This picture shows all the of influences that are involved in all of our lives and how important the interaction between a teacher and a student are in order to deal with these influences.
After reading Unit One,
Perspectives on Teaching, in our text Educational
Psychology, I believe I agree with embarking on action research when it
comes to perspectives on teaching and learning. I believe this process focuses on reflective teaching and
engages the teacher in getting to know their students on a more personal level.
“Action research is a reflective,
systematic inquiry that focuses on a relevant problem in teaching or learning
for the purpose of enacting meaningful change to address that problem” (Brighton, 2009, P. 10). This
perspective shows the teacher is willing to reflect on his or her teachings and
students, as well as being willing to take the time to make a change in order
to better the education of their students. I believe sometimes teachers are unwilling to change how
they are teaching their classes because it requires time, planning and
research. The example in our text
shows how much time Janice Templeton spent on a five-week unit in order to help
her disengaged students. She
identified the issue in her class, developed a plan, collected data, organized
the data she found, analyzed and drew conclusions from the data and finally
disseminated the findings. (Brighton, 2009, P. 12). The process of action research is no
simple task but the time that is spent is well worth the reward of seeing your
students grow and learn.
Although I do not disagree with any
of the perspectives on teaching and learning, I find the perspective of
supporting adolescents exposed to disaster to be the least important when it
comes to educating our youth. I
believe that all the perspectives that are covered in our text are important
and help our students grow and learning.
However, if teachers focus their time on the other four perspectives I
believe supporting adolescents who are exposed to disasters will take care of
itself through the other perspectives.
Teachers should begin to develop
open and meaningful relationships with their students from the start of the
school year. Students should be
able to feel comfortable to talk with their teachers about issues, however when
it comes to post-disaster support I believe students may need more intensive
support. “Although adolescents
look to school personnel for post-disaster support, they are also typically
reticent to utilize more specialized disaster mental health services” (Tatar & Aram, 2007)” (Jacobs, Vernberg & Lee, 2008, P. 17). Teachers
should be aware and ready to help students who are exposed to disaster but I
believe that the focus should lean more towards the other perspectives on
teaching and learning. Having students talk to a professional on disaster support would be more beneficial for the student in such a critical time.
Although I agree with one
perspective and disagree with another after reading our text one perspective
stuck out to me in a concerning way.
Are teachers given the chance to teach with awareness? I began to question how many teachers
are actually taking the time to understand their students not only in the
classroom but in their lives outside of the classroom as well. Also is it always the teachers fault
they do not know their students?
“Increased demands on teachers make
teaching with awareness a challenge.
Expectations for students performance can overshadow other aspects of
classroom life” (Sitler, 2009, P. 15). I believe that there has been so much added pressure
on teachers to teach to the test that there is no longer anytime for the
teachers to get to know their students. Teachers are expected to get through an extensive
amount of information in a very short time. This leaves no time to stop and ask why students like Laurie
aren’t doing their homework or why students like Will are disengaged during
class (Sitler,2009, p. 13-16).
The teaching with awareness article
in our text made me think back to my time in high school and college. Were the teachers who let students
struggle and get left behind bad teachers or were they trying to dish out all
the information in fear of testing and scores or were the teachers who took the
time to get to know their students aware teachers or were they just not
concerned with covering the material. It's hard to say which is true or if teachers are even looking into the matter that much.
I do believe that some teachers truly
care for their students and want to know and help them in and out of school but
requirements have made it so there is no time to focus on the student as a
whole anymore. Teachers are made
to only focus on academics when in reality teachers are the ones spending most
of the day with our youth. It is
up to our teachers to develop our student not just academically but physical,
emotionally and socially. Schools
need to allow for time when teachers can get to know their students and
understand where they come from and the struggles they have.
References
Brighton, C.M. (2009) Educational Leadership:
Embarking on Action Research, pages 40-44
Cauley,
K.M., & Pannozzo, G.M. (Eds.). (2013). Annual Editions: Educational Psychology 12/13 (27th
ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Sitler, H.C. (2009) The Clearing House:
Teaching with Awareness the Hidden Effects of Trauma on Learning, pages 119-123
Jacob, Vernberg, Lee. (2008) The Prevention
Researcher: Supporting Adolescents Exposed to Disasters, pages 7-10.
Links:
http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/actionresearch/arhome.htm
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