Education

Waldorf education:               www.Aurorawaldorf.org (early childhood program) https://youtu.be/FcdwjOZk58Q   Montessori education: www.nardin.org (early childhood program) https://youtu.be/Xmw858OOjSs   Reggio Emilia education: www.elmwoodfranklin.org (early childhood program) https://youtu.be/fYx_aGs-DjU After you pick one of the above, first review the website and write about the program philosophy (question 2).  Then carefully view the YouTube video and complete the remaining questions (3-9)   1.     Program Philosophy Briefly summarize the philosophy of the program/center.  Why did you choose this type of education?  What drew you to this model?   2.     Physical Environment/Materials Carefully observe the environment in the video.  Write about it and how the children respond to the environment and the materials provided to support learning.   3.     Learning model How are children in this environment allowed to freely play while learning?  Give examples of a scenario from the video and what the children are learning.     4.      Social/Emotional Environment Look at the environment from a child’s perspective.  Do you believe it is inviting and encouraging? Why or why not. Chapter 2 of our class book discusses culturally responsive practice.  Does the environment reflect this?   How?   5.     The Children Reflecting on the types of play discussed in chapter 3, what type of play do you see the children engaged in?  What are they doing?  Do they appear to be enjoying themselves?  Are they interacting with their peers/other adults?  Are they active participants in their own learning?    6.     The Role of the Teacher Referring to chapter 1 and the role(s) of the teacher, which of these do you see the teacher engaged in?  Name the role(s) and write about the situation.  Chapter 3 defines developmentally appropriate practice.  Do you believe that the teacher is demonstrating DAP?  Why or why not.   7.     Multiple Intelligences Does this environment support Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences?  How?  Explain using examples.   8.     Summary Could you envision yourself teaching in this environment?  Which elements were you drawn to?  Consider the elements that you would like to someday add to your future classroom (or existing classroom if you work with children).

If you could plan and lead a semester-long college seminar, what academic topic would you choose and why?

This week’s readings and videos discuss engaging and differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of our students. Several different strategies and ideas are presented.  Take at least 2 of these ideas and discuss how they will help teachers meet the needs of middle level students to ensure their success. Please use at least two of the items below as citations.  Article: http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/Inspiration/InsDet/TabId/190/ArtMID/811/ArticleID/366/Battle-over-Student-Engagement.aspx Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rab2dTZnwgY Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LWE2HF1v1Y Video 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P1h00AZftc Video 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xH0K3Z-dbo

With curriculum integration, all students can have a voice in what they will learn and how they will learn it. Choose a topic from your curriculum that would lend itself to curriculum integration.  Describe how you will use Beane’s 5 steps on pages 144-149 to give your students a voice in how you integrate your curriculum.  Choose a theme that you think your students may decide on through Beane’s steps and describe the activities you would use to integrate it into at least 3 different disciplines. Write a reflection on this process that covers your thoughts or concerns about curriculum integration. Please use this article and the attached pages as two of the at least three citations:  https://www.redorbit.com/news/education/199195/revisiting_curriculum_integration_a_fresh_look_at_an_old_idea Assignment Guidelines Your assignment must include: A description of the topic you have chosen from your curriculum A description of how you will use Beane’s steps (pp. 144-149) (I have attached the pages) to give your students a voice in what they will learn and how they will learn it Activities you would use to integrate the chosen theme into at least 3 different disciplines A reflection discussing your thoughts on this process and any concerns you may have Citations from the course materials

Color is such an integral part of daily life that we tend to take it for granted, seldom thinking about how color affects our response to objects in our environment. Click on the article “True Colors of Ancient Statues” (below) to explore how color may alter your perceptions of works of art. https://moco-choco.com/2014/04/18/true-colors-of-ancient-greek-and-roman-statues/ What did you find surprising about the way ancient Greek statues looked when they were new?  Mention specific characteristics of individual statues or buildings. Which did you prefer, the white statues you were accustomed to seeing or the newly painted copies? Why? You may have liked some statues better white and others better in color. How did specific colors–such as red, blue and yellow–seem to shape your perceptions? If you wish, you may click on the article below for ideas. https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824#:~:text=Color%20is%20a%20powerful%20communication,%2C%20increased%20metabolism%2C%20and%20eyestrain. ?Briefly describe what you learned about the impact of color by comparing the white and colorful versions of ancient statues.?

List 2 specific ways you can to find a teaching job in Pennsylvania. List 2 specific ways you can to find a teaching job in the US or around the world.  What is the average teachers salary in Pennsylvania?  What source did you use to find this? What is the average teachers salary in 3 other states? What source did you use to find this? What do you do to prepare for a job interview?  (ONE GOOD PARAGRAPH PLEASE) What other jobs are you qualified to do if you have a teacher degree and certificate?

Special educators will teach comprehension skills, no matter what subjects or grade levels they teach. Students of all ages should also be taught strategies to monitor their own reading abilities and progress, giving them autonomy and power for metacognition. An effective special educator knows the value of using research-based strategies that empower students and enable them to increase their reading comprehension. Create a digital presentation, to be used for teacher professional development in an elementary school, which creatively and accurately explains current research on how to develop reading comprehension skills. Your presentation should be 10-15 slides, including a title slide, reference slide, and presenter’s notes. Within your presentation, explain each of the following: ·         Summarize how language development, fluency, and vocabulary are critical to building a student’s capacity to comprehend what he or she reads at a younger age. ·         Select three of the five recommendations from the practice guide meant to increase reading comprehension for young readers. Demonstrate how each recommendation relates to the research you presented. ·         Describe evidence-based strategies, different from those in the practice guide, that students can be taught to use to enhance their language development, fluency, and comprehension. Justify why these strategies are useful. Your digital presentation should include graphics that are relevant to the content, are visually appealing, and use space appropriately. Support your presentation with a minimum of two scholarly resources.

School Discourse Analysis (20%) Educational scholars have analyzed and written at length about the historical context of culture, power, and discipline/control that has created our contemporary educational climate. None of these scholars, however, works in your school and with your students, colleagues, and administration. This assignment asks you to notice and note the discourse around “goodness” and “badness” (in particular as it is related to “difference” e.g. race, socioeconomic status, language, ability, gender identity, and sexual orientation) in your school.  Over the first few weeks of the semester, using a T-chart format, note down any moment where you notice moments of “goodness” or “badness” as related to student behavior.  Note down any dialogue and action you can from the moment on the left side of the T-chart.  On the right side, consider what you might be seeing given the historical and contemporary framework of discipline and punishment provided by our readings. Using your observations, write a brief analysis of discipline and punishment in your school context. What counts as “good”? What counts as “bad”? Who decides? What are the outcomes that impact students? How do you make sense of all of this? How do you position your intersectional self within all of this? To turn in: Your observational notes A 3-5 page analytic paper (Double- spaced; 12pt font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, APA style in text citations/quotations, APA style reference page).

One of the university’s values is Community.  Part of the definition states that, “We foster a spirit of belonging, unity, and interdependence based on the free exchange of ideas.” For this week’s discussion question, explain why the study of algebra IS or IS NOT important for non-math programs of study.  Defend your position by including the link to one supporting article from the web.  Respond to the post of at least one peer.

Describe  3 learnings that you took away from reading the two articles  by summarizing briefly the important learning and explaining how it might inform your choices of books or approach to using books with children in the classroom.