Reflective Journal

Craig Vroom, Fueling Education

Landing that first teaching job, any teaching job, can be a daunting task. The world of teaching is as competitive as it ever has been. Whether spending hours in coursework, months of...

When teachers build relationships in the classroom students are able to grow and learn. Every teacher has his/her own philosophy and theorists they can relate to. The theorists I feel close to are Ladson-Billings (Culturally Responsive Teaching), Dweck (Fixed vs. Growth Mindset), Maslow (Hierarchy of Human Needs), and Curwin and Mendler (Discipline with Dignity). Knowing what your philosophy looks like will help you know how you plan on building relationships in your classroom. When you do this, you will see your students grow in their learning!

74 Practical Ways To Build Relationships With Students - Which Have You Seen In Action? What Is Your Reaction To Them? - Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

I do this strategy every day in the classroom I am in right now for student teaching. I plan on continuing this strategy in my own future classroom. This strategy reminds me of Abraham Maslow‘s theory of human motivation. Your physiological (physical) needs come before anything else. The brain cannot learn if their level of needs are not met. Maslow created a five-tier pyramid to explain his reasoning. I feel close to Maslow’s theory, which will help me know how I can assist my students’ needs. In the classroom I am in right now, I can already see growth and trust being built and it is the best feeling in the world.  

This strategy speaks the most to me because studies have shown that the more mistakes you make, the more your brain grows. I want to model a growth mindset to my students and show them that anyone can make mistakes - yes including teachers. Many people view teachers as if they should not/could not make any mistakes. This is an example of a fixed mindset. We as teachers need to teach and model students the difference between these two mindsets, so students can develop brain growth and truly learn.

Jennifer Hogan, The Compelled Educator

Relationships are the essential element in our schools. The old adage, “Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” is true especially in today’s society...

I will use various strategies to engage my students and learn about what they already know. One great strategy is a KWHL chart for the students to fill out.

I wonder what other hands-on activities the students could do if they could not take a field trip to various markets. Will they still get a deep understanding? Will they still be engaged? I would ask students questions and find out how they will like to learn about the questions they have. This will allow them to have a say and engage them in learning.

When I think about how I will teach my future students, I will think about how I would like it to be taught to me. If I think it is not engaging, then my students will probably be thinking the same thing. I need to ask the students what they know, what they do not know, what they want to know so I can have a better understanding of how to engage and teach my students.

I see how taking students to various markets allows them to learn about economics and cultures in a concrete way, which is a requirement for young children. Teachers need to provide hands-on experiences as Diana Gomez did with her students to provide students with a deep understanding. These experiences are engaging and memorable for students.

This article is eye-opening! I will use historical thinking in my future as well as in my classrooms. I will model historical thinking and prepare my students to think critically about the sources they read or hear.

I wonder how difficult or easy it will be for my future students to distinguish between the truth and false documents, and how to find reliable sources.

I support the idea of researching historical facts from different resources. The students learn critical thinking skills and the difference between the past and the present. The students also learn to develop research skills for further use in their lives.

Jennifer Hauver James, Michelle McVay