Curriculum & Instruction as the Vehicle

Curriculum that is Important

• What we study is essential to the structure of the discipline
• What we study provides a roadmap toward expertise in a discipline 
• What we study is essential to building student understanding

Curriculum & Instruction that are Focused 

• Whatever we do is designed to get us where we need to go
• Both the teacher and students know why we're doing what we're doing
• Both the teacher and students know how parts of their work contribute to a bigger picture of knowledge, understanding, and skill 

Curriculum & Instruction that are Engaging

• Students see value to others in their work
• Students most often find the work intriguing
• Students see themselves and their world in the work

Curriculum & Instruction that are Demanding

• Standards for work and behavior are high
• Students are guided in working and thinking like professionals
• The work is most often a bit beyond the reach of each learner

Curriculum & Instruction that are Scaffolded 

• The teacher teaches for success
• Small and large group instruction focuses on varied learner needs
• The teacher uses modeling, organizers, and other strategies to point out success 

I believe it's extremely vital to ensure curriculum and instruction that is important, focused, engaging, demanding, and scaffolded to assure students are receiving the proper education everyday. I want to work toward being the teacher that uses curriculum and instruction as the vehicle in my teaching and derive from that as I dig deeper to make sure my students are doing the same. I believe it's important that curriculum and instruction come through the power of knowledge, the power of self, and the inextricable links between the two. 

First Week in First Grade

Today marks the ending of the first week of my field experience this semester. I’m in a first grade classroom and ABSOLUTELY love it! In the past semesters during my field observation, I paid close attention to the way my cooperating teachers managed their classroom and I was able to pick up on a lot of great strategies that I can one day use in my own classroom. One thing I was really looking forward to this semester was seeing how my cooperating teacher differentiated her instruction to meet the needs of her students. With only being in the classroom for five full school days, I was able to see the amount of care, trust, and love she has for each of her students. The way she interacted with each student was amazing. She was very stern and firm with her students, but they all knew it was because she loved them all so much. I believe one of the major key concepts in beginning to differentiate in your classroom is knowing your students and caring for them on an individual basis. My goal in my future classroom is to do just this! I want to know each of my students. I want to know their goals, interests, likes, dislikes, and what they’re feeling. I’m going to make an everyday effort to talk with my students and ensure they know the amount of love I have for them.

How to Build a Positive Classroom Environment

Combing the needs of students and the way the teacher responds, an effective and positive classroom environment can be created. 

"From the first day of a class until the last, environment will quietly but potently form a line of communication from teacher to student, student to student, and student to teacher. Environment will support or deter the student's quest for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge in the classroom. Environment will also speak to the presence or absence of invitation and opportunity to each child individually and, ultimately, to the class as a whole." - Carol Ann Tomlinson 

Ways to Build a Positive Classroom Environment-

1. Study Students' Cultures

2. Convey Status

3. Commend Creativity

4. Make Room for All Kinds of Learners

5. Help Students Know About One Another

6. Celebrate Success

Everything from the way the classroom is set up, to routines, to communication, and more is based upon the classroom environment and the way it's set up. I believe it's extremely important to build a classroom environment from the very beginning. As a future teacher, I believe it's important to begin the year before it officially begins. A positive classroom environment can make a world of difference throughout the school year and can continually set you up for constant success.

Using Music in the Classroom

Today in class I came to a whole new level of understanding differentiation. I now know you implement your students' readiness levels and differentiate instruction based on their level.

My number one goal as a teacher is to build an environment where my students feel safe and comfortable with each other. Using music in the classroom is great way to build a classroom community where students are excited to learn, where they're engaged with learning, and where learning can be fun and interesting on a daily basis.

I really love what Mr. B. is doing with his students in New York at PS22. I want to be like him! I want to create a classroom environment where my students feel how much I care for them. I want to be the teacher that builds the sense of community for my students to always remember. In field last semester, my teacher used a lot of songs. Whether it be chants, morning songs, or songs to help remember important concepts, the students were always singing. I think it's very beneficial to have music be a constant aspect in your everyday classroom. I will use music in my classroom and hopefully do something as great as Mr. B.

How the Teacher Responds

The way teachers respond in the classroom to their students and others around them plays a crucial part in the everyday classroom. There are at least five ways in which teachers can respond to the students' needs for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. The ways in which teacher can respond make the world of difference in the classroom and is the core of effective teaching. The five elements are as follows: 

1. The Response of Invitation: the teacher who intends to make ties with the student is permanently attuned to factors that enhance the invitation and minimize the risk for each learner individually and the class as a whole. 

2. The Response of Opportunity: to provide opportunity is to help learners have a voice in what and how they learn and to find their own voice through study.  

3. The Response of Investment: invested teachers make links with students' lives outside of the classroom and are personally engaged in what they ask their students to do. 

4. The Response of Persistence: when a student is missing specific concepts, the persistent teacher does not assume the student cannot learn, but rather assumes the student is not learning in the way he/she is currently being taught. In the eyes of a teacher, when a student fails, the teacher fails. 

5. The Response of Reflection: teacher reflection inevitably attends directly to students' need for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. 

I believe it's important as a teacher to have structure, follow through with consistency, and assure students know you love them. I believe it's important to be firm with the students, but let them know you're doing so because you love them and you're there to help them succeed in all they do. It's important to respond to the students in a way that will help them preform better as students and as individuals. I want to be the teacher who responds to students in an effective and loving way.