...The Effective Classroom Environment The environment created by the teacher in his/her classroom can have a positive or negative effect on student learning. In the school that I work in, this presents a formidable challenge. There is no way around it, MHS is an ugly building. The main walls are orange and yellow and there are virtually no walls between the classrooms. It was built in the 1970’s with an open classroom concept. This “experiment” proved to be an absolute failure. Teachers could not hear students, students could hear lessons going on in other rooms; confusion and noise abounded. Since its original construction, some temporary cubicle-type walls have been put in place but they have not solved the problem. The walls that do exist remain a loud “in your face” orange and yellow. The “mood” created by these colors is not relaxing or conducive to learning. In an attempt to combat this, I try to create a classroom that has a calming, positive and friendly atmosphere. In order to mask the color scheme, I display a lot of student work and put up a variety of other decorations and information. I have created separate sections for each class, a section for student rewards (called the 100 Board), a section for school information, and several smaller sections of miscellaneous education-related and insightful notices and posters. A theme of diversity, tolerance, and achievement is emphasized throughout. Displaying student work is an excellent way to enhance...
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...says embarrassing me. Riiiinnnnng. “Thank goodness,” I sigh to Maggie as we walk out of the classroom. “Come on Missy, language arts is fun, you just have to try,” Maggie replied. “I do try, my hardest is your worst,” I say wanting to get out of this conversation. “Whatever, I’ll see you on Monday, ” Maggie walks away annoyed, “I bet you’ll come up with a great story,” she said less annoyed. Today I slowly walked home, I wanted to be anywhere but home. When I did arrive home my mom was sitting at the table waiting for me. I knew it,...
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...then why is there a major disparity in achievement between boys versus girls in school?” (Fioriello 1). In my opinion the disparity lies with some teachers not having enough patience to deal with little boys in the classroom. Nor do they possess proper training to differentiate the fact that; boys are very much different than girls in chemical brain development. Even before my son was born I have always wondered and suspected if boys are treated differently in school than their girl counterparts? This question has been on my mind of years as an afterthought, but once my son entered kindergarten my suspicions were once again aroused. I have always kept abreast of the growing issues of class room disparity among boys and girls; it was always something that interested. Now that I have my son Michael, who by the way entered first grade this year, I am in full battle gear. I am a one woman advocate at this point for boys and learning. Let me point out now, this is not a paper on race disparity in the public school system, it is a paper on gender disparity. Yes, there is a racial discontent among African American and Alston 2 Hispanic boys in the classroom concerning learning and being taught. I refuse to jump on the racial band wagon, if I only focused on a race that I belonged to I would be doing an injustice if I left all boys out. My first grader is a boy who happens...
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...because it is a better technique to manage your time between work, family and school. I can set my own time for education and still have ability to manage my time wisely. With 24 hours I can log in and submit my home work any time, if compare to traditional face to face learning environment I have to be in class at certain time and if I do not show up for the class. I will be marked absence. But as distance learning there is no set time that you have to be online and all you need is basic knowledge of internet. Ways my view of distance learning change since I started my classes is that I have made the correct decision in pursuing my education. First I was skeptical about distance learning programs because I was not familiar with the online classroom, how to submit assignment and how to reach your instructor. After visiting the University of Phoenix Website and seeing the outline and webpage, I was impressed to continue distance...
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...a year. For example :” Johnny graduated in the class of 2005”. You can also use class to describe two different things. Example “There are two different classes of detergent high efficiency and oxy.” The last definition that interest me was that you could use the word class to describe someone elegance in dress and behavior. For example “ She carries herself with a lot of class.” As I went through all the definitions I noticed that I do use the word “class” in those aspect but never really paid attention. I sat down and thought of why would those definitions come to mind when I thought of the word and I came to the conclusion that maybe it’s because its not something that I use in everyday life. When you say class I think of the classroom setting because I have a daughter in school and I am currently in school, So when my daughter comes home I say “ How was class baby ?” and she responds. Also when It relays to me in school I think what class do I have to take next semester?, what do I have to do for class...
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...OLS and eCampus Scavenger Hunt Question 1 What tab or link do you click on the student website to access course materials? Click the Classroom tab, and then click the Materials link. Question 2 What tab do you click to get to the University of Phoenix Library? Library Question 3 What document do you use to find out what assignments are due in your class? Syllabus Question 4 Click the Library tab, and then click the University Library link. Scroll down to view the Library Resources. What are the databases listed in General Resources? EBSCOHost and ProQuest® Question 5 What tab would you click to access the Center for Writing Excellence? Library Question 6 What tab would you click to access your account information, such as your profile, password, and address? Account Question 7 Click the Library tab, and then click the Center for Writing Excellence link. Which of the following is an automated review service providing feedback on basic grammar and usage? Hint: Scroll down to see the types of review services. Tutorials and Guides Question 8 How do you access the Main class forum in OLS? Click the Materials link. Question 9 What OLS forum is a private place for you to communicate with your facilitator? Individual Question 10 What icon shows next to messages posted by your facilitator? Graduation cap Question 11 What icon shows next to the messages posted by you? Person Question 12 What is the phone number to contact University of Phoenix Student...
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...Classroom Observation Conducting classroom observations are very important to the prospective teacher. Observing helps show how experienced teachers manage their classroom. For this observation it was important to notice how the classroom was arranged, how the teacher interacted with the students, the teacher’s management style, and interview the teacher. Upon speaking to the principal about observing he assigned me to Mrs. Johnson’s third grade class, because she was the best organized. I was surprised when I walked into the class and it was not pristine and in perfect order. Shelves are organized with baskets but the baskets are overflowing with books. I was glad to see that she actually used her classroom. My observations on the teacher’s management style, interaction with students, arrangement, mutual respect, enforcing and reinforcing classroom expectations, and preventative procedures and activities. The day I observed Mrs. Johnson’s classroom was a good day because not only did I get to see the interaction between her and her students she also had the other third grade class for a period and I got to see her interaction with students she does not have on a daily basis. She was very positive and never raised her voice once. If a student got too loud or was breaking rules she would call the students name and tell them to take a letter. She is very respectful with her students calling them ladies...
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...Normality We’re 7 million people sharing the earth. But how many are considered “normal”? When are people considered abnormal? Can a little thing as being born with a finger less, make you the black sheep in the classroom? Is it even possible to be normal? Today we’re 7 million people on the earth. Some have different skin colours, some are shorter and weaker than others and some a simply smarter. But none of these things matters in the real life. For example let’s say you’re very weak and not as high as the other boys in the classroom, but you are very smart. In the future, you would have a brilliant job. And some girls actually prefer smart boys over a strong and stupid one. But then again, some people say if you’re born with a noticeable disability, you would be considered abnormal. But I can prove that wrong. Let’s say that you’re on an institution for people who have a mental disability. You would be considered normal amongst those people. But if you’re in a regular class room they would consider you the abnormal one. And to prove it, let’s say that you’re a regular boy. You went over to visit a friend on the institution for people who have a mental disability. At the institution you would be the considered abnormal. Can any people actually be considered abnormal? Well that depends on how wide you think of the word “normal”. The truth is, we all live on the same earth, and even tho some have different skin colour, we all originate from the same race. Therefore you...
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...disadvantages of both learning environments. Harklau conducted her study over a 3 ½ year period. The subjects were newcomers to the San Francisco Bat area and were all Chinese ethnic students. She chose these students for the sample group because they represented the predominant group in the ESL program. Her study consisted of 315 hours of classroom observations, samples of homework, samples of schoolwork, school records, and 38 formal interviews. What Harklau found was that there were two significant ways in which the instructions differed. First was the organization and goals of instruction and second was the contrast in the types of social interactions that occurred in each environment. Organization and goals of instruction refers to how and written and spoken language was used, how teacher’s goals affected content, and how and to what degree feedback was given. Harklau found that while the mainstream classrooms offered lots of opportunity to get meaningful input and offered many opportunities for interactions in writing, there was very little opportunity for students to interact orally in the classroom. The classroom were structured very traditionally (in rows) and consisted of the traditional...
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...the warm-up activity is that they would have their materials (ex. Pencil and paper) out on their desk ready to begin the warm-up after the bell rings. Another behavioral expectation I would have of my students for the warm-up activity that before they begin the activity, they take time to reflect on the prompts I gave them for the assignment and begin to work quietly and individually. An evaluation method I would use to ensure that my students have an understanding of my behavioral expectations is to have a poster up on my wall that is a reminder of the classroom expectations and pointed out to the students who are not working on the warm-up. The classroom expectations are: RESPECT: your teacher, your peers, and your school, THINK: ask good questions, use your resources, open your mind to new ideas, PARTICIPATE: volunteer in class discussions, do your class work and home work, share your ideas with others. These classroom expectations would have been gone over the first day of school and given to the students in a handout that the students and the parents...
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...Since 1971, education spending in the United States has grown from $4300 to over $9000. That’s good, right? Unfortunately, over 40 years, our reading and math skills have completely flat-lined. The United states, currently, ranks 25th in math, and 21st in science, but we are a world power? There are over 7000 drop-outs A DAY, with a drop-out being EIGHT TIMES more likely to go to prison. This, of course, isn’t all on the student. Effective principals and teachers account for 60% of a child’s success. If this keeps up, it is estimated that by 2020, 123 million high pay, high skill jobs will be available, but we will only have 50 million people qualified to work them. That’s a deficit of 73 million! 73 million is roughly the population of New York, Texas, and California COMBINED. Mississippi only has 3 million. It is obvious that now more than ever we need teachers, but there are plenty of other reasons to become a teacher. It's virtually impossible to be bored or with a job as challenging as teaching. Your brain is constantly engaged in creative ways as you work to solve a vast amount of daily problems that you've never faced before. Teachers are lifelong learners who love the chance to grow and evolve. Your students will also keep you young by keeping you updated on current events and technologies that are popular with their age group. This will help you avoid being one of those people who still doesn’t know how to charge their iPhone. Anybody who enters teaching...
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...Chapter 2. Accessing University of Phoenix Courses 2.1 Usable Devices Attending class is easy and convenient. The classrooms are accessible using a PC, iPhone, Mac, or android device. Once you are logged in, there is a choice of classes and links to important sections of each classroom. 2.2 Current Classes The current classes are the default landing page after log in. Access to your current class's materials, discussion, and assignments is available here. The Current Classes tab shows the class(es) you are currently attending. It will show information about the class such as the official name of the class attended at the moment (i.e. ENG/221), the instructor's name and the beginning and ending dates of the class. (See Figure 2.1) [pic] Figure 2.1 Current Classes 2.3 Previous Classes The Previous tab gives access to the previous class. It will show information about the class such as the official name of the class, the instructor's name and the beginning and ending dates of the class. (See Figure 2.2) NOTE: If the class has ended more than five weeks ago, the only access available is the materials link. [pic] Figure 2.2 Previous Classes 2.4 Future Classes The Future tab shows the next scheduled class, the beginning and ending dates and the instructor's name. (See Figure 2.3) Keep in mind that the instructor's name may not be available...
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...parents we teach our children to be themselves no matter what others think. As babies children are placed in situations that their parents but them in most the time in the group of friends that the parents interact with. This is just the beginning of the cycle of social interaction they are either liked by these friends or not. Soon after starting school kids experience their own social influences if they like school they may not be liked by the cool kids. As children it is hard to not fit in with the cool group of kids because at that moment the only thing they think about is being in the popular crowd. This was no different for one of the little boys in the first grade at one of the local elementary schools. After observing in the classroom for an hour I went out to the playground to observe the kids playing. A little boy who was very out spoken in class was sitting on a bench alone wondering what was going on; I walked over to observe him closer. As he was sitting on the bench I noticed that he was crying still just observing I watched as this little boy cry until the teacher came to talk to him. AS they were talking the...
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...Aplia: In addition to class preparation, for each chapter there are Aplia homework assignments, both practice and graded. Aplia is required of all students. Aplia’s homework questions and problems are tied to the textbook content and may not always agree completely with classroom discussions. Please read and comply with the Aplia instructions. For Aplia problems, use textbook formulas and 365 days in a year. Students are expected to complete all Aplia graded assignments by the specified due dates. There will be no extensions as the closing time is determined by computer. All assignments will be computer graded and scores and completion statistics will be reported by Aplia. Please see the Aplia documentation. Aplia assignments are the “homework” portion of the course grade and will be graded on the number of assignments completed and the percentage of correct answers as recognized by the computer. It is expected that students will spend approximately 2 to 3 hours, in addition to the time spent completing the Aplia assignments, preparing for each class. Additional time is required for the problems and analyses that are required. Attendance policy: There is a lot of material to be covered in this course. Therefore, it is important that every student attend every class, arriving on time. Attendance will be taken at the start of every class, and anyone not present will be marked absent. Three absences, for any reason, except University required activities, will result in a...
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...What does multiculturalism mean; it is acceptance or promotion of multiple ethnic cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place. (en.wikipedia.org). How I would incorporate activities that would support a multicultural class room, well for one I would take a map of the world and pin it up to one wall of my class room. Take pictures of everyone in the class and put the pictures and their names on the side of the map and run a string to the place where they are from. This way everyone can see exactly where they are from and how far they traveled to get here. After looking on where everyone came from I would sit aside one day where students can bring food from their culture and clothes, music or even talk about their traditions and there history about where they came from. This way they can taste the foods that they eat and listen to the different sounds of music and hear about how the students talk about their traditions, by doing this the students can understand a little about their culture and why they are different. Another group activity, I would do is watch movies in different languages, but have the words subtitled in English, this way it would require them to watch closely and then give them a quiz after the movie was over. Then have the students say hello in different languages just to see how many different languages they can say hello in. Another activity would be to have them write something about themselves and the...
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