SED 406 Observation #3

SED 406 Observation 3

 

            This observation was done in the same self-contained social studies class as the earlier observations, but this was a class of juniors.  The observation was for the purpose of observing classroom management.

            As the students entered the room the teacher was in the center of the desks.  They are arranged in a semi-circle with the classroom computer and projector at the center in the front of the semi-circle.  The students on the way in would take the “do now” sheets that were located on a desk near the door of the classroom.  She has an established routine for this as she later explained the students in this type of class like the routine.  There are no assigned seats but the students go right to the desk they have chosen where most of them read the “do now” that is on the board and start to fill out the “do now” sheets.  As this is taking place the teacher starts attendance for the students that have come in before the bell as rung.  As more students enter they automatically pick up the “do now” sheets find their seat and again most of them start working right away on them.  The teacher takes the last of the attendance after the bell has run.  All during this time she is watching the students and reminding the students that should be working on the “do now” sheets as they will be discussing them shortly.  While they are finishing the sheets the teacher goes to the computer and starts to set up for the CNN student news video.  She tells the students that they have two minutes to finish the “do now” as she finishes the technology set-up.  When the two minutes were up, the teacher begins to go over the “do-now” with the students.  The discussion goes smoothly until one student pulls out his cell phone.  The teacher stopped the lesson when she saw this and addresses the student directly with “what is the rule for cell phones in this class?”  He responds with the answer that goes along with the classroom rule that is posted in the front of the room.  He puts the phone away and the lesson continued until the bell rang for lunch, this was a split lunch period.  They students hand in the “do now” sheets and exit the room for lunch.  This all goes smoothly.  Again the teacher set up a routine.
            As they come back from lunch one new student joins as he was in guidance for the first part of the class.  The assistant in the room helps him get caught up as the teacher checks the attendance again and starts the CNN news.  She reminds them before the video starts that they have to pick two stories from the CNN news that they find interesting and why and that they will discuss after class and then they would move onto the writing exercise on immigration after the CNN discussion.  The teachers goes to the back of the semi-circle to make sure the students are watching and taking some notes.  At the end of the video the teacher gave the students some more time to write on two of the stories that they saw.  She asks a few of them what they wrote about and then has the students bring them up to the desk and then to go get their binders from the cabinet to go over the immigration lesson.  It looks like they have been doing this exercise for a couple of classes.  It gets a little hectic as some of the students do go right to the cabinet.  Some stop to talk to another student, some go back to their seat only to have to get up again.  It take a little longer than expected but the class gets settled down and they start the writing exercise.  At this point the student that brought out the cell phone did it again.  The teacher again reminded him of the rule but this time he started to argue back.  The teacher kept her voice normal and went through their first step of de-escalation while at the same time told her other students to keep working on the assigned work.  It still did not lesson the situation.  After the third step of de-escalation did not work she had the assistant call down to a discipline expert.  She continued to teach the class until the discipline expert came to the class to talk to the student.  He eventually had to be taken out of the class.  During this the other students stayed on their assigned work as the teacher handled the situation.  The rest of the class proceeded with no further interruptions.  The teacher walked around to check on their individual progress and giving praise.  Heard her say “great job”, “that’s a great opening” and saw more than one pat on the back.  With about five minutes left in the class she asked her students to finish the work they were on and to put the binders back in the cabinet, which went off smoothly.  When they were seated she went over what was going to happen in the next class and if there were any questions.  The bell than rang and the kids left the room in order.
            I think the classroom was managed very well.  Time was used effectively.  Even with the split lunch and the disruption caused by the incident with the cell phone the teacher was able to get her plan in and continue the lesson.  She has an established routine for this class that she started at the beginning of the year and the students know what to do even in the event of a disruption.  I think this just helps the students in their leaning.  She established a pattern and a set of behaviors that she expects, she told the students and you can tell they have been practiced.  The students, I think, felt comfortable even with the disruption and I saw that they were able to continue their work even as it was going on.  The teacher was very effective of keeping her students on task and was able to help them through the exercise.  All in all it was a very well run class which I believe will just make it easier for the students to learn.

Struggling Readers and Recommendations

Struggling Readers and Recommendations

            When I started to read the first of the two chapters for this week the question popped right up in my mind, “how am I going to handle a student that can’t read the content even though the student is in high school?”  The thought really scared me.  Even though we have been reading about how to make reading more interesting or make a student life long readers it really hit me in this chapter that I will probably at some point in my future career have a few students that will not be able or have trouble reading the content that I am teaching.  The chapter goes onto explain that much of the issues for the readers is that they just can’t put words into images and that the student just does not have the prior knowledge that could help them with the content.  (p233-234).  This reminded me of the earlier passage in this book about Columbus.  Once the authors told me the subject was Columbus I could decipher the paragraph.  However, even if the student head Columbus, but didn’t have the background knowledge of Columbus the paragraph, though it could be read, would not be understood.  The idea of teaching reading, which I admit is not easy, still scares me a bit, but at least I now have a few ideas that will help.

            The one idea that I think will help struggling readers, as well as other students, is the one about “building supportive relationships.” (p. 236).  It goes such a long way when a person shows another person that they are there for them, that they are willing to help, that they understand when something is going on.  This is in everyday life, in work, in class and even within families.  I saw it every day in my last career.  As a manager I sought to know about the team members outside of work.  Did they have kids?  Were they in college? Were they in the process of choosing a college?  I got to know my team members that way I could understand where they were coming from especially if I saw something just wasn’t right.  Since I knew something about them I was able to ask and find out what was wrong.  Knowing that went a long way.  It also went a long way when you just asked an associate how are classes, how is the family.  Building the relationships here helped the associate grow in the position.  I didn’t expect less as the job had to still get done but the associate knew that I did care about them on a level beyond manager/associate.  This led them to work harder to get the job done.  It is the same in the readers that are having trouble.  Let them know you will get to know them, support them, help them and be there for them as much as possible.  Also let the student know that you will still expect the work to be done but at times things can happen and you will understand. 

The other one that I found strategy that I found really useful is to use other activities to help with the reading.  (p. 239).  The one the really hits home for me is drawing what you read.  One of my kids loves to draw and color.  When she first starting to read she was having a little difficulty.  I knew she liked to draw so, not even thinking this was a strategy, I told her to draw what she thought she was reading.  It worked out great for her.  Her reading has improved to a point where she is reading books at and just above her grade level and she even uses the drawing to help out in her math word problems.  Reading about it now I can see I can use that even in a high school setting, for I know it really does work.

The last chapter mainly dealt with what recommendations the authors have from the research that has been done on reading.  For me the key recommendation came is to expose the students to a lot of different materials to read in class beyond the textbook.  Use primary source documents, non-fiction books, biographies, even fiction books.  When I saw this I thought of one of my favorite science-fiction writers, Harry Turtledove.  He writes many alternate history novels.  One series deals with what would have happened if the South had won the Civil War.  It goes though how there are two countries, how they end up on opposite sides of an alternate World War I and how after World War I with the south losing, it starts to shape up like the Nazi Germany we know in our history.  It really is a great series of books that I think will get students to think, what would life be like if the Civil War ended differently?  It is a great way to get them thinking, critically and giving their opinions as there is no right answer.  Until reading this I would have never of thought to even use that type of material in a class, now however I can see there are many possibilities.   


Below is a link to one of the books in the Turtledove series.  It is set in 1924 after the South was on the losing side of World War I.  A really interesting and though provoking "what if..."

http://www.amazon.com/Center-Cannot-American-Southern-Victory-ebook/dp/B000FBFM6Q/ref=sr_1_62?ie=UTF8&qid=1416562534&sr=8-62&keywords=harry+turtledove

Observation 2 - 406

Lesson Plan Template for SED 406 and 407 part 1 = planning
Teacher Candidate: Al Picozzi	Subject: Social Studies	Grade(s): 11th
Name of Lesson: Effective communication verbally and through writing using a reading about immigration
Learning Objective(s), including Bloom's taxonomic level: (label A, B, C, *D) *optional Student will be able to write a proficient constructive response with assistance.
Student Standards (GSE or/GLE or Common Core-in draft for math/science- list which): GSE HP 1-1 Students act as historians, using a variety of tools ; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
Teacher Standards (professional society and/or NETS  and RIPTS-list which): RIPTS 3.2 design instruction that meets the current cognitive, social and personal needs of their students
Rationale: Why this lesson? How does it fit into the curriculum and context? Is this the introduction, conclusion, or somewhere in the middle of the unit of instruction? The class is discussing immigration and reading this interview shows the perspective
Materials/Resources needed, including technology: blank SEE(statement, evidence, explination) graphic organizers, pencils/pens, do now sheets, immigration interview article
Accommodations and Modifications (special needs and learning styles) For example:  Dr. Kraus has poor vision and needs written material to be at least 12 pt. font.  He also reads two grade levels higher and needs appropriate reading material.  All of the students in this class have a IEP.  Some are seated away from others in order for them to be able to work.  One student is allowed to have a lizard in his hand or on him during the class.
What content resources support this knowledge base? (list at least 2) Immigration article , do now sheets
How confident are you in this topic as you start this lesson? Teacher seemed very confident

 

  

(Boxes expand as you type) Lesson Plan Template part 2 = action
Bell-ringer: How will you get students seated, and ready for academic work? (without your voice) Teacher has set up a procedure which most students follow they take a do now sheet and start on it as they walk in.  Some students do not do this.  Class is a self-contained class with some behavioral students.  Teacher walks around getting them settled.
Anticipatory Set: How will you introduce the material, interest the students, show relevance of topic?
Phase (change as needed)/Time	Teacher action	Student action	Questions/Assessments
e.g. Intro/5 min.	Ok start the do now.  Making sure they are taking the sheets	Students coming in taking the do now sheets	Asking the do now question..Why is it important to have effective communication?
Presentation or Open-ended/ 10 min.	Asking students about what effective communication looks like.  Demonstrates what non-effective communication in a mock job interview.	Students doing the do now.  Students watching, some asking questions, some talking.	Is that effective?  What would you do if you were the employer?
Guided Practice or Convergent/40 min.	CNN student news.  Then conversation about the news	Watching the news.  Talking about events in the news.	Teacher ask them to write 2 things they learned from the news and then to present it to her to make in the “book”
	Student Circle – after lunch break. Asks students what they did over the weekend.  After the circle.  Starting to go over writing a paragraph on the immigration article.   Teacher writing the answers the class comes up with on the board in a graphic organizer that is drawn on the board.  After the organizer teacher guides them through making the organizer into a constructive response.  Compare this to the answers you wrote before we did it this way.	Talk about the weekend and the coming day off.  Students answering the questions.  Copying the answers the teacher has written on the board.  The answers are from t he class as a whole.  Writing the paragraph as a constructive response.  Copying it from the board after the class as a whole provided the answers.  Students take out previous essay they wrote before this exercise to compare.	Why is school closed this Tuesday?  Why is it important?  So what is the question we want to ask?  Now let’s make it a statement.  What is the next step after statement?  Ok what evidence do we want?  Now after the evidence is..?  Ok what’s the explanation for each piece of evidence?  Why is the writing this way? Why do we need to explain the evidence and use quotes in the writing?
Closing/5 min	Time to put binders away.  Put today’s work in them before they are put away.  Prepares them for the next class where the organizer, the SEE sheets, will be done as a group but the full paragraph will be done by the individual.	Students gathering papers and putting them in their binders.  Putting binders away.
HW/Application/	none
Review and Reflection: How will you review for students who are still having trouble? She spend more time while they were writing with the students having the most difficulties with this exercise.
Extension: What will you offer to students who have mastered this? Nothing seen
*Closing: How will you review the material, and draw conclusions? (may be listed above) I am assuming she looks at the binders at a later time to see how the essays were developing.

 

	Lesson Plan Template pt. 3 = reflection
WHAT?	What went well?   The exercise really helped up some of the students getting the idea of the constructive essay.  Many were answering the questions, with guidance, but they were answering and putting together the essay.
	What area of weakness needs addressing? Student distractions and behavior, but as an self-contained class the teacher really did have a handle even though she had to pause a lot during the lesson.
	Which objectives were met? What is the evidence? Since this lesson was really class driven and the students just copied what was written I do not think in this lesson you can see if the objectives were met at least by the individual.  As a class they came up with a constructive essay so in that sense the objective was met.
	Which students did not meet objectives?  Two of the students had to leave because of behavioral issues.  They were not able to complete the class constructed essay.
	Was time managed appropriately? Yes.  The teacher really had it down even in the face of many interruptions.  With many of her students having behavioral IEPs she really has the time managed and seems to allot time for interruptions she knows will happen.
	Did any teacher mannerisms or actions detract from the lesson? None seen.
	*What were the strengths and weaknesses of classroom management?  The teacher had it down.  She had established procedures for even the behavioral issues she knew would be coming.  She was able to overcome the interruptions.  She was even able to deal the split lunch and get back onto the lesson quickly.   Weakness was really the amount of interruptions even though she handled them there were so many that at times it stopped the flow of the lesson.
SO WHAT?	Was the lesson engaging? Yes.  Most of the students really were interested.  Even to the point them asking that $7.00 a week was a lot of money in 1906 they wondered what was that in “today’s” money.
	*What did I learn from my peer observation (address at least one aspect)   Having a plan to deal with the interruptions, especially in a self-contained type room, is extremely important.
NOW WHAT?	How will this experience influence your professional identity?  I think it will allow me to develop in a way that I can try to teach any student.  She showed me that it is possible to help any student develop.
	How will it influence how you plan/teach/assess in the future? I know now that I will have to not only make a plan in a lesson, but to make sure that I also plan for non-academic issues that might come up during a class period.  The teacher here had a plan for the lesson but it is obvious she has a plan to deal with the interruptions that came up.

406 - Observation #1

Observation #1

           This observation took place at Central Falls High School in Central Falls, RI.  This is the only high school in the City of Central Falls and the school’s population is just over 800 students from the 9^th grade to the 12^th grade.  The student population is diverse, but the majority of the students are of a Hispanic ethnicity.

            I have been in Central falls for a few weeks now as I am taking SED 407 also, but the first time I saw the building I never realized the age of the school.  It looks like it was built around the 1950’s in order to take a nuclear attack.  I think I saw an old fallout shelter sign on one side of the building.  When you walk in you can tell the building is old, it just has that style.  The paint is old and chipped and there are needs of repairs.  However, I think it has a welcoming feeling.  The halls are decorated with upcoming events, Warrior (the school symbol/mascot) art and saying, a calendar in colored chalk that is changed and redrawn with the new month, student art, student successes and various art and information is posted throughout.  On the outside it looks harsh and drab but the inside, at least in the halls, is more welcoming.

            I went into an 11^th grade social studies class to observe for a period.  This was a self-contained class that had students with learning and behavioral disabilities.  The class was a small class of five students, but today there was only four as one of the students was not there but had to return after school to what the teacher told me was PM school.  I learned later from the teacher that was when a student has discipline issues and has to come back after normal school hours to take his or her classes.  There is also a teacher assistant in the room to help the students and the teacher.  The class is not arranged in a typical way.  The teacher’s and the assistant’s desk are in the back, while the students desks are arranged in a semi-circle facing the “black board” with the computer, projector and the ELMO in the center of the semi-circle.  The teacher generally teaches from the center of the semi-circle so she can help the individual students when needed.  It makes it easier for her to keep an eye on the students and it lets the students always see her.  I asked her about the arrangement and she stated that the students like it this way so they can focus on her as she teachers from the center and it is easier for them to watch her when she goes to the board.  It is also easier for her and the assistant to keep an on the students also.  For the rest of the room it looks like a typical class room, there are rules posted, examples of student work on the board, posters that deal with different time periods of history, plus you can really see that age of the building in this classroom.  Floor tiles are broken, the heater was making a noise throughout the whole class, but it seems the students and the teachers were able to block it out and the ceiling tiles really need some work.  It did however feel welcome.  I like how the seating was arranged for I think it promotes help between the students just has a closer feeling.

            In the class today, as I stated above, there were only four students.  Three were Hispanic, all male, and one African-American female.  The teacher did inform me that all are on an IEP and come from a challenged economic background.  The class I saw was about how to write an essay using the SEE (statement, evidence, explanation) method.  The students were using a graphic organizer and were basically copying from the board the work the class did the day before.  The teacher did try to get all of them to participate.  One student just did not, no matter how much the teacher and the assistant tried, want to cooperate.  He played on his cell unit it died and he asked the teacher why it died.  She tried to get him on track but he did get frustrated and just left the room.  He eventually came back but was still disruptive and he left after the assistant called for a discipline specialist to come into the room to take the student out of class.  One other student did not participate in the answering questions or talking but she was very locked in on the assignment.  The teacher and the assistant did check on her just like the other students to make sure she was on track, and she was.  When they asked her a question if she was “ok” or if she understood what she was supposed to do she gave a thumbs up but did not respond verbally.  They all had the chance to participate in the exercise as the teacher would try to get to each other, but not all would respond, some did, and some did the work but kept quite.  From what I saw all the students had the ability to do the work, some more than others, and the teacher would spend more time with the ones that need the help with the assignment.  The teacher, in this setting, is the one with the power.  Given what I saw I think it has to be that way.  She really tries to keep them focused on task which is hard given the dynamics of the class. 

            I think for me in would be difficult to be in this kind of class as student. There are many distractions, mainly from other students and maybe a little from the heater, which must bother them more and distract them more. I’m saying that from the point of view as a student without an IEP or never experienced a class setting like this before. These students, for the most part, seemed to have really been engaged, in varying levels, even with the distractions. They have a routine that they are set in and follow. If that routine is disrupted that is one that is more of an issues for the students not the interruptions. I think it is hard work to be a student in this school. They have a lot of challenges in and out of the school. The students know of the recent issues with the test scores and the teacher firings. They understand they need to get better and it put a lot of pressure on the students. However, I also see that many of the students are trying and trying hard. The school spirit that I have seen so far has been great, the students really care about their school and their school community.

 

 

Promising Practices Letter

                                                                                                        Albert Picozzi
                                                                                                        Rhode Island College
                                                                                                        November 5^th,2014

 

Dear Dr. Blankenship,

 

            Thank you for your presentation on using technology, specifically GIS mapping on Goggle Maps, in a history/social studies class setting.  It was great to see that this type of technology can be used in a subject, history, which many students see as boring.  You showed us how to create a virtual walking historic tour of downtown Providence.  The process also showed us how to add points to the tour of historical significance and how to include pictures, audio and/or video clips, and also text.  It was great to see how you can create a tour at home and then actually use that tour on the sites.  You can make it so that it is available of smartphones and tablets that can be used while actually walking on the tour.  After the tour demonstration you explained how you can use this technology in the classroom.  The example you used was great.  Using present day maps you created a small lesson on the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944.  It showed the challenges faced by the allies just from the geography, but when you added the points you included pictures of what the area looked liked with the German defenses.  It gave a great representation and realistic view of what the allies faced.  It was more than just pictures in a book.  The way you added questions to each point was a great way to assess while the lesson was taking place.  To show us how you can use technology in a classroom really can make any lesson come to life.
            In my opinion this breakout session connected to the ideas stated by Dr. Christopher Emdin and Promising Practices of how we need to know our students in order to really teach them and how we need to change the way they are taught.  Dr. Emdin basically states at one point that we need to know our students and our classes in order to teach.  Each student and each classroom learns differently.  In today’s world technology is everywhere.  Your smartphone can do more work than the computers that helped land the Apollo rocket on the moon in 1969.  Students are all about the new technology, just stating that you are going to use some of that new technology will get them interested.  Everybody is using Google Maps and Google Earth for many reasons.  Why not bring it into the classroom and use it for whatever you might think.  Show the class a real time map of the area of Gettysburg and have the students map out the specific points of one of the most important battles in our history.  Let them use the technology to get interested.  Use this type of technology to explore local areas of interest whether it is in history, English or even in math.  Really know your students and change the teaching based on this knowledge.  With technology so much a part of a student’s life these days let’s bring it into the classroom and use it so we can get and keep the students interest.
            Both the breakout session and the address by Dr. Emdin were insightful and full of information that I plan on using once I get into my own classroom.  The profession has to move away from traditional methods in a sense.  As teachers we can still lecture but change it in a way that interests the students, by getting to know them, knowing their interests and bringing them to the class room.  Technology is one of those ways and it is one I plan on using.  Thank you again as I learned a lot from this conference that will help me as a future educator.

 

Sincerely,

Al Picozzi

                                                                                                              

Book Clubs and inquiry Units

Book Clubs and Inquiry Units

            When I was in school I do not ever remember have a book club.  After reading the chapter and actually seeing it in practice in a Central Falls High School English class I would have to say that the idea and the practice makes sense.  This technique lets the students get more involved in the process of learning.  They can choose the books that are going to be read, it allows the students to give their opinions, to take notes without having to worry about grades,.  The teacher will walk around and look at what the students are doing, listening to the talking within each groups and guiding them in the discussion.  The students are the real teachers in these groups.  Daniels and Zemelman basically state that the process of taking notes and writing down of questions and ideas is to get a grade, it is to spur discussion (p.211) to let the students really tie what they are reading to the content of their subject.  There will be an assessment, but it really is based on participation and whether the note taking is done, not what is actually in the notes as that is what the student feels is important.  I also like the idea of roles in the book club.  Each student in the group takes a role that will change when there are new book clubs that way they won’t just be use to one job, they can become experienced in the other roles and they will be able to think in different ways while they are reading.  (p. 209).  I saw the roles used in a book club in a class at Central Falls.  The students were in groups discussing Frankenstein.   There was one student with a dictionary that would look up words the group didn’t know, there was one who was asking questions to the other members of the groups while the others were using the story to answer the questions posed.  They were prepared before the class started with the questions, so I assume there was some pre-work or homework done before the class to prepare for this lesson.  It seemed to work out well, there was great discussion in the groups, the students were taking notes and the teacher was walking around checking in on the groups and guiding them when they needed it.  It really was a great lesson.

            In chapter 10 we see that we need to connect learning with what the authors refer to as the “bigger issues of life.”  (p. 217)    Using inquiry units that encompass what is going on in the real world will just gain a student’s interest more.  Or even relating a lesson to something that might be going on in pop culture can spark the same interest.  Game of Thrones, an extremely successful book series, and HBO series, by George R. R. Martin, can be used as an example.  Having the students examine that fantasy world in an English class and see the shifting alliances, the confusion of war and intrigue, can prepare a student in a history class leaning about the alliance system in World War I that was so confusing that it actually was a cause of the war.  This could also be connected to issues in today’s world.  The alliance system in the Middle-East with ISIS and so on is also very confusing.  Now you are relating a reading from an English class, to discussing World War I in a History class, to going over current events in a Social Studies or Current Events class.   Having the two or three teachers create a project using this pop-culture element can help a student in studying something from one-hundred years ago.  This brings something that is fun and exciting to read into one class and use it in another to make what many students fell is boring, into something exciting.  (If you have not read any of the books yet, do they are an incredible read.)

            One more aspect I found interesting in this chapter is the idea of “backmapping.”  (p.218)  When creating a project the teacher just makes one that he or she knows will work, is interesting  and contains a lot of the their content matter.  Only then does the teacher go back and see what standards are met by the project.  In a sense it is similar to UbD.  The teacher starts with the outcome, to present a lot of content, and then looks back to see what goals and standards are met.  (pp. 218-219).  At the same time though, it is unlike UbD.  In UbD you start with the goal and the standards and then design the activities.  Here though you are setting a goal are getting content through an interesting activity and then seeing what standard it fits, in UbD you start with the standard.  It is an interesting dilemma.  So the question in these inquiry activities is how do you start?  With the goal in mind first, or with the interesting activity first?



Take read of the book.  It really is amazing to see the shifting of alliancesand politicla intrigue.  Imagine how that can be related to World War I, the alliances we see shfit in the Middle East over the years.  http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Song-Fire-Book/dp/0553593714 that is for the 1st book right now it is a series of five.  It is a long read, over 800 pages, but something that I think can be used in a class to explain many events in history.