TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

1. Contextual Factors (LO 1.3) (APS 1) TWS Standard The teacher uses information about the learning-teaching context and student individual differences to set learning goals, lesson objectives, plan instruction and assessments. Task Discuss contextual factors and how they may affect the teaching-learning process. Include any supports and challenges that affect instructional and student learning. Prompt: A. Classroom Factors This classroom is located on the west wing of Lakeview Elementary School, which houses classrooms for third, fourth, and fifth grade. This classroom has a very positive and welcoming environment. In the front of the classroom next to the door, is where the students hang up their backpacks in the mornings. There is also a bulletin board next to the hooks, which is covered in yellow paper. The student calendar, related arts schedule, weekly classroom learning objectives, and student jobs are listed here. Beside the bulletin board, is the SMART board. This is an interactive white board which is used daily for morning work review, mathematics, and social studies. To the right of the SMART board, there is a small whiteboard. The teacher mainly uses this board to post her daily schedule for students, as well as language arts and mathematics. On the far wall of the classroom near the whiteboard, is where the teacher keeps all of her stuff such as her laptop, document camera, and other education materials. This is known as the teachers corner. On the second half of the wall, the teacher has created a book nook which consists of three wooden shelves with a variety of student books. Students can come over to the book nook and read on the black carpet. The student computer stations are located in the rear of the classroom. There are five student computers, which are used for research when doing group projects. Also, in the mornings, two students can come in and work on educational programs. Above the stations are units of shelves, each having three rows. The teacher stores many of her educational texts and other materials on these shelves. This provides her easy access to materials when they need to be referenced. Next to the computer stations, the teacher has her reading table. This is used for guided reading, conducting running records, and hold grade-level meetings.

TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

The interior wall has all of the storage components of the classroom. On this wall, there are two cabinets, which each have two doors and four shelves in each unit. The teacher keeps supplies for both her and students in one section, while the other section is for her use only. Beside the cabinets, there is a countertop and sink. The items on the countertop include: a mini-fridge, where the teacher keeps her lunch and other things that need to remain refrigerated during the day and her coffee maker. The sink, is adjacent to these items and students can come to the sink throughout the day to wash their hands or get a sip of water. This is also where the students make their lunch choices in the morning as soon as they walk in. This classroom has a variety of technology for both the students and the classroom teacher to use. In the classroom, there is a SMART board, which is used in a variety of subjects. The SMART board is controlled by an off/on switch, located to the right of the SMART board (next to the dry-erase board). In the back of the classroom, there are computers for students to use in research projects, educational games, etc. The classroom teacher has her own laptop, to store all of her documents for the school year. Her grade-book is also stored here. There is also equipment to which the students and teacher have access. The first being the document viewer. This is a device in which the teacher can lay a document underneath and it can be projected onto the SMART board. On the top of the dryerase board, there is a map. This map can be pulled down (mimicking an overhead screen). The students are equipped with supplies in their stations such as: whiteboards for individual use, notebooks, pencils, etc. Finally, the manipulatives, which I have seen used for mathematics, spelling, and science are available for use. For student resources, there are dictionaries in each station, to help students with spelling and writing. Also, there are programs such as: Compass Learning and Odyssey, which help students in areas such as math and language arts, which are computerized. In the classroom, there is moderate parent involvement. Parents donate supplies to the classroom. Also, if there are any questions or concerns, the parents will write letters for their son/daughter to give to the classroom teacher in the mornings or they will write a note in the agenda. Some parents have also elected to give the classroom teacher their phone number, in which she can call or text them. The students are privileged to have the classroom teachers mother, also known by the students as Mimi come to the classroom every Tuesday. She assists with getting the folders ready to go home on Wednesdays, reading with some students, and bringing the kids snacks. The students follow a daily routine throughout the week. In the mornings, students enter the classroom around 7:35am each day. Students are greeted with a good morning from the classroom teacher. Before unpacking, students are asked

TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

to make a lunch choice and place their folders in their appropriate slot. This helps the teacher with attendance, without distracting students and taking up valuable learning time. The teacher also projects her computer screen, which contains a morning message (morning greeting) for students, while waiting for the morning news show, WLAK, to come on at 7:50am. When the news show airs in the mornings, students are asked to stop their work and pay attention to the announcements. In addition, they also recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Lakeview Pledge. Once the morning show has concluded, the students continue to work on their morning work, which has three components: Math 4 Today, Daily Review (Reading), and Writing. The students work silently from 8:00am-8:30am. The teacher will begin reviewing the answers on the SMART board, beginning with Math 4 Today. She will have different students (or sometimes the whole class) read and give answers. She stated that with the Common Core Standards, she asks students to explain how they thought during the problem, instead of just giving them the answer. After going over morning work, students line up for special activity. The students are called to line up by groups. Students line up quickly and quietly. Their related arts schedule is as follows: Mondays (PE), Tuesdays (Library), Wednesdays (Computer Lab), Thursdays (Art), and Fridays (Music). The teacher during this time has planning. This period consists of working with other teachers in the grade-level about their plans for other subjects. Each teacher will plan for a different subject. Ms. Adams plans for reading/ELA, Mrs. Pederson plans for science/social studies, and my cooperating teacher plans mathematics. On Wednesday mornings during their planning period, the fourth grade team meets for their PLC meetings with Dr. Molly Smith (principal) and Mrs. Dianne Perkins (Instructional Specialist). On Thursdays, they meet as a grade-level to discuss teaching methods, if they are on track with district and state pacing guides, and what they are teaching. At 10:00am, the students are picked up from their related arts class. When students enter the classroom, mathematics instruction begins. The instruction begins with a review of what students have previously learned in the unit of study, followed by the teacher giving instruction on the lesson for them. The program in which students use is called MyMath, which is directly linked to the Common Core Standards. The teacher will pull up the lesson on the SMART board and introduce the topic. It is followed by guided instruction from the classroom teacher, followed by independent practice for students. During independent practice, the classroom teacher will have students work independently for about 15 to 20 minutes, before

TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

reviewing the problems and going over them. The students will be asked to come up and show how they worked the problem and explain how they got their answers. Following math instruction, students transition into science or social studies. At Lakeview, the fourth grade team split science and social studies into three week units. At 11:55am, students line up to go to lunch. Students enter the lunchroom and quietly go through the lunch line. When the students are at the table, they eat silently for ten minutes and when given the signal by the classroom teacher, students may whisper. If students become too loud, the teacher will put them back on silent lunch. After eating lunch, the students line up and walk down the hallway to use the restroom. The teacher has two monitors, one for the boys and one for the girls. They each grab hand-sanitizer and monitor as students use the restroom. The teacher and I will also monitor the bathroom, to ensure a quick and smooth transition. Once the students have returned to the classroom, and then read silently for 40 minutes. This gives the classroom teacher time to do any RTI in reading or mathematics. Also, this is when students are pulled-out for speech, ESOL, or resource. When the pull-out students return, the teacher transitions students from silent reading to English Language Arts. This block consists of reading, writing, and word study. The teacher will sometimes incorporate reading and writing together, by reading their classroom novel and having students write a response from a given prompt. During word study, students are allowed to work in groups with manipulatives such as a whiteboard, magnetic letters, dry-erase makers, and erasers. The teacher will also play KidsBop on the SMART board, to help students relax and also get them motivated to work. The students really enjoy this. Around 1:55pm, the teacher will begin asking students to pack up for the day. She will assign homework on her easel near the whiteboard. The chart has each subject clearly labeled (it matches the student agenda page). She will write the homework and expect the students to write it as well. She will check the students agenda before they are allowed to get their bookbags. Once all students are packed up, she lines the students up (same way as before) for recess. From 2:00pm-2:30pm, the fourth graders have recess. The teachers are outside to monitor the students. During this time, if students have received infractions or they have not completed homework, they do this during their recess time, in the form of walking laps (infractions) or sitting near the teachers and doing homework (if not completed).

TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

At 2:30pm, the students walk back to the classroom from recess. They go to the water fountain and sit at their desk for three minutes to cool down from recess. The teacher assists students in cooling down by turning the classroom AC unit to 69 degrees. Around 2:35pm, the dismissal routine begins. Students line up according to their method of transportation (car rider, bus rider, van rider, and walker). Due to the fact that my cooperating teacher has after-school car duty, her students who are bus-riders will go to Mrs. Pedersons classroom for dismissal. The students are grouped into tables. Each table has a name, Group 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Students are not grouped in any special way; it was just the way the classroom teacher decided to group them. Students can be re-grouped individually, if behavior problems or distractions occur.

B. Student Characteristics Characteristics Asked Student Age Range Student Gender Breakdown Students who are Caucasian (White) Students who are African-American Students who are Latino/Hispanic Students who are Asian/Pacific Islander Students of Other Race Special Needs?

Tier I Students Tier II Students

Data Collected Age 9- 13 students Age 10- 10 students Female- 11 students Male- 12 students 15 students 4 students 1 students 2 students 1 student 2 students receive speech services 5 students receive GATAS services 4 students receive After School services 1 student has been identified as being a Tier I students 5 students have been identified as being Tier II students.

Interest Subject in School

Favorite Activity

Student Interests Number of Students Math- 8 Science- 5 Reading- 6 Social Studies- 3 PE- 1 Drawing- 4 Video Games- 3

TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

Hobbies

Favorite Sport

Television, Video Games, or Computer

Favorite Genres of Reading

Learning Styles

Football- 1 Swimming- 1 Soccer-1 Dancing- 1 Monkey Bars- 1 Lego Building- 1 Tennis- 1 Guitar Playing- 1 Running- 1 Playing with Friends- 1 Reading- 2 Riding Bikes- 2 Sleeping-1 Making Doll Clothes- 1 *even though drawing is majority, sports are the overall theme as 6 students favorite activity included a sport. Art/Drawing- 7 Sports- 10 Dancing- 3 Baseball- 3 Soccer- 5 Bowling- 2 Football- 4 Cheerleading- 2 Basketball- 4 Rock-Climbing- 1 Tennis- 2 Television- 7 Video Games- 5 Computer- 9 Story Book- 6 Fiction- 5 Non-Fiction- 1 Comics- 2 Fairy-Tales- 1 Geography- 1 Sports- 7 Auditory- 12 Visual- 8 Kinesthetic- 3

Reading Ability- In the class, there are five students whom read above grade-level with their levels ranging from 5th grade reading levels to 7th grade reading levels. Twelve students are reading on grade-level and

TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

finally, there are six students who are below reading level, ranging from Kindergarten to 3rd grade. Mathematics Ability- In the class, there are seven students whom are above grade-level in mathematics. Nine students are on grade-level for mathematics, while seven students are below grade-level for this subject. * Data comes from the MAP scores. MAP Tests were taken September 17 (reading) and September 19 (Math).

C. Instructional Implications Some of these contextual characteristics have an effect on instructional planning. For example, the teacher must plan for the different levels of students, as there is a mix of students who are above grade-level, on grade-level, and below grade-level.The teacher also prepares for a student who has trouble focusing. During the lesson, he will get up and walk around, rarely paying attention to the content. To help with this, the classroom teacher will let him get up, as long as he is paying attention. This keeps him calm. This student is allowed to sit in various places (carpet, etc.) when taking tests. While I am planning and instructing my lessons, I need to find ways to have this student move around the room, without disturbing everyone. Many of the students have interests in sports, especially soccer and football. This could be used to grab students interests during the beginning of the lesson, by connecting the lesson to football and soccer, especially in mathematics. However, this can also be tied into language arts, by finding books about sports, as the majority of the students enjoy reading books in the sports genre. This has also been evident during silent reading time. Many of my students also play sports after school hours, so I could ask about their games (share time), experiences (reading), or even data (mathematics). Art integration could also be another thing to incorporate into my lessons, as many of students enjoy drawing, according to the data observed from my student interests survey. There are two students in who are required to have speech services. In this case, my instruction needs to have verbal and written directions. The majority of my students are auditory learners, which means repetitions of the assignment and directions are needed to satisfy their learning style. I will also need a clear voice, as well instructions. For the visual learners, I will need many visuals, including what is on the SMART board and other items in which I could decorate for visuals, to satisfy their learning style. For kinesthetic learners, I need to have them

TWS 1: Contextual Factors

Michael Gresham, EDUC 429, Fall 2013

doing hands on activities, getting involved with the lesson, and moving around, which is vital for their learning style as well. Finally, for my RTI students who need extra help in reading, Dr. Horton has assigned a project in which they will receive extra help from me in a small 30-minute reading group, to help them with their reading struggles.