Standard 10, Survey of Instructional Methods, Behavioral Systems

“How can a teacher foster student self-esteem?”

In the classroom there are many ways to foster self esteem. In the early (E) childhood (C) education (E) classroom fostering self esteem particularly important, as having good self esteem in children leads to fewer absences, increased I.Q. scores, and better academic achievements (Rogers, N.D.). Having a positive outlook on oneself also increases such behaviors as independence and risk taking, behaviors that are needed in the classroom for success and also in life. Especially children who are at-risk need to have their self esteem boosted so that they learn to succeed in the classroom. One way to foster self esteem in the ECE, English language learning classroom is through play (Silver, 1999). Allowing children to play together forges bonds of friendship (Silver, 1999). Having friends helps children feel included and makes them more confident. As children do not necessarily have to talk during play this allows children to interact with others and to feel successful when engaging another person (Silver, 1999).

Another way that the teacher can directly affect the self-esteem of children in her classroom is through the use of “empathy, congruence and positive regard” (Rogers, N.D.) and this helps the children be seen in a different light than those of a teacher with low levels of empathy. Children can tell when a teacher has a low opinion of them and it is up to the teacher to ensure that they work to see all children in a positive and empathetic light. A teacher should respond to the children’s ideas and desires and support the child. If a teacher doesn’t listen to the children the message she sends is that the child’s ideas are unimportant. This leads to a lower self-esteem and keeps children from building a good self image (Rogers, N.D.).

Rogers, C. (n.d.). Teacher effects research on student self concept. Handout from EDU 6526, Seattle Pacific University, Feb. 23, 2015.

Silver, A. (1999). Play: a fundamental equalizer for ESL children. TESL CANADA JOURNAL/LA REVUE TESL DU CANADA, 16(2), 62-69.

Standard 3 – Action Research – Literature Review

I have just finished my research for my literature review. At least I hope I have. I had to do a lot of digging to find enough resources to complete the research. The basic findings that I have found are that very few people do any research at all concerning preschoolers and vocabulary development for ELLs. There is research that correlates to the development of primary school aged children, but not so much to that of the preschooler. There are also lots of techniques that are focused on writing to develop vocabulary. Obviously these will not work in a preschool classroom. I have found a few modifications that will be helpful when focusing on vocabulary building and also some research that shows teaching vocabulary in the native language for a target language is beneficial.

The modifications that I will be making will be more far reaching than I first imagined, and will include lots of teaching strategies that tie to vocabulary increase. These strategies are helpful on their own, but I am hoping that they will be stronger when paired with the PWIM strategy and will anchor the information and provide context for the students, rather than learning vocabulary in an educational vacuum. We will also be focusing on repeating the vocabulary as well as using it in multiple ways throughout the study.

Meta-Reflection Standard 2: Human Development

Standard 2: Analyze learning to promote student growth.

The standard for this course will center on creating and maintaining school-wide and classroom environments that are safe, stable, and empowering for all learners and teachers.

Piaget states that learning is a spontaneous process (Crain, 2011, p. 149). Children cannot and should not be pushed into learning that they are not ready for. Instead children “develop cognitive structures on their own” (Crain, 2011, p.149). This has always been a foundation of teacher training, Piaget is highly regarded in the educational community and his ideas have been at least considered by most professionals in the field. Piaget’s style of teaching is to let the child be an explorer, empowering them in the classroom.

In the beginning of this course my knowledge of the brain and how the brain functions was not very good. I had a basic idea of how the brain functions but not necessarily the understanding of brain function, growth and how our lifestyles affect learning. Knowing how the brain learns and grows and functions allows educators to use more specific teaching techniques and also to tailor their lessons to the needs of the students based on the environment around them. Knowing how the environment impacts learning is essential if education is to progress and develop to keep up with the modern world.

As a result of this course I have implemented several changes in my classroom already. Reducing stress and increasing movement and expanding the amount of sleep time that children get in the classroom have been beneficial (Medina, 2014) and the learning in the classroom is benefiting too.

The book Brain Rules by John Medina has impacted my thinking greatly. Learning about how the brain works gives a deeper understanding of why we do things that we do, and how to be an effective and empowering teacher. The Washington Department of Early Learning has many early childhood standards that mesh with the brain rules laid out by Medina, and understanding the reasoning behind these ideas makes them easier to implement and also gives a sense of purpose to the work that we are doing with young children.

There is a Ted Talk here  by Ken Robinson that we watched and raised a lot of conversation. In early childhood education, I feel like we have the type of freedom that this talk is referring to. The freedom to conduct our classrooms in a way that empowers our children, is safe, and effective. We allow our children to explore and come to conclusions on their own. We do not have to follow the handed out curriculum of the public schools system, but rather we can choose our own and if we can’t find the exact type of curriculum we want we are free to modify or create as we see fit. It is obvious that we need a new and better way to educate our children, but change comes slowly.

This was a valuable class, where we were able to talk about human development in a new light, instead of rehashing what we already know, we talked about subjects that incite us to change our way of looking at education and the children we teach. While researching and analyzing a portfolio assessment [Portfolio paper], I found that parental involvement in assessment is essential (SeokHon, 2006), this had never been an option before when assessing children to involve parents. However through research and finding that it is best to involve parents our school will be sending out an assessment piece for the parents to complete this year. Having impacted my work experience as well, I know that I will continue to reflect on this class for a while.

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of development concepts and applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

Robinson, K. (2010, October 14). RSA animate – changing education paradigms [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Medina, J. J. (2014). Brain rules (2nd ed.). Seattle, WA: Pear Press.

SeokHon, A. S. (2006). Parental involvement in child assessment: a dynamic approach. Australian Association for Research in Education International Conference. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED463876.pdf

Washington Department of Early Learning. (2009, August 28). ITEIP early intervention practice guide. Retrieved from http://www.del.wa.gov/publications/esit/docs/PracticeGuide_EvalIFSP45-daytimeline.pdf