Final Reflection II

What?

After completing the study on Classroom Instruction That Works by Robert Marzano, I learned an abundant amount of strategies to implement in my classroom to aid in boosting student achievement. I had a hard time deciding on just one strategy from his book to discuss for my final reflection. He had many brilliant ideas that I utilized in my classroom and enjoyed. So I couldn't decide on just one strategy. Therefore, I decided on the top three strategies that I really enjoyed and continue to use in my classroom.

The following instructional strategies worked for me because I was able to apply them in my classroom. These strategies also revealed an increase in learning and excitement in my students’ class work. These strategies were also the easiest for me to implement without a great deal of preparation.

Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition
Non-Linguistic Representation
Cooperative Learning

So What?

Reinforcing effort and providing recognition are strategies used to address students’ attitudes and beliefs. Psychologist Bernard Weiner believed that the notion of pay offs enhances achievement in students. If a person believes he or she has ability he or she can tackle anything. I have taken this strategy and utilized it in my everyday routine. I had trouble getting my students to respond to questions aloud in class when I was lecturing. I would even ask them the simplest ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question and I still couldn’t get them to speak. So I decided to start awarding extra credit points to those students who answered my questions. At first the strategy didn’t seem to make that much of a difference, but then after implementing it for about a week the other students started noticing that the students who were responding were getting free 100’s. Since reinforcing effort among my students I have started observing an increase in the responses I received in the past. However, I still have a couple of students who have yet to respond to this strategy. When providing recognition I verbally praise my students for doing well. For instance, when students turn their work in to me I make it a point to express my appreciation of their effort and I tell them thank you for turning in their work. I have found that it keeps the habit of turning in work from those students consistent.

Non-linguistic representation has become my favorite strategy. It is a strategy that involves mental processing in which students create information into pictures that stimulates and increases brain activity in them. The most popular form of a non-linguistic representation is graphic organizers. I used to have my students complete a graphic organizer on easier tasks such as what new foods were introduced during the colonial days by the Indians and the colonists. Since learning the importance of graphic organizers in student retention I have asked my students to create graphic organizers about the beliefs of Hinduism, Christianity, the causes of WWI and WWII, the advantages of the North and South during the Civil War, and many others. When I grade their graphic organizers I have seen an increase in the amount of understanding each student portrays. I have even researched fun, creative graphic organizer templates and I have been amazed at the number of resources available. My favorite place to get graphic organizers is from Edhelper.com.

Cooperative learning is a strategy that allows grouping of students to work together on an assigned task. It wasn’t until reading Marzano’s book that I realized I was doing cooperative learning wrong the whole time. I didn’t put students into any particular group. I just allowed them to work with their friends and pick their own groups. My reason for doing this resorts back to when I was in school. I always hated it when the teacher would stick me with a group of students who didn’t care about the assignment and I ended up doing all the work. I would rather have been grouped with my group of friends whom I knew would help do the work. I never understood why my teachers assigned us to groups. I am assuming that they must have read Marzano’s book. It all makes more sense now. I found that by allowing my students to group themselves other groups suffered because they went to their friends who made the same low grades as they did. Once I realized I was doing my students’ an unfair injustice, I started pairing them up according to a homogeneous grouping. The students who made higher grades were put with students who made lower grades. As an end result I noticed that all my students worked well together overall and each group was successful.

Now What?

Robert Marzano’s book study has enabled me to be better teacher. I feel like I have more experience and “tricks up my sleeve” than I did before reading the book. All of the strategies I discussed above have helped make teaching easier and more rewarding. I have found that my students enjoy the activities just as much I did. I will continue to implement Marzano's strategies into my teaching assignments for the rest of my teaching career.

Final Reflection on Teacher Professional Goals

My personal growth goal was to spend more time creating lesson plans that will help make my lessons fun and engaging. I wanted to create a learning environment where I could utilize more active learning strategies and more technology in the classroom. My professional growth goal was to check for understanding before moving on to another topic, and to utilize higher level thinking activities.

I have been successful in both my personal and professional growth goals. I created a lesson plan that allowed my Economics class to understand the role of competition in businesses. I split them into groups and I gave them two sales ads to similar stores to compare. For example, one group had Target and Wal-Mart, one group had Conn’s and Best Buy and the other group had CVS and Walgreen’s. They were asked to create a chart to represent a particular product and write the price down from each sales ad. Then after about 15 minutes of working I had the class present what they had discovered. They had to tell the class the prices and tell us which store had the better price on that product. In my professional goal I have a wait time where I ask my students questions to ensure that they understood the lesson. At the closing of class I review them of what we learned during the class period. Depending on their involvement, sometimes I make the review their “ticket” out of class.

My personal growth measureable activities were to sit down and take time to think about my lesson plans instead of just writing down assignments. I also wanted to collaborate with my peers on other suggestions on how to make my lessons more active. My professional growth measureable goal was to quiz my students over the material we just learned to check for understanding.

I have been successful in these goals because I have been able to take time to involve more in my lessons than just book work. When I was teaching my World Geography class about West Africa I created a slideshow of pictures. My husband had visited Ghana 2 years ago and I wanted my students to get a better understanding of the living conditions of Africa. So I decided to integrate technology in presenting West Africa. I hooked my laptop up to a portable projector and I showed my class the slides of his trip to Ghana. My students were amazed about seeing pictures of Ghana. When we read about it in the textbook my students weren’t able to grasp the condition to Ghana. After seeing the slides they were able to see the transportation used in Africa, diseases infecting the citizens of Ghana, and glimpses of their living conditions and economy. My students now remember more about Ghana from the slideshow than any other country we studied the whole year.

My personal growth assessment and evaluation goal was to keep my students engaged and excited during the duration of the class time. My professional growth assessment was to attend workshops and classes that would help me become a better teacher and to understand my students better. My students had enjoyed the new lessons that I created and I have taken Pay for Knowledge classes that have helped me understand my students. I have taken book studies such as A Framework for Understanding Poverty, and Queen Bees & Wannabes. The poverty class really helped me understand what types of environments my students live in and why they act the way they do in class. I feel that I learned so much about my students and I have been able to relate to them better which has also made teaching them more fun.

Strategy Reflection #9 Cues, Questions, & Advance Organizers

What?

Marzano states that cues and questioning are the heart of classroom practice. They are ways in which a classroom teacher can help students use what they already know about a topic. Cues involves "hints" about what students are going to experience and questioning previews what students already know about a topic. Advanced organizers are a way to simply present new content to students that will be taught in the duration of the lesson. One type of advanced organizer is skimming. Skimming is a way to expose students to information before teaching the lesson. I decided to utilize skimming into my classroom practice.


So What?

I decided to use skimming when I introduced a new chapter to my students. Before I started the lesson I gave my students about 5 minutes to look through the chapter. I asked them to look at key terms, charts, graphs, time lines and headings in the chapter. Once they finished skimming the chapter we discussed what they read or what they saw. They were able to tell me what we would be learning and already started asking questions about certain topics. By doing this my students were introduced to the material so when they saw it again the information was not new to them. Then they were able to recall the information better when they saw it again which helped their retention rate. I also incorporated a strategy called picture walks. In a picture walk students are instructed to look over the pictures in the chapter and try to explain what each picture is representing. Once they looked over the pictures I walked through the pictures with them again and asked them to tell me what they saw. We then read the captions under each picture to help us understand what the picture was depicting. Then once we started our lesson it was easier to understand because they were already familiar with the information and understood the pictures.

Now What?

Skimming is used a great deal in my classroom. I not only use it in my classroom, but I also use it when I am helping in Content Mastery. I try to teach students how to find the answer they are looking for by reading headings in the chapter and skimming to narrow down their search instead of reading everything word for word. Most students understand and are able to skim on their own, however, I have had a handful of students who just didn't understand what I was asking them to do. I will continue to use skimming because I feel that it familiarizes my students with key terms and information that we will discuss which makes it easier for them to understand.

Strategy Reflection #8 Generating & Testing Hypotheses

What?

Marzano explains generating and testing hypothesis as involving the application of knowledge. Most of the time when you generate and test hypotheses, you use two types of thinking, deductive and inductive. By using a variety of structured tasks to help guide students to generate and test their hypotheses, students can reach a higher level of thinking. The one that I used in my history class is the historical investigation.

So What?

My students had been learning about the early European settlers who came to the New World in the 1500s. Upon learning about the early settlers, we also discussed the Lost Colony of Roanoke in North Carolina. As many of you may well know the Lost Colony was settled in 1587 and started out with 115 men, women, and children. However when their leader left for England and returned three years later, he came back to discover that everyone on the colony had disappeared. Naturally my students' enthusiasm on the subject amplified. They began asking me questions about what happened to the colonists. I saw this as an opportunity to incorporate the historical investigation. I created a worksheet and required my students to respond to four instructions. I asked them to clearly describe the historical event being examined, identify what is known about that time period, offer a hypothetical scenario about what they believed happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and finally research evidence to determine if the hypothetical scenario they came up with was plausible. My students were split into groups where they worked together to complete the worksheets. I was amazed at how well my students had understood the assignment. They were able to describe the possible diseases that were around during this time period that might have possibly led to the disappearance of the colonists. By the end of the assignment my students came up with scenarios that the people just moved to another location and didn't leave a note behind, they were killed by either Indians or the Spaniards, they all contracted the diseases and died from not being treated or they starved to death. Then once we discussed their scenarios I showed them the research that suggests that most of the things they said were the same explanations historians had come up with already.

Now What?

My students were so excited about trying to figure out what happened with the Lost Colony that they enjoyed the lesson. They were engaged in the group work and coming up with solutions to the disappearance. I found it impressive that my students were able to generate and test their hypotheses. I decided that I will use this lesson for as long as I teach US History so my other students can discover the same enthusiasm. I will also use it in my other history classes.

Strategy Reflection #7 Setting Objectives & Providing Feedback

What?

Providing feedback is one of the most powerful single modification that enhances achievement according to researcher John Hattie. When we consider feedback, it should be "corrective," timely, specific to criterion, and student led. To utilize feedback, I decided to use all of these but one suggestion. I have unintentionally become the world's worst when it comes to grading papers. When I first became a teacher I did well on grading papers and returning them back to my students. Now since I teach bell to bell I would just pile all the work in a grading folder to grade later. However, it started becoming a problem because with five preps I am constantly getting ready for the next class. When I thought I would have time during my conference to grade papers, something else always came up. Soon it was 2 weeks before my students received their work back. Then when I did grade it I would only put an "X" on the wrong answer. I never wrote down the correct answer or circled it.

So What?

Instead of putting a big "X" on my students' work I have since started circling the correct answers. I was usually in such a big hurry to finish grading that I didn't take the time to circle correct answers. I've started noticing that my students now look closer at their graded papers when I circle the correct response. I have also made it a point to grade their work as soon as they turn it in. By doing so I am able to provide them with immediate feedback. I have also found it keeps my papers graded so it doesn't pile up on me. I have been assigning reflections for my students to write after each section we discussed that day to grasp a better understanding of what they learned during the discussion. To utilize student-led feedback, I asked my students, on occasion, to exchange papers with either the person in front of them or behind them. I instruct them to read their peers reflection and make comments regarding the concept of the paper and to check for errors with either grammar or spelling. Although most of my students are unable to actually do this task, I have found that they enjoy being able to pretend to be the teacher. I go back after they turn in their reflections to read the peer suggestions because then it gives me a chance to see if my students knew enough about what was discussed to make corrections on peers' reflections.

Now What?

I didn't realize how harmful it was for me to not mark the correct answers before I hand back papers. I always assumed my students would be able to determine the correct given the wrong answer. I now take time to circle each answer when it is wrong so my students will have a higher percentage of success. The part of feedback that has been the most helpful is providing feedback in a timely manner. I didn't realize the importance of immediate feedback. My students would constantly ask me what their grade was on a particular assignment and I would tell them to wait until next time. Then weeks later I would finally give it back to them. What was worse is when I'd give back their work it would be after we took the chapter test. By the time my students got back their work they were unable to use the information to help them understand the chapter. I also found that I have less stress about getting my papers graded. When I keep up with them and grade them by the end of class I don't have a "to do list" hanging over my head for weeks. Now when I give my work back at the end of class my students immediately go back to their seats and look up the answers they got wrong in the book. Before this my students would just look at the grade and then put it away in their folders. I am definitely going to continue to return papers by the end of the period or by the next class period. In regards to student feedback, I only see a little change in success. Although my students enjoy grading each other's reflections, I have discovered that some students will make fun of others who didn't understand the assignment or made spelling errors so I will probably not use student led feedback in the future.

Strategy Reflection #6 Cooperative Learning

What?

Cooperative learning is one strategy that I use in my classroom on a regular basis. I decided to create a heterogeneous group for the next cooperative learning assignments I assign. I usually allow my students to create their own groups which I have found tends to lead to more socializing. I also noticed that my higher performing students would pair up and my lower performing students would pair up in groups.

So What?

The statistics involving the success rates of the lower performing student groups versus the higher performing groups was an eye opener to me. I had never considered the negative effects in allowing my students to determine their own groups. I decided to create the cooperative learning groups myself. In my US History class I have exactly 12 students. I figured I would split my groups into 3 groups of four students since the statistics revealed groups of 3-4 students had a +9% success rate. I looked down my gradebook and noticed that I had 3 students who currently had an A in the class. I separated them and put each in their own group. I then began looking at my B, C, and F students then split them up between the 3 groups. I had 4 students who were currently failing so I put 2 of the F students in the group with the person who was making the highest A average to make it more even. I was a little weary about splitting the groups the way I did considering that my A students usually don't associate with the F students since they tend to be the students who are always in the office. However, as I monitored their groups I noticed that they were all working together to come up with the correct answers. I was amazed to discover that the cooperative learning groups I created seemed to be functioning well. Once they completed their assignments I had them return back to their seats. Then I decided to have a debriefing to reflect on how they felt about their groups. Surprisingly, I had students that mentioned they enjoyed working with their groups. The higher performing students mentioned that they enjoyed being able to help other students because it made them feel like the teacher. They also mentioned it gave them a chance to get to know other students in the class they wouldn't associate with normally.

Now What?

Since the heterogeneous cooperative learning groups were so successful I plan to always arrange my groups that way. When I graded their work each student performed better. They were also able to explain to me what they learned from the assignment. I plan to include more cooperative learning projects into my lesson planning since it appears that peers can sometimes teach better than the teacher. The students enjoyed it and it prevented them from asking me a million questions regarding the work. They were able to ask their peers questions which made it easier on me. They were able to solve the problems on their own within their groups.

Strategy Reflection #5 Nonlinguistic Representations

What?

Nonlinguistic representation can be described as a way to get students to create an image of what they learned through graphic organizers and other strategies. I decided to utilize the describing wheel graphic organizer to enhance my students' understanding of the Industrial Revolution in World History. My usual classroom routine is to read the selection of text aloud and discuss it. Once we discuss it I have my students complete questions and worksheets to conduct more independent practice to see what my students got out of the lesson. I decided to try a graphic organizer to determine if they comprehended what we had been discussing the past couple of days.

So What?

I printed off copies of the describing wheel that was passed out during a group presentation. I explained to my students how to use the organizer and what I was expecting them to do. I had them write "Industrial Revolution Inventions of the 1700s." I wanted them to list all the inventions we discussed and include the year the invention was created and the person responsible for the invention. Most of my students went straight to work without any hesitation, but I had others who were still confused. I wrote Eli Whitney-cotton gin-1793 on the board and told them to put it in one of the boxes on the graphic organizer. The demonstration helped them to understand what I wanted. I walked around the room and observed my students writing down the inventions. I was surprised at the number of students who didn't use the book as often as others. It showed me that those students understood the material enough to create a mental representation such as a graphic organizer. Some were so pleased with their assignment that once they finished they asked to color it. I posted each graphic organizer on my student recognition board so they can gain confidence in knowing they were able to create a visual representation.

Now What?

After the success of this activity, I decided to implement graphic organizers into my lessons each week. In the past I would occasionally use graphic organizers to check for understanding anyway, but now I will make sure to use them more. Instead of doing my usual worksheets and questions I plan to check for understanding by having my students complete graphic organizers. I didn't realize how many different graphic organizers were available online. After this activity I researched other graphic organizers from the handouts given to us during the presentation and was overwhelmed with the results. I now understand why graphic organizers and other nonlinguistic representations are so important in determining whether or not students grasped a concept.

Strategy Reflection #4 Homework & Practice

What?

Since I teach resource history I don't expect my students to take home much homework. I don't give them big projects due to the lack of parental support at home to help them with the project. The only homework my students have is when they are behind or if they didn't finish their work for the day and request to take it home. I decided to try to implement homework in my senior economics class since they are my older group of students. In economics we are studying pure monopoly and competition. On the section about competition I asked my students to think of ways companies compete for business. They mentioned that businesses compete in prices for the same products.

So What?

I decided to assign my students a homework assignment. In this assignment they were to go home and get two sales ads. I gave them a worksheet with three columns. The columns stated: Product, Store #1, and Store #2. I instructed them to go home and find two stores and products that both stores were selling. They had to write down the product and then each store's price for the product. Once they finished writing down the prices they were then supposed to decide which store had the better price and which one they would buy that product from because of the better deal. My students brought back their completed assignments comparing products from Best Buy and Conn's, Tom Thumb and Albertons, and Wal-Mart and Target. We discussed their findings with the rest of the class.

Now What?

My students expressed how much they enjoyed the assignment and didn't realize that so many stores had the same products on sale the same week. I realized that my students grasped the concept of competition and understood the difference between a good sale. I will try to find more ways to get my students to do homework that is meaningful and relevant to what I am teaching. I am not going to just assign my students homework as a punishment, but as an extended lesson. I just have to make sure that the homework will be easy enough that my students can do it on their own since their parents aren't very supportive in their successes.

Strategy Reflection #3 Reinforcing Effort & Providing Recognition

What?

In my classroom I tend to use more verbal recognition than concrete recognition. When I am lecturing and my students answer a question or read from a selection of text for me, I tell them things such as, "good job" and "very good." I decided to implement more concrete recognition into my classroom. Since our district is strict with providing students with candy coming up with something for high school aged students was difficult since they enjoy candy. I tried to find something that would recognize them in a way that would make them feel appreciated.

So What?

I decided to write my students notes. On our campus we have post cards called "Skeeter Shout Outs." The purpose of these shout outs is to promote recognition to our students and staff. When we recognize our students we are instructed to write the note and then send them home to their parents praising their child for their good work. I decided that instead of sending the cards home to parents I was going to personally deliver them to my students. I have only a handful of students in each of my classes that will happily read for me. I decided to first start in my freshmen World Geography class. I asked for volunteers to read and as usual, the same 3 students were the only ones who were willing to read. Once we finished the lesson and they began their work, I took time to write a shout out to each of them. In the cards I thanked each of them for their help in teaching the lesson and I told them how much I appreciated their hard work. I then gave the card to each of them. One girl jokingly told me that the card was going to make her cry because it was so sweet. One of the other students I wrote a card to is usually a handful in class, but even the defiant students could benefit from recognition. When I handed him his card he was thankful. He kept telling me over and over again that he was going to show it to his uncle as soon as he got home.

Now What?

I enjoyed the immediate reaction of giving my students the cards instead of mailing them home. I felt that I was able to personalize the card by hand delivering them to my students. When we send them home we can't see our students reactions. I feel that the cards helped my students to feel appreciated and recognized. I will continue to fill out the cards and hand them to my students instead of mailing them home. For one it saves the district money and then it also allows my students to receive recognition after they complete a task. I realized that concrete recognition lasts longer and is much more rewarding that what candy can provide my students.

Strategy Reflection #2 Summarizing & Note Taking

What?

I decided to implement note taking in my classroom. I thought about which class to work on first and decided to try it out on my sophomore World History class. We had just finished studying the Middle Ages and Medieval Times. At the conclusion of the chapter, I showed The Sword and the Stone. Although The Sword and the Stone is a children's movie, I showed it to them in clips each day.

So What?

I reviewed the Middle Ages with my class and reminded them of key terms that we learned about. I told them that while they watched the video they needed to write down everything in the video that mentions what we discussed in class during that chapter. I only showed about 15 minutes of the video each day because I put it in after we finished the days work. I was amazed at how well my student's paid attention to the details of the movie. When I got back their notes I noticed that, for the most part, they really took to the assignment. They picked out the moat around the castle, the description of how the castle looked (as we discussed in the chapter), knight, page, squire, etc.

Now What?

I have learned that I underestimated my students. I never expected them to identify so many things in the video that came from what we learned in class. They really enjoyed the video and were able to understand, visually, more of what we learned. I am going to make note taking a part of my lesson plans. Even though the notes they took weren't long sentences or thought provoking statements, I found that they were able to pick words out of the video and remember to write them down. I especially am going to make it a point to teach my seniors since college success depends on it.

Teacher Personal Goals

Personal Growth Goals:
*Personal-Spend more time creating lesson plans that will help make my lessons fun and engaging. I would like to utilize more active learning strategies and utilize more technology in the classroom.

*Professional-Check for understanding before we move to another topic; allow my students to utilize higher level thinking activities; take more staff developments and workshops that will help improve my teaching skills.

Professional Growth Measurable Activities:
*Personal-Plan more time to sit down and think about my lesson plans and research new ways to teach certain topics; discuss ideas and brainstorm with my peers who can give me other suggestions.

*Professional-Pop quiz my students over something we just discussed either verbally or by paper; meet with my peers after school or on my conference to come up with more ideas on teaching lessons.

Professional Growth Assessment and Evaluation:
*Personal-Exciting lesson plans that will keep my students engaged and excited about learning; ask students which strategy they liked the best and repeat that activity.

*Professional-Research workshops and staff development classes that I can take and utilize what I learn in those classes to create awesome lesson plans and make me a better teacher.

Strategy Reflection #1-Similarities & Differences

Identifying Similarities and Differences

What?
I decided to implement the Venn Diagram with my United States History class to teach them to identify similarities and differences in lessons we study. We have been studying the American Revolutionary war and are currently studying the War of 1812. My students have enjoyed these two lessons and really seemed to grasp a hold of each event. I wanted to determine how well my students have understood what I have taught them.

So What?
I printed off a Venn Diagram template from Edhelper.com. Edhelper.com has various graphic organizers and appealing templates to make using graphic organizers fun. I decided to stick with the traditional Venn Diagram template. I gave each student the Venn Diagram. I asked that above one circle they write American Revolution and above the other circle write War of 1812. I explained to them that for this assignment I wanted them to list all the details of each war and then in the middle where the circles meet they needed to write details that were similar. I gave them 10 minutes to work without notes or textbooks. I did allow them to work together if they needed some help. I walked among them to see how well they were able to work on the assignment. Each student had listed different details about each war. Some listed under the American Revolution included famous people such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and many more. They had listed the date 1775-1783, Second Continental Congress, and the Treaty of Paris. Under the War of 1812 my students had listed the date 1812-1815, Treaty of Ghent, Star Spangled Banner, Andrew Jackson, and the burning of Washington D.C. by the British. In the middle circles they listed United States, British, American independence, causalities, weak nation of America going to war, French, and American Indians. I was amazed at how well they were able to take all the facts from these two wars and create a diagram of a higher level of thinking. Even though I allowed them to use their books after the 10 minutes, my students still understood the concept of similarities and differences.


Now What?
Since this activity went so well I am planning on utilizing higher level thinking activities that will enable my students to think beyond what I expect them to. I plan to use more graphic organizers and Venn diagrams to check for understanding after a lesson that I taught. I have discovered that there is more to checking for understanding than just using tests. If I can just conduct a quick similarities and differences activity I can determine if I need to reteach a lesson or if I can go on. My students seemed to enjoy this activity even though some of them, at first, had trouble grasping the concept or even the point of the activity.

SED 597.410 Conceptions of Schooling

I took 30 hours of PFK this past semester to bundle for this Winter Mini course. In all of those classes I learned many wonderful strategies and skills to utilize in my classroom. However, the one that I seemed to enjoy and seemed to help me the most was the Try and Make Me: Simple Strategies That Turn Off The Tantrums and Create Cooperation book study by Dr. Ray Levy and Bill O'Hanlon. Kelly Smith led the class through a 8 hour course that covered the book.

What I Learned from the Class

Dr. Levy's book discussed the difference between two types of animals and referenced them to human characteristics. Horses are the type of people that are positively motivated. They aim to please people and are willing to work in exchange for praises and recognition. Camels are the type of people that are negatively motivated. They do not aim to please people and could care less about positive recognition. Dr. Levy explains that defiant children mostly resemble camels. They prefer negative reactions and find behavior charts more satisfying than actually doing the tasks requested. Dr. Levy says to mix negative consequences to complement the positive enticements. Instead of praising the "camel" style student when he does well simply use a "I've noticed" statement.

Another strategy I learned from the book study were Practice Academies. I have heard about Practice Academies, but I had never learned how to conduct the Academy. One of our application pieces was to implement a Practice Academy. I chose one of my students who constantly walked around the room and constantly blurted out comments or questions. I stopped him one day during his normal disruptive behavior and said, "Uh oh! Your behavior is telling me that you need a how do I stay in my seat and raise my hand quietly while waiting for Mrs. Lemons to call on me practice academy." Kelly says to name the practice academy however long you want it to be, but it needs to be as specific as you can make it. He didn't know what a practice academy so he thought I was just playing with him. To make a long story short, a student explained it to him and I had him practice the desired behavior for about 30 minutes. I set my timer for 5-10 minute increments. I gave him a question to ask when I called on him. When the timer went off I looked up at his raised hand and had him respond with his question. After that activity I never had trouble with him getting out of his seat without permission or blurting out without my knowledge. I was amazed at how quickly it worked for him and how successful it was just from the first day.

Try and Make Me! is an easy read. Dr. Levy puts the strategies and the book contents in plain English. At the end of each chapter he included summaries so if you need to just go back and look up information quickly you could do so without having to scan the text.

Why Should You Take It?

I benefited greatly from this book study. I didn't find the book to be at all boring and with Kelly Smith teaching the class you can't go wrong. I have all the resources I need to prevent defiant children from controlling my classroom and to keep me from engaging in a power struggle with them. The book study really made me more aware of what types of characteristics resemble a defiant child so I could identify him and "shut him down" before he became out of control.

ETEC 597 Journal # 3 - November 12

I am so excited about all the technology I learned this semester through this course. There were at least two technologies that I will integrate and continue to use. Those two technologies are Blogger.com and WetPaint.com. I have plans to use a blog site for my students so I can get them to journal and really make the site their own. Through blogging I hope to engage my students in learning especially by expressing their thoughts. I am especially excited about utilizing a classroom web page. I have seen a need to create a web page for my students and their parents. I will create a classroom site where my students will be invited to post comments and view the district calendar of upcoming holidays, as well as, testing days. I plan to post extra credit opportunities that my students can complete at home and bring to class. I believe that by doing this my students will be in the practice of being responsible since they will need to remember to bring the assignments to me. I also have plans to continue to update my WetPaint Wiki called "Friendly Connections." I am currently in the process of getting teens to join and get on board with viewing the site on a regular basis. I post upcoming events and class discussions. I plan on posting prayer requests and praises so that the teens can continue to pray for others. I didn't even know that these two technologies existed. Now that I have been exposed to these two technologies I will continue to use them and share them with others.

Some of my "Aha" moments have to include the MAPit activity. I was in awe at the amount of false information posted on the Internet. I was always under the assumption that what I pulled up on the Internet was, for the most part, true. I used numerous amounts of information I pulled off the Internet for research papers I completed in my undergraduate studies. Through the MAPit activity I learned to "weed out" the bad stuff and it opened my eyes that I truly can't believe everything I read. It has made me realize that I need to check for validity on everything I find especially if I am going to pass the information on to my students and others.

I will continue to utilize Blogger.com. I may not update my current one with new assignments unless we are informed to while continuing our graduate studies. I do plan on creating a new one for my family and friends. I will post information about events going on in my life and places I have been. I will pass on the website to my family and friends so that they can view it for updates. I noticed that once I created the blog for this course most of my friends had already created one. I have seen that a blog is not just informational for me, but a way to connect to others. I have been able to see what is going on in the lives of some of my old college friends and I have been able to stay connected with them. I have thoroughly enjoyed this course. There were times when it became overwhelming, but once I stuck with it and took the time to figure it out, I enjoyed all the new technologies.

Discipline Journal # 5 - My Discipline Model

My Discipline Model Name: The "Lemonator" Discipline Model ("When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!")

Brief, narrative description of the model

My model was named the Lemonator because it eliminates behavior problems that surface in my classroom as well as sports my last name. I think of my discipline model as a giant melting pot where I put several ingredients in to make one huge pot of "goodies." I use several of the discipline models that we learned about this semester. The Lemonator Discipline Model utilizes most of the discipline models. Each one of my students are different and what works for one student may not work with another. With that being said, I have to pick and choose different discipline models to use on my students.

I have listed the models that have been implemented in my classroom and have resulted in positive results for me.

Love & Logic Model
I have always enjoyed the Love & Logic Discipline Model by Jim Fay. Love & Logic focuses on the teacher becoming an instrument in getting students to find solutions to their own problems instead of relying on the teacher. The teacher's primary action is to confront while questioning. This action leads to the student to produce a logical and productive solution to his own problem. Dr. Levy sees misbehavior as a result of the student's poor sense of self-worth and the desire to avoid pain. The Love & Logic Discipline Model involves building the student's self esteem up so that they will feel more capable and better about themselves even after they are disciplined. As Dr. Levy explains, students are rational, capable, and want some control. He believes that their behavior is due to a self-conceived deficiency. I have discovered in my 4 years of teaching that my students are all capable of doing what I expect of them, but their acting out has something to do with problems at home or a lack of attention. When I use Love & Logic it is to keep from becoming trapped in a power struggle. I have many students who have to get the last word and who enjoy arguing. When one of my students smarts off or complains about my class I just give them a smile and give them a famous one liner: "Thanks for sharing." Each time I used it the student would completely shut down from arguing with me. Now I have found that my students will tell each other, "thanks for sharing."

Positive Discipline Model
The Fred Jones Model of classroom management consists of four elements. These elements are needed to make this model a success. They consist of limit setting, responsibility training, omission training, and a backup system. I use many of the elements from this model. I use proximity a lot in my classroom. While my students are doing independent learning activities I walk around the classroom. I pay especially close attention to my disruptive students by watching their every move. When I notice one of my students off task I walk up to their desk and help them find the answer to the problem. I reach in with my finger or with my hand to get them back on task. I may point to a particular sentence or I may turn their book to the correct page to find an answer. When I am lecturing or explaining a concept and some students begin to start talking I stop what I am saying and I "camp out" on my cart. I await a reaction from the class. Eventually the students who figured out that I was waiting for talking to cease will tell the other students to be quiet. Another component from this model I use is the eye contact. If I have a student who is misbehaving while I am sitting at my desk I look up at them and make eye contact. The student immediately stops what he was doing that was inappropriate and begins to work. I have always been a teacher that will take one of my misbehaving students out into the hallway, which I call my office, for a discussion on their behavior. I have found that taking the time to speak to them about their behavior makes them aware that the behavior they are displaying is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. I am amazed at how much those little private conferences help eliminate their acting out.

Assertive Discipline Model
This model created by Lee Canter consists of stating and teaching expectations early before problems arise. It also focuses on the teacher developing a positive relationship with her students. On the first day of school I immediately begin to discuss my expectations. I walk my students through a powerpoint that I created which go over the Mesquite ISD Code of Conduct and my classroom rules. I keep my rules posted up in the classroom so that they will always be reminded what is expected. I try to keep my main rules to a minimum of 5 so that they can be easily remembered. I would say that I have an excellent rapport with my students. I have never had a student tell me that they don't like me. I have developed the relationship at the beginning of the school year. At the beginning of the school year I may not be a very soft teacher, but my students understand my rules and expectations. Once I realize that my students understand those expectations I am able to lighten up on them. My students may think of me as mean the first few months of school because I do not let anything slide by me. I write them up for everything out of compliance with my rules or the Mesquite ISD rules. Then once my students understand that I am consistent with discipline they begin to do as I expect. I built rapport with my students by engaging them in conversations about their weekend or their interest. I have students who tell me everything about their life, the good with the bad where they wouldn't share it with any other teacher. I have found that it is difficult for some teachers to develop a relationship with their students because they do not treat them with respect. I have a couple of students who cannot get along with any of their other teachers. I have discovered that they cuss out the teachers, walk out of the classroom, and become disrespectful to them. However these same students are some of my favorites. One in particular always addresses me with respect and adheres to my expectations. It isn't hard to develop a relationship with students. They just have to know that you really do care about them and not just a paycheck. My students constantly ask me if I will be their teacher next year. I ask them why and they tell me it is because they don't want any other teacher. One student stated that if I wasn't his teacher next year he was going to drop out of school because he wants me to teach him until he graduates. I take that as a compliment. Besides teach, the only thing I do for my students is listen without judging. Most of the time they want to fill me in on their lives, but without criticism.

Discipline Preventative Model
The teachers in this model demonstates "with-it-ness," overlapping, smoothness, momemtum, and group alerting. In my classroom and in the hallways I have always practiced "with-it-ness." I just didn't know what it was called until I was introduced to this discipline model. I am constantly aware of what is going on around me. Most people describe it as observant. I can credit my ability to be observant to my undergraduate studies. I majored in Sociology so most of my classes required us to go out into the world and observe how people interacted with one another. I have found that I cannot just simply sit at my desk and play on my computer as most teachers do. If I am using my computer for anything I am constantly aware of what is going on in my classroom. I pick up on every noise, giggle, snicker, etc. This skill of "with-it-ness" has made my job as a teacher stressful at times. I am always the one who has confrontation with students and has broken up altercations in the hallway. While most of my colleagues choose to ignore student's behavior out of the classroom I am the one left to handle the problems. One teacher teases me that I am always in the middle of something. When I am helping one student at her desk I look around to make sure the rest of the class is working. I am like a constant radar detecting every misbehavior and every movement my students make. Another concept of the preventative discipline that I use is smoothness and momentum. Once my lecture is over I leave my students to complete their independent learning activities. If there are announcements that I need to make I either make them before I begin my lecture or I wait until the last 10 minutes of class when my students are beginning to prepare for their next class. I have trained my students to follow the lesson plan on the board. I have posted on the board everything we will accomplish during that class time. I even go to the lengths of numbering each activity. My students know that as soon as they come in the room they grap a book and begin with whatever #1 says then so on. They are not allowed to move on to any questions until after we have read the section aloud. Once I have read the section and lectured, my students know to do the remining of the objectives on their own. Once they finish the bell ringer or the section reviews, they know to go on to the next assignment. I also pre-sort all the worksheets and handouts so that I don't waste time passing them out individually. I count out the number of papers I need for each row and then I have my students pass them back. When I utilize group alerting I randomly call on students to read or answer my question. I used to just go down the row until I learned about this model. Now I have sort of a "stick pull" where I pull out random names to participate. Once a name has been called they go into the discard pile until they are all used up and then I start drawing from the discard pile.

Overt Teacher Behaviors
Empathetic response
Posted classroom rules/expectations
Verbal recognition
Skeeter Shout Outs
One Liners
PAT Time: Review basketball, BAM boards

Covert Teacher Behaviors
One Sentence Interventions
"Camping Out"
Proximity
"Evil eye"
Palms on desk
Moving In
Circle room
Mentioning student's name

Educational Insights
What glimpses, indications, signals, warnings, or advice would you offer to a new teacher based on your experiences and your new knowledge gained from this course?

When I think back on my first year of teaching I can't help but wish I could go back to that year. I wouldn't want to go back to being unexperienced, but I would like to go back and correct my mistakes. I am sure my students 4 years ago knew that I didn't know what I was doing. I have been teaching for 4 years and I feel that I have matured so much in these 4 years. I feel that I have learned so much from my experiences and mistakes. I have more control of my students and I feel like I know what I am doing.

I would offer several tips to new teachers such as,

1) Do not be afraid to discipline your students. My first year I don't think I wrote but 3 referrals the whole year because I didn't want confrontation and I didn't want to hurt my students' feelings. I wanted them to like me so that I could be their favorite teacher. I quickly learned in my second year of teaching that I had to be stern. I discovered that students will still respect you even after you discipline them.

2) I would tell them not to be afraid to change discipline methods. I think too often some teachers keep their same discipline techniques from year to year. The technique that worked 20 years ago when they started teaching doesn't work for this generation of students. I would encourage the new teacher to combine several aspects from different models to use in the classroom. Each model has important elements that can be used in the classroom. Just as we do with food, we have to sample many different things to see what we like and don't like. Every 7 years even our taste buds change. What we didn't like 7 years ago is something that we do like now. What discipline model we didn't like 7 years ago may be worth trying again.

3) I would also tell them not to believe what other teachers say about students to be true. It is obvious that some teachers just don't enjoy their job and their attitude conflicts with others especially students. I have found that some of my colleagues' worse students have turned out to be the ones that I look forward to seeing in my classroom. It has been my experience that I would hear a group of teachers discussing a particular student in lounge and I would believe that the student they were discussing was just awful. I would panic when I noticed that same student on my roll for the following year. I would have a preconceived notion that this student was going to be horrible, but then I gave him a chance to prove himself to be good. Once I saw for myself that this student was not so bad I quickly stopped judging students.

4) I would inform them to take the time at the beginning of the year to establish their expectations with the students. Instead of doing fun getting acquainted activities the first 2 days, go over the school's rules and your own rules. Instead of compiling a list of rules that they would forget I would tell the new teacher to come up with no more than 5 good ones. I always make one of my rules to comply with the Mesquite ISD handbook and that takes care of all the extra rules.

5) It is important to develop a good rapport with your students. They tend to do as you ask if they know that you care for them. Each student comes with a heavy load on their shoulders and a lot of responsibility at home. When they come to school they feel that they can do nothing right. If they feel that their teachers care about them then they will feel safe. They will no longer have to put up protective barriers to isolate themselves. I have found that I seem to have less discipline problems in the classroom because my students enjoy me as much as I enjoy them. Sometimes we have down time when we discuss issues and they share with me things going on in their lives. I have found that each time my students open up to me they share a private part of their lives which helps me understand how I can help them both academically and emotionally.

Strengths
Some of the strengths of my discipline model is being flexible. I am not set in stone on how I handle a situation. Each student is different and each situation is different. By being able to be flexible and rolling with the punches, my model allows me to take care of numerous discipline problems that arise. By developing a rapport with my students the discipline problems cease and become rare. By always being aware of what my students are doing in the classroom the potential of behavior problems decreases. When a student knows that his teacher is constantly moving around the classroom he won't have time to come up with a plan to act out or do something out of compliance to the class or school rules.

Limitations
If a teacher doesn't build a rapport with her students then my discipline model will not be as successful. It requires more patience than most teachers are willing to give. When I had trouble with some defiant students in my classroom I would handle it in my classroom. I would separate the group or move one of the students to my desk. I would put up with a lot of frustrations, but I dealt with it. Some of my fellow teachers would constantly remind me that I didn't have to put up with what happened in my classroom and they would encourage me to send the student straight to the office. I always gave my students second and third chances to straighten up. I believe that my patience has also be a contributing factor to my classroom discipline model being successful.

Why do you believe that your model will work with students?
I believe that this will work because I have been doing it for the past couple of years and I haven't had near the amount of discipline problems as my peers. I teach students with disabilities that range from ADHD to MR. My toughest classes are always my freshmen class during 3rd period, however, the problems I have with these same group of freshmen doesn't even come close to the problems these same group of students give their other teachers. My model treats students with respect which I in turn receive from them. It gives them a second chance to prove themselves as respectful students who are capable of adhering to my expectations.

SED 500 Discipline Journal #4

Incident #1 Dress Code
A. November 20, 2008
B. During 1B (after hall duty)
C. When I was on hall duty, a group of 4 Hispanic girls were walking around. I stopped and asked them where they were supposed to be and they said that they had just gotten to school. One of the girls was a size small and was wearing an XL out of dress code zip up jacket. I asked her to hand me the jacket since our campus enforces the "bag and tag it" policy. The "bag and tag" policy is when someone is wearing a jacket out of dress code we are supposed to take it up and put it in a trash bag where it is to be stored until the end of the year. She said that she was on her way to her locker to put it up. I told her to put it up and if I saw her with it again I would take it. I left my hall duty and headed to the office when I saw the same group of students walking towards me. It had been at least 40 minutes since I saw them last and the same girl was wearing the same jacket. Needless to say, she didn't put the jacket up in her locker and the girls still didn't make it to class. I approached the girls and they tried to walk past me. I asked the young lady to hand me the jacket since I had already warned her once. She responded that I wasn't going to get her jacket and she wasn't going to give it to me. I asked her 3 times and each time she refused. Then I told her that we could just walk into the office since she refused to give me the jacket. Then she said that she wasn't going to go to the office either. Finally after about 5 minutes, her friend convinced her to give me the jacket. Instead of handing me the jacket, the student threw her jacket at me. Instead of dealing with that issue I decided to leave it alone and walk away. I told her thank you and began walking away from the girls. When I walked into the office, Mrs. Marshall (the Principal) was in the hallway. I joked with her about confiscating a jacket that was thrown at me. We laughed because now the student will not ever be able to get her jacket back because she didn't even give me her name to write on the bag.
D. Since she gave me the jacket there were no other disciplinary actions to take. I just turned the jacket inside out so no one could see the designs and try to claim it for their own and placed it in the white trash bag. On the label I wrote my name and the date.
E. If I could do it over again there isn't anything I would have done differently. I followed the procedure and kept my cool when I had to deal with the student the second time. If anything I might have investigated where the girls were supposed to be instead of letting them walk around the school.

Incident #2 Trespassing / Insubordination
A. November 21, 2008
B. During 4A towards end of the period
C. I teach Modified BCIS for about 9 students who are enrolled in CBVI. Since they all ride the special education buses we leave about 10 minutes before the bell to beat the rush of other students. Every day there are about 5 students who are hanging out on campus. We have warned the students that if they are on campus when they are supposed to be home then they will be given a ticket for trespassing. After numerous warnings these guys still hang out on campus. I didn't know their names, but I did know one student's name. He was one of my students. I asked them to go around the school building and not walk into the breezeway. The group of students knew that I was outnumbered and didn't know their names so they proceeded to ignore my requests including my student. So the next day I asked one of the administrators what to do. He indicated that I needed to write him up for insubordination and for trespassing.
D. I received the referral in my box the next day and he was given a 4 hour Saturday School. I don't feel that this was an appropriate consequence since it is a continuous thing with him. I think he should have received one day ISS since he can't stay off campus and obviously wants to be here. I think if he is made to sit in ISS until 5 o'clock he would think twice about being on campus when he should be at home.
E. I think I handled everything well. Instead of just writing him up on a referral I checked with an administrator and we both agreed on the disciplinary action. Since that day I have no longer seen him hanging out on campus. I have recently found out the other students' names and I am ready to write them up for the same thing if I see them on campus again.

Incident #3 Tardy #4 and #5
A. November 22, 2008
B. During 3A
C. I have this one student who walks in late. She used to be on time, but lately she has started coming in late. After the 2nd tardy, students receive immediate referrals. I sent the student to the office after lunch so that she would have time to eat before going to the office. We go to lunch at 12:35 - 1:05. So I sent her at 1:10. She didn't make it back to my room until 2:10 which was just 5 minutes left of the period. I looked on the referral she received and she was dismissed from the office at 1:40. She had been walking around for over 45 minutes. When I asked her what took her so long to get to class she said that she was talking to a teacher in the hallway. When I investigated it a little further, the teacher thought that she had that lunch period and let her stand there and talk to a group of girls. I asked an administrator what to do. The student was with another teacher, but that student knew she was supposed to be in class.
D. We decided that she should be written up for skipping and she received one day of ISS.
E. I feel that the consequence was appropriate since she skipped my class. I am really glad that they didn't just give her a warning. This student has started walking in late and has started exhibiting behaviors that are not appropriate and if she "got off" then I believe she would have felt she controls the school. I wouldn't have done anything differently since I checked with an administrator and the two of us decided on the disciplinary action.

Incident #4 Dress Code (Jeans)
A. November 21, 2008
B. During 3A
C. The tardy bell had just rung when the same student from the above incident came in with her sixth tardy. After I sent her to the office I looked over and noticed two of my other students sitting in jeans. One of the girls had on a really dark pair of jeans that looked like regular pants until you got closer. The other girl had on gray jeans. They had made it all day in the jeans with no one stopping them. So I was very frustrated that it was now 3rd period on a Friday afternoon and I had to be the one to handle the situation. The girls begged for me not to send them to the office because one of the girls got out after my class and the other girl had just gotten back from MIC. I asked them why they wore jeans and the dark jean student told me that she didn't have anything else washed but her jeans and that other one just wanted to wear it because it was Friday. Then she told me that she had a pair of pants that were in dress code in her bag, but she didn't want to wear them. I told them that it wasn't fair for me to send the tardy student to the office everyday and not send them down for a flagrant dress code violation. After about 10 minutes of me taking time to write the referrals and listening to the begging me not to write them up, I sent them on their way.
D. One of the girls received a Saturday School while the other one in the gray jeans received one day of ISS.
E. I believe that the consequences were appropriate. The one who received a Saturday School hadn't been to the office very often and was getting out after my class and I think her disciplinary action was appropriate. I think they should have been consistent and had given the other girl the same disciplinary action, but since she had a prior record and had the other pair of pants in her bag I think she received an appropriate consequence. I wouldn't have done anything differently in this situation.

Incident #5 Cell Phone
A. November 21, 2008
B. During lunch
C. I was walking to the lounge to get my lunch while avoiding the large crowd of students walking towards me to go to the cafeteria. I noticed one student in the clearing of the crowd texting on his cell phone. I stopped and asked him to hand me his phone. He gave it to me without hesitation and then he gave me his name. After lunch the student came to my classroom and told me that another teacher had told him to put his phone up and turn it off because his dad was trying to call him so that is why he was on the phone in the hallway. He kept trying to convince me to give his phone back. I told him that when I saw him I had already been watching him for about 10 seconds and he wasn't turning off the phone, he was texting on it.
D. I had another teacher run the phone up to the office with his name and information on it since I had to get back to class. The disciplinary action depends on if his phone was taken up before or not. It this was his first time then he will just have to pay $15 and wait 24 hours. However, if this was his 3rd time then he will have to pay the $15 and not get his phone back until the end of the school year.
E. I feel that I handled this situation well. When I take up cell phones from students I know that if I let them off the hook I am not helping support other teachers. We all must be consistent in order for the school to run smoothly. Too often I hear that teachers give phones back to students as a warning, but I know those same students have been warned several times before that. So I like to think that when I take their cell phone up I am taking it up for all the other warnings that they might have already been given.

Incident #6 Cell Phone
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 1st period/Hall Duty
C. I was standing outside in the freezing cold for my duty when I looked up and saw a girl texting on her phone. I almost didn't notice her because she was walking with about 20 other girls. The All Stars had just finished practicing in the small gym and were on their way back to the locker room. This one student was in the middle of the crowd, but her mannerisms stood out so I noticed her. I told her that phones are not allowed on campus and that she needed to put it away. She gave me an attitude as she shoved it in her pocket. I then told her, "You know what? Never mind, just give me your phone." Surprisingly she gave it to me without any hesitation. I asked for her name so I could tag it as her phone.
D. Once I finished my 45 minutes in the 50 degrees weather, I walked her cell phone to the office. It was then that I followed procedure by putting the phone in a white envelope and filled out all the necessary information. Usually the procedure for cell phone disciplinary actions varies according to how many times her phone has been taken up by faculty. If it is her first time, which I doubt, then her phone will be kept for 24 hours and she will have to pay the $15.00 to get it back. If this was her 3rd time she won't be getting the phone back until the end of the year.
E. If I could do it over again, I would have given the phone to the All Star coordinator so that she could have handled it. Her punishment might have been worth more than what the office would do for her.

Incident #7 Insubordination / Walking Around
A. December 1, 2008
B. During hall duty / 1st period
C. I saw a group of students walking towards me. One girl in particular stood out because her shirt was hanging down past her knees and her shoes were out of dress code. I had already seen these same group of students walking around in the main hall so I approached them. I asked to see their passes. The student out of dress code is the only one of them that pulled out a pass. However, when this girl showed me her pass, it was more of a "flash." I told her that I wanted to see the pass in my hand. We have had a group of students using old passes they received so they can walk the halls so we were advised to check the time and date on all the passes. She kept trying to walk past me. I tried to step in front of her to stop her and she would go the other direction. Finally one of the girls she was with took the pass from her and told her to just show me the pass. The student was supposed to go to ISS and she was walking around the school. I told them to get to where they were supposed to be and I told them I didn't want to see them out walking around again.
D. I ended up E-mailing the teacher who signed her pass to let him know that she was up walking around the whole campus instead of going to ISS. I am not sure if anything was turned in since he hasn't e-mailed me yet.
E. I feel that I handled the situation well. I thanked the friend for being so respectful and helpful in assisting me with the student. If I had to do it over again, I think I would have personally walked her to ISS to make sure she made it and stopped walking around campus.

Incident #8 Tardy #3
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 3B / US History
C. One of my students walked in from lunch 5 minutes after the tardy bell. When he signed the sheet I noticed that he was on his 3rd tardy. According to the tardy policy, the student is to be sent to the office with a referral.
D. I wrote a referral documenting all the days he was tardy and when I contacted his parent. He showed me his referral and it indicated that he was given one day of ISS. He is rarely late to my class, but apparently it is a problem for other classes. So since it was only his 3rd tardy for me, it was one more too many.
E. I felt that I handled the situation well. Neither the student or I were engaged in a verbal battle. This particular student is one of my favorite students and he respects me enough to know that he was in the wrong and that I had to send him to the office.

Incident #9 Shaving
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 3A / US History
C. When my students walked back into the classroom from lunch I noticed one of my students hadn't shaved from the long holiday weekend. It was so obvious I don't know how I missed it at the beginning of class. I had already given him warnings when the facial hair wasn't as bad so I sent him down to the office. I wrote the referral to indicate a violation of dress code for not shaving.
D. My student never made it back to class from the office so I am sure he was either waiting for an administrator since the lunch period is a crazy one. Usually the policy states that students will receive one day of ISS for being out of dress code so I am sure that is what he received.
E. I believe that I handled this situation well. I had given him several warnings because he gets out of school after my class and I didn't ever see a point to send him down when he was going to leave within the hour. Since this facial hair was so obvious and I had given him several warnings there was nothing else I wanted to do, but write him up for a dress code violation.

Incident #10 Language
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 3B / US History
C. I was walking back into class from being out in the hallway between classes when I heard one of my female students yell out, "My n******!" Since the whole class heard it clearly and I heard it clearly there was no mistake that the comment was made. She said that it was an accident and she didn't mean to say it. She claimed it just "slipped out." Since the policy in my class states that all inappropriate language will result in an office referral including slip ups, I sent her to the office.
D. The student came back to class with a referral indicating that she received one day of Saturday school. I figured since it was a slip up she didn't get as severe a punishment as other students who use inappropriate language.
E. I feel that I handled this situation well. If I could do it over again I probably would have let her off with a warning, but then if I did I would have to do it for the rest of my class. If the whole class didn't hear it I probably would have let her off with a warning and no one would have known.

II. The Model I Implemented

Assertive Discipline Model

Summary of the Model

Assertive discipline is defined as a structured, systematic approach designed to assist educators in running an organized, teacher-in-charge classroom environment. This model focuses on the teacher's right to determine what is best for her students, and to expect compliance in regards to her established classroom rules and procedures. It is aimed at teacher's developing a positive, trusting relationship with their students and teaching them appropriate classroom behavior.

How I Implemented the Strategy

I am a firm believer in rewarding desired behavior. I usually give verbal praises to my students who do what I ask of them. I decided to try to implement the post it note recognition that was demonstrated in our last class. I cut colored index cards into 2 pieces. Then on each card I put a smiley face sticker. As my students worked on their assignments I walked around the room. If I saw a student working quietly I would place the smiley faced card on his desk. I did this for about 10 minutes. At the closing of the class period I heard my students asking each other how many smiley faces they each received. When one student got more than the others they would make a comment that the next time they would get more smiley faced cards.

What Worked and What Didn't

The only problem I found with doing this activity was that I tended to give more to my "favorite" students and not to the students who usually irritate me. I already had a mind set that my good students would do well and do as I requested so when I walked by their desks I gave them the sticker. Of course while I was walking around the room looking for students who were working quietly I came across my "bad students" who weren't doing as they were supposed to so I just walked right past their desks. The stickers worked well for the most part. When the students got the stickers their faces would light up. Even if they didn't show their happiness, I could tell in their mannerisms that they were happy to get a sticker.

Reflection of the Strategy

I really enjoyed passing out the stickers. In a way I felt like I was handing out smiles for the day. When my students were having a bad day I would give them a sticker for doing what I asked of them and then their whole outlook on the day changed. Their moods were more pleasant in the classroom and they seemed to have enjoyed the class time better. This strategy is one that I will continue to use. I will especially try harder to give them to my normally "bad students" to see if the sticker changes their outlook and their attitudes.

ETEC 597 Journal #2 - October 8th

Information literacy is being able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use information for a topic or issue through the Internet. I never thought about the possibility of information I find on the Internet being false. When I think about all the information I took off Google to compose papers in my undergraduate studies and all the information I pulled off Google to use in my classroom, I can't help but feel ignorant. I never once thought about the possibility of the information being untrue or fabricated. I was fairly new on using the Internet in college because it was then that I received my first computer ever. No one really taught me about how to research effectively. I didn't know people could post information without being censored or reviewed for authenticity. I honestly thought that the people who worked for Google had employees who sat down at desks and researched all the information to make sure it was the truth and then posted it. I was guilty of pulling up the first link that appeared in Google and using it because I thought it was the closest, true information found for my particular search. The MAPit activity really opened my eyes to the amount of false information posted daily on the Internet. The Martin Luther King activity really bothered me. If I was researching Martin Luther King I probably would have used some information on that website without even noticing all the racial remarks. It is really kind of scary to find out that kind of information is readily available for everyone. This MAPit activity has undoubtedly opened my eyes to be more careful when relying on the Internet. I have started passing on what I learned to collegues, family, and friends. I want them to be more aware of the fabricated information posted on the Internet. Many of them use Google to conduct research and most likely click on the fist thing that pulls up. Through the exercise I learned that Google lists information based on how many "hits" that site received not by the most reliable source. How many people used fabricated information without realizing it?? How many others have passed on that fabricated information to their students? If the cycle continues this new generation will undoubtedly receive false information and believe it to be true. Our students will be misled into believing what they read to be the truth and will then pass it on to others. Eventually it would result in the generation becoming less intelligent because they will believe everything they read to be true. I plan to use Altavista more as well as other search engines. This exercise also opened my eyes to other search engines. I just always used Google because I hear about it more than other search engines. I wonder if you could do a Google search on other search engines. That would be information I could use in the future.

SED 500 Discipline Journal #3

Incident #1 Cell Phone
A. October 23,2008
B. 4th lunch
C. I was on my way back to my classroom when I came across a group of male student standing out in the breezeway. When the students are at lunch they are not allowed to leave the cafeteria and these guys were out in the breezeway. I decided to redirect them back into the cafeteria. When I got closer to the group I noticed that one guy was texting on his cell phone. I asked him to give me his phone and he refused. I told him that since he is refusing that he would need to go with me to the office. On the way to the office I explained to him that a refusal to give up a cell phone resulted in an automatic 2 days ISS. I asked him if he had ever been in ISS and he said that he hadn't. Then I told him to get prepared to sit on tiny stools until 5 o'clock. He was quiet the rest of the way. Once we got to the office, I had him sign in and sit down. I began to fill out his referral and he came back up to me and told me that he didn't want to go to ISS so he wanted to give me his phone. At this point I had already finished the referral. I told him that he was already too late because it was already written. I asked him why he didn't give me the phone in the first place. He explained that he didn't have $15 to get his cell phone back. Then he told me that he had a bad experience with another teacher and thought I was going to be mean like her. As a result he immediately gave me an attitude. Once I started talking to him I began to realize he was not a bad student. He actually was quite a pleasant young man. I told him that I know he isn't a bad student, but that he just made a bad decision. I told him that if he had just handed it over to me in the first place we wouldn't have had a confrontation and he could have seen that I wasn't a mean teacher.
D. Once he gave me his phone I sealed it in the white envelope which is our policy regarding the procedures for cell phones. I then added to his referral that he did give me the phone. Since he eventually gave it to me I am hoping that the office will only give him a detention since it was his first offense.
E. After this incident happened I walked back to my room and I felt horrible. If this student and I had met under a different circumstance I think we would have gotten along well. I felt that I shouldn't have acted so "pushy" about him giving me his cell phone. I think that if I tried to counsel with him a little better on the way to the office instead of using my sarcasm then he might have given me the phone earlier. I think that once I talked to him about his decision I feel that we bonded. When we parted ways I told him to have a great day and he told me the same. I think if I see him again we might exchange greetings.

Incident #2 Cell Phone
A. October 29, 2008
B. End of 1st period
C. I was leaving the library when came across a group of students walking towards me. One of the students had her cell phone out and when she saw me she quickly shoved the cell phone in her shirt. I approached the young lady and asked her to hand me her phone. She walked past me like she didn't even hear me. I stepped in front of her and tried to direct her to the office. She started yelling, "don't touch me.". I informed the young lady that I had no desire to touch her and that I just needed her to walk with me to the office. She kept trying to walk around me so I put my arms up to block her. She kept trying until finally she figured out that I was not going to give up so finally she gave up. She began walking slowly behind me as we walked towards the office. On the way to the office she managed to pick up a friend who she carried a conversation with all the way to the office. I kept reminding her that we were headed to the office because she kept walking at an angle away from where I was going. She of course let me know that she knew where we were going. I believe that she managed to pass her phone off to the friend because I later found out she no longer had the cell phone in her possession. Once we entered the office she refused to sign in. She just stood in the middle of the office. I asked her 3 times to sign in and she kept arguing that she didn't have a cell phone so she wasn't going to sign anything. When I got closer to her she again kept yelling, "Don't touch me!!" I reminded her, again, that I had no intention on touching her. She created such a scene in the office that the secretaries called for the SROs to come to the office. Once they got there they saw what I was dealing with in there. They explained to her whether she was in trouble or not it was procedure that anytime a student comes to the office they must show they were there by signing in. She again refused to sign the sheet. We asked her what her name was and she refused to give it to us. Eventually after about 10 minutes of arguing with her they got her to sign in. When she signed in she just stood at the counter. We asked her to have a seat and again she refused. I had to write her up for insubordination and disrespect to school personnel. Since she didn't give me her name I walked over to where she signed in. I stood close to her because I knew she was trying to intimidate me and I was going to let her know that she was not scaring me. I put my paper right next to her as I began copying her name and grade on the referral. I placed the completed form in the box and began to walk away. The SROs had to come back and get her to sit down. After about 5 minutes of arguing with them she finally sat down. When I left the office she stared me down. So I looked in her direction waved and told her to have a nice day.
D. I received a copy of the referral in my box the next day. The referral had another comment added from an administrator. It stated that the administrator was asking her some questions and she told her to get out of her face. So the student was given 1 day of ISS and 5 days of MIC.
E. I can guarantee that this student will hold a grudge against me so all relationships have been affected. If I had to do it over again, I think I wouldn't have used so much sarcasm. I couldn't help, but come back with a smart remark every time she tried to take control of the situation. The sarcasm didn't make matters better. I have taken several classes on Love & Logic and I couldn't even remember then during the heat of this situation. It seems to me that this student doesn't have much respect for herself of others, especially those in authority positions. The way she disobeyed was one thing, but then disobeying the SROs shows me that she has no respect for anyone.

Incident # 3 Cell Phone
A. October 29, 2008
B. During 2nd lunch
C. I was on my way to lunch when I saw a girl walking towards me on her phone. I asked the girl to hand me her phone and she flat out refused. Since I was on my way to lunch I asked her to come with me to my room. There I wrote her name down and told that I would send a referral down for her later. I asked her why she was on her phone and she said that she was trying to get money from her mom for lunch. I sent her on her way and wrote the referral later. I had one of my students walk the referral down to the office later during the period.
D. The student received 2 days of ISS for insubordination. I am sure her record was blocked for $15 since she refused to give it to me. Of course, unless she gave it up to the office.
E. If I could do this over again, I would have escorted her to the office instead of waiting to deal with it later. I think the waiting time for her wasn't best because I am sure after she left my room she got back on her phone.

Incident #4 Cell Phone
A. October 31, 2008
B. During 4B - before pep rally
C. I was walking out of CMC and I saw a group of students just standing around when they should be headed to the pep rally. In one group of students was one student who was talking on his cell phone. I walked up to him and asked him to hand me his cell phone. He continued to talk on the phone while looking at me in the eyes. It was as if he were letting me know that I wasn't going to be able to take his phone away from him. Once he got off the phone I asked for him to give it to me again. He asked why and I explained to him that it was school policy and he wasn't allowed to use his cell phone. Then he just turned the other direction and ran off down the hallway. I wasn't about to chase him down the hallway so I remembered his face and I was determined to find out who he was. I woke up Monday morning and thought about how I was going to find this student since I didn't know his name. Then when I walked to the office that Monday morning there sat the student. He noticed me first and then he ducked down to hide his face from me. I walked out of the office and it dawned on me who he was. So I walked back into the office and walked over to him. He was in complete shock that I had found him. I asked him what his name was and he told me. I began writing his name down on the referral. He told me he was a freshman so it indicated that on the referral as well. The discipline secretary told me to place his referral in his folder which was already sitting on the top cabinets waiting to see an administrator. When I looked through the folders I couldn't see his name. I then found out he gave me the wrong information. So I took his referral and added that he gave me false identification and lied to me about his name.
D. I am not sure what his consequence was since I left him in the office. I haven't received anything in my box indicating what his discipline was.
E. I don't feel that our relationship was affected because during our discussion in the office I was teasing him about how he ran away from me. He was laughing and carrying on about how he was only protecting his friend's phone from being taken. Since this day happened the student still greets me in the hallway and we joke about how many times he has been to the office since. There really wasn't anything I could have done to make this situation better. I was fortunate to have stumbled into the office to find the student that ran from me sitting in the office.

Incident #5 Tardy
A. November 3, 2008
B. During 3rd period
C. One of my students came in class two minutes after the tardy bell. Since this was his third tardy I had him sign the tardy sheet. I began writing a referral for his tardy since the policy indicates an office referral is to be given. He began to argue with me regarding whether not he was tardy. He argued that he walked in as the bell was ringing when in fact he was late. I told him it was not up for debate so he was just wasting his time. I wrote him up and sent him on his way. He was in the office most of the class period. When he came back to class, he didn't have his referral. He said they were too busy in the office so he was sent back. I checked with the discipline secretary to make sure he was telling the truth. She did verify that he was sent back and would be called down later.
D. The student was called down to the office during 4th period. He was given a 30 minute detention for Wednesday after school.
E. If I had it to do over again I think I would have waited until after lunch. He wasted valuable class time sitting in the office waiting to see an administrator. If I had waited he could have had his classwork completed. There weren't any relationships affected since the student knew that I was right. He understood that I stuck to the policy and followed the proper procedures.

Incident #6 Language
A. November 3, 2008
B. During lunch in the hallway
C. I was walking back from lunch when I heard one of my students cussing while telling a story to one of her friends. I asked my student to come to me as I walked into my room. She didn't come to my room. So I walked outside and didn't see her. I knew what classroom she was in so I walked down the hallway and asked her to come with me. She already knew that she was going to be in trouble and that is why she hid from me. I spoke to her regarding her language and she was very apologetic. She explained to me that she didn't mean to cuss, but she forgot she was at school and the word just "slipped out." I gave her a warning and told her that if I hear her cussing again, either by accident or not, that I was going to write her up and give her a ticket. The next day she stormed into my room and demanded to know why I wrote her up. Apparently another student in my class had told her that I wrote her up for cussing the day before. I informed her that the student she got her information from had no idea what she was talking about and that she had no business coming to me in such a forceful and disrespectful way. I told her that it wasn't her business who I was writing up, but that she was not the one I wrote up. She again was apologetic and made her friend apologize to me for telling her the wrong information.
D. Since I spoke with the student regarding her language and gave her a warning, there were no other consequences. She now knows that if I hear her using obscene language that I will no longer give her a warning and the consequence will be the office.
E. Since she is one of my students the relationship was not affected. I believe that since I gave her a warning I gained her respect and she will know that the next time it happens it was because it was procedure. If I had to do it over again, I might not have given her a warning especially if I had known she would have been so disrespectful the next day.

Incident #7 Skipping
A. November 4, 2008
B. During 4B
C. I was on my way to CMC when I noticed a group of Hispanic students standing around in a circle after the tardy bell rang. I told the crowd to either get to class or leave campus if they had early release. As the crowd began to leave I noticed that one of the students was one of my kids. He is a sophomore and I know that he has a class 4B. He apparently skips 4B every day since it is an outdoor PE class. When I got to CMC I wrote a referral for his skipping. Then I contacted his teacher to let him know.
D. I am not sure of the consequence since the office has been backed up. Some students aren't being seen for a referral from 2 weeks ago. Usually the procedure for skipping is ISS so I am sure that will be his consequence.
E. If I had to do it over again I would have approached the student and either escort him back to his class or to the office. I believe that I have a good rapport with this student. He skips all his other classes, but mine. He comes to me for other problems and he lets me know what is going on in his life. Apparently I am the only teacher he says, "yes ma'am" to. He knows that when I write him up it is because it is my job and not because I don't like him.

Incident #8 Tardy
A. November 5, 2008
B. During 1A
C. One of my students walked into class 5 minutes after the tardy bell. I asked him to sign the tardy sheet which is the procedure for tardies. He began to argue with me that he had just gotten to school and thought that he was supposed to be in ISS. He said that he went to ISS and they told him that he wasn't in ISS that day. So then he came to class. I told him that I was sorry to hear that he was confused, but he still needed to sign the tardy sheet. Then he told me that his bus was late. So I decided that he was just lying to try to get out of signing the tardy sheet. I continued to ask him to sign the tardy sheet. He refused to sign the sheet so I told him it didn't matter whether he signed it or not. He was still going to get a detention for his second tardy. I filled out the tardy sheet and filled out the detention slip. I asked him if he wanted to serve his detention on Tuesday or Thursday and if he wanted to serve it before or after school.
D. The student chose to serve his 30 minute detention before school on Tuesday. I reminded him that the detention will be in ISS and will begin at 8:00 so he needed to be there on time or he will be given another detention, possibly for an hour.
E. For this situation there wasn't anything I would have changed. I think if anything I wouldn't have argued with him about the tardy. I should have used my Love & Logic one liners to keep from engaging in a power struggle.

Incident #9 Cell Phone
A. November 5, 2008
B. Between classes (3rd/4th)
C. I was walking to my next class across campus when I came across 3 students hanging out in the hallway after the tardy bell. I asked them where they were supposed to be and two of them said they were out 4th period. One guy said that he had class down the hall. I asked him 3 times to start going to class and he continued to stand there and ignore me. He took his time kissing his girlfriend and finishing up his conversation. I then informed him that I would personally walk him to class. On our way to his class, he pulled out his cell phone. I asked him to hand me his phone and he refused. He said that he was turning it off. I unlocked his classroom door and walked him in. I asked his teacher for his name and then I looked up his grade. I wrote a referral for disrespect to authority, insubordination, and refusal to give up his cell phone.
D. Since I had class I just dropped his referral off in the office. Usually the procedure for refusal to give up a cell phone is 2 days ISS and the phone is tagged for $15. I found out from his teacher the next day that she had to write him up after I did because he had his phone out and refused to give it to her. However, instead of going to the office like he was supposed to, he threw his referral into the trash and skipped the rest of the period. I received a copy of his referral about 1 week later and he received 5 days of MIC.
E. I believe that I handled this situation well. I followed procedures and instead of the student coming willingly with me he was defiant. I couldn't have done anything differently. Since I didn't know the student there were no relationships affected.

Incident #10 Altercation/Arguing
A. November 7, 2008
B. During 4th period
C. I was working with a student in Content Mastery when another teacher and I heard some commotion out in the breezeway. The other teacher opened the door to check it out and there were two girls arguing and about to start fighting. I told one of the other teachers to call the front desk and report the fight. I immediately went out the door to try to defuse the problem. One of the girls was yelling with her arms sticking out, "come on, b****, I'm here." She went on to say things like "I'm not going anywhere. Come on, let's get this over with right now. I'm not running away." She was yelling at another student who was standing on the other side of the breezeway with her earrings already taken off. They were yelling back and forth threatening each other with fighting. I knew one of the girls so I kept calling her name over and over again to try to get her to look at me and not the other student. I walked in the middle of them and told the girl I knew to go to Content Mastery. All the way into the door she kept on instigating the fight. I stayed out in the hallway with the other girl and talked to her about what had happened. She explained to me that her and this girl have been fighting since the 8th grade and here they were sophomores. Apparently they had already been in a fight 2 weeks earlier and were already sent to MIC and given a ticket. She explained that the other student had been harassing her since school started and tried to fight her until I came out. About 15 minutes later one of the SROs and an administrator walked up to the scene while I was still talking with the one girl. The other teacher and I explained to the what we had seen and what had happened. Before we even told them who the other girl involved was the administrator said, "Let me guess....." then he said her name. They had already known what was going on. We explained to them that the young lady I was talking to was trying to get away from the other girl who kept on trying to fight her. So they told the other teacher to write up everything she saw and turn the referral in to the office. Nothing happened to the girl I was talking to since she did try to get away. I went back into Content Mastery and the girl who was starting the argument asked me if we were writing her up. I explained we were because according to what we witnessed she was instigating the fight while the other one was trying to get away. She explained her side of the story which was totally opposite from the other girl's story. I just explained to her that the office will clear it up and I sent her back to class. I did tell both girls that when anyone says something to them they need to ignore it. I told them to be the better person by just walking away without making any comments.
D. I am not sure what the consequences were since I didn't write the referral. Usually when a referral is written the teacher who wrote the referral gets a copy with the discipline section filled out. I am sure she will get ISS for trying to fight.
E. When I reflect back on the situation I think I did everything correct. I heard the situation esculating and then I defused the problem before it became worse. If I had waited longer then the problem would have been out of control. I am glad that I didn't wait longer. As far as relationships are concerned I am sure that no relationships were affected. I wasn't mean to the girls and I didn't raise my voice. I spoke calmly to the girls and talked to both of them after the situation. I tried to counsel with them the best I could to try to make them understand that fighting does not solve all the world's problems.

II. The Model I Implemented

Discipline Preventive Process

Summary of Model

The Discipline Preventive Process can be described as a classroom management strategy that is aimed at utilizing classroom time effectively by eliminating the down time for students to act out and increases teacher awareness and organization. It eliminates classroom discipline problems by suggesting teachers to organize their lessons before class and take the time to separate and count out worksheets instead of passing them out row by row.

Description of How I Implemented the Strategy

I decided implement a couple of strategies from this behavior model. Usually when I pass out my worksheets, I either have a student pass them out for me or I pass them out by walking to each desk. I discovered that when another student is passing out the papers, I have a tendancy of seeing the student hitting people as he walks by a desk or he is putting the worksheets on someone's head. This in turn results in me having to discipline the student that is supposed to be helping me. When I pass them out I have several students who decide it is "free time" to talk. I decided one day that I would take the time to separate each worksheet into piles. I have 5 rows of desks so I made 5 piles of papers. As I walked past each row I handed the papers to the first student and instructed him to take one and pass it behind him. I had counted out the exact number of worksheets needed so there was no one trying to get up to give me the extras. I noticed that as soon as my students received the worksheet, their mouths shut and they started working on it. The students received the worksheets all at the same time so there weren't groups of students in the back who were waiting forever for me to hand them a worksheet. They all waited for me to explain the worksheet to them instead of them asking me one by one. I also decided to implement a way to maintain group focus. I usually have students read from the text or read from an overhead. I choose students based on who wants to read. The problem I have is that the same students want to read every day and they want to read everything. I have students arguing over who gets to read what next. Then once I ask questions pertaining to the material we read, only the ones who read aloud could answer them. I decided to call on everyone randomly. Since I didn't have sticks I decided to just go down the gradebook randomly. I would pick a student and then either ask them a question or have them read. I would continue this process until everyone participated. I noticed that all my students were more engaged and I heard from everyone in the class, not just the "smarter" students. My students were paying closer attention because they were afraid I would call on them.

What Worked and What Didn't

I found that separating worksheets worked really well in my classes. I have made it into an everyday procedure. The thing that didn't work well was going down my gradebook randomly. When I went down my gradebook randomly I would forget who I called on and who hadn't been called on to answer a question. I think that if I had taken the time to prepare a little better by using straws or sticks would have made it much easier. I plan on using the craft sticks for the "stick pull" idea. By using the craft sticks or straws to identify my students I feel I will be able to remember who I called on. Then once their stick is pulled I can put it over in a pile.

Reflection of the Strategy

My students really enjoy taking a worksheet and passing them back. They feel like they are all helping me pass out papers. I no longer have students arguing who is going to help me pass out papers. I really like the randomness of calling out names to answer questions by using the "stick pull" idea. By being random with my students, their participation has improved. I have more students reading aloud and I have students more engaged in the lessons. The implementation of this model has made an impact on my classroom learning overall. I feel that implementing these simple strategies has made me a better teacher and my classroom more disciplined.