2020 Vision

Well, it’s November 19, 2019, so that means that the semester is coming to an end. This means that my Research to Practice project is also coming to an end. I

would like to reflect on my observations, questions, research as well as my reflection and technology throughout this whole project. Lets flashback to my previous blog posts about my experience throughout the semester.

Observations 

Just another reminder that I go into a Head start classroom every Tuesday for four hours. Being in this classroom I got a chance to observe how a head start classroom is ran and how different it is from a general education classroom. I have been able to make a lot of connections to our readings and content that I have learned at Millersville University. There are definitely ups and downs that go along with this type of class, but at the end of the day, it is well worth it. To see how different teachers interact with the students, it makes an impact on me that there are educators that want to help these students go to the next grade and help them succeed in life.

Questions 

At first, I had many questions about the student’s behaviors and what triggers them. I did not expect to see different kinds of behaviors from a single student in just four hours once a week. Behaviors can go a long way especially if the teachers don’t know how to control it. But then once I continued to be in the class, I have witnessed some pretty unbearable actions. My last blog I talked about having different teachers throughout the whole school year and what that does to the students. To continue my Research to Practice project, I questioned why teachers decide to leave and how having new teachers affect the students in the classroom.

Research

The questions that I asked throughout my project were mindful to my educational philosophy. Researching my questions definitely gave me some of the answers I was looking for. To better my knowledge of behaviors, I have some great articles that supported information about different types of behaviors and why those behaviors occur. When I researched new teachers throughout the school year, I got a lot of articles and responses to what would mostly happen with the students. This research helped me become a better educator by showing me how to handle different behaviors and what to avoid to not leave my students with a new teacher.

Reflection

As a future educator, I will always reflect on my work and what I could do better and what went well. There won’t be a time where I won’t seek to better my lessons for my students so they get the education they need. This project has been a challenge since the first day, but as it is coming altogether, it’s finally making sense. As I get closer to having my own classroom, this project has taught me alot, and I am glad that I was able to gain more knowledge on what I have observed in other classrooms.

Technology

When we were first introduced to this project, I knew right away that I wanted to create a blog. I actually have planned to have my own blog for my own classroom so that the parents can also be involved with the class and see how each week went. I like to write my thoughts down so I can go back and reflect on what had happened. I was very eager to learn more about blogs and how to create a good blog post to keep the audience engaged and have them wanting to read more.

Eye of the Tiger

If you were to experience the R2P project again, what would you do differently?

Honestly, I would have asked more questions to the teacher I was within the classroom I was placed in. By asking questions, it could have made my blog posts more organized and more informational. But another thing I would do differently would be myself throughout the whole blog. At first, I was formal and was typing it as a research paper, instead of being myself and typing what I would normally say in person if I had to do anything else but a blog post. being more creative with my blog posts and building a sense of humor in the beginning.

What are you taking away to your future teaching practice from this R2P project?

There are a lot of things that I took away for my future teaching practice, but the most important value would be reflections and observations. These skills are useful as an educator because we are always observing students and how well they do or what they need to improve. Our classrooms are always changing but making observations could help the students feel safe in my classroom environment. Making reflections throughout the school year will make me a better educator.

What advice would you give to the next ERCH 496 students about the R2P project?

Oh man! the advice I would give to the upcoming students would to be ready for anything that is thrown their way. There is not one day that is predictable and there is always something happening around. Have your eyes open and think outside the box. This project will definitely help you think farther than you’re used to so be prepared to expand your thinking.

What advice would you give to Tatiana for the next iteration of the R2P project?

The advice I would give Tatiana would to explain this project very well at the beginning and give the students an idea of what to expect. It would be helpful to know what they are researching exactly, maybe have the students create a question before the go into field placement and have them observe what they about their questions. I appreciate the time and effort that Tatiana put into this project for us and for us to see the bigger picture as we are starting to become educators for our own classroom. I will definitely look at my project to get ideas and reflect on what is happening in my own class with my own students.

 

Seeing Eye to Eye

 

Welcome back y’all! As you know I have been in a Head Start classroom for the past couple of weeks, and as the time starts to wind down and come to an end,  I would like to address some observations that took place in the classroom. It’s difficult to fully understand what goes on in a classroom when you are only there one day out of the week for a couple of hours. But from what I have noticed, there are different teachers that are in the classroom, and not counting the Millersville students. It definitely seems a lot especially since there are ten students in the class. But for some reason, all the teachers work together and make the days go smoothly. If you don’t remember from my last blog post, I talked about the student’s behavior inside a classroom and how the environment affects the students. I took notice of how each teacher handled situations and how their own feelings got in the way of helping the students. But a couple of weeks ago, we were told that our original teacher was no longer coming to class and there will be new teachers coming in. 

… With that being said, I instantly thought to myself “how do different teachers affect the students?”

New Teacher, Who This?

If you didn’t know what the roles of a Head Start teacher are, Then here it is. Its pretty simple, well not really. Your job as a Head Start teacher, it is important to keep the students at the same learning pace so that no student is left behind. They work with teacher assistants and special needs aides to develop a curriculum that works for each child. Yes, it may seem like a general education classroom but I promise, it is not what it looks like.  It’s dealing with different behaviors and students who come from low-income families, providing the students with what they need to continue to grow and be a good student. But dealing with their behaviors is the hardest part of being a Head Start teacher.

You are probably wondering where I am going with this, but let me tell you, my Head Start teacher no longer works for Akron Elementary School anymore; so we got new teachers throughout the school year. I decided to do some research on how having different teachers would affect the students. From what I have found, the student’s behavior would most likely change, especially for a student who isn’t used to drastic change. More importantly, why do the teachers leave? According to Michael B. Wells, Head Start teachers don’t teach anymore because of their own attitudes towards the class and colleagues (Wells pg. 105). If the teacher has a bad attitude, then the students will have a bad attitude which will make it harder for the teachers. But teachers don’t realize how it affects the students. Everyone knows how hard teaching can be, and it is definitely not for everyone. But if you are willing to stick it out and make a difference in a student’s academic career, then I would suggest continuing teaching, no matter what. I understand that it may take a toll on some people, but if a teacher leaves in the middle of the school year, then it will take a toll on the students.

With another finding, students who experience multiple changes with teachers, their bad behavior begins to increase. Students may experience separation anxiety for the first couple of days or even weeks. If a teacher decides to quit on the spot, it will be much harder for the student to understand. Lieny Jeon explains that students will start to act out if they do no trust the new teachers ( Jeon pg. 565). If students see that the new teacher is nervous or doesn’t really know how to control the class, they will start to think that they can do whatever they want; like a three to five-year-old, they already think that. It is important to explain to the students what the new changes are going to be so they can start acting right towards the change. If a teacher decides to quit during the school year, the student might stop participating in in-class activities or make a huge scene. Therefore, it is important for everyone in the classroom to understand the new changes and to be ready for what will happen in the future.

My Point of View 

I have mixed feelings about getting new teachers throughout the school year. I do not like the fact that some teachers would think to put students through something like that without even an explanation of what is happening. These students are starting to have lots of questions for the teachers and it’s important for the student to trust the teacher. Being in a Head Start class, the teacher has more responsibilities, and building a relationship with their students is the top priority.  But on the other hand, if a teacher doesn’t like what they are doing, then it might be best to leave so that the students are getting the best education they can receive. If a teacher has no intention of being there, then the attitudes in the whole class will be negative. I think it is important for teachers to be there for the whole school year, even if they have to suck it up. There are students in a Head Start class for a reason and to continue to put different teachers in the class will make the students not what to be there or behavior right. So in my opinion, I think having different teachers throughout the school year is bad for the student’s behavior.

 

B. Wells, Michael, and AbstractHead Start. “Is All Support Equal?: Head Start Preschool Teachers’ Psychological Job Attitudes.” Teaching and Teacher Education, Pergamon, 4 Jan. 2017, reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0742051X1630823X?token=D8F63BE2E76233947048F2008F01FB9312C04A4D4E49D2DE505452EC7D4BF73B2897ECF30B549AB2EBCAB8DD892EB0CF.

Jeon, Lieny. An Organizational‑Level Analysis of Early Childhood Teachers’ Job Attitudes: Workplace Satisfaction Affects Early Head Start and Head Start Teacher TurnoverL. 21 Feb. 2018, eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=efdf46ea-ff1e-4484-8b1a-2e937d99ed3e%40sessionmgr4008.

A Clear Vision of Behavior

As I grew up with the same kids in the same school district, I thought we were all perfect and that we were going to grow up being friends forever and wanting to be the same thing when we are out of school.  News flash!! Everything is completely different and not one of us is perfect. I started to notice how each and every one of us has different thoughts and behaviors towards the same things. For example, my behavior towards reading was disruptive because I did not like to read but when I was learning about history, I was very excited and was engaged with everything we did. It really depends on how teachers interact with you and the subjects.

But as I started to get into teaching at Millersville University, I was placed in different field placements that showed me that behavior plays a big role in a classroom but the real question is “Does the environment or room setup play a role in behavior?” I did not think that I would be asking myself this question but it’s very important as a teacher to take notice of all the behaviors that occur in the classroom. I started to think to myself how a Head Start classroom is different than a regular preschool classroom and how different the student’s behavior is. Why are their behaviors like this? The good and the bad. Being in a Head Start classroom, every day there is something new going on and it does not matter what they are supposed to be doing, but for you to understand, here is their schedule for the time I am there.

Head Start Daily Schedule at Akron Elementary

8:15 – 8:55 – Welcome Routine

8:55 – 9:05 – Clean-up and Brush Teeth

9:05 – 9:30 – Whole Group Instruction

9:30 – 10:15 – Gross Motor

10:20 – 10:35 – Small Group

10:35 – 11:35 – Choice Time (play)

11:35- 11:45 – Whole Group Shared Reading

My Findings

Here I am, researching about behavior and how the environment affects the student’s behavior, and in my thought, I was honestly looking for articles about bad behavior. I came across this article Creating a Child Care Environment that Supports Children’s Exploration  . This article talks about how to create a classroom environment for children where they feel safe and where they can learn. By this, it will help improve their behavior.  But if they don’t feel safe than they are most likely to act out and misbehave. Reading this, you’ll come across “Setting up a safe place to play and providing appropriate toys can keep children interested in learning, reduce behavior problems, and save you from saying “No” too often (Childcare 2019)”.  There is nothing that will get the whole class’s attention when there is someone who is acting bad and is being disruptive.

As I continued to partake in my research, I started to watch a video that came up. You can click on ‘video’ and that will take you straight to it. This video talks about noticing the behavior, rather it’s good or bad and why they are acting like that. Teachers have to figure out what the student(s) is trying to communicate. If the student acts out during the activity over and over again, then they obviously aren’t happy with what they have to do. There needs to be something that fixes the behavior but also gets the activity done. The environment is considered to be the teachers too. How the teachers react to something might trigger an outburst or a temper tantrum. As a future teacher, I notice how teachers react and how they handle certain situations. But most of the time, the student just needs to let it all out and then they are fine. I wish I knew why they just need that little time to have a temper tantrum and then act like nothing happened but that just led me to another question.

Feelings and Thoughts 

I didn’t put much thought into the environment and how it affects student’s behaviors. I was looking for something that would be more negative but after my findings, the environment actually benefits behaviors. Different types of behaviors can occur at any given moment in a classroom setting, but it’s important to know what triggered that behavior to see if there is something that needs to be changed. Kids act on how they feel about something and I think that is 100% true. I have watched kids in the Head Start class for three weeks and I watched how they behaved towards something. If they did not like it, then they had an outburst, but if they liked doing something, they would act to share and play together. An environment is a big place that involves a lot of growing and their behaviors will really show how they feel about it. But as a teacher, it’s important to take notes on every behavior that happens each day. Please feel free to share your own thoughts and feelings about the classroom environment and how it might affect students’ behaviors. It would be greatly appreciated!