Flexibility

Students have complex lives, as do you. If everything is set in stone, you’ll eventually crack. When an A student fails a test, you have to be ready to be flexible. Likewise, you should make yourself available to students for help as much as possible and publicize that fact. If students don’t know you’re available or have office hours, they won’t come and will just struggle through key concepts. Realize that learning is not static and you can’t be either.

Technology

I am a firm believer in integrated curriculum and content. Life isn’t in isolated boxes, so learning shouldn’t be either. Technology should play an important role in my classroom. It will be integrated into subjects across curriculum.

iTunes U-This is a great way to show videos in the classroom that can go along with Science, Math, Literature, and can be used as a study aid for students that have an iPod.
Class Wikis- I will use this for creative projects.
Blogs- I will have a class blog that my students will be able to find resources, handouts, and view their work they have done in class.
Google Docs- Collaborative work.
SmartBoards
Games and virtual learning
Twitter
Podcasts

There are so many different forms of technology that I can use as Teacher to enhance curriculum. I will try all of them, if the research is there to show that it has worked successfully for other teachers, to find the most effective technology applications for my teaching style. Technology will be the most important aspect of continuing my own education because of the rapidly changing shift from traditional teaching methods.

Community

I will foster a sense of community by establishing a warm supportive atmosphere where me and my students will coordinate our efforts toward the same learning goals. Children are more likely to express positive attitudes about school, be intrinsically motivated to learn, and achieve at high levels when schools cultivate a sense of community. I genuinely care, respect, and support my students and I want that to be felt in my classroom. Students should feel safe in my classroom physically and psychologically. They should feel safe to make mistakes without being ridiculed. I will adopt an authoritative approach to classroom management and set clear guidelines for behavior that will require respect of others.

In a community of learners every student participates in activities and are potential resources for each other. I want my students to engage in learning together to promote complex thinking processes that are involved in group-based learning. Student's will have opportunities to participate in self-directed activities and may contribute to the direction of assignments with my guidance.

A school as a whole should foster a sense of community as well. When students, teachers, and other school staff have shared goals, support one another's efforts, and believe that everyone makes an important contribution then the school cultivates a sense of community that will contribute to its success. As a teacher I will work with colleagues to develop these shared ideals. I believe my involvement with my school is very important because I know that by helping a student or by attending meetings often that I can make a difference.

A Token Economy System

A token economy system is used as reinforcement for targeted behavior in which tokens are administered and then exchanged for back-up reinforcements later. It is used increase desired behaviors and decrease problem behaviors. In order for this system to be successful the behaviors that are rewarded must be observable, measurable, and stated specifically. The tokens that are distributed should be easy to count and are meant to be collected until students have enough to exchange for the back-up reinforcers that they want. Back-up reinforcers should be attractive and chosen based on what would motivate your students.
In my classroom my targeted behaviors would go along with my classroom rules as well as a few others that I think deserve rewards. They include the following: Being kind and considerate of others, turning in assignments on time, Staying in their seats, and raising their hand. At first, tokens will be given out frequently and behaviors will be recognized and rewarded immediately each time. Once the behaviors are learned the tokens will be given out less frequently. My back-up reinforcements will have a set cost and the more attractive reinforcements will cost more, such as homework passes and free time. The reinforcers that will contribute to the development of skills should cost less. These may include using a favorite technology to work on skills during silent reading.
After my behaviors are assigned with their monetary value and my back-up reinforcements are chosen with their set price, then I would construct a reinforcement schedule. A reinforcement schedule determines the frequency of dispensing tokens and exchanging tokens. The tokens will be given out each day. I have several ideas about how to do this. I can mark on the board, or assign "piggy banks" that I can deposit tokens into without disrupting class. Although, I do want my students to know what they are receiving the tokens for, especially once they become less frequent. I have "Good News!" slips that I could attach to tokens which would state the behavior. For example: "Good News!" "You are a great helper, thank you for helping Cindy with multiplication problems!" In addition to deciding when to give out tokens, I will have to decide when to allow exchanging the tokens for the prizes. If exchanges took place daily at a certain time, then students will have plenty of opportunities to decide when or what they spend their tokens. I think daily is the most useful way to allow exchanges because it gives students more opportunity to use the tokens when they feel it is necessary.
As I evaluate my Token Economy system I will gather information about its effectiveness. How well are my reinforcements working to motivate students? What are they enjoying the most? Have my problem behaviors changed? If any changes are made to the system then the transitions will be smooth because of consistency of stating behaviors and rewarding behaviors

Encouraging Female Participation in Math and Science

Compassion, Respect, and Tolerance

Compassion, respect, and tolerance are important human values that create an open, caring environment. I want a feeling of kindness and understanding to be felt in my classroom. These values should be introduced and taught in a meaningful way in order to raise awareness of those around them. Being a teacher means it is important for me to aware of the diverse backgrounds of students and understand various ethnic and cultural groups. I can communicate respect for diverse groups through strategies such as these:
-Treat all children as full-fledged members of the classroom and community
-Call children by their given names, unless asked otherwise
-Consistently look at historical and current events from diverse cultural perspectives
-Create situations in which students from diverse backgrounds must collaborate to achieve success-for instance, through cooperative group activities

Children think a lot about who they themselves are, but they also try to figure out who others are. Therefore, it is important to encourage children to look at situations from other people's perspectives and actively work to break down stereotypes and prejudice.

Using Research to Encourage a Strong Sense of Self

Children and adolescents perform to their full potential when they develop a strong positive sense-of-self. Research provides several ways that teachers that enhance a child's sense of self.

Research tells us that children choose activities they perceive to be valuable for themselves. They make decisions early about what they believe their talents are. In elementary grade levels children are more engaged in things they find enjoyable. Young children are often eager and excited to learn new things at school, but somewhere between third and ninth grade they become less intrinsically motivated to learn. This is believed to happen because children may feel less competent and shy away from activities when they begin comparing themselves to their peers.

Motivating students is crucial to keeping them engaged and learning. It is good to have extrinsic motivations in the classroom, such as praise and good grades. However, I want to also focus on intrinsic motivation by teaching children how to feel good about reaching their goals. Children typically have a wide variety of goals. Being happy and healthy, doing well in school, gaining popularity with peers, and many other possibilities. They are all important in developing their sense of self. I can help student's identify the goals they want to set for themselves, and teach thinking skills that will help them determine action steps in reaching their goals. I will teach students how to think about how to set and reach goals through various activities that can be done in their workbook and by examples. These techniques will be used when completing all class assignments and projects. They can evaluate their efforts and decide on what they could have done to do better. I will focus their attention on their feelings of enjoyment, satisfaction, and pride that their accomplishments bring.

Other ways I can encourage a positive sense of self in my teaching methods are by:
-Appealing to children's curiosity with new objects
-Incorporating adventure or fantasy
-Presenting puzzling phenomena
-Getting children physically involved in a topic
-Relating important skills and subject matter to their interests and goals
-Offering choices when several alternatives will be equally effective in acquiring skills
-And Identifying areas in which each child can be especially successful.