After blogging throughout this course, I would like to continue blogging as a way to communicate to parents different informational topics that will help their child, as well as events that are going on in the classroom.
A blog is a great way to convey important information in short passages. It's a great format to also share pictures. I would like to put a blog on my teacher website so that parents will be able to see what we are learning, but also comment and ask questions on the different things we are doing in class. It's an interactive way to get parents involved in the classroom, which is something I am continually trying to do at my school.
I would like to try doing a weekly post for parents about what is happening in our class, and use it as a sort of newsletter.
Sunday, 9 April 2017
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Blog 7: The Teenage Brain
After reading and pondering the debate about teens lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do you think this means for you as a teacher?
Knowing that the brain does not develop fully until later in teenage development, it is difficult to justify adult consequences for juveniles. As a teacher, I can help my students through processing different actions and consequences, especially for my male students. I can teach them social and emotional skills that will help them take time to process their decisions instead of jumping into something and not realizing their decisions have consequences.
Helping to teach students calm down is also a skill that would benefit teenagers. If they can train themselves to pause, they will be able to think more clearly and not get into trouble.
Knowing that the brain does not develop fully until later in teenage development, it is difficult to justify adult consequences for juveniles. As a teacher, I can help my students through processing different actions and consequences, especially for my male students. I can teach them social and emotional skills that will help them take time to process their decisions instead of jumping into something and not realizing their decisions have consequences.
Helping to teach students calm down is also a skill that would benefit teenagers. If they can train themselves to pause, they will be able to think more clearly and not get into trouble.
Sunday, 5 March 2017
Blog 6: Music and Math
The information learned in watching the video will change my teaching style by inspiring me to provide positive music and math activities for my students. From the video, I learned that upbeat and happy music is better than slow and sad music. The music I play now is a mixture of calming music, but I want to make sure that I have an upbeat tempo to now encourage positive experiences and success.
In my classroom, I need to provide more opportunities for students to estimate. This may mean just showing a picture and having students estimate how many. This can be a daily activity to help engage the brain, especially since estimation skills are shown to help students succeed in the later grades.
I also want to play more games that incorporate math. When the activity is fun, students are much more engaged and learn more than when they are given a worksheet. This can be a quick and daily activity to warm students up before we get into the math lesson.
Saturday, 25 February 2017
Lesson 5: Reading and Language
After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does this information impact you as a teacher?
Before this video, I did not realize how compartmentalized the areas are that process reading in the brain. I was surprised to learn that phonemic awareness affected a different part of the brain from decoding. Seeing the picture of a brain of an at risk child really impacted me. I work at a school with many at risk children who come in to my class like that. I have to provide many interventions to help them with phonemic awareness and decoding. I wish that I could get brain scans of my students before my class and after it.
Before this video, I did not realize how compartmentalized the areas are that process reading in the brain. I was surprised to learn that phonemic awareness affected a different part of the brain from decoding. Seeing the picture of a brain of an at risk child really impacted me. I work at a school with many at risk children who come in to my class like that. I have to provide many interventions to help them with phonemic awareness and decoding. I wish that I could get brain scans of my students before my class and after it.
Sunday, 12 February 2017
Blog 4: Relational with Students
What does it mean to be relational as a teacher? How will you interact with your students to accomplish this?
Being relational with students is key in having a successful classroom. For my students especially, I don't really know what their home life is really like, but I know that many of them have parents that work and some have been in the foster system. I start each day by greeting my students at the door, giving fist bumps and high fives. This helps me start on a positive note with each student.
Sometimes when we are walking in line, I will focus on one student to talk to and get to know. Some I really try hard to interact with. I have one that has intense custody issues at home, and another who's brother is in jail. A good relationship with these 2 helps to avoid negative/distracting behaviors in class.
Relating with my students helps them work really hard for me and the are willing to do challenging things. They know that I want to prepare them for third grade and help them to be successful. This creates a positive atmosphere where students achieve success.
Being relational with students is key in having a successful classroom. For my students especially, I don't really know what their home life is really like, but I know that many of them have parents that work and some have been in the foster system. I start each day by greeting my students at the door, giving fist bumps and high fives. This helps me start on a positive note with each student.
Sometimes when we are walking in line, I will focus on one student to talk to and get to know. Some I really try hard to interact with. I have one that has intense custody issues at home, and another who's brother is in jail. A good relationship with these 2 helps to avoid negative/distracting behaviors in class.
Relating with my students helps them work really hard for me and the are willing to do challenging things. They know that I want to prepare them for third grade and help them to be successful. This creates a positive atmosphere where students achieve success.
Sunday, 5 February 2017
Lesson 3: Attention and Emotions
This lesson addressed 2 critical components of learning that can often be overlooked when thinking of curriculum and methods of teacher. A student's attention and emotions must be in a positive place when learning, otherwise they will not be successful in the classroom.
Within this lesson, I learned the warning signs to look for with a student who might have an attention disorder. Students naturally are working on their ability to focus and hold their attention for longer periods, but if a student is having difficulty across multiple subjects holding their attention, there could be a problem. It is important, as an educator, that I provide multi-sensory and engaging activities for students who might have short attention spans.
Students must also have a positive environment for their emotions to develop. I did not realize that some students are more prone to aggression or depression because of a specific gene. That was very eye-opening for me. I need to make sure that I am always having a positive attitude, no matter the difficulty or stress of the day. Stopping to pause and do fun activities can help change an entire class around, even if it only lasts for a few minutes.
Within this lesson, I learned the warning signs to look for with a student who might have an attention disorder. Students naturally are working on their ability to focus and hold their attention for longer periods, but if a student is having difficulty across multiple subjects holding their attention, there could be a problem. It is important, as an educator, that I provide multi-sensory and engaging activities for students who might have short attention spans.
Students must also have a positive environment for their emotions to develop. I did not realize that some students are more prone to aggression or depression because of a specific gene. That was very eye-opening for me. I need to make sure that I am always having a positive attitude, no matter the difficulty or stress of the day. Stopping to pause and do fun activities can help change an entire class around, even if it only lasts for a few minutes.
Saturday, 28 January 2017
Lesson 2: Vision and Hearing
After watching the videos on Vision and Hearing, describe how this information impacts you as a teacher.
Understanding the development of vision and hearing helps me to know as an educator ways to foster their development. Paying attentions to the warning signs and now understanding the different clues will help me to be more astute in detecting problems early on. One thing I learned this week was that even though problems with vision and hearing may be fixed, the brain does not necessarily adjust back to before. The brain can almost be trained to see or hear incorrectly, and then it is very difficult to make progress.
In my classroom, I also want to provide diverse exposures for students that improve their visual and auditory skills. I am going to make sure that the noises in my classroom are neither loud or repetitive. I wonder though, I work with English Language Learners, and there is a lot of repetition. Can I repeat concepts and vocabulary but with different intonation?
Understanding the development of vision and hearing helps me to know as an educator ways to foster their development. Paying attentions to the warning signs and now understanding the different clues will help me to be more astute in detecting problems early on. One thing I learned this week was that even though problems with vision and hearing may be fixed, the brain does not necessarily adjust back to before. The brain can almost be trained to see or hear incorrectly, and then it is very difficult to make progress.
In my classroom, I also want to provide diverse exposures for students that improve their visual and auditory skills. I am going to make sure that the noises in my classroom are neither loud or repetitive. I wonder though, I work with English Language Learners, and there is a lot of repetition. Can I repeat concepts and vocabulary but with different intonation?
Saturday, 21 January 2017
Lesson 1
After watching the videos on brain architecture, plasticity, and understanding the impact of the environment on a child, how does this information impact you as a teacher?
Before watching these videos, I did not realize the time span that a child's brain is the most receptive to experience. I did know that children who have positive and stable home environments do not experience as many developmental issues as those with a negative and unstable home. Now I understand that this is because these children are probably experiencing more positive experiences within their home.
For my students, many live below the poverty level and come from Mexico. I am not sure how these experiences impact my student's brain development. Within my classroom, I want to make sure to provide a healthy and positive environment for my students to get as many positive experiences that they can. I want to encourage a strong foundation in their brain architecture while they are at the age of 7 and 8.
Before watching these videos, I did not realize the time span that a child's brain is the most receptive to experience. I did know that children who have positive and stable home environments do not experience as many developmental issues as those with a negative and unstable home. Now I understand that this is because these children are probably experiencing more positive experiences within their home.
For my students, many live below the poverty level and come from Mexico. I am not sure how these experiences impact my student's brain development. Within my classroom, I want to make sure to provide a healthy and positive environment for my students to get as many positive experiences that they can. I want to encourage a strong foundation in their brain architecture while they are at the age of 7 and 8.
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