Learning Blog #1 Chapter 2!

Chapter 2 was a great read for me.  I have always felt strongly that attitudes have an impact on how the student performs, and how much they are motivated to work.  The paragraph on affective domain is  very important.  For the population of students I work with which is mostly Autism, it is helpful to show them a reward first to motivate them, and make the lesson fun, engaging, and something the student can actually participate hands on in, instead of sitting and just listening.  Fisher and Berliner have stressed the importance of creating a positive classroom climate, and I could not agree more.  I have even noticed in my classroom that the students feed of negative and stressed behavior, and tend to act out more with their behaviors if they sense stress, and that you may be frustrated with them.  It is essential to understand a child's behavior, attitude, interests, and strengths and weaknesses before starting to work with them.

Fostering the Habit of Reading was also a helpful paragraph.  It stated that the teacher should make sure that there is ample time for the student to complete their reading, if they feel rushed they may become stressed and unmotivated to read.  Also, integrating technology is a good tool to use because what student wouldn't rather be on a computer?  Even if it is reading.

The PAR lesson Framework to Develop Lesson Plans is something teachers should use.  This method is supposed to be utilized by the student and the teacher, so they are both on the same page and both know what is coming next in their lesson, so the student isn't guessing what is on the teacher's mind.  in a PAR lesson plan framework, goals, questions, what activities will be done, and things such will all be clearly stated so the student can prepare themselves, and so the teacher knows what they will be doing in class and can be organized.

In my future teaching, I plan to use some of these strategies, such as questioning in the affective domain, fostering the habit of reading, etc.