Focus the Nation

I finally saw An Inconvienent Truth for the first time today. My guess was that the film would be a lot like a Michael Moore film but I was pleasently surprised by how simple it was, just Al Gore giving a PowerPoint presentation. I really learned a lot about Global Warming, including;

• what exactly Global Warming is
• where it will have the most impact
• what changes I can make in my daily life to help stop Global Warming

Since I have a history concentration, I found it a little difficult to think of ways of incorporating Global Warming awareness into my classroom. I could talk to my students about why Global Warming has become such a threat, how it all started (possibly talk about the rise of industries, automobiles, etc). I could also talk to them about the things they could do to help reverse the problem so that history (them) could change the future (their children and etc.)

Type I and Type II Technology MEL

Type 1 technology basically is using computers and other technology in the classroom that does not alter how a teacher actually teaches. It may be a device that aids but does not change the lesson at all. Three examples of this could be: a calculator, writing a paper on the computer (which is the same as writing a paper any other way, except on a computer a person is typing rather than actually writing), and possibly an overhead projector (because all it does is make showing information to students easier but does not change the information). Type 2 technology is using technology in the classroom to actually alter what is being taught, or creating new ways of teaching. Three examples are: WebQuests, computer games (ex. Oregon Trail), and the internet (for research, audio, clips and etc.)

My MEL Experiences

• Student/Teacher Relationship: I had a great relationship with my high school chemistry teacher Mr. Trotzky. While he was supposed to be teaching me chemistry (which he did), he ended up teaching me more about current affairs, history, Judaism, and sociology. I felt like I could ask him anything about anything. I still continue to be great friends with him.
• Helping Students Succeed: Just about every teacher I had in school had confidence in me and they told me, and other students that all the time. I never felt like the teachers were judging me and they always had high expectations for me and my peers.
• Hands On: My history teacher in high school was very hands on. She would give really great lectures and lessons followed by tons and tons of projects, in class activities, outside activities, creative projects and so much more. She gave me great ideas of things I would love to do with my future students because I learned so much from them.
• Autonomy: Most of my teachers encouraged me and my classmates to take control of the things that we were doing. We were given a lot of independence and we also were given choices on things such as either taking a test or doing a project. Sometimes we even got to pick what topics we wanted to learn about in a certain class. One teacher even made one student a day present "current events" to the class and at the end of the week we would have a test over those topics.
• Avoiding Rewards: A lot of the teachers in my school avoided giving rewards to students. This one teacher, however, there was one teacher that gave rewards to students for high preformance and they would do it in front of the class. This made the people getting the rewards uncomfortable and the kids not getting the rewards feel worthless and jealous.

Learning Styles Results

After taking the Learning Styles survey I was not very surprised by my results because I think that I am a mostly a social, visual and verbal learner. These results also matched up perfectly with the Multiple Intelligence test we took in Dr.Grace's class.

Chapter 1&2

Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 1&2 Quick Response


Chapter 1-

I was surprised by the section in Chapter 1 about teachers getting to know students. Especially the suggestion of “teacher tours”. These are trips that teachers take with students to show them around their neighborhood and expose them to their reality.
This jumped out at me because having come from a very small community, there was never an issue with the teacher getting to know the student because the teacher had known the student since they were born in most cases. This reminds me that not all schools are like the one that I attended and that as a future educator I may have to deal with the issue of not personally knowing my students before they even come into the classroom.


Chapter 2-

Chapter discussed student-teacher relations. For the most part students feel that the teacher should be more worried about the kids liking them then if they like the kids.
This gives me a lot to think about because I am the type of person that wants everybody to be happy and I prefer that people like me so I tend to be friendly to everybody. I know that eventually I will have to get over the fact that some students may not like me even if I treat them with respect, have a sense of humor and make myself available to them for support and help.