May 26th: Some days are better than others...

Today’s class was draining especially after lunch. Wynne was hosting a thesis statement/essay workshop and the students would not focus to complete the task. In fact, the students were down right rowdy, childish, disrespectful and, at times, obnoxious! This was unexpected for me as well as Wynne since several students were removed from the program due to lack of constructive participation in class and through homework assignments among other things. (These students did not comply with the contract goals set by the LAGCC GED program.) 

After the lesson section of the class time, students were asked to take 45-60 minutes to draft a 5-paragraph essay: intro, body (3 paragraphs), and conclusion. Wynne had left me in charge of the class because she had a departmental meeting. Instead of working diligently, the students talked in cliques when they should have been taking the time to craft a strong thesis statement and write their essays. While I was helping several students’ work through their essays things became a little noisy. I looked up from the student I was working with and asked them to keep it down because others were writing.  Some students moved to an empty classroom next door to concentrate because of all the commotion. I tried being a little sterner to get the class to focus but they’d only quite down for a few minutes at a time.  One student was working but became frustrated with the noise and my lack of control and slammed his books, swore, and stormed out of the classroom dropping the “f” bomb before he crossed the threshold of the classroom.  His behavior was completely unacceptable. The funny thing about him is that he is a good student in terms of handing in assignments, following directions, and even essay composition. He needs to work on his temper and work on managing how outside distractions/factors affects his emotions.  Wynne was back by then and was able to speak with him. I would not have known what to say to him, so I was thankful for her return. This is not why I chose adult education; I want to be around “mature” students I thought to myself in anger. 

Outside of the usual noise distraction, one student was distracting and disruptive in another way. The GED essay question asked students to choose one side and defend it: Do you think learning from a book is better than learning from experience? This student felt morally conflicted by the essay question and refused to start the essay. He argued quite loudly and adamantly that both are needed in order to learn and he could not write the essay. After trying to work with him (by questioning him) on selecting one method of learning he probably favored a little more, I “gave up” and tried to get him to choose one by being “practical.” I explain to him that during the GED examination he would not have the luxury of having hours to think about the side he’d choose. He’d need to select a topic, defend it, and work on writing the best possible essay within the allotted time.  That did not work, so I told him to think about it some more while I worked with another student. (Although I wanted to work through this with him, I thought it unfair to the other students to spend so much time with him.)


Classroom management is one aspect of teaching that I think you not only need to read about but also should experienced in order to become seasoned. I truly experienced it today! I had to manage the entire class, help them with their questions and deal with disruptive behavior while maintaining my composure. Teachers deal with people and not machines. Even machines have off days much less people. We have to realize that students have outside factors that impact their classroom behavior, focus, and productivity. Effective classroom management comes with practice and understanding of emotional intelligence; even with practice and knowledge chaotic days are certain to occur.

Wynne and I discussed and reflected on the crazy classroom we had and decided, “Some days are better than others.”  Even with that, she said she’d reiterate classroom rules and respect for one another. I thought that would be a great idea.

May 19th: Meet the Class

When we arrived at the classroom around 9:05 AM, students were already in the room chatting, getting settled, and eating. Wynne introduced me to some of the students there and said she’d make a larger announcement when the majority of the class arrived at 9:15 AM.  By that time, there was hardly any room in the classroom; chairs had to be brought in from outside to accommodate them. (Sadly, I knew this wouldn’t last because if they were not dedicated, punctual, and engaged they would be cut from the program after two weeks. The program had to ensure that everyone who was attending class truly wanted to be there and would do the work.) She introduced me very casually: “Guys, remember the person I said would be helping out every Wednesday…” That made me feel at home because she had already prepared the students for me.  I introduced myself and then each student went around the class a told me their names. I certainly did not get all their names, but a few students stood out because of their vibrant and bubbly personalities. After the meet and greet was over, Wynne introduced the math warm-up activity.  Students were given 10 minutes to count all the triangles in the diagram. (Can you get the correct amount?  See below.)

 I worked on the activity with the students and the looked at the answers around me. Some students got it, other students didn't, and other were close but began doubting themselves. It was a great activity to get the class focused on one task as well as great way to solicit class participation. 

Wynne used it as an opportunity to review a math technique taught the class before. The technique was far easier and more efficient than the way I had solved the problem. I counted each triangle by sectioning off each on a placing a tally mark. In her method, each of the inner triangles received a number and the different combination would equal one triangle and then the outside triangle was added. I really enjoyed that warm up more than the students! 

I was very concerned with having to deal with various mathematical subject matters prior to accepting the internship. This activity showed me that I could still do math, I just needed to review and prepare for each class that would deal with math.

The first class, for me, was an observation period; I did not want to over-step any boundaries.  I watched Wynne closely as well as the students reaction to her requests. After the warm up activity, we moved on to the main activity for the first part of the day: answering critical reading comprehension questions about climate change from a famous Marvin Gaye song and three articles from (one from the nation and the other two from NASA).When working on the questions and answer activities, I walked around the class helping students where necessary and reminding some to work on the assignment and not stare off into space. I was able to identify areas specific students needed improvement in. For example, when asked to answer questions about the readings on climate change one pair of young men were working together. One was obviously stronger than the other in terms of following the directions, reading and identifying key points by underlining, placing an exclamation mark or a key symbol for important details or points that you agree with, or even placing a question mark where he didn’t comprehend a sentence, idea, or word. Student A was tackling each question at a good speed while student B was seemingly waiting for the answers. I assisted by first pointing out that student B needed to read the article and underline all key ideas. I even sat down and read the first three paragraphs with student B and tried to answer the first question with him.  He began to catch on but it was slow and other students needed help. I told him to continue working and call me if he gets stuff again. I helped many students that morning, but could not stay for the afternoon because I was still working on finals for spring semester.   All in all, it was a great first day and I felt I could work well with Wynne and the students through the remainder of the program. I was excited about shadowing Wynne in the class and helping the students with each activity. However, I was still nervous about the idea of teaching my own lesson in a few weeks.

May 19th: Before Meeting the Class

I arrived at LAGCC at 8:30 AM on Wednesday May 19th surprisingly calm. I was 15 minutes early for my scheduled meeting with Wynne F., my team teacher as well as classmate from the Masters in Language & Literacy program, so I decided to get tea and a bagel from the breakfast cart outside since I did not have any breakfast. Knowing Wynne from class made the process less nerve racking. I knew she was an excellent classmate and would exemplify the same gregarious personality she had in class. From our previous meeting, I knew the routine would be to arrive at 8:45 AM so we could finalize any questions, concerns, or changes to the lesson (Wynne had emailed the lesson plan to me on Monday so I had ample time to review the material and prepare any final questions). While waiting for my breakfast, I thought about what the 30-minute meeting would be like: Would it be formal or informal, would we have enough time to review all my questions, were there any changes to the lesson plan, and so on. I was also concerned with the content of the course. I had skimmed a GED book prior to the start of the internship but I this course would be the “CYAP GED Bridge to Health.” My moms a Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner, but I know little about health, biology and the like. I was a little concerned with how that would be conveyed in the course. As I walked up the stairs to her office, I also began to think about the fact that an entire week had already passed. I did not have the opportunity to meet with the students at the start of the course. Would that impact how they viewed me in the class as an authority figure? Would they view me as a once per week intruder?

When I arrived at Wynne’s office she was welcoming and all my concerns were lessened. I felt it would be okay. We sat down at talked about the lesson for the day. It would include all the climate changed related readings she had sent to me as well as a math triangle icebreaker. We talked some more about the classroom demographics. She said the group was not as mature as her previous adult education classed, some were fresh out of high school and did not value the program as the older students did because of this. While others were very serious because they were taking time from work and family to attend the program. We were so involved in the conversation that we didn’t realize it was already 9:00 AM. Time to make it up stairs to meet the class. The moment of truth!

Team Teaching Contract (Expectations)

The success of my internship will be based on the below criteria listed in my contract. I hope to meet these expectations and learn tremendously from the experience.

Google Doc of Internship Contract

Student Intern Contract Summer 2010

ma in language and literacy, ccny pcap internship, lagcc

The requirements listed here comprise a contractual agreement for the Summer Term 2010 between the student intern, PCAP instructors and administrators, and the Language and Literacy Program Director, Prof. Barbara Gleason.

Student Name:__Stacy Anne Edwards ________Contact:_______________________________

Co-Teacher Name: Wynne Ferdinand_____            Contact:_______________________________

Class Name: _CYAP GED Bridge to health__   Dates of instruction: 5/11-7/16/10_

Internship Schedule

The intern will attend all meetings and classes scheduled on __Wednesday_ between the hours of __9AM_______and ___4pm___ commencing on ___18 May, 2010 and ending on ___________14 July____________, 2010.

Grading Policy and Percent Distribution

1. The percent distribution for the final grade includes:

            A. Portfolio:  40%

B. Blog: 20%

C. Classroom Presence, Participation and Teaching:  40%

                        1. Lesson planning and delivery

                        2. Attendance and punctuality

                        3. Participation

                        4. Active email communication

             

2.  The faculty advisor, Prof. Barbara Gleason, will assign the final course grade upon review of the intern portfolio and course blog, and with input about the intern’s classroom presence, participation and teaching from the co-instructor named above in the PCAP department at LAGCC.  The faculty advisor is additionally welcome to observe class time or participate in meetings that the intern also attends.

Intern Role and Responsibilities

1.The intern will prepare a final portfolio that will include a reflection essay, a set of at least three lesson plans developed by the intern and a set of documents used in the class that supplement the intern’s own work.  The final portfolio is worth 40% of the final grade. 

2.  The intern will engage in active weekly reflection about the classes she attends via a self-generated blog that is visible to all parties involved in the PCAP internship program.  The blog is worth 20% of the final grade for the internship.

3. The intern will be an active and eager participant in the classroom, and will maintain and develop a spirit of collaboration with her peers and advisors.  Classroom presence, participation and teaching are worth 40% of the final grade.  To meet these requirements:

3a.The intern will prepare three lessons to be administered during regular class time.  She or he will submit these lessons at least one week in advance for review by the instructor. The instructor and intern will determine the dates these lessons will be administered at the beginning of the term. 

3b.The intern will attend and be on time to all class meetings. Missing one or more classes or lack of punctuality will result in the reduction of the course grade by one letter.  Continued absence will result in dismissal from the internship and failure to earn any graduate credit for the program. 

3c.  The intern will read and respond to all email communication from instructors, administrators or advisors regarding the program within 24 hours.  All administrative contact should be conducted via the internship site coordinator.

3d. The intern will complete a set of required readings distributed by PCAP.

Outcomes

Students enrolled in the independent study “team teaching” option in the Language and Literacy program will earn three credits towards their graduate degree and valuable experience working in PCAP’s adult education courses. 

With the signatures below, all parties involved in this internship agree to uphold the terms of this contract to the best of their ability, and with the best interests of the students they serve always in mind. 

Intern: ___________________________________________________________        Date:__________________

Instructor:________________________________________________________      Date:_________________

PCAP Director:___________________________________________________       Date:__________________

Faculty Advisor: _________________________________________________            Date:__________________

Document Confidentiality form

The interns participating in PCAP classes and all other program participants, including faculty advisors, program administrators and other members of the CUNY community agree by signing below that:

Any and all documents developed by PCAP instructors or administrators and can be included for the purposes of the final portfolio only with the permission of the instructors and PCAP department.  All these documents are the intellectual property of the PCAP department of the Division of Adult and Continuing Education at LaGuardia Community College.  None of the course materials collected by any participant in this program may be published or otherwise distributed or put to practice without the consent and acknowledgement of all authors and parties involved.

Name:________________________________________________(please print)

Signature:_____________________________________________

Date:______________________________________________

                                                      Document Release form

I, _________________________________, participated in the PCAP/CCNY Internship Program in summer 2010.  Copies of the materials and writing I compiled and prepared to fulfill the requirements of the internship may be kept as a record by PCAP staff and Prof. Barbara Gleason.  These documents will be stored in the PCAP offices at LaGuardia Community College for twenty years.  My consent is voluntary and may be canceled at any time during or after the internship period.  

I also give my consent for PCAP or Prof. Gleason to use these materials in future presentations or papers that explore professional development, teacher training for Adult Education, graduate study in English, or any other topics that might require acknowledgement of my work. The use of any materials is with the condition of anonymity:  my name and any other student names will be changed to protect identities and avoid harm to me or other students. 

Two potential benefits of my consent are:  1) the receipt of publications containing my work and 2) indirect benefits for other intern participants.  When publications or presentations are developed that use my work or cite my experiences in the internship program, I can receive a copy of the book, a link to online publications, or a copy of the journal article that contain these citations.  In order to receive a copy of any potential publications, I must keep my contact information current with Prof. Gleason or PCAP staff.  The use of my materials by Prf. Gleason and PCAP staff to evaluate the program may also reap indirect benefits for future student participants.

I may contact any or all of the individuals named here to resolve any questions or concerns that arise about signing this form or the use of my work:

Wynne Ferdinand

Pre-College Academic Programming, LAGCC

C-225 D

29-10 Thomson Ave.

Long Island City, NY 11101

wferdinand@lagcc.cuny.edu

Amy Dalsimer

Pre-College Academic Programming, LAGCC

C-223 B

29-10 Thomson Ave.

Long Island City, NY 11101

adalsimer@lagcc.cuny.edu

Dr. Barbara Gleason

English Dept. NAC/219

160 Convent Ave.

New York, NY 10031

bgleason@ccny.cuny.edu

Signature:____________________________________

Date:__________________________________________

My "Great Expectations"

It might seem distasteful or out of place likening the classroom (at any age group and academic level) to a battlefield. However, as a teacher in training this is exactly what it seems like to me: a battlefield. I find this metaphor very fitting. Each day, educators (veteran or neophyte) enter their classrooms not knowing what to expect; some days they lose the battle and other days they win the war. By this I mean, some days classroom control is nonexistent and one disruptive student throws of the entire learning process. The teacher looses the academic battle. Other days, the classroom is in such order and flows so well that the entire group grasps the subject matter ahead of schedule and the teacher can move on to a more challenging task. Annually, educators "win the battle" when their pupils graduate and move on to the next chapter in their academic lives. Yes, one or two students may drop out or be left behind due to some circumstance usually out of the teachers control (social, academic, financial, or psychological) but if the teacher has done their part, they will press forward knowing that they did everything in their power to aid that student in success, maybe not at this moment but later in life.

I expect to experience the triumphs and challenges, horrors and pleasures, laughter and rigidity of being on the educational battlefield while working in LaGuardia Community College's (LAGCC) Adult & Continuing Education GED program. Because adults learn differently than children according to Malcolm Knowles andragogical model, I expect the adult classroom to be somewhat more challenging than my previous experiences working with and tutoring the K-6 age group. Adults tend to be more vocal and will “call you” on mistakes or be more adamant about not understanding an assignment or project.

The GED students in this program are young adults (18-24) who may seem mature because or their age but are still “high school” in mentality. I am not naive. I expect the students to be: feisty, impetuous, immature, insightful, hurtful, comical, timid, inappropriate, and/or out of place. I will not take any of these things personal but will view them as their way of saying “I need help” or “I don’t agree with your methodology.” I think this will be the most challenging for me: Knowing when to treat the students like adults and when to become the classroom disciplinarian. I hope I never need to treat them like children in order to get through the lesson. To prevent this, I plan on keeping Knowles' ideas on andragogy (listed below) at the fore front of my mind throughout the internship. I hope that I will be able to draw on these when assisting students one-on-one, in groups, or when teaching a lesson.

I expect to leave this internship with academic bruises, scars, and thicker skin! I expect to leave with a better understanding of what it means to be a teacher of adult learners.

Assumptions of the Andragogical Model

1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being

2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning.

3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social roles.

4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centredness.

5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal (Knowles 1984:12).