Curriculum
Educational Philosophy
Effective Teaching and Professionalism
Motives For Teaching
School Environment
Classroom Management
Diversity in the Classroom
http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/qcc/homepg.asp
My cooperating teacher structures his lessons on the Georgia QCC’s. After observing his class I noticed that he goes right along with the QCC’s lesson by lesson. His forms of quizzes, and lectures are right out of the QCC’s. To me he didn’t have to do much work on planning his lessons. I also discovered that the school only has one standardized test, the CRCT, which it state wide. The county did have their own form of a test but decided to drop it for the purpose of fewer tests for the students. I feel that they should have left it in. I know that it can be overwhelming for the students to have to take, but it gives them practice for the greater amount of tests that will follow them in their higher educational career. For a test that does not count for a grade, it should be used as practice for the Graduation Exam, the SAT, and the Regents.
After watching my cooperating teacher in his classroom during one of his lessons I can see that he thinks that the schools should teach the students about life and how to succeed, not just the basic subjects. I think he leans towards progressivism and essentialism. He believes that each student should learn the basics before they can proceed to the next level. I labeled him this way because I can see that he brings up the topic of knowing “A” before “B”. He also talks a lot about the real world, which leads me to think he is a progressivist. He lets the students know the truth about life. He also thinks that the students should be active participants in the learning process, and that they are the receivers of knowledge. Based on these observations I believe that my cooperating teachers philosophies are that of an essentialist and a progressivist.
Effective Teaching and Professionalism
While observing my cooperating teacher’s lesson for
the day I saw different ways in which he was effective. He wrote questions
on the board for the students to recall answers for, which they were allowed
to use their book. As they worked he walked around and helped each
student that was in need of it. After they were done he had the kids
stand up and stretch do wake them up. He then proceeded to go over
the questions getting the students to discus out loud. While I observed
I noticed several characteristics that showed he is an effective teacher:
-Creative -Role model
-Well-organized -Listens to others
-Comfortable -Very enthusiastic
-Fair -Has interest in each student
-Personable -Humorous
Professionalism
a. Professionalism is the characteristics of being professional. Being on
time, dressed appropriately, use of language, and the way you carry yourself.
b. Professionalism relates to teaching because you have to be very professional
in the classroom. You have to be on time, have to conduct yourself
in front of your students responsibly and you should defiantly dress appropriately
for the classroom.
c. It is important for a prospective teacher to be professional during his
or her field experience because everything you do now carries on with you
in the future. If you start to act inappropriately now, you will defiantly
act that way when you are in your own classroom. People see the way
you are dressed and will not want to hire you for a job in their school.
d. As students in EDUC 2201 we should take professionalism seriously.
It will show if we are taking education seriously, and help us in getting
a job once we graduate.
My motives for teaching are very similar to my cooperating
teacher. He feels that he is in it for the children. He has been
teaching for the past three years. He also says that he will stay in
the classroom until the last few years of his career for retirement purposes.
I want to be a teacher because I like science and the
only thing I like more is teaching about it. I am not in it just to
teach about science. I want to give something to the students.
I want them to learn how to be a noble and honest person. I want the
kids to know that they can come to me for help if they need it. It
will be important to examine these motives throughout my career so I know
what I am in it for. If I take a pay cut I have to tell my self it
is okay, because the kids need me and that is why I am here. I want
to be a friend for each student and not just their teacher.
The school that I was in was decorated with a lot of school spirit. The first impression that I had of the school was that they had a lot of school spirit. I could tell that the school was not as new as other schools I had been in. I feel that the way the school looks has a great impact on how the teachers and students are. If the school were run down, the students would have a negative attitude towards the school. The teachers would take the same approach if the school were not attractive. I strongly believe that no matter how financially unstable the school is, they need to put their maximum attention into the quality of the environment for the students as well as the teachers.
The only posted rules in the classroom were: Be
Prompt, Be Prepared, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible. However, I
do not feel that these rules are sufficient enough for the classroom.
The student handbook lists rules that each student much follow, but each teacher
should expand on those set rules.
When a student breaks a rule s/he gets a conduct cut. After a set number
of cuts certain actions are taken:
After 3-silent lunch
After 5- inteam isolation
After 6- office referral
My cooperating teacher maintains a classroom environment conducive to learning
by getting all students involved. He also takes a firm stance with
them during the first week of school and sets their expectations high.
The steps for discipline include:
1. Conference with the student
2. Conference with the parent
3. After school detention
4. Community/school service
5. In-school suspension
6. Short term out-of-school suspension (1-3 days)
7. Out-of-school suspension (4-10 days)
8. OSS pending formal hearing
9. Referral to appropriate authority
The steps taken for an office referral include filling out a form and taking
it down to the office. I personally can say that it does not take a
lot of effort to give a student an office referral.
| Student | Frequency | Percent |
| Male | 18 | 62.07 |
| Female | 11 | 37.93 |
| White | 23 | 79.31 |
| Hispanic | 2 | 6.90 |
| Asian | 0 | 0.00 |
| African | 4 | 13.79 |
| Other | 0 | 0.00 |
| Positive | 27 | 93.10 |
| Negative | 2 | 6.90 |
| White male | 14 | 48.28 |
| White female | 10 | 34.48 |
| Hispanic male | 2 | 6.90 |
| Hispanic female | 0 | 0.00 |
| Asian male | 0 | 0.00 |
| Asian female | 0 | 0.00 |
| African male | 2 | 6.90 |
| African female | 1 | 3.45 |
| Total observations | 29 |
With this data I can suggest that the majority of the
responses come from white males with 48.28 percent followed by white females
with 34.48 percent. However I do not feel that this data can uphold
any inferences or trends with student responses. The population of
the classroom was mostly white males followed by white females. There
was only 1 Hispanic in the class, who was a male, and 3 African Americans.
I do feel that further testing would have to be done to compile complete results
that can assist you in analyzing your approach to student responses.
I do feel that it would be very beneficial to tape and analyze my own
class to see which students respond to questions and which students ask questions.
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