After volunteeting, I have realized that with different students, teachers need to use different teaching methods. I have witnessed that some students will pick up concepts as they listen to the teacher explain the steps while other students need to practice the problems a couple times on paper. As a teacher it is our duty to do whatever it takes to make sure every student in our class understand the concepts before you move on.
In the classroom I worked in there was many students who either had trouble understanding the concepts at first or would barely pay attention and not try to hard to understand. Some were trying very hard to get the concept but couldnt understand it. In situations like this the teacher would have me work with those students until they understood. I would have to work with the students and try to figure out why they can not understand. Then I would have to explain the concepts in another way that would have them see the problem in a new way. After the students look at the problem in a new way they usually can figure out the concepts. With the students who were uniterested in learned the concepts I would have to work with them and someone get them interested. Usually I would relate the problem to something they would use daily such the amount of food to bring to a picnic depending on how many people are there. This would give them more reason to understand the knowledge. If a student was giving up and becoming discouraged I work with them to cheer them up and make them understand that if they work at it long enough they will be able to figure it out. With some stiudent If i solve the problem in front of them and have them watch they will pick up the concepts.
In the class I was in the teacher would have the students stand up and solve the problem in front of the class. They would explain what they did until the problem was solved. This was a good method because it allowed the other students to point out if she did something wrong and help her solve the problem. This is a collabrative way the students can help each other learn. It is good because since the students are at the same age they understand how each other think, sometimes better than we can as adults.
I feel that in the little experience I have so far, I have already been able to pick up concepts on how to adjust my teaching methods to the different students learning styles. I have already experienced many different students with many different ways of learning and I have realized that I have the ability to teach each and every one of them if I put some time in with them and figure out why they dont understand.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Prompt #7
The volunteering I have done in the classroom so far has really opened my eyes as a teacher. Already I have experienced things that I feel will shape me for the rest of my teaching career. I now realize how I am capable of helping my students in so many ways and I feel I have the power to not only help them with school work but also outside of the classroom. I have experienced the feeling of actually teaching someone something that they didnt understand before. Its an amazing feeling seeing a student go from not knowing how to solve a problem to understanding the concept of the problem from what you taught them.
I believe every classroom has the potential to be a place where students can become better people inside and outside the classroom. Preparing students for the real world is part of our job as teachers. From my volunteering experience I have learned that I do have the power to give students the knowledge they need to become a better person outside of the classroom. When a student tried to take the easy way out when solving a problem, on more than one occasion the teacher in the class would relate it to something outside the classroom to show how you can't always take the easy way out. In one instance a student skiped a step when solving a multiplication problem and the teacher said: "If you take out chicken from the freezer but you skip the cooking step can you eat the chicken?". And from this the student had learned never to skip steps when solving a problem, even if it is easier.
With the time I have spent in the classroom, I have realized that many students need someone who they can talk to about whatever they need to talk about, whether it be a problem inside or outside the classroom. The time i had with my students wasn't really a long enough time to develope a strong relationship with my students, but with my experience I have realized that as a teacher I have the chance to build strong relationships with my students and that I have the ability to be the person they can talk to. This is very important as a teacher in order to help students outside of the classroom.
Like Allan Johnson says in his article, teachers shouldn't just teach to the test. As a teacher it is our job to not only teach the students out of the book, but teaches them how to apply the concenpts they learn inside the classroom with situations outside of the classroom. I hope to teach my students the ability to relate what they do everyday to concepts and ideas they have learned about within the classroom.
I believe every classroom has the potential to be a place where students can become better people inside and outside the classroom. Preparing students for the real world is part of our job as teachers. From my volunteering experience I have learned that I do have the power to give students the knowledge they need to become a better person outside of the classroom. When a student tried to take the easy way out when solving a problem, on more than one occasion the teacher in the class would relate it to something outside the classroom to show how you can't always take the easy way out. In one instance a student skiped a step when solving a multiplication problem and the teacher said: "If you take out chicken from the freezer but you skip the cooking step can you eat the chicken?". And from this the student had learned never to skip steps when solving a problem, even if it is easier.
With the time I have spent in the classroom, I have realized that many students need someone who they can talk to about whatever they need to talk about, whether it be a problem inside or outside the classroom. The time i had with my students wasn't really a long enough time to develope a strong relationship with my students, but with my experience I have realized that as a teacher I have the chance to build strong relationships with my students and that I have the ability to be the person they can talk to. This is very important as a teacher in order to help students outside of the classroom.
Like Allan Johnson says in his article, teachers shouldn't just teach to the test. As a teacher it is our job to not only teach the students out of the book, but teaches them how to apply the concenpts they learn inside the classroom with situations outside of the classroom. I hope to teach my students the ability to relate what they do everyday to concepts and ideas they have learned about within the classroom.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Prompt # 5
Working with my students I have realized the importance of creating a strong relationship between the students and their parents. It will be very difficult to teach students if what they are learning at home contradicts what they learning in the classroom. It is important for parents to be on the same page as their teachers so they can work together to educate the student, because home is also an educational place, just like the classroom.
Because all the students come from very diverse families with different cultures the classroom becomes very diverse and this creates a educational enviorment not only for the students but for us as teachers. We can learn from the students different cultures and different lifestyles. Letting the parents know how the students are doing in the class will be a great help because it will allow them to have their child work harder when it is necessary and they will be able to compliment them on their good work, but sometimes it is difficult to contact the teacher due to linguistic differences.
Regardless of ethnic differences I think it is the teachers responsibilty to reach the parents to bring what the students learns in the classroom home and bring what they learn at home into the classroom. In the Jonathan Kozol presentation we saw, he emphasized the need to build a strong connection with the parents as a teacher. He said it was important to let the parents know you for who you really are so they will feel more comfortable working together to educate their children. It is important for a teacher to understand the diversity in the class and not try to remove it but work with it and promote it.
Because all the students come from very diverse families with different cultures the classroom becomes very diverse and this creates a educational enviorment not only for the students but for us as teachers. We can learn from the students different cultures and different lifestyles. Letting the parents know how the students are doing in the class will be a great help because it will allow them to have their child work harder when it is necessary and they will be able to compliment them on their good work, but sometimes it is difficult to contact the teacher due to linguistic differences.
Regardless of ethnic differences I think it is the teachers responsibilty to reach the parents to bring what the students learns in the classroom home and bring what they learn at home into the classroom. In the Jonathan Kozol presentation we saw, he emphasized the need to build a strong connection with the parents as a teacher. He said it was important to let the parents know you for who you really are so they will feel more comfortable working together to educate their children. It is important for a teacher to understand the diversity in the class and not try to remove it but work with it and promote it.
Prompt #4
It is true that noones enters the classroom completey free of bias. Coming from a suburban town and being educated in a middle class public school I found it difficult to relate to some of the kids in the low income public elementary school of a city. When I first walked into the classroom and began interacting with the students I quickly realized that this environment is much different than I am used to. I live with both my parents in a small quiet town with very litte crime and a predominantly white population. The public scools I went to were part of a small district and hand strong education systems. The students I have worked with come from a very diverse neighborhood and have been exposed to a much more harsh environment then I grew up in. They are used to a large school district with very diverse classrooms.
Because of our very different lifestyles while growing up it is hard for me to relate to the student sometimes. Many come from families with seperated parents in which education is not always a priority. Because some of their parents are divorced or seperated it seems harder for them to find time to get the work done, and many times they are unprepared for class. It was hard for me because when I would give the students advice to get their homework completed they would still struggle to get it done.
With the students I worked with it didn't seem like the struggle was that much of an issue at this point in their lives, but I can definately see it getting worse as they get older and this struggle will become a larger part of their life. When these students are at the highschool level they will be given much more resposibilty and be much more effected by the struggles of their environment. The students race and genfer plays a very small role in their education compared to the factors of their environment.
Because of our very different lifestyles while growing up it is hard for me to relate to the student sometimes. Many come from families with seperated parents in which education is not always a priority. Because some of their parents are divorced or seperated it seems harder for them to find time to get the work done, and many times they are unprepared for class. It was hard for me because when I would give the students advice to get their homework completed they would still struggle to get it done.
With the students I worked with it didn't seem like the struggle was that much of an issue at this point in their lives, but I can definately see it getting worse as they get older and this struggle will become a larger part of their life. When these students are at the highschool level they will be given much more resposibilty and be much more effected by the struggles of their environment. The students race and genfer plays a very small role in their education compared to the factors of their environment.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Prompt #1
I volunteer twice a week at an elementary school part of the Providence public schooling system. It is a very clean building located in a quiet neighborhood. The school makes use of all the space it has inside and outside. Outside there is a small parking lot for teachers and the rest is a playground area. Inside all the classrooms are occupied and all the walls are covered with educational posters. While I was in the school I felt that everyone I met seemed to have a positive attitude and the teachers seem excited about what they teach which makes the students much more interested. The teacher I have been working with and the others I have met show enthusiasm while teaching and they take the time to make sure everyone in the class understands before moving on. Most students at the schools seem interested in learning and show excitement when then correctly answer the problems. At first most of the students were nervous to work with me but when they became comfortable while me they really seemed to enjoy my help. While volunteering I noticed that most of the teachers and faculty value equal education for all of their students. They make sure everyone in the class is reaching the standards before they begin a new lesson and they make sure all the students understand. I also noticed how every teacher and faculty I met value the safety of the students. Before I can enter the school building I must buzz into the front desk and identify myself before they let me in. This ensures that no one will enter the building that doesn’t belong there. Also, while I am in the building I must where a nametag so everyone knows I’ve been to the front desk and am allowing in the building. If I don’t wear a nametag I will get stopped by many teachers and faculty asked me to go to the front desk.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Introduction About Myself
My name is Mike Zito, I am a 18 years old and a sophomore at Rhode Island College. Im from Warren Rhode and currently live on campus in New Hall. So far this semester seems to be going well. I am enjoying my classes and they seem like they will be very interesting as we get deeper into the semester. Outside of the classroom I enjoy listen to music and playing bass, playing poker, and just hanging out with friends, wheter we are just chilling or going out.
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