Chapter 7c

In my own educational career, I recall multiple choice tests not always being as accurate as the educator hoped them to be. My peers and I would find flaws in the wording or even find multiple answers that would be suitable to accurately answer the question presented. For this reason, I found this section of chapter seven, about multiple choice and its guidelines, interesting. I thought it was neat that this section gave specific ideas as to what to keep in mind when creating these types of assessments. In my own future classroom, I know that creating multiple choice has both advantages and disadvantages and I will need to be careful not to use them too often to assess my students. One advantage is that multiple choice requires students to know detailed specifics about a concept or topic in order to answer a question correctly, especially when it comes down to more than one answer being potentially correct. This could also be a disadvantage as the student may not see the minor details of two or more choices and mistake an incorrect answer for being the correct answer. Overall, it is important for educators to vary assessment in their classroom to find an accurate picture of how and what their students know and can do.

Chapter 7b

One thing I enjoyed reading about in this section of text was assessment and evaluation. It is common for educators to often mistake or confuse one for the other. This chapter makes it clear that assessment is the process of seeing how and what students are understanding and evaluation is the process of understanding what makes sense from the assessment given to students. Assessment has many purposes such as help learning, find strengths and weaknesses of students' abilities and knowledge, find how useful a specific activity, strategy, or program is to the students, to improve instruction, to aid in decision making for each student, and to provide the parents, school, district, and state with information so that all may understand where students are in the educational process. By assessing and evaluating, an educator may see that he or she needs to expand or even review a subject so the students may build upon their knowledge. In my own classroom, I plan to use assessment for these previously stated reasons as well as to help me, as the educator, understand what I need to do to help my students succeed inside and outside the classroom. I want to give my students all that I can during my time as their teacher and I believe that assessments will aid in accomplishing that goal.

Chapter 7a

Something I came to realize upon reading this section of the textbook is that an educator may assess what a student says, does, or writes. Although I have been assessed in these three ways during my own educational career, I never actually thought too much about the ways in which a teacher or professor assesses his/her students. Assessments allow educators to see whether or not a student is at the appropriate achievement level according to his/her grade. Assessments also give educators an idea on where or how to better prepare the students. 

An educator may assess a student by what is said through an explanation, oral report, and interactions with peers. An educator may assess what a student does by watching nonverbal behaviors and interactions with peers, as well. An educator may assess a student by what he/she writes through a journal entry, reading log, research paper, or daily writing activities. In my own classroom, I would like create rubrics, record observations, and compile student portfolios to assess my students then display their work. I plan to use a variety of ways to assess my own students during novice teaching, student teaching, and during my entire teaching career.

Chapter 6b

Interdisciplinary thematic units are excellent ways to incorporate multiple content areas into one cohesive learning and teaching plan. ITUs may involve one teacher, usually more common an elementary school setting, or may include two or more teachers, such as in the middle school setting where students often spend their day with multiple teachers. It is important that the ITU be of interest to the students and aim to achieve the educational goals and objectives set in place by the teacher(s), school, district, and state. ITUs may take a day, a week, or longer. While planning ITUs, it is essential that educators give each plan enough time and thought so that students are able to fully understand all concepts and information presented throughout the unit.

During my time at Bradley University, I have already created an Interdisciplinary Thematic Unit for 5th grade students. Within my unit, I developed a teaching plan in order for my students to accomplish the goals and objectives I created. I hope to receive more opportunities in my future teaching career, and especially within the middle school setting as I would ideally like to teach 6th to 8th grade, to create interdisciplinary thematic units with a team of colleagues.

Two important points I took away from this section for my future teaching career is to use the backward design and give enough time to the planning process when creating a ITU. Selecting standards, goals, and objectives first, according to the backward design, will give me a better idea of what learning strategies and activities I should incorporate for an effective unit. In order for a successful unit, I will plan well ahead of time so that I can clearly think through each step, revise and edit the unit, and allow my colleagues and other mentors to look over the unit and give critiques. I look forward to creating and further developing ITUs someday soon as my teaching career quickly approaches.

Chapter 6a

While reading this section of chapter 6, one concept that immediately captured my interest was Dr. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. There are many intelligences included in this text including bodily/kinesthetic, existentialist, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical/mathematical, musical/rhythmic, naturalist, verbal/linguistic, and visual/spatial. People learn in different ways and sometimes learn better one way over another way. One person may learn best by writing out a mathematics equation, another may learn best from using manipulatives to represent the values, and yet another may learn best from moving his or her body to see the relationships between values. I am a firm believer that students learn in different ways. Additionally, I often classify myself as possessing strong visual intelligence and mathematical intelligence as I usually understand better when concepts are presented visually on paper and using numbers or variables. I believe that an educator should vary instruction so that all students are able to learn every concept and all information presented.

In my own classroom, I plan to vary instruction as frequently as possible. I would like my students to have opportunities to do whatever it takes for them to learn a concept or idea. I would like my students to engage in discussions, move around the classroom, use manipulatives, think deeply about information, express themselves and what they learn on paper, use technology, work independently, in partner pairs, in small groups, and as a class, question frequently, find patterns in the world, talk over their thoughts, draw, create, explore, and more. As a future educator, I am always looking for new and exciting ways to present information to my students and I will continue to do so throughout my teaching career. I want my students to know that there is more than one way to learn something and that learning can be and is fun.

Chapter 5c

A classroom syllabus can be a helpful tool at any grade level. The syllabus may assist students to navigate a course, keep track of assignments, be reminded of the policies and guidelines, and more. A syllabus can also be a helpful aid to parents and guardians, who may want to be informed of what is going on in the class, especially when the student may attend four or more classes each day. Parents and guardians may want to know what is being learned in the classroom, what homework is assigned, or how their student is evaluated. A syllabus can be very helpful for older students, such as 7th and 8th grade, as they will be preparing for high school and college as these are times when teachers and professors more often use syllabi to convey crucial information.

In my own future classroom, I plan to create a syllabus for my students. In this syllabus, I would like to include my classroom goals, grading scale, attendance policy, necessary materials, and general classroom procedures. I believe it is healthy and beneficial for my students to know my expectations of them from the very beginning in order for academic success.

Chapter 5b

One of the most difficult aspects of teaching that an educator will encounter is controversy. In today's world, it is difficult to please all people. People have differing opinions, values and morals, races, religions, backgrounds, and experiences. It is key that a teacher not discuss a controversial topic unless fully aware of all the potential actions that could occur during and following the conversation. A teacher should adequately prepare for a lesson that my involve a controversial topic and be well informed by using a variety of resources. Teachers should be prepared to answer questions that may arise. Additionally, a teacher must ensure that all sides of the topic are covered so as to not be biased or lead students one way or another without fully considering all aspects. Lastly, an educator should encourage students to research, ask questions, and perhaps even interview knowledgeable people to find out more information before formulating a set opinion.

In my future middle school classroom, I hope to frequently engage my students in discussions. I plan to be sure that I am aware of all sides and information about a topic before presenting it to my students. I do not want any students feel that they are wrong in thinking a certain way or disagreeing with a peer. I do not plan to share my own personal opinion with my students unless absolutely necessary or unless each student has come to his or her own opinion or decision on the matter at hand and it is appropriate for me, as an educator, to do so. I want my classroom to be open and welcoming of all students and their ideas, opinions, thoughts, and feelings; carefully monitoring controversial topics is one way to create an accepting classroom community.

Chapter 5a

An advisory program has the opportunity to make or break a student's middle school career. Advisory, sometimes known as homeroom, is short period of time (usually 15 to 30 minutes in length) that each student attends a class with the same group of peers and the same teacher. Advisory can be a daily or weekly occurrence. This communal time together is when a teacher may take attendance, share announcements about the day or week, get to know students on an individual level, promote belonging and relationships, guide students in activities, and develop each student's sense of well-being before sending the students to their classes for the rest of the day. If the time spent is not personal and helpful, a student may distance themselves from specific teachers, not get to know their peers, and grow to dislike school. Advisory is especially helpful in times of transition, such as when a student just enters middle school and when a student is about to enter high school. During advisory, counselors, school nurses, principals, and even community resources may come into the classroom to talk with the students.

I recall my own middle school advisory time, between the first and second period of the day, when I got to know my teacher, participate in small group activities, and listen to announcements. I remember how close I was with my 6th grade teacher, who still remembers my name to this day when I see her in public, and how much she impacted my personal growth as a student. I would like to get to know my own group of students extremely well when I am a middle school teacher. I believe it will be beneficial to learn students' names and backgrounds, play games and complete activities, and grow trust, honesty, respect, and compassion together as the year progresses. I plan to build this type of community in the middle school classroom because it can help students become more aware of themselves and abilities, more respectful to peers and teachers, and better human beings by building relationships and community.


Resources


Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Chapter 4c

The major idea in this section of chapter 4 is teacher-caused misbehavior. When I first read the chapter, I was a bit surprised as I have not heard much about the concept that actions the teacher makes may actually cause misbehavior by the students in return. This was a bit of a new concept to me. From the many scenarios, it is apparent that a teacher may easily lose control of students by both purposeful and unintentional actions. Some of these actions came as shocking to me, such as negative touch control and taped mouths. Others were not so surprising, such as embarrassment. In my own educational career, I recall a teacher embarrassing me in front of my classroom of 8th grade peers by pointing out a spelling mistake I made on the board one morning. This was an experience I hope to never give to my own future students.

It is important to notice the many ways in which teachers may avoid silly classroom management errors. Some of the most beneficial ways to avoid a mistake, in my opinion, is to remain alert, move around the classroom, and diminish unwanted or negative behavior as quickly as possible and these are actions I plan to take in my own classroom. First, I want to remain alert of my students, their words, and their actions during the entire school day. I do not want my students to get off task because this can quickly turn into disruptive behavior. I also would like to frequently move around the classroom so my students see that I am aware of what is going on in the classroom. I plan to decrease and even eliminate unwanted negative behaviors by using nonverbal cues such as by looking at a student for a lengthened period of time and pause while speaking to the entire class, a group, or specific student to gain their attention. These simple, yet effective, actions will assist classroom management and help me guide my middle school students to academic success.


Resources


Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Chapter 4b

The most important days of school year happen during the first week. This is the time when students are unfamiliar with the classroom, teacher(s), and perhaps even their peers and need to be guided as to what to do within the classroom and during the school day. During the first few days of the school year, an educator should share his/her expectations for the students in a clear manner. It is very effective to include students in the procedure-making process so they feel ownership of the classroom. Students and the educator can discuss ideas, collaborate, and create procedures that are positive and easy to remember. Students should also be instructed on what to do during events such as a fire, tornado, and building lock down especially as these are events when every second matters. Students should also be instructed on what to do during much simpler actions such as walking down the hallway, going to the lunchroom, and visiting their lockers to access books and other needs. It is essential to immediately follow the set classroom procedures with middle school students to show consistency and help them understand what is expected of them and lead them to have a productive academic year. I plan to make the most out of the first day and week of the school year in my own future classroom by allowing students to assist with brainstorming and creating procedures. I believe that this task would be one that is interesting and appealing to the students so they feel ownership of the classroom.


Resources


Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Chapter 4a

Something that I believe is absolutely key in any classroom is a positive atmosphere and chapter 4 of Teaching Young Adolescents: Methods and Resources for Middle Grades Teaching explains wonderful reasoning. A positive atmosphere, or ambiance as the chapter specifies, allows students to feel at home and respected by all members of the classroom community. It is the educator's role to encourage respect of others and discourage comments and behaviors that may be toxic to students and their self-esteem. Students are more likely to do well in the classroom if they feel accepted so educators should also strongly discourage discrimination. In whatever way possible, educators should aim for creating a warm, open, embracing, and accepting environment.

In my own future career, I plan to make my classroom as welcoming as possible. I would like to fill the walls with bright colors and posters showing a variety of backgrounds of people. I would like to arrange my students in small groups so they may work with one another as they collaborate on and discuss assignments. I would like to send positive notes home to parents and guardians to let them know how their student is doing during the school day. I would like to encourage my students to solve any problems they may have with one another in a kind manner. The classroom community can make or break the learning process and I hope to do all I can to make mine as effective as possible.

Resources

Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Chapter 3

     During my own middle school years, I recall my teachers asking all sorts of questions. Some questions were easy, simple, and almost jumping out from the page of text. Some questions were difficult, complex, and not so much on the surface level of the text. Some questions were ones you had to really think about, discuss with peers, or even listen to the teacher to truly understand just what was being asked. Chapter three of Teaching Young Adolescents: Methods and Resources for Middle Grades Teaching discusses the many reasons why teachers should use various types of questions to challenge their students. Some questions are to review material while other questions are to lead learners a specific direction in their journey through a task or as they gain knowledge. It is important for educators to use these different types of questions to grow each students' intellect and make their learning experience purposeful. One method that I think is extremely beneficial is to have students ask their own questions to their peers who may then answer. By doing so, students are able to assist their peers in the learning process and may even ask additional questions in response. By questioning, students are able to understand just what is important to them. Students are able to solve problems, participate in higher level thinking processes, and create their learning experience to be as significant as possible. Educators play a key role in questioning and should continue to ask an assortment of questions so students are able to cognitively grow during the course of a lesson, school year, and entire educational career. 


Resources


Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Chapter 2b

     One of the most important sections from this chapter in the textbook and one of the most important matters that educators must abide by is the fact that the educational setting must be nondiscriminatory. Educators must create a safe, understanding, and respectful environment. This environment must not offend or differentiate people based on sex, gender, religion, race, ability, or any other status which may classify a person. This is especially important during the middle school levels, or ages of 9-14 years old, as this period in an adolescent's life is packed with great change. Adolescents change physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, and morally and may easily become offended or rejected. In my future classroom, I hope to set strict ground rules with my students at the beginning of the school year to eliminate all types of discrimination that may arise and help my students become understanding, accepting, and accountable citizens of the world.
     An educator should also use and help students understand how to best use the internet and technology. Technology and related devices serve as excellent ways to guide students, especially as today's students are those in which spent a majority of their time online and using these devices growing up. From computers and laptops to television and iPads, educators may use these devices to their advantage and make learning fun along the way. Educators should incorporate technology into their classroom and lessons so students may become more proficient using these skills which may be useful in their future educational and career endeavors. I hope to have technological resources for my use and my students use in my classroom/school because I would like to help my students learn all the world has to offer them.

Resources


Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Chapter 2a

     Educators hold hefty responsibilities during their role in the lives of students, colleagues, administrators, parents, and others they come in contact with in the educational setting. Educators need to not only keep in mind that they are to teach and guide students in their classroom but are accountable for the well-being of their students. Educators often become role models for their students and colleagues so it is best if each educator make appropriate decisions, follow school, district, state, and national guidelines, be professional in all matters, and ask questions to their supervisor, principle, superintendent, or faculty member with whom they are to report to if one arises. In my future classroom, I plan to create rules with my students and teach them classroom and school guidelines during the first day and first few weeks of the school year. My goal in doing so is because I want to ensure that all students in my classroom know that they are important, unique, and will be safe in all they do when they come to school each day.


Resources

Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Chapter 1

     After reading chapter one in Teaching Young Adolescents: Methods and Resources for Middle Grades Teaching, I found two most important ideas that current and future educators should keep in mind in order for success in the classroom. First, educators need to adequately prepare themselves for all aspects of the educational setting. Teachers need to be knowledgeable of the curriculum, policies and procedures, mission statement, demographics of students, organization of the school, schedules, and just about every facet, especially first year teachers or teachers who may be unfamiliar with a new school or district. All faculty members should be completely ready at the start of the academic year for anything the school year may bring in order to ensure the safety, progress, and success of each student. 
     Additionally, adolescents endure a number of changes as they progress through these middle years between elementary and high school. Students develop intellectually, physically, emotionally/psychologically, socially, and morally/ethically. Students may develop intellectually by thinking deeper about concepts in the world and about themselves. Students may develop physically by growing a few inches, gaining weight, or acquiring muscle. Students may develop emotionally/psychologically by becoming more or less sensitive to others thoughts, actions and words. Students may develop socially by spending more time with peers and less time with parents/guardians and/or adults. Students may develop morally/ethically by asking question after question to understand who they are and what they believe (Kellough, 2008). Overall, educators need to both prepare themselves for all aspects of the educational setting and be aware of the changes students endure in order to best prepare themselves and their students for academic success.


Resources


Kellough, R., & Kellough, N. (2008).  Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.