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Average class size and student teacher ratio can be deceiving.  Core classes (like Math) are veryfull. Enrollment caps off between 37-40. Many of the Algebra classes have 30+ students. This emphasizes that it is important to know your students so they don't get lost in the shuffle. They learn differently and at different speeds.  By knowing each student, the teacher can offer different methods to learn the material.

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So, in the words of one of my students,  "why do I need to know this?  How will I use this in my life?"
Well, getting to know your students is just as important as knowing the content that you are going to teach. You can be one of the most knowledgeable people in your field, but if you can't connect to your audience, you may as well be speaking in a foreign language. We are interacting with these students each day. We develop relationships with them, we become role models for them, and we help them learn so that they can be prepared for what ever path they follow in the future. In today's world, people have information at their finger tips. They research everything before they make even a small purchase. So, spending the time to get to know your students and where they come from is well worth the time for such an important investment in their future!!!

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Male
Freshman
From the moment this student walked in the door, you are drawn by his personality.  He is a nice kid.  Always smiling and his smile reaches all the way to his eyes.
He is a visual and physical learner.  He likes to cook and would like to do something with that or technology when he grows up.  Something that he is proud of is that he got straight A's last year.
He works well with in groups and other students like to sit near him and work with him.
As first impression, it would be easy to not worry about him. He is what a teacher would like most students to be like. But, staying involved in his learning is very important. He has a good foundation to build upon and can do great things ti

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Female
Freshman
This student stood out for a number of reasons. She is most proud of her persistence. She admits to being hard on herself, but always kind and polite to others. Her interests are theater, Sunday school, and Girls Who Code.  She wants to do something with technology when she grows up.
She is a visual learner who thinks of "numbers' and "equations" when you say the word "math".  This students works hard, gets frustrated when she doesn't grasp the concept right away, and helps the students sitting close to her when we work in small groups.
I think the key for a student like this is to keep the class interesting and moving forward so she doesn't get bored or frustrated.

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Male
Freshman
He is a hands on learner. He is on the soccer team in the fall and cheer-leading in the winter. He has an outgoing personality which sometimes leads to class distraction.  A positive is that he participates in class, but it does take some extra effort to keep him focused on the subject and also let other classmates give their answers and input to a question.
An interesting fact he shared is when he is truly focused on something he zones out and doesn't really hear anything else that is going on in the class room.
I think, as his teacher, it is important to manage his outgoingness. I want him to continue to participate, but be mindful of the rest of the class, too. Also, keeping in mind if we are doing a task, he will be very focused on it and will need a little nudge to come back to the lesson in the front (or back) of the room

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Female
Freshman
She is a visual learner and diagrams and pictures help her with understanding.  She doesn't really like math, but she is okay with the subject and knows that it will be useful in the future.  She participates in class. She volunteers to go to the board with her answers and works well when we have small groups. Her interests and goals are in the language arts.  She is involved in the speech team, has won awards for her writing, and wants to major in journalism.  She wants to go to college and be successful. I think these characteristics make her a good student. As her teacher, presenting multiple representations so that she understands the concept will be key, as well as assessing her understanding when we work in small groups.

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Male
Freshman
Is a hands on learner and finds math confusing and boring.  He likes to read a a lot and is proud of his intelligence.  He gets stressed out easily and has a hard time paying attention.
I have observed that he likes to sit in the back of class and not be noticed.  He always has headphones around his neck and I think he uses the music to calm him down and help him focus.  He doesn't like to raise his had to answer questions, but when you walk over and ask him one on one questions he either knows the answer or has a very good question about the process.  He describes his favorite math teacher as funny and supportive.  I think a good strategy to connect with him will be to offer support to develop a rapport with him so he can ask questions and not get stressed out about it.

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Students were asked 8 questions to help me gain some insight to them as a whole and as individuals.  Many are visual learners, followed by verbal learners, and Physical learners came in last.
I was pleased that when asked to share the first words in their mind when they hear "math", that most had math terminology listed and not negative words or feelings. They did use difficult, hard, confusing, but I was anticipating that. For many, math is not a favorite subject, but I hope that they all will see that everybody is capable of learning math. Even as freshman, their future, college, and parents motivate them to do well and many have ideas on what they want to do after high school. Their dreams include the FBI, write for TV or a magazine, engineer, nurse, and of course, sports star. They are proud of Straight A's last year, being persistent, winning academic awards, and playing the viola to name just a few. They are different but all had a key answer that was very much the same. "Name a few characteristics of your favorite Math teacher". . ."Understanding, kind, funny, good at explaining, takes the time to explain so that the we (students) understand" Being a good and memorable teacher is as much about who you are and the positive environment that you create in the class room as it is about the material you

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How do you view the overall make up of 3rd period and challenges as a whole or certain individuals?
Overall the class seems quiet which overtime could become an issue.  It take a little thought and planning on how to encourage conversation and answering questions. We want them to be verbal, but not over the top where they start talking out of turn and move from participating to uncontrolled.  There is one student who is boisterous. At first Mrs. Rohlwing was a little uncertain about him , but working with him out of the class setting (homeroom) has allowed her to develop another relationship with him. He seems more attentive, tries a little harder, and volunteers to put problems on the board. She stresses the importance to go to students' activities because the effect in the classroom is well worth the time out of it. Also, it allows the students to see you as more than just a math teacher.

Mrs. Rohlwing uses standard based grading in her classroom and has for years.
How does standards based grading help the students?
Students can work on a topic multiple times and improve their grades.  If you think of a graph and label your starting and ending points, the path from the beginning to the end may be different. But at the end, each student understands he material and has shown you that is true. Is is fair to penalize the student who did not do well in the beginning? Standards based grading allow the teacher to assess the material multiple times. It gives both the teacher and the students a clearer idea where they stand.   Achieving targets is communicated more clearly.  Mrs. Rohlwing assess each target at least 3 times and sometimes a fourth which gives you an opportunity to throw score out.  She feel Points based homework can be treated like a paycheck and the students do it to get the grade but never strive to understand it.

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My CT this semester is Mrs. Rohlwing.  This is her 3rd year teaching at West.  She taught at Coal City for 15 years prior.  She has taught primarily Algebra and Geometry.  This year, she teaches 3 sections of Algebra 1 and 2 sections of STEM Trig, a new course offering for students.  Mrs.  Rohlwing makes it a priority to connect with each of her students.  She determines their strengths and weaknesses early in the school year and assess learning everyday.  It is a great opportunity to learn from her.

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There are 10 teachers that are part of the Math team.  Each has their specialty and 5 different teachers teach Algebra 1. When a student comes to the math office for help, any of the teachers jumps in to offer extra help, regardless if it he/she is in their class or not. It is neat to watch the students and teachers interact. You can observe the difference that taking time to develop relationships with your students makes.

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I came from a very big high school (2800 students). While West is smaller than what I experienced, it is a big school for the area. In the 4 weeks that I have been part of the West family, I have some observations behind the statistics. The size of the school offers a lot of opportunities for the students. There are good teams for many of the sports a student plays. The clubs and extra curricular activities are varied. If you like cooking, there is a club for that. Competitive Bass fishing, we have that covered too. Chess, fencing, books? There are others that share your (students) interests, so you can make the large student body smaller by finding peers that share your passions.
On the flip side, if a students personality is quieter and shy, they could feel lost in the numbers and not noticed as an individual. This makes it important for the teacher to connect with each student so every body matters.

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Mascot: Wildcats
Enrollment: 1660 students

Diversity: 74% white, 13% African American, 5.5% Hispanic, 7.5% other
Low income students: 30.1%
Student/Teacher Ratio: 25:1
Average Class Size: 21 students
Spending per student: $5813 instructional spending

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Population:  53,000
When combined with Bloomington (BloNo), it is the 7th largest populated area in Illinois
Major employers: State Farm, ISU, Country Financial, Unit 5 school district