Student Abilities and Challenges

Every student is of worth, has potential to learn and grow, and deserves a high-quality education. Every student also has abilities and challenges. The following is an action plan that I found to be realistic for me to actually follow in making necessary adaptations.

Before School Starts:

1. Review classroom routines. Make sure they are clear, simple, and easy to follow.
2. Consider having a class notebook to help students stay organized.
3. Meet with special education teachers in building to review student IEPS. Make notes on which students or classes will have paras or other accommodations (which ones need to sit up front or have other special adaptations).
4. Ask other teachers who had these students what methods or strategies worked best for them with accommodating.
5. Review lesson plans to make sure they have accommodations (both for enrichment and remediation).


During the School Year:

1. Meet regularly with the special education teachers and paras to communicate about handling behaviors or how to improve classroom instruction/adaptation. Ask for accountability for implementing the IEPs in the classroom.
2. Ask students for feedback about what is working for them and what we should try differently.
3. Inclusion is not just a law or best practice, it is an attitude and an opportunity to teach all students how to appreciate differences and to live in community (helping each other). Keep the vision of what all students can become, not just how they are currently.
4. Continue to study more and learn based off of the specific learning needs of the students in my classes. Reflect on how I am implementing and how I can improve.
5. Focus on good teaching strategies: use graphic organizers, give short and simple directions, break down bigger projects into smaller manageable parts, use visuals, break down class into smaller segments (use a variety of activities), allow for “brain breaks,” etc.

Learning

Learning Perspective	Behavioral	Cognitive	Constructivist
Definition/Examples	Knowledge existed outside of the student and needed to be acquired through rote memorization. The student would listen and follow directions. Skinner was an advocate of this theory.	With information processing, advocated by Anderson, students learned to acquire knowledge by adopting effective strategies and learning how to organize information effectively. The teacher’s role was to model and teach correct strategies.	Knowledge is constructed by working in groups as active participants and thinkers. The teacher’s role was that of facilitator. Vygotsky was an advocate of this theory.
Strengths	This is helpful when needing to communicate information to a lot of people in a short amount of time. Many times in life it is an important skill to listen and to take notes (which can help with memory), since this is the style many people use when teaching adults, including college-students.	The students are learning strategies they can use to become more effective learners, even when they are no longer in your classroom. As they practice them, they can become skills and motivate students to learn more, since it is easier for them to do so.	This way gives students real life practice in solving difficult problems, and teaches them that it is important to collaborate with others in order to come up with effective solutions. It can also help them feel less isolated as they learn to build community. The scaffolding approach helps the teacher meet the students where they are, and then help them gradually become on their own.
Weaknesses	Studies have shown that students do not retain much by just reading or listening passively. They retain more information when they are actively doing something with the material (this is why the interactive lecture format can be effective with participation and retaining information).	It is difficult to know how much class time to devote to teaching and practicing strategies. Just because students know HOW to do a strategy, does not mean that it has become a habit for them. Also, it takes time away from learning content knowledge.	Like all theories, the theory must be effectively put into practice. Sometimes “group work” becomes the time when two people do all the work, and  the benefits of the sociality are lost. That can be prevented by giving individual grades, and not just group grades. Also, this process can be extremely frustrating for some students, since the challenges are difficult to solve (which is why scaffolding is so important).
Application	Lecture: The lecturer  transmits knowledge to a large group of people who are (hopefully) listening and taking notes. An example is a guest speaker presenting professional development at a school, or the standard college professor teaching style.	ELL Class: The teacher taught a reading class to English Language Learners. He focused every week on a new strategy (skimming, looking for the main idea, looking at pictures and headlines), had the students take notes using a graphic organizer, modeled the strategy, and gave the students opportunity in class to practice that strategy.	Model UN: Students are given challenging real-world problems and need to create a position paper and pose solutions to these challenges. They work with a partner and small group. They have to defend their position verbally in debate form.

Motivation

Here is an interactive lecture presentation on motivation I developed to be used at a professional development meeting:

Teaching

What can schools do to improve mentoring programs for new teachers?

Mentors

Future mentors will attend a brief informational meeting to learn about what it means to be a mentor and then undergo a brief application process. This is so the administration can get information to better match up mentors and mentees. If selected, they will attend a three day summer training for new mentors. They will be paid for their time during the summer training, but will not receive monetary compensation during the school year. Instead, they will be compensated by having a lighter class load (one less class to teach). They will be able to use that extra plan time to occasionally observe the mentee teacher or to fulfill other mentoring duties.

Mentors and mentees are encouraged to meet regularly, but a minimum of once a month. In the first few months of school, it is not uncommon to meet weekly. It is understood that the mentor must maintain confidentiality, in order for the mentoring relationship to be effective.

In-Service Orientations

Mentees and mentors will attend the new teacher orientation (held at each school two days before the returning teachers attend inservice). The orientation is for teachers who are new to the building, new to teaching, or both. The purpose will be to orient new teachers to school policies, traditions, and expectations and to answer any questions they may have. The purpose is also to build relationships and camaraderie among the new and veteran teachers. There will be two in-service orientations; one held at the beginning of the year and one in January.

Social Activities

As part of the new teacher orientation, mentors and mentees will eat at a local restaurant, compliments of the school (or the principal!). In addition, mentees are invited to participate in the school faculty/staff traditions (e.g. contribute a recipe to the school cookbook, eat out after parent-teacher conferences, potlucks, after-school barbeque, etc).

Relations With Experienced Teachers

New teachers will have the opportunity to observe master teachers in their same subject at other schools three days a year.

Social and Resource Support

It will be the school expectation that all teachers and staff reach out to new teachers. The new teachers should be invited to serve on school committees, such as the social committee, the kindness committee, the PTO, or to participate in extracurricular activities (either by coaching a school team with another teacher, by participating in a walking or exercise club, etc).

In addition, the school culture will be such that the newest teachers do not have the most challenging classes (students with major behavior issues or low test scores), in order to help ease them into teaching. The more veteran teachers will be given the more challenging classes. This is to help the retention of new teachers.

New teachers (mentees) will have the opportunity to attend a professional development conference in their first year of teaching (subsidized by the district).

Student Diversity

Classroom Management

Prevention:

1. Relationships of Trust- My aim with every class is to create a true learning community where we respect and encourage each other. My first priority is to learn the names and the interests of students, and to have them learn those of their classmates through cooperative learning games. I stand at the door and greet each student by name during passing time and ask them questions about activities and sports they are involved in. I may take a few minutes at the end of class to ask students about their weekend plans.

2. Parental Involvement- I reach out to their parents and ask them (through a survey) about their students’ strengths, challenges, and needs. I email parents a schedule of assignments and quizzes for the unit and try to get them involved with volunteering or with studying with their child. I write emails or letters or phone home when a student has been exceptional in class. I call home if a student has been the opposite of exceptional in class to elicit help and understanding of the situation, and to brainstorm solutions.

3. Routines- I have clear routines and an organized classroom, so students know where materials are and what they are expected to do. We review these routines especially the first week of school, but refresh as necessary. These routines involve everything from how to participate in a fire drill, when to sharpen the pencil, and how to appropriately use technology in the classroom.

4. Engagement- I keep students busy the minute they step in the classroom until the minute they leave. They know that they need to work on the “bellringer” and pull out their homework from the day before to be stamped. I try to make the most of every minute in the classroom by having meaningful activities and assessments planned. My philosophy is that it is better to have too much planned than not enough. In the event that an activity takes less time than planned, I have a variety of “sponge activities” that we can use to review a concept or learn something new in just a few minutes.

5. Monitoring- I ought to invest in a pedometer to keep track of all the miles I walk around the classroom! I am rarely at my desk. Instead, I walk around and monitor students, to see who has questions or who might need help. It also helps to prevent problems and to nip minor problems in the bud before they escalate.

Upholding Expectations

1. Minor Misbehavior- Besides teaching expectations, it is important to reinforce expectations. I try to keep in mind that when a student does not meet expectations, it is a teaching opportunity for the whole class to remember what the expectations are. I try to keep a calm voice (the same voice I use for giving instructions) and privately talk with the student (out in the hallway or after class). What are you doing? What should you be doing instead? Usually that fixes the problem. I also analyze if I need to change my seating chart or contact parents (if it is a recurring issue). I remind myself that the goal is to fix the behavior. The student is not the problem; the behavior is the problem. I ask myself, What is the student trying to accomplish by behaving in this way? I also talk with coworkers and my administrators if I need help with ideas on how to reach certain students.

2. Serious Misbehavior-Certain infractions are more serious and require more immediate and serious consequences (fighting, threatening, carrying a weapon, etc). Especially in those incidences, I follow the specific school policy.

3. Rewarding Positive Behavior- I try to reward positive behavior in a variety of ways. I call parents when students have been exceptionally good, and mail cards to students with excellent behavior. Classes can earn incentives for exceptional behavior and time on task (time to play a quick soccer game or other classroom game, for example).

Learning Assessments

Post currently under construction.

Brain-Based Learning

Post currently under construction.

Technology to Support Learning

This post is currently under construction.

My Teaching Philosophy

Why do I teach?
I teach because helping students develop skills sets, habits of excellence, and a love for learning is important and rewarding. I enjoy the opportunities of interacting with and learning from young people and from my colleagues. I enjoy the creative aspects of teaching and the shaping of classes into learning communities.

What do I teach?
My background is in teaching Spanish to non-native middle school students. I am also certified in Kansas to teach language arts. I am bilingual in Spanish and English and I have experience working with English Language Learners.

I feel it is not only important to help my students to communicate in Spanish by speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In addition, it is my responsibility to help students to develop better study and learning habits, to have greater empathy for their classmates and people in their immediate and global communities, to have a deeper appreciation and respect of differences, and to become life-long learners. Therein lies the challenge and the reward to help students progress in these areas.

How do I teach?
I try a variety of teaching methods to reach a variety of students’ learning styles. If students are not enjoying the activity, or do not see its relevance in their lives, it will be hard for them to learn. The best activities are those that engage and challenge the learner. I use games, songs, cooperative learning activities, technology (the students kept online portfolios of work on their Chromebooks), communicating in Spanish, and creative projects and presentations.

For example, the seventh graders began a unit on food by researching the Columbian Exchange. They created a “museum display” for the younger students by bringing a food item from the “Old World” or the “New World.” They also researched the food item and created an interactive display with “lift the flap” questions to reveal the answer. Other projects included creating a visual presentation describing 10 foods they do not like and 10 foods they do like in Spanish. They memorized the presentation in Spanish and presented it to the class.

I find it important for the students to have meaningful projects that help others. The 8th graders partnered with the 1st graders and read them stories in Spanish, applying reading strategies they had studied. The 1st graders evaluated (using smiling or frowning faces) how well their 8th grade partner did at applying the reading strategies. The 6th graders created board games that the lower grades used to practice a variety of basic vocabulary, and the 7th graders did their own project.

How do I measure my effectiveness?
I use both formal and informal assessments to measure my effectiveness. When students are engaged and excited about learning, I know I have been successful. I look at specific outcomes and results on a daily basis. I use formative assessments (bellringers, pop quizzes, exit slips) multiple times a day to see if students have mastered the outcomes and to prepare them for the summative assessments (which may come in the form of a traditional test, an authentic assessment, or a project). I carefully and constantly reflect on the projects and activities the students do. If a project is “fun” but not helping them master the outcome, I reevaluate and change methods. I find that outcome-driven assessments are important ways to help students learn and to help me evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching.

Welcome and Table of Contents

Welcome to my e-portfolio! I currently teach Spanish to middle school students and love it! Here you will learn more about my views on the following things:

1. My Teaching Philosophy
2. Technology to Support Learning
3. Brain-Based Learning
4. Learning Assessments
5. Classroom Management
6. Student Diversity
7. Teaching
8. Motivation
9. Learning
10. Student Abilities and Challenges

Warmly,

Ms. Christensen