Open Mic

I want to use this open mic time to express my views as a student which always spills over to my roles as a teacher. As a student, I have never taken such a straightforward class as NTI. The benefits and results of my studies with this group of professors are overwhelming. They have all been perfect role models and in every lesson have first shown us exactly what they wanted. Lesson Plans have never come as easy as they do now and that’s saying a lot with the HSTE curriculum. Additionally, their behavior towards the class, always available, willing to give a second chance, always pleasant, have been an excellent example for me and has taught me to assume a more productive role with my students. I have seen a major difference in my students this year and I truly believe that it is a result of what I have been taught at NTI. I keep saying I wish I had done this class the first year, but I sometimes wonder if I would have valued it as much as I do now.

Teaching Reflection

My hope is that I am developing as a master teacher, although not quite there yet, I have made great strides in that direction. The last two weeks have been interesting, and as a matter of fact did include a couple of things that greatly boosted my confidence. The first was an unexpected visit to my classroom from some Dekalb county officials regarding my move to cross keys. After a short discussion related to the move, one of the gentleman commended me on the fact that my students were on task and that it was one of the few classes he had visited that day where he felt learning was taking place as it should. He apparently also made comments to the principal about my classroom which she shared with me the following day. The second was a project set up by the work based learning coordinator to market our programs. Students from the surrounding area were invited to attend our classes and be given presentations by our students. In the midst of preparing for clinical rotations, HOSA competitions and Nursing Assistant certification, I was to prepare my students to teach the students attending our classroom. I discussed this with my students and we agreed collectively that they would continue learning their skills for clinical but would allow the visiting students opportunity to perform skills after they were demonstrated. We were told that we would have approximately 10 students at a time and the students would rotate to other classes every 90 minutes: However, at one point there were 45 students (including my students) in my class at one time and somehow it worked out. My students were on point, one partnership kept a group of 6 students busy at the sink demonstrating techniques for cleaning dentures, while others demonstrated oral care on each other and shaving on mannequins. It was amazing to watch my students do this so efficiently. To be able to adapt to this unexpected situation in this manner was surely a milestone for me.

Survey

I have completed the evaluation. Thanks for the opportunity.

E Portfolio

I am using Live Text to create my portfolio this semester and it has been a very rewarding experience. Live Text seems to be extremely easy, probably because Jessie has done all of the work. The standards and templates are accessible and ready for editing. I know that this can only provide a positive addition to my professional growth. I plan to use the portfolio to take a look at myself in addition to the evidence it may hold for others. I also plan to become familiar with and utilize Google so that I will be able to assist my students in the future to utilize an e portfolio. Since Google is free, it will become the chosen one for my students. I stress the importance of the ability to “sell yourself”, to my students all the time. And of course, one of the ways is through a portfolio that provides evidence of their accomplishments.

Elluminate

Designing a course for Elluminate would offer significant challenges for high school students. Although I believe that any course could be adapted to this technological format, the considerations for general population students would be enormous. First of all, the things I would need to consider; internet access, computer literacy, responsibility, dependability and of course training. Secondly, knowledge and assessment of the individual students would be an important detail in the initial planning phases of an elluminate course. Finally, Healthcare Science as the subject matter will offer a few challenges of its own as well as the high school setting itself. Considering all of these factors, I would be most likely to utilize this as a combination course, live dates and elluminate dates, and with advanced level students only.

The types of activities that I would like to use would include groups, small groups, whole group discussions, brainstorming, panel discussions, lecture, student presentation and group projects. I am not so sure how videos work within this environment but I would use it if adaptable. There are many positive attributes of Elluminate; however, I have difficulty visualizing the program for high school students. I think that it could allow a more detailed or in debt coverage of Healthcare Science theory, especially for the introductory courses. Additionally the technology at hand could improve student accessibility and utilization of technical tools for group projects and presentations. Ultimately, Elluminate has been a wonderful experience for me and has given me additionall insight into the technological advancements that are available to us.

Counselor Interview

I expect to gain valuable insight into a counselor’s roles and responsibilities. I believe that knowledge is power and in the end will always be an asset. Since I am not in a traditional school, I have given quite a bit of thought to this project and appropriate questions to ask my counselor. She has already been helpful in many ways some probably traditional and some could be a stretch, I am actually unsure. I have had a couple of students who were homeless and she has helped them in many ways. She has asked me to assist students that were badly in need of “extra help” in order to graduate.
I have seen her be very tough on a student with a tremendous amount of absenteeism, but yet she gave him another chance. I really learned something from that encounter.

The interview questions hopefully will elicit the information I need to improve my program. For instance, one question that I cannot wait to ask is “How is the information about my program communicated to other counselors? I have had many students tell me that their counselors or advisors knew nothing of my program and others have told me that they were told it didn’t exist. On another occasion, I had a student placed in my class after two thirds of the program was complete and the student was seeking certification and was told she could catch up. SOooooooooo………I expect improvement.

Lavoie Videos

Rick Lavoie videos have influenced my thinking and actions in multiple ways.
For the first time, I felt that I was able to actually experience what the students with special needs experience on a daily basis. The concepts seemed so simple once they were explained in terms that I could relate to as an adult. Sometimes we forget to view actions and problems from the perspective of our students. Difficult as it may be sometimes, it is the pathway to understanding the pain these students experience. I especially love the self esteem portions of the lesson and the illustrative example of the poker chips. Additionally the adolescent lesson was invaluable. I knew the stressors associated with being a teenager and that being embarrassed about nearly any and every thing associated with adults was first and foremost the driving force for most misconduct. Mr. Lavoie brought this back to the forefront in my memory bank.
Thanks NTI for the opportunity…I plan to purchase the series

Reflection 1st Semester

I never thought I would say this but the area with the most improvement has been classroom management. Posting the rules the first day and repeating them over and over and over has really taken care of some issues. Also, for the most part, I have managed incidences much differently than in the past. Now, every once in a while I forget and try to regress but not often. Lab Management has also improved somewhat but is still challenging in some instances. Space restraints require close proximity in some instances which lends itself to excessive talking and noise and sometimes control. However, I am working with rearranging for next semester to avoid this situation as much as possible.
The biggest culprit for me this semester has been time management. I have used many of the strategies that were taught in NTI which have often taken more time than allotted. Perhaps as I become more adjusted to the group activities and so forth, I will obtain more insight into the amount of time required. Overall it has been a great 1st Semester.

Online Course Study

I have enjoyed the online modules exuberantly and the face to face sessions as well. I have taken courses that were totally online in the past. I am generally disciplined and can usually get my work done expeditiously. The modules were excellent and well planned, it was easy to receive help from the instructors as needed and I enjoyed the freedom of scheduling that it gave me. Online work requires good planning and organization for successful results. These elements have assisted me in developing those areas. The classroom sessions were equally good as was the entire NTI experience. You have a real fan here.

Contacting Parents Choice 2

My school does not have a formal policy or format to follow regarding contacting parents although sometimes I wish they did. However, we are advised to contact parents whenever the student has missed 3 days consecutively. This is sometimes very confusing to the parents and to us since we are not the “home school” in most cases. The confusion occurs, for the most part, as a result of poor communication from the home school to our Technical Center where the students attend half day sessions. In many cases the “home school” has held the student in homeroom, for test prompting, student activities, senior pictures, senior breakfast, in house suspension and various other reasons too numerous to name. A brief example is as follows: I called this parent to let her know her daughter had missed three days and I had no idea why. The mother screamed in my ear that I was the third teacher to call her and she was astounded that we did not know what was going on at our own schools. I gathered myself and responded that her child was such a good student and I was sincerely worried about her and had not received any information regarding her absences. The mother then told me that we (the school system) had suspended her daughter resulting in a jail term. Her daughter had been sentenced 60 daysand bail was unobtainable for this parent. I understood after the fact, offered my help and support and hung up furious that I did not have this information in advance of this call.

Open "Mic"

Thanks to NTI at GSU, I have had a much better school year than in the past. I have felt more prepared and much more in charge of my life in general. Various contributory factors have improved my year. Because of proper planning and organizational fortitude, my first week was a charm. Having a list to begin the year was important as well as the lesson plans for my first nine weeks. Another example of improvement has been classroom management, something I certainly have struggled with in the past. As we learned this summer having the rules spelled out where the students can see them, has been most helpful. As always I have some students that misbehave, but it is much easier now to get them back on track. Lab management planning was another item high on my list of improvements. Utilizing the students in designated positions has been helpful to me and fun for the students as well.

Challenge

What do you mean name one challenge in classroom management or laboratory? The whole thing is a major challenge. However if I have to isolate one major element, it would be professional behavior. How do you instill the importance of professionalism in the work place to teenagers? Although I have a pretty well behaved group overall, I still have students with the tendency of playfulness, especially the boys. Additionally I believe that a few are uninterested participants. As soon as I turn my back to help a group that is having difficulty, the horseplay starts. I have posted classroom and lab rules and asked for signed contracts. I generally have the student in violation read me the rule that they violated which curtails the behavior somewhat but not exclusively. Students in violation are respectful and obedient when caught; and it is not always the same student, although one of my special needs students is often involved. I have spoken with his specialist and he has offered suggestions from time to time that have not been effective. The disruptions although manageable are still draining on class time and effectiveness. I am open to all suggestions.

Comments to Connie

Connie, I thought your comments were very philosophical. I do agree with the comments in some respect. However it is also human to feel sadness and happiness when your beliefs are inaccurate. I also agree that this was a chaotic week. I am glad that HOSA went well for you as it did for me. It sounds like your students behaved very well as did most of the students in attendance. I was pleasantly surprised by my male students that attended in that they behaved like real gentleman. They are so playful at times, I wasn’t sure how they would behave on this trip, but as you stated just giving them the benefit of the doubt sometimes is all that is needed. Go MAXWELL wow.

comment to Shellee

My regular classes are 3 hour blocks and I too struggle with management. It seems that I usually plan too much for the students to work on, however, this does seem to limit the time they have to spend on talking and misbehavior. I usually start them with a writing task, then some type of computer assignment, then lecture and demonstration. If they have labs, on these days, they would return demonstrations and then work under the direction of team leaders with me supervising all groups. If this is not a lab day, I give them complex scenarios to work out as a small group or cooperative group. I still use the team leaders to facilitate their groups and again continue to monitor all groups. I used cooperative groups for the first time this week and it did work well. Again they did not quite finish the product but they did not have time for idle talk.