Olaso1

YajaunteOlaso
ED290
EducationalPhilosophy

MyK12experiencewasverysuccessfulwithoutanyhiccups.Iexcelledinmystudies,
andIwasalwaysinvolvedinasportorclub.Mybrother,ontheotherhand,hasADHD.He
struggledinhiseducation,andhewouldbringhisfrustrationhome.Myparentswouldoften
disciplinehimfornotdoinghishomework,thenforcehimtostayupuntilhefinishedit.There
wasconstantcommunicationbetweenhisteacherandmymomtopresentdifferentsolutionsfor
mybrothersproblem.Today,mybrotherisincollege,takingchargeofhisowneducation.This
situationhelpedmedevelopanideaofwhatmyoverallgoal,asateacher,wouldbe.Ibelieve
thatwhenteachersencouragestudentstobeactivelearners,usedifferentiatedinstruction
methodstoaccommodateeachstudentsneeds,andestablishapositiveclassroomenvironment,
andtheycangiveanystudenttheopportunitytosucceedintheireducation.

Ibelievethatstudentsneedtobeactiveparticipantsinlearningbecauseitallowsstudents
toexplorecontentmeaningfullyandteachesdifferentlearningtechniques.Beinganactive
participantmeanscreatingstudyingandmemorizingtechniquesthatworkfortheindividual.It
canalsoincludeactivelyparticipatingingroupsettingsbyofferingopinionsandreceiving
constructivecriticism.Studentslearnbyengaginginthecontentandfamiliarizingthemselves
withcommontechniquesthatworkuniquelyforthem.Ibelievethatwhenstudentscanidentify
techniquesthatworkforthem,theywillbegintolookforanswersoutsideoftheclassroom.I
wantmystudentsrelateandcomparelessonsintheclassroom,torealworldsituations.Asa
teacher,Iwanttoprovideavarietyoftechniquesformystudentstoeffectivelygraspthelesson.
Bygivingmystudentsthetoolstheyneedtobeactiveparticipants,theywillbeabletosucceed
intheireducationbyimplementingtechniquesthataretailoredtothem.
OneoftheactivitiesIwouldusetoencouragemystudentstobeactiveparticipants,and
introducelearningtechniquesisagroupvocabularyactivitycalled,WordDetectives.First,I
wouldputallmystudentsinheterogeneousgroupsof4.Everygroupwillhavethesame4roles
andtasks.Thefirstpersonistowritetheword.Dependingonthegradelevel,studentscandivide
thewordintosyllablesorsimplyshowtheclasshowtowritetheword.Thesecondpersonisto
definethewordtotheclass.Thethirdpersonistousethewordinasentencethroughspeaking
orwriting.Thefourthpersonistaskedwithcomingupwithsynonyms.Thispartcanbeadjusted
togradelevelbygivingthemtaskslikeidentifyingitstimetense,orantonyms.Alloftheseroles
willallowthestudentstodabbleinthedifferenttaskswhenitsubconsciouslyteachesthemhow
tolookforinformation,andteststheirpriorknowledge.Thisactivitywillengageallofmy
studentsbykeepingtheminvolvedinagroupwithadifferenttasks.

Olaso2

Ibelieveteachersshouldusedifferentiatedinstructionmethodsintheirlessonplans,
becauseeverystudentlearnsdifferently,solessonsshouldaccommodatetheneedsofall
students.Similartomypriorbelief,teachersareresponsibleforgivingstudentsthetoolsthey
needtosucceed,andsometimesthesetoolsarebuiltintothelessonplans.Studentsneedtobe
activelyparticipatingintheireducationthroughlearninghabits.Methodsofdifferentiated
instructionarecreatedontheteachersparttomakelearningmoreaccessibletothestudent.
Differentiatedinstructiontransformsthelessonuniquelyforeachindividualanditconformsto
theirpersonallearningstyles.Thismethodalsoequipstheteachertoreachstudentsthrougha
moreeffectiveapproachandbroadenstheuseofteachingtoolsandtechniques.Lessonplans
withdifferentiatedinstructionallowstheteachertochallengethegiftedandtalentedstudents,but
itisalsodesignedtoprovidealternativeopportunitiesforthosespecialneedsstudentsand
Englishlanguagelearners.Everystudentwillbegiventheopportunitytolearnthatisuniqueto
themthroughtheseaccommodations.
OnedifferentiatedinstructionmethodIwoulduseinmyclassroomiscalled,choice
board.Choiceboardspresentopportunitiesforstudentstoearnpointsbycompletingdifferent
tasks.Inpredeterminedgroups,studentswillcompletetasksthattotalupto100.Themorepoints
thereare,themoredifficultthetaskis.Dependingoneachtask,studentscanchoosetowork
togetherorindividually,solongastheirgroupstotalis100.Choiceboardsaregreatforall
studentsbecausetheywouldgettochoosewhichtaskstheywouldliketodo,anddecidewhat
environmenttheydliketodoitin.Forexample,EnglishLanguageLearnerscanopttowork
withotherstoimprovetheirliteracyskills,ortheycanworkbythemselvesandchooseto
contributeavisualtask.Giftedandtalentedstudentsareexpectedtoattemptthetasksthatare
worththemostpoints.Specialneedsstudentsaregiventheoptiontoworkwithothers,and
becausethisisaproject,theywillbegivenasetamountoftimesuchasaweekortwo.The
choiceboardprovidesvisual,verbal,auditory,andwrittenoptions.

Ibelievethatteachersareresponsibleforestablishingapositiveclassroomenvironment
becausewhenstudentsfeelcomfortableinteractingwiththeirpeers,theydevelopinterpersonal
skillsthatcanbeusedthroughouttheirlife.Studentscanbeveryimpressionableinaclassroom
setting.Whenstudentsfirstarrive,theylooktotheteacherforwhatisgoodbehaviorandwhatis
consideredbadbehaviorintheclassroom.Itistheteachersresponsibilitytoestablishtheserules
immediatelytoinitiateapositiveenvironment.Thebestwaytodothisistomakealistasaclass
toidentifyrespectfulanddisrespectfulbehaviors.Thiswillallowthestudentstoreflectonhow
theiractionsaffectthepeoplearoundthem,andultimatelytheywillbeheldresponsibleforthe
rulesthattheycameupwith.Iftheserulesareestablishedondayone,Ibelievethatstudentswill
becomfortablesharingandconnectingwiththeirpeers.Theywillbemoreopentosuggestion
andopinions,andtheycanspeakwithoutfearingdisapprovalfromtheirpeers.Bycreatinga
positiveclassroomenvironment,studentswilldevelopinterpersonalskillsthatwillbenefittheir
futurerelationships.

Olaso3

AnactivityIwoulddoinmyclassroomtoidentifyrespectfulanddisrespectfulbehaviors
iscalledRespectandFeelings.Iwouldstartthisactivitybyaskingmystudentshowthey
wouldliketobegreetedeverydaywhentheyenterclass.Theiranswersmayincludea
handshake,ahighfive,ahugorjustasimplehello.Next,Iwouldaskmystudentswhywegreet
eachotherthisway,andtoidentifymorekindgesturestoofferoneanother.Then,Iwould
introducethetermsrespect/respectfulanddisrespect/disrespectful.Aftergivingthemthe
definitionofrespectanddisrespect,Iwouldaskthemtoidentifyafewothergestures,oreven
phrases,thatareconsideredrespectful.Next,IwouldshowthemaPixarshortfilmcalledForthe
Birdsandaskthemaboutthecontentofthatfilm.Inthemovie,therearesomebirdsthatare
respectful,andsomethataredisrespectful,soIwouldaskmystudentstoturntotheirneighbor
anddiscusssomeoftheseactions.Toconcludethisactivity,Iwouldaskmystudentstoshare
whatrespectmeanstothem.