Frisbee Reflection 4

Review – What did you learn?

            Deficiency orientation focuses on the deficiencies that a student brings into the classroom and how these deficiencies have an effect on the performance of the student in the class. This type of deficiency allows the teacher to not take responsibility for the student’s poor performance by placing the blame on the family, economic status, etc. The teacher does not change the way instruction is presented in the class.

            In difference orientation the teacher does not focus on the deficiencies and does not place blame on the deficiencies. The teacher looks at the strengths that the student brings to the classroom and looks at ways to build on these strengths. The teacher must make changes to adapt to the students in the classroom to create a safe and engaging learning environment.

            Learning styles involve the physical setting, social settings, learning senses and cognitive learning styles. Some of the learning style inventories include: Edmonds Learning Style Identification Exercise (ELSIE), Kolb Learning Style Inventory, Hidden Figures Test, Learning Styles Inventory, Paragraph Completion Method, Gregorc Learning Styles Model and Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles Inventory. These inventories help us better understand the learning styles of our students.

            Gardner’s learning intelligences are ways of looking at things around us that can help us learn. These include: linguistic, logical-Mathematical, spatial, interpersonal, musical, bodily kinesthetic, intrapersonal and naturalist intelligences.

Reflect – What did it mean to you?

            I’ve never heard of the terms deficiency orientation or difference orientation but am glad to know that my approach to my students falls in the difference orientation category. Although I don’t get quite as involved with the families of my students I do try to look at the good that they bring to the classroom and how I can help make them successful in my class. I’ve never been one to blame their parents, income level, cultural upbringing or anything else that could impact their knowledge at the time they are in my class. I tend to believe they are my students and my goal is to help them master the course AKS and become lifelong learners.

            I do believe a teachers’ attitude toward his/her students can impact the student’s desire to succeed in the classroom. We’ve all known teachers who’ve shut down relationships with students before the student even gets a chance to show what they know. Students are very perceptive when it comes to knowing if their teachers care about them or if they come with preconceived expectations about their performance in their class.

            Of course we’ve all been taught Gardner’s seven types of intelligence but I must say looking at them again has given me reason to reflect on my classroom teaching. How many of these do I take into consideration when planning my lessons? I use the GCPS Quality Plus Teaching Strategies daily and they are referred to as I plan my daily lessons but have I forgotten about the different learning intelligences?

           

Refine – How will you use the information in your classroom?

            I will continue to look at what my students can do and use their strengths as ways of building confidence and engagement in the classroom. I think I will conduct a survey to gather information about my students and use this information to help me better understand some of their cultural differences and what they feel their strengths are. I have conducted surveys before and used the information to write problems on topics that my students have listed as interested to help engage them in the problems we are solving and I will continue to do this.

            I will place a copy of Gardner’s intelligences in my planning book along with my QPTS. I will begin incorporating some of these intelligences in my lessons. Being a math teacher I often teach to the logical-mathematical intelligence using patterns to understand the concepts taught in class and I do try to use spatial reasoning when solving application problems but how can I incorporate the other intelligences? This will be a personal goal of mine for this school year.