Five Core Proposition NBPTS descriptions

What is the meaning to:

1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
Student and parent can expect to be treated fairly and to have academic/learning needs met, to have feelings validated and having knowledge accessible. Parents can feel at ease and can voice their concerns if their children’s needs are not met. Parent can expect to communicate their children’s needs to the teacher. Teachers can feel accountable, connected with other professionals, respect for self and others, remain updated, asking questions to the students/parents. To the profession, having a community of learners with shared expectations, social value is increased if everyone is committed to learning, shared expectations, communication amongst schools/staff. Politically, creation and strong union
Skils: open minded, sensitive, aware, questioning, knowledge of and teaching styles and strategies towards diversity to facilitate learning, positive attitude

2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
Students can trust that what they are learning are current and thorough, the teacher know what they are talking about and can connect to their learning and teacher, and be guided to answers. The parent can expect their children are directed appropriately. Teachers must do what it takes to be updated on their subjects and constantly questioning. The profession can expect teachers can be (all of the above.)
Skills: open minded, flexible, lifelong-learning attitude, ability to show mastery of subject, ability to communicate and connect effectively with students

3.Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
Students can expect to be captivated, guided, and evaluated by self and others. They can expect a safe, organized, and disciplined environment. Parents can expect their child will be safe and learn self-discipline, and be assessed. Teachers will
Skills:caring, creative, organized, manage, working relationship with all

4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

Identify specific knowledge, skills, and disposition (frame of mind, attitude) that support accomplished practice, while emphasizing the holistic nature of teaching

Knowledge: teaching styles, diversity, subject matter, news
Skills: communicate, questioning, flexible, knowledge teaching styles, manage classrooms, organized, connect to others
Disposition: Creative, positive attitudes, caring, open-minded, curious

Who will Save Our Schools?

p. 38-39 Chart

Mechanistic
Parts
Objects
Hierachies
Competition
Imposed-Forced
Class-System
Unnatural

Ecological
Whole
Relationships
Networks
Partnerships
Organze
Overlapping
Cyclical

Dream big, but let people know what the reality is like. Having a hierarchy is important because it helps in real life.

Da Vinci – Principle #1 Curiostia

p. 48-75 Asking questions, chosing activities that help to reflect and identify recurring themes.
Pose questions that will shape learner to think more reflectively.
Start talking circles
Journals-reflection
Students set a schedule themselves
From day one, students get in groups and form questions and identify recurring themes
Use themes to build
Create a school 6-12 created like a college where you pick a field and take classes within the field
Students could choose classes that are hobby oriented

Article “The Discipline of Building a Shared Vision”

Members need to feel a sense of ownership within the shared vision. A process – a different vision into one vision is difficult. Sometimes it may be compliance. Everyone has a vision, but not everyone has put it into words. Sometimes, you just have to put your foot down and say, “this has to get done.” And enlist compliance. Sometimes, one vision is shared, and then members are asked to form their own with that in mind; put in their own piece to put the hologram together.

So you have to have a portfolio? Ch 5

Ch. 5 Mapping out the Plan
What do students report as being difficult in preparing a portfolio? Making connections between required activities, theory, and practice, and then applying them to specific criteria such as the required program competetancies. P. 51
What should accompany a portfolio artifact? Compatancy, indicators, captions, and written commentary
What are 5 required portfolio items for NBPTS? Intro to your Classroom Community, Reflection on Teaching and Learning Sequence, Engaging Children in Science Learning, Examing a Child’s Literacy Development, Documenting Accomplishments

So you have to have a portfolio? Ch 3

Ch. 3 Showcase Portfolios
How should you select best works? Consider audience, reveal achievement, show dynamic work, contantly updated.
What is the problems with a showcase portfolio? Rely on your own judgement to please the audience.
What constitutes best work? impress the audience, hands on experience, competence of reflection
What is a showcase portfolio? Exibit of your best work or piece to appeal to others.

So you have to have a portfolio? Ch 2

Ch 2 Developmental Portfolio
What is the main purpose? Reflective and retrospective, not comprehensive
What is the effect of the Developmental Portfolio? To see growth and gain ownership and pride
Name the primary question that would be asked in a developmental portfolio?
What did I learn?
What are the parameters for collecting materials for a developmental portfolio?
Create your own collecting materials
What are the five stages for acquisition and retention of knowledge in the developmental portfolio? Discussion, investigation, demonstration, writing and construction.
If one cannot reflect on the choices for the portolio, then what does that imply?The selections made are not appropriate.

While Preparing for Semester Validation

I feel that I’m having a hard time focusing on several things in my life. My job, being a mom, a teacher, a lot of irons in the fire,
It was an effort also for my family. Talked about child care, catering, etc.
Just being exposed to info doesn’t mean that you learn. Unless you are able to feel passionate about something, its just another chore.
Learning/Forgetting-putting things down on paper or bouncing ideas of people/discuss and share

What does it mean to be “colorblind?"

To be colorblind means to think, speak, and take action without prejudice regardless of who we are. It means to be just and fair. Does it mean equal representation? In the simulation that we did last week about the student who was called names at her school, the students brought up equal representation. If we were truly colorblind, we wouldn’t need this system. However, does it mean ignoring culture? Isn’t a garden beautiful with the variety of different vegetables and fruits, and thus the farmer rich with nutrients?

"Visionary Leadership” article

This article defined 3 different kinds of leadership: ordinary leaders-tell cultures, traditional-stories, innovative-take neglected visionary leaders-create new stories.

Take mission statement-mission is linked to vision, will become self-directed learners. Mission is your goal.

Vision statement-vision is linked to big picture, but it will also tell you how things will happen. Vision tells how things will get to mission. Vision-attracts commitment, hand into future and leader is facilitative to develop a collective vision. Negotations a shared vision by challenging, communicating, and empowering. Leaders embody the vision in thought, word, and deed. Cannot be all up in your head, but also trained with techniques.

Shared Values Activity

Guest speaker-Judi Jameson

She had us do an activity with our shared values. We did a "four corners" approach at the end to agree on the group values.

Processing the Values Process:

We experienced community for just the fact that people were able to express their differences while feeling comfortable to share and all expressing in a respectful manner. Necessary to maintain even though their body is doing something different. Through other people’s experiences, you understand yourself. From day one, we were all felt community. Then again, we aren’t community. There are opinions that are repressed, and I can feel it. We are a community in waiting. We are revisiting some old wounds born in the family. And we needed it and were so ready for it.

This discussion is helping to form an indigineous culture. We are native to humans and we are going back to our root of humanity.

We are powerful because we have so many perspectives. We have so many differences and challenges. We need to give kudos and props to everyone because we are very diverse and coming from different hierarchies of education.

OUR GROUP VALUES:

1. Trust
2. Openness
3. Respect
4. Commitment
5. Flexibility
6. Practical Application/Integration
7. Diversity
8. Accountability
9. Creativity
10. Integrity
11. Compromise
12. Collaboration

Teaching with the Brain in Mind

The Learning Brain
Left-sequential-more active with positive emotions.
Right-recognizes negative emotions
Occipital-back=vision
Frontal-forehead=judgement creativity, problems, solving, planning
Parietal-top back = processing higher sesory and language
Temporal=ears-earing, memory, meaning and language
Learing Food for brain-water, good diet, oxygen
Stimulation-new doing something
Lasting learning-cell requires less input from another the next time its activitated. Parially gene controlled.(LTP) long-term potentiation-cell is stimulated over and over so that it excites nearby cells(LTD) long-term depression-occurs when synapse is altered so its less likely to firelearning is done through alteration of synaptic activity Behavior-governed by complex emotional states and memories

More about using constructivist principles

• Pose relevant problems for learners
• Structure and build learning around primary concepts.
• Seek and value others’ points of view..and grow from there.
• Adapt curriculum to seek out and address the learners’ suppositions.
• Assess learning in the context of the teaching and learning.

The theory that new knowledge is an active product of the learner integrating new information and perceptions with prior knowledge. It is based on the work of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky, and complementary with interactivism. Educational theories based on constructivist ideas stand in contrast with behaviorist teaching techniques, such as Direct Instruction.

Our Group Values

We came to our group values when Dr. Judy Witt came and guided us through the 4 corners activity. We agreed upon the following group values:
Trust
Openness
Respect
Commitment
Flexibility
Practical Application/Integration
Diversity
Accountability
Creativity
Integrity
Compromise
Collaboration

Tao of Personal Leadership - Book Review - Mike

Bamboo is strong and very flexible. Teaching not to take things so seriously. Let go of things because the energy and pick your battles.
Respect-lifelong learner-dealing with stress-getting your ego out of the leadership-my worth is not my job

Who Will Save Our Schools

“Visionary Leadership” article, defined 3 different kinds of leadership.
ordinary leaders-tell cultures traditional stories
innovative-take neglected
visionary leaders-create new stories
Take mission statement-mission is linked to vision, will become self-directed learners
Vision statement-vision is linked to big picture, but it will also tell you how things will happen. Mission is your goal. Vision tells how things will get to mission.
Vision-attracts commitment, hand into future and leader is facilitative to develop a collective vision. Negotations a shared vision. By challenging, communicating, and empowering. Leaders embodies the vision in thought, word, and deed. Cannot be all up in your head, but also trained with techniques.

How did I use the constructivist principles during the last 2 weeks?

During creative writing, I asked them to add more to their assignment—asked them to highlight the words that made an article persuasive. And asked them to identify the words :
Verbs, describing words, etc.
Accepting different perspective-how student will relate, how teacher would relate and how I need to accept it.
Doing the Kathy—stepping back.
Call the teacher—facilitator and students—learners.
Whole to part-part to whole-modeling
Asked ?s in circle.
Important to have training with students on how to have discussions—being respectful of each other and not to take things personally.

Facilitator vs. Trainer

Trainer-
- Give information and skill
- Direct learning
- Operate from specified outcomes
- Have an established timeframe
- Plan the sequence to achieve the outcomes
- Are cognitive
- Use an a priori design
- Move from known to known

Facilitator-
- Provide nurturance
- Guide interaction
- Operate from an overarching goal and a vision of possibilities
- Have an undetermined timeframe
- Have a repertoire to draw from, but no predetermined plan
- Are intuitive
- Use an in media res design
- Move from known to unknown

Facilitators must act upon these beliefs:

Must trust the group’s ability to find its own direction and resolution
- ask questions and listen
- recognize that when it’s time, it’s time

Create a form from group work
- model attitudes and behavior
- reveal their thinking
- foster independence
- stay in the here and now
- trust their intuition

Has no preconceived notions
- go slowly to go fast
- use the energy
- if unsure what to do, do nothing

Constructivist Principles

How can we apply constructivism to our classrooms?

• Give them options to write about that are meaningful to them.
• Read aloud—summarize to class—interpret meaning and why its interesting to them.
• Write/create simulations that put them in the situation while learning the concepts.
• Questioning why they come up with the solutions they do.
• Stations—read, application, research
• Changing the titles—facilitator—learners at one point my “facilitator” role may be changed to learner and the student to “facilitator.”
• Structuring learning around Primary Concepts-So what—why do I need to know?
• Posing problems of emerging relevant to students.
• Structure learning around primary concepts.
• Seeking and valuing students’ point of view.
• Adapting curriculum to address students’ suppositions.
• Assessing student learning in the context of teaching.

"Breaking the Silence" article

After reading the article, I identified with the white students—not that I wanted a group just to make a group. Not in that I wanted to wear a “white power” t-shirt just to show that I was proud of being white, but because I don’t feel I identify with being a part of a group in this country. For example, I don't celebrate President's Day, but our country does. Does that make it "my" day just because its a USA holiday? or because all of our President's are white? I think I would have been envious of the minority forming social group because I want to belong to a group and have rituals that I can identify with. But can you imagine if a "white" group formed on a campus? Maybe a "German" group or a "Russian" group. But my families have been here so long that I don't even know WHAT I am? So what does that make me? white trash group? I want to be proud of my roots, but I don’t really know what they are and don’t have the opportunity to celebrate them here.

I think to help students feel like they belong—they need to recognize what patterns and traditions/rituals are in their own family and then celebrate those—keep the traditions (that are good/healthy).

Also, its beneficial for teachers to expose the myths of ethnic groups—reveal the truths and develop a diversity based curriculum. Antiracist and diversity topics are crucial to include in curriculum while being supportive to students who are dealing with these issues.

Thoughts/Feelings Circle

What was one successful thing that happened this week? What feelings do you have about racism?What experience did you feel you were treated racist?

After this circle experience, it was easier for me to share with Cara because she was white. Not because I felt more comfortable talking to her, but more because I was afraid of offending anyone with anything I said. I felt my responses might be judged by Rashawn, Shirley and Francisco. Isn’t that racism? Am I racist? Or is it just because the questions became more difficult. I shared about my experiences with my kids I’m tutoring right now…and how I felt successful because I made them prewrite for an essay about goals besides wanting to have a family. The first word I thought of regarding racism was family.

Preparation and Groundwork for my Professional Development Based on my Inquiry

I've attended my first Fielding meeing! I am excited and overwhelmed. The group is wonderful, and it will be a stimulated journey over the next 2 years as we explore an ideal school community. For my action research and professional development plan, I need to consider the following:

• Identify significant issues, needs, and/or concerns within my professional or work environment and their impact on student or client learning and growth.
• As I am exploring these issues, needs, and concerns...what am I discovering?
• Why am I most passionate about these issues, needs and concerns?
• What have others found or discovered about these issues? What are the prevailing theories about these issues, needs, and concerns?
• Why are these researchable questions of special interest to me?
• Who are some experts and mentors I might access who might provide advice and information about any of these issues, needs, and concerns?
• How might I explore and apply my learning from my questions, continuous reading, and discussions with others?
• What are the connections between my explorations and applications to local district strategic plans, state, and national standards and other initiatives?
  Remembering that the voice of research informs learning, how do I anticipate using my inquiry research in my learning? How might I make this happen?
  Of what importance might my learning and its application be to the learning of my learners?
• Who are my learners?
• What technology might be helpful in this research?
• May include:
  standards, goals, and objectives
  additional review of literature
  conversations with experts and/or members
  documentation of implementation
  modification of the Capstone Proposal
  goals and research steps
  evidence and indiations of student outcomes or results
  indications of my improved practice
  how are my beliefs changing or becoming validated
  personal audio, video, peer, photographic observations of learners, clients, and self