Lesson 8 Post

Now that you have created your own blog and used it through the previous eight lessons, describe in detail how you will use your blogging skills in your classroom.

I think blogging, particularly, could be student led.  It would be interesting to place students into groups and have them monitor a blog about a particular unit for a couple of weeks.  It would be ideal to make the students the drivers of such conversations with given criteria and I would have oversight.  I really think something like that would be engaging for them and hold them accountable for their own and others' learning. 

theblogstarter.com

More than blogging, I think I will use discussion threads more in the classroom. We have access to Canvas for our student classrooms and I really want to incorporate discussion threads (prompted by a curriculum based question or a reflection question) more throughout the semester. I think it is a quick/easy way to publish information for the student's response - but also a way for students to dialogue with one another.  Further, it is an easy way for me to monitor student progress or understanding of a concept (depending on the question).  

Lesson 7 Post

After reading and pondering the debate about teens lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do you think this means for you as a teacher?

Thankfully, as a teacher, I am not responsible for making those type of judiciary decisions in a courtroom.  All the while, in a classroom I do have to consider how to manage behavior in a meaningful way.  I think that while there is an understanding that the teenage brain is not fully developed, I don't think that this excuses harmful behavior. School-aged children understand the differences between right and wrong when taught certain principles.  In this same way, teenagers in a classroom have been given standards of behavior and conduct. When a teen is emotional and acts out, that behavior cannot be ignored or excused - it needs to be directly addressed.  Now, how that behavior is addressed is going to be utterly dependent on the teacher's understanding of the student and the actions that occurred.  So, each case must be handled in an appropriate fashion, but in no way can a teen be allowed to harm himself or others based on the pruning process of the brain. If the brain is learning at this time, which is is, then consequences must be enforced so that the brain learns its rights and its responsibilities.  Too often do we see crime and harm go unpunished in our society.  There is a culture of blame and accusation in our society.  Students are seeing and learning this in their own homes and communities. Therefore, it is the teacher's responsibility to set a culture of respect and explain the consequences for crossing those lines.  When teens "get away with" things because they may lack adult reasoning, it does not help them develop a brain that can become a mature adult. 

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Lesson 6 Post

After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

It further reminds me that I want to incorporate more music in the classroom. I appreciated how the video explained that listening to music doesn't make a student "smarter." I think that myth is still prevalent in the culture. I think it also was helpful when the text explained that the brain doesn't multi-task, so listening to music with lyrics while studying can actually distract the brain from learning because it is trying to process the lyrical language while reading a language at the same time.  All the while, utter silence is not beneficial while students are working.  So, in an effort to create a positive mood, I can provide more background music while students are individually working.  

Regarding math, I think that at this point I do a reasonable job of incorporating it into the an English classroom.  I had a student once write an entire research paper about how statistics lie and an are unreliable!  It was not only well-written but fiercely informative. When discussing research and empirical facts, students are encouraged to check the statistic itself and investigate what was and what was not being measured.  They are encouraged to check the reliability of data and its sources. 

Lesson 5 Post

After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

After watching these videos, I am once again reminded of the importance of paying attention to the skills of my students. I know that all of my students can read; they are literate.  Yet, I am aware of students who have a harder time reading and at a high school level I am not very aware of what resources are available to help at student at this age.  Also, quite frankly, I don't know how to approach a student and mention this lower ability to read without harming the students.  Often a student may be struggling with reading aloud with some words and other students may try to help and I simply try to guide the student through a difficult word, but I also want to balance care in these moments and I don't know if its best when another student tries to "chime" in an help. To continue, I also don't know how to teach reading.  Again, the concern that I run into is that my students (who are in high school) have lower fluency skills and harder times with vocabulary comprehension. If there are tips out there for interventions at the high school level, I will take them!

Lesson 4 Post

What does it mean to be relational as a teacher? How will you interact with your students to accomplish this?

Simply, being relational as a teacher means building relationships and connecting with students in our classrooms.  We can not just be content experts who disseminate information; we must be relational experts who connect with students. Haberman supports this claim in his book Star Teachers.  The concept of being relational as a teacher is supported by brain-based education.  After all, the brain learns best in a low-stress environment and this can be achieved by trust-based relationships in the classroom.  If a student has hostility toward education and his/her educator in general, there will be a psychological and neurological barrier to learning.  Since we know that high levels of cortisol can cause death to cells in the hippocampus, it is essential that teachers build relationships that ensure a low-stress environment in their classrooms in order for better academic achievement from their students.

                         http://www.jimknaggs.com/

Where many teachers may give their students "surveys" in an effort to gain some personal knowledge about their students - this device is not sufficient and can actually be seen by students as something else "they have to do" and not relational at all.  When we think about it, the best relationships we have with people in our personal lives come from the time we spend getting to know them.  Now, while the classroom it not just a social sphere, and there are multiple goals to achieve academically, a teacher can still build trust-based relationships with his students.  This can occur in a myriad of ways.  First, the way in which a teacher speaks to his students is important.  He needs to ensure mutual respect when speaking to young people in his classroom.  Further, he can build relationships by his one-on-one interactions with students.  This may come in the form of one-to-one feedback sessions or even helping a student with his/her work in class.  The teacher can kneel down at the eye level of the student and use a respectful, encouraging voice.  If the teacher has concerns for the student's work he can conference with the student during an appropriate time.  All of these small interactions can model respect and care for the student.  

Further, the classroom can always use laughter.  Laughing with students or sharing small stories about a weekend experience or after-school activity decreases stress and helps the students to connect with a teacher.  

                                   http://www.relatably.com

In this way, the students see that the teacher is relational and approachable - this can further their sense of felt-safety in the classroom.  When a student feels safe, he/she feels safe to try new things and re-try things that may have not been successful on the first try - all of these tools can help a student build relationship with the teacher and in turn, increase the student's resiliency and academic abilities. 

A lot of times, humans have a hard time connecting because it demands vulnerability. Brene' Brown brilliantly explains this sociologically phenomenon in her TED Talk "The Power of Vulnerability"; it is a powerful argument to declare the need for more human connection through vulnerability - and is much needed in the classroom as well. 

Lesson 3 Post

After watching the videos on Attention, Emotions and Learning, describe how this information impacts you as a teacher.

                                                thinkstock.com

Overall, this information reminds me that there is always a story that we may not know about our students.  Students act and react according to their backstories.  Those backstories include home and academic experiences.  We cannot simply assume that students are 'issues' when their behaviors are not ideal.  Further, we have to move beyond "behavior management" and move toward trust-based relationships.  Where the brain has plasticity, it is important for teachers to have flexibility and lean into the discomfort of a challenging situation with a student.  As opposed to seeing a student as a "problem", our paradigms need to shift to see student's as "opportunities." And if a student is presenting inattention, fear, anger or disgust - we need to take this as an opportunity to learn more about this student's story and design ways to serve him/her best. This could be by simply checking in with the student after class, addressing any concerns, acknowledging their feelings and by all means, apologizing when we are wrong. Neuroplasticity can serve us best in these cases because if neurons that fire are neurons that wire, then trusting, nurturing relationships with academic leaders can actually change the wiring of a student's brain and perhaps help to rewire their thinking and responses. 

Lesson 2 Post

"After watching the videos on Vision and Hearing, describe how this information impacts you as a teacher"

As a teacher, this information informs me to be alert to any warning signs that my students may be committing regarding vision loss.  If I see a student squinting or straining consistently when reading this is an opportunity for me to ask the student if he/she is experiencing any difficulties and perhaps bring this information to the parents or the school nurse.  I was a child who began to get blurry vision around the age of 10 and this was identified in the classroom.  All of a sudden the chalkboard began to get fuzzy and I was straining to see the board.

                                                                                  www.uniteforsight.org
       
Because of this, I began the process of getting glasses because of my near-sightedness.  So, as a high school teacher I know that a student's vision can still change in his/her teen years and this is something that I need to pay attention to. Because the school screening may be insufficient for an accurate diagnosis for the student, I am now more apt to call home and share my concerns.

The information about hearing is interesting to me, especially the article about the relationship between heart health and hearing.  I recently had a student discuss what it meant to be "hard of hearing" as opposed to deaf and how this affects him in the classroom.  He provided a strong visual of a teacher who was writing something on a whiteboard and was talking with her back to the classroom. This really stood out to me that I need to be aware of talking to the class by making as much eye contact as possible and not speak to students with their backs to me or vice versa.  This video on hearing reminded me of this practical tool for the classroom.  As well, it encourages me to use more music in the classroom in an effort to stimulate their hearing as well as promote relaxation and improve information retention where applicable.

Lesson 1 Post

After watching the videos on brain architecture, plasticity, and understanding the impact of the environment on a child, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

This information is so radically interesting to me.  A few years ago I learned about the science of haptics and even share this article with my students to explain why we will handwrite a lot of work in the early stages of the classroom.  Haptics is the motor-cognitive process that Jensen (2008) mentions when he writes "The cerebellum is the key link between the age-old mind-body link.  It's actually the link to how we move and think" (p. 16). It was fascinating when I learned the science between handwriting and the learning process. I'm not very "science" smart, but it makes sense to me on a macro level.  Last semester I was introduced to the brief article "It's easier to learn on paper" and will be sharing with this with students this upcoming year.  Even so, recently I picked up the book "The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's survival guide to raising adolescents and young adults" (F. Jensen and Nutt, 2015) because I have wanted to know more about the teenage brain and how I can become a more effective teacher with a brain-based learning background.  So, these videos and these initial readings further my excitement for learning so that I can better serve my students (in this way I suppose that my brain is "ready" for learning and perhaps my neurons will fire more effectively because I am engaged!).