An Agenda for Action

My personal vison for secondary schooling in the 21st century is to continually reflect on my professional practices and to be open for change and criticism from other colleges. Although I have heard many theories about what works best and what I should implement, I have to be able to go out there in the real-world classroom and be an effective teacher with engaging lessons, authentic and meaningful assessments, and appropriate classroom management techniques that promote community and collaboration. This is not an easy task and I can sit here all day and write about all the techniques we've learned like group collaboration, inquiry-based models, having problem-solving and critical thinking problems within the curriculum, etc., but the real test is did I prepare them to go into the society and be able to make informative decisions and contributions. I want to continually provide experiences that foster life-long learning and skills that the students can take with them long after they leave the classroom. During this time I also want to be engaging in professional development and creating an environment that I want to work in. Within my classroom, I want to bring in topics that interest kids and get them thinking about the world in different ways. I want them to be able to debate and come up with their own understanding about scientific concepts. I want to be able to show my passion for the subject that I teach and if nothing else have my students want to pursue higher education and continual learning. Although standards are what is imposed on us as young educators entering the field, I want students to know and appreciate the world around them through my teaching.

For this semester one action that that I want to implement is to provide more deeper, thoughtful problem-solving questions and integrating more graphs and analytical skills in reviewing data. Students today know how to use technology for social reasons, but fail to perform in reading and interpreting graphs. With this I will incorporate a cooperative laboratory experiment during the latter half of the semester in respect to geologic time/climate change. I want them to look at real-time data from multiple media sources and be able to plot data make hypothesis' and infer what a anticipated projection might look like from the content gathered from their research. Each group member will have a role and have something to contribute. I really want to focus on the technical aspect of this project, but also allow the students to interpret the data themselves and make their own decisions based on their own experiences and research. By having a controversial topic I can also discuss debate and the differing views people have on specific topics. I would also like to collaborate with the other two teachers that teach Earth science and get their input and suggestions. I fear that I will not have enough experience in designing effective group models and the intention of the project might suffer as a result.

One action that I hope to make in my beginning career is to plan and administer lessons that really draw on students' diversities. I have a hard time at this point knowing that I am providing these experiences for my students because I do not have that much experience creating lesson designs that draw from social justice and equity. I want to make resources accessible and offer educational experiences that students will remember. I want to create lessons that other teachers will want to use in their own classrooms. Reflective practice and attending professional development seminars will other help me gain experience and the adequate tools so that I can achieve this goal.

Another action that I hope to implement after I have been in teaching for a while is to really have the science departments be more collaborative and supportive. From my experience thus far, I have not seen a strong connection between the different science disciplines. I want to work toward establishing camaraderie and increased interaction among the science teachers and other content areas as well. I hope to try to have an interdisciplinary unit involving all the sciences to show the connections and similarities between the often distant/unrelated concepts. I hope to bring forth my knowledge on interdisciplinary, holistic, 'student-centered' and authentic curriculum paths.

Many of my actions revolve around the creating new curriculum paths and powerful teaching. The interdisciplinary thematic units have connections within each of these spectrums. Having common preps and creating faculty teams within the science department also draw on new professional roles and comprehensive support for all students. Student-centered learning and authentic assessments will be crucial for my success in the classroom as a beginning teacher and as I move through the profession of teaching tommorrow's leaders.

Reading Reflection 6-Briana Overman: Change Agent

One of the very first things that I must do as a beginning teacher is to have my voice be heard and be able to articulate my thoughts. I need to not be afraid to take risks and promote interactive professionalism and collaboration among myself, other teachers, and fellow administrators. I need to also focus on my own professional development while concentrating on my students’ development in the classroom. I must be committed to the change I want to see. Therefore, I can not simply state a problem and fail to follow through with any action on it. There needs to be commitment on my part if I want to see action from others. I must not make excuses for myself in not giving attention and time to a cause that I am passionate for. I have to continue to REFLECT about action and learn how to act on my inner voice-what is my purpose? I need to have a central focus, for example I want to be voice for technology in the classroom. I want to make sure that each classroom is equipped with technology that promotes student engagement and exploration. Besides LDC projectors, ELMO’s-document cams, access to the Internet, it helps me as an educator bring the students outside of the classroom.

I believe that being educated in new effective reforms, new teaching techniques, and strategies that are working help to shape conversations between agents of change in this ever-changing society. I need to help create the professional learning environment I want to work in. If there are not teacher support groups I want to be a person involved in creating one at my school. With these groups they provide platforms on which teachers can begin to change public education. I want to see less emphasis on test scores and more emphasis on student creativity and critical thinking. I mean, who ever remembers tests? It is what students take with them after they leave the classroom, the life skills and ability to make decisions and contribute to society.

CP2 Website

NOVA science Now is another website that features science based teaching guides and related video segments. It also provides interactives where students can manipulate diagrams. They also provide podcasts where students can listen to lectures on various topics. Because students now have access to technology this is great for them to download on their ipods etc.

Another valuable tool that I would use continually is the link to the latest science news articles. I want to be up-to- date on current events in the science community and hope to bring awareness of issues into the classroom. In addition, once you open a subject area the site also provides additional short engaging videos, quizes, and ‘ask the expert area.’ There is also a blog for teachers to collaborate and discuss learning experiences, which I would use during my clinical practice and as a beginning science teacher.

Here is the link to NOVA

Reading Reflection 5 - I'm thinking..

After reading these chapters I still have some concerns about initially forming these cooperative groups. The group dynamic is complex, especially for social high school students. With adolescents there are many social and emotional factors that could help to influence cooperative groups. If I am able to delegate authority, then the group should take responsibility for solving interpersonal problems. Conflict resolution is an important concept to maintaing an effective learning environment. I will have a hard time though stepping back and letting the groups have control. Letting go of that authority will be a challenge for me. I have the tendency to allow myself to be too involved with answering questions, clarifying tasks, etc. With practice I will find that it is the responsibility of the other group members to answers questions first before I become involved.

I also find it hard to coordinate working with another teacher or research specialist. This seems like an ideal situation benefitting the students, but it seems like this would be hard to coordinate. Being a beginning teacher, I find teaming up with an experienced teacher who has worked with cooperative groups a valuable resource.

Another issue that was brought up in the reading was the status and hierarchy of students perceived in the class. I must not assume that some students are better at specific tasks. To elevate this problem of higher status students taking the leadership role, the roles must be alternated. I can allow for lower status students to have a challenging and valued task within the group (expert-summarizer-facilitator). Hopefully I will get to experience this type of groupwork more this semester.

Reading Reflection 4 - Groupwork ch. 4-5

A section that really stood out to me was the section on individual and group accountability. A single task to a whole group poses the problem everyone is aware of-'the free loader.' With each student given their own assignment within the group it turns into individuals working alone to complete this 'group task'. To solve this each student needs to produce an individual part based on their participation in the group and the group collective activity. Groups rewards are also introduced into cooperative learning assessments, while individual incentives need to be applied as well. The individual group members need to feel accountable and important for the entire team's outcome. In science, groupwork enhances students' problem-solving ability while improving concept development. Working with peers helps stimulate scientific inquiry sometimes better than individual work. Peers can help to explain scientific concepts better and can rephrase ambiguous, confusing content. Many formulas, cycles, and Earth processes are difficult to comprehend, but working in groups can help to facilitate learning with peer interaction and interpretation of material.

A concern I have in this is that this instruction depends on many factors such as student ability, maturity, and discipline. I will have to learn about the students before even thinking about placing them to work in a defined group. If a group isn't working out how will I know what to do to correct it without disrupting other groups already benefiting from cooperative groupwork? Will I be strong enough to make instant decisions to where to place unproductive or behavioral issue group members? I feel like I need control and order, so will I feel less in power and out of control in a cooperative group environment??

Reading Reflection 3 - Groupwork ch. 1-3

Chapter 1- Groupwork as a Strategy for Classrooms. Learning in the classroom can be enhanced by using small groups with students being assigned a specific task to complete. For groupwork to be successful in the classroom, the teacher must employ a delegated authority by giving the students the power to accomplish specific parts. Students need a cooperative group approach with ample communication to complete assigned tasks. Along with student preparation, group interaction is key to having these groups work effectively.

From my experience in a cooperative group emphasized classroom from clinical I, I was concerned that group members tended to ‘conveniently forget’ their daily task and had to be reminded of their responsibility.

Chapter 2- Why Groupwork? With the cooperative grouping model conceptual learning, problem solving, language strengthening, and peer interaction take place. Peers are able to explain ambiguous concepts more clearly and can help with task confusion while discussing new ideas. Students are able to hear other members perceptions and then formulate their own interpretation of the concept. Working with their peers can help students gain valuable interpersonal and communication skills, while providing situations for increased summarizing, synthesizing, and interpreting of materials.

I have seen bilingual classrooms where groupwork really worked for all language proficiencies. A survey I gave also indicated students prefer to work in groups rather than individually.

Chapter 3- The Dilemma of Groupwork. When assigning groups careful planning, organizing, and structuring must be made because groups can develop unequal participation due to many factors, including being more knowledgeable in a subject than other group members ‘academic status’. Groups can be influenced by social status and domination from particular members causing the group mentality to be compromised. Different statuses influence the group dynamic with perceived high or low status.

I have been in groups where it was hard to participate in groups due to other students taking the authoritative roles. I have witnessed where students just let others do the work and they benefit from the ‘group grade.’

I work like to know more about how to initially group students for cooperative work. How do I go about assigning group roles to individuals when I do not know their personalities and strengths?

School Reform at lunch

Glen Cove School District in New York won the 2009 Sylvia Charp award with reforming a once struggling district with the addition of technology. In three years technology turned this district around with new administration, interactive whiteboards, computer response pads (clickers), document cameras, probes, digital security cameras, student-management system, and parent portal. First year teachers also receive training in these technologies along with a 'new-teacher program' that is mandatory for the first three years of employment. There is also a community emergency system and they live stream district events over their website. This is the article from Learning and Leading With Technology February 2010 from ISTE website. Link

Reading Reflection 2-BPHS

I think the internships, the integrated units, and the strong support with student choice and leadership have a great impact at this school. Creating curricular paths to success are essential to the student’s experience in a high school like BPHS. Individual and small group conferencing, while hearing and respecting students ideas are greatly needed. Although these are not new to the education community, they are not used nearly enough in our large secondary schools. Students are not being recognized and are therefore struggling to succeed in a large institution.

One of the practices that I saw at El Camino High that connected to Second to None was that there was a ‘quality curriculum and support provided for Language-minority students.’ This was evident from the numerous programs offered such as; Structured English Immersion Program, Bridge Program, and Spanish Language Instructional Program. There was also a large support team with a head English Language Development coordinator. These students are counseled and I believe they tried to involve the parents in decisions in regards to which program their child was ready for. Another practice I saw was the community involvement and student support through “Empowering Parents Workshops.” These are a themed parent workshop series focusing on topics such as, “How to successfully navigate the educational system and closing the Achievement Gap in your household.” There also was additional tutoring, learning center classes, and counselors to aid in their educational experience. This would be connected to providing comprehensive support for all students. Students enjoyed the number and different times of tutoring at this school.

Population continues to grow, so I believe that ‘small schools’ will not be possible in the future without more funding, space, and teachers. The personalized teaching and special assistance will slowly diminish because of the growing needs of each community. The sense of belonging and connectedness that is essential to their academic success could be changed. The schools will continue to have the need for restructuring with the increase in the student population.

Reading Reflection 1 - Rethinking High School

While reading the book one thing that resonated with me was the eleven key issues when looking to improve secondary education. I liked how they looked at three different areas to draw up the list including; national curriculum standards, educational research, and firsthand experience. All three of these aspects are pertinent to reshaping the educational experience for students in today’s society. I liked how they studied other high schools that are modeling successful school reform.

Something that seems like it would be difficult to reform would be to have a period devoted to internships outside the school. Logistically it seems hard to organize these with local institutions/companies. Transportation and the large amount of students participating would be challenging to coordinate. Especially with the school system today, I would think this would be a tough aspect to integrate into high schools. I like the idea behind the movement, but I just can not see how this could be done effectively all across the nation.

References that I found were that education needs to be connected to students lives and that groups of educators need to work together in planning and communicating. The school experience needs to be authentic along with collaboration are key concepts seen in both materials. A connection was also made to have students work on problem solving, inquiry, and acquiring a deeper understanding of the content material through innovative ideas.

Something that I want to look further into is the notion that high schools can be made to feel smaller and more personalized. The “houses” model with intensive teacher teaming, curriculum integration, student choice, and daily advisory are very novel ideas. Many times students are seen as numbers lost in a system that doesn’t understand them. There needs to be change so that every student can have a voice in today’s education system and personal learning experience.