STCBlogPosts

“Differentiation” “When you hear that word in a teaching context, what does that mean to you?” Differentiation makes me think of Montessori classroom and the integration of multiple outlets and mediums to accomplish a particular task. I think of differentiated instruction and think of what I could do or use to help students better understand the context of what I’m trying to teach/accomplish. To be frank, I could be way off base with what this means and could really be thinking of something else. But, to me, differentiated instruction means to connect diverging paths. Hopefully, it also is a means to help students understand a topic better than using my traditional teaching style.  Universal Design for Learning

Classroom management was a bit of an issue this week. Classroom management is always somewhat tricky, particularly on white days, and with certain students in particular. These are actually the same students I mentioned in a previous IFO that keep each other in check. However, this week, they seem to be becoming restless and have become more instigating than mediating. On purple days, classroom management was still a moderate issue but not as much as during white days. I might attribute this to the semester quickly coming to a close. Students also started a movie this week; a movie that, admittedly, is old by students standards and boring and difficult to understand because it’s Shakespeare. Some students were understandably annoyed with the movie, but others were utilizing the movie to complete the packet they had been working on for the unit, and were becoming frustrated with their classmates. I used this opportunity to test out different methods of classroom management. At first, I ...

For this week, students were starting a movie after my previous lesson, so there wasn’t too much evaluation in terms of assessment. However, students had been filling out a packet while reading Hamlet, as a method of both formative and summative assessment. Students were able to fill out the packet at their own pace and to go back and make corrections. Students are also expected to turn the packet in once the unit is over. In this way, the packet is a form of assessment as learning, giving students an outline of what they are expected to learn while reading the text, as well as facilitating their knowledge and giving them the opportunity to take agency over their own learning. This was also a form of assessment of learning because their teacher is able to grade it at the end of the unit and assess what they have learned or to what extent they were willing to learn. The packet was also an assessment for learning because the teacher (my mentor teacher as well as myself) could use this as...

I think I’m feeling better than I was the first week. I am still rather anxious about what my mentor teachers will be expecting of me once I am in a classroom. I am also worried about the state of my mental health, as my bipolar disorder is on the upswing and I have been having issues filtering myself despite taking many precautions to avoid this. I am worried about how I will be able to react to students because of this. Even though I pride myself on my transparency, I am worried about how I will approach this issue in class. I am also worried about the structure of this course. I am having difficulty following along in class and understanding assignments thoroughly. Much of our instruction seems vague and confusing at times and I find myself frequently asking my peers for help identifying tasks only to find that they are having trouble as well.

So far, I am terrified. I took EDJH a year and a half ago I think? COVID was still a very large concern, we wore masks to all the classes, were only able to attend/conduct class for two to three days a week instead of five, and we weren’t able to go into schools. I don’t know what I thought this class was going to be, but I wish I had either taken it at a different time or hadn’t had to have had so much time spread out between this course and that one. I am terrified of going into schools for practicum and, to be honest, I have no idea what to expect because I don’t have any previous experience. I suppose that’s all I have to say/think about for now.

 29 August 2022 Initial Impression/Opinions of UDL and how do you see it impacting your future practice To be perfectly honest, I am not sure how to feel about it. It makes sense, but I certainly have questions. It is meant to be about accessibility, and yet only really talks about technology, which not everyone has access to. Not only that, but not everyone works well with technology. I know there are ways I can utilize technology and not use it for other students simultaneously, but I really wish that were addressed in the powerpoint and class discussion. I understand that technology has been making things easier and more instantaneous, but I fear that something is being lost behind it all. I suppose I’m not quite sure what that thing is, so, until I figure it out, I might as well continue to use UDL in the ways I’ve already been taught.

 19 October 2022 "Drawing on Rimm-Kaufman, Tomlinson asserts that “Establishing routines, processes, and mechanics is about making learning more effective and efficient as well as creating a caring classroom culture.” What is your current position on this as it relates to your future practice/classroom?" To be perfectly honest, the idea of trying to navigate a differentiated or even simply a learner-centered classroom scares me. It sounds like a lot of hard work that I am not yet prepared for. However, I do agree with this statement, and I think that routines are important in helping facilitate learning, and understanding the processes of students and their use of mechanics furthers that. Additionally, none of this can be done without a caring, safe, and/or comfortable classroom culture. Still, while I agree with these things, I believe that the reality of the classroom is that this cannot always be possible. Even when trust is established, there will be days where it is not ...