Prompt Question Set 3

How do specific arguments made by Eric Jensen offer you suggestions for
meeting the needs of impoverished learners in your future classroom?

According to Jensen’s article “How Poverty Affects Classroom Engagement” there

are seven reasons that students in low-income households are not performing as well as

the students that come from middle class backgrounds. There are many different ways to

meet these seven specific needs of the students in the classroom that are living in poverty.

One need that all humans have is a maintained oxygen level to produce energy. The way

to encourage a maintained oxygen level is to promote stretching, yoga, and activities that

get the students moving in the classroom. Increasing oxygen levels is important because

it causes an increased ability to control metabolism which thus increases learning (Jensen

p. 2). In order to make this a reality in my classroom I plan on have students do little math

stretches prior to class to get them calmed down and ready to learn. I plan on writing

some equations on the board and having the students make these equations with their

arms or legs. For example, the equation for x2 is having both arms up in a curved shape.

Students from low-income backgrounds also need extra assistance with new

classroom terminology because they tend to have smaller vocabularies than middle-class

students, which can leave them at risk for failure. Teachers must be introducing new

vocabulary frequently but giving students time and opportunities to really grasp what this

new word or phrase means. The best way to increase the understanding of new vocabulary

is to have some sort of daily activity that allows the students to interact with the vocab (p.

2). In math classes I feel as if vocabulary is thrown around at students without explaining

what it really means. In my classroom, I intend on first writing the vocabulary words that

are going to be introduced that day on the board and have the students make a guess on

paper or out loud, depending on how I think the class is feeling, as to what they think the
word will mean. Then I will go through the lecture and when we get to the new word, I

will give the definition.

The other sections of Jensen’s article all also have important ideas as to how to

make the classroom more engaging for students from low income families. It is important

to increase student’s effort (p. 2), introduce a hope and growth mindset (p.3), teach

cognitive capacity (p. 3), develop a healthy teacher-student relationship with each student

(p. 4), and embed fun into the classroom to decrease distress (p. 5). Finding ways to

incorporate all of Jensen’s ideas into the classroom will allow students to achieve higher

because it shows that they are cared for, capable of great things, and able to change their

level of thinking or perceived level of intelligence.

How can you use Figure 4.1 in Chapter 4 of the EDFD 461 text to analyze
how your clinical placement setting develops learners’ “soft skills” in the
academic settings?

AVID allows students to develop many soft skills that will be important for their

future careers. Soft skills are starting to be developed even during the AVID application

process. First students need to apply, interview, and be accepted in order to take AVID as

an elective class. This prepares them for future interviews that they will have by showing

them the communication skills that are necessary. Along with this it shows students self-

efficacy because the students know that this class can help them succeed and they have to

make the choice to seek that for themselves, instead of automatically being placed in this

class. It also shows them leadership through this application process. These students need

to be leaders of their own lives in order to make the decision to join AVID. They cannot

follow the crowd and choose to stay where they are at with their grades. They need to lead

by example and reach out to get the help from AVID.

 Many soft skills are learned during the AVID tutorial process as well. During this

process each student comes with a question that they are stuck on. Then the rest of the

group that they are in asks questions in order for the student to be able to eventually find

the information necessary to be able to get their question answered. Communication is a

major factor during this process. The students are learning how to help the student reach

an answer without just telling it to them. This increases the level of communication that

occurs during this class. Also, it causes all of the students in the group to work as a team

in order for the person at the board to reach the conclusion that they need. During this

process of asking questions the students are also learning how to problem solve in creative

ways. They are learning that if they do not understand a problem there are certain

questions, they can ask themselves in order to try and solve the problem from a different

approach.

Another great thing about AVID is that it increases the students work ethic towards

school in general. These students are in the middle of the road as far as grades go and

instead of choosing to remain in the middle that have made the choice to join AVID. This

causes the students to be held more accountable for their grades which causes them to

work harder. This shows them that hard work pays off in the end and increases their work

ethic. Also, this class really focuses on how to be a good student in regard to having a

planner to keep organized, following a binder system so you never leave important

material in your locker, and doing schoolwork prior to the due date. Through this the

students learn how to keep their homework organized, as well as how to manage their

time in order to complete all of their homework. This will eventually allow them to

manage their time later in life when they are juggling friends, a job, plus many other

factors of adult life. Overall, AVID teaches many of the soft skills that are necessary for
success later on in life. This class is all about giving students the skills needed to go to

college, get the job that they want, and reach their definition of a successful life.

How can you use any of your EDFD 401 Learning theorists to shape a future
teaching strategy that helps your learners develop any of the set of
21st Century skills listed in the hyperlinked document located in the
“Focused Job Training” section of Figure 4.2 in Chapter 4 of the EDFD 461
text?

One teaching strategy that will help students develop the skills that are necessary in the 21st

century is the idea of constructivism. This learning theory focuses on discovery learning which

allows students become thinkers instead of memorizers. Discovery learning is where students are

asking questions, problem solving, and using trial and error in order to learn instead of just

memorizing what the teacher tells them is true (Constructivism PowerPoint- Slide 6&7). There is

also social constructivism where students interact with others and use their previous knowledge to

collectively solve problems (Slide 12). Classes that promote inquiry-based learning, group work,

and trial and error provide students with many of the skills that are required in the 21st century.

One specific skill that is promoted by constructivism is thinking creatively. Since students

are trying to figure out how to do things without the teacher telling them exactly how to do it the

students must think in ways that they maybe never have before. They must think deeply and

creatively in order to understand how to do something or why it works. This allows them to actively

engage in the problem and builds their ability to think through problems, even if they have never

seen a problem like that before. This also causes students to build the skills that are necessary to

reason effectively. Telling information directly to students does not make them think about the

logic behind it. Having students learn through trial and error allows them to reason effectively

about why the situation happens in a certain way. This also allows the students to problem solve.

It causes them to have to work out all of the issues in their logic along the way to finding the
correct solution. This increases their ability to solve other problems because it shows them the

many ways to continue to find new information about a situation when they are stuck. The skills

of creative thinking, effective reasoning, and problem solving are all things that are highly useful

in college, jobs, and adult life. It is important that the students learn these skills early on, so they

are able to use them when they need to later on in life.

The other aspect of constructivism is the social aspect that is involved. The students must

work together in order to understand the situation and use each other as a resource. This promotes

many different skills that are very important in the 21st century. During this process of learning

through asking questions, trial and error, and problem-solving students are using each other for

support. Students learn how to work creatively together because each student learns and thinks

differently, by allowing them to share their thought process with others it increases the ability to

mesh multiple strategies together to work creatively. Effective communication is also learned

because if the students are using a system of communication that does not work for the group, they

will not be successful in finding the answers. Over time they will learn how to communicate

effectively within their group which will lead to a more cohesive environment. Group work also

causes each student to be able to take their turn at leading the group through the part that they

understand, as well as asking important questions that encourages further discussion. This also

causes students to be responsible for others because their participation in the group affects the

engagement and understanding of the other students in the group. Inquiry based learning and social

learning, the main ideas of constructivism, provide a classroom structure that allows students to

learn many skills that are necessary in the 21st century.

How might Source 4 or 5 on your Resource List help you shape this future
teaching strategy?
 Source four and five on my resource list are both professors of mathematics at

Winona State University that I have class with this semester. I think that Dr. Wangberg

would be exceptionally effective at helping me shape this teaching strategy because he

runs our Foundations of Math class with an inquiry-based learning approach, which is

the strategy that I am trying to shape. I think that Dr. Peratt would also be beneficial for

shaping this future teaching strategy because he also uses inquiry-based learning in his

classroom. They both use this strategy in their classroom however they use it in different

ways. Dr. Wangberg uses inquiry-based learning every day to introduce new topics and

ideas to the class. Using the opposite strategy, Dr. Peratt uses inquiry-based learning to

be summative so students can take what they have learned in the class and ask questions

and work together in order to finish his final project.

I interviewed both of these professors in order to see their advice on improving

teaching and learning in my future classroom, as well as how to implement an inquiry-

based approach in my own classroom. While both professors gave good responses, Dr.

Peratt gave answers that were more specific to me because we have a good bond from him

being my advisor as well as my professor for at least one subject every semester so far. Dr.

Peratt said that the way to improve learning and teaching in the classroom is to have a

sense of the students understanding prior to starting class. This can be found through

conversation or assessment. This is important because then you know where you should

start your classroom topics, as well as how in depth you should go with things that you

think the students should already know. He thinks that inquiry-based learning gives

students better problem-solving skills as well as gives the professor a chance to see where

the students are at performance wise. If students are able to ask beneficial questions, he

knows that they are understand the concept of the material.