Learning through Observing: What are schools for?

            Schools are essential environments for promoting learning and success. After observing a few classrooms at Central Falls High School, I have made this general conclusion about the majority of schools. For one thing, students are exposed to an array of academic concepts in schools. With these ideas, students are encouraged to broaden their critical thinking and reasoning abilities. It is then that students can become socially responsible in their communities. From my perspective, I think that schools are for preparing students for the cycle of life. Essentially, this means that students learn a variety of academic-centered information, apply this information to their lives as students and individuals, develop a sense of community and belonging, and then do what they please (college or work) after graduating. I think that schools like CFHS are trying to prepare their students for higher education. I think that there is a focus on this, especially when molding students to think on their own. Forming individual opinions that are supported, in some way, by evidence proves that the student is an informed member of society.

After observing Ms. Garces’s tenth grade English class, I have seen this improving and preparatory work in action. The class was finishing up their Lord of the Flies unit, and the teacher repeatedly asked questions that did not have only one right answer. Most of these questions required the students to either analyze or evaluate, so some type of evidence was needed in order to have a fully developed answer. Ms. Garces and her student teacher went around the room asking opinion-based questions to the students. The majority of the students used textual proof to support their claims, and the teachers positively acknowledged such inclusion of evidence. In this classroom, and at CFHS in general, I think that a main focus is on having students think critically and support their opinions with appropriate evidence that enhances their argument. This will prepare them for either higher education or the work field.

In 1897, John Dewey enters the big picture with his American model of education. He draws on the social aspects of education, particularly working with the child to establish them socially. He believed that learning was linked to the social community that surrounds the individual. This is the main idea of Dewey’s Pedagogic Creed, and I think that it is applicable at CFHS. To shape the students into socially relevant individuals, the classes are designed to gather the opinions of students. With these differing opinions, the students are taught to support their claims in accordance with the acceptability of society.

More than seventy years later came Ivan Illich, whose philosophy consisted of de-institutionalizing education- his book, Deschooling Society. Like Dewey, he did believe that individuals are affected by and learn from their surroundings. However, he concludes that schools do not equalize (as believed) but rather divide. With Illich’s philosophy, the responsibility transfers from the student and becomes dependent on the institution. Asides from fostering dependency, this system also abrogates responsibility. However, I find a parallel to CFHS with the diversity of classes that are offered to students. The students are able to choose classes that best fit their interests, and I suppose that this can be connected to Illich’s philosophy for this reason.

From my findings and experiences in the classrooms at CFHS, it is clear that administrators and educators are working to create a positive and healthy learning environment for the students. Now in 2014, I think that Central Falls High School utilizes both Dewey and Illich’s philosophies to shape their students for the world after high school. It provides a safe environment for exploring paths and areas of study. Schools are for finding a healthy balance between academics, morals, society, and agency. This equality will yield informed, cooperative, educated individuals. Learning on an individual level will produce significant life skills that will help students now and in the future. Critical thinking, creativity, and independence are fostered at Central Falls High School, and for these reasons, students will be successful in all that they do in the future.

Microteaching II

And that's a wrap...

Hi there, ladies. Thanks for sharing this incredible learning experience with me- you are all so talented and will make amazing educators in the future. I hope that I didn't bore you too much during my English lessons, and thanks again for being part of this essential teaching foundation.

For the final time, it's all yours!

RITELL Conference- November 2014

            Attending a professional conference is an exciting and educational experience that is meaningful for all educators. On Saturday, November 15^th, I attended the RITELL conference with high hopes for growing inspired—you see, I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate immersing myself in any activity or event within the education field. After reflecting on the four-hour conference, I have concluded that the information presented was essentially meaningful to only educators who are already involved with RITELL. As a new member of the organization, I was disappointed when I left with many unanswered questions and a lack of meaning for the information offered.

            First off, I assumed that I would learn about RITELL at the very beginning of the conference, presumably as an opening to engage the audience. This seemed appropriate, because many new members were present and eager to get involved. However, many informative details were left out of the introduction. It was certainly nice to see the organizers and supporters of RITELL, but it would have been so helpful to learn more about RITELL as a professional association. Yes, I understand that the organization is for teaching English language learners, but I wanted to know more. It would have been valuable to learn about past and future endeavors and more about the applications for this teaching.

From the very beginning of the conference, I felt lost and therefore out-of-place. Especially as a new member, I thought that more emphasis would be placed on integrating us into the organization. The main presentation that I attended was supposed to link Common Core and WIDA standards using multicultural literature for ELLs. For educators who were informed and work with ELLs, this presentation was probably valuable. The three presenters explained several books that were helpful in teaching ELLs; however, I could not differentiate why these books were ideal for ELLs and not simply the majority of students. And may I add, these presenters certainly lacked presentation skills, which was a major disappointment due to the confusion and structural instability that this caused during their presentation. I completely understand that public presentations are very challenging, but I was preoccupied with the disordered presentation of information rather than the content, the reason why I attended in the first place. This was a difficulty for me, especially considering how this presentation lasted for about an hour and a half.  

            Although I did not find a great deal of value with RITELL’s conference this year, I am always eager to learn new information to better myself as a future educator. Therefore, one thing that I will take away from my first conference is the importance and value of attending professional conferences. Continuing education and learning is a central idea of teaching, especially considering a teacher’s role in the classroom to shape students into self-regulated learners. If I should ever teach ELLs in my classroom, I will certainly be able to select books that are appropriate for their level of reading and understanding. In the future, I will structure my classroom with every student’s needs in mind. Multicultural education, as I also learned, is an essential component to consider in a diversified classroom. With an array of cultures within one classroom, it is important to incorporate multicultural texts within the curriculum. Such integration will provide an educational basis for an unprejudiced, respectful, and cooperative classroom, and the RITELL conference targeted this idea as a major point of discussion. 

            Another meaningful detail of the conference was the author’s discussion of his novel, When This World Was New. D.H. Figueredo was an incredible asset to this conference, and each attendee was given a copy of his multicultural text. He anchored his discussion to his process of writing the book, and his presentation was both interesting and valuable. He encourages others to share their stories, because different stories reach different people. This is an essential idea to consider, because it is important to teach students in ways that are relevant and meaningful, of course, to them. It is also essential to encourage students to be supportive and knowledgeable about each other, and this will foster an open-minded, cooperative learning environment. Children must be prideful of their ethnic backgrounds and explore others’ heritages to become fully intellectual and perceptive learners.  

            Finally, I have recently done some browsing on the RITELL website and found useful resources. Before attending the conference, I did not know much of anything about the website. So it is important to know that there are resources readily available to teachers and future educators. I plan to revisit the website on a regular basis due to my new membership and desire for educational exploration. As I’ve mentioned before, I was disappointed with the RITELL conference this year, but I think that I have found meaning as I’ve navigated through information and ideas for myself.

Learning through Observing: Assessment

            Observing classrooms is one of the primary reasons why I enrolled in SED 406 at Central Falls. Learning about the ideology behind teaching is an essential component to becoming a future educator, but actually seeing what we are learning in practice is most important. I personally find difficulty with the assessment portion of teaching, so it is assuring and encouraging to learn from experienced teachers. For these reasons, I felt very excited to observe Ms. Garces’s 10^th grade English classroom.

            On Tuesday, the class finished reading William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. After the student teacher read the final chapter aloud, the students then turned their attention to finishing the latter half of the film. It seemed that most of the students really enjoyed watching the film in class, and many of the students connected with the film due to their understanding of the book. This was the last meeting day for this class before the Thanksgiving break, so it was important for the students to “learn” in an easy-going manner. The following week, presumably on Monday, the students would be taking their formal exam for the unit.  

            As I walked into the classroom, it was very clear that the students were working on their Lord of the Flies unit. An easel read:

           

11/24   Do now:

-   Focus lesson- plot structure review

-   Chapter questions

Objective: Explain the actions that change the course of the novel.

This assignment proves that the students were asked to reflect on the novel, based on their prior reading, in some way. I’m a big fan of interactive reading and sharing thoughts, so it was definitely ideal to see this happening in the classroom. Some wallboards showed that the students also worked on day sheets, vocabulary, and summary sheets for the novel. This constant, thought-provoking work allows students to connect and learn from the novel on a variety of levels. Students are able to understand and appreciate the text in a way that is unique for them. For teachers, these small (but essential) assignments are vital in assessing the students’ comprehension along the way. If students underperform on one of the assignments, perhaps they didn’t understand the text in a way that the teacher(s) assumed they would—this requires some modification on the teacher’s end. I’m a strong believer in small assessments along the way to avoid significant comprehension obstacles at the end of the entire unit.

            This English class has two primary teachers and a student teacher, so the students can reach out to any one of these educators. And, there are only about twelve students in the class, so it’s about four students per teacher ratio. This low ratio provides students with a rich, educational learning environment. With a smaller class, the students are encouraged to participate on a regular basis. I noticed that the teacher asked most of the students their opinions of the book once they finished reading it, so the students were expected to form a relationship with the text. Most of the class was lumped into the upper left of the classroom, and then the remaining five students were disbursed into the back right side of the room. I noticed that the teacher seemed to favor the front of the classroom, so this was a little bit disappointing. It might be best if the students organized themselves, with teacher approval, into a circle for discussions, because this would provide a setting in which all of the students were required to engage and participate. With this organized circle, I feel as though informal assessments would be more meaningful and effective for the entire class.

            Finally, the informal assessments to evaluate if the students’ understood the story itself took the form of several worksheets and questions after the reading. For the time that I was present in the classroom, I observed the teacher and the student teacher asking the students questions about the basic storyline. The teacher informed the students that they would be tested on the symbolism of the novel after the break. I appreciated how the teacher first had the students examine the text on a basic level and then progressed towards a more sophisticated, deeper level of understanding. This method of “building blocks,” so to say, was very effective in this classroom. I felt as though the students knew what was expected of them from the very beginning, and this made their learning experience more valuable and achievable—each student could achieve success if they applied themselves. Observing this English classroom was a valuable learning experience for me, a future educator.

Microteaching I

Hi ladies- It's all yours!

Original Expectations for Central Falls High School

             As I began my journey at Central Falls High School (CFHS), my original expectations were essentially nonexistent. I had heard several negative comments about the high school and its surrounding community, but I also briefly knew about some of the improvements that have been made there in the past couple of years. With these such conflicting sides, I was unsure about what to expect as I parked my Jeep and walked to the front doors of the building.

With this feeling of unfamiliarity with the high school’s environment, I was also overcome with enthusiasm and uneasiness. I was ready to gain experience at the high school level, especially since I tutored at an elementary school (Asa Messer Elementary School) for my FNED course. However, I was also nervous to be around high school students for the first time. I figured that observing teachers in their classrooms would help me, in all aspects, to learn about teaching effectively. I am very interested to watch the interactions between the teachers and their students, and I think that this will help me best adjust to the high school setting.

Already knowing that I would be learning at CFHS, I was primarily concerned about the SED course. I was nervous, and thus hesitant, to learn new material, methods that would guide me as a teacher. I knew that the pressure was on! I felt out of my comfort zone, and therefore I feel as though I focused more on the course rather than developing certain expectations for the school. I was similarly impressed by the innovative partnership between RIC and CFHS, and I felt privileged to be part of such an incredible program.

As I walked into the building on that first day, I saw that CFHS is similar to other public schools dispersed throughout Rhode Island—besides for the school’s very poor reputation. After looking around the school for just a little bit, it was evident that the school is dedicated to educating its students for the future and eventual higher education. Specifically, I was observant of the schoolwork and achievements that were strewn on the hallway walls. It was apparent that administrators and teachers are trying to promote a strong sense of community within their school, and I feel as though this will inspire students to make positive choices throughout their educational careers.

            Discussing my expectations on paper has made me realize that I had positive expectations about my upcoming experiences at CFHS. I was eager to begin a new journey in my educational career by interacting with the educators and students at the school. I strongly hope to leave some kind of encouraging impression on the students that I meet. In a way, I suppose that I have expected CFHS to play a significant component in finding my way as a future educator. I look forward to all of the experiences that I will share in the classrooms that I visit, and CFHS has left an inspiring lasting impression on me thus far.