Education and Culture
In their article “Understand Culture” Shelley Zion and Elizabeth Kozleski (2005) define culture as “the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that members of society use to interact with their world and with one another” (p. 3). Continuing in an anthropological direction, culture is a powerful tool for survival, but it is a surprisingly delicate phenomenon which is constantly changing. For example, consider how the attitudes and values of a school may change when a new principal is hired, this new individual may make specific changes to shift the culture of a school in a different direction. But culture, as a noun with a concise definition like the one provided by Zion and Kozleski (2005), is easier to understand than its tremendous effects in the classroom. Continue reading 'What is Culture?'»
After reading Ruby Payne’s A Framework For Understanding Poverty, we were asked to complete a reflection detailing how we feel poverty impacts education and whether or not we agreed with Payne’s suggested ways to help students in poverty. While I did not necessarily agree with all of Payne’s points, I did feel she correctly noted the importance of forging a relationship with your students. Continue reading 'Reflection upon the Impacts of Poverty on Student Learning'»
Pompt:
What is the theoretical purpose to providing extracurricular opportunities? What are benefits and costs associated with these opportunities? What kinds of needs are met through these experiences?
Continue reading 'After School Event'»
Prompt:
The purpose of this assignment is to have you re-enter a day in the life of adolescents carrying with you the knowledge you have now about developmental needs, school organization philosophy, and curriculum demands. You need to create a framing question so that you enter the shadow study with “something to look for” in regard to answering a question you have about student development or how schools meet/or fail to meet student needs. As you spend time with your student, consider what you did for the YA Book Reflection as a “practice” run. Identify the developmental characteristics of your student and address the following prompts:
- Using the developmental attributes domains, how would you describe this student?
- How does school life seem to fit into this student’s life?
- Based on your observation, how does this student’s engagement/disengagement manifest itself in the behaviors and actions of the student in different classes?
- What factors can you identify as contributing to the differences/commonalities in this student’s behavior over the course of the school day?
- This is a real student. In what ways are his/her needs being met or not?
- What have you learned from this experience?
Continue reading 'Shadow Study'»
Prompt:
Describe your mentor teacher’s style of classroom management and communication. Do you feel it is effective? What is it that gives you this impression? What aspect of your mentor teacher’s style would you include in your own classroom, and what aspect would you eliminate? Give a rationale. Watch your mentor teacher’s style of communication for 20-30 minutes: voice tone, facial expression, body language, hand gestures, eye contact, etc. How did the students react to the teacher’s style? Was there any particular aspect of the style that was more effective than another? What aspect of communication do you need to develop in order to assure student attentiveness?
Continue reading 'Role of Discipline in the Community'»
Prompt:
Based on your observations, course readings, conversations with your mentor and the class discussions, prioritize the Basic Needs of Adolescents (Handout). Briefly (50-75 words) describe your rationale for the order of each “Need.” Pay special attention to how the environment is set up to support student achievement as discussed in Vatterott’s chapter 4. Provide a digital image of how this “Need” is being met in the field (or not being meet).
Continue reading 'Need Based Environments'»
Prompt:
Considering what we have read in Vatterott, Wood and Van Hoose et. all about the philosophy of creating middle schools and high schools that reflect responsiveness to students’ developmental needs, think about your impressions of Shortridge’s attempts to live a student-centered philosophy. With a digital camera, document images of Shortridges “philosophy in action.” What does the image say about this school’s, teacher’s, club’s, etc. image of a learner? Provide 2-3 images and 2-3 counter images. For the reflection component, provide a caption explaining the context of each image. Then, provide a reflective rationale to address the prompt.
Continue reading 'Instructional Patterns and Strategies for Student Focused Schools'»
All Posts, ED 227: Introduction to Middle Secondary Education, Standard #1: Learner Development., Standard #2: Learning Differences., Standard #3: Learning Environments., Standard #4: Content Knowledge., Standard #5: Innovative Applications of Content., Standard #6: Assessment
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Classroom Management, learning environment, needs, Student Focus
My best friend’s mother was the technology director at our high school. She was a lovely lady responsible for web design as well as blocking all the sites deemed inappropriate by the administration. Not unlike many high schools and districts around the nation, we had a whole host of blocked sites. Most often these were social networking sites, image collection sites, and sites involving lewd material.
The idea of blocking content is a controversial idea close to the heart of many media moguls and technology directors. There is something to be said for protecting children from the copious amounts of material available on the World Wide Web. But at what point does this become a detriment to learning. Certainly children need to learn to fend for themselves, after all, once students reach the collegiate level, they have unsolicited access to the internet. Continue reading 'Computers as a Distraction?'»
Prompt:
Technology Redesign in the Classroom.
Continue reading 'Redesign'»
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, All Posts, ED 245: Intro Computers and Education, Standard #1: Learner Development., Standard #3: Learning Environments., Standard #5: Innovative Applications of Content., Standard #8: Instructional Strategies.
| computers, Dropbox, learning environment, Mindtools, supplement
Prompt:
We are focusing on our two media projects (photo and video montages) and expanding previous topics to now include the use of digital images and video. As such, consider how student use of digital images and video can allow them to meet learning goals and curriculum standards. What are the advantages of using video in the classroom? How can subjects, Math or your specialty area, best be learned using more visual technologies in concert with other digital technologies? What are the advantages to students producing their own “Digital Stories?” Which type of video project (according to Garetty and Schmidt) might your students be producing?
Continue reading 'Skeptical about Storytelling'»
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, All Posts, ED 245: Intro Computers and Education, Standard #3: Learning Environments., Standard #5: Innovative Applications of Content., Standard #8: Instructional Strategies.
| Digital Stories, integration, learning environment, Learning professionals, supplement
Project Planning Sheet
Shelbi Burnett
Desktop Publishing Assignment
Goals:
The objectives of this lesson include becoming familiarized with a desktop publishing program to create a finished product that informs a group of peers about my teaching philosophy as well as the environment I promote in the classroom. This would be a critical tool for communication both with parents and school administrators to provide concise look at what is happening in my classroom and how it is structured. It has been identified that communication is vital to the success of education and this assignment would encourage open lines of communication as parents of the students in my classroom would become more aware of the environment in which their children are learning. As a biology teacher this flyer serves to emulate the creativity and wonder I promote in my classroom. The flyer itself attempts to promote the ideas that are essential to my particular teaching philosophy.
Continue reading 'DTP Project planning and reflection'»
A Suburban Experience
“To develop knowledgeable, confident and responsible citizens
by providing an extensive learning experience relevant to the interests and capabilities of every student, in partnership with the home and community.” –Center Grove High School Mission
Continue reading 'Learning Environment'»
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