TPA Guideline Response

Having worked a lot with the TPA format for the past couple of quarters, I am very familiar with the layout. I will admit, however, I am still learning how to best use the format to benefit my planning. What's different about the layout posted on the class blog and the template we get through the education department is that the template provided here has several good prompting questions and highlights. I was completely lost when trying to plan my first couple of lessons during the classroom assessment course about two years ago, and having something that provided these prompts would have been very helpful.

The academic language portion of this prompt in particular is one piece that really sticks out to me. That's the portion I've always had the most trouble with and having several different types of terminology to point out really helps. In fact, I asked my supervisor on Monday what exactly needs to be included in that piece of the TPA. Although talking with her helped me understand it better, this template helps clarify the couple of questions that still lingered.

Another portion that I really liked is that the portion in Instructional Strategies about student voice was in bold. I sometimes forget to put the objectives and tasks into student voice and having it in bold like this is a great reminder to watch for it.

Finally, the differentiated instruction also stuck out to me. Part of this extra notice was because of the fact that this was where I needed the most focus after teaching my lesson on Monday, as well as the fact that we had the discussion in class on Wednesday, but also because it's worded in a more easily understandable way. I always considered differentiated instruction to be meeting the needs of the lower learning level students and making sure your lesson either meets their needs or can be altered for their needs. Until Monday's lesson, I hadn't put much thought into how to accommodate the higher learning level students, or those who simply worked quickly. The wording in this layout really makes it clear that it's supposed to be a level playing field for everyone in the classroom. By stating that we need "equitable learning opportunities," we see that it's not just the lower level students that need focus, but that everyone needs the same opportunities to learn the most they can.

October 23rd Response-Differentiated Instruction

The article I found would have been really helpful a week ago when I was prepping for the lesson I taught on Monday. The article goes into the definition of differentiated instruction (DI) and includes how it is meant for those who are struggling as well as those who excel. I had always just thought of DI as accommodations for those who struggled, not the ones who work fast and produce quality work and proceed to get bored. The main issue I had with my lesson on Monday--which was my first lesson observed by my EWU Supervisor--was that there were a group of student who had finished the assignment 10 minutes before the rest of the class and were causing disruptions because they kept talking too loudly. Had I thought about how to accommodate them in my TPA lesson plan under the differentiated instruction, I could have prepared for that and told Char--my supervisor--how I avoided the disruptions.

The article does a good job of showing the importance of planning for both kinds of students; I like the equal focus it give both types of students. I always simply plan for the IEPs, 504s, or "problem students" and let those who are a more responsible and ahead of the curve slide by. After reading the importance of focusing on those "superb students," however, I plan to focus on them as well as the problems students when prepping for my future lessons.

October 21 Post - Access Tool

I didn't get 5 direct quotes for each of the 5 categories, but I chose to do Access Tool A while reading through American Born Chinese. The following is all of the information I wrote down.


pg # and direct quote--> This reminds me of...
#31 "My momma says Chinese people eat dogs." --> It reminds me of two things: 1. all of the negative stereotypes people have about other cultures and 2. when my aunt told me how to kill and skin a cat because it actually tastes really good--she's from Indonesia, so she has a different take on a lot of things.

#80 "Where can you flee from my presence?" --> It reminds me of lessons I learned in Sunday School growing up about how omnipresent God is.

#102 "But my first day here I met Jin. From then I know everything's okay." --> It reminds me of transferring high school in the middle of my sophomore year. I knew one person in a school of 2,000-ish students and I didn't have any classes with him. But on my first day at the new school, I met one of the people I would continue to have as a close friend all through high school as well as after graduation.

#113 "EN ESTA HISTORIA EL RERRO DE JOSE ES-" ... "BRANCO Y MUY GLANDE!" --> This, in addition to all of the other frames where Chin-Kee blurts out all of the answers, reminds me of the stereotype that Asians are super smart and know everything. I chose this quote in particular because it is in a foreign language and it would imply that Chin-Kee is fluent in at least 3 languages.

#139 "A star shall guide your way." --> It reminds me of the birth of Jesus. I know this is representative of religion, but it's interesting to see it in a transformation process, as well.


pg # and direct quote--> I wonder...
#36 " Something made me want to beat him up." --> Why would Jin want to beat up a new student who is facing similar difficulties that he faced when he transferred to that school? Even though they end up becoming friends, I find it strange that he disliked Wei-Chen right off the bat.

#37 "You're in America. Speak English." --> What made Jin so cold to heritage? Why was he so harsh to Wei-Chen for speaking his native language?

#159 "On this journey... we have no need... for shoes." --> Why such a fuss about shoes? The whole book started because the Monkey King was told he needed to wear shoes to enter the Heavenly party, and now he's being told he doesn't need them for the spiritual growth.... o.O?


pg # and direct quote--> I visualize...
#78 "The five pillars of gold you found at the end of all that is--those were the five fingers of my hand." --> I visualized someone getting an unexpected tattoo on their finger because the Monkey King carved his name in the finger. Also, I knew what the five pillars were because I had seen this metaphor before, but I can't remember what it was from/where I saw it.

#98 "Why is his hair broccoli?" --> This instantly made me envision people who have always told me they wanted hair like mine. Having naturally curly hair, I know the annoyances of having to manage it. People who get tight perms for the first time, however, don't usually realize how difficult it is to manage.

#166 "During the quiet moments I listened to her breathe." --> It made me visualize someone leaning in close and creeping behind someone... just staring.


pg # and direct quote--> I'm confused because...
#20 "He stayed awake for the rest of the night thinking of ways to get rid of it." Why does it bother the Monkey King now? He's been living in it his whole life and he just now decides that the smell of monkey fur is bad. Also, if his senses were heightened, how did he not notice it before?


Interesting details --> Summary of learning
The three different story plots tie into one... Jin's "transformation" into Danny still confuses me.Was he just trying to be "less Asian" and that's how he saw himself?... Wei-Chen changes when he realizes things aren't how they thought they would be... All three main characters (Jin, Wei-Chin, and the Monkey King) have transforming moments of self-realization
-->Not everything is as it seems to be. Although it may seem like a long process and it involves a lot of ups and downs, the journey to find yourself and grow into who you want to become--or are meant to become--is worth it in the end.

Tomorrow's post...

I've been doing my "access tool' on American Born Chinese, but my computer is on its last leg and keeps crashing. I have a lot of the info written down, I'm just transferring it to a word document right now with my roommate's computer. I don't know if I'll have it completed by the time for class to start tomorrow, but I'll post what I have converted to the computer before class starts.

October 18th Response: "I Read It..."

This text covered a lot of interesting points. The portion about student confusion really stuck out to me the most because it reminds me a lot of the AVID process that I go through with my students at Rogers High School every Tuesday. They bring in a Point Of Confusion (POC) and I make sure the other students help the student get to the answer without just straight out giving it to them. This relates to the text because the author talked about how she would answer the students questions about reading and where they get stuck, but she also would just give them flat out answers to problems they had with the material. She helped them work through their issues by having them answer the questions themselves.

Another aspect that I connected to was that of “fake reading.” I know that I did A LOT of this in high school because I didn't like reading. I would skim the pages or rely on my friends who used Sparknotes. As I've grown older, however, I've learned the trouble of this. I still do it sometimes, but it usually comes back to bite me in the ass. When it comes time for discussions or tests, a lot of the material is generally specific and not overarching. I also know that when I write material for my students when covering a text, I tend to write questions that apply to a specific portion of the text purposefully. I want to make sure they’re reading, and that shows who’s been a fake reader.

Overall, there were many good points to consider in this text and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the author's real-life input and the classroom examples she included to connect to the material.

October 16th Response

The whole concept of a response-based approach to the classroom is something that I've always tried to incorporate into my teaching, but I never had a specific term for it. I want my students to feed off of each other and continue to learn from their peers and own thoughts, as well as from the text. I don't like the concept of just lecturing and I try to get student feedback as often as possible.

Although this article was kind of review for several of my previous classes combined, the concept of creating horizons instead of goals got me thinking a lot. I loved the idea of explaining to the kids that they're continuously learning, just like the horizon of the skyline is continuous and never-ended. No matter how far you go, you'll never reach the stopping point of the horizon. By explaining it to my students like this, i feel like I might be able to more easily give examples of how I have been learning continuously and ask for their input, as well! If some of them like reading, I can ask what they took away from a book they've read multiple times and what little bits of information they catch the second or third time around that they may have missed the first time. Another way to relate this to the students is with video games. When student play the storyline, they overlook certain items and bits of interesting information about the game. When they play multi-player, they have to rely on their friends and learn how to interact with others in the same arena. And when they're single-player, not in story mode, they can sometimes find more information still.

By relating the material back tot he students and showing them how they can continually learn, we give them more power to give input and respond to our information.

October 14th Response: Social Justice in the Classroom

The article I found is an excerpt from a larger text. Aptly titled, Social Justice in the Classroom deals with the idea that there are so many missed opportunities to teach students about acceptance and understanding of others' viewpoints. To begin the article, an example is given of an African American student and a Mexican American student commenting off topic about the concept of what a fluid is. One student comments on how she likes coffee while the other says that's bad because it'll turn her skin darker. The teacher focuses them back to the topic of fluids without addressing the negative concept that was brought up of having darker skin.

There are many times in the classroom setting that are brushed over as unimportant, but several of those missed opportunities could prevent the negative stigma that currently looms over having discussions about race, gender, and other inequalities. Had our students been taught about the proper way to approach these subject at a younger age, there would be much more opportunity for social justice in the classroom. Social justice is "justice exercised within a society, particularly as it is applied to and among the various social classes of a society" (Google). To put it simply, it is the equality and justice of socialization.

This concept of social justice taking place in that classroom is huge! If students feel as though we don't create an environment that allows equal opportunity for everyone in the class, then they will not be interested in listening to anything we say. They will feel isolated and unimportant. By paying attention and righting these social inequalities, however, we allow opportunity for a higher level of learning from all of our students. If we don’t allow this type of environment to exist that puts all of our students on a level playing field and in a comfortable environment, we are failing them as a teacher because we are not teaching them key components to life outside the classroom.

October 11th Response

My favorite aspect of this article was pages 189-191. Although there were great points brought up throughout the article, to portion the authors wrote about reading Savage Inequalities and watching Stand and Deliver in the classroom to compare and contract the attitudes and achievements in similar classroom settings really stood out to me.

It's commonly accepted to say that lower socioeconomic schools produce lower level thinkers than those schools who have more access to higher funds and resources. On the other hand, we've all heard about those rare instances where teachers turn things around and motivate their students to learn at a much higher level, even when faced with poverty. When the author wrote about showing both sides of this spectrum to the class, it got me thinking; why do we as teachers allow ourselves to maintain the mindset that low SES equals low education? We have all of these examples of astounding teachers helping students in terrible situations, yet it's still commonly acceptable to be okay with students "falling through the cracks." The outcome of the lesson in the article clearly shows how much of an attitude shift can occur when showing students the power they have as learners and the impact they can make.

What I loved most about this portion of the article was that the teachers, although they differed in their methods of providing resources, came together to empower their students to excel. They accepted the input from the students, encouraged them to speak up against what they felt was unjust, and saw a change in how things were handled in the school.

Not only was the impact of the teachers amazing, but the initiative of the students was great. I love reading about times when students realize the impact of their voice and pursue change for the better. Reading about the impact a lesson can have on students like this gives me more excitement for this profession.

To touch on another concept I enjoyed from this text, the "Underlying Principles" portion of the article provided several reference points for the remainder of the reading. It helped give definition to some new terms as well as insight on how teachers can work toward the common good without agreeing on much of anything!

Reading Response for October 9th

Honestly, I didn’t think I would get through all of this reading. It seemed a little overwhelming when I printed it off, but I really got into the text. I found it rather easy to read. I think the fact that the author clarified what he was talking about helped a lot. Some of the ways McLaren explained things helped me connect to the content quite easily.

Right off the bat I knew I was going to like this text. By explaining that schools act as a social platform for students in a way other than most people see it, McLaren got the wheels turning in my mind. I enjoyed his comparison of the view of schooling to Marxism. The comparison to an ideology such as that took me off guard. However, once I got thinking about it I realized how right he is. If someone does something or is accused of something that is against the popular norm, they are isolated and cut off in many high school settings, which allows the common ideal to shoot to an even higher popularity. He then says how this ideology “indoctrinates students into becoming greedy young capitalists” (p. 62). This isn’t the view we should have of our students and the structure of the social society in high schools. The liberation aspect of McLaren’s thoughts to contradict this Marxist idea really stuck out to me. We should be, as some teacher are already, teaching out students to be free of these “popular norms.” The liberation they feel when realizing their belonging in a setting that previously shunned them should be celebrated!

Along with the concepts of ideology, I also enjoyed the section in the text on this subject. Mostly, it struck me as interesting that McLaren discussed the positive and negative aspects of ideology. Most people, from the articles I have read in my previous college experiences, tend to seem biased, even when attempting an unbiased text. McLaren, however, goes into discussion on the fact that there are positives and negatives to everything! He states how one good function of ideology includes providing all of the components by which people make sense of the world around them. The negative aspect he mentions in that same paragraph is that is infers that “all such perspectives are inevitably selective” (p. 69). I usually think of either one side of the argument at a time when dealing with heavier material like ideology and prejudice while McLaren jumps both feet in and lets everything run.

CCSS Response

As someone who was lucky enough to teach multiple lessons her first quarter of placement, I've had a good amount of experience with the Common Core Standards. Not only have I had to incorporate them into my lesson plans, but I have also gotten to talk to Chrisy (former professor and current cooperating teacher) about them during classes in both the college and high school settings.

Personally, I love the CCSS. I think it might be a bit more difficult for non-core classes to tie into these standards, but they help hold teachers accountable for the material they're teaching. There won't be nearly as much opportunity for "pointless days" where they just pop in a movie and get caught up on work. I don't feel as though students gain anything from those kinds of days and it's a waste of everyone's time to even be in the classroom on those days.

The CCSS allows for a more uniform look in material nationwide, but still definitely allows for creativity and individualism. I've looked into the standards a couple of times to try to understand them better and have come out of the experience more pumped up about them.



Now, all of this positive talk isn't to say that I don't have a couple of reservations about these standards. The main thing I'm concerned about is the testing that will take place in order to ensure that teachers are providing the information to their students in a way that they understand. I was the "guinea pig group" for the WASL graduation requirements and felt a large amount of pressure with that. The stress that is added on with new requirements of tests takes a toll on our high school students. And from what I hear... this test will be extensive and more stressful than the WASL was.


Overall, I'm stoked for the CCSS. I have a few concerns and reservations, but I love the overlaying concept of the whole system.

Reading Response #1

**Beginning Note: With Makenzie as my witness, I tried for over a half hour to get this posted before class on Monday. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get access to my correct gmail account (turns out I have three set-up for various reasons). That being said, I forgot to post it after class and just went to post my response to the second reading to see that I didn’t already have anything up for this class! Here ya go.**

This was a nice little chunk of reading to do throughout my weekend. I had a very full schedule and am happy to know that I was able to get the assignment done. While reading through some of these sections there were a few things that really stuck out to me.

First off, there was one certain phrase that really caught my attention. The author sites Michael Oakeshott, an English philosopher, in saying that group talking is “an unrehearsed intellectual adventure.” This wording really stuck out to me. The author continues to call conversation an art. I hadn’t ever really thought about conversation as being an “adventure” before and hearing it called such really got the wheels turning about how I can better approach conversation in my future classroom. By learning to sculpt the conversation in the class in a way to help students enjoy it will *hopefully* supply more student input and excitement for learning.

 

Another phrase that stuck out to me was just a paragraph down where the author uses the term "meetingplace of various modes of imagining." This stuck out to me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the term “meetingplace” doesn’t usually come to mind when I think about conversation and discussion. Hearing about it in this way, however, creates an image of two or more people coming together. I know that’s what happens when a conversation takes place, but I had never actually visualized it before. Secondly, the imagination threw me off a bit. Come discussions I’ve been a part of have been dry and repetitious. But the concept of imagination gives a whole other element to discussions. By being passionate and creative with your word choice and content, you can engage others in very interesting conversation and learn a lot about the people you interact with.