Standard 4

Standard 4     Educational practices that foster learning, development, and achievement in all of the nation’s children          

Educators should use teaching strategies and educational practices that develop children’s capacity to think critically, analytically, and imaginatively, and extend their knowledge and understanding of the world.  They should provide multiple ways for children to deepen their grasp of concepts, stretch their thinking, express their understanding, and learn critical skills.  They should search for appropriate materials, experiment with new technologies, collaborate with specialists and colleagues, and consult with families and community members to meet the instructional needs of all their students.  Educators should establish caring, inclusive, stimulating, and safe learning communities in which all children feel they belong, and in which they can assume responsibility, take intellectual risks, make mistakes, explore alternatives, participate in decision making and work both collaboratively and independently.  They should understand principles of effective classroom management as well as human motivation and behavior from the foundational sciences of psychology, anthropology, and sociology.  They should understand cognitive processes associated with various kinds of learning and how these processes can be stimulated.  They should also understand language development and the role of language in learning.  Educators should understand principles and techniques, and advantages and limitations associated with various teaching strategies.  They should be able to communicate effectively within many domains (oral and written discourse, mathematical/symbolic representation, non-verbal communication, audiovisual and computer-based technologies), and model effective communication strategies in conveying information and in asking questions.

            The teaching practices that educators use are enormously important because they help promote learning, development, and achievement in students. It is teacher’s responsibility to meet the needs of all students within the classroom. To do so, educators need to provide students with multiple ways to express their understanding, challenge their thinking, and learn necessary life skills. When educators collaborate with others such as student’s families, community members, and other educational professionals, they receive additional support and new ideas that enhance the learning experience. If educators are willing to accept advice from others, they can create an environment that is responsive to every child’s needs.

In addition, educators are also expected to create a classroom community that is safe, stimulating, and inclusive. Students should be able to take risks, make mistakes, explore different ways to solve problems, and assume responsibility. When children feel safe in their classroom, they are able to focus, try new things, and be themselves. It is educator’s responsibility to empower and inspire students so that they can learn their best. Educators need to understand human motivation. All children are motivated in various ways, so teachers should use a variety of teaching strategies that will help students become self-motivated. As a prospective elementary educator, standard four is important to me, because it is my responsibility to learn how to use a variety of teaching strategies that I can enact in different circumstances. There are advantages and disadvantages to each strategy, and as an educator, I must find which one works best for each student in my classroom. It is more than likely that many students will have needs that cannot be met by certain strategies. That means that educators must make sure that they accommodate all of the needs of the students in their classrooms.

In order for educators to meet the needs of their students, it is important that they find out as much background information about each child as possible. Educators must meet with parents, and confer with colleagues to identify the instructional needs of each student. During my practicum at the Runkle School in Brookline, my supervising practitioner (Jay) and I met with one of our student’s parents for a December parent-teacher conference. This was our second conference of the year, so we already knew what the student excelled at and what he still needed some work in. During the parent-teacher conference, the young boy’s parents asked what types of books he should be reading at a fourth grade level. Jay and I explained to the child’s parents that on average, students at the fourth grade level should be reading chapter books. This child was capable of reading chapter books, as was evident by his reading level. His parents then reported that although they did not see him reading chapter books, he was constantly reading graphic novels. This is something Jay and I had both noticed, so we told the parents that we would look into some chapter books that he could check out from the school or classroom library to take home.

The key to success at this point was to find out what our student enjoyed about the graphic novels. He said that he enjoyed the pictures and the exciting, action-packed stories. Next, Jay and I talked with the school librarian about chapter books that would have the same qualities that our student enjoyed in graphic novels. Together, the student and I went to the library to look at some of the books Jay and the librarian suggested. He found one that was just right for him. Once he finished the book, he continued to look for similar books that would spark his interest just like the graphic novels did.      

I believe that our “graphic novel student” was able to take an intellectual risk and explore an alternative to a graphic novel, because he felt safe enough to try something new.  This is partly due to the sense of community that was created in our classroom from the first day of school. When children feel as if they belong to a group, it is much easier for them to be themselves and be open to new things. In my pre-practicum classroom at the Manning School in Jamaica Plain, there was a sense of community that was astonishing. Students took responsibility for their learning, for classroom jobs, and for being kind to others. They knew that they could take risks inside the classroom, make mistakes, and accept the consequences. The classroom teachers and I strived to establish a caring and inclusive environment that would endure for the whole year. Student safety, in the physical, social, cognitive and emotional domains was important. One way we promoted this philosophy was by hanging and reviewing poems and quotes that encouraged a sense of community. One of these sayings is shown in Artifact 4A.

Educators also need to understand that children are motivated in different ways. Each child has different interests and ways of learning, so teachers need to be aware of these differences. Since every child learns differently, it is important for teachers to emphasize  student-centered learning. Parkerson and Parkerson (2008) describe this approach as one in which the teacher serves as guide. “With the learner-centered democratic approach…the teacher guides students through learning experiences and helps them bring meaning to the subjects being studied. Developing student enjoyment, motivation, and interest are important goals of this approach” (p. 173). When educators pay attention to what motivates students, and when they allow each student to learn in his own way, they will struggle less with behavior management.

Children have the ability to motivate themselves, but sometimes they need guidance from an adult figure. For instance, during my full practicum, I was having a difficult time with classroom management. After speaking with my Wheelock College supervisor, we decided it was because of that lack of enthusiasm I showed when teaching the lesson. The lack of enthusiasm that I exhibited during my lessons may have been due to nervousness or to fear of not knowing the material well enough.  I reflected on this feedback, and decided that I would spend the extra amount of time reviewing the material while planning my lesson so that there would be no doubt that I would know what I was teaching, and therefore would have no reason to be nervous. The next time my Wheelock supervisor came to observe me was much better than the last time, because my enthusiasm gave the students reason to be excited. From the excitement, my students were motivated to be active participants in the lesson, and to complete group and individual assignments that followed. Artifact 4B shows my correspondence with my Wheelock Supervisor about how the lesson went compared to the previous visit.

Another way to help motivate students is by using tools such as visuals or manipulatives, to help students with various kinds of learning styles. When educators are able to do this for their students, it allows children to become masters of their work and grasp better understanding of the concept being taught. In addition, adding just the right amount of stimulation in order to support student learning allows children to work in their best way possible. The earlier learning tools are introduced in classrooms, the sooner students are able to understand the way they learn, and what will help promote learning inside and outside of the classroom. During my time at the Manning School, the classroom that I was a student teacher in had all types of tools that could help visual, kinesthetic, and English language learners. In our classroom we had ten students on individual education plans (IEP) in addition to seven English language learners. It was important for us to have signs up in the room identifying important words such as sink, library, computer, and desk. Artifact 4C is a Readers Workshop schedule. This artifact helped both visual and English language learners, because a picture is provided next to the word that explains the activity that they would be participating in.

An important concept for educators to understand is that every teaching strategy has its advantages and weaknesses. What works for one child may not work for the next, so it is vital that educators are able to use many strategies to promote student learning. One student in my fourth grade classroom at the Runkle School was on the Autism spectrum. He also had weak dexterity. For one of my community activities, I asked students to practice their writing by writing about their neighborhood. To begin, I gave them an example. I told them about my Wheelock College neighborhood and even drew a map of the surrounding areas on the board. Students were then sent back to work in their desk clusters. I immediately went over to the student with weak dexterity. I told him that I would like him to draw me a picture of his house, his neighborhood, and anything else he could think of that would give me a good representation of what his neighborhood was like (Artifact 4D). Knowing that drawing was much easier for him than writing, I modified the lesson for him in order for him to remain motivated and interested in the activity. I checked back with him several times to ask him questions that would prompt him to tell me about his neighborhood. In addition, his paraprofessional also had conversations with him during this activity period. While he talked about his house and neighborhood, she wrote down everything he said. This allowed him to draw his neighborhood, which allowed him to explain himself in his own way. He was also able to communicate his thoughts verbally with the paraprofessional and me. The ability to modify lessons for students is important, because everyone learns differently. Educators must understand the limitations and advantages of each strategy they use so that each student’s educational needs can be met.  In this example, I held the disabled student to the same learning standard and curriculum goal as the others, but the difference came in changing the approach that allowed him to be successful.

One part of standard four that I am still developing in is the understanding of first and second language development. I have been introduced to this concept, and I am excited to learn more about it. I believe that bilingualism is a great asset to have in today’s society, and that it can truly help people if they are fluent in more than one language. The process of becoming fluent in more than one language is difficult and it is important for educators to be aware of. Educators must provide English language learners with the support they need. As I continue to learn more about the process of supporting English language learners, it will be useful for me to research strategies to implement in my future classroom. I am interested in taking a course, and possibly becoming certified as an ELL teacher. It is important that I continue to reflect on what strategies I believe work and which ones do not. I will also continue to learn about my students and the way they learn so that I am able to meet their educational needs.

References 

Parkerson, D. H., & Parkerson, J. (2008). The american teacher. New York, NY: Routledge.