1. Restate questions and reflect on questions A. When you think about a classroom problem, do you try to see it from different angles? Page 4 When I read this question, my heart was beating fast. It was like someone hitting my head when I was daydreaming. Back to this question, honestly, I did not try to see it from different angles. Actually, I met the same problem when I was teaching Chinese my first year here in America. It was the most unruly class that I had ever witnessed. Students were talking and laughing loudly and they did not listen to me at all even though my co-teacher helped me manage the class. I changed the assigned seats 6 times during the 3 week Chinese session, unfortunately, it did not make any difference. I was so frustrated every day and consulted with my co-teacher to find a solution to this classroom problem. Based on this experience, certainly, both of us were in agreement on an approach for resolution and that was to focus on the students. Our number one action was to control student behavior by setting up rules and routines to control the classroom learning environment. First of all we reassigned students’ seats to place badly behaved students in other seats. Gradually, my co-teacher gave up and I felt isolated, depressed and in search of a method to change this situation. It did not work when I changed the assigned seats, however, it did not work when I changed the curricula as well. I asked several professional teachers, but they were unable to assist me since they had not encountered a situation as bad as this one. Constrainedly, I completed the first session, however many times when I recall this experience, I still do not know what the solution to this problem should have been. That is why when I read this question that I had a strong emotional reaction. Think about different angles? It makes me consider that if I went back to that situation again, what were different angles? At first, I could have examined each students’ personnel situation and motivation which I have mentioned in the beginning, while the second angle would be to evaluate the teachers. I did not think about this angle during the time I was teaching. Actually, before the Chinese session, the 6th grade students already had taken French and Spanish which were taught by my co-teacher who was a novice world-language teacher. She sat up several strict and rigorous rules in the classroom which I thought was okay since I had seen this in China. (I do not want to indicate that my co-teacher’s teaching methods were not good, I want to rethink the situation to contemplate other solutions to our classroom management) My co-teacher did not consider the students as individuals with different responses to learning a new language, for instance, some students are auditory learners and others might be sight learners. She was totally following the curricula designed by the world language department. Seemingly, she did not pay attention to the reaction from students, instead, she just continued to teach, following the prescribed lesson plan. Before I started to teach, she told me she had given up on this class and wished to quickly finish the session. I think if my co-teacher had showed a positive attitude towards to students, what might the situation be? Would my first teaching experience have been a positive one? I regretted that I did not talk to each student after class or outside the classroom. In fact, I did not have the opportunity to interact with any of them individually. If I had known how each was responding or what previous educational experience each student came into the class with, what might the situation be? Also and thirdly, it was the school or the district which I did not consider initially. I think the school did not place much value on the subject of world language and therefore did not evaluate the competency and preparation of world language teachers. B. As a student, could you discern these qualities in your teachers? As a beginning or practicing teacher, can you see these qualities in yourself or in your colleagues? (qualities including open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness) Page 13 As I read Deway’s three attitudes about reflective teachers, I was searching for my teachers in my educational lineage. Well, it is difficult to find a teacher who exhibits all three attitudes. However, I could find some teachers who had one or two of each of these three attitudes. Recalling teachers from my past education years,, Dr. Shi who was my undergraduate advisor was a really open-minded teacher. She is knowledgeable and her views are profound and immense. Seemingly, she is very strict and rigorous when she faces her students, and it seems like students can not criticize or argue against her ideas because all the students are awed by the image she presents in the classroom. But one thing altered my opinion of her. It was in my media criticism class, and we were talking about the impact of the media in Taiwan. It was the information that Dr. Shi did not clearly present or the information given was incorrect, and I knew the updated information. Absolutely, I hesitated to correct it, because Dr. Shi would lose face if my information was correct. I do not remember why or who pushed me to correct Dr. Shi, but at least I pointed out the information in the class. Surprisingly, she was not angry, on the contrary, she was happy to listen to me and finally she accepted my information. “An openminded individual listens to and accepts the strengths and weaknesses of his or her own and others’ perspective,” Based on this point, I believe that Dr. Shi is a reflective teacher. When it comes to responsibility, it reminds me of my previous science teacher who is a fan of Peking Opera. He always said “easier said than done”. Well, he did not say much while usually just showed his research results in the class. At the end of class, he usually asked us to discuss the result and answer the question, does it make sense? Actually, I was intrigued to learn about his research since it was related to the course work, and I also believe that he showed a responsibility towards reflective teaching. In addition to wholeheartedness, I think my geography teacher, Mrs. You, is a wholehearted teacher who focuses on teaching and taking action at the same time. As we all know that the environment is deteriorating and when I was in middle school, Mrs. You repeated that human beings should take actions to protect our earth by doing a small thing. She encouraged us to reuse the water. For example, after we washed the rice, a reuse the water to flush the toilet. She tried her best to protect the environment, even though most of us thought that it did not make any difference. Yes, it may not work completely, however, it was her enthusiasm that we responded to. I am so surprised that even today her life style has not changed, she rides her bicycle to school, no cars, recycles recyclables, etc. When I read the wholeheartedness, her image came up in my mind quickly. C. If a student comes to you angry with another student or crying and upset, what is your first reaction? What other reactions might you have? Do you ever react differently to students (or to their parents) depending upon their gender, race, or social class background? Page 16 Why I chose this question is because I was frustrated in my first year Chinese teaching. Actually, I encountered this situation in the Chinese session. As I mentioned in the first question, it was a disaster for me. Well, I remembered when I first met the student who was angry with another student, I did not know how to deal with them. I just asked my co-teacher for help and then she took care of the problem and I continued teaching the class. Absolutely, I did not have any experience in conflict resolution and my co teacher who was a novice language teacher also did not have any experience either. Her solution was taking the two kids to the principal’s office. So, in my conscious mind, if this situation happens again, I would take the students to the office. However, because I took several courses and consulted some experienced teachers, I may not just take students to the principal’s office, I would prefer to diffuse the two individuals’ conflict and let them come to my office after class. It is a good opportunity to know my students in a relatively quiet place. I would ask them to discuss their feelings and try to understand what precipitated the conflict. To be honest, I never react differently to students, because I believe that every student deserves to be respected for their positive attributes. When I was a kid, I also hoped that teachers treated me fairly. There is a Chinese saying that goes, judging another person’s feelings by my own. Actually, I do not set up a boundary between students and me, moreover, I do not want to have bias towards students since I do understand the weakness of stereotyping. As a teacher, we cannot judge students at first sight. We need to try to understand them and know them during their school days. Easier said than done! So I have already taken actions. We are one. 2. Address each of Deway’s three attitudes as it relates to you. I think I am an open-minded and a wholehearted person, but I lack the responsibility mentioned by Deway that “involves careful consideration of the consequences to which an action leads”. Why do I think I am open-minded? I am always willing to listen to others’ stories and I always hope that someone could point out my mistakes so that I can change myself if the suggestions or ideas are appropriate or eligible. Actually, sometimes I am not confident, that is why I desire to listen to others. On the other hand, I am very wholehearted since I cannot deal with two problems at the same time, but I wholeheartedly focus on the teaching and how to teach well. Importantly, I want to be a good teacher even a reflective teacher. In fact, I made some mistakes when I was teaching Chinese. For example, I compared SMS students with GMS students. It really hurt students and I felt regretful. As I read in the book, it mentioned that “reflective teachers are fallible teachers” which makes me comfortable, because at least I have opportunities to pursue the goal of being a reflective teacher. What’s more, I believe that teachers are maturing during the time of making mistakes. As far as I know about responsibility, I thought the teachers’ responsibilities are teaching students well and helping student improve. However, if it is in the reflection scale, that it is different. I do not think I did affect my students or help in their intellectual development. Maybe I am not confident since I just taught Chinese students before. What I was doing was giving American students some different aspects of learning Chinese culture and Chinese language. Did I really contribute to their intellectual development or did I really just affect my students’ views towards China, Chinese people, and Chinese culture? I did not have data to prove this answer, but at least it gives me an attitude to learn, to explore. 3. Locate parallels between Jared's educational experiences and any of the reading from the first three weeks. There are some parallels between Jared’s educational experiences and the readings (12 Qualities, The Teaching Behind the Teaching and Becoming a Reflective Teacher Chapter 3). First, Jared remembered the love from his first grade teacher named Mrs. Alisch which is in accordance with “love of kids” in 12 Qualities. Second, Jared drew the funny picture of his English teacher named Mr. Greenwood. Jared was asked to the hall and surprisingly Mr. Greenwood did not blame him instead he commended Jared for his talented drawing. Moreover, Mr. Greenwood kindly recommended him to be a new cartoonist since the school newspaper needed one. Finally, he nicely suggested to him to stop drawing in the class. What a smart and considerate teacher! I think this is a good strategy to solve the classroom problem. Certainly, this strategy is similar to Dr. Marzano’s question “what do I typically do to celebrate success?” It may not be completely the same, while emotionally I prefer to use this strategy in my future classroom, because it is always significant to encourage students to pursue their interests and goals instead of killing off their passions. This idea is also mentioned in Parker Palmer’s book which we read in week two. Obviously, Mr. Greenwood did not kill off Jared’s passion about drawing, and that is why I believe that in modern society teachers are taught to encourage students. Third, Jared shared his story about his important teacher named Mark. Jared was excited to have a drawing book, because it taught him how to draw superheroes, a woman or muscles. However, it was strange that Mr. Mark told him to forget everything he had learned. Jared was confused, as an audience, however, I am not surprised. Distinctly, he was one of teachers who most resembled Abba Felix. "You have a great style. Celebrate your own style. Don't draw the way you're being told to draw. Draw the way you're drawing and keep at it, because you're really good." Mr. Mark said to Jared. Of course, Mr. Mark wanted to clean Jared’s world and certainly he gave Jared opportunities to explore the world independently. Finally, I am moved because of Jared’s history and success. Actually, it is the art which changes his life. Art is powerful! Similarly, teachers are powerful! I believe. 4. Think back to your own k-12 experiences, what was the curriculum like when you were a student? Do some digging regarding curriculum where you hope to teach and compare and contrast the two curricula? Consider how you are being taught to think about curriculum and learning in the MU Art Education program, how is it different (or the same) as you were taught? When I recall my k-12 experiences, the curriculum was all exam-based. As you all know that I mentioned in reflection 2, the k-12 education in China is a battle, who wins the game, will have a better future. (This is my bias about the education in China since I experienced through this k-12 journey.) And I did not remember some specific content that I hope to teach or compare in the future. And we do not have visual art in K-12, instead, we do have drawing/painting courses which usually are replaced by main subjects, including Chinese, Math and English before midterm test and final test. The useful curriculum that I could recall was English class in my high school which was a private school. Except for traditional English class which was taught by Chinese people who gained a degree of TESOL in China, we did have an English native speaker being our English movie appreciation teacher. What I remembered was this teacher (Australian) leading us to repeat the lines and we did role playing. Especially, we had competition of English Drama Play in every semester and we had an English corner which would perform so many programs during the events. I think the reason why I still remembered is that this was the only class we did not have exams. The grade was based on the participation and performance. Since the subjects are different (English vs Art), it is difficult to measure the differences and commonalities between the different subjects. However, based on these curricula, I think they are used as enlightening and inspiring students’ ideas and views. Moreover, students are engaged in the processes which improve their main skills and help them have a better understanding towards the subjects. 5. Compose a goal statement, explain why it’s important to you AND for your students. Propose several strategies you might play with to achieve it. A: Create an environment which promotes conceptual thinking I want to create a classroom which is full of thinking, learning and students’ improvement. I believe that the classroom is a pure safe place to gain knowledge. It may involve objectivism, and sometimes subjectivism. However, students at least experience different aspects of the world around them. Strategies: I would prefer to use some strategies to push these processes, for example, inspiring and enlightening students by leading them to think about the world independently instead of giving them the answers directly like Abba Felix did. I would use Marzano’s teaching scale strategies that I did not use in my previous classroom, for example, ask students to examine information for errors or informal fallacies such as faulty logic, attack, weak reference, and misinformation. B: Develop methods to make learning visible. Every student is encouraged to make their thinking and learning visible. Strategies: I would use some strategies that I learned from Livek’s course which are SEE-THINK-WONDER, THINK-PUZZLE-EXPLORE, and HEADLINES. The attached file is the introduction to these strategies that make thinking/learning visible. REFERENCE Reflective Teaching: An Introduction (Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling Series) 2nd Edition, Chapter 1 - 2 PEER RESPONSE 1. Becky: Hi Becky, I am really intrigued about why no one could tell you the curriculum should be? So is it usually created by “teacherself”? I mean is there any one directing you the curriculum or giving you a plan so you could follow it? Since I did not have experience creating curriculum at school, I am so curious about it. My previous teaching Chinese experience, what I had was the coordinator from world-language department who designed the curriculum every lesson. Every language teacher just followed the curriculum and extended the lessons. In addition, your goal, is really important. Sometimes as a teacher, he/she usually is not patient enough. I mean he/she does not notice the importance of patience. Well, I want to keep this in my notebook, so that it could remind me of the importance of patience. Thank you! 2. Hi Amy, see you again in the online course. I admire your solution to address the seat. Well, at my first day class, I usually created the assigned seats by the alphabet using students’ last name. When I recognized the dynamic of class was not good, I started to change the seats. However, I changed the assigned seat many time but it did not work. At this point, I could not try to find the best solution to address the needs of all students. How frustrating it was. Have you ever met the situation that two students who seated far however they wanted to seat together? Will you led them seat together? Or how will you respond to them? In your question 2, I have the same feelings with you. Actually, I noticed schools do not pay attention to world language. I did not know the budget of world-language per school, but I should say I did not get support from school. And, I was a visiting teacher so that I did not advocate for the roles in school reform. However, I admire what you did for budget which is inspiring. In addition, I really enjoy reading your post since you shared a lot your teaching experience which I am lack of right now, because I am currently a full time student. ![]()
3 Comments
It is worth reading the article named The Teaching Behind the Teaching. I strongly agree with the author’s idea that the conventional classroom is not a place of collaboration, or a place of inquiry, but a place of competition. According to my previous study experience in China, it was, unfortunately, a competition since middle school and it never ended until graduation from college. Every semester, teachers would rank student based on their scores of all subjects, and they would reward publicly the TOP 10 students in each grade by making a poster. In particular, I wanted to share a fun story which happened during my senior year in high school. As you may know, the College Entrance Examination in China is very rigorous and strict, since we do have a lot of students (population is big). And there are not quite many great colleges that can be chosen, so students in China should compete in this battle. What a fun story is that some of my classmates, who were apparently better than me in taking test, do not want to help me when I asked their help for preparing exams. Obviously, they were reluctant to answer, because they thought I was one of their rivals and were afraid of my progress from their help. I am curious about whether the similar story would happen in America? Or is the classroom a battle field in America? I have thought about the idea of OBJECTIVISM in high school when I took the subject Political Science. At first time, I though objectivism is the idea of people thinking about the world independently. In Palmer’s paper, I noticed a notion of objectivism in classroom which it did not happen in my life of study at schools. He describes four feature of conventional classroom, and some of them I agree with, but some of them I do not. First, He mentions that teachers try to kill off students’ passions because they want to keep students under control. As far as I know, I did not have such experience that teachers killed students’ passions through elementary school to college. I tend to think that teachers in modern society are taught to encourage students, instead of to kill student’s passion. So I do not agree with the idea that the author claims in the paper. This book, however, was published in 1993 and that is why I think the idea may a good reflection at that time, but not present. Second, I believe that “objective knowledge involves a one-one-one encounter with the known; no other relationships are required.” However, I think it depends on different situation. When researchers want to pursue some new ideas, usually, it is a group of people studying together to brainstorm. Third, the author asserts that “in many classroom ‘cooperation’ among students goes by the name of ‘cheating’”. I think it talks about the test in the classroom, if it is a project or a research, however, I believe that it is allowed to share and talk about ideas and collaborate with each other. I am surprised that Abba Felix’s reaction to his students, and I am so confused about the conversation between them. Students asked Abba Felix questions and he was silent. How embarrassing it was. It should be very awkward that I am silent when students ask me questions. It seems like I do not know the answer or students would think of me who is not qualified to be a teacher because I am not knowledgeable. But I agree with the author’s interpretation about Abba Felix’s reaction, he “leads his students into a wordless world, and he wants to humble their language, to break down the illusion that we can create reality with our words”. It reminds me of a math teacher named Mr. Jee in my high school. I was not good at math and I totally did not like math. It was a disaster when I got 29/100 scores in the first math test of high school. Every time, when I came to Mr. Jee’s office to seek out the answer of the math homework. It was odd that he did not answer me quickly, while he gave me a blank sheet. He let me write down the pressure of answering the question no matter how much I knew. Mr. Jee was mute and I felt very embarrassed. Actually I could have solved the first question, but the following questions I had no idea. He then gave a hint and let me finish by myself again. Once I finished the part of the question and I could not be able to continue, he came to give me next hint. He continuously pushed me to think about the questions by myself. As I practice more in math, I got better scores in the schooling years. I think Mr. Jee’s teaching style and Abba’s style are in a similar way. They enlighten students in many ways but they do not give them the answer first which gives me an excellent example about enlightening students and lead them to an independent thinking world. It is meaningful to read Dr. Marzano’s paper, and I am familiar with his previous research about assessment. In chapter 3, he presents teacher’s self-ratings scales and strategies that teachers could implement at schools. Well, I am happy to conduct a self-audit because I want to know how much I am good at and how much I need improve, importantly, I want to be familiar with the strategies so that I could use them when I teach in the future. I went to Dr. Mazarno’s research website and downloaded the teacher personal profile for set-audit. The finished the form can be seen in the below. My Chinese language teaching experience at SMS is referred as I conducted this self-audit. ![]()
My overall self-ratings:
3 Applying: 23 2 Developing: 9 1 Beginning: 1 0 Not Using: 8 1. What do I typically do to provide clear learning goals and scales? (2 Developing) When I taught Chinese at SMS, we had learning goal and objectives, and repeated every lesson. However, we just simply paid attention to the learning goals but we repeated in a mechanistic way. 2. What do I typically do to track student progress? (3 Applying) Actually, we did have a system to track every student progress. Moreover, I designed a performance and learning sheet for each student and they would fill out the form every lesson after class. The is the evidence that I could track for each student’s learning status. 3. What do I typically do to celebrate success? (3 Applying) In Chinese class, when students finished the 1 session, they would get the certification/document from MU Confucius Institute. What’s more, they would get the reward if they complete the learning goal which can be seen in the below. 4. What do I typically do to establish and maintain classroom rules and procedures. (3 Applying) One of the most useful way is repeating the classroom rules in the first day of the semester. We did have gestures to remind students that his or her behaviors are not allowed in the classroom. 5. What do I typically do to organize the physical layout of the classroom? (3 Applying) Thanks to my co-teacher, she designed and decorated the language classroom very well and students felt belonging in the class. All the bulletin boards were different languages, including Chinese, French, and Spanish. 6. What do I typically do to identify critical information? (3 Applying) Usually in Chinese class, we handed out several sheets which were significant for learning in every lesson. 7. What do I typically do to organize students to interact with new knowledge? (2 Developing) In Chinese class, we had group study language, while we seldom led them to think about an issue which is related to the topic. 8. What do I typically do to preview new content? (3 Applying) Every lesson, in the beginning of the class, we previewed the content. 9. What do I typically do to chunk content into digestible bites? (3 Applying) Every time, when we watched a video, we would pause the tape if it is key information. 10. What do I typically do to help students process new information? (2 Developing) We provided some games for students processing new information but we did it in a mechanistic way. 11. What do I typically do to help students elaborate on new information? (3 Applying) We usually asked really good questions for students to think about them. Students would share and talk them in the classroom. 12. What do I typically do to help students record and represent knowledge? (3 Applying) We did have the memory cards which helped student memorize the language words. Usually, they had the summary sheets which they could review them after class. 13. What do I typically do to help students reflect on their learning? (0 Not Using) I did not these strategies when I was teaching Chinese. 14. What do I typically do to review content? (3 Applying) Every lesson, in the beginning, we would review the content we had learned. 15. What do I typically do to organize students to practice and deepen knowledge? (2 Developing) We usually had students play games for practice and sometimes let students watch a relevant video and they would fill out the sheet, then we would discuss the content together. Meanwhile, students would take notes. 16. What do I typically do to use homework? (0 Not Using) We could not give sixth grade students homework since the policy does not allow. 17. What do I typically do to help students examine similarities and differences? (3 Applying) We usually used Quizlet which is a tool for students to learn language. We discussed the similarities and differences in the class together then we would put it on Quizlet and students could play with it to examine their memory. 18. What I typically do to help students examine errors in reasoning? (0 Not Using) I did not know the strategy when I was teaching Chinese. 19. What I typically do to help students practice skills, strategies, and processes? (3 Applying) We used Quizlet as the tool for practicing skills, strategies and processes. Quizlet also provides different games for different purposes. 20. What I typically do to help students revise knowledge? (2 Developing) We corrected students’ knowledge about language but we did it in a mechanistic way. 21. What I typically do to organize students for cognitively complex tasks? (0 Not Using) I did not the strategies when I was teaching Chinese. 22. What I typically do to engage students in cognitively complex tasks involving hypothesis generation and testing? (0 Not Using) I did not know the strategies when I was teaching Chinese. 23. What I typically do to provide resources and guidance? (0 Not Using) I did not know the strategies when I was teaching Chinese. 24. What I typically do to notice when students are not engaged? (3 Applying) Usually if I noticed some students were not engaged, I would prefer to ask them questions and would get them engaged again. 25. What I typically do to use academic games? (3 Applying) As I mentioned before, we used Quizlet as the academic games for practice. 26. What I typically do to manage response rates? (3 Applying) Usually, after the first class, I would know which students prefer to answer the questions, and which students are shy. Normally, I would give some students who were more shy opportunities to answer. 27. What I typically do to use physical movement? (3 Applying) I used some physical games when students’ energy is low or I would lead them to watch some funny videos. 28. What I typically do to maintain a lively pace? (3 Applying) Usually, I would lead them to do something funny in 10 mins before class is over. 29. What I typically do to demonstrate intensity and enthusiasm? (3 Applying) I always shared them with my teaching experience or traveling experience in China. Actually, I am a funny teacher. 30. What I typically do to use friendly controversy? (3 Applying) I allowed some controversy existing in the classroom, however, I always repeated my main point that everyone has his/her own opinion that is why the world is colorful. We should respect everyone’s opinion even though we disagree. 31. What I typically do to provide opportunities for students to talk about themselves? (0 Not Using) My students in Chinese class, if they got a problem or they wanted to talk about themselves, I usually listened to them after class. I was so happy to hear their experience and stories. 32. What I typically do to present unusual or intriguing information? (3 Applying) Usually, when I provided some intriguing information, I would invite guest speaker who could bring something new. 33. What I typically do to demonstrate withitness? (3 Applying) When I was teaching, I always scanned the entire classroom. If something happened which I could not handle with, my co-teacher would come to help me. 34. What I typically do to apply consequences for lack of adherence to rules and procedures? (2 Developing) I usually used nonverbal signals and verbal signals but in a mechanistic way. 35. What I typically do to acknowledge adherence to rules and procedures? (2 Developing) I provided nonverbal signals but in a mechanistic way. 36. What I typically do to understand students’ interests and backgrounds? (0 Not Using) I did not know the strategies when I was teaching. 37. What I typically do to use verbal and nonverbal behaviors that indicate affection for students? (3 Applying) I always showed my positive altitude to my students in Chinese class. And I always complimented them even though their answers were incorrect. 38. What I typically do to display objectivity and control? (1 Beginning) Actually, I exhibited extremes in positive or negative emotions when I was teaching at SMS. I compered SMS students with GMS students which was a bad example. I need to control my feelings and emotions in the class. 39. What I typically do to demonstrate value and respect for low-expectancy students? (3 Applying) I cared about every student in my class, including the low-expectancy students. I believe that every student has his or her own shining spot. In the first session Chinese class, I knew some low-expectancy students. I chose to ask them questions more and rewarded them often. I always showed my smile to them and encouraged them to practice and answer the questions even though the answers were incorrect. 40. What I typically do to ask questions of low-expectancy students? (2 Developing) I did the strategy but in a mechanistic way. 41. What I typically do to probe incorrect answers with low-expectancy students? (3 Applying) As I explained in the 39th question, I always asked low-expectancy students to further explain their answers and I would rephrase the questions and his or her answers. When I compare Dr. Marzano’s self-ratings with 12 QUALITIES, I would say 12 QUALITIES are inclined to focus on human’s emotions and feelings, while Dr. Marzano’s teacher self-ratings are more specifics and detailed which tend to like a rational audit. Obviously, there are some ideas emerging, for instance, in Dr. Marzano’s 29th question, the teacher demonstrates intensity and enthusiasm for the content in a variety of ways which is similar to the 1st quality PASSION FOR TEACHING and the 3rd quality LOVE FOR THEIR SUBJECTS, because they are all talking about human’s emotions and feelings. REFERRENCE Robert J. Marzano, Becoming a Reflective Teacher (Identifying Instructional Strengths and Weaknesses to Improve Teaching) (Classroom Strategies) Chapter 3 P37-48 Parker Palmer, To Know As We Are Known, Chapter 3 The Teaching Behind the Teaching, P33-46 PEER RESPONSE Jenna: Hi Jenna, I love your interpretation of Palmer’s article, it helped me understand the article deeply. Actually I read this article three times, but I am still confused about the objectivism. Is it possible that the classroom is full of objectivism instead of human’s emotions and feelings? How do teachers avoid subjective thinking? Thanks for sharing the example of your ceramics teacher. I feel like I really want to take ceramics course next semester. Meanwhile, it reminds me of my fibers teacher, and she also gives us open ended space for exploring the idea of portrait with fibers. Right now, I realized Abba Felix’s teaching style, giving students opportunities for exploring the world rather than tell them his own thought. Alison: Hi Alison, when I was in the college, I observed classroom that demonstrated different than objectivism. It was in my critical theory class that my professor depicted his ideas and emotions many times, especially the stereotype of Tibet. Actually, I think objectivism is hard existing in the classroom, because teachers have their own feelings, bias and stereotype. However, I love your practice which I could use in the future classroom. I agree with your idea that “objectivist teaching is boring”. That is the reason why teachers should create some practical and useful methods to get students really engaged. I heard about the choice-based assessment but I haven’t heard choice-based approach. Same or different? Zach: Hi Zach, I admire that the objectivism is currently is currently in your classroom. Previously, I doubted whether it is possible the objectivism existing in reality? However, I believe that teaches try to leave students more space for investigating the world. I am a photographer, and I like your teaching style which is similar to my advanced photography professor, but in the advanced class, it involves a lot critical thinking instead of hand-on learning. On teacher scares, I think the teaching ratings are all strategies that you could use in your classroom if you think they are appropriate. Also, the scares could not judge a teacher who is good or not. They are reference. Thanks for sharing your experience, I am willing to know more about your teaching experience. I strongly agree with the article THE 12 QUALITIES GREAT TEACHERS SHARE. When I read The 12 Qualities Great Teacher Share, I noticed that I am in strong accordance with some qualities, such as passion for teaching, love of kids, love of their subject etc. I was wondering about the second one listed, “love of kids”, because I would prefer to say “love of students” since I have some Chinese calligraphy students who are beyond 30 years old. Well, when I was young in middle school, I was always thinking about who was the greatest teacher in my school since I was taught about Confucius who was one of the greatest thinkers and educators in the history of China. His philosophy of education is inspiring and enlightening. He claimed that teachers should teach students in accordance with their aptitude and should not follow a prescribed pattern. I think as a great teacher, he/she can modify his/her way of teaching to suit the special requirement of each class or case. What’s more, Confucius suggested that teachers should treat everyone the same, which means teachers provide education for all people without discrimination. I think this is a significant point, because teachers should not give up when presented by a particularly challenging student. When I was teaching Chinese language at Smithton Middle School, I was placed in a classroom where students were not well-behaved, and my co-teacher gave up since she was so frustrated with the students. I am not judging her ,but I would like to explore other solutions of classroom management in order to provide a positive learning experience for all the students. Furthermore, I would like to add one more into this list of qualities – Teacher’s Personality. When I read the title of the article WE TEACHER WHO WE ARE, I realized that students follow teachers not only for their subject skills but also respond to their personalities.
Here are my ratings for each of the 12 listed categories:
It is worthwhile to read the article We Teach Who we are. Actually, I was struggling to translate the title WE TEACHER WHO WE ARE in the beginning. As I read more later on, I understood the meaning of the title. We all know that students always focus on teachers, certainly, they pay much attention to teachers, including teachers’ every action and every movement. If a teacher behaves badly, students, definitely, will emulate this teacher. In other words, a teacher’s behavior has effect on students directly. So I was wondering if the author suggests that teachers pay close attention to their behaviors. In the beginning of the article, the author claims that the struggling process of defining the meaning of creativity. There are many ways and definitions about creativity, such as novelty, combinatorial nature, and so on. As the author interviewed 15 great teachers, the definitions become more and more in detail. The author asserts that “creativity involves taking something that already exists and varying it to create something new”. I can’t agree with this idea more. Like this article, the author uses current knowledge/definitions about creativity, while she opens up a new trail to extract how the great teacher thinks about creativity. What a unique idea it is. Besides, “creativity is a learning process”. I think art is a great way to express creativity, but how to make your learning visible? – Documentation video. This is a wonderful way to know how you think visually. I realized that the importance of cross-discipline teaching when I taught Chinese language at Smithton Middle School in the first teaching year. In my case, some students, initially, were not very interested in Chinese culture, or they saw Chinese as a difficult language to learn. However, when I introduced some Chinese art such as calligraphy and paper-cutting to my classroom, kids became excited and kept asking me various questions about those “shapes”. Clearly, art is a stepping-stone to open up student’s interest in language. In addition, I do believe that the successful teachers who often engage in a wide variety of avocations (personal life) will contribute to professional creativity. My college teacher Dr. Shi is an associate professor at Shanghai Normal University. Her research is very unique and she published several papers in some famous journals. Her teaching style is rigorous but students have fun in the class. Therefore, many students feel that she is mysterious and unapproachable. Actually, Dr. Shi is a very easygoing women, and she has many hobbies, such as singing, watching dramas, and so on. When she shared her story that she had watched the whole series of a television show, we were all surprised, because we thought that only young students would love this show, but not include philosophy doctors. Certainly, we had a stereotype about Ph.D. Dr. Shi said that if she had not watched that show, she could not comment on it and she could not relate to the students’ trend, as a result, she could not have a better understanding or unique idea about a topic, and how could she create creativity? Peer Blog Responses: Melissa: Hi Melissa, I love your educational lineage tree, especially the idea of hands. This reminds me of the teachers I had in my important time, because they always tapped me on the shoulders and encouraged me to overcome the obstacles of life. If this tree could be a sculpture, that would be wonderful to see. In addition, I want to say thank you to you because your reflection is kinda like an overview of the article WE TEACH WHO WE ARE, and I can check what I understand is correct or not. As an international student, sometimes I have language problems. When I read your reflection, it helps me deeply understand the article in an easy way. Definitely, I agree with your point that "avocations in art or music are always effectively put with a lesson, too”. I believe that ART is the most effective tool to express the beauty of the world. Kayla: Hi Kayla, your reflection is wonderful and of course it is really inspiring and enlightening. Your personal teaching experience makes you more reflective. Definitely, I learned a lot from you, especially your teaching experience at middle school. Currently, I am not a teacher, so I am willing to experience real teaching in the classroom. And I wish I could be a real teacher in the future. Thanks for sharing so many wonderful experiences with us. You mentioned that you had your student design a self-portrait comic book cover because you had interest in comic book covers. Actually, I did as well when I was teaching MU Tiger Artists program. In the beginning when we talked about the lessons, I preferred to teach technology since my background is filmmaking. And because Dr. Kathy assigned students to create documentary video as an assessment, I followed this instruction again in my lesson. I am so touched when I read your response to the third listed quality “love of my subject”. I am not a gifted artist either, no doubt, I am not an artist. I used to be a film maker, and I considered myself as a movie producer. Well, even though I am an art education student, I am still not confident to be an artist. But, I love your response, you “have a better understanding of the fun and exciting parts of the subject. ART ROCKS! |