Models interacting in a social way

No, this post will not be about models about to strut the runway adorned in designer clothes that cost hundreds of dollars, this post will be about the models of social interactions within the classroom.

So what are the names of these models?

1.) Behavioral (To change behavior)
- Through practice and a controlled environment you can change behavior
-In this model you can develop skills and knowledge

2.) Information Processing (The teacher develops student information skills)
-Process, analyze, and reflect on information. Students are exploring and engaged in the Information Processing model

3.) Social Interactive (Develop student social skills)
-Group work

4.) Personal Interactive (Individual learning)
-Helps students develop self esteem and identity in the classroom
-Through individual projects, students are developing their skills

5 step inquiry lesson (This is a very important type of lesson to implement these models)

Direct Instruction is mostly teacher controlled, however Social Interactive model is more students gathering information, processing the information, and applying the information to various topics.

Case studies is a great way to implement this model! Students can explore and develop skills in a focused way.

"Inquiry, where students are lead by questions and questions never end." -Dr. Smirnova

In the following video notice one way that the social interactive model can be implemented in the classroom:

A Step Back

    Before moving any further into my journey, I'd like to take a step back and reflect on post and pre-test assessments. 

    In my research, I have found that pre and post tests are absolutely necessary to assess student knowledge and to monitor progress. 
According to Boston University, pre and post tests are a way "to quantify the knowledge attained in the class from a group of students with diverse learning styles and educational backgrounds". You can read the entire article of why pre and post tests should be used, when to test, why not to use them, how to write a test and how to collect the data here. 

    When working with my group to create pre-test and post-test questions, we struggled a bit because we were not sure of how much students actually comprehended and learned. We then realized that this is what the tests are for. 

    Since we were not the main teachers in the classroom and we did not know the students. The pre-test was the hardest to create. Because, we were unsure of what the students have been previously taught in related to our lessons we struggled to select questions that students would not be confused by. 

    In our findings, we realized that students may not understand everything that they are being taught and therefore the pre-test and post-test scores could be very similar, very different, or could be the same

                                          . 

Pinterest in the Classroom

Have you ever heard of Pinterest? If you haven't go check it out!

This website is great for not only find new outfits, some DIYS, or even a new recipe, but it is such a great resource for any teacher!

On Pinterest, there is a wide range of organization techniques, classroom set-ups, lesson plans, activities, and tips. In high school I started using this site and I now have a teacher board containing over 300 pins.

If you've never used Pinterest, fear not, it is easy to use.

Follow these 12 steps to become a Pinterest master:

Step 1- Sign up
Its free! You can sign up using your Facebook account or simply type in your email address and your desired password and click "Sign Up".

Step 2- Follow topics

Select any and all topics that interest you. You can even type in the search bar to find a specific topic.After selecting at least 5 interest, click "Done". 

Step 3- Newsfeed

You will now see your Newsfeed based on your selected interests. As you pin more, follow friends, and follow boards, more and more suggested pins will appear. 

Step 4- Create a board 

This is your page. As you create more boards, they will appear here. Time to create your first board. Select the option "Create a Board". A pop up window will appear. Type in a name for your board and select "Create". 

Step 5- Add a Pin 

Find something on your Newsfeed that you would like to save. Once you find something, click it. A pop up window will appear. Select "Pin it" in the top left corner. Next, select the board you would like to save it to. Click "Pin it" next to your selected board. 

Step 6- Continue Pinning!

Your pin is now saved for you to look at and reference later. Click the Pinterest logo in the top left corner to bring you back to your Newsfeed. Happy pinning! 

Here are some search terms to get you started:

* Lesson Plans

* Elementary Activities

* Classroom organization

* Managing Behavior

* Teacher tips 

Why do I do this?

I was seven years old on Christmas day 2002. I was old enough not to believe in Santa Claus but young enough to be too excited to fall asleep the night before. That morning, I opened my eyes and popped out of bed. I ran into my parents’ room and I shouted “Its Christmas! Let’s go open presents!” They slowly got out of bed and still half-asleep followed my brother and me as we raced down the steps. I opened all the smaller presents, while anxiously eyeing the large, brightly wrapped box that caught my eye when I first walked down the steps. When it came time, I ripped off all the paper and underneath it was a school teacher play set which came equipped with a paper clock with moveable arms, dry erase sheets, certificates, a chalkboard, chalk, and nametags. It was a gift that would unknowingly influence my future.

               My first students were only family but none-the-less it was a great opportunity to be able to teach them something they had never learned before. It’s hard to put into words witnessing their emotion when they finally “got it”. This ignited my passion for helping and teaching younger children, and I involved myself with teaching related activities since.

Since 7^th grade I’ve volunteered as a camp counselor at many different camps. These camps included Camp Invention, Vacation Bible School, and Summer Recreation. Working every day with the same group of kids taught me leadership and responsibility qualities.

In 9^th grade, I began assisting my dance teacher teach the kindergarten and 1^st grade class. The first day was overwhelming, but I realized preparation was key to good instruction.  After the first day’s struggles, things became easier. I began organizing the kids, starting the warm ups, and helping out anytime I could. It was so fulfilling to see the kids smile, laugh and have fun while learning their dance.

As a tutor, I help kids succeed. I help prepare them for tests and quizzes, usually, math. I meet with their teachers beforehand to prepare for the session. I use visual aids and extra practice worksheets to aid them. It’s an amazing feeling the moment they understand a topic and complete a problem without difficulty. I enjoy their satisfaction when they come back with a quiz that has a good grade on it.

To this day, I still have a passion to teach. The life of a teacher could be overwhelming and stressful, but I want it—I know the intrinsic rewards greatly outweigh the struggles. I want to be the one to help people, to help enrich their lives with learning, and become well rounded young adults. Ever since that 2002 Christmas morning I have been determined to achieve my goal to become an educator. It will be a long road, but I look forward to the challenge.

Nothing is ever perfect: A Fieldwork Reflection

    Teaching is a tricky thing. Sometimes you can think you are prepared when in reality you should have practiced about 20 more times. Lately, I learned a lot in my fieldwork experience in the 5th grade class at Bishop Dunn Memorial School.

    When my group taught our lesson on Christopher Columbus and the New World, we were the first group to go and we were confident about our lesson. We thought we were confident. As soon as we stepped in front of the class, we realized, or at least I realized how intimidating it is to step in front of a classroom with all eyes on you and you are responsible for shaping their minds and helping them learn. There are steps you must follow.

Step 1: Planning

    Sometimes planning can be very easy or very hard. If you have an idea and know exactly how you want the lesson to go, it can be an easy process. If you have no idea and all you know is the topic you want to teach on, it can be very difficult to come up with engaging, creative, stimulating, and interesting activities in include in your lessons in order to develop a deeper sense of understanding. 

Step 2: Teaching

    The teaching process is a tricky thing, like I said. Planning is an important aspect, but you can never know how that planning will relate in the classroom before you get there. It is important to know your students. We were absolutely at a disadvantage going into the classroom to teach a lesson because we had no prior knowledge about the certain group of students. When teaching, you can find out what works for certain students and what may not work for others.Our group had an idea of what we wanted to do, however we did not know how it would convey to the 5th grade students. The following groups could observe and see what methods seemed to work best for this specific group of students and therefore plan their lessons and activities accordingly. We did not have that opportunity. We were the first to go and I really highlight that because anytime you are the first, you are the rough draft. Before knowing the students, and before observing how you can alter the lesson to include technology and other types of activities, you can not be completely accurate.  You need to find a balance like a balanced scale. In one end you have how you are teaching and on the other end you have how students learn best. It is very important to find this balance because students learn differently. In this specific group, I realized that when students worked in a group, students didn't work as well because there was a lot of disagreement and fighting. Especially during the review Jeopardy game that we presented, students argued over point values and whether answers were correct of not.  It is important to also adapt to all situations. Life can throw so many things your way at all different times and you must be able to have at least 3 backup ideas at every moment. For example, the morning that I was scheduled to present my topic I found out that I did the wrong set of work and therefore was not prepared to teach anything. As my backup, I latched onto my fellow group member's part of the lesson and I worked with her to teach her section of the topic. Overall, this experience strengthened my love for teaching. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a teacher. That "got it" moment is what continues to strengthen my love for this career. 

Step 3: Students

    Like I said before, you MUST know your students and what works best in correlation to their learning styles. From this experience, I learned that some students loved learning and would constant ask and answer questions when other students were not interested at all and would, in turn, daydream or focus on other things. I also learned that some students like to take the lead, especially in group activities. Every time we had the students work in groups, one young lady would take charge and become very bossy. From that, if this was my classroom I may have had to work with a separate group of students or I would focus longer on what a team is or what "TEAM" may stand for. It is so important for students to work well in groups because it creates good social skills, communication skills, and an overall better way of learning. Mostly, the students of the 5th grade class seemed to enjoy hands-on activities. After a while of lecturing, students can get bored and start not paying attention. If you create an engaging and interesting assignment or even an engaging lesson, students are more likely to retain information and understand a topic better.

Step 4: Team Teaching

  I love team teaching. Team teaching is a great for emerging teachers. In the field, teachers are always relying on others such as principals, other teachers, or specialists in order to gain insight. Therefore, it is very important for teachers to be able to reach out to others and communicate accordingly. In my group, we all helped each other evolve our ideas and we each become responsible for our own work. Like I explained, sometimes things don't always go as planned and you must be able to realize your mistakes and move forward from them and also learn from them. By having more than one teacher in the classroom it allows for students to connect with different personalities. In another group, one teacher candidate was very enthusiastic and was very active throughout the room, I noticed that more students in the classroom seemed to respond more to this type of teacher rather than other teacher candidates who stood in the front of the room and solely talked about the information.