Summative Assessment

Throughout this semester in SED 407 instructional methods, design, and literacy I have learned many valuable lessons that have had a tremendous impact on me as a future teacher. In this course we have learned literacy based teaching methods and strategies through reading, research, observation, and implementation. In addition to learning how to be a good teacher I also discovered things like who I want to be as a teacher and what makes a good teacher. I have learned about teaching and teaching methods in SED 407 through many valuable learning experiences such as classroom observations, various panels, and through the implementation of two lesson plans in a history class.

            Classroom observations were a very valuable learning experience for me throughout the duration of SED 407. I was able to see examples of both good and bad teaching and implementation of the teaching strategies that we learned in class and in through readings. I also learned how to observe in a classroom through different protocols where we were asked to look at things like classroom management, questions, understanding by design, and student and teacher actions. These observations also allowed me to see what it is like for teachers and students in an “urban” high school that has a diverse array of students with different educational needs and how these needs addressed and met by teachers.

            The various panels that we participated in throughout the semester were another great learning experience for me. We were able to discuss many important subjects with teachers, administrators, students, parents, and student teachers. One of the most important things that I learned from these panels is what all of these different people think makes a good teacher. Though I believe what the teachers, administrators, parents, and student teachers had to say about this subject I think that the most important and my favorite answer to this question came from the student panel on September 18^th. The students said that they believe a good teacher makes learning fun, connects with and cares about their students, knows and loves their subject, is kind, understanding, patient, a friend, and a mentor. This answer was very valuable to me and is something that will stay with me in my future career as a teacher. 

            The most important learning experience that I had this semester was teaching and implementing two lesson plans in a class at CF High. This was my first time ever teaching in front of actual students and I have to admit I was a little nervous. Overall I believe the lessons went well. Most students were engaged, participating, and doing their work. I did learn that it is difficult deal with classroom management and teach at the same time. I enjoyed having the opportunity to actually implement some of the reading and writing strategies that we learned about in class in a real life situation. I came out of teaching these lessons feeling confident in my teaching skills and that this is really what I want to do as a career.

            Based on the RIC Conceptual Framework I believe that I was able to successfully experience and accomplish planning, action, and reflection during many different experiences in this class such as the three important ones that I have previously discussed. I also believe that I was able successfully experience and accomplish the course outcomes through these activities. I learned about and implemented various reading and writing strategies and how to use them as a teacher of history including Understanding by Design, cooperative learning, and direct instruction. I was able to analyze my teaching beliefs and practices and discover who I want to be as a teacher. Finally I was able to broaden my professional identity and gain confidence by leaning from Dr. Horwitz, various members of the CF High community, my peers, and my cooperating teacher.

            Now for the most difficult part of this assessment, grading myself. I honestly believe that I deserve a B plus in this class. I tried my best at everything I did throughout the semester however I know that there are some areas where I could have done better. I know that classroom discussion played a major role in this class and I often did not speak up during discussions. One major reason for this is that I think very deeply before I talk. Maybe I should have just gone with my gut instinct and said whatever was on my mind without the fear of being judged. I know that this is something that I need to work on as a professional and is something I strive to get better at.

            Overall I have found SED 407 to be an extremely valuable and enjoyable experience in my journey towards becoming a teacher. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to take this class at CF High. I learned many important lessons from my experiences in this class and look forward to implementing what I have learned in my next chapter of teacher education and throughout my future teaching career.

Observations

What:

I observed many things during my three observations in two different ninth grade United States History one classes at Central Falls High School. I could go on and on about important details like class size, activities that were done in class, how the room was set up, and so on. However, the “what” that stuck out to me the most during my observations was that during each class there was always at least one or more students that were not doing and refused to do their work.  This is something I also struggled with while teaching my two lessons. There are many questions that can be asked of the student who does not want to do their work.

So What:

            This is an important issue that needs to be discussed because it is something that I’m sure every teacher has to deal with at some point in his or her career. There will always be students who do not want to and refuse to do their work. There are many questions to ask here. Why is this student not doing their work? Do they not understand what is being asked? Are they not proficient enough to complete the work? Do they need extra help or differentiation to complete the work? Do they simply not want to do the work because it is not fun? There are endless questions than can be asked on why a student may not want to complete their work. So how can we address these questions and get the student or students who do not want to complete their work to become interested and engaged?

Now What:

            How can these students who are not willing to participate and are being overlooked be motivated? This is something I struggled with when I was teaching my two lessons. There were a few students each time that would not do their work. I was going around to each student to make sure they understood what they were doing, had everything they needed, and answer any questions. Whenever I got to one of these students I would ask them, “Why aren’t you doing your work?” Some students didn’t have a pen so I got them a pen. Still they wouldn’t do their work. I would ask them to try their best and do as much as they could before the end of the period. Still, they would not do their work. I realized at this point that I was not really sure how to deal with a student who refused to do their work.

It was extremely difficult for me to get these students motivated. I was trying my best but they still would not cooperate. Also, since I only had two lessons to get to know these students and get them engaged this was an extremely difficult task. Had I been able to spend more time with these students and teach more than two lessons to them I would have tried different class activities with them to try and get them more interested and excited about learning. I would have loved to try some type of cooperative learning lesson with them. Perhaps this would have gotten them excited about learning and motivated. I think that building relationships with students is also an important part of student engagement. I would try to set up a safer classroom environment. Students need to feel as though they are in a safe environment where they can take risks and I’m not sure if these students felt that way in the classroom that I observed and taught in. Overall, I think that this is a common and difficult problem that all teachers including myself will need to address at some point in their career. In my future career as a teacher I never want to let students like this go unnoticed and I will try my best to make sure that all students are actively engaged, participating, and doing their work.

            

Chapters 11 and 12

      

           In chapters eleven and twelve we are taught how to help struggling readers and recommendations from reading research. Some key strategies for helping struggling readers are to build supportive relationships, model thoughtful reading, use activities that build engagement with text, promote self monitoring, use material students can successfully read, and provide books and articles on tape. Out of these strategies the one that I liked the best was modeling thoughtful reading. This strategy would be done though think-alouds where the teacher reads to the class while stopping to go through what their thought process is.  This allows the teacher to model for their students how to go about reading while actively thinking and questioning. I saw this strategy being used during my observations and it seemed to work really well and help students to understand the reading better.

            Chapter twelve lists many recommendations for struggling readers based on research. I feel like this chapter repeated many themes that were already discussed in the book such as the idea that cooperative learning is a comprehension strategy that has a solid scientific basis and students should read a wide variety of materials in class. There were many other recommendations listed in this chapter that I believe were discussed at some point or another in this book. Overall this was a summary of everything that we have learned about literacy from Daniels and Zemelman.

Overall the main idea that I have gotten from this book is that it is our job as teachers to facilitate reading in the classroom. Though this may not always be an easy task this book has provided us with some very useful reading tools and strategies that we will be able to use in the classroom to help all students at all reading abilities and levels. Since the strategies that we have learned have not been content specific I decided to do some research on helping students with reading in a history classroom and have provided an article below on how to do so.

http://teachinghistory.org/issues-and-research/research-brief/25421