Reflection #12

This week’s class was online instead of an actual meeting, and the topic was performance-based assessments.  This is when the teacher plans for an assessment based on how he or she believes the student best is able to learn.  This week’s online designation was so useful because I was able to meet with my group and work on our Unit Planner.  We did our unit planner on slavery, and we refreshed our memory with many new interesting facts that we had forgotten about.  Our group worked well together, and I enjoyed the activity.  I believe that this class has been very helpful because it has forced me to think outside of the box and the normal scope of teaching.  I enjoyed learning about talents, and I plan to use them in my future career as an educator.  In regards to the class, I really enjoyed the hybrid model.  It provided an opportunity for self-study and a break from physical meetings.  I would like to see this incorporated more into the other classes here at the university.  I think this class had many great points of discussion such as the charter school Socratic circle. I plan to use the Socratic circle idea with my own class.

Reflection 11

Today was a very interesting day in class because we were introduced to different colored hats. There were six different hats and each person chose which hat they were. Each hat was based on a different personality trait.I thought that this hat lesson was very creative, and I think that it is easily implemented in the everyday classroom setting. Teachers must search deep within themselves and be creative in order to maintain the attention of their students. I love the fact that the hats were original and very creative. They definitely got my attention- mainly because the hats were covered with glittery sequence. Kids would love this type of appearance too because it is attractive and very playful looking. I think this would also be a good activity for students because it would help students discover who they are. Finding yourself is something that a lot of students truly have a difficult time doing, and I definitely think that this hat activity can help ease the pain of discovering. I have learned so much from this class, and I hope I can remember it all so that I can implement it all in the future. I want to be a competent teacher who is able to reach students in a way that goes beyond the general level of education. The skills that I have learned in this class will definitely help me achieve this goal.

Reflection 8

This week was another very interesting week in class because we went further in detail about Talents. I think that talents are going to be very beneficial in my career as a special education teacher. I really like the idea of teaching students to think critically and analyze information in a deeper way than what they have done previously. The five talents are productive thinking, communication, forecasting, planning, and decision making. I think these talents definitely belong in a good lesson plan. We also made drawings today out of lines. I was not very good with mine, but I really enjoyed looking at some of the creations from my classmates. I didn't think people could be that creative, but they truly are creative. My classmates really thought critically about what they could make out of the line, and they worked hard to achieve a good creation. I really liked the line lesson, and I do think that it would be a great lesson to incorporate later with my students. I think that students would be able to create even more creative things than we did. I really enjoy being creative, but I am not an artists of any kind. I am much better at being creative with thoughts and ideas versus drawings. This was defintely an eye opener lesson.

Reflection #6

This week was an online class, and I found the material very interesting. This weeks topic was using technology to teach differentiated instruction. Virtual field trips were a major topic this week as well as teacher tube, Google docs, and Google wiki. I really think these resources are great because they are free. Teachers have limited funds from their school districts to buy supplies, so taking advantage of free resources is an amazing task. I also really like Virtual field trips because they can be rewarding for students when they are physically unable to go somewhere because of a physical disability. All student, regardless of disability status, should have an excellent quality of life. This quality of life entails being active in school field trips and experiencing hands-on educational activities such as field trips. I really believe that the stigma for students with disabilities is that they are incapable of understanding, but research has shown that this is not the case, especially in regards to Autism. I believe in giving every student the opportunity to enrich their lives with countless opportunities. I think that teachers should set and maintain high standards for all of their students. This includes including students with disabilities on field trips even if virtual field trips are the only reasonable method.

Talents Reflection

Academic Content:
I introduced the topic of slavery to a small group of students, and I feel that I did an excellent job. My students were interactive because I had them list the advantages of slavery for the south and the disadvantages of slavery for the north. We discussed all the items they listed and it turned out to be a highly effective group lesson. I believe I scored a 5/5 in this area.

Thinking Process Warm-Up:
I asked the small group of students what they already knew about slavery, and I asked them to briefly discuss this with the class. I believe the students were knowledgeable about slavery enough to form a good group discussion, and the discussion worked out well. I believe I was highly effective in this area. 5/5.

Teacher Talk:
During the teacher talk I discussed the idea that we must learn from the past so that we do not repeat it in any capacity. I discussed the decision making is a critical component of life, and all decisions must be taken seriously. I asked the students to reflect on why they believe Americans made the decision to enslave African-Americans while using the decision making matrix to discuss who benefited from their enslavement. I also asked the students to think about the long-term benefit of slavery. The students took turns sharing their thoughts with other group members, and they all had very great points regarding slavery. I found this to be highly effective as well. 5/5

Student Response:
The students responded in a great way because they all participated and were actively involved in a positive way. I was very pleased with the level of student interest in the topic as well. The students responded in two ways: writing and speaking. Their critical thinking skills were greatly enhanced. This area was highly effective as well. 5/5.

Reinforcement:
We began to discuss Frederick Douglass and his narrative Up From Slavery. I discussed his significance to slavery, and assigned this narrative as a required text. 5/5