mandathepanda

Reflecting back on the month of March, it was an interesting month. Not only did I start a behavior chart with my case study, but with 2 other students as well. They actually understood the how and why of their new behavior plan, and took it seriously (for the most part). Halfway during the month, I contacted all the parents, and it really helped to make it a more reliable plan and it was implemented even better. However, the parents of my case study have held onto the chart for the last week or so, so hopefully I can get that back soon! During my full-time, like most people, I found it really hard to take individual notes on my case study; however, having the behavior chart and keeping record of his card color has helped to see his progressions and places that still need improvement. As I keep working on my case study project, hopefully I can keep getting more information as I go that will be relevant for my project.

For April, I read “Back to Basics: Rules, Praise, Ignoring, and Reprimands Revisited.” I chose this article because I’ve heard so many arguments for and against these instructional strategies in the classroom and whether or not they should be used, and if used, how much. Reading this article, I found myself saying- “Wow, that’s what I do!” and “Hmm, do I do that with my students??”Through my experiences in the SOE program, I have definitely learned that establishing and consistently maintaining classroom rules is vital to the management of any class. However, I have found that in my ST,  one of my areas I know I need to develop and improve is behavior management. I have a hard time being consistent with the rules and consequences, because I am all about dealing with a situation as it is, and that every situation is usually different, and needs to have various different ways to be dealt with. Not the best way, I know, but that’s just how I am. As for praise, this is where a lot of the controversy has come in. Some articles I’ve read over the last couple years have talked about how praise actually isn’t good- something about not being genuine and setting false pretenses, or usually something along those lines. However, as the article talked about, I think that praise, in moderation and used appropriately, can be very beneficial to all kinds of students. It’s a way to let them know that you are aware of their potential and think that they are doing a good job and to keep it up. It’s about encouraging and motivating. This strategy has worked extremely well in my ST, especially with the ESL students- they have to work extra hard to keep up with their peers, and I know they like to get acknowledged for their perseverance.

As for planned ignoring- this was something I actually do quite often, and don’t even realize it. (I’m not sure if that’s a good thing yet or not!) I do agree with their statements that you definitely do not want major behavior issues to take up a lot of time, so ignoring the minor problems with a constructive statement about correct behavior in general, can save a lot of time and patience. However, I do realize that most of the time you need to understand the function of the students misbehavior before you can do planned ignoring, or you will just escalate the problem. As for reprimands, I feel like I got some good strategies for this. It’s probably not as bad as I think,  but I feel like my negative reprimands sometimes might outweigh my positive statements in the classroom (which I will keep working on!).  But this article gave me ideas for how to correct and redirect students appropriately who are misbehaving in a more positive manner- by simply pointing out the incorrect behavior (not the person!) and suggesting a more favorable behavior instead. Obviously, this might not work everytime for every student, but I think this is a goodstategy to keep in mind. Overall, I thought this article was very helpful and helped me to better understand this different strategies and the pros/cons of using each in the classroom.

Well, so far it has been interesting to say the least. Not only do I have my case study behavior managment chart, but 2 others as well. Oddly enough, I am seeing more improvement in the other 2 students than in my case study! The other two seem to be taking it more seriously than my case study, and I’m still trying to figure out why, and what I need to do to make it something he needs to take seriously. I have seen some improvement however, so I guess I can’t complain too much. I have found that it has been very beneficial to take the few minutes at the end of the day to talk to each student- it’s always interesting to hear how they think they did and discuss whether I can agree or not. I have been trying to keep tabs on my case study’s disruptive behavior with my notes, but being full-time, it’s really hard to find time to take notes on every incident. I don’t know if anyone else is having this problem, and can provide suggestions, but it seems pretty consistent for me, and I know I need to be taking sufficent notes. I still have to think of an appropriate reward for these 3 students at the end of the month if they have improved on thier personal goals–hard thing is, they are 3 kids who have 3 different things that will positively motivate them. One specifically mentioned he would like chocolate, so that could be a suggestion…but what’s something else besides food that would motivate 3 students (2 boys and a girl) to improve their behavior? Extra recess? Homework pass? Any other ideas?

Finding passages while scanning this reading for what interests me was quite easy- there was much in this chapter that I found very informational and beneficial to some of the behavior problems I am currently seeing in my class. Like the reading mentioned, I also agree with the fact that we as teachers need to not only recognize the behavior, bu WHY the behavior is occuring. I have seen this in my current case study, and have been trying to pay closer attention as to reasons behind his misbehavior. I also had never really thought about how misbehavior can be something as simple as not raising your hand to give an answer, when you have clearly stated that you need to raise hands for answers. I have one particular student that comes to mind about this- a little girl in my class, very bright and sociable. She loves to participate and is very well behaved. However, she does tend to call out answers without raising her hand, and it wasn’t until recently that I noticed she was doing it; I guess I just didn’t notice it because she was trying to be helpful. However, this is a form of misbehavior, and I’m definitely going to start making sure she is aware of the rule and how it should be followed, whether you have the answer or not.

I skimmed through the reading, but really found myself  focusing on certain behaviors mentioned, mostly becuase these are the ones most prevalent in my classroom right now. Disruptive behavior is a BIG one, as well as some slight Hyperactivity. I have a few students (including my case study) who show daily disruptive behavior in class- whether to be the class clown or just because they don’t feel like doing their work. We have a behavioral management system (flipping cards), and that seems to help sometimes, but it’s hard to be consistent (especially for me). I don’t really agree with the idea of ISS being helpful for some students, like mine, especially when it’s not that severe. I can see traces of hyperactivity in some of my students as well- the need to doodle, get up in the middle of the lesson 10 times, fiddle with something on the desk, etc. It’s really hard for me to understand how to fully address this, since these kids are smart and successful, once they actually start to do it. It seems keeping their motivation and interest in the key, and I’m sure this will come with more time and experience. I am currently doing a behavior chart with my case study, as well as with 2 other students who have disruptive behavior almost everyday. We went over together the things they need to work on, and at the end of everyday, I take a few minutes to talk to each student and we talk together about how they did that day before I fill it out. So far, I think it is working well. I need to come up with some reward for the end of the month if they meet their personal goals, but it’s hard to think of something that would appeal to all students.  However, I also realize some of their misbehavior might stem from my instructional management, which I am still working on and tweaking to make sure I can modify my instruction to help all students.  I think this reading was great- I was grateful for the various examples of common challenging behaviors, what they look, their antecedents and positive interventions for each- I found this really informational and beneficial.

So far, I have some notes taken on my student. I orginally started with one student, but after discussing with my CT, we changed it to another student who would benefit more from the one-0n-one behavior plan. I have been using different types of note-taking- the ABC, Event/Frequency and regular anedotal notes on lined paper. I know I didn’t really need to use this many types of observation/note taking strategies, but I find that it helps me to look at it from various perspectives to fully understand the behavior. My student “Liam” is a typical, non-IEP/LD student; however, he is consistently misbehaving, which causes him to frequently flip his card (classroom behavior system). My teacher and I have discussed my student, and since I have not been able to be in the classroom to see him the whole year, it was interesting to discuss his progress.  Liam just moved to America at the beginning of this school year from living in West Africa, where he came from very small class sizes and a whole different atmosphere. At the beginning of the year, he really struggled to become accustomed to the workings of an American public school- and thus, this caused much misbehavior. However, my CT has talked about how he has progressed over the course of the year, but still has problems with behavior- mostly due to the fact that he gets off track easily, has to be redirected numerous times and directions have to given more than once- which can all lead to misbehavior. I still think that some of this may be due to the acclamation into American schools, but perhaps something else, I’m not quite sure yet…? Still working on it! Any ideas?

In this chapter, I feel like I have learned a lot more about this project we are going to do this semester. Considering we never really covered behavioral interventions, I was somewhat nervous as to how I would get all the information, and implement an intervention that would be effective and beneficial. However, after reading, I feel more at ease than before. It’s nice to know that I can collect data at any time, just while watching the students and doing something as simple as a tally mark. It was also interesting to read more about PBS. This is implemented in my school, and I recently had a day’s worth of training on PBS, why it’s important and how to effectively implement it in the classroom and school. I think it is a really interesting idea, providing positive reinforcements and showing them the correct way to behave instead of just correcting and disciplining, is a new (but great) idea- since when I was growing up, we had some PBS things, but it was mostly a no-tolerance behavior management plan. I think PBS is a good idea, it’s just a matter of getting into the new groove of thinking, and effectively using it with your students.

I also agree whole-heartedly when the book talks about how to judge the how and why of a student’s behavior by really getting to know the students and their learning styles and personalities. Building a relationship with trust and security is the foundation for getting a student to feel safe enough around you to tell you the why behind thier behaviors. This is why I definitely like the idea of morning meetings. I do them in my placement classroom now, and I already feel like I know the students a lot more. It is a great time to be able to just talk to the kids, and hear some of their stories, how they think , and how they learn. The book also talks much about the idea of group/peer interventions or plans for behavior, which I think is a great idea. Students really are interested in what their peers say/think about them, and I think having a behavior plan that involves the class or group of students will keep the student accounted for and motivated to get doing well. Overall, I think it was a great chapter that gave me some great ideas on behavior mangament, what to do and how make it work in my future classroom.

Reflecting omy CT’s classroom management that I have been able to observe and carry out so far, I think it is a positive and efficient system for management throughout the class. Behavior is handled on a classroom and school-wide system. The school-wide system is the PBS system, where each class has a bean jar, and every time they are behaving appropriately,beans are added. When you fill the jar with beans, you get a special class reward. As for the classroom system, she has a system that I rather like, and would consider using in my own future classroom.Each child has 5 colored cards- green, yellow, blue, orange and red. Starting with green, each time they have to be reprimanded for behavior, they have to “flip a card.” Starting with green as good, every time you go down in a color, it has different consequences, like loss of break time or a note home. I think it is a quick and easy way to control some of the behavior issues that can occur, because none of them want to have to flip there cards and get a consequence. My CT also has a homework folder every night that they take home for homework and notes. They also have to write down their card color for the day, and if they have any color other than green, they have to get it signed by a parent. At the end of a two week period, she counts how many “greens” each student has, gives them classroom store tickets, and they can “buy” various objects from the “treasure box.”

I have also observed much of other kinds of classroom management, especially things that, as a new teacher, I am still trying to figure out. She gives each student a special number at the beginning of the year, and this number they use for various things throughout the year. She mostly uses it to keep everything organized, and it is a great organizational system. Because performance assessment is the basic means of grading in 2nd grade, this system makes it super easy to keep all the students work together and neat in a file to reflect on when needed. Another thing, is our quiet signal, which when children see, immediately know what it means, and follow (one hand giving 5, the other hand’s finger on mouth). My CT also starts each day with a morning meeting, which after my methods classes, I know how important it is for building a safe and comfortable classroom community. We do calender, weather, counting money, days in school straws and singand discuss phonics songs. We have a small share time, and I always try to do a fun and relevant read aloud with lots of questions and discussions. It is one of my favorite parts of the day, becuase I get to know my students on a more personal level, and I can really get to see who they are, what they like, what they know and what they like to talk about.

This article was really interesting, and it fit really well into my week! This past week at my placement school, we had a required workday that was based on a staff meeting training module all about PBS. It first I was somewhat apprehensive about this training, and felt that even as a student teacher, I knew enough about PBS to make it happen in my classroom. However, I found there was much background information that I had no clue about, and there was so much more needed to implement this in the classroom and school-wide. I really enjoyed the training, and feel like I know enough about PBS to include it in the classroom; and how it can easily be used not only in general education classes, but inclusive classrooms as well. I understand now how the system works to create a more positive and encouraging environment for all students, and even the students who may have behavioral issues can be addressed with the help of functional behavior assessments, and a farther depth into truly understanding why a child is behaving they are; it is not necessarily a disability or impairment, but simply a reaction to their environment outside of school.

I fully agree with the article in its claim that teachers need to keep an open mind for inclusion classrooms, and be able to see that all students deserve a right to an equal education. Teachers are the role models that students need to follow, so if we keep a postive outlook, so will the other students! Building a supportive classroom communty is something that is vital to all classrooms, but especially in inclusive classrooms. Teachers need to make sure there are ample opportunities for cooperation, collaboration and friendship between all the students; that way, we know that every student is feeling safe, supported and comfortable, so they will be able to flourish in their learning endeavors.

The readings this week were great because they pair nicely with my Lit Circle book “What Really Matters for Struggling Readers” by Richard Allington.  Obviously, they both contain some similar/separate, yet valid, points for struggling readers and their instruction. Out of the three factors that are mentioned in the textbook, I believe that motivation and engagement  and the teacher’s attitudes and beliefs are the most vital part of understanding and developing what is needed to help struggling  readers. Allington gives a whole chapter of the book talking about how readers need to read books they can read, and  that are intrinsically motivating to the student. As for teachers attitudes, they can make a HUGE difference in the lives of their students; if they reflect a poor, non-motivated attitude, the students will see and reflect it as well. I really appreciated the “clusters” of struggling readers mentioned in the book and article–this really gives me a better idea of what struggling readers look like and their characteristics, which will help me  to plan meaningful and beneficial instruction for each kind. Looking over this I can already identify some of the students in my placement, which is great, because now I can know how to teach and instruct them in the spring! There are so many instructional activities in the text and my lit book that I can’t wait to try with some of these kids- Reader’s Theater, Being a Character, Being on Oprah, Puppet Shows, Read/Think Alouds…it’s going to be great!

I love the idea of having students be “experts” at something, especially the ones who are struggling readers and writers. Boosting their confidence and spiking their interest in reading and writing about something they love seems like a novel idea. In the Allington text, he talks about how teachers building their expertise with professional development, study, practice, etc…so, it makes sense to me that if they teachers can become experts in something that interests them, students have a right to as well! I have seen this in my placement with my case study student…He has told me several times that he likes math more, and reading is “ok”. He struggles a bit with reading, and I think this causes him to not be as motivated. However, during buddy reading time one day, he had an informational book on cars, and he was reading and discussing like a pro! It was awesome! He was fully engaged in this text, mostly due to the fact that he loves cars. After seeing it in action, it definitley made me a huge believer in providing readers with multiple kinds of books to get the interest of all students. Lastly, I would like to say that I appreciate the summative “Guiding Principles for Effective Reading Instruction” given on page 373 of the text–I find that summing it all into several guiding principles really helps to concrete the concept for me…However, I feel I also have to agree with Allington, who basically sums up how to help stuggling readers in one umbrella idea: Kids need to read A LOT. (with leveled, high-interest,book and  supplemental instruction, etc etc, of course!) Makes sense to me!

This chapter pretty much confirmed all that we have been learning in out education class for the past year and a half! Engaging and involving students in the reading, discussion and comprehension of text is vital to promote higher levels of literacy in elementary students. I was not aware yet of the specific types of theory associated with literature discussion, however, so it was really informative to see the theory behind the practice. The reader response theory seemed fairly simple and straightforward–readers transact, envision  and interact with texts they are reading. I was really interested when reading about the stance of a literature discussion or someone’s attitude or motivation for reading a certain text. I never had really thought about all the stances we bring to the table as readers! Stance can totally be seen everywhere in observing young readers, and experienced readers as well! Just the other day in my placement, I was walking around the room during independent reading time, asking the students about their books they were reading. One students made it clear that he was only reading his book because he dad had picked it out for him, and was making him read it; another students’ eyes lit up when I asked about their book, and they told me about how they loved the series, and wanted to read them all because they were good. It was amazing to see such a difference in reading, but this all stems from their stance. I also really like how they broke down the continuum of stance into efferent and aesthetic, I never knew these concepts, and they make so much sense to me! I know now that I predominately take an aesthetic stance to reading, because I like the connections, experiences and emotions that reading gives me. However, I know lots of people who are predominately efferent based on what I know about their interests and personality, and it makes so much sense! These are definitely concepts and terms I need to remember!

I agree with Flint when they say that effective literature discussions need to have synced stances on the student and teacher’s part. However, I don’t think they necessarily have to agree on every aspect up for discussion, they need to be willing to listen and analyze the others perspective or interpretation of the text. I already know all about the different types of literature discussions (thanks Julie!), and feel fairly confident that I would be able to carry out these kind of literary discussions effectively.  I also remember talking about the QAR strategy in one of our ed classes last year, and feel that it is a great idea for facilitating literature questions and discussions, as is the KWL Chart, which I have already used with students, and it has been extremely beneficial for all, myself incuded.  I agree that is so important for students to be able to think critically and reflect on the texts they are reading…otherwise, they are merely reading letters and words on a page, and it means nothing to them, which means that reading will mean nothing to them; as teachers, we have to prevent this from happening! Students need to understand the importance of literacy and its impact on their development as young students.