Chapter 7b p. 296-274 & 283-287

In this section of the textbook, the discussion of assessment was the main topic. One area that it mentioned was test anxiety and how to help your students who struggle with it. I personally like the suggestions that the book gave (deep breathing, stretching, and/or thinking of a happy memory). Test anxiety is very prevalent in today's classroom, it is extremely important that teachers take this into consideration when administrating tests. In my future classroom, I will surely use these techniques before a test is given. I think that the entire class can benefit from these activities whether or not they have test anxiety.

Chapter 7c p.788-303

When reading this section, there were 12 types of assessment items that were discussed. I personally found this section of the book extremely valuable. Most of the assessment examples I have already seen in tests that I have taken, but there were some types that I had not. It was interesting to learn about the advantages and disadvantages for each assessment item. In my future classroom I will obviously have to administer tests, it is hard to get around that. I will definitely be using the different assessment items throughout my tests to provide a range of assessment for my students. 

Chapter 6c p. 245-265

In this section of the textbook, the seven basic elements of a lesson plan are more throughly explained. I think that all elements are extremely crucial when writing out a lesson plan because it gives the teacher a great resource to look to when teaching, especially if it has been a year since they taught the lesson. I personally believe that the reflection and revision part of a lesson plan is crucial. Every lesson can be improved. I think a part of becoming a better educator, you must be willing to make changes and find new ways to make your lessons more successful. In my future, as a teacher, I will be sure to take time and revise and reflect on the lessons that I have taught to my class.

Chapter 7a p. 274-283

When reading this chapter of the book, most of the information on the was to assess student learning. Several ideas were presented, such as student portfolios, checklists, observations, and rubrics. My favorite teacher, Mr. Swanson, used a variety of of these assessments. I remember that at the end of each trimester, we had a student led conference. During this conference each student had to present a portfolio which they put together themselves. This was a opportunity for the student to show off work that they were proud of as well as work they thought needed improvement. In my future classroom, depending on the grades level, I hope to implement some type of assessment like this. I think that it gets the students more involved and allows them to reflect on their learning. 

Chapter 6a pp. 223-235

In this section a lot of the material focused on differently learning styles and how to adapt your teaching style to accommodate your students. I think that this information is extremely useful because every student learns differently and as a teacher it is your job to find out how you can best help your students learn and grow. I personally like Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences but it was nice to be introduced to the three-phase learning cycle as well as the learning experiences ladder.

Chapter 6b pp. 237-244

Most of this section outlines the use of planning out and writing lesson plans. Personally, I believe that I will fully write out all my lesson plans during student teaching as well as the first couple years teaching in a classroom. I think that having a thoughtfully written out lesson plan helps the teacher stay organized, keeps classroom time on pace, and makes sure the students are always involved in their learning (there is no time for irrational misbehaviors to arise).

Chapter 5b pp. 185-202

In this section it focussed a great amount of time on lesson planning and objective writing. I think that as a teacher this is very crucial, especially as a first year teacher. A well thought out and written lesson plan seems to help teachers tremendously in their organization and confidence while teaching. While reading, there was a lot of emphasis on learning outcomes and the creation of aims, goals, and objectives. As a future teacher, I will continue to write out objectives for each of my lessons because I think that is the main point of what you are trying to get your students to learn. If they cannot successful complete the learning objective you have set for the lesson, then the students have not complete grasped the concept trying to be taught.

Chapter 5c pp. 202-220

When reading this section, the main topic that spoke to me was the use of integrated curriculum. In my personal classroom, I hope to use this approach often. I think that students learn best when they can connect their learning to meaningful, current or past, experiences. Also, I gained more knowledge about the pros of using having a syllabus for your class. When I teach, I will have some type of syllabus. If I teach Middle School, my syllabus may be more extensive than if I teach Elementary. I would be sure to include general information about the class (teacher name, grade, course, course description, attendance, materials), but also expectations and procedures that my classroom and I will brainstorm together. 

Chapter 4c: pp. 140-160

Tasha Stancin and My Section.

Chapter 5a: pp. 163-184

This section of the book really focusses on curriculum in the classroom. One of my main concerns as a future teacher is creating all the lesson plans and planning the curriculum (for the school year, units, and daily lessons). While reading this section it made me realize that I don't have to plan all on my own. Planning doesn't have to be done on your own or from scratch. I hope that when I am a teacher I have the opportunity to work in a team or collaborative group when planning the curriculum. As the famous quote goes, "two minds are better than one," I believe that working with multiple teachers would allow for great ideas of curriculum planning to develop and allow for the best instruction to be provided to our students. 

Chapter 4a: pp. 109-121

During this section of the book, I learned a lot about classroom management and planning. Personally, I feel that classroom management is the hardest part of being a teacher. Trying to make sure your classroom is in control and giving you respect is somewhat difficult as a first time teacher. It is the area which I am most concerned about. Specifically in this section, I learned that creating procedures and consquences from the very beginning of the school year will help tremendously to create a supportive and constructive classroom.

Chapter 4b: pp. 121-140

In this section of the book I found the "First Day" information to be extremely helpful, especially as a future teacher. I took many notes on this and will definitely use this information on my first day. I will be sure to greet my students, have student seating assigned previously to their arrival, explore course content with the class, identify procedures and expected behavior, and create a dismissal system. All of these components are important to have a successful first day. Therefore, I plan on implementing them on my first day as a teacher to give the best encouraging and positive environment from the start.

Chapter 2a: pp. 27 - 56

During this section, I learned that as a teacher you have to be a reflective decision maker. As a reflective decision maker, the teacher must analyze and judge the decisions that they made during their teaching. This is especially important so that the teacher knows what they can do differently next time they teach the lesson. Feedback (from parents/ guardians, students, student grades, and observations) can be a great way to reflect on the lesson taught. I also gained more knowledge about the student rights, rights against discrimination, and teacher liability and insurance. Which all are extremely important to be aware of as a educator. In my future classroom, I hope to use this information that I have learned to help me better understand that I need to reflect on my lessons in order to grow and become a more successful teacher. 

Chapter 2b: pp. 57 - 78

This section mainly focused on building instructional competencies as a teacher and great tools to use for instruction in the classroom. All of the tools are available to help enhance student learning. I was especially intrigued by the section about technology malfunctions. I realized that as a teacher you need to have a "plan B" at all times. Technology or other outside factors could fail and as a teacher you need to be ready to think quick and change your instructional plan. As a future teacher, I will be implementing several of these tools in my classroom to help my students in their learning process. Today students/children are so emerged in technology in their everyday lives. Bringing this into the classroom can get students more motivated and creative during their learning process. 

Chapter 3

This chapter focused on two particular teaching strategies, thinking and questioning. Thinking is the key to meaningful learning. Thinking can be taught and learned in a variety of ways, one being the facilitating of a teacher by questioning. Questioning is a instructional strategy to use because it prompts meaningful teaching, communication, learning, and real-world problem solving. I think that questioning is a very important strategy. When working in my observation classrooms, I would continuously ask my students questions to gain knowledge of their thinking process and help them develop more of their thoughts and ideas. In my future as a teacher, I will question my students (appropriately) to help them gain more knowledge. I will do this by using the many different types of questioning (cueing questioning, focus questions, divergent-thinking questioning, ect.).