Student Interview

During my 75 Hour Clinical I was to interview a student after teaching a lesson. I chose to interview a struggling student and ask them several questions.
What helps you learn?
She stated that teachers help on challenging material and revisiting information more then once. For her just going over the material is not enough. She feels that she needs to have the information presented to her in more then one way helps her to understand and retain the information taught.
What do you have a hard time with?
She expressed to me that for her in History/Geography map reading is difficult for her. That just being given a map to label is not enough for her. She would like to go over the map in a classroom setting and not just in the textbook. She would like to have a better visual to give her a better understanding of location and spacial understanding.
What would you like to do in the classroom?
She stated that she does not like doing just worksheets. That they are boring and she feels she is not learning anything from them just in her words "copy and pasting" the information with no real connection to the information on the page. She also stated that she loves to do group work and projects. She loves history and would like it feel more personal to her, for her to get involved in the learning and being an active participant then a "copy and paster". She wants to discover history for herself in her own way. .

This student may be struggling but feels that if the lessons were more exciting and personal that she would be more interested in the learning process. She also feels that more teacher/student involvement would help her as well and that she is more then a worksheet but a member of a learning community.

Ireland

Hot House

http://dkloudin.edu.glogster.com/hot-house

Where I'm From Poem

I am from the Valley and the Fog , and the Mountains and Hills. I am from the Ocean tides, and River beds. From clam chowder at Splash and Taco Trucks to homegrown gardens and Pepperoni rolls. I am from Disneyland and The Game Farm I am from Yorkshire England to Litchfield CT I am from Lea and Charles and Harris and Messanger I am from my sister and my sister from me. I am from Sunday Morning Church and Lazy Sunday Naps. I am from the bookworms and musicians and the ones who love to laugh. I am from full contact egg hunts, and pumpkin carving, to outdoor activities I’d never thought of. I am from tragedies to the new beginnings, I am from where my heart is.

For Fun

Think Quest Library

Excavating the unforgettable
http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01025/

I chose this site because when people think of cave drawings they do not think of India, the first thought for many (myself included) are Native Americans. This site gives another example of why, when and how another culture used cave drawings.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

http://elschools.org/best-practices/moving-conflict-peace-0

Restorative Justice Practices in an EL Classroom is about how students can in a History class can be out raged by the injustice of Slavery, the Holocaust and Apartheid but turn around and be just as intolerant and  cruel to fellow students. The teacher wanted to find a way to show them that what they are doing outside of the classroom is no different then what happened in history. She started RJ, Restorative Justice. She introduced the guiding principles of RJ the her class by brainstorming and taking a Perspective Taking role to address the conflict being studied and how to resolve in peacefully.  They think about how to approach the conflict, placing blame, dealing out punishment and then addressing needs and accountability for the actions. By allowing the students to work in small groups to discuss the issues they are able to learn to listen to each other's ideas, perspectives and thoughts.

"Students reported that they listened more deeply and focused on the needs and wants of others more than the arguments and positions they were originally itching to present. Those on the receiving end felt acknowledged and respected. In addition, the step of identifying common interests caused a perceptible shift in perspectives. Students discovered that it was easier, and more important, to address common interests than to stay stuck in the conflict; they now recognized their former opponent as another individual with needs similar to their own" (Felton 2012).

Works Cited
 Felton, T. (1922, August 12). Moving From Conflict to Peace | Expeditionary Learning. Expeditionary Learning | Engaging Students, Transforming Schools. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://elschools.org/best-practices/moving-conflict-peace-0