The Glossy Red Apple

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Classroom Management Scenario: Cell Phone Texting

Module 4 Unit 2 Activity 2

Here is what this activity looks like:

Both are the last answers... duh!

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Behavior Checklist

Module 4 Unit 2 Activity 1

Behavior Checklist

Any behavior expectations that the teacher has in their classroom has to be modeled first and foremost by the teacher. First they have to clearly communicate this to their students so that they can follow these standards and maintain high expectations for behavior and academic achievement. Teachers need to set the standards high as research shows that there is a relationship between doing so and a better achievement in students’ grades. It is imperative to understand that the students may be coming from different situations and cultural backgrounds. Teachers should try and reward good behavior so that it can motivate students in a positive way instead of only just using punishment for negative behaviors as it could create a negative classroom climate.

The students spend much of their day with their teachers, and educators have to set a prime example for their students to follow (Marzano, 2007). Setting high expectations for students academically or behaviorally is a way for the teachers to guide their students and help them become more well-rounded individuals. A practical way to assist teachers to observe behavior is by using a checklist. Checklists are good tools to use, to organize and monitor single or group behaviors. They verify that goals are achieved and that good behavior standards are met. It can prevent problems with behaviors before they begin, as well as identify issues with behavior after they have occurred. Also, they can set reminders for teachers or help them make observations about their classroom and their students. Over time the teachers can look at these checklists and make patterns and evaluations about their class and their students’ behaviors.

Below are the checklists that attempt to tackle issues with student’s behaviors. There is a list viewing the students’ behaviors, the teacher’s behaviors, and one for the parents as well to see if certain behaviors are specific to the school, or if they are brought upon issues from home.

References:

Borich, Gary D. (2011). Observation Skills for Effective Teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Inc.

Marzano, Robert J. (2007). The Art an Science of Teaching: A comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Student Behavior Checklist

Identifying Problems

Name: ______________________

Grade: ______________________

Comments/ Observation about student: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For the following checklist:

· Leave blank= behavior has not occurred

· 1 = if behavior has occurred once

· 2 = behavior has occurred more than once

· 3 = behavior is a constantly occurring

Verbal
	Verbally disrupts class
	Uses inappropriate language
	Verbally threatens classmates
	Verbally abusive to self
Physical
	Physically disrupts class
	Physically threatens/ fights with others
	Physically hurts him/herself
	Vandalizes classroom materials
Emotional/ Mental
	Withdrawn
	Outburst of anger
	Unresponsive
	Slow attention span
Issues in Classroom
	Is tardy for class
	Sleeps in class
	No homework
	Does not engage in class work/ activities

Details about Problem Behavior

What negative incident/behavior occurred?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Where does this occur?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How often does this occur?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who or what does this incident involve?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Action taken by the teacher:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Identifiable observations or patterns of behavior:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Solution or actions to take:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It is also very important for teachers to observe their own behavior to see if anything is causing miscommunication, lack of clarity, or instigating certain behaviors in the classroom.

Teacher Behavior Checklist

Classroom Expectations
	Are rules regularly enforced?
	Does the teacher have a clear routine?
	Does the class have all the materials needed for lessons?
	Does the teacher have high expectations for the classroom?
	Are the students seated in a way that is conducive to learning?
	Are the rules regularly checked to fit classrooms individually?
	Is the classroom safe?
Behavior Expectations
	Are the rules clearly stated to the students?
	Does the teacher treat all students fairly?
	Does the teacher give equal chances to all the students?
	Does the teacher demonstrate concern for students?
	Does the teacher give feedback to the students?
	Is good behavior regularly modeled by the teacher?
	Does teacher regularly praise good behavior?
	Is the teacher consistent with correcting bad behavior?
	Is the teacher familiar with all the students and their names?
Learning Expectations
	Do the students have influence in their own learning?
	Does the teacher explain the purpose of each learning activity?
	Does the teacher expect the same behavior from the students?
	Are the students arranged in a way where they can collaborate easily?
In Behavioral Situations
	Did the teacher respond in a respectful and calm manner?
	Did the teacher not embarrass the student?
	Did the teacher address the student’s behavior privately?
	Did the teacher try low-profile management first?

Teachers might want to intervene in some situations when they thing it is occurring in their classroom for some particular reason. Here are some questions they can answer in order to do so.

Intervention Details

Can the behavior problem be solved in the classroom?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are there any changes I can make to my classroom to change the student’s behavior?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Does the school, counselor, or administration need to be involved?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Does the student need an official assessment?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What steps can I take to help my students after they are assessed?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next checklist is for parents to see if they have also noticed certain behaviors from their children. This is very helpful to see if the behavior is only occurring at school. It helps to take proper and safe measures for the students.

Parent Behavior Checklist

· Leave blank= behavior does not occurred

· 1 = if behavior occurs sometimes

· 2 = behavior occurs regularly

Child’s Behavior
	Intense mood swings
	Difficulty concentrating
	Difficulty following directions
	Displays physical aggression
	Shy or withdrawn
	Lacks interest
	Does not work well with others
	Difficulty managing anger
	Cannot sit for an extended period of time
	Difficulty finishing tasks in a certain amount of time
	Cannot work on their own

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Reflection on Classroom Climate

Module 4 Unit 1 Activity 4

It is very important as a teacher to create a positive climate in the classroom where our students can effectively learn. When the classroom environment becomes an unpleasant, negative, or physically, mentally, or emotionally unsafe place, students cannot truly involve themselves in the learning process and it could possibly affect them in other areas of their lives outside of the classroom. It could cause them to behave in a destructive manor towards others, and perhaps even towards themselves.

On the flip side, a positive classroom environment where the teacher manages the classroom in a safe, creative, caring, and organized manner, it can facilitate the learning process for our students. It can help them acquire an unlimited amount of knowledge and become stable and mature members of society who contribute to others and to the world in an effective way.

In my own classes, I try to be a little stricter at the beginning of the school year as it is easier to later become a bit more lenient. Learning from trial and error, being more lenient and trying to become stricter later on is doable, but also a lot harder work from my part. As the year progresses, I like to get to know my students and their names (Marzano, 2007), make jokes and laugh (Marzano, 2007), and I really try to match what they are learning with something they are interested in (Marzano, 2007). Though my students have concerns with external factors and other areas of their lives, having a pleasant classroom environment in an organized way aids my students productively in their learning process.

Teachers who effectively manage their classrooms will organize their classrooms to promote lesson goals, pre-establish classroom rules, develop instructional routines, establish a system of incentives and consequences to certain behavior, and use low-profile classroom management to maintain instructional momentum (Borich, 2011).

The last point is one that I frequently use. If there is a small incident or misbehavior in the classroom such as talking, not following directions, instead of losing time and momentum by stopping and addressing their behavior, I will just try a simple technique like walking by them, or making eye contact with them, and usually my students will stop their disruptions on their own. Punishing students even for small incidents can really cause a negative classroom climate, so for me using low-profile classroom management techniques have been really effective. Other bigger incidents such as bullying will however not be tolerated in my classrooms as the safety of my students always comes first.

There is also no one behavioral setting, classroom arrangement and single set of rules that’s will work for every teacher to manage their own classroom (Borich, 2011). I observe my classrooms first and see what best suits or works for my students in those classes. In some of my classes I need to make some rules to motivate my students to participate more (as I teach an English conversation class) but in other classes, I do not need to enforce any rules about participation as the class is always having great conversations. I also sometimes make my student’s make their own rules at the beginning of the year and it is really surprising how responsible they are. This make the classroom climate positive as it feels more like they feel mature and responsible for coming up with their own rules, as opposed as feeling like I am dictating what they should or shouldn’t do.

When it comes to learning in my class, I prefer a more student centered approach. I try to relate every lesson to their lives, culture, age, and especially interests (Marzano, 2007). When the students can relate to the material and also understand why and what they are learning it for, it makes more sense to them. When that is interlaced with something they are interested in, it makes the class more enjoyable and makes the learning process less tedious. When Gangnam Style was very big, I used a PowerPoint game using that theme to learn new words. It was very successful in the class, but my surprise came in the midterms when the section that they learned was where they had least mistakes.

In summation, all my students are individuals that I really care about. Having a positive classroom climate really makes a difference for not only my students but also for me as a teacher and an individual. Without knowing my students or caring about them, I don’t really think I could be an effective teacher. I know it takes a lot of patience to be an educator, and sometimes classes don’t always go as one plans, but classroom management is about adjusting undesired behaviors, and it is not about changing our students.

References:

Borich, Gary D. (2011). Observation Skills for Effective Teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Inc.

Curwin, R. (2014, February 4). Classroom Management: The Intervention Two-Step. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-management-intervention-two-step-richard-curwin?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-two-step-classroom-intervention-link-repost

Marzano, Robert J. (2007). The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Teach Now (Teacher Certification): Using a Glog to Make an Introduction

Module 4 Unit 1 Activity 3

Here is my Glog introduction:

http://analiak.edu.glogster.com/introduction/

*A little rant* So I got an "Outstanding" for this glog and that is great but when I looked at my grading evaluation, they said I did NOT include an audio or a video... as you can see, I included an audio AND a video. So to be specific here is the evaluation criteria directly taken from their page:

As one can see I should have clearly gotten 3/3 for this sections but I got a 2/3. I asked Sarah and Taylor, the teachers, why I had gotten 2/3 and they said because it didn't play. Many cohort members played the video AND the audio as they told me things such as, "Cool song" or "Nice vid" during the week so I knew they played fine.

So I confronted the teachers and asked why I got docked a point for THEIR own computer problems. The answer was,

"Oh you got an outstanding anyway so it doesn't matter if we change the grade or not."

It matters as we get an over all percentage based on points...So I retaliated with,

"Then next time I shouldn't be so motivated to go out of my way and add what is required if I suspect that YOUR computer is not working because you will not give me the points anyway?"

So Taylor says,

"Sorry I will have a look at it again and see if it's working now, and email you back."

I have a suspicion that they didn't look at it properly the first time. This just really shows me how thoroughly these teachers are checking the assignments *sarcasm* and how incompetent they truly are. Seriously I had so many positive expectations for this program and this is not the first time this program has disappointed me :(

*Rant over*