Podcasting

Hey guys, i'm back!! Well my Teaching Language Arts class
is supposed to start podcasting tomorrow. And i'm the most
nervous person ever. Not only am i nervous about the
podcasting and the sound of my voice being taken in my a
microphone. BUT, how am i supposed to use this in my lesson
or even my classroom. I'm scared, but im determined to challenge
myself to learn new things that will better teaching skills and
my classroom. I feel that podcasting will allow more versatile
classroom by reading the book, using the podcast and having them
read it themselves. This would reinforce the fact of the podcasting and
the skills of reading that the children in my classroom need to achieve.
I'm scared about tomorrow but i feel that i will get it over with in good fashion.
STAY TUNED FOR DETAiLS =]

WHAT? Standardized Testing!

Standardized testing is the new theme in schools, especially state-wide
testing that tests all the students in the state on similar subjects learned.
At times testing can benefit students, especailly when they are venturing
off to high school. The GEPA test is definetly around to help students. In
my school districted you needed to achieve a certain grade or you would
be considered unsatisfactory. Which meant that in high school you would
have smaller size classroom, (resource room) intervels in order to help
in the areas where you struggled on the test. In some cases this helped
students achieve the help that they needed with smaller class sizes, which
meant more inidividualized attention and more time to take tests. And on
the other hand it had students like me, struggle to get out of those
classrooms because you just deemed yourself unneccesary to be there.
Fortunatley with good grades in those classrooms, I got out the beginning
of my sophmore year which meant I was mainstream throughout High
School.

But also standardized testing is a way that the government can
see that the schools that are recieving money for education are
putting it to good use. Or if schools are stuggling finanically, which
is making them cut teachers and making class sizes rise to thirty
this will also show in Standardized tests. It will show that the bad
impact that the district causes in spite of cut of money for education.
So in all ways Standardized testing does help give students the
attention they need, and in some districts standardize tests give schools
the money that they need to stay open and pay the teachers
in order to help the students and the jobforce of the future.

Report Cards - -

Hmmm.. Report cards. Do they help or hurt? Well really instead of
looking at it in the students point of view. Maybe we should look through
the parents eyes for a change. Parents do not send their children to school
to become the "average", they send them to school to become the "great".
Which brings in the importance of report cards. Report cards are grades
that have me culminated through a marking period, and allow for an
assessment. Parents deserve to recieve an assessment, i.e report cards
concerning their childrens grades. Otherwise if their children were failing,
and the parents didn't get an assessment until school was over. What can
be done? Nothing! Which is why report cards are important, because it
allows for parents to help their children get the instructional help they need
in order to maintain the good grades.

Also, report cards help the student and the teachers as well. While the
teachers are preparing the grades for the report card they get to see first
hand the reasons why the student is failing. And in the midst of the report
card being sent out to the parents home, the teacher can soon set up
additional help with the child during classtime. Or provide the child our
undivided attention after school on the subjects on which the student is
missing the learning target, or just does not understand. Report cards
allow for a formal assessment that will help the student learn better by
addressing all their learning needs and explaining things in alternated
manners if they need may arise.

Portfolios

Portfolios are defined as a collection of the students work that either
shows their skills in a certain subject, or it could be used as an
assessment of improvement in a particular subject. I feel as a teacher
each student should have a folder with the work they have done in it,
and periodically it should be sent home for their parents to view and sign.
This portfolio would also pose as an assessment to the parents because
they would be able to see, if they need to have a conference with me
about their child’s educational performance. Portfolios should be kept
throughout each marking period in order to keep track of the students
work and progress and class and to see if I obtained my objective for
my class at the start of the year. Although portfolios should go home
once a week for parents to see them, they should be administered to
students at the end of the day closer to three o’clock in order to prevent
children teasing because of grades.


Though while Dr. Luongo was giving her last lecture she did come
across a good point. Students should have a say in what goes in
their portfolio, because they know what best represents their
learning goals. They alone are the only ones who know what they
want to achieve by learning, so their portfolio should be up to them
alone to decide what work or projects go into the portfolio. Because
the portfolios currently are going on with them to the next teacher
the student will have. These portfolios can help them by providing
the next teacher with the knowledge to know what subjects they
did good in, and what subject they struggled in. Portfolios are not
out to hurt students, they are there to be a crutch in the learning
process!

Hey: Multiple Choice Testing!

Ah, tests are a touchy subject for any student regardless of grade
or age. But especially in elementary and middle school grades, tests
are a make or break even for students. Different students from different
testing levels such as: multiple choice answer tests and essay tests. For
my own knowledge and liking, I like essay test format only because it
would give my student a chance to explain the answer they have in
mind, without just having to play “Iny Miny Miney Mo” on an answer.
Because during my sophomore field I have realized that students
struggle more with multiple choice format only because if you do
not know the precise answer, those points for that answer are
gone way before the student begins. While on the essay format
side, the student could have a clear understanding of the material
and be able to explain what they know, they just are unable to
pick a correct answer, or there may be multiple correct answers.
This is where I feel essay tests provide the best help in the
learning experience by giving students a chance.

While on the other hand, multiple choice answers are good
for some reasons, for instance, Language Arts tests. In
Language Arts there are definitions, synonyms and antonyms
which can be comprised with just a one word answer. For example,
the definition or SCARED is FEAR. A simple one word answer,
answered that question without having to have a long explanation
on why it was that answer. At time multiple choice tests can be
the right answer and at time essay question tests are the right
answer, we just have to pick the right time to use them and choose
when they will benefit our students most.

Teachers Should Expect

As a teacher we should have high expectations for our students,
because we are supposed to make great individuals of them. The
more we expect for them is the higher they would want themselves
to achieve. When we have high expectations for students they work
harder because they want to see our faces light up when we are
happy that they have completed their work. And with us having
a high expectation that means that eventually they will work harder
not only to please us as their educators, but in order to strive for those
good grades to prove that they are capable of understanding.

When I was a student in the second grade I can remember the teacher
not pushing us to do much. And I thought in my mind while I was at
school, does she think we can not do more work then she gives us. My
teacher just gave us easy work and never showed us a challenge, which
made me upset because in order to learn the teacher should have high
expectations for what she/he wants the student to be able to learn. So
eventually I worked harder at my studies and made her give me more
work then what I needed, she then raised her standards for us as
students. She gave us harder work then, because she knew that
she could expect more from us. Teachers need to have high expectations
for their students, because without high expectations a student would
not be able to learn.

Homework

Homework is a form of work that the student does at home in order
to reiterate the learning process that occurred in class. As a teacher
I feel that it is a good thing to impose homework on the children.
Because I feel that it allows the students to keep learning about
what they have learned instead of just shutting of their brains
after the school day is over. Homework allows students to learn
while at home, and also pose a form of assessment for the teacher.
The assessement allows the teacher to understand where the
students educational level is at. And also allows the student to be
able to assess their own learning capability and be able to have
the knowledge to know if they need more help or instruction in
a certain subject.

As a child I remember grade school, and my teacher never gave
homework and I felt that it was a wrong thing to do. Never giving me
homework forced me to stop thinking about what I did learn. Not
having homework forced me to forget what I did learn. I do not
want to have this feeling imposed on my students, I want to give
them homework not to make them disgusted about school
but to allow them to learn more.