Academic Portfolio of Kacee Forte

LRS 100

Table of Contents

Introduction

Artifact 1- Protocol #1

Artifact 2- Funds of Knowledge

Artifact 3- Multiple Intelligence Reflection

Artifact 4- Teaching Philosophy

Artifact 5- I am From Poem Introduction:

Welcome to my LRS 100 Web Portfolio. Compiled in here I have put several pieces of work pertaining to different subjects and questions we asked ourselves throughout this semester. Enjoy!

Artifact 1 Reflection 1:

Who are I choose my first protocol for this artifact because it shows how children as things might needed to be taught in an untraditional way in order for developmental some children to understand the concepts. Also it shows that there is learners? more than one way that children learn. Artifact 2 Reflection 2:

What are the I chose my funds of knowledge for this because in that project I many ways in analyzed how someone learned and the things that influenced it. It which children this project I observed this person in several different social and learn? formal settings and then recorded what I saw. Below is my personal reflections on what I observed. How do I record and analyze student learning?

What are the I chose this because I really learned a lot about myself through these things that multiple intelligence tests. I think that it is important to understand influence my how we learn so that we are better able to articulate ourselves and learning? better teach. Below is a short reflection on my learning styles and what I think about it. What are my learning styles? Artifact 4 Reflection 4:

How have my I used this piece of work because I think it really demonstrates observations everything I’ve learned and why my teacher philosophy is important and ideas about to me, also how my observations new ideas influenced it. learning influences my theoretical and philosophies about teaching and learning?

I chose this as my last artifact because I really liked the results of how it turned out. I also really liked it because it was the first thing we did for this class. I’ve gone on to share this with my family and friends and several of them have written one as well. I like that it gives you a pick into everyone’s lives. Artifact one:

PROTOCOL: Social Organization of Learning

Date: November 17, 2005 Observer: Kacee Forte’ Site: Welby Way Elementary (Magnet) Began observation at: 8:00am Concluded observation at: 11:00 am

PART I: THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF LEARNING: 1.) Describe the purpose of the activity. What are the teacher’s expectations of student learning?

The kids were learning how to count money, so my teacher created money bingo to help them better learn how to count.

2) Number of children involved in this activity: 17 #male: 10 #female: 7 Describe any other salient identity markers that describe these students:

It was basically a male dominated class. Racial the class was extremely diverse.

2) Spatial Arrangement (Diagram)

= boys

= girls

 haha this is how the classroom is set up! I thought that is what you wanted! 3) Instructional Arrangement

a) small group b) whole class c) individualized work d) other:______

4) Nature of activity (check those that apply) _x_ Children have ample time to complete the activity. ___ The cultures and language present in the classroom are represented in the activity. ___ Children have ample materials, manipulatives, and regalia. _x_ Children are active and sensory learners. _x_ The classroom environment is inviting.

Notes:

It was an individual game, but the whole class was involved and engaging with one another.

5) Classroom Management a) Do children participate in establishing, reinforcing and improving on classroom rules? b) Are there explicit teacher established rules or enforced rewards/sanctions? c) Are there implicit teacher established rules or /enforced rewards/sanctions d) Other:

Notes: They know the rules and remind each other of them.

PART II: OBSERVATION ON CHILD’S LEARNING (1) Provide a brief description of what the children are doing? Are all of the children engaged in the activity? Describe the dynamics involved. Who is leading? Who is not?

Each child got a card with different coin amounts on them. In the fromt of the class there was a caller, calling out amounts of money. The child then had to count the groups of coins on their card and if they have the amount they put a bingo chip on it. All the kids were somewhat engaged in it.

(2) What materials, manipulatives or tools are the children are using? What is the purpose for using them? They used bingo cards, bingo chips and their minds.

(4) What language(s) are the children speaking? (a) English (b) Spanish (c) Other: French, shrilanken, etc.

(5) Nature of participation: 1 2 3 4 5 teacher centered student centered community centered

Notes: Not all the students engaged with each other except for when they switch cards between games.

(5) Extent of participation: (a) A few students dominate talk (b) Small core participates in talk (c) Most students participate in talk (d) No students participate in talk **there wasn’t much need for talking

Salient identity markers of most vocal participants:

N/A 5)Children are actively learning. There are multiple opportunities for children to engage in Check all that apply ___ Problem-solving _x_ Social interaction ___ Sensory learning ___ Self-exploration

7) Focus on a non-participant. Why do you think this child is not participating in the activity? What emotion if any does this child express? (i.e. frustration, boredom) How might s/he be accommodated or incorporated into the activity?

One of the little boys kind of stopped participating because he couldn’t count as fast so he was getting behind. Seeing this, the teacher asked the caller to slow down and let the class catch up.

8) Expansion: (a) Teacher expands on student thinking (b) Students expand (c) Missed opportunities for expansion.

Examples: ----

9) How did the teacher monitor student learning? Clarify concepts? Keep the children focus on the lesson.

Because this was just a money game there wasn’t much the teacher needed to do. She walked around and I walked around helping the kids who were seeming to struggle.

10) Do you think the teacher’s expectations were met? Explain why. Yes. The children practiced counting coins in a way that was fun and enjoyable to them.

Artifact two:

Funds of Knowledge Part III:

In doing this funds of knowledge project I’ve learned a lot about the way Silvana learns and the way she takes things in this week. This also really helped me to better understand her as a person. A few general observations I made about her ethnicity was that one, it wasn’t really and issue because of her fairer skin and two, because of this there were privileges and disadvantages that she had never had to deal with, that other people of her same ethnicity might have to endure. She is a very social person and sometimes that out weighed the schoolwork that needed to be done. For instance when she was younger she would more likely want to go to the mall or watch TV before she tried to finish all her work. As of right now she isn’t really motivated to go to school she only goes because that is what is expected of her. She knows it’s what’s best for her but, she easily gets frustrated and isn’t willing to work hard. Silvana grew up in a fairly wealthy household, she had all the basic resources and then some. The attended private school all the way through high school and was given many opportunities at all those schools.

I think that she has a great support system. While school was a must, and she was always encouraged, she was never forced or punished if she didn’t get all A’s in school. I think this is healthy, because she does the best she can. But I think that while her parents did this, she began to just except getting C’s or B’s and never really gained any self motivation to do better in school. So in a way they may have done her a little bit of a disservice. I think as a teacher I might need to find ways to make problem areas something that can be fun for the student, and in this case because it is involving several of the essential subjects she needs to have for a foundation, I might want to use a reward system to help her. Also because I know that Silvana is a very social person I might look into some ways that I can incorporate group assignments or small groups in class so that she could learn in a way that is good for her, and so she won’t be discouraged as she goes farther into her education.

I never really realized how close her learning experiences were so close to my own. I just assumed that because she went to a private school her whole life and I went to a public school for most of my life that our experiences would be so different. The only thing that has changed is that I am now really motivated to learn and she isn’t so much anymore. I’ve found in observing her as well as looking at several of the readings throughout this semester that there are so many things I need to take into account as a teacher. I cant just stand in front of a class and just teach. Each and everyone of my students will come to my class with a history and that history will determine how they need to be taught and how much I am going to need to motivate them, and help them.

One of the things that rang a bell when talking to Silvana was the movie perfect storm. As you can recall in the movie a teacher introduces her students to the idea of discrimination, by way of a kind of role play, but prior to that they had no real grasp of differences. For Silvana it was herself who didn’t realize she was different. Because her skin made her look as if she was white, all the other kids treated her as if she was, so she never felt as if she was inferior. I found this to be interesting. The idea that in the future that I could have a student of color who is unaware of their color is perplexing to me. I’m still not sure as to how I would go about dealing with that kind of situation.

I really learned a lot from this experience, more about myself than I did about the person I was studying. I found that it is going to be extremely difficult to find ways to really reach out to all my students in a way that is helpful to them. I have seen in my school site observations that there are so many ways the teacher reaches out to her students. I saw my observation teacher change a lesson plan she had on the spot because her students weren’t understanding the concepts and she found new ways to teach it, right there and then. I think being a teacher will keep me on my toes and always force me to learn new things. I’m looking forward to playing out all of the things that I’m learning now

Artifact three: Kacee Forte’ 9/14/05

M.I. Reflection #2:

I took two different multiple intelligence tests and confirmed what I already knew and then surprised me a little bit on what something else. I previously had already known that my strengths included musical intelligence as my strongest and then interpersonal, kinesthetic, and visual intelligences. I have always been musically intelligent. My parents knew I would always have music somewhere in my life and so far I always have. As for the other three, they seem to just match my personality in a way. Or maybe it’s those things that shaped my personality. What I was surprised to find out was that I was lacking in verbal intelligences. I am very interested in books and interested in learning and reading new things which were some of the things that were outlined underneath that type of intelligence. I think that

I might have answered some of the questions wrong or maybe just misunderstood what the question was asking. I think that by my understanding of how I learn I have been able to easier understand how I think and how to help myself retain information more accurately. I also think that this will help me in the future when I begin to teach my own class. I will be able to take my strengths and incorporate it into my teaching, and also in recognizing my own intelligences I will be able to take those of my students into account and create a classroom that can cater to everyone at different times. I think that this is a major key to a successful classroom environment. Artifact four:

Kacee Forte’ Dr. Montano LRS 100 December 2, 2005

Teaching Philosophy

In becoming a “teacher in training” this year I’ve learned so much about

how I might go about teaching my own class, and how my teaching

philosophy will influence that. It is important for teachers to realize that

each and every student comes from a diverse background that will

influence the way they learn and act in the classroom. I believe that it is

essential to create an environment where every child feels as if they have

a active role and voice in my classroom. I have based my philosophy off

of a few of the readings throughout this last semester, some of the

activities we took part in, my classroom field work this year, and

experience in the past.

Before I can go into detail about how I will go about putting my

philosophy into practice, I think its helpful to know what I developed

some of my ideas off of. Early in the semester we did several class

activities that I find very memorable. One of these activities was the forced corners activity. In that activity we were read several phrases aloud that had to do with race, gender, socio-economic status and religious background. I found it so interesting to see where certain people put themselves. Even though I hadn’t known much about the others in the class at that time, I had just assumed by appearances where they might go. I think this can directly be applied in my future classroom. There are going to be all different kinds of children in my classroom and I will not know the half of where they come from by there appearance. It’s important for me to remember this. Another activity that I really liked was one where we all had to stand in a circle and different genres of music, religion, language and other things related to our personal cultures were read aloud. When one applied we were to step in the middle of the circle. Again I had the same reaction as the forced corners activity. I think this activity is one that I might be able to use in my future classroom. I think it was fun and yet really made us aware of all the different things we brought to that classroom dynamic. I think that this will also give me a little bit of an insight to my students interests and allow me to use that as a tool in my teaching.

In the book Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World, writer Patricia G.

Ramsey talks about things we can do to make sure that we are creating caring and critical communities. In this section of her book she highlighted five things that will help to ensure that this is created. The terms are as follows: interdependence, taking into account and honoring relationships between all parties that effect the system, sustainability, supporting people and nature to thrive over the long haul and focusing on lo-term results, flexibility, developing a fluid dynamic, diversity, supporting diverse experiences, backgrounds, and learning strategies, and partnership/ co-evolution, working together, understanding each others needs abs mutually adapting as members needs and interests change and evolve. I think that all these things are essential to make a healthy and productive community for both students and faculty. In my funds of knowledge observations and teaching classes in the past have really provided me with enough proof of the need for this kind of system. Last year I taught art lessons at two different elementary schools. From my observation, the school I observed at this year had a system like the one talked about above. The school I was at last year had no kind of support system that helped parents to become involved and the teachers were not even untied among themselves let alone with the administration or the parents, and there for the students would have to suffer. I would like to teach at a school that models what Ramsey talks about. This semester has taught me a lot more about the things I’m going to encounter as far as cultural and social developments that my students might experience. I have thought a lot about my own identity as an

African American woman who will be teaching with those who are not like me or to students who don’t share my background. I realize that its going to be a challenge, but I feel that ultimately my job is not going to be teach, and to make sure that my students have an awareness of what is going on around them and who they see themselves as, and not so much focus on my differences from them. I look forward to teaching and to also learn from my students in the future. Artifact five:

I Am From Poem

I am from American girl dolls, hot wheels, fuzzy teddy bears, easy bake ovens, and little mermaid paper dolls

I am from warm homemade applesauce on cold days, cinnamon popcorn, dad’s homemade rolls on Thanksgiving and Christmas and Grandma Dot’s peach cobbler

I am from biking with my two sisters around the corner to get an icee, falling on my sixth birthday and splitting my lip with my two front teeth, while roller blading, making music videos with my cousins, and setting up beauty parlors for all my aunties.

I am from Grandma’s sweet voice singing gospel music and old hymnals, my sisters and I singing TV jingles, mom finding a song to sing for every occasion and my love for jazz, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles and the smooth sounds of John Coltrane’s alto saxophone.

I am from a street where at first all the houses looked the same and slowly changed to become as unique as the people who live in them.

I am from a loud, laughing father always talking to new people, a mom with the grace of an angel, always there when needed, a family large enough to fill every room of a large hotel, and burst the seams with overflowing love.

I am from a lost heritage, knowing little of where my family is really from.

I am from “Always remember there is something worth fighting for” and “Whatever decision you make whether good or bad will affect not only your life, but the life of those around you.”