Many important contextual factors influence teaching and how well the students are able to grasp the content taught. As if starting from the foundation, contextual factors that represent my host school’s community, district, school, and classroom give the teaching-learning process stability and purpose. These environmental factors set the stage for powerful teaching, organized planning and resolute assessment for each unique student present at my host school. Student specialization is accommodated because of the many contextual factors set in place for the teachers to build upon. Within this essay I shall describe the contextual factors in my 8^th grade physical science, student teaching classroom, and how these factors affected my teaching-learning process, including my instructional planning and assessment process. Contextual factors include community, school, and classroom factors; characteristics of students; students’ varied approaches to learning; and students’ skills and prior learning. Environmental factors may include geographic location, community and school population, socioeconomics, race and ethnicity, stability of community, and community support for education. Community, district, and school environmental contextual factors are the building blocks from which learning begins.

Community     I completed my demonstration teaching experience within the community of the state capitol of Texas, a busheling metropolitan city on the Eastern edge of the American Southwest known as Austin. The community of Austin fosters environmental protection and conservation of wildlife above development, but is still one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. The population of the City of Austin is approximately 825,000 with some 300,000 other residents in the outside areas. Tourists swarm Austin during its many music festivals, and just recently its new Formula One racetrack attracted tourists from around the world. The average income is $64, 231 resulting in very expensive rent, ranging from $1000-$3000 monthly for a nice 3 bedroom rental. Residents of Austin, known as Austenite’s, live by the cities motto “Keep Austin Weird.” Everywhere you look you will see creativity. The city is exploding with artists, musicians, actors, and tons of college students. In Austin about 1/3 of the population is Christian, 1/3 Muslim, and 1/3other religions and tribal beliefs. There are mosques, temples and churches. Though the majority of people are not happy with the political party that has been in power since independence, the political climate is stable. Education is important in the community, but many children are in private schools and not instituted within the public education sector. This causes area shortages of good teachers, supplies, and overall good education.

District        The district-level and state-level contextual factors include mandates for my host school and are monitored through the Texas Alliance of Accredited Private Schools (TAAPS). My host school is required to adhere by, but not limited to, the TAAPS rules in order to qualify as a member school. One very important mandate is that my host school’s curriculum must encompass Texas Education Agency’s (TEKS) education benchmarks. By following the same set of benchmarks as public schools in the area, students are able to reacquaint themselves when leaving my host school for high school. The TEKS education benchmarks have also given my host school a core curriculum to follow, supplement and exceed. Another very important mandate requires students to be in school a minimum of 175 days of instruction with a minimum of six hours of instruction per day. This sets a certain criterion for parents and gives the teachers a timeline by which to plan instruction. The federal-level mandates that affect instructional planning include following Title I & No Child Left Behind standards while delivering content curriculum to standard. My host school accepts many students with learning disabilities and strives to include all of its students into general curriculum classes.

School      My host school was founded in 1985 by a small group of parents and teachers. At that time the school had 50 students and operated in borrowed Sunday school rooms. Classrooms had to be completely dismantled every Friday and put back up on Monday morning. In the spring of 1995, with generous financial support from parents and friends and backing from a local bank who supported our mission, my host school purchased an office building and renovated it to meet the school’s needs in time to open school in August. After our most recent renovation over the summer of 2011, the school is well-equipped to serve all students in 32 classrooms, computer lab, office space, art room, library, kitchen, and cafeteria. My host school also owns a small house adjacent to the main building, which houses The Learning Center, private and small-group tutoring resources for students interested in additional academic attention. The characteristics of my host school that effect instructional planning; delivery and assessment include special tutoring, ongoing professional development and small class size. Many services are available for students with special needs. For one, there are many students at my host school involved in a tutoring program in which they use an elective time in order to meet with a specific tutor. During the tutoring, which is in a completely separate building solely used for tutoring, students with an array of learning disabilities gain skills to advance their learning capacity. The teachers are accustomed to including all students regardless of learning abilities into their general education classes, and through the combined efforts of both the tutors and teachers, students receive a great education. The mission statement of my host school is to “sustain a nurturing and caring environment that draws together children, parents, and teachers,” which I think is a very perfect portrayal of what takes place. One way in which my host school continues to improve instruction and learning is through many professional development opportunities for teachers and parents. One in particular is a reading/writing workshop that teaches more profound ways to encourage students to write. With consistent tutoring, professional development and its small classroom size teachers are able to give each individual student and parent special attention. Each class is within 10-15 students, allowing for immediate feedback and assistance, for every student. The small classrooms also give staff, teachers, and parents more time to collaborate on impacting each student’s learning experience. My host school is like one big happy family, with many positive inspirational ideas, that result in success for the entire family tree.

       The four main classroom contextual factors: physical features, availability of technology equipment and resources, extent of parental involvement, and classroom rules and routines, contribute to the betterment of all students at my host school.

      The classroom contextual factor, physical features, is important because in order for instruction and learning to flow together there must be adequate materials, room, and safety. The physical contextual features include the floor plan, furniture and appliances, as well as lab equipment within the classroom. There are three science teachers and science classrooms. From 6^th-8^th grade, my host school accommodates Life, Earth and Physical Science curriculum. There is one large closet which houses all the science supplies and chemicals used by all three classes. My unit was taught within the Physical Science classroom. In numerous ways it is a classic science room; however, after the 2011 renovation, all the science classrooms received much needed modernization. The physical science classroom received two new deep sinks counters housing five electrical outlets. Desks were replaced with five rectangular tables that seat 4 students each, allotting for a maximum of 20 students that the tables in the room can hold.  Underneath each table is an in ground electrical outlet. The old chalkboard was replaced with a new extra-long whiteboard stationed in the middle of two large scientific periodic tables. At the back of the class there are cabinets built- in floor to ceiling, with a desk counter running down the middle. There is also a full-size refrigerator with a stand-alone icemaker on one side of the room, and the other side of the room is the teacher’s desk area.  There are lab coats hanging to the left of the refrigerator and the safety glasses are in a drawer in the back counter area. Under the counters are cabinets full of lab equipment and additional materials, such as rubber bands and empty coke cans needed for certain experiments. There is a 3-shelf hanging bookcase where the textbooks are kept, above the countertop, in the back of the classroom. The counters are used as lab worktables during lab activities. In case of emergencies, the one class window is able to open for ventilation and fire escape.

       The classroom contextual factor, availability of technology equipment and resources, is important because in this day and age students are more accustomed, and learn better through the use of technology. Not to mention all the amazing technological applications teachers can use as enrichment resources. The physical science room has an array of technological equipment and resources. The most beneficial piece of equipment would be the projector. Especially for science, but for any class really, a projector can transform the classroom into any environment the teacher wishes. For example, so as not to lecture constantly and bore my students, I played many film clips, animations, cartoons, and documentaries to relate the subject material to all of them simultaneously with a projected big screen. The students are engaged thoroughly by the large images and group enrichment provided by the projector. The projector is also a great resource to use as a presentation tool, to show pictures, and movies on the like topic. Also available in the class are digital scales, calculators, CD player, microwave, and many software applications. For example, during labs that could get messy and dangerous my host teacher and I used explore learning software and projected a virtual lab so the entire class could work together and separately without needing lab equipment and materials for each student. The virtual lab animation resource has proved very educational and saves tons of time.

        The classroom contextual factor, extent of parental involvement, is important because if the parents team up with the teacher they can monitor the student’s behavior and habits while not in school, making sure the student is always on the right track. I do believe parental involvement can be a fine line, but overall too much is never enough. During my TWS on Density, parents were asked to help their children design a submarine as an at-home experiment. I was able to provide parents with certain guidelines and rules to follow in order to assist the student, but not ruin the student’s need to make mistakes in order to learn. Also, while in the 8^th grade physical science class for my student teaching, I was allowed to join the many teacher-parent conferences. The parental involvement in most conferences was outstanding and without knowledge gained from some of the parents, several student mishaps would not have been resolved. Plus, when the student is aware that their teachers and parents are collaborating to make the most out of their learning experience, it grounds the student and makes them more responsible for their participation and work level.

       The classroom contextual factor, classroom rules and routines, is important because reinforcement systems in the classroom make students want to learn. For instance, using a rubric for self-assessment, not only gives me a chance to see how the students handle the ground rules, but it also gives each student a chance to give themselves positive feedback, and know, through actually grading their own behavior, that they are successful. Mastery of a written test over classroom behavior ground rules provides immediate reinforcement. Then the test grade becomes similar to a signature, if they pass they are proving they know the rules and routine, and must act accordingly. This demonstrates that understanding and exhibiting proper adherence to rules is just as important as anything else they will learn in class, and even that all learning will progress from a basic structure of classroom behavior. Rules were presented, discussed, practiced and tested, and groups who showed mastery of ground rules were positively reinforced by taking leadership roles in the class. These leaders then presented a simulated activity that exhibited both proper and improper behavior, giving them a chance to shine as well as to help reiterate the importance of good behavior in order to achieve a positive classroom environment. Positive reinforcement was also given during actual group work in the class. While “walking around,” the host teacher and I rewarded acceptable behaviors through bonus points or other positive rewards, in hopes that the rewards received for good behavior would minimize infractions of the rules and teach students an important life lesson for the classroom and for the rest of their lives. Good behavior is rewarded and met with positive reinforcement.  Bad behavior results in negative consequences.

     The routine setup in place for my 8^th grade physical science students during demonstration teaching revolved around the bell that begins and ends the class period. There was an agreement between the students and I that the time in class is important, and shouldn’t be wasted by anyone involved. Students were expected to come to class prepared; with materials such as pens, paper, textbooks and any other supplies essential to their learning. They expected to understand that they should not talk out and always raise their hands before addressing the teacher.

          The student contextual factors, special needs, achievement and developmental levels, culture, and gender impact the design of instruction and assessment because in order to effectively teach, the teacher must incorporate familiarity in order to reach the student.

     I chose my 3^rd physical science class to focus upon for my TWS project. There are eighteen students in this class, consisting of seven females and eleven males. In this class, there are more boys than girls, which results in more distraction. Males, as opposed to female middle school students, are completely different learners and appear more like the audience that throws tomatoes at you if they don’t like your lesson for the day. Obviously I’m over exaggerating, but nonetheless, boy’s grades reflect that they have very little focused behavior. In order to rein in the class I’m consistently debating and answering questions to keep the boys in some type of competitive mode as to who can answer with the correct answer first. On the other hand, the female middle school students, in my 3^rd period physical science class, are very good listeners and volunteer their knowledgeable input often to engage the entire class. All of the female students are straight A students with great organization skills.

     The different cultural ethnicities in my 3^rd period physical science class include: fourteen Caucasian students, 1 Asian student, 1 Spanish student, and 2 African-American students. Although, all of the students speak fluent English, don’t have an accent, and all have American ethnicity. The students range in age 12-14 years old. Because the school is a private school and is very expensive, most of the students come from wealthy families; however, my host school does award scholarships to low income students. The different ethnicities do not influence my teaching style; however, if I gather research on any of the student’s particular culture I strive to share that information with the entire class.

     The special needs of my 3^rd physical science class range from clinical depression, ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, and speech impediments. In order to teach depending on different learning styles I incorporate visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social, and solitary activities for each topic. Conversely, never will you have a class on the same learning level.

    As a teacher, I must acknowledge student achievement to encourage students to go further. But if a student can’t seem to accomplish something, I alter the material and tweak the topic so that the student understands and achieves. Due to my small class sizes, I’m able to individualize instruction depending on the developmental level of each student. In many ways we all learn in all the different learning styles and repetition is the key to learning for everyone. The secret is funny, creative, personalized repetition for each student and my job is to make sure they achieve that.

       The student skills and prior learning influence development of each of the following three components: learning goals, instruction, and assessment. First, learning goals are specific levels each student is expected to reach. However, if a student doesn’t correctly comprehend the previous levels, they won’t be able to achieve your learning goals. In my case I had half the class right on task, and the other half lagged behind constantly. In order to remedy this problem I grouped students together, one a lager and the other a on task student. I buddied them to enrich the on task student’s learning through exploration of different ways to explain the information to their buddy. As well as, enriching the lager student by pairing them with the whiz kid. In this case, the learning goals stay the same, and students that are behind have someone on hand constantly that helps them follow along and catch up.

     Instruction also changes when taking into account each student’s skills and prior knowledge. Depending on the lecture, it is sometimes best to group the students by different levels in order to have a diverse team. Then after brief instruction or technological enrichment the teacher should walk around as the groups are working and help each group individually.

     Many people freeze up during test time, and sometimes that anxiety results in a bad grade. In order to properly assess the students a teacher must make sure to give the right kind of test and provide the proper environment for the students. For example, during my test on Density I read the questions to a small group, one of my students went to a quiet room to avoid distraction, and another student took his test to the learning center and worked on it with a personal tutor. Formal assessment is nerve-wracking, but informal assessment should be almost unnoticeable. I always involve every student in each day’s lesson. The students always know they could be called on at any moment. I think this inspires them to pay attention and give clear explanations. These explanations are what I use to chart how well each student is doing.