Inspirational Quote

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I will learn.” Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of America made many contributions. His quote here is one that is embedded on the foundations of teaching. As a teacher, we need to ensure that our students remember the major lessons we try to teach them. To just simply tell them is not enough, we must allow them the opportunity to apply the information to real life situations or engage them in conversation to discuss the importance, effects or whatever the case may be so that they can relate to it and be able to make use of that knowledge. Students are responsible for their learning and we must allow them the ability to take charge of it by involving them. The past practice of simply having the teacher talking has changed, when one talks, they learn. Usually teachers are the ones talking, we need to find ways to have the students be the ones to learn, to talk, to involve themselves so that learning and understanding of a lesson is occurring. 

Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people can’t do something themselves, they’re gonna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period. From the movie Pursuit of Happiness

Always strive to reach your goals. Circumstances may find ways into our lives but our persistence to accomplish our goals will lead to better and brighter things. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I am grateful for the knowledge everyone has bestowed. Farewell and I wish everyone a successful break and academic endeavors. 

Also, Happy Birthday to the Fall Birthday's! God Bless.

Knowledge and Wealth

image from:  http://www.lcdhd.org

Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.     

- Socrates

http://www.literacyla.org

The quotation by Socrates wants us to focus on knowledge because everybody could be wealthy but not everybody could be knowledgeable. In the long run if you are wealthy and doesn't have the knowledge to take care of your wealth then soon enough you'll run out of wealth.

You are not alone.

We read to know we are not alone.    

C.S. Lewis

http://www.literacyla.org

People read sometimes to get advices, wise tips and techniques about a specific subject that they are undergoing. Doing this method makes us realize that we are not the only or the first person to ever encounter such problems as you read you get to know that other people share the same sentiments that you are undergoing making you feel that you are not alone.

Learn Twice!

image from: http://www.kyliewalters.com

“To teach is to learn twice.”
- Joseph Joubert
http://www.readfaster.com
When we teach we share what we've learned from what we have read regarding the topic. The other part of learning from teaching is applying it in our daily lives, teaching ourselves the right way to do things and correct ourselves from our wrong doing. As the saying goes " Practice what you preach and Preach what you practice"

Reading and Indigestion

Image from: http://www.go-raw-lose-weight.com/indigestion.html

“Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.”  - Edmund Burke

(http://www.readfaster.com)

Have you ever felt the symptoms of indigestion? Discomfort, nauseated and vomiting. Well this not only applies to your health but also for your well being as an educator. When you tend to read too fast combined with stress and anxiety most of the time you will fail to assimilate the contents of what you are reading putting all of your efforts into waste. So in order to reflect on what you have read effectively, try to read it in one passage slowly and try to clear your minds from other things while you are reading. Doing this you'll only have to read once and digest all the nutrients of the passage you are reading. 

Final Reflection - Farewell/Goodbye Address & Happy Birthday to all December Students, Ted & Dr. Rivera

We have had a great journey this semester, engaging in a deep understanding of second language theory and development, etc.  Say your final farewell/goodbye entries to Dr. Rivera and your fellow classmates.

CLICK ON THE COMMENTS LINK TO POST YOUR REQUIRED REFLECTION. 

BE SURE TO ALSO REPLY TO YOUR CLASSMATES' ENTRIES.


JPEG source:  Google images

Reflection - Nov. 23

CLICK ON THE COMMENTS LINK TO POST YOUR REQUIRED REFLECTION. 

*Reflection on your inspirational quote, especially as it pertains to the respective class activities.
*Reflection regarding your SIOP lesson plans and Unit plan.

BE SURE TO ALSO REPLY TO YOUR CLASSMATES' ENTRIES.

Reflection - Nov. 16

CLICK ON THE COMMENTS LINK TO POST YOUR REQUIRED REFLECTION. 

*Reflection on your inspirational quote, especially as it pertains to the respective class activities.
*Reflection regarding your curriculum engagement #2.

BE SURE TO ALSO REPLY TO YOUR CLASSMATES' ENTRIES.

Reflection - Nov. 9

CLICK ON THE COMMENTS LINK TO POST YOUR REQUIRED REFLECTION. 

*Reflection on your inspirational quote, especially as it pertains to the respective class activities.
*Reflection regarding your curriculum engagement #1.

BE SURE TO ALSO REPLY TO YOUR CLASSMATES' ENTRIES.

Chapter 9 Reaction Paper

Approaches to evaluation

                Evaluation is an important part of the program because it needs to be able to ensure that their program and their plan of action is achieving their outcomes and being able to accomplish their mission. Curriculum evaluation is “concerned with collecting information about different aspects of a language program in order to understand how the program works and how successfully it works, enabling different kinds of decisions to be made about the program such as whether the program responds to learners’ needs, whether further teacher training is required for teachers working in the program, or whether students are learner sufficiently from it (286).”

                There are two types of assessment: formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments or evaluations are done through giving tests, quizzes, exams, evaluation forms, etc. while summative assessments are done through question and answer, verbal feedback, etc. Assessments can be done at any time depending on the teacher. Summative assessments can be done on a daily basis and formative assessments may require more time for students to prepare for as they hold the most weight in terms of grading.

                The book expresses that there can be issues when it comes to evaluating a program. The audience of the evaluation must be relevant as the ones evaluating the program should be the ones undergoing the program. The program’s stakeholders: the teachers, students, developers, sponsors, administrators, the content, the support should all be evaluated. The question as to how they evaluate varies and depends on the administrator, however they feel they can best attain the needed information is how they should disseminate the evaluation.

                The evaluation should be used as feedback for change. The evaluation hopes to attain constructive criticism on the program, in what works or does not work, and hopefully the audience can provide suggestions to help improve the program. That normally is the goal for evaluation. For assessment purpose, the goal is to ensure that the intended audience accomplishes what is expected of them through the implementation of the program. After evaluations, programs should really look at the submitted feedback and discuss or implement change if needed to their program to ensure it becomes more effective. It is a cycle for better results, to assess, identify, implement, evaluate, reflect and reassess their program. This will ensure that the program meets the demands of the ever changing society as well as the audience needs and to emphasize their ability for success.

Chapter 8 Reaction Paper

The role and design of instructional materials

                “Teaching materials are a key component in most language programs. Whether the teacher uses textbook, institutionally prepared materials or his or her own materials, instructional materials generally serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom (251).” Materials are limited here on Guam and most of the time; it is up to the teachers to provide his or her materials for their lessons. Many of the textbooks available to the students are used and it is difficult for schools to attain new books. The books published by the major companies provide a foundation for the list of skills education departments require or expect of students to learn.

                There are a variety of materials that teachers use, whether they are authentic or created materials. Each serves as advantages over the other. Authentic materials “refers to the use of teaching of texts, photographs, video selections, and other teaching resources that were not specially prepared for pedagogical purposes (252).” And created materials “refers to textbooks and other specially developed instructional materials (252).” The book claims that arguments have been made supporting the use of authentic materials over created materials because they “contain authentic language and reflect real-world uses of language compared with the contrived content of much created material (252).” Majority of the teachers on Guam use authentic materials referring to the textbooks and guided practice books, and study guides given as part of the package orders. Some teachers take the initiative and create their materials based on a variety of supplemental resources. Because Guam Department of Education plans to incorporate common core standards, creating of materials should increase as teachers are required to only focus on teaching certain lessons rather than following a whole textbook.

                Textbooks are a great source of information and assistance for teachers especially for the unqualified ones because they can follow the given format which will help them until they become more comfortable teaching to be able to create their own materials. It is understood that no commercial textbook is perfect and that there are different motives behind the development of textbooks. Teachers who create their own materials will have a tough time collecting and producing their materials as it is costly and time consuming. There are many advantages and disadvantages to creating one’s material, but I think it depends on the teacher and what he or she thinks is best for his or her students.

                With the resources used whether they are authentic or created, teachers need to ensure they include other materials to incorporate hands on activities for them to use in the classroom. Activities help students have an active engagement in the classroom. Having activities will help students develop questions for curiosity or for clarification which again will help students retain and understand the information taught.

Chapter 7 Reaction Paper

Providing for Effective Teaching

                To ensure effective teaching, the institutions and teaching methods must be aligned and molded towards achieving the same objective. “The organizational culture of a school refers to the ethos and environment that exist within a school, the kinds of communications and decision making that takes place, and the management and staffing structure they support (198).” This are factors to consider when planning out any plan of action. The institution must ensure it has the resources to provide a learning environment accessible to all students. The institution must create a culture of people that know what they are responsible for and help motivate them to become efficient and effective in what they do to provide the best outcome possible. On Guam, with limited resources and the lack of highly qualified teachers and good learning environment, providing that is a challenge. Many of the schools are overpopulated, not all teachers are highly qualified to be in the classrooms and those highly qualified are not compensated fairly for their work. This is an issue that the community and its leaders must address.

                The teachers are highly important as they are the backbone to the education system. They must be skilled and well versed in their content area through attaining degrees and certification to be considered a highly qualified teacher. Many of the teachers on Guam are limited term teachers because they do not possess the qualifications to meet the requirements. Not only do teachers need to have the skills and the knowledge, they must also be provided the training and materials to have a successful lesson plan for their students. This again requires resources that are limited on Guam. Not all schools provide training or support for their teachers which deters from having their teachers be effective in the classrooms. Teachers have to deal with students of all types who are part of the Special Education Program, English as a Second Language program and the regular students who struggle or succeed in the classroom. These teachers need to be compensated and motivated to continue to ensure they produce productive students who have mastered skills identified by the education system as important for the students to learn. This again is an issue that continues to be addressed by the community.

                The teaching and learning process are very important for a successful outcome. The teaching process requires that a teacher be able to include multiple strategies to accommodate all students of different learning styles. The success will vary depending on their planning process and execution method of assessment. For teachers to include various activities will help students retain the information quicker. Students have different ways of processing things, whether they are visual or audio learners, teachers must ensure they include strategies and activities in their lessons that will compliment all types of learners. This can tend to be a struggles as all teachers have different ways of teaching. Cooperation and Communication between and amongst teachers is important to reflect on what works for the students so that changes can be made to ensure that students retain and learn the information given to them.

Chapter 6 Reaction Paper

Course Planning and syllabus design

                The chapter states many important factors for course planning which includes developing a course rationale, describing entry and exit levels, choosing course content, sequencing course content, planning the course content, and preparing the scope and sequence plan (145). All these factors are important and required in order for an organization to successfully have a well-planned course of action. It is important to have a rationale to describe the course and why the program exists. Here on Guam, our rationale with our education system is to educate our students so that they can become productive citizens. At our school, we encourage and expect our students to know the goal of our school and the expectations of the students when present on campus. This is important because they understand why they are there and are given guidelines as to what they should do on their end to help contribute towards our rationale as part of our organization.

                The entry and exit levels are simple because it is already practiced in our organization. Understanding where the students are able to perform and seeing how far the difference in terms of the expectations we have of our students is a great way for teachers to reassess and plan their lessons to help minimize the gap. This also helps teachers choose their course content in terms of helping students achieve mastery of certain skills. Some schools have different schedules where a subject can be taught for either a semester or for a whole year. With the exception of high schools where they offer the core subjects to be taught all year round, the schools have the option of adding in classes that provide students a variety of options to choose from in terms of elective classes. With the course planning, the teachers will have to make decisions about the objectives, the outcomes and basically the nature of the course and how it will benefit the students.

                To determine the scope and sequence of the course is for the teacher to distribute time for the content throughout the course. The book defines scope and sequencing stating that, “Scope is concerned with the breadth and depth of coverage of items in the course and the sequencing of content involves deciding which content is needed early in the course and which provides a basis for things that will be learned later (149-150).” To determine the scope is important because as mentioned earlier, not all courses are offered with the same time frame, therefore it is up to the teacher to effectively plan the scope for her course content to ensure coverage of the most important skills as well as ensure mastery of those skills. This is a difficult task as students learn differently and at different paces. Assessment of these sequencing must be given with adequate time for learning the various lessons for the course. Planning the course structure ahead of time will allow the teacher to adequately appropriate time to prepare, coordinate and execute the lessons. At the end of the course, the teachers should reflect and add changes to ensure the course to be as efficient as possible to ensure learning is successful in their given environment.