Chapter 7: Thinking about Teaching and Learning

Reading chapter 7 in the Joy of Teaching textbook I have discovered a couple of new ideas and theories that I will incorporate into my teaching philosophy. One of these was the discovery method theorized by Jerome Bruner. In this theory, he states that students learn better by discovering the truths about the world around them on their own, through experiments and questions. Instead of the alternative of sitting in a straight back chair and a teacher standing at the front of the room force feeding material into the students. Another philosophy that I considered helpful, which could in practice overlap with the discovery method was progressivism. Most of the time progressivism deals with a focus on the importance of science but other elements of progressivism would be helpful to my future history class. Especially, the idea that humans are social beings and can learn from each other, most importantly, if the topic can be related to something in our own lives or past experiences. This idea is the whole reason why I believe that history is valid criteria to teach in schools. The question then becomes how do I make my students see the connection and the relevance history has to their daily lives. This question was posed in extreme clarity in the case study involving Kenneth, a high school history teacher. A student asked him "why do I have to know this stuff?" and I know I will be asked that question because I have heard my own peers ask it. The book was not too helpful in answering this question. Kenneth's philosophies and ideals are not at fault for this lapse in understanding on the part of one of his students. It was suggested that he go back to the beginning and figure out a new way to present the material to portray to his students the relevance of the topic so they might connect it to something in their own lives and therefore learn and remember it better.

Chapter 13: Improving Teachers and Schools, and School Reform

Things that I plan on doing during college to improve my resume would be keeping good grades in all of my classes but especially in my major classes. I will student teach, observe and learn about different teaching styles, and have evaluations and recommendations to compliment my resume.

After I have become a teacher I plan on continuing learning. I want to earn not only my masters but eventually my doctorate by the time my career finishes. Along with the teacher workshops that each school has to have in its schedule throughout the year, I hope to attend other conferences to learn more. Eventually I want to receive the National Board Certification.

Things I need to know

• In order to be a secondary education major I need to pass Praxis I. I have to have that completed before I can further my study in the program. Financial help for the Praxis, in the form of a fee waiver, is due 2 months before the actual test date.
  
• Practicum is the next step in the education program at UMF. I need to get at least a C in English 100, Education 101, and Special Education 125. Registering for Practicum is done by filling out paperwork and giving it to Kristen Hickey, a secretary for the Education department at UMF. She will set up an interview to get into the program.
  
• The process to switch majors and get into the education major is almost like applying to the college itself. There is an application on ecampus, along with a photocopy of your scores on the Praxis I, and an entrance essay explaining why you want to be an education major. All of those are needed to be turned in together to Kristen Hickey to be admitted into the program.
  

How do I start thinking like a teacher?

I believe that I still think like a student and not like a teacher at all. Most of the time that I sit in class I just wait to see what we are going to do next. I do not anticipate or really wonder. I must not be mentally active enough during class because looking back on it, I wait like a vegetable until you give directions. My suggestion would be to maybe start class by telling us what you want us to learn and then discussing and brain storming different ideas to learn about the topic. After, we would either do all of the ideas and see which one worked the best or choose the best one and use that. Then we would all see get immediate feedback about how well we designed a lesson. That would be one way to start thinking like a teacher.

Which theories and historical influences should most impact the schools we'd like to have?

We have learned about the history of education by writing the educational shift wikis and by reading our peers' wikis. I do not know any thing about any formal philosophies about education. I would like to learn about some.

How can I use knowledge of the learner to be a better teacher?

The knowledge I have gained so far has come from the homework of reading the textbook. I have learned about the diversity of my possible student pool and understanding their culture will help me teach them more effectively. Also if I teach about a piece of their culture to the whole class then the student will feel more connected to the class. I also learned from the reading that I will most likely have a special needs child in my classes. Hopefully the child's aid and I will work together to devise a suitable plan to meet the learning needs of the child. I know that students possess many different learning styles and I would like to learn about different ways of incorporating each of the styles into one lesson, so that every child can learn.

How can I be successful at UMF?

I have learned how to be successful at UMF by knowing what classes I need to graduate on time. I learned what tests I need to take and when they are before I can take courses like practicum and student teaching. I also learned what the requirements to become a licensed teacher in Maine are because of the homework we did and then shared in class. I want to talk about the job market and how to sell yourself successfully after graduation.

How do I become a teacher?

So far this course I have learned what characteristics and qualities good teachers have by the brain storm we did in class. We also learned how to identify a good teacher by creating rubrics by which we would grade a teacher if we visited a classroom. We also wrote a philosophy paper on what we thought it meant to be a teacher and how we would teach. Something I would like to learn is how to gain the respect of my students so they will listen to me when I try to teach them.

Chapter 3: Families and Communities

Most parents are actively interested in helping their children achieve the greatest potential. The best way parents can help is to form a partnership of open communication with their child's teacher.

Many times parents want to help but schedules are busy in this present era and most of the time all parents end up asking their children is, "is your homework done?" as their children crawl into bed. The honest attempt is there, but unfortunately it is not the most effective method of parental involvement. The next step for the parents would be to know what the student had for homework that night. Eventually the parents will be able to assist their children if they need it or let their children explain what they learned to them.

This is effective for the development of the students academically because it provides a similar environment and structure at home that they are used to learning in at school. Homework is assigned to reinforce what material was covered in class. If the student's time at home is structured to ensure that the homework is completed then the likelihood of the student learning is much greater. Students perform much better if they know the expectations their teacher and their parents have for them. Parental involvement offers the child support and encouragement from both the teacher and the parents. A structured environment that offers support and encouragement and in which the expectations are clearly known to the student gives the student the best opportunity for success in school.

The best way these goals can be achieved is through active and clear communication between the teacher and the parents. The teacher keeps the parents constantly informed on what material is being covered in class, what is the night's assignment, major projects, and up coming fieldtrips. The parents know that they can contact the teacher at any time to ask questions about their child's performance. Parent teacher conferences are set up by the school but some parents' work schedules are not flexible enough to attend. The parents know that the teacher can set up an appointment at a different time. The parents have opportunities to volunteer in the class room as well and to visit.

Communication often avoids the most common conflict between teachers and parents, which is homework. Some parents believe teachers assign too much homework and believe that school work should be done at school. Some parents believe that the teachers do not assign enough. Communication between the parents and teachers gives the teacher the opportunity to explain the necessity of the homework load and what the student has for homework each night.

A popular opinion of some people is focusing more on the student's responsibility instead of relying on their parents to know what the homework assignment is. If the student knows that their mom knows what the homework is the student will not bother to write the assignment down. Instead of increasing the student's skills it is actually enabling them to be lazy and rely on their parents. If their parents expect the student to know what the homework is and do it independently of their assistance, unless it is needed with the academic portion of it, it should not foster a lack of responsibility.

Parents are busy people who have to balance work and home life. Some people feel that the expectation that parents be involved in their child's school work will disadvantage the children whose parents do not have ample time to help them. Parents think that helping their child with school work takes a lot of time but in most cases it requires only a conversation to show the child that the parent is interested. Showing interest in what they are doing gives them more support than if the parents did not say anything about it.

Another argument against parental involvement is that some parents will push their children too hard to get good grades. This problem, unfortunately appears in other areas of a child's life such as athletics, music, dance or other after school activities. One thing a teacher can do if he or she recognizes this problem is to draw the parent's attention to the learning process rather than the end result.

By offering support, encouragement, and a structured environment through communication with the classroom teacher, parents can be actively involved in their child's learning and help them be successful in school.

Educational Shifts

These are the six educational shifts that I reviewed:

• Charter Schools by: Gerydd
• Native American Schools by: Jordan
• National Defense Education Act by: Laura
• Emma Hart Willard by: Corinne
• Bolling v Sharpe by: Lindsey
• Davis v County School Board of Prince Edward County, Virginia by: Fawn
  

Chapter 2: Today's Students

Students with disabilities are being integrated into the regular classroom instead of most of their instruction occurring in one on one situations with special education teachers or with other students with disabilities. Now, a new emphasis has been placed on keeping children with disabilities in the classroom with peers who do not have disabilities. This is especially stressed during subjects like language arts, mathematics, music, art, and physical education. In order for the classroom teacher to adequately instruct the student with a disability, an individual education program is developed by the classroom teacher, special education instructor, and parents. Parents are a critical part of the successful education of their child and usually they are actively involved. Three major benefits of integration is a fading negative stigma associated with special education, peers without disabilities are become more accepting and comfortable around those students, and a better education for the special education children.

Chapter 5: The History of Schools in the United States

In 300 years the curriculum of American schools has changed almost as much as the different kinds of students it serves. Schools, first started in Massachusetts Bay Colony by the Puritans, consisted of strict memorization of the Bible and the New England Primer, which was full of religious rhetoric. Noah Webster's spellers and McGuffey Readers replaced the Primer, not by reduction of memorization but by substituting secular authors for some of the religious ones. The purpose of education was to teach children to read the Bible and moral discipline. With the influx of immigrants due to industrialization, the purpose changed to a focus on literacy and discipline to create a better workforce. Progressivism invaded schools and with it came moveable tables instead of single desks and group work with learning occurring through experimentation and discovery. Unfortunately, the goal of education for progressively minded people was to reform society and when there was no apparent effect, the schools received considerable criticism. Besides the ever increasing focus of math and science in today's schools, most of the debate for change is fueled by minorities who want their cultures and histories integrated into main stream education.

American education was created by Protestant believers and one of the first groups to challenge the religious influence it had in schools were Catholic immigrants from Ireland. Ethnicity, like religion, is no longer homogenous as it was in the beginning. Most schools are now populated with students of different backgrounds and ethnicities. The debates to integrate those races in the same school, to teach bilingually, or to keep the curriculum with the point of view of Anglican Americans are ongoing. The system, of course, is not flawless but I believe it has come a long way from containing racial and religious slurs within the text books.