This question seems best answered by the essay “Curriculum as Window and Mirror” by Emily Styles. People with privilege often have a mirror held up to them in the classroom. These students read and write about people just like them all through history, across every subject. People without privilege find themselves constantly looking trough windows, into a world they don’t necessarily know or connect with. A mirror is rarely held up to people who are not heterosexual, White, Christian males especially in the US. This really isn’t fair, obviously women and people of color have made important contributions throughout history, but this isn’t what we learn or what we talk about throughout our education. It’s important for teachers to be aware of the past and present tensions. They should seek to teach in a culturally sensitive way. In math and science teachers can provide examples that are inclusive, and not just …show more content…
accessible to middle class White students (e.g. sports dominated by upper/middle class people like skiing or golfing). In language arts, the teacher should read and select books that students from varying backgrounds can relate to, and choose books from diverse authors. When teaching history, teach about contributions of women, people of color, people of other cultures. It’s important that everyone gets to look in the mirror sometimes, and look through windows at other times. Teachers should also acknowledge their own privileges that come from being educated, having a job, and being able to choose where to live. If they have gender, racial or religious privileges they should also be aware of those as well. These privileges mean they have had very different experiences than those who lack these privileges, and these privileges (or lack of privilege) change they way a person views and experiences the world. Being aware of privilege can help people with privilege to be more sensitive to people without the same advances and world views and experiences Acknowledging privilege is the best way to begin to move past it, and use this power and higher position for the betterment of their students. Teachers have a much stronger voice than their students, and can speak out against injustices. Teachers have the power to create a space in the classroom that doesn’t reflect life outside of it, one where equality and justice for all truly reign. In these classrooms all students are valued and their voices are heard and they each contribute and make a difference no matter their background. In these classrooms differences are acknowledged and celebrated (we are not “colorblind”). Each student brings something special into the classroom and the teacher can really capitalize on the student’s unique characteristics and strengths. These teachers turn curriculum into windows and mirrors for all students, in a way education traditionally has not. 2. Explain the Understanding by Design model of unit and lesson planning and the rationale behind it in your own words. Assume that your audience has not taken any education coursework, so be careful to avoid any jargon or terms that would be unfamiliar to people other than teachers. Understanding by Design seeks to answer the “what” and “how” questions of lesson and curriculum planning. What do the students need to know? How to I teach them those things? Understanding by Design in unit and lesson planning begins with the end. This means beginning with the main ideas and end goals in mind, in order to figure out what needs to be done to accomplish those goals. A lesson or unit plan under this framework will probably begin with a central idea or question and a few behavioral and learning objectives (goals). Most objectives will begin with “The Students Will Be Able To…” or “The Students Will Know...”. Once these end goals are established, a teacher must think about the steps needed to reach those goals and the ways they will asses, or test, if the students have accomplished these goals. Some ways assess for understanding are to have a final test, a final project, or a portfolio that is a collection of the students’ work throughout the unit. There should also be assessments throughout the plans to check and see if students are understanding, before they get to the final test, project, paper, or portfolio. These assessments help teachers plan better and that ensure students are understanding and reaching those end goals. TThe reason it’s called Understanding by Design is because this framework seeks to teach to understanding, it often asks students ‘why’ questions instead of simply giving them information to memorize and regurgitate without telling them why they are learning it or why this information is important or how is works or applies to their life. In math, this application may be figuring out the formulas or showing where they come from and why they work rather than the just giving them the formula to plug in numbers and get the answer. In social studies it might be applying knowledge of the past to solve issues of today that directly impact the students and their lives. By applying the content to the students’ lives and everyday scenarios, the students start to make connections and truly engage in the learning and gain that understanding that this model strives for. 3. Think about planning a lesson (or a unit) in your discipline. As you plan, what can you do to ensure that all students (the struggling students, the high achievers, the English language learners, the Latino kids, the loners, the kinesthetic learners, the Somali kids, etc.) are learning? How do you enhance the learning for all of your students AND still teach to your strengths? I think an important part of teaching to all students, regardless of background, is getting to know the students as individuals, and individualizing instruction to what works best for each student.
I work really well with students one-on-one and small groups. I know I won’t last too long up in front of everyone, and neither will my students (because I’m teaching elementary schools, and lecturing to 20 children under 10-years-old is not realistic anyway), so I know I will want to create a classroom environment that can get kids working independently or in small groups so that I can get to the groups or individuals as needed. I will make learning interactive and regroup students in different ways.
Another important aspect of reaching every student is creating an environment of trust, respect, and community in the classroom so that every student feels comfortable reaching out for help and no one feels judged or stupid for needed extra time or reading books of a different level. This step also involves not singling students out for their differences and
needs. Throughout the plan there should be formative assessments to check for student understanding and progress. If a lot of students, or even just a few fail a mid-unit quiz, then it may mean taking time to go over that concept or teach it differently so that all students can understand it. For example, during a math unit on the relationship between fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals a lot of students get warm up problems or quiz questions incorrect. I would have to go back and see where the errors stem from (is it simple arithmetic errors? are they misinterpreting the questions? did they forget how to simplify, are they really not understanding how to convert fractions and mixed numbers?). Once I figure out where the underlying issue are, then I would review or reteach that particular part so that those struggling students can move forward. At the same time if there were a few students who completely understand that concept, then I would give them some more difficult problems to work on while I help other students. I could also provide opportunities for the more advanced students to tutor or support the students who may not fully grasp the concepts yet. Sometimes it really helps to give and receive peer support, especially in math, because students may find ways to explain it or understand it that are different from mine and they may relate to it better. If there is already that community and support in the classroom, then this won’t be done in a way that is condescending or makes the struggling students feel bad. Additionally, I plan to know my students well, so I know
Sometimes raters have a hard time separating grading individuals from assessing how well the program’s curriculum prepares learners. To help faculty at NCPS view the QIPER as a tool for program evaluation, we pointed out patterns in CRs scores. Once faculty started to see patterns in scores themselves, the conversations moved away individual performance on the QIPER and back evaluating how well the curriculum prepares CRs to lead a QI/PS project.
I always strive to meet the educational needs of every group of students I work with. My work experience has led me to hold two conclusions regarding building relationships with educators.
We can all agree, educators and future educators alike, that teaching students is so much more than just presenting information to them. There is more to learning than only speaking. We’ve all had those teachers who were brilliant in their subject area, but not brilliant in making the students know the information. These are not true teachers; they are only smart. They teach in one way only, and doesn’t believe in individualized instruction, even though we all know that “low-income students and students of color tend to feel less “connected” to their schools than affluent and Anglo students, and that older students feel less connected than younger ones” (Schaps). As a future educator, sometimes I fear that I will become like one of these teachers, and I want to make sure that each of my students enjoy coming in class to learn, and is able to apply what they’ve learned to their unique lives. So for this inquiry project, I’ve decided to focus on classroom community. I believe that every great teacher establishes this concept in his/her classroom; without this concept, learning cannot happen. In this paper, I will define classroom community, discuss different ways to implement it in every classroom, and show the results of making an effort to keep it in your classroom.
Ways to develop a cohesive academic environment. In the first step of making a student feel comfortable in my classroom no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexuality, I would first make sure I get to know my students and their backgrounds. I will then create strong relationships and bonds which each of my students so that they feel welcomed, comfortable, and accepted in my classroom. It is important for teachers to encourage students that everyone is the same and still human no matter their race, gender, religion, and etc. I will always make sure that my students are interacting which each other by doing group work and having discussion with one another so they can be united as one. I want my students to be
Blytheville New Tech High School is one of the largest schools in Arkansas. It is a school that welcomes parental involvement, provides strong professional development, and shares in collaborative planning. The teachers are highly qualifies and knows exactly what they are to teach and when they are to teach it. The teachers are also committed to providing an explicit, systematic education to the students they serve. Therefore, of all five of the curriculum approaches or models (Systemic, Existentialist, Radical, Pragmatic, and Deliberative), the Systematic Curriculum most closely matches the model practiced at my school, Blytheville New Tech High School. Blytheville New Tech High School matches the Systematic Curriculum in that it is heavily supportive of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and curriculum standards movement. It is also emphasized on measurement, efficiency, and universality.
As an educator, it is important to understand and demonstrate the use of developing a successful curriculum. The goal of designing instruction is to improve human performance and show competency of the subject matter through the instruction. . The most common system and adapted design model is the ADDIE which is an acronym for analysis, design, develop, implement and evaluate. By successfully using this design model, and educator can ensure the best results for his or her students and remain confident in knowing that the education being taught is relevant and meaningful to the scholastic background of his or her students. The following text will describe the ADDIE system, beginning with analysis.
I use a lot of classroom discussion and let students discuss things in pairs before we discuss as a group. I use my boards and do the very best I can to ensure all kids understand what is being discussed. I don't get the chance myself to work with small groups as much as I would like because our class sizes are so big. I recommend mys...
School Communities are the best way of promoting student achievement and teacher excellence. We will explore the different views and ideas on achieving an ideal school community. Having a Democratic Community is very important in sustaining the US democratic society. In promoting a Democratic School we must value each individual and respect each other which will create an environment of well-being of everyone. Everyone in the school environment must participate for it to be successful including teachers, students and parents. Encouraging free flowing communication and ideas and critical thinking is vital to a democratic school community. Students need to achieve the ability to work actively with problems, ideas, materials and other People as they learn skills and content. They should have an escalating degree of choices, both as individuals and groups, within the parameters provided by the teacher. The students are responsible to their peers, teachers, parents, and school community, using educational time purposefully, intelligently, and productively. They should have the ability to collaborate with one another, teachers, parents and other community members. Students should know how to make their learning a contribution to their community. They need to be able to assume escalating responsibilities for securing resources and finding places where they can apply and further their learning. Demonstrating what they know and can do it in public settings and receive public feedback is important for them to be able to do. Lastly, the students should be able to work together and learn from another at a pace that challenges all (G. Glickman, 2004).
An ideal learning environment should look like a community, a family, a village etc. This environment does not only include the classroom. It includes the school, the parents, and the school’s surrounding community. Learning does not only happen in the classroom. Another aspect is how the classroom looks. The setup of the classroom is important in how the learning and teaching is facilitated. For example, if discussions is a major part of the teaching, then the classroom should be set up so that everyone can see each other like circle or semicircle. The classroom should also have a personal touch. Lastly, I feel that modeling is important aspect. The teacher should model what they want to happen in the classroom. It gives students a visual of what you want and expect.
In short, teachers will encounter diverse student learning, and they need to do more than merely direct instruction that fulfills the school curriculum. Teachers also need to realize that their responsibility should be geared towards student learning. In order to ensure student learning, teachers must engage their students within the lesson, establish a positive, learning environment, and assess their students for the student’s sake.
LITERATURE REVIEW: The given article is the work of Mark K. Smith. In this article ‘Curriculum theory and practice’,he explores the meaning of curriculum and four different approaches to curriculum in relation to informal education. He relates curriculum with formal and informal education. Mark K. Smith is a researcher and educator based in London at Developing Learning. He was the Rank Research Fellow and Tutor at the YMCA George Williams College, London (a college linked to Canterbury Christ Church University) and a visiting professor in community education at the University of Strathclyde.
respect their peers. Most students fail to recognize each other as equals because of differing
3. Treating students differently. All students deserve full respect and equal treatment. Even if your chemistry or ideology does not match with a student, all belief systems must have the same value in the classroom to be able for students to freely express themselves, and learn from each other. It does not mean everyone has to agree, but everyone must have the same rights. In my experience, this will furthermore encourage students to show interest and respect for each other.
Having established education as one of its cornerstones in Mauritius, curriculum is the instrument for state governance and control in the school system. Educational researchers aim at making the system emerged with pedagogic skills focusing particularly on goals, contents and the outcomes. Initially, curriculum would refer to scheme of work, textbooks, assessment, resources, and the like. However, over the years my understanding of the term curriculum has changed thoroughly. The idea of a curriculum has been differentiated across a wide range of meanings. One basic view is that curriculum is “what is taught.” A narrow view holds that curriculum is “the body of courses that present knowledge, principles, values, and skills that are the intended
Creating relationships with students and between students can help to establish a positive environment for both teaching and learning. According to Methods for Effective Teaching, “an optimal teacher-student relationship consists of equal parts dominance and cooperation.” Being assertive and persistent will allow students to understand what is expected from them and how to behave. In addition, showing an interest in what the students have to say and encouraging them fosters a feeling of acceptance. A balance between dominance and cooperation is needed in order to be respected and listened to.