TPA Response

During my journey as a teacher candidate in the past year the TPA format has been used rather regularly, so when we were given one in English 493 it was a familiar planning tool. The idea of filling out four pages of lesson material may not be the most exciting approach to planning but the TPA is beneficial for assuring that all components of a lesson are thoroughly planned and met. In most other classes we have been given a a series of boxes to fill in as the format, in this classroom the format is more freeform (no boxes; listed points) and explains what is expected in better detail.

When I was first shown a TPA format I was overwhelmed with wording and questions that I was not sure how to answer. Each education class that I have been in we have learned how to thoroughly answer these questions and now in my second quarter of observation I am able to comprehend what is expected in each section.

An important knowledge that teachers candidates must have when planning their TPA is the “Context for Learning: (Attention to students’ backgrounds, interests and needs)” because it asks for details regarding English language proficiency levels, IEP’s/504’s, prior knowledge skills/academic backgrounds, etc. This knowledge of the students that will be partaking in the lesson is important to form the lesson to help students has success in gaining new knowledge.

The section I feel is very important on the TPA is the learning objectives. All lessons must have some objective of why students are participating, and what knowledge the students should gain. Finding CCSS can sometimes be challenging to pin down, but when the perfect objective is found the lesson is able to just flow.

One aspect of the TPA format that I still seem to find challenges with is the parent and community connections. I seem to always use the approach of a progress report or having parents sign homework sheets; however, I’m sure there are a lot of better options out there to help get parents and community members involved in the success of my students.

Differentiated Instruction - Individual Exploration

In English 493 we are learning a lot of helpful tools when teaching reading to adolescents. For this assignment we were able to explore differentiated instruction on our own, and then come to class to discuss our findings. I found my reading, “Differentiating for Tweens” from http://www.ascd.org.  Although my focus will be high school students and this article explains strategies for teaching middle schools students I felt it was still beneficial for preparing for any group of students.

“Of all the states of matter in the known universe, tweens most closely resemble liquid. Students at this age have a defined volume, but not a defined shape. They are ever ready to flow, and they are rarely compressible. Although they can spill, freeze, and boil, they can also lift others, do impressive work, take the shape of their environment, and carry multiple ideas within themselves…” I felt this quote represented differentiated instruction because it explains that students are capable of acquiring content and growing their knowledge when they are provided effective and diverse ways of learning.

In this article I felt that Strategy 2: Treat Academic Struggle as Strength was a beneficial strategy for teacher candidates especially myself because I am working with reading support students. A suggestion for this strategy are modeling asking difficult questions which teachers may not know allowing teachers and students to work together to find an answer. A second suggestion is positively pushing students to explore their underdeveloped skills without fear of grade repercussions.

I also found that each of the strategies built on to each other allowing a teacher to follow a series of steps to ensure the students are developing their knowledge in the classroom. As teacher candidates we cover a variety of aspects of the classroom, which this article explores their relationship to differentiated instruction: developmental needs, formative assessments, multiple intelligences.

·         Strategy 1: Teach to Developmental Needs

·         Strategy 2:  Treat Academic Struggle as Strength

·         Strategy 3: Provide Multiple Pathways to Standards

·         Strategy 4: Give Formative Feedback

·         Strategy 5: Dare to be Unconventional

 

Found From:

Wormeli, Rick. "Membership." Educational Leadership:Teaching the Tweens:Differentiating for
            Tweens. Ascd.org, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.

"I read it but I dont get it" by Cris Tovani - Access Tools

In my master classroom I am currently working on a schema building lesson plan where I am having the students complete a series of activities in order to stimulate the experience of a group in order for them to draw connections between their novels and their own lives. In order to comprehend entirely what we read as teacher candidates it is always beneficial to experience firsthand what we are taught, just like my students and their novel.

After completing I Read It but I don’t get it by Cris Tovani about how teachers can help students develop new reading comprehension skills, we follow our reading by using one of the access tools for our own reading. By experiencing the tools we will have a better understanding for teaching them to our students. The access tool that I chose was the “double-entry diaries”. Students will use this tool in order to connect direct quotes from their reading to ideas such as “I wonder”, “I visualize”, “This reminds me of”, etc.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Direct quote and page number

1.       “Why are there so many people on that side of the fences?” he asked, “And what are you all doing over there?”

2.       “I’ve never spoken to him,” said Bruno immediately. “I’ve never seen him before in my life. I don’t know him.” (172)

3.       “He looked into the distance then and followed it though logically, step by step by step, and when he did he found that his legs seemed to stop working.” (214)

I wonder…

1.       If Shmuel understood why he and so many other people were fenced in.

2.       What would have happened to Bruno if he told Lieutenant Kotler the truth about their friendship.

3.       If the dad knew what his son was going through would he have done things differently in his career/family/life.

"I read it but I dont get it" - Chris Tovani

I was always a "reading for fun" student as well as completing reading in the classroom throughout high school; however, when I became a college student I found myself skimming or not reading the assignments at all. I found the first five chapters of this book very interesting because of my own experience with reading as well as my interactions with students in my master classroom.

 

Although I am placed in a ninth grade language arts class I also get to spend two class periods with a reading support classroom. When I was reading the first few pages of the first chapter and the author was explaining the reactions of students on the first day, I was able to connect because I have seen those reactions first hand. When students find themselves in the reading support classroom they expect book reports, countless hours of reading, but do not expect to learn anything. The book explains that middle and high school teachers believe that students should have learned the importance and basics of reading and therefore expect students to know how to read, read large amounts of text in a short period of time and know how to gain information by reading. My master teacher knows this is not always the case and uses a series of approaches to help students improve their reading skills in a comfortable classroom that focuses on each of their reading challenges.

 

For both the reading support students as well as the basic ninth grade language arts students I have found that a beneficial approach to help students want to read and understand what they are reading is building schema and background. The book explains in Chapter 2: Realities of Reading that “students who don’t already know something about what they are reading can’t make connections”, in other words what they are reading seems unimportant. My master teacher has shown me the importance of the schema building for not only novels but short stories. The students are more intrigued to read when they can make connections from their own experiences to the literature. For my first observation lesson in the education program I am getting to build schema for my classroom to prepare for reading “The Lord of the Flies”. I am using a stimulation approach and grouping students for activities in order to understand the idea of group dynamic, and a leader lead group. This will help students reference the groups of boys that they are reading about to their own experiences with groups.

A Response-Based Approach by Judith A. Langer

“A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature” by Judith A. Langer had a lot of good information for teacher candidates. In the education program we are learning a lot of different teaching styles and approaches in order to be able to teach a variety of students and this article explored two approaches.  

The exploring horizons approach really caught my attention because it explained that uncertainty was normal and expected because new-found understanding would encourage further possibilities and thinking for students. Our English 493 class continues to discuss the purpose of a teacher in the classroom, and encouraging students to learn and explore new ideas is part of what I believe a teacher’s purpose is. Although the exploring horizons approach may have challenges just like other approaches, it does help students think outside of the box and find a comfortableness to explore their student voice and thought. Along with exploring different ideas, the approach of “point of reference” is also beneficial for students because it allows students to build upon, clarify and modify their understanding. The article explains that sharing and gaining information is typically found in science and social studies texts, but language arts classrooms can also benefit from discussions in order to help students gain knowledge about the literature and author. Exploring horizons and the point of reference approaches can work together in order to help students explore their thinking process and help students discuss.

I found the “general guidelines for instruction” very beneficial to teacher candidates as well. I felt that number two. “Keep students' understandings at the center of focus -- in writing as well as discussion. Always begin with their initial impressions. This will validate their own attempts to understand, and is the most productive place for them begin to build and refine meaning”, made a lot of good points. In my own personal experience in my master classroom I found that students are more motivated to do their work when they can develop their own understanding and expand their knowledge. I would encourage teacher candidates to read this article and save the “general guidelines for instruction”.

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