ENG302902SUnderhill

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Blog 30

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!! :) :) :)

it also annoyed me that we were stopping at 29 :)

Blog 29: FINAL PAPER

Stephanie Underhill

ENG 3029*02

Dr. Chandler

May 9, 2013

How observing a class reinforces student teacher learning

Let’s Begin:

Many researchers have conducted a study about what makes an effective teacher. I will conduct a study, using the material from the text called Qualities of Effective Teachers by James H. Stronge, to prove that an education major student learns best by observing a teacher. I will show that the teacher I observed helped me realize what makes an effective teacher by mentioning some facts using the headings: Classroom atmosphere, the teacher as a person, and hands on learning. In the literature review, I will talk about Stronge’s notes on effective teachers relating to what I saw in my observations. After observing the teacher two times, I want to summarize those points to come to a conclusion of what I learned through watching him teach. This topic is important to writing studies because it shows that while reading an article, book or paper about teaching is just okay, but it is more beneficial to take the information you read and apply it to a classroom. I will have three major points to this research showing benefits of observing a teacher: Read, Watch, and What I Learned. A good teacher relates what he / she reads and brings it into the classroom.

Read:

Classroom management and organization skills

“Most effective teachers admit that rules, procedures, and routines take precedence over academic lessons during the first week of school… When materials are organized, it allows for smooth transitions between activities and increases the amount of time on academic tasks. Consequently, as students focus on academic engagement, the potential for behavior problems to occur is greatly reduced". (Stronge, 28)

Effective teachers usually have “color coded bins and they place commonly used materials such as scissors, staples, tape, hole punchers, and crayons in easily accessible places” so the students do not have to interrupt the lesson. (Stronge 28-29) This shows that classroom organization is key.

The teacher as a person

Good teachers have positive qualities like: caring, listening, knowing their students, interacting with their students, etc. “Teachers who create a supportive and warm classroom climate tend to be more effective with students.” (Stronge, 15) Students who feel that their teacher is caring will be more than likely to open up and be open to learning new things. Effective teachers give all of the students in his / her classroom every opportunity to participate and succeed. Teachers who are considered effective listen to what the students have to say rather than cutting them off if what they are talking about is off topic. “Effective teachers also have a good sense of humor and are willing to share jokes” (Stronge, 17) This makes the classroom atmosphere more relaxed and have the students be willing to let loose in your classroom. Effective teachers realize that some students may not feel comfortable talking in group discussions, but feel more comfortable talking in smaller groups.

Implementing instruction

According to the text Qualities of Effective Teachers, “An effective teacher plans and prepares for the organization of the classroom with the same care and precision used to design a high quality lesson.” (Stronge, 23) Effective teachers also have the students participate in hands-on activities. This helps the students remember the information better because they can visualize it. Good teachers “encourage students to respond to questions and activities that require them to discover and assimilate their own understanding, rather than to simply memorize material.” (Stronge, 47)

Watch:

After reading the text and pulling out key points, I wanted to test my theory through observation. I want to see if the effective teacher described in Stronge’s book has similar characteristics to the teacher that I observed.

Classroom atmosphere

When I walked into the classroom, I saw the students sitting in the back of the room with the teacher. When looking around the room, I saw a lot of posters (all different subjects), games, and plenty of books for instruction. The students in the room must feel comfortable in the room due to the fact that their desks are a little messy, and have papers on their desks. Another thing I noticed when looking around the room is that it looks like the perfect place for learning. In Stronge’s text, he says that an effective teacher has multiple posters and fun things around the room. This teacher has all of those things. It makes the room look inviting and an ample learning environment. The classroom looks to be very spread out, despite all of the materials in the room (see figure 1.1).

I observed that the teacher must have set up the classroom atmosphere at the beginning of the year. The teacher, like I said in my literature review, spends a lot of time on “first day” procedures, more than one day. An effective teacher will spend time on the procedures until all of the students understand. In the classroom, it looked to me that the “first day” procedures took some time to learn and understand, not just one day. The students are avid listeners during instruction as well as not fooling around. The teacher looks like he has full control of the classroom and the students inside. When the teacher gives instructions, the class is listening and waiting for their “okay” to go back to their seats so they can start working.

The students, during the observations, looked to be comfortable talking in the classroom as well as being able to move around the classroom; within reason. The students seem comfortable expressing their opinion during class instruction. The teacher made his classroom atmosphere very relaxed so the students can feel that they can speak freely without judgment from the others in the room. The teacher will ask the students questions and the students are not afraid to be wrong in regards to answering the questions. In the observations, if the students got the wrong answer, the teacher said “No, can another person help (insert student name)”. I feel that this is very beneficial for student learning. A lot of the students told stories because they knew it was okay to.

The students in the classroom, during the first observation, felt comfortable in the classroom to talk to other students while they were doing their work. The students at T4 were talking about borrowing markers. I felt that an effective teacher, like the one I observed, would not interrupt this interaction. The students seemed comfortable in the classroom taking to other students in the room. The students did not seem afraid to move about the classroom during instructional and independent work time.

The students were able to more freely around the room while doing the assignment. The students learned while going over the classroom procedures that it was okay to move around the classroom when doing independent work or else that would not have did what they did. While observing, each student got up and walk around to another table at least one, if not more. All of the students look like they were comfortable in the classroom, enough to walk around and see what everybody else was doing. The teacher makes the classroom atmosphere a very good learning environment for the students to learn in. Here is a diagram of his classroom:

Figure 1.1

The teacher as a person

I felt that observing the teacher as a person is beneficial to student teacher learning. The teacher, as a person, from observing, is caring, a good listener, thoughtful, reliable, and has a sense of humor. I saw the teacher interact with every student in some way or another and he makes sure that all are participating in the lesson. The teacher, from what I observed, understands that some of the students prefer to “sit on the sidelines” but the teacher still involves them in the activities. The teacher also listens to all of the stories that the students tell him.

I observed that he likes to make comments to his students during instructional time, while they are doing their independent work, and when the students are packing up or having free time. I feel it keeps them engaged while they are doing their work and keeps them interacting with the teacher and other students in the classroom. In the first observation, the teacher sees many students over by T3 stud 3[1] and says “I don’t know why there is a mob over by T (students first initial), (all of the students by T laugh, even T)” This shows that he can make a funny comment about one of the students and he gets his point across.

The teacher cares for his students in way that will help them succeed. The teacher wants the students to succeed and he gives them every opportunity to. While observing, I saw that a lot of the student reacted positively to his personality and they got work done while talking. In the first observation, the students were working on a project at their desks. The students did interact with each other as well as with the teacher(s) in the room. The teacher I feel lets this happen because if he is too strict, he will lose the students interests. But if he is too funny, none of the students will get anything done. I feel that his personality has just the right amount of funny and seriousness. The students seem comfortable expressing their opinion during class instruction. The teacher also interacts with the students from what I saw during the two observations. One in particular was this conversation. The teacher was going over the minute math answers.

Teacher: let’s see if I am good today, last week I was pretty good

T1 stud 3 and 4: (gives the teacher thumbs up when teacher got the row of addition problems correct.)

T1 stud 3: (teacher’s name) you got one wrong.

Teacher: Oh man, I was doing so well (then laugh).

T1 stud 3: (comes up and shows the teacher the right answer on his paper).

Teacher: Oh I guess I did get one wrong, there goes my streak.

The student who came up and told the teacher that they got one wrong was not afraid to tell the teacher that he got the answer wrong. This also goes along with the topic of classroom atmosphere. If the student did not feel safe calling out and telling the teacher that they got one wrong, he would not have said something. The student felt safe in the room and was able to have the conversation with the teacher. The teacher has a good relationship with each of his students and that’s why they feel comfortable sharing information with him.

I also saw the teacher treat every student fairly and give all of them the same amount of respect. The teacher, from what I saw, does not play favorites. He connects with the students and he makes them feel comfortable in the classroom. From what I observed, He knows each student’s ability in the classroom and attends to their needs. T4 Stud 4 was having trouble with some of the vocabulary words in the second observation, so the teacher gave the student a word bank to go off of. The teacher knew that some of the students may not need that sheet, but some may. The teacher also gives every student a chance to speak and share their opinion in discussions. He called on almost every student to talk, which goes along with the “no favoritism” topic.

Hands on learning

While observing the teacher interacting with the students, I saw that hands on learning were a big part of the lesson that the teacher instructed. The second lesson I observed was about capacity and the teacher had two different size paper cylinders taped to a paper plate vertically. The teacher had the students guess which one would hold more, 1 cup of noodles in the short and wide (green) or the tall and skinny (pink). The teacher walked around with the classroom with the one that held more to show the students. He went to each table and shows the students which one held more. The students understood the visual because they could explain why the one could hold more because they could see a visual picture. The teacher had the students explain why they thought the one that held more, held more.

The students seemed to enjoy the activity. The students kept getting out of their seats to see the visual. The students waited impatiently at their desks while the teacher came around to each table to show the visual. The students, from observing, got the concept of capacity because they were shown the visual.

The teacher also shows the students a power point to go along with the capacity lesson. He had different activities on each slide so the student can stay engaged in the topic. The students really enjoyed the hands on activities because they got to handle materials.

The teacher also had the students, in the fraction lesson, use Hershey’s Chocolate Bars. The students each got a chocolate bar and could use that to symbolize fractions. This also helped the students visualize what they were learning. The teacher told the students to break up the bar into different parts. The students really enjoyed this lesson, not just because they could eat the chocolate afterwards, but they could visualize the fractions using manipulatives. Observing the students do this activity showed me that doing hands on learning is a positive thing. He had the students visually see the fractions and hold them in their hand, melted and everything.

What I learned:

What I learned through observing can never be learned by reading a textbook. The best learning experience is done through observing. While observing, I learned that the most important parts to being an effective teacher are providing the students with a positive classroom atmosphere, having the students participate with hands on learning, and having the following qualities: caring, a good listener, thoughtful, reliable, responsible, have a sense of humor, and interacting with their students The benefits of observing, as stated in the book, are beneficial to student teacher learning. While reading the text, I saw what to look for, but the information really stuck in my mind when I saw it.

Works Cited

Stronge, J. H. Qualities of Effective Teachers. 2. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and

Curriculum Develop, 2007. Print.

[1] T3 stud 3= table 3- student 3. This goes for all of the T_ Stud _.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Blog 28

Using the criteria below, write an evaluation of your research project. You can earn 25 points extra credit if your assessment of your work matches mine. Discuss why you data is worth this many points. Why did you take points off.

Essay: 100 points
Data + analysis: 300 points - on the blog, postings of what your analysis and data are.
Writing process: 100 points-brainstorming

Data and Analysis Blog Posts:
Data: list blog posts, discuss completeness, quality: Blog 22, Blog 21,
Analysis: completeness, logical, Same as writing process blogs
Writing Process and rough drafts Blog Posts: Blog 27, Blog 26, Blog 25, Blog 24, Blog 23, Blog 20, Blog 19,
All parts, research plan, focus, evaluate quality of your your revision, writing about writing components, planning for how you are doing your paper,

Data + analysis: 295. I feel that I posted all my data and analysis. Although it was not on my topic, some parts were and I got some good information out of things I posted. I felt that the loss of 5 points would account for lack of description of what the observations told about my focus (at the time of posting, I did not come the final focus). I also did not describe how these findings did not connect with why I was observing.

Writing Process: 95. I felt I did an excellent job at posting my revisions and showing my writing process. I felt the loss of 5 points would account for the lack of written posts about why I made the changes I did and how they relate to my overall focus.

For essay:
Focus-30: I will give myself a 27 because I did state my focus and i believe it is clear but I could have included more about what the paper is about. Also, I added some features about an effective teacher wich i do not think goes with my focus.
Audience / genre-25: I will give myself a 21 because I am not sure I wrote to correct audience. I am also unsure that this paper will not make sense to who ever will read it.
Organization-20: I will give myself a 19 because I did the categories and sub categories I gave myself the loss of one point because it may be hard to follow.
Development-20: I will give myself a 19 because I feel like I developed my points well and gave many examples. I gave myself the loss of one point because I felt my points could have been better backed up.
Correctness- 5: I will give myself a 4 because I am pretty sure all of my sentences are correctly stated but the one point will make up for it if some of the sentences are not grammatically correct.

Essay: 90
Data and Analysis: 295
Writing Process: 95

Total: 480/500

Monday, May 6, 2013

blog 27

I added new headings, a title, my name (and all that stuff).

I also want to cut some of the junk in my introduction and lit review. i think its too long.

I would like suggestions on making my observing section longer. do I take away from the lit review or add on. its 8 pages now. plus a works cited page.

Stephanie Underhill

ENG 3029*03

Dr. Chandler

May 9, 2013

How observing a class reinforces student teacher learning

Let’s Begin:

Many researchers have conducted a study about what makes an effective teacher. I will conduct a study, using the material from the text called Qualities of Effective Teachers by James H. Stronge, to prove that a specific second grade teacher in North New Jersey is an effective teacher by observing them. I will show that he is an effective teacher (by observing) by mentioning some facts using the headings: Classroom atmosphere, the teacher as a person, and hands on learning. After observing the teacher two times, I realized that you can read something (a text), and you can read something and observe it. In the literature review, I will talk about Stronge’s notes on effective teachers relating to what I saw in my observations. I want to summarize those points to come to a conclusion of what I learned through watching him teach. This topic is important to writing studies because it shows that while reading an article, book or paper about teaching is just okay, but it is more beneficial to take the information you read and apply it to a classroom. I want to show the audience how observing a teacher is beneficial to a teacher education major. I will have three major points to this research showing benefits of observing a teacher: Read, Watch, and What I Learned. A good teacher relates what he / she reads and brings it into the classroom.

Read:

Classroom management and organization skills

The teacher as a person

Effective teachers have positive qualities like: caring, listening, knowing their students, interacting with their students, etc. “Teachers who create a supportive and warm classroom climate tend to be more effective with students.” (Stronge, 15) Students who feel that their teacher is caring will be more than likely to open up and be open to learning new things. Effective teachers give all of the students in his / her classroom every opportunity to participate and succeed. Teachers who are considered effective listen to what the students have to say rather than cutting them off if what they are talking about is off topic. “Effective teachers also have a good sense of humor and are willing to share jokes” (Stronge, 17) This makes the classroom atmosphere more relaxed and have the students be willing to let loose in your classroom. Effective teachers realize that some students may not feel comfortable talking in group discussions, but feel more comfortable talking in smaller groups.

Implementing instruction

According to the text Qualities of Effective Teachers, “An effective teacher plans and prepares for the organization of the classroom with the same care and precision used to design a high quality lesson.” (Stronge, 23) Effective teachers also have the students participate in hands-on activities. This helps the students remember the information better because they can visualize it. Good teachers “encourage students to respond to questions and activities that require them to discover and assimilate their own understanding, rather than to simply memorize material.” (Stronge, 47)

Watch:

After reading the text and pulling out key points on classroom atmosphere, I wanted to test my theory through observation.

Classroom atmosphere

Figure 1.1

The teacher as a person

Teacher: let’s see if I am good today, last week I was pretty good

T1 stud 3 and 4: (gives the teacher thumbs up when teacher got the row of addition problems correct.)

T1 stud 3: (teacher’s name) you got one wrong.

Teacher: Oh man, I was doing so well (then laugh).

T1 stud 3: (comes up and shows the teacher the right answer on his paper).

Teacher: Oh I guess I did get one wrong, there goes my streak.

Hands on learning

What I learned:

Works Cited

Stronge, J. H. Qualities of Effective Teachers. 2. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and

Curriculum Develop, 2007. Print.

[1] T3 stud 3= table 3- student 3. This goes for all of the T_ Stud _.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Blog 26

I reviewed my paper, figure out how to fix it.

I am still working on revising my paper.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Blog 25

write up any plans/notes you have for revising your essay in light of your presentation:

I will post the diagram of the classroom under the watch category.
change order of implementing instruction and classroom atmosphere.
Conclusion: use the book and my experience.
Changed my focus (again): Benefits of Observing a Teacher.
make sure that I include a sentence why my research is important to writing studies

possibly to show others that just reading just doesn't cut it.
i forget what else.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Blog 24

My Paper :)

Introduction:

Many researchers have conducted a study about what makes an effective teacher. The research is varied depending upon the author and what they observe. Most research shows what a teacher does in and out of the classroom to make them effective. I will conduct a study, using the material from the text called Qualities of Effective Teachers by James H. Stronge, to prove that a specific second grade teacher in North New Jersey is an effective teacher. I will show that he is an effective teacher by mentioning some facts using the headings: Classroom atmosphere, the teacher as a person, and hands on learning. After observing the teacher two times, according to the text, he is an effective teacher. In the literature review, I will talk about Stronge’s notes on effective teachers relating to what I saw in my observations. Watching the teacher made me realize what makes an effective teacher. I want to summarize those points to come to a conclusion of what I learned through watching him teach. I will have three major points to this research: Read, Watch, and What I Learned. All of these aspects make for an effective teacher.

Read- Literature Review:

The teacher as a person

“Much of the recent research on teacher effectiveness focuses on relating teacher behaviors to student achievement.” (Stronge, 13) Effective teachers have positive qualities like: caring, listening, knowing their students, fairness and respect, interacting with their students, and promoting enthusiasm and motivation for learning. Students respond positively to all these qualities an effective teacher has. “Teachers who create a supportive and warm classroom climate tend to be more effective with students.” (Stronge, 15) Students must feel comfortable in the classroom if they are willing to speak. Students who feel that their teacher is caring will be more than likely to open up and be open to learning new things. “Effective, caring teachers know the students formally and informally” (Stronge, 15) Teachers who are effective connect with each student and treats them fairly. Effective teachers give all of the students in his / her classroom every opportunity to participate and succeed. Teachers who are considered effective listen to what the students have to say rather than cutting them off if what they are talking about is off topic. “Effective teachers also have a good sense of humor and are willing to share jokes” (Stronge, 17) This makes the classroom atmosphere more relaxed and have the students be willing to let loose in your classroom. “Good teachers realize and deal with the fact that some students prefer to sit quietly on the sideline, but not stop involving them.” (Stronge, 18) These teachers realize that some students may not feel comfortable talking in group discussions, but feel more comfortable talking in smaller groups. Effective teachers do not force their students to participate if they really don’t want to. The teacher, as a person, I feel is a huge part of what makes a teacher effective.

Classroom management and organization skills

Strong states that “components of the organizational plan of a classroom include room arrangement, discipline, the creation of routines, and plan to teach the students how their learning environment is organized”. (26) The better the classroom is set up for the students / teacher’s needs, the better the classroom will run during instructional time. “Doyle defined management as “the actions and strategies teachers use to solve the problem of order in the classrooms” rather than responses to disciplinary situations”. (Stronge, 26) An effective teacher has the whole day planned out so the students do not have time to act out or misbehave. Effective teachers also have a daily routine and procedures. An effective teacher has his / her room set up the best way it can be for optimal instruction. This is what his classroom looks like (may not be to scale).

The teacher also had a plan for his “first day” procedures.

“ Most effective teachers admit that rules, procedures, and routines take precedence over academic lessons during the first week of school… When materials are organized, it allows for smooth transitions between activities and increases the amount of time on academic tasks. Consequently, as students focus on academic engagement, the potential for behavior problems to occur is greatly reduced. (Stronge, 28)

Effective teachers as well as admit rules take some time, they also as plan their day and make sure to have the classroom organized. Effective teachers usually have “color coded bins and they place commonly used materials such as scissors, staples, tape, hole punchers, and crayons in easily accessible places” so the students do not have to interrupt the lesson. (Stronge 28-29) Effective teachers handle discipline when it happens, if and when it does.

Implementing instruction

According to the text Qualities of Effective Teachers, “An effective teacher plans and prepares for the organization of the classroom with the same care and precision used to design a high quality lesson.” (Stronge, 23) Effective teachers “explain the material” that is learned in a specific lesson. (Stronge, 43) Effective teachers also have the students participate in hands-on activities. This helps the students remember the information better because they can visualize it. “Teachers also realize that no one instruction is better than another.” (Stronge, 45) Good teachers “encourage students to respond to questions and activities that require them to discover and assimilate their own understanding, rather than to simply memorize material.” (Stronge, 47) Teachers who also “use positive reinforcement, praise students, and employ meaningful activities are more likely to actively engage students in learning.” (Stronge, 49)

All these techniques, if used correctly, will make for a great classroom atmosphere. Being an effective teacher means watching and reading. A good teacher relates what he / she reads and brings it into the classroom.

Watch- How watching a class reinforces student teacher learning:

Classroom atmosphere

The teacher sets up the classroom atmosphere at the beginning of the year. The teacher, like I said in my literature review, spends a lot of time on “first day” procedures, more than one day. An effective teacher will spend time on the procedures until all of the students understand. In the classroom, it looked to me that the “first day” procedures took some time to learn and understand, not just one day.

The students in the classroom, during the first observation, felt comfortable in the classroom to talk to other students while they were doing their work. The students at T4 were talking about borrowing markers. I felt that an effective teacher, like the one I observed, would not interrupt this interaction. The students were able to more freely around the room while doing the assignment. The students learned while going over the classroom procedures that it was okay to move around the classroom when doing independent work or else that would not have did what they did. The teacher makes the classroom atmosphere a very good learning environment for the students to learn in.

The teacher as a person

The teacher, as a person, is caring, a good listener, thoughtful, reliable, and has a sense of hunor. The teacher interacts with every student in some way or another and makes sure that all are participating in the lesson. The teacher, from what I observed, understands that some of the students prefer to “sit on the sidelines” but the teacher still involves them in the activities. The teacher also listens to all of the stories that the students tell him.

Teacher: let’s see if I am good today, last week I was pretty good

T1 stud 3 and 4: (gives the teacher thumbs up when teacher got the row of addition problems correct.)

T1 stud 3: (teachers name) you got one wrong.

Teacher: Oh man, I was doing so well (then laughs).

T1 stud 3: (comes up and shows the teacher the right answer on his paper).

Teacher: Oh I guess I did get one wrong, there goes my streak.

The teacher also treats every student fairly and gives all of them the same amount of respect. The teacher, from what I saw, does not play favorites. He connects with the students and he makes them feel comfortable in the classroom. He knows each student’s ability in the classroom and attends to their needs. T4 Stud 4 was having trouble with some of the vocabulary words in the second observation, so the teacher gave the student a word bank to go off of. The teacher knew that some of the students may not need that sheet, but some may. The teacher also gives every student a chance to speak and share their opinion in discussions. He called on almost every student to talk, which goes along with the “no favoritism” topic.

Hands on learning

What I learned:

What I learned through observing can never be learned by reading a textbook. The best learning experience is done through observing. I learned a lot about how to be an effective teacher through observing one. I read the book on Qualities of Effective Teachers, and learned to what to look for. While observing, I learned that the most important parts to being an effective teacher are providing the students with a positive classroom atmosphere, having the students participate with hands on learning, and having the following qualities: caring, a good listener, thoughtful, reliable, responsible, not playing favorites, have a sense of humor, knowing their students, fairness and respect, interacting with their students, and promoting enthusiasm and motivation for learning. Any Suggestions?!?!?!?!?

Works Cited

Stronge, J. H. Qualities of Effective Teachers. 2. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and

Curriculum Develop, 2007. Print.

DO I HAVE TO CREATE A WORKS CITED ENTRY SAYING WHERE I GOT MY OBSERVATION NOTES FROM?????

[1] T3 stud 3= table 3- student 3. This goes for all of the T_ Stud _.