Classroom Reflection Analysis

My time spent in the Clinical setting, so far, has been extremely inciteful as to how to become a better educator in a classroom setting. Through the data I collected I was able to connect Borich’s Seven Variables of learning to the students. By being in the clinical setting for nearly two months, I have been exposed to new ways of thinking when it comes to structuring a classroom and instructing a classroom. Within this reflection you will find out how I would better plan an effective lesson for the pupils in my future classroom. You will also discover what I will do about certain issues in the classroom and how I will address/fix them.

For the final part of the project, me and the other students, plus the teachers and aides met in the classroom on Monday morning to reflect on the project. During the final round table teachers expressed some concern with communication. I think they felt like it was difficult to communicate with us students since they did not have any contact information from us. A great suggestion was made during the meeting to make a google document that would include all of our contact information as well as updates and information about the all the children who the teachers were concerned about. I feel like this would be beneficial for both the students and the teachers in order to contact each other more easily and to get updates on the children efficiently. During the course of the semester, I felt like the students and the teachers were not on the same page due to the issues of contacting each other. For instance, when me and partner would get to the preschool we sometimes would be unable to fully observe or coach during our time due to other activities happening in the classroom. For example, one time me and my partner came and an employee from the public library was there for her weekly reading activity. I felt a little surprised by this novel situation, but my partner and I would try and adjust our plan to make it feasible to the new situation.

While reading through the innovations and strategies offered in the sections entitled, “Structural Innovations” and “Innovations to Improve Academic Learning,” I was able to reflect on my current teaching style. Consequently, I reexamined the areas of class size, the implementation of a school uniform, creating spatial competences, and the utilization of technology in the classroom. Each of these strategies has the potential to increase my students’ success.

During May 2016, School of Visual Art and Design Professors Amanda Wangwright and Mary Robinson led a group of Honors students on a ten day Global Classroom Program to Japan. Professors and students travelled to the historic city of Kyoto and the modern metropolis of Osaka in addition to day trips to the smaller cities of Nara and Uji. While in Japan, the class visited World Heritage Sites and studied firsthand Japanese cultural and religious practices and architecture. Furthermore, the class produced their own art while abroad at a washi papermaking workshop at the Kyoto University of Art and Design and at modern artist Haruka Furusaka's printmaking studio.

This term, Nina has made noticeable improvements to stay focused during classroom discussions. Despite her best efforts, Nina still finds it difficult to follow instructions, learn specialist vocabulary, locate and join words together to form meaningful utterances. Furthermore, her language and communication difficulty extend to interactions in collaborative tasks, group work and social situations where she struggles to use social language, such as ‘turn-taking’ and to consider what others say. Due to such communication and interaction difficulties, she requires a lot of support and structured activities to help with her learning.

Similarly, when I am able to co-facilitate the Doctoral Consortium at the Organizational Teaching Society Conference I often get feedback such as the following quote related to my workshop presentation:

In the state of Texas, to ensure that children are properly retaining the information taught in school, it is suggested that teachers use different instructional methods in the classroom. This way, a lesson can cater to a larger group of students rather than just a small portion of them. By creating a more inclusive lesson and environment, students are more likely to be interactive in class discussions. They will also show better results when their knowledge is tested, because of the visual, kinesthetic, and auditory connections made from meeting their learning needs. The learning styles that I witnessed teachers use in their classroom to create this effect involved group work, visual aids, and auditory readings. My interest for finding the best learning methods teachers can use, to reach more students comes from a personal connection to the topic. Being diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, I remember being taken out of the classroom to work on phonics and develop my reading skills. What I did not remember and wanted to see in observations, was when I was put back in the general classroom, specifically English, what did teachers do to make sure I was able to grasp the lesson. While I know teachers were not specifically teaching to my learning needs, they did read aloud and have handouts that helped feed into my understanding. Taking the information from observations and personal experiences, I wanted to research the linguistic learning that takes place in English classrooms and how it can connect to visual learning, auditory learning, and other styles of teaching that could be beneficial to students.

While STEAM instruction relies on making authentic and engaging connections between the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, the implementation can look slightly different from classroom to classroom. The first video demonstrates how a STEAM unit can be incorporated in a single content: middle school science. The video shows students working collaboratively in groups to complete the assigned lab and asking questions as needed. The teacher is seen facilitating the activity, as she moves from group to group, addressing those questions, providing suggestions, and guiding students towards the completion of the activity. Although neither the problem nor the driving question of the lesson were explicitly stated or reiterated during the observed clip, the ‘lesson essential question’ and the ‘learning target’ posted on the board communicate and reinforce the objective of this lesson (e.g. students will identify minerals and explain why minerals are important). Thus, based on this and my observations of the teacher and students’ interactions, I predict that this lesson is focused on assessing how well students can identify minerals, as a way to introduce students to the characteristics needed for identifying and classifying rocks. This skill is especially important as students need to solve the problem scenario, which involves describing different types of rocks to assemble a group of “rock” musicians. As I was analyzing the video clip using the

This paper will describe on why a certain lesson should be adapted before it is delivered to different audience at the same level. This lesson was taught to university students in the USA where the majority of the students were English native speakers. At some points in this lesson, the depth of discussion is not really appropriate to be taught to foreign/second language learners because the nature of English proficiency between English native speakers and foreign/second language learners is absolutely different. The finding in this paper will be based on observation of the writer and elaborated with the reference from library research.

Working with students with special needs, teachers have the responsibility of protecting students’ right. Special education teachers are required to keep high standards and meet best practices. According to the Preliminary Credential Competency Checklist Historical and Legal Foundation 1.4 (2014), two of the best practices that are enforced in the special education field is to individualize education and evidence-based practice (p.1). Being a teacher in a special education classroom, there is a diverse level of learners and each student has an individual method of learning. The role of the teacher is to verify each student’s learning is being met. Individualizing a lesson by making accommodations or modification for them to learn the curriculum. Implementing evidence-based practice is using an educational method of learning that will support the student’s learning based on previous research. Using evidence-based practice in a special education classroom is a key component when a student or students need an intervention to support them in the academic area they are struggling. Special education teachers are responsible for meeting best practice standards for students’ academic learning.

During this out-of-the-classroom activity, I chose to attend 1 Million Cups. This is a free, weekly national program designed to educate, engage, and connect entrepreneurs. 1MC is developed by the Kauffman Foundation with different foundations located across the country in order to inform and inspire current or future entrepreneurs. The two speakers that presented during the session on Wednesday September 27 were Jenn with Next Gen Summit, and Simeon Talley with Rad Incubator.

Being a teacher, I want to ensure that my students know that even though we may have different back grounds and be different from others that we will all love and respect one another. I worked at a school once and they had things labeled throughout the whole school. Like for Bathroom they school had it labeled bathroom and Bano. Taking this Idea, I will use it for my classroom and label everything in both the English language and whatever language the child speaks.

Teaching can be a challenge, you never know what to expect and each classroom will be unique. However, you will always have to be prepare for teaching in a situation you may not be comfertable with. Educating students and practicing proper knowledge on subjects such as race, class, gender, sexual orientation and disability are vital in creating a safe and respectful classroom for all. School is often looked upon as a place of security for students and it is our job as teachers to help maintain that status.

For my practicum, I was placed in a sixth grade English and History classroom. Working with two classes of Fargo middle school students proved to be a great learning experience for me. Prior to my first day with them, I had been questioning whether or not I’d truly like to proceed with earning a degree in education; however, now I am certain I do. One of the most valuable lessons I learned through observation and working one-on-one with students, was that everything in the classroom is subject to change, from the physical learning environment to the timeline of the topics covered.

Sitting here, I find myself reflecting on the events that occurred in my second year as a classroom teacher. A year that came and went too quickly. A year where emotionally and mentally I was being pushed to the limit. A year where my patience was tested daily by the students that formed the community that was my classroom. A mix that was new, due to the redistricting that our school had put in place for the upcoming school year. A year in which I found my first student of many that I know will always stay in my heart. A student I will always wonder about: Where is he? How is he doing? Has he continued to succeed like I know he can? Has he stayed out of trouble?