California Common Core Standards in Language Arts

Hello again.

Even though I will be teaching mathematics, it is really important that I understand the California Common Core Standards for Language Arts for my grade level.

Here are some of the highlights for ninth grade. Students should:

• Be able to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• Be able to determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text.
• Be able to analyze how complex characters develop over the course of the text, interact with other characters, and advance the plan or develop the theme. 
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text and analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
• Be able to analyze how an author chooses to structure a text, order events, within it, and manipulate time.
• Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work from outside the U.S.
• Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums.
• Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work.
• Read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range for ninth grade.

In order to help my students succeed in my class and beyond, I need to keep in mind:

• I need to set an example by using correct grammar through modeling. 
• Consider my student's linguistic accomplishments, instead of focusing on the student's shortcomings. This is especially important for English-language learners.
• Help my students grow their vocabulary!
• Respect student's individual efforts in regards to language.

Reference:

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon.

Elizabeth

My new student Dop

Hello there. The following is fiction....

My new student Dop is a typical 10th grader in terms of physical, emotional, cognitive, psychological, moral, and social development for his age. Here's a little more about him:

• In terms of cognition, Dop demonstrates full abstract reasoning skills. He lacks direction sometimes, but has the ability to correctly explain how problems are solved. With focus, he shows higher-order thinking skills. His point-of-view is growing more diverse.
• Rather than focusing on himself, Dop is focused mostly on peer relationships and on developing an individual, intimate relationship. His friends share similar interests, socio-economic status, and goals for the future. He has specialized interests in subjects such as music and sports.
• Dop celebrates his sixteenth birthday soon. Physically, Dop is fully matured, although he may continue to grow for a couple of years. Females his age are fully matured and very concerned with body image, but as a male, Dop is less concerned with body image except in regards to finding a personal relationship.
• Dop recognizes the social pressure to succeed and achieve. He realizes now that his grades, popularity, and success in school have an effect on his future. He feels some anxiety about his future, but tries to hide it. He is easily embarrassed when speaking in front of others, even when he is comfortable with the topic.
• Dop is developing an understanding of morality and ethics. Many of Dop's peers are experimenting with risky behaviors and substance abuse, mostly related to pressure from peers. Like others his age, Dop places a higher significance on peer acceptance than adult approval.
• Dop wishes to have his emerging independence respected. He sometimes questions authority. Psychologically, Dop is learning to be more reflective and self-aware.

This is going to be a great year for Dop. Can't wait!

See you soon,
Elizabeth

Learning Profile of an 8th Grader

Hello.

     In an interesting interview with a young man in the eighth grade, I learned that school culture plays a significant role in development.

     As the oldest brother with two younger siblings, Thanh spent his first few years of life as an only child. His environment was limited to mostly family settings until he began preschool. His birthday, in early October, put him in the position of being the youngest in his grade. His mom was given the chance to wait one year for him to start kindergarten, but she felt that he was academically ready due to his assimilation in preschool and would benefit from the increased socialization. According to Piaget, "we have a need to assimilate objects or information into our cognitive structures (Crain, 2011, p. 121)." Thanh's mother recognized the benefits of an educational, social setting. 

      Some years at home and at school have been more difficult than others for Thanh. While he has continuously demonstrated aptitude, his efforts and attitude have wavered. As Erikson explains, this stage in Thanh's life, known as "the latency stage" between ages six to eleven, is dangerous because students have "an excessive feeling of inadequacy and inferiority (Crain, 2011, p. 290)." It was also during this time that his younger brother and sister were born and there was a significant shift in the balance of attention at home.

      Moving into puberty has been positive for Thanh in many ways. He is now taking a second math class, Algebra, to prepare him for high school. As an eighth grade student taking on an additional class each day, Thanh was anxious about the additional expectations from his parents and teachers, but he was determined to show that he could excel in school. Taking this class, plus achieving good grades in his other classes, has improved Thanh's relationship with his parents and peers. Now Thanh has shown that he can be trustworthy. According to Kohlberg, "good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others (Crain, 2011, p. 161)." Thanh, now 13 years old, is understanding morality and demonstrating healthy behaviors and interpersonal relationships.

Thanks for listening. See you soon!
Elizabeth

Reference

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Social Development and Culture

Hello again!

Here's a little bit about me and the cultural experiences that helped shape the person I am today.

As a parent and future teacher, it is really important to me to help my children and students develop social skills. The culture we know growing up influences our ability to adapt socially. Crain places emphasis on prosocial behavior, such as sharing, helping, cooperation, and altruism, in order to influence students by exposure to the appropriate models (2011, p. 210). 

I am the youngest of two girls. My parents divorced when I was two and my sister was five years old. Prior to my birth, my parents moved from California to Illinois, then ended up in Texas where I was born and lived until age five. Just before kindergarten started for me, we moved back to California where we have lived since 1987. I had a very weak relationship with my father for my whole life, only seeing him every few years, and talking to him only occasionally on the phone. We grew slightly closer before he passed away in 2007.

My mother grew up with five brothers and sisters. She graduated high school, but very few people in my extended family have graduated from or even attended college. Her father was in the military for a short time but spent most of his life as a mechanic and her mother went to college, but I'm not sure if she earned a degree. My father also graduated from high school.

Since my mother was a single mom and my father did not consistently provide child support, my mom worked a lot. I remember that she worked three jobs when I was in kindergarten. I learned then about the values that are developed through hard work. My sister and I did not like that my mom had to work so much, but we understood that she was doing it to provide for us. My mom taught me about attitude and dedication. She never called in sick to work or complained about her situation, and she did not make excuses for why she couldn't do something. I really appreciate her modeling this behavior for me because I now have the same attitude in regards to my work. 

Just like my grandparents and parents, I grew up in a lower middle-class household. Growing up, everyone in my family was Caucasian, although we are more blended now. I attended public schools in a middle-class neighborhood with very few minorities. Some people in my extended family are more prejudiced towards others, but my mother is not and she taught me a lot about open-mindedness. We were never truly poor, but we always lived paycheck-to-paycheck. Growing up in this way taught me about prioritizing my wants from my needs. There were times that I wanted to be involved in more social situations, such as playing sports or attending social activities, but we could not afford it most of the time. We did take time to celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter ever year as an extended family. We love to eat lots of standard American foods on special occasions.

My mother's open-mindedness and lack of guidelines did play a part in regards to the rules of courtship and marriage in my family. My sister dated very young and was involved in some unhealthy relationships as a teenager, and I married my first real boyfriend by age 19 although that relationship did not last. Our choices were also shaped by a lack of a father figure in our lives since my mother never dated or remarried. As adults, my sister and I now have strong families and relationships but it took some work to get here.

I'll be back soon. See you!
Elizabeth

Reference

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Development and Learning Theory

Hello again.

Here are five learning theories of interest to me and how I will apply them to my teaching.

• Piaget's Cognitive-Developmental Theory
• From the 1920s through the 1950s, Jean Piaget studied cognitive development in children, focusing on the following four general periods of development:
• Sensorimotor Intelligence (birth the 2 years) where babies organize their physical action schemes for dealing with the immediate world.
• Preoperational Thought (2 to 7 years) where children learn to think in an unsystematic and illogical way.
• Concrete Operations (7 to 11 years) where children develop the capacity to think systematically, but only when they can refer to concrete objects and activities.
• Formal Operations (11 to adulthood) where young people develop the capacity to think systematically on a purely abstract and hypothetical plane (Crain, 2011, p. 120).
• Since I will be teaching high school, Piaget's period of Formal Operations applies to my classroom. Piaget's research focused primarily on mathematical and scientific reasoning, and he made observations on the abilities in adolescents to "grasp abstract principles and ideals" and "envision hypothetical societies very different from any that presently exist (Crain, 2011, p. 140)."
• Piaget's research emphasized communication and I will also do this in my classroom, because communication aids understanding of mathematical concepts and helps students grow into productive adults. If students can understand why subjects are important and how learning mathematical applications can be used beyond the classroom, they will be more likely to work past obstacles and develop a better grasp on overall concepts. This also produces harder-working students in all areas of school. In group exercises, students will be encouraged to listen to and understand alternative perspectives.
• Vygotsky's Social-Historical Theory of Cognitive Development
• Lev Vygotsky explained that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. In contrast to Piaget, Vygotsky believed that social learning precedes development. He focused on the connections between people and the social context in which they interact in shared experiences. 
• Vygotsky's theory promotes learning where the students play an active role in learning.
• In my class, students will be given opportunities to teach each other and demonstrate their understanding to the class. This can be done individually or in groups and will help students improve their communication skills using a reciprocal teaching approach. This also gives me, as their teacher, better insight into individual learning styles and strengths. 
• Bandura's Social Learning Theory
• Beginning in the 1960s, Albert Bandura argued that people learn through observing others' behavior, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors. He maintained that people "learn a great deal through imitation, and imitation involves cognitive processes (Crain, 2011, p. 204)." He explained the four components of observational learning:
• Attention: various factors affect the amount of attention paid
• Retention: people make associations using "stimulus contiguity(Crain, 2011, p. 206)," including symbolic coding, mental images, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, and motor rehearsal.
• Reproduction
• Motivation: having a reason to imitate
• Bandura considered personality as an interaction between the environment, behavior, and  the ability to entertain images in minds and language.
• I will apply Bandura's Social Learning Theory in my classroom through the use of self-regulation. Since students "who set high self-evaluative standards are generally hard workers (Crain, 2011, p. 213)," I will allow students to set goals for themselves and evaluate their level of learning and effort, because "hard work produces real accomplishments." This can be obtained by setting small, attainable goals such as mastering a mathematical concept. Basura's self-efficacy appraisals can be used in my classroom through setting students up with goals that they can achieve and using verbal persuasion to encourage students to meet goals. This will increase confidence when moving on to the next subject, chapter, or assignment.
• Erikson's Eight Stages of Life
• Erik Erikson identified eight stages through which most people pass from infancy to late adulthood. Each stage includes a basic conflict, important events, and a preferred outcome, as described below:



Source: http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm

• Erikson identified that adolescents "become disturbed and confused by new social conflicts and demands," but adolescents can "develop a sense of identity through [their] accomplishments (Crain, 2011, p. 213)."
• In regards to my classroom, students will be given many opportunities to experience accomplishments on a variety of levels. Students will also be exposed to positive social interaction that they may not get outside of my class. I will show how concepts in math can be applied outside of class in an effort to shape my students view on the subject. Discussions of this nature can lead to students discovering and developing their own identity.
• Chomsky's Theory of Language Development
• Noam Chomsky has written over 100 books! In regards to language development, he has focused on the rules for making transformations, as a statement is transformed into a question. He explained that "children master complex linguistic rules and procedures in a very short time (Crain, 2011, p. 354)." 
• Chomsky's theory can be useful in my classroom since I will be teaching in a  multicultural environment. I can lead by example by using proper grammar with all students, regardless of their cultural background, and especially with English-language learners. Also, by keeping in mind a student's linguistic accomplishments, I will be able to maintain focus away from the student's shortcomings. This will be a reminder to show particular respect to individual efforts in my subject area, as well as in other areas of development.

Reference

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Thanks for checking out my blog.

See you soon!

Elizabeth

On the road to teaching

Hello again.

More about me....

I'm currently attending National University full time and finishing up my last few classes at San Diego City College, and on my way to a BA in Mathematics with a single subject teaching credential.  I would also like to get a credential in school administration. I have 12 classes left at National and I should begin my student teaching in the Spring of 2016. I've been working nights for 13 years now and I'm nervous and anxious about transitioning to a "normal" job. I recently put in an application for a high school instructional aid, so I'm hoping to get an early start on that transition and switch to working two part-time jobs while finishing school. That means a lot more work, but I can't wait! I'll keep you posted on my progress.

How does my personality type affect my new career choice?

Now that I have identified my ISTJ personality, I'll discuss how it affects being a teacher. The strongest character trait of ISTJ personality types that puts them at an advantage for career success is perseverance. Typical ISTJ's tend to become business executives, accountants, police officers, judges, lawyers, computer programmers, or military leaders. So why teaching for me? I've always wanted to teach math. This isn't because I had the best math teachers growing up or because I really enjoy school, but because I love math. I know many people do not enjoy math, but that is the precise reason that I'm motivated to teach others. I wish I had more teachers growing up that seemed to love the subject they were teaching.

I like that math has rules. This is where my ISTJ personality comes into play. I like logic and rational thinking. I'm also a visual learner. I prefer to see diagrams, videos, and I like to read lips while someone is speaking.

My ISTJ personality will make me a good teacher due to my desire to follow through on tasks, my high level of dependability, my appreciation of structure, my natural ability to lead, and my profound respect for facts and concrete information. I am extremely observant and I will recognize when my students are grasping concepts or struggling. I will maintain high standards and expectations in my classroom, which experts have maintained as the best learning environment for students.

In order to help my students succeed, I will use a variety of techniques that appeal to multiple learning styles. I will use interactive activities that allow my students to work in groups, pairs, or even individual assignments that require students to access information using hands-on techniques. Working with others is essential in learning math. I will help my students learn to organize their ideas through notes and outlines, which is especially helpful to verbal/auditory learners. Students will learn to summarize and sketch information, which will help visual learners prepare for examinations. I will help my students tap into their active and reflective abilities to learn.

There's more to come, so stay tuned....

See you soon,
Elizabeth

What's ISTJ?

Hello.

I'm Elizabeth. I usually prefer to be in the backgrounds of photos but here I am with my puppy Lou. This was 6 months ago, so he is a monster now weighing over 100 pounds.

I usually post pictures of myself like this. My awesome kids.

Today I learned that I am ISTJ. What's that about?

ISTJ is my closest personality type: Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging

According to http://www.personalitypage.com/ISTJ.html, my personality is described as: (Wow, some of these are right on!)

• Primarily internally focused, taking things in via my five senses in a literal, concrete way
• Secondarily externally focused, dealing with things rationally and logically
• Loyal, dependable, placing importance on honesty and integrity
• Organized and methodical
• Take things seriously, with an offbeat sense of humor
• Often uncomfortable expressing affection or emotion
• ISTJ's have difficulty understanding a theory or idea which is different from their own perspective. However if they are shown the importance or relevance of the idea to someone who they respect or care about, the idea becomes a fact, which the ISTJ will internalize and support. Once the ISTJ supports a cause, they will stop at nothing to ensure they are giving support to it.
• Other well-known ISTJ personality types:
• George Washington
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
• Warren Buffett
• Matt Damon
• Natalie Portman
• Sean Connery

Here's a cool link to a personality test: http://kisa.ca/personality/

Check out my next blog for more information on how my personality type relates to my career pursuits!

See you soon,

Elizabeth