Month: April 2017

As the school year is winding down to the last couple of weeks I couldn’t think of a better blog post to write about, motivation. As I am trying to motivate myself I am also thinking how I could teach my motivation to one of my future students. In my career, Physical education, I plan on motivating students by rewarding them with a fun game whether it’s by class, by week, or by unit. In class, we talked about establishing routines, rules, and consequences for students. If the standards are established from day one, the students should understand if they do anything less there will be a consequence. Backward design is defined as a method of designing educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessment. Backward design in Physical Education is important to have a set realistic goal for individuals rather than the class as a whole. If a student can make a set goal for his/her self and prepare for the end of the semester, they will accomplish a lot more than trying to think of it all at once. Continue reading Module 5

Differences are something everybody will have to deal with in their careers. So being a teacher, I personally will have a wide variety of differences in my classroom. According to the textbook, multicultural education promotes fairness in the schooling for all students (Woolfork, 2014). There are many differences that I am assuming that I will encounter such as differences in abilities, gender, race, ethnicity, religion and so on. These differences don’t just include students, but parents and colleagues I will work with.

I think a very important cultural difference is student’s races and that it is okay that somebody is of a different race. Stereotypes are used a lot and come into factors on first opinions unfortunately. I think since schools are becoming more diverse, it is very important to understand different backgrounds of individuals. As a future educator, I could help students become informed on others by making different races work together and get to know each other better. A key aspect is to learn as much as I can as an educator about differences among other races.

A few examples of what can be done in the classroom:

* Get to know each student individually. Learn their names and how to pronounce them correctly.

* Divide the class into smaller groups, each with the responsibility of reporting on the material from the viewpoint of a particular minority group.

* Ask students to locate cultural or even discriminatory content in textbooks or other materials.

* Ask for each student’s thoughts about the subject, acknowledging the statement of each as it is made. This lets students know from the very beginning that their thoughts have a place in the classroom, that there are differences, and that the differences will be tolerated.

* Make it safe for everyone to voice their views by accepting all views as worthy of consideration. Don’t permit scapegoat of any student or any view. Team up with a student who is alone out on a limb. (Salley, 2003)

These are a few key aspects to consider when there is diversity in the classroom. A teacher should not make anything obvious that a students is different in any way. Every student should be treated equally, no exceptions. As a future educator, I plan on taking these ideas into action so all kids feel the same as the next.

Salley, R. (2003). ENCOURAGING STUDENTS IN A RACIALLY DIVERSE CLASSROOM. Retrieved April 5, 2017, from http://www.odec.umd.edu/CD/FACILITI/RACETIPS.PDF

Woolfolk, A. (2014). Educational Psychology: Active Learning Edition.Pearson.