Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

In Chapter 7 Cushman brings up how students work in groups. I have always found myself to struggle in group work because there is never a way to evenly split all of the work. There is always someone that is doing more work than others, and even if you are not that person, it is still frustrating that you can not do anything more. "Monitor and assess groups as they work together." I think this is extremely important for teachers to do because otherwise one student will take control, and other group members may be doing tasks that they know they will not be successful in, and then essentially bring the group down. I think it is important for teachers to check in with each group to see who is doing what, and to constantly stress that everyone gets an even amount of work, and that not one person should be stressing over how much they have to do in a group project. The point of the group project is to not have to work individually, and use others thoughts and ideas, and I think its crucial for the teacher to make sure this is actually happening.

Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom

"Student interest increases when teachers find ways to bring the material alive." This is so true. I have had teachers make our class read a chapter and then do numerous worksheets on the chapter that we just read, and I found that incredibly boring. I also found that I do not retain information when I am just reading a chapter and answering questions on what I just read, it just did not seem important enough, and did not make a big enough impact on me for me to remember it. Although, the information that I do remember from high school, middle school and college so far, have been from projects that are hands-on, or not reading from the book. Like for example, instead of doing a worksheet, make a movie on your laptop about what you just read. Most students will remember the video that they recorded for that chapter, and remember the information that they presented in it. Along with that if the students have to watch others videos, it will be entertaining for them. They will be learning and not even realize it!

Chapter 5: Teaching to the individual, Working with the Group

In Chapter 5, Andres made a statement that I am sure a lot of students could relate to. "If you push too hard, the students will sometimes feel threatened and just shut down. Or if you manage to push the student without upsetting him, and then he doesn't do it to your satisfation, he might feel unworthy." (87) I have noticed that in some of my classes in the past, college and high school, teachers will be lecturing and then ask the students to discuss what he/she just explained to all of us. If you do not speak up or talk, in some cases, teachers will specifically choose that person that has yet to say anything. In my case, if I am not talking it is usually because I did not understand what the teacher was talking about and I am trying to listen to others talk about it so maybe I can understand easier. The experiences that I have had that relate to Andres' statement is when a teacher calls on you and asks you a question, you do not know the answer, and then the teacher, usually unintentionally, embarrasses you as the student by making you feel as if you do not understand what they are talking about because you do not know the answer by saying something like "someone needs to pay attention."

Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

I really liked when Cushman made the point of stating that "But if a teacher keeps believing in their value and their ability, kids are willing to try and try again."
(63) I completely agree with the statement that she is making here. If a student does not think that their teacher belives that they can succeed academically, the student will not be able to convince themselves that they can succeed. The guidance from their teacher, and the confidence that the teacher gives their students allows each student to have condidence in themselves to succeed. If there is a student that is struggling, and the teacher is not telling them what they need to do to go about improving this area, the student is going to feel lost. Along with that, if a student asks the teacher for guidance, and the teacher is not willing, the student will most likely give up.

Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior

In the third chapter, Veronica made a good point by saying "If a teacher shows that they're scared of the students, the students are going to try to take control."(36) In high school or middle school when our class had a substitute teacher, as soon as all of the students noticed that the teacher was not there to discipline the students, they did not care whether or not their work was finished by the end of the class or not. If you want control from the classroom you need to have it from the start. Like for example if you are a substitute, you should tell them exactly what they are supposed to do, and the consequences if they decide not to finish their work. Which is what was told further in this chapter, "Let students know your plan for the class."(38) Most students like walking in and being told what is going to happen during that class. I found that in the classroom that I observed in the middle school this was very successful. The science teacher I observed started every class with a daily agenda, explaining when and what they were doing.

Type I and Type II Technology

Type I use of technology is when a teacher uses a computer to make it easy to teach. The teacher is in charge of what is happening on the students computer. Type II use of technology is when teachers use the computer to find new approaches to teaching. The student is the one who is in control of what they are doing on their computer, often having to figure things out on their own, using different kinds of thinking skills.

Type 1 Examples:
1. When a teacher tells you what to type what he/she is saying during class.
2. When a teacher uses their own computer to make presentations to the class on what they are learing, offering visuals for the students.
3. When a teacher walks the students through researching a topic, telling them how to find information, and where to go.


Type 2 Examples:
1. When a teacher assigns a project, and a student decides to present their project in a slide show.
2.In seventh grade, every student in my grade used their laptop to make an imovie about themselves instead of having to write an autobiography.
3.In Dr. Theresa's class, Lilly and I made a comic strip showing what we learned about classroom management.

My MEL Experience

• Student/teacher relationships: My junior and senior year high school history teacher is someone who was very successful in keeping me interested in his class because of the relationship that he built with me. He had a great sense of humor, and was able to use it when appropriate during lecture.
• Helping students succeed: My junior year high school theology teacher is someone who showed no interest in whether or not the students in her classroom succeeded or not. For example, when having difficulty with material, she was extremely unapproachable, and not willing to further explain the material outside of the classroom.
• Hands-on: Although I have never been very interested in science, my sixth grade science teacher made our class extremely interesting. We did a trimester long project on Maine, focusing on aquatic creatures. He ended up asking the school for a grant, and he was able to put a touch tank in his classroom full of lobster, and we each raised our own lobster.
• Interest: In the two history classes that I have taken here at UMF with the same teacher, he starts every class by asking the students if they have any questions. This is how the class discussion gets started, and for the remainder of the class, it is driven by the questions that we have to ask.
• Connections: My sophomore math teacher was always very frustrating to me. I have never been strong in math class, and I was curious as to when I was going to be using certain material in the real world. So I asked this teacher, and she was never able to give me any examples of when I would use different kinds of math, and it was very frustrating and gave me no motivation to want to learn her material.