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 Awareness of Socio-Cultural Differences of Their Students and Themselves

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 Awareness of Socio-Cultural Differences of Their Students and Themselves

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Teaching with a broad variety of children in your classroom can open many doors, and close them as well. When I say close doors, it isn't in a negative way. We are just blind at first to what we have in front of us as teachers until we open the doors to see the differences in social aspects and how culture can affect that. As a teacher I want to strive to be aware of the difference and get to understand how to achieve the best learning and social skills for my students and family relations.

here is a website with information to help better prepare us as teachers for cultural differences.
Davis, M. (2013).

Preparing for Cultural Diversity: Resources for Teachers. Retrieved from  https://www.edutopia.org/blog/preparing-cultural-diversity-resources-teachers

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Preparing for Cultural Diversity: Resources for Teachers

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How can teachers prepare for diverse classrooms? There isn’t a definitive answer, but there is a wealth of resources online. Discover some helpful links for teachers.

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Being able to be a teacher is great. We as teachers need to provide greatness to our classrooms. We can do this with inclusions for our students. Giving them an environment that is appropriate to teach and set their lives of for positive success, not just in their education lives, but adult lives. We as teachers can help beyond education.

here is effective strategies and a video to watch.

Vogel,K. (2016). 5 Effective Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/education/75955/5-effective-strategies-for-the-inclusive-classroom

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A great introduction to the concepts behind UDL can be found at CAST's website .
Take Action: View the video and reflect on your teaching practices. How are you engaging students? How do students show what they know? How are students presented with material?
3. Support Important Life Skills

As a seasoned educator, when I hear the term "life skills", I often think of tasks that are performed by our more severely disabled students, many of whom are not in a general education environment. When I do this, I am shortchanging my students, many who lack very necessary skills they need in order to be a productive and contributing member of society. Many general education mainstream students cannot perform the following simple tasks:

telling time from an analog clock

writing a simple letter

signing their name in cursive

note taking and study skills

Many of the teachers that I work with have a "Study Skills Thursday", where students clean out their backpacks, organize their binders and notebooks, and focus on developing and self-reflecting on both short and long-term goals. I also do locker checks with some of my students. The battle is half won if a student comes to school organized and prepared.
Take Action: Find or create a survey for your students to gauge what essential skills they have, and what they need (I use this Learning Skills and Work Habits Student Self-Assessment Checklist from Teachers Pay teachers). How can you incorporate instruction in these skills into your everyday schedule? Take Action: Try to find a common time to sit and meet with your grade-level Special Education teacher. How can you work together to improve student learning? Draft a plan to hand to your administrator; perhaps you can receive a stipend for your planning time!
4. Engage in Collaborative Planning and Teaching

No classroom is an island, especially an inclusive classroom. Opening up your room to service providers, paraprofessionals, special education teachers, and parents gives you valuable opportunities to participate in collaborative teaching. Collaborative teaching looks differently depending on what school, level, and setting you are working. I am fortunate enough to work in a school where collaborative teaching is encouraged and celebrated. Teachers have common planning times, and professional development time is often set aside for teachers to plan together. This often spans grade levels and subject areas.

5. Develop a strong Behavior Management Plan

Having a successful inclusive classroom depends upon having control of your classroom. It is essential to have clearly communicated expectations and goals, that are accessible to all students. Your classroom environment should be tailored to better suit diverse students' needs. With students' and specialists' input, create a checklist or action plan for students.
Take Action: Look through student IEPs to see if any student has a formal Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). Consult with your Special Education teacher for resources on how to establish and strengthen behavior management in your classroom. If possible, have the SpEd teacher observe and give feedback.
Some specific behavior management strategies that support effective instruction are:

Posting daily schedules

Displaying classroom rules and expectations

Encouraging peer to peer instruction and leadership

Using signals to quiet down, start working, and putting away materials.

Giving students folders, labels and containers to organize supplies.

Checking in with students while they work

Utilizing proactive rather than reactive interventions as needed

Speaking to students privately about any concerns

Employing specific, targeted positive reinforcement when a student meets a behavioral or academic goal.

There are many pieces to the puzzle for creating an effective inclusive classroom. Communication is key, and collaboration with other educators and professionals has a great benefit to all.

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5 Effective Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom | KQED Education

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Students with special and exceptional needs are placed in inclusive learning environments more frequently than in the past. For general educators with a limited special education background, this can often be anxiety provoking and stressful. Here are five strategies that have been successful for working with students in the inclusive classroom.

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Holding high expectations for ALL students, shows them you are believing, treating and striving to give them all equal doings. We as teachers, students, bystanders, need to positively give high expectations the same to all students. Bettering them and showing them, we don't care where they come from when it comes to giving them ALL the best education.

Here is a school site that gives great advice on this topic, and video at the bottom to watch.
Unknown. (2020). Retrieved from  http://titanedtalk.weebly.com/disrupting-poverty-disruption-2-holding-high-expectations-and-providing-needed-support.html

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Success with students who live in poverty depends not only upon the quality of the curriculum and our instruction, but also upon understanding who we are and why we teach (including what we value and believe). Teachers with low expectations use a more controlling pedagogy that is less engaging and less challenging. Protecting students out of "concern" for them is another way in which low expectations contribute to gaps in opportunity and achievement. Do you only call on student who raise their hands? Do you ever not call on a student to protect them from embarrassing them? Have you ever provided the answer quickly instead of allowing all students to engage in productive struggle to understand the content? Here is what we should see in classroom of teachers who hold high expectations for students living in poverty: Improved curriculum, heterogenous groupings, increased methods for assessment, use of cooperative teaching approaches, encouraging more student-centered activities, fostering greater engagement in school events, and developing warm student-teacher relationships as well as positive relationships with parents. Hey, what has happened in the past, is just situational. It is what it is. Time is just a picture. Now you can change that frame every second. What is it that you're choosing to do? And with high expectations these kids could do anything they want, period. (Budge & Parrett)

Expecting Success: It Matters

We have to be willing to go to a place we rarely go, to the beliefs and values that we unconsciously hold about ourselves and about our students and their ability or inability to learn. I will be honest in the 6 years I have been here, it has not been uncommon for me to hear, "they are in the 6th generation of poverty - their family was just like him or her, or how am I supposed to teach this student, they do not know the language".

What would happen if we believed in ALL students, set high expectations for them, provided rich pedagogy, helped them establish goals, and supported them in believing in themselves? Have each of us done this with every student? Every subgroup? Word of Caution: Students who have been given a daily dose of teacher-centered, low cognitive demand instruction for even a short number of years may be resistant to higher expectations. Persistence and insistence are likely to be necessary until students begin to get intrinsic rewards from schooling.

Strategy: Authentic goal setting - If kids know what they're learning, and why, or what they're supposed to learn, they're more likely to learn it.

When Teachers Raise their Expectations (These were interesting to me)

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Effects
This effect happens when a teacher develops a set of beliefs about a student based on a variety of factors. Those beliefs influence how the teacher interacts with the student, and in turn, the students come to expect similar treatment in the future, behaving in ways that mirrors the teacher's expectations. When the student responds in a manner that is consistent with the teacher's beliefs, the teacher's expectations (high or low) are reinforced. Students interpret the teacher's expectations and begin to align their self-image with those expectations (Darley & Fazio 1982).

PLEASE READ THIS EXAMPLE AND REFLECT...
I love this example. A special education teacher, understood the powerful impact her expectations had on her students. She explained, "I've told them, I do not care where you are. I don't care what the paper says. I don't care what other people have said about you. Whatever you want to do, you can do it. You just have to put your mind to it, and I will help you!

The greater the risk factors in a student's life, the more high expectations matter to the student's life chances (Wood 2011).

How Low Expectations Contribute to Opportunity Gaps and Achievement Gaps

Students will work hard to meet the expectations set by a teacher they like and respect and who they know has their best interests at heart. How well do you know your students? How can you get to know them better? Dialogue journals? Surveys? Home visits? Interviewing families? Personal Education Plan based on their interests, passions, and aspirations for their future. (www.quisa.orgGrowing up in poverty can be a deeply shaming experience. Many come to believe they were fated and they had little agency to change their lives. Students who live in poverty and underachieve may have a fixed ability mindset and have learned that they would rather misbehave, passively resist, or give up quickly than "look stupid". 1. Build on Relationships to Make Learning Relevant -

Teachers can influence a growth mindset by...
Strategies:
1. What teachers choose to say when students are successful or unsuccessful (feedback and praise) (Give feedback on process and effort)
2. The manner in which they frame activities
3. What they explicitly teach children about how people's brains and minds work.

6. Interrogate Your Mental Map -

2. Provide for Rigor and Risk Taking -
Lectures and worksheets are kept to a minimum. Learning activities are created to actively engage the students in real and relevant purposes. Teach students that failure is part of the process. Even when students fail, tell them it's OK. You didn't get it. No big deal. We'll keep working on it - allowing them to fail and making it OK to fail. Don't ask for perfection; ask for their best effort.

Interesting fact: Students who live in poverty often come to school with fewer readiness to learn skills than their more affluent peers. Too often they view themselves as "failures" at an early age and eventually develop many coping skills for avoiding embarrassment? How do you create a culture that embraces failure?

3. Be a "Warm Demander" Insistent and Supportive -
These educators have a "no excuses" philosophy and a belief in the capacity of individuals to succeed. They do not engage in power struggles, nor do they threaten or demean them. They know their students.

4. Act from an Empathic Perspective -
Empathic behavior is characterized as "sensitivity, patience, respect, tolerance, acceptance, understanding, flexibility, openness, and humility. "Changing the mindset of one teacher can change the social experience tof that child's entire world." Make sure to maintain a high quality relationship during disciplinary actions too.

5. Hold a Growth Mindset and Encourage the Same in Students -

We must examine our own beliefs, stereotypes, and consequent expectations to see if these could be variables that ultimately affect students' life chances. What is your belief about intelligence? Is it fixed? Or can it be improved? We must ensure our own biases do not place limits on our students.
7. Employ the 4Cs: Caring, Clear, Consistent Communication of Expectations

1. Co-create the expectations with students, when appropriate to promote ownership.

2. Co-establish learning goals with each student to support greater engagement.

3. Use rubrics and exemplars to make academic outcomes concrete.

4. Establish routines and structures for classroom management, model, teach, and practice them.

5. Teach academic discourage and provide opportunities for group learning to use it.

6. Use student-led conferencing with portfolio development to promote metacognition.

7. Develop a sense of community in which students can articulate expectations to each other and hold each other accountable.

8. Integrate student self-assessment into academic and social emotional learning to encourage introspection.

9. Explicitly "normalize" failure, productive struggle, and revision as part of the learning process.

10. Use visual displays as a source of reference to promote consistency.

9:00 - Pre-Conference MeetingAM & PM - EL Training - A lot of Paraprofessionals gone without subs.7:30 - School Improvement Team Mtg *Hull's Room HELLO OCTOBER!
CORE VALUE - LEADERSHIP

PAJAMA DAY or WEAR BLUE!
Motivation Monday - Oct. 1

11:40 -Teacher Meeting
3:30 - EL Department Meeting
12:30-1:10 Observation
3:15-4:15 - Drama, Chess, Tutoring

12:30 - Pre-Conference Mtg
10:45 - Galesburg Grant Presentation
3:15-4:15 - Clubs
3:30 - K-12 Math Meeting
5:30 - PTC Meeting

Wellness Wednesday -Oct. 3
Class Colors Day
Staff - Glitter/Bling

9:15-Observation2:00 Dismissal Thankful Moments Thursday - Oct. 4
MisMatch Day or Twin Day

1:00 - Clubs Choice Kickoff
3:15-Tutoring/Coding/Drama/Sports
2:15 - Cross Grade Level Math Meeting
2:15 - ELA Dr. Conrad
3:30- Family Literacy Night Mtg

​

Thank youThank you Nancy for always helping me out and answering my questions! LA

Kristan for covering my class for a couple minutes!! I appreciate the help!! LA

Thank you Lana, for being a phenomenal lead teacher that always helps out her team. I appreciate all the help you have given me this year! LA

Thank you, Carrie Taylor, for always helping me. LA

Thanks Megan for jumping in and helping when my class needed to have a family meeting. I always love an additional perspective when trying to help our students become the best they can be. Also, thank you for using your personal time and money to help one of my students fulfill her vision of being a party planner. You are truly a staff member who goes "to infinity and beyond" for our students! JF

Way to go Mrs. Montoroy, I overheard you encouraging a student after school on Friday and reminding him that his fall STAR score does not define his ability. Thanks for helping him see his true potential! JF

Woot Woot, Miss Young! Way to channel your inner Kagan and help develop kinesthetic symbols for the 4 types of sentences. Your dedication to using the resources and teachings that our district invests in is inspiring! JF

Thanks Nicole for helping me work on the kinks on Friday after school! You're a life saver. JF

Thanks Bryan Taylor, for being a positive addition to our school! I have literally never seen you without a smile on your face. It pushes me to be a more positive person. JF

Thank you Miss Rowe & Mr. Murdock for helping me to better serve an EL student in tutoring. My Spanish is lacking and you all stepped up to the plate to help make sure tutoring was a great experience for him. JF

Thanks Mrs. Prior, for being a meaningful part of our classroom family, even when I make you cry. Your support and genuine emotional connections with our students makes me proud to be on your team! JF

Thanks Megan and Amy for helping create an action plan to help my student in need. You both make the hard parts of this job easier, and for that I can never thank you enough. JF

Thanks Mrs. Armstrong for teaching me about the "love languages" and how different teachers need different things. Adults need differentiation too!

Thank you to all the crazy 5th and 6th grade teachers who were dancing with me Friday. It is so outside my comfort zone so when you were busting a move upstairs with me, I felt a little more comfortable. The smiles were priceless. Sometimes we just have to be "weird" for kids! B

Thank you Jillian Rundle for making my day with your positive story and picture of a student who is challenging. Your persistence is admirable! BI

Thank you Courtney Young for serving a consequence with your student during your time. I really appreciate this. BI

Thank you Javier Reyes for helping Miss Ewing during this very difficult time. BI

Thank you Mrs. Ferguson for you commitment to calling families. This communication is paying off. BI

Thank you 5th Grade Team for your ability to make this schedule work. You are problem solving, finding solutions, and keeping a positive attitude. It means a great deal to me! BI

Using a traditional Connect 4 Board Game, I added numerals and dot patterns to each of the red and yellow counters. In partners, students pull their counters from a brown paper bag (no peeking!!!) and place them strategically to make the desired sum. Throughout the year, the sum that students play for changes. From 5 to 20, students work to form the combination using the playing pieces and then have to prove their math thinking. You can read about the specifics here and snag the visual directions for FREE!

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Disrupting Poverty: Disruption #2: Holding High Expectations And Providing Needed Support

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Success with students who live in poverty depends not only upon the quality of the curriculum and our instruction, but also upon understanding who we are and why we teach (including what we value and believe). Teachers with low expectations use a more controlling pedagogy that is less engaging and less challenging.

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 Develop Positive Relationships with Students, Parents and Families

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 Develop Positive Relationships with Students, Parents and Families

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Developing relations with families in your classroom of different cultures, shows importance. This is something not only to strengthen the relationships with your families, but the information you learn as a teacher. Learning and gaining positive knowledge about your students and their families cultures, will better you as a teacher. Being able to know their attributes will help open doors throughout the year of learning.

Here I attached a article of 20 tips for bettering your relations.

Aguilar, E. (2011). 20 Tips for Developing Positive Relationships With Parents. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-developing-positive-relationships-parents-elena-aguilar

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20 Tips for Developing Positive Relationships With Parents

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Blogger Elena Aguilar shares 20 tips to help teachers better connect with parents.

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Diversity in a classroom is so important for young minds. It give the students to understand and learn more about each other. developing better social, and academic skills. Being able to show the students you care and want to be included with them, will allow them to be positive towards participation.

Here is a video sharing diversity in a classroom.

Kampen, M. (2019). 7 ways to support diversity in the classroom. Retrieved from https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/diversity-in-the-classroom/

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Make math learning fun and effective with Prodigy Math Game. Free for students, parents and educators. Sign up today!