Final+Exam+Case+Study

Team 7

This week was an interesting one. I was approached by the principal to take over for Mr. Riley's class. I'm a little intimidated by the whole thing, but I think I can handle it. The students in this class need some extra care and attention. Mr. Riley is an excellent fourth grade teacher, but he just did not know how to control his students. In this classroom there are 22 students (12 girls and 10 boys). There is only one ESOL student and two students diagnosed as SLD. If I just follow some basic concepts and ideas, everything should flow smoothly. According to the shaping method, if I just reinforce learners who accomplish the correct behavior others should follow. I can also reinforce at each level of performance, so my students have consistency. Tomorrow I will try and establish a "safe" environment with my students, so they feel comfortable with me taking over. I will explain to them how Mr. Riley needed to leave for a while to tend to his wife's illeness. Hopefully, the students will understand.
 * D Day**

At the end of the day, (after all the students have gone home), I have the classroom to myself. I take a second to breathe. Then, I start moving fruniture. I know which students are on IEPs and who is ELL based, so I take their desks to start three out of the five tables I'm setting the class up in. Then, I take the desks of some of the higer students and place one of them in each group. Having struggling students right next to on-track students is an excellent tactic, because students learn from their peers just as much as they do from a teacher. My struggling students will also be placed in front of the class and have outside edge desks, so I can personally help them when needed. Aranging the classroom is easy for me, because I have been working with the students for a few weeks. Therefore, I know which students need extra help, students who can stay on task, and students who want to constantly respond to their peers' needs. Later, after reorganizing the desks, I move the guided reading table to the front of the classroom to be used as my desk. It's a great position, because I can watch students working on their studies and help them if they have any questions. Before, Mr. Riley had the desk in the far back of the room which wasn't the best place. Also, if I stay at this table during individual work time, I can move students who are causing disruptions and sit them next to me. That should cause less stress for their desk mates.

Once that's all taken care of, I move onto the wall "decorations." Such things as the classroom rules and the class's schedule need to be arranged in purposeful positions. There is no disiplin chart for me to take down nor is there a classroom helper chart for me to remove. Those particular charts need to be created, because they can help improve the student's behavior. Mr. Riley had displayed students' work and the Birthday chart in meaningful positions, so those charts were left alone. I began creating the charts Mr. Riley lacked. I started with my behavior chart. With this chart, students implement a method that involves moving their clips up or down depending on their behavior. My chart is based on the weather. All the students start out with a Sunny Day and adjust as their moods change.

For Example: Sunny Day  = A great day Partly Cloudy = didn’t complete a homework assignment (loses 5 minuets of recess) Overcast = acted out in class (loses recess and/or story time/group activity) Thunderstorm = continues to act out (call/ note home) Hurricane = Sent to the principal’s office

Because the student will have to get up an walk in front of their peers to move their clip they may feel ashamed, and most students won't like the negative attention placed on them from their peers, so they will think twice before committing the same behavior in the future. If the student gets to the Thunderstorm position on the chart, I will take them aside and ask them whats going on and why they feel they need to act out to get attention. I hope to work with the students one on one to understand the root of their behavioral problems, so that they can concentrate on learning and getting positive attention, instead of negative attention. Once classroom procedures have been established, negative behavior ceases to exist and disruptions occur less frequently. The students simply move their clips and the class moves on.



The next chart I will creat will be the Helping Hands chart, I believe if students get to help their classmates and the teacher they feel a sense of importance and ownership of the class and how it runs. The "jobs" that will be given to the students each week will include:

1. 2 teacher helpers (Helps pass out papers) 2. 2 office runners (Takes notes to office and/or escorts students to the clinic) 3. 1 Door holder (Holds and opens the door when necessary) 4. 1 Board washer (Cleans the board at the end of the day and writes tomorrow's date) 5. 1 Technology Leader (Turns off lights when asked and turns off computers at the end of the day) 6. 1 Line Leader (Maintains the front of the line)



The classroom schedule will be displayed where the sudents can see it at all times, so they can start to learn time management. Knowing what is comming next and how much time they have to complete in-class assignments helps students make proper judgements of how class time should be spent. I am also incorporating a 30 minute Intervention Block into the schedule. It should give me some time to help the class stay on track. By allowing them to finish up any incompleted assignments, to reinforce new information, or skills students may be struggleing with should be addressed in the Intervention Block. Eventually, I would like to use this time for the following:

1. Expanded Exploration time of a current content area subject 2. Class story time 3. Guest speakers 4. Community volunteers (such as Junior Acheivement, Math Superstars, or Super Scientists).

Okay, so today I walked into the classroom confident. I kept telling myself that most of the students were accepting of me when I began my intership with this class, so everything is ok. I greet the students as they come into the classroom. I will briefly introduce some of the changes made to the classroom and ask them to put their things away and then to find their desk. I could tell that some students were lost and disapointed, because they knew things were going to be different in the classroom. I began by explaing to the students that I am here to help them as we should all help each other. I want to enforce the idea that this is a "safe" classroom and that each student should feel accepted and comfortable enough to share their ideas and opinions. I knew the students were going to have a million questions about where Mr. Riley was, why all the desks had been moved, and why the new charts were on the wall. I allowed the students to ask me their questions, but to control the situation, I had them write down a question on a piece of paper and submit it to me. Then, I offered a chance for the students who wanted to come up to the front and share their questions out loud. The ones who did not want to share their question did not have to. I tried to establish some sort of control while also creating a welcoming, non-forcefull environment. Maslow's hierarchy of needs states that students need to go through certain steps before they can accomplish academics. One step is feeling like their lower order of needs have been met. That's why on my second day, I planned to open up a discssion of the students' feelings and questions about myself or the situation with Mr. Riley.
 * Following D Day**

After we got most of our questions out of the way, we discussed how Mr. Riley's rules and procedures were set up, and changed what we didn't like. Then, as a whole class, we added what did work. We created a new set of Classroom Rules that everyone had to sign. It said they agreed to what we had just discussed earlier. The chart is now displayed where the students can see it and remember what they have agreed to. The rules will be along the lines of:

When we got done discussing the Classroom Rules, we went over the schedule of the class and how we will be spending our time. Next, I explained to them the Helping Hands chart and picked my first group of 8 students to be my Helping Hands for the rest of the week. I also explained to the students my disiplin chart. Most of the students had already had similar clip moving methods in their classes from previous years, but they were excited about the new chart. It had all types of weather on it and not just Good, Warning, Bad, or Office. The weather behavior chart seemed less prison like. So, after explaining to the students the consequences of bad behavior, I decide to lighten up the mood by telling them my plan to reward them for good behavior.

At the begining of the week, students start out with no letters on the board. If they do something great (as a whole class), they slowly recieve the 9 letters that spell out PICNIC DAY. The students can earn up to two letters a day on Monday through Thursday. They have to earn the ninth letter no later than Friday morning. If they get all 9 letters, then the class gets to eat lunch and play games outside.

Luckily, I was prepared for today. Mr. Riley had previously put me in charge of creating a Social Studies lesson. Staying in the Explorers unit, I tried out my Ponce de Leon lesson plan that I had previously made for Mr. Riley. The students began with a picture analysis viewing a painting of Ponce de Leon's landing in the New World. Then, we analyzed what we thought every one was doing in the painting. The students learned about the Foutain of Youth and how Florida received its name. The students also worked in small groups to make a short skit interperting what they thought it must have been like when Ponce de Leon landed in Florida. To incorporate good reading stratagies for the students, I lead them in pre-reading their text book. We began by only looking at the bold faced words, the highlighted vocabulary words, and the captions of the pictures. Then, I had the students briefly discuss the new terms and ideas and read the questions that were given at the end of the chapter. I wanted the students to know what kind of information they should be looking for as they read. After the students gathered enough background information, I had them read independently.

I have noticed that the students really love learning about Explorers and finding new lands, so I decided that I want to stick with that theme and integrate it into our math lesson as well. Since the students have already started learning a little bit about lines, rays, and angles, I want to draw angles and do measurements on maps. . I will also teach them how to use map scales. Learning that one inch on a little map would really be 100 or even 500 miles in real life, and those are important facts for the students to know. They won't even know that they're doing math! My lesson will contain the following: 1. Finding the distance between two different countries 2. Measure the angle of adding a third country 3. Calculate the total distance between three or more countries

I believe that the students need this type of hands on learning which they weren't getting from Mr. Riley. As the semester presses on, I will continue to implement my new rules and adjustments. According to Bandura, if I constantly model positive behaviors and give purpose to those behaviors, my students should stay on the right track. Also, I will implement Piaget's idea of focusing on student directed exploration. It's important to integrate activties like my Social Studies lesson, so students can learn from different prospectives. Just to be sure my parents are on the same level as my students, I have sent home a note informing them of their child's expectations and my own.

Dear Parents and/or Legal Guardians,
 * Letter To Families**

Hello, my name is Mrs. Bliss. I will be taking over for Mr. Riley. His wife has suddenly taken a turn for the worse, and he needs to be by her side everyday now. I'm sure you're probably wondering about your child's new teacher and if I'm going to be up to your standards. Please leave all your worries and stress at the door, because I promise you (here and now) that I will live up to the highest standards possible for your child. I believe in everyone's potential, and I strive to help young students succeed in achieving their goals. I would also like to take this time and let you know that I have rearranged Mr. Riley's old room. It has been adjusted to better suit the needs of your child. In our new classroom, your child will be more responsible for his or her actions, and they will also learn to take pride in helping others in the classroom. All students have been informed of the new rules and regulations. Therefore, they know what is expected of them. I appreciate your understanding and welcome any support you may have in guiding your child in a structured academic based classroom. If you have any questions, please contact me at all times with any concerns through email or by phone.

Thank You and have a Bliss-ful day, Mrs. Bliss

Email: MBliss@knights.ucf.edu School Phone: (407)-696-0113 EXT 243

Maslow's Hierarchy
 * Satisfy deficiency needs before growth needs (by providing a safe, fair, and caring environment)

Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory
 * Observing and modeling the behaviors and attitudes of others
 * Students will model a behavior if they value the outcome

Erikson's 4th stage - Industry vs. Inferiority (Industry is another word for "accomplishment")
 * Work becomes possible
 * Growing powers of concentration (ability to spend more time focusing on a single task)
 * Take pleasure in completing projects
 * Growth of independent action
 * Perform in socially acceptable ways with a concern for fair play

Vygotsky
 * Scaffolding - Teacher offers support for learner. Student gradually becomes responsible for completing a task on their own.
 * Zone of Proximal Development - Place where a child is capable of completing a task with some assistance, but not yet completely on their own. Emphasizes the importance of meeting students academically at their current learning level.
 * Encouraged teaching students to use positive private speech
 * Said that cooperative work groups should include children at different levels so some can tutor others

Piaget's 3rd stage (4th grade) - Concrete Operational Piaget says
 * Rapidly developing memory and cognitive skills
 * A child's assessment should be based on their previous development, and not on their peer's achievements
 * Teacher's should provide activities that encourage children to discover learning through interaction with their environment

Textbook says:
 * Focus on internal qualities such as kindness and intelligence
 * Self-esteem and self-concept influenced by experiences at home, at school, and with peers
 * Teachers must provide experiences that let children succeed, feel good about themselves, and maintain their enthusiasm and creativity

Theory of Intrinsic Learning
 * Get students interested in their own learning
 * Focus on effort, not ability
 * Provide clear feedback
 * Use praise effectively (not too little, and not too much)
 * Teach students to praise themselves
 * Welcome Mistakes

Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences
 * Visual/Spatial - learn through drawings, models, and imagery
 * Bodily/Kinesthetic - learn by movement, hands-on and physical activity
 * Musical - need music in their learning, such as clapping, tapping rhythms, or lyrics
 * Interpersonal - Works well with people. Learn through group activities.
 * Intrapersonal - Intuitive. Needs independent/reflection time.
 * Linguistic - Need reading, poetry, word games, and stories.
 * Logical/Mathematical - Enjoy logic, investigations, and mysteries