Contextual Factors

All identifying information has been changed or removed to ensure anonymity.

My practicum site is at Oregon Middle School (pseudonym), which is located in one of Oregon's metropolitan cities. The city has 47,595 people and the average household income in 2010 was $51,581 (City of Oregon, 2011). Oregon Middle School belongs to the 8th largest school district in Oregon (Oregon School District, 2011). There are approximately 12,500 students, and 1,100 staff members in the school district (Oregon School District, 2011).

The following chart lists the demographics of Oregon Middle School based on the public version of the school's 2009-10 Final AYP Report:

(Oregon School District, 2011, p. 4)

This information shows that 67% of the Oregon Middle School students are white, 17% of students are hispanic, 10% are asian/pacific islander, and 3% are African American, 31% of students are economically disadvantaged, 8% of students have limited english proficiency, and 12% of the students have “disabilities” (Oregon School District, 2011, p. 4).

Oregon Middle School provides many services such as special education (SPED), literacy interventions, alternative education, english language development (ELL), speech pathology and counseling. The school offers a variety of electives including home economics, art, choir, orchestra, band, dram, foreign language and computers. In addition to a library with several computers, the school has a set of laptops and a well-maintained computer lab that teachers may reserve. Every classroom has at least one computer, and a few classrooms, who have received grants, have their own labs. Students who do not have access to a computer or internet at home, have access to that technology at school. At the beginning of my practicum, my mentor teacher passed out flyers to her students that advertised low-cost internet.

For $20 per class, students may join 55-minute, twice-per week after school activities. These activities include homework help, classic films, cooking, drama, flag football, basketball, computers, cross country, games, instrument practice, math club, sisterhood, soccer and volleyball (Oregon Middle School, 2011). There is a bus that takes students home at the end of activities. While the school-provided transportation may increase students' ability to participate in the after school activities, the $20 fee may prevent the 31% of economically disadvantaged students from joining.

The classroom in which I am student teaching is a 6^th grade classroom. The 7^th and 8^th grade classes at Oregon Middle School are traditional middle school classes where students have a different teacher for each subject. The 6^th grade classes are different in that each teacher teaches three subjects. My mentor teacher teaches two groups of students three subjects: reading, language arts and math. Her “team member” teaches the same two groups of students science, social studies and an elective. A different teacher teaches PE and music, which alternate weekly. This schedule is a nice transition for the 6^th graders who are coming from elementary school. The 6^th grade teachers really get to know their students and they are able to give a lot of one-on-one support.

I taught math to two different classes with a total of 56 students. The students are between 11 and 12-years old. Based on my observations and conversations with my mentor teacher, I learned that between the two classes there are 31 boys and 25 girls. Approximately 66% of the class is white, 20% is Hispanic, 4% is African American 4% is Asian/Pacific Islander, and 6% is other/unknown. There are 9 Talented and Gifted (TAG) students, 1 student is an English Language Learner (ELL) and 2 students are in special education (SPED).

One of the students in SPED is on an IEP because she has severe scoliosis. This student's IEP states that she needs a classroom free of obstacles, and that she needs to leave class early because it takes her longer to get from one class to another. The other SPED student's IEP does not identify any physical or learning disabilities, but asks that the student be given extra support and time to complete activities. There is another student, Adam (pseudonym), who has an IEP because he has an illness that essentially makes him fragile. He was in a wheelchair for 2 weeks during my practicum because he fell down during PE. Whether he is in a wheelchair or not this student needs a classroom that is free of obstacles. He is also allowed to leave class early to avoid crowded hallways. While in his wheelchair it was important to still include him in all activities. For example, accommodations were made to a math activity that required students to rotate around a table group and solve math problems at each desk. The chairs were removed from around that table group so that Adam could move around the desks freely.

The best way to help all students succeed is to create a trusting, safe, caring, positive environment. This kind of environment results in good relationships, promotes freedom of speech, honesty, a sense of unconditional caring, cooperation and understanding. As a teacher I must be ready to encourage and care about my students unconditionally. It is therefore important to learn who my students are so that I can meet their diverse learning needs, teach with relevance, and develop strong relationships based on genuine care and trust.
Ideally, before the school year began, I would have contacted my students' families to get to know my students and their backgrounds. Due to the scheduling of my practicum, I was unable to do so. I did however get to know one of my student's parents. Adam, the student who was in a wheelchair for 2 weeks, was brought to school early by his mother. I was able to talk with her a few times. The knowledge I gained from our conversations helped me develop a relationship with Adam that was built on understanding and trust. For example, I knew that his mom was losing her hearing, and was planning on taking American Sign Language classes. In the mornings before class, I taught Adam several basic ASL signs that he could use to communicate with his mom. He told me it made his mom smile. I wish I had had the opportunity to get to the know the families of all of my students.
I believe that the best environment for students to create knowledge in is a social environment. I believe that students learn from one another and benefit from sharing their knowledge and experiences. I, like social constructivists, believe that, “two or more people can often gain better understandings than anyone could gain alone” (Ormrod, 2011, p. 181). To promote a social environment in my classroom, student desks were arranged in groups of four to eight students, and I encouraged my students to work together, share ideas, ask questions, discuss topics, and help one another understand and learn.

Group activities can help promote respect and understanding among students, and it can create a sense of unity within the classroom. Ideally, students will rely on one another and will therefore learn to value and care about one another. During my unit, math activities were rarely done independently. Math problems were solved together as a class, in partners and in groups. I often used a teaching strategy called Think-Pair-Share. This strategy has students share their ideas and knowledge in partners or groups before sharing as a class.

Students all learn differently. To meet the learning needs of all students, I remained flexible, and varied my teaching. I incorporated visuals into my instruction to meet the needs of visual learners and my English Language Learner. Visuals I used included an illustrated children's books that I displayed on the projector, and note-taking/problem-solving on the whiteboard. I engaged my students in hands-on activities that got them moving and thinking. These activities included a math exercise that used M&Ms to solve fractions equations, a “musical chairs” activity, and a math relay race.

It is also important to monitor and assess student learning to determine if their learning needs are being met. To achieve this, I graded and returned homework in a timely manner, and the day before the test, I held a mini conference with every student. I also I gave one-on-one help whenever possible. For example, one student cried at the end of my multiplying fractions lesson because “it was too hard.” I told him to try to do that night's homework, but to put it away if the frustrated feelings returned. I gave him an extension on his homework and we practiced fractions together every morning during rendezvous (home room). When working together, he would ask me if he was doing the problem correctly, and he almost always was. He needed little guidance. Reassurance seemed to be all he needed. He continued to come to me for help when he needed it.

Whenever possible, I gave one-on-one support to the ELL student in my class. He usually had an interpreter during math. When the interpreter did not come he did very little work. When walking around the class to answer questions and observe student progress, I always stopped by his desk to ask if he had any questions. When I noticed he was struggling with his work, I read him the directions and guided him using as much Spanish as I knew (which is very little). He sometimes laughed at my ability, but he seemed to appreciate the effort. He smiled a lot, and always accepted my help. Not only did he get more work done when I worked with him one-on-one, his confidence seemed to grow.

I believe that every child learns differently. Learning styles and preferences are as diverse as the students themselves. I will always spend time getting to know each of my students and their families so that I may make my teaching relevant to their cultures and interests. I will regularly monitor and assess my students' learning and provide them with feedback. I will carefully develop a safe classroom community that is built on understanding and trust. I will remain open to feedback myself and I will constantly reflect on my teaching so that I may always be improving myself and my teaching.

References*

City of Oregon. (2011) About City of Oregon. Retrieved from http://www.______- or.gov/community/about________/default.asp

Oregon Middle School. (2011). Oregon Middle School After School Activities. Retrieved from http://www.____.k12.or.us/oregon-middle-school/activities-clubs/oregon-after-school- activities

Oregon School District. (2011). 2009-10 Final AYP Report (Public) [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.____.k12.or.us/district/community-relations/2010-ayp-final/final

Oregon School District. (2011). The 2010-11 Guide to Oregon School District Schools [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.___.k12.or.us/

Ormrod, J.E. (2011). Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. Boston: Pearson.

*All identifying information has been changed or removed to ensure anonymity.