No Child Left Behind & Assessment Presentation

This presentation was full of fun activities and opportunities to show our knowledge and thoughts about a variety of educational issues. The activities - board games, skits, and Glee think-alouds - were motivating and thoughtful.  Thinking about the issues that are implicated in the No Child Left Behind Act brings up many discussion topics - the topics of bilingual students and students who move into a class during their school careers really don't seem to have "official" answers or methods of solving problems in the classroom.

Working through alternative assessment techniques and strategies was a really great activity. It was good to work both with an individual student, where assessment can be tailored specifically to that student's needs, and with a full class environment, where instructors must find an total assessment technique that meets the needs of all of the students in the class.

Teaching Style

1) Classroom Organization
I want to have my classroom arranged in the most discussion-friendly design I can muster with what I have available. It is important to me that students can see one another - looking at the back of someone's head is no way to get to know them.


2) Motivation
I can see myself having some trouble with motivation because of my wish that students will be intrinsically motivated by my own excitement about lessons. I recognize that motivation is probably going to have to have a trial-and-error focus until I find a system that motivates my students without relying on excessively authoritative measures.


3) Discipline
Discipline is one topic that I feel that I differ from my classmates upon. I am a very laissez-faire leader - the chief disciplinary topics that I feel compelled to intervene on are those dealing with respect. This is why respect will be the main lens of my disciplinary action. I truly believe that each student deserves respect, both from themselves, myself, and their peers. 


4) Assessment
The assessment format that I would like to use in my classroom is one that tracks progress rather than assessing aptitude at one particular time. Not only can a "final" come on a bad day for a student, dooming them, a snapshot assessment doesn't take into account growth. One of the worst tests that I ever took was a grammar-based test, containing the entire grammar curriculum for the year. We took it at the beginning of the year, and the rule was that if you aced it, you wouldn't have to take it again at the end of the year. I aced it, but it gave me the feeling that I didn't even have to bother anymore with any of the grammar content. 


5) Classroom Climate
My preferred classroom climate is influenced a lot by my own personality and past experience. I want to have the classroom that people come to eat their lunch in if they're uncomfortable in the cafeteria. I want to have a friendly, personable, and approachable classroom where students can express themselves freely without fear of social consequences. Obviously, this won't be easy and is going to require fine tuning. I just need to be ready at the get-go to start up that climate from day one.


6) Technology Integration
Technology integration is really something that I'm going to need to figure out based on the school that I'm in. The dream, of course is to have an abundance of learning technology that enhances and facilitates learning, while at the same time not being a distraction or impeding learning through the format.  


7) Learning Focus
My learning focus is that while the content and curriculum elements of school are very important, the largest focus should be on the students themselves. I have had several friends who studied very hard in school, got great grades, did all the right extracurriculars, and ended up going to very good colleges. None of them had any idea what they wanted to do, or had an idea of something that they'd be happy doing. All they learned was how to play the "school game." I think that self-knowledge is just as worthy a "hidden curriculum" item as regular student socialization.


8) Teacher and Leadership Style.
My teaching and leadership style has already been covered slightly in a few other sections, but in general I want to be accepting, friendly, respected, and respecting of all of my students. I think that the fastest way to lose students focus and respect is to come across too strong - a lot of them are  already getting that from all sides anyway, either from parents, other teachers, or other authority figures. By no means do I mean that I want to be soft for soft's sake, but being a tough guy just isn't my style. I also want students to take a leadership role in the classroom. This is something that I've explored a bit as a camp counselor, and I'd love to see how it works in a school classroom. 

Technology Presentation

This presentation was very interesting. I really liked the 3 different scenarios that the group set up. I am still somewhat of a Luddite (at least in relation to my peers), so talking about the common trends in technology in education was useful for me.  I am by no means against technology - I just don't see myself as a pioneer of new incoming technological tools. The most troubling of the three scenarios for me was probably the one dealing with what we would do if we had infinite resources - I honestly have no clue! I don't want to bite off more technology than I can chew.  I think that the idea that we raised that was most useful was the use of seminars and observations to see the best practices that technologically-savvy teachers are using.

Bright Futures Response

Bright Futures

Bright Futures is a report and philosophical statement about middle-level education put together by a committee in 2009. The focus was on core beliefs, core principles, and the twelve core practices of middle-level schools in the state of Maine. These core practices were explained in great detail with an emphasis on the value of those practices to students, as well as demonstrations of how some schools have been succeeding at that practice.

As a student from one of the most successful schools with the laptop-per-student program, I can see how the technological practice is incredibly helpful and generally beneficial to the student.

One practice that I was particularly engaged in was practice 9 – Students have access to a co-curricular program that encourages all students to participate, develop skills, be a member of a team or activity, and simply have fun. Co-curricular, which I take to be the updated term for what I used to call extracurriculars, is a much more apt title, as these activities are often where a lot of the learning makes a more solid connection in the mind. I, for one, didn’t really learn to write in my own voice until I was writing speeches for Debate Team. My first few speeches were stilted and poorly put together when I had to recite them, and I quickly learned phrasing, vocabulary, and tone that I could use confidently, as if I were speaking off the cuff. Without that cocurricular activity, I certainly would be a much poorer writer than I am today.

The rationales for the core practices resonated with the philosophies and theories that we’ve been learning about in this class, and the “essential elements – snapshot – phase out” format was well-organized and pedagogically designed. I feel like I have a good sense of where the state wants our middle schools to be. 

Voices

Quintilian

I like that Quintilian is one of the first philosophers in the packet who are said to respect the child. With a focus on developmental levels of the students, it seems to me as if Quintilian is one of the first pedagogues. Many predecessors seemed to focus on education for adults, but Quintllian aims specifically at education at an age of physical, emotional, and intellectual growth.

Jesus

One of the things that influences me about the teachings of Jesus Christ is that He believed in universal salvation and worth. I’m particularly interested in the “curriculum and methodology” that the packet describes – a new world order of peace. Pacifism is such a large part of my moral belief structure that I feel this aligns nicely. Also, the note about storytelling as a teaching method is favorable to me, as it provided a universal instruction technique.

Martin Luther

Although certain chronological traits set me apart from Luther (the focus on scripture as an unparalleled tool in universal education), I chiefly agree with a vast majority of his philosophy. The promotion of a universal school for children, girls included, and a focus on literacy is an important part of my philosophy as well. It also struck me that Luther viewed the role of the teacher as essential to the education of the student.

Montessori

This is possibly the educationist whose philosophy I most agree with – the focus on the “discovery of the child” and child development is incredibly important, especially in early childhood education. A lot of the things that the packet prescribes to children in their “sensitive periods,” which it implies are limited to early childhood, I feel could equally apply to all of young adulthood. The role of the educator as a facilitator creating an environment in which students can teach themselves is something that I feel strongly about. The term “spontaneous learning” in particular strikes me as a particularly admirable goal. Although I recognize that it is a necessary evil in the society that will probably exist the duration of my life, I feel like mechanized education is a terrible impediment to what our world could be. That we let students stop holistically developing physically, morally, and mentally is a sad fact, and it is my dream that this becomes a primary means of education.

Motivation Presentation

This presentation was incredibly helpful. Motivation is one of the most important topics that we can focus on as future educators. Contrary to opinions we may have seen at one point, there is no such thing as a too-motivated student. There are some great resources pointed out in this class at the resource station, from the character cards to the BBC History games (!)

The scenario stations were also really helpful. The "nightmare students" seemed like for the most part, they were either bored or were having trouble following the content. Fortunately, these nightmares can be brought to a swift end by the resources and creativity we have available!
Another thing that was really interesting in the presentation and the paper this group made is the focus on our newly-learned philosophies. I really enjoyed learning about how existentialist theories applied to student motivation.

I also really liked the "true/false" intro. That is a great way to fully gauge class opinions on different topics, and gets us moving. It's really interesting to see different opinions. It was also interesting to see the class's response when I took an opposite opinion to them.
The textbook resource section was a good opportunity for me to remember that my own interest in Shakespeare is almost necessarily different from the average interest in Shakespeare. In addition to hearing some interesting perspectives on how to teach math with more interesting sources, I learned how to teach Shakespeare with more interesting sources.

Educational Theories

Perennialism is an educational theory similar to the philosophy of idealism, in that it focuses on wide truths that are universal to everybody and unchanging. Some of the traits of perennial theory is that is has less focus on facts than other theories, as facts can change while the underlying truths do not.

Essentialism is an educational theory that seems to be one of the more widely utilized in the public eye. Essentialism focuses on the idea that there are many truths and subjects that should be learned by everybody. This seems like a fairly straightforward, if more complex, rendition of the “reading, writing, and arithmetic” system. One important note about essentialism is that it is also backed by cultural literacy, the idea that functioning members of society have certain universally shared cultural knowledge.

Behaviorism is an educational theory, based in large part on the writings of B.F. Skinner. Rather than perennialism, which argues that smaller facts are misleading and larger ideas are key, behaviorism posits that what really matters is not the overarching ideas, but rather the behavior, or acted manifestations of those ideas. Without each individual action or behavior, there are no larger principles.

Positivism is an educational theory focused on scientific knowledge, discovered and verified by empiricism. While perennialism may teach scientific method and veer from facts, positivism focuses on both, not discrediting facts until they are scientifically disproven. This constructs a sort of “knowledge pool.” There is an emphasis in this theory on sense verification.

Progressivism is an educational theory, again based in science, which argues that students learn best from experiential situations, specifically in solving problems. Progressivism has a focus on the “social animal” aspect of learning, using schools as a system of socializing students to function in society.

Reconstructionism is a socially based educational theory that focuses on social issues and how they can be solved. This educational theory was based in opposition to ugly realities about the world we live in over the past several decades, and has been gaining momentum.

Humanism is another educational theory based on the goal of social development. Rather than creating a science-based world, however, humanism is grounded in the humanities, seeking to develop a society of eloquent thinkers and writers. This sort of grounding, according to humanism, is the basis for a society geared towards civil service.

Constructivism is a theory of learning similar to the educational philosophy of pragmatism in that it focuses on the students’ abilities to construct their own knowledge. The instructor’s role in constructivism is to facilitate learning, while the student’s progress and learning process are the really important parts.

The two theories that I feel I relate the most with are humanism and constructivism. I feel strongly about the value of language and developing a complex understanding of literature. Lots of art is intended to reflect life, and learning to interact with a variety of literary characters can definitely build social understanding. Reading and responding to texts that are portrayed from different perspectives can also help learners step outside their own minds, putting them in a position to feel more sympathy and relate with other individuals more. As for constructivism, I think the things that we learn the most are the things we learn ourselves. One of the best things we can due for a student’s learning is to give him or her the satisfaction of successful learning. Too often is learning and teaching portrayed as an act that an instructor does to a student, while in reality the learning occurs in the student’s mind, completely independently of the instructor. Therefore, it should be the instructor’s job to help stimulate students, not to “fill them” with learning.