Life Skills
Social Reconstructionism and Experimentalism
In my classroom activities will be meticulously designed to further student's social social skills. Students need to know how to apply what they learn inside and outside of the classroom in an appropriate manner. Group exercises will help further emotional literacy while building problem solving skills. When students leave my classroom at the end of the year they will be better equipped to interact with their piers as well as coworkers and employers outside of school. My educational philosophy is centered on the ideas of social reconstructionism as well as experimentalism. From a reconstructionists standpoint, I believe that students should be educated in order to positively impact and change society. They should be taught to build a higher level of social order and success. Students need to be taught how to unite and create a stronger and more effective democratic society. And Curriculum should include an exploration of economic, political, and social issues.
Long-term Support and Life Skills Strategies
Ø Teaching and fostering various social skills in the classroom are important to student success now and post graduation. Many students who get in trouble and have low success levels are lacking skills in greeting others, getting someone’s attention, resisting peer pressure and accepting peer pressure (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010). Group exercises will help students model proper social skills. Students will be given a lesson on how to break, meet and act within their groups. After a short introduction video on etiquit, students will be required to shake hands with their group members when they meet. They will also use strong eye contact and wait for each member to complete what they are saying before speaking.
Ø When students enter the work force they will quickly learn that they will need to know how to get along with and work with others as a team. Aside from student group time in class, students will also collaborate in “teach, pair, share exercises”. This will allow students to learn, then see a model, then practice with a partner, and then report to the class on what they came up with (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010).
Ø Pushing students to take ownership of for their behavior and actions is important in the classroom as well as for life long learning (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010). To reinforce such practices, my classroom will incorporate a problem solving process known as STAR. This stands for Stop, Think, Act, Review and gives students a framework for getting back on track when they are not following along or are misbehaving (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010). There will be a wall in class that has “STAR” written out and I will point to this when needed to remind students.
Ø Sometimes class can get stressful. There is a lot of difficult information to cover in any given school year. That’s why I believe it is important to have “cool down” times in class. When I see students getting overly figity, tired, or grumpy, I will tell the class we are entering a “cool down” time and students will have two minutes to stand up and stretch. This is essentially a recovery method that is designed to get a class back on track (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010).
Ø Our classroom social contract will also be used as a long-term support system to further self-dscipline. Part of the social contract incorporates a bi weekly performance review that requires a signature from home as well as a short paragraph response from each student about how they plan on succedding in class for the following weeks. Students who successfully return 90% of these forms will be rewarded with a field trip.
Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments (Resources to get caught up)
I understand that not all students are at the same level when it comes to things such as reading or comprehension skills. I believe no student should ever be negatively judged if they are lacking certain skills or are behind in a certain area. In my class, various forms of software will be used to help those who need it to catch up. Websites such as Starfall.com can help students learn to read in a fun, easy, and stress free manner. I understand how this website is visually appealing and will draw readers in with its user-friendly applications. I have included a web link to a thorough software evaluation that I have completed for Starfall.com as well as other useful sites https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7FdeGmZXJJbYTRkNWFhODktOTFkNy00ZWM1LTkxNjMtOTc2YzQ1Y2EyYzQ. I know that my students will be able to use the effective tools within Starfall to gain new levels of confidence and achievement. My Students will experience feelings of play and not just standard assessment. As they engage in lessons with Starfall, they will have fun and will be motivated through positive reinforcement, which will lead to enthusiastic engagement in reading and learning. This will ultimately promote my student’s abilities to create, reflect, and plan. As my students skills grow, I will have them keep journals that will document the progress they feel they are making. These journals will be posted through my class website which will further develop the digital age learning skills of my students. And as my students embrace what they are learning, they will gain a more collaborative knowledge of digital resources, which will enable them to compete in an ever-expanding modern and digital world.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility (Making students accountable)
I understand how important it is for myself as a teacher to express and promote a model of legal, ethical, and professional behavior. Thus in my classroom I will employ many best practices regarding the appropriate use of digital information and technologies to my students. I will teach my students to understand the ethics behind personal property, copyrights, and plagiarism. To help students gain an awareness of these issues, I will use online resources such as Cyberbee.com. I will have my students complete an assignment were they review and reflect on copyright and plagiarism laws. Here is a web link to a sample output I have created that is similar to what I will expect from my students https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7FdeGmZXJJbZjdiYmI3NzEtODAzOC00NzFmLThmYzUtNDQ2MjQxMTA5NDZk. This file has also been included in this document as an attachment entitled "Copyright" and is available for download. After my students begin to become familiar with this subject matter, I will then go a step further and teach my students about how to model proper social and digital etiquette. I know that students are often confused with copyright laws and laws pertaining to fair use. This confusion can limit students creative expression in the classroom. However by understanding copyright laws and what constitutes fair use, my students will find that they have an abundance of media resources at their fingertips that they can freely use. I believe it is crucial that my students understand the best practices involved for media literacy. Understanding best practices in regards to copyrights and fair use will keep my students safe from breaking the law. As my students become familiar with copyright and fair use laws they will understand that it is always wrong to use something that someone else has created in a way that violates copyright and fair use laws.
Social Reconstructionism and Experimentalism
In my classroom activities will be meticulously designed to further student's social social skills. Students need to know how to apply what they learn inside and outside of the classroom in an appropriate manner. Group exercises will help further emotional literacy while building problem solving skills. When students leave my classroom at the end of the year they will be better equipped to interact with their piers as well as coworkers and employers outside of school. My educational philosophy is centered on the ideas of social reconstructionism as well as experimentalism. From a reconstructionists standpoint, I believe that students should be educated in order to positively impact and change society. They should be taught to build a higher level of social order and success. Students need to be taught how to unite and create a stronger and more effective democratic society. And Curriculum should include an exploration of economic, political, and social issues.
Long-term Support and Life Skills Strategies
Ø Teaching and fostering various social skills in the classroom are important to student success now and post graduation. Many students who get in trouble and have low success levels are lacking skills in greeting others, getting someone’s attention, resisting peer pressure and accepting peer pressure (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010). Group exercises will help students model proper social skills. Students will be given a lesson on how to break, meet and act within their groups. After a short introduction video on etiquit, students will be required to shake hands with their group members when they meet. They will also use strong eye contact and wait for each member to complete what they are saying before speaking.
Ø When students enter the work force they will quickly learn that they will need to know how to get along with and work with others as a team. Aside from student group time in class, students will also collaborate in “teach, pair, share exercises”. This will allow students to learn, then see a model, then practice with a partner, and then report to the class on what they came up with (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010).
Ø Pushing students to take ownership of for their behavior and actions is important in the classroom as well as for life long learning (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010). To reinforce such practices, my classroom will incorporate a problem solving process known as STAR. This stands for Stop, Think, Act, Review and gives students a framework for getting back on track when they are not following along or are misbehaving (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010). There will be a wall in class that has “STAR” written out and I will point to this when needed to remind students.
Ø Sometimes class can get stressful. There is a lot of difficult information to cover in any given school year. That’s why I believe it is important to have “cool down” times in class. When I see students getting overly figity, tired, or grumpy, I will tell the class we are entering a “cool down” time and students will have two minutes to stand up and stretch. This is essentially a recovery method that is designed to get a class back on track (Villa, Thousand, Nevin, 2010).
Ø Our classroom social contract will also be used as a long-term support system to further self-dscipline. Part of the social contract incorporates a bi weekly performance review that requires a signature from home as well as a short paragraph response from each student about how they plan on succedding in class for the following weeks. Students who successfully return 90% of these forms will be rewarded with a field trip.
Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments (Resources to get caught up)
I understand that not all students are at the same level when it comes to things such as reading or comprehension skills. I believe no student should ever be negatively judged if they are lacking certain skills or are behind in a certain area. In my class, various forms of software will be used to help those who need it to catch up. Websites such as Starfall.com can help students learn to read in a fun, easy, and stress free manner. I understand how this website is visually appealing and will draw readers in with its user-friendly applications. I have included a web link to a thorough software evaluation that I have completed for Starfall.com as well as other useful sites https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7FdeGmZXJJbYTRkNWFhODktOTFkNy00ZWM1LTkxNjMtOTc2YzQ1Y2EyYzQ. I know that my students will be able to use the effective tools within Starfall to gain new levels of confidence and achievement. My Students will experience feelings of play and not just standard assessment. As they engage in lessons with Starfall, they will have fun and will be motivated through positive reinforcement, which will lead to enthusiastic engagement in reading and learning. This will ultimately promote my student’s abilities to create, reflect, and plan. As my students skills grow, I will have them keep journals that will document the progress they feel they are making. These journals will be posted through my class website which will further develop the digital age learning skills of my students. And as my students embrace what they are learning, they will gain a more collaborative knowledge of digital resources, which will enable them to compete in an ever-expanding modern and digital world.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility (Making students accountable)
I understand how important it is for myself as a teacher to express and promote a model of legal, ethical, and professional behavior. Thus in my classroom I will employ many best practices regarding the appropriate use of digital information and technologies to my students. I will teach my students to understand the ethics behind personal property, copyrights, and plagiarism. To help students gain an awareness of these issues, I will use online resources such as Cyberbee.com. I will have my students complete an assignment were they review and reflect on copyright and plagiarism laws. Here is a web link to a sample output I have created that is similar to what I will expect from my students https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7FdeGmZXJJbZjdiYmI3NzEtODAzOC00NzFmLThmYzUtNDQ2MjQxMTA5NDZk. This file has also been included in this document as an attachment entitled "Copyright" and is available for download. After my students begin to become familiar with this subject matter, I will then go a step further and teach my students about how to model proper social and digital etiquette. I know that students are often confused with copyright laws and laws pertaining to fair use. This confusion can limit students creative expression in the classroom. However by understanding copyright laws and what constitutes fair use, my students will find that they have an abundance of media resources at their fingertips that they can freely use. I believe it is crucial that my students understand the best practices involved for media literacy. Understanding best practices in regards to copyrights and fair use will keep my students safe from breaking the law. As my students become familiar with copyright and fair use laws they will understand that it is always wrong to use something that someone else has created in a way that violates copyright and fair use laws.