Greetings to the blogosphere.

My absence from my own website has not been due to intentional abandonment.  I took a hiatus to become situated in my new city and my new professional role.  While my career has spanned several years – both professional and volunteer – my current role has required much of my time.  Please don’t get me wrong, I am glad to be in a position that requires such diligence and time investment.  In fact, it is the role I’ve been working toward for about nine years.

Just like many of my students did previously, I let roadblocks, poor decisions and confusion interfere with achieving success and achieving my dream.  And just like many of my students, I learned to remove the negative things from my life, the confusion and roadbloacks, so that I could stand a chance at achieving my dream.  I have achieved it, and I honestly believe most of my students will achieve theirs.  Next Saturday, I will have the wonderful honor of watching several of them demonstrate achievement and success – putting their past mistakes behind them and moving ahead to become the leaders that they will definitely be.  I will see them graduate high school.

Just like these young men and women, I feel like I’ve defied the odds, too.  My students did not struggle financially like I did growing up.  We are actually quite opposite in that respect.  I never struggled with some of the issues they have faced as teens, though I do have a couple of things in common with these students.  I was adopted at a young age and dealt with a great deal of anger issues as a child and early teen.  Growing up, I also dealt with a great deal of self-esteem and insecurity issues – just as most teens did and always will.

Where the battle differs between my students and me is regarding money.  Upon graduation, I had no money for college.  My parents have struggled financially their entire lives just to survive, let alone pay for a college education.  Additionally, my grades were not excellent so I did not qualify for a scholarship to a state-run school or community college, let alone a more prestigious school.  Thanks to Pell Grants, the fact that my dad worked as a janitor at the community college, and that I worked at least twenty hours a week, I had enough financial aid and tuition reimbursement to squeak through community college.  Earning a bachelor’s degree was a little tougher.  Student loans did not cover all the expenses and so I wound up acquiring my first credit card to pay for housing and for studying abroad in England for a month during my final year.

The struggle did not end with receiving my college diploma.  Now I had my own financial whole but had my sights set on a master’s degree.  My grade point average was not enough to achieve acceptance to the universities in England I sought, nor was it enough to receive acceptance to the universities I sought two years later, after relocating to the east coast.  So, scholarships were out of the question.  Thankfully, three years later I managed to apply to the right universities, because I received acceptance letters from all three.  As a result, I moved to New York in 2008 and began a graduate school stint that I still cannot believe.  I went to a very expensive, prestigious school in Manhattan – teaching in NYC public schools during the day and taking classes at night.  The result was graduating with honors and a 4.0 grade point average – something I never achieved at any level – not even kindergarten.  My student loan balance doubled, but I still achieve my goal in the face of NUMEROUS financial obstacles that should have shut every door for me.

I share this story about my life, because it adds to part of the reason why it means so much for me to see my students achieve their goals.  These particular students have faced adversity – though much of it self-inflicted – and an outside force just would not let this adversity stop them from achieving.

Bottom line:  If the poor and sickly son of a somewhat-employed janitor can graduate at the top of his class in a master’s program from Fordham University within less than one year, then there is hope for most anyone.  It is this same wonderment I encourage in the lives of my students, and occasionally I see this wonderment expressed.

For this alone, my years of struggle at reaching my current professional role has been worth it!

Take care, Eric

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Not only is it the title of the 2006 World Cup theme song, performed by Simply Red, but it is also the realization of my true role as a teacher.

In case you are one of the few people who don’t already know, I am the new government teacher for a private boarding school in southern Virginia.  I must confess something also:  I’ve only taught government as a substitute!  My employer knows this fact, but it also knows the bold but true statement I declared during my telephone interview:  ”…but I am quite confident that I can teach government.”  And I am.  Mostly.

When it dawned on me that I am really a government teacher, I must say that I was very overwhelmed and very scared.  You see, my graduate school program and student teaching only prepared me to teach the history aspect of social studies.  Teaching government will be from scratch for me.  However, there is a great deal of overlap in content knowledge between history and government.  I discover this truth increasingly as I continue to read government books throughout the month of April.  A former-teacher friend of mine is spot on:  ”You are smart, and you know this stuff.”  I can feel as inadequate and inept as I wish to feel, but I actually know this stuff and can and will teach government.

As I created my course descriptions last week, I learned that I actually did use some of my graduate studies in utilizing the Backwards Planning model, but formatted in paragraphs rather than bullet points.  Further, history is the study of all aspects of the past as they are relevant to present students.  Therefore, history content includes government content.  Therefore, making course outlines and syllabi become magically easy – almost.  The important content components, learning and teaching strategies, and desired student outcomes have formulated themselves naturally.  I am even almost to the point of creating my syllabus for the approved elective course on Communism in the Twentieth Century.  I am even ready to begin reading the students’ assigned reading list for the course.  Why worry, it only wastes emotions and accomplishes nothing.  I wish I could remember this tome always.

Actually, a thought came to mind as I reflected on the fact that the reading list consists of books in which I’ve only read the back covers and synopses from Amazon and Borders.  I will engage in the learning process along with the student.  So then, what will ensure I can teach this material to the children if I haven’t studied it all yet?  Simple.  I have already acquired the learning skills I wish to create in my students.  Plus, with social studies there are facts, but much social studies is discussion and sharing of ideas based on those facts.  Therefore, in such a respect, we will all be both students and teachers at the same time.  Doesn’t that sound exciting?

I share these words in the hopes that a newly-hired teacher such as myself – who may have no teaching experience in the subject that they will teach – will find his or her mind at rest and feel empowered and encouraged to take on the adventure with vigor and confidence.

In the words of the renowned actor, Rob Schneider, “You can do it!”

Take care, Eric

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I am sorry that I have not posted a new article this week.  There have been many things happening lately in my life – in a good way – regarding my career.  As a result, there will be slight changes in my Home, Resume, and About Me pages.

Stay tuned!

In last week’s article, “Why I Broke the Rules, Part 1,” I explained a situation in which I was faced with deciding whether it was appropriate to break a rule in the support of effective student learning.  The following story will illustrate another similar situation that occurred later the same day and how I chose to handle the situation.

My second account of technology usage occurred later that afternoon in a ninth grade geography course.  Again, a class spent in review for an upcoming exam, students completed packets.  Being that geography is an important discipline for state testing, most – if not all -students were motivated to do well.  Just like any typical inclusion classroom, varying levels of learning challenges were present and easily identifiable after a few moments of observation.  Being this class is about geography, many modalities can easily be presented (i.e. maps, atlases, globes, class notes, verbal examples).  I ensured students had access to these tools.  I even crumpled a nice clean sheet of paper to demonstrate the definition of map distortion.

However, learning tools possess their limitations.  This statement is true of the classroom atlases.  Many of the country names and borders were difficult to read clearly, so served little purpose in the learning of many students.  I discovered this shortcoming – not by student commentary – but by the emergence of an iPhone (again).

Taking into account my episode with the Spanish class earlier in the day, I peered over the shoulder of the student wielding the outlawed device.  He was using an iPhone app that utilizes many maps and atlases.  This app can zoom in and out, as well as more clearly show the names of locations than the print classroom atlases.  Again, a student broke the rules, and again I looked the other way in the name of furthering student academic success.

I watched throughout the course of the class as his confidence and understanding increased.  Later, I saw the similar

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passing back and forth of a device as I had seen in the other classroom.  He unlocked the key to his learning and wanted to share that experience without someone else.  To stop this “moment” and strictly enforce the school policy would have been completely inappropriate, in my opinion.

Many of my readers know I am a strong advocate of technology in the classroom, that I believe such ideology opens students to new and better ways of learning, and that it keeps instruction current in our Twenty-First Century world.  Perhaps my allowance of unapproved technology in the classroom can be construed as defiance to the traditional education system and to the school where I taught.  However, I assure my readers that the opposite is true.  I greatly support the education system in our country – otherwise why would I want to participate in it?  I simply adopt a philosophy of change analogous to that of Booker T. Washington and his ideals of change within civil rights:  Change from within established systems is more effective to all than is creating an entirely new system from the ground up.  The latter ideal does carry its benefits, but economically and governmentally can encounter far more challenges.

In closing, I prefer to teach from the perspective of my students – using their society, context and culture – rather that from only my perspective.  After all, I already know the curriculum in which I teach, but my students need to know it also and experience an environment that allows connection between curriculum and culture.  The way to keep learning new, fresh and effective is to keep open ears, open eyes, and an open mind.

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My life as a substitute, and as an educator, encountered a semi-ethical dilemma about a month ago.  No, I did nothing that will my result in my face becoming plastered on the evening news, nor did I destroy my career in any other manner.  However, I did break a cardinal rule at one of the schools in which I usually teach:  I allowed students to use their iPods and iPhones in class!  Okay, before you reach for the phone to call the local authorities – so as to have my teaching licenses revoked – let me explain.

My first count of technology use occurred in an upper level Spanish class.  It is standard policy at this particular school that cell phones and mp3 players are strictly forbidden.  Of course, when a substitute teacher is manning the helm, these rules go out the window in the minds of most students.  Usually, I enforce these rules of the road, however this time I hesitated in order to do a little undercover observation.  My expectations were that these devices were being used to listen to music or to text message friends in other classes – since that is typically the case.  To my chagrin, they were using them for…study aids!  I overheard one young man whisper to the young lady across the aisle, “Check out this translator app.  It’s much better than our dictionaries over on the shelf!”  The girl looked over his shoulder and smiled, followed by the two students passing the iPhone back and forth during class.

It turns out this was not an isolated incident either.  Two other students were “playing” with their iPhones to do the same thing.  These kids, on their own, found study materials that surpassed the effectiveness of those aids provided by their teacher.  This bridge to higher learning happened with the use of contraband, but how could I bring down the law on these resourceful, intelligent minds?  After all, isn’t that the kind of forward thinking we want our sons and daughters to acquire and use as leaders?

If a member of faculty or administration had walked past the open door and discovered this travesty, we all surely

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would have been disciplined.  However, I assure you all that it was not my intent to circumvent authority or school procedures – or to display disrespect to school administration.  Rather, I saw a real learning moment going on in the classroom and took on a the-ends-justify-the-means stance in maintaining this environment of achievement.

Check back next week to learn how I discovered student-initiated learning through use of forbidden technology, and what I did about it.

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Effective educational systems concern interaction and collaboration with the families of students, with fellow educational professionals, and with the school community in general.  These methods of communication are either formal or informal in nature, but always focus on the development and best interests of students taught.  In the following paragraphs, teacher interactivity with families, colleagues, and the school community will be explained in terms of relevance and application within a classroom setting.

First, as parents, guardians, and other family members possess close relationships with students, they should be involved in the education their children receive.  One way to keep these loved ones involved, as noted by Paul R. Burden and David M. Byrd (1999) in Methods for Effective Teaching, is the parent-teacher conference.  The authors state that report cards alone do not supply sufficient feedback on student achievement.  Through parent-teacher conferences, parents, guardians, or other family members gain supplemental information through collaborating directly with teachers.

Second, when keeping in mind the best interests of their students, educators find it important to work jointly with other school professionals, such as other general education or special education teachers, school psychologists, or social workers.  Anita Woolfolk (2004) elaborates on interaction between the classroom teacher and the special education teacher on improving student learning.  In her book, Educational Psychology, Woolfolk believes both the general and special education teachers should have equal responsibility in guiding students with disabilities.  This collaboration can take the form of consultation, lesson planning, or discovering the best management strategies to use with students.

Finally, as students’ lives outside the classroom greatly affect their lives within the classroom, it is important to take both into consideration when planning instruction for students.  Robert E. Slavin (2003) uses the context of socioeconomic status (SES) as an example of this point.  In Educational Psychology:  Theory and Practice, the author describes how factors often found in low-SES communities can greatly impact the education a child receives.  Such factors he includes are crime, lack of positive role models, and inadequate health services.  In learning about these factors and others that impact students’ health and wellbeing, educators gain a better sense of how they can help the children develop academically, emotionally, and physically.

***

Now that examples of three major levels of teacher collaboration have been presented, practical application of these

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interactions can be easily explained.  The remainder of this discussion will demonstrate how I have interacted, or plan to interact, with families, colleagues, and contextual information from communities in my own teaching.

To begin, in evidencing my belief that families should be active in their children’s learning, I created a letter that outlines my background and teaching philosophy.  This letter is a product of the Classroom Management Plan I created during the Fall 2008 semester.  Its purpose is to introduce myself to those people who best know my students, to let them know what their children will be doing during my course, and to invite them to collaborate with me in creating the best instruction possible.

Next, in understanding that students work with several adults through the year, and the fact that collaboration provides better academic achievement for students, I worked closely with my cooperating teacher during the Spring 2009 semester when planning lessons for tenth grade Global History students.  For example, the matrix created for a unit on “The Spread of Communism” takes into account such factors as time available to teach the unit, materials available in the classroom, and information students need to prepare for the Regents Exam need consideration.  The first two factors required consultation and parallel planning with my cooperating teacher, so that subsequent units would not be given inadequate time, and so I did not plan for use of resources the school did not possess.

Finally, in taking into account students’ lives outside of school when providing relevant and meaningful instruction, I analyzed important contextual elements of the learners’ community.  This analysis took the form of a Contextual Statement created during the Spring 2009 semester.  This statement looks at such factors as SES, learning abilities, and primary language spoken.  Most students in this school during the spring semester were of Latino heritage, lived in low-SES neighborhoods, and spoke Spanish at home and English in school.  The information was crucial in what strategies were most effective and ineffective in planning and teaching lessons.  During that particular semester, I taught a section containing two English language learners (ELLs), two learning disabled students (LD), and several low-SES students.  Knowledge gained from the school’s state report card—in creating the Contextual Statement—showed me how to best scaffold primary resources, use visuals in lessons, and tell stories that would connect to students’ lives and to the content taught.

In closing, teachers are not alone when it comes to guiding students to academic success.  As it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to teach a student.  Parents, colleagues, and community context all enrich an educator’s ability to propel students to the next level of their intellectual, social, and emotional development.

REFERENCES:

Burden, P. R. & Byrd, D. M. (1999). Effective teaching. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Slavin, R. E. (2003). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Woolfolk, A. (2004). Educational Psychology. Boston: Pearson Education.

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In my short but varied career as a teacher, I have served a number of roles and am not new to the concept of being the new kid in town.  When I began as an on-call substitute almost four years ago, every day I was the newbie at the school:  new school, then new classroom, new students, and new procedures.  Every day was like an orientation session.  I was becoming accustomed of the routine of not having a day-to-day routine.

With that being said, while routine is something I gravitate towards naturally, there is a great deal to be said for the less-than-routine.  Firstly, being perpetually in the orientation mode lends to constant learning via immersion.  When subbing, I learned a new commute, a new parking situation, and a new route to the main office of that day’s particular school.  Once inside, I learned a new bell schedule, a new level of classroom technology, and a new set of policies.  On Monday morning, announcements were read over the public address system before first period.  On Wednesday, that particular school’s announcements were viewed on Channel 45 before third period.  On Tuesday, attendance was to be returned to the office after every period, while on Thursday attendance could be submitted after school.  These learning experiences always kept my brain active and exercised my cognitive facilities.  Some days I felt like I learned more than the students.

It was over a year ago that I left that setting for graduate school – where student teaching and classes reacquainted me with the long-departed routine to which my brain is accustomed.  The same classrooms, the same professors, and the same classmates three times a week entered my new life.  A year of set schedules returned to my life with great ease and comfort.  I learned a great deal from my graduate studies and student teaching internships, but there was not the same “trial by fire” to motivate me as I experienced as a substitute.  Rather, I needed to manufacture my own motivation – to gain as much (or as little) out of my education as I wanted.  No one was threatening me if I did not cross every T or dot every I; that was my responsibility, and I took it very seriously.  I wanted to be a better teacher, and I knew this ideology was how to achieve such a goal.

I find it ironic – not in a negative way at all – that after graduate school I returned to the routine of no routine.  Much of my

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substituting this time around is at the same set of schools, so comparatively more routine has entered my teaching experience.  This work atmosphere allows my the benefit of being able to compare my teaching skills pre-graduate school and post-graduate school, using the same school district and school as benchmark for which to base my comparisons.

In closing, while my lifetime career goal is to attain full-time teaching status and the learning opportunities that accompany it, I am content where I currently am for this academic year.  Being a substitute in the same handful of schools allows the balance between routine and orientation that improve my cognition and bring comfort to my life at the same time.  Other education-related positions I currently hold accentuate this balance.  I see this time as my orientation to honing the teaching skills and strategies that will make me an even better classroom teacher when the time comes.  It also helps me to better relate to the learning framework in which students reside through building upon prior knowledge through the gradual introduction of new skills.  For students, this concept is called scaffolding instruction.  My professional life resembles a scaffolded professional development, and I highly value ever step of the process.

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Just as the old axiom states, “Life is a journey, not a destination,” I am learning to comfortable with that concept.

Most of my life, I have been a goal-driven person who eagerly has sought out how to achieve my goals with the shortest path possible.  When this doesn’t meet my fast-achieving ambitions, I become disappointed.  I am very much about the destination.

This finish line mentality has often brought more disappointment to my life than it has brought satisfaction.  Why?  Because I have not come to terms with the truth that arriving at goals almost always requires a journey of several steps in which to reach those goals.  A prime example lies within my race to become a full-time and permanent classroom teacher.  That is my career goal – the benchmark in which I have spent 4 years trying to achieve.  Over these 4 years, I have experienced a journey – a journey of many steps, much growth, and slowly increasing maturity.  It is over these 4 years that I have slowly begun accepting the axiom and begun feeling comfortable with it.  In fact, whenever I look back in hindsight, I realize I needed these steps in order to be ready for the final goal.  There are still several steps that I need before I can be completely ready.  Even when I reach that goal, I will not know everything I need to be the perfect teacher.  If I think this automatic transformation will occur overnight, it only goes to show I’m not ready.

The journey started about 4 years ago, when I began substitute teaching in Arlington, Virginia part-time.  In 2006, I wasn’t yet sure whether I wanted to pursue a career in teaching.  I was studying architecture at night at the University of the District of Columbia where I had a 3.7 GPA, but felt very unfulfilled with my career path.  In May of that year, I left UDC and Architecture and never looked back.  Stepping out of the boat and attempting to walk on water in a step of faith – yes, my faith in God had a lot to do with this – I began substituting in Arlington high schools, and loved every moment!

The next 2 years really reinforced this leap of faith as the right thing to do.  Between 2006 and 2008, I substituted for 2 school years, took certification exams in 2 states, and sought out a graduate school where I could earn my teaching degree and licensure – tools needed to become a career teacher.  The more I became involved in the world of education, the more it felt comfortable.  The more I stood in front of kids and attempted to demonstrate encouragement to them, the more fulfillment I felt.  Nothing has felt so fulfilling as teaching.

In the fall of 2008, I was accepted to 3 graduate teaching programs in New York State.  I chose Fordham University, the most prestigious of the 3.  Week to week and month to month, I received further confirmation that I was heading down the right path.  While it was the most challenging and rigorous year of my life, it was also the most encouraging, motivating, and strengthening year.  I was very much in the mentality still of quickly reaching my goal – finishing a teacher education program in only 11 months.  I walked out at the top of my class, along with a handful of other students.  I also received certification from 2 states and membership in 2 honors societies.  But I still wasn’t happy.

In the final months of my graduate program, I had completed almost a year of student teaching – receiving a real taste of what it is like to be an actual professional teacher.  It was like a drug to me – something I had to have more of right away, and waiting would be like a withdrawal for me.  Don’t get me wrong, teachers should definitely have a passion for what they do (and I still very much do), but I wasn’t willing to settle for less – despite the situation going on with education in New York.  In those final months, strict hiring restrictions were established in hiring of teachers for the upcoming year.  Becoming a full-time teacher there wasn’t a realistic goal – yet I wasn’t willing to yield to extending my journey any longer.  I felt that I had already taken long enough walking down the path – and I needed to pay my bills, which only exacerbated my impatience.

At the end of my time in New York, I looked back at my graduate studies and student teaching – realizing in hindsight that I wouldn’t have been a very effective teacher without those steps – without that leg of the journey toward my goal.  It was that reflection that really started a slow change in my attitude – I started to see the importance of the journey and value it a bit.  Circumstances with the hiring restrictions and with following my faith to leap again, I moved back home to Northern Virginia for the next leg in my journey.

Back in Virginia, I realized once again I had made the right step in faith – and have felt only stronger about it as time passes.  Within the first 3 months back home, I landed jobs as a teaching site liaison for an elementary school NCLB program, a return position to the coaching firm I once worked – this time as a staff trainer, and returned to Arlington – where this crazy journey began 4 years ago.  With the latter job, I was able to evaluate my teaching in the very same school prior to graduate school and following graduate school.  I am so much better than I was in the early days – thus showing yet again that the journey in which I embarked was crucial.  This realization really put me in the place I am now – seeing the value AND the necessity of a journey when it comes to my development as a teacher.

Further steps in the journey toward becoming a full-time teacher include becoming the co-leader of my church’s youth group, teaching 1st graders in the NCLB program mentioned above, and the possible opportunity to teach full-time in an Arlington High School as a building-based substitute.  For right now, I am almost looking forward to my current situation more than to reaching the goal at this very moment.  That being said, I do have a goal of being a full-time teacher by next school year – still 6 months away.  In the period between now and September, I am very excited to see where the path leads next – enjoying each and every step while in it – and what I will learn along the way to make me a better educator.  I also know that this journey will extend far beyond the day I sign my first contract and will not end until I breathe my last.

Life is a journey.  I am finally ready to live it.  Guess I should find my passport

Take care – Eric

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Effective educators need to analyze the choices they make, to discern effective practices from ineffective practices, and to apply this analysis to future decisions.  The reflection process can take place through self-evaluation skills already possessed by an instructor and can be improved through further learning via professional development programs.  The first half of this discussion will explain reflection and professional development as components of becoming better decision makers.  The second half of the discussion will provide concrete examples of how the two concepts have improved the decisions I make in the classroom and will make in the future.

First, reflection can improve the decisions teachers make within their instruction.  Kellough and Kellough (2006) describe decisions as the foundational elements of teaching.  Decisions are essential in planning instruction and in presenting instruction.  Common examples of decisions teachers make are selecting content, goals, and objectives; creating activities and homework; and discerning effective discussion questions.  Not all decisions result in expected or favorable outcomes, so educators must reflect on the choices they make.  In doing so, they must be able to implement self-analysis to determine which decisions made were positive—led to student learning and positive behavior—and which decisions made were negative—detracted from student learning and led to negative behavior—during the previous lesson.  After spending enough time to reflect on the lesson, teachers are empowered with the ability to identify which decisions and actions to continue and which decisions or actions to discontinue or improve upon going forward (2006, p. 31).

Second, introspective reflection can prevent educators from making decisions based on bias or discrimination—whether consciously or subconsciously.  This form of reflection focuses on how educators’ personal perceptions are often the basis for many of the instructional decisions they make, and thus how the need to look inside oneself is important.  H. Richard Milner (2006) addresses this concern through the lens of racial prejudice in his chapter entitled, “But Good Intentions are Not Enough:  Theoretical and Philosophical Relevance in Teaching Students of Color.”  In it, he explains that we all possess views and beliefs, but it is the responsibility of teachers to identify when these views are harming our students or their perceptions of others.  Whatever prejudices, fears, or misconceptions teachers may possess will find their way into classrooms.  To avoid retaining and communicating these biases to their students, teachers must analyze who they are, what they believe, why they believe what they believe, and how their beliefs become expressed through curriculum and instruction.  Introspective teachers who regularly practice this level of reflection lessen the likelihood that they will convey cultural or ideological superiority compared to their students, and thus build stronger relationships (2006, as reflected in Landsman & Lewis, pp. 84-85).

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Finally, regular professional development provides educators with tools to further the effectiveness of their decisions when planning, instructing, and reflecting on themselves.  The outcome of professional development is teachers who are more knowledgeable about their subject areas, better equipped to transfer that knowledge to their students, and able to make wiser decisions and more intuitive reflections.  In Teaching Content to All:  Evidence-Based Inclusive Practices in Middle and Secondary Schools, B. Keith Lenz and Donald D. Deshler (2004) claim that greater implementation and participation in curriculum-based professional development programs over time have resulted in greater student achievement.  This increase is identified partly due to the newer methods of teaching curriculum learned in these programs (2004, p. 37).  As students must acquire new skills in order to succeed and grow, teachers must do the same.

***

In presenting examples of reflection’s impact on improved decision making, I will explain some tools of instructional reflection, introspective reflection, and professional development that aid in my ability to make better choices as a teacher.  These situations serve as templates by which I intend to proceed going forward.

First, a tool I have used for instructional and introspective reflection over the past two semesters of student teaching is journaling.  In keeping a reflective journal, I set aside a few minutes before each entry to review events of that day.  In reviewing, I look closely at my teaching strategies and decisions, my students’ behaviors, and any factors in the classroom environment that influence these things.  When there are elements of my teaching that I enjoy or result in effective student learning, I analyze those events.  When there are parts of my teaching (such as planning, communicating, presenting) that do not take place as planned or that result in roadblocks to learning, I analyze those as well.  In my analysis of these positive and negative items, I attempt to identify what made them work or not work.  Finally, I try to identify one area of improvement I can consciously work on improving during the next day’s instruction.  This reflection process has resulted in me becoming a more confident, comfortable, and effective educator, so it will remain an important method in improving the decisions I make in the future.

Second, a tool I used in reflecting on my own biases and perceptions during the fall student teaching experience was

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a reflection paper from an interview with one of my students.  The interview took place about halfway through the semester.  I selected a student with whom I had difficulty relating.  Prior to our dialogue, I had held a bias against him due to his inattentiveness and speaking out during class.  I tended to avoid him during lessons and knew that I could not continue do so and be fair to him.  I needed to learn more about him as a person if there existed any hope in connecting and helping him learn.

While our interview meandered through a series of tangents and ended prematurely, I did succeed in learning much about him, his background, and things that provoked his short attention span.  However, it was in reflecting on the interview later that week that I learned the most.  Just as with the reflective journal, I sat down and thought deeply about his behavior, our conversation, and my bias against him.  I recorded the main points of our interview in my reflection paper, and admitted that learning about his home life improved my ability to relate to him.  After writing the reflection I concluded that though he called out frequently, he meant well and simply wanted to contribute to class discussions but did not fully understand how to do so.  Finally, I decided that I could better aid the student by being more patient, reminding him to raise his hand when wishing to speak, and praising him when he did so.  I grew along with him.

Finally, I used materials from a professional development program to improve my decision-making ability in the classroom.  In November 2008, Fordham University, in cooperation with New York State, conducted a school violence seminar.  The program addressed several forms of violent and dangerous behavior commonly found in secondary level schools, most notable for this discussion is bullying.  Not taken as seriously in the past as it is currently, the psychological and emotional effects of this behavior are well known today and addressed as a very important matter.  Among the information I acquired from handouts and presentations in this seminar, I learned how to intervene in a bullying situation—something I was not fully knowledgeable about prior to that evening.

In the months following the school violence class, I have spent a minute here and a minute there to reflect on how I

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will handle my first bullying incident.  I am fortunate in that my spring student teaching experience did not illicit such behavior among my students, and that I am granted extended time to further reflect and decide upon wise measures to stop or prevent students from terrorizing each other.  In short, I am better equipped to face such a situation because of the time spent in professional development and time spent reflecting that followed.

In closing, being an effective teacher requires being a reflective practitioner.  Taking time to assess the advantages, disadvantages, causes, effects, and consequences of choices demonstrates thoughtful teaching, a willingness to grow, and a genuine concern for the learners in the classroom and in the community.  By looking at oneself, one’s instruction, and one’s room for growth, an instructor truly acts as a professional educator, models the virtue of being a lifelong learner, and demonstrates through example the need to adapt in an ever-changing world.

REFERENCES
Kellough, R. D. & Kellough, N. G. (2006). Secondary school teaching: A guide to methods and resources. Boston: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

Lenz, B. K. & Deshler, D. D. (2004). Teaching content to all: Evidence-based inclusive practices in middle and secondary schools. Boston: Pearson Education.

Milner, H. R. (2006). But Good Intentions are Not Enough:  Theoretical and Philosophical Relevance in Teaching Students of Color. In J. Landsman & C. Lewis (Eds.), White teachers/diverse classrooms: A guide to building inclusive schools, promoting high expectations, and eliminating racism (pp. 79-89). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

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Expectations of educational assessment include demonstrating comprehension of informal and formal assessment practices, which should begin with planning and modifying of instruction, and should be evidenced through successful understanding and interpretation of curriculum.  In other words, classroom teachers should be able to show the ability to create and implement measurable tools that provide evidence of understanding and application—the key components of genuine learning.  To emphasize, appropriate assessment is crucial to learning, because students’ understanding and interpreting learning objectives drives instruction going forward.  The following paragraphs will introduce informal and formal assessment as experts in the education field describe them, and how I plan to apply these assessment ideas in my own teaching career.

As stated above, educators use assessment as a measure of how much student learning has taken place, and informing instruction for future lesson design.  In first looking at informal or formative assessment, learning is measured as it is taking place.  It is an process rather than one fixed point in a unit or lesson.  As suggested by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2005) in their professional work, Understanding By Design, it is very important to measure genuine learning as we teach, rather than after we teach.  Informal/formative assessment is crucial in “uncovering learners’ understandings and misunderstandings along the way.”  Further, assuming correct answers on a quiz or exam does not indicate learning has happened.

Formal or summative assessment serves the purpose of measuring learning after instruction has taken place and informing instruction for future lesson design.  Using this form of measure helps the teacher to know if and what instruction needs to be re-taught once curriculum for a lesson or unit has concluded.  Formal assessment also measures whether students have met state or local academic standards required in order to advance to the next level.  There are two types of formal assessment:  static and performance.

Beginning with an analysis of static assessment, Alan J. Singer (2003) in his book, Social Studies for Secondary Schools:  Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach, describes this concept as appearing in the form of standardized tests that measure the level of subject content memorization necessary to proceed to the next academic level.  An example would be New York State Regents exams.

In 1991, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) suggested, “The overriding purpose of testing in social

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studies classrooms is to improve learning.”  NCSS saw testing as a tool in the learning process, rather than a measure of learning that already took place, so seems to follow more than transmission model of teaching—an ideology Singer does not support, yet is the traditional way of viewing formative assessment (Singer, 2003).

Counter to the NCSS view, Singer (2003) sees using static assessment as the exclusive measurement for learning as ineffective in tracking real learning.  In other words, he sees the goal of such a practice as being the generation of grades irrespective of successful learning.  Instead, he believe it is most important, if using tests as assessment tools, to also, “make assessment part of learning, and to use a variety of [other] assessment tools to discover what individual students understand.”

Performance assessment can be defined as an interactive form of assessment that can measure the during- and end-products of learning, but also the learning process of understanding curriculum.  Richard D. Kellough and Noreen G. Kellough (2006) further this definition in, Secondary School Teaching:  A Guide to Methods and Resources, by writing that in order to accurately measure the level of a student’s understanding or learning, a teacher must use assessment that requires more than just knowing facts, vocabulary, and dates.  They identify advantages of authentic assessment, including measurement of what a student knows about a unit or lesson in addition to his/her ability to demonstrate use (i.e. practical application) of that knowledge.  Disadvantages they note include challenges for the teacher in maintaining consistency for validity, reliability, and comparability when grading such an assessment.  In restating the Kelloughs’ comments, authentic assessment applies learned skills and knowledge to a real-life situation rather than a contrived classroom activity.

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Applying best assessment practices to the classroom, I have played an active role in both informal and formal assessment during my student teaching experience.  An example of using informal assessment measures lies within tutoring sessions with a struggling English student.  The student found it difficult to grasp big ideas within literary works, and so that was a focus of our sessions.  In a literacy case study I documented, I incorporated a number of informal assessment strategies.  First, I used a pre-reading technique of having the student identify unfamiliar vocabulary within the literature.  I did this in order to assess his ability to use context clues in discovering the meaning of words, his ability to use resources (i.e. dictionary) to find meanings of words he could not contextualize, and to note what role unknown words played in his struggle with comprehension and formation of higher-level connections.  Additionally, I asked scaffolded discussion questions to further assess the student’s comprehension and then to lead him toward critically thinking about the literary work.  Whenever I assessed that he was not grasping a concept, I would ask questions about his own life that were analogous to the same concept I wanted him to learn from the literature.  Once I assessed that he was grasping the concept with that strategy, I would then re-introduce my original questions, and he would make the desired connections.  Seeing that these strategies were effective with this student, I plan to continue using such informal assessment in my full-time teaching career.

I also have had the opportunity to use formal assessment in my student teaching experience.  One example of this practice occurred during the spring semester in a tenth grade Global History class.  During the spring semester of my student teaching experience, I taught a unit on the Rise of Communism.  To create a formal assessment that would be similar to the Regents exam they would take at the end of the semester, I attempted to create an exam that would contain components resembling those in the Regents exam.  I chose my multiple choice questions from a combination of Regents-related databases—making sure to include the questions that most closely followed my teaching during the unit.  I also administered and proctored this exam, providing clarification for students also.  As long as I teach in New York, I will try to incorporate this type of exam in my teaching.  However, it is important to note that I will also use performance assessments, following with my thoughts above.

Authentic performance assessment is an assessment method I wish to continue including in my teaching repatoire.  During the fall semester, I designed an authentic assessment that appears in my Instructional Lesson Plan from a Civil Rights Movement unit.  The assessment requires students to take the information they hopefully acquired from previous lessons and apply it to either a letter to Coretta Scott King or to President Lyndon Johnson.  The former letter requires student to express the impact her husband made on their lives, and the latter requires students to play the role of activist group members seeking more government support for their causes and the rationale for why they deserve that support.  A rubric for this assignment is included here too.

A second example of an authentic assessment I wish to use going forward is one that I designed for the spring

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semester.  In a global history classroom, I designed a unit for the spread of communism.  Near the end of this unit, I designed a project that asks students to play the role of a high school student during the Vietnam War.  They were to create letters, political cartoons, or subway advertisements that supported their perspective on whether or not the United States should become involved in the war effort.  With these products, student demonstrated their understanding of how US involvement in the Korean War and Cold War illustrated the rivalry of communism vs. capitalism.  By sharing their ideas during the class workday, the students jigsawed for each other multiple perspectives on the same historic issue.  It is a challenging exercise, but one that I believe students found engaging and educational, plus helped me measure student’s understanding of the unit’s curriculum.

REFERENCES

Kellough, R. D. & Kellough, N. G. (2006). Secondary school teaching: A guide to methods and resources. Boston: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

Singer, A .J. (2003). Social Studies for secondary schools:  teaching to learn, learning to teach.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Wiggins, G. P. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.