Standards and Classroom Culture

EDUC350

This week in class we focused on creating our classroom mission statement, our goals, and our classroom norms. We went through this process by discussing as a class and then putting our ideas into one. Our mission statement is, "In EDUC350 we will become better educators through immersing ourselves in diverse populations to better meet the needs of our students by creating a sense of community inside and outside the classroom." I love this mission statement. I really like the fact that we will immerse ourselves into diverse populations by creating a sense of community. I think it is so important that my students feel at home and safe to speak and be themselves in the classroom. To create our classroom norms, we all wrote down something that we did not like that our fellow classmate or professors do. After we got through writing down a list of what we did not like, we were asked to turn these negatives into positives. These positive are what our norms came out to be. We expect each other to be respectful and open-minded and to contribute in all classes. One reason that I loved created norms is because Dr. Clark did not force our classroom norms on us. She allowed her students to create their own norms or rules. I love this, because it makes the students feel a sense of pride and commitment to their own norms, because they created them. The students are also more willing to follow and keep their other classmates accountable if they created the norms themselves. An article on scholastic.com states, "Students are more likely to buy into the rules if they have a hand in creating them" (https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/creating-classroom-rules-together/). I absolutely love this quote. It is so much easier to buy into something when you take part in creating it, rather than it being forced upon you. Having classroom rules and a classroom culture go directly with NCTCS 2, which is "Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of learners." Teachers have to make sure that all students feel that they are respected in their classroom, and that they are able to speak without worry about being judged or made fun of. I feel like a big subdivision of this one is that teachers should treat their students as individuals. Every student should be treated this way no matter their background, home life, disabilities, or any other difference they may have. In the future, I want to be like Dr. Clark in my classroom. I want to make sure that my students feel like they are able to have a say in my classroom and that they feel at home. I want to make sure that every students feels like they are just as important as the next, and that they feel a sense of community in my classroom.

EDUC410

In EDUC410 we discussed standards. We have all learned about standards in our previous education classes, but there was so many more that I did not even know about! I had no idea about the ISTE Standards and Standards for Information and Technology! There is also the Common Course of Study that has all the content that the students have to know in each grade. The point of looking through all these standards was to show us how many there are, and let me tell you THERE IS ALOT. To accomplish all these standards in one school year you have to use integration. This is when you combine multiple subjects into one lesson plan.

The rest of the class we spent in grade specific groups and we looked up standards in science, math, social studies, and language arts. We had to start creating a lesson plan that connected the standards of all four of these into one lesson. This was really challenging, but we were able to get it accomplished. It was a really good experience and first practice at how we would be using integration in the classroom. I think it is going to be really hard at first to use integration, but as we use it more and more as educators it will get easier. This directly relates to the NCTCS 3, because it is teachers know the content they teach. A subdivision of this is to know the interconnection between grade levels in the Standard Course of Study. This is something that is going to be so beneficial, because you are able to use your time more wisely.

Future Classroom

In my future classroom I want to make sure that my students are able to feel a sense of community. I also want to make sure that they feel safe and respected within my classroom! I also want to be able to use integration in my classroom. I want to make sure I am using my time wisely and making connections where connections can be made! I can't wait to be able to start using these practices within my classroom soon!