Senior Year Animoto

The following is my Senior Year Animoto that I made over the 2016-2017 school year. Please Enjoy!

Field Trip to SMU and the President George W. Bush Museum and Library

The following blog assignment can be found here. 

Allison and I at SMU

On Thursday, March 30th, our Education and Training Class went to a field trip in Dallas, Texas to Southern Methodist University and the Bush Library. The most interesting thing that I learned at SMU was how augmented reality worked. It was very interesting getting to work with the iPads and the pictures! I think that this would be great for all aged students, and would be very beneficial in teaching lessons to students. I think that the students would be very intrigued in the lesson, and would stay focused and learn a lot while using these activities.

Click here to visit the Department of Teaching and Learning to learn more about SMU's education program.

 After visiting SMU, we walked over to the Bush Memorial Library. Not having a lot of knowledge on the United States' presidential history, I learned a lot about our 43rd president, George W. Bush. I enjoyed learning about President Bush's famous Education Initiative. George W. Bush implemented reforms that held schools accountable for teaching all children and for reducing the achievement gap. After being elected President of the United States, George Bush submitted to Congress a comprehensive education reform plan-No Child Left Behind- to take his ideas on accountability to the national level. The key aspects of this Education Initiative included accountability, local flexibility, systems that work, and meaningful options.

 Click here to visit the President 

George W. Bush Museum and Library website.

Allison, Makayla, Tiana and I in front of the
Education Initiative exhibit.

Allison and I in the oval office.

These were metal posts that were in one of the twin towers during 9/11

The most interesting part for me in the library was the 9/11 exhibit. I learned a lot, and got to see many artifacts about this devastating day. It was very interesting watching video clips of that day, and the exact order of events that happened and their exact time. We got to see all of the names of the first responders, and even got to read the exact schedule of George W. Bush's day. I had previous knowledge on this day in history however, I got to see an inside look on how it affected the Bush Presidency and the whole nation.

Allison, Tiana, Makayla and I in front of
the names of the First Responders of 9/11

Working the Crowd and Room Arrangement (Chapters 1-4)

The following blog assignment can be found here.

In our Education and Training class, the second year interns are doing a book study over Fred Jones's book, "Tools for Teaching". After reading chapters 3 and 4, I have gained a lot of knowledge on arranging a classroom in order to work the crowd the easiest. I am so excited to continue reading this book and widen my knowledge on professional teaching techniques!

Chapter 3- In this chapter, I read about ways to work the crowd, so the crowd does not work me instead. I learned that a teacher's mobility is very important, and it is a subconscious activity. Eye contact is very important in addressing issues in a classroom in order to avoid a disruption or embarrassment of the students. In my field site classroom, I think there are a few obstacles that make it difficult to work the crowd. First, even though the desks are in groups, the walkways are very narrow and difficult to get through without the students having to move their chairs closer to the table. There is also not a good zone to walk to check on all of the students without having to make several figure eights. I think these flaws in my field site classroom allow the students to goof off because the teacher would not be able to address the problem very quickly, each table is difficult to get to, and it can be difficult to check on all of the students in a short amount of time.

Chapter 4-  According to Jones, the teacher's desk should go in the front of the classroom, 5 feet away from the students in the front row. The teacher may feel claustrophobic, but "will soon come to appreciate the intimacy and control that proximity provides".  In my field site classroom, I would probably put the teacher's desk in the back of the room, so the teacher can watch over each of the students and put troubled ones in the back to keep an eye on them. In the back of the classroom, the teacher can do work at his/her desk, but keep an eye on all of the students. The teacher's desk would not be in the way of the white board, and there would be plenty of space in the front of the classroom for activities. In the reading, Jones says that "eight feet is the difference between prevention and remediation whenever you are standing in the front of the classroom," and whenever the teacher is sitting in the back of the room, the teacher can be close to the students without blocking their eyesight by sitting in front of them. I think that this location for a desk would provide the benefits of being near the students, but would not intimidate them with the desk right in the front of the room. The teacher can be as close as 5 feet behind them, in which the students would "cool it" and not goof off.

Click here to view information on this book and the author.

Absences Add Up

The following blog is in response to the assignment that can be found here.

Absenteeism is a difficult issue that many teacher's have to deal with. Although this is a large problem, there are a few ways to help solve this problem. You can click this link here to view common reasons why students are missing school, so you can get more information and help put a stop to it.

Three ways to help students avoid getting behind after missing a day or more of school:

1. Give the student extra homework to work on what was done the day that they missed, so they are not missing extra practice.

2. Have the student stay in from recess or free time to get caught up on work.

3. Video new lessons taught, so the absent student can watch the video, and not miss out on the full explanation on the new topic. 

To encourage good attendance, teachers can give awards or prizes to students who stay in good standing with attendance. For example, they could give a student a sticker each day they are present, and the stickers could be traded in for rewards. Giving certificates for good attendance could also encourage the students to come to school. An incentive like this would encourage the student to be present each day, so that they can receive the award for their attendance. I do not think that major consequences should be given to students who have poor attendance because, most of the time children have to miss because they are sick, or their parents are responsible for their absence. If the problem is getting out of control, I think talking to their parent or guardian would be necessary to try and help resolve the issue.

Teachers Go Beyond the Call of Duty- What's Your Calling?

The following blog post is in response to the assignment found here.

 Teachers Go Beyond the Call of Duty -- What's Your Calling?

On November 5th, 2016, I participated in the Region XI TAFE Competition in four events. I competed in the ELF Test, Portfolio, Scrapbook and Breakout Sessions, and advanced in each of these competitions for state. I picked two of these competitions because I already had my portfolio (guidelines) completed from last year, and I had experience in the ELF Test from last year. I enjoy working in groups, so I though the Scrapbook (guidelines) and Breakout Session Competition (guidelines) would be something I would enjoy. I enjoyed competing in these four things, and I would not change one thing about the things I signed up for. In my group projects, each member worked diligently to get their part done, so I could not have picked any better members for these competitions. The biggest obstacle I encountered would have to be the lack of time that I had to prepare each of these projects. Even though the time span was long, it was difficult to finish three presentations, and prepare for another, in that time frame. The thing I enjoyed the best from these competitions, would be putting them together. Even though it was sometimes difficult because I'm a perfectionist, I enjoyed getting to see all what our chapter has done, and get to show that off to the judges. The thing that I didn't like the most was the difficulty in the group projects because, the members were in different class periods. It was hard planning and preparing these projects when we were not together. If I could change anything about my competitions or the process creating them, I probably would have spent a little more time preparing the scrapbook and the script, so I did not have to stress about, and prepare, the script last minute. Throughout this experience, I have gained a lot of responsibility, and trustworthiness. While working in a group, my team members were able to trust that I would get my part done, and I was responsible enough to finish it on time. After completing these projects, and my success at the region competition, I can not wait to go to the state conference. I am so excited! To prepare for the Teach Tomorrow Summit, I am going to focus on the scrapbook the most, since this is the competition that has way more requirements for state. All of my other competitions are finished for state, but I will need to perfect my presentations before I compete again.

Pictures

Portfolio Certificate

Chapter Scrapbook Group and Certificate

E.L.F. Test Competitors and Certificate

Breakout Session Group and Certificate

Habit of Mind: Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision

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What Would You Do?

The following blog post is in response to the assignment that can be found here.

After reading the given scenarios, I am going to provide a solution for scenario 4. Below is the exact description of the scenario.

Scenario 4

You are about to change into your field site attire and realize you have forgotten your field site shirt and name badge.  The bus will be leaving in three minutes.  You have on jeans with holes, and a low cut top.  You saw Mrs. Picky, your BCTAL EAT teacher, at your field site yesterday.  Since you think she will not be stopping by to visit interns at your field site, you hop on the bus without your EAT attire, taking your chances that you will not be discovered.  After all, if your field site mentor teacher and principal don’t say anything, there is no harm done, right?

After being an intern for one full year, and already starting on my second, the solution to this situation greatly stands out to me. If this situation happened to me, I would do a few steps to make sure that I did the correct thing. First, I would text my EAT teacher and let her know that I forgot my proper attire, and ask what he/she would like me to do. Ideally, my teacher would quickly reply and I could follow the exact orders my teacher wants me to do for that day. If my teacher does not reply right away, I would not get on the field site bus, but instead get on the BCTAL bus and go to BCTAL for the day. As soon as possible, I would text my mentor teacher and let him/her know that I could not be there today, and apologize for the short notice. If my EAT teacher is at the BCTAL, I would stay in the classroom and work on any classwork that needs to be done, but if he/she is not there, I would work in the hallway or in the other teacher's classroom. I would stay for the designated class time before returning back to my high school.