// Setting Goals \\

• Your goal/challenge why this is an area on which to work, referring to the appropriate Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAP)

My goal for this semester is focused on differentiation. My inquiry actually has a lot to do with what I am focusing on this semester, because there is a lot that is involved with differentiating in the classroom. It’s not a simple task and I am learning about the various ways and strategies that can be implemented to increase the engagement in the classroom. Last semester I would make a lesson and think that it was really engaging, however, I would find that the students weren’t very engaged during the lesson. I wanted to focus on how to differentiate because it is so crucial in being an effective teacher and also because it is the focus of my inquiry. There are FEAPs that involve differentiation and engagement such as 3h, 3a, and 2h. More of a personal goal that I have this semester would be building my teacher voice and force. I’m not sure why, but I am having difficulty with being forceful with my students. It could be from the lack of comfort that I have with my collaborating teacher, or it could be that internally I don’t want any of the students to hate me. As the semester goes on, I have been seeing myself grow in this goal and I plan on continuing my growth.

• Decisions you made related to your goal/challenge and why you made them. What was the role of your CT? supervisor? 

My first goal of understanding how to really differentiate lessons is because in many of my classes, we are learning and focusing on differentiation in the classroom. I never realized how much work it does take, how essential it actually is, and how to properly differentiate. Additionally, since my inquiry is focused on differentiation for engagement, I thought that it would be wise for me to actually fully comprehend how to effectively differentiate a lesson. In my collaborating teacher’s classroom, I don’t see much differentiation. For example, during a math lesson she actually mentioned that the students won’t be able to use the manipulatives when they take their standardized test so they might as well learn how to do it without them. I think that not only will I grow as an educator with this goal, but it will also assist the students’ learning during my lessons. The role of my CT this semester would be an observer. I listen to my CT’s criticism and advice with humility and I reflect upon it. The role of my supervisor is definitely a guider, mentor, and an observer. When I talk to my supervisor I have a great appreciation for her guiding words. I appreciate when she gives me criticism because she understands my goals and my inquiry fully so I feel as though her unbiased eye in the classroom is very beneficial for not only myself, but also my inquiry.

• Examples of how you took feedback into account

One piece of advice that I received last semester was to use a technique when calling on students. The technique was to call on one student from each corner of the room, and rotate so that the same students aren’t continually being called on. This semester I have been working on that strategy and I find it really helpful! This semester I have also been working on my teacher voice and my CT has been giving me opportunities in the classroom to use it. Although I don’t really like being the bad guy all the time, the students might actually listen to me instead of hearing it over and over from my CT.

• Evidence of learning (your own learning or students’ academic or behavioral learning); post 2 artifacts of this learning.

3g. Apply varied instructional strategies and resources, including appropriate technology, to provide comprehensible instruction, and to teach for student understanding;

In my science lesson on the skin I incorporated a multimodal representation to display the notes and questions for the students. This allowed for some of the visual learners to actually see images about what I’m saying that would reinforce their learning based on their learning style. Additionally, after going over the functions of the skin on the Powerpoint, I had the students watch a Bill Nye video. I allowed the students to come and sit on the carpet if they wanted too to watch the video.

3a. Deliver engaging and challenging lessons;

During a math review lesson, I thought that instead of having the students just practice independently, doing different tasks to review at four centers would be much more enjoyable and engaging. Each center’s task was turned into a game that the students were engaged in throughout the time restraint. One of the centers had riddles (word problems) that I made to relate to the students interest (sports, sponge bob, food, etc.) that were similar to what they were going to see on the test. The centers were enjoyable for the students and challenging as well. One of the students even wrote on their exit ticket that the pictionary station actually helped him understand how to visually represent fractions being multiplied.

2h. Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing needs and diversity of students; and

There are a variety of different kinds of workers in the classroom, therefore it can be difficult to do centers effectively. However, I decided that in order to appropriately differentiate for some students would be to give a variety of different options to undertake the tasks at each center. The games were adjusted so that they could be played with partners, groups, and some of the centers could actually be done individually. Additionally, one of the unmotivated students in the classroom, is much more engaged and participates when grouped with a specific selection of students. So I decided that in order to have him fully understand the review, I would place those students together. The unmotivated student also is very kind and helpful with the ELL students, so accommodating him and the ELLs in the preselected groups was necessary.

• Plans for your future work related to this goal

As I gain information and knowledge about differentiation and how to apply it in a classroom, I will incorporate various strategies into my lessons. This will assist me when I am obtaining data that correlates with my inquiry as well. I am currently planning on teaching a lesson every week so that I am able to implement and practice differentiation. Personally, I learn best with practice, so although this may seem overwhelming, I know it is the most beneficial for me in the long run as a teacher.

 

// Eyes Wide Opened \\

Historical

Natural Beauty

House of Worship

Grocery Store

Areas That Show Change/Growth

Place Where Families and Children can Gather in Their Free Time

Kid-friendly

Something That Could Use Improvement

Something That Was Surprising (someone had ponies right by the school)

Something Important (English and Spanish Church Services)

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Reflection

Throughout my investigation on the community, I have learned a lot of information that can be beneficial for when I create lessons. Since a lot of my students live within walking distance from the school, a lot of the information that my interview provided can also affect the students background knowledge that is taken into play when creating lessons. All of this community information plays into the background application that teachers need to take into consideration. From the interview, it seems as though a lot of students may not get the attention and guidance that should be given at home; so providing a safe, comfortable, and supportive environment in the classroom is vital. Touching on character qualities could be beneficial as well if correct guidance isn’t given at home and becomes a problem at school. Analyzing the cultural backgrounds from this school should be addressed and celebrated in the classroom. When teachers make a point to celebrate the cultural differences in the classroom, mutual respect for cultures can occur; Therefore creating a comfortable and safe environment.  The fact that the school is Title 1-mostly due to the funds coming in for free and reduced lunches-is important to acknowledge while teaching. The majority of the students may rely on the school for their breakfast and lunch, so if a student comes in late they may not perform adequately because they’re hungry. Therefore, having snacks available in situations like that could be beneficial. I think that even if sink-holes aren’t in the standards that are required information for my students to know, I might have done a lesson or crossed this topic into the classroom because so many of the students were affected by it, even the school. Not only did an interview come in handy when doing an investigation on the community, but also surveying images of landmarks around the community can shed light on the community as well. From the images, it shows that there is expansion and construction that is common in the area. The majority of the housing in the community appears to be middle to lower class, which can account for the large amount of students receiving free and reduced lunch. Construction could also cause students to come in late into class because of traffic that can arise due to congestion. Therefore, teachers should be aware of this situation because if a student is late then they could miss the only opportunity to eat breakfast. Having breakfast bars or some sort of snack could come in handy for students attending the school. Additionally, the prevalence of a variety of different religious churches in the zoning of the school could be tied to the students’ background knowledge and ability to apply information to lessons. One of the churches actually had two separate services that provided an English version and then a Spanish version which should be considered with the diversity in the classroom and understanding and applying cultural respect in the classroom. The community has many family friendly places to gather that the school could potentially collaborate with for family nights. Also places like that the students are familiar with so they could be incorporated into lessons and activities so that the students recognize and connect it to their background knowledge. For example the baseball field or grocery store could be incorporated into a math lesson.

After doing this investigation, I see how doing research on the community is a significant aspect in a classroom. When I begin my career, putting the extra effort into discovering the backgrounds of my student, where they’re coming from, and the community around the school will significantly be shown in the effectiveness of my lessons and classroom. I think this because having a true understanding of my students’ background knowledge all has to do with the students’ achievement in school. If a lesson isn’t differentiated for the students’ background knowledge and culture, then there will still be a hindrance in students’ learning. Additionally, applying real life information that is based on the community can support and assist learning because of the reliability of it, which can also guide students towards success in a much more efficient way. Viewing what the community consists of opens the eyes of educators to possibilities, applications, and accommodations that could potentially be vital in a classroom.

// Getting to Know You \\

 

On February 18, 2016, I had the privilege of interviewing Professor Pomfrey at Hogwarts Elementary School. Professor Pomfrey has been the art teacher at the school for about seventeen years. She has seen my three focus students grow as children and as students, which is beneficial for me to develop a full understanding of these students. Additionally, I thought that since my three focus students are mostly visual and tactile learners, having knowledge of the students’ engagement and enjoyment in an art class would benefit my inquiry data.

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Interview:
1. Describe the level of engagement and enjoyment in class for: (level 1-10, 10 being most)

Harry: 8
Neville: 10
Cho: 7

2. Have you noticed any particular thing that interested each student? What about didn’t like at all?
Liked                                                                      Didn’t like
Harry:       Using Clay                                              finding objects in bubble painting
Neville:     Everything                                                                        X
Cho:  Tracing, organization                                coming up with own creations

3. When are each of the students enjoying your class the most? (getting to talk, being alone, playing, drawing, etc.)

Harry: Quiet, independent, Doesn’t ask for much help
Neville: When he’s working, he doesn’t car who he’s with, focused
Cho: Quiet, Works alone

4. If you could recommend anything that would be beneficial for the students what would it be?

Harry: Social Skills
Neville: Writing more stories about visual creations, creativity in class
Cho: Loosen up, Social skills

5. Have you noticed any difference in each child throughout each year?

Harry: Not to much, He’s matured, may be overwhelmed by middle school
Neville: Always liked him, More confident in himself
Cho: Slowly becoming more confident but is still extremely shy

6. Extra Commentary:

Harry: Didn’t follow directions when creating collage and story, Colors sloppy, Made ceramic tile and hand crafted a camel from own design, Quiet, Does work
Neville: “Must be above level”, Didn’t write as much, Partially used part of painting for collage and it was ‘thought out’, Has fun doing drawings, Found things in paintings very easily
Cho: Not very creative, Wants to copy things more, She is very neat and organized, Needs to Loosen up a little, Quiet, Looks more at negative space when finding objects in paintings.

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Insight:

When I began my interview, Professor Pomfrey asked my reasoning behind choosing the three students I had. After telling her that I had to chose one above level, on level and below level, she immediately responded with, Neville must be you above level. I found that extremely enlightening and informative for my inquiry because I am focusing on enjoyment, engagement, learning styles, and interest. Clearly, Neville shows above level qualities and characteristics in the art class which could be directly incorporated into the mainstream classroom. As for Harry, I found that although coloring type of art isn’t appealing to him, art that can be formed with hand does interest him. The creativity and detail that was shown in the ceramic camel compared to the rest of his art projects illustrates that Harry prefers visual representations done by hand. This information is useful when creating lessons and activities for Harry. Manipulative and interactive imagination based activities would benefit Harry more than creating simply a visual drawing. Throughout my data collection, Cho has been the most difficult to understand. I’m not sure if it’s because she is quiet that it is hard to gain beneficial data to support my inquiry. This interview articulated that although Cho does not necessarily like to come up with her own creations, she prefers to be neat, organized, and almost perfectionist like. Although it is important for students to have the ability to be creative, asking Cho to develop her own visual representation of something could cause anxiety; thus not assisting in Cho’s learning at all. Her visual learning may come from having visual aid in correlation with auditory teaching.

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Actions:

The insights that this interview has given will guide my actions more appropriately in my inquiry. They will allow me to design lessons that have a variety of assessments that will depict each students understanding through their learning style. Additionally, it will aid my below level (Neville) I think the most because, there seems to be some correlation between his engagement and motivation while in art. I think that having this information will guide my students to academic success in a much more enjoyable way because things in the classroom will become more differentiation based on their type of learning. Some of the more specific actions that I will take are having more art based activities, more manipulative and hands on activities, and more social skills building (turn and talks). I think that in order to guide Cho to a higher level of success I will need to do more observations while in the class. As of this point, I know that she does seem to find enjoyment in sports, basketball, and being outside. So I am going to try and incorporate these types of things as I get farther into my inquiry lessons.

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Photo of Interview:

// Beginning of an Inquiry \\

Throughout last semester I have been focusing on one particular student in my inquiry and I’ve noticed that there are various other students that could also benefit from the same type of inquiry. My wondering has developed into how I can differentiate my lessons based on student interest and learning style to increase engagement and enjoyment in school. After having the student complete a learning style survey, I have seen that my three focus students are not mainly auditory learners compared with the rest of the class. My collaborating teacher’s teaching style is normally for auditory learners, so I see that my students are either not engaged what so ever or seem extremely bored. I would like to see if incorporating strategies for visual and tactile learners would benefit not only my three focus students, but the remaining students in the class as well. In order to obtain scholarly material that would suggest actions and strategies, I searched through the journal The Reading Teacher. I decided to use JSTOR because it would allow me to search within the journal itself. Additionally, using The Reading Teacher correlated with the data that I have been gathering such as ERAS, Running Records, and Yopp-Singer Phoneme Segmentation.

Interest Journals Motivate Student Writing

Interest journals, as described in this article, is when a student is able to brainstorm ideas or topics that they want to write about and basically have a social journal that their peers comment on. The purpose of the journals is to increase motivation because of the ability to chose their topic. They are to insert a persuasive entry that their peers will read and comment their agreement, disagreement, experience, etc. that pertain to the topic. The article describes how a teacher can implement this strategy by giving a detailed description of what to get, how to introduce it to the class, and what to do when the journals are filled.

I loved this strategy so much that I actually plan on incorporating it into my own classroom when I graduate. I always liked when my teachers commented on my own journals instead of just grading them, so I think that having the students comment on each others journals is genius. Additionally, having the students a chance to choose what they initially write about is a great motivator. I also liked that the students aren’t stuck with a topic every week, they comment on different topics and ideas before coming back to their own which is a great way to encourage background knowledge building in various subjects. I think that I will ask my teacher if I can implement this strategy into the classroom and have the students write in them in the morning because she doesn’t have a constant routine in the morning. They can write in the journals once a week on Thursdays while I am in class (or if my CT likes it then she can do it more often).

Facilitating Engagement by Differentiated Independent Reading

Types of readers are described within this article. After each description of the eight types of readers there is a section that depicts what a teacher can do to help this particular student. Interest inventories are encouraged for almost every reader so that teachers can have a better understanding to what kinds of books they would enjoy the most. Peer discussions, teacher conferencing, and book talks were emphasized as well. These strategies help students stay on track and enthusiastic when reading a book. The purpose of this article is to inform teachers on what each type of reader looks like and how a teacher can help them become more engaged readers. The authors want teachers to take a closer look at independent reading so that it is beneficial for the student and not just a waste of time.

After learning this article I learned that when I implement read-alouds in my lessons, I will include various topics in order to encourage students to become interested in more than one topic. Additionally, I know now that interest inventories are an extremely helpful tool for a teacher and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Every piece of information and data gathered can shine light into a student’s learning. I really liked that for each type of reader a strategy was included because all three of my focus students are different types of readers; however, many of the strategies could be used for more than one type of reader.

Learning Style and Reading Instruction

This article discussed the elements that can affect student learning in the classroom environment. It also distinguishes what the difference between learning style and cognitive style is. According to their definitions of each, teacher’s mistakenly differentiate their lessons based on students’ cognitive style when they are trying to differentiate based on learning style. The learning style involves the how someone might be affected by environmental, sociological, and physical stimuli around them. The article illustrated that there are four environmental qualities that can affect any students learning. These four things include: sound, light, design, and temperature.

From this article I’ve learned what types of things I need to begin to observe and focus on that will clarify and strengthen my knowledge of what strategy I should implement that would best benefit my students. Although it might be hard to change the environment of the classroom because it is not my own, there was a piece of information that I thought was extremely enlightening. Observing when a student performs best can allow a teacher to schedule when a student undergoes more difficult material. Additionally, I think that incorporating “peer teaching” with my students will be valuable, not only for increasing competency in the subject but also increasing their self efficacy as well.

All three of these articles analyzed how to encourage students to be more engaged and enthusiastic about learning. They also are more focused on literacy than any other subject, however, I believe that many strategies could be adjusted to fit into all types of lessons. I thought that the quote, “At the highest level [of engagement], the learner submerges in the task-mentally, emotionally, and even physically” is the exact reason for my inquiry. These articles give me suggestions and teaching tips that lead me to get students at this level of engagement (Kelly & Clausen-Grace, 2009). I think that when students are engaged in this way, their motivation and enjoyment are also increased. Additionally, it seemed as though the underlying message in each article was that understanding that each student has individual and unique characteristics can steer a teacher to access engagement. Differentiation isn’t easy or fast, it takes time; however, the students’ academic outcome is well worth it and every teacher should undergo this type of inquiry.

During the remaining of my inquiry I will be implementing as many of these strategies into my lessons as possible. I always believed that students learn best when teaching it themselves or talking about it with peers, so peer discussions and peer teaching will be one of the first actions I take. I also will observe and analyze what type of environment each student learns best in. Gaining this knowledge will then allow me to implement strategies that would benefit each individual student because they will know how they learn best. Another action that I plan on taking is the interest journals. However, in order to incorporate these effectively, I will have to take to my CT about these. I plan on talking with her the next time I see her about each of my actions and ideas that I’d like to implement into her classroom.

References

Bromley, K., & Powell, P. (1999). Interest journals motivate student writers. The Reading Teacher, 53(2), 111-112. Retrieved February 8, 2016.

Kelley, M. J., & Clausen-Grace, N. (2009). Facilitating engagement by differentiating independent reading. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 313-318. Retrieved February 8, 2016.

White, S. (1983). Learning style and reading instruction. The Reading Teacher, 36(8), 842-845. Retrieved February 8, 2016.

// [center]ing on differentiation \\

Returning back to internship to see all my students’ smiling faces is always a lovely experience. Returning also means that I am one step closer to becoming a teacher and advancing into level 2 internship.

My first lesson being back was on February 5 and it was dedicated to be a lesson review to prepare the students for their math test. As I was planning, I was trying to keep in mind various differentiation strategies that I could also implement into this lesson that would be applicable to my inquiry. I determined that doing centers would be the most suitable and engaging math review for my students. I was keeping in mind that my focus students were visual and tactile learners, but still trying to accommodate auditory learners as well. Therefore, I determined that focusing my lesson towards some of the common core strategies for math would actually be really beneficial. One of my centers was based upon the visual representation of fractions multiplying. I think that my CT doesn’t really go over these types of lessons that are included in the common core standards because many of us didn’t learn this way; therefore, algorithms are often emphasized more. I felt like since many students are visual learners, they could really benefit from reviewing this strategy to problem solving. Additionally, I wanted to accommodate each students learning preference while still trying to get them to branch out in some of the centers by differentiating the amount of people to work with at each station (individual, pairs, group).

Before doing my lesson, I reviewed with my CT what I was going to be doing and she suggested that I should actually model and review each station before the students actually broke out to attempt them. I didn’t think about doing this while planning, because I figured that printed out instructions would be suffice. However, I felt like this was a good strategy because it limit the questions and confusion that the students may have when arriving to each center. After instruction of each center, there was only one question and the students didn’t seem confused during the lesson. After reviewing each lesson, I thought it would be essential to activate the students prior knowledge by asking what the had been studying over the course of time. After doing this and reviewing my lesson, I think that I should have asked more detailed questions like what specific strategies could be used and applied to solve the various topics they had learned about.

As I dispersed the students to each center, I had previously planned out with my CT how the students would be grouped. I decided to collaborate with her because I figured she would be the best at managing student personalities. However, as she placed the students I was slightly skeptical and should have said something. As the groups worked, two students (that never work well together) were bickering. My CT “handled” it from behind a teachers desk, but I didn’t feel as though the problem was really solved. Therefore, I intervened and talked to one of the students and asked if they would work better and more efficiently in another group, to my surprise he chose a group with my ELLs in it. I believe that previously in the first group he may have felt intimated and unconfident based on his self-efficacy; whereas, in the other group he would be more of a peer assister. For the majority of the time, I circulated from center to center to take notes on what each student was doing, and if anyone was having difficulty. I had planned on asking the students some high order reflective questions that would enable me to visualize their thoughts, however, as I walked around my brain went blank. At this point, I know I should have written these questions out and not have relied on my memory.

Even though I did have a management plan with music playing in the background, I still felt uncomfortable with having the students transition. I think this might be because my CT doesn’t really have one specific way to get student attention, so it’s difficult for me to use my own technique when they aren’t accustomed to it. I know that as a teacher, I will establish clear expectations and behavior management with my students at the beginning of the year. I feel as though not having a consistent plan causes the students to get out of hand and out of control really easily. While in this internship classroom, I have to understand that in order to get student attention I need to develop an easy and simple attention grabber that would intrude on my CT.

Since this was my first time attempting centers as a facilitator, I think that overall it went well. The students didn’t seem confused, and I think that the time supplied for each station was sufficient for the students to carryout each task without getting bored, unengaged, and free time. Additionally, I liked the idea of having music as a way to moderate noise level because the students actually want to listen to the music, so their are going to self-regulate themselves. Throughout my journey as a teacher, I know that in every lesson, I can learn something.