InTASC Reflection
The third InTASC deals with the teacher creating and working towards an environment for the students in which they are supported in their effort to learn both individually and collaboratively and in which they are actively engaged in their own personal development and their learning. This means that we, as teachers, have to create an environment that fosters the students not exclusively to but while they are acquiring content.
The classroom environment is something that the students have very little choice to be in; they are told to come to school and if I understand correctly, it may be their legal obligation to be enrolled in a school. The lack of choice for them makes it all the more imperative that those who are in control of this environment makes it worth their while. A teacher’s classroom should be a means of organized development, of organized instruction. I may go so far as to say it is not unlike a sort of organized life with concentrations in various content areas. This runs especially true for Foreign Language classrooms as the students are learning about another language, another group of people who live a certain way and have different behaviours than what the students are used to.
As a Spanish teacher I would use the instruction of language both as a means to understand the larger culture at hand and to understand the language itself for the sake of language. Creating an environment that would motivate the students to be interested in learning about this new group of people and the language that they speak is inherently interesting but currently lacks a day to day relevance in the students’ lives. I cannot make Spanish relevant to their daily lives if it already is not a part of them. What I can do, however, is create an environment that makes Spanish so appealing that the students may one day decide to incorporate it into their lives. I would do this through unwavering and genuine enthusiasm for the language and the cultures that go with it but I would also support them in understanding the difficulty in acquiring a language at an age other than young childhood. Language is incredibly dynamic; it involves speaking, interpreting, writing, and reading. Students may have varied success in any of these language modes but probably not in all of them. Because of this the necessity to vary the language instruction is even greater. Different activities/entire lessons must vary in which modes are being practised and emphasized for the sake of learning how dynamic language is but also for the sake of the student’s sanity. It can be frustrating to be expected to practise any one of these modes for an extended period of time at the lower levels of language learning.
In my classroom I would also create an environment that encourages both individual and collaborative development. Language is a system of thought that is not exclusively used for communication but mostly manifests as communication. This means that although the balance would lean towards more emphasis on communication, individual thought in that language is a valid use of the language, if not even more so than communication. This would mean that the classroom environment have yet another linguistic based balance of language use that would give some kids a much needed break from actively verbally communicating with those around them.
This InTASC is one of great importance. The environment that the students find themselve sin must be one that fosters their development and their acquisition of content. As little as possible in such an environment can deter them from being interested in the content and actively trying to do well and respect both the teacher and their fellow classmates.
The classroom environment is something that the students have very little choice to be in; they are told to come to school and if I understand correctly, it may be their legal obligation to be enrolled in a school. The lack of choice for them makes it all the more imperative that those who are in control of this environment makes it worth their while. A teacher’s classroom should be a means of organized development, of organized instruction. I may go so far as to say it is not unlike a sort of organized life with concentrations in various content areas. This runs especially true for Foreign Language classrooms as the students are learning about another language, another group of people who live a certain way and have different behaviours than what the students are used to.
As a Spanish teacher I would use the instruction of language both as a means to understand the larger culture at hand and to understand the language itself for the sake of language. Creating an environment that would motivate the students to be interested in learning about this new group of people and the language that they speak is inherently interesting but currently lacks a day to day relevance in the students’ lives. I cannot make Spanish relevant to their daily lives if it already is not a part of them. What I can do, however, is create an environment that makes Spanish so appealing that the students may one day decide to incorporate it into their lives. I would do this through unwavering and genuine enthusiasm for the language and the cultures that go with it but I would also support them in understanding the difficulty in acquiring a language at an age other than young childhood. Language is incredibly dynamic; it involves speaking, interpreting, writing, and reading. Students may have varied success in any of these language modes but probably not in all of them. Because of this the necessity to vary the language instruction is even greater. Different activities/entire lessons must vary in which modes are being practised and emphasized for the sake of learning how dynamic language is but also for the sake of the student’s sanity. It can be frustrating to be expected to practise any one of these modes for an extended period of time at the lower levels of language learning.
In my classroom I would also create an environment that encourages both individual and collaborative development. Language is a system of thought that is not exclusively used for communication but mostly manifests as communication. This means that although the balance would lean towards more emphasis on communication, individual thought in that language is a valid use of the language, if not even more so than communication. This would mean that the classroom environment have yet another linguistic based balance of language use that would give some kids a much needed break from actively verbally communicating with those around them.
This InTASC is one of great importance. The environment that the students find themselve sin must be one that fosters their development and their acquisition of content. As little as possible in such an environment can deter them from being interested in the content and actively trying to do well and respect both the teacher and their fellow classmates.
Artifact: Classroom Management Plan
Please click the button to the right to learn about the artifact that accompanies this InTASC.
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