Chapter 13

In order to to create a productive learning environment, I think the first thing I would do would be to make sure my room has one large circle table. Since my students will be deaf, desks all around the room will not work for the environment. They all need to be in a circle to see what they are all saying in class. I also think that the atmosphere of the classroom will affect how the students learn. I will want to make sure I have a good relationship with each child to ensure their goals are reached. Sometimes it is hard to gain all of their attention at once. If you're teaching and a student looks away, he/she will miss what you're teaching since they are no longer looking at your hands. Then when you try to gain their attention back, some other kid looks away, and it can become a big mess. I think by giving them a set of rules, and conduct for the classroom, it will help to make this not happen so often. By saying, "when I'm signing, I need all eyes on me."

In my case study there is a little girl named Lisa who has become a problem for her group. She doesn't pull her weight, and it is causing drama for the whole group. They are not getting the material, and they are fighting a lot. Based on experience, there will always be a child who is an instigator. I think what I would do, would be to pull her aside and ask why she doesn't want to work with the group and do her work. I would definitely change the groups up every so often. Kids that age can't all get along all the time, so by changing things up, it not only keeps the class moving, but it gives the kids a chance to socialize with other members of their class and maybe not cause so many problems all year. 

This site sort of describes how to deal with students like Lisa, who may cause a bit of a ruckus in the classroom. 

http://learnercenteredteaching.wordpress.com/teaching-resources/effective-ways-of-dealing-with-disruptive-students/

Motivation

Motivation is what drives people to do things. For me, I would say that I use goal theory the most. I write everything in my planner, and I make to do lists like it is no one’s business. I like to time things out and know what I should be doing and when I should be doing it. I just think everything is so much easier when you have a specific schedule to follow. I think this will be beneficial in a classroom. I will know exactly how much time to spend on certain activities, things I will need for each activity, and it will help me prepare what exactly I want the students to take away from the lesson. In the deaf residential schools, all the students have an IEP, so it is very important that goals are set for them. 

PLE 1

My personal objective for the class would be to try to view everything from different perspectives. When I graduate, I will be certified to teach elementary hearing and deaf children. Also with an interest in interpreting, I would like to try to incorporate everything I learn in this class into the three categories. All three are very different roles and approaches and I would like to explore those more. I think I would like to know more about classroom inclusion programs. Often, a teacher will have a student with disabilities either intellectual and/or physical. I would like to learn more about learning and preparing for those types of students in the classroom. Both in regard to the student interaction with them, and for planning lessons and activities.