’t think they will remember, they should take notes while watching the movie –          Some kids are taking notes, some are just watching the movie –          Teacher repeats one word that the narrator says often, because it is hard to understand with the narrators accent –          A students asks a clarifying question, teacher says, I will come over to answer that (teacher was on other side of the room when the question was asked) –          (9:45) A student gets up to go to the bathroom –          Teacher points out the boy was ten at the time- this related back to one of the pre-movie questions –          Teacher clarifies for another student a question –          More students are writing now while movie is going on –          Teacher clarifies a historical piece alluded to in the movie-she whispers more details to a few interested students –          One student is leaning back in his chair –          Student asks a question- teacher answers –          Student asks another question- starts to be a domino effect, Teacher says this is important I will answer questions after the movie –          Movie glitch-it pauses in the middle of a sentence- teacher quickly comes to remedy it- it is not working –          Students start to have a side convo –          Teacher says she will fix it by the time of their next period and says let’s switch to what we will do now then –          Let’s look at the first three questions- actually the bell will ring in one minute, so pick a spot for your sheet, put it away, bring it to 6th period class where we will finish the movie then move into L.A –          Students begin packing up their stuff and quietly conversing while teacher then continues to try to figure out movie glitch –          Bell rings, teacher opens up door, and lets kids go.

-This teacher has taught Holocaust to 8th grade for five years and works closely with the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center. She attended a Jewish Foundation for the Righteous Lerner Fellowship. -This movie is so intense; I wonder how she does this whole unit now. I appreciate the difficulty of planning and implementing this unit so much more after being in this one class period. I spoke to the teacher after to learn a little bit more about how she does the unit. The teacher teaches ideas- Pre-World War 2 European Jewish life, bystander, perpetrators, rescuers, resistance, and implications for the future etc., not the history of the Holocaust. The history of the Holocaust is not developmentally appropriate. The Holocaust is a mode to teach these big ideas without getting into the details of the camps etc… If kids ask, the teacher answers (ie what is the Third Reich, you might think that the teacher is not doing their job if kids don’t know what the Third Reich is, but it is not about teaching the holocaust or how Hitler came to power)

Weekly Reflection 8: Child Find

Last week I went to a meeting at the Seattle Public Schools about Child Find. Child Find is the Seattle Public Schools obligation to find and evaluate children in private schools. This meeting was basically about a chunk of money that could go to the private schools for children who are not in IEPs, but who need more support than they are receiving. This money was referred to as equitable participation or proportionate share. We were at this meeting to help decide how the money would be spent. Students on an IEP cannot receive money from this fund. However, the student can be on a service plan or student accommodation plan.

An example of a child who would qualify for this proportionate share money would be someone who is evaluated by the public school and who qualifies for an IEP, but is not on one. A reason a child would not be put on an IEP, for example, is a situation in my school. We are a dual curriculum religious school. It is sometimes not worth it for the parent to choose to have their child sent to the public schools and miss out on some of the short amount of time the students have in general studies (since this would then defeat the purpose of a double dose of the subject) or the student might miss some of the religious studies, which the parents also don’t want. We (meaning a decision between the parents and teachers) often choose not put children on an IEP and send them to the public schools because it is not worth the time.

At this meeting we were asked to decide how we would use this money to support these students. One more important detail that played a part of our decision was that, if we have a student on an IEP and they are currently getting services from the public schools, we are to encourage the parents to keep their child on the IEP and not access this proportionate share money. The reason being they get more services through the IEP and the students are then being served through FAPE, which then requires us to service the student and move them forward. Where students on a service plan are not covered under FAPE and may receive services only once a week or not enough times to move them forward at the pace they deserve. And once this proportionate share money runs out for the year, and then it is gone. This is also the first year we have this money, so there is a lot of unknowns and we will just have to see how the decision we make works out.

We decided that a lump sum of the money would go towards equipment, such as FM systems. Then the rest of the money would go towards hiring tutors, particularly in reading. The tutors can be hired by the schools individually, but SPS would also provide a tutor that would come to each school for 1.5 hours a week. This was the proposal put together by the team that was at the meeting. It still needs to be approved. It was pretty cool to be a part of the decision making process that determines where and how a chunk of money is used to support our students.

Weekly Reflection 3: MSP

Mid- September is the time of year that we, at school and parents, at home, are eagerly awaiting the results of the MSP test (Measurement of Student Progress), that the students took in the spring. I always have conflicting feelings over the MSP test. Both when the students are taking it and while waiting and reviewing the results. I do not like to take standardized tests, and I imagine most people feel the same. However, it is a part of what all students have to do to get into college and/or graduate school. It is the way the system is set up. Maybe one day in the future it will change or look different, but for now this is it. Knowing that, even though I don’t like putting students through the stress of it, it is an important skill for them to have. Test taking strategies and stress management can benefit students not only in preparation for the MSP, but for any standardized tests. That being said, it can be particularly difficult for students with learning differences to take these tests. At our school we accommodate these students based on IEP’s or 504’s, but it is still extremely challenging for them. It can be hard for me to watch them struggle through the test while I am proctoring them.

Then comes the fall. Many parents put A LOT of weight on the results of the test. There are even some who judge the quality of the child’s previous teacher based on the results of this test. I like to think that I am immune to this way of thinking, and although I do not take it to the extreme as these parents, sometimes I wonder if I too put too much weight on the results as well.

Once our school receives the results, our principal brings them to the Learning Center (L.C.) where we spend considerable time reviewing every students results (whether they are served by the L.C. or not). We look at how the students did last year and how it compares to this year. Did a student pass last year and not this year? Did they not pass last year and pass this year? Are there any surprises? I have found that when a student passes we are excited and we feel a sense of accomplishment in having helped that student succeed. But when a student does not pass, although there may be some sense of responsibility that I feel (these feelings were magnified when I was a classroom teacher), I also think to myself, well it is just one test, they were probably having a bad day.

I think the bottom line is. It is a snapshot of the student. It could be they were just having a bad day. Or maybe they really did their best, but taking tests is incredibly stressful for them. Maybe they had a headache while taking the test. Or on the other hand, maybe they like tests as a way to demonstrate their knowledge; maybe they had a really great morning at home, so their mood was light. Whatever the case, it is just one piece of the child’s learning, and although we and the parents have to consider the results of this test, we also need to remember that there is so much more to what the child knows than just the results of this test.

Once we have reviewed the results with the Principal my mentor teacher and I go through each child who did not pass and write up a plan for each student for the year. A part of the plan writing entails a discussion of why we think the student did not pass. The results of this discussion help us to decide what kind of support we need to put in place for each child. Sometimes it may be as simple as teaching the child test taking and stress management strategies, or it may be as complex as in-class support combined with pull-out support. Typically the students who need the more complex support are students who we are already serving in the L.C. or were on our radar as ones who may need L.C support. Once these reports are complete, we send home the report with the results of the test. We also call each parent to let them know if their child did not pass and that a plan for their child’s learning will be included with the results of the test. This assures the parents that not only are we aware that their child did not pass, but that we already have a plan in place to help them succeed next time.

EDU 6134- Parent Involvement

I believe that “it takes a village to raise a child” and although we don’t have that model here, where we are actually in a village. Each child does have a village looking after them. Some are larger than others; they all include a parent or guardian and they include a school (teacher, admin, counselor etc.). In order to really give each child what they need to blossom, both academically and socially, we need to use all the resources we have.

Like it says in the article, “Nine characteristics of high-performing schools,” “High-performing schools intentionally link family involvement strategies to aca­demic goals. They make family involvement part of their school improvement plan and develop collaborative relationships among teachers, parents and the community” (Shannon, Bylsma, & OSPI, 2007). Academic success can be linked to family involvement. One might think that it is just social success that comes out of it, but it can be academic as well. This is a really important thought piece. As a teacher it is our job to educate our student, but parents feel the same way! So why not tap into any additional resources we have in order to best support each of our students.

Shannon, G., Bylsma, P., & Washington Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, O. a. (2007). Nine Characteristics of High-Performing Schools: A Research-Based Resource for Schools and Districts to Assist with Improving Student Learning. Second Edition. Washington Office Of Superintendent Of Public Instruction.

Starting to get it…

A few years ago I had a wordpress blog that I used as my primary communication tool with my 5th grade students’ parents. I thought it was great and that I was so clever for using this format for my newsletter. Most of the feedback I received from parents was positive and I liked being able to give parents information regularly or at irregular times without having to send out mass emails.

The last two years I have been a Learning Center teacher and have not incorporated the idea of a blog into my communications with parents. There needs to be so much communication that is private, I was not sure how to make this tool useful in the given situation. Tonight I have spent a few hours trying to get this blog set up. At first, it was frustrating; mostly because I thought I knew what I was doing. But as I should have expected there have been a lot of changes to how this works.

So here I am, hours later, and I feel like I am starting to get it. Not only am I thinking about how when I become really proficient at this, it will be an amazing portfolio to walk away from school with, but I am also thinking how I can reincorporate using a blog to communicate with my Learning Center students’ parents.