EDU2365 Course Reflection

Ecology and Human Experience Course Reflection

By Elizabeth Conard

In the education course Ecology and Human Experience, I felt like we had three main areas of focus throughout the semester, along with our choice book analysis. 

The first area of focus that I recognized was the ability to make connections between school and other factors outside of school, such as a student’s home life, economic status, sexual orientation, and social circles. As a future teacher, the first step to success in the classroom is being able to recognize the different factors in a student’s life, as well as the connections between what you see in the classroom and what may be effecting a student outside of the teacher’s sight. Before you can begin to understand a student or engage them in learning, you must understand both the positive and negative influences in their life. For example, in our first reading accountability assignment (in Middle Schools for a Diverse Society), the author talks about how she had students in her classes “who had no floors in their homes, who had no heat, or had no running water” (pp.17). In addition to economic or home situations, an educator can be faced with diverse sexual orientations, social circles, and personalities. Teachers need to know if their students are a part of the minority group (or a majority group) so that they can be aware of issues such as bullying, gang violence, or other issues that could be effecting students. 

The second area of focus that I found in this class, was how to begin understanding students and their problems once you become aware of all the different problems. There are several ways that I learned to start understanding your students and their needs. One way that I thought was very interesting (as a creative writing/secondary licensure major) was the “Theories and Methodology” chapter of Lives Across Cultures that discussed the narrative method of research. The author defines narrative methods as “looking at a variety of narrative materials, including stories (oral or written), diaries, letters, and their analyses" (pp.46) I think that using this narrative method is a good way to get to know your students. For example, in previous classes I have taken, we fill out index cards in the beginning of the class where we can write down our interests, favorite subjects, and other facts about ourselves for the teacher to know. After reading more about narrative methods, I think I will apply similar ideas in my classroom. Another narrative method that I am interested in as a continuous tool (as opposed to the index cards, which are more limited) is the idea of using journals for students to write in daily or weekly. In this method, teachers will give prompts for students to use a guide, or perhaps just let the students free write. I feel like this is a useful way to incorporate creative thinking into the classroom, but also another way for students to convey their individual voices to the teacher and for the teacher to continue to ask questions that they feel are relevant to the class. However, as I think about journaling more, I have more questions about it. Something that is still foggy in my brain is where the line should be drawn between what student’s should share with the teacher, and vice versa. In some cases, students could share very personal information that (for the students safety) the teacher will have to share with other school personnel or with the police. How much information should a teacher provoke from a student? How do you decide what is appropriate for a class or not? These are all questions that arise from my reading this semester, and that I will have to explore more as I continue my education courses and begin observing classrooms. 

Along with more personalized narrative methods to understand students, I also learned about the power of having discussions in the classroom. In Ecology of Human Experience, we thought a lot about what you can and should discuss in a classroom. Two topics (that I learned about in Adolescents at School) that I think are very important to discuss in a classroom is sexuality (sexual orientation, what is appropriate, and non-traditional families) and different races, ethnicities, and cultures. From what I have learned, there are two positives to in-school discussions. The first, is that it gives the teacher a chance to hear different students voice their opinion and get a general feel for their stance on important issues such as sexuality or culture. Once the teacher gets a feel for the attitudes in the classroom, the teacher can ask questions to deepen the discussion and understand more about their students. The second positive aspect of having discussions deal with trying to get rid of prejudice. If a discussion of such topics is prompted in a classroom (especially with younger children) it gives students an opportunity to ask questions and to be introduced to different parts of their culture, instead of becoming close-minded and seeing only their “way of life.” Because this widens the students scope of the world, it can prevent harmful prejudices later in life. 

After becoming aware and understanding the different lives and opinions of your students, the third important thing that I learned in EDU2365 was how to cater to different students needs and engage them in learning. An important idea that I learned about is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In Maslow’s Hierarchy, the needs of a human being are categorized from most important to least important. On the bottom of the scale (the most important needs) there are things such as food, water, and sleep. Above that, there are things such as the security of family and health. As a teacher, you may be aware of a student that is not receiving adequate food at home, or does not have a stable home situation, therefore such student’s cannot move forward in their learning or in other aspects of their life. For example, let’s say you become aware that a student is unable to eat breakfast in the morning, and you discuss this with the student. To supplement this need for the student, you may find a way for them to eat breakfast at school. In another situation, you may know that a student does not have an adult to talk to at home. As a teacher, you may provide a safe space and offer the student support in a way they cannot receive at home. By studying Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs, I realize that there are many ways a teacher can cater to the different needs of students to help them succeed in the classroom and in their life. 

Another way to engage students and attend to their needs, is to address topics in the classroom that students can relate to and are interested in. For example, in Middle Schools for a Diverse Society, students said: “School would be more interesting if they had some choice about what they would be studying. ‘If we picked what we want, it would be more interesting’” (pp.71). If students are given a chance to choose what they study, there is more of a chance that they will become engaged in a topic, therefore strengthening the learning environment and encourage them to think critically about different aspects of their life. Another important thing to keep in mind an apply in the classroom, is to realize that there are different students with different learning styles, and cater to all those different learning styles. Further on in Middle Schools for a Diverse Society, there is a chapter about flexibility as a teacher. I think this is a very important concept, that I learned a lot about this semester. The book reads: “The task for educators, who are faced with young adolescents with diverse backgrounds and needs, is to acknowledge the challenges, find ways to address the challenges, and to incorporate strategies and organizational patterns within a learning environment that supports all students...The learning environment must be flexible to meet the needs of students through a differentiation of teaching strategies based upon the abilities, interests, learning styles, and rates of learning of the students. This is not quite complete; we must also adapt our curriculum, teaching strategies, materials, and assessment based upon the cultural, gender, and socio-economic differences of our students” (pp.131). I thought this was an excellent quote, and it should be taken to heart that all students are different, and that you will have to continuously adapt your teaching style from classroom to classroom. 

Another aspect of the course was our choice book presentation and discussion. For my choice book, I chose Monster by Walter Dean Myers. In my presentation, my partner and I related the ideas in Monster to the theorists James Banks,  Lev Vygotsky, and Erik Erikson. A large part of the novel discussed racism, and the effect of race and socio-economic status in the classroom and in other important situations, such as in a courtroom. In the book, the main character (who is being tried for a crime) and who is African American, is told by his lawyer: “You’re young, you’re black, and you’re on trial, what else do they need to know?”(pp.79). My partner and I related this quote to James Banks because in his research, he discusses diversity and racism, and how it effects young people. Throughout the novel, the main character also struggles with the lack of a positive role model and in developing his identity. We related the role model conflict to Vygotsky and his ideas of role modeling, and also discussed Erikson and his stages of identity development. Overall, I felt that this was a helpful project, because we were able to look at more of an abstract work (a novel) and relate it to different ideas we had learned. 

I feel that I have learned many important things about teaching this semester in Ecology and Human Experience. I have a different viewpoint of how to approach teaching, and have constructed teaching ideas of my own from the theories I have studied. However, many of my questions still remain, and I look forward to answering those questions in further education courses and experiences. 

References: 

Chamberlain, K. (2003). Middle Schools For A Diverse Society. New York, New York: Peter Lang Publishing. 

Gardiner, H.W., Kosmitski, C. (2011). Lives Across Cultures. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon. 

Sadowski, Michael. (2008). Adolescents at School. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.