Interviewing

The questions that would be the easiest for me to answer are:

·         Why do you want to become a teacher?

·         What is your philosophy of education?

·         How would you teach a typical reading lesson?

·         How would you integrate technology into your classroom?

·         If a parent is unhappy with how you handled a behavior incident with their child, what would you do?

The questions that would be the most difficult for me are:

·         How would you differentiate your lessons?

·         In your view, how are math and science best taught?

·         In what ways would you assess students?

·         There are many students in this school whose first language is not English.  How would you accommodate a student or students in your classroom assuming you have no help (no interpreter, aide, etc.)?

·         Can you talk a bit about an educational book, journal, or article, you read recently and what you gained from that reading?  If you have not read something professional, discuss something you recently read that you found interesting.

I feel that I could answer some of the questions that probably would be the most difficult to me somewhat confidently but am not fully convinced that I can. The questions that I feel would be the easiest to me I feel that I can answer them the best but some of them I feel I still might struggle with a bit.

Bullying Prevention

Blog 20: Bullying Prevention

            I only experienced a bullying prevention program once when I was at Red Smith Elementary in a 5^th grade classroom for another education class. I am not quite sure what it was called but they did talk about the many different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. The local police came in and discussed bullying with students from each grade level in a little gathering room. The police asked the students if they knew what bullying was, what different types of bullying there were, and what to do if they are being bullied. When the students missed an important point the policeman/policewoman filled in what was missing. There was also a short film shown to the students about bullying and how to deal with bullies. After the film students were asked questions about what they saw. This gathering lasted about 30 minutes.

            After seeing how the police taught and talked about bullying with the students I felt that the program was and would be very effective. The presentation was well put together and held all of the student’s attention. Keeping the students focused by asking them questions and getting them to participate with the answers was key to getting the students to understand what was being taught and why. It also seemed to me that the students paid attention more simply because the police were talking to them about bullying and not a teacher, specialist, or somebody else that is not seen as somebody who has police-like swagger or authority.

            Even with these programs in place bullying is still a big issue in schools. Many students who bully probably don’t even know they are doing it. It is hard for a young student to understand how any type of bullying, no matter how small it may be or seem, can have drastic repercussions. It’s hard and probably impossible to come up with a very successful bullying program but any program is better than none. The program I witnessed at Red Smith seemed like a pretty good and successful program that helped most if not all of the students who were there. I only wish that I could witness throughout the rest of the school year if the program helped at all. I truly believe that many or most schools in Wisconsin are addressing bullying and addressing it successfully.

Classroom Management

Blog 19: Classroom Management

Use of Quiet Reading Time in the Morning

·         Get in the “reading zone” no later than 5 minutes after school starts

·         No talking while reading

·         Don’t bug the person(s) around you

·         Get caught up with other work before reading

·         If you don’t know what kind of book to read once you finish or are close to finishing your current book ask the teacher or a friend for suggestions

·         If you have troubles pronouncing a word ask the teacher for help or your neighbor

·         If you don’t know what a word means look it up in the dictionary

·         During reading the voice level should be no louder than 1

Convergent Education

Blog 18: Convergent Education

            The technologies that are available today have greatly increased the ease for people to get information on just about anything they desire. Notebooks, iPads, iPods, laptops, smartphones, and many other portable devices make getting information from the internet or other people at anywhere and at any time a reality. There is much more knowledge available on the internet and can be found faster than a person could find in any library. With this boom in technology, teachers are encouraged to keep up with technology and begin incorporating it into their classroom teachings. Many teachers have a hard time using technology in the classroom for the simple fact that it is too expensive for schools to get the technology needed. Rigorous testing that is required for schools to give their students also makes it difficult for teachers to find enough time available for their students to use technology.

            Even with these struggles there is still an outcry for students to become more involved with technology because they are surrounded by it outside of school. Schools may become boring because many students don’t have or aren’t allowed to use the technology that they have become “addicted” to the point where it drives them nuts to not have access to it all of the time. Their thinking may be more about using their technological devices during school than focusing on what is being taught. Schools are testing out using phones and other portable technology students may have but there is little data on its effectiveness because it is new. There is a possibility that this can be a very positive tool in student’s learning but there are many questions as to if this can benefit all students or a selected few. Not all students have or have access to the required technologies. As popular as technology may be there are still many students who have limited if any access to technology that is beginning to work its way into school systems. This simple fact can hinder the progression of technology in schools and also put more stress on teachers. Some students may have a good grasp on technology but the ones that are behind make it difficult for teachers to stay on task and keep up with what is expected of them to teach.

            Technology continues to grow and some believe that there will be some type of global learning between 50 percent of the classrooms in about 10 years. I don’t see this as something that is going to happen that soon. There are still too many questions and problems with what societies should do with technology in classrooms. Until we know how to use technology in classrooms to its fullest schools shouldn’t rush to get the latest technology in their buildings. Technology changes faster than schools or even people can keep up with. I fear that the technological revolution involved in education is happening too fast for it to be successfully incorporated into schools. Some technologies can be administered into school use right away and be effective. Our world has become greatly connected because of the internet and with so much information available to people, governments feel that it is important to teach students technology and incorporate it as soon as possible in schools to better prepare students for the future. I do think it is important for students to become familiar and efficient with technology. I only hope that more efficient ways to use it will be used found and incorporated into ALL schools to benefit not only the schools that can afford the technology but also those that could use some financial help in getting it into their buildings as well. It will be very interesting to see how technology evolves and gets incorporated into school systems within the next 10 years.

Global Education Resources

Blog 17: Global Education Resources

Kidlink

http://www.kidlink.org/

Activity: What’s my number?

            I found this activity on the Kidlink website and thought it would be a neat assignment to have students do for math. This assignment would go on throughout the whole year because of the many different things students learn about throughout the school year. This increase in knowledge will help students come up with better challenges. It also can be fun to come up with challenges for other students to solve. This activity is ongoing because students who are solving other student’s challenges may have to do some research to find the number needed to solve the challenge. To have students do this activity on a global scale they will have to do research themselves about other countries of their choosing to find parts of their challenges.

Here is a description of the activity:

In this project, students are asked to do two things:

1. Create a set of clues that challenge other students to use math to determine a specific number.
2. Solve other math challenges posted by participants in this project.

Let's see if you can make math challenges that:

1. contain no numbers. Use descriptions of the number to lead others to determine the number.
2. contain a clue that mentions something about the area where you live and/or your interests.

Make sure they solve their own challenge(s) before they send it to others.

Here is a sample of a math challenge sent by a student in Argentina to Delmar students:

1. The number of the States in the United States of America
2. + plus the strings of a Stradivarius.
3. _ minus the number of people in a soccer field
4. x times the age of the football player Maradonna when he won the World Cup in 1986.

By doing this activity students will:

• develop number sense and explore other numeration systems
• identify the multiple uses of numbers in the real world
• develop common understandings of mathematical ideas and definitions
• acquire confidence in using mathematics meaningfully
• appreciate mathematics from a multicultural perspective
• select an appropriate computational method
• formulate questions and develop problem-solving strategies
• solve word problems with a variety of structures
• estimate and judge the reasonableness of answers
• collect, organize, display and interpret data
• demonstrate and apply the concept of measurement using various types of units
• work cooperatively
• justify their thinking
• recognize and describe patterns
• use calculators in appropriate computational situations
• use technology and the Internet as a tool for problem solving and information gathering
• value the role of math in our culture and society

Retrieved from: http://www.kidlink.org/kidspace/start.php?HoldNode=899

ThinkQuest

http://www.thinkquest.org/

            This website is good for project based ideas for students to work on in groups. They have many ways for students to work together to research a topic, write about it, and then present it to the class. Students will use technology to do their research and will be able to discuss their findings with the other members of their group. This is a great way to encourage students to learn on their own, organize what each member will research, and analyze their findings with their group members to come up with a finished project.

NASA CONNECT

http://science.nasa.gov/connect/

            This website can be useful to use for science. Students can see what programs NASA is working on or currently doing. An example of using this website would be to follow the launch of a mobile laboratory on Mars that is expected to launch November 25, 2011. It isn’t expected to land on Mars until August of 2012 but students can research the planet Mars, what the purpose of sending the laboratory is, and what they think the effects of the information the lab gathers may have on the world. Starting this project may also keep the students interest in it and they might continue monitoring its activities when it lands on their own because of their newfound curiosity.

Assistive Technology

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 16

Educ. 361

11/7/2011

2 Examples of Assistive Technology Used in the Classroom

Transcription Software

Transcription software was created to help students who struggle with note-taking or typing. Students can use this in the classroom to organize their homework and research papers. This software is able to interpret any language the students or teachers speak and translates what is spoken into text which is placed in a computer document. This technology helps students and teachers communicate with each other to create a better understanding of what is being taught or spoken.

Notebook Computer

            A notebook computer is a handheld notebook computer that lets students type in information instead of writing it with a pencil or pen. Students who have trouble speaking can use this technology in place for verbal communication by typing out their responses to questions or comments. This is used in the classroom to help teachers communicate with students who are very shy or who may struggle with speaking.

Blogging Experience

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 15

Educ. 361

11/7/2011

My Blogging Experience

            Blogging in the Education 361 class has its ups and downs. I enjoy reading the many different ideas and philosophies that we discuss in class. This is also a problem since there is so much to read and takes a lot of time to read them all. I haven’t read everything but try to read as many of the blogs as possible. I try to use what other people think to create new ideas on how to become a successful teacher and how to use some of the tools that are available to us. It is also nice to get my thoughts out. I also like what I write being available to be critiqued by others if they choose to do so. This opens the door for the possibilities of expanding my thoughts and ideas. It is a pain in the butt trying to keep up with all of the blogging we are required to do but I like how what we blog about has a lot to do with what is going on in schools today. Blogging has been good but I still am not sure how well it has helped me yet. By the end of the semester I will be able to answer this question much better.