Reflection Clinical Practice II

Something I have been thinking about during Clinical Practice. Why do some teachers plain suck? I have been observing multiple teachers from last semester and this semester. I have seen GREAT teachers all the way to HORRIBLE teachers. It is very sad to see students being taught by these horrible teachers. I can see how bored students are and how much students want to get out of that class. Where is the learning in at? Where are the student oriented activities? Where are the differentiations? Where are the no child left behind theme? I am glad that I am able to see a perfect example of a horrible teacher because I take notes much more when I do observe these horrible teachers. These notes become my DO NOT's as a future educator. I believe it is much needed to observe a wide variety or teachers out there to figure out what kind of teacher I will be and what type of teacher I will NOT be. I know we ALL have been complaining about having horrible master teachers or what not, but instead of looking it at a negative experience, I believe we should ALL look at it as a positive experience. An experience that we will make sure not to give to our students in the future.

Article: Do students need Technology breaks?

I tweeted a question on tweekdeck regarding an article I have read in my Avid class. It was a very interesting topic that had students having to discuss and debate if students need technology breaks in the classroom? Pretty much the article was talking if giving students 2-3 minutes per class for students to chat, go online, text, etc, and hopefully students will not use their phones during learning time. The author did have interesting thoughts on the importance of giving the students the freedom in class for them to use their phones. He believed that if students know that they do have the free time without getting in trouble to use their phones, will prohibit students to use their phones during learning time. For myself, I believe that even though students are given technology breaks, this will not prohibit students to use their phone during class. For myself, I have taken away students phone multiple times during class. Students try to put it away before I take it away. I still take their phone away after giving them one warning. I even asked my students about this article while I was passing out papers and all students agreed they will still use their phones in the class even if they were given their technology breaks. I agreed as well!

CP II Reflection

A big question I have had is how to deal with students who causes the same problems in the classroom? I never had this problem first semester, however have been dealing with this problem constantly throughout second semester. I have tried various methods and I know that I need to figure out the one that works the best. I have tried methods that include, verbal warning, reassigning seating, and even to the point of kicking the student out of the class. For myself, it seems like verbal warning will only work the first time. After that, it seems like students think that the teacher will not do anything. Once I have kicked a student out of my class, the students knew I was committed in having a learning environment in the classroom to maximize classroom learning time. I am glad that I did experience classroom management during my second semester to learn for the future. I am glad that I kicked out a student out of my class. I am glad that I wrote referals. I am glad because I believe it is important to practice this in order to be able to be successful when I become a future educator. Of course, I hope that I do not have to kick anybody out again in the future.

Reflection CP II

We are passed the half way mark and have been diligently working hard and learning a lot in my CP II. Last semester when I was doing my CP I, everything was going perfectly. Teaching two geometry class and having great students made CP I a breeze. Never had any classroom management issues or problems teaching. This semester, CP II has taught me a lot. I have two PLATO courses which are lab courses which has really put me to the test. Classroom management has been a huge challenge in my CP II and it has beaten me down. I do what all teachers must do. I get up whenever I fall and I keep striving to become a better teacher.

I have been helping out with the math club and also in AVID. I have been doing morning and lunch tutorials for any of my students who needs the extra tutorial. It feels like I have hit a wall by trying to do too much but I know this is going to help me grow as a future educator. I would like to get my hands on all aspects of school and not just teaching.

Week 3: Spring Break

A much needed spring break came at the best time. Two weeks of clinical practice to get started. Then a week to relax and work on TPA 4. Good ol TPA 4. Last one standing in the way to become a future educator. You vs. Me. Mano to Mano. Its game time!

TPA 4 to me is not that bad. The first section is very long, roughly 1/2 of the TPA but it is exactly the same as all the other TPAs! My goal before school starts on tuesday is to be done with most of it. Most I mean 3/4 finished. Then I will record that week and finish the rest by reflecting on the last section! Cant wait to be done. IT HAS BEEN VERY TEDIOUS doing all four TPAs, but look on the bright side: WE ARE DONE!!!!

Week 2 Clinical Practice

Almost finished with 2nd week of clinical practice. Bad news, this week has been rough. Good news, SPRING BREAK! Im here to discuss about the bad news. I am realizing the challenges and difficulty as a student teacher. Last semester was perfect with no challenges to where I thought I was a GREAT teacher. However, that dream lasted 1 semester. I have had more challenges in 2 weeks than I had all last semester. I am having difficulty with time management since I was so used to block schedules. I am also having difficulty with one of my classes since one of my CT is on maternity leave and I was left alone with a full time sub teaching a PLATO course (math lab class) by myself. Not only did I have to learn how the PLATO course works with the technology but also had to learn about classroom management. Lastly, the last challenge I have in my clinical practice is the challenge of not having the freedom to do what I want to do in the classroom. I have to follow a specific calendar and cannot be behind or be ahead of this calendar. Last semester my CT let me do whatever I wanted and we debriefed what went well and what I needed to change. This semester, everything seems scripted and I cannot teach freely.
Even with all these challenges, I am glad that I do have these challenges. Challenges will make me a better future educator. I would rather see all the challenges in my clinical practice than see it when I have my own classroom. This was a reality check and I hope that this will make me a successful future educator!

Week 1 of Clinical Practice

Week 1 of Clinical Practice

This week has been very exciting due to the first week of clinical practice. There has been a lot of changes from what I have learned from last year. I prepared myself during observations to get to know the students before my clinical practice started. This made the transition process quicker and smoother when I took over my CT's classroom.
I love my class! The students are amazing and it is great to teach an Algebra II course. The students are more mature and older so the classroom management aspect of it is not too bad. However, I am also teaching 2 plato courses in mathematics. Plato courses are lab classes where students are on the computers and learning their individual mathematic content. There is not too much teaching involved besides assisting students if they need help. The biggest challenge for myself in the plato classes is the classroom management aspect. These are students who have failed multiple times in a course and most of the students have lost motivation to learn. Students have to complete 100% of their modules to pass the course. There are many students in the class that are still taking their first semester course still. But I do enjoy trying different classroom management approaches and see what works and what does not work. My goal for ALL the students is to have them at 100% by the end of the semester. It is a huge goal but I know if I focus on them, and be prepared to fail, then I know I can prevail at the end of the semester.

Week 1 has been a success with wonderful students, wonderful teachers, and a wonderful OSL to make my clinical practice a comfortable learning experience as possible!

Ipads In Mathematics

Ipads in Mathematics

Going to El Camino HS was a great experience. This was probably one of the observations I was looking forward to because this is what the future is going to represent. The traditional teaching style using whiteboards and taking notes will be revolutionized in the classroom and this observation was a clear example of the first steps into doing this. At first, when I observed I thought Ipads was just a luxury in the classroom and not a necessity. Even now, I still believe this is true, but I also see the importance of Ipads. When I talked to both teachers, I got a better understanding on how the Ipads were being used. At first,  I was confused because half of the class was showing their work on a piece of paper while the other half of the class had nothing on their desk besides their Ipad. The teacher told me students can use both methods that they prefer. Once I got to see the App evernote I realized how powerful the Ipads can be. One student showed me all her work, notes, PDFs, teacher notes, worksheets, pictures they have taken on different websites. I thought this was very useful because there are a lot of visual learners in the classroom. Being able to take a mental image can be lost, however, taking an image and putting it on your Ipad will never be lost. You can write on the picture if students have any notes they wanted to add.
During the debrief was when I realized how important Ipads can be for students. The biggest challenge in the classroom is student participation due to students being scared to participate. The Ipads will now allow students to shoot their questions from their Ipad to the projector and ask teachers questions. Just like what Dr. Lawler stated on how the doc cam improved student participation because students did not have to go in front of the classroom to either present or show their work. This allowed students to focus on the more important thing: All student participation.

EDSS 531 Journal #5 - Needs of Students

Respond to the following prompts : 

· Looking back at your teaching last semester, what did you discover about the needs of students in your classes? What kinds of “needs” surfaced that surprised you?

• To what degree do you think you really understand the needs of your students? How wide is the “gap” between them and you?
• What might have surfaced in the reading or in your teaching (about the realities of students’ needs) that triggered a negative response in you? Try to identify why this response was triggered and how it relates to your biases. 

One of the biggest needs that students had that surprised me was the lack of material. Students never had paper, nor a pencil to write with. This was very surprising to me because it happened EVERY DAY. 


Another need that students had that surprised me was the lack of not using their text book. In my class homework was assigned through the book but besides that, the book was rarely used. Students even had access to classroom text books so they can leave their own textbooks at home. Yet, students did not even know how to use their textbooks.


I try to make the "gap" between myself and the students as narrow as possible. I believe the most important thing in teaching a class is communication. If the communication level from teacher to student is very high, I believe the gap for student needs are very minimal. If students are able to talk to the teacher comfortably, then I believe students are able to say anything they want to or ask anything they want to.

EDSS 531 Journal #4 - Reflection On Your Biases

What are your biases and how do you mitigate your behavior when working with students? 

I am very bias when it comes to students who try and who do not try. Being equitable to all students and leaving no child behind is probably the biggest challenge I face everyday. I tend to assist those who attempt to try in class rather than assist those who never tries in class. To me, it should be the total opposite.  
Another topic I am bias is to be more harsh on students of my own race; Asians. I guess it is because the way I was raised: typical Korean parents who cared solely on education and receiving a 4.0. Anything less would be a disappointment. When I see Asians, I tend to become stereotypical especially in a math course and expect that all Asians should be good in Math. I realized in Clinical Practice that this is not the case and I had a lot of learn. After couple weeks of struggling, I realized I need to be equitable to all students without looking at the color of their skins. If students need help, I should help and not assume. My expectations for my students should be the same for all my students and should treat all my students equally.

EDSS 530 Journal #1

EDSS 530 Journal #1: Visitor or Resident

Watching the video on "Visitors and Residents" I have realized where I stand on the continuum. I can see myself in both categories as a visitor and a resident. I am very similar to the speaker in where professionally I am very much the resident. I like to use the internet as a way to enhance my teaching and learning. However, privately non-institutionally I am more of a visitor. I do not like to put my life, my family online to where people can see it. Yes, I do have a facebook, but have been limiting it as much as possible. I do have a twitter but have been using that solely on educational purposes. We have been creating blogs on blogger which is also used for the intent of education. I agree 100% that whether I am a visitor or a resident has to do with context. I believe everyone is a little of both when it comes to being a visitor or a resident because the internet can be used for everything.

EDSS 531 Journal #1 - CP1 Reflection

Reflecting on your CPI teaching, respond to the following questions: What is it like to be a student in my class? What is it like for a student to move through classes in a day at our school? (Use your CPI school as reference)

During my CPI at RBV, students in my class knew the expectations. From the first day I arrived, I re-explained the class rules and expectations. Students knew what the rules consisted of from being inside the classroom before the second bell rang, to cheating and plagiarism. My classroom setting changed every day from having rows of students to groups of students depending on that days agenda. I did tell my students that talking is fine as long as its math related or if its bringing a positive learning environment to the classroom. Students must be able to control themselves at times when I needed their attention. Many students did not take proper notes but by encouragement and also letting students use their notes on their exams, students were taking positive notes and thus receiving better grades.

Students were given 10 minutes to go from class to class. This was enough time for students to go to their lockers, and be able to make it on time for the second bell to ring. Students were never rushed and should be able to make it to class without being tardy. Students had subject books at their home and also in the classroom so students did not have to carry a heavy backpack everywhere. This make it more convenient for students when they had to move through different classes with different subjects and books.

WELCOME TO MR. S Blogarithm~!

Welcome To Mr. S Blogarithm!