Final Blog
My learning philosophy is based on my grading philosophy. Students learn better when the teacher relives stress of grades and uses the good teaching strategies to help encourage students learning.  
Grading Scale:
100% - 90% = A
89% - 80% = B
79% - 65% = C
64% - 51% = D
50% or Below = F

Late Work: Every assignment is due by the end of the semester. Each assignment has a due date, but the student has the option of handing it in by the end of the semester. If the student hands an assignment in by the due date or early, they will receive 5 pts extra credit to go on that assignment. There are certain assignments that need to be done on time; these assignments are in preparation for the day of class. Therefore the student must do the homework assignment in order to get credit for that day of class.  

Redoing assignments and tests: There is no redoing or retaking of tests. Your scores are your scores. However there are some exceptions. If you are sick the day of the tests, have an excused school activity, or you tell me before you go out of town then I will work with you. If you do not talk to me then you are out of luck. If after receiving an assignment or test back and you do not like your grade, come talk with me. If you can prove your point on why you should get a higher grade, with evidence, I will raise your grade from 0-10 point. 

Extra Credit: Besides handing your assignments in on time for 5 pts extra credit; I do offer extra credit assignments. These assignments are on a talk to the teacher basis. In other words if you feel that you need extra credit, come and talk to me and we can work things out. 

Cheating/Plagiarizing: Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated, if you are caught cheating once you will receive a warning, if you are caught cheating twice you will be kicked out of the class and sent to the office for disciplinary action. This goes for plagiarizing anything also. 

Effort: If you put in the effort you will have a good performance. The lack of effort will show and you will be docked points for it on each assignment.

Alternative assignments: your lowest assignment score will be dropped. Every assignment will be out of 100 % possible and I will not give lower than 50% unless you did not do the assignment. If you are having issues with any assignment come and talk with me and we will work things out. 

Incomplete: The only way you can get an incomplete is to not hand something in. in this case it will be the end of the semester and too late. You will receive an incomplete if you do not do the work, or at least attempt to do the work. 

1. What? Chapter 4 talks about groups and the cultures people develop while in a group. It discusses the different type of groups students are associated with, whether it is from culture, sexual preferences, or socioeconomic status. The chapter gives examples of some different cultural behaviors that we might do while we are in groups, which are interpreted differently by different cultures. For example, eye contact in some cultures is a sign of respect while in others it is rude.  

2. So What? The diversity of America’s classrooms is growing. Teachers are seeing more and more cultures that were not there a few years ago. That is what makes learning about different cultures as a teacher so important. We need to know about these things so we do not get ourselves into trouble. One needs to be careful so not to step on any toes or offend anyone.

3. Now What? I hope to use this knowledge in my classroom. I hope to learn as much about different cultures as I can, not only to be aware of the different culture but simply to learn about them. It may sound Klee shaded but knowledge is power. This is more so in this case if you want to keep your job as a teacher you need to watch what you say about others and their culture.  

We talked about two different things today in class. The first half we talked about students with special needs. We discussed IDEA, which is Individual with Disabilities Education Act. This is a law that states that schools must provide student with disabilities with the proper accommodations to be successful in school. To do this the schools write up an IEP or Individualized Education Plan. From there we talked about what it meant to be retarded and gifted. Being retarded just means you are slow in mental and social processes. Gifted means a student is more advanced in a certain subject or many subjects. This led the discussion to skipping students and holding them back, which I disagree with I think there is a better solution, I am not sure of what is it but there must be one out there. The next topic we talk about in class was 5 different intelligence theories. This we did in groups.
1. Spearman’s g = General Intelligence
2. Catell’s Fluid and Crystallized = Fluid intelligence changes or evolves and crystallized does not change but it can be added to.
3. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory = 3 Factors of intelligence, environmental context, Prior evidence, and cognitive Processes.  
4. Distributed Intelligence = thinking is facilitated by objects, technology, and symbols of ones culture.
5. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences = there are 8 intelligences, most important is interpersonal.  

This topic must be one of the most significant topics we have discussed. We are going to need to now how to teach are students since all are at a different level of intelligence. Also they all learn differently, we can incorporate Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences to help each one of our students learn. Since teaching is all about the success of your students, you are going to want you student to learn the most amount they can from your teaching. As a teacher I will need to change things up a bit to get them to understand at their own individual levels.  

1. What? – This chapter discusses social cognitive theory which is a theoretical perspective that focuses on how people learn by observing others and how they eventually assume control over their own behavior. It is not the only way people learn it is just one of the most common ways that people learn. We also talked about modeling, self regulation and self-efficacy. Modeling is when a person demonstrates a behavior for someone else. Self regulation is a process of setting goals for oneself and engaging in behaviors and cognitive processes that lead to goal attainment. Self efficacy is a belief that one is capable of executing certain behaviors or reaching certain goals. Three general ideas about social cognitive theory are: The power of observation, the role of control, and the importance of motivation. The power of observation is that people learn what behaviors are more likely to lead to reinforcement and punishment by watching what happens to others. The role of control is that people can often choose the activities in which they participate, thereby controlling the particular experiences they have. The importance of motivation is that people will consciously choose certain activities and work hard in them and persist in the face of failure. 

2. So What? – This topic will help us to become better teacher by allowing us to know how our student’s learn better. In turn we can adapt our lessons to fit our student’s needs

3. Now What? – This is how I learn best so I believe that other students learn this way as well. It is not the only way to learn but I feel it is one of the best and easiest ways too. Other students may learn better differently but they can still learn by observing others. This being true for me I will demonstrate as much as I can to help the students learn better. 

Sorry I was not very explicit; I just can do it today my brain is not with me today.  

1. What? – This Week talks about behaviorism and the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. It helps you understand some of the different ideas behind behaviors and why people act the way they do. It discusses the unconditioned stimulus and the unconditioned response when dealing with classical conditioning. It also talks about operant conditioning which is a form of learning that has to do with a response increasing as a result of being followed by reinforcement. Classical Conditioning is a form of learning in which a new, involuntary response is acquired as a result of two stimuli being presented at the same time. Operant Conditioning is a form of learning in which a response increases in frequency as a result of being followed by reinforcement.
We also talked about some definition of learning and the positives and the negatives of each definition. Along with this, we discussed positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment. Positive Reinforcement is a consequence that brings about the increase of a behavior though the presentation (rather than the removal) of a stimulus. Negative Reinforcement is a consequence that brings about the increase of a behavior though the removal (rather than the presentation) of a stimulus. As for punishment, it is to decrease behavior instead of increase behavior. 

2. So What? –Behaviorism is important to learn about because it gives us teachers one way to see how our students learn and how we can manage our classes with positive and negative reinforcement. The better we manage our classroom the more our student will learn; at least that is what I believe.

3. Now What? – I believe I will use this everyday in my classroom but I think it will be more of an unconscious use then a conscious use. Like rewarding my student for good behavior so the will continue to act in a like manner or something like that. I find this knowledge very useful and now that I have it in the front of my brain rather than the back I will most likely use it more frequently. 

1. What? – Though out chapter 7, it discusses how students are continually trying to add and modify their understandings of their physical and social environment. This is due to the fact that students must create their own views of the physical and social world. Students work together with pears family and teachers to help make better sense of things that are puzzling in their environment. No matter how students gather their information weather it be on their own with the help of others, they develop unique interpretations of the environment around them. Constructivism and Misconceptions were main points of class today. Constructivism is learning as an active process in which learner construct their own meaning based on prior knowledge and experiences.  

2. So What? – Misconceptions I through was a very good topic to talk about because we will deal with a lot over the years as teacher. I have plenty and I am sure I will spend them in my teaching unless some one corrects me. This goes back to my point that knowledge never hurt if it true knowledge. So that is why I love to learn about new things and listen to people talk because it gives me something new to think about. Although I may disagree with what they are saying I like to know other people views on things. 

3. Now What? – I hope to clear any misconceptions my student may have and if I by chance pass some on then I apologize in advance even though misconceptions can be good. I will try to use the 5 E’s in my class because I feel it would be an effective way to teach some topics in my classes. I know that inside of me there is a great teacher but to get the best out of me I will need to fail sometimes so I can find what works and what does not. I need to keep an opened mind and take some suggestions of my peers.  

1. What? – This week we learned about memory and how we use it in a daily aspect. Also, different ways to approach teaching so students may learn and remember what they are learning. It talks about the difference in long term, short term, and working memory. We also discussed different memory techniques, how we learn, how we remember, and how we as teacher can help our students understand our subject matter.

2. So What? –Memory is a strange thing. I have always found it interesting that I can remember some of the strangest thing so easily but I forget some of the most important thing that I want to remember. Short term and long term memory are beneficial things to know about. Knowledge of them may help you to develop way to remember the important stuff, unlike me, and forget more of the weird unimportant things, or what I like to call the bizarre facts that no body cares to know. Knowledge of memory is also beneficial to us when we communicate with others. If we want something to stick in someone’s mind you can use a memory technique to help it stick. 

3. Now What? – I hope to be able to implement this knowledge into my teaching and help the student remember things that I teach them. I plan to do this by lecture less and having more of a class discussion. I will also use activities that well help the students store the information into their long term memory at least that is the plan with the activities. I believe I have said this before, if not I will say it now knowledge never hurts. So to learn more about memory and how people store information in their memory could not hurt especially for a future teacher or a teacher now for that matter.