Application of Developmental Theories to Education

Part 1. Purpose

My classroom will be a place of respect. It will provide an inclusive and safe environment that will encourage students to learn. Students are to play an active role in their learning and are also expected to respect each other and the teacher.
Our classroom will foster positive interactions with safe and open communication between students and teachers alike. All individuals shall be respected and respectful of the differences of others. Our classroom will become a community of learners encouraging one another’s personal and academic success.

In our classroom we will obey all the rules, be respectful, be organized, and create a safe and positive learning environment. All students will do their best and be successful in all they do.

Part 2. The Learner

1. Age and Developmental Characteristics

Infants and Toddlers

Preschool

School Aged

2. Diversity

In every classroom there will be all types of diversities. A few examples of different types of diversity are: students come from all different racial, ethical, and religious backgrounds. As a teacher it is our job to treat every student equally no matter what kind of background they come from. Some students in our classroom may be originally from a different country and may not speak English; but we have to make accommodations to make sure this child can learn and succeed. In our classrooms we will also have students with different learning disabilities. We have to these into consideration when we plan our lesson making sure we make modifications to help ensure the childs needs are being met.

Through out the textbook Comprehensive Classroom Management Creating Communities of Support and Solving Problems, the authors Vern and Louise Jones gathered reasearch and wrote about diversity in the classroom in several chapters. Here is the important information that I found that will assist in having a well managed classroom with a diverse student body.

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When teachers begin a new school year it is important to get to know who the students are. It is important to get an understanding of their background so a teacher can apply this knowledge to their classroom management. The textbook has a quote from Shevalier and McKenzie’s (2012) review on culturally responsive teaching that shares where classroom management arose from. It quotes “classroom management arose from a family-like community defined by a shared vocabulary, with all responsible to one another to do the right thing”.

By communicating with the students and their families the teacher learns what is and is not accepted or taught at home. Learning what is accepted in their culture will guide the teacher in how to apply the lesson to the class. Students that move to the United States may have different interpretations of gestures and words and it is important for teachers to know this so no students are offended or class is disrupted.

Another important area of a student’s background is where they live. Being aware of student’s home life and if they live in poverty areas helps the teachers learn to establish a postitive learning environment. The textbook discusses the article “A Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching” written by Raymond Wlodkowski and Margery Ginsberg. (1995) It discusses in poverty areas a learning environment has to emphasize intrinsic motivation. The atmosphere that is created has students and teachers respecting each other, making what is taught relavent to the students, having creative learning experiences that include student’s input, and making students feel that they are effective in learning something they value.

Where students live and what cultures they come from are not the only things that cover classroom diversity. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) teachers are to include students with Kathleen Slamka 3 both physical and learning disablities in the general education classroom. Working with in their IEP team it is important for teachers to make these students feel they are competent to participate in class. They need to be treated the same as the other students and to be an effective teacher you need to consider this and work it into your lesson plans.

When becoming a teacher it is important for teachers not to just learn how to teach but understand who they are teaching. Classroom diversity is an important part of good classroom mangement. When a teacher goes that extra mile to become involved in students life then the students will succeed under their care

3. Motivation and High Expectations

• Causes of Low Motivation in Students

1. Pressure – Some students respond negatively to pressure and avoid participation because of fear of failure. They appear not to care but are using this to cover their anxiety.
2. Low Classroom Expectations – Teachers having poor attitudes and does not focus on student’s needs and mutual respect.
3. Lack Of Home Support- Parents are less invloved in the student’s learning and show a lack of importance toward education.
4. Low income parents- Parents are working more and not home enough to meet childs personal and emotional needs. Parents may not make much therefore students are left with little food and clothes that are worn out or outgrown.
5. Low Self Esteem Students- have low self image and see themselves not capable and tasks to hard for them. They avoid doing tasks for fear.

According to our textbook (2016), one of the main components of creating high motivation and expectations is creating a safe, calm, and healthy classroom environment. If students feel like they are safe and cared for, they more than likely will do their best. Students can come from all different backgrounds and home lives and it is our job as teachers to take that worry away from them and make them feel safe and loved at school. Another component is making students feel like they can accomplish anything they set their minds to.

Some things that organize our thinking about motivation are: Intrinsic Value, which is a student’s interest or enjoyment with engaging in a task; Attainment Value, which is when a student feels like they can achieve or accomplish a task; and Utility Value, which is when the students feel like what they are learning and doing will benefit their career one day.

Teachers feel that student don’t see the value in learning the curriculums taught in the classroom. As teachers, we have to create a learning environment that establishes inclusion, develops attitude, enhances meaning, and engenders competence. We have to create a classroom environment where everyone feels respected and valued including the teachers and students; we have to try our best to create a favorable disposition for learning through their personal relevance, we have to create learning that is challenging, and we need to make students feel like they are learning about something they value.

Finally, students that are low motivators need help understanding the value of their learning goals, understand the learning process, be involved in the process, have goals, experience success, self-evaluate, receive appropriate rewards, and experience a safe and well-organized learning environment.

4. Academic Learning Goals

5. Teacher’s responsibility regarding safety

Creating a safe classroom environment is one of the key factors for a successful classroom, and it is very important for the students. A lot of classroom problems can be prevented by creating a safe and positive environment for the students. Research has indicated that when students perceive their relationships with their teachers and peers to be positive and supportive their motivation and positive behavior increases dramatically. Students’ academics will be enhanced when the teacher takes time to respond to the students’ psychological and personal needs. Creating a safe environment for students will benefit their social, mental, physical, and spiritual needs. A student will always remember a teacher who took the time to get to know them and cared about them.

6. Alabama Educator Code of Ethics

7. Important Laws for Teachers

Bullying Laws

Alabama has anti-bullying laws and policies. The Student Harassment Prevention Act was signed by Bob Riley on May 29, 2009. Cyberbullying is included in these laws. According to Alabama’s Student Harassment Prevention Act says that research confirms that victims of school bullying and harassment suffer detrimental psychological problems that could lead to suicide, behavioral problems, and lower levels of academic achievement. As teachers it is our job to make sure our students are not being bullied, and if we see bullying to take certain protocols to resolve the bullying.

No student shall engage in or be sujected to harassment, violence, threats of violence, or intimidation by any other student that is based on any of the specific characteristics

that have been identified by the board in this policy. Students who violate this policy will be suject to disciplinary sanctions.

IDEA

• IDEA is the Individuals with Disablities Education Act. This act ensures services for students with disabilities. They provide special education and intervention to students who need the help.

IDEA is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities

Due Process

• According to myaea Students first Act was adopted by the legislature during the 2011 regular session. This act imposed a new tenure system and education support professionals in Alabama.Teachers have the right to hear and contest charges that are placed against the before they lose their jobs. Teachers have a right to a hearing and have the right to appeal the hearing’s findings.

Discipline of Special Needs Students

• According to IDEA, students with disabilities can be suspended or expelled for violating the schools code of conduct. There are some procedures though, the length of time and type of action, the nature of the conduct that led to the action, and whether it is connected to the student’s disability. These situations are handled case by case.

Dress

• Teachers are to dress professionally and by their schools dress code policy. Every school district is different in what they have their teachers to wear.

FERPA

• FERPA is the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. It is to ensure that parents have access to their children’s educational records and to protect the privacy rights of parents and children by limiting access to these records without parental consent.

Works Cited Page

Denton,Paula, Kriete, Roxann. A Conflict Resolution Protocol for Elementary

Classrooms. Creducation.Retrieved from

http://web.archive.org/web/20081031103405/http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/pdf_files/feature_10.pdf

Jones, Vernon, Jones, Louise. Comprehensive Classroom Management Eleventh Edition

p. 4, 49-50, 172-174, 298-299.

Alex.State.al.us>stop bullying>mode

Http://alex.state.al.us/leadership/Alabama_Educator_Code of_Ethics.pdf

http://www.Idea.ed.gov

http://www.myaea.org

Http://www.brighthubededucation.com/teaching-methods-tips/19619-advantages-of-group-work-in-the-class/

Due Process Laws Vary for Teachers by State. (2014, September 23). Retrieved November 24, 2015,

from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/09/24/05tenure.h34.html