Gender

All the readings on gender conveyed the importance of being sensitive in the classroom. Whether the individual considers themselves to be transgender or bigender, teachers must be aware and up-to-date with different trends and movements their students may identify with. The readings also gave practical methods to help achieve a classroom without gender-bias. Overall, the readings on gender reminded me of the things teachers need to be aware of. The reading on achievement gap was an interesting to me as the author used history to convey the problems with funding equity. As a future inner-city school teacher, I am not surprised by the inequity of funds, but was surprised of how far in history this problem has stemmed from. As a future history, this was a lesson that was "in the flesh." 

Chapter 3

(3.1) Personal and social development can have a major influence on both individual student

learning and the learning environment as a whole. Identify a case from the CSEL guidelines*

that you would like to address in your paper. Then, examine the possible developmental

factors that could be influencing your target student(s) or classroom in the case study. Consider

all dimensions of personal and social development, including cognitive, language, social,

emotional, and moral development. *CSEL guidelines can be found under CSEL Artifact. Cases

are included at the end of the document. Choose the case that best suits your desired grade level.

(3.22) Check out tables 3.1 (p. 75), 3.2 (p. 83) and 3.3 (p. 91) with particular attention to the age

ranges you are interested in teaching. Identify your personal favorite ways that an educator can

promote a child’s sense of self, perspective taking, and moral reasoning skills.

The case study I choose to write about is the one I created for the CSEL. As it molds better with my desire to teach in an inner-city high school, I believe promoting a child's sense of self, perspective taking, and moral reasoning skills are qualities that should not be taken lightly. Since most of my students are apathetic to school, my job as an educator is to help bring forth some of these qualities. I would first need to help my students understand the importance identify their role in society and for others in a positive light. I will tell them that they are not that much different from any other person in the world and their environments do not dictate their future. Everyone has an opportunity to make something of themselves and getting an education is part of that process. Also, obeying or disobeying the rules for the sake of obeying them will not help them "get ahead" in life. However, obeying rules and authority figures, in becoming a better person and for those around them, is what society expects from young people.

This is not a one day process where light bulbs will turn on in their heads. They will most likely scoff at my proposed ideas and think I was crazy to tell them this. Throughout the school year, I will incorporate these qualities in my lesson plans and have creative ways to help my students reach their goals in life. Here are some of my ideas I may or may not use in the classroom:

1. I will bring sparkling cider and classy plastic cups for the class. I will have a mini-fun lesson about the history of toasting and the significance of it. I will be the first to go up in class, pour myself a cup, and state to the class of my hopes, dreams, desires, and wants. I will have each of my kids go up in front of the class to do the same. After everyone has gone up, I will tell my students that they were witnesses to this event and they are now all accountable for each other and their dreams.

2. If I am in Memphis, I will take them to the National Civil Rights Museum. I will have them bring a journal where they will jot down their feelings and thoughts about what the Civil Rights Movement was all about. When we get back, we will share our thoughts in class and discuss if MLK's dream was achieved.

3. I will have guest speakers come in and talk to my class. They will focus on what doing right and selfless service entails. I have some people in mind: Dr. Flemings- University of Tennessee Professor/ Dr. Ben Carson- John Hopkins M.D/ I will show a video of MSG Roy Benavidez- Medal of Honor recipient RIP/ Any MOH recipient/ Matt Damon (his mother is a teacher)

Song Choice!

1. Pick a song and copy and paste the lyrics into a document or your PLE. Highlight the section of the song most relevant to your discussion.

2. Write down the page number with the theory to which your song most closely relates.

3. Explain the concept from the theory to which your song relates.

4. Explain how your song relates to the theory.

5. Write down a way in which you might apply the knowledge of the theory and the song to your future classroom.

"A Dream"

[Chorus: Will.i.am and Martin Luther King]
(I am happy...I Have a Dream) I got a Dream
(That One Day ) We gonna work it out out out
(That One Day ) We gonna work it out out out
(That One Day ) We gonna work it out
(I Have a Dream) I got a Dream
(That One Day ) We gonna work it out out out
(That One Day ) We gonna work it out out out
(That One Day ) We gonna work it out
(I Have a Dream) I got a Dream
(That One Day) That one day

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

(That One Day) I'ma look deep within myself
(I Have a Dream) I gotta find a way...
My Dream Is To Be Free
My Dream Is To Be
My Dream Is To Be
My Dream Is To Be Free

[Verse 1:]
In search of brighter days, I ride through the maze of the madness,
Struggle is my address, where pain and crack lives,
Gunshots comin' from sounds of Blackness,
Given this game with no time to practice,
Born on the Black list, told I'm below average,
A life with no cabbage,
That's no money if you from where I'm from,
Funny, I just want some of your sun,
Dark clouds seem to follow me,
Alcohol that my pops swallowed bottled me,
No apology, I walk with a boulder on my shoulder,
It's a Cold War - I'm a colder soldier,
Hold the same fight that made Martin Luther the King,
I ain't usin' it for the right thing,
In between Lean and the fiends, hustle and the schemes,
I put together pieces of a Dream
I still have one

[Chorus]

[Verse 2:]
The world's seen me lookin' in the mirror,
Images of me, gettin' much clearer,
Dear Self, I wrote a letter just to better my soul,
If I don't express it then forever I'll hold, inside
I'm from a side where we out of control,
Rap music in the 'hood played a fatherly role,
My story's like yours, yo it gotta be told,
Tryna make it from a gangsta to a godlier role,
Read scrolls and stow slaves,
And Jewish people in cold cage,
Hate has no color or age, flip the page,
Now my rage became freedom,
Writin' dreams in the dark, they far but I can see 'em,
I believe in Heaven more than Hell,
Blessings more than jail,
In the ghetto let love prevail,
With a story to tell, my eyes see the glory and well,
The world waitin' for me to yell "I Have a Dream"

[Chorus]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_2cwhJndKY 

2. p.329, p.335-348

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

3. I branch into Vygotsky's theory of where culture affects the shaping of cognitive development. With my desire to teach in "poor performing" schools, I wish to incorporate SCT to my lessons, but also maintain a foundation with education/cognitive theorists such as Vygotsky. Many students will develop in, many times, unideal situations. They will develop and go to schools where movies and stereotypes tell an unrealistic story of the individual. Also, Vygotsky’s theory promotes learning contexts in which students play an active role in learning. Roles of the teacher and student are therefore shifted, as a teacher should collaborate with his or her students in order to help facilitate meaning construction in students. Learning therefore becomes a reciprocal experience for the students and teacher.

4. The highlighted lyrics convey the how many kids in "poor performing" schools have been raised. The first verse seems to dictate an realistic and pessimistic view of the future of these students. They want to experience the better things in life, but are limited because of their surroundings. They live a different and, at times, harder lives than the average child growing up in a middle/upper class environment. However, from the second verse, there is an attitude change from the 1st to 2nd verse. Another aspect of Vygotsky's theory is that an adult can help develop the ZPD. There, like in SCT, self-efficacy will increase. That change, from my view, can start from the teacher, and eventually his or her peers. Like the last verse, the world is waiting.

5. I can use this song to remind myself and my students that there are brighter days and the weight on their shoulders and be lowered in the classroom. Learning is a team effort and that will be seen in my classroom.

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - See more at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#sthash.Uwu50Qeg.dpuf

Chapter 2

 

2.1

To help accommodate my students who are not yet working at the level of their peers, I would need to figure out ways in helping them learn the same material, but in ways they will understand it. Though my method in helping these students will take more planning, creativity, and time to do so, it is necessary. To utilize ideas from both Piaget and Vygotsky, I will structure lessons methodically so students will be able to achieve concept mastery from carefully formulated steps in the lesson. I will also allow for more fluidity in the lesson for those who learn better where there is scaffolding. Though I agree with Vygotsky more than Piaget, I will try to understand and utilize aspects from both theorists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY-SXM8f0gU<--- video that explains the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky

2.2

As a future teacher who does not have a broad vocabulary of SAT words, I want to adopt a strategy where students will be familar with various words, and be able to use those words in their daily language and writings. As I wish to teach in the inner-city, students will most likely not know many SAT words to begin with. As I will not be a English teacher, my goal will be for my students be begin using these SAT words and start using academic language. Mastering academic language is statically shown to help students be successful in the future. Whether they further their education or begin their career after high school, it will be my goal for my students to adopt academic language and use SAT vocabulary words in their daily lives. http://www.academiclanguage.org/Academic_Language.html

Chapter 10

Which of the learning activities/skills can you think of that lend themselves to learning through modeling?

 Using different aides for teaching can help students learn via modeling. For a history class, I can let them watch a movie. If was to emphasize the Holocaust, I will let me kids watch a Beautiful Life and write down journal entry down of they what they felt about the movie and how it can relate to the era we are studying. For books, I can use the Diary of Anne Frank and/or Night, and let them journal a response. For books however, I wouldn't make them journal every single chapter, but will assign chapters that correlates best with the curriculum. If I can, and hopefully I will, invite Dr. Ben Carson to come share his testimony for my students.

 

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?

High School Cast Study:

I will ask the students to take out a sheet of paper, date paper the same day, but of the next year, and as them to write, " Dear Mr. Rho, I got my A because..." and they would have to write of who they have become for that next year to reflect the grade. I will tell them to fall in love with the person they are describing as well. After everyone has written their letter the themselves, I will tell them starting tomorrow, I will start teaching THAT person. I will also tell the class that in each piece of marble or stone, there is a beautiful sculpture in it, all we gotta do is chisel out the stone that is in the way. I want my students improve their self efficacy of taking my music class as a joke take away from the analogy and letter to set higher goals for themselves. From here, their self-regulation will increase as they will begin setting thier own goals to try and be that person in the letter. As for the A, I will say I only teach A students. I hope my students will gain insight from this intervention plan.

 

Friday's Presentation

See John Sohn's blog

Chapter 9

From a behavioral view of learning, I believe mastery of my lesson objectives is when the entire class, including the student/students that were conditioned beforehand to misbehave in class, enjoy the material being learned. From the skype session today with Justice <--- too cool, the two biggest points I got from him was having a relationship and praising positive behavior. As there are many theories and studies that have the solution to help teachers deal with misbehaving kids, I would have to agree with Justice in his two points. I would want to look for positive behavior and use positive reinforcement to build healthy relationships. Without going to their level and starting there, I believe strategies such as ADA and PBS will be futile. 

My CSEL intervention case study will be for the high school history class. Though I may be tempted to smack every single one of them, I will have to change my approach in discipiling them. I will put my foot down and follow through with my consequences. For the seniors, I will tell them if I catch them texting or passing notes, I will hold their phones and notes hostage till the end of class. For Tony, Jeff, and Morris, I will have them separated at different corners of the room.  

I will take 10 minutes in the beginning of class to give everyone a pep-talk. I will tell my class I actually do enjoy my time with them. I will remind them that the crap they do in class doesn't change my views on them, but their actions are childish and their behaviors do not mirror my expectations of 18 year olds. I will remind them that they are adults and though they may be kings/queens now, after graduation, it's a big a scary world where such actions are not appropriate. I will give real life examples of those I know personally who regret not growing up (very unfortunate). Once I'm done with my speech, I will remind everyone of what I will do when I see something wrong in class. I will give them options though. I will allow them to use their phones either in the beginning or near the end of class with my discretion.
As a history teacher that wants to make history come alive, I will plan ahead and make sure my class will go on a field trip. I will utilize group contingency to keep students accountable for this trip. (It'll be an awesome trip) My hope is that misbehavior in the class will slowly be extinguished as there is continuous reinforcement from myself and fellow classmates. For those who want to test my new rules, I will add group activities to my lessons so Tony, Jeff, and Morris can divert their attention to helping their group. Shaping will occur and if all goes well, my class will go on trip with the grant money I collected.

I will also show them this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z5OookwOoY 

Chapter 8

 The lesson plan will be of the Great Depression and how it affected the general populace. My high school kids will develop an understanding and think critically of the human experience during this time period. During this phase in life, my students will probably have an increased recognition of the Great Depression and can piece together different ideas/lessons of the Great Depression to begin to understand the human aspect of this era. They also will understand the content relatively slowly and forcing them to learn is out of the question. I hope this lesson plan will have a positive transfer for the class.

I will assign my class to write a diary/journal entry of a person living in the Great Depression and to convey their experience using the 5 main human senses. I will give them a choice of three characters to write about. Before class is over, I will also ask the class to do a ticket out the door with a question I will ask/write on the board, like what we do in 401 class. They will also turn in their diary/journal for a grade. From this lesson, I see a few aspects of the cognitive process that may work for my students. 

 1. Comprehension Monitoring- I am utilizing this to check my students to see if they are understanding the material via writing about it in their own words. I will read each journal and grade accordingly.

2. Illusion of knowing- My students may see this as an assignment, but they may see this assignment like an iceberg. I see the 90% of the iceberg my students do not see. I believe this assignment will help them in writing, creativity, and think convergently.

3. Higher-level questions- With the ticket out the door, I will give them a thought-provoking question to see if they mastered this subject area of the human experience during the Great Depression.  

 To end, I believe this lesson correlates with Bloom's taxonomy, but instead of viewing it like a pyramid, I see it as a circle because depending on the student, they may see and take my lesson differently than another student. I believe as long as they fit into one category of Bloom's taxonomy, they will "reach" the other categories as well from their own level of understanding. 

Chapter 7

For my high school history class in the inner city, I will teach a lesson that will bring history alive. If I were in Memphis and teaching U.S. history in the 1960s, I would go to the National Civil Rights Museum. When I get funding for this field trip, everyone in my class will go for the day. I will have other history teachers involved as well. My purpose is to provide opportunities for firsthand observation to see "history in the flesh." With a journal I have already assigned at the beginning of the school year, they will write observations and questions in their journal. As they can write anything they want, this day will be part self-reflecting, group, and class discussions. With the field trip, I also want the kids to have a conceptual understanding of the topic we are going through in class. I want them to feel the emotions, hear sounds, and understand the reason for the Civil Rights Movement. I also want, for those with hardened minds, to realize that the world is not against them. I want them to realize that this movement was bigger than those who participated in this historical event... The Civil Rights Movement was not a race war or riot, but a fight for injustice. This is also the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was murdered. Though MLK's role in the Civil Rights Movement halted in front of Room 306, the spirit for justice lives on. SKIN color does not matter. I also want my students to know that they are in a good environment when they are in my classroom. 

 

The next day, I will have those who want to share their experiences come up to the class/ or have group discussions. I will tie in everything we observed at the NCRM and our curriculum the students' personal lives. If I have more money and time, I will dedicate one more day to bring in a person who participated in the Civil Rights Movement and speak of his/her experiences.

 

This would be awesome to do.  

 

Their history, is my students' history as well.