My Technology & Engineering Classes

Technology & Engineering Curriculum

In my classroom, students study the subtopics of Technology and Engineering as outlined by the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks. The focus is on the past, present, and future aspects of various technologies and using the engineering design process to solve related problems and challenges. The class covers several topics of Technology and Engineering as well as emphasizing the Engineering Design Process. The units that we focus on are Transportation, Communication, and Construction. Instruction in the classroom comes in multiple forms whether it be readings, class lectures, discussions, experiments, group projects, or hands-on activities, students are always actively learning.

Rules, Policies, and Procedures

Required Materials

Every class, you should bring your: Pencils/Pens, iPad, all completed assignments

Class Expectations

• Come to class prepared. Keep your materials organized.
• Participate in class discussions; remember to raise your hand.
• Listen and be respectful to others; when someone is talking you’re not. This same courtesy applies when you are talking.
• Conduct yourself in a responsible manner during any experiment or demonstration.
• Follow all written and verbal instructions. If you do not understand the instructions, ask the teacher.
• Do not touch any tools, machines, or materials without permission from the teacher. Handle all tools with care.
• Give your best effort!

School Expectations

1. Respect yourself and others.

2. Follow the rules.

3. Put effort into every class, every day.

Meeting Diverse Needs in my Classroom

Classroom Management

Challenges & Triumphs

Challenges

Throughout my teaching practicum I have experienced many challenges. The biggest challenge I have faced is the lack of motivation to do work. I have multiple students per class who will just come into class, take a seat, and refuse to do any work. Those students were very easy to identify at the beginning of my experience, so now I can focus more on them during class. These are the students I check-in with most often and I also break instructions down even further for them. Strategies like these have been successful in most cases, however it is still a challenge I faced everyday.

Another big challenge is cheating. Cheating happens daily in almost every class. There's a lot of copying off of each others' papers. I've administered three quizzes so far and there has been an instance of cheating during each of them. Students will ask to go to the bathroom, or they'll get up to hand in their quiz and return back to their seat after seeing another student's answers, or sometimes they'll even whisper to the person next to them for answers. If I do see any cheating happening, I address the student(s) immediately and alter their grade on the assessment accordingly. To try to prevent cheating, one strategy that I like to use while students are taking an assessment is walking around the classroom every two or three minutes. By doing this, I am more aware of where all students are on the assessment, but it also deters students from cheating. To address cheating on classwork or homework, I state the issue with the situation to the student(s) and I take away the source that they are cheating off of.

An unexpected challenge was the battle of online teaching as a result of COVID-19 which is further explained here.

Triumphs

As far as triumphs in the classroom, I think I have been very lucky to have a great group of students. Although they challenge me every single day with new situations, the connections I have built with the students in my classroom are amazing. Building connections was definitely one of my biggest challenges at the beginning of my practicum. My Supervising Practioner (SP) taught all of my students last year as seventh graders, so he already had connections formed with the majority of the students. It took a few weeks, but I finally overcame the loyalty and trust obstacles by saying "Hello" to students as they walk into the classroom, relating class material to their personal interests, and addressing their personal concerns. When I started the semester with these students, I really didn't think I would have connections with as many students as I do, but as weeks go by students just keep getting more and more comfortable with me being their teacher.

Further discussing the connections I have made in the classroom, I have seen improvements in both academic and social success in some of the students who have been struggling in other classes. I think one of the key reasons for these strong connections are the similarities between me and the students. Although the seven year age difference seems like a lot to the students and I, we do have similar experiences from our past, so we like to discuss those, but they also like asking me for advice for their future.

Community & Family Engagement

During my first week of student teaching, I attended a meeting about a particular student's academic and social successes and struggles. This student's parents, teachers, guidance counselor, and special education specialist were present at this meeting. We came up with some methods and strategies to help this student be more successful both academically and socially. I personally thought that this meeting was interesting because it was very eye-opening to hear the struggles this student had at home. After getting a better understanding of this student's background and home life, we as teachers were able to help him more in the classroom by frequently checking in and giving him more assistance with assignments.

Professional Development

Over the course of my five months of student teaching I attended a few professional developments. The one I enjoyed the most was the WPI's STEM for All. This PD had a focus on culturally responsive teaching strategies and practices. After attending this PD, I reflected more on how I could be more culturally responsive in my classroom and what I needed to change to make more students feel comfortable in my classroom.