Performance in the classroom

I just wanted to comment on today's class. We were talking about a lesson can differ each year or even each class. I do agree with Dr. Luongo about how the environment can affect a student. I know when I was sitting in class and it was so hot, I just couldn't wait to get out of there. I wouldn't pay attention as good as I would have if I was comfortable in the classroom. Also, the lighting can affect students because if it is a little dark students will start to get sleepy, but if its too bright it might cause headaches and cause students not to pay attention.
I also think that the time of day affects a student. When I was doing my student teaching I had three classes, one at 8, one at 9:30, and one at 12:30. Each class was a little different. My first class was an honors algebra 1, the second was pre-algebra, and the third was accelerated algebra 1. So my first and last classes would eventually be learning the same material but one lesson would go better in one class rather than the other. My first class never talked, it seemed like they were still sleeping when they came to my class. It was so hard to get volunteers. My second class was very antsy because lunch was right after class. So they would start off quiet but halfway through the class they would get very loud. I learned I couldn't start to begin the next section if I had 15 minutes left because no one would pay attention, they were to worried about getting to lunch on time. Finally, my last class was right after lunch so they were all very hyper. They would come into class laughing, joking around, and non-stop talking. But they were probably the ones that wanted to learn the most because they had the energy. They were always asking questions and volunteering. Maybe that was just because they needed to get up and talk!
I just think every class will be different because of the weather outside, the atmosphere in the classroom, and the time of day you have that class. Each thing has a different impact on the students performance in the classroom and every teacher needs to be aware of this. Just because your lesson doesn't go well in one class it may in another.

Reflection

I am still a little unsure how much I really like the blog. I like the fact that we can just write whatever is on our minds and whenever we want to. But the one thing I did not like was writing two every week. I know that's not a lot but for me it was because I would forget and then have to catch up and that was kind of hard. Also I was having trouble coming up with ideas to write about. If someone told me write this in your blog it would have been a little easier for me, but I know that wasn't the point.
I don't know if I will use the blog in my classroom because I think it would be kind of tough in a math class. I could just introduce it to them and have it optional for them to write what is on their minds about school. I did like reading and watching different articles and videos of educational topics.
I do think the blog would be very beneficial in an English or Social Studies class. You could do projects, or just have students write their feelings towards a certain subject they are learning in class. It is just really hard for me to incorporate this with math. I did enjoy learning about this during the semester. I thought it was a great idea to do in this particular class.

Graduating

I can not believe that its already the end of my college years! The past four years have gone by so fast, especially this year! I can not even explain how much fun I have had. I know that this is not the most exciting school here but I have met the best friends ever and I loved being so close to the city.
I can't believe that I have to go into the real world so soon. I hope that I am ready to be a good math teacher. Actually, I really hope I can get a job first! I know that I am confident and comfortable to be a teacher. All my teachers here have made me feel like I am ready to start my career. I am very excited about graduating but also very sad. I am going to miss all my roommates, teammates, and classmates! I know everyone is probably excited and can't wait to graduate, but make sure you make the most of your time here! I can't believe I am graduating so soon!!!!!!

Grading Policies

I had to read this article for my class and I thought it was a intriguing. It was about giving out zeros as a grade? We have to start thinking about the way we want to grade our students. That is one thing I do not think we cover enough of in our classes for education. Grading is very important and we need to learn what kind of teacher we want to be. Are you going to be the teacher that only gives grades based on class participation? Are you going to be the teacher that only has a few tests and based on the grades you get is your overall grade? Are you going to be the teacher that has many tests, quizzes, homework's, participation and uses all these to grade your student? Or are you going to be the teacher that does not believe in grades?

This article gave many good reasons why teachers should not give students zeros because they missed class, turned in an assignment late, or turned in an incomplete assignment. I agree with the article. Grades are suppose to represent how much and how well the students understand and learned the material. A test, paper or project shows the teacher, parent and student their academic performances. Giving a student a zero does not measure how much a student has learned. It also can discourage them from recieving a higher grade in that class because once they get a zero it will be very hard to get all high grades. Some students may think its an easy way out. If they don't do their work and still get some kind of grade on it they won't care.

The article made a good suggestion about giving zeros. The article has the students if they do not finish their work or do not do it at all or missed class they will have to make it up after school or on Saturdays. This will allow the teacher to measure how much a student actually learned in class rather than just giving them a zero and saying they didn't learn anything. I think this is fair because it won't ruin a student's grade just because an assignment is late and it makes the student's do their work.

I hate them teachers that use grades as a punishment. Especially in College with the absences. For example we are allowed six absences on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Thursdays, and some teachers may tell their students if they miss more they will lower their grade. I also hate them teachers that use grades against behavioral problems. I do not think this is fair at all to students. I think grades are suppose to help the students see how much they really learned and understand in their class. Read this article and what do you think about grading policies?

I am sorry but for some reason I can not get the website on here right now. I am going to see where my teacher got this article so I can post it. As soon as I get it I will post it.

Micro Teaching

After teaching on Tuesday, I felt very comfortable and confident that I will be a good teacher. I actually taught twice this week and every time I teach I feel like I am getting better. I really liked the way Dr. Luongo made the class more classlike with the behavorial problems. That is one thing that is hard to teach in a classroom. You really need to experience the problems as a teacher to understand what you should do. I really do think these micro teachings we do in class will help us in the future with teaching. The more practice you get the better you will become and I think that is the key for becoming a good teacher.
People think that teaching is easy but they have no idea how much work is put into being a teacher. You have to do so much work for just one lesson plan. I am not talking about a formal lesson plan, I am talking about one actual lesson. You have to know what you are going to teach, so you kind of have to learn it again before you can teach it. Then you have to plan how you are going to reach the students, what major points you will teach them, make worksheets and homework's. There is so much going into one lesson that no one really knows about. Teaching is not as easy as it looks or people say. You probably have noticed that is a lot of work by doing this micro teachings, or getting a unit ready. It takes a lot of time planning what you want to do. Then you may not be happy with your lesson after you teach it so you have to make changes. Even teaching these 15 minute lessons you have to put a lot of thought and organization behind it. Teaching is definitely a lot of work, but I will say I like doing this kind of work.

"A Different Kind of Student Exam"

I was reading this article and found it very interesting. It was about school districts who require Breathalyzer tests before entering the school for a prom or activity. Students in this article do not believe this is fair. They think it violates their privacy. I do not think it violates a students privacy. I can understand that the school districts want to watch the safety of their students. So many students are starting to drink at such a young age and schools really have to try to reduce this problem. And if giving Breathalyzer tests to students to reduce this problem then they should be able to do it.
Breathalyzer tests are not the only thing that is getting students into trouble. MySpace pictures are also a threat for underage students. If athletes have pictures of them drinking and they are underage they can be suspended from the team, and school. I know this was a major issue when I came to school especially when Facebook became popular. Its not even just underage drinking, but you are not allowed to be drinking during your season and if you get caught in pictures you can be suspended.
Read this article, it is very interesting. Give your thoughts about the Breathalyzer tests, and the pictures online. Do you think it is fair? Or do you think whatever you do outside of school is your own business and schools shouldn't interfere?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/30breathalyzerct.html?ref=education

Engineering

Last week in my education class we had a guest speaker about engineering. I thought it was very interesting because she was talking about incorporating engineering in classes. Many people do not think of going into engineering. Only 15% of Americans go into engineering, which i thought was very interesting. Engineers need background in math and science, so in school we should be introducing engineering in these subjects. We did an activity that could have been done in all grade levels. We had to make folders with construction paper, rulers, staples, and a piece of white paper. We had to make as many as we can in five minutes. We then realized it would be easier to make more folders if we worked together in an assembly line. This turned out to be true. This was to show how engineers are always thinking of different ways to improve their process.
After we did our activity we talked about how to incorporate this activity into a math class. This was good for me because I want to be a math teacher and I could definitely use this activity. It was good for learning measurement, finding your rate in a certain amount of time, or even graphing. But it also shows how math is used in everyday situations. I know my class had so much fun with it and we are in college so just imagine middle school or high school students. Hopefully, if I could connect this in my class students would want to look into engineering in their future.