Tough Situations In The Classroom

If a student said she thought you were the worst teacher she ever had, what would you say?

If a student fails, what would be your feeling or reaction? What would be your way of dealing if half of the class failed in a particular test?

If a student had tell me that I was the worst teacher they’ve ever had, I would be offended and I’d get my feelings hurt. It would be hard for me not to take a comment like that so personal, because I want to be a teacher that has a positive influence on my students. This would make me wonder what I did to make them feel that way. In order to find out, I would ask them in private what caused those emotions. When talking to the student, I would take notes, and I'd make sure to keep them for future references. I would end the conversation with them by coming up with ways to resolve the issue. Another thing I would do is to talk to their other teachers, or teachers that they like, to find out what they do differently. In the end, I think the best way to resolve the problem is by talking to the student and listening to what they have to say.

If a student were to fail my class, my instant reaction would be to blame myself. I would wonder where I went wrong? However, before thinking like this, I would need to develop some information about the student, like checking to see if they have any disabilities, or if they are they having any issues at home. I would also look at the student’s records to see if there have been any recent, or noticeable changes in their grades. This will allow me to see if it has been an ongoing problem or if it is something that has just recently occurred. Then I will take the next step to meet with the student and talk to them and to find out what's happening. I could do this by talking to the student and by give them a brief assessment to see where they may be having difficulties in the class. If the problem doesn't get resolved, I will try to have a conference with the parents so they are aware of the situation. Moreover, if I had a class completely fail a test, I would take full responsibility because it means that I did not explain the concept well enough for them to understand it. In cases like this, I would re-teach the lesson, but I would present the material differently than I did the first time. Then I would closely monitor their progress just to make sure they fully comprehend it this time. Next I would allow the students to retake a different version of the test. However, first they would have to attend one session of tutoring that I will be held during lunch or after school. After their session, they have three days to retake the test.

Lesson Planning

How do you decide whether a lesson has been successful or not?

How do the assignments you give offer students the opportunity to express their creativity and individuality?

There are many things that allow me to know whether a lesson is successful or not. To start, knowing that the students enjoyed it, is one method I use to determine if a lesson is successful. It is important for me to do things that the students enjoy in this class because it is an elective, so it shouldn’t be boring. One way to check if it’s successful is by listening to the students’ responses. For example, when I first present a lesson, I explain to the students what it is that they are going to be doing, and by their responses, I can tell if it interests them. Case in point, when the students are excited about a lesson, they get really excited, they cheer, and they get to work right away. If the lesson doesn’t sound appealing they complain and it takes longer for them to get started. Another thing that tells me if a lesson is successful is when the students ask me if when can do that lesson or that activity again. Moreover, another factor that is important to me if a lesson is successful is making sure the students fully understand it. I can determine this by walking around the class and by look at what they have written on their papers. For example, when I walk around, I check for errors, and if I see more than three papers with the same mistake I know that I wasn’t successful. Also, by collecting their assignment at the end of the class, and going over them can tell me if the activity I presented was done well. I can also check level of understanding this way.

In the class that I am currently teaching in, I give the students many opportunities to show their creativity. And it’s done in different ways, so everyone has an opportunity to show their creativeness. For example, the students got to make weather forecast presentation videos in which they got into groups and create a video where they had the freedom to use props and pretend to be weatherperson. Many students were able to show their talent by the use of technology, like using sound effect, by showing their acting skill, and by the costumes they wore in the videos. Another way I allowed them to express themselves is by having them create a collage when they were learning body parts vocabulary in Spanish. Student made a collage by creating a body by using pictures from magazines and then they had to label the parts. For instance, one student showed his creativity by using a picture of soda bottle and a neck and a spoon as a tongue. In addition, I also allow students to express themselves through art because I let them draw pictures so they can depict what their sentences in Spanish say. I really enjoy teaching Spanish because it can be fun and it allows students to show their creativity at the same time.

Classroom Management PowerPoint

From viewing the PowerPoint, I learned that a teacher must provide a safe atmosphere for their students, meaning that they will treat everyone fairly. One example of this happening in the classroom is that the classroom rules should apply to the teacher as well. For example, if a class rule is no chewing gum, then the teacher should not chew gum either. Another thing that I noticed was that a teacher that has good classroom management has guidelines and procedures the students have to follow everyday. For example, as soon as the students walk into the classroom the start doing their warm-up, and they look at the classroom objectives. Also, the teacher has their rule posted up in the room somewhere so they students can see them. For example, the teacher had a sign posted on how the heading should be on their paper. What I learned is that an effective teacher is prepared, fair, and has class procedures that the students need to follow.

Teamwork and Adapting Lesson Plans in the Classroom

Are there any strategies that you use to encourage teamwork among your students?

What ways are you adopting to instruct students who have varying abilities?

In the Spanish class that I am currently teaching in, I don’t really need to encourage teamwork because most of the activities they do in this class are group activities. They enjoy doing group work, and they already understand the importance of teamwork, because in order to be successful, each group must have cooperation from the entire team. For example, we play a game called “Donkey Races”, which requires groups of four to compete with each other, and every person in the group has a task. One person translates the sentence posted on the board, another person writes the sentence onto the mini white board given to them, while the other person checks the sentence for errors, and the last person has to take the white board to the front of the class to get the sentence checked by me. Each time they do this, they rotate, so every person has a different task each time. Also, if their sentence is correct when they show it to me, I move their donkey one space up. The first team to get their donkey across the board wins the game. This game requires every in the group to participate in order to win the game. They love this game and I don’t even give a reward to the winning team. The students understand the significance teamwork and they enjoy these kinds of activities. I don’t really have to do anything to encourage them to do activities that require cooperative learning.
For students who have different abilities or disabilities, I modify my lessons according to what their needs are. For example, there is one student in my class that has a 504 plan because he has cerebral pulsy. One of his hands is deformed so he cannot use it. For him, I have all my notes ready to be printed out for him so he doesn’t have to use his hand to write everything out. Also, because of his disability, I use a lot of songs so he can memorize or learn new concepts. This eliminates the amount of notes he has to take because learning new concepts through songs don’t require note taking. In addition, I also provide many oral activities, which is another way to do assignments that do not require the use of his hand. My lesson plan adaptations are based on the student’s needs and each adaption I do varies per individual.

How to Handle Different Situations in The Classroom

If a student is consistently late to your class, how would you handle the situation? How do you give your students recognition? Do you think a student can have too much recognition?

If a student is consistently late to class, I would address the issue by first giving him/her a verbal warning.If the problem continues, I will speak with them and to try and find the reason for their tardiness. By doing this, maybe I can help resolve the issue. If these two methods don’t work, I will issue a detention. Lastly, I will contact their parents.

When it comes to student recognition, I have to say that I tend to forget to do this often, but when I do remember, I complement them verbally. I say things like, “muy bien “ or “exelente” when they do a good job on their warm-ups. I also give extra participation points, which I notice students tend to really enjoy. However, the way I give them recognition really depends on what we are doing in class, because if the students are in groups and are playing a games, I hand out candy to the wining teams.
Moreover, I believe that students can have too much recognition, which can cause problems. First, it could devalue the rewards I hand out, and students will lose interest in trying to earn them. Plus, it will create unnecessary expectations. They will expect to get a reward every time they finish a task or ask a question.