Classroom Assessment

Are you making connections between course topics and Service Learning?

Yes
Have you been able to articulate your own learning and understanding?   

Yes
Is the process of blogging helping you to think and notice things in your Service Learning?  

Yes it is. I think about the things we have learned during the course and find joy in finding connections or noticing things the teacher does that we have been taught to do. When I write the blogs I am able to reflect and remember things the teacher did and am able to make connections later if I didn't notice it while I was in the class. 
In what areas do you see growth or learning from the first blog post to the last?  

The first blog post I didn't know anything about the classroom or how students learn, I didn't know the best ways to create a productive learning environment, and I definitely didn't know very much about the the history of education in America. From my first blog post all I knew was who the teacher was and where the school was located. I have learned a lot both from this course and from being in the classroom getting hands on experience.  

Standards and Accountability

Everyday I have gone into my service learning classroom I have seen the standards being addressed throughout her lessons during the day, especially in reading and math. With math the students have worksheets to work on, games to play and other interactive materials that help them learn the specific standard, same with reading and writing. The teacher has an specific program that she has been asked to use on her ipad that helps her test students with reading, the program helps her group her students into different levels of reading as well. I have mostly been in the classroom during math, english, and have been there a few times for physical education. I have not seen science addressed, fine arts, or social studies and that might simply be because I am not there during that time of day when it is the focus, however I have noticed when she is teacher one subject she ties in things they have taught from other standards which has been fun to see.

I know my teacher really likes the program on her ipad that she uses for standardized testing with reading and has found it extremely helpful but I know there are other programs that teachers have been asked to use that are not as helpful/enjoyable for their classrooms and they feel that it is not a good program to help with standardized testing. My service learning teacher understands and recognizes that the standards are helpful for both her and her students, the standards can help her know what her students need to know at certain points in their education and there are great resources available to help teach each standard. 

Diversity in Today's Schools

The classroom I am in where I am doing my service learning has quit the diversity. We have students who are ELL students, we have students who struggle with different subjects due to different learning disabilities, we have students who have physical needs that we have to be aware of, and students who simply come from very different family backgrounds. The teacher is aware of each of these needs and addresses them in different ways, she does this by grouping students into different groups for learning centers, she does a great job at modeling exactly what she wants the students to learn/do and doesn't just get up and lecture. She also asses the students regularly to track their progress, and she has IEP meetings where she talks with the special education teacher and the students parents. 

The teacher in my service learning classroom uses differentiating instruction for the diverse learners in her classroom by grouping students into groups by ability for assessments. She also uses differentiating instruction through the arrangement of her classroom, she has the students sit at desks in groups, and her classroom is very colorful. I have seen her present instructions through auditory and visual means, and I have also seen her give students the opportunity to express the things they have learned, she is able to give quick feed back and spend time with small groups to re-teach an idea if they are struggling. 

HIstory of American Education

Do you see support for English learners? Yes I feel that there is support for English learners in the school I am at. There are a handful of students where English is not their first language. The English learner students are pulled out of the classroom during a specific time to get the extra help they need. If it wasn't for the Brown v. Board of Education act and the No Child Left Behind act we would not see this in our schools today. 

What landmark decision does that come from? The Lau vs Nichols case lead to the Equal Educational Opportunites Act of 1974 where students were allowed the same educational opportunites; race, color, sex, or national origin no longer mattered.

What are you seeing in your service-learning experience that is a result of Brown v. Board? Because of Brown v. Board of education we now see diversity within our schools. In the classroom where I am doing my service learning we have quit the diverse classroom which is wonderful. The students all get along and race, color, sec, or national origin does not matter. All of the students in her classroom and in the school have equal educational rights. I can't imagine a school being any different but before the Brown v. Board of Education schools were very different.