Bog #5

Oh man! I think the most challenging role for sure is creating a vivacious balance of all the demands of being a great teacher. One needs to indeed be knowledgeable, have an infinite hunger for expanding your knowledge, and be present! It’s difficult for me to express one answer, I feel there are many answers to each question and each question goes hand-in-hand with one another. I sense the most important roles will always be the most challenging. But even within that assumption, I get excited. As if there’s a burning fire deep within that ignites the drive to tackle the challenges of teaching.

I really can’t choose one role as the most important or most challenging, however I could discuss practicing presence as the main role equally challenging. As a teacher, presence allows you to actively respond to the students, and the classroom environment. But to ultimately practice teaching in presence, you must be prepared. Prepared for the daily lessons and prepared for the Plan B’s, this way you can effectively flow with the progression of the day.

 

Blog #4

 

From my observations, the teachers accomplish assessments by numeral means. During my classroom service time, among the assessment applications I have observed are Pre-tests, Criterion referenced tests, Explicit and Null curriculum and lastly the summative method for assessment.  Placement, pre-test and summative assessments seem to remain similar to education methods used when I was in elementary. I think they’re precisely habitual and render valid, reliable and progressive results.

 I have not witnessed much authentic assessment application in comparison to implicit and null curriculum. I left out the explicit curriculum comparison because, I haven’t seen the teachers use a tangible outline or plan for their instruction (except in the resource room, they are extremely methodical and organized). It’s interesting, these concepts just brought up another thought or tangent in my mind…there’s multiple ways to assesses the students learning and comprehension level for further classroom educational progression, but what assess the teachers skills of efficient teaching? Oh, an answer came to me as I asked myself the question…likely that would reflect in the students’ performances on their assessments.  I ask that question, because I see the teacher’s “improvising” often (which sometimes leads them astray), which I completely understand, but where’s the organized back-up plan or plan B? Their instruction just doesn’t seem as organized or tangibly planned out as I see it in my mind to be…

Blog #3

The effects of the Federal Law IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), are evident by the student’s individual accommodations established while in their homeroom class and by the opportunity for those learners to practice learning at their specific level in Resource.

I have witnessed early intervention and related services to students of each grade from kindergarten through sixth during my “in the classroom” service hours. The majority of the interventions I've observed occur during the students’ resource classroom participation. Although, adaptations for Section 504 plans fostered within the classes appear to transpire as increased exceptions or exemptions for those individuals. One prominent modification I have noticed for inclusion is the exercise and participation of peer-tutors. The peer-tutors’ level of maturity by leadership skills, composure and communication; captivatingly surprise me as I learn from them!

Without a doubt, there are so many tasks to manage all while teaching simultaneously! I find myself in my head often, reflecting on the many methods and by what means one can successfully accomplish these tasks. When identifying the answer to myself I find my reply is found in the word experiential (but not as in observation, more so by way of doing).