Tests, cooperative learning and managing Work life

"Testing

As we all know, tests have become really important in modern classrooms. Although as a student, I don't really like testing, it defines what students if students accomplished the lesson. As it says in Mr. Wong's book, "Tests are to be used to determine if the student has accomplished the stated objectives or learning criteria." Tests also exist for students to recognize or see how much they actually know from what they've learned, if they gave attention to th teacher. "Tests are given for the students' sake, not the teachers' sake." Tests might be a little hard on students, but they are sure helpful to define the knowledge they've learned. 

When the concept or objective isn't conquered, the teacher should give the student the appropriate help and resources so he/ she can succeed, because as Mr. Wong said, " If you do not correct and remediate, learning gets worse and worse as the year progresses." Tests are given to see how much students know, which helps the teacher find another way of teaching the lesson to the student so he or she can succeed, as Mr. Wong said, "A test tells you if the student needs corrective help."

Here is an article where it explains many questions people ask about tests and their purpose, it's really interesting!
Here are some other interesting articles that talk about testing and the point of it! Article 2 Article 3

Cooperative Learning

In the simplest form, cooperative learning looks like the following: 

• The teacher presents a lesson to the students  
• The student groups are given activities to master the objectives  
• The teacher teaches group and study strategies
• The students work together to help one another master the objectives 

Cooperative learning can occur when students are partnered up as work buddies. It can also occur when students are put together in a table with three or more students and also when students are put together to work on a project where everyone has equal jobs to finish by working together. "In cooperative groups, students help one another complete an activity the teacher assigned" As Mr. Wong said, when putting students together, they learn how to work and succeed together. 

Working in groups, students put better quality in their work, "the context of a work group is more important than the content of the group." Which means how much effort the students have put in their project. 

Here is a link about an article where it shows different cooperative learning strategies

Other helpful links Article 2 Article 3

Succeeding in the future

I believe that as a future educator, my job will interfer with my personal life a lot. As the organized
person I believe I am, I think I will achieve success, happiness and effectiveness by always being prepared for the unexpected, from the suppor from my family and also by staying dedicated to making a difference in people's lives, which is why I am very passionate about Education.

Although that's what I believe I will do to stay happy, making choices will be a tough but helpful thing to do as a teacher. "What a person chooses to do will greatly determine the quality of that person's life." Making choices will help me have a lifestyle since I'm the one that is choosing what I want.
Having an enhancement Behaivor as a teacher is the best way to be a teacher. "People who use enhancement Behaivor are "we" people. I enjoy participating and learning when it comes to the teaching profession. 

If you ever wonder why teaching is important or if your an educator and just need a little reminder of why you love your job, take a look at these Articles Article 2 Article 3

Enjoy! ☺️

What makes up an effective discipline plan!

As a teacher, we literally need to plan everything and anything, and always be prepared for the unexpected. One of the things we have to deal with is student Behaivor! It can be stressful sometime but if you have a discipline plan, you are prepared and will know what to do 👌🏽  

A discipline plan has to have rules and consequences to start off. 

Effective rules should just be from 3-5 in total and your consequences should match the age and grade of the students for it to be effective. 

In your plan, you need to include what to do with unexpected thing that could occur. Also, include the Rewards you will be giving your students for their good Behaivor, and once again APPROPRIATE AND FAIR for everyone. 

Something else that you should get just in general, is the support from parents. Always talk to the parents about what is going on in the classroom and with their students. Believe it or not, they CARE! ☺️

Here is an article where it helps you make your own discipline plan, hope it helps! Article 

The role of a teacher is to uncover- Mr. Wong's book, Chapter 21-22

This chapter focuses on how to master a lesson with good assignments, objectives and different resources.


Some of the things I learned from this chapter is that students don't do an assignment because the reason could be that they didn't learned anything and don't know how to complete the assignment given, as Mr. Wong says "If the students do not do their assignments and do not show achievement, no learning has occurred." I read that a teacher should never think to herself/ himself of what she/he needs to cover, instead to think what the students need to learn and achieve.

I've learned that a textbook is literally just a resource for students. textbooks doesn't help students succeed in anyway, as a matter of fact, it only confuses them even more when used all the time and "learn" from the textbook. As it says in the book, "The ineffective teacher used units that were two to three weeks long." & "The effective teacher taught single concepts or skills, and her lessons were one to three days long." This explains that teachers should use different resources that don't last a long time and that will help the student learn, to be able to accomplish the objective. 

Objectives help both teachers and students, it reminds both what it's expected to TEACH and LEARNED from the lesson. Mostly, it defines what the students needs to accomplish. "The students must know before the lesson, assignment, or activity begins what they are responsible for learning." 

Tests and grades are important for the students as well as teachers because it's a way to see how much a student's knowledge has developed throughout the year. Shows how much they've grown from the beginning to the end of a lesson and also identifies if they don't understand the lesson. 

Mastery is achieving or accomplishing something big, like a student achieving something they had no idea how to do in the first day of classroom, and at the end of the school year, masters the lesson. 

The previous statements are some of the things I am now able to understand from reading the book. 

From reading the book, I thought writing an objective for a pre- kindergarten classroom would be appropriate. 

 "Give an example of an animal that starts with the letter "E"

And a test question I would use for my objective is "Name an animal that starts with the letter "E"

I also think that standerized state testing is too much pressure on students, especially older students. When classroom tests, I believe are effective and relates to the students more as well as the students to the test, which fits them best.   

Here is a link that defines the simililarities and differences of these type of tests. 

 

If I were in charge of the world

If I were in charge of the world

I'd cancel school, 

Mornings, 

Semester finals, and also interviews. 

If I were in charge of the world

We wouldn't have poor. 

We wouldn't have dirty. 

We wouldn't have schedules or night time. 

If I were in charge of the world 

High school would be two years 

Shows would last fifteen seasons 

And a person who sometimes slept a lot, 

And sometimes forgot to do homework, 

Would still be allowed to be in charge of the world. 

Choosing behavior & Classroom Rules

I believe giving a child the responsibility to choose their behavior is a great way to learn managing their own behavior.  When a child makes a choice, they think of the impact or outcome they will receive. For example, when a child chooses to do what is told, follow directions, etc., they know they will get rewarded. In the other hand, when a child is seeking for attention, they won't act the same way as someone making good choices. They will act in a way they will get attention from their parents, teachers, classmates, etc. 

I read something that argued, "the number one problem in the classroom is not discipline; it is the lack of procedures and routines." I personally have experienced this in some of my high school classes, where teachers didn't have clear and organized routines. Most of the time they didn't have their lessons planned. Also, their rules weren't never followed because of their lack of attention and focus given TO THEIR OWN rules! 

Picture books 📚

Picture books belong in our classrooms because they can address both heart and the standards. Picture books teach emphaty, they relate to human experiences and also addresses complex issues and content. Picture books are commonly used in schools. Teachers use them to be able to make the learners relate to their lives. Picture books are teacher's favorite because they fit in to any subject. There are millions of books that can teach anything, from behavior to focusing on vocabulary to counting. 

One of my favorite picture book is, "No, David". A book full of many times when David's mom told him to not do something. Which relates to children because most of the times, our lovely parents say NO. On scholastic, I found some activities I would love to try to do in my future classroom. Check it out! Here 

Also, check out this Blog! It has a lot of different activities kids can do for the David books!

Classroom management & Discipline

Without having rules or guidelines in your classroom, you will probably have an unsuccessful year. Establishing a good and positive classroom management is what will keep the class going for the rest of the year. 

In the previous years, I've had teachers that didn't really focused on their discipline goals or rules, and students in the class literally think of that class as a place and time to do whatever they wanted to. 

I've also worked with teachers at the elementary that would always ignore the idea of having rules, but it was literally just for show because they never followed or kept up with them. 

In my future classroom, for managing disciplining the classroom, I will honestly try to learn how to work with it really well and always stick to the plan I propose to myself and the whole classroom. I will always remind the students what choices are right or wrong  REMINDING students of what's wrong and right is a great way to discipline them. 

Here's a link of ways to set up a discipline and management plans! :) 

LINK

A teacher's reputation

As a teacher, students, parents and even colleagues will talk about you as how you teach and even about your personality. Protecting your reputation as a teacher is really important because it represents who you are. 

For example, in my junior year I had a teacher that didn't really care of what people thought of her, of how her students would treat her, and she ended up leaving. When people think of you as a careless teacher, they will honestly think the worst of you. 

Since protecting your reputation is important, you should always give a good first impression, greet people nicely, have morals, and be YOURSELF! 

Welcoming students on the First day of School

In the first day of school, it is really important for teachers to greet their new students. Greeting our students will help them stay confident in their year and feel like they're in the right place. Welcoming students the first day of school benefits the teacher by giving her/him control. As Mr. Wong said, "Everything possible should be done to welcome the students and to make sure that they know where to go and how to get there in time." Other than the welcoming, you should also be helping students and parents be where they're supposed to be at, and that way the school stays organized, and not a mess! Another factor of welcoming students is putting them to work immediately! As soon as you sit them, inform to them that they will have to complete an assignment, and as Mr. Wong said, "tell them to wok on it immediately!" The assignment should be something fun and interesting though, give them an idea of how learning will be in the classroom. Also, saying your first words to the students MATTER! According to Mr. Wong, "There are two major things you want to state at the outset on the first day of school: your name and your expectations." This will help the students start calling you by your name, and to be able to pronounce the right way. 

The first day of school will always be stressful, but once you get to meet your new kiddos, it will be so much fun!

Most important factor governing student learning

According to Mr. Wong, "the most important factor in student learning is Classroom management."

Classroom management being the most important factor for student learning, teachers have to have management skills. With out the managing skills, the classroom will be unsuccessful and the teacher will be ineffective. 

Mr. Wong defines classroom management as "all of the things that a teacher does to organize students, space, time, and materials so that instruction in content and student learning can take place."  Which means that organizing the classroom, will benefit the learning of the child. 

Classroom management also has all of things a teacher must accomplish toward two ends, " 1.To foster student involvement and cooperation in all classroom activities, 2. To establish a productive working environment." A managed classroom gives students involvement and cooperation in activities and also a productive environment. Well-managed classrooms are the most important thing to a successful classroom. 

Educational Blog Resources

allthingsedu.blogspot.com- This blog talks about political and social problems about education in the country. I think it's a good blog resource because it helps educators stay update with what other people believe about the education system.
danesedblog.blogspot.com- This one is very different, but it's really interesting! It compares real life problems with lessons! I think it's really great for lesson planning.
Educationoutrage.blogspot.com- This blogger talks about real life events as well; how it affects the education system and also on how we can change the way we teach to make it more effective😉. I think it's great because as a future educator, I'm always looking for ways to be more effective.
googleforeducation.blogspot.com- This is an organization that supports students. It shares descriptions or students' work, and also focuses on achievements. It's a really good blog to see different students work for events.
acealphabetave.blogspot.com- I love this blog! It talks about many educational events that happen in the Austin community. I like it because it offers a better look at what is going on and the points of them.

Fiel Site Experience

My first two weeks of sites have been really amazing. I absolutely adore one and each of the students. All the students differ from each other, which makes them so special in my heart! And as for my mentor teacher, she is amazing! She's really good at what she does, she gives me a lot of advice on teaching and anything related. I really appreciate that she keeps me updated on what is going on in the classroom, that way I'm not confused and I can assist the students on their work better. Anyways, these past two weeks have been incredibly fun! I really am looking forward to this year! 

The top ten things I wish I had known as a first year future educator

As a first year future educator, I really didn't know much about how to be or do as a helper. Even though I did a lot of mistakes on my first year, there was always a positive outcome of those mistakes. 

Here are some things of the things I wish I had known in my first year as a future educator! 

1. Plan a week or more before. 

Always having an agenda will help you stay organized. Always know when your projects are do and have everything prepared for the due date.

2. Ask your classmates for advice. 

Asking your classmates for their help and thoughts is very beneficial. They're working on the same as you so they may help you with some ideas. 

3. DON'T GET TOO ATTACHED TO THE STUDENTS

It's always okay to love and care for your students, but not to the point where you start picking your favorite. Treat them all equally, don't EVER see others as better than the rest. 

4. Ask your mentor questions

If you have any questions or concerns about what you're doing, don't ever hesitate ask your mentor, she/he can help you a lot! 

5. Write it down 

If you hear, see or read anything that you believe is important and will help you in the future, WRITE IT DOWN! If you write it down you won't forget about it! It's ALWAYS good to write stuff down! 

6. Do research 

If you ever wonder if you're wrong or right, search it. The Internet is everyone's best friend. It has literally anything and everything, so use it.


7. Different learning styles
In a classroom, every child has a different teaching styles, they all learn differently. So it's really important for you to cover all the learning styles of the students.


8. Move around
As you're helping the students, make sure you're getting to everyone that needs help, try to help them as quick as you can, and then move on to the next one.


9. Share your opinions and thoughts 
It's important to share your ideas with your classmates, they sometimes need help and by sharing some ideas, they can understand the problem they have better.


10. Be confident 
Even though sometimes you can make a mistake or so, don't lose hope on what you can improve, stay confident and keep learning.

21st Century Teachers

21st Century Teachers

I believe technology is a helpful resource for teaching, but I also believe that it shouldn't be used the majority of the lessons.

Since children love technology, it's good to have it as an attention grabber. Letting the students do some research or just simply get their hands on a computer, iPad, etc, will help them learn. 

http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/15-characteristics-21st-century-teacher

 This article describes chacteristics of the kind of teachers that educate now a days. I think this article explains really well on how to use technology as a good resource for teaching and dr the students to use so they can be entertained while still learning! 

What do teachers make?

WHAT DO TEACHERS DO?

Teachers have a lot of jobs. But what they're more focused on, is to change lives. Teachers are instructed to do many things. They have to follow a curriculumn, deal with different learning styles, personalities and cultures. Dealing with different students is really difficult. As a teacher, those obstacles can't let you or the students down. A teacher has to go through a lot of challenges to be able to help the students. Sometimes the challenges can get to a personal level, but there is always a way to overcome them. 

Teachers are the people that are always more than happy to help you. Doesn't matter if your problem is related to school or not, they're always willing to help and motivate you, even when nobody else is. 

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” -- Marlene Canter, My Teacher

This quote explains that whenever you want help, support, or anything else, a teacher is always present to support you.


The following links are supportive sources.

http://teach.com/what/teachers-change-lives/teachers-are-role-model
shttp://youtu.be/-nD0lO4nZFs

Here's where I find the treasure in teaching

The treasure i find in teaching is the impact you make in someone's life. To be able to inspire them to be better human beings everyday.




My favorite teaching quote is "Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions" -Unknown, this explains that teaching is what helps people choose their careers and what phat they want to follow. Learning or school is what you start with to choose your career. My favorite education website is scholastic.com because it has a lot of resources for both teachers and students, I find it really beneficial for teachers. Something I would totally consider as an educator.

Education Rising Organization

Education Rising Organization 

This year I will be competing on the Education Rising Organization for future educators! I am so excited to compete this year. Last year I had a blast, it was an amazing experience! This year I will compete on the Chapter Scrapbook contest. I will be working with two of my classmates. For this contest we are going to need a lot of materials, for right now we have a list of the basic things we will need, like some kind of journal, binder for us to include pictures, titles, descriptions, etc. as well as designed papers, and pictures of all the fun memories we made in the previous year of being in this organization! We have a few months to get prepared, we will use our time wisely and try to get it done before the day of the competition, it's just about getting together on days that we aren't busy. I'm so thankful I get to experience this one more time! I expect for it to be so fun! 

WELCOME TO MY BLOG! 

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog. In here I will be posting a lot of things related to education. It'll be a mix of thoughts, ideas, opinions etc! I'm a practicum in education intern. I'm so excited about this year and for the new things i will be learning in my course, stay updated, I'll be posting weekly!