Insert your inquiry questions
1. How do you create an environment in your classroom where the student wants to learn? (incorporating fun into the classroom)
[Directions: First we will formulate RAR prompts for the four categories listed below (physical cognitive, emotional, and social). These prompts should relate back to your three curiosities listed above. Technologically speaking, add widget anchors here for easier reading, then delete instructions in the brackets]
Physical
Cognitive
Emotional
Social
1. Physical
R (Review):
Bone growth and restless legs are common in pre- adolescence and for this reason i believe that students should be given time to go out to recess. The reason i say this is because students bodies are developing at this age and when they go out and be active it will make it a much easier process when they are out working their different muscles and bones.
A (Apply):
I believe that giving the scientifically names to children at and adolescence age would not really help the child understand what is going on with their bodies.I think if you explain the difference that their bodies are going through would be more beneficial to them so they know what to expect.
R (Reflect):
I believe if we told the students how there body is growing different than giving them the medical name they would better understand what is going on with their bodies.
2. Cognitive
Cognitive development in middle childhood is very vital to the child. On page 232 it talks about Piaget's Theory. In Piaget's theory it shows how students began to develop the skill operational thoughts. This means when a child can tell you something in an order and then tell you it back in reverse order. The child begins to understand different things and how things work.
3. Emotional
Emotional in middle childhood is also important because in middle school is the most important part of a child's life with self esteem. The reason saying is because a lot of students in middle childhood use their friends and peers opinion about them to describe themselves. When a child has low self-esteem a lot of things can come with that like stress, disorders, and also suicide sometimes.
4. Social
In middle childhood social life is very important to children. Students start to develop self understanding. Students begin to realize who they are and make most of their decisions based off of peers and others. Students self understanding is based off of what their peers would say about them.
Hughes STEM school is a 6th to 12th grade school where majority of its students are African-American. This is a public school and is located near campus which is a urban area. Hughes prides itself on a safe supportive and caring environment for each student. I will be observing different classrooms mostly grades 6-9. I will sit in the back of the classroom and just observe and take notes of what is going on inside the classroom. I will try to connect the material from class to the situations in the classroom so i can get a better understanding of how it will work in a actual classroom.
C. Describe what you did at the site (free-write/journal formatting)
1st visit:
On my first visit to Hughes Stem i signed in and went to my first class. This class was a 7th grade computer class. When i walk into the classroom all the students start to stare at me and all the attention is on me because the students see a unfamiliar face in the classroom. I notice a lot of students began to look at me up and down. One student says "I like your Jordans" as she notices that i am wearing a pair of Air Jordans. I go to the back of the classroom where i can not be the center of attention. Another student ask the teacher "Mr. Mack is that your son?" I guess because the teacher was also a African-American man we look alike.
As the class begins the teacher tells the class that they will be doing a physical activity today the students begin to get loud in excitement. The activity begins and the teacher splits the students up in groups of boys and girls. The activity was the students had to use 2 2x4 tied with strings on each end. The students had to step on the 2x4's and hold the ropes together and move from one side of the room to the other.The students struggle working together and then finally get the strategy together. After the activity was done the students had to write reflections on a sheet of paper for credit for the day.
1-hour 2nd visit:
On my second visit to Hughes i went in went to a math 6th grade class. When i walk in again most of the students look at me and wonder who i am. Unlike in the last class this class is set up very different with desk and many math things on the walls. I look on the board and the teacher has the itinerary on the board and has everything organized and has information for the students on what the objectives were for the day. I can tell that the students had more respect for this teacher because when ever she was talking the students would quiet down quickly.
The class picked up a calculator as they walked in the classroom and also a warm up worksheet. The teacher comes around and picks up the warm up sheets after about 10 minutes into the class. Now the teacher passes out another worksheet. The teacher goes over the worksheet and gives students directions. Most of the students are paying attention to the directions but a couple students are not paying attention and after the teacher is done explaining they ask for help. The teacher tells the students to work with a partner but she asks the students to partner up with each other based on who knows how to do the activity and who doesn't so they can help each other. The teacher collects the assignment and there was not that many distractions from the class it actually went kinda smooth.
3rd visit:
Today was a different day in the classroom i was in. I was in a 6th grade reading class. The class was reading a play in a book called a raisin in the sun. As i sit in the back of the classroom the students begin to read the play different students having different roles to read. The students are really getting into the reading and actually trying to impersonate the characters in the play. One student begins to read and a curse word appears in the dialogue and the student says it and the whole class begins to laugh. The students began to chatter and get out of subject after the curse word is said. The teacher gets the students back on track and back to reading the book. As the students are reading i notice two students in the back of the classroom arguing and the teacher tells the two to quiet down and read their text. The students begin to stand in each others face and a fight breaks out.
The teacher rushes over to break up the fight and the class is hysterical and out of control. The students were now very rowdy and are talking about the fight. The teacher leaves with one student and comes back with a security guard who takes the other student with him. The teacher then comes back and ask the students did anyone see what happened and the students all say they don't know and one students says "I'm not snitching" referring to telling on someone. The teacher and students get into a huge debate about "snitching" this goes on until the end of the class.
4th visit:
This visit i was in a 7th grade social studies class. In this class the teacher uses me as a helper. He told me to help the students if any of them needed help with any of their work. The students were having a make up day where the student could do any assignment for full credit that they didn't do earlier in the quarter but only for that day. The students were very noisy while doing there make up work but the teacher told them to keep their noise level down. The classroom was at a nice noise level and the class ran smoothly.
When the students needed help they would come over to me and ask for help nicely and i would help them. Most of the assignments were easy to figure out but when i didn't know i would send them to the teacher. When the students came over to me they were polite. I felt that the class ran smooth and it went by quickly the students were working quietly on there own.
5th visit:
This time i did my observation in Columbus at my high school. I decided to go to my high school and observe a 9th grade math class. The teacher is actually my old high school basketball coach. In this class i observed a lot of different things. The teacher was letting the students play jeopardy for study purposes for there test coming up. The students were into the game and looked like they were having fun. I realized that every student was actually answering questions.
I stopped one student and ask them did they feel motivated to do the work. The student answered and said "yeah i like the way that Mr. Davis lets us play games to learn." I think that this is a great way to teach and help the students remember the information. When the students won the teacher offered extra points on their test. I believe that this is a great way to give incentives to motivate students.
6th visit:
[insert here- minimum of 2 paragraphs]
D. Summarize and describe your experience in relation to the concepts in our textbook
Physical
When the students were doing the physical activities in Mr. Macs class in the first week they are appealing to the physical development of the students. Even though the main goal for the students was to work together they were still working on their physical development with hand-eye coordination.
Cognitive
The students were learning mentally in the classes when they were playing jeopardy in the class. They are reapeating the terms in their heads so they remember them. This is cognitive learning because when the students start to figure out the answers they are relating the term to the answer in their heads.
Emotional
When the fight occured in the classroom the students began to talk after the fight and were showing how they felt emotions when the teacher asked the students to tell what happened. The students express that they cared for the students and didnt want them to get in trouble. Even though it would be the right thing to do they were showing their emotions.
Social
When the teacher put the students in groups she told the students to group up with someone that knew the material and with someone who didn't know the material. By the teacher doing so she forced the students to work together and work on their social skills because it is vital to succeed in the real world.
Revisiting Your Curiosities
W: What you want to know (curiosities)
[Answer your original questions as best as you can, given the course material and your observations. You must make at least 4 references to the text with page numbers.] 1. How do i motivate students to want to learn?
I learned that to motivate a student you first have to show them that you care. I learned that pedagogy learning is very effective to students. When a student feels that a teacher cares about them they will be more willing to participate and learn. I feel that as educators we should learn each student on a one to one base and realize that each student is different and learn in different ways. Our job is to figure that out and teach in a way that all students will grasp the material.
2. How do we incorporate physical activities in the classroom?
Physical activity is vital to middle adolescence because their bodies are growing and it is our job to try and incorporate physical activity into our classrooms because it will help motivate the students and keep them energized. I know as a student i didn't like to sit in one spot for a long period of time. So if we create activities that let the students get up and get active and also learn at the same time we are really "killing two birds with one stone".
3. What are some ways to help students with disabilities?
When we have students with disabilities we have to understand that yes they are different but a lot of students with disabilities already feel like they are less of a person our job is to help the students and try our best to make them feel as if they didn't have the disability. I dont feel as if we should over react but just treat them as if you would treat any other students.
4. What new questions emerge for you as a future teacher?
A question that arose for me is how do we incorporate different learning styles into our curriculum? Also a question that develops for me is how can we try to incorporate more culturally effective activities into our classrooms so that each student can learn about different cultures?
Group Game
Group Presentation
Partner Feedback from Caitlin 12/01/13:
Demetrius, I really enjoyed reading your inquiry question because I am interested in that subject as well. Since you discuss classroom management and engaged students in your inquiry question, I recommend looking at the following page numbers from the textbook to aid your research:
-Gross motor development on Page 228
- Fine motor development on Page 229
- Rough-and-tumble play and physical education on Pages 230-231
- Piaget's learning theory starting on Page 232
By looking at gross and fine motor development, you can design activities that will be appropriate for middle childhood students that they should be able to physically participate in such as doing puzzles or participating in a scavenger hunt. Physical activity is a fun way to engage students in the classroom but it is important to recognize how some students may feel about physical activity during middle childhood. Finally, Piaget's learning theory will help you design assessments and worksheets that are appropriate for that age group.
Name of Student: Demetrius Long
Table of Contents
Pre-Adolescence
W: What you want to know (curiosities)
Insert your inquiry questions1. How do you create an environment in your classroom where the student wants to learn? (incorporating fun into the classroom)
http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2010/02/06/why-having-fun-makes-classroom-management-easier/
L: What you learned
[Directions: First we will formulate RAR prompts for the four categories listed below (physical cognitive, emotional, and social). These prompts should relate back to your three curiosities listed above. Technologically speaking, add widget anchors here for easier reading, then delete instructions in the brackets]1. Physical
R (Review):A (Apply):
R (Reflect):
2. Cognitive
Cognitive development in middle childhood is very vital to the child. On page 232 it talks about Piaget's Theory. In Piaget's theory it shows how students began to develop the skill operational thoughts. This means when a child can tell you something in an order and then tell you it back in reverse order. The child begins to understand different things and how things work.3. Emotional
Emotional in middle childhood is also important because in middle school is the most important part of a child's life with self esteem. The reason saying is because a lot of students in middle childhood use their friends and peers opinion about them to describe themselves. When a child has low self-esteem a lot of things can come with that like stress, disorders, and also suicide sometimes.4. Social
In middle childhood social life is very important to children. Students start to develop self understanding. Students begin to realize who they are and make most of their decisions based off of peers and others. Students self understanding is based off of what their peers would say about them.Observation Site Information
A. Site details:
B. Describe your setting
Hughes STEM school is a 6th to 12th grade school where majority of its students are African-American. This is a public school and is located near campus which is a urban area. Hughes prides itself on a safe supportive and caring environment for each student. I will be observing different classrooms mostly grades 6-9. I will sit in the back of the classroom and just observe and take notes of what is going on inside the classroom. I will try to connect the material from class to the situations in the classroom so i can get a better understanding of how it will work in a actual classroom.C. Describe what you did at the site (free-write/journal formatting)
1st visit:On my first visit to Hughes Stem i signed in and went to my first class. This class was a 7th grade computer class. When i walk into the classroom all the students start to stare at me and all the attention is on me because the students see a unfamiliar face in the classroom. I notice a lot of students began to look at me up and down. One student says "I like your Jordans" as she notices that i am wearing a pair of Air Jordans. I go to the back of the classroom where i can not be the center of attention. Another student ask the teacher "Mr. Mack is that your son?" I guess because the teacher was also a African-American man we look alike.
As the class begins the teacher tells the class that they will be doing a physical activity today the students begin to get loud in excitement. The activity begins and the teacher splits the students up in groups of boys and girls. The activity was the students had to use 2 2x4 tied with strings on each end. The students had to step on the 2x4's and hold the ropes together and move from one side of the room to the other.The students struggle working together and then finally get the strategy together. After the activity was done the students had to write reflections on a sheet of paper for credit for the day.
1-hour
2nd visit:
On my second visit to Hughes i went in went to a math 6th grade class. When i walk in again most of the students look at me and wonder who i am. Unlike in the last class this class is set up very different with desk and many math things on the walls. I look on the board and the teacher has the itinerary on the board and has everything organized and has information for the students on what the objectives were for the day. I can tell that the students had more respect for this teacher because when ever she was talking the students would quiet down quickly.
The class picked up a calculator as they walked in the classroom and also a warm up worksheet. The teacher comes around and picks up the warm up sheets after about 10 minutes into the class. Now the teacher passes out another worksheet. The teacher goes over the worksheet and gives students directions. Most of the students are paying attention to the directions but a couple students are not paying attention and after the teacher is done explaining they ask for help. The teacher tells the students to work with a partner but she asks the students to partner up with each other based on who knows how to do the activity and who doesn't so they can help each other. The teacher collects the assignment and there was not that many distractions from the class it actually went kinda smooth.
3rd visit:
Today was a different day in the classroom i was in. I was in a 6th grade reading class. The class was reading a play in a book called a raisin in the sun. As i sit in the back of the classroom the students begin to read the play different students having different roles to read. The students are really getting into the reading and actually trying to impersonate the characters in the play. One student begins to read and a curse word appears in the dialogue and the student says it and the whole class begins to laugh. The students began to chatter and get out of subject after the curse word is said. The teacher gets the students back on track and back to reading the book. As the students are reading i notice two students in the back of the classroom arguing and the teacher tells the two to quiet down and read their text. The students begin to stand in each others face and a fight breaks out.
The teacher rushes over to break up the fight and the class is hysterical and out of control. The students were now very rowdy and are talking about the fight. The teacher leaves with one student and comes back with a security guard who takes the other student with him. The teacher then comes back and ask the students did anyone see what happened and the students all say they don't know and one students says "I'm not snitching" referring to telling on someone. The teacher and students get into a huge debate about "snitching" this goes on until the end of the class.
4th visit:
This visit i was in a 7th grade social studies class. In this class the teacher uses me as a helper. He told me to help the students if any of them needed help with any of their work. The students were having a make up day where the student could do any assignment for full credit that they didn't do earlier in the quarter but only for that day. The students were very noisy while doing there make up work but the teacher told them to keep their noise level down. The classroom was at a nice noise level and the class ran smoothly.
When the students needed help they would come over to me and ask for help nicely and i would help them. Most of the assignments were easy to figure out but when i didn't know i would send them to the teacher. When the students came over to me they were polite. I felt that the class ran smooth and it went by quickly the students were working quietly on there own.
5th visit:
This time i did my observation in Columbus at my high school. I decided to go to my high school and observe a 9th grade math class. The teacher is actually my old high school basketball coach. In this class i observed a lot of different things. The teacher was letting the students play jeopardy for study purposes for there test coming up. The students were into the game and looked like they were having fun. I realized that every student was actually answering questions.
I stopped one student and ask them did they feel motivated to do the work. The student answered and said "yeah i like the way that Mr. Davis lets us play games to learn." I think that this is a great way to teach and help the students remember the information. When the students won the teacher offered extra points on their test. I believe that this is a great way to give incentives to motivate students.
6th visit:
[insert here- minimum of 2 paragraphs]
D. Summarize and describe your experience in relation to the concepts in our textbook
Physical
When the students were doing the physical activities in Mr. Macs class in the first week they are appealing to the physical development of the students. Even though the main goal for the students was to work together they were still working on their physical development with hand-eye coordination.
Cognitive
The students were learning mentally in the classes when they were playing jeopardy in the class. They are reapeating the terms in their heads so they remember them. This is cognitive learning because when the students start to figure out the answers they are relating the term to the answer in their heads.Emotional
When the fight occured in the classroom the students began to talk after the fight and were showing how they felt emotions when the teacher asked the students to tell what happened. The students express that they cared for the students and didnt want them to get in trouble. Even though it would be the right thing to do they were showing their emotions.Social
When the teacher put the students in groups she told the students to group up with someone that knew the material and with someone who didn't know the material. By the teacher doing so she forced the students to work together and work on their social skills because it is vital to succeed in the real world.Revisiting Your Curiosities
W: What you want to know (curiosities)[Answer your original questions as best as you can, given the course material and your observations. You must make at least 4 references to the text with page numbers.]
1. How do i motivate students to want to learn?
I learned that to motivate a student you first have to show them that you care. I learned that pedagogy learning is very effective to students. When a student feels that a teacher cares about them they will be more willing to participate and learn. I feel that as educators we should learn each student on a one to one base and realize that each student is different and learn in different ways. Our job is to figure that out and teach in a way that all students will grasp the material.
2. How do we incorporate physical activities in the classroom?
Physical activity is vital to middle adolescence because their bodies are growing and it is our job to try and incorporate physical activity into our classrooms because it will help motivate the students and keep them energized. I know as a student i didn't like to sit in one spot for a long period of time. So if we create activities that let the students get up and get active and also learn at the same time we are really "killing two birds with one stone".
3. What are some ways to help students with disabilities?
When we have students with disabilities we have to understand that yes they are different but a lot of students with disabilities already feel like they are less of a person our job is to help the students and try our best to make them feel as if they didn't have the disability. I dont feel as if we should over react but just treat them as if you would treat any other students.
4. What new questions emerge for you as a future teacher?
A question that arose for me is how do we incorporate different learning styles into our curriculum? Also a question that develops for me is how can we try to incorporate more culturally effective activities into our classrooms so that each student can learn about different cultures?
Group Game
Group Presentation
Partner Feedback from Caitlin 12/01/13:
Demetrius, I really enjoyed reading your inquiry question because I am interested in that subject as well. Since you discuss classroom management and engaged students in your inquiry question, I recommend looking at the following page numbers from the textbook to aid your research:
-Gross motor development on Page 228
- Fine motor development on Page 229
- Rough-and-tumble play and physical education on Pages 230-231
- Piaget's learning theory starting on Page 232
By looking at gross and fine motor development, you can design activities that will be appropriate for middle childhood students that they should be able to physically participate in such as doing puzzles or participating in a scavenger hunt. Physical activity is a fun way to engage students in the classroom but it is important to recognize how some students may feel about physical activity during middle childhood. Finally, Piaget's learning theory will help you design assessments and worksheets that are appropriate for that age group.