education

Introduction

The classroom management plan will be implemented in regards to the 12 special needs students, who have to be provided with appropriate support and a required portion of knowledge with minimum disruptions and maximum instructional time.

Room Arrangement

Students enter the room full of natural lighting that comes from 4 windows. There is a green carpet in the middle of the room with 12 separate tables facing each other in a circle on it. Students can see and analyze each other’s work and participate in various processes sharing personal experience. My table is also in the circle not to promote the distance with students, but it is separated from the students’ tables by two spaces from each side so that I can walk through the room any side I want. There are many supplemented materials for lessons.

Rules

The main rule of the classroom is to demonstrate respect to each other regardless of someone’s skills and possibilities. Students with special needs should also follow the rule to talk about their demands raising their hands to keep order in the room. All these rules are written on the board and have to be repeated in case someone neglects them.

Procedures

Students get access to an agenda that informs them about lesson plans and activities. Several personal questions take place at the beginning of a lesson to involve students, homework check is next, then new material is explained, and quizzes or games can help to improve the understanding of the required material.

Reward System

During a lesson, students are encouraged to get stars for their participation, answers, and ideas. At the end of a lesson, a student, who has more stars, becomes “a class star” and is supported by the applauses. Each month, there is a choice of the most frequent stars’ holder, who gets a special promotional prize.

Individual Behavior Contract

Students fill in the contract as a kind of a serious document in their lives. They mention the rules to be followed and prove the fact that they are informed about the consequences of breaking the rules. It should help them become more serious with their educational process and realize that they are grown-ups.

Class Meetings

Meetings with parents and student-parents meetings should be organized to discuss the achievements of each student. Teacher-parents meetings aim at discussing students, their strong and weak points, abilities, etc. Children-parents-teacher meetings help to develop appropriate family relations and connect them with the educational process.

Paraprofessional Support

A professional psychologist may be invited for individual communications with students and their parents in case a teacher observes some problems with a child, his/her attitude to a learning process, and readiness for classes. This support should be optional still available.

Behavior Intervention Plan

Identification

Jane Smith (6-year-old African-American girl)

New York for All Kids School

09 April 2015

Ms. Kleenword (a supervisor)

IEP Team Participation

09 August 2015 is the date for the team to check the effectiveness of the plan

Purpose of the Plan

• Help Jane, who suffers from attention deficit disorder, to learn new material and behave properly in a classroom;
• Guide a supervisor how to treat a child with special needs;
• Determine the changes in a child’s behavior regarding the interventions offered.

Interventions in Other Settings

The interventions cannot be used in other settings except the classroom with a chosen child because her needs and supervisor’s possibilities are properly identified.

Target Behavior

• Cannot focus on a certain task without additional help;
• Too much impulsive in case she is not able to comprehend a task given;
• Cannot demonstrate good performing skills and meet all the instructions set;
• Can get bored soon.

Antecedents of the target behavior are based on the environmental changes and family problems (Jane’s parents got divorced, and the child should spend more time with her mother or be divided between parents regarding the court decision).

The problems with Jane’s behavior are frequent indeed because the girl needs constant support and attention. She wants someone’s taking care of her and giving all necessary explanations to everything that happens around. She may have the attacks supported with aggression and cries. Still, these attacks are not too long and maybe stopped using new activities offered.

TB consequences show how to cause desired and undesired behavior. As soon as Jane is provided with additional attention, she gets calm and may spend half an hour doing the task given. With appropriate support and explanations, she may be involved with the other tasks in case she knows she can be rewarded.

Summary

Functions of the Target Behavior

Jane’s behavior is a kind of protection against the world around. She does not like it when something goes against her will, and the only method she can use is her aggression and panic that may be replaced by additional attention from the adults’ side.

Student’s Strengths and Preferences

Jane demonstrates good learning skills. She is good at memorizing information, but she needs a stimulus. She can be easily distracted by the activities offered. It is easy to offer her some new ideas and activities to replace the target behavior and avoid the development of problems.

Interventions to Decrease TB

• Provide a student with clear explanations;
• Spend more time communicating with a child;
• Make sure a task is clear;
• Check if a child can start working.

Interventions to Increase RB (Replacement Behavior)

• Support a child with the chosen activity;
• Offer some new ideas in case Jane gets bored;
• Try to change the subject of communication.

Interventions to Maintain RB

• Explain the possibility of encouragement;
• Demonstrate the existing rewarding system;
• Use only visual explanations.

Reflection

Description of the Domain B and the TPEs

Domain E, Creating and Managing Effective Environments for Student Learning, consists of two TPEs: instructional time (TPE 10) and social environment (TPE 11) (Commission on Teacher Credentialing A-15). The domain focuses on the necessity to plan time and lessons and consider the students’ abilities and needs at the same time. It is not an easy task to manage instruction time, be confident that all students can achieve their learning goals, and follow the standards defined (Churchill, Mulholland, and Cepello 50). The creation of an appropriate learning environment takes an important place in class management and cannot be neglected. Teachers should know how to keep classroom issues in a culturally safe manner and promote students working independently or in groups.

Application of the Domain B across all TPEs

Both TPEs of Domain E help to realize that students’ success in education depends on the environment considerably. Teachers have to think about each detail creating a room, developing a plan and rules, analyzing students’ needs and expectations, and following certain time frames. Lemov admits that time management may become a kind of a team sport that can organize children with special needs and help them to concentrate on particular goals together and be rewarded separately (221).

Personal Views on the Domain and the TPEs

The success of the learning process directly depends on classroom and time management as well as on the properly created environment for students with special needs (Wiseman and Hunt 20). It is necessary to consider the surroundings when teaching ordinary students; talking about students with special needs, the idea that their learning environment should be perfect is out of the question. Teachers have to work hard, evaluate students’ behavior, and cooperate with parents and special experts to provide students with the necessary help.

Artifact 1 and the Domain

The first artifact is an independently developed classroom management plan for the 12 children with special needs. It helps to develop a powerful reward system, several rules that can encourage students, and several procedures that involve students in a learning process. Taking into consideration the TPEs of Domain E, teachers should never neglect the environment. Even the color of wallpapers or a carpet can matter as they can both distract students or encourage them to learn the necessary material.

Artifact 2 and the Domain

The second artifact is a behavior intervention plan developed for a girl with special needs because of her attention deficit disorder. A professional supervisor should evaluate the conditions under which the mentioned disorder can be developed and a problematic behavior can prevent an education process. The artifact is a possibility to connect two TPEs: on the one hand, the attention to instructional time is necessary for a student with special needs; on the other hand, social environment is a concept that cannot be neglected by a teacher, who aims at providing a student with the required portion of the support. Domain E with its two TPEs as well as the artifacts underlines the importance of care, respect, and fairness in a classroom.

Works Cited

Churchill, Lisa, R., Mulholland, Rita, and Cepello, Michelle, R. A Practical Guide for Special Education Professionals, Boston, MA: Pearson, 2007. Print.

Commission on Teacher Credentialing 2013, California Teaching Performance Expectations. Web.

Lemov, Doug. Teach Like a Champion 2.0.: 62 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2014. Print.

Wiseman, Dennis and Hunt, Gilbert. Best Practice in Motivation and Management in the Classroom, Springfield, Illinois: Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2008. Print.

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of studying in foreign countries and the advantages it brings to international learners and the countries that these learners are connected to. The paper claims and aims to convince the reader that studying abroad is a useful practice that, despite some disadvantages, brings numerous gains both to the learners and to the countries involved. The paper’s layout follows the Toulmin Model of argumentation, providing data related to the issue and showing how the data warrants the claim, naming possible counterarguments and rebutting them, and explicitly stating the restrictions of the argument made.

Introduction

One of the positive aspects of the modern world is the opportunity to study in foreign countries. Following the Toulmin model of argumentation, we will show that many advantages for both the student and their native country result from studying abroad, and even though there are certain disadvantages, they are often unimportant in comparison, which means that international studying is, generally speaking, a good choice for a person and a winning situation for their country of origin.

Personal Advantages of Studying Abroad

Young, Natrajan-Tyagi and Platt (2015) point out that people who have studied in a foreign country find this experience resulting in many personal gains (p. 180). The experience of living in a different culture allows the learners to reconsider and improve their character to adapt to this culture (Young et al., 2015, p. 184-185). Besides, international students not only get acquainted with their host culture but also get the chance to make friends with their peers from all over the world.

This changes the way one thinks, shows that many things they took for granted are not universal truths, thus opening completely new perspectives on the world and broadening the learner’s horizons (“Studying abroad”, 2014, section 4; “Brain drain…”, 2012, para. 5). Experience of international studying results in learners developing such characteristics as “openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability” better than their peers who choose home colleges and universities for their education (“What statistics show about study abroad students”, n.d., para. 14).

The opportunity to travel and live in a different country is valuable itself, for once a person has found a job and settled down, they are not likely to get such an opportunity anymore (“10 benefits to studying abroad”, n.d., section 10). The freedom a learner gets during their studies is also invaluable, as it teaches them to be independent and develops them as an individual (“Studying abroad”, 2014, section 3).

Professional Advantages of Studying Abroad

Some of the advantages an international student receives are connected to their professional development. According to statistics, most international students say their education has helped develop skills that have proven useful in the job market; that their experience has made them flexible, allowing to adapt to different working environments; that studying abroad resulted in higher levels of satisfaction from their work (“What statistics show about study abroad students”, n.d., para. 5-7).

Therefore, it is not surprising that international graduates can find a job nearly twice as fast as home graduates; that unemployment rates among the former are about 20% lower than among the latter; and that international students often receive higher salaries (“What statistics show about study abroad students”, n.d., para. 2, 10, 3). Another fact is that studying abroad improves the academic performance of the learners (“What statistics show about study abroad students”, n.d., para. 12). Therefore, studying abroad definitely provides learners with better working perspectives.

Advantages for the Countries that International Students Are Related To

The practice of international studying also brings advantages to the countries involved. According to Sood (2012), international students contribute a large amount of money to the economy of their host country; e.g. in the USA, this amount is said to be nearly $20 billion each year (para. 8). The native countries of the learners also get advantages from their citizens’ studying abroad; for example, international graduates improve their native country’s education system (Sood, 2012, para. 8).

Lan (2004) claims that international graduates originating from China had a large positive influence on their native country, greatly accelerating its development throughout the country’s history (p. 32). This is true not only of China but for other countries as well, because the professionalism achieved while studying abroad is likely to add to any country’s industrial and cultural development.

Possible Counterarguments and their Rebuttal

Apart from its many advantages, studying abroad also has some disadvantages. But, as we shall see, these disadvantages, however important they are, do not outweigh the positive sides of studying in foreign countries.

There are some professional problems a person might experience upon returning home after having studied abroad. For instance, Lan (2004) gives an example of the fact that having studied at a top university in a country that is more developed than their own and received the latest knowledge in their professional sphere, international graduates sometimes find their home country lacking the resources they need to fully realize their skills (p. 32). On the other hand, the problem of the low level of development can only be solved by using new technologies and knowledge. Therefore, the very existence of such a problem demands highly qualified personnel, and graduates of top universities have the biggest potential to solve it.

Another issue is the personal difficulties that international students face both while studying abroad and upon returning home. Min (2002) gives an example of how people might miss their home when they face living in another country. Furthermore, having come to their host country, people are not used to their way of life and may experience cultural shock (“Disadvantages of Studying Abroad”, para. 4). Another problem that might add to this one is the language barrier, which makes understanding both in casual communication and during classes more difficult; it places the learner into a disadvantaged position compared to that of the other students.

As the process of studying is very difficult even without additional problems, this results in even more stress (“Disadvantages of Studying Abroad”, para. 3). Besides, Thompson and Christofi (2006) argue that international graduates who return home face serious difficulties even there; they find out that they have changed during their stay abroad, and are not used to their mother culture anymore. This is rarely expected and often results in the re-entry culture shock, which is usually stronger than the culture shock one feels when they come to a different country (Thompson and Christofi, 2006, p. 21).

Although these personal difficulties are not minor, they are temporary. Despite initial cultural shock, one eventually gets used to their host culture, learns to cope with the feeling of missing home, and overcomes the language barrier. This might not always be easy, but the permanent benefits one gets from studying abroad are worth it. Regarding the re-entry culture shock, Thompson and Christofi (2006) point out that returned graduates eventually manage to reconcile both cultures they have become a part of and find an effective way to combine them, which, again, brings them different benefits (e.g. the benefit of versatility) in the end.

A large problem faced by mother countries of international students is the risk of brain drain (“Brain Drain”, 2012). Having graduated from a foreign university, people sometimes choose to stay and work in their host country. On the other hand, it should be the person’s own free choice to live and work wherever they wish. Besides, this situation is preventable if the mother country provides overseas graduates with enough job opportunities. Another solution is balancing the outflow of learners with the respective inflow of students from other countries, and involving these students in the country’s economy. Anyway, some overseas learners still return to their home country after graduation, or combine working in both countries, and, as Lan (2004) shows, are still able to contribute to their country’s development greatly.

Therefore, even though the disadvantages of studying abroad might sometimes be serious, they are, as a rule, outweighed by numerous advantages that international studying results in.

Restrictions

Our paper often uses the method of generalization, the basis for which is, in some places, separate cases; however, we believe that these cases are typical. Another important restriction is that we focused mainly on international students who received an education that is at least not worse than the education they could get in their motherland. Therefore, many of the paper conclusions might not be true of learners who studied at colleges or universities that are worse than those of their mother countries.

Conclusion

As we have seen, studying abroad brings many advantages for both the students and the countries involved. International graduates get the chance for personal development and better job opportunities, whereas the countries involved receiving either money (the host country) or professional workers (the homeland). Even though there are some disadvantages to studying abroad, they are generally outweighed by received advantages. Therefore, we would recommend studying abroad as a useful and valuable practice.

References

Brain drain remains a concern as overseas education gets popular. (2012). Web.

Disadvantages of studying abroad. (2015). Web.

Lan, X. (2004). Studying abroad is no myth. Chinese Education and Society, 37(2), 31-33. Web.

Min, Z. (2002). Recollections of studying abroad. Chinese Studies in History, 36(1), 55-60. Web.

Sood, S. (2012). The statistics of studying abroad. Web.

Studying abroad: The benefits. (2014). Web.

Thompson, C. L., & Christofi, V. (2006). Can you go home again? A phenomenological investigation of Cypriot students returning home after studying abroad. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 28(1), 21-39. Web.

What statistics show about study abroad students. (n.d.). Web.

Young, J. T., Natrajan-Tyagi, R., & Platt, J. J. Identity in flux: Negotiating identity while studying abroad. Journal of Experimental Education, 38(2), 175-188. Web.

10 benefits to studying abroad. (n.d.) Web.

Interventions are effective approaches to influence students and change the learners’ behaviors (Mills, 2014). This paper aims to discuss the intervention method selected for influencing the students’ motivation to learn with the focus on the particular motivational strategy. Therefore, it is important to focus on the intervention overview, supporting literature, benefits, the intervention plan, and ethics.

Intervention: Overview

The intervention to motivate the male 17-year-old student to learn is a multidimensional strategy oriented to affecting such aspects of the person’s motivation as self-efficacy, goal orientation, and needs achievement (Martin, 2008). While implementing the intervention, the educator aims to use praise in order to affect the behavior and increase self-efficacy leading to raising the motivation to learn. In addition, the researcher intentionally avoids the punishment in the strategy to create the supportive atmosphere and motivate the student through positive examples or role models referring to personalities respected by the participant (Acee & Weinstein, 2010).

Role models in this case are sportsmen and the U.S. Air Force officers. This approach is effective to develop the motivation to learn in association with the needs achievement.

Finally, the focus is on motivation based on the goal orientation as a result of discussing motivational videos, reading motivational materials, and visiting professional seminars. This approach allows motivating the participant to choose personal and professional goals and focus on learning activities as the ways to achieve these goals (Mamlok-Naaman, 2011). Therefore, the motivational strategy is based on affecting those areas of the participant’s personality and interest that can make him become more motivated to learn.

Intervention: Literature Review

Motivational strategies are actively used in education to help students become more interested in their learning activities. According to Martin’s (2008) multidimensional intervention, the focus should be on developing students’ self-understanding, persistence, skills in task management and self-control. These aspects became fundamental for the proposed intervention. The selection of praise and role models as motivational factors is based on the research by Acee and Weinstein (2010), who discussed the integration of the value-reappraisal intervention principles. Following the researchers, praise and the focus on values, reputable sources, or persons are important to motivate a student to demonstrate higher academic results. Moreover, this approach leads to the improved self-regulation (Acee & Weinstein, 2010).

The study by Jones (2008) allows discussing the out-of-class motivation to learn and assistance as important factors to influence students’ visions of learning and their successes. Mamlok-Naaman (2011) states that the main motivational factor in the study is the interest in the subject. Therefore, it is significant to motivate students to learn through engaging them in attractive activities and discussing interesting topics. These researches provided the theoretical and practical background for developing the motivational intervention.

Intervention: Benefits

The 17-year-old participant will benefit from the proposed intervention because the multidimensional approach allows making the learning activities more attractive and meaningful for the student as he develops the goal for the future, works on the plan to achieve it, analyzes accomplishments of other persons, and becomes more aware of the success achieved through learning (Martin, 2008). The student will benefit because supportive environments will be created out of the class to promote his learning as it is noted by Jones (2008), and the student will be motivated through the praise (Acee & Weinstein, 2010). As a result, the participant will be motivated positively, and chances to use principles of this motivational intervention as basic ones to reach the educational, personal, and career goals are high.

Intervention Plan

During the first week, it is important to inform the participant that we will work to increase his motivation, resolve ethical issues, and start first discussions of role models and successes in sports and learning. It is necessary to refer to examples of sportsmen and the U.S. Air Force officers. The discussion of their professionalism associated with education, academic achievements, and experience is important to affect self-efficacy and motivate the student to learn.

The second and third weeks should be spent on discussing the participant’s goals for the future, the role of motivation to achieve success, and the connection between motivation and actual career achievements. The reference to role models is also important. These discussions are necessary for motivating through the goal orientation. The researcher also monitors the time spent by the participant for doing the homework and preparing for classes, and he is praised for completing the tasks efficiently.

The fourth week should be spent on watching videos, visiting seminars, and reading materials on the topic of motivation and achievements. These activities are supported by the analysis of qualities that allow successful people to achieve their goals (Jones, 2008).

The fifth week is important to discuss the participant’s successes, personal and academic victories and negative experiences and failures. The reflection and analysis of possible fears are based on discussing the motivating case studies with the focus on experiences of other people who overcame challenges.

The sixth week is the final one, and it is spent on formulating the participant’s personal strategy to achieve the success in learning.

Ethics: Philosophy

The key features of the personal philosophy of teaching are the student-oriented practice and the focus on students’ needs. This intervention is directly associated with this principle as it allows concentrating on the participant’s interests in order to make him motivated (Siegle, Rubenstein, & Mitchell, 2014). The intervention is used to identify needs and apply tools that are working in this individual case.

Ethics: Social Principles

The ruling social principles are the importance of the support and respect to individuals (McNiff, 2013). These principles guide the intervention as the out-of-class support is important to motivate the student to learn, and the respect for his individual features is necessary to select the most appropriate intervention activities.

Ethics: Harm

It is important to avoid doing harm and violating the participant’s rights. As a result, the intervention should be implemented according to the recommendations from the research literature (Martin, 2008). The research-based intervention is appropriate as its strengths and weaknesses were tested previously. The ethical considerations identified by the researchers, such as bias, respect, and confidentiality, are taken into account.

Ethics: Protection

The participant will be protected in terms of signing the informed consent. His confidentiality, as well as the confidentiality of the private data, will be protected (Mills, 2014). It is important to guarantee that the study results will not affect the participant negatively.

Ethics: Bias

The risk of bias is high in this study as the participant is the family member. To avoid the bias, the researcher will focus on analyzing the concrete results without focusing on personal emotions (Mills, 2014). The objective approach will be followed to reduce the potential bias.

Data Collection Procedures

These procedures are important to collect the data appropriate for the study to analyze the intervention results.

References

Acee, T. W., & Weinstein, C. E. (2010). Effects of a value-reappraisal intervention on statistics students’ motivation and performance. The Journal of Experimental Education, 78(4), 487-512. Web.

Jones, A. C. (2008). The effects of out-of-class support on student satisfaction and motivation to learn. Communication Education, 57(3), 373-388. Web.

Mamlok-Naaman, R. (2011). How can we motivate high school students to study science? Science Education International, 22(1), 5-17. Web.

Martin, A. J. (2008). Enhancing student motivation and engagement: The effects of a multidimensional intervention. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(2), 239-269. Web.

McNiff, J. (2013). Action research: Principles and practice. New York, NY: Routledge. Web.

Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Web.

Siegle, D., Rubenstein, L. D., & Mitchell, M. S. (2014). Honors students’ perceptions of their high school experiences: The influence of teachers on student motivation. Gifted Child Quarterly, 58(1), 35-50. Web.

Core Beliefs and Assumptions

Role of a Teacher

On the surface, the responsibilities of a teacher in class might seem to be restricted to explaining, giving assignments, and checking students’ answers, yet this assumption is quite far from the truth. Due to the need to control a vast array of factors that can affect the performance of learners, a teacher plays several roles, from being an educator to a mentor, and a role model (Brookfield, 2015). However, out of all the qualities that a teacher must possess, it is the ability to design a warm and welcoming environment in which students can learn and interact which seems the most important. Since the creation of this specified setting helps to promote independence in learners and encourages them to develop the skills of metacognition, self-reflection, and self-directed learning, the active focus on the identified characteristic of a teacher is required.

The issue of leadership and the ability to set a good example that learners can follow must be mentioned as one of the essential qualities of a teacher; being a role model is a crucial role that they play in the context of the classroom. Additionally, a teacher must retain control over the learning environment and reinforce the impact of all the factors that promote active studying (O’Flaherty & Phillips, 2015). A learning environment is a complex setting in which every element must contribute to encouraging students to acquire new knowledge and encourage recently developed skills, and this makes the process of managing it rather complicated. Thus, it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that the setting in which their students learn is as positive and favorable to learning as possible.

Moreover, a teacher must focus on the emotional needs of learners. Determining the presence of any change in students’ mood is beneficial for any success of the learning process (Hein, Koka, & Hagger, 2015). For instance, if one of the students is angry, annoyed, or bored, there is a higher probability that the identified learner will distract others and, thus, negatively impact the learning process. Therefore, a teacher must also show awareness of the emotional needs of their class and be able to manage them on an individual and group scale.

Role of a Student

Though there is a propensity in discussions among general audiences to reduce the responsibilities of a teacher to their bare minimum, this notion does not stand the comparison to the misconceptions about the role of a student. As a rule, it is believed that a learner must perform only the passive function of listening to a teacher and perform tasks associated with the topic of a lesson. Despite being important elements of the learning process, these roles are not the only ones that a student performs in the classroom setting. Additionally, a learner must participate in the educational process actively by discussing important issues, asking questions, and taking the initiative in exploring new topic areas.

Also, it is strongly recommended that a student should develop independence in their academic endeavors. For instance, a learner might not yet realize what their career goals are, yet they will need the ability to engage in the process of self-directed learning. As a result, the process of acquiring new knowledge and abilities will be adjusted to the needs of a particular student and, consequently, allow the latter to develop a certain degree of independence. Moreover, a student must be aware of their strengths and weaknesses to progress and become more efficient in their studies. The use of self-directed learning strategies, in turn, invites a learner to find out more about themselves and their characteristics.

Finally, a student must cooperate with a teacher to succeed in their academic endeavors. A learner needs support in their studies, which a teacher can provide by guiding a student through complicated issues and helping them reach new stages in their academic work. In other words, the idea of a learner’s independence must not be conflated with a refusal to use a teacher’s assistance.

Classroom Management. Theorists

Using an appropriate teaching model to address the needs of students is a crucial step toward assisting them in making progress. At this point, it should be noted that each of the existing frameworks could be seen as viable once applied to a corresponding setting, yet some of the approaches offer more opportunities than others. Therefore, when considering a non-specific diverse environment in which a teacher needs to promote motivation and enthusiasm in learners, one will need to consider the theory of Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline (CMCD), the Win-Win Discipline approach, and the framework known as the Beyond Discipline strategy. The suggested teaching methods will help an educator to create an atmosphere in which students will recognize the necessity to learn. Consequently, the relationships between an educator and a learner will be based not on control but, instead, on cooperation and motivation.

The theoretical frameworks mentioned above were chosen as the platform for building relationships with students since they offer an impressive amount of freedom to the latter. As a result, learners can acquire a sense of responsibility and realize that knowledge acquisition is not a chore but an opportunity to succeed. CMCD is, perhaps, the most rigid of the selected tools since it implies certain control over the behaviors of learners (Back, Polk, Keys, & McMahon, 2016). Nevertheless, it offers a vast range of benefits by suggesting that learners should follow a particular model and, therefore, encourage them to accept the required behaviors for acquiring important knowledge and crucial training skills (Back et al., 2016). Consistency management allows a teacher to maintain order in the classroom and build a supportive learning environment for students. Furthermore, the framework does not diminish either the role of the students or the degree of their participation. Quite the contrary, the CMCD approach helps establish the values and principles based on which students will determine and arrange their priorities. Specifically, the principles of Cooperative Discipline help to transfer the responsibilities associated with the role of a leader from teachers to learners (Back et al., 2016). As a result, academic independence is promoted actively, whereas a teacher plays the role of a supervisor and a part of the support system for learners.

The use of the Win-Win Discipline framework is, in turn, justified by the importance of cooperation between learners and educators. The specified strategy will introduce learners to the concepts of responsibility and self-control, thus offering them a chance to become independent in their studies. By giving students the agency to explore their learning process, one will help build the platform for the development of self-directed learning skills (Xia, Caulfield, & Ferns, 2015). What makes the identified approach especially appealing is that it does not view conflicts as mere impediments to learning. Instead, the strategy invites a teacher to locate the source of a misunderstanding and resolve a problem efficiently. The positions of the theory imply managing attention issues, avoiding the scenarios that may lead to students’ embarrassment, help learners constructively express their negative emotions, and keep them motivated and informed.

Similarly, the use of the Beyond Discipline theory will help improve the process of learning. Although it might seem as incompatible with the previous two frameworks, it expands them due to the emphasis on self-discipline and self-control that students will develop (Egeberg, McConney, & Price, 2016). By using the ideas of CMCD and the Win-Win Discipline, one will prepare the ground for students to develop the specified qualities and become capable of navigating their learning process. After respectful relationships between students and teachers are established, the creation of a learning community where knowledge sharing and cooperation are held as essential values is possible (Sullivan, Johnson, Owens, & Conway, 2014). Thus, the Beyond Discipline approach will become a tool for inviting students to develop a resilient learning philosophy and build a strong community.

Preventing the Disruption of Learning

Even in the environment that is entirely devoid of disruptive factors, students of a particular temper and with a lack of concentration skills may interrupt the learning process. The specified phenomenon, in turn, will ultimately lead to a drop in students’ performance levels and their ability to learn important information. Therefore, not only avoidance strategies but also approaches for managing the instances of disruptive behavior need to be designed.

To ensure that similar instances of disruptive behavior can be avoided in the future, a teacher must keep a log of disruptive behavior scenarios observed in the classroom. As a result, patterns of children developing disruptive behavior will be identified (Hafen, Ruzek, Gregory, Allen, & Mikami, 2015). The following analysis of the logs will shed light on some ways of preventing such a situation, as well as detecting the factors that may lead to these undesirable outcomes, and how to manage and contain the problem at its early stage of development. The specified approach will reduce the threat of disruptive behaviors affecting the learning process. Furthermore, once equipped with the knowledge about disruptive behavior patterns, a teacher will be able to maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning in the classroom. Consequently, the probability of students abandoning the learning process and resorting to disruptive behavior will be reduced to zero (Mitchell, Tingstrom, Dufrene, Ford, & Sterling, 2015). A teacher may also need to develop a strong leadership strategy that will help establish a role model for students to follow. As a result, once the instances of disruptive behavior are identified in the classroom, a teacher may steer the learners’ enthusiasm in the right direction by appealing to their academic values and integrity.

Moreover, it will be crucial for a teacher to remember the constituents of a classroom climate and keep track of each of them respectively. Specifically, a teacher needs to maintain the academic instructional climate (AIC), disruption management climate (DMC), and classroom emotional-interpersonal climate (CEC) at the required levels (Simón & Alonso-Tapia, 2016). By combining the three approaches mentioned above, one will keep the students invested in the learning process, promote active cooperation between the learners and prevent, or at least reduce, the instances of disruptive behaviors.

A teacher can prevent disruptive behaviors from occurring in the classroom setting by reinforcing the principles of cooperation and learning. By placing a very powerful emphasis on academic values, an educator will help students to develop an attitude that will allow them to view disruptive behavior as a hindrance to learning.

Managing the instances of disruptive behavior, however, will require a slightly different approach. To handle the specified scenario, a teacher will need to steer the students’ enthusiasm in a different direction. Creating short breaks during which learners may do simple physical exercises such as stretching will serve as a means of addressing disruptive behaviors among younger audiences. As a result, learners will retain their motivation and energy, while the situations that can potentially disrupt the learning environment will ultimately be minimized. The identified strategy is preferable to the approach based on avoidance since the latter does not help a teacher to address the core of a problem and stifles a conflict instead of resolving it.

Situations in which students behave in a disruptive manner are practically unavoidable, yet they can be controlled. By helping learners analyze their discontent and learn to use their emotions rationally, a teacher can build a constructive dialogue that will enable learners to remain proactive and, at the same time, focus on learning (Pas, Cash, O’Brennan, Debnam, & Bradshaw, 2015). As a result, even the scenarios that involve disruptive behavior will not impact on the rest of the class or interrupt the lesson. Instead, the identified situations will become the platform for students to learn something new about the subject of their distraction, the people around them, or even about themselves. Thus, studying will remain productive, and students will not lose their focus.

References

Back, L. T., Polk, E., Keys, C. B., & McMahon, S. D. (2016). Classroom management, school staff relations, school climate, and academic achievement: Testing a model with urban high schools. Learning Environments Research, 19(3), 397-410. Web.

Brookfield, S. Q. (2015). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Jossey-Bass.

Egeberg, H., McConney, A., & Price, A. (2016). Classroom management and national professional standards for teachers: A review of the literature on theory and practice. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(7), 1-18. Web.

Hafen, C. A., Ruzek, E. A., Gregory, A., Allen, J. P., & Mikami, A. Y. (2015). Focusing on teacher–student interactions eliminates the negative impact of students’ disruptive behavior on teacher perceptions. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39(5), 426-431. Web.

Hein, V., Koka, A., & Hagger, M. S. (2015). Relationships between perceived teachers’ controlling behaviour, psychological need thwarting, anger and bullying behaviour in high-school students. Journal of Adolescence, 42, 103-114. Web.

Mitchell, R. R., Tingstrom, D. H., Dufrene, B. A., Ford, W. B., & Sterling, H. E. (2015). The effects of the good behavior game with general-education high school students. School Psychology Review, 44(2), 191-207. Web.

O’Flaherty, J., & Phillips, C. (2015). The use of flipped classrooms in higher education: A scoping review. The Internet and Higher Education, 25, 85-95. Web.

Pas, E. T., Cash, A. H., O’Brennan, L., Debnam, K. J., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2015). Profiles of classroom behavior in high schools: Associations with teacher behavior management strategies and classroom composition. Journal of School Psychology, 53(2), 137-148. Web.

Simón, C., & Alonso-Tapia, J. (2016). Positive classroom management: Effects of disruption management climate on behaviour and satisfaction with teacher. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 21(1), 65-86. Web.

Sullivan, A. M., Johnson, B., Owens, L., & Conway, R. (2014). Punish Them or Engage Them? Teachers’ Views of Unproductive Student Behaviours in the Classroom. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(6), 43-56.

Xia, J., Caulfield, C., & Ferns, S. (2015). Work-integrated learning: Linking research and teaching for a win-win situation. Studies in Higher Education, 40(9), 1560-1572. Web.

Reading Interest Inventory

Grades 1–3

• Do you like to read?

  • – I like to read.
• Do you like being read to?

  • – I like when my parents or my teacher read to me.
• What is your favorite book?

  • – I have two favorite books. They are Tickle Monster and Fox at School.
• What type of books do you like better: books that are about real things or books about pretending things?

  • – I like fairy tales. I prefer books about pretend things and funny stories.
• Do you have books of your own?

  • – I usually read books which are my own.
• Do you have newspapers or magazines at your house?

  • – My parents have a lot of newspapers and magazines, and I have a few.
• What type of magazines do you like?

  • – I do not like magazines. I prefer to read books.
• Do you read things from the Internet?

  • – I read some funny stories from the Internet sometimes, but I do not like to read from the Internet.
• Do you like to read poetry?

  • – I like when poems are read to me.
• Do you have a library card? How often do you use it to check out books?

  • – I have a library card, and I use it each week.
• Do you check out books from the school library?

  • – I like to check out books from the school library to read something during the weekends.

A 2. Reading Passage Teacher Form (attached)

A 3. Informal Reading Inventory Teacher Form (attached)

A 4. Reading Running Record Assessment (attached)

Reading Summary Report

Reading Interest Inventory Summary

The student likes to read and prefers to read books instead of magazines. The interest in reading is supported by the fact of attending the school library regularly. The student focuses on reading fairy tales, funny stories, and stories about pretend things. That is why it is possible to choose the genre of fantasy or funny books in which some pretend things or characters are described in order to attract the student’s attention and encourage reading. It is important to choose narratives because the student does not like to read poetry by themselves.

Informal Reading Inventory Summary

To determine the level from which it is necessary to start the IRI, the student was proposed to read the words from the level lists. The student recognized the words from the list for Level One with no miscues and with one miscue from the list for Level Two. Three mistakes were made while reading the words from the list for Level Three, and four miscues made while reading the words from Level Four Word List.

The student read the words from Level Five Word List with five miscues. Thus, it was necessary to start reading passages from the first level. The student’s independent level of reading is correlated with Level Two. The instructional level is Level Three, and the frustration level is Level Four (8 mistakes and 2 hesitation pauses).

Reading Running Record Assessment Summary

The student read the passage (102 words) from the fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk chosen according to the student’s interests determined with the help of the Reading Interest Inventory (Jack and the Beanstalk, 2012). The student has made 8 errors, and 4 self-corrections, 2 semantic errors were observed. According to the results of the Reading Running Record Assessment, the student’s error rate is 1:13 (102/8=12.75), self-correction rate is 1:3 (8+4/4=3), accuracy is 92%, and this number is correlated with the instructional level of reading. The typical errors made by the student are omissions, substitution, and the inability to recognize the word.

Reading Fluency Summary

The student’s pace in reading is average, and it is correlated with the standards (72 words for the middle of the second grade). The prosody is studied in relation to the student’s independent level of reading. Thus, the student is able to place vocal emphasis on appropriate words, change the tone to make it rise and fall at appropriate points, to pay attention to punctuation (however, there are some errors in making the necessary changes in tone while observing punctuation marks), and to divide the text into phrases appropriately. The student experiences some difficulties in using the emotional tone. According to the fluency score, the student can be discussed as a fluent reader.

Reading Strengths

The student reads the unfamiliar text at the instructional level (according to the accuracy rate), and the pace of reading in combination with the prosody results allows speaking about the student as a fluent reader. While making an error, the student is inclined to correct oneself. Thus, the student has developed the literacy competencies associated with the second grade appropriately to the level.

Reading Needs

The student makes such reading errors as omissions and substitution. Moreover, the student asks for a word when experiences difficulties with recognizing some words. It is necessary to draw the reader’s attention to the definite words and word combinations to avoid omitting some words and develop the student’s vocabulary.

Instructional Recommendations

The objective to increase the student’s skill level in relation to Reading Interest Inventory is to provide the students with opportunities to read the books within the sphere of interest.

Instructional activities: encourage the student’s attendance of a library by providing the tasks to learn more about some objects or things with the help of reading this or that text; to retell the information learned on the subject of interest (answering guided questions).

The objective to increase the student’s skill level in relation to IRI is to improve the student’s word recognition and vocabulary.

Instructional activities: to work with typical word combinations presented on cards to avoid omissions; to work with pairs of words which can sound or look similarly presented on cards to avoid substitution (Gunning, 2010).

The objective to increase the student’s skill level in relation to Reading Running Record and Fluency is to improve prosody skills.

Instructional activities: to read passages with different types of punctuation, paying attention to the changes in tone and pauses; to read passages which are different in the emotional tone to practice the accurate demonstration of emotions reflected in the text.

References

Gunning, T. (2010). Creating literacy instruction for all students. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon/Pearson Education.

Jack and the Beanstalk. (2012). Web.

The article “The Organisational Development (OD) Interventions that Influence Organizational Culture in order To Improve Performance of the Schools in the Warren Park-Malbereign District Region, Zimbabwe” presents the findings of a study conducted to evaluate the Organizational Development (OD) interventions that affect organizational culture and their influence on improving the performance of schools.

The authors conducted the study in Zimbabwe, and the sample group included 50 teachers and 18 school administrators. They utilized two different questionnaires and used several statistical analysis methods to interpret the data. The findings of the study showed that teachers were younger than administrators and the majority of school heads were male and more mature than the teachers, hence the observed effect of age demographics on organizational culture.

Authors’ Main Idea

The authors’ main idea is that OD interventions can influence organizational culture, and as a result, enhance performance in organizations. According to the authors, culture is an amalgamation of the norms and values that a particular group adheres to, and it is a reflection of how that group performs its activities. In that regard, the norms, activities, behaviors, feelings, beliefs, attitudes, interactions, and patterns of activities are affected by age (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015). This idea is supported by the study’s findings that showed that staff development, duty delegation, and teacher involvement in decision-making and organizational change enhance performance.

Subject’s Approach

The authors approached the subject from the perspective of the influence of various organizational development interventions on culture and the performance of the organization. In that regard, the authors evaluated how staff development, duty delegation, gender and age variances, behavioral change, and the level of education are used to transform the existing culture in order to enhance the performance of the school.

OD interventions are mainly used in industries to introduce change, enhance performance, and create effective corporate cultures. However, the concept has been introduced into the education system. The major objective of OD interventions is to increase performance and effectiveness by integrating technology, people, culture tasks, organizational values, and procedures.

Summary

The extensive literature review conducted by the researchers shows that the major goal of organizational development is to enhance an organization’s effectiveness. This is achieved through the application of knowledge and the implementation of OD interventions. One of the major assumptions is that the integration of people and objectives enhances organizational effectiveness and streamlines relationships in the workplace (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015).

An intervention can be described as the development of an innovation in order to improve performance or solve problems. According to the authors, examples of OD interventions include skill development, team building, goal setting, sensitivity training, role analysis, career planning, managerial grid, skill development, and process consultants (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015). An intervention is chosen based on the specific needs of the organization.

The authors argue that OD interventions have an influence on organizational culture because if they are conducted properly, they can modify an organizations culture and systems, as well as individual and group behaviors (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015).

Culture is one of the major obstacles to organizational development because of the people’s propensity to maintain the status quo. The researchers cited cases of resistance to change in cases where the teachers deemed the leadership of their schools as dictatorial. In order to overcome this challenge, it is necessary for executives to comprehend the essence and process of change. OD interventions are important because they can change people’s attitudes and behaviors regarding organizational change (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015). Successful interventions abolish ineffective norms and values and introduce corporate cultures that are founded on collaboration and understanding.

Study Methodology

The researchers study sample includes 50 teachers and 18 school heads (administrators). All the participants were sourced from the Harare Province in Zimbabwe. The researchers conducted personal interviews and collected additional data using questionnaires. They held face to face interviews with the participants. Face to face interactions were the preferred mode of data collection because they enhanced accuracy as only teachers or school heads were interviewed. Gender was an important aspect: the schools were dominated by female teachers and male administrators.

The Main Issues Identified Regarding Interventions

The main issues that the authors have identified in relation to the session on interventions include the importance of interventions, the depth of intervention, the relationship between change activities and the nature of the problems, and intervention strategies and activities.

Interventions are important because they create change in organizations by disrupting current practice and addressing dissatisfactory conditions. The authors found out that OD interventions can influence organizational culture and improve performance (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015). In that regard, the involvement of teachers in decision-making and organizational change is important. The main aim of teacher involvement is to instill as sense of belonging to the organization. 92% of the teachers interviewed argued that their involvement in decision-making is important as it increases their participation in the school’s activities (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015). In addition, it aids in the development of corporate culture.

Overt group issues such as communication problems and conflicts require below the surface intervention. In that regard, the authors cite staff development as an intervention that can solve the aforementioned group issues. The major goals of staff development programs include professional growth and the creation of a conducive working environment (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015). School heads and teachers viewed staff development as an important aspect of organizational development. They stated that it was imperative for staff development programs to incorporate special roles for school heads, their deputies, and teacher-in-charge. The majority of the participants supported staff development because they had taken part and benefited from such programs in their careers.

The authors identified behavioral change, duty delegation, involvement in decision-making, and staff development as intervention activities that affect organizational culture. According to the study’s results, 36 teachers perceived behavioral change as important while 14 teachers were uncertain regarding its influence. In that regard, change can be successfully attained if teachers embrace the idea (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015).

All school heads stated that culture was an important aspect of an organization because it influences performance. The majority of the teachers interviewed argued that it was possible for school heads to introduce change single-handedly. On the contrary, 48% of the teachers argued that change was a group effort and therefore, it needed the participation of all teachers (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2015).

Lessons Learned

I have learned many lessons from the article. First, organizational culture has a significant influence on an organization’s performance. The behaviors, values, norms, and patterns of activities that students and school administrators embrace will determine their effectiveness and performance of school activities. Second, interventions such as behavioral change, staff development, and involvement in change influence the development of organizational culture.

Factors such as age, level of education, and experience are important in shaping an individual’s view of the importance of organizational culture. Behavioral change is imperative in organizations because the values, attitudes, and norms of employees determine their effectiveness in fulfilling their obligations. Finally, organizational change cannot be achieved without the involvement of employees in decision-making and innovation. It is difficult to bring change without the introduction of development interventions that should match the nature of the problems that are experienced within the organization.

Recommendations

The major recommendation was the increased implementation of staff development programs in organizational development. The authors also recommended the introduction of OD interventions in schools by the Ministry of Education in order to improve performance. They proposed the incorporation the concept of organizational development in tertiary education, such as in teachers’ colleges.

Conclusion

The authors concluded that organizational development interventions can be successfully used to enhance performance by changing an organization’s corporate culture. The study found out that teachers’ involvement in decision-making, behavioral change, delegation of duties, and staff development are key interventions that can enhance performance in schools. The supervisory roles of school heads are important, and they are enhanced by experience, age, and level of education.

Both administrators and teachers agreed that performance can be enhanced by changing organizational culture. Organizational culture is shaped by aspects such as staff development, behavior, organizational awareness, and the delegation of duties. The study revealed that OD interventions are aimed at changing the culture of an organization in order to enhance performance. Though widely applied in industries, OD has been introduced in the education system.

Reference

Maphosa, J. S., & Maphosa, T. (2015). The Organisational Development (OD) interventions that influence organizational culture in order to improve performance of the schools in the Warren Park-Malbereign District region, Zimbabwe. International Journal of management, 3(5), 1-9.

• Name: Lesson plan for Social Studies.
• WGU Task Objective Number: 602419-08.

General Information

• Lesson Title & Subject(s): Social Studies.
• Topic: Map Skills (Measuring Distance and identifying physical features).
• Unit of Study: Distance: Calculation of distance on maps.
• Grade/Level: Fourth grade.

Instructional Setting

Fourth-grade classroom: this class contains 28 students, there are roughly 13 boys and 15 girls, always seated on desks during the lesson. Students will be sitting at their desks arranged four rows parallel to each other, consisting of seven desks in each respective row. The main purpose of sitting on desks during the lesson will be predominantly for the presentation of new information and thereafter, the arrangement of the desks will change for predetermined pairs for guided practice during the group discussions. In most of the teaching moment, students will be seating on desks as the teacher explains and demonstrates the teaching concepts for the lesson.

Instructional teaching instruments will be available for students to use. During the lesson, students will possess instructional learning resources including ruling material including meter/centimeter ruler, strings, paper strips, pencils and/or crayons, drawing books, painting materials, wall charts, bulletin boards, and posters, which will provide relevant information pertinent to the theme of distance and measurement.

Standards, Goals, and Objectives

Your State Core Curriculum/Student Achievement Standard(s):

Social Studies Standards (Content subject 1)

National Standards

‘Students in Wisconsin will learn about geography through the study of the relationships among people, places, and environments.’ As stated in the standards, students gain geographical perceptions about the world by studying the existing interaction between the earth and the people concerning their living zones and their activities.

General Lesson Goal(s):

At the end of the lesson:

Lesson goal 1

Students will be able to understand how to estimate measurements and calculate short distances provided in a given map using simple measurement units like centimeters, meters, and Kilometers.

Lesson Objective(s): (For Social Studies)

• Competency goal 1: At the end of the lesson, all students participating in the lesson must be able to understand terminologies used in distance measurement (I.e. centimeter, meter, kilometer).
• Competency goal 2: By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to correlate between the drawing distance and real distance.
• Competency goal 3: At the end of the lesson, learners must be in a position to understand how the theme of measurements correlates with real-life practices.
• Measurable goal: Given the 10 assessment questions meant for formative assessment, students should be able to score at least 8/10 on average.

Lesson Objective(s): (For Mathematics)

• Competency goal 1: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to understand how to apply simple measuring units and their initials.
• Competency goal 2: By the end of the lesson, learners will have developed simple measuring techniques used in determining distance on a given worksheet.
• Competency goal 3: Before the lesson end, all students participating in the class teaching will be well acquainted with the skill used in converting measurements.
• Measurable goal: Given the units in the assessment measurement table or matching sheet, learners should manage to score at least 85% in the matching test.

Lesson Objective(s): (For English)

• Competency goal 1: Before the lesson end, students must be in a position to understand the terminologies taught and use them correctly.
• Competency goal 2: At the lesson end, learners should be able to read the vocabulary correctly and fluently following verbal rules like pronunciation.

Materials and Resources

Instructional Materials

During the lesson, the students will be using several instructional materials including meter or centimeter rulers, strings, paper strips, pencils and/or crayons, drawing books, calculation notebooks, painting materials, wall charts, bulletin boards, and posters.

Primary Resources used

Borich, G. (2010). Effective teaching methods: Research-based practice (7th Ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice-Hall. ISBN: 0131367188 or 978- 0131367180

Duplass, J. A. (2011). Teaching Elementary Social Studies: Strategies, Standards, and Internet Resources (3^rd Ed.). Belmont, MA: Wadsworth, ISBN 10:1111179352.

Chapin, J. R. (2006). Elementary social studies: A practical guide (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Publishers. ISBN 13: 9781111179359.

Instructional Plan

The sequence of Instructional Procedures/Activities/Events (provide a description and indicate the approximate time for each):

Identification of Student Prerequisite Knowledge and/or Skills: (3 minutes)

Identification of prerequisite student’s knowledge will be necessary to enable the teacher to gauge student’s current level of knowledge on the topic and provide a possible gateway to the Sequence of Instructional Procedures, which will form part of the pre-assessment plan.

Review of previous definitions of terms and concepts

The subject teacher will begin the lesson by reviewing previous definitions of terms and concepts as an introductory strategy for the lesson. For instance, under social studies, students must possess knowledge of what the topic entails. For example, distance is a physical length or a numerical description of how far apart objects are.

Linking the topic to previous learning

The teacher will then connect the intended topic with previous teachings to access the level of knowledge embedded in each student. The teacher will ask oral questions about the topic or provide a simple statement. For example, there are several units of measurement used to calculate short distances in plain sheets. The teacher will then allow students to provide exemplars of units (e.g. meters).

Presentation of New Information or Skills To Be Taught (5 minutes)

The subject teacher will provide a concrete introduction to the new information starting with the main objective of the study.

Theme

Today we will be studying measurement: Calculation of distance using simple material.

Distance

1. Distance is the physical length from one place to another.
2. Distance is measured using mathematical units (e.g. meters, centimeters)
3. Unit shot forms representing meters is m, centimeter cm, and kilometer km.
4. We can measure distance vertically or horizontally depending on the place.

Map

1. A map is a diagrammatic representation of an area of land or sea on a piece of paper.
2. The map can contain physical features like hills, mountains, valleys among others.
3. Other important features on maps include roads, railways, and pathways, among others.
4. We can measure roads or railways on a map using rulers, strings, paper strips in simple measuring units like meters, and centimeters.
5. Maps usually have a representation scale that learners can use to convert the measurement units.

Meter/ Centimeter Ruler

1. A meter or centimeter ruler is a small measuring device used by learners to measure short distances on flat surfaces, i.e. on books, maps, and sketches.
2. A ruler has measurements in units of meters with initial m and centimeter cm.

Modeling: I Do (5 minutes)

After Identification of prerequisite student’s knowledge, the lesson will begin officially. During the lesson proceeds, I will be standing in front of the classroom, demonstrating and delivering the teaching concepts to the students to provide the necessary connection between concepts and prior conclusions.

1. Using the whiteboard or blackboard, whichever will be available, I will be explaining the concepts and themes while demonstrating using the necessary instructional material. I will start by writing the theme of the lesson, which is the topic. Using all the whiteboard/blackboard rules, I will frame the writings in the desired style. Let students understand that a measuring stick or a ruler shows the relationship between distance on the map and distance on the earth.
2. Using my wall map as instructional material, I will pin the wall map on the white board to allow students to have visual access to the concepts. In simple terms, I will define a map and its intended use in the underway topic. For instance, a map is a diagram showing a piece of land or sea on a small flat surface, especially on papers. It possesses physical features that we can measure using strings or rulers.
3. I will instruct students to show their rulers and all measuring instruments, to confirm that all students possess the right instructional material. Using my meter stick or popularly known as black/whiteboard ruler, measuring stick one meter long, I will select two roads or railways (a straight one, and a wavy one) and mark the distances as students watch. I will try measuring the two using a meter stick. I will ensure that students maintain silence and follow the procedures as I demonstrate.
4. It will be difficult to estimate the distance in the wavy road or railway. Then I will explain to the students that it is intricate to measure wavy roads or railway lines using a simple meter stick or rulers. Measure the same feature using alternative instructional material including the strings and paper strips. You will realize that strings will manage to measure the two features. I will then explain the reason behind such circumstances.
5. Using the provided scale on the map, I will explain to the students the need to have the scale, providing necessary conversion calculations either from the meter to centimeter, centimeter to a kilometer, and from meters to kilometers. I will let the students understand that 1 km equals to 1000m, 1m equals 100cm, and so forth. Allow them to convert simple figures.
6. I will demonstrate the representative symbols used to represent features on maps and sketches, especially the roads, railways, rivers, lakes, and the pathways that one can manage to measure their distance in terms of length, square, and perimeter or boundary. I will ensure that these symbols reflect the real representation of the features on the land.

Guided Practice: We do (10 minutes)

1. The teacher will arrange the students in groups of sevens to form four corroborative learning groups. Each student will possess individual learning instructional materials including strings, paper strips, and a sample of a map. Students will now be engaging in interactive learning with the teacher. This section will from the formative assessment.
2. Identify I feature that students can locate in their maps that resemble the feature in your wall map. Ensure that there is maximum silence and highest concentration on the board as all students face the teacher. Explain and demonstrate how learners should measure physical features given the map or any diagram representing the feature. Using the strips and stings, measure the feature accurately and correctly and instruct students to practice the same in their maps.
3. Instruct the students to identify measurable physical features on the map including the roads, railways, rivers, lakes, and the pathways that one can manage to measure their distance in terms of length, square, and perimeter or boundary. Following the procedures used in measuring the length and perimeter, allow them to carry out interactive learning by identifying features and measuring them.
4. In the meantime, students should be writing necessary measurements in their notebooks, ensuring that there is the correct spelling of the newly introduced vocabulary in the lesson. Students must integrate the measurement symbols of meters, centimeters, and kilometers coherently as they commence with the activities. Mark the group work where appropriate.

Independent Student Practice: Students Do (10 minutes)

After interactive group discussion work, students will manage to resume their sitting positions for a predetermined teaching procedure. The teacher will provide students with individual assessment tests to examine the level of knowledge acquainted during the teachings, which will also be part of the formative assessment employed by the teacher.

Assessing Social Studies

1. For social studies as the teaching content subject 1, Issue out a matching sheet containing respective physical features to each of the individual students.
2. Provide instructions that will provide guidance and govern the assessment. For instance, let the students understand that they will be matching the features with their respective names.
3. Let them understand that only free drawn lines will be useful in establishing the connection between the physical feature and its descriptive name.

Match the feature with its name

Assessing mathematics

1. For mathematics, as the second teaching content subject, the teacher will issue a table consisting of measuring units for students to convert the units.
2. The teacher will let students understand that they will only use arithmetic symbols taught in the discussion. I.e. use only m, cm, or km.
3. The teacher will let the student understand that the assessment will be an individual practice and that students should not discuss or copy.

Complete the conversion table.

Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: (10 minutes)

Ensure that students have delivered assessment papers for both social studies (Content subject1) and mathematics (Content subject 2). It is necessary to make a comeback to the concepts and themes to ensure that students have achieved the learning goals as indicated.

1. The teacher will write all the vocabulary used in the topic on the white/blackboard. Thereafter, each student will have an equal chance to explain the geographical meaning of the words (Chapin, 2006).
2. The teacher will in the shortest time possible draw the two tables used in the formative assessment on the black/whiteboard for students to view.
3. The teacher will display the map again and allow students to engage in a classroom activity that will ensure all students have received the concepts thought.
4. The teacher will revise the assignment as students engage in interactive learning comparing physical features from the map to the ones drawn on the black/whiteboard.

The teacher will then use the available classroom computer and a Digital screen display to integrate technology in the lesson. The large digital screen and a recorded DVD will be useful to show the teachers how they can use digital libraries as learning resources to find appropriate information. Using Google search techniques the teacher will search for online maps comprising of all symbols discussed in the lesson, the photos will then project on the large digital screen to provide a wider display. The teacher can then as simple questions and finally show some of the features that will form the next lesson as a way of connecting students to the next lesson.

Pedagogical Strategy (or Strategies)

During the teaching activity, the teacher will employ different pedagogical strategies as part of instruction procedures. The teacher will employ a direct instructional approach, cooperative and interactive learning groups, and partner work as well. The direct instructional approach involved issuing instructions to students while undertaking classroom activities during the teaching period. Students also engaged in-group discussions on how to measure distances of simple physical features using strings, strips, and rulers. The teacher also employed the partner work strategies where students sat in groups of threes as in the case of their normal sitting as the teacher issued discussion assignments at the end of the lesson.

Differentiated Instruction

As the class composed of students with different ability levels, the teacher will employ differentiated instruction. The class had no disabled individuals and only the intelligent and the dull students interacted in groups developed during the lesson. Students with greater intellectual ability engaged in collaborative learning with the dull students were during the group discussion, at least there was a mixture of abilities and talents that allowed interactive learning (Hargreaves, 2000).

During the lesson, students with greater intelligence assisted others to cope with the learning procedures by assisting them to understand the concepts, themes, and terms employed in the study. The teacher provided flashcards for students to join while trying to understand the meaning and writing of the newly introduced vocabulary.

Technology Integration

The teacher will use the available classroom computer and a Digital screen display to integrate technology into the lesson. The large digital screen and a recorded DVD will be useful to show the teachers how they can use digital libraries as learning resources to find appropriate information. Using Google search techniques the teacher will search for online maps comprising of all symbols discussed in the lesson, the photos will then project on the large digital screen to provide a wider display. The teacher can then as simple questions and finally show some of the features that will form the next lesson as a way of connecting students to the next lesson. Digital flashcards will also form part of learning for students to understand the terms and enable them to use them grammatically correct.

Student Assessment/Rubrics

• Pre-assessment plan- for establishing if students’ achieved prior teachings and if they have, any idea of the topic projected for discussion, the teacher will undertake pre-assessment. For the pre-assessment examination, the teacher will introduce the topic with some verbal questions to bring students into attention and test the level of prerequisite knowledge. The pre-assessment plans will also involve providing students with a simple agree or disagree verbal quiz about the topic that the teacher intends to introduce. The teacher will use all the teaching aids including maps, and learning instruments like rulers, strips, and strings for students to describe and distinguish. The teacher will further develop simple sketches of physical features on the whiteboard as seen on a map for students to identify, as the teacher provides correct answers for them.
• Formative Assessment: To ensure proper achievement of both personal and lesson objectives it will be essential to undertake formative assessment. During the teaching proceedings, the teacher will make sure of the use of consistent questioning and simple testing to ascertain the level of understanding. After delivering all concepts and discussion of the themes in the subject, the teacher assesses students’ understanding using a matching worksheet and conversion table in which each student will try to match features with the respective geographical names and provide accurate conversion for the measuring units. After successful matching in the matching sheet, this aspect does not guarantee the total achievement of the concept. Under any circumstance, each student must score at least 90% in the matching sheet and score at least 8/10 in the conversion table.
• Summative Assessments: This will include techniques indispensable in evaluating the whole learning process and the development of learner’s knowledge in succeeding lessons. For this study, a cumulative assessment will involve consecutive assessment where each consecutive day, throughout the first four minutes, the teacher will engage in a slight discussion with the class to assess the previous knowledge and connect it to the predetermined lesson (Duplass, 2011). A comprehensive assessment will engross reviewing unit tests, performance tasks, and individual portfolio review for each student. Students undertaking these tests during the cumulative assessment must attain about a maximum mean of 80% as a pass mark throughout succeeding periods of tests. On weekends, the teacher will provide students with several assignments on the discussed concepts and themes to undertake. The school will supply continuous assessment tests as slated in school routines.

Importance of Effective Collaboration

Just like in a profit organization where cooperation and teamwork determine the outcome, collaboration in the teaching profession is also important. Generally, positive results in many schools result from the teacher, parent, and student collaborative efforts. However, in the teaching and learning process, teacher-teacher associations greatly influence students’ performance. Student academic performance depends on teachers’ levels of commitment and cooperation. Teachers often collaborate in teaching through teamwork meetings, lesson studies, and friendship groups, during which teachers undertake effective planning, crucial observations and analyze class or school performance. All these activities principally focus on supporting student development, learning, and well-being.

Insights from Observed Video

The video comprises two participants sitting adjacent to each other. Most probably, the theme is about social studies lesson planning. Based on video simulation produced on the subject of effective teacher collaboration, several observations appear apparent to teacher collaboration and cooperation. The video replication entails a collaborative process between the student on the Pre-clinical Experience assessment and the teacher (or the specific school staff member) responsible for supervising the Pre-Experience assessment.

The supervisor keenly questions the students on what the lesson plan lacks and what they should add to make the lesson plan improve. During the collaboration process, the two members notice the omission of important aspects of inclusion like social studies teaching standards and objectives. They noticed that students have been lesson planning, but meeting very few social studies standards. They reviewed through files to confirm the right way to correct the lesson plan including necessary social studies standards.

Analysis of Collaborative Process

The video simulation entails a collaborative teaching process. As postulated before, during the collaboration process, the two featured teachers notice the omission of important aspects of inclusion like social studies teaching standards and objectives. They noticed that students have been lesson planning, but meeting very few social studies standards. They reviewed through files to confirm the right way to correct the lesson plan including necessary social studies standards.

Typically, the collaborative discussion involved several collaborative measures including searching for relevant references from primary sources that enabled them to conclude the areas that the previous lesson planning omitted. Borich (2010) affirms that lesson plans must include all components. The collaborative process allowed the featured student to have a greater understanding of lesson planning.

Impact on the teaching Strategies and Instruction

As observed in the simulation, the two teachers revised the lesson plan. After revising the lesson plan, they concluded. The revised lesson plan enabled the teachers to have greater teaching confidence as the themes, concepts, terminologies, and procedures including appropriateness of hands-on activities improved. They ensured that the revised lesson plan included all the basic social studies standards and the hands-on activities are appropriate. The subsequent lessons taught by these teachers now improved in instructional planning and their objectivity. The influence of the revision and the impact was therefore eminent throughout teaching strategies and the instructional setting as I was able to achieve greater objectivity in the second lesson.

Explanation of the revisions

As per the video, on noticing the mistakes undertaken in the preparation of the initial lesson plan, the two teachers reviewed the necessary components with problems and replaced them. Two major fixes improved lesson planning. The fixes in the initial lesson plan involved determining which standards achievable through the lessons and determining how effective field activities influence learning. The teachers fixed the social studies standards with appropriate mathematics and writing standards to meet the desired plan and ensure that “holidays around the world” allowed children to have different life experiences.

Observation and description

Instructional setting

The level of the class was fourth-grade classroom: the class contained 28 students and there are roughly 13 boys and 15 girls, always seated on desks during the lesson. Each student sits in his/her respective position on a chair supported with desks to write on. The classroom arrangement involves students desks arranged in four rows parallel to each other, with each row having seven seats from front to back of the class. The arrangement of the desks changes for predetermined pairs for guided practice during the group discussions.

Level of student learning

The students in this class have considerable knowledge on all the aspects of education taught in the lesson. All students acquired the appropriate hands-on activities as guided by their teacher. At the end of the lesson, the students could manage reading the map correctly as well as demonstrating the ability in identifying physical features on the maps. At the end of the lesson, learners could manage to measure distance in maps appropriately and calculate the conversions accurately.

Pedagogical Strategy and Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner introduced the theory of Multiple Intelligences that comprehended human intelligence and the education process. The theory states that the intelligence inherent in each human being differs from one person to another and that intelligence characteristics are unique in each person, even in identical twins. The pedagogical strategy employed in this lesson differed distinctively from any other teachers in the school I served. I considered linguistic use and Logical-mathematical as templates in providing instruction to students.

Appropriateness of Hands-On Activity

The hands-on activities employed in this lesson plan enabled the teacher to undertake the instructional planning effectively. In measurement techniques and map reading, distance estimation is a unique topic that engages learners in various mathematical activities. The hands-on activities engaged the students in active learning, with student’s visual ability increasing as the maps and its feature provided a greater insight into the natural environment.

Appropriateness of Primary Resources

The primary sources used by the teacher in the lesson plan seemed appropriate as most of them comprehensively described the lesson-planning process. Several of the primary sources utilized in this process knew Wisconsin standards of lesson planning. The majority of the sources provided a clear description of the deemed importance of lesson planning, providing me with the confidence I needed in them. Almost all the referencing involved the use of these appropriate sources.

Explanation of the Thinking Process

One cannot imagine how a simple thing becomes complex when there is a lack of prior knowledge and experience in the same. During the lesson planning process, I could not manage to admit that I am in a fix. The process involved several discussions with friends and an intensive search of appropriate primary resources to provide possible assistance before settling down to write. Lesson planning is a mind seizing process.

Alternative Approach

Apart from teaching social studies with a combination of mathematics and languages, other alternative combinations can apply. A combination of social studies and sciences can be a suitable alternative approach that can suit social studies lessons. Teaching about plants and habitat is a topic that the two principles can combine in a single lesson and provide a superior outcome in the teaching profession. In social studies, plants form a human environment where plants form vegetation. The two concepts carry similar standards and generally correlate with local and national standards during such combination.

Justification of Recommendations

The combinations of social studies and human sciences have been useful in integrating the learning process in the teaching profession. From the historical point of view, social sciences have always had a good combination with human sciences as several concepts and themes are inherent in both principles. Teachers in lower grades have always combined the two principles to cover some broad topics comprehensively. The objectivity and standards of the two topics are similar and standards in the local and state realm correlate as well.

Personal Meaning and Professional Growth

Lesson planning has and will continue being an imperative activity in the teaching process. Personally, the process has increased my level of understanding of practical teaching experiences within the profession. The process enhanced my teaching methods by understanding the importance of lesson planning, techniques in lesson planning, and important ways of combining two teaching subjects in a single lesson. I now have a broader experience in classroom instructional planning and this will help expertise my experience in the teaching profession. Generally, the process provided a whole growth in my profession.

Reference List

Borich, G. (2010). Effective teaching methods: Research-based practice (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.

Chapin, J. R. (2006). Elementary social studies: A practical guide (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Publishers.

Duplass, J. A. (2011). Teaching Elementary Social Studies: Strategies, Standards, and Internet Resources (3rd ed.). Belmont, NY: Wadsworth.

Hargreaves, D. (2000). Four ages of professionalism and professional Learning. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and practice, 6(2), 151-184.