Team+Collaboration+for+first+part+of+the+Case+Study

Hi, guys! I decided that we should create a new page so that we can write down our ideas for this week's assignment. We have to come up with the behavioral point for the case study as a group so we can start editing and taking things out that don't work as well. We also have to decide who's going to post this on the webcourses.

Make sure we include these: (Underlined means items we already covered)
 * __Communication with fellow professional educators__//.//
 * __A change in the physical environment__.
 * __A method to present yourself to the students as professional, different from the previous teacher and in charge.__
 * __A method or methods to get to know each student well.__
 * __A plan to develop new classroom rules or procedures and practice them until they are routine and a set of consequences when necessary__
 * __Communication with parents or guardians.__
 * Classroom meeting procedures if you feel confident to run classroom meetings properly.

Method of presenting ourselves to the students as professional, different and in charge** (Speaking to the class as they enter the room) "You may notice a few changes in the classroom, one of those being new seating arrangements. We are no longer sitting in rows, and will be sitting in randomly assigned groups. We will be in groups of four and at the start of each month, they groups will be changing. Go ahead and look for your name tag and take your new assigned seat and we'll get started shortly."
 * Seating Arrangements/Changes

The groups will be desks of four and they will be turned to face each other, two and two, but they will also be turned to the side so that no students will have their back to the teacher at the front of the room. Each group of four will be on an angle so that the teacher will be able to see the faces of each student, even if not straight on.

The teacher is going to make sure that the students understand the changes that will be ocurring in the classroom. We could open up a discussion so they can talk about things that bother them about the class, things they want to learn, etc. This is also an effective way to get to know your students as well as teaching and making sure your students are happy with the direction the class will take.

Classroom rules will be decided with both the teacher and the student’s input. The class will work as a team to decide the rules and procedures that they must follow. This will give the students an opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. Since they were involved in this development, it will encourage better behavior.
 * Classroom Rules**

The class rules will be posted in the front of the room where everyone can see it. The students can also help decide what course of action will be executed if someone misbehaves.

Rules will be inforced in different ways. One way is to have a token system in the classroom. We would be teaching a second grade class so the play money seems to work better with higher grades because we have seen it in action ourselves. We would introduce the token system by giving every student a number that is going to identify them. This number will also work for turning assignments and papers. Students will have several tokens with their numbers and depending on their behavior, tokens will be taken out of a box and put in a specific bag.

As a teacher who just got this new group of students, we will first talk with the students so they can know how their good behavior will be rewarded from now on. We must make clear that students won't get a token, everything they do something right but that the teacher will decide when she will award the token. Also students can't ask to get a token just because they followed instructions. Whoever has the most token on a given day, that student will have access to a treasure chest or special prizes assigned by the teacher.

Students can also be assigned "jobs" in the classroom which will make them feel part of the community that we want to create. Tokens can also be awarded by efficiency doing a specific job. Students can also promote how good of a job another student did. This creates a more united and well rounded group of students.

Positive behaviors will be modeled so that students understand the expectations that we have as a first year teacher. Students could role play bad behaviors so that every student understand what is the right way to behave in the classroom.

Another way to monitor behavior is by having a colored card system. If students are not behaving and are given two verbal warnings, they will get their card turned from blue to yellow and the parents will be sent a letter home. Three verbal warnings and reprimands will make the card turn to red as well as detention.

Since the intern is already familiarized with the students, students will be ask to create a personal poster about interesting facts that the teacher might not know about them. These posters will be displayed in the classroom along witht the students getting a chance to explain their itms to the entire class. This way not only will the new teacher be learning about the students but even the students may learn something about their classmates they may not know already. The teacher will also make one so that students get to know her on a personal basis of what she likes outside of school. We are going to spend a lot of time together throughout the year, and I would like to get to know each of my students very well. I am going to work very hard to build quality relationships with each of you. The personal posters that you will be creating will bring a little bit character to this classroom. These posters will be hung around the room as a symbol to represent the uniqueness of everyone here. Each one of you is different in your own ways, so by displaying these posters, you will come to see the diversity in our environment. It’s essential to be a part of your learning environment, and throughout the year we will have many opportunities to build relationships and ties to one another. It is very important to me that your personality shines through your work, and that you feel comfortable and able to express who you are in this classroom.
 * Methods to learn about the students**
 * Increasing student motivation**

Classroom expectations for performance and behavior will be addressed many times throughout the year. Before each lesson, I will let you know what I expect. We will discuss the outlook in great detail until no one has any questions left. I will hand out a checklist in the beginning of each class so you can follow along and monitor your own progress. I am going to break large tasks into a series of smaller goals so nobody becomes overwhelmed. I never want any of you to be discouraged or think you cant do something. I am always here to help, and there is no such thing as a stupid question. Your work will be checked as soon as possible after completion. I will make sure I give you clear and constructive feedback so you can observe your own growth and development.

We are going to complete a variety of assignments throughout the year. Some work will be individual, sometimes we will work with partners, and sometimes we will be in groups. Working in groups is a great way for us to learn from one another. It will help us share all of our unique thoughts and diverse viewpoints. I expect each of you to be very respectful to your peers. You need to keep an open mind and give each group member a chance to speak. I want the group projects to be completed with each person’s point of view. I am sure this is not going to be a problem with anyone in this class, and I cannot wait to see all that we can do when we put our minds together.

Each person in here has the ability to reach their full potential if they try their best. Throughout the year, each of you will become active learners who build and create meaning and knowledge. I am not going to tell you what you need to do all the time. You are all big boys and girls, and you will have many opportunities to decide what you want to do as well as how you want to do it. We are going to have a democratic environment full of trust and mutual respect. This is a privilege, and if its abused or taken for granted things will change.
 * Cognitive motivation**

Most of our activities are hands-on and interactive, and I am going to walk around the room and help when needed. We are going to complete a lot of projects where your background knowledge and past experiences will play a big role. I am not going to lecture you all the time. You are going to learn the information and the process yourselves by being an active learner. I am going to display all your completed projects around the room so you will be able to see all that you have accomplished as well as what your peers have done.

My class is designed to help YOU learn in an environment where you feel safe and comfortable. I want YOU to ask the questions and YOU to come up with the solutions. All of us will then make connections between what we already know and what we are learning. You will have to use a lot of outside experiences that you engage in everyday. Each of you has different background experiences, which will help to create our unique classroom culture. While some of you might have been brought up here in Florida, others of you may have been brought up in a different country or state. We will all be able to learn from each other’s experiences and grow as one.

I am interested in hearing about your lives outside of the classroom; after school programs, weekend activities, new movies that you’ve seen, and so on. You are going to be able to make meaningful connections between what we are learning in the classroom and the world you live in. By the end of the year, I hope you will realize that schoolwork is significant, valuable, and worthy of your efforts. I know each any everyone of you has the ability to succeed no matter what, and I expect you to all try your very best.

There will be a letter sent out updating the parents that there has been a change in teachers. A copy of the classroom rules and procedures will be attached so they can be familiar with the code of conduct in the classroom. There will also be numerous letters sent out throughout the semester to inform parents or guardians what will be performed in the classroom.
 * Communication with Parents or Guardians**

The students must share something that they have learned each night with a family member. The parents then must sign off to acknowledge that they have been notified about something of importance from the lesson. This is a great way to have the parents involved in the students learning development. It will also promote better behavior from the students if their parents are actively involved and monitoring their educational progress.

Another great thing to help the students would be to give phone calls or emails to the parents for both positive and negative aspects of the students day. Keeping the parents informed will help with their being involved the the students acadimic career and help the teacher when it comes to disciplining and rewarding the students for their actions.

We believe that as first year teachers, we will need all the help we can get from our peers. One thing that comes to mind is that we have to be careful who we consider as our mentor. Sometimes experienced teachers tend to have such a negative point of view depending on their successes and failures as a teacher. But we agree that asking for suggestions or pitching our ideas to another teacher could also be beneficial because they might have tried the ideas you have and they can let you know if it works or if it needs to be modified.
 * Communication with fellow professional educators**