Module 5

Concept 1: Anxiety

Summary:

In chapter 12 of Educational Psychology by Anita Woolfolk, it talks about ways to motivate students. One part in this chapter intrigued me which was helping students who have or encounter anxiety. On page 468 of the test, it says “learners with anxiety tend to have difficulty effectively focusing attention on the relevant material, employing quality study tactics, and maintaining a positive self-worth orientation toward the learning event.” Students who have anxiety will use different coping strategies: problem-focused self-regulating, emotional management, and avoidance strategy (469). To help students, teachers can find the source of the anxious feeling, help set realistic goals, using a more effective method for learning and studying, and try to limit environmental triggers.

Reflection:

Reading this section was very informational for what teachers can do to help students with anxiety either for those who have it all the time, or for specific subjects. By helping the students, it will greatly benefit their learning by allowing them to create their own plan and coping methods to help them understand what is being taught and calm themselves down. Students with anxiety will have trouble paying attention to what is happening because their thoughts start to run and will focus more on their worries rather than gathering the information their teachers are saying. I found the strategies that were said above to be useful because each student has their own method that works for coping with their anxiety. When they cope, it is easier for them to concentrate on what they are supposed to do and will have an easier time working on it. It might be difficult or easy for teachers to find which students become anxious since some students will or won’t show their anxiety. Once they are found, it will be easier for teachers to assist their students in finding a way to help them.

From my field experience, I wasn’t aware of any students who would become anxious since they usually have enough time to finish their work, and if they don’t, there is time in the morning for them to finish the work. As for me, I do become anxious mostly when I am working on my projects, homework, or studying. My anxiety usually doesn’t occur during class. After reading this text, I found out how similar my methods of coping with anxiety is. I would usually find a place in my house to isolate myself to concentrate on my homework without being disrupted most of the time. I try to make a schedule to even out my work so everything doesn’t fall on the same day, most of the time it works unless I have other duties in my house to do. Whenever I do become extremely anxious, I will stop what I’m working on and either watch something, go on a small walk around my house, or distract myself with something else until I feel capable of working on school work. By using these coping methods, I have been able to finish my work as best I could, knowing I tried my hardest. In the end, I see great results.

As a future educator, I will encounter students in my classroom who may be anxious or even have anxiety. Finding the proper way to help the students are crucial for their learning. If they are not helped, they will have an extremely difficult time understanding the lessons because of having a wandering mind with thoughts that aren’t to their benefit emotionally and academically. By finding the proper coping strategy and help make a plan for them. It will be important to first find what make the student anxious then what goals can be met. From there, I can help them find another way to study and learn that will encourage them to do more than what they might think of themselves. Each teacher needs to be aware that their students are different and not everyone will find the same method of dealing with anxiety.

Concept 2: Grouping

Summary:

Chapter 14 spoke about teaching every student. What objectives should be made, specific methods, and how to start. It spoke about differentiated instruction which is adapting teaching to the needs and abilities to the students (553). With differentiated instruction, grouping can occur. There are two different types of grouping which is within-class ability grouping and flexible grouping. Within-class ability grouping, students are grouped by their ability and at times, students will have fewer opportunities to make their own decisions on what they want to do while other groups will. Flexible grouping is similar, but the students are groups and regrouped based upon their needs (553).

Reflection:

I usually don’t see grouping done very often but I believe it can be beneficial for student especially if flexible grouping is used. Flexible grouping can be an easier way for teachers to meet their students’ needs by adjusting and putting them in groups that have similar needs. For students who don’t need as much help will be in a different group working with one another on projects they are given. Students who are in a different group, will receive more attention to the teacher while they are still receiving high-level of instruction like the rest. Students are not bound to these groups for the rest of the year. They can move into different groups if they understand the work well and can do more on their own.

Throughout my field experience, the teacher has her students in groups, but they are not the same as flexible groups. There are students in the groups where are well above their group and are always looking for more to do while other members are still working at a regular pace while others are struggling. The teacher will try to reach most students but has difficulties reaching all of them.

Flexible grouping will hopefully be used in my future class. In my field experience, I think the flexible grouping would have helped my teacher by being able to reach individual groups with similar needs instead of trying to reach each student in almost every group. If she had done this, there would have been a possibility to reach more of her students and assist them until they understand the concepts and can help one another or go to a different group. I can see the benefits for grouping students and will try to do this in my future class. The students will then get the help they need from me and even their peers by being in groups.

Concept 3: Communicating with Families

Summary:

Chapter 15 talks heavily on how to grade but one aspect that goes away from grading is communicating with the students’ families. On page 591, this section it says, “communicating with families should involve more than just sending home grades” and it should involve informing the families about what is going on in class and how their child is doing. Teachers learn by communicating with the students’ families and learn more about them that might make them upset, how to reach their student, and even the best way the student might learn.

Reflection:

As I read this section, it reminded me of the teacher interview. During the interview the teacher talked about how she tries to have her students’ parents on her team. By having a great relationship with the parents, she learns more about her students and even parents learn more about their children. She can call, email, or text the parents whenever an issue arises or to give them great news about how their child is doing. They can work with one another, so the child gets the best education as possible. In the text, it gives some ways to communicate with the parents rather than only speaking to the family during parent-teacher conferences. On page 591 some example was a note attached to the report cards, home visits, school open house, and exhibits of the students works.

I haven’t seen much of family communications in any of my field experience unless the student had done something bad or the student got sick. Occasionally teachers will talk to the parents if there is something going on with the student. In my own experience, this was the only communications my parents had with the teachers as well. They never know the teacher until they meet them at the beginning of the year when my siblings and I were younger, and during the parent-teacher conferences. Besides this, my parents wouldn’t even know who our teachers were besides the grades they see us receive from them and maybe an occasional story of what happened during the class.

I believe it is important to involve the families in what their child is doing throughout the class, the good and bad. Teachers need to communicate and create a relationship with the families. When a relationship is made, the students will benefit from this know both side are trying to help them succeed in school. Parent-teacher conferences are not enough in my opinion because the teacher is simply telling what the students have done and what they need to do more. The teachers don’t have enough time to solve issues or find better teaching ways with the amount of time they are given with each of their students’ parents. As a future educator, I see the benefits of communicating with my students’ parents and want to try and have a strong relationship with them. I will become more successful in understanding what is going on with my students and how to fit their needs. It could be possible that the students are going through a rough time and I will not learn that if my students aren’t open to talking and I only meet the parents a few times in the conferences. By communicating, I could learn this faster and understand my students better rather than noticing their sudden loss in being active during class and their grade dropping quickly over time.