Fall 2013 post #5

How will you address classroom management in the final weeks of school?  Will you change anything? What kind of positive incentive plan will you implement in your classroom?  How will you communicate it to students and parents?

My classroom management has been fine in all but one class this semester. In my 5th period algebra 1 class things have been pretty awful. Student engagement and effort is low, student academic performance is terrible with the exception of 2 students, behavior is a constant issue with many students, and attendance rates are deplorably (on any given day a third of the class is either absent or suspended)

I created a positive incentive plan last year that worked very well. I taught it to students and explained it to parents in the syllables. However, this year I dropped the ball and did not follow through with a big promise at the end of the first quarter. In all my other classes I have not needed a positive incentive plan, students have been mature enough to behave and work hard. However, in my 5th hour, students have not been able to succeed with the current system. I have communicated with or attempted to communicate with parents on many occasions with no success. For students whose parents I have gotten through to have made no positive changes. Many other students I have not been able to get a hold of, even when the counselor or principle aids me in attempting to contact those parents/guardians. 

the semester ends in three weeks. Many students in my 5th hour class will either be transferring to the alternative school due to behavior and academic problems or be moving to a pre-algebra class due to them not being prepared to be successful in algebra 1 due to a lack of prerequisite skills (some students are at elementary math levels). At the beginning of the second semester I will reteach and carry out my management plan that consists of both positive and negative reinforcements. 

Fall 2013 post #4

How do you plan to implement active engagement strategies in your classroom?  How will this impact your instruction?

This webinar was very helpful for me as I have struggled to come up with creative engagement strategies. I find myself using the same 2 or 3 strategies over and over. In my algebra 1 class I have seen that my students will not be engaged without some sort of activity. My senior precalculus students are intrinsically motivated to the point that they are engaged in simple lecture and group discussion. 

For my algebra 1 students I plan on using more choral response. I find myself falling into the trap of only questioning one student at a time. I will add to my repertoire numbered heads, inside/outside circle, and roundtable. These additional strategies will keep students interested and engaged; therefore, learning the content to a higher degree. 

Fall 2013 post #3

How can you incorporate the STEM concepts to a particular project or lesson plan in your classroom (or a classroom you’ve been in)?

As a math teacher I have plenty of opportunities to incorporate STEM concepts to projects. When thinking about the design process and how I could incorporate it into my classroom I think about the "3-acts" problems Dan Meyer highlights on his blog "dy/dan". In these lessons, Meyer presents students with a problem and asks them to solve it. The difference is, however, that he doesn't tell them which information is pertinent/impertinent for answering the question. Students are required to brainstorm, research, create models, and apply those models. A formal STEM design process could be used to provide students a framework for solving such problems. Below is an example of a problem.

Students are shown a video of a person standing on an escalator as it descends from one level to the next. Then they watch a video of this same person walking up the stairs adjacent to the escalator. Lastly, students watch a video of the same person standing in front of the escalator that is coming down towards him. He then starts walking up the escalator in the wrong direction.

Students will have to formulate a question, "how long will it take him to ascend the escalator going the wrong direction?". They will then have to brainstorm their methods, research by recording the times taken in the first two scenes... Eventually, students will have to create a model using concepts of functions and rates of change. Students will then present their work to the class. 

Fall 2013 post #2

Blog Prompt:  Have you had to go to your school counselor to assist in a situation?  What was your experience in working with the counselor?  Were you able to get the student or parent the resources they needed?  If you have not had an experience with a school counselor, after hearing this webinar…what scares you the most about the topics discussed?  What thoughts did you have reflecting on the content of this webinar?

**Remember not to use identifying information such as student names, etc.

My counselor is a good friend of mine and I have had to work with him on numerous occasions. Most of my professional interactions with him revolve around student behavior. For example, I have a student that does zero work, is a constant distraction in class, and is defiant to authority. This student lives with his grandfather. His grandfather is rarely home and is not really active in making sure his freshman grandson is accountable for his school work and behavior. The grandfather never picks up the phone when I attempt to call home. 

The counselor and I have attempted to mentor this student. We have shown the student the importance of school, and creating strong relationships with students and faculty. We have shown him different career opportunities. We have tried to get him excited about his future and how school fits into the picture.

Unfortunately, our attempts have proven ineffective. The student has continued to struggle in the school setting, academically and behaviorally. He will likely be moved to our alternative high school next semester. 

Fall 2013 post #1

After participating in the webinar about Common Core Standards, what are your concerns? What ah-ha did you have about CCS?  What will you continue to do or do differently to ensure that you are teaching to the CCS?

My largest concern regarding teaching the Common Core Standards is the level of rigor; specifically, with regards to the level of reading comprehension skills that are required to be successful. As a teacher on the Navajo reservation I work with students who range from illiterate to low middle school reading levels. Even students that are near grade level do not have the vocabulary and cultural experiences to comprehend many of the situations portrayed in typical word problems. 

Highlighting the main changes that the Common Core Standards bring; i.e. rigor, coherency, and depth was helpful for me to understand better how the Common Core standards are different from the old Arizona standards. 

I will continue to stress conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts. I will also continue to spiral those concepts into new material so that students are required to maintain their understanding. I will start to choose problems and assignments that are aligned to the rigor/depth of knowledge of the new standards.

blog post #5 ELL Instructional Strategy

I teach in an interesting area where almost all students were raised speaking English, but because of the remoteness and isolation of the Navajo Nation the specific dialect and limited level of vocabulary makes it such that almost all students are ELL to some degree. There is a large language gap between the English spoken on the reservation and the English used academically and professionally in the rest of the states.

With this being said I use many strategies to help build the academic English of my students. I also post key vocabulary for every lesson on the board each day. Also, when instructing I use high level, academic language, but always restate the previous sentence using less advanced vocabulary. 

A strategy I have used in the past but will be sure to implement tomorrow is the use of buddies or partners. I will have students who have high language skills sit and work with those with lower language skills. I will encourage students to ask each other questions before asking me. I think this will help build a level of confidence in communication. It will also help my students learn to work collaboratively instead of operating in an isolated fashion.

Blog post #4 Poverty

I have never experienced poverty personally. As a young child my family would probably be considered lower-middle class. We had everything we needed, but there wasn't much left for entertainment, vacations, etc... As I grew older both of my parents moved up in their respective careers so that by the time I enrolled in college we were upper-middle class.

As a teacher on the Navajo Reservation I have students of varying levels of poverty. I believe 98% of students receive free or reduced lunch at my high school. Poverty greatly impacts my students and their learning. Students cannot afford necessary school supplies like graphing calculators. When it rains or snows many students cannot get to school because the dirt roads they live on become impassible. Some students do not even have running water or electricity, making studying and completing homework nearly impossible. As a result of poverty and the systemic social injustices my Navajo students face many students go home to very malfunctioning households. There are incredibly high rates of domestic violence, alcoholism, and crime. Very few students come from families where parents or guardians are educated enough to help with homework.

As an educator in an impoverished area I can encourage students that there is hope for them by taking their education seriously. Completing college will open up doors for them to change the trajectory of their lives. I have learned to be very intentional in assigning homework assignments. My students need to do homework in order to practice what was learned in class. However, I cannot just assign #1-35 odd. Students have too many responsibilities once they get home, that assigning more than 20 minutes or so of homework is not beneficial. Lastly, I can open their eyes to the system injustices they face, guided them to think about why it exists and what they can do to fight against it.

I would want others to understand that teaching in an area with high amounts of poverty requires an extra amount of effort in terms of engaging and investing students in their learning. they must be "on a mission", fighting to reach a goal. While students in privileged areas can go through the motions, make a few bad decisions here or there, and still end up with a college degree and a nice job, students that come from backgrounds of poverty must take everyday seriously if they hope to have a chance of getting to college.

blog post #3 professionalism

Have you witnessed staff acting in an unprofessional manner? If so, what can you do to avoid pitfalls associated with unprofessional behavior?

Many teachers at my school often act unprofessionally. A few teachers do not adhere to the dress code (they wear jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes, untucked shirts...). I have seen teachers have private conversations during PLCs and PDs. Teachers arrive 5 minutes early to school. 

I always dress professionally and show up on time. I also try to avoid sitting next to certain teachers during PDs in order to avoid side conversations while someone else is presenting.

blog post #2 bullying

Because I was a good athlete and student and one of the biggest kids growing up I was never the victim of bullying. My buddies would tease each other but I never would consider it bullying. I did however bully one very overweight kid on the football team that I thought was lazy and was only on the team for the team picture. His parents reported me to the principal. I immediately apologized and didn't give him any grief again.

blog post #1 semester 2 goals

My goals are to 1) create lasting lesson plans that I will want to use next year 2) build the arithmetic skills of my algebra 2 students 3) increase engagement of struggling students

To be successful, I need to 1) spend more time lesson planning, putting in long hours up front to save myself time next year 2) create individual folders for each student, with worksheets drilling all arithmetic skills. Once students prove mastery of the skill by scoring at least 90% on the worksheet, they move to the next skill. 3) vary my instruction to include more inquiry based lessons.