Experiencing the Teaching-Learning Process

REACTION
Field Study 2 EXPERIENCING THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS
Looking Through the Meaningful Learning Experiences: The class that I have observed is a Special Science Class and has a teacher-centered principle in teaching- learning. First, the teacher reviewed the past lessons after that she discussed the lesson proper. The teacher explained what are the classifications of animals, then discussed her lesson and give examples. The instructional materials used in teaching were chalkboard, books, pocket chart and cartolina strips. They have charts that they may use in their lesson. I feel comfortable in the class that I was observed because of the lesson that teacher discussed. I see myself in front of the class and ask myself will my future students will listen to me someday, will my future students will behave in my class someday or will my future students will reflect with my lesson? I feel nervous but I feel the excitement to experience teaching. Mixture of feelings I experienced during my observations in this class. Learners’ Characteristics and Needs: The topic of the lesson I observed was classification of animals. The teacher is authoritarian, she directs the actions of the students, plans for them, set the limits on their behavior and consider them as passive receivers of instruction and information. But the strategy is effective because they behave well and participate well during the class discussion. The teacher explained her lesson by asking her students and giving more exercises. She cleared if there is anyone who doesn’t understand the lesson. The learning activities that she used in his lesson were the students answered the exercises on the board, participated on the lesson, wrote the lesson on their notebooks and listened well. The students were participated well in the class. The successful learner, instructional guidance, can create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge. The learner can link new information with existing knowledge in meaningful ways. Students have different characteristics and needs. Knowledge widens and deepens as students continue to build links between new information and experiences and their existing knowledge base. Learners used strategic thinking in their approach to learning problem-solving and concept learning. Assisting Teacher with a “Teachers’ Toolbox” The topic of the lesson that I was observed in this episode was equations of the form ax + b= c. The learners participate in the learning activities by answering the exercises given by their teacher. The instructional materials employed were chalk and board and textbooks. The teacher considered her students’ style and students’ intelligences. We have to actively engage the learners in learning activities if we want them to learn what we intend to teach. We have to give our students opportunities to participate in classroom activities. We have to give varied activities to our students for “hands-on- minds-on” learning.

RELATED LITERATURE
Ways of Maintaining a Healthy, Safe Learning Environment for Children

Creating a safe learning environment for students is a daunting task. Students not only need to feel physically safe in their school and classroom, but emotionally and intellectually safe as well. Students who feel safe and secure in their classroom are more likely to do well in school and graduate. Avoiding Accidents * Designing a classroom and learning area that is environmentally safe should be relatively straight forward, and yet many dangers are easy to overlook until an accident occurs. The physical environment of the classroom depends on the age group being taught; educate yourself on the developmental abilities of your age group and plan accordingly. For example, sharp scissors are not appropriate in a preschool classroom, but are a necessity for the high school art room. Sharp utensils are necessary for a middle or high school biology class, but should be stored out of the way until they are needed to avoid any accidents. Teachers in a preschool classroom should avoid furniture with sharp edges, since some preschoolers are still developing their large motor skills, and may fall frequently. Also consider the individual students you are teaching. Students with behavioral problems or developmental disabilities may require alterations to their physical environment to ensure their safety. Do not hesitate to make changes to your classroom as necessary. Creating a Welcoming Learning Environment * Students learn best when they feel safe and comfortable. Make students feel welcome by taking the time to get to know each of them. Be consistent in the way that you treat students so that they feel they can trust you. Promote a friendly atmosphere between students through group activities that foster respect for others. Do not allow students to laugh at or tease one another, and let students know that bullying is not tolerated. Ensure that your classroom is a place where students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, experimenting with new ideas, and making the mistakes that are an inevitable part of the learning process.

Setting Boundaries * Students need boundaries in order to feel safe and secure enough to explore the world around them. One way to set boundaries in the classroom is to create rules. Rules should dictate how students behave in the classroom and interact with peers. The rules you create will depend on the students you teach. However, the more simple and straight forward your rules, the more likely they will work, no matter the age group. Too many rules will overwhelm younger students, or make older students rebel. Whenever possible, engage students in the rule-making process; this makes students feel like a valued member of the classroom. Take time to explain classroom rules and the rationale behind them; students will not follow rules they feel are arbitrary. Make certain that the rules and the consequences for breaking them are clear and posted in the classroom. Promoting Healthy Behaviors * Students who are physically healthy are better learners. Promote good health in your classroom by explaining to your students the importance of good nutrition and exercise. Whenever possible, get your students out of their seats and moving during lessons. Model a healthy lifestyle by staying fit and eating a healthy diet. Encourage your students to get plenty of rest, and communicate with parents how a healthy lifestyle can enhance academic achievement. Helping Individual Students * It is important to form a relationship with your students so that you will know if a student needs help. If you notice that a student seems unhappy, depressed or angry, try to talk to that student, and contact parents if necessary. If a student displays behaviors or actions that are aggressive or otherwise disturbing, tell your principal and contact the appropriate personnel, such as police or counselors, as the situation demands. Every school should have guidelines for how to handle such situations; if your school does not, talk to your principal and school board to suggest that guidelines are put in place.

Ten Roles for Teacher Leaders

The ways teachers can lead are as varied as teachers themselves.

Teacher leaders assume a wide range of roles to support school and student success. Whether these roles are assigned formally or shared informally, they build the entire school's capacity to improve. Because teachers can lead in a variety of ways, many teachers can serve as leaders among their peers. So what are some of the leadership options available to teachers? The following 10 roles are a sampling of the many ways teachers can contribute to their schools' success. 1. Resource Provider
Teachers help their colleagues by sharing instructional resources. These might include Web sites, instructional materials, readings, or other resources to use with students. They might also share such professional resources as articles, books, lesson or unit plans, and assessment tools. Tinisha becomes a resource provider when she offers to help Carissa, a new staff member in her second career, set up her classroom. Tinisha gives Carissa extra copies of a number line for her students to use, signs to post on the wall that explain to students how to get help when the teacher is busy, and the grade-level language arts pacing guide. 2. Instructional Specialist
An instructional specialist helps colleagues implement effective teaching strategies. This help might include ideas for differentiating instruction or planning lessons in partnership with fellow teachers. Instructional specialists might study research-based classroom strategies (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001); explore which instructional methodologies are appropriate for the school; and share findings with colleagues. When his fellow science teachers share their frustration with students' poorly written lab reports, Jamal suggests that they invite several English teachers to recommend strategies for writing instruction. With two English teachers serving as instructional specialists, the science teachers examine a number of lab reports together and identify strengths and weaknesses. The English teachers share strategies they use in their classes to improve students' writing. 3. Curriculum Specialist
Understanding content standards, how various components of the curriculum link together, and how to use the curriculum in planning instruction and assessment is essential to ensuring consistent curriculum implementation throughout a school. Curriculum specialists lead teachers to agree on standards, follow the adopted curriculum, use common pacing charts, and develop shared assessments. Tracy, the world studies team leader, works with the five language arts and five social studies teachers in her school. Using standards in English and social studies as their guides, the team members agree to increase the consistency in their classroom curriculums and administer common assessments. Tracy suggests that the team develop a common understanding of the standards and agrees to facilitate the development and analysis of common quarterly assessments. 4. Classroom Supporter
Classroom supporters work inside classrooms to help teachers implement new ideas, often by demonstrating a lesson, coteaching, or observing and giving feedback. Blase and Blase (2006) found that consultation with peers enhanced teachers' self-efficacy (teachers' belief in their own abilities and capacity to successfully solve teaching and learning problems) as they reflected on practice and grew together, and it also encouraged a bias for action (improvement through collaboration) on the part of teachers. (p. 22) Marcia asks Yolanda for classroom support in implementing nonlinguistic representation strategies, such as graphic organizers, manipulatives, and kinesthetic activities (Marzano et al., 2001). Yolanda agrees to plan and teach a lesson with Marcia that integrates several relevant strategies. They ask the principal for two half-days of professional release time, one for learning more about the strategy and planning a lesson together, and the other for coteaching the lesson to Marcia's students and discussing it afterward. 5. Learning Facilitator
Facilitating professional learning opportunities among staff members is another role for teacher leaders. When teachers learn with and from one another, they can focus on what most directly improves student learning. Their professional learning becomes more relevant, focused on teachers' classroom work, and aligned to fill gaps in student learning. Such communities of learning can break the norms of isolation present in many schools. Frank facilitates the school's professional development committee and serves as the committee's language arts representative. Together, teachers plan the year's professional development program using a backmapping model (Killion, 2001). This model begins with identifying student learning needs, teachers' current level of knowledge and skills in the target areas, and types of learning opportunities that different groups of teachers need. The committee can then develop and implement a professional development plan on the basis of their findings. 6. Mentor
Serving as a mentor for novice teachers is a common role for teacher leaders. Mentors serve as role models; acclimate new teachers to a new school; and advise new teachers about instruction, curriculum, procedure, practices, and politics. Being a mentor takes a great deal of time and expertise and makes a significant contribution to the development of a new professional. Ming is a successful teacher in her own 1st grade classroom, but she has not assumed a leadership role in the school. The principal asks her to mentor her new teammate, a brand-new teacher and a recent immigrant from the Philippines. Ming prepares by participating in the district's three-day training on mentoring. Her role as a mentor will not only include helping her teammate negotiate the district, school, and classroom, but will also include acclimating her colleague to the community. Ming feels proud as she watches her teammate develop into an accomplished teacher. 7. School Leader
Being a school leader means serving on a committee, such as a school improvement team; acting as a grade-level or department chair; supporting school initiatives; or representing the school on community or district task forces or committees. A school leader shares the vision of the school, aligns his or her professional goals with those of the school and district, and shares responsibility for the success of the school as a whole. Joshua, staff sponsor of the student council, offers to help the principal engage students in the school improvement planning process. The school improvement team plans to revise its nearly 10-year-old vision and wants to ensure that students' voices are included in the process. Joshua arranges a daylong meeting for 10 staff members and 10 students who represent various views of the school experience, from nonattenders to grade-level presidents. J oshua works with the school improvement team facilitator to ensure that the activities planned for the meeting are appropriate for students so that students will actively participate. 8. Data Coach
Although teachers have access to a great deal of data, they do not often use that data to drive classroom instruction. Teacher leaders can lead conversations that engage their peers in analyzing and using this information to strengthen instruction. Carol, the 10th grade language arts team leader, facilitates a team of her colleagues as they look at the results of the most recent writing sample, a teacher-designed assessment given to all incoming 10th grade students. Carol guides teachers as they discuss strengths and weaknesses of students' writing performance as a group, as individuals, by classrooms, and in disaggregated clusters by race, gender, and previous school. They then plan instruction on the basis of this data. 9. Catalyst for Change
Teacher leaders can also be catalysts for change, visionaries who are “never content with the status quo but rather always looking for a better way” (Larner, 2004, p. 32). Teachers who take on the catalyst role feel secure in their own work and have a strong commitment to continual improvement. They pose questions to generate analysis of student learning. In a faculty meeting, Larry expresses a concern that teachers may be treating some students differently from others. Students who come to him for extra assistance have shared their perspectives, and Larry wants teachers to know what students are saying. As his colleagues discuss reasons for low student achievement, Larry challenges them to explore data about the relationship between race and discipline referrals in the school. When teachers begin to point fingers at students, he encourages them to examine how they can change their instructional practices to improve student engagement and achievement.

10. Learner
Among the most important roles teacher leaders assume is that of learner. Learners model continual improvement, demonstrate lifelong learning, and use what they learn to help all students achieve. Manuela, the school's new bilingual teacher, is a voracious learner. At every team or faculty meeting, she identifies something new that she is trying in her classroom. Her willingness to explore new strategies is infectious. Other teachers, encouraged by her willingness to discuss what works and what doesn't, begin to talk about their teaching and how it influences student learning. Faculty and team meetings become a forum in which teachers learn from one another. Manuela's commitment to and willingness to talk about learning break down barriers of isolation that existed among teachers. Roles for All
Teachers exhibit leadership in multiple, sometimes overlapping, ways. Some leadership roles are formal with designated responsibilities. Other more informal roles emerge as teachers interact with their peers. The variety of roles ensures that teachers can find ways to lead that fit their talents and interests. Regardless of the roles they assume, teacher leaders shape the culture of their schools, improve student learning, and influence practice among their peers.

What Are the Duties of a Student in Classroom Management?

While it may seem like classroom management is the sole responsibility of the teacher, a student's role in maintaining a healthy and positive atmosphere in the classroom is equally important. While teachers set the tone of a classroom, students have an integral part in ensuring that classrooms stay efficient and manageable through proper discipline, active listening, full engagement in classroom projects and peer-to-peer relations.

Proper Discipline * The single most important duty of a student in terms of classroom management is to obey the disciplinary guidelines that have been outlined by the teacher. Often, these tasks are simple: raising one's hand when one has something to say, not speaking over another, and respecting the space and belongings of fellow classmates. If students follow these simple rules, teachers are able to focus on teaching material instead of managing an unruly classroom. Active Listening * A definite duty of a student in classroom management is active listening. Active listening involves not just staying quiet while a teacher speaks, but also truly making an effort to fully absorb what the teacher is saying, explaining or teaching. Active listening is important for two reasons: firstly, it saves the teacher from having to explain things multiple times, and secondly, it saves the student from getting distracted. Both are factors that contribute to effective classroom management. Full Engagement in Classroom Projects * For a classroom to be managed effectively, every student needs to be fully engaged in the project at hand. When students become disengaged, teachers must spend valuable time disciplining those students or trying to engage them once more. It is the duty of every student to give his full attention to whatever project the class is working on in order for the classroom to function properly. Participation is a major part of fully engaging in any classroom project. Peer-to-Peer Relations * Perhaps one of the most poignant duties of a student in classroom management is her relationship with her peers. According to the website Cyberbullying in Schools, studies have shown that students who are bullied at school become withdrawn and do less well than their non-bullied peers on academic assignments, so the maintenance of cordial relations with classmates is of utmost importance. While the teacher should certainly be monitoring the class for any unscrupulous behavior, it is ultimately up to the student to ensure that she is treating her peers the way she would like to be treated.

REFLECTION
Field Study 2 – Experiencing the Teaching-Learning Process under Prof. Carla D. Guilaran. We have learned a lot from this subject because as a future teacher someday it is not an easy task. A teacher plays a vital role in every life of the learners. As a Teacher we serve as second parents of a child in school. In every success of the student is the success of the teacher. We believe that there is no perfect teaching strategy in this world because it depends on how the teacher delivers the instruction towards his/her learner. As a teacher we need to consider also the needs of our learner, in order to meet their expectation to us. Every day we commit ourselves to our profession as an educator, facilitator, delegator, provider even as second parents to our learner. There is no professional if there is no teacher. Teachers are the number 1 or we can say the top of the line among all professionals. According to the Philosopher, teaching like engineering, nursing, accounting and the like is a profession. A teacher like an engineer, a nurse or an accountant is a professional. The term professional is one of the most exalted in the English language, denoting as it does, long and arduous years of preparation, a striving for excellence, a dedication to the public interest, and commitment to moral and ethical values. Why does a profession require “long and arduous years of preparation” and “a striving for excellence”? Because the end goal of a profession is service and as we have heard many times “we cannot give what we do not have.” We can give more if we have more. His Holiness Pope Paul VI affirmed this thought when he said: “Do more, have more in order to more!” For us to be able to give more, continuing professional education is a must. For us teachers, continuing professional education are explicit in our professionalization law and our Code of Professional Ethics. Who is the professional teacher? She/He is the licensed professional who possesses dignity and reputation with high moral values as well as technical and professional competence..she/he adheres to, observes, and practices a set of ethical and moral principles, standard and values.” (Code of Ethics of Professional Teachers, 1997) Our service to the public as a professional turns out to be dedicated and committed only when our moral, ethical and religious values serve as our bedrock foundation. The same moral, ethical and religious convictions inspire us to embrace continuing professional education. If we take teaching as our profession, this means that we must be willing to go through a long period of preparation and a continuing professional development. We must strive for excellence, commit ourselves to moral, ethical and religious values and dedicate ourselves to public service.